Graduation Speech: God Has a Plan for You -- Graduation Speech, Commen

In "Surprised By Joy," C.S. Lewis tells of a mistake that he had observed regarding joy or what he calls "thrills." Lewis realized that what he had first thought to be joy, was actually not joy at all because it began to fade away. He had assumed that he was seeking after the "thrill" itself. He says, "And there lies the deadly error. Only when your whole attention and desire are fixed on something else ... does the 'thrill' arise. It is a by-product. Its very existence presupposes that you desire not it but something other and outer." He realized that when he focused his attention on obtaining the "thrill" of joy, that he was actually focused on himself. True joy is not experienced when one desires joy itself, but when one has his eyes on something else. As believers, the "other and outer" that we have the opportunity to look to is God! God draws us to Himself, our soul responds to Him and in return, He fills our soul with joy. That is portrayed in the words of the Psalmist who says in Psalm 43:3-4, "O send our Your light and Your truth, Let them lead me; Let them bring me t...

Unmasking Monsters of Meaning in the ‘Narrative Complexity’ of Supernat

The subjects of this study, The X-Files (Carter, 1993-2002) and Supernatural (Kripke, 2005-), can be seen as innovative pioneers of ‘Narrative Complexity’ and of the ‘monster-of-the-week’ concept. The X-Files stars FBI agents, Mulder and Scully, as they take charge in investigating the X files (cases that occur through unknown phenomena). Mulder, the believer, and Scully, the sceptic, face corrupt government officials, monstrous mutants and phenomena that cannot be explained. The episodic and formulaic series allow Mulder and Scully to face phenomena after phenomena while being spliced with a greater ‘mytharc’ concerning government corruption and of the alien colonisation of earth. Supernatural stars Dean and Sam Winchester, brothers in arms, who also, within formulaic and self-contained episodes, hunt monsters and creatures of folklore, urban legend and myth. Supernatural features arcs every season that take Dean and Sam searching for their los t father, preventing a demon apocalypse and do battle with Satan and God’s Angels. American television has, since its very first broadcast, twisted and changed to cater towards its ever-growing and ever-changing audience (Mittel, 2007, p.162-163). Narratives, structure styles, special effects, characters and themes have developed and changed, been tested and tried. Mittel identifies the three notable structures of the television: the anthology, the serial and the series (2007, p. 163). For this study, we are more interested in the serial and the series for its crossover in narrative complexity. Mittel states that ‘narrative television offers ongoing storyworlds, presenting specific opportunities and limitations for creating compelling narratives’ (2007, p.163). The ‘episodic series’ is bro... ...d Everyday Life in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In: M. Hammond and L, Mazdon, eds. 2005. The Contemporary Television Series. Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press, pp.159-182. Hodges, L., 2008. Mainstreaming Marginality: Genre, Hybridity, and Postmodernism in The X-Files. In: J. P. Tellote, ed. 2008. The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader. Kentucky: Kentucky University Press, pp.231-246. Mittel, J., 2007. Film and Television Narrative. In: D. Herman, ed. 2007. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.156-171. Mittell, J., 2006. Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. The Velvet Light Trap, 58(32), pp.29-40 Nixon, N., 1998. Making Monsters, or Serializing Killers. In: R. Martin and E, Savoy, eds. 1998. American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative. Iowa: Iowa University Press, pp.217-236.

Remedies for Lazy Bones How to Get the Laziness Out of Your Students Essay

Teaching as a rewarding career can be frustrating sometimes when you have difficulty in motivating the students. This is even harder to those lazy students. Mentors are the ones responsible in treating these lazy bones among them. They should stay with these students regardless of the difficulty of your effort. First, teachers should be open-minded. They should consider that students don’t have only one subject – that is your subject- and they have to think about their other subjects. They may have six or more subjects to think about and their teachers maybe also give them a task to accomplish. Teachers should understand that. Teachers may think that the task is easy, but you need not to forget that they also have other subjects, which might require more difficult tasks. Second, teachers should be good motivators, considering that students have different interests. Even the lazy students have motivations, and teachers should discover them. As much as teachers reward good students, they should also reward lazy students if they ever participate in class activities. These rewards should not necessarily be gifts or material. Just a praising word like â€Å"good job† is enough. When students feel an experience of inner accomplishment and satisfaction, he is more likely to become motivated. Third, they should give the students choices. They need to feel like they have some power and control over their educational experience. Let them work. Act as facilitator. Create opportunities where lazy students can participate. Do not only teach the students but get them involved in class. Teachers should remember important points: The lazy students may not work-unless they are motivated. And, they have to give rewards for accomplishments. Otherwise, motivation may not continue.

Change Essay

Change Essay All change has consequences. In Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address 1863, John F. Kennedy’s 1961 Inaugural Speech 1963 and â€Å"Forgotten Jelly† by Megan Jacobson a story from the perspective of an overweight girl who is blinded by her attitude from her friend’s battle with anorexia, both the positive and negative consequences of change are explored. The effects of change are demonstrated in many different ways, however, they all attempt to convey a central aspect of change; that all change has ramifications.As highlighted in Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, he conveys to the audience that they must put aside their differences and instead draw on the heritage that they share. His phrase â€Å"our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation† unites the audience as they ponder their similarities with the South. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address also reflects on the history shared by all Americans as he attempts to unite th em behind the goal of world peace in the context of the Cold War â€Å"We are the heirs of the first revolution†¦ Let the word go forth that the torch has passed to a new generation of Americans†.This utilization of emotive language aims to unify of all America by provoking their natural patriotism. The greatest barrier to change can be our sense of self. Jacobson’s â€Å"Forgotten Jelly† explores this through the eyes of an overweight girl who fails to recognise the trauma her friend is going through. Jacobson employs hyperbole to convey to the reader how self-obsessed the narrator is. â€Å"Body quaking more than Tokyo† suggests that she wants to draw focus to herself. It also supports how badly damaged her self body image is.This is also explained by Lincoln when he invokes the â€Å"great civil war† America is engaged in, which he is not sure the nation can endure. Lincoln varies his sentences to emphasise the importance of the crossroads the nation is at and how they must look beyond themselves to a bigger picture. This notion is illuminated in his words â€Å"but in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. † A united will can effect great change. In Kennedy’s Inaugural Address he knew he must inspire his people to enable them to help bring peace throughout the world.The United States was again at a crossroads with the Cold War at its height, Kennedy had become president by the narrowest of margins in history. His speech represents a turning point as nearly 75% of Americans expressed approval of Kennedy following his address. Kennedy immediately invoked both God and the shared heritage of the American citizens, to immediately unite his audience behind his call to unity as well as infusing his speech with a sense of higher purpose. I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed. † Similarly, Lincoln is the leader of a country at a critical point, the civil war ha s dragged on for several years. He invokes the Declaration of Independence the most sacred text in America to emphasise the fact that they must unite, before they destroy themselves. His reliance on inclusive language, specifically the word â€Å"we† which threads throughout the speech, binds the audience to a shared goal, it is as if the speaker in in effect all Americans.Lincoln also employs biblical referencing â€Å"fourscore and seven years ago†, the elegant ring of the biblical phrasing draws his audience to him as if he represents a form of higher power. Change can have both positive and negative consequences. This idea is conveyed in all three texts. Lincoln explains that the positive aspects will be that all men will be equal after the completion of the war. However, he also expresses regret that it has come to the point where people must give their lives so that everyone can be treated justly.This idea is underscored in the quote â€Å"All men are created eq ual†¦ those here gave their lives so that that nation may live. † Kennedy too notes that change has brought about many great endeavours as well as the â€Å"power to abolish all forms of human poverty. † He does express concern over that fact that mankind â€Å"has the power to abolish all forms of human life. † And Jacobson reflects on how the persona is now able to realise that she is not the centre of the universe, she is now able to help her friend in her darkest hour and become a better person for it. No-one noticed me†¦ I didn’t notice me. † This places in the spotlight the mental change she undertakes by employing repetition to highlight the fact. Change does not always come easily and can take time to accomplish. The complexity of change is emphasised by both Kennedy and Lincoln. Kennedy, whilst uniting his people behind him in a pledge for world peace explains that this change may not even happen in our lifetime. â€Å"This will n ot be finished in the first 100 days†¦ The first 1000 days†¦ Nor perhaps in our lifetime on the planet.But let us begin. † This draws his people in to him with the utilization of prepetition to illustrate the fact they can be world leaders. Lincoln conveys this message through the phrase â€Å"dedicated to the great task remaining before us† which employs high modality to illuminate that while they are dedicating this war cemetery to the dead. They must remember that their duty is to the living and fostering a better world for the future generations. Accordingly, change has consequences, both positive and negative.Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address that when resisted it can undermine national unity and indeed perpetuate war. Change can also be embraced positively not only by a certain group of people, but the whole world as represented in Kennedy’s Inaugural Address. Change can come without choice and lead to new insights, as revealed in Jacobsonâ€⠄¢s â€Å"Forgotten Jelly. † Change transforms, be it mental or physical, individual or universal it allows people to grow. Word count 1,131 By Jim Nash

Approaches to error correction in language teaching, and how it has Literature review

Approaches to error correction in language teaching, and how it has evolved - Literature review Example Language is correlated to culture, and understanding a people’s language is a prerequisite to understanding their culture. A second language is very vital to the lives of many people because it affects their careers, identities and future lives. It is therefore, an important task when one engages in helping people to acquire a second language (Cook, 2008, p. 1). In fact, it would be very difficult for tourists to enjoy their tour in a foreign country, for instance, if they were unable to express themselves in the language that is commonly spoken in that language or if the tour guides in the foreign country did not have sufficient spoken and written knowledge on the tourists’ language. However, language teaching, especially second language teaching, is associated with errors among learners. This means that language teaching incorporates error correction. Various approaches to error correction in language teaching have been proposed by various scholars and researchers. Initially, attention was focused on the language that the learner produced and the technique of error analysis focused on the differences between the learner’s speech and that of the native speaker. Language teachers or instructors were interested to know how the learner’s language was like (Cook, 2008, p. 6). Naturally, it is very difficult for a foreigner to attain the same language proficiency as that of a native speaker. Therefore, this approach could not be effective in evaluating achievement of a language learner because it is not guaranteed that such learner can attain absolute proficiency in spoken or written language. It has been noted that second language learners do not achieve proficiency in language which can measure up with native-speaking individuals in terms of speaking and writing. One of the reasons why this phenomenon is varied is becau se of instructional issues (House, 2011, p. 61). During the 1950s and 1960s, the

Case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Case study - Assignment Example An example of self-determination in the case study is the student, Courtney who appears top in their class for having read the most books. This implies that she is determined to do the best in their class. Some students are less concerned with winning habits in school perhaps due to laziness or other factors, as for Courtney, she is the best student for having read the most books, which gives her the promised opportunities. This is also meant to boost her confidence in the long run. State anxiety portrays the familiarity of obnoxious feelings when faced up with explicit circumstances, demands or a fastidious object or occurrence, (Carlson & Heth, 558). Trait anxiety refers to the disparities amid people based on their propensity to experience state anxiety in response to the expectancy of a menace or challenge. Courtney experienced both in the manner that she was faced with a challenge of reading a book in front of the entire class and was not able to. Reading was the occurrence, which made her display trait anxiety since she never had the experience of reading in front of a big

Case blue nile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case blue nile - Essay Example SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis deals with examining the internal and external factors impacting the actions and performance of the organization. While strengths and weaknesses can be identified by scrutinizing the internal factors, opportunities and threats are revealed by investigating the various macro environmental aspects like political, social, economic, legal and environmental forces. The biggest strength of Blue Nile is its ability to keep its costs under control. The company has a vast array of products in its repertoire and thus provides its customers a wide choice. It has an economical supply chain, a lean hierarchy and does not give any mark up to the wholesalers and retailers. All these aspects help Blue Nile to keep its operating costs low. The online retailer boasts of exceptional customer service. Blue Nile provides grading reports on its website that enables customers to purchase just the ‘right kind’ of jewelry. Every diamond marketed by Blue Nile is graded either by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or by the American Gem Society Laboratories (AGSL). Blue Nile also maintains favorable relations with its suppliers. The company has managed to ink pacts with numerous suppliers and therefore is not dependent on one particular supplier for the purchase of diamonds. Blue Nile offers its customers more than 60, 000 diamonds and hundreds of settings. However, the company derives majority of its revenue from the sale of engagement rings. The company has not been able to chalk out a strategy to increase the percentage of consumers to buy jewelry items online. Another weakness is that the company’s net profit margin at 4.2 percent is very low especially when compared to the net profit margin of 9.8 percent at Tiffany. Blue Nile provides ‘trust, guidance and value’ to its customers. These features are now being provided by its competitors as well. If