Parents Should Be Involved in Their Children’s School :: Argumentative Essays

There are many reasons that parents should get involved in their children’s school. Students who have concerned and involved parents tend to get better grades. When a parent asks questions about homework and assignments, supervises to make sure that they get done, and even helps with homework, it is more likely that assignments will be completed and handed in on time. Another factor in grades is attendance. With a low attendance rate, assignments will be missed, and the student will get behind in content as well. Parents who do not get involved in the school might not know that their child is not attending on a regular basis, or even care if their child goes. When children are first starting school, or transitioning from pre-school to elementary school or elementary to middle school, the transition is easier when parents are involved. If a child is unhappy about being in school, but their parents volunteer in the school, the child will see their parents there and be less upset because they will not be separated from them. For whatever reason, if a child is nervous or simply misses his or her parent, seeing the familiar face in the hallway or just knowing that they are in the building is comforting and makes the transition into school easier. Along with parents helping with homework and supervising that projects are completed, giving support to a child will make them more likely to pass from grade to grade. Without parent involvement, unless a child is self-motivated to go to school and do their work, it will be difficult to pass to the next grade level, and in time, graduate. When students see that their parents are involved in their school, it shows them that their parents care about their education. This sets a good example for the student, and they are likely to model their parents and believe that education is important and beneficial. This is especially true when students see their parents volunteering in their school. In order for a child to see their education as something important, they have to believe that their parents feel the same, especially at a young age. Reasons Parents Don’t Get Involved Sometimes parents do not get involved in their child’s education for a completely different reason than not caring.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 23

Dante wasn't around when I got home, nor was he reachable by phone. That relieved me of any guilt I had about going out with Seth, meaning my only other obstacle was the accusatory look Roman gave me when we parted. I had no idea how he would spend his evening, and honestly, I didn't really want to know. The problem Seth and I had with going out was that we pretty much had to avoid the city. We knew people in the suburbs too, but the odds of running into anyone were a lot smaller. The rainy weather Roman and I had experienced in the afternoon had blown over, and we suddenly found ourselves in semi-warm conditions that made it almost possible to go without a coat. I would have read the fortuitous weather as a divine blessing, if not for the fact that I'd given up on such beliefs long ago. To my astonishment, though, Seth said he wanted to go downtown and felt pretty confident we wouldn't be spotted. He drove us over to Belltown, parking underneath one of the many high-rise apartment buildings that seemed to be sprouting up there every day. A mysterious key let him inside, and the elevator took us all the way to the top floor. â€Å"What is this?† I asked when we entered a sprawling penthouse suite. It kind of made me wonder if I should have been setting my real estate aspirations in a different direction. I gave him a startled look. â€Å"You don't own this, do you?† Seth having a secret vacation home wasn't entirely improbable. â€Å"Belongs to someone I know who's out of town. I called in a favor.† â€Å"You have friends I don't know?† He gave me A Look, and I let the matter go. Besides, the place was so beautiful that I had plenty of distraction. The colors were all done in shades of navy and gray, and the furniture was plush and expensive. I especially liked the fact that the walls were decorated with huge reproductions of pre-Raphaelite work. Nowadays, abstract art was the trendy way to go, and it was nice to see something a little different. â€Å"Wait'll you see the rest,† said Seth, beckoning me out to the balcony. Or, well, â€Å"balcony† was the closest word I could come up with. It was practically half the size of my apartment and faced west, showing part of downtown's glittering array of lights and all of Puget Sound. I stared in wonder, watching a ferry move across the dark expanse of water. â€Å"Wow.† That about summed it up. We stood there for a few moments, and Seth's arm slipped around me. This high up, the unseasonable warmth had turned to seasonable gusts and coldness. I shivered, and Seth draped me in a blanket that had been neatly folded on a wrought-iron chair. â€Å"Have a seat,† he said. â€Å"I'll be back with dinner.† I grinned at the gallantry and sat at an ornate, candlelit glass table that still allowed me to take in the view. Waiting for Seth, I felt all sorts of strange feelings stir to life within me. This was it, I realized. I didn't know how I knew, but this was the end of whatever it was that we had right now. Maybe something new would take its place. Maybe we'd never have anything again. Regardless, this moment was crystallized in time for me. Nothing like it would ever come again. Dinner turned out to be an array of tapenade and bread, as well as-to my shock-a bottle of wine. â€Å"Is that whole thing for me?† I asked. He shook his head. â€Å"I'll have a glass.† â€Å"What? Starbucks, now this?† I peered at the bottle to make sure it wasn't some kind of weird alcohol-free kind. Nope. â€Å"It's a special occasion,† he said with a smile, and I knew he'd gotten the same vibe that I had, that this was the end of something. â€Å"Besides, how can I live out the Rubaiyat if I don't have all the accoutrements?† â€Å"Of course. Your uber-romantic date would be based on a poem.† I could already see him getting into quotation mode. He cleared his throat to speak. â€Å"Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse-and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness- And Wilderness is paradise enow.† I tsked. â€Å"You've got the bread, wine, and me†¦but no bough. And hardly the wilderness.† â€Å"It's the urban jungle,† he argued. â€Å"And no book of verse,† I continued, liking my contrary role. Then I reconsidered. â€Å"Although, I did finish All Fools Night .† Seth's expression immediately grew serious. â€Å"And?† â€Å"You already know. It was beautiful.† â€Å"No, I don't. It's a mystery every time-no pun intended. The words come out, but in the end†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"You never know how they'll be received, what people will think. I'm always kind of surprised.† â€Å"What did the opening quote mean? The Kate Bush lyrics about making a deal with God?† â€Å"You should hear the cover of that song that Placebo did. It'll blow you away.† Seth gave me a knowing look. â€Å"You think there's some hidden meaning?† â€Å"There's always a hidden meaning. You added it in after you met me, didn't you?† â€Å"Yeah†¦I mean, it relates to the book obviously†¦to O'Neill's revelation at the end. But I guess it relates to us too.† His eyes drifted away, lost in the vista around us. â€Å"I don't know. We've had to deal with so many complications. We're still dealing with them. And what can we do? Nothing-well, unless we take your side's point of view and make deals with the devil. But why? Why can't we make deals with God?† â€Å"People do all the time. ‘God, if you do this for me, I promise to be good.' Stuff like that.† â€Å"Yeah, but I don't see any contracts like you guys have. No hard evidence that it works.† If I wasn't mistaken, there was a little bitterness in his voice. â€Å"How come we can only get the things we want by being bad? Why can't we get them by being good?† â€Å"I'll ask Carter the next time I see him,† I said dryly. â€Å"But I have a feeling he'd say goodness is its own reward.† We'd picked over the tapenade by now but hardly touched the wine. His claims aside, I wasn't sure Seth had even sipped his. He turned back toward me. â€Å"You and I aren't being very good, are we?† he asked. That was an understatement. â€Å"You and I are the victims of unfortunate timing.† I paused. â€Å"And a lot of other unfortunate things.† â€Å"Would have been a lot simpler if this stasis thing had happened when we were dating. Or if we'd just given in then.† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"No way. I don't care if this is a mess. It's worth it that I didn't end up hurting you.† You spared him physical pain , a nasty voice inside me taunted. But what about Maddie? Pain isn't always physical, you of all people know that. What about the heartache you've caused her? I ignored the voice. â€Å"I don't care,† said Seth. â€Å"I would have done it. I would have sold my soul for you. You and me†¦I told you. Something's always going to keep us near each other†¦even if we aren't together.† I rose from my chair and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around him and wondering how it was possible that my heart was both swelling and breaking at the same time. I leaned my head against his shoulder. â€Å"I love you,† I said softly. â€Å"And I forgive you.† Something weird about those words made me shiver, as though I'd never said them to anyone. â€Å"And I understand now why you did what you did.† I didn't elaborate on the â€Å"what.† I didn't need to. Seth kissed my cheek. â€Å"Do you ever feel like†¦we're reliving this moment over and over?† I thought about our troubled past. â€Å"If we are, I don't want to worry about it. Not right now.† I think he was going to say more, possibly even correct me, but I didn't give him a chance. I kissed him, and like every other time, it was sweet and powerful and the most right thing in the world. We wrapped ourselves together, and somehow, despite the cold weather, we got enough clothes off and made love with the wind whipping our hair and the stars shining down on us. And like that first time, I still had that sense that we weren't close enough. Even when our bodies joined and he moved in me, it still felt like I could never, ever be close enough to him. Maybe it was this mystical connection he kept talking about. Or maybe it was just a metaphor for our lot in life. We sat together for a long time afterward, draped in blankets and saying little. I wanted to stay there all night. Forever, even. In this affair, it was the one thing we hadn't done: spend the night together after sex. We always had to part and go on to the rest of our lives. He finally dropped me off at my car, and we kissed for a long time before I could finally extricate myself. Seth ran his hand along my cheek and hair, reluctant to let me go. I shared the sentiment. â€Å"What will you do now?† he asked. â€Å"I don't know. One more search tomorrow, I guess. If there's even time. I expect Ephraim to name somebody any minute now.† Seth nodded, eyes dark and thoughtful. â€Å"Well, if you need company again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I smiled, unsure if that was a smart idea or not, but it wasn't a decision I wanted to make tonight. I didn't know if I wanted the balcony to be our last moment together in this fling or if I wanted to cling to another few precious seconds, even on the beach. â€Å"I'll let you know,† I promised. I kissed him one last time and then left to find my own car. I had just unlocked it when a voice spoke to me out of the darkness. â€Å"Can you give me a lift?† I sighed. I really didn't like the way everyone could sneak up on me lately. Of course, with Carter's sick sense of humor, I wasn't entirely shocked. He'd lurked while hiding his aura plenty of times in the past because he liked the element of surprise. Still. I didn't even have a fighting chance now. I opened my door. â€Å"Sorry. I don't pick up hitchhikers.† Undeterred, he slid into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. â€Å"Did you have a good evening, madam?† He spoke in an old-fashioned, genteel sort of way. â€Å"Don't take that tone with me.† â€Å"What tone? I was being polite.† â€Å"You know exactly what I've been doing, so don't act like you're making pleasant conversation.† â€Å"Why are they mutually exclusive?† I refused to look at him. â€Å"I don't want to be judged.† â€Å"Am I judging you? Sounds more like you're judging yourself, which really, is the way it should be. The best jury of your peers that you'll ever find is†¦well, you. Only you know what you're capable of and what you want to be.† â€Å"Did you find me just to delve into the philosophy of my morals?† I grumbled. â€Å"Nah,† he said. â€Å"Whenever I find you, I just sort of go with this free-form thing and see where the mood takes me.† â€Å"Maybe the mood could take you to Jerome.† â€Å"That's your quest, not mine. Any luck?† Again, I faced that dilemma. Who could I tell what? Grace, Roman†¦so many players on the board now and no clear opponent. â€Å"Some,† I said at last. â€Å"Oh-ho,† he laughed. â€Å"You could be an angel with an answer like that.† â€Å"Well, I don't think it's going to be enough to find Jerome, not unless a miracle happens.† The drive was short. I pulled up outside my building, getting a lucky front spot. Carter turned and winked at me. â€Å"Well, you know my take on those. Thanks for the lift.† â€Å"Wait,† I said, realizing he was about to teleport away. â€Å"I have a question.† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh?† â€Å"How come when mortals want things, their only option is to make a deal with Hell and sell their soul? Why can't they make deals with God in exchange for good behavior?† It was another of those rare moments when I'd surprised Carter. I waited for the glib answer I'd mentioned to Seth, something along the lines of goodness being its own reward. The angel considered for several seconds. â€Å"Humans make those deals all the time,† he said finally. â€Å"They just don't make them with God.† â€Å"Then who are they making them with?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Themselves.† He vanished. â€Å"Fucking angels,† I muttered. I arrived in my apartment only minutes before Dante showed up. â€Å"Oh, I'm in luck,† he said, seeing me on the couch with Aubrey. â€Å"You seem to always be busy lately.† I felt a small pang of guilt at what I'd done tonight. A lie was still a lie, no matter who you were lying to. â€Å"I'm saving Seattle,† I explained, making room for him beside me. He sat down, clean-shaven for a change and looking good in his usual jeans, thermal shirt, watch, and boots. His insecurity was driving him to buy me gifts lately, but I realized I'd need to step it up and get him some wardrobe variety once all this madness ended. â€Å"And how's that going exactly?† Everyone kept asking me that. Seth. Carter. Dante. And my answer was lame each time. â€Å"Not so great, actually. I think tomorrow'll be the day it all resolves, and Jerome's going to be lost forever. Even if he's not, it'll be too late for him to get his old position back. His best-case scenario'll be someone's lieutenant in northern Michigan.† Dante put his arm around me and his feet on my coffee table. â€Å"Well, succubus, don't take this wrong way, but I'll be glad when this is over, new archdemon or no. I'm tired of you being stressed all the time, and I'm tired of not getting any face time with you.† He toyed with the strands of my hair. â€Å"I'm also kind of tired of how frizzy this is. Isn't there some product you can use?† â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Not funny. What happened to internal beauty?† He seemed undaunted. â€Å"You've got plenty of that. I just want the whole package. Besides, the look on your face was great when I said that.† His hand slipped from around my waist to trace patterns between my hip and thigh. It wasn't overtly sexual but I had a feeling that between that and his good mood-which I was happy for, don't get me wrong-there was an amorous advance in my future. â€Å"Will you read my cards?† I asked abruptly. He gave me a shocked look. â€Å"Tarot cards?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"You know that's all bullshit.† â€Å"It is when you bend the truth for your clients. Please? Just do a quick one.† â€Å"Fine. I'll give you a card-of-the-day one. All the mysteries of the universe in one card.† I could hear the eye roll in his voice as he got up to get his cards out of his satchel. He usually kept them on him in the event of an impromptu client opportunity. â€Å"Don't lie to me,† I warned. â€Å"I know more than your clients.† â€Å"Wouldn't dream of it,† he said, deftly shuffling the cards. I'd seen him scam clients plenty of times, telling them what they wanted to hear. Seeing as I didn't know what I wanted, I supposed that excluded me from that category. After the cards were thoroughly randomized, he had me cut them, and then he neatly restacked them. â€Å"Draw.† I took the first card off the top and flipped it over. â€Å"Fuck.† The Five of Cups. Spilled chalices. Lost hopes and dreams. Dante affirmed as much. â€Å"Disappointment's ahead, the loss of something you had. It can be a failure or inability to resolve a recurring problem. Pretty typical reading for you.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"Doom and gloom always surround you. I didn't make up that palm reading for you.† That had been even worse than this. â€Å"It's probably just verifying that Jerome's gone for good-if you even want to believe in this. And, hey, look.† He tapped the card. â€Å"One cup stayed upright. Not all hope is lost.† I wondered about that as I thought about losing Seth and the man in the dream. I wondered also if Roman was right, if it was true that I wouldn't know what to do if I ever was actually happy. As I suspected, Dante did make sexual moves on me, but I demurred as I had all week. I knew it didn't matter at this point. My cups had emptied, and the ride with Seth was over. Yet, our time on the balcony had been so sweet and so powerful that once again, I couldn't be with someone else after an encounter like that. Soon enough my sex life with Dante would return to normal-but not tonight. He didn't seem angry at being turned down, so much as hurt. I felt a little bad about that but realized I'd rather feel guilty about betraying him than Seth. Dante was up and gone before me the next morning, but Roman was sitting in my living room eating cereal and generally making himself at home. He had to know I was standing there, but he kept his eyes on the morning news. When he finished the cereal, he clicked for Aubrey and set the bowl down for her. â€Å"Hey,† I said, scooping it up. â€Å"Milk's bad for cats.† â€Å"You need to let her live a little,† he protested, still watching the news. â€Å"So what's the plan today?† â€Å"I don't know. I'm still in stasis, so I guess that gives us time. Want to throw a dart at the map and go somewhere?† I gestured to the atlas of the Pacific Northwest lying on my coffee table. â€Å"Might be the most productive method we've tried,† he mused. He had that light tone he often used, but I could hear the disappointment too. It was still a mystery to me as to why he'd be so into helping find Jerome. It was a mystery best solved with coffee, I decided, and while the pot brewed, I rummaged for my own breakfast. I unearthed Pop-Tarts and again wondered about weight gain. â€Å"Um, Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"If you're asking if you can feed her anything else, the answer is no.† â€Å"You need to come see this.† His voice was deadly earnest. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I hurried back into the living room. Roman pointed at the TV. â€Å"You have got to be kidding me,† I groaned. The Army of Darkness had struck again. We were watching a Seattle station, but apparently, this north-of-the-border escapade had been deemed newsworthy. The prank had actually taken place over in Victoria, a city on an island just west of Vancouver but still in British Columbia. There were some very famous and very beautiful gardens there, and the Army had apparently broken in at night and done their best to clip a pentagram into a huge expanse of bushes. They'd enhanced it with spray paint. â€Å"Jesus Christ,† I muttered. The pentagram job was bad, but the group had been savvy enough to get out of there without being caught. One shot of a courtyard there showed where they'd spray-painted: ALL HAIL THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS . â€Å"Glad to see they haven't lost their touch,† Roman said wryly. I sank down onto the couch beside him, my mind spinning. Why? Why now? I'd toyed with the theory that the Army's activities had been an absurdly elaborate distraction to take everyone's attention away from Seattle. By that reasoning, their shenanigans should have stopped once Jerome was summoned. Yet here they were again. Had they acted on their own, just for the fun of it? Had Blake discovered a spray-paint sale? Or had Grace directed them again-and if so, why? Most of their other activities had lined up with some other significant part of the seal's creation or Jerome's summoning. Without wasting another moment, I picked up my cell and called Cedric. I actually got through to him rather than Kristin. â€Å"What?† he demanded when he answered. â€Å"This is Georgina. I just saw the news.† â€Å"Look, I do not have the time for you. In fact, you're the last person I want to talk to right now, seeing as how none of this would have happened if you'd done your job in the first place.† â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen†¦was anything important going on today?† His voice was incredulous. â€Å"What, you mean aside from those idiots embarrassing me again ?† â€Å"No, I mean†¦any events or, I don't know†¦just anything important, um, demonically†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well, if you consider my evaluation with Ephraim important, then yes.† The sarcasm dripped through the phone. I froze. â€Å"Thank you. That's all I needed to know.† He actually seemed surprised by that. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah, no, wait-when I talked to Kristin the other day, she said that you came to Seattle the day Jerome was summoned, but then Ephraim said when you got here, he was already gone. Is that true?† â€Å"Yes, of course. Do you doubt him?† â€Å"No, no†¦just making sure I heard right. And you were in Seattle for a while?† â€Å"Yeah, was with Grace and Mei dealing with the aftermath. Look, if you want to track my activities, wait until Kristin's back in the office.† He sighed in frustration. â€Å"Fuck. I wish she was here now.† I hesitated, then figured I couldn't make things worse. â€Å"Hey, just some friendly advice†¦but the next time you're looking at Match. com or asking out succubi, why don't you look a little closer to home?† â€Å"What the hell are you talking about?† â€Å"Kristin. If you're looking for someone who ‘gets' you, you've already got her. See you later.† I hung up before I could hear his response. Roman gave me a bemused look. â€Å"Are you matchmaking in the middle of this crisis?† â€Å"Just doing a good deed.† I tossed my cell phone from hand to hand, thinking. â€Å"Okay, so. The Army did a prank today-while Ephraim was interviewing Cedric. Not good for Cedric.† â€Å"Which is going to ruin his candidacy for Seattle.† â€Å"Likely, even though he claims he doesn't want it. Still, it makes sense that Grace would have them do it today†¦ if she had them do it and they didn't act randomly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"Makes sense, but what's it matter? You already know she's got a role in this. All this does is clear him.† I frowned. I had the same sense I had the other day while analyzing the cult's activities, like I was so close but couldn't grasp all the threads. Against my better judgment, I dialed Evan. He flipped out when he realized it was me. â€Å"Georgina! We've been wondering what happened to you. Man, you will not believe what we did today, it was this-â€Å" â€Å"I already know,† I interrupted. â€Å"It was on the news down here.† â€Å"What? Holy shit. Hey! You guys!† I pulled the phone away as he yelled at whoever was with him. â€Å"We made the Seattle news!† A moment later he returned to me. â€Å"Wow, that's awesome. International recognition!† â€Å"Look, Evan. I need to know something. Did the Angel actually tell you to do this? And when I say that, I mean, did she actually appear in one of those visions or did you presume she wanted this?† â€Å"She was here. Told us to leave our mark at Butchart Gardens, so the world would know her glory. Cool too, since you know, it's a powerful place and all. No wonder it's having such far-reaching effects.† â€Å"Powerful place†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My fist closed around all the threads. â€Å"Evan, listen to me. Are you familiar with other places of power around you?† I'd always dismissed this group's arcane knowledge, never considering they might know a few things about the unseen world. â€Å"Of course.† Roman's eyes were fixed on me so hard, I thought they'd shoot lasers right through me. He could tell I was on to something. I took a deep breath. â€Å"Do you know of any place up there that's by a beach-on the ocean-that has white rocks or gravel or sand or anything like that? That's infused with power?† â€Å"White rocks?† he asked. There was a few second's silence. â€Å"Well†¦there's White Rock.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"It's this town that has, well, a giant white rock. Some kind of glacial thing, but the Indians thought it came from the gods or something. Always been a holy place.† â€Å"White Rock,† I repeated flatly. â€Å"Yup.† No, no. It could not be that obvious. Balancing the phone with one hand, I opened the atlas with the other and flipped to the section on British Columbia. There it was, on the coast, just barely north of the American border. White Rock. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I said.

Larry Ellison Essay

Lawrence Joseph â€Å"Larryâ€Å" Ellison is a co-finder of Oracle Corporation. It’s one of the world’s leading enterprise software company. As of 2012 he is considered one of the wealthiest men alive, with a net worth of $41 Billion. His Early Years Larry Ellison was born in Manhattan, New York City. His mother, Florence Spellman, was an un-married 19-year-old of Jewish women, and his father was an Italian American U.S. Air Force pilot. After Larry Ellison was born he was very sick with pneumonia at the nine months, his mother realized that she was unable to care for him anymore, and arranged for him to be adopted by her aunt and uncle in Chicago. Lillian Spellman Ellison and Louis Ellison adopted him when he was nine months old. Lillian was the second wife of Louis Ellison, an immigrant. Larry Ellison did not meet his biological mother again until he was 48. Ellison grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in Chicago’s South Shore middle-class Jewish neighborhood. Louis, his adoptive father, was an government employee who had made a small fortune in Chicago real estate, he lost it during the Great Depression. Larry was a very intelligent young man, he unfortunately had to leave because his adopted mother (his aunt) passed away . After her passing Ellison went to Northern California to attend University of Chicago. In 1964, he moved to Northern California permanently. His Career During the 1970s, Ellison worked for Ampex Corporation. Ellison was inspired by the paper written by Edgar F. Codd on database systems called â€Å"A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks†. In 1977, he founded Software Development Laboratories. In 1979, the company was renamed Relational Software Inc. later it was named Oracle. In 1994, Informix took over Sybase and became Oracle’s most important rival. In April 1997, Informix announced a major decrease in their earnings; Phil White soon landed in jail, and Informix was again taken over by IBM in 2001. Also in 1997, Ellison was made a director of Apple Computer after Steve Jobs came back to the company. Ellison resigned in 2002. In April 2009, Oracle announced its intent to buy Sun Microsystems. On August 9, 2010, Ellison let Hewlett-Packard’s board go for firing CEO Mark Hurd .Ellison and Hurd are close personal friends. On September 6, Oracle hired Mark Hurd and made him Co-President. Ellison refused to take the CEO position. Ellison owns stakes in Salesforce.com, NetSuite, Quark Biotechnology Inc. and Astex Pharmaceuticals. On June 20, 2012 it was reported that Ellison had agreed to buy the 98 percent of the Hawaiian island of Lana’i. The price was reported to be between $500 million and $600 million

Technology is Changing the Way We Listen to Music essays

Technology is Changing the Way We Listen to Music essays Downloading MP3s from the Internet should be made legal. An MP3 is a near CD quality digital recording of a musical piece that is compressed so it can be distributed through the Internet (Simple Net). High prices, new technology, and availability are causing most music lovers to turn to the Internet to listen to their music. It's convenient to search a computer database for a song you've been wanting to hear by your favorite artist, download it, and copy it on to a CD. More and more people are doing this because with the help of search engines it's possible to find any song imaginable and download it for free. What most people don't realize is that the reproduction of a musical work, distribution of copies of a musical piece, and the public performance of the work without the copyright owner's consent are all violations of copyright laws (Anderman and Paez 5). However, they do know that getting caught for this crime is very unlikely. Catching those who violate copyright laws is very tricky because in most cases it's hard to tell who is at fault. Because of very detailed, complicated copyright laws even prosecuting a web site for promoting pirated music is almost too difficult to attempt. New digital audio compression technologies have made promoting, distributing, and selling music very easy (5). Sound files called MPEG 1 Layer 3 or MP3 for short allow users to download digital quality music for free over the Internet. These compressed audio files can be played on an individual's computer by using special software. With the help of CD-writers, a relatively new computer technology that allows people to create there own CDs, illegal copies of the copyrighted material can be made at near compact disc quality (Anderman and Paez 6). Portable MP3 players have now been developed that make pirating songs even easier. Instead of having to search for and buy expensive music, people are simply downloading the songs they want and de...

Improve Your German Pronunciation With Tongue Twisters

Improve Your German Pronunciation With Tongue Twisters German tongue twisters are known as tongue breakers in German, or  Zungenbrecher. Many of the classic German tongue twisters easily fit that unique description, and they can also be an amusing and entertaining way to practice your German pronunciation.   German Tongue Twisters Here is a collection of German tongue twisters - with an English translation of each one. Want more tongue breaking? Here is a collection  of more tongue-twisters. 1.  Acht alte Ameisen assen am Abend Ananas. Eight old ants ate pineapple in the evening. 2.  Allergischer Algerier, algerischer Allergiker. Allergic Algerian, Algerian allergic 3.  Esel essen Nesseln nicht, Nesseln essen Esel nicht. Donkeys dont eat nettles, nettles dont eat donkeys. 4.  Es klapperten die Klapperschlangen  bis ihre Klappern schlapper klangen. The rattlesnakes rattled until their rattles sounded run-down. (This is a Schà ¼ttelreim, or goat rhyme, as is the the next one.) 5.  Es sprach der Herr von Rubenstein,  mein Hund der ist nicht stubenrein. So  spoke Mr. von Rubenstein, my dog, hes not house-trained. 6.  Es grà ¼nt so grà ¼n, wenn Spaniens Blà ¼ten blà ¼hen. It turns so green when the flowers in Spain flower. (This is the German version of The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain from My Fair Lady.) 7.  Fischers Fritz ißt frische Fische, frische Fische ißt Fischers Fritz.   Fischers Fritz eats fresh fish; fresh fish eats Fischers Fritz. (This can be compared to the English Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.)   8.  Hottentottenpotentatentantenattentat Hottentot potentates aunt assassination. (Note: the correct term for Hottentot is actually Khoi-Khoi, a people from what is now Namibia.) 9.  Im dichten Fichtendickicht sind dicke Fichten wichtig. In the thick spruce thicket thick spruces are important. 10.  In Ulm, um Ulm, um Ulm herum. In Ulm, around Ulm, all around Ulm. 11.  Die Katzen kratzen im Katzenkasten, im Katzenkasten kratzen Katzen. The cats scratch in the cat box,  in the cat box scratch the cats. 12.  Die krumme Katze tritt die krumme Treppe krumm. The crooked (hunched) cat goes down the crooked stairs crookedly. 13.  Der Cottbuser Postkutscher putzt den Cottbuser Postkutschkasten. The Cottbus postal coach driver cleans the Cottbus postal coach chest. 14.  Ob er à ¼ber Oberammergau, oder aber à ¼ber Unterammergau, oder ob er à ¼berhaupt noch kommt, ist ungewiß! Whether hes coming via Oberammergau, or perhaps via Unterammergau, or not at all, is uncertain. 15.  Der Pfostenputzer putzt den Pfosten, den Pfosten putzt der Pfostenputzer. The post-cleaner cleans the post, the post is being cleaned by the post-cleaner. 16.  Wenn Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen, dann fliegen Fliegen Fliegen nach. When flies fly behind flies, then flies fly after flies. 17.  Wenn hinter Griechen Griechen kriechen, kriechen Griechen Griechen nach. When Greeks creep behind Greeks, Greeks creep after Greeks. 18.  Wenn meine Braut Blaukraut klaut, dann ist sie eine Blaukrautklaubraut. If my bride steals red cabbage,  then shes a red cabbage-stealing bride. 19.  Zehn Ziegen zogen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo, zum Zoo zogen zehn Ziegen zehn Zentner Zucker. Ten goats pulled ten centners of sugar to the zoo,  to the zoo pulled ten goats ten centners of sugar.(A hundredweight,  der Zentner, equals 50 kilograms, 100 Pfund or 110 U.S. pounds.) 20.  Zwischen zwei Zwetschgenbumen zwitschern zwei Schwalben. Between two plum trees twitter two swallows. Need Help? If youre struggling with the tongue-twister, ask a German native to say it for you or look online to hear the pronunciation. It can help to hear it, not just read it.   Start slowly;  practice just small chunks of a tongue twister first.

Saudi arabia running dry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saudi arabia running dry - Essay Example The depletion of the earth’s natural resources is due to human activities. Identification of the economic natural resources such as oil has led subsequent depletion of other resources for instance, people clear the forest to create room for mining of oil underground yet forest are rain catchment areas (hindering effective production of hydroelectric energy); hence, leading not only to the exhaustion of oil, but also the emergence of the desert, yet some of these resources are non-renewable (Gonzalez, 4). The author of this book was motivated to do the research in order to understand the extreme shifts in oil prices, future durability of oil, the impact it has on the environment and what should be done. The argument of this book is that economically valuable natural resources such as oil has led to Saudi Arabia running dry. In the process of mining, oil there is interference of other fundamental natural resources such as land, water and forest. There is the use of chemicals on the land, leaving it infertile; cutting down the forest to create more space for extracting the oil these have led to less water availability and food insecurity posing threat in the economy. The book also gives factors to put into consideration, to change the situation. It talks about the population growth-over population puts pressure on the limited natural resources, leading to their over exploitation (Gonzalez, 29). Pollution of the environment should be limited as it is the major cause of desertification, for example, water pollution, land pollution, which leads to food insecurity. Policies should be put in place to govern the management of natural resources. The book covers the natural resources as an economic problem. In this book, he talks about the interdependency of Saudi Arabia as the cause of it running dry. Saudi has got limited underground water to support its wheat plantation and agricultural support leading to their reliance on other states for food supply; hence, food

Necessary Elements that Teachers Should Aware for Culturally and Article

Necessary Elements that Teachers Should Aware for Culturally and Linguistically - Article Example The bilingual exceptional student’s proficient instructional approaches have created additional stress for teachers and researchers to build up and for managers to expand evaluation policies that make possible legal fulfillment, at the same time make instructional sense. In the sphere of bilingual learning the question of the best sort of services, together with cultural pluralism, diverse communities, exit-entry appraisal, and the identical wellbeing of the law, are most frequently in disagreement with intercession policies, confusing the subject of what a perfect bilingual education program should achieve. There is no precise standard available to gauge and explain the range of bilingual programs existing, nor has any visibly defined variable surfaced beside which to appraise the broad competence or usefulness of bilingual education (Amber and Dew, 1983). The asymmetrical account of learners from varied socio-cultural and linguistic environment in special education has been a relentless anxiety in the field since many years. Regardless of constant hard work by teachers and researchers to recognize causative features and build up an explanation, student enrollments in special education range from over to under-representation, relying on the disability category and the specific racial/ethnic group, social class, culture, and language of the students (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Even though investigative rates of representation can alert teachers to the reality of a crisis, the important question is that in dealing with disproportional in special education whether the right student is recognized and served. It is important to focus on professional development on efficient practices for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Since the inadequate number of teachers available with adequate training in effective practices for culturally and linguistically diverse learners, it is important that  educators engage in professional development that can lead to culturally skilled practice.