Story of Becoming a Teacher Essay Example for Free

Story of Becoming a Teacher Essay Throughout my short teaching career so far I’ve had the privilege of knowing a few unique students. Let me introduce you to two: John, for example, is rarely on task except if it involves drawing. He is perpetually staring into space or asking me questions that I have literally just answered for the whole class. Poor John is lost more often than not, but if hand unfortunately this is clearly reflected in his grades. Nathan has been another one of my problem children this year. He is extremely bright which makes it even more sad that he wastes all of his energy causing drama in the classroom. I have a hunch that life at home for Nathan is quite theatrical. Between his brothers in a gang and single mother ignoring him for her boyfriend of the week, no one can truly blame the child for wanting to feel normal. Nathan’s way to cope is to bring his sense of â€Å"normalcy† into school. This makes it hard for other students to work with him always pushing his way into their business. My point in introducing you to these beautiful characters is to show how they changed my identity as a teacher. One might think that in these situations I may have to take on the mother role and appeal to these kids on the emotional level in order for them to calmly behave every day. Others may advise me to assume the dictator position and outlaw any sort of distraction or failure. Well I have a word for you people: All-stars. Each and every child in my class is an All-star. We win as a team and lose as a team. Establishing this kind of environment motivates everyone. Kids really do support and encourage each other so we can all reap the benefits. Should a member of the team become off-task, their peers actually have incentive to help him or her focus and do well. If someone becomes benched for whatever reason, the whole team has failed and will most likely walk laps for recess. Now everyone tries extra hard to stay in the game. I’ve noticed an extraordinary amount of respect and helpfulness among my fifth-graders. I can only attribute it to the environment that my cooperating teacher has nurtured from the very first day. Don’t get me wrong, there have been several times when our team lost the game. But the All-star spirit always returns to get everyone focused and back on the field. Before being placed with the All-stars this year, I was nervous and confused with pedagogy, child development theories, and overall horror stories. I was absolutely convinced that teaching is the hardest job in the world and scared that I might not cut it. The first part I still believe to be true, but now I know a lot more about how to lead a classroom to success. Teamwork as a class and school-wide discipline allows everyone to help each other. The weight is off me to keep everybody afloat and responsibility is balanced. Above all, working together is a skill that determines a person’s success for the duration of their lives. John and Nathan still have their days of utter self-destruction, but I have noticed vast amounts of improvement in both of them throughout the year. They know that the whole team feels ramifications from their actions and are inherently motivated to do well. This class has shown me the importance of establishing a loving environment and community of learners in my future classrooms. I am more confident because of them, and that is my story of becoming a teacher.

Oedipus and Othello Essay -- Theatre

The role of the gods/fate in human affairs is a central theme in most works of literature. In Greek literature, particularly, the will of the gods is commonly attributed to human experiences. In Oedipus the King, for instance, the oracle’s message that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his own mother suggests that he was a puppet in the hands of the gods, who manipulated the events that led to his fall. However, the character’s fate is not entirely attributable to the work of the gods. In the play, Oedipus meets his fate due to his determination to unravel the mysteries surrounding the king’s death, despite warnings by the prophet Tiresias and his wife/mother, and his quest to prove the oracles wrong in their declaration that he is the king’s murderer. In contrast, the character of Othello in William Shakespeare’s Othello meets his downfall as a result of the schemes of other characters, chief among them lago, who wanted to avenge Othelloâ€⠄¢s decision to bypass him for the liutenant’s position and instead promote Cassio, a junior officer. With reference to the play Oedipus by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, this essay disputes the statement that Oedipus’s downfall is the work of the gods while that of Othello is self-inflicted. On the contrary, this essay argues that the downfall of Oedipus is self-inflicted while Othello is a victim of the lies and evil schemes conjured up by lago, who wants to settles scores with Othello for not promoting him to the lieutenant’s position. Oedipus’ fall is largely attributed to his blind preoccupation to avoid the prophecy proclaimed by the oracle (DeRoo and Manoussakis 113). Despite the declaration by the oracle on his birth, Oedipus fulfills the prophecy in his attempt to a... ...who acted as a puppet under the control of Lago. Works Cited Adamson, Jane. Othello as Tragedy: Some Problems of Judgment and Feeling. London: Cambridge University Press, 1980. Ahl, Frederick, Seneca, Lucius, A., and Sophocles. Two faces of Oedipus: Sophocles' Oedipus tyrannus and Seneca's Oedipus. London: Cornell University Press, 2008. Collick, John. Shakespeare, Cinema, and Society. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. DeRoo, Neal, and Manoussakis, John, P. Phenomenology and eschatology: not yet in the now. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009. Knneddy, J., Gioia, Dan. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Shakespeare, William. Othello. London: Cricket House Books LLC, 2010. Will, Frederick. The Generic Demands of Greek Literature. New York: Rodopi, 1976.

Microeconomics of Customer Relationships

Reading: Microeconomics of Customer Relationships ? Reading: Microeconomics of Customer Relationships The follow is a critique and review of the reading of Microeconomic of Customer Relationships by Fred Reichheld. I will review the article and evaluate Mr. Reachheld. I will also apply economic theories into why and how I came to my conclusions. Overview on the Reading Microeconomic of Customer Relationships by Fred Reichheld is based on a simple survey based customer-relationship metric known as â€Å"net-promoter score†, or NPS.The NPS divides customers into three categories based on the simple question, â€Å"How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague? † (Reichheld, 2006, pg. 73) Customers at the high end are labeled promoters, because of their likelihood of loyalty and positive word-of-mouth promotion. The low end of the spectrum is the opposite of the promoter and labeled a detractor. By quantifying the value the customers have the compan y can then devise action plans to solve problems, or expatiate growth. Evaluation of the AuthorFred Reichheld was very good at relating NPS in a practical and evaluative way. What I found most interesting in his analysis of NPS was the customer grid (Figure 1). Figure 1. Customer Grid. From Fred Reichheld’s Microeconomics of Customer Relationships. (2006, pg. 76) Reichheld came to the conclusion that the upper right was the top long-term priority. I completely agree with this conclusion. He then put the upper right and the lower right as the next highest priority. He does make some good points, such as bad word-of-mouth and high profits that could pick up ship and move on elsewhere.I, however, would put a higher priority in the upper middle section as long as this is a large corporation. A small business may very well need to stamp out the issues of the unsatisfied because they can’t afford the risk of losing base. In a large corporation, volume is huge and needs to be satisfied. If you can find a way to get the middle column to the right, your NPS would rise. Conversely, if you don’t satisfy the middle, or large volume customers, they could move to the left causing havoc. Netflix recently made a bold move of raising it’s prices 60% and split it’s services into two separate entities.This angered that middle column of subscribers that used Netflix, but didn’t have strong opinions toward it. Netflix’s stock prices have plummeted 26 percent this year(Randall, 2011). Netflix was counting on customer loyalty to prevail over the increase in prices, but instead had a huge backlash. An example of a company that focuses on the right and the middle of their NPS is Apple. Apple has created a company with an almost cult like following. Apple’s NPS is 79% with only 2% detractors based on a 2008 survey by Satmetrix (Schofield, 2008).Apple has been genius at getting customers to the upper right section of the customer g rid. It developed products to appeal to the masses. Criticism toward Apple has been their lack of Adobe flash integrated into their iphones(Chen, 2008). This causes anger to the left sections of customer who want flash enabled devices. Apple could easily try to appease this group and enable Flash, but because it views it as an unstable platform, it refuses to use it. Apple isn’t as concerned about the haters as it is about those loyal to Apple, or those who are on the fence.Recent commercials have depicted Apple as more stable and fun to used than PCs, in an attempt to grab at that market with no brand loyalty. Economic Theories I do realize my examples for my disagreement with Reichheld on priority placed on the NPS is not for all market conditions and companies. There are many factors that can sway priority away from where focus was previously. The Netflix example, for instance, was based on a company who thought it had somewhat of a monopoly, yet after it made it’s decision to raise prices realized costumers left for other options such as Hulu plus and Blockbuster’s DVD by mail service.Netflix is now forced to have its main focus on the left and pacify those who were angered. There is also supply and demand to consider. When there is a high demand for a product and a limited supply, a higher priority needs to be set on the upper right because holding a high percentage of the market share when supply is low will keep customers when or if the supply is increased and you will need customer loyalty when new competitors are able to enter due to a lower cost of entry. ConclusionFred Reichheld wrote an excellent article breaking down NPS and applying it to business. I had a slight disagreement over his priority placement mainly because it is flexible to the situation and I would focus on the masses rather and a select few. The article was well written and very practical with easy to understand data. References Chen, B. (2008, November 17). Why apple won’t allow adobe flash on iphone. Retrieved from http://www. wired. com/gadgetlab/2008/11/adobe-flash-on/ Randall, D. 2011, September 19). Nflx tumbles on qwikster announcement; are netflix's best days behind it?. Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2011/09/19/nflx-netflix-stock-qwikster_n_970879. html Reichheld, F. (2006). The microeconomics of customer relationships. MITSloan Management Review, 47(2), 73-78. Schofield, M. (2008, April 10). Satmetrix benchmarks net promoter scores in four key industry sectors. Retrieved from http://www. reuters. com/article/2008/04/10/idUS191482 10-Apr-2008 BW20080410

Internet Addiction The World Of Education,...

Internet Addiction Addiction, defined by Webster dictionary as â€Å"a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)†. Everyone has one, we’re all guilty of being addicted. Certainly, as this world changes and evolves, we as people change and evolve with it. We invent, create, and mold materials to change this world for the better. Though sometimes, we can often become dependent on our own inventions to a point that it becomes unhealthy, afflicting, and seriously addictive. One of these innovations includes that of the internet. It’s a wonderful source of information, used to connect the world in ways we never thought possible. Even still, are we as a people missing the darker sides that†¦show more content†¦Well, according to the article Internet, by Unity Point Health Illinois Institute for Addiction Recover, it states that, â€Å"Internet addiction is described as an impulse control disorder, wh ich does not involve use of an intoxicating drug and is very similar to pathological gambling. Some Internet users may develop an emotional attachment to on-line friends and activities they create on their computer screens.† Regardless of the blunt statement, this doesn’t mean because you have over 200 friends on your Facebook page that you’re addicted. So before you go deleting all your partners Ex’s (yes, we know you’re online stalking), take a look at the symptoms and examine for yourself whether you believe you are truly, addicted. â€Å"Feeling preoccupied with the internet. (thinking about your previous online activity or anticipating the next time you will go online) Feeling a desire to use the internet for increased amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction with your use of the web,† are just some of the symptoms of internet addiction according to the article Internet Addictions, on Addictions.com. Even â€Å"Feelings of rest lessness, moodiness, depression, or irritability when attempting to cut down use of the Internet†, are symptoms according to the article referenced before Internet, by Unity Point Health Illinois Institute for