A Homophobic Environment And Schools Education Essay

A Homophobic Environment And Schools Education Essay Homophobia refers to the negative feelings that some people have towards people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered LGBT and can often lead to harassment, bullying and victimisation. Despite this definition, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (2013) state that it is not just limited to being targeted at those who identify themselves as being LGBT. They believe that people who are merely perceived to be gay can be targeted, as well as those who do not conform to stereotypical gender roles. Boys who display characteristics that are stereotypically feminine and girls who display characteristics that are stereotypically masculine can be faced with abuse in schools. For example, AVERT (n.d.) write that boys are usually stereotyped as sporty and strong decision-makers, and girls are expected to be emotional and expressive. Therefore, boys can be labelled as being gay if they dont like sports, if they happen to show their feelings or if others think they are being too in timate with other boys. A study by Rivers (2000, p14) found that there are a number of places this bullying can take place, including in the classroom, playground, corridors, toilets, changing rooms and on their way home. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007, p.16) list a number of ways that children can experience homophobic bullying. They argue that it can consist of verbal abuse (such as mean jokes, suggestive remarks, teasing and name calling) or non-verbal abuse (such as mimicking them and using offensive gestures towards them). They also argue that pupils could be ignored or excluded from joining in with others, be threatened or experience physical abuse (such as hitting or kicking). It also states that pupils may experience cyber-bullying via email, chat rooms, social network sites and mobile phones. Furthermore, they state that offensive graffiti or distribution of other offensive material could be used to harass the child. Stonewall (n.d.) state that teachers have a legal duty to ensure homophobia is dealt with in schools. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that there is a need to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of pupils (Firth, 2012, p6). Under this law, teachers must identify and implement measures to promote good behaviour, respect for others, and self discipline amongst pupils, and to prevent all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying (Stonewall, n.d.). Firth (p.6) states that the Equality Act 2010 imposes a duty on schools to be proactive in promoting equality of opportunity for all. She says that, under this law, is it illegal to put people at a disadvantage based upon their sexual orientation and, therefore it offers protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Firth (p.6) also talks about the Human Rights Act 1998 which requires schools to respect and value all of their pupils and states that they have a right to private life and to be free from discrimination. Department For Education and Skills (2004, p9) states that OFSTED insists that inspectors report how schools promote the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters policy. These outcomes are being physically and mentally healthy, staying safe and being protected from harm and neglect, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution by being positively involved in community and society, and economic wellbeing. It adds that it will be impossible to deliver all five of these outcomes in a culture of homophobia. Despite these laws being in place, Moore Rosenthal (2006, p.132) argue that there is now considerable evidence that schools are a powerful site for homophobia to flourish and this is also reflected in research published by Stonewall, a charity organisation which fights for LGBT rights. They have conducted a number of surveys in recent years, asking for both the pupils and teachers points of view and experiences of homophobia in schools. The School Report (2012) was a survey of more than 1,600 gay young people in Britain. It found that more than half of LGBT people experience homophobic bullying at school (Stonewall, 2012, p.2) Even if they are not bullied, ninety six per cent of gay pupils heard homophobic remarks such as poof or lezza whilst ninety nine per cent hear derogatory phrases such as thats so gay (Stonewall, 2012, p.5). Thurlow (2001, p.36) writes that sticks and stones may be more likely to break their bones but the relentless, careless use of homophobic pejoratives will most certainly continue to compromise the psychological health of young homosexual and bisexual people by insidiously constructing their sexuality as something wrong, dangerous or shameworthy. Dye (n.d.) quotes Sue Allen, chair of Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG) as saying that Every generation has a word which they use as a term of offence [] today it is gay'. She claims that pupils in primary schools begin using it to mean anything thats naff or abnormal and, as a result, by the time they reach secondary school, a feeling of negativity surrounds being gay. Plummer (2001, p17) agrees that initially when pupils are using these terms they are not referring to homosexuality. He says that pupils will use the term gay to refer to something that looks a bit different, a bit tacky, pathetic or anything like that. He states those who were called poofters were the ones that werent in the in crowd such as those who didnt play sport or those who were interested in collecting things or reading. Moore Rosenthanal (2006, p.172) argue that sexual connotations are not attached to these offensive terms until the children get into their teens but despite this, they recognise that these terms have deeply negative and offensive meanings. Therefore, even if they start off in a non-sexual sense, the powerful effect of these precisely targeted homophobic terms [] provides a hostile context for the development of a homosexual indentity. Barnes (2011) believes that the reason children use and laugh at this type of derogatory terminology is because they dont have all the facts about homosexuality. After they kno w the facts, she argues, they begin to use the correct words in the correct way.   Stonewalls School Report (2012, p21) details a number of statistics that show that many pupils report a decline in their attendance to lessons. For example, it states that seventy per cent of LGBT pupils admit to skipping school at least once. Furthermore, nearly half of the LGBT pupils who experience homophobic bullying admit to skipping school because they are being bullied. This can lead to them getting behind in their work and ultimately their attainment may be affected. 43 per cent of bullied of LGBT pupils state that they feel they are underachieving in their school work. (p.20) Over 30 per cent change their plans for future education because they are being bullied, meaning that they are more likely to leave school at 16, rather than carrying to study for their A-Levels and go to university, for example (p.21). Stonewall state that Ofsted requires schools to stamp out homophobic bullying in their inspection framework and, therefore they believe that schools should see tackling homophobic bullying as part of their wider drive to improve behaviour and boost aspiration, standards and attainment. (p27) There are concerns that schools are not doing enough to make all pupils feel welcome in their school. Stonewall (2012, p.20) found that more than fifty per cent of LGBT pupils feel as if they dont belong at their school and 46% dont feel as if they can act like themselves when they are at school. A similar percentage claim that it is hard for gay people to feel accepted in school and nearly fifty per cent of bullied LGBT pupils say that they have low self-esteem (pp.21-22). Furthermore, forty one per cent dont feel part of their school community and 30 per cent disagree with the notion that their school an accepting, tolerant place where I feel welcome. Barnes (2011) believes that it is essential that the curriculum reflects the community we live in and therefore, as LGBT people are a legitimate part of our community, they should also be included in the curriculum. She states that it is preferable to seep LGBT people into [the pupils] consciousness rather than to explicitly confront the students with LGBT issues. She believes that this can be done through a combination of inclusive lesson plans and giving them the facts through discussions that arise. Stonewall (2009a, p12) lists examples such as discussing LGBT characters in novels, civil partnerships and different families. They state that these are all ideal ways to discuss gay issues in a sensitive and appropriate manner. In order to ensure that the pupils feel accepted in school, they also recommend displaying posters which communicate positive messages of equality such as the Some people are gay, get over it campaign. The best schools do more than tackle homophobic bullying and therefore schools should work towards embracing an environment where diversity is promoted and celebrated across whole school community. (Stonewall, 2012, p27) However not all teachers are happy to include LGBT issues into their lessons. In January 2009, a London primary school teacher faced disciplinary action after she refused to read the book And Tango Makes Three, written by Parnell Richardson in 2005 (UK Parliament, 2013a). The story book tells the story of a gay penguin couple and once she realised that she that the book was advocating gay marriage she refused to continue reading it because of her Christian beliefs. She is not alone. The UK Pariliament (2013b) states that a 2013 poll conducted by ComRes found that over forty thousand teachers say they will probably refuse to teach about the importance of same-sex marriage if the Marriage (Same Sex couples) bill is eventually passed. Dashwood (2011) expresses that in her experience of homophobia in schools, she believes it is actually the pupils who show the most amount of tolerance, rather than the teachers. She argues that it is often young people who are the most accepting members of a school community, and a consequence they put many of their teachers to shame. She concludes that the government should ensure that educators are not responsible for any homophobia in the classroom, before attempting to tackle homophobic bullying among pupils. Stonewall (2012) states that whilst children in faith schools are no more likely to report homophobic bullying than those in non-faith schools (p.4), teachers in religious schools are more likely to make homophobic remarks and less likely to challenge pupils when they hear them make homophobic remarks, than those who teach in non-faith schools (p.12). Garner (2011) believes that a number of faith schools view themselves above the law and think they can do anything that they believe is line with their religious beliefs. Stonewall (2012, p.21) states that gay pupils who are bullied are at higher risk of suicide, self-harm and depression. LGBT organisation, Revel and Riot (n.d) suggests that the reasoning behind these thoughts are due to internalised homophobia; subconsciously-developed negative feelings LGBT people feel towards themselves because of their sexuality. Revel and Riot state that LGBT people may start to have these negative attitudes because they are affected and hurt by the discrimination gay people receive in society. They believe that internalised homophobia can take a number of forms. Firstly, a gay person can live in denial, where they live their lives pretending to be heterosexual which can lead to the person feeling unfulfilled and lonely. Secondly, a person can remain closeted. This means that they take part in homosexual activity but keeps it a secret from the people close to them. Revel and Riot argue that being closeted is linked with high-anxiety, low self-esteem, increased ri sk for suicide and general lack of fulfillment. The Stonewall survey (2012, p22) found that more than fifty per cent admit to taking actions to deliberately harm themselves, such as cutting or burning themselves. Nearly fifty per cent of LGBT people who are bullied show symptoms linked with depression whilst thirty five per cent of those who werent bullied showed depression symptoms (p.22) Almost a quarter of LGBT pupils admitted to attempting suicide at some point, whilst over seventy per cent claim to have at least considered it. Stonewall (2012, p.4) compares these figures to those published by the Samaritans which states that only seven per cent of all young people (either straight or LGBT) have ever attempted suicide and less than fifty per cent have considered it. Rebel and Riot (n.d.) argue that the worst form of internalised homophobia is aggressive denial, where a person feels so strongly that they should not be gay that they repress their sexual desires and act out in a ho mophobic manner towards other LGBT people. Over a quarter of bullied LGBT pupils say they feel guilty about getting bullied whilst over sixty per cent say they feel embarrassed and over forty per cent say they feel ashamed.(Stonewall, 2012, p.21) It is not always easy for teachers to be aware of when a pupil is the victim of homophobic bullying and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007, p16-17) believe that this is because many pupils are embarrassed to admit it, perhaps because they do not want to disclose their sexuality to their teacher or because they are embarrassed that they are being perceived in this way and being bullied for it when they actually are not LGBT. Alternatively, they argue that some pupils may choose not to tell their teachers that they are being bullied because they worry about how the staff may deal with the problem given the sensitivities involved (p.19) A Stonewall report from 2009 focused on responses from teachers of both primary and secondary schools on their experience of homoph obia in the classroom. It found that nearly thirty per cent of teachers state that they would not feel confident in supporting a pupil who decided to come out as LGBT to them (Stonewall, 2009b, p16). Furthermore, forty per cent say that they would not feel confident in providing information, advice and guidance on gay issues to their pupils. Concerns about how teachers will respond correlate with figures from Stonewalls School Report (2012, p.12) that shows that many LGBT pupils feel that their schools often fail to intervene when homophobic bullying and language occurs. The report found that the rate of homophobic bullying is much higher in schools where teachers never step in when they hear homophobic remarks, compared to schools where the teachers challenge homophobic remarks every time. (Stonewall, 2012, p.13) Up until 2003, it was illegal for teachers to intentionally promote homosexuality or to promote the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship (National Archives, n.d.) This was stated as part of Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act. Even though this has now been repealed, there may still be confusion of what is acceptable. This fairly recent change of the law may leave those that have been teaching for a while confused as to what they are allowed to do. If they have always been told that they are not allowed to teach about gay issues throughout their career, many may continue to ignore these issues even now the ban has been lifted. Bridges (2013) agrees with this notion as she states that gay relationships seem to be outside the comfort zones of many teachers, and is therefore not tackled with as much rigour as other types of bullying. Pupils who have gay family members can also feel the effect of homophobia in the classroom. Stonewalls Different Families (p.20) states that whilst lots of pupils who have gay parents are open about their families, most are careful about who they tell. Those who feel that they have to keep their families secret from everyone find it stressful. The report states that many pupils with gay parents are worried that they will get bullied and this prevents them from being honest about their families. The report concluded that pupils with gay parents dont feel as though their families were reflected in the classroom. It states that too often, schools assume that pupils have a mum and a dad both in classroom activities and in letters that are sent home. Therefore, the report recommends that teachers cease to make this assumption to avoid this insensitivity towards the pupils who have alternative families (p.22). Firth (2002, p7) acknowledges the importance for pupils who come from LGBT famil ies to feel that their families are recognised, accepted and respected. For this reason she believes that it is entirely appropriate to have discussions amongst young pupils about the diversity of families that exist within society. It is not just the pupils who experience homophobic abuse. Williams (2012) states that a 2006 survey by the Teacher Support Network discovered that two-thirds of LGBT teachers had experienced harassment or discrimination at work because of their sexual orientation. She writes that 81% of those received discrimination from the pupils and but 46% said their colleagues were responsible. Dellenty (2012) hopes that gay teachers will have the strength to come out and hopes that schools support them when they do as there will be pupils who have gay family or friends and those who will grow up to be LGBT themselves. He argues that these people deserve and need a representative diverse range of authentic role models in schools. The Department for Children, Families and Schools (, p.13) writes that the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 aims to protect all members of staff against discrimination or harassment on the grounds of their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orienation. Aside from bullying, there are also concerns that gay people are not well enough informed when it comes to sexual health. The Sex Education Forum () states that young LGBT pupils often report feeling left out of sex and relationships programmes. The Department for Education and Employment (2000) wrote that schools have a responsibility to ensure that the needs of all of their pupils are met in the sex education programmes. They argue that that all pupils need to feel that sex and relationship education is relevant to them and sensitive to their needs, regardless of their sexual orientation. They add that teachers should be able to deal honestly and sensitively with sexual orientation, answer appropriate questions and offer support. Stonewall (2012, p) found that two thirds of gay pupils dislike taking part in team sports. Futhermore, a survey by the National Union of Students () found that 42% per cent of LGBT pupils had a negative experience of playing sport at school which lead to them feeling as though they dont want to play any sports at college or university. The report concludes that schools should encourage LGBT-inclusiveness by using sport as a way of expressing to pupils that homophobia is not acceptable behaviour and that all members of a sports team should contribute to creating an inclusive environment. They should also make an effort to support students to participate in a broad range of sports, including those that are not typical for their gender. The celebration of LGBT History month in some schools is a step in the right direction. The National Union of Teachers (NUT, 2013) argues that LGBT History Month helps teachers to promote equality, value diversity and implement effective strategies to eradicate homophobia. The idea is to make pupils aware of the achievements of LGBT people in Britain, as well as the struggles they faced in society. Taking place every February, It is an opportunity to show that discrimination against people is wrong and must be challenged.  The NUT adds that students in school [] need to discuss human rights and have the life skills for a world where LGBT and straight people are equal. The LGBT History website outlines a number of reasons why this celebration is beneficial to the whole school community. It states that it is essential for everybody to be aware of the role of LGBT people in society and claims to aim to help gay people be viewed by students as motivators, inventors, artists, scientists and stars, rather than as victims. It also hopes to help boost the self-esteem of young LGBT pupils so they feel safe enough to continue with their education and grow to be happy and healthy adults who are less likely to suffer from violence, depression, and suicide. It is also an opportunity to provide postive role models for the pupils. An extreme example, but one that has been launched in other countries, is that of a gay school; a school for gay pupils, such as the Harvey Milk High School in New York. Launched in 2003, it was set up for those pupils who had been victimised and abused in their previous schools so much so that they were falling behind in their work or felt too afraid to attend their classes (Henley, 2004). Many of its pupils express that without the school they would make no academic progress and Henley (2004) writes that the school boasts that 95% of its students graduate, compared to just over 50% across New York generally. However, the idea is not popular amongst as people can get bullied for a number of reasons. Henely (2004) quoted Mike Long (who at the time was the chairman of the New York Conservative Party) as saying if we need a special school for homosexuals, maybe we need a special school for little short fat kids because they get picked on too. Indeed, Stonewalls research found that homo phobia was only the second most frequent form of bullying, behind bullying for being overweight. It is important to consider, therefore, that whilst these pupils may not get bullied for their sexual orientation anymore, they could still be targeted for other reasons. Furthermore, there are concerns that separating homosexual people from heterosexual people at an early age is only going to cause a wider segregation later on in life. Henley (2004) writes that some gay activitists believe that creating a new form of gay ghetto is no way to encourage integration and understanding, adding that in the real world, [] gay and straight people have to learn to co-exist. The Department for Education and Skills (2004) believe that schools are the ideal place to challenge homophobia because they make a significant contribution to the development of values and attitudes in young children that are likely to be highly resistant to change in later life.

Cooperative Education Opens Doors for Students :: Journalism Journalistic Essays

Cooperative Education Opens Doors for Students As the college application deadline draws nearer, high school seniors across the country will make their final decisions as to what handful of colleges and universities will receive the applications they rigorously spent their autumn weekends working on. Each year students consult different college prep tools to aid them with their continual search for the â€Å"right† school. Whether it city versus suburban, large versus small or public versus private; high school seniors today have a schmorgous board of options for furthering their education. However, a trend in education that is growing more popular in recent years, perhaps most notably at Northeastern University, is cooperative education. Northeastern was ranked #1 in 2003 among institutions that require students to combine classroom learning with real-world experience by U.S. News and World Report. Cooperative education, more commonly known as co-op, is emerging as a poplar way to stay ahead of the competition while in college. Started in 1909, one of the first co-op programs in the United States, Northeastern has a unique program that alternates periods of classroom learning with period of â€Å"real world† working experience outside the classroom. Students work full time in fields that are related to their future education pursuits and these are usually paid jobs. The co-op job allows the student to try out various jobs while still an undergraduate. The typical Northeastern student graduates with as much as two years of on-the-job experience already on his resume. Katie McDonald, 19, a sophomore at Northeastern is currently going through the process of beginning co-op. McDonald, who is a nursing major, will start her first job this January at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. â€Å"At first I was shocked at the whole process of interviewing and finding a job. Freshman year I looked forward to it, but once it came I was a little overwhelmed. Once I got started with it though, I found the process relatively easy. Now that I have interviewed and have a job I am really excited to begin,† said McDonald. Although students aren’t guaranteed a job every co-op period, known among students as â€Å"No-op†, there are faculty advisors who stay in close contact with employers to develop and maintain interesting salaried positions. Finding a co-op job, similar to any competitive job hunt, depends upon the candidate’s qualifications as compared with others, the current needs of the organization, the specific demands of the position and the job market in general.

Logical and Physical Network Design :: essays research papers

Hi everyone, my name is Randi Griffin. I live on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. Now I know what you are thinking: I live in paradise, so my life must be cake. Well, it is not. I am a wife, mother, and business owner. I am also very involved with my church. It does not matter that I live here, life is still life, it’s just a lot warmer than it is in the states. My primary email address is bear@vipowernet.net; my secondary email address is rgrif@email.uophx.edu. My work and home phone are the same: (340) 772-6049. That is my fax number, also. My cell# is (340) 513-9534. I went to college for three years at Salem State College in Massachusetts. My major was Computer Science. It was a blast. My professors and fellow classmates were awesome. We had a lot of fun. It was a small school, and a small CS department consisting of 3 professors and about 20 students. Luckily, most of my classmates were in my math courses, too. They were tough. I learned how to program with ADA. It is a military computer program and very robust. Most people consider it outdated because it’s not as risky and powerful as C++, but when it comes to military programming, I think the language had better be idiot-proof. It was a great learning tool, although I here that SSC has now switched to Java for the primary learning language. What I learned in SSC was a lot of mathematics and logic and how mathematics and logic applies to computer software. I learned how to build applications, and how systems and the SDLC work. A lot of what I am learning at UOP is repetitive of what I learned at SSC. My family and I moved to the VI in the beginning of my senior year at SSC, and I didn’t return to higher learning for two years after we moved. I felt I was out of the loop, so I decided that it was best to repeat the classes I took at SSC to bring myself up to speed. I am glad I did, because this is when I learned Java, Microsoft Project, Access and SQL Server. I've touched a little bit on networking at SSC, but never in the detail that was involved in the last course I took. My work experience in the IT field is limited.

Russells Treatment of Self-Discovery in Educating Rita :: English Literature

Russell's Treatment of Self-Discovery in Educating Rita (A) "RITA: See, I don't want a baby yet. See, I wanna discover meself first. Do you understand that?" Write about Russell's treatment of self-discovery and of its importance in the lives of the play's characters. The idea of self-discovery is a theme that runs throughout Educating Rita, demonstrating how it can be a personal mission as well as an accidental achievement in life. Both Frank and Rita, as well as the other, more minor characters, embark on this journey as Rita begins her Open University course. When Rita begins her the English Literature course, she is raring to go and wants to know "everything". She also puts in words, her personal desire for self-discovery. "I wanna discover meself." Rita knew from the beginning that she was on a mission and knew where she was going. Frank on the other hand, is quite content with his way of life and finds the idea of a "silly woman's attempts to get into the mind of Henry James" highly amusing although it does interrupt the monotony of his potentially extremely boring and predictive lifestyle. Russell demonstrates the idea of "self-discovery" through Rita by showing the way in which Rita has progressed during the play. At the beginning, Rita is the innocent student who wants "choices". She feels that she will be able to escape from the vicious circle that exists in working class society. The first signs of Rita's discovery are shown through her actions. Her first entrance is a forced entry into the office of Frank, whilst on her second visit she oils the door to make it easier for her to enter. Eventually, Russell no longer shows her entrance into the office but has her already there when the scene begins. Frank, shows less signs of self-discovery although he does in fact discover rather a lot about himself because of Rita. Frank has a drinking habit that he acknowledges but he does hide the signs of it and when Rita thinks she's "reformed" him he finds it highly amusing. Although Frank does not in fact cease drinking, he does get worse and it is the ultimate reason for his "sabbatical" to Australia. On the other hand, Frank's relationship with his former student Julia disintegrates as his fondness for Rita grows. Russell does this to show how the life of the teacher who is apparently stuck in a rut is also changing. The areas that Rita studies show how she has progressed. When she begins to form her own ideas which would hold their own in an examination, Frank doesn't appreciate it, he thinks that the progress

Development During Early Adolescence Essay

Can these changes have a significant impact on a variety of developmental outcomes of identity, morality, transitional stages, beginning of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, and sexual maturity? Hence, because of the potential impact of these changes, it is important to understand the cycles of adolescents. Life has store many surprises for us as we develop throughout our whole life span. Developmental stages are the progress that occurs in humans from the time they are born until they grow old and die. Originally beginning with infants and children, development will subsequently progress into adolescence, followed by adult, and lastly elderly. The development occurs in many fields, namely physical, perceptual, cognitive, moral and social. Derived from the Latin verb adolescere (to grow into maturity), adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescent is a distinct and dynamic phase of development in the life of an individual. It is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood and is characterized by spurts of physical, mental, emotional and social development. Who considers â€Å"adolescence† to be the period between 10-19 years of age, which generally encompasses the time from the beginning of puberty to the full legal age. The early adolescent developmental period is when individuals experience many changes, including the biological changes associated with puberty, important changes in relations with family and peers, and the social and educational changes related to transition from elementary to middle school (Wigfield, Byrnes, & Eccles, 2002). The biological changes that occur at early adolescence are dramatic, as anyone working with this age group knows (Susman & Rogel, 2004). Pubertal developments, the timings of puberty is quite different for girls and boys; girls enter puberty approximately 18 months before boys do, which means that during early adolescence, girls mature faster. Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or practically nonexistent, depending on the culture of their society. Adolescence is somewhere between childhood and adulthood. It is also the period of life between the beginning of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, such as worker or parent. It is filled with constant change, uncertainty, but it can be wonderful and full of expectation. Everything a child learned to believe is suddenly challenged. One day you are a cute child that everybody seemed to adore, and the next day your skin and body are changing. Adolescence is a challenging period for both children and their parents. Three stages of adolescence early, middle, and late, are experienced by most teens, but the age at which each stage is reached varies greatly from child to child. These different rates of maturation are connected to physical development and hormone balance, neither of which the child can control. For this reason, adolescents should be treated as individuals and any guidelines should be modified to the particular child. It is very common to come across mood swings in this stage of development. Gene Roland Medinnus and Ronald C. Johnson state that during adolescence, children develop the ability to: †¢ Understand abstract ideas, such as higher math concepts, and develop moral philosophies, including rights and privileges †¢ Establish and maintain satisfying relationships by learning to share intimacy without feeling worried or inhibited. Move toward a more mature sense of themselves and their purpose †¢ Question old values without losing their identity Adolescence begins when signs of sexual maturity begin to occur in both physical and social development and ends when the individual assumes adult roles and is concerned in most ways as an adult by his reference group. Female friendships are one of the most important dimensions of an adolescent girl’s life. Peer relationships and friendships are critical in the developing adolescent’s identity, behaviors, and overall health. These peer connections influence all areas of development including emotional, physical, spiritual, social, and cognitive. The movie â€Å"Mean Girls† addresses social behaviors and experiences that are common in female peer relationships throughout the adolescent years. â€Å"Mean Girls† has brought attention to girls mean behaviors and portrays a dark side of female peer relationships, in which girls act as bullies and use relationships to express anger or power through rumors, exclusion, secrets, or gossip. This movie shows the significant role that female peer relationships play. The functions of peer relationships in adolescence are to help support adolescents at a time when they are challenged with many new experiences, to encourage the development of emotional autonomy, to enable teens to form deeper forms of intimacy that will be needed in adulthood, and to improve social skills. Positive peer relationships cause less anxiety and depression in adolescents where as negative peer relationships may place an individual at risk for maladjustment. Adolescents who are generally disliked, aggressive, disruptive and cannot establish themselves in the peer culture are developmentally at risk. Having friends and peer acceptance are generally related to school competence, higher self-esteem, and better adjustments. Adolescence is a transitional stage of human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers (ages 13-19 years) are usually adolescent, though in some individual, puberty may extent a few years beyond the teenage years, and in some individuals puberty begins in the pre-teen years. Because adolescents are experiencing various strong cognitive and physical changes, for the first time in their lives they may start to view their friends, their peer group, as more important and influential than their parents. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word cognition as; the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning and judgment (Cognition). Because of peer pressure, they may sometimes indulge in activities not deemed socially acceptable. What is Peer Pressure? Peer pressure is the social pressure from friends or other people to accept certain beliefs or act in certain ways in order to be accepted. How and why do we get peers pressure? Everyone gives into peer pressure at one time or another, but why do people sometimes do things they didn’t want to do? Here are a few reasons. They are afraid of being rejected by others, want to be like and don’t want to lose a friend, want to appear grown up, don’t want to be made fun of, friends have a big influence on our lives, but sometimes they push us to do things we may not want to do. The first step to standing up to peer pressure is to understand it. The four main types of peer pressure is: 1. Rejection – threatening to end a friendship or relationship. This pressure can be hard to resist as nobody wants to lose friends. 2. Reasoning – telling a person reasons why they should try something or why it would be okay if they did it i. e. â€Å"your parents would never find out. † Identity is made of what drives an individual, the abilities they have, what they believe, and their personal history (Marcia, 1980). Identity is one of the main struggles in an adolescent’s life. It is very important that children receive the proper guidance while entering their adolescence from their parents and peers. Although they like to believe that they are capable of developing on their own, adolescents need parental guidance to develop their path of identity development. The relationship between a child and a parent plays an important role with an adolescent and his or her decisions about sex. (Chapman, Werner-Wilson 2008). Morality can be defined as the distinction between what is right and wrong or what is good and bad. Although, moral reasoning depends on culture which akes it difficult to define; most people don’t look at where these principles are coming from or what guides one through moral development. As children grow and learn, usually from care takers and people who inspire their every need, their morality changes based on several levels. Although researching of moral development goes as far back as Socrates, there are two psychologists that studied morality in depth and they are Lawrence Kohlberg and Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget was a cognitive developmental psychologist spending most of his time working with children and adolescents, including his own. Although, Piaget’s observation of moral development wasn’t in depth like Kohlberg, he allowed for a basic understanding. He believed that moral development occurred in stages. Piaget strongly believed in education and thought interaction in an education setting allowed children maximum potential in cognitive development. Piaget believed in many things, but when it came to moral development there were only two basic principles. The first principle was that children develop moral ideas in stages and could not skip stages, although movement from one stage to the other could vary in length. Lastly he believed that children create their own perception of their world, including whether their actions enforce what is morally right or wrong. â€Å"Piaget’s ideas of moral realism and morality of cooperation play a role in Kohlberg’s theory. Children in Piaget’s stage of moral realism believe that rules are absolute and can’t be changed. Punishment should be determined by how much damage is done, and the intention of the child is not taken into account. A child has many milestones to reach through adolescence. The success of these milestones depends on normal development. Milestones can be challenging regardless of age and size. However, some children experience abnormal development and also delays. Detecting signs of abnormal development in certain age groups requires an understanding of development milestones. There for this leads us to the major physical, cognitive, self made motivational experience of adolescents that are a variety of developmental outcomes of identity, morality, transitional stages, beginnings of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role, and sexual maturity.

Noise – Music to our ears or pollution?

Noise is all around us. Everywhere we go we can hear some kind of noise. Sound is measured in decibels. A decibel is a unit of relative loudness for sound, the decibel scale runs from zero for the least perceptible sound to 130 for sound that causes pain. The symbol for decibels is dB. There are a lot of pleasures in sound. Especially the music we hear. This means that the music industry make a lot of money as well as disco's. There are a lot of dangers related to noise. For example if u listen to loud music it can damage your ears. That is why when you but a disc man or any music appliance it warn the client of this. Loud noises created by man can disturb the life style of animals. It can drive animals away from their natural hunting ground and to less favourable land. At places such as football stadium of race tracks or concerts, the noise level is extremely high and can cause short term effects as well as long term effects. The people who are working in the race tracks, football stadiums and concerts are not concerned about the well being of the spectator because as long as the workers get paid they are happy. Sound sometimes can't be avoided because humans have no control over nature and nature can also produce sound. Mobile phones create a lot of pollution specially because there are so many mobile phones around. Eight out of ten people have mobiles and some people get fed up because mobile phones are always ringing. Mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola. Siemens, Sony and Erickson are happy that so many people are buying their products and don't really pay much attention to the noise pollution. Aircrafts produce very high levels of sound. Inside an aircraft the sound is quite loud. On the outside the sound is very loud. Apartments and houses near airports are at great risk. Aircrafts pass constantly. In Lisbon airport the aircraft pass extremely close to the apartments and this must be very bad for the people who live in the apartments. People still live in these locations because the price of houses and apartments are much lower because of the airports. The has been talk in Portugal about a certain time where there can be no flights arriving or taking off this means that aircraft companies are loosing money. Dogs which constantly bark all day are also a form of noise pollution. Neighbours get irritated and cant sleep because of the barking have a right to complain. In apartments you are not allowed to make noise after 10 pm. If you do then the your neighbours can complain or even call the police. The police can give you a quite a large fine for â€Å"disturbing the peace†. Disco's and bars in certain areas need to close down at 12 am. There are always police clearing off the location at 12 pm. Some people make a lot of money because of sound. The music industry is huge. And it attracts teenagers and music lovers. Teenagers don't realize the dangers of loud music. I think music manufacturers such as Sony should increase the warning on the music products so that it give more security to the buyer.

Kant: Human, Animals, and Empathy Essay

Immanuel Kant remains one of the most influential thinkers in history. Part of Kant’s appeal is his ability to provide incredibly unique insights into the human condition. One of the more interesting works by Kant was his writing that looked into human interrelations with animals. From his examinations, Kant essentially shows that how humans treat animals is indicative of how they will treat other people. This ties very heavily into the notion that the human-animal relationship is linked heavily with empathy. Kant makes a very sobering point in his analysis of human relationships with animals. Much of Kant’s analysis is realistic and this realistic insight notes the darker side of human nature. Kant understands that not all human/animal relationships are harmonious. The sad fact remains that there are those who are cruel to animals. Many sociopathic individuals display enormous cruelty to animals. Granted, the number of those individuals is limited in comparison to those who have harmonious relationships. But, these individuals do exists. There numbers – while low – are still significant enough that there are laws on the books designed to punish their cruel behavior. Kant understands this because he looks at the relationship from a common sense perspective. After all, how could a person who tortures animals show empathy towards humans? A lack of empathy against any living this is indicative that the person possesses NO empathy. Kant also points out that a child who possesses such cruel behavior will likely develop into a cruel adult. That is the path such a malformed development of relationships will lead the child when he/she blossoms into adulthood. Of course, not all of Kant’s writing deals with the negative aspects that can come to light when examining the relationship between humans and animals. The inverse is also presented as well. That is, the good qualities of a person become visible when examining how a person treats their loving animals. A person who cares for a dog when it is sick, gives it food when it is hungry, and provides shelter when the animal needs protection is clearly a person who understand the concept of giving to those in need. Such actions will eventually re-emerge in their relationships with other humans. Now, does that mean that simply because a dog owner is angelic with his pet that the owner will be devoid of cruelty towards others? No, of course not; such an assessment would be absurd. However, if a person does treat an animal with kindness and respect then empathy is present. Simply put, all good treatment of animals is synonymous with empathy. You can not have one without the other. Granted, the actual volume of empathy may vary. That is, a person may show empathy towards family and friends but may possess aberrant or destructive traits as well. A person who loves his family selflessly may also possess racial animosity. However, if one were to look at reducing or eliminating racial animosity (or any other personality aberrancy), a person with a capacity for empathy will be more than likely to repent as opposed to a sociopath who lacks empathy. Keep in mind, empathy is not a minimal â€Å"touchy-feely† emotion. Empathy goes to the core of who we are and what we are capable of. That is why it is critical to understand how beings react to others since this gives an insight into their empathic nature. A clear examination of human-animal relationships provides this insight. Or, at least, this is the hope.