Googling Out of Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Googling Out of Control - Essay Example In other types of industries, the Googley way of working could potentially spell disaster for sales and overall business success. This paper will show whether the Googley way of working is actually sustainable long-term for the company and will discuss whether or not this way of working could provide higher benefits for different companies in need of change to their organisational structures or systems and processes. Historical theorists such as Frederick Taylor believed in a scientific method for business in which people should be observed over a period of time and then determining, through these observational findings, which method of training is best for performing specialised jobs in the organisation (Bloisi, Cook and Hunsaker, 2006). Combined with the scientific approach, Taylor also viewed workers through a mechanistic standpoint, believing that workers were often inherently difficult and uncooperative and often lacked the ability to absorb knowledge and information successfully. This classical view of management is still at work in many different industries today which have strong leadership hierarchies where virtually all decision-making starts at the top and trickles down the organisation. Google has managed to break away from this classical type of management model where workers are heavily controlled and observed and has given their workers considerable autonomy in most of their own d ecision-making concepts and job roles. It may only be in an environment where change is constant and there is a need for flexible and rapid decision-making where this chaotic type of leadership concept is going to be successful. For example, many of the main global automakers are experiencing sales declines in their auto sales, especially noticeable in the United States. Automakers in this category such as Ford and General

Technology and Special Education Essay Example for Free

Technology and Special Education Essay Becoming a Special Education Teacher was all I could think about when I first had to sub at the Elementary school that I am now currently employed at. When I was asked to sub for a teacher that works with all kinds of students who have special needs rather it is a learning disability, handicap or behavior. I was scared, I jumped at the chance to sub plus the extra pay but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. The first hour was shaky because the children knew I was scared and unsure of myself as their substitute teacher, but I would never forget one of the students came up and hugged me and said she was scared too; I asked her why; she said she didn’t know if I liked her. From that day I on I knew my heart and wanting to become a teacher was special education. These children who are lost in class because of their disability, they either gets picked on, singled out or the teacher just doesn’t call on them. I got hired on at the school as a special education aide, this was where I belonged. I got to see firsthand on how these children were treated in the classroom and outside of the classroom. I felt like now is my chance to get these teachers to understand that these wonderful children are as normal as we are, and that they need a chance to shine too. I loved working with these children but I felt that I should be doing something different with my life and education. Over the past few years I was told by the head of special education that I would be shadowing a 3 year old with down’s syndrome, my heart sunk I felt like this wasn’t for me and didn’t want the job. As soon as I met this wonderful child I knew deep in my heart that I was meant to be her teacher. She is the reason for me going back to college and getting a bachelors degree in education and working on my masters in special education, without her I don’t think I would have gone back to college. I have been working with this child for the past 4 years she is now seven, when looking back at the choice I made I am so glad I got a chance to be a part of this little girls life. My own children and family love this little girl like she was one of own; we have grown attached to her family and theirs to ours. We do family get together and special events, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am just amazed at how many stares or shocked faces when people ask me what do I do and I am proud to say that I teach a child with downs. Most of them don’t understand why I chose to do this and to this day they still ask why? The only thing I can say is why not, she is just as normal as you and me but needs a little more care and lots of patience. I am proud to say that I taught this child to write her very own name, yes it was a challenge and took a full year but this wonderful little girl can write her very own name with no help. This is what teaching is all about, getting the satisfaction that yes every child can learn regardless of their learning or disability. My goal for going back to school was to help special needs children, and I have finally reached that goal. To make sure I understand everything that I need to know. In order for me to become a great teacher, I will need to be learn to be more patient, show a lot of compassion, kindness , ability to listen/reasoning and most importantly is to be loving and love what teaching is all about. Taking what I learned from them and teaching it to my own kids. I want to be able to make a difference in someone’s life. Especially letting people know, that no matter how old you are you can still go back to school and get a degree and fulfill you dream. Not just anyone can say today I am going to go teach a special needs child, teaching a special needs takes patience, compassion and most importantly an education in this field. I feel that in order to succeed in becoming a special education educator use must have some or most of these qualities: be good humored, organized, very accepting to every student, be creative with their teaching methods, even tempered, thick skinned, optimistic and finally being dedicated to their work and their students. Having a good sense of humor helps you and your students, because when you are having fun teaching and enjoying your students. Your students feel the same way and when you are down, upset and depressed they also feel the tension that you are putting off. So it is important for a teacher to be good humored. For example my student is still being potty trained and when she has a messy accident I can turn my back for one quick second and she is already finger painted the walls. I want to get so made at her and scream and yell â€Å"what do you think you are doing † but when I look into her eyes I just laugh, this is why you have to be good humored. Being organized and prepared can also help you succeed in teaching, you have to be able to adjust or modify what you are teaching because not every student learns the same way. For instance my student can be having an off day and tired of the same old routine so I have to be prepared to get her out of her moods to where she wants to learn and have fun at the same time. Being able to adjust and modify your lesson plans in order to help your student succeed in their education for that day. Every educator no matter what they are certified to teach must welcome all students with open arms and a smile. We as teachers need to stop and think is that it’s not the child’s fault they are like this but as educators we can find ways around their learning disability and help them learn. A teacher doesn’t get to pick their star students to teach but the teacher can make any student a star student just by accepting that student for who they are and also by guiding them to the right path for success. Getting to know your students and understanding them will help you and your student in the long run. Every teacher needs to learn to think outside the box when to come to teaching, especially when the students start to get bored or restless with the same old teaching style. Children all of all ages and disabilities all love it when teachers come up with crazy ideas on how to teach a certain subject. It helps keep children entertained and focused on what they are being taught. Bringing creativity into the classroom will have the benefit of enriching your classroom environment as well. For example when it was STARR testing at our school my student and I and to go to the storage/break room, of course I wasn’t fully prepared for this last minute arrangement. Needless to say I used paper cups and plates and wrote letters and numbers on them so we made our own game to where she can still learned her abcs and counting. She loved every minute of it. Working with special needs children can be very challenging and rewarding all at the same time. However the teacher must be able to respond very quickly when their students lose their temper or become out of control. Students can get out of control when the teacher is not strict, firm or being kind, teacher needs to watch what they say and what they do, so they always have wits about them and most importantly stay calm. For example I was working with my student when another teacher raised her voice and an autism boy started panicking and going out of control, instead of talking this boy and getting him madder and scared than what he already is. I started singing his favorite song that he likes â€Å"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star† and after a few minutes of singing he calmed down and came and set in my lap. A teacher must always know what to do when a child gets out of control, they should know their students inside and out. A teacher has to be confident in themselves and in their teachings. When working with any child especially ones who do have special needs, the teacher can’t keep second guessing herself. You have to stay calm and confident al all times and don’t let the children see that you are overwhelmed or stressed because some children feed off that and it will be harder to stay focused on your teachings. Teachers are intuitive, they need to be able to watch and learn how their student is trying to communicate with them or what they are asking for. For example my student who is seven has speech issues to where any person can talk to her and when she replies back they have no clue what she is saying. I have been with this child for the past 4 years that we know what she is saying through some sign and just by watching what she is doing. A teacher needs to know their students inside and out and find ways that they can communicate with their student. A teacher must be thick skinned or be able to get over any rude or name calling that their child calls them. Children act out because they don’t know what else to do when they are made or scared. So they start calling their teachers names or using bad words. Teacher needs to overcome the name calling and still let their student know what they still love them. Being optimistic when teaching children at any age, showing and encouraging them not to give up and to keep trying makes the best teacher there is. When I child hears encouragement then they know that the teacher is there for them and will help them in any way to find them a way to understand what they are being taught or what they are wanting to do. Dedication is the magic word when it comes to teaching children. Getting to know a child who does have special needs does to a caring, compassion and dedicated person. They are in it to help and care for these children and help them get an education no matter how many hurdles or obstacles’ are in the way. I knew that when I was asked to be with a child that has downs from the time she got to school till she went home, I was scared but I was up for the challenge. I feel that in my heart being a dedicated, caring, loving and compassionate person will help me strive to be the very best special educator teacher at there. There are challenges and obstacles that all special educators must face and get through, especially when it comes to the law and being able to provide services for these children. There are a lot of rules, regulation and laws that every teacher has to abide by. Although we understand these rules we always have a question in the back our minds. My question is that knowing we are a public school is providing the right services for our student with downs? oCan we trust our school system Special education staff will rarely tell you that they cant pay for what youre asking for. The IDEA mandates that services cannot be denied on the basis of cost, but special educators know the federal government has never provided sufficient funds to implement that requirement. Special education staff wish you knew that they have little, if any, say in the budget process. Knowing they can meet your childs needs in other ways, special education teachers often try to steer parents away from costly alternatives because they have to. IDEA requires schools to provide an appropriate education not the best possible services (Logsdon). I feel that through all the thick and thin I still want to be the very best special education educator out there. If we aren’t the very best and teaching our children, then who can our children trust? Parents have the right to find the very best education for their children rather it’s a public school, private school or a school that fits their child’s disability. I would want the very best for my own children and for my students. I feel that I have the drive to be able to teach a child and get to know them on their level inside and out. I can be there to help them get the proper education because I can offer them love, care, compassion and all my devotion to them. People who want to work with children need to ask themselves these questions: Would I be a good special education teacher? Do I have the desires and skills to be a successful special education teacher, and actually enjoy what I do? I can honestly answer yes, after working with children who have all sorts of special needs and faced so many challenges. I am ready to take on new and different challenges that the students will bring. I want the students to be able trust me and let me guide them to the right education, and help find them ways that they are comfortable with their learning skills. In order for me to become a successful educator I need to find ways that will help me communicate with the student when the student has speech issues, find ways to help children who are handicapped to learn. There are all kinds of reasons why I will become a successful special education educator and devotion and commitment sums it up. My goal for going back to school was all due to my family and my special little student, reason why was to help special needs children, and I have finally reached that goal. While taking these online classes, I feel like they have molded me into the teacher I want to be. What I expect from my instructors is the same compassion about teaching is the way I feel. To make sure I understand everything that I need to know. In order for me to become a great teacher, I will need to be learn to be more patient, show a lot of compassion, kindness , ability to listen/reasoning and most importantly is to be loving and love what teaching is all about. Taking what I learned from them and teaching it to my own kids. I want to be able to make a difference in someone’s life. Especially letting people know, that no matter how old you are you can still go back to school and get a degree and fulfill you dream. That’s why I am taking these classes to for fill my dream and to help those children in need of an education from someone who can be devoted, love, care and give them compassion for who they are on the inside and on the outside. My philosophy that I go by is strictly based on that every child no matter what disability they have has the chance and deserves the opportunity to have an education. No child should be held accountable or punished because of their disability. Every student can learn it just take time and a lot of patience on both ends. This quote by Helen Keller is something that I agree with, hope and confidence helps your child succeed as long as you hold faith, hope and confidence when teaching your student. I believe as long as you have hope in a student then they will start to have faith in themselves and want to succeed with their education regardless of any hurdles that they come across. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller References: View as multi-pages.

A Thematic Approach To Teaching Education Essay

A Thematic Approach To Teaching Education Essay For this topic I am going to explore the history of the National Curriculum and the thematic approach to teaching. Looking at these areas I am going to create themes within the Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 to use as an example of a thematic approach to teaching. National Curriculum The National Curriculum has been policy in Schools for many years, it originates back to 1970 when the government focused on education with a desire to educate children to create a better work force. Teaching consisted of no supervision within the classroom and the teachers could teach whatever they wanted as a result of there not being a specific curriculum to follow, or at least relate back to. In 1976 James Callaghan changed the teaching profession. His idea was everyone should be taught the same topics, this led to an introduction of more core subjects. Within a few years, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister and decided she didnt like the scheme of teaching within the National Curriculum, so, in 1979 she decided that every Council would write their own policies. These policies had to include maths, English and science which were deemed to be core subjects. The Prime Minister wanted to see a lot more testing of the teaching process so that teaching was far more measurable and what progress and standard the children where achieving. In the 1987, Kenneth Baker, the Education Minister took the concept a stage further. He divided the curriculum into 3 core subjects maths, English and science, and 7 foundation subjects including the subjects of history, geography, foreign language, art, music, P.E and design and technology. He had a syllabus for each subject composed so that all teachers knew what content to cover when teaching each subject. In 1988 the Educational Reform Act became legislation. It was widely regarded as the most important single piece of education legislation in England and Wales in modern times. The Educational Reform Act changed education. After its introduction in 1988, the National Primary School Curriculum had to be presented to the government to ensure standards of teaching were the same for every child. Key Stages were introduced in schools that benched marked milestones in a childs education. At each key stage a number of educational objectives had to be achieved, the impact of this was the curriculum evolved into educational overload. Each teacher had 345 targets to meet! The Key Stages introduced were Key Stage 1 (5 7 year old children), Key Stage 2 (7 11 year old children), Key Stage 3 (11 14 year old pupils) and Key Stage 4 (15 16 year old pupils). Statutory tests were progressively introduced for each Key Stage. The Key Stage 1 statutory tests were introduced in 1991, Key Stage 2 in 1995 and Key Stage 3 in 1993. Sir Ron Dearing reviewed education in 1995, he removed some topics out and reduced the burden of 345 targets to 14 targets that teachers needed to meet. Margaret Thatcher still wanted to change elements of the curriculum whilst Sir Ron Dearing was doing his review. She wanted to name and shame every school that wasnt performing and to rank all schools, hence the birth of school tables to publicly inform parents how individual schools were performing. Sir Ron Dearing wanted a structured numeracy and literacy hour which was structured and dictated what had to be done and was applied by all schools across the Country. This enabled visibility to monitor and evaluate what was being done at any one time. Another huge change arrived 30 years later when Sir Jim Rose looked at the National Curriculum. He led an independent review in 2008-2009 and came to the conclusion that there was still too much going on in the curriculum. He wanted focus on essential life and learning skills and on literacy, numeracy, I.C.T, learning and thinking skills and social and emotional well being. Sir Jim Rose wanted to establish a curriculum for the 21st century that met the needs of individual learners whilst taking account for the broader needs of Wales. The national curriculum changed once again in 2008. The stages of the curriculum Key Stages were and remain divided into sections, Year 3- Year 6 Key Stage 2 (7 11 year olds) and early years which became the Foundation Phase Year 1 Year 2 (3 7 year olds). The curriculum content consists of core subjects (Mathematics, English and Science) and Welsh Language, broader curriculum subjects ( I.C.T, History, Geography, Music, Art and Design, Physical recreation, Design and Technology, Welsh second Language) and basic curriculum (R.E and P.S.E). This ensures subjects are taught via a cross curriculum approach and introduce key skills that includes thinking, number, I.C.T and communication. Assessments have been introduced to enable teachers to monitor childrens learning and baseline assess attainment at the end of the Foundation Phase. At Key Stage 2, pupils are tested on their English and Mathematics and core subjects. then in Year 6 they are assessed in preparation for transition to year 7 in Secondary education. The introduction to the Foundation Phase was set out in Wales and further amplified and explained in the Foundation Phase consultation paper published in 2003. The proposals contained in this paper was supported by 96 per cent of respondents. The Welsh Assembly Government then piloted the Foundation Phase from September 2004. The Foundation Phase provides young children with a curriculum that is more appropriate to their stage of development and that caters for their individual needs. From reading Welsh Assembly Government, March 2009, Foundation Phase Child Development Profile Guidance, Welsh Assembly Government I have discovered the seven areas of learning within the Foundation Phase (3 7 year olds). The seven areas of learning are:- Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity Language, literacy and communication skills Mathematical development Welsh language development Knowledge and understanding of the world Physical development Creative development This approach allows teachers to monitor the knowledge of individual childrens development in the key areas of a childs learning and to follow onto the areas of learning to observe and evaluate childrens progress throughout their learning. In the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2, each subject has two sections (skills and range) for a childs programme of study in each different national curriculum subject. This includes levels of understanding, investigating and making. There are also national curriculum skills that are the same for all non-core and core subjects within the National Curriculum. Children develop thinking skills by planning, developing and reflecting on their work in all subjects. Another requirement within the National Curriculum is to develop communication skills. The children learn to communicate across the curriculum by using skills such as oracy, reading, writing and wider communicating in all subjects across the National Curriculum. A further requirement is to develop ICT skills. The children must develop their ICT skills across the curriculum by finding, developing, creating and presenting information and ideas using a wide range of software and equipment. Finally children must develop their num ber skills across the curriculum by using mathematical information, calculating, interpreting and presenting their findings across the whole range of national curriculum subjects. Thematic Approach The cross-curricular thematic approach has been part of education in schools for many years and slowly began to gain popularity in primary schools during the 60s. This was due to recommendations from the Plowden Report (1967) emphasising that children learn better finding out information for themselves rather than being taught directly and supplied with information direct from a teacher. A thematic approach to teaching involves integrating all subject areas together under one theme. The cross curriculum approach helps children relate basic academic skills to the real world. Thematic units are common in the Foundation Phase where children learn through interactive, integrated activities. These themed units incorporate reading, mathematics, science and social studies. To create thematic approaches in teaching a theme is selected for a particular topic which would be applied for a period of a week or a month. The time line would depend on the broadness of the theme and how many subjects are going to be included in the cross curriculum approach. From knowing the themes the teacher develops schemes of work, activities and writing lesson plans. The children are then given aims and objectives within the thematic approach lessons. The activities may consist of being hands-on or physical learning, games on the internet and reading certain books for the skill level the children are reading at. For example, art skills can be developed by drawing exercises related to the theme. There is no end to what national curriculum subjects can be developed within the thematic approach. The benefits of a thematic approach have been examined. Teaching thematically helps children build self esteem and allows the children to understand what they are being taught. Content and subject areas are integrated and not made obvious to the children what subjects they are being taught. The pupils are able to learn and retain more information through a thematic approach, it encourages the involvement of all abilities of children through topics relevant to them and their learning needs, from the learning aspect the children are able to relate to real-world experiences and build upon their prior knowledge learned from previous lessons taught at that particular moment in time. The thematic approach also helps teachers teach to the different learning capabilities of their children. Overall the thematic approach keeps children engaged by making learning activities fun by creating a variety of different experiences within different thematic approaches. The teacher and children are able to be creative, authentic and original, it also allows the teacher to integrate all subjects and use literacy within those subjects. The children can share the same learning goals, is children centred and utilises collaborative and cooperative learning. The curriculum is also compact and saves time teaching multiple subjects at once. The negatives of a thematic approach need to be considered. Some children may lose interest in the theme/subject being addressed. Using one theme for a month may become boring, repetitive and the childrens motivation to learn will decrease and become uninterested and distracted. The children may also not like the choice of the theme chosen by the teacher and may cause arguments between children making them unwilling to participate in the activities created by the teacher. It can be hard for the teacher to find enough resources/information to cover every aspect of the topic and intertwining the benchmarks within that one topic may be difficult, it can also be easy to miss out on some content that could be covered in the theme. Within the thematic approach it may be hard for the lower level children to engage and consequently have a hard time with concepts within that theme, they will then struggle with the work. This child is still expected to connect within the focused tasks causing possible stress for the child knowing their level of capabilities are lower than someone else in the class, so it is difficult for the teacher to provide tasks that suits everyones needs and learning styles. From reading a document Using thematic approach, Bristol, Victoria Clarke and Virginia Braun (Page 2) express a mixed view of the thematic approach. They quote Thematic analysis is a poorly demarcated, rarely-acknowledged, yet widely-used qualitative analytic method. They believe that the thematic approach is rarely acknowledged but is used widely across teaching. Theorists have a mixed view about the statement because they feel that the thematic approach can prove to be successful as long as the theme and subjects used are taught at a level that suits all the childrens needs using an integrated and balanced scheme of work for all abilities . Others also think that the quote is wrong in saying the thematic approach is rarely acknowledged. It is clear from experiences within the classroom that teachers successfully use the thematic approach a lot. My view on the foundation phase and what it has to offer. Within the Foundation Phase, children as individuals are given opportunities to learn about themselves, improve their own knowledge and understanding of the real world and gain better knowledge of personal hygiene and safety. The children become independent and achieve goals that teachers cannot pass on to the children through use of just the direct teaching method. This is why the Foundation Phase is so unique, it allows the children to learn from their own personal experiences and take their learning into their own hands. The children become more confident and assertive and learn values for themselves and from their peers. With all of the above focusing on skills, children can develop in the Foundation Phase. The main thrust of developing skills is by letting children play, it is an essential feature within the curriculum which must be fun and stimulating for the children to enjoy learning. This approach helps children to be pro active and physically interact with objects they woul dnt necessarily encounter day to day. From reading the Rumbold Report (1990) on play, there is a very strong view about using play within the Foundation Phase, it is believed that active educational play supports childrens learning across all areas of learning. I totally agree with this statement as it does create activity for the development of a wide range of skills and also allows the children to develop their own personal skills. Overall I think the Foundation Phase is an all round positive curriculum that appears to work very well in developing children from an early age of 3. My lesson ideas for teaching within the Foundation Phase The subjects I examine as an example for my teaching in a thematic approach in the Foundation Phase incorporates two non-core subjects Geography, Art and Design and also look at the basic curriculum area of R.E. The theme I have chosen is the Amazon rainforest. The class I have chosen to deliver this task to is Year 2. R.E In the R.E lesson, I will read the read the book of Noahs Ark. Maisy, 2007, Noahs Ark, Lucy Cousins I will identify the type of animals and relate them to the Amazon Rainforest. From reading the book I will have a section of play where I will divide the class into groups. The children will have samples of all of the animals referred to in the book along with a boat. They will then have to memorise the list of the animals which relate back to the book and fit them into the boat. This will develop their thinking skills and also their communication skills while working in groups to do the activity. This will be a warm up activity for the children so they are getting their brain into working mode. This relates back to the national curriculum skills for R.E in the Guidance for local education authorities and agreed syllabus conferences, January 2008, National exemplar framework for religious education for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government by using the section listed as developing thinking. For the main activity the children have to create their own story where they save a number of animals onto a certain object, the object can be specific to our day and age so it could range from a boat or train to an aeroplane. To get the children started in their story one can brain storm and list their examples of some animals and objects on a board / interactive whiteboard and show what mode of transport animals can be rescued onto. From the main activity they are developing their communication skills, theyre using their writing skills and oracy by discussing what they are going to include in their story. From the content of the activities created one can monitor the calibre and style of childrens writing. I will select three or four pieces of work to be read out by the children and evaluate everyones work by having everyone on each table to swap and evaluate each others work. Geography (Knowledge and understanding of the world) To teach knowledge and understanding of the world I will focus on the wider world section of the curriculum, illustrating to the children what lives in the Amazon Rainforest, and type of habitats they live in. I would create discussions around particular questions I would continually ask. Questions would raise awareness and explore what is the rainforest. Childrens knowledge and understanding of the Amazon Rainforest will be developed through the handing out of a quiz that can be completed in groups. A class competition can be created to see who has the most questions correct about the Amazon Rainforest. After the quiz, to develop continuity through this subject of geography the children can create pieces of work to put up on the Amazon Rainforest board on the classroom walls. The children can bring their knowledge from R.E and use their drawings they developed in art to put onto the classroom board, this will create a sense of achievement and ownership as the children would be able to look at their own work when in their own classroom and is a clear display of their own work for others to see what they have done. A number of skills will have been developed from using this approach that are taken from the national curriculum book of knowledge and understanding of the world for Foundation Phase. The skills developed consist of enquiring, exploring, describing, asking/ answering questions, investigating, thinking, solving problems and recording their research. All of these are required and used within the theme and tasks set during lessons. Art From reading the book Noahs Ark, children can draw an animal of their choice that relates to the story, a list and a picture of each animal mentioned in the story would be given as a resource for the children to relate back to. A directed task would then be set to use different materials to create a 2D image of the animal from the Noahs Ark story. Materials to be used would include: Coloured pencils Paint Coloured pens Crayons Craft materials to create different textures etc. From creating their animal drawing, the children can try and link them to a habitat within the rainforest. To research the animals habitat the children can use the internet to find an image of the habitat for their animal to be stuck onto. The final outcome will then consist of a hand made piece of artwork of an animal from the rainforest made by every individual child and placed on a background of the habitat the animal would live in within the rainforest. Overall the children would have explored colour using different materials and creatively making an animal by exploring and forming different textures. This relates back to the national curriculum within the foundation phase due to reading the creative development Welsh Assembly Government book. Welsh Assembly Government, June 2008, Creative Development, Welsh Assembly Government The children will have used ICT skills to research on the internet for a habitat picture of the rainforest. From creating the animal design that relates back to the Amazon rainforest, focus can be made upon literacy skills by asking each child to describe what animal they have created and what their habitat looks like. Overall, the children would have used planning and thinking skills by developing and creating the art work. The children can reflect on their work and see if their animal relates to the rainforest to give it a real life effect. Oracy and writing skills are also developed by describing their animal and habitat, so they are expressing their ideas and emotions about their work. The structure of the childs learning will be as it is presented in the essay, I will start off with R.E, and then include Geography and follow integrate Art and Design. When the children take part in these activities the children themselves do not realise they are learning these skills. This is an excellent outcome, as, when they grow up, the children will reflect and hopefully remember what they have done and recognise the skills they had used. My lesson ideas for teaching within Key Stage 2 The subjects I examine for teaching a thematic approach in Key Stage 2 will consist of two non-core subjects of Geography, Art and Design and also look at the basic curriculum which is R.E. The theme chosen is Judaism. The year group chosen for this is Year 5. R.E The children will be made aware what Judaism, different clothing and their names worn at this time would be examined. A group activity for children would be used after explaining the variety of clothes using dolls clothing, some relevant to Judaism and some not relevant. A women and man doll would be introduced for the children to dress and they learn to relate the same back to Judaism culture. From dressing the dolls the children move on to examine a house of a Jewish person. The children will look at dietary make up of Jews and what type of ornaments they have in their houses that are an integrated part of their culture. A group session can be delivered where children can trial some Jewish food and if possible have a Jewish person to come in and talk to the children about their lifestyle. A useful website for a teacher resource would be:- http://www.waupun.k12.wi.us/Policy/other/dickhut/religions/14%20Jewish%20Symbols.html This website describes the clothing and certain items that are found in a Jewish home. This theme will have continuity and appear through other lessons. In other lessons different festivals within the Jewish community would be explored and have a look at videos to demonstrate how they celebrate their festivals. The skills developed throughout these lessons would be communication through talking in groups to discuss issues about the culture and ornaments the children have discovered. The children are also developing thinking skills to execute dressing the men and women dolls into suitable clothing for a Jewish person. Art From the previous lesson on R.E about Judaism children are given a directed task using a hand out sheet with four boxes to draw in. The children are asked to use each box to draw from real life, objects such as Shofar or a type of clothing like a Kippah and use a range of art materials to colour in their drawings. The materials used could include :- Coloured pencils Paint Coloured pens Crayons Charcoal Water paint Mark making Tone Craft materials Each box I will ask The children will be told to use each box to illustrate a different art material so they are experimenting and testing different materials and are using a range of art media. After finishing the drawings the following activity would develop literacy where children have to describe the content and process used in creating each box, stating what material they have used, what the object is and how it is used within the religion of Judaism. Overall children have explored different art materials and creatively making examples relating to Judaism using the clothes they wear or the different items used within the culture. This links to the national curriculum within the Key Stage 2 Art and Design as found through reading the Art and Design national curriculum for Wales book. Welsh Assembly Government, January 2008, Art and Design in the National Curriculum for Wales, Welsh Assembly Government From reading the book listed above I am able to see what parts of the curriculum I have taught. The activities demonstrate that the children have planned, developed and reflected on their work which uses the developing thinking skill and that all of the children have developed their oracy and writing skills that links to the developing communication aspect. Geography In geography focus is on where the Jewish community was founded and where Judaism is sited in different countries. A presentation using PowerPoint for both tasks and the children can do small tasks from worksheets. We will then look at the Star of David flag and what the meaning is behind it. Two follow on from this children will be asked to develop a double page in their book about Judaism. This double page will involve information about the Jewish community, where Jewish people are distributed around the world, some ornaments, clothes and the Star of David flag. The children are being tested on a number of skills across the curriculum in geography. The children are developing thinking skills, they have to plan the double page on Judaism and develop the work on Jews and also to ensure they include Judaism. The childrens communication skills are being developed through them writing about what they have learned about the Jewish community and Judaism. The children are using selected language to describe where the Jewish people live within different countries, and so are discussing geographical issues. The children are conducting their own personal investigation into Judaism and Jewish religion. From developing the double page they are developing creative and presentation of information and ideas from their investigation. Observing children To see the childrens improvement throughout their learning teachers need to pay attention to observing the children in their care. In the observing children book Welsh Assembly Government, January 2008, Observing children, Welsh Assembly Government it is quoted It is important that practitioners listen to children as well as watch them when observing, as they can learn a great deal about childrens learning and understanding through listening to their speech I believe this is a vital quote for teachers observing children because you can definately gain more understanding of the childrens learning by talking to children as well as observing how they play and the standard of their work. The observation of children should be taken into consideration through using the seven areas of learning, this will provide evidence of their development and achievements across the national curriculum. Teachers can also observe different situations children are exposed to through playing on their own or as part of agroup. The main headings mentioned in the Welsh Assembly Government, January 2008, Observing children, Welsh Assembly Government state that teachers need to observe:- Personal development Social development Well-being/emotional development Cognitive development Language development and communication skills Physical development Gross motor skills Fine motor skills There much observation of childrens development of the child as a whole that has to be considered as an essential part of the role of a teacher. From observing the children one can monitor their progress and continuity during lessons to ensure improvement and that children are gaining and benefiting from new learning experiences throughout their years in primary school. This can be achieved by both looking at the development of their work and also how they play alone and within groups. Conclusion To conclude, the National Curriculum has gone through many changes in the past few years and evolved into what is delivered in primary schools today. From the many theorists I have researched and read about, there is a belief that where we are placed today is the better stage of the developed National Curriculum. The Foundation Phase is proving to be a success. The children are able to improve their personal learning without having a teacher to spoon feed them to gain experiences and skills. Key Stage 2 needs improving and attention due to the drop in standards and attainment in literacy and numeracy, this drop in standards has resulted in improvements being demanded by the Welsh Government all across Wales. Welsh Government are implementing literacy and numeracy strategies in every subject across the national curriculum. The thematic approach has been evaluated and is declared a success by many theorists, it allows teachers to choose a theme and teach joint subjects in one integrate d scheme of work/ lessons, this is a definate advantage because the children do not specifically realise how they are being taught. This method of educating primary aged children develops what they know from personal experiences and their involvement develops them through the teachers integrated lessons.

The Indian and the White Communites in Dances with Wolves and Machimani

The Indian and the White Communites in Dances with Wolves and Machimanito The film Dances with Wolves shares a lot of its content with the story Machimanito. In Dances with Wolves, two nations come to interact with each other. While the white man is dominating the land, the Indians are trying to protect both their land and themselves. In Machimanito, the story describes the epidemic and its effects on the Indians, while describing the ongoing conflict between Indians and the white man. There is a huge cultural difference between the white man and the Indians, which is reflected on their ways of life and communities; each lives a different life style including their interaction with nature and themselves, their authority within this community and finally the resulting conflict the interactions of these two nations. John Dunbar makes contact with the Indians while being posted on the frontier. As his relationship develops with Kicking Bird and both gain each other’s trust, he becomes part of the Indian community; his final transition can be seen when he is known by the name Dances with Wolves. The differences between the white and the Indian community are shown to the viewer while Dunbar is exploring it and is becoming aware of the differences himself. Some of the differences are shown in the ways and objectives of hunting the buffalos. While the Indians use the buffalos for both food and use the skin for clothes, the white man hunts down buffalos for their skin and horns â€Å"killed only for their tongs and the price of their hides.† Dunbar says â€Å"One thing is clear however there is no buffalo and it weighs heavily on their minds.† This shows how important the buffalos are for the Indians, as their absence is a problem for thei... ...e and accurate approach of the Indians, where the reader can feel the story and the events as if he was Nanapush himself, as apposed to see and try to figure out the feelings like in Dances with Wolves. We can see that in both Machimanito and Dances with Wolves, there is a conflict between the white society and the Indian society. The white trespassing society intervenes with the traditions and customs of the Indians which causes a threat to their culture. Since the white man views the Indian community as being native and tries to educate it by colonizing and implementing their own ways. Both these literary pieces show this conflict and the effects of the colonization on the Indians. While Dunbar comes to the conclusion â€Å"Nothing I’ve been told about these people is correct. They are not beggar and thieves. They are not the bogie men they’ve been made out to be.†

The Global Flow of Silver

The flow of silver affected the world through the mid 16th & early 18th century in many ways. When countries had more silver, there was less bartering & more slavery. People traded less because they could just buy what they needed. Economically, more power was given to countries with more money which is called Mercantilism. Documents 3 & 5 are reflecting on social change and how silver altered the way the Chinese lived. In document 1, it talks about the frugal man will always have something left but the extravagant man never has enough, this is showing how wealth makes people greedy & the government trying to maintain order by putting limits on wedding expenses. The point of view of this document is of a county official during the Ming dynasty who is under the Confucius value of frugality, making the document biased because he was against the capitalistic values of the extravagant man. Document 3 talks about how the elders of a specific district explain why the price of food is cheap because the scarcity of silver because the national government isn’t distributing silver back to society, but makes it part of tax. I believe that this is biased because he was a court official and this relates to problems within his own community. Document 2 & 4 is about the effect of silver in Spain. Document 2 states that high prices of Asian goods ruined Spain economically, meaning Spain would need more silver to pay for them. Document 4 says that since Spain needed more silver, they traded their goods such as perfume, gold, porcelain and white silk to Japan. Document 7 is about how they usually trade good for good but with foreigners its good for silver because they would sell it for more than its actually worth. Document 7 was biased because He Qiaoyuan was a Ming Dynasty court official & he didn’t want to ban foreign trade, so he was defending it saying that they could make more from it. Documents 6 & 8 are about social effects. Document talks about how hard they have to work to excavate silver. Document 8 is about how they were replaced in the space trade by the Dutch and they had to trade dyed cotton cloth, silks, drugs, cotton yarn and wool. Document 6 is biased because Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa was a Spanish priest and he didn’t work in the fields to excavate silver, so he really didn’t have 1st hand knowledge of that. Silver changed countries socially and economically. It had major effects in Spain and because of mercantilism they had to trade goods for silver. Economically, they needed more silver and they had to cut down prices and get more goods to get more silver.

Measuring And Managing Absenteeism In The Workplace

Productivity loss due to absenteeism is a serious growing challenge. We live in an absenteeism culture. Talking a day off and calling in sick is supported and encouraged by the society. Many people’s attitude is† The time is coming to us† (Robert F.Allen and Michael Higgens- the Absenteeism Culture. Becoming attendance oriented.) Unscheduled absenteeism is on the rise and the rates of absenteeism are at their highest since 1999. The major concern is that almost two out of three employees who do not show up aren’t physically ill or have challenging issues.Absence measurement and management is an increasingly growing body of knowledge and experience that managers apply to control and reduce absenteeism and its accruing costs. To ensure that the issue of absenteeism is effectively addressed, managers and supervisors-armed with the required guidance and training, need to understand the circumstances and factors surrounding absenteeism in the workplace, and thus actively participate in the company’s procedures and policies to effective curb absenteeism in the workplace.Employers attempt to cut down excessive employee absenteeism through tighter controls. They demand doctor’s report or use some other punitive mechanisms that targets symptoms of absenteeism rather than its causes. The problem will not go away unless the underlying root causes are removed. Building an attendance culture!How should absenteeism effectively be managed? Triggers or incentives? / Carrots or sticks?Introduction:Absenteeism from workplace has been on the increase and may be an indicative of poor morale, lack of motivation, sick building syndrome, poor organizational polities or mere indiscipline from the employees. However, many employers have introduced and implemented absence policies which make no distinction between absence for genuine reasons or illness and absence for inappropriate reasons.One of these policies is the calculation of the Bradford F actor, which only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence. 40 million days are lost each year in the UK, due to workplace absenteeism, 93% of employees say cold and flu are the reason for being away from work, but research has shown  that in reality, half of absenteeism in the workplace has nothing whatsoever to do with health. Workers decide to stay away from work for a host of other reasons relating to work and personal issues, which range from job de-motivation, low pay, lack of work life balance and occasional hangover.Absenteeism has been viewed traditionally as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer, as a management problem and has been framed in economic terms. This report will critically discuss the causes and effects of absenteeism in the workplace with the view to derive effective ways to measure and manage absenteeism. It will seek to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psycholog ical, social adjustment to work. 1. What do we mean by Absenteeism?According to dictionary reference.com, Absenteeism can be defined as habitual failure to appear, especially for work and other regular duty. The rate occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. Absenteeism can be viewed as re-occurring absence from work, duty and obligation, thought to reflect employee demoralization or dissatisfaction. This can also be viewed as a breach of the implicit contract that exists between the employer and the employed. Simply put, Failure to report to or stay at work when scheduled is tagged absenteeism. 1.1 Absenteeism can be grouped into two categories –Involuntary/Innocent absenteeism: This is when absences are unavoidable and understandable. For instance Absences due to death in the family Pregnancy or Maternity issues Absences caused by illness or injury Car/ vehicle issues Other family related or personal issues Accidents and natural disasters Disability-related absentee ism- Human rights obligations Voluntary/Culpable Absenteeism: Voluntary absenteeism is an instance where an employee, out of his own freewill or laziness, chooses to stay off work. Absences in this case are avoidable. Missing work without advance notice, to go the cinema or watch football Making excuses for consistent late coming to workDeceitfully/fraudulently applying for sick leave or calling in ‘sick’Failure to report to work as scheduled or showing up late for no good reason 1.2 Causes of Absenteeism in the workplace There are various factors that could influence an employee to be absent at work. These factors are as followsPersonal Factors:Personal Attitude: individuals posses different attitudes and bring these attitudes forth to the workplace. Employees with strong workplace ethics will respect their work and appreciate their contribution to the organisation and as such, will not take unscheduled off from the workplace. Conversely, employees with low or without work ethics are in- disciplined and have behavioural issues. Because they feel no obligation to the organisation, absenteeism comes easily to them. Age: The age of an employee often affects their attitude to work.The younger the employees are often restless, they want to have fun and be with friends rather than being tied down with responsibilities. This leads to lack of ownership and usually leads to unscheduled and unauthorised time off. Gender: Women are usually challenged with balancing their time between work and home. Their families are always the utmost priority, thus they would rather be absent from work to sort out family issuesWorkplace Factors:Organizational Culture: Every organisation is a culture with its own norms. An organisation with an embedded absenteeism culture, screen played by its management and supervisors lack of commitment would encourage further employee absenteeismLack of Motivation and Rewards: The relationship between the organisation and its employees i s influenced by what motives them to work and the rewards and fulfilment they derive from it. Inability of managers or employers to motivate employees and meet their extrinsic and intrinsic needs would lead to lack if motivation and commitment hence, absenteeism in the workplaceAbsence of learning culture: Learning means change, thus can affect  organisations effectiveness. Employees love to work in an organisation where they would improve themselves and their career through organisational learning and knowledge management, which could be inculcated through coaching, mentoring, trainings and other explicit methods. In an organisation where a learning culture is absent, employees feel de-motivated, unsatisfied and feel their career growth is threatened.Hence they excuse themselves from work without authorisation in search for greater challenges and organisations where they would gain improve themselves. Stress at work: According to a report cited in Financial Times: ‘Stress a t work is the biggest problem in European companies’ Voluntary absenteeism takes place because employees are dissatisfied with their job; hence they feel stressed doing the work either because of the work load or unsuitable assigned roles. {Egs} wrongly assigning a customer service manager to manage treasury department, without adequate experience and training.Due to lack of adequate experience in the field and fixed timed deliverables and tasks, he feels stressed and harassed in the role and thus breaks down into stress or depression and seeks sick leave and abandons the job. Voluntary Absenteeism also takes place where the employees feel there is a strain on their psychological contract with the employer, this indirectly erupts lack of organizational commitment. This strain could develop to stress and impact on employee attendance to work.Leadership Style: An organization’s, team or unit leadership style could impact on employee commitment, job satisfaction with impr oved or impaired participation and attendance to work. While Democratic and laissez fair leadership style encourages shared decision making, shared responsibility, creativity and participation and can be highly motivational, which enhances teamwork and interpersonal relations. Autocratic and paternalistic leadership styles could de-motivate and alienate employees. Employees might feel less important in the organisation, hence the need to avoid work. Work Routine and lack of Change: doing the same job or task over a long period of time can get monotonous.The employees get bored and thus might choose to take unauthorised time off to do something he considers interesting than going to work. Job Satisfaction: if employees do not find their work interesting, satisfying and challenging, they feel dissatisfied, which leads  to increased absenteeism in the workplace Work life balance: Organisation who not factor employee’s roles and work life such that a balance is stroked with wor k and the individual’s personal life commitments and family would experience increased employee absenteeism. Conflict in the workplace: ultimately increases chances of employee absenteeism.Lack of team spirit: A team that lacks unity, synergy and good interpersonal relationship amongst its members, will be a weak and unproductive. Such team members will lack team spirit-the spirit that bonds individuals in a team. This lack of team spirit can de-motivate team members, make them work in isolation, they would lack the sense of belonging, love and satisfaction. There would exist, fears of the unknown, lack of trust for team members. These feelings will encourage an employee to stay off work. Social Factors: factors such as difficult community circumstances like High crime and intimidation rates which constitutes fear in employee’s catalyses absenteeism in the workplace. Other social factors are – Lack of transportation/transport facilitiesPoverty levels Malnutritio n HIV/AIDS Labour Strikes 1.3 Effects of Absenteeism in the workplaceWhen a company has an absentee problem, it has a profit problem. Absenteeism can take a deep financial toll on any business, whether a small or multinational company. There are also other significant effects associated with excessive absenteeism: Decreased Productivity: in a team of people doing interrelated tasks, if one persistent remains absent or fails to deliver, it creates a domino effect on productivity. It affects employee/team morale: this is due to the fact that additional stress are places on employees who act as replacements or assume additional tasks for absenteesAbsenteeism causes disruptions in the workplace and impacts on the SLA’s It affects customer service levels, turnaround times, customer loyalty and satisfaction. It affect or disrupts effective team formation and operations It may create a perception of unfairness amongst employeesIt affects the bottom-line 2.0 Measuring Absenteeism2.1 Why measure absenteeism?It is pertinent to measure the rate of absenteeism in the workplace. Measuring employee’s absenteeism is a good way to measure Overall Labour Effectiveness (OLE) in the workplace, which is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the utilization, performance and quality of the workforce and its impact on productivity. Monitoring staff absence rates helps to trace the pattern of employee attendance.To monitor and check dead times, in the workplace, to derive and measure resources and costs incurred due to employee absenteeism with the aim of devising effective methods to manage absenteeism in the workplace. In measuring absenteeism in the workplace, we derive the ratio of its administrative, financial and productivity cost to the organisation which will enable development of strategies to curb absenteeism while rechanneling resources more effectively to effect the bottom-line positively.Administrative costs of Absenteeism:Time consumed in control ling absenteeism Time consumed in sourcing replacements and re-assigning duties. Supervisor’s time Financial Costs: this are the costs accruing form Overtime costs Replacement employee costs Training costs Over staffing costs Productivity Costs: Replaced productivity and loss of output costs the costs of supporting replacement employees Costs accrued in training new or replacement staff/hiring temp staff Substandard production2.2 Ways of Measuring AbsenteeismThe Total Tim lost: Number of person-days lost through job absence during period X 100 (Average number of employees) x (Number of Work days)This rate also can be based on number of hours instead of number of days. The â€Å"individual frequency† formula: This is calculated as thus : Individual frequency = (Num of Absent Employees/Average Number of Employees) x100 The Bradford Factor or Bradford Formula: According to the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development, the term was first coined due to its supposed c onnection with research undertaken by the Bradford University School of Management in the 1980s. It was developed as a way of highlighting the misappropriate level of disruption on an organisation’s performance that can be caused by short-term employee absence compared to incidences of prolonged absence. In contrast, it is considered short-sighted and unlikely to be successful which could lead to staff dissatisfaction and grievances. The Bradford factor can be calculated as follows:B= S2 x D where: B is the Bradford Factor score S is the total number of spells(instances) of absence of an individual over a set period D is the total number of days of absence of that individual over the same set period The ‘set period’ is typically set as a rolling 52 week period. For example:1 instance of absence with a duration of 15 days (1x 1 x 5)= 5 points 4 instances of absence; one of one, one of four and one of six days (4 x 4 x 5) =80 points 6 instances of absences ;each fo r two days (6 x 6 x 5) = 180 points However, the Bradford factor has been critiqued for its limited and short-sightedness in effectively measuring absenteeism, this is because it only factors total number and frequency of individual absence into account, neglecting the kind of absence.Again, the Bradford factor is a generic process and would be inappropriate to implement on disabled employees this is because certain disabilities require higher days of absence. Employers are bound by law e.g. The British Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 (DDA) to tailor their actions to the individual circumstances of  disabled employees and failure to provide these reasonable adjustments by employers may lead to civil actions or breach of DDA in employment tribunal 3.0 Managing absenteeism:Absenteeism: A cultural problemEvery organisation is a culture, with its own norms that constitute the expected, supported and accepted ways of behaving. These norms are most times unwritten and advice people on the code of conduct. The existing culture and norms influences everyone’s perception of the business, from the CEO to the newly hired employee. Management’s behaviour has a special impact on organisational behaviour as relates to absenteeism, this is because of its modelling influence. Investigations have shown that absenteeism was/is directly traceable to the group norms established by leadership, the work environment and group expectations. Each group had similar illness records, it was the norms that dictated, and almost predictably, whether people showed up for work.Absenteeism is often symptoms of larger organisational problems and can be managed as thus: Leadership modelling and commitment: Managerial commitments and participatory culture have an important impact on attendance. E.g. in a retail company, a manager who demonstrated little commitment to attendance practices recorded one of the highest absenteeism rates in his organisation. Work motivation and rewards: Motivation in the work place is the driving force to achieve employee job satisfaction and commitment. This motivation could be Extrinsic or Intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation relates to the tangible rewards e.g. Salary, security, promotion and conditions of work.While,  Intrinsic motivation relates to the psychological rewards which includes; a sense of challenge and achievement, participation and appreciation from the employer. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; the expectancies of an employee from the employer are captured as thus- Motivated employees overcome obstacles to make it to work. The key to reducing employee absenteeism is to create a culture where employees want to come to work. Effective Groups and Team Building: groups and teams are essential features of the work pattern of organisations.These include formal and informal groups, project and virtual teams. Effective group and team building  encourages inter personal relationships, fulfils the individuals psychological need of love and belonging, encourages organisational learning and communication while reducing conflicts in the organisation. This ultimately gives employees, sense of belonging and contribution, job satisfaction and an increased love for the job which will be evidenced in attendance rate. Recruitment and selection: Employers should recruit employees with good attendance records. This information should be included in references.Employee orientation and training: Attendance norms should be established the first day on the job. These norms are inculcated at inductions and orientation sessions. Performance Appraisal: this can boost employee attendance rates. Management should attach attendance rates to performance appraisals, if employees are aware that attendance would be a part of their appraisal, they would minimise unnecessary absence from work.Conclusion:Organisational culture is a key factor that affects the norms and modus operandi of an organisat ion. Thus the leaders and manager have a great job of making effective decisions and inculcation the required culture through policies and examples. Creating an attendance-oriented culture requires a complete corporate commitment to encourage attendance rather than manage absenteeism. This would be a significant shift because an absenteeism culture not only cost millions of pounds, but also impedes the development of human resources, reduces organisation’s competitive advantage and affects the bottom-line My case study illustrating the causes, effects and how to manage absenteeism is evidenced in my reflective writing.