Monday, January 20, 2020
Mein Kampf And The Formation Of Hitlers Ideas Essay -- Adolf Hitler Hi
Mein Kampf And The Formation Of Hitlers Ideas The dominant political figure of German history in the twentieth century, Adolf Hitler, was born in a lower middle class family in the provincial Austrian town of Braunau am Inn on 20 April 1889. In 1907 Hitler applied to enter the Vienna Academy of Art but his application was rejected. After the death of his mother Klara, Hitler decided to move to Vienna. He drifted from job to job, often selling sketches or painting scenes of Old Vienna and it was a period that he himself later called the most miserable period of his life. Many of Hitlerââ¬â¢s views of the world were shaped by his experiences on the streets of Vienna and it is probable that his violent anti-Semitism dates from this time. In 1924 Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for his part in the Munich Putsch. During this time in prison Hitler began work on his book entitled Mein Kamph (My Struggle). The book outlines some of Hitlerââ¬â¢s political ideas and his views on race and Germanyââ¬â¢s future role in world affairs. Hitler had a racist view of world history and the dominant theme running through Mein Kamph was his concept of race. In Hitlerââ¬â¢s view, civilization and nations decline when the fail to maintain the purity of the race. ââ¬Å"Mixing blood and lowering of racial qualityâ⬠according to Hitler is the ââ¬Å"sole cause for the decline of all culture, for humans do not perish from lost wars but from the loss of that power of resistance that is characteristic only of pure bloodâ⬠*. The fundamental duty of the government in Hitlerââ¬â¢s mind was to preserve the racial purity of state for only this way can the superior race maintains it dominance over inferior races. To Hitler, the Aryan (an earlier Indo-European race from which the Germans were descended) was the master race and the other races were inferior. To Hitler the Jew represented the absolute contrast to the Aryan. The Aryans were the creators of culture and civilization, where else the Jew was the destroyer for they had no nation or culture of their own. They were ââ¬Å"a parasite in the body of other nationsâ⬠* contaminating the purity of the blood, exploiting and corrupting the nation. Hitler saw a Jewish world conspiracy and held absolute conviction that the Jews were responsible for all the evils that had befallen Germany ââ¬â defeat of in war, revolution, economic collapse and Marxism. But abo... ...ak, that superior races prevail over inferior races. This concept with its theme of struggle and survival of the fittest appealed to Hitler. ââ¬Å"Struggleâ⬠wrote Hitler ââ¬Å"is the father of all thingsâ⬠¦He who wants to live must fight and who does not want to fight in this world where external struggle is the law of life has no right to existâ⬠*. In Mein Kamph Hitler offered some insight into his thinking on exercise of power and in particular the important role of propaganda, his contempt of parliamentary democracy and the Weimar Republic. Hitler also wrote of the need for a national revival and the quest for living space. Hitler linked his hatred of communism with his hatred of Jews. In Hitlerââ¬â¢s mind Russia was the centre of a Jewish conspiracy, a concept reinforced in Hitlerââ¬â¢s thinking by the fact that many of the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution were Jewish. Mein Kamph is an important book because it reveals a great deal about Hitlerââ¬â¢s mind, outlook and the ideas that became the basis of National Socialism. What he wrote as his philosophy in 1924 he began to implement as policy when he became supreme ruler of Germany after 1934. * Quoted from Mein Kamph, Adolf Hitler, 1924
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Family vs. Law Essay
Family, an important theme of life, gets expressed throughout many ways in society. Family may take precedence over many things, including authority and the law. Within the tragic play, Antigone, the author Sophocles presents situations where the characters have to choose between their family and the law. The characters must choose what is more important to them, their family or obeying the laws of Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents a strong theme of family values and the importance of it through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon. Antigone, placed in many situations throughout the play, has to choose between her family and the law. Antigone chooses to honor her brother, Polyneces, by burying him even though she will break the law by doing so. Antigone asks her sister Ismene to help bury their beloved brother, but when Ismene says no, Antigone responds by saying, ââ¬Å"But as for/ me/ I will bury the brother I loveâ⬠(Prolouge. 192). Antigone chooses to honor her brother and risk breaking the law because family means more to her. Antigone puts her family first, presenting her as a selfless person. Along with the risk of breaking the law, Antigone also risks her death. Once Creon tells Antigone of her punishment after finding out she buries Polyneces, she has to decide whether or not burying her brother is worth it. After Creon tells Antigone of his plan for her, she says, ââ¬Å"This death of mine/ is of no importance; but if I had left my brother/ lying in death unburied, I should have suffered. / Now I do notâ⬠(SceneII. 208). Antigone shows Creon that he cannot stop her from saving her family by trying to punish her with death. Antigone chooses to help her family and stand up for them, even when faced with death. Sophocles shows Antigone as a brave person by denouncing Creonââ¬â¢s rules and saving her brother. Through Antigoneââ¬â¢s actions, Sophocles shows how he favors family over authority and the law. Sophocles expresses his devotion to family throughout Creonââ¬â¢s actions in the tragic play. Prior to Creonââ¬â¢s initial decision to let Antigone die, the Choragos convinces him to let her go free. Creon, reluctant at first, listens to the Choragos and says to them, ââ¬Å"It is hard to deny the heart! â⬠(SceneV. 235). Creon knows deep down inside that he will be doing the right thing by letting Antigone go free. Although Creon wants Antigone to pay for breaking the law, his family ties with her prove to out shine his devotion to the law. As Creon orders the Choragos on what weapons to bring, he says, ââ¬Å"I buried her, I/ Will set her freeâ⬠(SceneV. 236). Creon realizes that his family ties with Antigone mean more to him than justice and he wants her to know that by freeing her himself. Creon wants to prove to Antigone that he does care about her safety and her future so he will set her free so she can go on living her life with Haimon. Although Creon decides to free Antigone partly out of guilt, he mostly does it because of her love for her. Sophocles shows throughout the tragic play that he prefers family over the law through the actions of Creon. Sophocles shows his devotion to family over the law by the actions of Haimon. Haimon has to decide whether to fight for his wifeââ¬â¢s life or obey his father. Haimon, driven mad by the situation he has at hand, decides to kill himself after he finds out Antigone has done the same. The messenger delivers the horrible news to the Choragos and says, ââ¬Å"Haimon is dead; and the hand that killed him/ Is his own handâ⬠(Exodos. 239). If he cannot live with Antigone, then Haimon does not want to live at all. Haimonââ¬â¢s devotion and love for Antigone is stronger than his will to obey the law. Even as Haimon ââ¬Å"died/ He gathered Antigone close in his arms again,â⬠(Exodos. 241). By having Haimonââ¬â¢s last moves before his death be hugging his wife one last time, Sophocles shows that family takes precedence over the law through Haimonââ¬â¢s selfless acts. Haimon wants to show to everyone, especially his father, that his love for Antigone overrules everything else, particularly the laws that Creon creates. Throughout Haimonââ¬â¢s actions in the play, Sophocles shows that family means more to him than the law. Throughout Antigone, Sophocles shows that his strong devotion to family overrides authority and the law. Sophocles proves this to the reader through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon and the choices that they make throughout the play. Even at the face of death, Antigone chooses to honor her brother over obeying the law as a way of showing Sophoclesââ¬â¢ devotion to family. Prior to Creonââ¬â¢s original decision to kill Antigone, he changes his mind and decides to spare her life to exemplify Sophoclesââ¬â¢ loyalty to family life. Haimon chooses to spare his own life to support his wife and rebel against the laws his father creates to prove Sophoclesââ¬â¢ commitment to family. Sophocles shows that his devotion to family overrides the law by the situations and decisions Antigone, Creon and Haimon make. Not just in the play Antigone, but even in the world today, family values have high precedence over the laws and rules created to follow.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Literary Techniques Used in Edgar Allen Poes Work
Literary Techniques Used in Edgar Allen Poes Work 1. At the end of the first paragraph Poe uses foreshadowing when he writes ââ¬Å"And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hourâ⬠(1). I see this as foreshadowing the event that ends the party and the lives of all those present. The entire thousand assembled die when the Red Death came. T he ââ¬Å"last chime had utterly sunkâ⬠(3) also foreshadows the end where each individual ââ¬Å"died in the despairing posture of his fallâ⬠(4). Combining both these instances together shows that the whole situation or incident, from the ââ¬Å"presence of a masked figureâ⬠(3) to ââ¬Å"one by one droppedâ⬠(4), ended before the clock chimed the next passing hour. The ââ¬Å"seventh apartmentâ⬠(1) also foreshadow the presence of the Red Death. The entire apartment was ââ¬Å"shrouded in black velvet tapestriesâ⬠and the window ââ¬Å"panes hereShow MoreRelatedEdgar All Poes Style901 Words à |à 4 PagesEdgar Allen Poeââ¬â¢s style in The Black Cat and Tell-Tale Heart In many of Edgar Allen Poeââ¬â¢s short stories, a reader can encounter with many similarities of style and technique. In this paper, I am going to state the similarities of The Black Cat and Tell-Tale Heart to understand Poe style in short stories. To start with, in both of the stories, the setting is jail because the main characters of two stories are criminals. Such an entrance to the stories enables the readerââ¬â¢s attention to be moreRead MoreEssay about Literary Devices Used in the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe959 Words à |à 4 PagesAnalysis of the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe The nineteenth century poet Edgar Allen Poe makes use of several literary devices in order to create a gloomy atmosphere in his poem ââ¬Å"The Ravenâ⬠. Alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia, assonance, and repetition are used to contribute to the melodic nature of the work and provide an almost ââ¬Å"visualâ⬠representation of his gothic setting. Poe is a master of using these writing techniques. ââ¬Å"The Ravenâ⬠is one of his most popular works. This is certainly due, in partRead MoreComparitve Analysis of the Raven Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe1257 Words à |à 6 PagesComparative Analysis of the Tell Tale Heart and the Raven Edgar Allen Poe was the author of several daunting works of literature. Two examples of Edgar Allen Poes literature are The Tell Tale Heart and The Raven. If we compare these two works, one a short story and the other a poem, we will see that Poe shows great mastery of symbolism, as well as other forms of literary technique. In these two stories, many people would say that Poe uses the tales to reflect the way he perceivesRead MoreAnalysis of Edgar Allan Poeà ´s Literature888 Words à |à 4 PagesEdgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the readerââ¬â¢s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poeââ¬â¢s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or bo th. His choice of word draws the reader inRead MoreThe Gothic Theme of Edgar Allen Poes Work1357 Words à |à 6 PagesEdgar Allen Poe was an English short-story writer whose work reflects the traditional Gothic conventions of the time that subverted the ambivalence of the grotesque and arabesque. Through thematic conventions of the Gothic genre, literary devices and his own auteur, Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s texts are considered sublime examples of Gothic fiction. The Gothic genre within Poeââ¬â¢s work such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Raven, arouse the pervasive nature of the dark side of individualism andRead MoreHow Does Edgar Allan Poe Shape His Writing Style996 Words à |à 4 Pages Edgar Allen Poe is a recognized American writer of short stories, poems, and a few books. He lived in the era of westward expansion, slavery laws beginning to become an issue, and most influential to Poe, Tuberculosis was a major issue. There was not yet a cure for people with T B, in fact, there wouldnââ¬â¢t be a known cure for another 100 years after his life. He lost many people during his life, his father left before Poe was 3 years old, his mother died from TB when Edgar was three. He was forcedRead More A Comparison of House of Usher, Bierces Beyond the Wall, The Black Cat, John Mortonsons Funeral1742 Words à |à 7 PagesParallels in Poes House of Usher and Bierces Beyond the Wall, Poeââ¬â¢s The Black Cat and Bierces John Mortonsons Funeral, and in M.S. Found in a Bottle by Poe and Three and One are One by Bierce. à à à à When one decides to become an author, one can not help being influenced by his predecessors, causing some of ones work to reflect and echo the predecessors. Such is the case between Ambrose Bierce and his predecessor, Edgar Allen Poe. Excluding the obvious fact that both Poes and BiercesRead MoreRomantic Writing : Edgar Allan Poe1112 Words à |à 5 Pagesof the written word and the ability to illustrate intense emotion. Edgar Allan Poe, born in 1809, was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his short stories and poetry, especially those consisting of tales of mystery and horror. Widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in American literature, he was one of the countryââ¬â¢s first practitioners of the short story. Romanticism was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe atRead MoreTell Tale Heart Essay1367 Words à |à 6 PagesIn ââ¬Å"Tell Tale Heart,â⬠Edgar Allen Poe develops th e plot and creates a mood through the use of metaphors, symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing. The unique use of said literary devices enables the story to strongly entice the readerââ¬â¢s interest and spark high levels of curiosity. The vivid mental pieces of art are beautifully painted with metaphors, symbolism, and imagery, the tools mastered by the painter, Edgar Allen Poe. The initial analysis will be that of the old manââ¬â¢s eye. Mr. Poe uses veryRead MoreEssay on The Black Cat by Edgar Alan Poe1083 Words à |à 5 PagesCat,â⬠short story from Edgar Alan Poe, has a few characters and many points of view that probably provide the most important elements in this short story. Therefore, the examination of the conflicts of the protagonists in Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s description plays an important part with the objective of understand this short story. This paperââ¬â¢s objective is to analyze the significance of the characteristics of the protagonist. According to the American romanticist writer Edgar Allen Poe, the story of ââ¬Å"The
Friday, December 27, 2019
Qualitative Data Definition and Examples
In statistics, qualitative dataââ¬âsometimes referred to as categorical dataââ¬âis data that can be arranged into categories based on physical traits, gender, colors or anything that does not have a number associated with it. The hair colors of players on a football team, the color of cars in a parking lot, the letter grades of students in a classroom, the types of coins in a jar, and the shape of candies in a variety pack are all examples of qualitative data so long as a particular number is not assigned to any of these descriptions. Qualitative data is contrasted withà quantitative dataà wherein quantitativeà data sets have numbers associated with them that evaluate the quantity of an object or objects with shared features. Oftentimes, quantitative data is used to analyze qualitative data sets. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data Its pretty easy to understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative data: the former doesnt include numbers in its definition of traits of an object or group of objects while the latter does. Still, it can get confusing when thinking in terms of statistical attributes, which include size and dimensions, which are quantitative and not qualitative data. In order to better understand these concepts, its best to observe examples of particular datasets and how they can be defined. Observe which are qualitative and which are quantitative data sets in the following examples: The cats have orange, brown, black, or white fur (qualitative).The boys have brown, black, blonde, and red hair (qualitative).There are four black cats and five orange cats (quantitative).The cake was 50 percent chocolate and 50 percent vanilla (quantitative). Even when a particular feature or attribute of an object is qualitative, such as chocolate for the cake or black for the cats, the inclusion of a number in the data set makes it a quantitative one, though this interplay is important for the study of statistics as it provides categories for which mathematiciansà can then compare numerically. The Importance of Qualitative Data Whereas quantitative data is important in determining the particular frequency of traits or characteristics, the sizes, and dimensions of objects, and that sort of information about a given topic, qualitative data like the color of hair or skin of employees in a company or the healthiness of a pets coat can be important in statistical analysis, especially when paired with quantitative data about these qualitative features. Essentially, qualitative data is important because it allows statisticians to form parameters through which to observe larger sets of data. For instance, a company that wanted to determine the diversity of its workforce would want to look at a set of qualitative data like race and ethnicity of its employees as well as the quantitative data of the frequency of employees to belong to those races and ethnicities. Qualitative data provides the means for which observers can quantify the world around themââ¬âthere are three blondes, two brunettes, and three black-haired women at the table or there are 16à freshmen and 15 sophomores attending the annual band trip.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
The Effects Of Poverty, Racism, And Alcohol Use On Mr....
Seyifa Jarso Lit 112 Prof Virgen November 25, 2015 Raisin in the Sun A new study, based on censes figures from 1950 to 1980 shows that ââ¬Å"the United States largest cities have growing concentration of black Americans living in propertyâ⬠. While the overall rate of property in the nation increased slightly in those years to about 13 percent in 1980, the number of people in property in the 50 cities jumped 12 percent at a time, when the cities were losing population. During this time the urban problems are getting worse at precisely the time the nation is doing less about them. Black living in property in major cities has become a big concern for many political scientists, who see the increasing isolation of the poor as perpetuating theâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦That be ten thousand each. Course thereââ¬â¢s a couple of hundred you got to pay so you donââ¬â¢t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license get approvedâ⬠(1-494-496). He sees this investment as an opportunity to be his own boss and to finally prov ide for his family the way he feels he should. Walter wants to have what white people have, he lives in the shadow of his dead father and while that is universal, it was difficult for him because he is living in the 50ââ¬â¢s, during this time life was surely hard for everybody, especially for African Americans. In addition, he feel like less of a men, because he wasnââ¬â¢t supporting his family as he wanted. I think everyone can related to this solution. If you are in your thirties and live with your mother, and you cannot afford to provide for your family, this can be very stressful. African Americans werenââ¬â¢t allowed to live wherever they wanted during this time because of the suggestion issue, and this had an impact in his life, and also he did not had a chance to go to college. Further, Walter also wants to invest the money they received from insurance in Beneatha medical school. He says in the play, ââ¬Å"Now ainââ¬â¢t that fine! You just got your motherââ¬â ¢s interest at heart, ainââ¬â¢t you, girl? You such girl but if Mama got that money she can always take a few thousand and help you through school too-à ¬Ã ¬ canââ¬â¢t
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Love And Rhetoric In Plato free essay sample
# 8217 ; s Phaedrus Essay, Research Paper In Phaedrus, Plato discusses different facets and grades of love and rhetoric. The work is centered on three addresss and a concluding treatment of truth. Phaedrus reads the first address, written by Lysias, to Socrates. It suggests that a individual should non fall in love, or give favours to those that love them. Lysias defends his place by proclaiming that the lover is huffy. He besides says that by falling in love, one loses all sense of logic and ground. Socrates takes the place of Lysias in the 2nd address. He poetically gives love a definition and describes several negative effects that it can hold on the beloved. Socrates decides that his first address does non incorporate truth and rectifies it with a 2nd 1. In this address, he says that love is a signifier of lunacy, nevertheless it is good and non evil. Socrates so moves into a treatment about truth and rhetoric. He states that one must be supplying the truth in order to achieve pleasance from talking or composing. From the three addresss and the treatment of truth, analogues can be drawn between the lover and the philosopher, the improper lover and the poet. The morality of each is based upon truth. The lover and philosopher withhold high ethical motives because their pleasance is justified by truth. In contrast, the improper lover and poet can non warrant their pleasances with truth and are immoral.The non-lover, although claiming to be sensible, in fact proves himself to be unreasonable and immoral by prosecuting pleasance without seeking truth. His description of himself as a non-lover is a misrepresentation. He is non the antonym of the lover, but a lover that that manipulates ground in order to fulfill his appetency for pleasance and merely pleasance. Lysias attempts to convert his audience that the manner of the non-lover is the true and sensible 1. Knowing that his manner of life is non moral and looked down upon by society, Lysias begins his use of ground, # 8220 ; Whereas the adult male non in love, holding better control over himself, will likely subordinate repute to what is in fact the best coarse # 8221 ; ( 232 ) . Lysias claims that he is in control of himself. In world, he merely controls his ain logical thinking and allows himself to be directed by the appetency for pleasance. In this manner, he shows himself to be unreasonable and immoral. In Socrates # 8217 ; first address, while feigning to hold with Lysias, he argues that the non-lover is rational and that a lover can merely be rational one time he has abandoned his beloved. Upon go forthing the beloved, the non-lover can non maintain the promises that he one time made. Socrates provinces: When the clip comes to pay his debts he is under the sway of a new influence ; rational self-denial has replaced the lunacy of love, he is a different adult male and has forgotten is darling he is ashamed to s tate that he has changed, but does non cognize how to carry through the curses and promises which he made when he was the slave of irrational passion. ( 241 ) Assuming that the lover and non-lover are antonyms, Socrates infers that the non-lover is rational by claiming that the lover is a # 8220 ; slave of irrational passion # 8221 ; . Socrates does non intend for this statement to be taken earnestly, as he will subsequently explicate. His motivation is to demo Phaedrus the false logic behind the non-lovers line of concluding and make up ones minding what is and what is non rational. The proper lover is inspired by a Godhead lunacy and seeks the truth through his love, warranting any pleasances that he may have from his beloved. The lover is non the antonym of the non-lover but instead a moral lover who attains truth through the beauty of his beloved. When the lover looks into the eyes of his compulsion, he stares with awe and regard because he is seeing something Godhead. Harmoni zing to Socrates, the psyche is immortal. If the psyche does non follow the Gods in a proper manner, it loses its wings and falls to the Earth. Here the psyche must wait until it can one time once more grow wings. While the psyche is on Earth in the signifier of a human being, it on occasion sees a glance of the godly topographic point from which it has come: This so is the 4th type of lunacy, which befalls when a adult male, reminded by the sight of beauty on Earth of the true beauty he fixes his regard on the highs to the disregard of things below this is the best of all signifiers of Godhead inspiration it is when he is touched with this lunacy that the adult male whose love is aroused by beauty in others is called a lover. ( 250 ) Socrates explains that although love is a signifier of lunacy, it is from Eden and is inspired. Those that fall in love should be seen as though they have received a gift from the Gods. Unlike the non-lover, the lover seeks the truth with his spouse and is in that manner sensible. The Sophist is much like the improper lover because he does non seek the truth but instead deceives with the usage of address and authorship in order to acquire the reaction that he desires. Just as the non-lover manipulates ground in order to fulfill his appetency, the Sophist manipulates words. Socrates speaks to Phaedrus about d ifferent devices used in modern-day addresss. As he describes these methods, Socrates condemns and ridicules the Sophists for their deficiency of regard for the truth: Shall we leave buried in limbo work forces who saw that chance is to be rated higher than truth, and who could do fiddling affairs appear great and great affairs fiddling merely by the strength of their address Once, nevertheless, when Prodicus heard me speaking of this last achievement, he burst out laughing, and declared that he entirely had found the secret of artistic oratory, which is that addresss should be neither long nor short but of suited compass. ( 267 ) Socrates is depicting the manner that a Sophist can command an audience and do them believe what he wants, whether it is true or non. The words from Prodicus farther describe the use of the Sophist. He conveys the same thought utilizing many words or utilizing few words, depending on what is appropriate for a certain audience. This is another mark of the S ophist # 8217 ; s power to pull strings words and deceive like the improper lover. The philosopher is like the proper lover in that he seeks truth and for this ground can warrant the pleasance that he receives from the usage of words. Socrates himself gave into the enticement of words through his metaphors and poetic first address. He is, nevertheless justified in his pleasance, unlike the Sophist, because he uses these techniques to show the truth to Phaedrus. Unlike the improper lover and the Sophist, the philosopher receives pleasance in the chase of truth. Socrates explains that it is hard to get the better of the enticements of the Sophist, # 8220 ; This, nevertheless, is a end that can non be reached without great strivings, which the wise work forces will undergo non with the object of turn toing and covering with human existences but in order to be able to the best of his power to state and make what is acceptable in the sight of heaven # 8221 ; ( 274 ) .Socrates describe s the purpose of the philosopher to show the truth without any effort to lead on. Like the proper lover, the philosopher sees a glance of the truth and respects it with awe and regard. Harmonizing to Socrates, in the last pages of the duologue, the power of the written word does non hold the same authorization as that of the spoken word. Plato warns that this duologue is non to be taken as absolute truth, but merely as an illustration of what may be true. It is up to the person to make up ones mind what is truth, like love and doctrine, and what is merely a misrepresentation, like the non-lover and the Sophist.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Problems In Education And Society Essays - Educational Psychology
Problems in Education and Society According to "A Nation at Risk", the American education system has declined due to a "rising tide of mediocrity" in our schools. States such as New York have responded to the findings and recommendations of the report by implementing such strategies as the "Regents Action Plan" and the "New Compact for Learning". In the early 1980's, President Regan ordered a national commission to study our education system. The findings of this commission were that, compared with other industrialized nations, our education system is grossly inadequate in meeting the ezdards of education that many other countries have developed. At one time, America was the world leader in technology, service, and industry, but overconfidence based on a historical belief in our superiority has caused our nation to fall behind the rapidly growing competitive market in the world with regard to education. The report in some respects is an unfair comparison of our education system, which does not have a national ezdard for goals, curriculum, or regulations, with other countries that do, but the findings nevertheless reflect the need for change. Our education system at this time is regulated by states which implement their own curriculum, set their own goals and have their own requirements for teacher preparation. Combined with this is the fact that we have lowered our expectations in these areas, thus we are not providing an equal or quality education to all students across the country. The commission findings generated recommendations to improve the content of education and raise the ezdards of student achievement, particularly in testing, increase the time spent on education and provide incentives to encourage more individuals to enter the field of education as well as improving teacher preparation. N.Y. State responded to these recommendations by first implementing the Regents Action Plan; an eight year plan designed to raise the ezdards of education. This plan changed the requirements for graduation by raising the number of credits needed for graduation, raising the number of required core curriculum classes such as social studies, and introduced technology and computer science. The plan also introduced the Regents Minimum Competency Tests, which requires a student to pass tests in five major categories; math, science, reading, writing, and two areas of social studies. Although the plan achieved many of its goals in raising ezdards of education in N.Y. State, the general consensus is that we need to continue to improve our education system rather than being satisfied with the achievements we have made thus far. Therefore, N.Y. adopted "The New Compact for Learning". This plan is based on the principles that all children can learn. The focus of education should be on results and teachers should aim for mastery, not minimum competency. Education should be provided for all children and authority with accountability should be given to educators and success should be rewarded with necessary changes being made to reduce failures. This plan calls for curriculum to be devised in order to meet the needs of students so that they will be fully functional in society upon graduation, rather than just being able to graduate. Districts within the state have been given the authority to devise their own curriculum, but are held accountable by the state so that each district meets the states goals that have been established. Teachers are encouraged to challenge students to reach their full potential, rather than minimum competency. In this regard, tracking of students is being eliminated so that all students will be challenged, rather than just those who are gifted. Similarly, success should be rewarded with recognition and incentives to further encourage progress for districts, teachers and students while others who are not as accomplished are provided remedial training or resources in order to help them achieve success. It is difficult to determine whether our country on the whole has responded to the concerns that "A Nation at Risk" presented. Clearly though, N.Y. State has taken measures over the last ten years to improve its own education system. In many respects the state has accomplished much of what it set out to do, but the need to continue to improve is still present. Certainly, if America is determined to regain its superiority in
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