Oral Reading And Reading Comprehension Performance English Language Essay

Oral Reading And Reading Comprehension Performance English Language Essay Reading ability has always been considered as a critical measurement in language education. It involves both reading behaviours and reading comprehension. Among all the different reading behaviours, there are many debates around whether oral reading has any influence on the reading comprehension performance or not. Hence, this study has been focused on the relationship between oral reading and the comprehension performance of second year students in Shandong Normal University, China. The grades of participants who participated in two reading comprehension tests, before and after a 6-week oral reading practice experiment had been measured and compared. Results had revealed a significant correlation between everyday oral reading practice and reading comprehension performance in late-teen and early-twenty EFL/ESL university students. The practice of oral reading showed significant influence on reading comprehension performance in the test. Most of groups showed that oral reading practic e had positive influence on the reading comprehension performance. Feedback suggested that oral reading experiment was successful because it helps in improving the scores of the reading comprehension test. It is recommended that English as foreign language or second language (EFL/ESL) teachers and students use oral reading as a practicing method and reading method during English learning. And also employ it as a reading method in reading comprehension outside examination. Beside the benefits of the oral reading method on reading comprehension performance, a clear bottleneck was also observed in this method during the investigation. As a consequence, to improve reading comprehension performance in EFL/ESL study, more factors such as vocabulary capacity, analysis ability of sentences and the understanding of the background culture would need to be taken into consideration, apart from the oral reading practice. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Reading methodologies take an important part in both first language and second/foreign language learning (Alshumaimeri, 2005; Grabe, 1991; Jackson Coltheart, 2001; McCallum, Sharp, Bell, George, 2004; Prior Welling, 2001). In general, there are three reading methods used in language learning and teaching, oral reading, silent reading and subvocalization. Oral reading usually refers to the act of reading aloud, either to oneself or to audience. Silent reading, as stated in the phrase itself, it is the act of reading to oneself without pronouncing words out aloud. Subvocalization, which is similar to silent reading, however, is defined as the internal speech made when reading word, thus allowing the reader to imagine the sound of the word while reading (Carver, 1990). The term refers to the movement of muscles associated with speaking originally. But most subvocalization is undetectable even by the person using it (Carver, 1990; Rayner, et al, 1994). Reading comprehension refers to the ability of understanding of a written text or message (Keith, et al, 2001). This understanding of the writing comes from the words themselves, and the knowledge outside the written text can be triggered (Keith, et al, 2001). Reading comprehension performance is one of the essential criteria in language education (Bernhardt, 1991). There are many different methodologies of teaching reading comprehension throughout the centuries (Adams, 1994; Keith, et al, 2001). Modern methodologies usually stressed on using model strategies to analyse or interpret the passages (Pressley, 2006). There is no definitive set of strategies, but general ones include summarizing what you have read, monitoring your reading paragraphs, and analysing the structure of the text (Pressley, 2006). Some programmes teach students how to self monitor whether they are understanding and provide students with tools for fixing comprehension problems. These kinds of methods have also be en highly used in English education in China, in order for students to target high reading comprehension scores in the examination. This study was focused on the influence of reading behaviour on reading comprehension performance; hence, these technical strategies and their effects on the reading comprehension performance of EFL/ESL students would not be discussed further in this dissertation. 1.2 Previous literatures and researches on Oral Reading Previous studies on the effects of reading methods on the comprehension performance had shown significant differences between the different reading methodologies. Oral reading had the best effect on comprehension performance among the three reading methods (Alshumaimeri, 2011). In Alshumaimeris research, all groups stated that oral reading was the most preferred reading method with the most of students reporting it was the best method to support reading comprehension. Feedback suggested that this method was preferred because it helps in memorizing words and texts, concentration, and practicing and pronouncing words for real world encounters (Alshumaimeri, 2011). For decades, investigators have stressed the importance of oral reading to children in first language teaching situations in many cultures, not only as a method of encouraging children to read, but also of developing their reading comprehension ability (Alshumaimeri, 2005; Grabe, 1991; Jackson Coltheart, 2001; Juel Holmes, 1981; McCallum, Sharp, Bell, George, 2004; Prior Welling, 2001; Rowell, 1976, Yang, 2008). Oral reading has been considered as an essential approach in teaching pronunciation, vocabulary recognition and memorisation, during the early stages of foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) learning. There are many debated around the topic for decades. With the fast-developing technologies involved in the teaching activities, traditional teaching and learning strategies like oral reading, had been considered as an out-dated methodology, and discouraged by some EFL/ESL teachers (Amer,1 997). Hill and Dobbyn pointed out in their research that oral reading could be a waste of class time in 1979 (Hill Dobbyn, 1979). This situation is especially is especially critical in Chinas education system, since the focus is generally on improving the examination grades, rather than using a language practically. Another reason for oral reading has been overlooked by many teachers is because of lacking scientific instructions; consequently, students could not use oral reading as an efficient method to practice a foreign language after class in a non-native speaking environment (Yang, 2008). On contrary, researches had demonstrated that oral reading with scientific techniques could be beneficial in proof-reading, pronunciation practice, and fluency of conversations (Cho Choi, 2008; Gibson, 2008; Rennie, 2000; Reutzel, Hollingsworth, Eldredge, 1994; White, 1982). A survey conducted by BBC on the influences of oral reading on EFL/ESL at the EFL/ESL forum (Gao Xia, 2006), in which 98% of the 314 EFL teachers thought that oral reading had essential functions on English learning (Gao Xia, 2006) The majority of EFL/ESL teachers suggested oral reading as an essential English learning method based on teaching experiences (Gao Xia, 2006; Yang, 2008) 1.2.1 Oral reading in English Learning In China, or other countries where students learn English as a foreign language, the input of the target language is very low in daily life. The output of a language requires the understanding of large amount of the input first (Krashen, 2009). Oral reading is generally considered as an essential and effective way of the foreign language input. In China, the purpose of learning English as a second language has moved from understanding and using the language, to target high scores in various examinations in order to gain high grades, or get into and graduate from universities. As a consequence, the most of English teachers in China, especially the ones in secondary schools, colleges and universities, focus the English teaching and learning on the grammar, writing skills and reading comprehension test skills. Few teachers are actually taken oral reading or reading aloud as a regular teaching strategy during classes or as a regular practicing method for students. The lack of oral readin g practice in long term could result in a lack of the language input in a non-native speaking environment. Therefore, many students in China who have learnt English for many years have a good amount of vocabulary and well understanding of the grammar, and had passed many examinations including CET-4 and CET-6, still have troubles to use English fluently when needed. The lack of the language input during foreign language learning would result in lack of the scenes of the target language. Therefore, as suggested by many educators, oral reading is an effective, concentrated, and enhanced input route for language information. It could help EFL/ESL students to enrich their information pool of the target language and also provide the base of imitating and expressing the language for students language output. From imitating the reading material, the information in the texts would be converted into their natural and fluent expression and communication. Educators suggested that there are several reasons why oral reading takes an important part in English teaching and learning. Firstly, oral reading is a method to improve pronunciation and speaking ability. With the correct direction from English teachers, students could be benefit from oral reading practice for their pronunciation, voice tone. Additionally, during the oral reading behaviour, students eyes, mouths, and ears can all be involved. It can enhance the corresponding area in the brain to process the sound. So effective reading aloud practice is also a good foundation for listening. Thirdly, oral reading can improve the sense of phrase during foreign language learning in a non-native speaking environment. The process can also help student to concentrate on the text and memorise vocabulary (Alshumaimeri, 2011). With all the advantages of oral reading practice above, as suggested by Halliday in his An introduction to Functional Grammar, reading texts aloud would help the reade r to understand complicated contents (Halliday, 1994). Moreover, it has also been suggested that oral reading to help foreign language learners to improve their written communication skills. By imitating the language during oral reading, students could overcome the effect of their first language on the writing skills. Correct guidance of oral reading is essential in English learning. Reading aloud without wise strategies would not have any positive input in the learning process, which is a great waste of time and energy. As suggested by researchers, ESL/EFL teachers should pay attention to oral reading during the class to inspire students interests in oral reading. Teachers should also provide clear demonstration of the correct pronunciation and tone. And also explain the differences between the first language and foreign language. In addition, students are encouraged to practice oral reading regularly outside the class spontaneously. Furthermore, the reading materials should be well-selected. Articles, passages or books written by the native speakers of the target language with approximately 5% of new vocabulary are suggested to be suitable reading materials. To sum up, oral reading is an essential methodology that can improve many skills in English learning, including pronunciation, vocabulary, intonation, voice tone, and the sense of the language. Many researchers and educator believe that oral reading can improve the reading comprehension performance. Therefore, this study would like to investigate the relationship between oral reading practice and the reading comprehension performance of Chinese university students, through a series of designed oral reading practicing experiment. 1.3 Previous literatures and researches Reading Comprehension The research of reading comprehension has begun to increase rapidly in 1970s (Thorndike, 1973). It has then increasingly become the main standard in language understanding. As mentioned above, reading comprehension is described as the level of understanding of a content or text. In this thesis, the word text is used to refer to the written materials, which have specific meanings in semantics, informative in pragmatics, coherent in logic and cohesive in linguistics; it carries out the communication functions and conveys the interactive purposes between the writer and the reader; it depends on context, linguistic or non-linguistic, in which the textural meaning can be perceived by the reader. 1.3.1 Reading Comprehension of Text Reading comprehension is generally a fundamental mean for people to get information. Readers integrate and comprehend the text information on the basis of al parts of information. They complete their comprehension according to part and whole understanding of the text. Therefore, reading comprehension relies on the interaction of meaning between local and whole information. Text theory has become central to contemporary linguistic sciences. Text is considered as central to the construction of reality as entities are brought into existence, given meaning and significance. The purpose of reading is to uncover the meaning underlying in texts, and to examine the pattern of text and to link them to social backgrounds. Through the past few decades, the research on reading comprehension of text has been made more progress through the efforts of many text linguists (Gao, 2010). Reading comprehension of the text requires perceiving auditory and visual inputs, process these inputs in their highly complex cognitive systems (Anderson and Pearson, 1984). Reading comprehension began with the studies on memory and representation. The current researches of reading comprehension involve in the study on the retrieval of central concepts, different dimensions of situational models and different processing of text information. English reading comprehension theories developed from the earliest Grammar-Translation theory to current situational model theory. Through the empirical researches and English reading teaching theories, the above two research fields tend to draw together. Both fields had developed from linguistic micro aspect to semantic macro aspect. In the field of psycholinguistics, reading comprehension of text refers to the capacity to construct new knowledge from the written text (Anderson and Pearson, 1984) and apply the acquired information to new situations (Kinstch, 1998). The Propositional Theory, the Schema Theory and the Mental Models are considered as the three most influential psycholinguistic theories of reading comprehension of text (Gunning, 1996). 1.3.2 Brief Comparison between Reading Comprehension Theories The three main reading comprehension theories identified by Gunning in 1996 will be described and compared briefly in this section. Propositional Theory: According to Gunning, the Propositional Theory engages the reader constructing a central idea as they process the text. These central ideas are organised in a hierarchical pattern with the most important factors given the highest priority to be memorised (Gunning, 1996). Schema Theory: Schema, came from Greek which means shape or plan. The term has been introduced into education by Bartlett in 1932 (Bartlett, 1932). According to Bartlett, a schema was defined as a complex knowledge structure which groups all the information an individual knows about or associates with a particular concept. The term was linked with reconstructive memory by a series of experiments demonstrated in Bartletts work (Bartlett,1932). By presenting participants with information that was unfamiliar to their cultural backgrounds and expectations and then monitoring how they recalled these different items of information (stories, etc.), Bartlett was able to establish that individuals existing schemata and stereotypes influence not only how they interpret schema-foreign new information but also how they recall the information over time.(Wikipedia) The Schema Theory in had been studied and developed by many researcher ever since. In 1980, Rumelhart had taken an important breakthrough of the sche ma theory in reading comprehension, by portraying individuals understanding of tales and stories (Rumelhart, 1980). Later, the schema in text theory refers to content schema, where the the readers understanding of the text might depend on having a clearly established context for the text. Gunning (1996) defines a schema as the organized knowledge that one already has about people, places, things, and events. Kitao (1990) says the schema theory involves an interaction between the readers own knowledge and the text, which results in comprehension. This schema, as Gunning defined, can be very broad, such a schema for natural disasters, or more narrow, such as a schema for a hurricane. Each schema is filed in an individual compartment and stored there. In attempting to comprehend reading materials, students can relate this new information to the existing information they have compartmentalized in their minds, adding it to these files for future use. Based on the Schema Theory, depending on how extensive their files become, their degree of reading comprehension may vary. (website) For instance, the researches of reading comprehension sometimes term as formal schemata, which reveal previous experience of a certain text type. For instance, readers usually expect to see an abstract, a background review, a methodology and analysis and discussion of data in a scientific paper. This kind of schema provides the expectation about the style of the text. Schema could also be used to represent the meaning representation built up by a reader during processing a particular piece of text. People begin to read texts with expectations about the content, which can be derived from the title or from the purpose of the texts. These enable people to develop a text-specific schema even before reading. More information might be added to the original schema, or the initial schema might be revised during the reading. (Sample Paper) Schema is different between languages. There are three possible changes of schemata. The change is involved when small adjustment is made temporarily in order to confront immediate needs. Accretion modifies a schema gradually but when new information is acquired or repeated examples of contrary evidence are accumulated, the schema may be changed. Restructuring occurs when a sudden insight or new piece of knowledge leads to radical reorganisation of existing knowledge structures. (Sample Paper) To sum up, the schema theory, as the mental representations of typical situations, are used in text processing to predict the contents of the particular situation which the text describes. The idea is that the mind which is stimulated by key words or phrases in the text, or by the context, activates a schema of knowledge, and uses this schema to understand the text. Mental Model Theory (Dominican.edu website) Another major theory we would like to discuss is the Mental Model. This model can be thought of as a mind movie created in ones head, based on the reading content. Gunning gives a detailed description of this process, stating that a mental model is constructed most often when a student is reading fiction. The reader focuses in on the main character and creates a mental model of the circumstances in which the character finds him or herself. The mental model is re-constructed or updated to reflect the new circumstances as the situation changes, but the items important to the main character are kept in the foreground according to Gunning, (1996). Perkins (1991) identifies that sometimes misconceptions about important concepts reflect misleading mental models of the topic itself or the subject matter within which it sits. There are, however, interventions the teacher can do to help the reader to stay on track and create a more accurate picture. One suggestion is for the teachers to ask the students to disclose their mental models of the topics in question, through analogy, discussion, picturing, and other ways. This information gives the teacher insight on the students knowledge gaps and misconceptions, therefore allowing them to help students reconstruct a more accurate picture. 1.3.3 Reading Comprehension in Foreign Language Study Reading comprehension is one of the critical teaching objectives in all foreign languages education. The ability of reading comprehension is also an important factor to evaluate the learners language competence. Studies on first language learning showed that the comprehension performance is better when reading silently (Bernhardt, 1983; Leinhardt, Zigmond, Cooley, 1981; Wilkinson Anderson, 1995). Nevertheless, recently study from Teng suggested that reading comprehension results had no significant difference between oran and silent reading (Teng, 2009). In EFL/ESL learning, Al-Qurashi et al had proposed that oral reading was only beneficial in acquisition; for reading comprehension, silent reading is better strengthened (Al-Qurashi, Watson, Hafseth, Hickman, Pond, 1995). While researchers continue to explore the effectiveness of oral reading on both language acquisition and comprehension, many questions remain unanswered. Further research on the relationship between oral reading s and reading comprehension is needed in order to enhance EFL teaching methodologies and to improve learning outcomes. This research furthers understanding of the relationship between oral reading and comprehensio n performance at later stage of EFL/ESL learning. As such, findings would assist colleges or universities, the EFL/ESL researchers, educators and students. 1.3.4 The Previous Research on the Correlation between Oral Reading and Reading Comprehension Oral reading and reading comprehension are different reading activities that are related and interact to each other. Research had been done on the two aspects from various perspectives, including psychological linguistics, neurological linguistics, cognition and the functions in foreign language education. Oral reading is a reading activity that expresses the emotions using reading skills, such as stress, rhythm or tone, in the linguistic materials. It involves reading out aloud the words, sentences or passages, with eye sight focusing on the texts. It is different from a mechanical word-to-word articulating process. Oral reading is a more complex and cognitive process which engages not only pronouncing, reading, and listening, also language perception, comprehension and production of the reader. Previous research suggested that oral reading represented a complicated and dynamic performance that indicate the individuals sensorial skill at automatically recognising orthographical representations, unitising those components into recognisable wholes and automatically accessing lexical representations, processing meaningful connections within and between sentences, relating text meaning to prior information, making inferences to supply missing information, and his production skill the form ulation and execution of speech plan, the performance on which characterises the readers overall language proficiency (Gao, 2006). The psychological process of oral reading had also been investigated. During the activity of oral reading, the reader could formulate the phonetic plan and convert it into vocal sound after comprehending the text (Gao, 2007). Then the input of information could activate the lemma in the mental lexicon  ¼Ã‹â€ Yang, 2008 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °. Text is a language phenomenon based on psychological activites and also a product of psychological process. Reading comprehension of the text involves how people recognise auditory and visual inputs, process and understand the input information in the highly complex cognitive systems. In the field of psycholinguistics, reading comprehension of the text refers to the capacity to construct new knowledge from the written text (Anderson and Pearson, 1984) and apply the acquired information to new situations (Kinstch, 1998).] Furthermore, the performance of reading comprehension is an indicator of the foreign language students competence. If one has difficulty in the comprehension of reading, his or her execution of phonetic plan, mechanisms of articulation and monitor cannot work together simultaneously and effectively. His or her oral reading performance could be stumbled and mistaken as well. Thus, the process of both oral reading and reading comprehension are relevant to cognition and psychology of human. 1.4 Significance and Aims of the Study The main aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between oral reading and comprehension performance. Previous literatures suggested that the oral reading method is correlated to the comprehension performance during language studies among young children and teenagers (Alshumaimeri, 2005; Rowell, E.H. (1976).). Alshumaimeri s research on the effects of different reading methods on the comprehension performance in 10th grade Saudi male students indicated that, reading comprehension performance could be benefited from oral reading method because it could help students to concentrate on the passages and memorise new vocabulary (Alshumaimeri, 2011). The research from Alshumaimeri was conducted among teenagers. Additionally, the experiment was designed to investigate the reading comprehension performance after oral reading the passages (Alshumaimeri, 2011), i.e. the immediate effect of oral reading on comprehension performance. However, the experiment was designed differently in th is study to investigate the long-term effect of oral reading on reading comprehension performance. Therefore, this study has been carried out among second year students in Shandong Normal University in China, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. This study has aimed to investigate the influence of oral reading practice on reading comprehension performance, in ESL/EFL students with relatively long English learning history and who already have relatively higher ability in English. Because with the development of English teaching and learning strategies, and the ability of self-learning and gaining resources by students, oral reading is more neglected with the age increasing as well, especially for college and university students, who despise oral reading as a leaning method because it is time consuming, childish and shows no immediate improvements in examination grades. Therefore, the ability of reading comprehension would be measured by two designed multiple-choice tests, before and after a 6-week oral reading practice experiment. The scores from both tests would be ana lysed to investigate the relationship between oral reading practice and the reading comprehension performance. Besides the quantitative data comparison from the reading comprehension tests, the opinions from both students and English teachers participated in this research on oral reading and reading comprehension would be collected by questionnaires. This aimed to investigate the attitude of oral reading and reading comprehension from both learners and teachers point of views during EFL/ESL education. These results would be valuable for future English as a foreign language education. Theoretical exploration and quantitative analysis would be illustrated in the thesis; experimental data would be processed with SPSS to support the theory as well. 2. Methodology The study mainly focused on discovering whether the students performance of oral reading would have any positive influence on students reading comprehension performance. Additionally, the work of EFL/ESL teacher in China put in teaching correct oral reading techniques to improve their ability in reading comprehension performance. In order to get reliability and validity data and results, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in this research. In the foreign language education field, quantitative research is objective, noticeable, and outcome-oriented, which can be generalised. On contrary, qualitative research is more subjective, contextual and process-oriented, during which the process is based on systematic methods. In this section, the key questions involved in this study would be discussed, followed by research subjects (university teachers and students), research procedures (experimental design, implement process and data collection), and measurements (pre-test, post-test, questionnaires and teaching experiments). 2.1 Research Questions The study was designed to investigate the influence of oral reading practice on reading comprehension performance, and the relationship between the two. The key questions in this study are as follows: How to use oral reading as an effective teaching method in English classes regularly? How often do students use oral reading as an exercise technique in their self-study time? What is the relationship between oral reading and reading comprehension performance? Would the oral reading experiment have positive influence on the reading habit of students? The research of these questions would be illustrated in the Results section, and the answers to these key questions would be discussed further in the Discussion section. 2.2 Research Subjects The experiment around the topic was carried out in second year student in Shangdong Normal University, China. A full-time university could be used to represent the majority of universities in China. A group of 120 non-English department students were chosen as the research subject in this study. They could represent most of the English learning students in China. As second year university students, they usually have a good understanding in English by passing the National Entrance Examination of China, and had leant English for approximately 9 years since the fourth grade in primary schools. The average age of the chosen students was around 19 to 21; and participants were selected from both genders. More importantly, they have similar education background and English level in the reading comprehension. The non-English-specialised College English Test Band 4 (CET-4), which is a national English as a Foreign Language test in China, could be used as a standard to measure the ability of t he participants in the reading comprehension study. The purpose of the CET is to examine the English proficiency of undergraduate students in China and ensure that Chinese undergraduates reach the required English levels specified in the National College English Teaching Syllabuses (NCETS). The level of CET-4 could be considered as around 5.5 to 6 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The 120 participants were selected from 300 non-English-specialised students from different departments who join the research on their own will. Their scores were fall between 25% and 40% in the pre-experimental reading comprehension test (details in the next section). This score range represents a group of students who have certain understanding in English but with lower level in the reading comprehension. As a consequence, there is a big gap to see the improvements in this study. After the selection, there were 79 female students and 41 male students were chosen for the next step experiment. The reason for the difference in genders was due to that the female student proportion was naturally higher in this University. However, since the purpose of this study was not focus on the effect of oral reading on reading comprehension performance between genders, this big difference could be accepted in this research. The gender proportion information is illustrated in Tabe.1 below. Gender Number Percent

The Climate Crisis

The Climate Crisis Global warming: an increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution. Given the definition it may not sound as scary as it actually is. The whole process of global warming is a science in itself. It may also be known as ‘the climate crisis' because scientists believe that the occurrence of such extreme temperatures will bring our earth to turmoil. Almost) President A1 Gore irected an Academy Award winning documentary on the topic called ‘An Inconvenient Truth'. The film went into great detail on evidence that scientist have found about the effects of global warming. Awareness was the meaning behind Gore's movie but the first step to helping ourselves is knowledge. The Sun plays the main part in the process of global warming. It shines its rays down on earth giving us heat and reflecting back up into the atmosphere. Kind of like when you s hine light in a mirror, it reflects back at you.It has been discovered that the Sun's magnetic field has doubled since 1900. This tells us that changes in the Sun have had a hand in the recent general warming of the earth's climate. If the sun's rays come down on earth and are trapped from going back into the atmosphere it causes the temperature to rise and therefore causes numerous issues with the climate and our personal health. Pollution is the main cause of global warming. It is defined as: the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Some examples areCarbon monoxide, Sulfur dioxide, Chlorofluorocarbon, and Nitrogen oxide produced by big industries and car emissions. When there is an overabundance of pollution in the air the sun's rays get trapped on earth because of something called the Ozone layer. The Ozone layer is the part of the Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of Ozone (03). This causes the ozone to be like a blanket on to p of the earth which then causes the temperature to rise. Drastic changes in the weather have been the cause of two storms killing millions of people in the last entury.Scientists behind Gore believe this is Just the beginning of things to come from global warming. They have discovered that since the earth is so hot the snow caps from the northern and southern poles are melting. This is causing our beaches to be washed away from rise in sea level. In the future it is predicted that the sea level will rise at least an inch per year. It may be inevitable but it isn't completely unstoppable. When you think of the things like warm days spent on the beach, you should probably cherish them.Someday they may not be there for you to enjoy as your summer tradition. There are some ways you can help reduce the occurrence of the ‘climate crisis' that you may not even know about. Changing a light bulb toa fluorescent light bulb will change 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Recycling and driving less also stop pollution therefore helping our ozone layer out. Global Warming may be something we can't completely stop but we can certainly try to keep it within controllable limits. By ashleymariel 114

Underrated Concerns About Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids

Underrated Concerns About Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids Students ought to be permitted to pray in school. They must be careful about what they post on social media. They are used to the fact that their professors give them the assignment's topic. Don't neglect to bring a strong hook at the beginning (introduction paragraph) and wind up with an impressive conclusion to earn the reader want to talk about the interesting persuasive essay topics of your selection. He should take the author's side by the end of the reading. You can supply your subject of interest to the essay writers. Opt for an intriguing essay topic, and you are going to start enjoying it. Always think deeply about how to make an excellent essay structure it's a significant part academic writing. You may believe that interesting essay titles do all of the work, permitting you to add obvious examples and share ordinary ideas. Another good idea is to receive some completely free essay examples of different kinds and on various subjects to find a general idea of the way in which a prosperous debatable paper looks. At precisely the same time, it's an amazing persuasive essay idea. Type of Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids Before students begin to write, it is a fantastic idea for them to earn a list of the points they wish to make to their readers. Yearly driving tests ought to be mandatory for the initial five years after obtaining a license. The Benefits of Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids There are just a few things that define whether an essay you're working on is going to be a good one. Although having the ability to write persuasively can look like a tricky thing for children to learn, remind them that everyone has valid opinions. Speaking about something you understand well makes it a lot easier and enjoyable! Second, talk what you shouldn't do instead of what has to be accomplished. Persuade your friend to see the movie you desire. Among the most frustrating things for a youthful person to run into is being told that you cannot access or take part in something as you do not meet the age requirement. Persuade your sister or brother that will help you talk your parents into something you would like to do. School should occur in the evenings. A minumum of one parent should work at home. School tests aren't effective. Yearly driving tests ought to be mandatory over a specific age. To compose an outstanding essay, it's crucial to use specific academic language. Strategies for writing book reports on books you haven't even read. Books never ought to be banned. You've got a favourite book, but your library doesn't have any copies of it. The Most Popular Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids Our life is about words. Fun element is engaged in all parts of writing. Famous people set a terrible example for kids. Dangerous animals ought to be killed. Key Pi eces of Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids Fast food ought to be taxed. There are a lot of things which can be discussed in regards to education. Though people believe education is a correct and will make society, generally, a better place for everybody, others feel there's no genuine way to provide a free college education as colleges would still have to be funded (likely through tax dollars). Argue that public higher education has to be free for everybody. To choose which subject you're likely to discuss, it's essential to see the complete collection of good persuasive speech topics from the special area of study. Selecting the correct topic for a persuasive speech can be not such an easy matter to do as it might appear. Research is imperative to understand what catchy and fun persuasive speech topics that you want to write about. When it has to do with writing, you always have a chance to learn, and it is far better to learn from the very best of the very best. Why free speech needs to be abolished. How some advertising can be quite powerful. When designed for a speech, topics you make will come to be truly capturing as soon as you stick to the tips above. Many people wind up covering the exact tired topics they see in the media every day, just because they can't produce a better idea. The War Against Fun Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids Sex education needs to be taught at a lowly age. Parents should speak to kids about drugs at a youthful age. Children should have to read more. They should be able to use cellphones in school. The internet should be censored. When it's our own health or the well-being of a loved one, there are various things to consider and research on. Therefore, the topic ought to be debatable! BBC's Audience research showed he captured the country's heart.

How to Block a Play and Give Stage Directions

Blocking is the theater term for the actors’ movements on the stage during the performance of the play or the musical. Every move that an actor makes (walking across the stage, climbing stairs, sitting in a chair, falling to the floor, getting down on bended knee) falls under the larger term â€Å"blocking.† Who Blocks? Typically, the play’s director determines the actors’ movements and positions on stage. Some directors â€Å"pre-block† scenes—map out the actors’ movements outside of rehearsal and then give the actors their blocking. Some directors work with the actors during rehearsal and make blocking decisions by having the actors perform the movements. These directors try a variety of movements and stage positions to see what works, make adjustments, and then set the blocking. Other directors, especially when they work with experienced actors during rehearsals, ask the actors to follow their instincts about when to move and the blocking becomes a collaborative work. Playwrights May Provide Blocking In some plays, the playwright provides blocking notes in the text of the script. American playwright Eugene O’Neill wrote detailed stage directions that include not only movements but notes on the characters’ attitudes and emotions as well. An example from Act I Scene 1 of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Edmund’s dialogue is accompanied by stage directions in italics: EDMUNDWith sudden nervous exasperation.O for God’s sake, Papa. If you’re starting that stuff again, I’ll beat it.He jumps up.I left my book upstairs anyway.He goes to the front parlor saying disgustedly,God, Papa, I think you’d get sick of hearing yourself.He disappears. Tyrone looks after him angrily. Some directors remain true to the stage directions provided by the playwright in the script, but directors and actors are not bound to follow those directions in the way that they are bound to use the playwright’s dialogue strictly as written. The words the actors speak must be delivered precisely as they appear in the script. Only with the playwright’s specific permission may lines of dialogue be changed or omitted. It is not imperative, however, to adhere to the playwright’s blocking ideas. Actors and directors are free to make their own movement choices.​ Some directors appreciate scripts with detailed stage directions. Other directors prefer scripts with little to no blocking ideas within the text. Basic Functions of Blocking Ideally, blocking should enhance the story on the stage by: Reflecting the authentic behavior of the characters—a character’s movements can reveal just as much and sometimes more than his or her words do.Reflecting the relationships between and among characters.Giving the focus to certain characters at appropriate moments (helping the audience know where to look.)Allowing the audience to see what they are supposed to see and not what is meant to be hidden—either as part of the play or an accidental peek backstage.Creating effective stage pictures—strong, pleasing, horrific—that convey the meanings and moods of the play.Making effective use of the set. Blocking Notation Once a scene has been blocked, the actors must execute the same movements during rehearsals and performances. Thus, actors must memorize their blocking as well as their lines. During blocking rehearsals, most actors use a pencil to note blocking in their scripts—so if the blocking changes, the pencil marks can be erased and the new blocking noted. Actors and directors use a â€Å"shorthand† for blocking notation. Rather than write out â€Å"Walk downstage right and stand behind (or upstage) the sofa,† however, an actor would make notes using abbreviations. Any stage movement from one area of the stage to another is called a â€Å"cross,† and a quick way to indicate cross is to use an â€Å"X.† So, an actor’s blocking note the above blocking could look like this: â€Å"XDR to US of sofa.†

Living Behind the Obscurities of Slavery - 764 Words

Although African Americans extol the accomplishment of granted liberties, later consciousness of increased lack of survival in a free environment withered the souls that starvation and death, disease and hunger overtook the black nation. Without suitable malnutrition thralls’ immune systems became weaken; in addition to, famine causes the body incapability to function properly intensifies the possibilities of gradually dying. (West, 2013) â€Å"Many newly freed blacks had believed that the benevolent government that had freed them would provide each family with ‘forty acres and a mule’ so they could start life anew.† (Tolman, 2013) The former slaves were dependent on society to contribute profoundly as their ancestors provided unto the slavery†¦show more content†¦Engaging in nuptial after the emancipating of thralls, the originality of â€Å"jumping the boom† was established through African American’s cultures to symbolize the  "legal and bonding act connecting them with the heritage of the home land and giving legitimacy, dignity and strength to their unions.† (Braddy,2013)Throughout the vicious growling persecution of slavery, the ex-slaved unification grew strongly based upon the world’s hardships that constantly threw stones at African Americans liberties; however; the Emancipation Proclamation did have a positive effect on former vassals because they were able to finalized a legitimate marriage.Subsequently, the negativity of slavery affects the African American cultures today by living behind the obscurities of bondage. Even though the emancipating of slaves gave the former vassals independence, slavery still occur currently butShow MoreRelatedThoreaus Writings: An Analysis716 Words   |  3 Pageswriting to promote social justice, thereby refusing to lend himself to the wrong he so disparages. Slavery was one of those wrongs: a facet of the system of government that was so corrupt and yet completely entrenched in American society. Thoreau also acted as a counter friction to the machine of mindless government by extricating himself from the situations he found most distasteful. His experiences living close to nature at Walden Pond prove that Thoreau was sincerely dedicated to being the change thatRead MoreWalt Whitman and War Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pagesbigger than any one person or group of people. Life is a lesson and sometimes lessons need to repeat. Life during the time of Walt Whitman was oddly and sadly similar to our very own time in some ways. Like us, Whitman dealt in Leaves of Grass with living in a nation during wartimes; and if you can say anything about war, it is that, it is never fast and never easy. Armd year-year of the struggle, No dainty rhymes or sentimental love verses for you terrible year ( Whitman 227). Read More Writers of the Harlem Renaissance Essay2535 Words   |  11 Pagesto a high point. Beyond simply encouraging creativity and thought in the African American community, the writers of the Harlem Renaissance completely revolutionized the identity of African American society as a whole, leading black culture from slavery to its current place in America today. There was no single cause which produced the Harlem Renaissance, but there are several historical developments which paved the way. The first set of contributing factors deal with the cultural backgroundRead MoreThe Most Memorable Abolitionist Leader Of Frederick Douglass1858 Words   |  8 PagesThe most memorable abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was born as slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. He got to be a standout amongst the most well known educated people of his time, exhorting presidents and addressing to thousands on a scope of reasons, including ladies rights and Irish home guideline. Among Douglass works are a few self-portrayals smoothly depicting his encounters in subjection and his life after the Civil War. Frederick Douglass was conceived in a slave lodge, in FebruaryRead MoreRichard Allen s Influence On African Americans8445 Words   |  34 PagesDivision in Candidacy for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in History Department of History By: Malary Wood, Jr. Gwynedd Valley, PA Fall 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.?.2 Part 1: Blacks Living in Philadelphia after the Revolutionary War4 Philadelphia Black Population...5 Establishing the Mother Bethel .............................................................................Read MoreCitizen Leaders Essay2454 Words   |  10 Pagesdiscussion of citizen leaders it is important to look at those that exemplify the characteristics and the circumstances of the position and display these extraordinary individuals. The four individuals involved in this paper are Jo Berry, driving force behind Boogie the Bridge and the Run Club in Kamloops, Wayne McRann, president of Developing World Connections which is based in Kamloops, Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children and MeTo We, and Capt. Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita MarineRead MoreReconstruction : The Burning Years10732 Words   |  43 Pagesrights and slavery on the Civil War. Still, my teacher, along with the A.P. exam, the state curriculum, and our textbooks, moved quickly past Reconstruction. I assumed that, aside from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and some Ku Klux Klan violen ce, there wasn’t much else to the story, that African Americans exercised their civil rights in peace from the Union victory at Appomattox until Plessy v. Ferguson. I was wrong. 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It was a time of repression of the Scottish worker by the Government, the employers, and the culture. Rebellious in thought as well as actively participating in protests was part of the Carnegie familyRead More British-Chinese Relations in the Nineteenth Century and Alicia Bewicke Littles Novel, A Marriage in China4897 Words   |  20 Pages Campbell-ostensibly still supporting her anti-immigrant stance-proceeds to praise the same workers she has just disparaged: Weighted as they are by tradition, they must be both enterprising and courageous to leave home at all; to gain a living, much less a competence, in the face of hostile legislation in a foreign land, they must have patience, intelligence, and adaptability. To these they add unrivalled manual dexterity, a great capacity for organisation, and the instincts of a born merchant

Palmers Limited Case Study Free Essays

Cost’s they overlook the quality. While BC tries to look pretty to their customer, Cost pay less attention to their look and more to provide the lowest prices for their members. From 1997 to 2001, Wall-Mart store numbers were increased by 53, Bi’s stores went up by 50, but Cost went up by 91 . We will write a custom essay sample on Palmers Limited Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Cost’s business strategy Is very simple, â€Å"To generate high sales volumes and rapid Inventory turnover by offering members very low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and select private-label products In a wide range of merchandise categories† (Thompson, 2008) . They have able to implement this strategy very successfully. They have also been very successful in making their customer believe that product is a better quality than their competitors, interestingly their competitors in most cases don’t carry the same kind of product. Cost’s marketing strategy is simple yet effective, the idea of providing the lowest price and good quality product is a strategy to be reckon with. Plus there marketing idea of â€Å"Treasure Hunt† has allowed them to saved tons of money from broad advertisement. After a membership base Is established In an area, most new memberships came from word of mouth. This simple marketing and advertisement strategy has allowed Cost to keep Its marketing expenses low relative to those at typical retailers, discounter, and supermarkets. Cost is also known for its price strategy. They have become a master in providing top quality products even including some brand products at the lowest price possible to their customers. Instead of marking up their cap to 20 or 50 percent like their competitors they decided to cap their mark up to only 14 percent, which itself a key element in Cost’s pricing strategy. This also indicates that Cost is trying to do what it takes to please their customer to increase their profits so they can make their shareholders happy at same time. It’s this price strategy that has allows Cost to only only make profit over the year, but Increase their member to $110. Cost’s product selection strategy Is also very Impressive. Unlike their competitor who carry from where from 40000 to 1 50000 SKU items , Cost decided to selecting Ana prove only auto mess I en last Includes everyday Items sun as kitchen supplies, Electronics, health and beauty products, automotive supplies, gasoline, games, cleaning supplies, canned goods, Food. They categories their product in commercial and professional use. Plus, Cost’s treasure hunt merchandising strategy is also an atten tion grabber. Out of the 4000 items on the floor about 1000 were the treasure hunt product, meaning their prices with constantly changing. In most cases these were higher end products like furniture and TV. Cost’s growth strategy is also quite remarkable. On average they have been opening about 20 to 25 new stores each year. Most of them in American but some internationally as well including; Canada, Korea, I-J, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. In recent year they experimented by opening independent Furniture store to sell high end bigger furniture items which resulted in good success. Later rather than opening more stores they instead added extra space about 45000 square feet to the Cost it self and called it Cost Home. Now the furniture category has become on of the tope 5 selling items on Cost’s website. They are very innovative when it comes to their warehouse and management strategy. Cost’s CEO, Jim Senegal, quoted, â€Å"Cost is able to offer lower prices and deter values by eliminating virtually all the frills and costs historically associated with conventional wholesalers and retailers, including salespeople, fancy buildings, delivery, billing, and accounts receivable. We run a tight operation with extremely low overhead which enables us to pass on dramatic savings to our members†. They stored the inventory on racks above the items being sold in the warehouse. That reduced their labor cost and saved them a lot time on handling and stocking. They treat their manager as entrepreneur and allows them to decide what item should be sold in their store. They adored most of the inventory directly from the manufactures. It either came directly to the store or went to their distrib ution center called crosschecking depots. The point of these depots were to reduce the transportation cost by making sure all truck are full when they come the store. As an investor I wouldn’t would want to invest in a company that has a good reputation, consistently growing, good sustainable growth, and good future plans. Let’s talk about sustainable growth rate, which basically means that a firm can grow while keeping its profitability and financial policies unchanged. Sustainable growth model allows us to segregate reasons or changes that have led as a company to substantial growth so at the same time we can segregate the causes for those change. It is represented in four steps. How to cite Palmers Limited Case Study, Free Case study samples

Factors Affecting Students free essay sample

With all of the talk that a student must hear about getting ready for college, some students may raise the pertinent question, Why go to college in the first place? It is a very important question that has different answers for different people. For some students, making the decision to obtain a higher education can be difficult. Students must overcome several obstacles, and some of the reasons students decide not to go to college are: No one in their family has gone to college; They didnt do well in high school, so college will be too hard; They dont know which school to go to; or They cant afford college. These are some tough barriers to overcome, but if taken one step at a time it can be done. Being the first one in the family to seek higher education can be a difficult hurdle for any student to get over. High school guidance counselors and college advisors can be a valuable resource. Some admissions departments will walk the students through the entire application process from start to end. Study habits are a key element when starting college, and many career colleges also offer free tutoring to their students. CONCEPTUAL PARADIGM FRAME 1 – It shows the dependent variables consisting of the different factors (Poverty, Family, Intellectual Ability, Teen Pregnancy, Peers, and Age Gap) for our study. FRAME 2 – It shows the independent variable of why students do not want to continue their studies in the college level. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES This includes the related literature and related studies, which were found to have significant bearing to the study under consideration. Studies rely on information researched in the internet. Related Literature This section presents the writing of different factors affecting students during our research. 1. Poverty â€Å"Poverty is considered as the bottom line that hinders education. † â€Å"I cant afford it. † There is no doubt that poverty runs rampant in either rural or urban places. Welcome to the age of financial aid, community college, and work-study options. Many high school students today are aware that their parents cannot afford to foot their tuition bill. This is a common reality, but it doesn’t mean that the students themselves can’t afford college on their own. Education is rumored to be the great equalizer where people from any social class are given the opportunity to excel and rise in fortune. However, some would argue that those who do live in poverty lack the resources and support at home to take full advantage of their education without assistance. Contrarily, others would claim that children of poverty are capable of performing at high levels, and believe making assumptions about a whole group is simply stereotyping which causes teachers to lower expectations and, in turn, actually lower student achievement. However there are numerous financial aid programs available for students, especially for students whose families cannot help them or students who have low incomes themselves. Although the colleges and universities of today carry a heavy price tag, it is of great importance not to let that discourage you from obtaining a college education. The cost of tuition continues to rise, so too does the number of available financial aid options. Below are examples on how you can pay for college: Summer Job: Students save the money they make in the summers. Part-time Job: While at school many students have a part-time job and earn money for school. Scholarships: Colleges give money to students based on financial need, academic talent and extracurricular talent (i. e. sports). This doesn’t need to be paid back. Grants: Colleges give money to students based on financial need. This also doesn’t need to be paid back. Loan: Colleges will lend students and parents money to help pay for school. This money needs to be paid back with interest. Gift: Money given to a student to help pay for school and doesn’t need to be repaid. Gifts often come from family and friends. Savings: Money students have set aside in the past (i. e. in a bank) to pay for college. â€Å"Money Spent on College Education Would Be Better Invested in Starting Your Own Business. † If you are your own boss, you dont need a piece of paper to prove to an employer that youre worthy of being hired by him. You dont have to worry about sucking up to your boss or getting along with your co-workers. Everyone know an employee undergoes all kinds of stress having to deal with co-workers and bosses. Employees are stuck with their co-workers and stuck with their boss. The only way of getting rid of them is to quit your job. Be your own boss and you dont have to put up with that kind of crap. Bill Gates didnt need a college diploma to start Microsoft. In fact he doesnt have one and neither do a lot of entrepreneurs and people who have made great contributions to society. 2. Family The smallest foundation of a society is the family. A group into which and individual belongs and is subjected to support his needs and some of his wants. â€Å"My parents didn’t go to college and they were successful, why should I bother? †/â€Å"Nobody in my family has ever gone. † For students whose parents found success without obtaining a degree, it can be difficult to see the logic behind dropping fifty grand on an education. Such students should consider this: you aren’t your folks. They own their success and they began working at a time when a college degree wasn’t necessarily the only way to get the job that they wanted. Unfortunately, those times are pretty well over. Currently, there are more college graduates than ever before. This influx of educated applicants has influenced the workplace. Simply put, employers have more candidates holding diplomas to choose from and are no longer necessary to consider applicants without a degree. A diploma is now standard prerequisite for many jobs that did not require education in the past. If no one in your family has completed college, it can be very intimidating to be the first to attend. However, being the first to earn a degree can be a very satisfying experience, and possibly inspire other family members to attend. 3. Intellectual Ability â€Å"Self-education is better than forced feeding. † You can learn more, develop your brain better and have more knowledge than most college graduates simply by reading 2 hours a night. Such subjects as art, history, literature, foreign languages, music appreciation as well as many other subjects can be self-taught. The learning resources are available on the internet and in public libraries. Why pay money for something you can get for free? All that is required is self-discipline rather than someone standing over you threatening you with failure if you dont study and pass tests! The beauty of being self-taught is that then you will learn what you are truly motivated to learn, what you are really interested in rather than courses that are required to get your degree. Such courses will be immediately forgotten once the final has been passed . Many contributors to human knowledge were autodidacts, that is people who were sufficiently interested in whatever field to teach it to themselves. Such geniuses as Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Liebniz, who simultaneously developed calculus, were largely self-taught. A lot of great musicians and artists are self-taught. The only reason to actually go to college is to get credentialed in a field that you really want to enter, and then it should be possible to just take an exam in order to gain the credential. Abraham Lincoln taught himself law and passed the bar without the benefit of a college education or diploma. Then he was actually able to make money at it all without the benefit of a college degree. Today, of course, we are much more civilized, requiring our lawyers to have a college degree in addition to passing the bar. Anything you can learn in college you can learn on your own. If you want the equivalent of a college education, find out the course list and reading lists for any degree of the college of your choice. Then read all the same books. Anything you want to know is available on the internet. Why study a lot of boring stuff youre not interested in? You wont retain it anyway. Most college students study enough to regurgitate on a test and then immediately forget it. Its wasted time and energy. Study and learn what youre interested in instead of what is required. That way you only will be learning what you have a passion for. Most people that are successful in their professions have a passion for what they do, not merely a ticket of admission to the field of their choice which is what a college degree represents. We get many high school students telling us â€Å"My GPA is not good enough to get into college. † It’s one of the biggest stumbling blocks that people get tripped up with when it comes to the college application process. But GPA is only one of the many different criteria that colleges use to decide whether they will admit a student. Since you don’t work for a college admissions board, it is not right for you to decide whether or not you have the grades to make it in. Don’t sell yourself short and don’t assume that you won’t be able to go to the school of your choice based on what you heard or read in a forum. â€Å"My grades aren’t so great†/â€Å"My GPA Is Not Good Enough to Get Into College† There’s only one way for you to determine whether or not your GPA is good enough to get into the college that you’d like to go to. That is to apply to the college, fill out the application, write the essays to the best of your ability, wait, and see. If you think you don’t have the right GPA for a school and you don’t even apply, then you’ll never know and you made up the school’s mind as well by not even applying. Perhaps you heard that a school has a minimum GPA requirement, or you saw a chart that showed that they mostly choose students with a particular grade point average. You need to remember that rules are made to be bent or broken, most schools do not specifically use your GPA as the only criteria and in many instances, and it is not even the most important criteria. Schools want a well-rounded student body, not just a bunch of eggheads walking around the campus. Sell your other qualities to the school of your choice and give them a compelling reason to accept you. Admissions boards know this and they take a chance on a percentage of students each semester. Your goal is to be in that percentage of â€Å"interesting applicants†. Write an essay that really blows them away. Hopefully you were involved in extra-curricular activities while you were in high school, and if you weren’t get involved in things in your local community. There’s no better time to start than now when it comes to adding things to your life that can go on your admissions application. You have to paint yourself as an active, fun, smart person that really wants to go to college, and will do a great job once you get in. If you create a mental block for yourself just because of your GPA, then you are sunk before you even start. You haven’t given yourself the best chance of success and you’ve taken a defeatist mentality towards the situation. You lost before you even started. Make sure you don’t let this happen, put your best foot forward, apply to your favorite schools and see what develops. If you’d like to stay be updated on all of the latest tips for getting into college with a lower GPA there are several ways to go about it. 4. Teen Pregnancy Teen pregnancy is life changing. While most teen pregnancies are unplanned, even a planned pregnancy has risks. While teen pregnancy rates have declined over the past 10 years, 22 of 1000 high school students still get pregnant each year, according to a report on the website Pregnant Teen Help. Nearly 1 million babies are born to teens each year, including 18- and 19-year-olds, and not all of them are ready for or want the responsibility. Loss of Education An estimated 70 percent of pregnant teens drop out of school, according to Pregnant Teen Help, and only half of those young women have jobs. Reasons for dropping out of high school include physical problems, such as morning sickness, and emotional problems, such as body image embarrassment, a fear of bullying or sexual harassment. â€Å"Start Life Early. Dont Delay it by Going to College. † You dont have to delay real life by 4 to 8 years. You can start a family and your kids will be grown and out of the house before you are old and gray. You have a jump on real world experience. College unnecessarily delays starting out in life. At a time when your peers are graduating from college with so much student loan debt that they cant even afford to date, let alone get married and start a family, you could own your own business which you started from scratch, have a family started and own a house. Be earning money during the 4 to 8 years you might have spent in college. Learn a basic trade or profession and build your business over the years you would have spent in college. Pay the minimum necessary to procure whatever credentials you need to practice that trade or profession. Learn it on your own. The only college degrees worth having are in the thousand year old professions such as law, architecture, civil engineering, medicine. In these professions you can hang out your own shingle be in business for yourself. Forget high tech and anything that requires you to work for a corporation or as an employee and doesnt let you have the option of starting your own business. These degrees are worthless. As a laborer with a college degree, no matter how high tech, you are just a commodity. As a self-employed businessman, you call the shots, make the profits and build a business which has a value in itself, which can be sold some day if you choose to do so. Live simply and on the cheap when youre starting out pouring most of your money into your fledgling business. Be homeless if you have to. Live in your car or work vehicle. If you have a shop or storefront, live there. No sense in paying 2 rents. After you get going, you will be able to afford to move up in the world. 5. Peers Friends are meant to construct and improve you. They will serve as our second family though it is our responsibility to sift and choose the real ones. The wrong choices are the ones who bring you to a habit that they themselves perform; for example Marijuana use and Alcohol. Marijuana Use Marijuana use is only topped by alcohol. An estimated 40. 1% of students over the age of 12, and 49. 1% of college students have used marijuana. This is probably due to the easy accessibility of marijuana. To get alcohol, someone has to know a person that is of age. However, to get marijuana, there is no age limit, making it easy to purchase. One similarity to alcohol is that limited use of marijuana appears to have few negative effects on the users. The hard part is in the difference between a statistical and a personal model. Models and statistics may be misleading. Some are hit harder by the use of marijuana than others. Some users are more likely to have anxiety disorders and panic Alcohol Alcohol is a depressant used in intoxicating people. It is found in beer, wine, and liquor. Beer, wine, and liquor contain different amounts of alcohol and thus affect the drinker differently. Liquor has the highest percentage of alcohol, while beer has the lowest. Young adults are the most prone to inflict injuries such as: automobile accidents, violence, falls, overdoes, and accidental deaths. This shows that students are more likely to drink more alcohol in a short period of time having a higher chance of being in an accident. Drinking excessively at an early age can also affect the brain also. The result of drinking at an early age makes it difficult for a healthy brain to grow causing long term effects to the health. Most students don’t realize the long term effects of alcohol, but it’s very severe and will damage the body immensely. The start to having an unhealthy body is drinking so much that the liver becomes scarred. This is the first step to deteriorating the liver. There are also other organs affected by excessive drinking too like; the heart and brain. The liver is a very important organ in the body that supports it. There are more than one disease that can harm the liver such as; fatty liver, hepatitis, and cirrhosis. The earliest stage of liver disease is fatty liver which is developed when the liver is clogged with fat. This only happens because drinking causes the liver to be unable to transfer the fat but filter the alcohol. The result of this is the liver cells become swollen with water and fat. When this happens the body lacks nutrients and oxygen to the liver cells, this kills the cell which. When the liver has been scarred it becomes irreversible and will be a permanent part of the liver. When this occurs the blood that travels through the liver doesn’t properly filter the toxins. Not being able to filter the toxin as mentioned by the college drinking prevention, can lead to mental confusion, agitation, or tremors. The heart is also a very sensitive organ that is affected by drinking also. The heart is such a small organ that when you drink you work the heart a lot harder than it’s necessary. This makes it possible for the person to have a heart attack or a stroke. Continuing with excessive drinking will lead other heart problems such as: cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. Alcohol also affects the stomach and the brain. The stomach can easily be damaged when students drink excessively, especially when the excess alcohol is left in the stomach to irritate the stomach lining. This leads to damage of the stomach lining and loss of nutrition to the body. The brain damage is only possible in young teens that drink. Drinking has only been known to affect the growth of the brain in adolescence but no evident long term effects are present. 6. Age gap There is only a chance to attend and start schooling but if you fail to meet that chance you wouldn’t want to have another. Being inside a class full of students whom your child may have befriended may be embarrassing. Study says age gap difficult for adult college students Adult students, which are undergraduate students over the age of 25, are often misunderstood at colleges, according to a recent study conducted by Lumina Foundation for Education. However, support services are offered to all AU students, including â€Å"returning students,† the term the university uses to distinguish students over the age of 25 because all students are considered to be adults in college, according to Dean of Students Faith Leonard. During the fall of 2006, there were 203 AU students ages 25 years and older enrolled. Of these students, 47 were 25 years old and 81 were 26-29 years old. The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment considers them full-time students who are pursuing undergraduate degrees, according to AU’s Academic Data Reference Book. James Valvo is a 28-year-old returning student in the School of Public Affairs, who hopes to work for the State Department or on Capitol Hill. He said the age gap is â€Å"the most difficult part† of being a returning student. â€Å"Students right out of high school go directly to college whether close to home or far away,† Valvo said. â€Å"Whereas, when an adult student goes to school, they have a different goal. † Returning students’ college experiences differ from undergraduate students under the age of 25, said Jonathan Post, an undergraduate academic counselor in the Kogod School of Business. It is the norm for high school students to go to college and have an internship; whereas returning students are focused and well organized, he said. Returning students not only go to school full-time, but sometimes have a full-time job and a family, she said. The commute has an additional effect on the lives of returning students, Swartz said. â€Å"Students who were in the working world hit a road block,† he said. â€Å"They realized without a bachelor’s degree they can not get a contract or close a deal. † The report said returning students often have no clear path to earning a bachelor’s degree. â€Å"I don’t feel disconnected,† Valvo said. â€Å"I sometimes feel more misunderstood with students just because of the age and perspective. † However, education is timeless as long as you consider it to be. Related studies â€Å"Why Should You go to College? † One important answer to this question is more opportunity. As opposed to generations of the past, high school graduates today are unable to obtain the number of high-paying jobs that were once available. The U. S. has been transformed from a manufacturing-based economy to an economy based on knowledge, and the importance of a college education today can be compared to that of a high school education forty years ago. It serves as the gateway to better options and more opportunity. There are additional reasons as to why it is important to go to college. When students experience a post secondary education, they have the opportunity to read books and listen to the lectures of top experts in their fields. This stimulation encourages students to think, ask questions, and explore new ideas, which allows for additional growth and development and provides college graduates with an edge in the job market over those who have not experienced a higher education. The importance of a college education is also accentuated because of the opportunity to gain valuable resources during your tenure. The more connections which are collected during your college career, the more options you will have when you begin your job search. Once you have ended your job search and have started your career, however, the importance of a college education has not been exhausted. Having a college degree often provides for greater promotion opportunity. So, why should you go to college? The reasoning does not begin and end with the job aspect. A good education is beneficial from many different viewpoints, and while the importance of a college education is quite evident for many high school students, what is often not as clear is how they will pay for that education. â€Å"Understanding the Importance of College Education† If you are still asking yourself why should you go to college, it is important to remember the significant amount of opportunity available for college graduates. The global economy is becoming increasingly more competitive, and in order to give yourself the best chance for a well-paying job, you must first understand the importance of college education. Attending college provides students with the knowledge and experience they are unable to receive from a secondary education, and finding a way to fund a higher education now can pay off in a huge way in the years to come. The 10 Most Common Excuses for NOT Going to College and Why Theyre All Wrong! EXCUSE #1: Nobody in my family has ever gone to college before. Why not be the first? Its true that being the first to do anything can be difficult and maybe even a little frightening, but being the first in your family to receive a college education should give you a sense of pride. Not going to college is the kind of family tradition you should break. EXCUSE #2: My grades are not good enough for college. How do you know theyre not unless you apply? Even if you havent obtained all good grades in school, you can still be admitted to a good college that will be right for you. Colleges look at more than just grades and test scores. They look at such things as letters from teachers and other adults; extracurricular activities; jobs you might have had; special talents in art, music, and sports; and interviews. When deciding who gets in, colleges examine the whole person, not just one small part. EXCUSE #3: I cant afford it. Theres a lot of financial aid available to help you pay for college. This year alone there are about $26 BILLION waiting for students who need money for college. If you apply for aid, and you demonstrate that you need it, your chances are as good as anybody elses that you will receive help. Theres money available from the federal government, from your state, from the colleges you apply to, and from thousands of grant, scholarship, and work-study programs. But you wont see any of it if you dont check it out. EXCUSE #4: I dont know how to apply to college, or where I want to go. Youre not alone. You can start by looking at college catalogs in your high school or local library, and you can talk to your high school counselor, favorite teacher, or someone you know whos gone to college. Theres a lot of good advice available, but you have to ask for it. With more than 3,000 colleges to choose from, theres bound to be one thats right for you. EXCUSE #5: I think college may be too difficult for me. Not likely, if youre willing to work hard. Thousands of students graduate from college every year, and chances are many of them were afraid college would be too difficult for them but they made it in spite of their fears. College is a big change from high school. The competition will be greater and the homework assignments will be longer and tougher. And it isnt always easy to adjust to strange surrounding and make new friends. But once you get involved with your work, youll find that many of your classmates feel as you do. Who doesnt worry sometimes that they might not make it? And even if you find that youre not doing well in certain subjects, you can still do something about it. Tutoring is available from professors or fellow students, and counseling for personal problems is available on campus too. EXCUSE #6: Im not sure that Ill fit in in college. Just about any college you might attend will have students from all kinds of backgrounds, so you are sure to find other people whom you can relate to. If youre a minority student, for example, find about student clubs sponsored by African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, or other groups. Such clubs can help give you a sense of community away from home. Regardless of your ethnic background, you should remember that one of the good things about college is getting to know all kinds of people. It will be interesting to learn about different life-styles and cultures, and it will help prepare you for the world you will face after graduation. EXCUSE #7: I dont even know what I want to major in or do with my life. The great majority of college freshmen dont have a clue about these things either. Giving you choices is what college is all about. You can take courses in different fields and see what you like and what youre good at. You may be surprised to find a subject or a career field that you never would have thought of before. The biggest mistake you can make is to think that any decision you make is cast in concrete and that you can never change your major or your life. EXCUSE #8: Theres no way I can go to college full-time. So go part-time. Most colleges offer programs you can attend in the evening or on weekends. Some colleges even give classes where you work or in neighborhood churches and community centers. You can also study many subjects through correspondence courses in home-study programs, and a number of states have external degree programs that let you work for a degree without believe it or not any classroom attendance! Ask your counselor about these possibilities. EXCUSE #9: Im too old to go to college. Nonsense! Youre never too old to learn. Even if youve been out of high school for a while, you can still go to college. Almost half of all full-time and part-time students in the country are adults older than 25 years of age. If they can do it, so can you! EXCUSE #10: I just want to get a good job and make lots of money. College will help you with that and more. Studies have shown that a college graduate will earn several hundred thousand dollars more during the course of his or her working life than someone who has only a high school diploma. Of course, money isnt everything, but most challenging and interesting jobs with good futures require a college education. A college degree will also give you a greater variety of job choices. Theres something else that college will give you: a sense of personal satisfaction, confidence, and self-respect. These are not easy to measure, but they are very important in helping you become the kind of person you want to be. There are probably many other reasons you can think of for not going to college. But why sit arouind making up excuses when you can use that time and energy to do something that will benefit you the rest of your life? Decide now that you want to go to college and then start working at it. This is the bottom line: If you are willing to give it a shot, college can be for you too.