Home School or School House Essay Example for Free

Home School or School House Essay What do George Washington and the Hanson brothers have in common? Do you give up? Well, the answer is that both of them were educated in their homes. Queen Elizabeth, Thomas Edison, and Theodore Roosevelt were also educated at home. According to the Home Education Research Institute, 1. 5 million students are staying home for class today. This number is five times more than ten years ago (Kantrow and Wingert 66). This trend leads to many questions. Does home school education work? Do students receive a proper education? How does a home school students education compare to that of public school student? Does home schooling isolate a child socially? These questions are concerns of parents, educators, and politicians alike. The future of America rests on the academic and social education of our youth, and home school education should be considered as an effective alternative to public school education. In the past, parents mainly chose to educate their children at home because of religious preference. These parents viewed the public school system as a source of negative influence on children. Violence, sex, drugs, and peer pressure were influences these parents sought to avoid. However, today parents have other reasons for home school education, which primarily all point to a lackluster public school system. Other reasons include a desire to build a strong family closeness, safety, and a handful of parents chose home school for their children because of special needs such as disabilities or special talents. However, no matter how good the reasons, the home school education system must prove to be an acceptable alternative to public schools. There are many advantages to giving a student a home school education. First, parents can make direct decisions concerning what their children are taught. According to the Home School Statistics and Reports in 1997, written by founder and President Dr. Brian D. Ray, seventy-one percent of the parents who educate their children hand pick the curriculum from a variety of books, videos, and educational manuals. Another twenty-three percent order entire cirriculum packages (Ray 14). With the technology of today, parents have an unlimited source for information via the Internet, which can be easily integrated in home school education. The study also shows the education level of the parent supervising and administering the curriculum has little or no effect on the  quality of education received by a student. Home-educated students whose parents did not have college degrees scored equally high on tests compared to students whose parents had college degrees(Ray 56). In addition to students own parents teaching them, groups are formed among home school families. These groups allow students to be taught a variety of subjects by different parents that have a better understanding of subjects such as algebra, chemistry, and biology. These groups also take field trips, participate in sports, and do volunteer projects together. Another advantage of home schooling is the quality of education received by the student. How do home school students compare with public school students? This is a very important question to answer, but the answer can never be a concrete one. However all of the research I did shows that students educated in their homes have an equal or higher level of academic skills compared to the public school students. In the 1997 and 1998 ACT test scores, home school students averaged a score of 23; meanwhile the public school students averaged a score of 21(Farris 8). Also, on nationally standardized achievement exams home students again outscored public school students by at least thirty percentile points(Ray 7). While these numbers cant truly reflect the comparison, an equal percentage of students from both groups seek college education(Ray 9). The government on all levels faces problems concerning the public school system. Funding for schools tops the problem list; local school boards and city governments are continuously fighting for tax proposals, meanwhile students in the schools suffer because of poor facilities and low salaries for teachers. The cost for taxpayers to send one student to a public school for one year is approximately $5325, while a home school student costs a parent $546 per year (Ray 11). Could an increase in home schools cut taxes? Could the money allotted for education now be used more effectively if there were fewer students? Maybe or maybe not, but if fewer students were in public schools, the chances of giving the public school student a better educational environment would increase. Many people who oppose home school programs claim interactions with other children at school are vital to their education. However, this argument usually does not work because parents who home school do not want to release their children into the negative influences that infect the public school system. After an interview with Beverly Decateau, a mother who taught her children at home for over seven years; I found that home school students participate in equally as many or more activities than public school students do. Her children and many others she knew of were active in church groups, Four-H groups, sports teams, and dance squads. All of these activities can be considered social interactions. I dont believe the public school system has a responsibility to socialize students; that job belongs to parents. In a public school system, some students can be pinpointed and teased, and these images can damage children for life. Despite the several advantages of the home school system, many people still oppose home schooling. Home school students may not miss interactions with other students, but they will miss the experience. Certain experiences at school are considered an important part of the American way of life. Public school students will never forget experiencing homeroom parties, pep rallies, and finding classes on the first day of high school. Can a home school students experience compare? Probably not, but to what importance these experiences play in the education and socialization skills of a student depends on each individual student. Home school education can cause problems among children and parents. Children who have parents constantly looking over their shoulders may have difficulty breaking away from home to attend college or enter the workplace. Children might also have trouble respecting their own parent as an educator, and this lack of respect may have a negative effect on the students education. In order for home school education to work, the parents must be willing to sacrifice time and patience above and beyond the average parents. The parents must also be willing to give up their own careers for the future of their children. Furthermore, not all children can be successful home school students. The children must be able to make friends in informal settings, and see home school education as a way of exploring different avenues of learning. Not everyone can educate their children at home, but the more students who can receive a solid education at home would improve the education given to students at public schools. Fewer students would lead to smaller classrooms where higher paid teachers could give more attention to public school students. Funds and taxes could be used more effectively because there would be fewer students to accommodate. In the future we should support home school programs and public school education to interact with each other for the benefit of all students. Regardless of where the education of Americas youth takes place, it is vital that parents have a major role in the education of their children in order to build strong families and a strong America. WORKS CITED Decateau, Beverly. Personal interview. 2 NOV 1998. Farris, Micheal. Home Schooling Today. The Washington Times 27 OCT 1998: E8. Kantrowitz, Barbara, and Pat Wingert. Learning At Home: Does It Pass The Test? Newsweek 5 OCT. 1998: 64-70. Ray, Brian D. Home School Statistics and Reports Home School Legal Defense HomePage. Dec 1997 http://www. hsdla. org//.

Risks And Process Of Waste Incineration Environmental Sciences Essay

Risks And Process Of Waste Incineration Environmental Sciences Essay It is specified, under this act that that waste is disposed of or recovered without putting human health at risk and without harming the environment in particular, such as air, water, animals, plants or soil and also It should not cause any foul smell or noise around so as to affect any human being. (Environmental Protection) Some of the other legislations that can be listed are as per follows. 2. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 3. Environment Act 1995 4. Waste Minimisation Act (1998) 5. Pollution Prevention and Control Act (1999) 6. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005 7. The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006. (UK Wasteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) It should be noted that the above list is not exhaustive. The purpose of all these legislation is to protect the environment and all natural substances such as air, water, land, animal, plants and surroundings from the ill effects of hazardous chemicals and industrial wastes. The Risks Associated with Existing Incineration Sites Incinerations are not a right waste disposal technique for the following reasons. Destroying Valuable Resources Incineration of waste simply means that materials have been used only once and then are destroyed. It is a fact that all natural resources that we make use of have finite supplies. All natural resources whether it is iron, aluminum, copper, plastic, glass do not have unlimited supplies then why are we not thinking on recycling of these natural resources? Precious natural habitats and forests in Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, and Myanmar were exploited on mass scale for the supply of timber and production of pulp for paper mills. This is also the reason why some of the species have become extinct and natural ecological system has been put in jeopardy. Wood and paper recycling is need of the day to save our forest area. For that matter recycling of all natural produce is a necessity in these ever increasing consumer demands. A small study on SELCHP Incinerator It is a myth that incinerators finish the waste. Einsteins principle holds true here also that matter cannot be destroyed but are only transformed from one form to another. Essentially, incinerators do not destroy them they just convert it into gases and ash. Household waste which is a cocktail of many harmful substances when burnt in incinerator produce many harmful gases and part of it gets released into atmosphere through chimney. The residue known as ash goes for landfill. Incinerators burn the wastes that create toxic fumes. Though the norms are made by regulatory authorities; often they are violated by the incinerator operators. Two incinerators that are in operation in south London (SELCHP) and North London (Edmonton) were fined for infringements innumerable times in the last 15 years. It is known that domestic waste contains fluorescent tubes and bulbs which have mercury in it, plastic materials, cadmium and many other harmful compounds. Besides, some of the electrical appliances contain cadmium, chromium and lead. They cause more volatile compounds in the heat of incinerator and generate dangerous vapors which get escape from chimneys of the incinerator into the atmosphere polluting natural environment and air. (SELCHP INCINERATOR 2002) Dioxin-a most Potent Threat to the Mankind The plastic materials like PVC, CPVC which contain bound chlorine with them and release dioxins when gets burnt. Dioxin, most toxic substance second only to radioactive waste, falls under the class of super-toxic chemicals that forms during burning of plastics and organic chemicals. In the past, people were made to leave the places such as Love Canal and Times Beach, Missouri due to excessive contamination of dioxin. Various plasticizers used in production processes of plastic are also harmful when get burnt in the incinerator as they emit toxic gases which in turn get released in the atmosphere. At least for last more than 25 years incinerators are used to burn industrial and medical waste. A large list of domestic products using vinyl plastics when burned in incineration is a reason of increased level of dioxin, which spreads settling on crops that are subsequently eaten by cattle. It not only contaminates lakes, rivers and other water source but also accumulates in the fat tissues of the animals and secreted in milk and meat products. Dioxin is excreted by the human and animal body very slowly and they are mostly indestructible. (Dioxin 2011) Most Potential Reasons That Go Against Incinerators Incinerators emit enormous amount of greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and create change in global climate. Incinerators emit more amount of Carbon dioxide in comparison to any fossil fuel-based power plant that includes coal based power plant per unit production of electricity. (Burning wasteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Industries of the area take advantage of the situation. Industries around dump their toxic waste to get rid of and thus conveniently hide their dirty practices. In a way they use the incineration system to their advantage and continue their operations at the cost of society. Incinerators take away the recycling possibilities of natural materials and thus create the wastage of the natural resource. The possibilities of extra job creations in recycling industries are taken away by the costly incineration technologies. In a way, it is a colossal waste of not only natural resources but public money. (Recycling versusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) It is a myth that incinerators produce energy from waste but the truth is that by burning the waste they increase the consumption of fresh materials. This tends to increase the energy consumption in producing those materials. Energy consumption is at least 4-5 times more in producing fresh material in compare to recycling of those materials. (Burning wasteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Residual ash generated is almost found to be 30 percent of the original waste by weight and that needs to be disposed of to landfill sites. The ash is toxic and though all precautions are taken in land fill, they may get leaked into groundwater. All toxins being in ash has more chance of leaching then when they are in unburned state. As per the EU commission, leaching from landfills will be one of the most potential sources of dioxins in coming years. The landfill area has been accumulating huge amount of ashes by burning the waste in incinerators and will be a serious concern for continual source of pollutants in the water streams and then it will be difficult to remove it and preserve our water sources. The spoiled water from such carcinogenic compounds will bring a doom for society at large. (SCHARFF H) The bottom ash is being used for construction purposes; however, this is far from being safe. Mainly the ash is being employed for the road construction and the ash mainly contains lead, arsenic, sulfates, zinc, that are in unbound state and not suitable for use in road construction. The authorities permit bottom ash for road maintenance and construction and likely to cause leaching in underground source of water spoiling good water source. It is to be kept in mind that the ash containing highly toxic materials such as dioxins and heavy metals has all chance of leaching to the surrounding soils and can spoil the agricultural land permanently. This is highly dangerous in the sense that it can spoil the food products such as grains, fruits and vegetables which are consumed by humans. No monitoring is being done on such construction and on its after-effects and it is not known what cost society may have to pay for such practices in the long run. The leaching of these compounds will main ly take place intensively during rain, snow and windy environment. Incinerator ash is currently being used by Birmingham City Council for road building in huge amount. Even in the capital city of London, its use has been made at the places like Waltham Forest, Enfield, Greenwich and Essex. It is being used extensively in road construction but without proper monitoring and knowing that how and in what intensity it can spoil good arable land and water sources. (What Happensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Incinerator Report in Byker, Newcastle Incident on Byker plant in Newcastle is worth noting. On the insistence of local populace and many environment protectionists that they do not want incinerator any further, municipal council agreed to take the stock of the situation. A working group was formed comprising local residents, various agencies and council members to examine the issues and proposals. Since 1994, bottom and fly ash from incinerators were used in preparing path material in and around Newcastle and total materials used were to the tune of 2000 tonnes. Initial tests showed presence of heavy metals and on public demand the Council agreed to carry out further testing at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. (Dioxins foundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) The results showed 800 times more dioxin level than the normal levels. Even sites which were not dumped with ash showed heightened levels of dioxin indicating that chimney emissions had fouled them. (Dioxins foundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Researchers at Newcastle University examined 16 allotment sites where the ash was used; 13 were found to have very heavily elevated levels of copper, lead and zinc, as reported by the paper Guardian in its issue 26 May, 2000. (Dioxins foundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Alternative Plan to Handle Municipal Waste It is true that landfill area has to be reduced for several reasons. European Landfill Directive demands considerable reduction in the quantity of biodegradable waste disposal. It has formulated three step reduction in waste going for land filling. Taking 1995 as baseline, the first step reduction is set at 25% by 2010, second step at 50% by 2013 and last step at 65% by 2020. Due to this reason many municipal authorities take the stand that incinerator is necessary to meet the norms under the directive but the argument is not acceptable for several reasons. (Landfill Directivesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦p 8) If just 30% of newspaper, card and organic wastes, are recycled, it is possible to meet the first target as required by the directive in reducing biodegradable waste going to landfill. This and future targets can certainly be achieved with the systems and technologies that are currently available. It should be noted that targets are only for biodegradable waste. Government estimates itself tell that 60% of the current waste is biodegradable so in a sense there is no difficulty in meeting the government norms with regard to landfill targets. Though, it is necessary to decrease the amount of waste going for land filling but it is not at all necessary to use incinerator for the purpose. Several towns such as Canberra in Australia by 59%, the city of Edmonton in Canada by 70% and the towns in New Zealand and USA have successfully achieved reductions in land filling up to even 70 percent without resorting to any incineration technology. This has been achieved by them in a short span of 5 years. As such, most of the people in the industry have the view that 60% is quite realistic target for reduction in landfill by recycling and other methods. (SELCHP INCINERATOR, p 5) This can otherwise be achieved through skillfully designed methods and techniques as laid down in the following plans. An efficient collection and composting of garden, kitchen waste is the first step in this process to meet the recycling targets and Landfill directives. The domestic stream materials separation needs some basic infrastructure and that can also be used for recyclable material from trade and similar streams. The source separation of waste is critical step in waste reduction programme. It can be separated in three streams. A. Dry Stream B. Compostable Stream C. Residuals Oil, light bulbs, paint pesticides will not be included in the municipal waste stream. They will have separate collection points at appropriate locations. Wet Organics-Stream 1 Subsequent to separation, Composting will be the next step towards waste management. Organic material causes major environmental issues and its separation reduces the toxicity level for it eliminates organic acid which dissolves heavy metals and cause the leaching. Organic waste constitutes about 40 percent of the household waste. Taking away the full range of organic materials along with dry recycling reduces the volume and odour causing potential of the residual stream. Garden and kitchen waste streams are treated separately. Food waste is normally high density and can be composted at enclosed facilities while green waste being low in density can be composted separately. Home composting is the best solution for garden waste. Dry Recyclables-Stream 2 Metal, cans, glass bottles, paper, textiles constitute about 30-40% of dry recyclables. However, this requires following steps in order to make it successful a. It needs educating people to have maximum participation so that these dry recyclables are collected to its maximum. b. New collection ways and means are employed for convenient and successful collection of these materials. Residual Waste-Stream 3 The best part of Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT) is not to mix up recyclables, organics and toxic materials so that they cannot contaminate each other. MBT reduces the amount of the residual by a further 50% MBT System can be summarized as per the following 1. Source separation 2. Mechanical stage. Metals, plastics and other materials are removed. 3. The biological stage made of composting system to reduce the weight. The materials composted at this stage are paper, card board, kitchen waste, and the organic material. 4. The residue is now reduced to a great extent and also stabilized. This can be land filled as it now carries a very low risk of methane production. (Landfill Directiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Advantages over Incineration The advantage of MBT plant is their flexibility to adjust as per modular concepts. They can be constructed quickly at much lesser cost. With all hazardous materials removed from the waste stream, the residuals will be more inert like. This can be finally composted and send to landfill. In contrast, incinerator always keeps on generating toxic gases from chemical and thermal reactions. Plastics and paper are the two materials that provide maximum calorific value in municipal wastes. Plastic is the main cause of hazards and paper recycling is much more beneficial compared to fresh production as already discussed earlier. (Landfill Directiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Thus, we conclude that government should stop promoting Incinerator installations to treat municipal waste and think of the other ways as out lined above to treat municipal wastes

Existentialism in Catcher in the Rye Essays -- Catcher Rye Essays

Existentialism in Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye creates an existentialist out of Holden Caulfield by giving him a strong personal opinion, a different sense of view, and isolation. Holden's individuality and his different way of thinking creates within him an Existentialist that refuses to accept weakness but holds sympathy for the weak and vulnerable. The basis for these beliefs lies within the most commonly identifiable theme of existentialism, which states that the philosophy stresses the concrete individual existence along with the individual freedom and choice. It also stands on the idea of moral individualism, in which one must choose his own way without the aid of universal, objective standards. His views also coincide with those of many famous people who have shared the same ideas, including Pascal, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. The Catcher in the Rye demonstrates existentialism by having the main character, Holden Caulfield, isolate himself from a world full of "p...

Empowering Women Rebuilding the Society

â€Å"To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, The family moves, the village moves, the nation moves†. – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.Empowerment is multifaceted & multidimensional concept. It is the process by which the powerless gain greater control over the circumstances of their lives. It includes control over resources (physical, human, intellectual, financial) and ideology (beliefs, values, and attitudes), decision making in home, community, society and nation and to gain power to empower herself. It means greater Self confidence and an inner transformation of one’s consciousness that enables one to overcome external barriers to accessing resources or changing traditional ideologies.And also it does not mean to give them power to dominate others or use power to establish their superiority over others. â€Å"Empowerment comes from ‘inside’, from the individuals themselves, it cannot be granted by othersâ⠂¬ . An educated woman knows her responsibility towards their family and society more than a man. In reality women empowerment meant to empower herself not to overpower men. Usually empowerment for women involves opening up more opportunities, greater access to and control over resources and equal participation with men in decision-making.Our society can be viewed as a wall and men & women are analogous to brick and concrete respectively. Women participation in our society has significantly increased since last decades. Their participation is crucial and desirable also to build a peaceful society. There are innumerable hurdles in the women empowerment process. Besides all these beautiful data, the status of women is still not that to which it is meant for. There are still a lot to do for their empowerment.The cases of child marriage, deteriorating maternity rate, anaemic pregnancies, eve teasing, molestation, harassment, rape, exploitation, trafficking, Domestic violence, human rig ht infringement, lax judiciary process to punish the perpetrators, trafficking, unawareness of basic rights etc. are some of alarming issues that a modern woman confronts, when goes out of the home and so many more are such an inventory of non-social impediments which are still prevailing in an alarming rate.Various steps have been taken by the government to prevent such abuses and to empower women. Criminal laws against sati, dowry, female infanticide and foeticide, ‘eve teasing’, rape, immoral trafficking and other offences relating to women have been enacted in addition to civil laws like the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and other Matrimonial enactments. The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act has been passed in 2005. A National Commission for Women (NCW) has been set up.Other measures by the government include provision of reservation in representation and education, allocation for the welfare of women in the five year plans, provision of subsidized loan facilities and so on. The year 2001 has been declared as the ‘women empowerment year’ by the Government of India and 24th January as the National Girl Child Day. Women participation in all levels of governance is essential for their empowerment and for making the society more humane.Women in India now participate in all activities such as politics, sports, education, media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc. Indira Gandhi who served as prime minister of India for an aggregate period of 15 years is the world’s longest serving women prime minister and the influence of women in politics is at its apex in the present context strongly supported by the incumbent president of India Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, incumbent Speaker of Lok-Sabha Mira Kumar, incumbent railway minister Mamta Banerji and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj & Sonia Gandhi leader of the one political party.Besides these names of women holding major authorities in the politics, the other fields are also have women ascendants like Indira Nooyi CEO of PepsiCo, Chanda Koochar CEO of ICICI bank, Shikha Sharma of axis bank and so on. The constitution of India guarantees to all Indian women equality (Article 14), no discrimination by the state (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16) and equal pay for equal work (Article 39(d)).In addition it allows special provisions to be made by the state in favour of women and children (Article 15(3)), renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A)(e)) and also allows for the provisions to be made by the state for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42). Man and woman being complimentary physically, emotionally and morally and there is no scope for comparison.One has no existence without the other. They are interdependent. Together their life is whole and meaningful. Each has their own duties, roles and responsib ilities. The 8th of March is Women’s Day. A day to celebrate women and all they have accomplished in their struggle for independence, equal rights and opportunities. It is also the day to show appreciation to all the women dear to you.The 108th Constitutional Amendment Bill, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Bill which seeks to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies has been a highlight in the recent times & it is highly appreciated in the direction of women empowerment. It was ‘passed’ in the Rajya Sabha on March 9th 2010 one day after international women's day. Though well intended, it can have little, if any, tangible consequences for the real empowerment of women since it does not touch upon the core issues which plague them.The solution must envisage a two-pronged attack, on the one hand, on tradition which is responsible for assigning a low status for women in the society and on the other h and, the outrages perpetrated against them. The proposed ‘Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace’ Bill, 2010 is a good move in that direction. Mass campaigns need to be organized especially in the villages in favour of survival of the female child and provision of human rights for her, including education and health.It is essential to dispel the ghosts of the past and place women on an equal footing with men in order to pave the way for their empowerment, social, economic and educational. The Chinmaya Rural Training Centre (CRTC) was founded by, Swami Chinmayananda, a revered Hindu spiritual leader in one of the most depressed areas of Himachal Pradesh. Sustainable development he believed was only possible if local women, generally belonging to lower castes and tribes, were able to take charge of their own lives and development.Empowering women and thus rebuilding the society would take the nation on a path of greater development as Swami Vivekananda says , â€Å"Countries and Nations which do not respect women have never become great nor will ever be in future†.