The Reading Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Reading Crisis - Essay Example This decline in the mastery of reading skills is especially prevalent in boys. The Department of Education has reported that, for the past 30 years, boys have been scoring lower and lower on reading tests and consistently score lower than girls in this area ("Pearson Toolkit"). The impact of poor reading skills is far reaching and long lasting. According to an article entitled â€Å"Early Literacy Development,† students with poor reading skills were linked to â€Å"poverty, crime, and unemployment† (National Dropout Prevention Center/Network). Additionally, in a study conducted by the American Educational Research Association, it was found that â€Å"a student who can’t read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by age 19 than a child who does read proficiently by that time† (Sparks). Those with strong proficiency in reading tend to experience greater financial and employment success. There are several different possibilities as to what is causing students to struggle with mastering reading skills. The biggest reason has to do with teaching strategies. According to the article entitled â€Å"Boys and Reading,† boys need a larger amount of instruction when it comes to reading as literacy skills tend to develop at a slower rate for boys than for girls ("Pearson Toolkit"). ... ching reading skills in an effective manner, according to the article entitled â€Å"Early Literacy Development.† Some of these tactics include â€Å"phonics instruction, teacher read-alouds, a book-rich literate environment, a variety of reading and writing activities, shared reading, and student’s reading aloud to others† (National Dropout Prevention Center/Network). In a study entitled â€Å"Increasing Reading Skills in Rural Areas: An Analysis of Three School Districts,† it was determined that teachers need better training and support in order to efficiently teach reading curriculum and skills to their students. The research concluded that achieving mastery of reading skills results in â€Å"exposure to much greater volume of material, and thus also produces a strikingly greater accumulation of vocabulary, language skills, and general knowledge† (Stockard). The study also concluded that the most effective type of instructions when it came to rea ding was â€Å"systematic and explicit instruction.†(Stockard). This type of instruction basically creates an environment where teachers do not leave room for confusion as to what the lesson or goal of the lesson is. Such a curriculum includes â€Å"clear instructional targets, modeling, guided and independent practice with corrections, and assessments embedded within the instruction†(Stockard). In order to implement this type of change, it is imperative that teachers receive training and support. In this particular study, the support was given to the teacher by way of the National Institute for Direct Instruction. An â€Å"Implementation Manager† visited the school and actively observed the teacher’s current method of reading instruction(Stockard). After noting the problem areas, the Implementation Manager spent time coaching

How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of Hamlet Essays -- Shakespear

How the Victorian Age Shifted the Focus of Hamlet 19th century critic William Hazlitt praised Hamlet by saying that, "The whole play is an exact transcript of what might be supposed to have taken pace at the court of Denmark, at the remote period of the time fixed upon." (Hazlitt 164-169) Though it is clearly a testament to the realism of Shakespeare's tragedy, there is something strange and confusing in Hazlitt's analysis. To put it plainly, Hamlet is most definitely not a realistic play. Not only are the events conveyed in the drama fantastic, the dialogue that brings it to the reader is overdramatic and often metatheatrical. The stirring monologues delivered throughout the play are theatrical speeches rather than genuine dialogue. Frequent references to acting and theater, especially surrounding the presence of the players, serve to make the audience aware of the play instead of drawing them into it. The tragedy's villain oozes evil, murdering the king and marrying his queen in just two months. Even more unrealistic is the p resence of the king's ghost, surely there weren't really any apparitions floating around the court at Denmark. Then why does Hazlitt make this statement? Though it is tempting to simply write him off as a bad critic, similar statements made by other critics of the 19th century suggest that this view of Hamlet as a realist drama was commonly held in the Victorian Era. It seems clear that the ideals of the Victorian era caused a significant change in the way Hamlet was interpreted. Victorian society's high esteem for rationality and utility shifted the focus of Hamlet from the tragedy's fantastic nature to its realistic insights. The values of the age imply that a 19th century audience would not appr... ...Schriber is praised for his convincing portrayal of the young prince, even though the texts suggests that Hamlet's actions are improbable and irrational. (Lahr 46-51) It is plain to see that the Victorian desire to find reason and practicality still impacts our understanding of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Works Cited Coleridge, Samuel T. "Notes on the Tragedies: Hamlet." Essays in Criticism. Second ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992. 157-164. Hazlitt, William. "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays: Hamlet." Essays in Criticism. Second ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992. 164-169. Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Fawcett Premier, 1904. 110-118. Landow, George P. "Philosophy Overview." . Cited 12 December 1999. Lahr, John. "Fresh Prince; Why Liev Schreiber is ready to play Hamlet." The New Yorker December 1999: 46-51.

Persuasive Essay About Smoking

Smoking: The Inhaled Killer Smoking is a very harmful habit that should be banned. This nasty habit has many grotesque side-effects. It causes yellow teeth, bad breath, smokers always smell like smoke, death, heart disease, cancer, asthma, emphysema, and many other health related problems. Smoking is also very expensive. Cost of smoking. com says that a person spends thousands of dollars a year on cigarettes. Smokers also pay more for insurance because they are expected to have a shorter life span.Not to mention the cost of health bills from the life-threatening effects. Why would you want to pick up a terrible habit that wastes your hard earned money and harms your body? Smoking should be banned to lower the poverty rate and make our world a healthier place. Another reason smoking should be banned is, second-hand smoke. Young children, family members, and even strangers are all affected by the smoke given off from cigarettes. Yes, even those who do not smoke their selves.Whenever so meone lights up, the smoke that is released goes into the air and everyone inhales it. This is a huge problem in public areas. I live with someone who smokes, and I hate smoking. It is gross and makes air difficult to breathe. People who inhaled second-hand smoke can grow up to have lung cancer, or develop any of the other diseases cause by cigarette smoke. Smoke can also trigger asthma attacks, which have been known to cause death.Do you want to live with the guilt and know you caused the attack or disease that killed an innocent person or loved one? Some argue they are addicted to smoking because of the nicotine. This can be avoided by never starting the horrible habit or by using patches, pills, and the aid of a doctor to help you quit smoking. So next time you light up, or witness someone smoking, think about or remind them off the effects. Is the loss of a life really worth it?

Content, Themes, Diction and Imagery of Eliots Poems Essay

The Content, Themes, Diction and Imagery of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Portrait of a Lady, Rhapsody on a Windy Night and Preludes The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Portrait of a Lady, Rhapsody on a Windy Night and Preludes deal with the psychological impasse of the sensitive person from whom life has been withheld. Both Prufrock and Portrait of a Lady depict self-conscious, philosophical characters who are unable to act and dare not chance acting. As portrayed in Prufrock the character is hesitant and determines action as risky and difficult: Do I dare Disturb the universe? (45-46). In The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the character Alfred Prufrock is struggling with the concept of†¦show more content†¦In both Prufrock and Portrait of a Lady the male observers are men of thought and not action. Their intellectualism has made both characters emotionally and physically impotent. In this sense thought appears to oppose action, of the emotional or physical type. The pair in Portrait of a Lady have become allied through a snobbish interest in music (the bored young man describes satirically a long-haired virtuoso in a Chopin recital). On the pretext of this intellectual sympathy the lady attempts to compose emotional harmony between them, which is wearisome and unattractive to her companion. He is detached and hears in the yearning music of her voice the tedious windings of the violins, cracked cornets and to his irritation and lack of emotional sympathy, a dull tom-tom in his brain begins Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own. Emotional impotence penetrates Eliots early poetry. The unemotional smile of the man in Portrait of a Lady towards the high society lady who is attempting to reach out emotionally to him despairingly, displays the extent of the observers detachment. Ah, my friend, you do not know, you do not know What life is, you who hold it in your hands; (Slowly twisting the lilac stalks) †¦ (44-46) I smile, of course, And go on drinking tea. (51-52). The observers within Eliots poetry are passionless andShow MoreRelatedSocieties Effects quot;the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrockquot;1194 Words   |  5 PagesSociety gives us a set of unspoken rules and regulations that must be abided by or else society becomes ones own worst enemy; thus is Eliots message in his poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. This poem has been given a cynical voice in which Eliot tries to convey his message of modern society and its expectations. He is in a position in which he knows what the flaws in society are but does not have the courage or the ability to convey the message to the rest of the people. He fears whatRead MoreModernist Elements in the Hollow Men7051 Words   |  29 PagesEliot, who always believed that in his end is his beginning, died and left his verse full of hidden messages to be understood, and codes to be deciphered. It is this complexity, which is at the heart of modernism as a literary movement, that makes of Eliot’s p oetry very typically modernist. As Ezra Pound once famously stated, Eliot truly did â€Å"modernize himself†. Although his poetry was subject to important transformations over the course of his career, all of it is characterized by many unifying aspectsRead More Societies Effects as Indicated in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock1765 Words   |  8 PagesSocieties Effects As Indicated in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Society gives us a set of unspoken rules and regulations that must be abided by or else society becomes ones own worst enemy; thus is Eliots message in his poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. This poem has been given a cynical voice in which Eliot tries to convey his message of modern society and its expectations. He is in a position in which he knows what the flaws in society are but does not have the courage orRead MoreChanging Characteristics of Poetry from Modern to Romantics3272 Words   |  14 Pagesand beauty play very important role in Romantic poetry. Victorian poetry is different from Romantics because its themes are about Victorian age, which is influenced by democracy, evolutionary sciences and industrial revolution. After that the Modern age comes and its themes and style of writings are entirely different from Romantic and Victorian poetry. Modern poetry has its own themes such as, isolation, anxieties and dissilliounment of modern man in the time of post-World war. This paper aim toRead More Prufrock in the poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Essay3665 Words   |  15 PagesPrufrock? Refer to examples from the poem to support your opinion. Answer It is obvious that the excessive and obsessive reflection of self that Prufrock undergoes in the poem, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock written by T.S. Eliot, prevents him from living to his true potential, and this is shown through the poet?s language and his use of poetic devices. ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? has some immaculate imagery. T.S. Eliot uses figurative diction to create almost cinematic imagesRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesthis way serves to clarify its master. It is only fitting, therefore, that at Roderick’s death the melancholy House of Usher should collapse into â€Å"the deep and dank tarn†. 5. SETTING AS A MEANS OF REINFORCING THEME. Setting can also be used as a means of reinforcing and clarifying the themes of a novel or a short story. In Hardy’s Return of the Native, for example, Egdon Heath not only serves as antagonist and as a means of creating and sustaining atmosphere, but also as a way of illustrating Hardy’s