Vouchers Are Not the Solution for Improving Public Schools Essay

â€Å"Vouchers lead us away from the basic American tradition of a free, quality public education for every student and undermine the kind of comprehensive, systemic school reform that is working [†¦]† (Tirozzi, 1997). This quote taken from Gerald Tirozzi, the assistant U.S. secretary of education for elementary and secondary education, sums up the issue of vouchers. Milton Friedman, a free-market theorist, introduced vouchers, which funnel public funds to private schools, more than forty years ago (Resnick, 1998). Vouchers redirect money that would have been spent on educating a child in the public school system to a private school of the parent’s choosing. Voucher use is based on two factors, student eligibility and school eligibility. Those students who would be eligible for vouchers are among those in low-income families. School eligibility widely varies state by state. In some states school eligibility is restricted only to nonsectarian private schools, where elsewhere any private school is eligible (Resnick, 1998). Those who support vouchers offer three reasons for their position. One reason being that most public schools are failing, secondly vouchers help the children who use them, and thirdly vouchers create competition that motivates public schools to improve (Resnick, 1998). However, opponents argue that funding should be put toward improving the current public school system for the masses instead of allowing a better education to an elite few. Research is largely oppos ed to vouchers. Vouchers imprudently use public funds to back religious education, degrade public education, and support elitism. Vouchers are set up such that they take money from public school funds and redirect it towards private schools an... ... nations schools are not failing, but would benefit from improvement, the children that do receive the vouchers are but an elite few and the benefits of a private school education as opposed to public has yet to be proven. Supporters make the last argument that vouchers create competition that motivates the public schools to improve, however at the same time the funding that needs to go towards improvements is being stripped away resulting in deterioration of the public school system. As supported vouchers unfavorably use public funds to back religious education, degrade public education, and support elitism where it should not be. The public school system was created to accept all children no matter what. The system of vouchers causes the school system to take several steps back on the progress it has made as a result of years of struggle to become truly public.

Assessment for Learning Essay

â€Å"Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there†. Assessment Reform Group, 2002 The teacher has ultimate responsibility for setting schemes of work for the class with clear objectives (Formative assessment) and writing end of term and end of year reports drawing together the information gained through assessment for learning. (Summative Assessment) The learning objectives are delivered to the class by the teacher and it is the TA’s responsibility to be aware of: †¢ the learning objectives, †¢ the personalised learning goals for individual learners. †¢ the success criteria for the learning activities †¢ the assessment opportunities and strategies relevant to their own role in the learning activities While taking the children through the scheme of work the TA will support the children by discussing their individual objectives this can also be done with groups of children who are working at the same level with the same learning outcomes. This is done to check that the children understand what is expected of them. This needs to be reviewed throughout the lesson. It is the TA’s job to pace the session to the learning style and ability of the children. At the end of the session the TA needs to give positive, factual feedback to the children and the teacher. This will include your observations on how the pupils responded and the strategies that were useful. The discussion between the teacher and the TA will enable further objectives to be set for the next lesson. Both the teacher and the TA are fully involved in the assessment of learner’ achievement with the TA fully supporting the teacher. 1. 2 Summarise the difference between formative and summative assessment. In 2004, at a conference of Assessors, Professor Paul Black pointed out â€Å"An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and by their students, in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. â€Å" Formative and Summative Assessment are the two main forms of assessment used by the teaching profession. Formative assessment (Assessment for Learning) is the type of assessment that takes place day to day during lesson time. It is the reviewing of progress and understanding of the pupil, against the learning objectives set by the teacher. This can be done in a variety of ways such as observation, open questioning of pupils, checking understanding and allowing the children to be involved in the reviewing process during and at the end of a lesson. It allows learners to self-assess and self-evaluate their learning experience hopefully enabling them to become responsible learners who understand what they have to improve to allow them to meet their goals. Formative Assessment: †¢ occurs during the learning †¢ done with learners †¢ processed focused †¢ to improve learning †¢ is personally referenced Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning) is the pulling together of the learning outcomes of tests at the end of a scheme of work, formative assessment and professional judgements to provide an end of term report showing what the pupils have achieved, it could also take the form of a Key stage SATs. It is outcome focused, occurs after the learning has been taught and is a way of measuring and proving learning. Summative Assessment: †¢ occurs after the learning †¢ done to learners †¢ outcome focused †¢ to prove learning. †¢ externally referneced While the two forms of assessment are entirely different the resulting information from both types can be used to help with setting learning objectives. The two types of assessment are not necessarily to be used separately they should complement each other, as the use of Afl can help pupils perform better on summative assessment tasks and summative assessment can reflect the impact of Afl. 1. 3 Explain the characteristics of Assessment For Learning. Assessment for learning encourages the learner to take responsibility for their own learning and achievements. This is done by providing them with the following information: Learning intentions A learning intention is simply a description of what you want your pupils to know, understand or be able to do by the end of a lesson. It tells pupils what the focus for learning is going to be. They can also be call â€Å"Learning Objectives†, â€Å"Learning Goals† or† Learning Aims† Making sure that he pupils are aware of their learning intentions before the lesson begins in language that the pupils will identify with, focuses their attention to the learning and how to achieve their intention rather than the activity they are undertaking. This can help keep the pupil focused on task for longer by increasing their motivation. The pupils should be reminded of the learning intentions throughout the lesson. Success Criteria This shows the learners what they need to achieve to meet the ‘Learning Intentions’ Success Criteria: †¢ are linked to the learning intention; †¢ are specific to an activity; †¢ are discussed and agreed with pupils prior to undertaking the activity; †¢ provide a scaffold and focus for pupils while engaged in the activity; and †¢ are used as the basis for feedback and peer-/self-assessment. Formative feedback About the quality of their work and what they can do to make it better; Giving pupils’ feedback and allowing them to feedback to the teacher how they feel their learning went. . Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. Effective Questioning To create a classroom climate where pupils come up with their own ideas, think aloud and explore their understanding. Questioning should take the form of open-ended questions to encourage the children putting their own ideas forward without being led by an adult. The adult can then ask the children’s peers what they think of another child’s idea to generate feedback. Generally in the lessons in Ambergate school the children are reminded when working to ask, who, what, when, why and how to ensure they get sufficient feedback to enable them with the tasks set. Peer and Self-Assessment and Evaluation. Peer and Self-Assessment enables learners to recognise success in their own and others’ work and to focus on how they are learning as well as what they are learning. Ambergate school regularly asked the children how they think they have done by giving a â€Å"thumbs up†, â€Å"thumbs down† or â€Å"thumbs sideways† to indicate how the children feel about what they have been taught. Sometimes the children will be asked what they know of the subject about to be taught and to mark themselves out of ten in their books. At the end of the lesson they then give themselves another mark out of ten and compare how they have fared. To summarise Assessment for learning meets individuals needs and maximises their full potential through continual monitoring. All staff are allowed to contribute to future planning by feeding their findings back to the teacher. 1. 4 Explain the importance and benefit of assessment for learning. Continuous assessment improves performance and behaviour, allows pupils to work more independently and it also improves motivation and risk taking. By increasing two way communications Assessment for Learning helps to strengthen the teacher pupil relations. From the teachers point of view AFl improves planning and delivery of the lessons while creating an opportunity to check the quality of the lessons and amend activities to ensure they meet the learning needs. For the child it tells them where they are with their learning in each subject, gives them ideas on how to further achieve to ultimately get success in the given goal. Assessment approaches need to promote learner engagement and ensure appropriate support so that all learners can achieve their aspirational goals and maximise their potential. It has been proven that children who do not feel part of the learner process quickly lose interest. Therefore, responses should be based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses and effective feedback strategies. 1. 5 Explain how assessment can contribute to planning for future learning carried out by †¢ The Teacher Assessment for Learning helps the teacher to make well-founded judgements about pupil’s attainment while placing responsibility for managing learning on the child, with the goal of pupils being more actively involved with the learning process. As indicated above, the process involves explaining learning outcomes to pupils, providing them with feedback on their progress and enabling them to develop their self-assessment skills so that they are able to reflect on, and recognise, their own achievements. Knowing precisely what the pupil understands & then moving them on leads to effective learning. †¢ The Learners The process will keep the pupil informed of on-going process, giving them an insight into how they learn and which areas they need to improve to achieve the objectives set. This helps to increase their confidence, motivation and independence and also how to recognise when they need to ask for help. †¢ The Learning Support Practitioner. Assessment for learning will provide you with information of how each child learns and the knowledge they already have, which will help in how you further question the pupil. This can be tailored to suit the individual pupils pace and ability to learn. In a recent Maths lesson on Division techniques, on periodically checking the children’s understanding it became clear that they knew how to divide using the Chunking Method but the answers that some of the children were getting were incorrect. This caused the TA to check their work and come to the conclusion that the children’s knowledge in subtraction of 3 figure numbers was letting them down. On feeding back to the teacher she said she had noticed the same problem with the group of children that she was supporting. With this feedback, the TA and the Teacher implemented a refresher lesson on subtraction in the next Maths lesson to fill the gap in the children’s knowledge and allow the children to move forward with their knowledge and ultimate success with Division Techniques. Bibliography www. education. gov. uk Assessment for Learning for KS1 and KS2 Northern Ireland Supporting Teaching and Learning L3 – Louise Burnham.

Current Issue on Islamic Banking and Finance Essay

New paradigm of product packaging. Islamic banking and finance has emerged as a financial intermediation process that is competitive and resilient and that contributes to the overall wealth creation, growth and development of our nation. In the middle of an increasingly challenging and competitive financial environment, the evolution of a comprehensive Islamic financial system seeks to meet the range of requirements of a rapidly changing economic environment, with its soundness and stability secured through the robustness of its regulatory framework supported by the strength of its financial infrastructure and the sophistication of its products and services. Indeed, the strength of the respective components of the system and the interconnections of its markets will open new frontiers in Islamic banking and finance and will maximize the potential and opportunities that it accords. In the new current issues on Islamic banking and finance have increased their product in sophistication from the deposits product to hybrid product that are able to enhance returns to depositors. Further advancement was made with the introduction of the Islamic variable rate financing mechanism that provides an alternative to the fixed rate financing. This will assist the Islamic banking institutions in mitigating part of the risk emanating from asset and liability mismatches. New innovative Islamic financial instruments such as Islamic asset-backed securities have also emerged and the financial structures underlying Islamic securities become more specifies. The rapid growth of Islamic unit trusts comprising a variety of bond funds, equity funds and balanced funds increases the efficiency and potential of the Islamic financial system as an intermediation channel by providing investors’ access to professional asset management that is based on their distinct risk tolerance levels. The issuance of new Islamic banking licenses to qualified foreign financial institutions will allow for the presence of foreign Islamic banking players to act as bridge between Malaysia and other global Islamic financial markets and increase the potential to tap new markets and growth opportunities.

Case Study of diagnosis and treatment of Gout

Case Study of diagnosis and treatment of Gout A 50 year-old male presented for an evaluation of rapid onset of pain and swelling in his right toe. The patient reported that he had two similar previous episodes with the same symptoms lasting four to five days and was treated by emergency physicians. The patientà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s past medical history is significant for hypertension and treated with Hydrochlorothiazide. The review of systems was negative for headache, fever, chills, rash, earache, sore throat, cough, rhinorrhea, vision changes, weight loss, or change in appetite or disposition. The patient was afebrile, and this blood pressure was slightly elevated. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: General: The patient is a pleasant male who appears to be in no apparent distress. Vital Signs: blood pressure 123/48, heart rate 76, Temperature 38.3 and 98% on room air. HEENT: Extraocular muscles are intact. Pupils are equal, round, and reactive to light and accommodation. Neck: Supple. No jugular vein distention noted. No carotid bruits noted . Lungs: Clear to auscultation bilaterally. No wheezes, rubs or rhonchi. Heart: Regular rate and rhythm. Normal S1, S2. A 2/6 to 3/6 systolic ejection murmur at the right upper sternal border. PMI is nondisplaced. Abdomen: Notable for laparoscopy surgical wound. Positive bowel sounds. Extremities: MTP is red, hot and swollen. Neurologic: The patient is alert and oriented x3. No focal neurologic deficits noted. Pathophysiology Gout is an inflammatory disease characterized by the deposition of uric acid crystals in and around joints, subcutaneous tissues, and kidneys. Although men and women are equally affected by gout, men are six times more likely to have serum concentrations above 7 mg per dL. Gout typically occurs during middle age and is uncommon before the age 30 years old. Women rarely have gouty arthritis attacks before menopause 1. Clinical Presentation Gout attacks are usually associated with precipitated events. Patients usually present with rapid onset of severe pain, swel ling, redness, and warmth in one or tow joints. This pain and inflammation are caused by inflammatory response. Acute attack untreated attacks usually last two to 21 days depending on cases. There are four clinical stages of gout according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The first stage is known as asymptomatic hyperurecemia. During this stage, the patients can have an elevation of uric acid in the blood but they do not have any symptoms yet. After more and more urate deposits around a joint and if any trauma triggers the release of crystal into the joint space, patients will suffer acute attacks of gout. This second stage is known as acute gouty arthritis. The third stage, known as interval or intercritical gout, involves the interval between acute flare gout attacks with persist crystals in the joints. When crystals deposits continue to accumulate, patients are likely to develop chronically stiff and swollen joints. This stage is called chronic tophceous gout. Some permanent damage to affected joints and sometimes to kidneys can be seen. This advanced stage is relatively uncommon if patients receive proper treatment. Differential Diagnosis Gout in the elderly is often polyarticular and involves upper extremity joints (especially proximal interphalangeal joints and distal interphalangeal joints). Women present 70% of the time with polyarticular disease rather than the classic monoarticular arthritis seen in men. Gout can be mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis because tophi may resemble rheumatoid nodules and rheumatoid factors often become weakly positive as people age. It may be difficult to differentiate cellulitis or septic arthritis from gout, particularly when a fever, leukocytosis, redness, or desquamation is present. The term pseudogout, for calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, belies the difficulty in clinically differentiating it from gout. For definitive diagnosis, joint fluid must be aspirate d for culture and a search for urate crystals.

Elements of sustainability in the hotel industry Dissertation

Elements of sustainability in the hotel industry - Dissertation Example In order to achieve the aim of the study, the researcher set out some key specific objectives, based on which certain research questions were asked. On the basis of the specific objectives also, the researcher constructed key themes under which both primary and secondary data were collected. Four of the key themes around which data were collected are given as (1) the personality of people who patronized the services of hotels most (2) the influence of sustainability practices by hotels in their selection for occupancy by customers (3) specific elements of sustainability that contributes to customer satisfaction (4) indications concerning market directions in the demand for green hotel services. Apart from these four major themes, data were collected in other areas of the study. The secondary data collection took the form of a literature review whiles in the primary data collection, there was an online questionnaire model where 150 respondents answered various questions on the researc h problem. Results from the data collection processes showed that patronage of services of hotels is commonest among the working class, especially top executives whose work takes them on business trips. On the influence of sustainability in the selection of hotels, it was established that indeed greater number of people preferred to select a hotel that practiced sustainability to those that did not. This not withstanding, most respondents indicated that they were not satisfied with the kind of sustainability practices that go on in hotels and that they wished much emphasis would be given to areas of energy reservation, water reservation, reduced carbon emission, waste management and customer service that is based on technology. Finally, it was established that there is a growing market trend that makes most business oriented persons to settle for sustainable hotels as a way of fulfilling corporate social responsibility. The implication here is that if existing hotels want to continu e getting the services of these groups of customers they have no other option than making provisions for sustainability. Once such provisions are made, they will become competitive advantage over other hotels that do not have them in place. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the study During times of economic crises, the most vulnerable industries are those which deal with products and services considered to be luxuries, or at least non-necessities. One such industry is the tourism and hospitality industry, which is closely related to the hotel sector. This is not to say that hotel patronage is solely determined by tourist take-up rates, because there is a significant amount of business that is generated by customers whose trips are related to business. Good examples of these are regional conventions or other such gatherings where a good number of participants come from distant locations, and need to stay over at hotels. Other than these, however, tourists typically stay for l onger periods of time and more benefited from the hotel’s services and amenities. Because of the contracting revenues as a result of the economic crisis, hotels feel the need to develop new, non-traditional sources of competitive

Sociology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Sociology - Research Paper Example History can show the dangers of ethnocentrism. The Third Reich is an extreme example of ethnocentrism. Hitler felt the way to protect his Aryan race was to kill inferior races. The genocide in Rwanda committed by the Hutus against the Tutsis is another extreme example of ethnocentrism. Slavery was a form of ethnocentrism. Today examples of ethnocentrism are white supremacist and radical Islam. These groups are at war with all other cultures. In order to protect their superior culture, ethnocentrism believers fight all other groups. The dangers of ethnocentrism are the reasons for social integration. Due to modern technology, war, and population growth, the world is shrinking. Large chunks of one culture or people are becoming less common. Unless living in an isolated location, where one never leaves and others do not visit, individuals will encounter different cultures during their lifespan. Especially in America, where many cultures live, work, and make up communities, the need for social integration is essential. More social integration will lessen the violence, discrimination, and verbal aggression between cultures. The less violence in between races will help communities to get along and reduce hate

Creating Powerful Performance Profiles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Creating Powerful Performance Profiles - Essay Example The talent director will use his skills to coordinate all programs on this direction. Once a year, the director reviews the standard recruiting procedures. In addition, there is a two week time frame for developing recruiting strategies for each sector within the organization. The talent director is has one month to source candidates for any vacancies. This occurs through advertisements, screening, interviews and pre-employment procedures. Three days after being engaged, new employees will be required to undergo in-house training programs to acquaint them with operations within the organization. This requires the talent manager to fully understand all operations in order to offer effective guidance to new employees. The talent manager will use his understanding of HR related laws and regulations in ensuring that the organization fully abides to every requirement. Monthly reviews are conducted with the aim of gauging the performance of the department in this respect. On the weekly briefings with the top managers, the talent director informs the management on the all new developments regarding the department. In addition, the talent director prepares performance reports on monthly basis which are supplied to the management of the organization. On this, the director puts into use the skills on communication and collaborative engagement. As a sales executive, I will be required to find market for the car company which sells vehicles in the region. This will also involve arranging and coordinating client demonstrations while providing them with competitive options and quotations. In addition, the sales executive will also be required to create an effective sales staff by providing quality guidance on the recruitment, interviewing and training of all the sales staff in the organization. Lastly, the sales executive prepares accurate weekly reports to the management while also preparing elaborate monthly report on the overall performance of