Pressures Of Higher Education Essay Example for Free

Pressures Of Higher Education Essay It is a brisk day in October, and all the leaves are crackling as every college student around the country is headed to his or her library, trying to get some studying in for the next exams. Some fully understand the subject matter and will constantly pressure themselves to keep on getting better; Others do not fully understand the subject mater and are too busy thinking about how they intend to pay for this class again once they fail. Most belong somewhere in the middle, constantly contemplating why they even put the stress of higher education onto themselves. Higher education is the catalyst to advancing our society to unknown boundaries. The pressures that come along with higher education vary from relaxed to extremely exhausting. These pressures are showcased nonstop in community colleges, state universities and lastly Ivy League private universities. While community colleges have often been looked down upon as a relaxed version of actual higher education, community colleges have been proven to raise the amount of pressure and stress on the enrolled students. The levels of difficulty of the curriculums are indeed lower than those of other colleges and universities. That is not necessarily a bad thing knowing that the typical student enrolled in community college either was not fully prepared for the challenge of other colleges or universities, or they just were not financially ready to make that step up. These struggling students need more time to work on their problems. Students can pursue an Associates Degree in their major without feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of trying to get a bachelor’s degree too early, leading them into failing grades. The students that are enrolled simply because of not having the financial means to enroll into other colleges and universities tend to have a high level of stress, not because they feel stunned by the subject matter, but because of the opposite. Not feeling challenged enough can create pressure on them because they do not feel as if they are getting the education they truly deserve. Community college may come off as a pressure free area, but in reality it has its pressure provoking aspects like all other outlets of higher education. The pressures of state universities are easily visible from the outside vantage point. To start, the number of majors offered at state universities is astounding. Most people that are given that much choice tend to realize that they do not really know what they want to major in. This epiphany leads them into declaring undecided. To go along with the high number of majors, the curriculums of all these majors often are just as breathtaking in difficultly. The number of students to teacher ratio is usually staggering, which creates more pressure for a student to grasp the concepts the first time. The tuition for state universities averages around twenty thousand annually. Most full time students cannot afford this price; therefore, students are forced to rely heavily on financial aid and scholarships. When that many people are competing for the same pile of assets, some tend to get left without enough. This increases the focus on the pressure of finding enough money for every semester’s expensive needs instead of focusing on the actual classes they are paying for. Even though the average students that attend a state university tend to have more control over the pressures of higher education, they can still feel the pressure. The pressures of higher education are substantially more evident in Ivy League students, due to the utmost need to succeed. The term â€Å"Ivy League† is defined as a group of long established eastern colleges and universities having high academic and social prestige. It is not hard to understand why the Ivy League schools are in their own prestigious bubble of higher education. Every student that enrolls in these schools was once part of the highly pressured top five percent of his or her high school. These students often have a genuinely hard time with transitioning from a fairly easy curriculum into their new extremely rigorous curriculums. A smooth transition is needed in order to earn a degree from their respective schools. Without that smooth transition, the students will start to feel overwhelmed, and the pressure will overcome them. Another contributing factor of pressure in Ivy League schools is the fact that the prices of attending these schools match the arduousness . The average tuition for an Ivy League school reaches into figures above fifty thousand annually. Grants, scholarships and financial aid play a very substantial part in full time students’ lives. If they were to receive unsatisfactory grades, then they would lose everything. Being forced to find a way to pay that much for their education would pressure them into dropping out, effectively ruining every high aspiration that student once had. Even though the Ivy League students have tremendous control over pressure, the pressures of higher education like money and making perfect grades, can lead to the failure of an otherwise perfect student. It does not matter whether a student is enrolled in a basic community college, state university or an Ivy League school, students will be faced with pressured situations. For a community college student, the pressures of worrying about not being fully ready for the challenges of college, or just not having the financial means to pay for it, will present themselves. Having control over how pressure affects them, and having the means for state universities, does not guarantee you will be ready for the feeling of being lost in the crowd instead of being an individual. Even though you would assume Ivy League attendees are perfect, sometimes the pressures of having to live up to that standard can overwhelm the student. No matter the level of difficultly, pursuing higher education will always create pressure on a student; the different routes of higher education will just affect the student in their own unique ways.

REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS The purpose of this study programme is to determine if students from the elementary level of Hin Hua High School (Chinese Independent School) improved in their ability to write in English after having studied specifically developed curriculum. The 7-hour remedial programme is to be conducted once the academic department releases the final assessment grades. Fifteen students with the lowest score were selected using the criterion method to undergo the remedial programme. the importance of all six major aspects of writing measured in the English Test which comprises mainly punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. It is believed by attending the remedial programme selected students would be able to show the ability to make and articulate judgments by taking position on an issue or problem. Besides sustaining a position by focusing on the topic throughout the writing. They are alson expected to develop a position by presenting support or evidence using specific details and make inferences based on support or evidence. Most importantly, they should be able to organize and present ideas in a logical way by logically grouping and sequencing ideas. Hence communicate clearly by using language effectively and by observing the conventions of standard written English INTRODUCTION As a language teacher, I often select writing tasks from language textbooks to help students improve their writing ability. Behaviorists, communicative, cognitive, and discourse theories could influence writing approaches in language textbooks. Each theoretical framework has provided us with a better understanding of the multiple dimensions and purposes of teaching writing. A review of the developments in writing pedagogy leads us to conclude that we could teach writing as a means to improve linguistic, rhetorical and communicative competence or as a discovery and cognitive process. The writing tasks that we select from language textbooks and assign to students could reflect one or some of these pedagogical purposes. As teachers, we need to question and understand the pedagogical assumptions of textbook writing tasks so that we can select tasks that will help our students become confident writers and independent thinkers. Primary students entering the secondary school level (high School) are challenged not only to learn new content in the disciplines but also to communicate this. A significant number of students will not have adequate academic literacy levels to be able to do this successfully (Jones and Bonanno, 1995 (1). Atlhough traditionally students were expected to develop academic literacy skills without any explicit teaching of these skills, schools now recognize the increasingly diverse backgrounds of their student populations and have put in place mechanisms for helping students develop their academic literacy. These have included the establishment of literacy and learning units as well as the requirement for school curricula to address the teaching of writing skills including communication skills. English Learning Centre of Hin Hua High School Klang, like other literacy and learning units, has been involved in a number of collaborative projects with teachers involved in teaching Junior One to integrate the teaching of communication skills into the curriculum (Webb et al, 1995, Taylor and Drury, 1996). These initiatives have resulted in the development of new teaching materials and approaches as well as new practices of assessment and feedback. However, as subject area curricula are being adapted to computer-based forms of learning, it is also necessary to consider how the teaching of communication skills can be integrated into these programs or how the teaching of communication skills can be contextualized within the learning of subject area knowledge. With the current demand for propheciuency in English Language great importance has been given to developing programs to instill good writing modes to the elementary learners which aims to help students become successful editors of their own writing. 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW Writing skills have been identified as to improve students thinking. Moffett and a few others have developed cognitively sequenced curricula for elementary and secondary writing, college composition, when it is sequenced at all, tends to rely on structural or rhetorical arrangements, which are neither sequential nor cumulative. Progressions from word to sentence to paragraph to theme confuse quantitative with qualitative growth, while rhetorical sequences confront students with cognitive problems of different but equal complexity. In short, from a cognitive perspective, most writing instruction in higher education is consistent with that in secondary education: what Stephen Judy described as Advanced Hodgepodge in high school gives way to Arrogant Hodgepodge in college. A large and growing body of research, however, shows that cognitive development follows a hierarchical sequence of stages and suggests that a curriculum can be sequentially organized to promote cognitive development. Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives provides some essential connections between the cognitive abilities we expect of college students and a curriculum that can stimulate those abilities Blooms Taxonomy is one solution to the cognitive hodgepodge of the writing curriculum. It allows us to sequence instruction and assignments in ways that speak directly to students developmental needs. From least to most complex, For writing instruction the taxonomy provides a flexible model of what happens cognitively in the learning process Bloom described a six stage sequence: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. (See Figure 1) Figure 1.0 The flow chart of Blooms Taxonomy At each new level, thought processes build on and encompass previous levels. Implicit in this structure is the assumption of an ascending scale of difficulty and comprehensiveness. Thinking at the comprehension level is more demanding than at the knowledge level; cognitive problems requiring synthesis or evaluation encompass all the preceding levels. A review of Blooms definitions for each taxonomic level suggests what such a cognitively-based writing course might entail. Although the focus of each level is cognitive, rhetorical issues of audience and purpose are equally appropriate and can be specified for any assignment. Most of all, the taxonomy allows us to contemplate the value and feasibility of a cognition-based curriculum in writing. Such a curriculum would reflect the hierarchical relations of the various thought processes and would help to control for cognitive complexity in writing and thinking about distorting natural discourse. In this form, writing or writing-intensive courses would systematically develop students thinking skills rather than leaving them to chance or, worse, blunting the writers still-developing ability to explore and express ideas. In short, a cognition-based curriculum ensures that students participate fully in using writing as a mode of learning. 2.0 INTENDED PURPOSE The remedial programme is targeted for the elementary learners who are in the process of upgrading their writing skills to the pre -intermediate level. A total of 15 students are selected from the age group of 13 years old based on the final semester examination results. The examination basically structured in accordance to the textbook currently used in the school curriculum ,New Opportunities (Pearson Longman-Cambridge). Basically the (Stiggins to highlight achievement differences between and among students to produce a , 1994). School systems might want to classify students in this way so that they can be enhance their competency level even further. The major reason for using a norm-referenced test (NRT) is to classify students. NRTs are designed on dependable rank order of students across a continuum of achievement from high achievers to low achievers be properly placed in remedial or gifted programs. These types of tests are also used to help teachers select students for differe nt ability level reading or mathematics instructional groups. As the selected students fall under the below average group in Paper 1(Writing Assessment) whereby there are two parts that the had to complete here: SECTION A Notes Expansion and SECTION B Continuous Writing (Choose one topic out of five given) From the academic analysis it was found that majority students failed in Section B where it consists of 25% of the total marks of 40% of the Writing paper. Thus they are required to attend a 7 hour remedial programme to improve their writing skills by at least 85%. 3.0 PURPOSE OF REMEDIAL WRITING PROGRAMME The reasons for the remedial program to be initiated is to better the learners in their writing skills and strengthen it so that they have all capabilities to be promoted to the next level but due to certain minute factors they fail to adhere to the standards of the pre-intermediate level. Thus these students are carefully selected using the criterion method to undergo the 7 hour remedial programme. In order to drill and motivate these students in the remedial programme an enriching lesson plan is formulated to create a positive outcome at the end of the the 7 hour remedial programme. The purposes for emphasizing writing skills are to produce who can comprehend teaching and learning in a positive mental attributes. There is a wide body of research suggesting that assessing students written performance is a valuable undertaking. Not only is an instructor able to help a students progress, but also the instructor can facilitate the learning process and the learning outcomes by being aware of student performance throughout the academic session. Figure 2.0: The Purpose for Teaching Writing Undeniably, 3R skills are important and necessary in daily living. They are also needed to support the development of a knowledge-based economy. Recognizing these needs, the school has initiated and implemented programmes to identify students who have not mastered the 3Rs. These programmes are designed to specifically address and overcome the inability of students to master the 3Rs. This is in line with the essentialism which instills students with academic knowledge and character development. Among the programmes that have been implemented in schools are the Early Inter ­vention Reading and Writing Class, Basic Skills for Reading, Writing and Counting Programme and the Literacy and Numeracy Programme at Level One. 3.1 Sub-skills of Writing Besides drilling and enriching the remedial learners with the core writing skills , there are also exposed to the importance of sub-skills in their learning such as: I Manipulating the script of the language: handwriting, spelling and punctuation. II Expressing grammatical [syntactic and morphological] relationships at the sentence level III Expressing information or knowledge in writing: explicitly implicitly IV Enrichment of Vocabulary PART B 4.0 Objectives of the 7-hour remedial programme The main aim in introducing and implementing the remedial programme particularly in the aspect of writing skills is to mainly: to develop competencies in writing skills among learners to move from a teacher-centered didactic model to a student-centered constructivist model to acquire the ability to write in a more clear, concise and acceptable manner 5.0 Instructional Design : Using the ADDIE Model to Build Writing Competency Among Remedial Learners Table 2.0 ADDIEs Model 5.1 Framework The generic term for the five-phase instructional design model consisting of Analysis,Design,Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. Each step has an outcome that feeds into the next step in the sequence. There are probably over 100+ different variations of the generic ADDIE model. Instructional design aim for a learner -centered rather than a traditional teacher-centered approach to instruction, so that effective learning can take place. This means that every component of the instruction is governed by the learning outcomes, which have been determined after a thorough analysis of the learners needs. This phases sometimes overlap and can be interrelated; however they provide a dynamic, flexible guideline for developing effective and efficient instruction. Figure 3.0 Instructional Design: Using the ADDIE Model 5.2 ADDIES Theory The ADDIE instruction model for this desin is outlined by Smith and Ragan(1995) in their book entitiled Instructional design. The focus is n 5 points Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. From this theory the analysis has proved that there was a need to conduct remedial programme for the elementary low scorers where an opportunty was given to learn and develop basic essay writing skills. 6.0 Remedial Education Programme In Malaysia, the importance of remedial education gained attention in the 1960s. Results of a pilot project in nine schools between 1967 and 1970 showed a need for remedial education, especially for pupils in rural areas. This paved the way for remedial education programmes in primary schools. The pioneers in the field attended a two-year intensive course on remedial education in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, a national series of seminars and workshops on remedial teaching were organized. With the exception of small schools or under-enrolled schools, every school is allocated one remedial education teacher. At the school level, a Remedial Education Committee is formed, comprising the headmaster, remedial education teacher, class teacher, subject teacher, resource centre coordinator, and other teachers as members. The introduction of a new curriculum for primary schools in 1983 implied a return to the basics in education. The ultimate goal was to ensure that no pupil is illiterate by the year 2000. The implementation of the remedial education programme for children in Primary 1-3 is to ensure that they master the 3Rs. Children who have been recommended for remedial education are required to attend remedial classes. As of 1999, 54,000 primary school children have undergone the intervention programme. In addition to improving and enhancing teacher development, the Malaysian government also works towards improving the curriculum at school to meet the changing needs of the economy. During the Fourth Malaysia Plan, the primary school curriculum was revised with the aim of providing and establishing a firm education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. This led to the development of a new curriculum emphasizing the 3Rs. Studies looking at the returns to education in Malaysia have found positive results in those who have had some form of formal education, thereby providing support to the government guidelines on the primary curriculum which emphasizes the acquisition of basic skills.Education in Malaysia , changing very rapidly responding to the emerging focus of lifelong learning; the growing emphasis on learning; as opposed to reaching and the development of the new delivery systems 6.1 The Educational, Philosophical and Psychological foundation Elementary education shall aim to develop the spiritual, moral, mental and physical capabilities of the child, provide him with experiences in the democratic way of life, and inculcate ideas and attitude necessary for enlightened, patriotic, upright and useful citizenship. To achieve these objectives, elementary education curriculum shall provide for the: inculcation of spiritual and civic values and the development of a good citizen based on an abiding faith in God and genuine love of country; training of the young citizen in his rights, duties and responsibilities in a democratic society for active participation, in a progressive and productive home and community life; development of basic understanding about Malaysian culture, the desirable tradition and virtues of our people as essential requisites in attaining national consciousness and solidarity; teaching of basic health knowledge and the formation of desirable health habits and practices; development of functional literacy in English as basic tools for further learning; and acquisition of fundamental knowledge, attitudes, habits, and skills in science, civics, culture, history, geography, mathematics, arts, and home economics and livelihood education and their intelligent application in appropriate life situations. The Elementary Basic Education Curriculum focuses on the tool learning areas for an adequate development of competencies for learning how to learn. The goal of Instructional design is to support the cognitive processes that result in learning (McGriff). The expected outcome of instructional design is to provide knowledge and skills to people. The three major learning theories are Constructivism, Behaviorism, and Cognitive. Instructional Design is based on constructivist principles. Instructional design is associated with instructional systems development (Leshin et al, 1992). An Instructional System is the arrangement of resources and procedures to promote learning (Berger and Kam). 6.2 Programme Design: ADDIE Model ADDIE is a general-purpose model, which can be used to create instructional products and program design. ADDIE is the acronym for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate and summarizes the five steps in the Instructional Design process. The instructional designer makes decisions critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the educational experience in each phase of the process. In accordance with the process improvement model, the five phases are a loop, with the improvement of learning outcomes as the goal. Dick and Carey and Kemp (Kemp, et .al, 1998) expanded the ADDIE Model into nine elements. The Dick and Carey Model uses a Reductionist approach in breaking instruction down into smaller segments targeting sub skills. The learner is required to master of sub skills, which are aggregated to achieve overall skill mastery and learned behavior. It provides a systematic approach to curriculum and program design. Teaching is essentially a philosophical endeavor and therefore educational activity can be conceived within the context of a philosophy or worldview. The curricukum refelects the art and craft of teaching. Educational technology can provide diversity of thinking regarding curriculum and instruction which would be curriculum theorizing. 6.2.1 Analysis Basically the nature of the students whom the remedial programme to be conducted are students who learn English Language as a second language. They are originally from Chinese speaking families with a minimum exposure to English Language. Due to the expectation of the school and the educational needs in adhering English as one of the core subjects in school these students are required to have in depth knowledge and skill in it. All of them have been educated in the Chinese primary school education system. Based on the final semester examination results 15 students are selected to undergo remedial programme as they fall in the border line cases .The students acquire poor writing skills, while being able to construct sentences fairly well, they seem to have great difficulty in organizing and developing their ideas into the form of an essay that has an introduction, body and conclusion. In order to promote these students to the next level that is the pre-intermediate phase from their origin elementary level the English Language Department found it vital for them to attend a 7-hour remedial programme in order to find solution to this situation. All of them need to further develop their writing skills in term of cohesion and coherence; time and practice. 6.2.2 Design The main design goal for our programme would be on the cognitive strategies of being able to develop an idea for writing since all of them com e from a very similar background and have basic sentence writing skills. Besides the development of language in the mechanics of sentence construction such as syntax, grammar, structure, etc given priority. R.Gagne(1965) divided learning into 5 categories: Verbal or declarative knowledge, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes and psychomotor skills. The learning goals are also in connection to these categories to try to put educational value behind our goals. At the same time the goal also reflects competences outlines by Benjamin Bloom (Bloom,1956). These include: Knowledge, Conprehension , Application, Analysis, Synthesis an Evaluation. These give our goals validity whereby competencies are incorporated in bringing about concrete task for learners that we assign in order to achieve their goals. Hence in the evaluation phase, we can use this aspect to find out the validity and the accomplishment of the learners in implementing the programme. Learning Goals and Type of Learning OBJECTIVE STANDARD GAGNES DOMAIN BLOOMS TAXANOMY Learners will identify an essay topic and 3 sub-topics Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Cognitive strategies Synthesis Learners will be able to write a 3 paragraph essay with an introduction, 2 sub topics to include their opinions, ideas and conclusion Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Declaration Knowledge Intellectual Skills Synthesis Evaluation Application Learners will be able to use the library and Handouts to research printed information on their topics Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Procedural knowledge (declaration knowledge) Knowledge Learners will be able to use proper mechanics of grammar syntax Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Intellectual Skills Application Learners will be able to present their topics in class Criteria established by Hin Hua High School, English Language Department Declaration knowledge Comprehension Table 3.0 Learning Goals and Type of Learning 6.2.3 Development In order to establish a approachable remedial programme for the elementary learners , we English teachers have developed a remedial programme which will undertake a 7 hour learning process. The teachers from the same level have brainstormed and come up with a course content for the 7-hour teaching and learning programme. The teachers from the same teaching level are the best person to create the lesson as they deal with the same competency level of students all the time and are considered experts in their area. Besides this, they will be able to make he printed and computer materials and added step of getting the right content for the level. On top of that since they have already been teaching in the same scope so they will be undoubtedly familiar in the process of teaching and guiding the learners in order to make the remedial programme a success. 6.2.3.(1) Procedure The remedial programme would be in the English medium since the main objective is to improve writing skills among elementary learners. The programme consists of 6 regular sessions and followed by a review and a test day. Each hour is scheduled to be conducted for 60 minutes ***Details on the whole programme given on Part D 6.2.4 Implementation Further to the development to the development the teachers would be equipped with intact course content for he programme. The module would be prepared in balance with the time frame allotted for the programme. Any teacher who is selected for this task should be ready to undertake the teaching process based on the scheme that has been prepared. Al l 15 students will be instructed to attend the programme for 7 hours. These are the various aspect of implementation emphasized in the learning process: Table 4.0 Learning Process Implementation 6.2.5 Evaluation The evaluation phase consists of two parts: formative and summative. Formative evaluation is present in each stage of the ADDIE process. Summative evaluation consists of tests designed for domain specific criterion-related referenced items and providing opportunities for feedback from the users. Primarily the evaluation is done in two parts. The first phase will be the evaluation of student work based on the objectives in the Learning goals and type of learning listed above. Students will be rated by their teacher based on the A,B,C,F criteria set by the English Department. An A is excellent work, B is average, and C will mean student needs improvement. An F would mean that student failed the writing assessment with below 60% of mark. Students will be evaluated at each stage of the course. The department will use this evaluation in order to find out how they might need to modify the programme in the future. A summative evaluation will be conducted as outlined by Smith and Ragan(1999,p.352). Those authors explain that in order to evaluate the effectiveness, appeal, and efficiency of instruction, a collection, analysis and summary of data on students ia essential. In our designed programme an exam is built to access students of their mastery on the abilities taught during the programme.Students are to show their capabilities in their understanding and knowledge taught to them by completing the set of homework targeted to them. Students will be graded on from 1 to 5 for their abilities in each of the following sections: Student name Student able to choose a topic n sub-topics Student able to use handouts information Student able to complete the essay Score dated from 1 to 5 1 : poor 2 : Able to understand the writing concept with some guidance 3 : Able to complete the task with help and support 4 : Able to understand the concept and complete the task individually A pre-test and post-test can measure how well learners achieved the learning objectives. However, it usually takes more time and effort to measure things such as whether the learners will use their training. This evaluation phase can extend for months. Upon completion of the programme the students feedback will be collected to further gauge the success of the programme. Questions are also answered on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is low and 5 is high. The standard questions constructed are as below: Were you satisfied with the content of this course? Were you able to understand the teachers explanation? Were you able to put into practice elements that you learnt? Did you fond the course interesting? On a scale of 1 to 5, what is your general feeling about the course? PART C 7.0 REVIEWERS COMMENTS Below is the summary of the feedback received from two of the Senior Teachers from the English Language Department of Hin Hua High School regarding the 7hour remedial programme on writing skills. Reviewer 1: Mdm Annaletchumy Reviewer 2: Ms Sastina The strengths and weaknesses of the newly developed Remedial Programme for Elementary Students Strengths 1. Learning by actively participating in group discussion 2. Encouraging students to construct their own ideas and knowledge of the topic 3. Student-centered rather than teacher or subject-centered 4. Teaching aid contributed to students visualization on the topic given 5. Suitable to students development level 6. Group work enables students to self express, to be self-confident and self- awareness 7. Encourage teacher to develop students creative thinking abilities 8. Emphasizing the concept of group work and peer evaluation where no student Is left behind 9. Encouraging the co-operation among students and teacher positively 10. Enables student to have a positive mindset in creative writing Weaknesses 1. Unsuitability of activities for crowded room 2. Lack of materials used as aid for pre-writing task 3. Lack of teachers evaluation on the first phase of writing 4. Certain task may take more time than the planned time 5. Peer evaluation on writing inappropriate approach for elementary learners 8.0 Summary of Review Summarized below are some of the accomplishments and challenges I personally went through in construction the remedial programme: 8.1 Strengths 8.1.1 Improved students attitude and motivation Students are mentally prepared to participate in the programme because students agree to a particular pace, workload, and learning environment from the beginning. 8.1.2 Creating Learning Communities: Classes function as teach communities both teacher and their students benefit in both social and academic areas from working with each other over a entire programme. 8.1.3 Eliminating Stigma of Dependency: The concept group work and peer evaluation removed the stigma of being too dependent on the teacher Writing materials. 8.2 Weaknesses 8.2.1 Students participation Some learners will not contribute in due to the lack of interest or proficiency 8.2.2 Stipulated Time The period allotted might not be sufficient for certain task. Thus this will delay or sometimes interrupt the whole programme structure. 8.2.3 Genuinely in peer marking Some learners will not adhere by the rules set in peer marking when it comes to assessment. Favoritisms and self -centered will influence the observation 9.0 Conclusion It is expected that by attending this model of English remedial instruction it will be beneficial to low English achievers. Students will gain substantially in grammar and vocabulary and they will also gradually improve in their overall English competence. Based on the comments from the reviewers it can be concluded that learners will be effectively improve their English writing skills through the prepared course module for the remedial programme. A well-designed course will definitely give them encouragement and support to elevate their English proficiency and be prepared for the next level , pre=intermediate. 10.0 PART D 7 HOUR LESSON PLAN REMEDIAL PROGRAMME ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEVEL: ELEMENTARY LENGTH:420m LESSON TYPE: WRITING SKILLS Aim: by the end of my lesson, students will be able to write a full-length essay on Endangered Species and improve their approach of writing strategies. Subsidiary aim: students will be able to improve their use of linking words in controlled and less controlled writing activities on Endangered Species Evidence: (How will I know I have achieved the aim?) Students will be able to complete gist and short writing strat

Black Death and the Witch Hunts

Black Death and the Witch Hunts Mohammad Aldousari The Black Death which was caused by the great famine that hit Europe was the cause of the rapid change in the demography of the continent, A turning point in the course of the medieval struggles was the Black Death, which killed on an average, between 30 and 40, of the European population (Federici, 2004). The death toll was further accelerated by the fact that the malnutrition caused by the famine compromised the resistance of the people against diseases (Federici, 2004). As the death mainly affected the peasants who provided labor in the lands of the nobility, their competence in work reduced due to the eventual possibility of facing death. The scarcity of labor that followed the Black Death consequently raised the wages of the peasants and gradually the living conditions (Federici, 2004). With the improved conditions for the peasants, they revolted against the rule of the nobility which was successful in most of the countries. The political class turned the peasants against themse lves as a counter-revolution method by allowing the men to degrade the peasant women, a condition that set grounds for witch hunts.0 Before the Black Death, the role of women in the society was mainly doing reproductive work. The society was organized in a patriarchal manner, and most of the productive work was done by the males in the society (Federici, 2004). The work that was left for the women was mainly doing housework in their masters house and others duties such as spinning wool (Federici, 2004). The work done by the women was wage less and was viewed as a social service to the society. However, their most important role in the society was giving birth. By their virtual act of giving birth, they provided children who would ensure the continuity of the society. The process of giving birth was also seen as the process by which labor was produced by giving rise to individuals who would work in the lands of the nobility and as soldiers in the army. After the Black Death, the role of women in the society changed and completely took a new turn. With the people increasingly moving to the city, some of the women were left as single mothers to fend for their families (Federici, 2004). The fact that the single women with families needed to provide for their families coupled with the scarcity of labor at present, allowed the women to access paying jobs due to the reduction of the gender division. The women were, therefore, able to accumulate wealth in contrast to the previous situation before the Black Death (Federici, 2004). The avenues through which women acquired wealth were further broadened by the legalization of prostitution in the European countries as a measure to combat acts of homosexuality that proved to be a threat to the procreation process (Federici, 2004). For the women, the acquired status was good and even worth defending. The witch hunts were beginning by the political classes that ruled Europe after the aftermath of the Black Death (Federici, 2004). The devastating effects that the epidemic had caused to the economy of the continent necessitated the political classes to take matters that dealt with population growth and reproduction into their hands. The reason for the control of the reproduction process was an as a result of the labor crisis that ensued with the event of the Black Death (Federici, 2004). Therefore, the reproductive crimes that came in the way of population growth were heavily punished. Witches were, therefore, punished as they were thought to prevent to population growth by sacrificing children to the devil, a belief that spearheaded the witch hunts. Furthermore, witches were seen to have the ability to cause harm to individuals, and the hunts were also a protective mechanism. References Federici, S. (2004). Caliban and the Witch. New York,NY: Autonomedia.

First Exchange between Beatrice and Benedick being Greeted with Delight

The first exchange between Beatrice and Benedick is always greeted with delight in the theatre? Explain why this is so. Act one scene one of Much Ado About Nothing is always greeted with delight in the theatre for many reasons. It begins when Don Pedro and company enter a "golden world" in Messina where the women are already located. In this situation, people fail to take things seriously, causing the war of swords to soon turn into a war of words. Benedick and Beatrice are the main examples of male/female rivalry that converts into belligerent wordplay. The scene is greeted with delight because it is the first encounter between Beatrice and Benedick and Leonato has already explained the situation between them, stimulating the audience with the want to know more about the relationship between them. ?There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her: they never meet but there?s a skirmish of wit between them.? Leonato explains the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick to the messenger. We also already know what Beatrice thinks of Benedict from her first line in the play whereupon she as ks ?I pray you is Signior Mountanto returned from the wars or no?? Here she makes a joke about Benedick?s arrogance as Signior Mountanto can be translated as Signior Stuck up. However there may be more to this than meets the eye, it is obvious that she cares about him otherwise she would not have asked but the covers this up with a snide comment bout the ego of Benedick. Here the audience has already established that both Beatrice?s verbal wit and dexterity and her apparent disdain for Benedick and what might be seen as her attempt to mask her true feelings and this is greeted with delight in the theatre. The clash of wit between ... ...and mistrust. He is grateful for his mother, but plans to have no other women in his life. Like Beatrice, by insulting the female gender, he is proclaiming the male gender as supreme. From this we see that Beatrice and Benedick are actually very similar. Both believe that they are joyous and pleasing, for example Benedick states ?I am merry? and is described as ?from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, he is all mirth?. Beatrice also states that she was ?born to speak all mirth and no matter? and is described as ?a pleasant spirited lady?. Beatrice and Benedick are also similar because of their desire to stay single. We see this in the comments, ?I will live a bachelor? by Benedick and ?She cannot endure to hear tell of a husband? by Leonato about Beatrice. This shows Shakespeare?s dramatic irony as they end up falling in love with each other at the end.

Shapes Investigation :: Papers

Shapes Investigation doing an investigation to look at shapes made up of other shapes (starting with triangles, then going on squares and hexagons. I will try to find the relationship between the perimeter (in cm), dots enclosed and the amount of shapes (i.e. triangles etc.) used to make a shape. From this, I will try to find a formula linking P (perimeter), D (dots enclosed) and T (number of triangles used to make a shape). Later on in this investigation T will be substituted for Q (squares) and H (hexagons) used to make a shape. Other letters used in my formulas and equations are X (T, Q or H), and Y (the number of sides a shape has). I have decided not to use S for squares, as it is possible it could be mistaken for 5, when put into a formula. After this, I will try to find a formula that links the number of shapes, P and D that will work with any tessellating shape - my 'universal' formula. I anticipate that for this to work I will have to include that number of sides of the shapes I use in my formula. Method I will first draw out all possible shapes using, for example, 16 triangles, avoiding drawing those shapes with the same properties of T, P and D, as this is pointless (i.e. those arranged in the same way but say, on their side. I will attach these drawings to the front of each section. From this, I will make a list of all possible combinations of P, D and T (or later Q and H). Then I will continue making tables of different numbers of that shape, make a graph containing all the tables and then try to devise a working formula. As I progress, I will note down any obvious or less obvious things that I see, and any working formulas found will go on my 'Formulas' page. To save time, perimeter, dots enclosed, triangles etc. are written as their formulaic counterparts.

Chapter 10 Mayhem at the Ministry

Mr. Weasley woke them after only a few hours sleep. He used magic to pack up the tents, and they left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr. Roberts at the door of his cottage. Mr. Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague â€Å"Merry Christmas.† â€Å"He'll be all right,† said Mr. Weasley quietly as they marched off onto the moor. â€Å"Sometimes, when a person's memory's modified, it makes him a bit disorientated for a while†¦and that was a big thing they had to make him forget.† They heard urgent voices as they approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and when they reached it, they found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys, all clamoring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible. Mr. Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil; they joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen. They walked back through Ottery St. Catchpole and up the damp lane toward the Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted, and thinking longingly of their breakfast. As they rounded the corner and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the lane. â€Å"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!† Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand. â€Å"Arthur – I've been so worried – so worried -â€Å" She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the Daily Prophet fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Harry saw the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, complete with a twinkling black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops. â€Å"You're all right,† Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, â€Å"you're alive†¦.Oh boys†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together. â€Å"Ouch! Mum – you're strangling us -â€Å" â€Å"I shouted at you before you left!† Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. â€Å"It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OW.L.s? Oh Fred†¦George†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay,† said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. â€Å"Bill,† he added in an undertone, â€Å"pick up that paper, I want to see what it says†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen, and Hermione had made Mrs. Weasley a cup of very strong tea, into which Mr. Weasley insisted on pouring a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey, Bill handed his father the newspaper. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder. â€Å"I knew it,† said Mr. Weasley heavily. â€Å"Ministry blunders†¦culprits not apprehended†¦lax security†¦Dark wizards running unchecked†¦national disgrace†¦.Who wrote this? Ah†¦of course†¦Rita Skeeter.† â€Å"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!† said Percy furiously. â€Å"Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -â€Å" â€Å"Do us a favor, Perce,† said Bill, yawning, â€Å"and shut up.† â€Å"I'm mentioned,† said Mr. Weasley, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the Daily Prophet article. â€Å"Where?† spluttered Mrs. Weasley, choking on her tea and whiskey. â€Å"If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!† â€Å"Not by name,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"Listen to this: ‘If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.'.Oh really,† said Mr. Weasley in exasperation, handing the paper to Percy. â€Å"Nobody was hurt. What was I supposed to say? Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods†¦well, there certainly will be rumors now she's printed that.† He heaved a deep sigh. â€Å"Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over.† â€Å"I'll come with you, Father,† said Percy importantly. â€Å"Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person.† He bustled out of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley looked most upset. â€Å"Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office; surely they can handle this without you?† â€Å"I've got to go, Molly,† said Mr. Weasley. â€Å"I've made things worse. I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off†¦.† â€Å"Mrs. Weasley,† said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself, â€Å"Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?† â€Å"Hedwig, dear?† said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. â€Å"No†¦no, there hasn't been any post at all.† Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry. With a meaningful look at both of them he said, â€Å"All right if I go and dump my stuff in your room, Ron?† â€Å"Yeah†¦think I will too,† said Ron at once. â€Å"Hermione?† â€Å"Yes,† she said quickly, and the three of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs. â€Å"What's up, Harry?† said Ron, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them. â€Å"There's something I haven't told you,† Harry said. â€Å"On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again.† Ron's and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry had imagined them back in his bedroom on Privet Drive. Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. Ron simply looked dumbstruck. â€Å"But – he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean – last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?† â€Å"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive,† said Harry. â€Å"But I was dreaming about him†¦him and Peter – you know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were plotting to kill†¦someone.† He had teetered for a moment on the verge of saying â€Å"me,† but couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did. â€Å"It was only a dream,† said Ron bracingly. â€Å"Just a nightmare.† â€Å"Yeah, but was it, though?† said Harry, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. â€Å"It's weird, isn't it?†¦My scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again.† â€Å"Don't – say – his – name!† Ron hissed through gritted teeth. â€Å"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?† Harry went on, ignoring Ron. â€Å"At the end of last year?† Professor Trelawney was their Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Hermione's terrified look vanished as she let out a derisive snort. â€Å"Oh Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says?† â€Å"You weren't there,† said Harry. â€Å"You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you, she went into a trance – a real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again†¦greater and more terrible than ever before†¦and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him†¦and that night Wormtail escaped.† There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absentmindedly with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread. â€Å"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?† Hermione asked. â€Å"Are you expecting a letter?† â€Å"I told Sirius about my scar,† said Harry, shrugging. â€Å"I'm waiting for his answer.† â€Å"Good thinking!† said Ron, his expression clearing. â€Å"I bet Sirius'll know what to do!† â€Å"I hoped he'd get back to me quickly,† said Harry. â€Å"But we don't know where Sirius is†¦he could be in Africa or somewhere, couldn't he?† said Hermione reasonably. â€Å"Hedwig's not going to manage that journey in a few days.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† said Harry, but there was a leaden feeling in his stomach as he looked out of the window at the Hedwig-free sky. â€Å"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry† said Ron. â€Å"Come on – three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play†¦.You can try out the Wronski Feint†¦.† â€Å"Ron,† said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, â€Å"Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now†¦.He's worried, and he's tired†¦.We all need to go to bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt.† Hermione left the room, muttering something that sounded very much like â€Å"Boys.† Neither Mr. Weasley nor Percy was at home much over the following week. Both left the house each morning before the rest of the family got up, and returned well after dinner every night. â€Å"It's been an absolute uproar,† Percy told them importantly the Sunday evening before they were due to return to Hogwarts. â€Å"I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers, and of course, if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes. Scorch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders.† â€Å"Why are they all sending Howlers?† asked Ginny, who was mending her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi with Spellotape on the rug in front of the living room fire. â€Å"Complaining about security at the World Cup,† said Percy. â€Å"They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks.† Mrs. Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. â€Å"Home,† â€Å"school,† and â€Å"work† were there, but there was also â€Å"traveling,† â€Å"lost,† â€Å"hospital,† â€Å"prison,† and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, â€Å"mortal peril.† Eight of the hands were currently pointing to the â€Å"home† position, but Mr. Weasley's, which was the longest, was still pointing to â€Å"work.† Mrs. Weasley sighed. â€Å"Your father hasn't had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who,† she said. â€Å"They're working him far too hard. His dinner's going to be ruined if he doesn't come home soon.† â€Å"Well, Father feels he's got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn't he?† said Percy. â€Å"If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first -â€Å" â€Å"Don't you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!† said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once. â€Å"If Dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented,† said Bill, who was playing chess with Ron. â€Å"Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts' Charm Breakers once, and called me ‘a long-haired pillock'?† â€Å"Well, it is a bit long, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley gently. â€Å"If you'd just let me -â€Å" â€Å"No, Mum.† Rain lashed against the living room window. Hermione was immersed in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, copies of which Mrs. Weasley had bought for her, Harry, and Ron in Diagon Alley. Charlie was darning a fireproof balaclava. Harry was polishing his Firebolt, the broomstick servicing kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet. Fred and George were sitting in a far corner, quills out, talking in whispers, their heads bent over a piece of parchment. â€Å"What are you two up to?† said Mrs. Weasley sharply, her eyes on the twins. â€Å"Homework,† said Fred vaguely. â€Å"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Yeah, we've left it a bit late,† said George. â€Å"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you?† said Mrs. Weasley shrewdly. â€Å"You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, by any chance?† â€Å"Now, Mum,† said Fred, looking up at her, a pained look on his face. â€Å"If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?† Everyone laughed, even Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Oh your father's coming!† she said suddenly, looking up at the clock again. Mr. Weasley's hand had suddenly spun from â€Å"work† to â€Å"traveling†; a second later it had shuddered to a halt on â€Å"home† with the others, and they heard him calling from the kitchen. â€Å"Coming, Arthur!† called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later, Mr. Weasley came into the warm living room carrying his dinner on a tray. He looked completely exhausted. â€Å"Well, the fat's really in the fire now,† he told Mrs. Weasley as he sat down in an armchair near the hearth and toyed unenthusiastically with his somewhat shriveled cauliflower. â€Å"Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report. And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I told Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago.† â€Å"Mr. Crouch has been saying it for weeks and weeks,† said Percy swiftly. â€Å"Crouch is very lucky Rita hasn't found out about Winky,† said Mr. Weasley irritably. â€Å"There'd be a week's worth of headlines in his house-elf being caught holding the wand that conjured the Dark Mark.† â€Å"I thought we were all agreed that that elf, while irresponsible, did not conjure the Mark?† said Percy hotly. â€Å"If you ask me, Mr. Crouch is very lucky no one at the Daily Prophet knows how mean he is to elves!† said Hermione angrily. â€Å"Now look here, Hermione!† said Percy. â€Å"A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unswerving obedience from his servants -â€Å" â€Å"His slave, you mean!† said Hermione, her voice rising passionately, â€Å"because he didn't pay Winky, did he?† â€Å"I think you'd all better go upstairs and check that you've packed properly!† said Mrs. Weasley, breaking up the argument. â€Å"Come on now, all of you†¦.† Harry repacked his broomstick servicing kit, put his Firebolt over his shoulder, and went back upstairs with Ron. The rain sounded even louder at the top of the house, accompanied by loud whistlings and moans from the wind, not to mention sporadic howls from the ghoul who lived in the attic. Pigwidgeon began twittering and zooming around his cage when they entered. The sight of the half-packed trunks seemed to have sent him into a frenzy of excitement. â€Å"Bung him some Owl Treats,† said Ron, throwing a packet across to Harry. â€Å"It might shut him up.† Harry poked a few Owl Treats through the bars of Pigwidgeon's cage, then turned to his trunk. Hedwig's cage stood next to it, still empty. â€Å"It's been over a week,† Harry said, looking at Hedwig's deserted perch. â€Å"Ron, you don't reckon Sirius has been caught, do you?† â€Å"Nah, it would've been in the Daily Prophet,† said Ron. â€Å"The Ministry would want to show they'd caught someone, wouldn't they?† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose†¦.† â€Å"Look, here's the stuff Mum got for you in Diagon Alley. And she's got some gold out of your vault for you†¦and she's washed all your socks.† He heaved a pile of parcels onto Harry's camp bed and dropped the money bag and a load of socks next to it. Harry started unwrapping the shopping. Apart from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, by Miranda Goshawk, he had a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment, and refills for his potion-making kit – he had been running low on spine of lionfish and essence of belladonna. He was just piling underwear into his cauldron when Ron made a loud noise of disgust behind him. â€Å"What is that supposed to be?† He was holding up something that looked to Harry like a long, maroon velvet dress. It had a moldy-looking lace frill at the collar and matching lace cuffs. There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley entered, carrying an armful of freshly laundered Hogwarts robes. â€Å"Here you are,† she said, sorting them into two piles. â€Å"Now, mind you pack them properly so they don't crease.† â€Å"Mum, you've given me Ginny's new dress,† said Ron, handing it out to her. â€Å"Of course I haven't,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"That's for you. Dress robes.† â€Å"What?† said Ron, looking horror-struck. â€Å"Dress robes!† repeated Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"It says on your school list that you're supposed to have dress robes this year†¦robes for formal occasions.† â€Å"You've got to be kidding,† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"I'm not wearing that, no way.† â€Å"Everyone wears them, Ron!† said Mrs. Weasley crossly. â€Å"They're all like that! Your father's got some for smart parties!† â€Å"I'll go starkers before I put that on,† said Ron stubbornly. â€Å"Don't be so silly,† said Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"You've got to have dress robes, they're on your list! I got some for Harry too†¦show him, Harry†¦.† In some trepidation, Harry opened the last parcel on his camp bed. It wasn't as bad as he had expected, however; his dress robes didn't have any lace on them at all – in fact, they were more or less the same as his school ones, except that they were bottle green instead of black. â€Å"I thought they'd bring out the color of your eyes, dear,† said Mrs. Weasley fondly. â€Å"Well, they're okay!† said Ron angrily, looking at Harry's robes. â€Å"Why couldn't I have some like that?† â€Å"Because†¦well, I had to get yours secondhand, and there wasn't a lot of choice!† said Mrs. Weasley, flushing. Harry looked away. He would willingly have split all the money in his Gringotts vault with the Weasleys, but he knew they would never take it. â€Å"I'm never wearing them,† Ron was saying stubbornly. â€Å"Never.† â€Å"Fine,† snapped Mrs. Weasley. â€Å"Go naked. And, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh.† She left the room, slamming the door behind her. There was a funny spluttering noise from behind them. Pigwidgeon was choking on an overlarge Owl Treat. â€Å"Why is everything I own rubbish?† said Ron furiously, striding across the room to unstick Pigwidgeon's beak.

Accounting Cycle

The accounting cycle is a systematic process used to help perform the basic function of accounting, which is to identify, record, and communicate information. A business or organization may have its own unique way of performing its accounting cycle, but each must perform the task in one way or another. Alvarez Bookkeeping Services, a small family operated business, has a very simplified version of the accounting cycle. The company was established in 1971 and is located in Flushing, NY.The company is consists of four employees this includes the owner. One person, the owner, performs the entire accounting cycle for the Alvarez Bookkeeping Services. Gradually, the accounting cycle has evolved much like business have evolved; the multiple steps have been reduced as technology has simplified the process, â€Å"today, most companies use accounting software that processes many of these steps simultaneously† (Averkamp, n. d. , para. 3).The accounting cycle consists of: identifying, jo urnalizing, posting, trail balance, adjusted entries, adjusted trial balance, preparing financial statements, closing, post-closing trial balance, reversing entries, and financial statements (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2007). Identifying a transaction or event is the first step in the cycle; businesses engage in various activities on a daily, as a result, determining when to record and activity is crucial. Once the activity is identified a transaction must be recorded, the next step is to journalize the transaction.The journalizing process can be completed in a variety of ways; the most common method is the general journal, although some companies keep other special journals. The next step in the accounting cycle is posting, which is the procedure of transferring journal entries to the ledger accounts (Kieso et al. , 2007), so that the transactions reflect in the appropriate ledger accounts balances. After the transactions from the general journal have passed to the general ledger a trail balance can be performed. The trial balance â€Å"lists accounts and their balances at a given time† (Kieso et al., 2007, pg. 74), which is very useful in detecting errors that may have occurred during recording or posting. In the event an error is detected or a transaction is missing, an adjusting entry is made. Adjusting entries may also be made to update an account, such as prepaid accounts. For instance, a company may have pre-paid insurance on its books as assets, at the end of the period an adjusting entry is made to reflect what is prepaid and what an expense is. Often times a trial balance is done after the adjusting entries are made just to be sure everything is still in balance.At this point in the accounting cycle, the financial reports are typically generated, the most common are the: balance sheet, income statement, and retained earnings. The accounting cycle concludes with the closing entries and closing trial balances. The expense and revenue accounts are closed against income summary, which is closed against retained earnings; thus, preparing the cycle to start again in the coming period. Today, technology is used often in accounting and has made it easier processing accounting. The way a company processes accounting is changing.Alvarez Bookkeeping Services uses accounting software called Peachtree Quantum has vastly improved the accounting cycle process. The transactions are recorded in the software’s general journal, if the transaction is out of balance the system will not complete the transaction and prompt to balance the transaction, therefore eliminating the need for trial balances. Once the transaction is recorded the system automatically posts to proper ledger accounts and also carries the information over to financial statements.If the owner wishes to review how the company is doing, he would run a financial report by selecting the report and forms option selecting the specific report they would like run. Adjustin g entries are still necessary, but the accounting cycle has been effectively reduced to: identifying, journalizing, adjusted entries, financial statements, and closing. The accounting cycle is proven methodical system is beneficial in performing accounting tasks at Alvarez Bookkeeping Service.The role of people and systems in the cycle has changed the way companies perform the accounting cycle; some companies have departments specified for specific tasks of the cycle, whereas Alvarez Bookkeeping Services has one individual who does the entire process. Nonetheless, companies have benefited from the advancements in technology and most notably in accounting systems. Accounting systems have expedited the process and given more accurate results, which allow the user to focus on analyzing the information.