How Constitution Affects Arizona Essay Example for Free

How Constitution Affects Arizona Essay The Arizona Constitution affects counties, municipalities, corporations, and schools in many ways. In Article 11 of the Constitution, there are many points covered that ensure the success of Arizona schools. Some of these points include disability regulations, fairness of the members of the state board, and maintenance of the schools. In Article 11, of the Arizona Constitution, it is stated â€Å"†¦that legislature shall make such appropriations, to be met by taxation, as shall insure the proper maintenance of all state educational institutions, and shall make such special appropriations as shall provide for their development and improvement† (Hoffman Rex, 2009. ) The goal of this section of the Constitution is to ensure the safety and success of the Arizona school system. There are ten sections to this Article that include rights and regulations of students, including those that are disabled. For example, in Section 1, it states that children who suffer from hearing and vision disabilities are guaranteed a fair education. In Section two and three, the supervision of the schools and the state board members are mentioned. Other issues covered include funding and fair admission regardless of sex, religion, or politics. These sections addressed many of the common issues of any school system. The Arizona Constitution, specifically Article 11, affect the school system in many ways. For example, disabled children are offered a fair and free education regardless of the severity of their condition. Another example is the funding of the Arizona school system. This is possibly the most important aspect of schools because without funding they cannot be successful. The Arizona Constitution is a vital treasure for Arizona citizens to enforce in every aspect of their citizenship, especially education. References Hoffman, D Rex, T. (2009) â€Å"Education Funding in Arizona: Constitutional Requirement and the Empirical Record.† A Report from the Office of the University Economist. Arizona State University. Arizona State Legislature. (2009) retrieved from: www.azleg.gov/consitution.asp?Article=11.

Louis and Crusade Essay Example for Free

Louis and Crusade Essay Manuel saw the crusade as an inconvenience as it prevented him from his plans to attack Sicily, this resulted in him giving the crusade little acknowledgement. Another factor was that the Byzantium emperor had an understanding with the Turks as well as an alliance with the Sultan of Rum. All this would be under threat if he was to help the crusade so it made more sense to give the franks directions rather than supplies as this would anger the turks and could possibly start a war. Also, during the first crusade Baldwin and Bohemond refused to restore territory to the Byzantine emperor so this removed any interest he may have had in aiding the crusade. The pillaging Greek towns led to Manuel refusing to provide supplies top aid his troops alone. This then led to Christians fighting amongst each other which then led to a weaker overall Crusader force, which resulted in the crusade lacking man power and strength. The fact that 90% of troops were wiped out at Dorylaeum certainly had an impact on the failure of the crusade as this reduced the amount of troops on the crusade significantly. This was due to the lack of aid and ships from the Byzantine Emperor Manuel, which then led to more troops having to travel by foot. As a result of this many troops were lost to disease as well as being sabotaged by the Turks. Overall the lack of aid from the Byzantine emperor resulted in loss of troops which then led to lack of man power on the crusade . If the Byzantium’s would have sent help and aid to the crusade, it would have meant many more troops would have survived making the crusader stronger and making them a much more powerful force. Furthermore, the strong muslim unity was also to blame partially for the crusader failure. A reason for this was that the promotion of Jihad by Zengi and Nurreddin gave Muslims the power needed for them to strive and determined to takeover the states the Franks. Another reason for the failure was that the leaders lacked the dedication they had for the first crusade, this then resulted in the troops also lacking enthusiasm meaning the manpower was at a significantly low level during the second crusade. Also, ‘crusade’ meant a variety of different things to different religious groups. One thing they all had in common was they all desired a spiritual reward in return for their service, not to save the East. This meant the crusaders had the wrong frame of mind to begin. This effected on the impact of the troops and the progress of the crusade as it lacked the desire to complete the crusade. Divisions in the East meant that Louis lost support of Raymond of Tripoli and Jocelyn as these remained in the North. This effected to supplies and aid that these leaders could have supplied. As well as aid they could have supplied troops which would have made the crusade much stronger as a whole. Finally, the attack on Damascus played potentially a big part in the failure as it produced more divisions. This was due to the fact it was a politically neutral area. It was also allied to Jerusalem. The attack resulted in the Muslims uniting further making the made it more difficult for the crusade to be complete as Nuredin barred the gates after the appeal from Damascus. This decision resulted in the crusade becoming a weaker force as the Muslim forces were becoming more united and stronger resulting in them having more man power. The final reasons for the failure of the crusade were the mistakes made by Louis VII and how they effected the overall progression of the crusade. Firstly, Louis had an unclear focus of going on the crusade. He was reluctant to embark at fist which meant he didn’t have much belief in the outcomes himself. He went to seek repentance for the massacre he had committed at Vitry, so just like most of the crusaders he was not focused on saving the East he was looking for a spiritual reward. He also failed to swear fealty to Manuel after attacking the Greeks. This resulted in the Byzantium’s refusing to send aid to Louis after he had asked. The little help from the Byzantium’s meant that the crusade lacked the aid and support they needed to keep a large amount of their soldiers alive. This resulted in high death rates, decreasing number of troops and lack of man power. Overall Louis lacked the qualities of a leader he had poor organisation and preparation skills as well as the lack of decision making. When he decided to travel to Antioch by sea he didn’t have the supplies to do this effectively. This meant he lost a large number of troops before even getting to the location. His poor decision making resulted in division of his own army as no one could decide on group decisions etc. This meant that the troops were not working as a team so the frame of mind was not there for them to succeed and complete the crusade. His personal life also had an effect on the crusade. He was more interested in his personal dislikes and relationship than those of the affair. This meant his decisions weren’t based on what was best for the success of the crusade but what was best for him and his personal aspects of his own life. This shows he did not prioritise the crusade so he lacked the enthusiasm that would have rubbed off onto his troops. Finally, when he attacked Damascus he lost the only Muslim ally of the Crusader states. This meant he lost out on supplies and aid the city would have provided as well as uniting the Muslim states even more. In conclusion, all three points had some sort of effect on the failure of the 2nd crusade but the most important was certainly Louis VII lack of leadership and enthusiasm to the crusade. If he would have planned the route and prioritised the crusade he would have gained the help from the Byzantines. He made many wrong decisions that affected the failure because if he hadn’t of attacked Damascus he wouldn’t have lost the only Muslim ally to the Crusader states. His lack of enthusiasm meant the crusade didn’t have a specific motive or aim which meant that the crusaders were not as interested or dedicated to completing the crusade. His lack of organisation resulted in stronger forces of the muslims which resulted with his force being much weaker than those he was crusading against. If a dedicated leader would have led the 2nd crusade it would have been a much greater success as it would have been planned and organised.

We Are Surrounded By Media Sociology Essay

We Are Surrounded By Media Sociology Essay In todays world, we are surrounded by media. Our lives are saturated by newspapers, radio, books, television, movies, Internet, and many other aspects of media. These can be broadly classified into news media and popular media. In India, both these types provide an insight to Indian life, which is filled with romance, tradition, and all the other day-to-day experiences and situations one might come across. But, even though they might seem the same, they both play very different roles in society. Popular media represents and recounts a vast number of real life stories, and portrays them in a manner enjoyable for the audience. News media on the other hand, provides more facts and gives raw information for the audience to understand, with or without a firm opinion of its own on the matter. Popular media reaches out to a much larger audience, as both literate and illiterate people are able to access it, while news media only reaches out to the literate and wealthy people. This difference can become a problem in certain situations. Both these parts of media reflect society constantly, as they are shaped from and around experiences and stories of the people in the society. Usually, both these types concur with each other in the content and representation of society, but there are specific cases in which this ceases to be true. An example of this is the portrayal of the prominence and effects of the dowry system in India today. For a long time, both popular and news media reflected the aspects of the dowry system in Indian society very vividly and comprehensively, shared the same view about the topic, and thus were in concurrence with each other. But overtime, it was noticed that popular media deviated from this pattern and no longer reflected the prominence of the dowry system in society, while the news media continued to do so, thus creating an ideological difference between the two. The problem of the dowry system is still prominent, and the news media continues to reflect this. But since popular media does not reflect society anymore, a majority of the society comes under the impression that there is nothing wrong in what they are doing. This can cause the dowry system to be persistent in the everyday lives of Indian families. The dowry system is a cultural system in India in which the parents of the bride pay a large sum of money, and give expensive jewelry and other gifts such as cars, to the parents of the groom during marriage. Traditionally, there were many reasons for the establishment of this system. It was a form of inheritance for the bride, since all the family property was inherited by men. It was supposed to be the security for the bride in case any misfortune befell her husbands house. It was also a system of honoring the groom for his willingness to accept the bride as his wife in marriage, and the gifts given could range from anything significant to even a small token of good wishes. However, the greed of dowry has affected almost all ordinary families in India. Nowadays, in marriages between or amongst all hierarchal levels of society, dowry is generally an unspoken requirement. And due to the exposure to mass media, the gifts given in dowry have transformed into a large transfer of wealth, making it an important factor in marriage. The social and cultural effects of the dowry system are devastating to the society as a whole. The system reduced women to a commodity and a source of wealth. Even if the dowry is paid, in most cases, the bride is tortured by her in-laws mentally and physically as they demand for more dowry even after marriage. This torture generally leads to suicide or murder of the bride. The reason why dowry is still persistent in India is not only because it is difficult to enforce the law against it or because the grooms family is very demanding, but also because the brides family continues to bear with it. Despite the widespread awareness of the negative consequences of dowry and the problems cause by it, it is still seen as a way of buying happiness for the bride. Many families believe that giving a large dowry would result in better treatment of the daughter by the grooms family. This has only aggravated the problem as the standard for dowry became high and so marriage was dependent on whether the brides family could reach that standard of dowry or not. A study was done in 1980 which examined students expectations of dowry for people with various education backgrounds. Even though majority of the students viewed the dowry system as an evil in society and considered it unimportant for marriage, most of the brothers of the respondents gave or received dowry for their sisters marriages. Also, depending on the social status and affluence of the family, and the education qualifications of the bride and the groom, the amount of dowry needed to be given varies significantly. There is a positive correlation between a mans education and status to the dowry his family demands. As a grooms educational experience increases, the dowry demanded for the marriage also increases. In 1961, the payment of dowry was prohibited under the Indian Civil Law, and also under sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Despite this, this system of dowry has been a continuous and never ending menace in our society. These laws were made in order to make it easier for women to seek redress from the harassment she is under by the mans family. But these laws have been of little help to brides, who are harassed even today by their in-laws. Instances of such situations have constantly been shown to the public by the media. The power of media in todays world is surprising. The media has the freedom to form opinions, and through this they can change the opinions of people. But, people forget that in the end, all media is doing is reflecting society. The stories the media covers, and the plots of the movies that are made (except fantasy fiction of course), all are based on situations which may occur in day to day life, or real life situations. Same was the case with the dowry system. The media clearly depicted the agonies and pain of Indian women as they were suffering from the cruelties of the dowry system. This can be seen from very far back in popular as well as news media. Dowry-inspired murder cases received immense coverage by news media in the late 1970s and 1980s due to the active role played by womens organizations. The womens organizations played a very important role in increasing awareness and coverage of dowry related cases. A study done on the coverage of dowry related cases from 1979-1984 concludes that there was a noticeable improvement in the coverage of dowry in the national papers due to the womens organizations, although the coverage in regional papers remained the same. By 1979, one dowry related death received serious press coverage. A 24 year old bride from New Delhi, Tarvinder Kaur, was set on fire by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law due to the less dowry paid by her. Another significant dowry-related murder case was that of Tripti Sharma, who worked at the Ministry of Defense. She was burned to death by her husband and his family in 1986. A more optimistic and recent case is that of Nisha Sharma. In May 2003, she handed over her future husband to the police on the day of the wedding itself as he was demanding more dowry from her. This example shows what women need to do in cases of dowry abuse. Nisha refused to come under the pressures of the grooms family, and decided that she is not going to sustain it. These examples from news media are clearly reflective of the state of affairs in India at that time, and case with popular media was similar. In 1992, the movie City of Joy depicted a family which had really high dowry demands. In the movie, the grooms father clearly states, I am firm in requiring for my exceptional son the bicycle, 1000 rupees, and one ounce of gold. The brides father responds by saying, The child of a king might be worth that, and Im not even sure of that! Another 2001 movie, Lajja, clearly displayed the consequences of the dowry system, its working, and how it may be a big burden on the brides family. In the movie, Maithili (Mahima Chaudhary) is about to be married to a wealthy man of a family with a high social status. Maithilis parents give away everything they have in the dowry, including their land and saved money. Upon still falling short, they take loans from their friends, but they are still not able to gather the full amount. Maithili requests her future husband to convince his dad to let the rest of the money be, but he is too scared to do so. Seeing this, and seeing her dad beg in front of the grooms father to accept the money he has, she rebels, and calls of the wedding. She was not able to bear to see her father being humiliated in such a manner by the grooms father. Both these movies showed depicted that the brides family has to struggle a lot in order to gather the dowry for the grooms family, and thus is a big burden on them. This depiction of the dowry system by popular media was in concurrence with its reflection in the news media, but as we move ahead on the timeline, this concurrence slowly fades away. The movie Lajja was the last movie to clearly depict the pain inflicted due to the dowry system. The 2006 movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai also had the concept of dowry, but it did not demonstrate the consequences of the dowry system, and only showed that the concept of dowry existed. Since then, popular media has not depicted anything related to cases of dowry related abuse or murder. And this would have been perfectly fine if the society had transformed to this effect and there were no more dowry related crimes taking place. But this was not true, as news media still continued to report about such crimes taking place. Number of dowry cases goes up (The Hindu, January 2008); Dowry death after love marriage (The Times of India, April 2008); Harassed for dowry, teacher ends life (The Indian Express, November 2007). These are just three headlines from three of Indias popular newspapers that show the persistence of the dowry system and its consequences in modern India. Dowry is still prevalent in modern India, in not only the illiterate section of the population, but also the educated elites in Indias major metropolitan cities. Surprisingly in the past decade, the number of dowry related crime cases has actually gone up, despite dowry being banned since 1961 by Indian law. According to the statistics released by the National Crime Records Bereau, a total of 8391 dowry deaths were reported in 2010 itself, which means that a bride was killed every 90 minutes due to dowry related reasons. In 1988, this number was 2209; in 1990 it rose to 4835; in 2000 (a decade earlier), this number was 6995, and in 2007 it climbed up to an astounding 8093. According to other government records, Delhi itself records a few hundred dowry deaths every year, while womens rights groups estimate this number to be at 900 per year. This is a phenomenal increase compared to the number for the 1990s, which is about 300 per year. It is important to note that these are just official records, and are thus immensely under-reported. 90% of the cases in which women are burnt are recorded as accident, 5% as suicides, and only the remaining 5% of the cases are shown as murder. These shockingly high numbers clearly reflect the continuous increase in dowry related crimes and deaths in India. This is due to the continued commercialization of marriages in the modern Indian society. Indias economic liberalization has seen a proportionate rise in the levels of greed as compared to 1990, and a bride is now perceived by her future in-laws as a source of potential cash flow. A famous quote from former Justice Markandey Katju reads, On one hand, people regard women as goddesses, and on the other hand they burn them alive. This is against the norms of civilized society. Its barbaric. This is in response to an appeal filed by a husband who had just been sentenced to imprisonment for life by a Sessions court for burning his wife due to dowry related reasons. The effects of the dowry system are so far and wide ranging, that they can even be traced back to the womb. This system is the primary cause for female feticide and infanticide as poorer parents get to avoid the lifelong burden of saving up for the dowry for their daughters marriage. The commercialization of marriage and female infanticide is clearly reflected in the movie Matrubhoomi, in which a reverse dowry system is depicted. The movie shows a society in which there are no women left due to excessive female infanticide, and the men have grown to be so sexually frustrated, that they are ready to pay large amounts of money to get a wife for themselves or their sons. So as soon as the head of the family finds Kalki, they literally buy her from her father, by giving him five lakh rupees and five cows, and marry her to all five of his sons. Kalki simply becomes a source of money for her father, and a sex object for her husbands. Nowadays, there are famous advertisements which have been put up in many of the rural villages, which read, Spend 500 rupees today, save 5000 rupees later. This is a reference to the cost of abortion compared to the cost of the dowry which they might have to give. It basically encourages the families to come and get an abortion if their child is a girl, so that they dont have the burden of paying the dowry while getting her married in the future. This is the primary reason why India has a distorted sex ratio of 933 girls for every 1,000 boys. As is evident, the problems due to the dowry system have only been rising over the past decade. Despite this, popular media has failed to reflect these problems. News media has continued to keep up with these updates, and report about them, but popular media has deviated into its own path. Since popular media has a much larger audience compared to news media, this results in the society getting a totally different viewpoint of what is happening in their world: a wrong viewpoint in which what they are doing is not wrong. Also, since popular media has a much larger international audience as compared to news media, people from other countries get a totally different view of India: a world in which the dowry system does not exist and is not causing any problems at all. Thus, an untrue version of the society is shown to the world outside, which is not good, as when these people actually come to India and read about the truth, it is a shocking revelation for them. A shift is Indias attitude towards the dowry systems is urgently due. In simple words, dowry is equal to a family paying a man to accept their daughter as his wife, while the man along with his family, tries to get the maximum price out of the womans family. This association of economic gain with women in marriage is something which has long been persistent in India, and needs to stop. Simply making anti-dowry laws has proved to be inefficient. We need to make the society see their mistakes and realize what they are doing wrong, and this can only be done if popular media continues to reflect society as it did before. India must come together to end this practice. This could see couples channel their funds to provide education to their daughters, instead of saving money for years and years for dowry. The days of the persistence of the dowry system in India must be numbered, or Indian societys claim to be progressive is disingenuous.

Classical Theorists Essay example -- Sociology, Feminist Theory, Gende

The dominant voice in sociology is white, heterosexual and male. This is certainly true of the â€Å"Classical† theorists and forefathers Georg Simmel and Max Weber. Over the years Sociology has recognized different voices in the tradition, opening the doors for feminist theory and theorists such as Candace West, Don H. Zimmerman, Judith Butler, Patricia Hill Collins, Dorothy E. Smith, and Raewyn Connell. These sociologists attempt to offer a different standpoint from the dominant one, a standpoint that can find some of its roots in the works of the sociological forefathers. West and Zimmerman’s Doing Gender was a seminal sociological work. The authors asserted, â€Å"the essential male and female natures are an achieved status of objective fact, they provide the rationale for the differing fates of women and men† (Kivisto 2011: 319). Max Weber’s views on status compliment this idea. Weber states â€Å"a status group can exist only to the extent that others accord its member prestige or degrading, which removes them from the rest of social actors and establishes the necessary social distance† (Coser 1977: 229). West and Zimmerman go on to discuss the difference between sex, sex category, and gender. They also concentrate on gender, submitting that instead of an essential part of our nature it is an act we portray daily (Kivisto 2011). West and Zimmerman take on gender was revolutionary but at its very foundation is the idea of status in American society. Generally, gender difference has been used to subjugate the female sex category. Georg Simmel also dealt with status in his essay on Fashion. He discussed the lower class acquiring material items to mimic higher classes. Similarly, West and Zimmerman discussed gender displays a... ...2011). Many jobs that are considered masculine make more money, such as businessman and pro football players. While teachers, nurses, and cleaning ladies traditionally female positions barely make a enough to survive. It says a lot about what gender we value in society. Arguing for a living wage from a feminist stand point, would highlight the contradictory act of teaching one thing and practicing another. The feminist perspective might point out that feminine and masculine are social constructions. This ideal would equalize the sex category female and male (Kivisto 2011). Making â€Å"female† activities as valuable as male activities. They would accept knowledge from all groups. Use a variety of standpoints to make decisions about wages (Kivisto 2011). Try to dismantle the gendered hierarchal structure of the university and disavow â€Å"masculine† and â€Å"Feminine†.

Essay --

Scott Sorrell 12/11/13 Soc 221 – Social Problems Dusty Myers Homosexuality and Society George Bernard Shaw said the following when discussing how marriage brings two people together "under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions. They are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part." Marriage is hard, and it is something people have to work at. However, society in recent years has begun to strongly dictate who can, and who cannot be joined in matrimony. Gay marriage has become the hot topic. It is a fact that humans have been engaging in homosexuality activity for centuries. China, India, Japan, and all over Europe homosexuality has been occurring. It was not until Christianity and organized religion did it become as big of an issue. It has become a more pressing issue now because people have begun fighting for equal rights. Society will ask â€Å"should homosexual marriage be legalized?†, however, the contradictory outlook is â€Å"why should society be able to dictate what two adults choose to do?† If two people decide to participate in traditional marriage, no one cares. No one calls the papers. No one protests. No one commits hate crimes. It is assumed that they are two people who are in love, and feel warmth for one another. How could those feeling ever be wrong? But when this case is changed to a nontraditional marriage between a man and another man, or a woman and another woman, a large portion of society has many objections. They feel that it is their responsibility to make their objections heard. They decided then that they care. They call the papers, they protest and they commit hate crime... .... However, the argument has been made that two people in a homosexual relationship should not have children, because it will corrupt those kids. But, there has been many studies done that show kids that grow up in same sex households have no adverse effects. They are loved the same. They do just as well in school. They contribute to society just the same. The studies that show otherwise, have all been proven to have flawed results, or have been adjusted to support a specific viewpoint. Love is love, which is all children need to grow. For me, as an openly bisexual male, and someone who was very religious at one point in my life, I feel that I have a unique perspective. I feel that it is my right as a human being to love who I choose to love. It is my right as a human being to pursue a sexual relationship with who I want. No other person should have a say in that.

file vaults :: essays research papers

File Vault Help This software is free to use. In a recent article in Defense News (Vol 12 No 31) Aug 4-10, 1997 William Crowell, National Security Agency deputy director said "If a product of 64-bit strength were used by a military org... it would take 6,000 to 7,000 years to recover just one message." 1. File Vault - 64-bit (8 bytes) block encryption algorithm variable length key up to 448 bits File Vault - Places a number of user selected files in a single self extracting / self decrypting executable file called a File Vault. A File Vault can be sent easily to anyone over the internet and only accessed with your password. The recipient of a File Vault does not have to have any special software installed to decrypt or access a file vault. Each File Vault is totally self contained. This makes for easy attaching, receiving and general use. File Vault allows you to open the vault, access the files, then close the vault which performs a secure wipe of the files from the disk surface. In an encrypted file vault, filename information is encrypted too, so if someone examines the vault with a disk editor, no information on contents is available other than the optional description line entered during creation. Great for "Your Eyes Only" files... The encryption algorithm is the highly regarded BLOWFISH by Bruce Schneier, world renowned Cryptographer. See VGP information below for more detail. File Vault is available at... www.alcuf.ca/fv - - - - A word on compression: When you use Winzip or other compression utilities from Windows, they often will create temporary files that can reside on the users system which are complete duplicate files, or parts of files that you would rather be fully secured. Therefore, rather than zipping files and containing them in a vault, build a vault first which securly containes your files, and then create the zip (or other archive) file. That way any temporary stuff created by the archiver will be encrypted and remain secure. - - - - 2. Other free utilities included with File Vault --------------------------------------------- The following utilities are stand alone utilities that reside on your File Vault directory. These can be moved or deleted as you wish. DISKWIPE.EXE (and diskinfo.dll) - this utility is used to securly remove deleted information from a hard drive to prevent undeleting. Let's say you have a bunch of stuff you just deleted, and need to make sure nothing that was on the system can be undeleted and accessed again. This utility creates a file the size of the free remaining space on your drive and fills it with space, then deletes it.

Customized Learning Theory Essay

Educational techniques have been around for many centuries. Through the centuries, teaching techniques have not changed. However, many methods have emerged which has been defined as educational theory. Students have many different learning styles that help them learn. Teachers must learn how to teach to include each of the learning styles so each student learns what they need to know. Teaching students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be very difficult to teach. These students need to be active in what they are doing and what they are learning. Using the kinesthetic learning style will help tremendously when teaching a child with ADHD. Learning disabilities are problems that affect the brain’s ability to receive, process, analyze, or store information. These problems can make it difficult for a student to learn as quickly as someone who is not affected by learning disabilities. Certain kinds of learning disabilities can interfere with a person’s ability to concentrate or focus and can cause someone’s mind to wander too much. Other learning disabilities can make it difficult for a student to read, write, spell, or solve math problems. Research is being conducted daily to be able to determine which learning theories work for which student. Some students learn better by listening, some by doing and some by hearing. Although, teaching can be dated back to the bible, Proverbs 4:2 states â€Å"I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching† (Holy Bible, NIV). Romans 12:7 states that â€Å"if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach† (Holy Bible, NIV). No matter what a teacher teaches, as long as each student gets what they deserve out of the teaching is the only thing that matters. Learning Theory and its Importance Every teacher has his or her own learning theory. Not every theory is the same. One of the best known learning theories in use today is the Piaget’s theory (Slavin, 2012). Piaget believed that there were four factors that lead to a child’s development. Children use aids and begin to understand how things work which helps the child learn how to do things for themselves. Another factor is that children learn from socializing with other children their age. This gives the child an opportunity to view other children’s behaviors and learn from each behavior. The child will then be able to develop their own patterns and personality. From there, the child can make their own decisions and find out what works best for them. Culture plays a big part in ways that affect learning theories. Vygotsky thought of the practice of education as a source rather than a result of the development of cognitive and learning skills. Many people before Vygotsky believed that people possessed the essential learning ability; however, it just needed to be coaxed out. Adolescence is one of the most trying times for a new Christian. According to Hosseini, Elias, Krauss, & Aishah (2010), adolescence is a point in time when an individual makes a choice in their future education, any major life roles, any relationships, and where a child establishes toward long-term goal to work toward to. This proves that it is imperative of having Christian principles of morality integrated into the school systems. Description of an Effective Teacher and Learning Environment Being an effective teacher takes a lot of determination, understanding and commitment and also considered to be an intentional teacher. When a teacher focuses too much of his or her instruction on one area, other instructional areas could drop. Slavin (2012) states that teaching involves planning and preparation, and the components which make a good teacher are decision making, reflection, application of education research and self-knowledge and self-regulation. Teachers need to be highly qualified according to federal law. The problem was that a negative impact of the requirement of having highly qualified teacher on recruitment and retention of personnel in rural areas was feared. Leading educators in education and special education have argued that the requirement may worsen the already significant critical shortages and attrition rate in rural special education. Another problem that was brought up was the cost to have highly qualified teachers and no extra compensation. Administrators fear that they might not be able to recruit special education teachers who meet the highly qualified standard. This legislation has made an impact on the rural areas of public and private schools. If the standards are set high, then individuals who would want to be teachers would see education as â€Å"not as attractive as other career options† (Courtade et. al. , 2010, p. 10). Everybody knows that there are no two children who learn at the same pace but only an effective teacher would understand this. An effective teacher would use different learning styles to help educate each child. Direct instruction and setting objectives are important in the classroom. Being able to translate directive instructions clearly and concisely is imperative. An effective teacher wants to make sure the student can understand what is being taught which makes the difference between good and great learning. Being able to effectively deliver educational material would allow the students to become confident with his or her ability to learn what is being taught. According to Slavin (2012), poor delivery of lesson plans can have a negative impact on a student’s mental set. When a teacher has a good lesson delivery, it allows the students to become more confident; however, it is necessary that the lesson delivery be given using various delivery methods. During classroom instructions, a student does not only need ample time to learn new material, the student needs to review old material that was already taught. Having the time to review and learn new material shows the students how the old and new material goes together and instills the importance of all the material. Homework is a part of a lesson plan that is extremely important. Homework was once thought to be essential to learning and should be mandatory. It was once thought that homework was important and can further a student’s education more than a student who did not complete the homework assignments. This was contradicted when research was conducted when students were allowed to choose whether or not they wanted to do homework. Results showed that the group who did not do the homework outperformed the students who did the mandatory homework (Gutarts & Baines (2010). Technology has become a big part in education. Technology has taken over the ranks for textbooks, emails, information, and paper. Several counties in Virginia have been using iPads and laptops instead of textbooks (Reid, 2011). Digital technology holds enormous potential for transforming instruction (Reid, 2011). The introduction of new technology into the classroom is an important component to help foster a learning environment that will encourage problem-solving and critical thinking (Reid, 2011). However, if a teacher chooses to use any form of technology in the classroom, the teacher needs to be well educated with technology. Some people would think that if a teacher was illiterate when it comes to computers, then why teach with them or use computers in a classroom. A teacher may not need to know the â€Å"ins and outs† of technology but he or she must know what websites are trusted, how to â€Å"surf† the internet, send out emails, set up blackboards, and use whiteboards (which can display what is on the computer onto the wall or blackboard). Technology has been very helpful when it comes to distance learning. Distance learning has helped many adults go back to college to get a degree when his or her life does not allow them to go to an actual classroom. Individuals with reading disabilities tend to become overwhelmed with reading and other activities during school. A child who cannot read well and is in middle school will not be able to take proper notes because he or she does not know how to write well either. In one study, a teacher used an iPad as a tool to help a fifth grade struggling reader with ADHD. The use of the iPad helped the student focus attention, and the iPad also helped the student become more metacognitive in reading. Using the iPad showed an increase of one year’s growth in a six week period using pre- and post-assessments (McClanahan, Williams, Kennedy, & Tate, 2012). The student also gained in confidence and sense of being in control of his learning. While generalizations to other struggling readers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder cannot be made, the success this student experienced suggests that the use of this device is worth serious consideration and research in similar contexts (McClanahan, et. al. , 2012). Learning Characteristics: Modalities and Ability Grouping Learning modalities are important when it comes to learning and teaching. The three different types of modalities include, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. According to Anderson (n. d. ), learning modalities are the sensory channels or pathways through which individuals give, receive, and store information. Perception, memory, and sensation include the notion of modality. Approximately 25-30% of students are visual learners (Anderson, n. d. ). Visual learners are those who learn by seeing (Anderson, n. d. ). Approximately 25-30% of students are auditory learners (Anderson, n. d. ). Auditory learners are those who must hear what he or she hears to really understand it. Approximately 15% of students are tactile or kinesthetic learners (Anderson, n. . ). Tactile or kinesthetic learners need to feel and touch and get a better understanding if movement is involved. However, students can have mixed modalities which include visual and auditory, visual and kinesthetic, and auditory and kinesthetic. There are about 25-30% of students who have mixed modalities (Anderson, n. d. ). Learning modalities are important but it is not the only thing that helps the students. Teachers need to be prepared in their subject and need to be knowledgeable in the area they are teaching. Just because a teacher is knowledgeable, does not make them an intentional teacher and does not make them knowledgeable in writing lesson plans. If a teacher does not know how to deliver the knowledge to the students, the students are not going to learn as much as they should. When a teacher makes a lesson plan, it helps the teacher to be prepared and helps the teacher know how to convey much needed knowledge to the students. The concept of ability grouping goes along with learning modalities. Ability grouping allows students to group together based on their ability to learn. Ability grouping allows students of higher level to be grouped with high achieving students. Ability grouping also allows students of lower level to be grouped with lower achieving students. This type of grouping makes the assumption that the teacher will be able to teach the students based on the same level. This causes a problem because it can cause the lower level students to fall further being the higher level students because they are not taught the same things and the same ways. Personal Reflection When conducting the Learning Styles Profile on myself, it made me aware of my learning styles which is that I am a more of a visual learner than anything but I feel that I am more of a kinesthetic learner so I would classify myself as having mixed modalities. Just watching something being done would not keep my attention but if I watched something being done while I was doing it, then I would have a better understanding. I would use this as part of my theory because an effective teacher has to have something for everyone. An effective teacher would have instructions for the auditory, visual and kinesthetic students so that each student can learn his or her own way. When conducting the Philosophical Methodology of Learning Profile, it showed that I scored highest and I have strong feeling in progressivist, and traditionalist methodology. My lowest score was actually a negative score and that was in socialist methodology. Inasmuch as I am an extreme progressivist, not all of it is true. I believe that everything has to have a point and to be proven but that does not mean that I deny the existence of God. I really believe that in the progressive mode the teacher becomes the facilitator or the director of learning, while the student becomes the center of focus as an individual. I believe that school revolves around the children. I believe that if a teacher looks at a class as a whole and not individuals, the individuals who need help will not get it. A child with special needs â€Å"slips through the cracks† all the time, and in my opinion, that is not acceptable. The supervisor of learning can direct the learning from different perspectives ultimately considering the needs of the individual. An experience centered approach stems from this philosophical methodology using projects, cooperative group activities, and critical thinking and problem solving, decision-making skills. Getting children to work together as well as separately will help the children get ideas off of other students. This way, the student will know if they need extra help in a certain area and can ask for help when needed. Conclusion Each child learns differently. Each teacher has to have his or her own theory on what would work in his or her classroom. Schools are for learning† and â€Å"teaching promotes learning, but learning also takes place through experience and individual study† (Van Brummelen, 2009, p. 13). A teacher must â€Å"trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding† (Proverbs 3:5). Inasmuch as educational theories have been around for centuries, times change, the way that teachers educate students will change, and the way children learn will change. Teachers must adapt to the â€Å"New Age† which includes many forms of technology and new learning theories.