The Pros and Cons of Teaching in Block Schedules

The Pros and Cons of Teaching in Block Schedules Education is full of ideas like year-round schooling, vouchers, and block scheduling, so its important for administrators and educators to look at the pros and cons of an idea before implementing it. Strategies for one popular idea, block schedules, can  help make the transition easier and more effective. In block scheduling- unlike a traditional school day that typically has six 50-minute classes- the school might schedule two traditional days a week, with six 50-minute classes, and three nontraditional days, with only four classes that meet for 80 minutes each. Another type of block schedule that many schools use is called the 4X4 schedule, where students take four classes instead of six each quarter. Each yearlong class only meets for one semester. Each semester class only meets for a quarter. There are pros and cons to block schedules compared to traditional school scheduling. Block Scheduling Pros In block scheduling, a teacher sees fewer students during the day, thereby giving him or her the ability to spend more time with each one. Because of the increased span of teaching time, longer cooperative learning activities can be completed in one class period. There is more time for labs in science classes. Students also have less information to deal with during each school day, but over the course of a semester or quarter, they can delve more deeply into the curriculum of four classes, instead of six. Because of the decreased number of classes, students also have less homework on any given day. The teacher is able to provide more varied instruction during class, and he may find it easier to deal with students with disabilities and different learning styles. Planning periods are longer, allowing educators to spend more time preparing for classes and doing the administrative work required for teaching, such as grading, contacting parents, and meeting with fellow teachers. Block Scheduling Cons In a block schedule, teachers typically only see students four times a week- such as Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday- which means that students lose continuity on the days they dont see a given teacher. If a student misses a day under the block schedule, he is actually missing the equivalent of nearly two days compared to the traditional 50-minute-class schedule. No matter how well planned, on many days, the teacher can end up with 10 to 15 minutes of extra time, where students often begin their homework. When all of this time is added up at the end of the semester, the teacher covers less information and curriculum. In the 4X4 schedule, the teacher has to cover all of the required information in one quarter. In an economics class at a typical high school, for example, if the quarter happens to be during football season and while homecoming is occurring, the teacher can lose valuable class time due to interruptions. In the 4X4 schedule, it is especially difficult to cover the necessary material for Advanced Placement courses in the time allotted. To compensate, many schools have to extend United States history so that it is a two-part course and lasts the entire year in order for the teacher to cover all of the required material. Strategies for Teaching Under the Block Schedule When used in the proper setting with the right students and a well-prepared teacher, block scheduling can be very useful. However, schools need to keep a close eye on such things as test scores and discipline problems to see if the schedule has any noticeable effect. In the end, it is important to remember that good teachers are just that; regardless of what schedule they teach under, they adapt. Though block schedule classes are longer than traditional class periods,  lecturing  for 80 minutes will likely cause any teacher to become hoarse over the course of a few days and possibly lose the attention of students, resulting in decreased learning.  Instead,  teachers should vary their instruction in a block schedule, using teaching techniques such as debates,  whole group discussions, role-plays, simulations, and other  cooperative learning activities. Other strategies for block schedule teaching include: Engaging Howard Gardners  multiple intelligences  and tapping into varying the learning modalities, such as kinesthetic,  visual, or  auditory. This can help a teacher keep up the interest and attention of students.Having two or three  mini-lessons  on hand to fill any extra time in case the lesson plan doesnt take the full block schedule period.Taking full advantage of the time allotted to institute projects that can be difficult to complete in shorter class periods.Doing a review of material from previous lessons. This is especially important in block schedule formats where students dont see the teacher every day. In a block schedule, a teacher need not feel he or she has to be the center of attention at all times during the class period. Giving students independent work and allowing them to work in groups are good strategies for these longer class periods. Block schedules can be very taxing on a teacher, and its important to use strategies to manage teacher burnout since educators are the glue that holds block schedules together.

Higher Education Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Higher Education Challenges - Essay Example long-standing problems such as racial inequity in education, new challenges like economic recession and falling value of dollar have only made the problem worse to such an extent that it is feared that US needs urgently to reform its higher education system or it will lose its unique position of strength and competitiveness.   (Blue Ribbon Commission) The Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher education further observes: â€Å"Out of every ten 9th graders nationally, only three will obtain an associate’s or bachelor’s degree on time. These results simply are not good enough. We need more people attending and finishing college with a certificate or degree in order to keep up and move up in the global economy.†Ã‚  (Blue Ribbon Commission)    In order to maintain its global competitiveness, the US society should not afford to underestimate the importance of its human resource.   This is even more so important in this new knowledge-based economy where knowledge is its main capital.   Proportion of public funding on higher education has declined over the years in many states.   For example, the state of Connecticut in 1989 received 6.6 percent of the state’s budget.   It declined to 3.9 percent in 1997 and then rose slowly to a peak of 4.5 percent in 2001.   It is again estimated to be 3.9 percent for 2010 budget, matching 1997 low of 3.9 percent.   The trend of reduction in proportional funding within the higher education over the period of 1990s was typical for many states.   This led to the rise in tuition fees for several students.   (Connecticut Public Higher Education)   Such rising costs did not serve the cause of already reeling Blacks and other economically disadvantaged class.   (Johnson)   In the meantime, US has been reduced to only two nations where young population (25-34 years old) is less educated than its older population (35-44 years old)   (Blue Ribbon Commission). This reflects how terrific the situation is, when it comes to higher education.   Over

Adding Customer Value to Your Financial Prganisation for Competitive Essay

Adding Customer Value to Your Financial Prganisation for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example Background Financial institutions are increasingly facing a complex environment which directly relates with the competitive environment in the industry. The current financial crisis has relatively shaken the confidence of many in the viability of financial institutions and as such doing business in such an environment is really a challenge task. One of the most important ways through which any institution including financial institutions can compete and withstand the difficult economic situations is to develop its core competencies and create competitive advantage. One of the most important ways through which it can be achieved is the delivery of customer value to the customers of our organization. This could be helpful in order to allow the bank to actually lock in the existing base of customers while at the same time ensuring that new customers are also attracted.( Bill, 2003) To create a value for the customers, an organization however, have to incur the costs in order to ensure t hat the value delivered to the customers outpaces the cost incurred on generating such value. Resultantly an organization also develops its competitive advantage in order to become relatively stronger as compared to the competition. It is critical therefore that the customer value is generated to achieve the competitive advantage. ... In order to achieve this, there are real chances that the overall customer value may decline as the increasing cost pressures as well as liquidity crunch may force many banks and financial institutions to generate new avenues to achieve profitability. For any firm, its current base of customers is considered as one of the most valuable assets to care of and as such it is critical to understand that delivering value to the customers can be one of the key drivers of growth in an economy which is on decline. It is important therefore that strategic direction must be set to ensure that the delivering value to the customers is integrated with the generation of competitive advantage for the firm.( Shirley, 2000) Financial organizations are also relatively more regulated as compared to other industries therefore working in an environment which is heavily regulated requires innovativeness and creativity to develop and market products and services which can cater to the different needs of the customers while at the same time generating the relative value for the firm also. It is therefore critical that when an organization delivers customer value, the same must also result into the increase for the firm value too. Translation of the customer value to the firm value therefore is critical for manages to ensure because once competitive advantage is generated, it is important that the same must also develop into the firm level value for the firm. Commonwealth Bank’s effort to generate customer value and subsequent generation of competitive advantage therefore must result into the increase in the value for its shareholders and investors. Generation of

Reaction essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Reaction - Essay Example The Ort, or the Centre of Information, offers more insight on the terrors of the holocaust through compelling projections made on the walls of the room. Furthermore, it gives recognition to all known Jewish Holocaust victims through names acquired from the Israel’s Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem. People have argued that the title â€Å"Murdered Jews of Europe† excludes those who died of natural causes in concentration camps. As such, the title â€Å"Memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust† serves as a better title since it would act as a remembrance of the suffering of all the Jewish victims, dead or alive. There are Holocaust Monuments in the United States though none are dedicated to slavery. Some argue that reason behind this lies in the fact that, unlike slavery, the Holocaust was not perpetuated by the United States. In fact, the U.S. fought to have it stopped. However, many people feel that the U.S. should emulate Germany by setting up memorials for crimes they initiated. Emmaly Reed represents a beacon of hope and perseverance. The fact that she survived the Holocaust at such a young age and lived to her eighties shows that people can overcome such trials in life and go on to enjoy a long and healthy life (Cantrell,

Lean Supply Chain Management Essay Example for Free

Lean Supply Chain Management Essay Manufacturing, Fall River, MA, USA Abstract Lean supply is closely associated with enabling ? ow and the elimination of wasteful variation within the supply chain. However, lean operations depend on level scheduling and the growing need to accommodate variety and demand uncertainty has resulted in the emergence of the concept of agility. This paper explores the role of inventory and capacity in accommodating such variation and identi? es how TRIZ separation principles and TOC tools may be combined in the integrated development of responsive and ef? cient supply chains. A detailed apparel industry case study is used to illustrate the application of these concepts and tools. r 2003 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Agile; Trade-offs; Lean; Quick response 1. Introduction Outsourcing manufacture to low cost overseas suppliers is an attractive lure in our global economy, but often undertaken without adequate regard for the market needs and the corresponding demands on the associated delivery systems. Products compete in different ways in different markets and delivery systems need to be designed with this in mind. Offshore supply offers attractive cost bene? ts, but the trade-off is often high levels of inventory to support a slower response capability.

Gender and Religious Discrimination in Islamic Countries

Gender and Religious Discrimination in Islamic Countries ANTHROPOLOGY: CONFLICT AND CULTURE Introduction Some of the vices of the society that were supposed to have been done away with ages ago are still so pronounced in the society today. There are some controversial cultural practices that continue to thrive even in this 21st century though have been passed by time: such includes the discrimination of the minority in the society. Its expected that with the development emanating form advanced science and technology, men should have developed parallel with technological advance hence overlook some destructive cultural practices based on myths proven scientifically to be wrong. This is not the case as religious and gender discriminations continue to deepen its roots in many cultures especially among the Muslims. This paper endeavors to unveil the evils of minority discrimination based on religious laws. The minority discussed in this paper are the religious and gender based in Islamic nations using a case study of Saudi Arabia. This study is based on a thesis statement that discriminatio n based on Religion and gender is pronounced and in continuity in Islamic based nations. The religious cultures are the sources of the controversies and minority discriminations. Discrimination The concept of discrimination has triggered much reaction in the society we live today because the adverse effects it has on the victims. Discrimination is the treatment taken against an individual or a group of people and based on category or class (Benton, 2007). According to the United Nations, discriminatory behaviors may take a variety of forms but all having a common factor: they include some form of rejection or exclusion. Any action that treats a group of people in an unfair manner because of their membership to a particular social group is discrimination (United Nations Cyber School-Bus, 2010). Minorities and Discrimination The minorities in the society are a group of people who do not constitute formulate the dominant majority of the total population in a given society. Minority group does not necessarily mean numerical majority, rather may include any group of people considered subnormal in relation to the dominant group of people in terms of wealth, employment, class, political power, education and social status (Traiman, 2006). The minority may also be referred to as the ‘subordinate group while the majority group may be referred as the ‘dominant group instead of minority and majority respectively. The term minority group is mostly used in reference of an ethnic group which may include: nationality, language, religion, gender and culture. Some other minority groups may include: The working minorities (unemployed and working poor, people with disabilities, age minorities who are older or younger than the typical working class and the sexual minorities (Lovelace, 2006). The commonality of the term ‘minority group is manifest alongside the discourse of collective rights and civil rights gaining prominence from the 20th century. Those who fall under the category of the minority group frequently fall prey to different treatments in the societies and the countries where they reside. The discrimination can be based on the individuals perception as belonging to the minority group failing to notice an individuals personal successes or occur indirectly based on the social structures that do not offer equal opportunities to the entire subject. Those who belong to the categories of the minority groups are often identifiable while tabling of complains of maltreatments and demanding for equal rights (Lovelace, 2006). Religious Discrimination: Saudi Arabia case study The focus of this paper is to look into the minority groups in the Islamic nations and how they are discriminated by the society and the governing laws within their nations. The two major categories of minority groups within the Islamic culture are the religious minority and gender minority: women. One of the most established Islamic states of the world is Saudi Arabia; though our focus is the Islamic culture in general most of the examples shall be obtained from the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is governed by Sharia laws that are derived from the Holy Quran. The kingdom has no legal protection in relation to freedom of religion hence no authority offers such protection to the minority groups: those who do not profess the Islamic religion such as the Christians and the Buddhists. The requirement of the Sharia law is that all people should be Muslims. The government does not condone a public practice of non-Muslim religions, in fact its illegal. The non-Muslims are only allowed to conduct their worship in private. Nevertheless those limited rights are not always respected and contravention does not necessarily carry a lot of weight (International Labor Office, 2007). The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a population of about seventeen million with about seven million foreigners. The foreign population includes about 36,000 Americans, 40,000 Eritreans, 130,000 Sri Lankans, 150,000 Lebanese, 250,000 Palestinians, 800,000 Filipinos, 800,000 Egyptians, 900,000 Pakistanis, 1 million Bangladeshis, and 1.5 million Indians. Of the entire population in the Saudi society, the majority are Muslims with minority Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews. There are very few of the foreigners who are Muslims. There is a high degree of cultural homogeneity as well as high social stratification (Federal Research Division, 2004). The freedom of religion does not exist, Islamism being the official religion; all the citizens are required to be Muslims. The government is an Islamic monarchy declaring Prophet Muhammads Sunna traditions to be the governing constitution. The government is fully conservative observing the precepts of the Quran to govern the country. The government as well as the society do not allow for any separation between the government and religion. The Muslims societies are allowed to adjudicate their legal issues using the Shia Muslims traditions. This is at the expense of the minority groups who are not Muslims since they are judged according to the Muslims laws: this becomes unfair since the non Muslims are not versed with the basic knowledge hence may contravene the laws out of ignorance. On the same note the non Muslims do not enjoy the Christian festivals and holidays since the only permissible public holiday is Eids, Eid Al-Fitr done as a wrapping up of Hajj (International Labor Office, 2007). The religious minority suffers in that the system of education is based on the Islamic laws. Some other religious teachings such as Christian religious Education are not provided for, the parents and guardians have to organize for tutorial classes to teach their children the basics of their religions. Those who have attempted to advocate for some forms of democratic systems or criticized or written opposed the Islamic administration have faced the Sharia law some being imprisoned while others have faced reprisals. The minority groups pay the revenues to the government which is used in the establishment of Mosques. The government also uses collected revenues to pay the Imams who are the prayer leaders and the other mosque employees though it does not permit the establishment of churches (Abir, 1993). The jurisdiction in the legal system treats the majority, Muslims, unequally to the minority: other religions. For example the retribution sort for blood money varies from that of a Muslim man from that of a member of the other religions. The blood money payable to a Christian man is half that of a Muslim man. The members of the other religions are valued 1/16th of a Muslim man (Saudi Arabian Government and Law). Gender Discrimination The acuity of the womenfolk as a minority group facing discrimination has been publicly debated from time immemorial. The concept of gender discrimination is based on belief that women are a lesser sex in the society. Its generally propagated by attitudes and beliefs concerning the gender of a person. The attitudes and beliefs are social nature normally not carrying legal consequences. The treatment of women varies from one society to another and from institution to another (Tofilon, 2005. The advance in development continues to provide for more opportunities for women. Though not many societies have managed to achieve a level of equal rights for all people despite of their gender, the Islamic based countries do not even make the initiative to provide equal opportunities for all. Gender discrimination can arise in different settings. The discrimination may involve an employee being asked some discriminatory questions in job interviews or while working: if a woman presents herself as a Chief Executive Officer of a given company others may doubt her ability to run such a position based on cultural beliefs that a woman ought to take less task positions not such which involves the control off the entire company. Such cultural beliefs have been impacted on women to an extent that some have accepted the position as a reality of life. Unfair discrimination of women follows gender stereotypes that are held by the society (Hyde, 2005). Gender Discrimination in Saudi Arabia The discrimination of women as the ‘minority group is most pronounced among the practitioners of Islamic religion though also very evident in other societies such as in America: it was identified that more than half of the masters degree programs are offered to women though this is not reflected in the management of organizations; over 95% of senior management positions in organizations remain occupied by men (U.S. Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995). In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gender discrimination is so pronounced in almost all circles. The greatest challenge in pursuit of gender equality in this monarchy is faced owing to the fact that not many including the womenfolk are willing to see change; many are contented with the status quo. This is chiefly because the discriminations are not perceived by the women since its based on the laws of God: Sharia from the Holy Quran, to them God ordained men to rule as women serve the men (Kline, 2005). Despite the fact that about seventy percent of those enrolled in universities are women only five percent of the workforce is composed of women, 95% of workers are men. This ratio is the most unusual in the world. Any attempt to increase womens opportunities in the working force has faced pronounced resistance from without the government (men citizenly and religious police) and within the labor ministry. The position of a woman is at home according to the Saudi peoples cultures and Islamic religion. Most of these cultures state that a woman was created to take care of her husband and family. The segregation for this minority group is continued even to the home settings where there are some special doors that are set mens usage. In Saudi Arabia women are prohibited even from driving cars and those who drive do it out of contravention of the law, they are very few for not many husbands would allow their wives to drive. They are allowed to fly aircrafts but have to be chauffer driven to the airstrips (Kline, 2005). Women in Saudi Arabia are not even allowed to contend for political positions. They are just allowed to vote. The discrimination of women among the Islamic nations is not only manifest in Saudi Arabia, in Iran there is no much difference; there are so many rights that women are denied from accessing based on the Islamic religion. If a Muslim man commits adultery with a Muslim woman he receives a penalty of 100 lashes, but if with a non Muslim woman there is no provision of the punishment involved. If a non-Muslim man commits adultery with a Muslim woman the penalty is death sentence. Iran law allows a Muslim man to marry a Muslim woman but a Muslim woman can never be married to a none-Muslim man (FIDH report, 2003). Conclusion The discrimination of people in todays society based on beliefs and practices that can not be proven has received vast criticism from many circles. With the current advance in scientific and technological advance its expected that most of the cultural myths that continue to thrive in the society should have been done away with along time ago, but this is not the case. Minority discriminations based of cultural beliefs are so evident in many circles of life especially in the Islamic religious societies. Religious decimation against the minority and gender discrimination are so pronounced in Muslim societies. The minority groups continue to encounter massive challenges in an attempt to fit in these societies. The Saudi Arabia Kingdom which is our case study is a monarchy run in accordance with Islamic religious ethics. The constitution of this monarchy is based on Sharia form the Quran. The greatest percentage of Saudis citizens is Muslims hence all the rest fall under the category of minority group subject to various minority discriminations. Women in the society from time immemorial receive a different perception and treatment by the society. This is based on the belief that they are a weaker sex; the Islamic nations have not been left behind in unequal treatment of women. The paper has outlined the various religious and gender discriminations especially in Islamic based states using the case study of Saudi Arabia. References Abir, M. (1993). Saudi Arabia: government, society, and the Gulf crisis. New York, NY: Routledge. Benton, A. J. (2007). Are Your Genes Protected: Federal Legislation and Genetic Discrimination: The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice, Iowa City, 10(2), 285-311. Federal Research Division. (2004). Saudi Arabia A Country Study. Montana: Kessinger Publishing. FIDH and the Ligue de Dà ©fense des Droits de lHomme en Iran. (2003). Discrimination against religious minorities in Iran, Paris – France. Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from: http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ir0108a.pdf Hyde, J. S. (2005) â€Å"The Gender Similarities Hypothesis†, American Psychologist, (International Labor Conference); 96th session, I (B). Publisher International Labor Organization. International Labor Office, (2007), Equality at work: tackling the challenges: global report under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labor Office Series Volume 91; Volume 96 of Report (International Labor Conference) Report. Publisher International Labor Organization. Kline, J. (2005). Ethics for international business: decision making in a global political economy. New York, NY: Routledge. Saudi Arabian Government and Law. Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from: http://www.jeansasson.com/law_and_government.htm Tofilon, L. (2005). Masters of Discrimination: Augusta National Golf Club, Freedom of Association, and Gender Equality in Golf. The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice. Iowa City: Fall, 9(1), 189-20. Traiman, L. (2006). Guidelines but No Guidance: GaySpermBank.com vs. FDA. The Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice. Iowa City: Spring, 9(3), 613-623. U.S. Glass Ceiling Commission. (1995). â€Å"Glass Ceiling Commission A Solid Investment: Making Full Use of the Nations Human Capital A Solid Investment:† Making Full Use of the Nations Human Capital. Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117context=key_workplace United Nations Cyber School-Bus. (2010). What is discrimination? Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from: http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/discrim/id_8_ud_print.asp

Trade Facilitation Essay -- International Trade, WTO

International trade plays crucial role in the development of any country. And Trade facilitation can be define as a procedure to make international trade possible in a best and efficient way. In which transaction cost of trade is minimum and goods transfer from one country to other in shortest time. According to WTO, â€Å"Trade facilitation is defined as a procedure and controls for the movement of the good from one country to another can be reduce cost and burden. And also find the efficient flow of goods†. According to Kommerskollegium (2008), Trade Facilitation can be define as â€Å"a reduction in trade complexities and cost of trade transaction process and insuring that all these activities take place in an efficient, transparent and predictable manner†. According to Kommerskollegium (2008), International Trade is a key driver of economic growth. Trade facilitation reduces compliance cost, enhance government controls and capabilities and it is not achievable witho ut Political determination and international efforts. The author also explains Trade Facilitation as â€Å"a mixture of Harmonisation of applicable rules and regulation, standardization of information and requirements, simplification of administrative and commercial formalities, procedure and documents and transparency of the whole process†. It can be done by government regulation and controls, business efficiency, improved transportation, advancement of the information and communication technologies, and efficient and easy payment procedure. Custom play a central role but all border agencies should also involve in this procedure in an effective manners. It’s also an argument in support of trade facilitation that why developed nation are focusing on trade facilitation. If we go ... .... According to OECD (2005), World Bank estimated average time required for custom clearance through sea cargo in Africa is 10.1 days and only 2.1 days in OECD which shows the difference between trade efficiency of Africa and trade efficiency of OECD. According to OECD (2005), custom clearance time can be reduced by increasing the cooperation among the international border agencies and custom authorities of trading countries. ADB (2003) refers to indicate that Bangladesh could earn 30 percent more in results of its exports if port inefficiencies are removed OECD (2005). According to World Bank (2004a), if Procedure of Custom clearance improves in Ethiopia then average productivity level of the firms in Ethiopia will increase by 18 percent (OECD 2005). Furthermore, In Nigeria cost of import is as high as 45 percent due to inefficient custom clearance procedure.