Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick Essay Example for Free

Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick Essay In the story of â€Å"Ragged Dick†, Horatio Alger tells an inspirational story portraying a hero, Dick, to be the embodiment of individual opportunity in American culture. Dick gains mobility up the socio ­economic ladder through his good virtue and dedication to higher education. Dick is an honest young â€Å"black ­boot† with a second ­rate shared apartment and low vernacular. However, Dick is generous and industrious, while keeping a frugal stance as to know the value of a dollar. while en route of finding new work, a young boy falls into the east river, and the father swears great rewards to the rescuer. Dick, an excellent swimmer, dives off a ferry and saves the boy, without hearing of any reward. The father, a wealthy industrialist himself, rewards Dick by giving him a well ­paying job as a clerk at his office. Dick, now realizing his potential, has allowed himself a new name with his new career, signifying his upward climb on the ladder claiming that he is finally, â€Å"cut off from the old vagabond life which he hoped never to resume† and sealing his grip upon the American Dream. Alger’s â€Å"rags to riches† story contains valuable tools that can be used to motivate a person’s social psychology, it’s myths can be unrealistic which can lead a person to believe a dream that could be impossible to obtain. The example of valor, hard work, and initiative are concrete tools for one’s toolbox, whereas relying only on gallantry can only go so far in our socio ­economic world. First, you could just take a look into the professions throughout our economy. Art, literature, and education are thrown on the back burner as business degrees are the #1 funded, and sought after, sectors.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Best Friends :: Friendship Essay Personal Narrative

Best Friends Steam hung heavily in the air as Ashli Jacobson stood with her head bowed, letting the streams of hot water beat against her back. The radio by the sink blared a heavy bass line and undecipherable words. Reluctantly, she turned the shower off, wiped the water from her eyes and stepped from the dripping shower stall. A sudden pounding on the door jerked her out of her reverie. What was I just thinking about? Blast- "Ashli? Are you going to be out soon?" Ashli sighed, suppressing the urge to yell, No! I'm staying in here forever! "I'll be out in a minute," she called instead, wiping vapor from the mirror. "Hurry up, would you?" Ashli turned off the radio and secured a pink, fluffy towel around herself. Her bare feet making tiny puddles on the cool tile floor, she went to the door and opened it. Chilly air from the hallway hit her sharply and she shivered, clutching the towel closer. Jenny waited in the hall. Her blue eyes flashed with impatience. "I have to put my face on before my date." She brushed past Ashli and planted herself in front of the mirror. "What time is it?" Ashli asked, aware she was dripping on the floor. She raked a hand through her sopping wet hair. "Almost seven," Jenny answered, searching for her mascara. Joshua will be here soon." Ashli's brain began to make a list of all the things she had to do before her best friend arrived for their Saturday night ritual of popcorn, television, and conversation. Jenny looked at Ashli doubtfully. "Are you sure? He hasn't called." Ashli impatiently swiped away a lock of wet hair before answering. "He never calls. He'll be here. It's Saturday night. We never miss a Saturday together." "I noticed." Jenny began to apply blush to her cheeks. "You two are awfully close, " she commented. Ashli rolled her green eyes and sighed. "That's why he's my best friend, as opposed to just a friend. "How did his doctor's appointment go?" The question caught Ashli off guard. Not only did it come out of nowhere, but Ashli never shared important information like that with Jenny. "Well, since you apparently listened to our telephone conversation, you know the doctors are satisfied that there isn't any trace of leukemia left. He has a clean bill of health," Ashli answered through clenched teeth. Best Friends :: Friendship Essay Personal Narrative Best Friends Steam hung heavily in the air as Ashli Jacobson stood with her head bowed, letting the streams of hot water beat against her back. The radio by the sink blared a heavy bass line and undecipherable words. Reluctantly, she turned the shower off, wiped the water from her eyes and stepped from the dripping shower stall. A sudden pounding on the door jerked her out of her reverie. What was I just thinking about? Blast- "Ashli? Are you going to be out soon?" Ashli sighed, suppressing the urge to yell, No! I'm staying in here forever! "I'll be out in a minute," she called instead, wiping vapor from the mirror. "Hurry up, would you?" Ashli turned off the radio and secured a pink, fluffy towel around herself. Her bare feet making tiny puddles on the cool tile floor, she went to the door and opened it. Chilly air from the hallway hit her sharply and she shivered, clutching the towel closer. Jenny waited in the hall. Her blue eyes flashed with impatience. "I have to put my face on before my date." She brushed past Ashli and planted herself in front of the mirror. "What time is it?" Ashli asked, aware she was dripping on the floor. She raked a hand through her sopping wet hair. "Almost seven," Jenny answered, searching for her mascara. Joshua will be here soon." Ashli's brain began to make a list of all the things she had to do before her best friend arrived for their Saturday night ritual of popcorn, television, and conversation. Jenny looked at Ashli doubtfully. "Are you sure? He hasn't called." Ashli impatiently swiped away a lock of wet hair before answering. "He never calls. He'll be here. It's Saturday night. We never miss a Saturday together." "I noticed." Jenny began to apply blush to her cheeks. "You two are awfully close, " she commented. Ashli rolled her green eyes and sighed. "That's why he's my best friend, as opposed to just a friend. "How did his doctor's appointment go?" The question caught Ashli off guard. Not only did it come out of nowhere, but Ashli never shared important information like that with Jenny. "Well, since you apparently listened to our telephone conversation, you know the doctors are satisfied that there isn't any trace of leukemia left. He has a clean bill of health," Ashli answered through clenched teeth.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Letter from the Trenches

To My Dearest Elsie, I know this is my 5th letter in 3 days but I need to tell the truth. I joined the army for adventure and the chance to see new places but instead I am living in a mud hole, freezing under constant fear of death. You may laugh and say that I am but whingeing and that I am probably the only scared man here but it's not true. All 5,000 of us are terrified of what may come if we so much as lift our heads into the view of the enemy. Every day I have spent in this trench, we have had shells fired at us. The noise is horrific and the despair in the eyes of many a soldier is evident as another comes over. If and when the shelling stops, many drink or smoke to try relax but you can tell that a few are on the brink of breaking down. Some men have shot themselves in the arm or leg just to have an injury serious enough to get them out of the trenches but not bad enough to kill them. Apart from the threat of having your head blown off, the Germans are now trying to gas us to death. These gas attacks are few and far between but when one is launched the new recruits drop like flies mainly because they do not know anything. One called Jenkins lost his gas mask and when the Germans launched a chlorine gas shell, well, that was it for him really. The vile stuff burns your lungs out. The newbies can do nothing but choke up their burnt out lungs. The other gas they use is mustard gas which is truly evil. It blisters the skin, blinding men who then roll around in agony, clutching their red raw flesh. Forgive me if I am scaring you but I need to talk about this. Our daily food is bully beef. When you first start the army and you are eating this you think it's bland but edible. After 3 months of bully beef and little else, you wonder whether you would actually feel better hungry or with a tin of bully beef inside you. Everyone is given some rum to start the day off which is rather uplifting for most of us. Smoking is allowed in the daytime which takes away the taste of bully beef but at night we aren't allowed as the cigarette light makes us an easy target for a German spy. Tea is freely available but the trouble is that it often freezes in your cup as it is so cold. We aren't allowed coats as our superiors say that we won't be able to walk properly in them so frostbite is common. We wear as many layers of clothing as possible which means that our clothes are dirty and sweaty. Men in the front line can't wash until we are sent back to support or reserve. It's made doubly worse by the mud. The mud is probably the worst aspect or rather what comes with it. The mud is oten knee deep. We have to eat, sleep and fight in piles of the stuff. Putees are no use (that's slang for material wrapped around your shins). Do you remember little Billy Rawlson? He drowned in the mud. He was sleeping and his head went under. By the time we noticed he wasn't perched up where he normally was, he was dead. Send Betty my commiseration's and apologies. The mud brings trench foot with it. Trench foot is where your feet swell up to sometimes double their original size. To start off with, you lose all feeling in your feet. Someone who had trench foot stuck his bayonet into the afflicted foot and didn't even flinch! After a few days of having numb feet, the sensitivity comes back – with avengeance. Men will often have the foot amputated rather than endure the terrific pain that ensues. Trench foot isn't the only illness that is rife amongst soldiers but Dysentery (stomach pains and diarrhoea), Nephritis (kidney inflammation) and VD are very common and, due to the nature of the illness, it makes life here even more difficult even if you yourself don't suffer from the illness. Every single man in this trench has lice of some variety. This may sound disgusting but hunting out lice becomes almost a social pastime. We search for each other's lice and crush them between our fingernails or burn them with our candles but somehow I doubt â€Å"chatting† will catch on back home. Tabby would be happy here. Since there are no cats here, rats run rife. We call them â€Å"corpse rats† because these rats will eat the bodies of the dead on the battlefield. Even injured soldiers have found these infernal creatures nibbling his wounds. There have been reports of rats as big as cats about 3 miles up the trench. That would be a great trophy for the soldier that killed it. Part of what annoys me about the army is how men lose their minds to the generals after a few weeks of training but then how they almost reawake once they're in the thick of it all. To be quite frank, it all disgusts me. The battlefield is nearly as muddy as the trenches but with double the horrors. Masses of bodies are piled up out of the way whilst the rats feed upon the corpses. To step onto that field is death and every night this week that is what we have been sentenced to. The commander sounds his whistle, always at night, and we climb over. We run over the field and then you notice your mates falling to the ground around you. The first time it happened, I thought that the commander had shouted an order and I'd missed it so I lay down too but then I realised that their eyes were shut and they weren't breathing anymore. I haven't been shot yet but surely it'll happen to me and then who knows if I'll be alive to tell the tale. After we attack, the Germans will attack us, with their bayonets attached to their guns just as ours had been and like us they will fall. Everyone hates that old butcher Haig. I tell you Elsie, I'd like to see his face if he saw what hell he puts innocent men through. Please, show this letter to everyone you know who is considering joining the army. Let them know what it's really like. Love, as always Jim

Sunday, January 5, 2020

What if My Child is Struggling in School

Many private schools, particularly in the older grades, have demanding academic requirements, and its normal for students to struggle a bit initially. After all, learning comes from contending with unfamiliar material and pushing oneself into an area of marginal comfort or even discomfort. Its also natural for students to achieve good results in one subject area but to find other subjects more difficult. After all, its hard to be John Steinbeck and Madame Curie all wrapped up in one bundle. Most students will eventually find their groove at their new school  and begin to better acclimate to the new workloads and after school demands. However, some students may continue to struggle in one or more areas, and this can be a matter of concern for parents. The student may also feel discouraged, which could have a further negative effect on his or her performance, plus the teachers may show concern. Dont fear, though. We have four tips to help struggling students perform better at school.    1. Evaluate Time Management Private school can be exciting, especially if the student attends a boarding school. Longer days, more free time, sports and afternoon activities, and more time for socialization. Its important to first and foremost look at the students time management skills. Is he or she devoting enough time to studies, or are other extracurricular activities monopolizing their time? This can often be a quick and simple solution, but helping your child simply create a more regimented schedule that ensures enough time is being spent on studies.   2. Is the Student Studying Right? Going online with time management, students have to develop good study habits in order to succeed in difficult schools. Being bright is not enough. Its important to be inquisitive and to care about what you are learning, but you also must make sure that you are studying efficiently and effectively. That means that you have to use the right tools to help you retain the information, and you must have a well-ordered organizational system that helps you keep track of your work and plan ahead for projects and tests. Many schools offer online learning management systems that can help a student better prepare. Procrastination and cramming do not lead to as positive results as studying over time and planning ahead do. These are good habits to develop for life after school as well. 3. Does the Student Have Learning Issues? Some students struggle because they have undetected learning disabilities that are getting in the way of their performance. Even bright students can have learning challenges, and these issues may be picked up only in the later grades when academic demands on students increase. If parents or teachers believe that a student who has chronic difficulty in school may have a learning issue, the student can undergo an evaluation conducted by a professional. This evaluation, sometimes referred to as an psycho-educational evaluation or a neuropsychological evaluation, helps break down whats getting in a students way in a non-punitive and non-stigmatizing way. Part of the outcome of an evaluation can be recommendations about how a student learns best, including potential accommodations, or changes in a students curriculum, to help him or her. These accommodations can include, for example, extra time on tests, if it is warranted, or use of a calculator on math tests, if allowed. The student must still do the work, but he or she can have support programs in place to help him or her succeed. With these accommodations and help in place, such as the support of a learning specialist or resource room, it may be possible for the student to stay in his or her original school and to succeed. 4. Evaluate the Students Fit with the School While this may be a disappointing solution, sometimes, its the right one. The best private school for any child is  the one that fits him or her the best.  That means that the child can succeed in the school academically, emotionally, and in regards to extracurricular interests. While its not necessary to be the top student, a student should place roughly in the top third or at least half of his or her class, particularly in the upper grades, to have a better shot at college admissions. If the curriculum is far too demanding, the student may not fare as well in college admissions, and, more importantly, the student will not be able to grasp enough of the curriculum to learn the material well and to develop good skills. A student who fits well with his or her school will also be able to develop confidence and a sense of achievement. If a student is not a good fit, he or she may have to  change schools. Article updated by Stacy Jagodowski