Be Warned and Study Justice:The Shifting Definition of Justice in Virgi

Be Warned and Study Justice:The Shifting Definition of Justice in Virgil’s Aeneid A twenty-first century reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey will highlight a seeming lack of justice: hundreds of men die because of an adulteress, the most honorable characters are killed, the cowards survive, and everyone eventually goes to hell. Due to the difference in the time period, culture, prominent religions and values, the modern idea of justice is much different than that of Greece around 750 B.C. The idea of justice in Virgil’s the Aeneid is easier for us to recognize. As in our own culture, â€Å"justice† in the epic is based on a system of punishment for wrongs and rewards for honorable acts. Time and time again, Virgil provides his readers with examples of justice in the lives of his characters. Interestingly, the meaning of justice in the Aeneid transforms when applied to Fate and the actions of the gods. Unlike our modern (American) idea of blind, immutable Justice, the meanings and effects of justice shift, depending on whether its subject is mo rtal or immortal. Before discussing justice in the epic, it is important to establish the meaning of the term. For our present purpose, justice will specifically apply to the social system of moral checks and balances. Acts that are valued in society are rewarded materially or emotionally. Acts that are devalued lead to punishment. Also, recipients of unmerited punishment receive compensation for their injuries. Often, a person is seen as the embodiment of the value of their action, thus a person can be seen as â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad,† and the consequences of justice that affect them are based on the general value of their general actions. The value given to actions is based on a soc... ...are confronted with the question of moral absolutes, we are forced to wonder when and to whom justice truly applies. Hopefully, we will look at our world and our ideas of right, wrong and retribution in different ways, ways that will enlighten and enrich our lives, and the those of the an audience of readers 2,000 years from now. Works Cited Braund, Susanna Morton. â€Å"Virgil and the Cosmos: Religious and Philosophical Ideas.† The Cambridge Companion to Virgil. Charles Martindale, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. 204-221. Solmsen, Friedrich. â€Å"The World of the Dead in Book 6 of the Aeneid.† Oxford Readings in Vergil’s Aeneid. S. J. Harrison, ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. 208-223. Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Books, 1983. Williams, Gordon. Technique and Ideas in the Aeneid. New Haven, Ct: Yale UP, 1983.

Improving Teaching and Learning Essay

As all children’s experiences and development are individual, every child will have their own unique ‘starting point’ from where to continue their learning of a subject from. Ausubel (1968) puts forward the interesting thought that we should design our teaching to start from where the pupil is. However, as Littledyke & Huxton (1998) suggest, it is almost impossible to take into account every individual child’s educational ‘starting point. I tried to establish a ‘common starting point’ by getting the whole class to brainstorm what they knew about metal. This would provide me with a vague idea of the knowledge each child held and enable me to successfully plan suitable investigative activities. This matches Piaget’s (1926) notion of ‘cognitive match’. The need to pitch the learning experience at the right level, for each child. † The teacher leads a discussion on a topic to draw out a range of ideas from this the teacher may be able to judge which children are most or least knowledgeable. However there may be several children within the class about the teacher knows very little even after the brainstorming session. † (Littledyke & Huxford, 1998, p22) To combat this problem that Littledyke and Huxford (1998) mention I talked to children who did not take part in the whole class session individually to found out their level of knowledge on the subject. One of the objects on my display table was a magnet. Many of the children seemed fascinated by the magnet, as groups of children would constantly pick it up and play with it. After seeing this I decided I would get the children to investigate which materials are attracted to a magnet. This seemed like an excellent idea as I had already observed that the children were interested in this subject. The investigation would be carried out in a constructivist manner, with the children working individually. From this I could see that Rodney had had no past experience with magnets and therefore had no knowledge that magnets are made of metal. All he knew was that the object he held in his hand was called a ‘magnet’ and that it stuck to metal objects. He had guessed that the magnet was made of plastic (probably due to the fact that it was coated in plastic) and constructed a misconception. On analysing this conversation I concluded that carrying my investigation out in a constructivist manner and pitching my investigation at an intermediate level, had missed Rodney’s (and no doubt others) ‘starting point’ of subject knowledge leading him to create his own incorrect idea. I believe this evidence contradicts a constructivist way of teaching as without positively intervening, questioning and explaining to Rodney that the magnet was made of metal, more problems may have arise in the form of further misconceptions or being unable to carry out following work effectively. Instead it matches Littledykes & Huxtons (1998) suggestion that matching every child’s ‘starting point’ is extremely challenging and if not done accurately, as shown from the evidence, can cause problems for the child. This brings to light that maybe a different teaching style needs to be adopted. Maybe I should have used the transmission approach of teaching at the beginning of the lesson and clarified vital pieces of information so that non of the children would have had misconceptions and the investigation would have succeed to the best of its ability. This however would have been uninteresting for the children. In using a constructivist method of teaching, allowing the child to work independently building on old ideas to construct new ones, there is always a risk that misconceptions may arise. When children are discovering a convention for themselves and intervention from a more knowledgeable source is absent, children may take the information and instead of placing it in the perspective of conventional science they place it in their own logical perspective. For example, after the investigation, I sat with each ability group and asked them to inform me of their findings. Through discussion and questioning within the group, I challenged ideas, aiding children to have access and maybe use of other children’s ideas and therefore make their own clearer. The following conversation was typical of all the groups. In conclusion, I believe that constructivism is an effective way in enabling children to build on or amend active ideas as it allows the child to undertaking ‘hands on’ activities and actually appreciate a theory in action. This in turn could either deepen understanding or change misconceptions they may have emerged throughout the topic. Practical activities subsequently help the children to retain the information as ‘doing’ experiments, which are of interest to them, help them remember the vital information needed. These facts could then be recalled instantaneously when re-visiting and building on a similar topic, later on in the curriculum. Due to all the disadvantages mentioned earlier in my assignment, it is obvious that constructivism cannot stand-alone. It is acceptable to use constructivist methods but they must be used in conjunction with other teaching methods also mentioned earlier. This, as teachers, is down to our professional judgement to decide when and where they should be used. The right teaching style should accommodate the right job and although constructivism is a sound way to allow children to investigate, it does not always fit the purpose of the scientific investigation wanting to be carried out. However I believe that we adopt many different teaching styles throughout a lesson without even knowing it. Bibliography ASHCROFT, K & LEE, J (2000) Improving Teaching and Learning in the Core Curriculum. London: Falmer. ATKINSON & FLEER (1995) Science with Reason. Hodder & Staughton. COLLINS EDUCATIONAL (1995) Nuffield Primary Science, materials: teachers guide. London De BOO, M (2000) Science 3-6 Laying the foundations in the Early Years. ASE Hatfield. DFEE, (2000) The National Curriculum: Handbook for Primary Teachers in England. London: DFEE & QCA. FARROW, S. (2000) The Really Useful Science Book. London:Falmer.

Fathers Day - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1122 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/09/24 Category Advertising Essay Type Narrative essay Tags: Celebration Essay Did you like this example? Fathers Day is a widely known celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries and on other days elsewhere. It complements Mothers Day, the celebration honoring mothers. Contents[hide] * 1 History * 1. 1 Commercialization * 2 Spelling * 3 Dates around the world * 4 International history and traditions * 4. 1 Argentina * 4. 2 Australia * 4. 3 Costa Rica * 4. 4 Denmark * 4. 5 Germany * 4. 6 Hindu tradition * 4. Japan * 4. 8 Seychelles * 4. 9 Nepal * 4. 10 New Zealand * 4. 11 The Philippines * 4. 12 Roman Catholic tradition * 4. 13 Romania * 4. 14 Singapore * 4. 15 Taiwan * 4. 16 Thailand * 4. 17 United Kingdom * 4. 18 United States of America * 4. 18. 1 Antecedent * 5 See also * 6 References * 6. 1 Bibliography * 7 External links| [edit] History Fathers Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mothers Day in celebra ting fatherhood and male parenting. It is also celebrated to honor and commemorate our forefathers. Fathers Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities. Contrary to popular belief, the first observance of Fathers Day actually took place in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. The special day was organized by Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton, who wanted to celebrate the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monongah Mining disaster several months earlier in Monongah, West Virginia, on December 6, 1907. The First Fathers Day Church, now the Central United Methodist Church, still stands in Fairmont today. [1] Various other sources believe (possibly because West Virginia did not officially register the holiday. [citation needed]) that the first Fathers Day was held nearly two years later on June 19, 1910 through the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Afte r listening to a church sermon at Spokanes Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mothers Day, Dodd felt strongly that fatherhood needed recognition, as well. 2] She wanted a celebration that honored fathers like her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who was left to raise his family alone when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child when Sonora was 16 years old. [3] The following year with the assistance of Reverend Dr. Conrad Bluhm, her pastor at Old Centenary Presbyterian Church (now Knox Presbyterian Church), Sonora took the idea to the Spokane YMCA. The Spokane YMCA, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed Dodd’s idea and helped it spread by celebrating the first Father’s Day in 1910. Sonora suggested her father’s birthday, June 5, be established as the day to honor all Fathers. However, the pastors wanted more time to prepare, so on June 19, 1910, young members of the YMCA went to church wearing r oses: a red rose to honor a living father, and a white rose to honor a deceased one. [3] Dodd traveled through the city in a horse-drawn carriage, carrying gifts to shut-in fathers confined indoors by illness. [3] It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA, and churches, Fathers Day ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. [4] Where Mothers Day was met with enthusiasm, Fathers Day was often met with laughter. [4] The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review. [4] Many people saw it as the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions. [4] A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. 5] In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Fathers Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, feari ng that it would become commercialized. [3] US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. [6] In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus [singling] out just one of our two parents[6] In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Fathers Day. [3] Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972. [3][6] In 2010, the Fathers Day Centennial Celebration[7] occurs in Spokane with a month of events commemorating the day. In addition to Fathers Day, International Mens Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men and boys who are not father s. [edit] Commercialization The Associated Mens Wear Retailers formed a National Fathers Day Committee in New York City in the 1930s, which was renamed in 1938 to National Council for the Promotion of Fathers Day and incorporated several other trade groups. [8] This council had the goals of legitimizing the holiday in the mind of the people and managing the holiday as a commercial event in a more systematic way, in order to boost the sales during the holiday. [8] This council always had the support of Dodd, who had no problem with the commercialization of the holiday and endorsed several promotions to increase the amount of gifts. 9] In this aspect she can be considered the opposite of Anna Jarvis, who actively opposed all commercialization of Mothers Day. [9] The merchants recognized the tendency to parody and satirize the holiday, and used it to their benefit by mocking the holiday on the same advertisements where they promoted the gifts for fathers. [10] People felt compelled to buy gifts even though they saw through the commercial facade, and the custom of giving gifts on that day became progressively more accepted. [10] By 1937 the Fathers Day Council calculated that only one father in six had received a present on that day. 10] However, by the 1980s, the Council proclaimed that they had achieved their goal: the one-day event had become a three-week commercial event, a second Christmas. [10] Its executive director explained back in 1949 that, without the coordinated efforts of the Council and of the groups supporting it, the holiday would have disappeared. [10] [edit] Spelling Although the name of the event is usually understood as a plural possessive (i. e. day belonging to fathers), which would under normal English punctuation guidelines be spelled Fathers Day, the most common spelling is Fathers Day, as if it were a singular possessive (i. . day belonging to Father). In the United States, Dodd used the Fathers Day spelling on her original petition f or the holiday,[2] but the spelling Fathers Day was already used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U. S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday,[5] and it was still spelled the same way when its creator was commended in 2008 by the U. S. Congress. [11] [edit] Dates around the world The officially recognized date of Fathers Day varies from country to country. This section lists some significant examples, in order of date of observance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Fathers Day" essay for you Create order