Essay on Vietnam War and Its Effect on America - 1769 Words

In 1965, the United States of America officially enter the war against North Vietnam. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident where North Vietnamese attacked two U.S. ships on August 2nd and 4th, 1964, this event was a chance for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to give authority for U.S. to enter war in Vietnam. United State involvement in Vietnam War was an approach to seize the communist aggression. A campaign authorized by President Johnson called â€Å"Operation Rolling Thunder† which started on February 24th, 1965 is a series of extensive bombing directed towards the North Vietnamese predicted to be eight weeks long until the North Vietnamese surrender to U.S. power. However, this campaign lasted two years longer than expected. On March 8th,†¦show more content†¦Why are these realities our concern? Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Viet-Nam. We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help South Viet-Nam defend its independence. And I intend to keep that promise... We are also there to strengthen world order. Around the globe, from Berlin to Thailand, are people whose well being rests, in part, on the belief that they can count on us if they are attacked. To leave Viet-Nam to its fate would shake the confidence of all these people in the value of an American commitment and in the value of Americas word. The result would be increased unrest and instability, and even wider war. We are also there because there are great stakes in the balance. Let no one think for a moment that retreat from Viet-Nam would bring an end to conflict. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another. The central lesson of our time is that the appetite of aggression is never satisfied. To withdraw from one battlefield means only to prepare for the next. We must say in Southeast Asia as we did in Europe in the words of the Bible: Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.... Our objective is the independence of South Viet-Nam, and its freedom from attack. We want nothing forShow MoreRelatedEffects Of The Vietnam War On America1559 Words   |  7 PagesDoogan America in history 3H, Pd. 8 20 January 2015 Effects of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War is one of the most debatable and controversial wars in U.S. History. To this day people are questioning why we ever entered a war that was over 8,000 miles away. Why would we put our soldiers through such harsh fighting conditions and why would we spend so much money on a war that was not ours? Some people say that U.S. involvement was necessary to help end Communism and important to keep South Vietnam fromRead MoreThe Vietnam War And Its Effects On America2000 Words   |  8 Pagesstallion of equality with triumphant fervor from World War II, the United States of America prioritized the containment of communism as its foreign policy outlined by the Truman Doctrine in 1947. The U.S eventually found itself in the middle of rising communist nations in the Pacific and European theaters. In an increasingly expensive and hopeless effort to prevent communist Ho Chi Minh unifying Vietnam under the red flag of the hammer and sickle, America officially sent troops to the Sou theast Asian nationRead MoreEffects of the Vietnam War on America1293 Words   |  6 PagesThe Vietnam War, from first hand point of thought is where a great deal of the confusion had started in the United States. It was certainly a rough decade during that time period, ranging four presidencies during the war itself with the exception of Harry Truman helping the French in the beginning. When in class we talk about the national approval rating for the American people towards their government and it is surprisingly low, about a quarter of the population. Through first hand interviews ofRead MoreEffects Of The Vietnam War On America2038 Words   |  9 PagesThe Vietnam War is an event in history that resonates through time way past the period of its actual occurrence. Aside from being the only war that the United States has ever lost, the Vietnam War resulted in around 58,000 American deaths, 3 to 4 million Vietnamese deaths, hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars spent, and a nation divided over its purpose and worth. Although the effects of the Vietnam War may not be a common or pressing topic in current times, the Americans who were involved in theRead More End of the Vietnam war and effects on america Essay1437 Words   |  6 Pagesnegotiations to end the war to began. Between 1968 and 1969, contacts in Paris between North Vietnam and the United States were expand ed to include South Vietnam and the NLF. Under the leadership of President Richard M Nixon, the United States changed its tactics to combine U.S. troop withdrawals with intensified bombing and the invasion of Communist sanctuaries in Cambodia . Due to the length of the war, the high number of U.S. casualties, and the exposure of U.S. involvement in war crimes such as theRead MoreThe Vietnam War On American Society932 Words   |  4 Pagesaccentuating the growing success and power that Vietnam held. America was calm at first as they held the belief that Vietnam would serve as a barrier to communism. Unfortunately, when communism kept spreading, America panicked. American troops were sent into Vietnam and the citizens of America were lied to about the reason for the presence of the troops in Vietnam. The years 1964 to 1975 were characterized by the negative effects of the Vietnam war on American society and how they heightened socialRead MoreThe United States Involvement During The Vietnam War947 Words   |  4 Pagesthose conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s â€Å"track record† with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars w e not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happenedRead MoreThe Vietnam War And The Cold War1494 Words   |  6 Pages When examining the Vietnam War you must first understand the involvement of the events surrounding the Cold War. The ‘Vietnam War’ as it is known is a product of the cold war era, by this I mean that events in the Cold War led to the US’s involvement and creation of issues causing the conflict. â€Å"The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the UnitedRead MoreThe Vietnam War1737 Words   |  7 PagesThe purpose of the Vietnam War, was to end the awful spread of communism. As Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam’s communist president) fought to which spread North Vietnam’s political uses to Southern Vietnam. With this, the American Military Advisors sought to believe that a fall of Southern Vietnam to communist hands, would then lead to a total takeover of neighboring nations to fall under communism. The eff ect of the neighboring nations falling, was known as the â€Å"Domino Effect†. It all began when TheRead MoreThe Vietnam War Had A Tremendous Effect On The World1415 Words   |  6 PagesThe Vietnam War had a tremendous effect on the world, especially the United States. Not only did the war affect people in battle, but also left permanent effects on people all over the world. Over 57,000 U.S. citizens died and over 140,000 injured in battle. Multiple Americans were impacted by the war, vast amount of people died but more were injured. North Vietnam won the battle against South Vietnam and their allies. The Fall of Saigon in 1975 was the end of a gruesome war. The war had multiple

The Differences Between The And Modern Philosophy

Philosophy has been present for most of human history. Due to the vast cultural differences between nations many philosophical theories have been developed. The two largest drivers for philosophy have been the Europeans and the Chinese. These cultures are for the most part independent, an insight into the differences between their philosophical systems would give us an idea of the diversity in philosophy. However, as contemporary philosophy has many sub fields, attempting to compare and contrast the philosophies of the two different regions currently is futile. Therefore picking a time period around 500BC enables us to make a clearer comparison. Even with this new parameter, countries produce many philosophers that hold divergent views.†¦show more content†¦However, most of these paradoxes are due to the evolution of Plato’s ideas. Plato’s earlier dialogues seem to place too much value on the pure rationality of man, while later dialogues show an acknowledgment of man’s basal needs influencing his morality (455). By focusing on Plato’s later works regarding ethics it becomes far more possible to find interpretations that have academic consensus. In Plato’s Republic, a collection of works exploring the nature of virtue, one sees a teleological axiom: â€Å"The good is that which all soul pursues and for the sake of which it does everything† (Parry, 241). It is important to note that Plato has a specific idea in mind when he writes of the good. For Plato the good is the inherent trait that makes all good things good (243). With these two premises Parry is able to conclude: â€Å"That which all soul pursues and for the sake of which it does everything is the good itself, the reality of goodness, and not any visible good† (244). According to Plato, when the soul does everything for the sake of the good the soul is acting virtuously, as the good is all that is good, including all of virtue (249). Furthermore , since the good is a teleological state, the admiration of the good is what humans should strive for. And only by recognizing the good can humans admire it (250). Therefore, when humans obtain the knowledge to recognize the good and admire it for itself can humans do everything for the sake of the good, therebyShow MoreRelatedComparing The Religions Of Hinduism And Buddhism Essay1459 Words   |  6 PagesExam II #2. Compare and contrast the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. What were the essential differences between the two? What hope did they give to the common people of India ? Both Hinduism and Buddhism are prominent religions in the ancient and modern world. They are arguably two of the most popular polytheistic faiths as well. Most people make the mistake of grouping them as one uniform religion, but this is inaccurate. Buddhism and Hinduism do split some resemblance, but several aspectsRead MoreEducation : The Most Powerful Weapon For Changing The World998 Words   |  4 Pageson what the purpose of education is, what schools are for, what curriculum should contain, what the relationship between students and teachers should be, and what my plan to honor the differences between my students is. By the end of this essay, I will examine my views and decide which well-known educational philosophy my beliefs align with. Once combined, this will form my philosophy of teaching and education. It is important to note that my plan is to teach students aged from preschool to fifthRead MoreEthical Theory And The Classical And Modern Answers1181 Words   |  5 Pagesand the classical and modern answers to this question. What is the essence of human beings? This is the decisive fundamental question dealing with ethical theory. 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Technology Into Early Childhood Education Free Essays

string(145) " for learning and when used in a pedagogically appropriate manner, they provide valuable educational experiences for children \(Edwards, 2005\)\." Matters to Consider when introducing Technology into Early Childhood Education Introduction Earlier research was more concerned with weather or not technology; including computers were, in fact, beneficial to children’s learning. Current research is concerned with how technology can be used to support children’s learning and development (Morrison, 2009). Acronyms like PC, CD, DVD, PDA, DSL, eBay, and . We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Into Early Childhood Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now com, are part of our professional vocabulary right alongside ECE†¦ technology has changed the way we teach children (Donohue, 2003). This author takes the position that technology is beneficial to early childhood education. This paper will outline how technology is beneficial to early childhood education through an analysis of contemporary literature. The paper has been set out in sections addressing a different aspect of technology and matters to consider as it effects early childhood education. This paper will begin by defining technology. It will discuss recent trends in technology and the importance of educators and the benefits for children. It will discuss computer technology in the classroom and the use of media in education. It will conclude with a discussion on the effects of television superheros on children’s behaviour in an educational setting. This paper will show by presenting different aspects of technology and arguing different perspectives from research; technology is beneficial to early childhood education. Defining Technology in Early Childhood Education Before a discussion on technology in early childhood education can proceed, there needs to be an understanding of what technology is comprised of. Depending on which author one reads or what the purpose of the research is for, the definition of technology varies to include or exclude varying forms of artefacts. Dockett ; Fleer (1999) explain technology to be inclusive of high technology such as television, fax machines and computers as well as replica objects of television characters (p. 150). Dockett ; Fleer use a very general definition of technology. Looking critically at this example leads this author to feel the information here is too limited in content. In addition, other ‘high technology’ items include cell phones, smartphones, PDA’s, personal computers, the internet, e-mail, and digital cameras (Donohue, 2003), and electronic teaching materials such as SmartBoards (Flynn et, al. 2010). Donohue (2003) and Flynn et, al. (2010) explain that we routinely use these tools in our classrooms, as well as the home and work. Both Dockett Fleer (1999), and Donohue (2003) use the term ‘high technology’. The purpose here is that there are other categories which can be viewed as artefacts of technology such as blocks, sandpit toys, play group equipment or infant toys (Dockett Fleer, 1999). While this author acknowledges the listed ‘low tech’ items as developments of technology, this paper will not be discussing such items. Technology as listed above (Dockett Fleer 1999; Donohue 2003) lists items which could be considered as hardware. But technology is not limited to hardware alone. Other forms of technology which this paper holds interest include media. Weddell (2001, p. 4) describes media as being†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦all forms of broadcasts, advertising, television, computer games, film, video, interactive online media (email, internet), recorded music, print material (newspapers, magazines, cards, stickers), toys and merchandising associated with media-related products†. This paper will refer to technology as including both technical hardware and digital media. Technological Trends in Early Childhood Education In this section, the author will address matters that need to be considered about trends in early childhood education. While differing views are presented, the favoured position is overwhelmingly for the inclusion of technology into the early childhood curriculum as shown in the research. The question of technology in the early childhood classroom is not if, but how and why we use it (Donohue, 2003). The use of computers and technology in early childhood education has grown each year, and the ways in which technological tools are used to manage and improve programs and enhance children’s learning have expanded dramatically (Donohue, 2003). It needs to be acknowledged that technology and media are social icons, and, most importantly, children are active consumers of these products (Weddell, 2001). There is little wonder why technology is being viewed as becoming, if not already, common place in the educational setting. Zevenbergen (2010, p. 1) states, â€Å"This generation has been immersed in technology since their emergence into the world. Their homes have computer technology in all facets of gadgetry-the remote control for the television, the programmable microwave, the mobile phone computers, digital games (such as Xbox, as well as those on the computer)†. Early childhood is a period of growth and rapid development. During this time, many children attend preschool, where they have access to technology as a learning tool (Chen ; Couse, 2010). There is increasing interest and belief in the need to start this education [technology] at an earlier age, possibly as soon as children begin formal schooling or even nursery school or kindergarten (Stables, 1997). In a survey conducted by Flynn et, al. (2010), the results showed more than half of the educators surveyed think that children should be introduced to technology between ages 3 and 4. Perhaps one reason the findings would indicate this is due to the motivational interest technology hold for young children. In support of this, Chen ; Couse (2010) state, â€Å"Encouragement in the learning process is directly linked to motivation, as illustrated in Haugland’s study (1999), which found the motivation of kindergarten and primary-aged children increased when academic instruction was paired with the use of technology (p. 77). Today, educators are using technology in many creative ways (Donohue, 2003). In a study conducted by Jarvis and Rennie (1994) (cited in Fleer Jane, 1999), young children were asked about their views on technology by using a picture quiz to identify their perception of the term ‘technology’. Of the 28 items shown that had something to do with technology, the most frequently listed item was the computer (p. 7). This author notes this research was carried out in 1994. The results of a similar study being carried out today could likely reveal a different result. Unfortunately this author was unable to locate such a study. Either way, in early childhood classrooms, computers have become an increasingly accepted tool for learning and when used in a pedagogically appropriate manner, they provide valuable educational experiences for children (Edwards, 2005). You read "Technology Into Early Childhood Education" in category "Essay examples" As children naturally explore and learn about their environments through inquiry, computer technology has proven an effective means of cognitive and conceptual development as children develop literacy and numeracy skills and competence (Edwards, 2005). Educators recognize ever developing potential of technologies to enhance the ability of children to learn, problem solve, and convey their ideas (Chen Couse, 2010). The trend will continue for the foreseeable future; but equity issues of access, affordability, and the need for computer literacy for early childhood teachers and faculty will remain s significant barriers for many early childhood programs and professionals (Donohue, 2003). The trend of introducing technology into the classrooms appears to have gained motivation to the point where it is accepted by students, educators and parents (Dockett Fleer, 1999; Edwards, 2005), the reason for this occurring is largely due to children being so familiar with technology as a result of this generations lifestyle (Zevenbergen, 2010), we must also consider another aspect for introducing technology into the classrooms as it has been pointed out by O’Shanesy (2013, MOCR), not all children have computers in their homes. This is one very important reason why educators need to introduce technology and computers to these children as early as possible so that they may also develop the computer literacy skills that their peers may take for granted (p. 3). Early Childhood Educators in an Age of Technology In this section, the author will address matters that need be considered about early childhood educators working in this age of technology. While differing views are presented about the educator’s level of training and confidence, it is without question that educators are the key to successful integration of technology into the school curriculum. Digital technologies and computers have become an integral part of many children’s daily lives. For this reason, it is important that early childhood educators are not only familiar with the use of computer technologies, but are able to guide children’s understanding of, and ability to use them (Morrison, 2009). In agreement with Morrison, Weddell (2001) also insists that teachers need to guide children’s learning to better understand and interpret technology (p. 5). Haugland Wright (1997) suggest, without training it is very difficult for teachers to obtain the necessary expertise to successfully integrate computers into their curriculum. Only when teachers feel comfortable with technology will computers play a significant role in early childhood education (p. 17). It seems that researchers agree that the key to successfully implement technology into the classroom rests with the early childhood educator. According to Filipenko and Rolfsen (1999, as cited in Edwards, 2005), the integration of computers in the early childhood classroom to support children’s learning and development is influenced by the educators’ level of computing knowledge (Edwards, 2005). The question is raised, are teachers provided with the appropriate level of training to successfully implement technology into the classroom? Stables (1997) suggests, some teachers have warmly welcomed the challenge of introducing technology education to children at an early age. They have found that it has allowed them to develop new dimensions to work already underway (p. 50). This is not the case however with all educators as the research shows. Burnett (2010, p. 1) states, â€Å"Studies have highlighted a lack of confidence and competence amongst early childhood educators in relation to new technologies. † In support of this statement, Stables (1997, p. 50) argues, â€Å"Some [educators] are confused by what technology education would mean for young children†¦ There are also those who believe that technology education is simply inappropriate with a younger age group. The author questions why there are such differing opinions amongst early childhood educators. Perhaps Zevenbergen (2010, p. 1) offers an answer to this issue as he states, â€Å"We contend that young children coming into early childhood settings may be different from other generations because of the social and technological conditions within which they are developing. † In support to this statement, Donohue (2003), argues that most early childhood educators, unlike the young children in their classroom, have come to computers as adult learners and can be resistant to using technology (p. 17). If this is the case, then how does one bring these generations closer together? How has it come to be that the early childhood learners, know more about technology, and are more comfortable using it than many of the educators? There are noted benefits of early childhood educators using computers in classrooms as Morrison (2009) mentions, when educators support children to use computer technology in their classrooms; it helps them to develop skills such as the use of a keyboard and basic computer software. It also assists children to build learning concepts around computer use and digital media over time (p. 6). A point being addressed here by Morrison is not regarding the benefits that computers offer to children but rather what benefits the educators off to children in developing their computer skills. Consistent with this research, it has also been bought to the authors attention by O’Shanesy (2013, MOCR) that educators need to be trained appropriately to scaffold learning a nd use the correct computer language when working with children (p. 3). Early Childhood Learners and Computer Technology In this section, the author will address matters that need be considered surrounding computers in the classroom. While differing views are presented, the position is overwhelmingly in favour for the instruction and use of computers in the classroom as shown in the research. Computers are all around us. It has become virtually impossible to function on a daily basis without using or benefiting from computer technology (Haugland Wright, 1997). It is inevitable in this technological age that children will be exposed to computers and that these computers will be instrumental in their daily lives (Haugland Wright, 1997). Computers have been shown to be beneficial to children’s cognitive development (Dockett ; Fleer, 1999). With the use of a computer, children can develop their skills in areas where they would otherwise be limited. For example (Clements, 1992), a child can further develop their composition abilities using a simple word processing program. It is argued that children will not be limited by their handwriting ability as it is easier to press the keys on the keyboard (Cited in Dockett ; Fleer 1999). Stables (2007, p. 1) states, â€Å"Curiosity as to how things work, leads to a determination to make things work. Consequently, opportunities to develop problem solving skills are provided [through the use of computers]. † Used in developmentally appropriate ways, the computer is a resource which fits children’s learning style (Haugland Wright, 1997). Introducing technology into the curriculum of young children is important because of the propensity of this age group to en gage in technological activity with an enthusiasm, curiosity and lack of inhibition that creates an optimum opportunity for development (Stables, 2007). Haugland Wright (1997) explain learning involves children actively exploring their world and then, through a process of assimilation and accommodation, acquiring and constructing knowledge. Piaget (1971 cited in Haugland Wright, 1997) states, â€Å"If we desire to form individuals capable of inventive thought and of helping the society of tomorrow to achieve progress, then it is clear that an education which is an active discovery of reality is superior to one that consists merely in providing the young with†¦ready-made truths to know with. † This author acknowledges how relevant is this tatement by Piaget of 1971 is to modern education. While based on the research indicating the many developmental advantages of computers in early childhood educational settings as presented in this paper, there is still some doubts as to the benefits that will come from computers. Haugland Wright (1997, p. 6) state, â€Å"Opponents believe computers should not be placed in early child hood classrooms. They fear computers will replace other activities, will rob children of their childhood, are too abstract, provide children an unrealistic image of the world, lead to social isolation, reduce feeling awareness and creativity. But based on research findings (Lipinski, et. Al, 1986, NAEYC in Press) this is not the case. It needs to be stated that a computer does not replace traditional resources for teaching in the classroom. Instead usual or traditional activities that take place in the classroom are as important as they always were. As suggested by Haugland Wright (1997), computers should be used to supplement or accompany the children’s normal learning experiences (p. 7). Classroom activities help children place computer experiences in context and reinforce the competencies and skills children gain from technology (Haugland ; Wright, 1997). Early Childhood Education and Media Technology In this section, the author will address changing opinions towards media technology. While differing views are presented, the argument for introducing media into the classroom is favoured as shown in the research. Television programs, whether positive or negative, do form a large part of children’s life experience (Dockett Fleer, 1999). In support of this research, Flynn et. al. (2010, p. ) states, â€Å"It is hard to find a national study of children’s use of media in the past 20 years that does not demonstrate that media, and especially television, are a dominant activity of childhood. † Flynn et. al. (2010) claims that young children have incorporated media technologies into their out-of-school lives in unprecedented ways in recent years. Early media use is now the norm, with baby videos and 24/7 cable television for children used by even infants and toddlers (p. 3). Weddell (2001) presents a position (but does not advocate to) that parents do not want media studies in their children’s curriculum. Waddell argues in most cases, parents and teachers report that children are exposed to enough [media] at home and in the community without it becoming part of their education (p. 4). Weddell (2001) comments that children aged three to five are watching up to 17 hours of television a week (p. 4). While the argument that parents do not want media studies in their children’s classroom is not further supported by the research this author has located, there is certainly supporting research (Dockett Fleer, 1999; Flynn et, al. 2010) that children are exposed to a great deal of media in their lives. There is research that indicates that parents are in favour of media being integrated into their children’s curriculum. Rideout Hamel (2006, cited in Flynn et. al. , 2010) state, â€Å"We have a generation of parents who are more accepting of not just television but also computers and other technologies and who view such technologies as more likely to help than hurt their childre n’s development (p. 3). Perhaps this change in opinion could be a result of changing attitudes from 2001 to 2006. Dockett Fleer (1999) argue there is a range of children’s programs in Australia designed by educators to enhance children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. There is a great deal of community support for these kinds of programs. As a result, these television programs are part of many children’s educational experience. The Effects of Television Superheros on Early Childhood Learners In this section, the author will address matters of the media that affect the behaviour of children. The research presented shows conflicting views. Once again, it is shown the educator is the key to successfully integrating media technology into the school curriculum. A significant amount of research into superhero play has suggested that teachers should work with the popular children’s culture initiated and developed through television and video (Cupit 1989 cited in Dockett Fleer 1999). This would be interesting and thus motivating for the children. However, research indicates this also has negative effects on children’s behaviour due to television superheros usually being associated with violent acts. According to a study by Lisosky (1991; cited in Levin and Carlsson-Paige, 1995); there are over 200 acts of violence per hour in a popular children’s show of that time (Dockett Fleer 1999). In addition, the same television program used footage of real-life actors and settings with special effects and animation. As a result, children see real people engaged in realistic acts of violence (Dockett Fleer 1999). According to Levin and Carlsson-Paige (1995, p. 0, cited in Dockett Fleer 1999), teachers surveyed on the effects of the said television program on children’s play believe that the use of real people in the program increased the negative effect on children. It was argued ‘at 4 and 5 years of age, children do not have the cognitive skills to separate the fantasy from the reality of the show’ (p. 153). In contradiction to this survey finding, Weddell (2001, p. 4) states, â€Å"Very few children will be influenced by antisocial images or violence they s ee on the screen, nor will they become obese, unimaginative, poor communicators. Weddell (2001) does not deny that some children may behave violently during play after watching their television superheros in violent acts, however Weddell (2001) claims that some children behave violently because they have a predisposition to violent acts and are in need of supervision. Dockett Fleer (1999) suggest that children act out their superheros violent actions as they are unable to imagine another storyline to go with their superhero character, as a result, children should be protected from violence in media (p. 153). In argument, Weddell (2001, p. 5) states, â€Å"The notion that children are inevitably ‘at risk’ from the media and therefore must be ‘protected’ from it is a distorted perspective. Encouragement-rather than protection-is needed to guide children’s viewing and to teach the art of watching and interpreting the media. † Weddell (2001, p. 4) states, â€Å"Most importantly we need to trust that children can learn to discern the media messages they receive. We seem to forget that children of this century will know more about the media than their parents or teachers. It is unlikely that teachers will be able to influence what children choose to watch at home. As a compromise of the research presented, perhaps while at school, this author suggests teachers should choose media programs that do not involve violence but rather appeal to the children through other means. In support of the author, Dockett Fleer (1999) suggest teachers use quality televi sion programs to stimulate positive children’s play. Programs such as ‘Playschool’ actively encourage children to construct the same or similar things as those shown on the program. The construction work (e. g. , building a doll’s house, making name tags, or making hats) may stimulate further play (p. 158). This suggestion (Dockett Fleer 1999) is consistent with the research presented from both positions. Children do, to varying degrees, imitate what they see on television. So rather than expose them to violent acts, in an educational setting, children should be exposed to ‘quality’ television media that stimulate their desire to learn. Conclusion The future looks bright for technology in early childhood classrooms (Donohue, 2003). The effects of technology in educational settings on the development of young children have been widely documented and strongly positive (Chen Couse, 2010). Technology has changed the way we teach children (Donohue, 2003). This author has taken the position that technology is beneficial to early childhood education and presented this position with supporting research through an analysis of contemporary literature. This paper addressed different aspects of technology and discussed matters to consider as it effected early childhood education. This paper began by defining technology to include technological hardware (Dockett Fleer, 1999) and digital media (Weddell, 2001). It discussed recent trends in technology arguing technology is present in all areas of children’s lives (Zevenbergen, 2010). It argued the importance of educator training and experience as being a key factor to successful implementation of technology into the curriculum (Haugland ; Wright, 1997). It also argued the learning benefits technology offers for children (Dockett ; Fleer, 1999) in early childhood education. It discussed benefits of computer technology in the classroom (Clements, 1992) and the benefits of using media in education (Flynn et. al. , 2010) including a discussion on the benefits of television in education (Dockett ; Fleer 1999). This paper has shown by presenting different aspects of technology and arguing different perspectives from research; technology is beneficial to early childhood education. References Burnett, C. (2010). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings. Journal of early childhood literacy, 10(3), 247-270. Retrieved 20 January 2013 from http://shura. hu. ac. uk/1308/1/Final_JECL_(3). pdf Carlsson-Paige, N. ; Levin, D. (1990). Who’s calling the shots? How to respond effectively to children’s fascination with war and play and war toys. Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers. Chen, D. ; Couse, L. (2010). A tablet computer for young children? Exploring its viability in early childhood education. Journal of Research on Technolo gy in Education, 43(1), 77-100. Clements, D. (1992) Computer technology and early childhood education. In Roopnarine, J. , ; Johnson, J. (eds). Approaches to early childhood education, 2nd ed. , pp. 97-316. Columbus, OH: Meril Publishing Co. Cupid, C. (1989). Socialising the superheroes. Australian Early Childhood Resource Booklets, no. 5, Canberra, ACT: AECA. Dockett, S. , ; Fleer, M. (1999). Play and pedagogy in early childhood. Bending the rules (pp. 149-168). Marrickville, NSW: Harcourt Brace ; Co. Donohue, C. (2003). Technology in Early Childhood Education: An Exchange Trend Report (pp. 17-20). Child Care Information Exchange, November/December 2003: Redmond, W. A. Retrieved on 23 January 2013 from http://www. secure. worldforumfoundation. org/library/5015417. pdf Edwards, S. (2005). Identifying the factors that influence computer use in the early childhood classroom. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 21(2), 192- 210. Fleer, M. , ; Jane, B. (1999). Our experiences and understandings of technology and technology teaching. In Technology for children: Developing your own approach (pp. 3-21). Sydney: Prentice Hall. Fatouros, C. , Downes, T. and Blackwell, S. (1994). In control: young children learning with computers. NSW: Social Science Press. Filipenko, M. ; Rolfsen, G. (1999). What will it take to get omputers into an early childhood classroom? Canadian Children, 24(2), 35-38. Flynn, R. , Lauricella, A. , Robb, M. , Schomburg, R. , ; Wartella, E. (2010). Technology in the Lives of Teachers and Classrooms: Survey of Classroom Teachers and Family Child Care Providers. Latrobe, PA: The Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media. Retrieved on 23 January 2013 from www. fredrogerscenter. org/media/resources/TechInT heLivesofTeachers. pdf Haugland, S. (1999). What role should technology play in young children’s learning? Young Children, 54(6), 26-31. Haugland, S. Wright, J. (1997). Young children and technology. A world of discovery (pp. 1-20). Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn Bacon. Jarvis, T. and Rennie, L. (1994). Children’s Perceptions about technology: an international comparison. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Anaheim, March 1994. Levin, D. and Carlsson-Paige, N. (1995). The mighty morphin Power Rangers: teachers voice concern. Young children, vol. 50, no. 6, September, pp. 67 – 72 Lipikinski, J. , Nida, R. , Shade, D. , ; Watson, J (1986). The effect of microcomputers on young children: An evaluation of free play choices, sex differences, and social interactions. Journal of Computing Research, 2, 147-168. Lisosky, J. (1995). Battling standards worldwide â€Å"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers†fight for their lives. Paper presented at the World Summit for Children and Television, March 12-16, Melbourne, Australia. Morrison, T. (2009). Putting Children First: Digital technology and computers in child care. National Childcare Accreditation Council 29 March 2009 (Pages 16-17). Retrieved on 15 January 2013 from http://ncac. acecqa. gov. u/educator-resources/pcf-articles/Digital_computers_and_technology_Mar09. pdf Piaget, J. (1971). The science of education and the psychology of child. New York: Viking. Stables, K. (1997). Critical Issues to Consider When Introducing Technology Education into the Curriculum of Young Learners. Journal of Technology Education. Spring, 8(2), 50-65 Waddell, C. (2001). Media-savvy young childre n. Understanding their view. Every Child, Summer, 7(1), 4-5. Zevenbergen, R. (2008). Computer use by preschool: Rethinking practice as digital natives come to preschool. Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 33(1) How to cite Technology Into Early Childhood Education, Essay examples

Client Risk Profile

Question: Write a report onClient Risk Profile. Answer: We have been appointed as an auditor of Performance Sports Group Ltd for the year ended May 31, 2016. In order to express an opinion on the true fair view of the financial statements, it is the prerequisite to have an understanding of the internal and external environment of the business entity under the audit. Performance Sports Group Ltd. is a top manufacturer of sports equipment for ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, baseball and softball. The products of the company are available in over 45 countries through a network of more than 7,000 retail locations and over 60 distributors. The company is a world leader and renowned brand in hockey. The products manufactured are marketed under the brand name of BAUER, MISSION, MAVERIK, CASCADE, INARIA, COMBAT and EASTON. The products manufactured are distributed throughout the world. The main focus of the company is to build up a leading position in the world through acquiring major market share in all the product categories. Therefore, t he company operates in a highly competitive environment with diversified products manufactured by it, creating a high inherent risk to the auditor.The Board of Directors consists of eight directors, namely, Bernard McDonell, Karyn O. Barsa, Joan Dea, Dan Friedberg, C. Michael Jacobi, Harlan Kent, Matthew M. Mannelly and Bob Nicholson. The Company has constituted Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Risk Committee. The Audit Committee comprises of Bernard McDonell, Joan Dea, C. Michael Jacobi. The Compensation Committee comprises of Karyn O. Barsa, Dan Friedberg and Bob Nicholson. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee comprises of Dan Friedberg, C. Michael Jacobi, Matthew M. Mannelly and Bob Nicholson. The Risk Committee comprises of Karyn O. Barsa, Joan Dea and Matthew M. Mannelly.The executive panel of the company consists of highly experienced and dedicated personnel with a success past track in the field of marketi ng products, integrating strategic acquisitions and planning and implementation of growth strategies. The top level employee turnover is very low which can be noticed by the fact that the executives have been working with the company since an average of ten years. The executive panel comprises of Harlen Kent (Chief Executive Officer, Director), Amir Rosenthal (President, PSG Brands), Mark Vendetti (Executive Vice-President/ Chief Financial Officer), Angela Bass (Executive Vice-President, Global Human Resources), Paul Dachsteiner (Vice President of Information Services), Paul Gibson (Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer), Todd Harman (Executive Vice President of Baseball/ Softball), Troy Mohns (Executive Vice President, New Business Development Corporate Strategy)Matt Smith (Executive Vice President, Marketing) and Michael J. Wall (Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary).The Board of Directors of the company thinks good corporate governance to be the essential part for the smooth functioning of the company and increase in shareholders value in the long run. The company is dedicated to provide fair and timely information in the form of compliance with the corporate governance standards of United States and Canadian securities regulators, the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.The business strategy of the company is to manufacture, develop and deliver quality products that improve the performance of athletes. The company aims to increase the net revenue and also the net profit margin through reducing the costs and increasing the overall efficiency throughout all the processes, namely, supply, manufacturing and distribution. The following are the strategies that had been formed by the company in order to deliver net revenue growth:1. Increase Ice and Roller Hockey Share;2. Leverage Cost Leadership to increase Profitability;3. Target Emerging and Underdeveloped Consumer Segments;4. Grow Apparel Across all Sports Categories;5. Capitalize on the rapidly growing lacrosse market;6. Pursue Strategic Acquisition.Therefore, from the understanding that we have gathered so far of the business environment of the entity, it can be said that the risk profile of the company is high as the company deals in a number of products worldwide, it operates in a highly competitive environment which can lead to material misstatement of financial statements. The company operates in an industry where there are rapid changes and a need to maintain pace with the changing environment in order to preserve the current position and grab future growth opportunities. Further, the company deals worldwide and therefore have foreign exchange exposure. The company have various brands and a wide marketing channel through which the distribution of products takes place. Hence, there are a number of areas that needs to be considered while planning the audit of the entity as the inherent risk involved and assessed throug h the understanding of the internal and external environment of the entity is very high. But, on the other hand, the entity has good corporate governance, code of ethics and being regular in the compliances, which marks that there is a nice control mechanism operating in the organisation. Hence, the control risk involved in the audit of the entity is low. Therefore, it can be concluded from the analysis of the inherent and the control risk that the risk of material misstatement involved is average. Analytical Procedures During the planning stage, the analytical procedures are undertaken in order to understand the financial position of the entity and analyze the issues (in case any) for the adverse variance from industry averages. Also, it helps to compute the overall audit risk involved through the analysis of the data. The data considered while the analysis has been taken from the quarterly results for the quarter ended August, 2015, November, 2015 and February, 2016.The reported revenue for the quarter ended August, 2015, November, 2015 and February, 2016 were $175, $153 and $126.1 respectively. During all the three quarters, there had been unfavourable foreign currency impact over the revenue, which had, however been at a diminishing rate. The total reported revenue of the company in its quarterly report is allocated to Canada, United States and rest of the world. As per the comparative information of the company (period over period), the revenue growth rate of the company had reduced except for in quarter ended August, 2015 for revenue from United States. Moreover, the revenue during the said period has also reduced. Secondly, as a percentage of revenue, currency neutral gross profit increased to 33.9% for the nine month period ended 29 February, 2016 from 32.0% in the nine month period ended 28 February, 2015. Including the impact of foreign exchange, the gross profit margin for the nine months ended February, 2016 decreased from 32.0% to 29.5% as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The same has been due to the decrease in revenue along with the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses from 21.5% to 29.5% and research and development expenses from 3.6% to 4.1% (as per period over period comparison). However the Industrial Average Gross Margin for the Quarter ending, 29 February, 2016 is 40.82% which is far more than the Gross profit of the Company i.e. 33.9%.Further, the Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization also decreased from 15.5% to 4.6% for the nine months ended February, 2016 compared to February, 2015. The EBITDA margin of the Industry for the Quarter ended February, 2016 is 10.65% as compared to 4.6% of the company. The results have decreased significantly during the period.The leverage ratio as on 29 February, 2016 was 10.98, excluding the impact of foreign exchange on the Companys trailing twelve month EBITDA, the Leverage Ratio was 5.72. While the Industrial Leverage ratio for the quarter ending 29 February, 2016 is 2.6. therefore concluding that the leverage ratio of the company is muvh higher as compared to the Industrial average. The closing cash balance as on 29 February, 2016 was $2.5. The management believes that the ongoing operations and resultant cash flows along with the cash reserves would provide sufficient liquidity to the business operations.The cost of goods sold during the nine month ended February 29, 2016 decreased by $24.6 million or 7.1% to $320.4 million. This has been primarily due to the decrease in revenue, lower Hockey product costs driven by productivity and sourcing initiatives in connection with the previously announced five-year supply chain initiative, reduction in commodity-related factory input costs from Asian vendors, lower non-cash charges to cost of goods sold. The decrease was excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The negative EPS calculated after adjustment of impact of foreign exchange for the nine month period ended 29 February, 2016 was $0.06. This signifies that the return to the shareholders of the company has decreased, as the comparative EPS for the period of previous year reported a positive earning per share of $0.84.The analytical procedures applied and mentioned here above had helped us to form a more informed understanding about the workings and the environment of the entity. The company has diverse revenue sources, in terms of geographic segments and business segment (product-wise). Further, being a company operating in different countries, the company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations which may lead to material misstatements. Further, the areas to be emphasised are revenue, cost of goods sold, foreign fluctuations and debts due. Audit Risk The financial statements are very much important to both the internal and external users. They exhibits the performance of the company as well as helps the users to take decisions make investments and other decisions. Therefore, it becomes very much necessary that the financial statements be free from material misstatement and gives a true and fair view of the operating results during the period and of the assets and liabilities as on the reporting date. This signifies the role and importance of auditors opinion thereon.Audit Risk refers to the risk that the auditor may issue an inappropriate opinion on the financial statements. The overall audit risk is a product of inherent risk, control risk (collectively known as risk of material misstatement) and detection risk. Where the risk of material misstatement is high, the detection risk is set to low, in order to minimize the overall audit risk and vice versa. Inherent Risk Inherent Risk is the susceptibility of assertion the financial transactions, i.e., account balnce, class of transactions and disclosure, which may be single or collectively materially misstated, where there are no controls set by the management. In other words, the auditor computes the inherent risk through the analysis of the business environment in which the organization operates and estimates the inherent risk to be the risk to form an opinion in such an environment, without considering the controls that are in place.In the case of Performance Sports Group, the inherent risk involved is high. The company operates in a highly dynamic environment prone to a number of changes, both in the internal as well as external environment. Business Acquisitions During the year ended, the company, through its wholly owned subsidiary acquired Easten Hockey Holdings, Inc. The purchase consideration for the acquisition was agreed at $5,585 to be paid in cash. The company had financed the acquisition through additional borrowing. The acquisition had resulted in gain on bargain amounting to $987. Assessment of inherent risk in business acquisition is high as the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed along with the gain arising due to the acquisition requires high consideration in order to check whether any misstatement exists.Trade ReceivablesThe company had recorded expense on account of bad debts of $24,203 in the nine months ended February, 2016. The bad debt included receivable from a U.S. national sporting goods retailer and an internet baseball retailer. This shows that attention should be paid while the audit of trade receivables and bad debts.Impairment of Intangible AssetsThe company has recorded impairment on trade names and trade marks, purchased technology, customer relationships and goodwill. The total impairment recorded was for $145,112 during the nine months ended February 29, 2016. We should while performing audit procedures over the assets, check the method adopted by the management while computing and recording impairment of assets.Other Non-Current AssetsDuring the year, the company purchased non-controlling interest in Cocona, Inc. and in Q30 Sports Science. Both the investments are accounted at cost. Therefore, attention is needed to be paid on as to the valuation of these investments and their accounting.Discontinued OperationsDuring the year, the company discontinued distribution operations at its distribution facility in Mississaunga, Ontario resulting in termination of around 56 employees. It pose inherent risk over the going concern of the entity and also consideration is needed to be paid to the factors behind and the financial impacts of the discontinuation. It must be ensured that the mana gements decision should be in the interest of the stakeholders.Control RiskControl risk is the risk that the management would not be able to place sufficient and appropriate controls over the inherent risk and that it would result into errors of frauds that may singly or collectively consequent to misstatement of financial statements. In Performance Sports Group, the management is experienced and reliable, also there exists a code of ethics which decreases the control risk. However, through analysis of decreasing revenue and increasing bad debts, the control risk seems to be high as the management is unable to realize its receivables and also the turnover of the company is diminishing continuously, quarter to quarter.Detection RiskDetection risk is the risk that the auditor might fail to identify any error or fraud present in any financial assertion, which may lead to material misstatement in the financial statement. In order to express opinion on the financial statements, it is nee ded that the detection risk should be set at low as the risk of material misstatement of the business is high. It means that the there should be sufficient and appropriate audit evidences to support the opinion. Also, there is need to apply substantive audit procedures.Overall Planning Materiality (Refer Appendice II)The determination of planning materiality is a matter of professional judgement based on the risks involved in the audit and the percerption as to whether the transaction or class of transactions would have any impact over the financial decisions of the users of the financial statements. Any transaction is said to be materially misstated when such errors or frauds, individually or collectively can influence the decision of the stakeholders. Further, while planning materiality, we had considered the environment of the company and the factors that would effect the stakeholders decision making.We have planned materiality on the basis of materiality range (upper range for h igh and lower range to low) for four different categories. As per our belief, we have taken Net Profit Before Taxes to be the most suitable category, as it provides information about the performance and operations of the company. Revenue and Collection Performance Sports Group Ltd. operates throughout the world, especially in Canada and U.S. The company, further operates in different products, especially in Hockey and Baseball/ Softball. As mentioned in the analytical procedures, the revenue of the company is decreasing. The key audit issue is to identify any potential fraud as the total revenue transactions is significant and material. It should be ensured where sampling is adopted in case of vouching of invoices issue, the sample size should be appropriate and proper technique should be adopted. Further, it should be noticed that the invoices are consecutively numbered and serially arranged. We plan to have a proper understanding of the invoicing mechanism of the company and the controls established by the management to regulate the issue of invoice to the clients. There should be proper authority under which any invoice is issued. Further, it had been noticed that there had been bad debts to the entity during the year. It should be examined that there exists proper controls for evaluation of clients before making sales and also that proper realization methods have been practiced by the management to avoid the write-offs. Human Resource The company has recently discontinued distribution operation in Mississaunga, Ontario, which had resulted into termination of around 56 employees. We should verify that the number of employees reported to be terminated by the company is correct and that the full and final settlement made to them is as per the companys practices or in terms with the contract of employment with the personnel. Further, the company has adopted Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan under which the employees are granted nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stocks, restricted stock units, deffered stock units, other stock based awards, and performance compensation awards. Under the plan, the company grant awards to its employees, non-employees, directors and its affiliates. Therefore, as an auditor it is needed to check the grants recorded by the company. Further, the valuation assumptions involved in the accounting of the same should be verified. Strategic Acquisitions The company had acquired all the assets and certain liabilities of a company through its wholly owned subsidiary during the year under audit. Also, the company has acquired non-controlling rights in two companies. The acquisition resulted in gain which has been recorded in the intangible assets of the company and the purchase of non-controlling interest is recorded at cost. It is needful to apply substantive procedures for the physical verification and valuations of the assets and liabilities involved under the acquisitions. Contingent Liabilities Legal Proceeding Pursuant to acquisition of Kohelberg Sports Group Inc. in 2008, a contingency to pay Nike, Inc. exists based on qualifying exit event. However, the management had determined that no exit event had occurred. We need to verify the same through taking additional management representations and other audit procedures.Further, various legal proceedings stands pending against the company involving contractual and employment relationships, product liability claims, trademark rights, etc. On March 18, 2016, a class action securities fraud complaint was filed by Brian Apel, individually and on behalf of all others, against the company seeking unspecified damages, as well as costs, attorneys fees, and other unspecified relief. External confirmation relaing to all the pending legal proceedings against the company for the status and assumed future monetary outflow in case the contingency occurs by the legal professional of the company is seeked to confirm that the information provided by the comp any is true and no other material information is concealed.

Exams Should Be Abolished free essay sample

This was needed such that teachers and parents can monitor the child’s performance. However, as far as this was meant to be a assessment of the child’s knowledge, written exams had brought to the children negative effects that the parents or teacher altogether fail to realize. The students in the end are the ones suffering in silence from the torment of exams. Therefore, in this research paper, there will be the analysis of the pros and cons of exams from the teachers’ point of view and the students’ too, ultimately arriving at the conclusion of whether exams should be abolished. . 2 Cases caused by Written Exams Exams itself, the idea had brought benefits and development in the modern educational system, however, the idea of written exams in current society does not seem to be as effective and efficient as it seems. Written exams had altogether brought to us uncountable harms that had left its mark on the students under the current educational system. We will write a custom essay sample on Exams Should Be Abolished or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Written exams had become so important, yet fearful that it began leaving a bloody trail across the fabric of history. One very simple obvious example is the case where Dhanashree Patil, a former student of Amritvahini College of Engineering who lived in Sangammer town of Ahmednagar of Maharashtra had failed in several subjects in her final year Mechanical engineering course examinations and thus suicide. Her suicide was discovered by her friends on January morning 2010 . This had in turn greatly hurt the feelings of the students around the world, parents too at how devastating exams had become, how harmful, how painful. Another case is in India where Mr. Mahesh’s daughter committed suicide in 2001 when she was 15 year old as she was distraught about college admission then as she had just missed out in getting in the college . This has further shown us that these cases are not due to the lack of hard working in students; instead it is because of exams itself. These are only one of the millions of cases that exams have caused. The people all across the world should all begin realizing now that few can ever escape from the glistening blade of exams and yet unhurt – students, teachers and parents. 1. 3 Pros and Cons of Written Exams In this part of the paper, there shall be analysis the pros and cons of written exams and how exactly does it cause so many deaths. Written exams have caused so many deaths, however, after much analysis of the many cases, the conclusion that the bulk of these cases are caused by the sheer pressure of exams and of course together with many external factors. Together, these factors lead to these devastating cases that are seen nearly everywhere, in the news on television, on magazines, on newspaper and even in books encyclopedias. Let us take a simple case for analysis. On August 29th 2009, Lysher Loh left her home for school, but never reached school. The 10 year-old on all accounts was a cheery and had great academic abilities, she talked openly about her pressure of exams and even used to joke around with her friends about her Chinese grades which was not really great. It found through investigations that sometimes in the morning with her parents still in bed, the 10 year-old would ask her maid if she could skip class that day – the start of the new term after holidays. Minutes later, dressed in full school uniform, she leapt right off the parapet of the fifth floor, right onto the pavement. Now, moving on to the analysis of this case, the main causes of this case are exam stress and external pressure. Stress, one of the main factors of suicides in youths and in this case too, it is still the main factor of death. Stress is like a pin in a balloon, when a student can cope with the stress, the pin would rest at the bottom of the balloon and no harm is done, however, as the stress increases and slowly get out of control, the balloon starts shaking violently and of course, the pin would move around and would prick the balloon from inside, causing it to burst. Then, the person would either fall into depression which might lead to suicide cases if the condition does not improve. The source of stress in suicide cases of youth are more often than not exams in school and these exams are most of the time, written exams. These exams require students to do a great deal of memorizing and revising of certain topics and if a student doesn’t revise as much, there is a high possibility that he might lose out. Some students in Africa wake up 3 am in the morning just to begin revision and sometimes earlier as they are scared that they would oversleep and waste the time that they have for revision. These people are extremely poor and thus want to learn have good academics and would be willing to sacrifice their sleep for revision such that in the future, they can get a good job. They are scared that if they do not pass the first time, their parents would not have enough money for them to continue studying and then, they would drop out of school. In Mumbai, a teenager from Byculla wakes up at 3 am with the fear that she’s overslept and lost out on valuable ‘study time’ . A 15-year-old Aamir Khan fan refuses to go for a movie as she doesn’t want to be away from her books. Another collegian has got the jitters soon after his south-Mumbai college announced its prelim dates in preparation for the HSC exams . These are all great examples of students under stress of exams in poor countries. These are all great examples of how stress has disrupted the lives of teenage students. When these cases get serious enough, they cause depression and become a serial killer. Pioneer Junior College girls suicide after receiving poor grades for their midterm exams and one of them dreaded to see the vice principal regarding her poor performance despite the fact that she used to be a very hardworking. External pressure is also one of the main reasons why students buckle under the pressure of exam stress as it is said that exam pressure is the actual one that strikes a final blow on a student and cause the student to succumb to the searing blade of exams after stress from the exams had weaken the child enough. These external pressures can refer to stress from parents, friends or even the teacher. These pressures first originate from the exams that the students take. When a student fails to achieve or meet the expectations of his parent or teachers, almost automatically, the student would begin to feel sad and depressed and more often than not, afraid. Then, when the parents or teacher scolds the student, he or she would become further depressed and in the end loses all his or her self-esteem. The parents might also immediately sign up the child for multiple tuition classes as they feel that tuition can improve their child, therefore, further adding to the stress. Following that, if his or her classmates give the student a bad time in class, picking on the student as he had not done well and laugh and joke about it in front of him, making it even worse and may cause depression to set in, leading to suicidal thoughts. The case of Lysher was a very good example of this since it was due to mostly external pressure that she decided to suicide. This is the case after exams. Before exams, during the period when the student is revising, the student is sometimes given unnecessary stress during revision to as the parents have great expectations of the child and the child and so, the child would be given unnecessary stress. This can in turn contribute to the already extreme stress that a child is undergoing during that period of time, leading to psychological changes and cause the child to underperform during exams and again leading to the depression of the child and ultimately to suicide. However, there are of course benefits that are receive from written exams like how they are able to let parents be able to track the abilities of the student which is important to the parents in the world since parents by nature care for their child and thus are willing to do anything for their sons to become great, however, what they do sometimes are actually harming the child, not helping the child. Though exams can allow parents to be at rest when they know how their child is faring, however, it must be bore in mind that there are alternative ways without having written exams, the alternatives that 6 would suggest would be elaborated in later chapters. 1. 4 Justification for Topic The reason this topic was chosen was because this topic is very close to us, students and as students, one of the greatest fear in the school life, is exams. Therefore, in choosing this topic, the aim is to support the abolishment of exams and help students remove one of the greatest fear in school life, to make life in school more enjoyable, for fruitful, without exams. School life would also be less stressful and there would not be tension between the students due to the competitiveness of exams. This topic was also chosen to remove and alleviate the effects of the number 1 deadly serial killer among teenage schooling kids. This way, the learning rate of students would also be better since without exams; the students would have passion for learning and thus would likely be interested in learning just for their own sake, not for the sake for exams. Let us do a simple analysis and take a look at the many famous and great minds in history – Bill Gates, Einstein, they definitely did not do well in their exams during school, however, they all found the element within them and shone. This proves that exams are inaccurate too and of course, rather useless and this gives the group yet more reason to support the abolishment of written exams. If any one of those famous people who had had great contributions towards the society had focused on scoring great marks for their exams, they would definitely not became who they were meant to become. Exams would limit the creativity of students, restrain their freedom of learning and of course, in some ways, discourage students from learning. All in all, it is crucial for us to stand up now and tell the world that written exams must be abolished as the society nowadays cannot afford to lose talented people just because they didn’t do well for their exams and of course to prevent innocent lives from being lost just because of the misjudgment of people to not abolish exams. Chapter 2: Methods 2. 1: Participants For this Research Education Project, the participants of this project are the pupils and teachers from schools as this project is about whether examinations are needed in today’s current society. Firstly, for the social survey, a number of 25 students who were from RI and also from various tuition centers were surveyed. About 10 teachers who were mostly from RI were also included in the survey. Secondly, an interview was also held with a Senior Teacher, Mdm Teo, who was from Chua Chu Kang Primary School. 2. 2: Materials There were numerous sources which were crucial in the success of this Research Education Project. Firstly, the first source of information was from the Literature Review which each one of the group members had to do a review each. Basic knowledge on the subject was learnt through this articles which were written by Professors. The subject was also researched as a group as each of us brought information to share in the numerous RE meetings. After that, the social survey was also a key material. It helped us with what are the opinions of students and teachers so that its usefulness can be discovered and hence determine whether examinations are necessary. The next material was the interview. This is probably the most important material as it provided us with the most information and also, the most accurate one, thus it was decided to hear from a teacher who has already worked in the Education System for more than 10 years. 2. 3: Procedure This project can be split into 3 different parts: The Literature Review, the Social Survey and the Interview. Firstly, for the Literature Review, the NLB website had to be efficiently utilized as the works there are done by qualified Professors and Writers. It was a pretty hard time finding it as there was a limited number of reviews on the NLB website. Secondly, the Social Survey, we came together to discuss what are the important questions that are needed to be asked from the public. After that, the questions were edited so that there will be less than 10 questions. There was also difficulty in asking the pupils to answer the open-ended questions as most of them are too lazy to do so. Lastly, the interview was quite easily arranged as the teacher was a previous teacher of one of the group member. Hence, it was quite easy to contact her and to arrange a time to carry out the interview. The interview questions had been came up with as the group came together as there are a limited number of questions we can ask. Therefore, we had to pick out the most important questions to ask. Chapter 3 Results Interview Transcript Key: Black is for Yi Heng’s words and Dark Blue is for Mdm Teo’s Words Good morning Mdm Teo, (good morning) to help us with our Re education, I will now ask you a few questions. What do you think is the purpose of exams? (The purpose of exams has a few objectives to achieve. The 1st one is to assess how well the students have learnt, be it for a topic, or a few topics together. Through the exams, the teachers will be able to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the students and help them to work on their weaknesses. Another reason for having exams is to use it as a form of communication between the teachers and the parents because parents would like to know how well the students have learnt. So with exams, e will be able to communicate with the parent and also to compare [the child’s results] with the class on how well [other] students of the same level etc have learnt so parents will have a better idea where is the standing of their child another objective of exams is for placement purpose like the PSLE, O-Level and A-Level. So basically, these are the purposes of examinations) Thank you very much so we’ll go on to the second question, how does your students react to their exams and as for their results, do you think these will affect their attitude towards their studies, for example being demoralized so they don’t want to study anymore? (Students reaction towards exams, I guess most of them will be quite fine with exams. They might be anxious, because I think currently, when we talk about exams to them they also in a way must be answerable to their parents so that has some form of pressure on them to perform well so most of them will feel worried. In a way it makes them feel demoralized) Yeah(I guess whether the child feels demoralized depends on they deal with exams and also how people around the child help him to understand the purpose of examinations. So I would think that yeah the child would feel demoralized if they didn’t get a good result for the exams. But it’s important as the significant adults surrounding the child for example, the parents; the teachers let the child realize that not doing well in exams doesn’t mean that’s the end of his life. What he should do is he should perhaps learn to look at his strengths. What is it he done well, because I’m sure there is something he’s done well in the exam and give a pat on his shoulder for doing well and of course for those areas that he didn’t do well, it’s time for him to reflect and think about how he could improve in that area) Okay, that was a very good answer Mdm Teo. Moving on to our 3rd question, how you think the parents of the students will react to the good or bad results of the pupils. Will they become more demanding, hence putting more pressure on the students? I think as a parent, if we see our own children not doing well in an exam, our first reaction would be: we would probably be worried. That would be our first reaction and as to whether we will put more demand on the child, I think it depend on individual parents. Some of them I’ve come across are very understanding they would actually help their child see how to improve furt her they would actually ask the teachers â€Å"What can I do to help my child improve further† But of course there are also some who become more demanding because they think the child has not done enough and they want to do more. They may send the child for more tuition classes. So it all depends, different parents will react differently. ) Okay, that’s very thoughtful and moving on to our 4th question. Do exams make your students want to learn? Does the process of preparing for the exams make them learn more? (I believe yes, the process of preparing for an exam will make them learn more because, through preparation for exams, they will realize there are things they are not sure so they can ask the teacher to clarify with the teachers. So in this process I think they will learn more, but again it all depends on the attitude of the child when preparing for the exams there will be students who obviously didn’t spend much time revising so they won’t be able to identify areas that they are not clear and hence they will not be able to make further clarifications and in that sense, I don’t think exams will help them to further their learning) Okay so it all depends on the children (Yeah) Moving on to question 5, which mode of examination do your students normally do better in terms of mean scores? For example group work, presentations, research study, written assignments, take-home assignments etc. (I do not have data [now] to show which mode of exams they have a better score but personally I think they will feel more comfortable doing a group project and I guess it’s because there are given more time and then they could actually refer to a lot of references when they do this piece of work. Unlike doing a pen-and-paper exam [which] they just have to recall what they have learnt and they just apply what they have learnt, and quite a lot of memory work even though nowadays we are moving away from memory work, we are testing them applications and so on, the demand is very different but the negative point about group project is that sometimes we may not be able to see how each individual student in the group learn. There could be dominating students and he could be dominating in the whole presentation so this is also some kind of short-coming if we’re using group project as some form of assessment) Okay, moving [on] to our 6th question, would you do away with exams if you had such a chance and if you could alter the current form of exams, what changes would you implement? I don’t think I will totally do away with exams because I think exam does have a place in our education system like I mentioned when I talked about the purpose of exams for example for placement, that is very critical we need to have a common assessment mode in order to channel the children to correct schools or correct stream, but if I could make any changes, I would cut down the number of exams, instead of having it every term, we could have it two time a year because I think exams are very important for us to know how well the child has learnt it is at least one of the ways for us to have a common ground of co mmunications with the parents and after all I think parents are anxious to know how well their child has done. But as teachers, as the school, we need to keep the parents in the know and exam results are something very quantitative and we could use it to communicate with the parents. ) So it serves as a platform of communication. (Yes and also for placement)okay, moving on to question 7, how do you maximize your students’ performance during exams? (Maximize students’ performance during exams? Usually what we would do is for every assessment that the child has done, we would like the child to know the strength and the weakness. I think celebrating success is very important we must let the child know that he has done well in certain areas and to celebrate that success and this will give them confidence to move on and of course, we also need to work on their areas of weakness, in fact, it is very important to help the child to improve on the area of weakness because only through improvement they would gain more confidence and therefore be able to face the next exam with more confidence and I believe that with more confidence, he will tend to do better and be able to maximize the exam results) Okay, so it’s a matter of confidence in oneself (yes confidence is very important) Okay moving on to our last question, which is the 8th question, which type of exams do you think will best assess the learning abilities of students? (Learning abilities of students? Individual work. Maybe the individual assignment and yeah, because I think if you are given an individual assignment, you will have no choice but to work on it on your own, of course you can seek help so by seeking help in your assignment, you will be able to learn more, so I would think that ndividual assignment would be good but of course we should give children a lot of help along the way, we should not just give him the project and just say â€Å"Okay, this is what you need to do, you’ve got to finish it in two weeks time. † Along the way, we should give them a lot of help like consultation and going through their draft so this will give them confidence and also help them to identify areas that they can work on and in a way, also to celebrate success like I just mentioned, areas that they have done well. I believe that getting the child to understand that in every piece of work he has done, there’s always something that he has done well and this is something that we need to i dentify to the child. We should not be always looking why it that you have not done well is. Yes, there will be areas that need to be improved but we should also identify what are the areas that the child has done well and then praise the child for putting in the effort and for doing well so that the child as a whole, would not feel that he is a failure, this is something that we do not want the child to feel and I stress again confidence is very important, we need the child to be confident) Okay, thank you very much and this marks the end of our interview. Thank you! (Thank you! ) {Yi Heng and Mdm. Teo shake hands and the interview ends.

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