Free Essays on Mrs Wanda

Mrs. Wanda On July sixth, 1988, I turned five years old. It had been a difficult year. My parents were going through a tough divorce, and as much as a five-year-old could be bitter, I was. About three months after my dad moved out of our house, my mom got a new job. Of course this new job did not appeal to me at all. My mom had always been home with us. She had quit working when I was born, and had always devoted every second of her time to me. The only solution to the mom-going-to-work-thing was a babysitter. Mom began to take interviews in our living room every afternoon. As every nanny left, my head was the first to shake from left to right. I was a very aware five year old (and very spoiled too, so that didn’t help much). But for some reason my mom always listened to me. Because we were without a babysitter, we spent every day for about a month with my grandmother. One late August afternoon my family was called in to Deautrive Hospital. My great grandmother was sick and had been rushed there in an ambulance. A puzzled feeling came over me as I got out of the car. As I entered the hospital a stench arose in my nose. It was the scariest place that I had ever encountered. I slowly walked towards my grandmother’s room and my mom opened the door. She was laid out in a large hospital bed with her feet propped up. Nurses came in and out, giving her IVs and medicine. There was one particular nurse that stayed by her side the entire time. She was an African American lady of medium build with a sweet and concerned voice. It seemed as if we were in they hospital for hours. Throughout the time that we were there this one particular nurse kept me occupied. After a while, my mom and the nurse began to talk. My mom told her that she was looking for a babysitter. Within a week, the nurse called my house and an interview was set up. Kindergarten was beginning in a week, and we had just returned from buying school supplies at Wal-Mart. About... Free Essays on Mrs Wanda Free Essays on Mrs Wanda Mrs. Wanda On July sixth, 1988, I turned five years old. It had been a difficult year. My parents were going through a tough divorce, and as much as a five-year-old could be bitter, I was. About three months after my dad moved out of our house, my mom got a new job. Of course this new job did not appeal to me at all. My mom had always been home with us. She had quit working when I was born, and had always devoted every second of her time to me. The only solution to the mom-going-to-work-thing was a babysitter. Mom began to take interviews in our living room every afternoon. As every nanny left, my head was the first to shake from left to right. I was a very aware five year old (and very spoiled too, so that didn’t help much). But for some reason my mom always listened to me. Because we were without a babysitter, we spent every day for about a month with my grandmother. One late August afternoon my family was called in to Deautrive Hospital. My great grandmother was sick and had been rushed there in an ambulance. A puzzled feeling came over me as I got out of the car. As I entered the hospital a stench arose in my nose. It was the scariest place that I had ever encountered. I slowly walked towards my grandmother’s room and my mom opened the door. She was laid out in a large hospital bed with her feet propped up. Nurses came in and out, giving her IVs and medicine. There was one particular nurse that stayed by her side the entire time. She was an African American lady of medium build with a sweet and concerned voice. It seemed as if we were in they hospital for hours. Throughout the time that we were there this one particular nurse kept me occupied. After a while, my mom and the nurse began to talk. My mom told her that she was looking for a babysitter. Within a week, the nurse called my house and an interview was set up. Kindergarten was beginning in a week, and we had just returned from buying school supplies at Wal-Mart. About...

How to Make a Lichtenberg Figure

How to Make a Lichtenberg Figure Lichtenberg figures are branching structures formed by an electrical discharge on or inside of an insulator. The structures take their name from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, the physicist who discovered and studied them. Although you can  make your own Lichtenberg figure using polyethylene sheets and talcum powder, there is an easier method you may wish to try. Lichtenberg Figure Materials Sharp metal object (e.g., awl)Insulator (e.g., sheet of acrylic)Photocopier toner Make a Lichtenberg Figure Position the metal object so that only its tip is touching the surface of the insulator.If you have a Wimshurst machine or Van de Graaff generator handy, discharge it through the metal point into the acrylic. (Gray Matter has a cool video of what happens if you use a particle accelerator to create the Lichtenberg figure. Note that the hammer is insulated, thus preventing that persons skin from displaying a Lichtenberg figure. Be careful!)If you dont have a machine, youll have to generate static electricity another way, like by dragging your feet through a shag carpet and zapping yourself on the metal object... fun!In either case, you will create a Lichtenberg figure across the surface of the acrylic, radiating outward from the metal point. However, you probably wont be able to see it. If you (carefully) blow toner powder across the surface of the acrylic, the Lichtenberg figure will be revealed.

Practitioner Values in Dementia - Portfolio 2 Essay

Practitioner Values in Dementia - Portfolio 2 - Essay Example 872). These symptoms have been very evident on one of my residential home care patients named Ms. X. Ms. X is an 80-year old residential home care patient who is pleasant and receptive. She does not want to ask the help of others frequently but acknowledges the advice of the medical practitioners. Although her doctor told her that she has memory problems, Ms. X reports that it does not affect her daily life, except that her niece has to remind her of most of the things to do like turning the stove after cooking, closing the faucets, and even looking for her eyeglasses. Ms. X does not want to take a bath. Often, she would yell at me if I tell her that it’s time to take a bath. As she is receptive towards the help of others, she always insists on dressing up herself but got confuse and wears her underwear over her regular clothes. She wants to do the cooking and laundry in the nursing home but her frequent forgetfulness often leads to accidents such as making the residential hom e care at risk for fire and switching the powdered milk for laundry detergent. When I would remind her of these things that she cannot do, she would yell at me and humiliate my caring abilities. I felt much stressed about the full-time responsibilities of caring for Ms. X in the residential home care setting and this stress has escalated over the past few months because of the frequent yelling of Ms. X. She is also very impatient towards the nursing care I’ve given to her and there comes a time when I would like to quit from caring her but got guilty feelings towards these thoughts as there is no nearby family who could help her. In a case like this, I began to question myself of how would I personally explore and incorporate issues relating to my best interest, advocacy, and empowerment. Then, maybe, I have not yet fully understand the situation of Ms. X. I could have understood her clinical situations but not her personal shortcomings. It was not easy to have dementia and w orst, to be far away from your family which serves as your major social support in life. In addition, it must be also sad for her that she does not have a partner in life which could help her in her fight for dementia. If I would explore and incorporate issues related to my best interest, I would probably resign and request to not take good care of Ms. X as her frequent yelling is humiliating my status and morals as a nurse. However, I also think that staying and caring for her would also be promoting my best interest as this experience will help me grow professionally and will guide me in handling future patients with dementia. In the latest report of (http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk, 2013), the nurse has the full responsibility in exploring and incorporating issues of advocacy; thus, being a patient advocate may mean that a nurse assists, defends, pleads, or prosecutes for the patient while having collaboration with other professionals. In the case of Ms. X, I should ac t as an advocate in referring to the medical provider her progress report while inside the residential h

Hanukkah Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Hanukkah - Research Paper Example This account contains many of the elements that would evolve into the contemporary holiday. During this period it was indicated that a single candle be lit per household a night; a second option being that a candle be lit for each member of the family. This practice would carry on throughout a number of incarnations into the modern holiday.  Ã‚     There are a number of religious practices associated with the Hanukkah holiday. One of these rituals is the daily prayer service that occurs throughout Jewish homes and Jewish temples during the Hanukkah holiday. There is also a special prayer that occurs after nightly meals. Following the nature of the holiday season, Hanukkah is generally accompanied by families visiting each other and celebrating with elaborate feasts, with lots of fried foods (Gur 2008). While not required, each of the eight-days is generally accompanied by gift giving that slightly mirrors the Christmas holiday. Still, perhaps the most overarching ritual is the li ghting of the candles on each of the eight days. The lights can be candles or oil lamps and on each proceeding night a new light is added to the ceremony, until the final night with eight lights. Three main blessings occur during the Hanukkah celebration. The first night all three blessings are recited; however, on the other nights, only two of the blessings are recited. While there are elements of the Hanukkah holiday that are universal among all sects of Judaism, there exists some differentiation.

Essay about recent hate crimes and statistic Essay Example for Free

Essay about recent hate crimes and statistic Essay Lifeless bodies with slashed throats were found in the mountains of Virginia nearly six years ago. This is quite a disturbing image; the unfortunate result of a hate crime. What exactly is a hate crime? The American Psychological Association defines hate crimes as violent acts against people, property, or organizations because of the group to which they belong or identify with (1). The different groups usually involved include homosexuals, ethnic groups, and religion affiliations. Dr. Jack McDevitt, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston, said hate crimes are forms of messages the offender wants to send to members of certain groups letting them know they are unwelcome in that neighborhood, community, school or workplace (APA, 1). According to CNN.com, Darrell David Rice of Columbia, Maryland, was found guilty of committing the 1996 slayings of hikers Julianne Marie Williams and Laura Lollie Winans, who were the girls in the opening disturbing image. Rice is serving an 11-year sentence in federal prison in Petersburg, Virginia, for attempting to abduct and kill a female bicyclist in the same park in 1997. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft called the killings of Williams and Winans hate crimes and said Rice could also receive the death penalty, in addition to the present sentence (Frieden, 1). Examples of hate crimes provided by Stephen Wesslers Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives include (3):  ·the dragging death of African-American James Byrd, Jr., in Jasper, Texas  ·the deadly attack on Matthew Sheppard, a gay student in Laramie, Wyoming  ·the shooting rampage targeting minority citizens in Chicago  ·the shootings of children at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles  ·the murder of Joseph Santos Ileto, a Filipino-American mail carrier A report done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that 7,947 hate crime incidents were reported. In 1995, a comparison of states showed that California was at the top of the charts with 1,751 incidents reported, and Florida stood with 164 incidents (2). The total number of hate crimes only decreased by less than a hundred between 1995 and 1999. While these numbers may seem relatively small, the Southern Poverty Law Center has posted more dramatic statistics: every hour someone commits a hate crime, every day eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews and one Latino become hate crime victims, and every week a cross is burned (1). In order to prevent the hate crimes from occurring, different things are being done in order to prevent and deal with the hate crimes. In schools, the Anti-Defamation League websites suggests planning ahead by doing the following (1): 1.Work with your school administration to establish a plan for responding promptly to hate incidents and hate crimes. 2.Educate school staff on how to recognize hate-motivated incidents and hate crimes. 3.Establish procedures for reporting hate-motivated incidents/crimes. 4.Establish school policies which clearly indicate that hate-motivated behavior will not be tolerated. On a wider scale, since the 1980s research on hate crimes has increased, especially from those in the fields of criminology and law enforcement. There focus is primarily on reporting the frequency of the problem and preparing criminal justice responses to it. While many hate motivated crimes go unreported, the number of reported incidents is up. However, with special training, people are prepared to deal with the situations. According to Wessler, the first professionals to respond to the scene of a hate crime are police officers. How they act in the situation will affect  the outcome of the incident. Wessler stated, law enforcement agencies have a pivotal role in responding to, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes. Training is given to the police officers in order to carry out their role. Wessler said the training includes how to recognize and investigate potential hate crimes, have clear protocols on how to respond to hate violence, and develop innovative programs for preventing the hate crimes. Along with the professional training of police personnel, laws against hate crimes have been enforced in some states. As of 1999, there are only eleven states that do not have hate crime laws: South Carolina, Hawaii, Wyoming, New York, Kentucky, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Kansas, Arkansas, Georgia and Indiana. The anti-hate laws may not be well known but there are some out there. For example, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act provides assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies and amend federal law to streamline the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. This bill will change the already existing law, adding crimes against sexual orientation, gender, and disability. This law also allows authority to respond to all crimes covered by the existing law, meaning crimes based on race, color, national origin, and religion (1). The number of hate crimes is slowly being decreased and the number of laws against hate crimes is slowly being increased, but the truth is, they are still out there. It may seem impossible to eliminate all the hate crimes that are occuring, but with more research, training, and handling each situation as they arise more seriously, America is slowly on its way to eliminating the problem of hate crimes. Works Cited American Psychological Association. 1998. Anti-Defamation League. 1999. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports. 1995. Frieden, Terry. 10 Apr. 2002. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. NGLTF Communications Department. 25 Sep. 2002. Southern Poverty Law Center. Wessler, Stephen. Addressing Hate Crimes: Six Initiatives That Are Enhancing the Efforts of Criminal Justice Practitioners. Feb. 2000.

The Continual Oppression of the Homeless :: Essays Papers

The Continual Oppression of the Homeless The story of Eric Blair, also known as George Orwell, shows many aspects of poverty. Eric goes about everyday life that is completely and utterly different from every aspect of the average Americans life. He tells of various characters that are all attempting to escape the possessive hands of poverty. Each character has their own way of dealing with poverty. The problem is that none of them seem to escape. The stem of the problem can be found in many aspects of the book. The attitudes of the homeless, the operation of such homeless shelters as â€Å"The Spike†, along with the practices of the pawnshop and the actions of the coworkers all contribute greatly in oppressing the poor. There are also many characters that play a role in keeping the poor down. The first one that will be discussed is the role of the tramps play in their own oppression. Oppression is not something that can be forced on someone. It is something that they must accept and find to be true in order not to fight it. This brings up the issue the feelings deep inside a tramp that Orwell brings up. â€Å"Indeed, when one sees how tramps let themselves be bullied by the workhouse officials, it is obvious that they are the most docile, broken-spirited creatures imaginable† (202). This proves the first point that the only reason that those in this destitute class remain oppressed is because in essence they are allowing themselves to be oppressed. In order for the destitute homeless people to move up in the world they must prove first to themselves that they should not be oppressed. By allowing oppression, they are supporting it. Not only do the homeless not fight it but they admit themselves that they are not worthy of being praised. This attitude is exemplified by Boris in his talk with Orwell when Orwell first arrives and finds work as a plongeur, â€Å"Do you think a plongeur can afford a sense of honour?† (60). In saying this, Boris is proving the feelings that lurk behind those that work the low class jobs. They feel that they are so low that they do not even deserve their own honor. By not believing that they are worthy of their own honor they continue to hold themselves down.

How My Personal Values Influence My Way of Teaching

Relating philosophy to pedagogy – how my personal values influence my way of teaching Within any early childhood education (ECE) setting the pedagogy of the educators will have great impact on the programmes and philosophies which the children within that setting will be influenced by. Teachers have a responsibility to build and maintain authentic, open, reciprocal relationships with children, families and the community (Gailer, 2010).This is not only an integral part of the early childhood curriculum Te Whariki which has relationships as one of its four foundation principles (Ministry of Education [MoE], 1996) but also part of the teaching standards and ethics. As a teacher I relish in the chance to build relationships with many different children, all unique in their culture, strengths, ideas and way of being. The importance I place on relationships sits well with both Vygotsky’s and Bronfenbrenner’s sociocultural theories. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of the people surrounding a child, seeing them crucial for supporting and enhancing the child’s development.Bronfenbrenner extended this into a model of contextual factors, using ideas about five kinds of contexts surrounding the individual child including their micro- and meso-systems where the interactions of their day-to-day realities occur (Drewery & Bird, 2004). These theories have been vital in the development of New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum, Te Whariki, and so my understandings of these and with my personal philosophy I hope to have the skills to be able to build respectful reciprocal relationships with all learners. Building these relationships however is not as easy as people outside of the profession often assume.Appendix 2 shows Suzie Gailer’s (2010) article on being professional, the article discusses how professional integrity of practice is reliant on teachers having a particular set of values, respect, authenticity, empowerment and trans parency. The image of the child is culturally constructed and linked to our time and place in history, the image I have as a teacher today of children is very different to that of which I was viewed as a child. My image of the child has altered as I have gained both practical and theoretical teaching experience.In my first practicums I did not necessarily know what to expect about building initial relationships with children but as I have gained knowledge I now know that children can be trusted to build these relationships in timeframes which are right for them. Te Whariki (MoE, 1996) presents the image of children as competent learners and communicators and I now uphold this image in my teaching practice and as a parent (Appendices 3, 4 & 5), along with the values of respect which I have articulated through the following of Magda Gerber’s work.From my own relatively limited practical experience and theoretical knowledge I can relate to the notion of Edwards & Nuttall (2005) where â€Å"the pedagogy, or ‘the act of teaching’, is not only mediated by educators’ understandings about the children, learning, and the curriculum; their understandings about the social settings in which they work, their personal experiences beyond the workplace and their engagement with the centre’s wider community all have a role in determining the educator’s actions† (p. 36).My own underlying beliefs, values and philosophies all impact on my teaching style and, although often unconsciously, on the way I relate to individuals. Commitment to reflective practice, the personal philosophy I have articulated and the desire for professional development will aid me in holding true to a pedagogy which is responsive in time as well as to individuals. This pedagogy with its identified aspects of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation is influenced by my values and experiences and I attempt to explain and reflect upon these in this es say.The main assessment process I use is ‘Learning Stories’, an approach developed by Dr. Margaret Carr. Learning stories show a snapshot of a learning experience which has been shared with the child or children involved and are a record of the interests and strengths of the child. Research shows that learning is more effective when it is derived from interests, encouraging motivation and the sense of confidence that comes from working within one’s own strengths.The learning story framework is based on the belief that developing good learning dispositions is the most important skill in early childhood and this fits well with my values of respect and having the Te Whariki image of the child, a confident, competent learner and communicator. The foundations of learning stories are the dispositions found in Te Whariki and in my own learning stories these are highlighted, showing fellow educators, parents and whanau how I work to support children’s learning in all aspects of the programme and curriculum (Appendices 4, 6 & 7).Upholding this image of children in practice is however met with challenges. Woodrow (1999) describes how there are resulting constructions of childhood based on how individuals experienced childhood, on cultural artefacts and on professional knowledge, Ellen Pifer (2000) also describes these conflicting images in her book Demon or Doll (Appendix 8) which has truly opened my mind to ways of seeing individuals. Other teaching professionals may hold different images of children such as the child as innocent or as an embryo adult and this will impact on the way they act around and towards children.Having a commitment towards reflective practice and regularly evaluating my personal pedagogy will allow me to deal with these challenges, giving me the skills to explain my viewpoint and understand that of others so that the best possible outcome is achieved. To undertake such assessment it is important to build a relationship with the children and these reciprocal relationships are another key part of my philosophy.This value has changed with my experience and theoretical knowledge, in my initial practicum I was unsure about how to go about building relationships that are both respectful and reciprocal (Appendices 9 & 10) but my confidence in this has, and will continue, to grow (Appendix 11). I believe that building a reciprocal relationship means sharing aspects of my life with children and not expecting them to reveal themselves without the favour being returned. I have a huge passion towards animals and I have shared this with the children on my last two practicums by taking along my guinea pigs (Appendix 12).The children feel aspects of empowerment and trust as I allow them to be intimately involved with a very important part of my personal life. Building such relationships prior to undertaking assessment highlights the spiral nature of teaching and the aspects of pedagogies. Taking the guinea pigs to the centre required planning and careful implementation, including discussion with staff and families to ensure cultural needs were met. Some cultures do not agree with the keeping of animals as pets and in order to uphold the respectful image of the child and relationships with the family and community I needed to accept and respect this belief.The centre policies and legislation also play a role in planning and implementation, health and hygiene regulations needed to be considered for this activity and for others many different policies will come into play. For further assessment and planning the involvement of colleagues and whanau in the learning stories and other documentation would play a vital role in the continuation of the interest but unfortunately the short nature of the practicum did not allow for this.Cultural needs and matches weight heavily in the planning and implementation stages of my pedagogy. This is linked to all the values in my philosophy; relationships, r espect and equity. These values mean that I believe in focussing on skills and talents rather than on deficiencies to create learning environments, for example respecting that crying is a valid attempt at communication and can be a qualified learning experience (Appendix 11). Nyland (2004) describes how the participation rights and contexts of infants’ knowledge can be overlooked in childcare settings.On-line discussions with fellow students regarding this reading give support to the idea that disrespectful environments adversely affect the identity and participation of children. What happens in an environment when an identity is missing altogether and children are faced with images of white middle class able bodied members of society? What message is that giving to these children and their families? You don’t belong? You are not a real member of our society? We don’t value you? The environments we plan for the children speak volumes about how we view society an d the people we respect and value (Ellis, R. , Fuamatu, P. Perry Smith, A. M. Moodle; September 2011). During planning I therefore need to think ahead about resources which reflect the cultures within the setting and the community. This can be achieved through communication with other educators in the setting, parents, and other members of the community such as kaumatua or the local priest. Planning for social occasions is also important to me as I feel they link the ECE setting with the wider community and social values. This includes events such as Mother’s and Father’s day (Appendix 13) as well as cultural occasions such as the Lantern Festival, Diwali and Pasifika events.Although during such planning I am mindful of the goals and learning outcomes which Te Whariki and the teaching standards present I also constantly remind myself of the holistic nature in which the learning will occur. Lawrence (2004) describes the shift in thinking and programme planning in ECE se ttings over the past two decades, from keeping children busy to planning cycles and then Te Whariki. Lawrence clarifies that although the word planning is still used; it is not in the traditional sense of the word but rather can be seen as â€Å"reflectively responding to children’s thinking (p. 16). † An example in her rticle shows how the learning experience of children can be very different to that pre-planned or expected by the teacher (Appendix 14). A challenge presents itself where teachers have been trained and had experience in times where different planning programmes were utilised, disagreeing views and beliefs can lead to conflict within teaching teams and a dedication to reflective practice is required by all parties if favourable outcomes are to be reached. This reflective practice is a vital part of the evaluation process of my pedagogy. What worked? What didn’t work? Where do I go from here?Schon (2002) described how the entire process of reflecti on-in-action, where our knowing is in our action, is central to the skill practitioners have in dealing with situations of uncertainty, instability and uniqueness as well as valuing conflict. Holding true to a value where children are respected as individuals and valued for their own unique set of skills, uncertain and unique situations are inevitable in the day-to-day practice of an ECE setting. With the set of reflective skills I now possess I hope to be able to turn these situations of uncertainty into ones of learning, for both myself and children involved.With continuing professional development and an ever increasing amount of practical experience I feel I am in good stead to continue my career as an early childhood educator and support the children within my influence to grow up in line with the aspirations of Te Whariki, â€Å"competent and confident learners and communicators †¦ a valued contribution to society† (MoE, 1996, p. 9). References Drewery, W. & Bird, L. (2004). Human Development in Aotearoa: A journey through life. (2nd ed. ). Sydney, Australia: McGraw-Hill. Edwards, S. & Nuttall, J. (2005).Getting beyond the ‘what’ and the ‘how’; Problematising pedagogy in early childhood education. Early Childhood Folio, 9, 34-38. Gailer, S. (2010). Being professional: First, do no harm! The First Years: Nga Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 12(2), 19-24. Lawrence, R. (2004). Making sense of planning – A teacher’s story. Early Education, 36, 15-19. Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: Early Childhood Curriculum / He Whariki Matauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media. Nyland, B. (2004).Infants, context and participation rights: An Australian image. The First Years: Nga Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 6(1), 19-22. Pifer, E. (2000). Demon or doll: Images of the child in contemporary writing and cultur e. Virginia, USA: University of Virginia Press. Schon, D. (2002). Reflection-in-action. In A. Pollard (Ed. ). Readings in reflective teaching (pp. 5-7). London, England: Continuum. Woodrow, C. (1999). Revisiting images of the child in early childhood education: Reflections and considerations. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 24(4), 7-12.

Howard Zinn on Democratic Education Essay

Upon reading the book, Howard Zinn on Democratic Education, I felt a lot of questions I had regarding education was answered. I had always regarded education as something liberating, something that would be able to teach students how to become enlightened. That is why I read a lot of books. But regarding my schooling, I questioned why we are loaded with so much homework and tests, we end up not deeply understanding anything at all, because there is no time to process all the information. It is as if our schooling stunts our educational growth. Yet, the irony of it is they teach us so much facts of how, where, when, who, and what, but I had this nagging suspicion that teachers were hiding vital information from us. I did not know what exactly, but I always felt something was missing because I could not connect what I learned in school to what was happening to our country as I watched the news. It was as if there was a missing link, a key that would make everything make sense. Yet, as the years in the academe passed, I encountered no such link. Until now. It was as if my youthful objections found validation. I had always felt that my schooling lacked feeling. All these hard facts were discussed as if they did not involve people. We really never knew, through history, how terror felt when planes during the World War II flew overhead, or triumph when the war was declared over. It is not anybody’s fault. I think, history cannot be studied; it has to be lived. Although in my opinion, it can be remedied. Instead of sitting in classrooms all day, reciting facts, we should focus on gathering our own information regarding events. This does not mean reading even unassigned readings. I have always thought that people are not foolish. Each individual has a unique story, if we only care to listen. We should experience learning, and this can only be done by going out of the classroom, and learning from living people. After all, the papers our books are made up of were once living things too. The critical question now is, what now? Now that we possess such knowledge, what must we do with it? Knowledge that is not followed by action is a dead thing. We could start through transforming our own classroom, if we are to teach, or even in our own homes. Drop-out rates are not surprising due to the fact that so few kids feel remotely connected to their schooling. If we involve these kids, make them see that it is also their classmates’ loss if they do not attend classes, they can be pulled back into the academe. To do this, they must be able to feel that they can contribute something to the discussion, whether it be a question or an opinion. We must impress upon our minds that there are no right or wrong questions or opinions. Each comes from a different background (hence a different culture), so we must be patient and understanding. We must also find tangent points; we must connect the academe with their lives. We must do away with the notion that scholars have ivory towers. We must reconnect. Because this is what education does. It reconnects people with other people. It reconnects people with ideas. It reconnects people with opportunities. It reconnects people with hope. If all the attendants in a classroom participate freely and energetically, actively molding their curriculum to suit their individual needs, we will have captured the essence of a democratic education. Through this, we will have a truly democratic country. References Schugurensky, D. (2005). Howard Zinn on Democratic Education. International Journal of Citizenship and Teacher Education , 1, 99-100.

6 Steps For Building Your Author Mailing List

6 Steps For Building Your Author Mailing List 6 Steps for Building your Author Mailing List through Giveaways One of the main questions that torment debuting authors is: how do I build an audience for my first book before I release it? Most authors are aware that they should start building their author mailing list months in advance, they just don’t know how.  Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially if you haven’t published anything yet. But it’s not impossible to do, even while you’re writing your first book.Someone who has had some success in this area is Derek Murphy. Derek has been a longtime friend of Reedsy, and been in the business of publishing for quite a few years now (check out his cool site creativindie.com). He’s a great book designer and has helped a lot of authors with their marketing efforts. Recently, Derek decided to write his first fiction book (a YA novel). But before that, he wanted to build an audience for it. In an exclusive interview with us, he explains how he was able to build an author mailing list of 10,000 r eaders, from scratch, in less than a week.â€Å"One of the easiest ways to get a lot of sign ups quickly is to offer free giveaways. It’s much easier than trying to build great content that people share. I’ve been doing that for a long time and it takes work. Even if it’s really good you aren’t going to get that many shares or follows or likes. A contest is really pretty powerful.† – Derek MurphyYou can watch the full interview here, or read the post below where we condensed the information into a nice step-by-step guide (because that’s what we do!). Share the interview: Here's how to build an author mailing list of 10,000 readers, from scratch, in less than a week. 1. Set up your author mailing list and create an automated email sequenceYour first task is to set yourself up on Mailchimp. Once you have created your account, a signup form will show up. You can customise this form, share it on your author website, or any social media platforms you have. Start small, signing up friends and family and create an automated email sequence for every new subscriber who signs up.Maintain a single list of all your subscribers and segment it according to particular interest groups. This is so you can tailor your newsletters  according to the prizes you have to offer. Create a warm automated email sequence that encourages readers to interact with you. 2. Decide on the â€Å"giveaway† Facebook Ads for Authors (with Mark Dawson) Read post Target influential people in your genre. This is Derek’s tactic: â€Å"I made an email list of maybe 500 book bloggers in my genre and all the ‘BookTubers’ who talk about and review YA books on YouTube†¦ those are influencers, who have the traffic and platforms already, so I email all them about the contest†.Facebook targeted advertising is another approach to consider. Drive up subscribers to your author mailing list by targeted advertising to groups, pages or people. Find genre-specific pages to post your ads on so they are shown to people who are likely to enjoy  the  giveaway.â€Å"The nice thing about giveaways is that other people share for you. I will do targeted Facebook advertising to reach maybe a 1,000 people, and those people will share really hard†¦ they will promote the giveaway to all their friends...it’s not exactly going viral but you get quite a bit of traffic† – Derek MurphyThere are other platforms you can promote your giveaway on such as StumbleUpon’s Paid Discovery, Reddit’s advertising platform and promoted posts on Twitter.  Also consider collaborating with other authors or people who are also giving away prizes. If you do a shared competition promoting both of your products, you are pooling the contacts you both have, doubling the potential for subscribers. "The nice thing about giveaways is that other people share for you." – @Creativindie 5. Convert giveaway subscribers into a loyal fanbaseThere is some criticism of building an author mailing list through giveaways. After all, there is no guarantee that subscribers will be interested in your work simply because you are offering free prizes. So how do you create a loyal fanbase from this?â€Å"Most authors are probably not using the mailing list right. They are probably giving away free stuff and then trying to sell their book right away†¦ That’s not going to work. First you must educate them about who you are: they are signing up for free stuff, they don’t know that I’m an author yet. There are ways to slowly introduce them to that idea, and it’s not by selling them my book.† – Derek MurphyContinue with smaller campaigns, particularly using Gleam or Rafflecopter that link to your author blog and websites which subscribers can read if they want to. This process needs to happen gradually as an indirect way to introduce your list to the fact you are an author.â€Å"I won’t try to sell my books to this list† says Derek. â€Å"I’m mainly using it for free downloads and book reviews. If I can give away a thousand copies of my book and I give them a reason to go download it and review it I can probably get a couple hundred reviews in the first couple days of my launch†. Reviews are essential for the successful marketing of a book. "You need to be getting thousands of downloads to get hundreds of reviews". You cannot achieve this if you start charging for your book too early as a first-time author. Your giveaway subscribers won't be receptive to the 'hard sell'. Build a relationship with them first. 6. Keep in touch with your fanbase regularlySend out a monthly newsletter to your author mailing list, such as ‘My top 10 books for December 2015’ so contestants keep opening your emails. Give a brief review of each one and an Amazon link where they can buy the book. This will also provide you with cash flow through the Amazon affiliate program.Eventually, contact your list telling them there are no more giveaways. This will be a way of finding out where your true fanbase lies. Even if the majority of people unsubscribe to your emails, the aim would be to have 1,000-2,000 people who are genuinely interested in your work who will be willing to buy your books in the future. Eventually, clean up  your list by telling your subscribers there are no more giveaways. ConclusionThere’s one thing we haven’t mentioned yet: costs. Giving stuff away is not free, all the more if you’re promoting the giveaway through advertising. Derek’s campaign cost him around $600-700 (full breakdown here).This sounds like a lot. However, it is not uncommon for authors to spend this amount on marketing with no clearly defined results over a much longer time period. The difference with this approach is after the initial costs, you can instantly reconnect with your subscribers for free in the future. As we say in the interview, â€Å"you build your own personal Bookbub list†.What are  your strategies for growing your author mailing list? Have you ever tried giveaways? Let us know about your experiences, or ask Derek any question, in the comments below!

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