The Bottom of Space free essay sample

†¦The blistering cold pierced my skin as a sword pierces flesh. Despite the amount of protective gear that I was wearing, I could not lock the cold out. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever experience so much torture. I continued to climb, knowing all along that the climb might be my undoing. The storm was worsening. A blanket of snow smothered everything in white. Without the 80 MPH wind, it would have been an easier assent. However, the wind was there, and it turned the snow into a weapon, billions of needles that penetrated my gear and attempted to destroy me. Steve was no longer in sight; the only indication he was still alive was the tension on the ten foot rope that united us. I estimated that we were about 27,000 feet high with still another 2,000 feet to go. This is the stage of the climb that we have trained our lungs for, but never did we imagine that our lungs would deal with this paucity of oxygen. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bottom of Space or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When we hit 28,000 feet, the storm relented. The sun punched through the clouds, slowly warming our frost bitten faces. I suddenly came to the realization that we climbed higher than the clouds could dream of reaching. Steve finally became visible in front of me, and looked back at me with a smile. â€Å"One-thousand feet to go,† I yelled to him. His smile grew brighter and he turned, looking forward once again. No words needed to be exchanged, for the message was evident to both of us. In another thousand feet, we were going to accomplish the goal that we have dreamed since we first began climbing. We entered a state of Nirvana, a level of excitement that only people who climbed this high could understand. After another hour of walking, we reached our goal, the summit of Mount Everest. For the first time in three months since arriving at Base Camp One, we stopped, awe-stricken by the sight before us. The bright blue sky above us appeared as a blanket for the world, surrounding it and keeping it warm. The sun was completely visible at 29,029 feet above sea level, and was high above us as a trophy of our accomplishment. This was a trophy that few men in history have held. Steve turned to me and we embraced each other in our excitement. â€Å"We did it!† Steve proc laimed to me, â€Å"We reached the top of the world!† That phrase took a great toll on me. I did not see this climb as the pinnacle of our lives, but as only ticking off one of many on a long list of future accomplishments. It is at the top of this mountain that a person realizes that there is a substantial amount still to accomplish. For some, it is to continue climbing. For others, it is to settle down and have the peaceful life we climbers have always dreamed. There was a fork at the summit of Mount Everest with a sign in the middle. In one direction, the sign reads the top of the world. In the other direction, the sign reads the bottom of the universe. Steve was taking the road that read â€Å"the top of the world†, and I was taking the road that read the â€Å"bottom of the universe†. â€Å"Are you ready to head back down?† Steve asked as he broke my train of thought, â€Å"It has been a half hour already, and we want to make it back to Camp IV befo re the afternoon weather sets in.† â€Å"Alright, let’s go,† I replied. We made it down to 27,500 feet without difficulty. However, we had no choice but to walk right into the storm we faced during our assent. The afternoon weather intensified the storm exponentially. We were in a fight for our lives once again†¦

Logitechs Global Distribution and Logistics Analysis Essays

Logitechs Global Distribution and Logistics Analysis Essays Logitechs Global Distribution and Logistics Analysis Paper Logitechs Global Distribution and Logistics Analysis Paper Chapter 1. Company Introduction Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices (PriceGrabber. com 2007). The companys products combine essential core technologies, continuing innovation, award-winning industrial design and excellent price performance. Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol LOGN and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol LOGI. In January 2007, Logitech was added to the NASDAQ-100 Index ® (Logitech 2008). Logitechs origins lie in the OEM sector, which remains an important part of its business, and represented 11. 6 percent of the companys total sales in Fiscal 2006 (PriceGrabber. com 2007). To meet the demands of its OEM customer base, which includes most of the worlds largest PC manufacturers, Logitech offers high-volume manufacturing with focused quality control, worldwide distribution and logistics, and the ability to leverage its infrastructure under changing demand conditions. Logitech continues to broaden its product offering and its presence in the retail sector. This is fueled by a trend among consumers to enhance their basic PC systems with more fully featured personal peripherals that add functionality and cordless freedom to their desktops. They are also purchasing supplementary devices designed for new applications and specific purposes such as gaming, multimedia, or audio and visual communication over the Internet. Further, Logitechs retail business includes personal peripherals for platforms beyond the PC, such as gaming consoles, portable music players, mobile phones and home-entertainment systems. Today, Logitechs retail business accounts for 88. 4 percent of its revenue (Logitech 2008). To provide the market with a broadening array of best-of-category products, Logitechs business model calls for supplementing its internal engineering and manufacturing strength with additional products and technologies through a combination of strategic acquisitions and industry partnerships (PriceGrabber. com 2007). Chapter 2. Supply Chain Logitech is sensitive to the trend in IT industry. Customers are always long for updating their PCs accessories and purchasing stylish and personalized IT products. By this reason, Logitech has put a lots effort in fastening the launch of new products to the market to satisfy the needs and trends. Nevertheless, a well-operating supply chain is the conjunction to the successful achievement. The success of Logitech is to convert a simple and single-product supply chain into a complex and multi-product supply chain under harmlessness to its sales and to fasten the product delivery. However, behind this steady the deployment of its sources efficiently is the key, and Logitech has still insisted this merit. The development of Logitech starts from a simple and inelastic supply chain. In the beginning of ‘80s, Logitech started running the mouse-manufacturing business. The operation was running excellently with a simple supply chain. The single-product supply chain was supported by its manufactory in Suzhou, China and served the worldwide market. Although it was not efficient, it was enough for Logitech to cope with orders. Nowadays a simple supply chain can’t meet the requirements of Logitech anymore which has developed more and more product lines and has become a multi-product company. In 2005 Logitech have 135 kinds of PCs peripheral products in the market. Except for manufacturing over 6 million mice in a year, Logitech has also produced numerous peripheral products. In this case, the management of the simple supply chain has been no longer realistic. A more elastic supply chain which is able to deal with the changes of demand and compete against the pressure from competitors is what Logitech needs. Therefore, Logitech addressed itself to build the high visibility of its supplier-web, production and transportation transaction. However, the change resulted in a plentiful harvest. In the 2005 annual report, it shows a +13% growth in net income which reached 1. 93 billion USD. In spite of the markup of fuel and raw materials, the gross profit margin improved from 32% to 34%. The sales volume and net income of 1st quarter in 2005 raised 26% and 19%. This record was the fastest growth among previous 3 years. An elastic supply chain The supply chain of Logitech In the past, Logitech completed all the manufacturing process internally. However , in order to deal with the expansion of the transaction, Logitech started to outsource its manufacturing business, for instance, the acquisition of Labtec in 2001(Logitech 2008) whose products are mostly produced by ODM is one of them. Presently Logitech has maintained its 50% manufacturing business by it own and has outsourced other 50% to ODM. The emergence of ODM seems to prolong the supply chain. However, it didn’t reduce the performance of the supply chain. Conversely, it helped Logitech expanding its business to many new markets. In order to build a more elastic supply chain, the first step for Logitech is to fasten the reaction of the Suzhou manufactory to the orders. Logitech has founded 6 technology centers in worldwide which locate in Switzerland, U. S. , Canada, Taiwan, and Suzhou, China. By absorbing the technology forte of each country, the worldwide technology synergy worked very well. However, operating the connection between worldwide technology and the Suzhou basement harmoniously and delivering the products to the points of sale in the world efficiently is a complicated work. Consequently Logitech decided to adopt a diversified supply chain strategy. There are 3 different kinds of consignment patterns: For some heavier products (Ex. amplifiers) they have their own consignment patterns through sea and land transportation. Normal products (Ex. ice) are mainly delivered through sea and land transportation. As to some high-quality products, delivering through air freight is mainly used. Also, all the bulk parts delivered to distribution centers through air/sea freight are assembled locally. Further, to achieve the goal fastening the reaction of the Suzhou manufactory to the orders, Logitech invested a new plant in the Suzhou New District. Compare to the old one, it is bigger, and the arrangement of the product lines is more reasonable. The construction of the new plant is double-decked. Goods are produced in the upper side and stored in the under side. With this construction, raw materials can be delivered to the right place in a shortest distance. Furthermore, Logitech has used a hybrid manufacturing model to increase flexibility, with high-volume products manufactured using a traditional production line, and lower-volume products manufactured in a cell-line by a core team of specialized staff. Logitech also uses a just-in-time system for components, so approximately 60 percent of all components are delivered on a daily basis. To cooperate with this new system, Logitech applied for a Free Trade Zone in the Suzhou New District. The purpose is obviously to enable the suppliers to be closer their product lines. Logitech continues to add whole new categories to their product portfolio and to expand their sales channels, increasing their product demand. Their entire supply chain, from manufacturing in China to distribution in more than 100 countries worldwide, has provided Logitech with a significant competitive advantage. Chapter 3. Suppliers In the cooperation with suppliers, speed –up delivering lowers the pressure of storage. In Suzhou, the superior environmental factor increases the competitive advantage of Logitech largely. With the rapid expansion in the market, Logitech realized that managing the plans of each area centralizedly is getting important. In the past, the data of information and volume-delivery forecasting took long time to collect and couldn’t be updated immediately. Also, due to the seasonal fluctuation of market price, suppliers are hard to progress the forecasting works. However, under the new mechanism, managers of each area and sales teams monitored the actual sales situation together and progressed the forecasting work according to the feedback. The up-to-date forecast would be reported to global supply chain department and shared the data with suppliers. After receiving the forecast, central procurement department would place orders for all areas. By doing so, Logitech not only shared the latest data with suppliers but also benefit by the bulk purchasing. Furthermore, the on-line sharing movement with suppliers and ODM enabled Logitech’s partners to react from changes immediately. Nevertheless, sharing data by internet isn’t an innovation anymore. The key of success is building a â€Å"Sales and Operation Planning Procedure† and providing the visibility of data by cooperating with suppliers. There are many requirements asked within the contracts from Logitech to suppliers. For example, in most contracts it claims that â€Å"Sharing the obligation together†. When supply and demand changes, it is important to clear the obligation up. After improving this weakness, the formulation of supply and demand becomes 75% faster than before. The reflection to customers is also enhanced. In 2006, selling mice in supermarket is one of the developed trends. This movement was decided by consumer behavior. From the consumer behavior aspect, convenience and easy to reach become main reasons for consumers to purchase the IT products. Selling channels is diversified. Besides hypermarkets, Logitech set up direct stores to display and sell products. Chapter 4. Logistics strategy The OEM, Logitech mice and web cameras are produced in Suzhou, China and sold in U. S. Joy sticks are produced by ODM and sold in Europe. In NorthAmerica and Europe, Logitech set up regional logistics centers in Memphis and Amsterdam. Doing most of its manufacturing in China, Logitech uses a variety of solutions to handle its logistics needs. They serve customers worldwide in U. S. , Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. Vision into its network comes from an Oracle system under which Logitech runs. For improving customers’ satisfaction further, Logitech has adopted Just-in-time system. The requirement of this ability is to rebuild the information system between Logitech and logistics companies in order to clear off the obstacles of the speed-up. However, adopting Just-in-time system didn’t sacrifice the profit. Presently, the turnover rate of the stocks yearly reaches 5-6 times, more than previous record 3 times. This achievement was reached from the optimization of the logistics link. First, Logitech evaluated its transportation system. Consider saving the cost, Logitech delivered its products from China across globe through sea transportation which ships merely start from Hong Kong. In the past, the shipping contracts between Logitech and shipping companies were signed as long-term corporations. From 2003 Logitech signed and negotiated its shipping contracts with regional shipping companies annually. Through the regularly negotiations, Logitech can assure its encasement cost in advance. When facing the fluctuation of global oil price, Logitech can still hold a stable transportation cost. Also, because that Logitech has huge amount of products need to be delivered across globe every year, they always can bargain and get most favorable price from logistics companies. Besides, Logitech delivered some parts to the sales areas in advance and put the last assembling work of some particular products, for example, web camera at the sales areas. These doings have enhanced the flexibility of the supply chain. Due to the improved efficiency of the transportation system, it is not necessary for Logitech to set up manufactories in some high-cost areas, like North America and Europe. Although having considered setting up manufactories in Mexico and Hungary because of the lower transportation cost, Logitech found considering from the aspect of total cost, the manufacturing cost in China is still half of those countries. From the chart below, a Logitech mouse is sold at $40 in U. S. 8% (20%) was taken by Logitech as corporate costs and profit. Global distributors and retailers take $15 (37. %), and, suppliers take $14 (35%). The rest $3 (7. 5%) is belong to China. This $3 includes salary, power, transportation, and management costs (JRJ. com 2008) A ELEMENTS OF THE VALUE CHAIN B COSTS IN VALUE CHAIN AB Assembly in China$3 Parts from suppliers for China$14 Corporate costs + profit$8 Global distributors and retailers$15 Total costs$40 Percentage of retail 100% In Tennnesse, America, Hungary, an d the Netherlands, Logitech has also owned warehousing business. In Hungary, Flextronics and DHL have been employed and taken charge of final assembling and managing warehouses. The agreements that Logitech and these logistics companies made have been re-signed through inviting tenders quarterly. Therefore, these logistics partners would provide the best service to keep this business relationship. However, the managers of warehousing business are assigned by Logitech. This method bases on two considerations: First, it costs too much to outsource logistics suppliers, like UPS or DHL to progress everything. Second, with its own professional experiences Logitech can also reduce the cost of total warehousing management. Further, Logitech sell products on-line by E-Commerce Catalogers and have an OEM channel as well (Logitech 2008). The underlying platform supporting Logitech’s channel and supply chain work is a forecasting solution from Click Commerce Inc. Their sales people do a bottom-up forecast, so Logitech can command the detail and holistic information. Among other benefits, channel forecasting allows Logitech to tie its sales demand to supply chain activities in order to shrink inventory (Technology 2003). In order to occupy Chinese market, Logitech has created more and more hannels gradually. In 2007, Zarva and Logitech built a cooperative relationship. Zarva became the whole authorized distributor in China. The content of the cooperation is simple. Logitech expects to spread, market and sell Logitech’s products through national distribution coverage. In the same time, Logitech’s original authorized distributors, like China Digi have superior channel coverages. Therefor e, other mouse manufacturers are hard to compete with Logitech in China (ciw. com 2007). Chapter 5. SWOT Analysis Logitech has just seen its 30th consecutive quarter of double digit growth. This growth, however, could be stunted by increasing competition from Microsoft, its biggest competitor in the mice and keyboards market. StrengthsWeaknesses Strong financial performance High returns Manufacturing capabilities Strong research and developmentDeclining operating margins Dependence on retail segment OpportunitiesThreats Non-PC platforms Growth of computer industry Emerging markets Growing Indian console marketsCompetition from Microsoft Low barrier for entry into core market Counterfeit goods Short product life cycles (More detail information is put in appendix. Chapter 6. Conclusion and recommendations Logitech manages a complicated supply chain with a expanding product lines. For them, here are some recommendations. 1. Make the supply chain more flexible; in order to assure it can expand with the increase of the product lines. In some cases, this would involve the balance between internal manufacturing and outsourcing. 2. Draw the base of the stock turnover period by comparing other companies who have same mode of operating business manufacture products at some particular areas and sell to the whole world. 3. Centralize the management of information forecasting and procurement to harvest from batch discount and simplify the purchasing procedure. By doing this better demand formulation and storage reinforcement plan could be formed. Also, it can diminish storage and reduce the ambiguous issue of responsibilities. 4. Go shares the responsibility with the suppliers; do NOT absorb all the logistics costs alone, as well as do NOT fall into the trap of long-term contracts. Long-term contract would hold you back on choosing lower-cost substitute projects. Shipping agreements should be negotiated every one year. 5. Although costs can be saved by product design and product package, product design should follow the collocation of the supply chain to enable them easier to be packaged and transported. This issue always ignored by most of the companies. 6. Keep updating the information system and evaluate it frequently. It would assure the IT system will not become the obstacle to grow. Chapter 7. References PriceGrabber. com 2007 LOGITECH NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES [online], tweaknews. net/reviews/logitech_noise_canceling_headphones/ [Assessed in Apr. 09 2008] Logitech International SA 2008 [online] http://ir. ogitech. com/releasedetail. cfm? ReleaseID=174502 [Assessed in Apr. 09 2008] Datamonitor 2007 [online] http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/pdf? vid=1=109=3a191d7a-7e0d-4d0b-ba85-2483ea127fc1%40sessionmgr104 [Assessed in APR. 09 2008] JRJ. com 2006 [online] http://finance. jrj. com/news/2006-12-05/000001829203. html [Assessed in Apr. 09 2008] Ciw. com 2007 [online] ciw. com. cn/ciwepaper/qudao/ 20071105101319. shtml [Assessed in Apr. 09 2008] Technology 2003 [online] http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/pdf? vid=1=108=6644df7a-bfd5-4115-858f-8582b47fc1e7%40sessionmgr109 [Assessed in Apr. 09 2008]

CASE STUDY ON HAITIAN CULTURE Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

ON HAITIAN CULTURE - Case Study Example vies of homosexuality, possible reactions from Ronald’s parents, cultural congruent strategies to address in designing HIV prevention strategies in the Haitian community. The Haitian dominant culture is based on the Voodoo religion that accepts homosexuality. According to the culture, any sexual orientation is acceptable. There are however contemporary divergent views of homosexuality as some members of the culture are opposing homosexuality. Christian is however the basis of the opposition against homosexuality in the Haitian culture. Appert explains that Haitians have associated calamities that they face with the Voodoo culture and argued that a transition to Christian values would relinquish the nation’s calamities (2011, pp. 59, 60). Even though no legal provision prohibits homosexuality, very few Haitians support the sexual orientation and the religious orientation, about 80 percent of Haitians being Catholics, explains the little support. Homosexuals have also often faced persecution because of their sexual orientation (Podcast, 2013, pp. 1). If Ronald’s parents learnt of his HIV status and they were religious, they would condemn him for his promiscuous behavior, especially because the religious orientation does not support his sexual orientation. The fact that Ronald is not yet married would also identify his HIV status with sin, despite his sexual orientation. His parents would therefore have a negative attitude towards him for going against God’s commands. The fact that Haitians have associated calamities with sins would motivate the parents’ negative attitude because they would fear God’s wrath (Appert, 2011, pp. 59, 60). Religious command for forgiveness would however mediate the negative attitude, but a level of stigma is likely. Being traditional, Ronald’s parents would be indifferent regarding their son’s actins into contracting HIV because the traditional values accept all forms of sexual orientation. The liberal perspective would

Brooklyn Community Assesment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brooklyn Community Assesment - Research Paper Example In order to gather data about the Brooklyn community, various US governmental reports and annual reports of the organizations or the agencies dealing with this particular community have been effectively utilized. Apart from these, valuable data about the community has been gathered through utilizing varied reliable sources including newspapers, websites and community magazines of the US. In order to describe the boundaries of Brooklyn community, it will be vital to mention that a huge proportion of the individuals residing within this community uneducated, which eventually imposed adverse impact on its development. Justifiably, the prevalence of low literacy rate has caused employment related problems in Brooklyn community at large. As per the report published by City of New York (2012), the prevalence of greater unemployment rate has certainly emerged the conduct of numerous violent activities in the locality of Brooklyn community (City of New York, 2012). Apart from this, it can al so be ascertained that medical science and hospital facilities are not up to satisfactory mark, which has been troubling the citizens residing within Brooklyn community. Thus, mortality rate of Brooklyn community is higher than that of the average mortality rate of the US. The report of New York City College of Technology (2013) stated that one out of three adults does not insure their life in Brooklyn community. Similarly, 31 % of the residents within Brooklyn do not get involved in having medical check-up regularly.

Organizing a Trade Fair with Fresh Graduates Essay Example for Free

Organizing a Trade Fair with Fresh Graduates Essay Organizing a trade fair requires sustained efforts from a capable team that needs to posses some experience in the field of sales, a good acknowledgment of the products promoted and their features, developed communication skills, correctness and objectivity. Given that the trade fair will be organized with the participation of fresh graduates that do not possess any experience in the field, this criteria will be replaced with their major specialization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As such, as the trade fair is open to the public, (it grants access to all interested viewers and the press), the personnel in charge of organizing it will be subdivided into four teams: a team in charge of the budget, a team handling the logistics of the trade (renting the space, insuring the transportation means and display of the products), a team that presents the products to the potential customers and a team for public relations (meet the guests at entrance, hand out fliers and other promotional materials, attend the press conference and give statements regarding the trade, products and organization in general.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to select those employees that possess the required capabilities to successfully and timely organize the fair, the project manager will divide them into four groups, according to the four teams needed, based on their educational background. As such, the budget team will be formed out of accounting graduates; the logistics team will be formed of management graduates; the team in charge of presenting the products will be made up of technical graduates and the PR team will consist of communication or mass-media graduates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To determine the skills necessary for the successful and timely completion of the trade fair, the manager will analyze the organization of past events that have generated successful outcomes and establish the core requirements for the team. Furthermore, he will engage in conversations with other managers that have organized trade fairs in order to get a first hand insight on organizing such an event. He will then step-by-step analyze the process and identify the skills needed at each level (budget developing, logistics, product presentation and PR). Once he has identified the required skills, he will compare them with the current skills possessed by the members of his team, and where the team lacks, he will propose improvements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To get an informed data on the skills currently possessed by his team, the project manager will analyze the education background of his personnel, divide them into teams accordingly and test the capabilities of the team members throughout simulations of concrete situations and theoretical testings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The team in charge of developing the trade fair budget will be formed from accounting graduates. The members skills will be theoretically analyzed from the view points of their graduation marks, their capabilities of solving theoretical problems regarding annual budgets and multiple choice tests of accounting. Furthermore, they will be subjected to practical tasks regarding the correct development of budgets. Based on the results, the project manager will be able to get a clear insight on the capabilities of each team member.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To test the skills of the logistics team, the project manager will present the team members with organizational concerns and demand solutions to the problems presented. Based on the solutions proposed by the personnel, the manager will identify the capabilities of each team member and their core competencies, properly directing them towards subdivisions of logistics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The product team will be tested in regard to their knowledge of the products presented, their features and functionality. The testing will be done throughout written tests as well as throughout simulations of concrete situations in which customers inquire about the products on display. The PR team will be subjected to written tests regarding their behavior towards customers and the press, and also to simulations of concrete situations. Bibliography: Wikipedia, The Free Online Encyclopedia, Trade Fair, April 4, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_fair, last accessed on April 16, 2007

Emersons Theories of Education vs Modern-day Theories Essay -- Compar

Emerson and today’s theories of education view discipline as necessary for the progress of students in the classroom; however, Emerson’s beliefs differ from modern-day theories of discipline in "respecting a child" encompassing "patience", "the receiving mind" and "discovers for himself his goal in life." Emerson realized that progressive learning is not a dictator relationship. "Respecting a child" will enhance the student’s ability to achieve their goals. As today’s society lives in the fast lane so does our educational society. "So to regard a young child, the young man, requires, no doubt, rare patience: a patience that nothing but faith in the remedial forces of the soul can give" (Gilman 444). Patience is this unattainable trait that people seek, but never find. Our society is a whirling downfall of enormous debt because of the lack of patience that so many people have adopted as a way of life. Stores are full of consumers that "must have" at that very moment. Unfortunately, the same philosophy of thought is embedded in today’s education. Evaluating today’s theories of education, patience is a luxury that can not be spared. The new "No child left behind" legislation theorizes the idea that standardized testing will improve the instruction level of students. In actualization, the government is teaching the students and the teachers are their puppets. The government likes to call this education reform, however in many eyes it is education death. "The 100 percent goal was simply a target, an admittedly unreachable goal designed to motivate schools to stretch themselves to do better, such as scientists trying to cure cancer or gardeners hoping to grow the perfect tomato" (Matthews 1). Beginning with the first day of school... ... How does society "respect a child" when education is consumed with close-mindedness, repetition, dictatorship and sinful nature. References: Bracey, Gerald W. Are US Students Behind? Web 20 Nov 2014. Http: www.prospect.org/print/V9/37/bracey-g.html Dorja, Rig’dzin. Dangerous Friend: The teacher –student relationship in Vajnayana Buddhism. Web 20 Nov 2014. http://www. Samadhicushions.com/Samadhi.cgi/S-1998 Gilman, William H. Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. A Signet Classic. New York, New York 10014 Matthews, Jay. No Child Left Behind Act: Facts and Fiction. Web 20 Nov 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com /ac2/wp-dyn/A23818- 2003Nov10?language=printer. Swanson, Robert. Web 20 Nov 2014. http://www.sudval.org/users/archives/dsm4 Years of Schooling Smother Creativity. Web 20 Nov 2014. jordan.dpsnc.net/fcmqr1998/schooling.html

Native Americans in the United States and Squanto Essay

Squanto is a Native American who lived in the early seventeenth century in what is now the Northeast United States. When the English came to this area of America to settle, they became very fond of Squanto and used him as a translator due to his unique knowledge of the English language acquired through an earlier voyage to Europe. Squanto helped the Pilgrims adapt to their new surroundings by providing them with the knowledge that he and his ancestors used to survive when they first settled in this area. He became known as a friend to the English and a spokesman for his Native friends (Johnson p. 2). However, in helping the English, Squanto realized the power he had obtained through his position and used it for his own gain against the Native Americans. He helped the English to destroy some Indian tribes and used trickery to obtain undeserved favors from many people in his own tribe. While Squanto was essential to the survival of the English in their American colonies, he betrayed his Native American friends in the process of providing the English with what they needed to survive (Johnson p. 2). Squanto spent much of his life living in the Plymouth Colony teaching his newly acquired English friends how to survive in this foreign land. He helped them greatly in the area of growing and gathering food. Without the help of Squanto, the English never would have discovered many important methods involved in growing a decent crop on the American soil. â€Å"Squanto showed the immigrants how to plant corn in hillocks, using dead herring as fertilizer†() after many failed attempts of growing while using their own methods. He also taught them how to fish and where the best spots were to catch enough to feed the colony. These important tips were essential to the survival of the English. Squanto was also very helpful in establishing peaceful relations between the colonists and Indians. In his first meeting with the Plymouth colonists, Squanto was able to work out a peace treaty in order to keep either side from hastily attacking the other (Johnson p. 2). He also acted as an interpreter and a guide to help make the English more comfortable around the indigenous people (). â€Å"Without Squanto’s help, the Pilgrims would probably have had severe famine over the next year, and would have lived in constant fear of their indian neighbors†(Johnson p. 2); the English could not have survived without the knowledge that Squanto had given them. However, the friendly side of Squanto is traditionally the only one taught to the American public, in which he is portrayed as an extremely friendly Native American who devoted much of his time and effort to helping the European settlers adapt to their newly acquired land. It is true that Squanto was a great help to the English settlers, however many modern texts, articles, and essays concerning Squanto neglect to include his betrayal of many Native American tribes in what is now Connecticut and Long Island(Vine p.201 ). Many elementary educated students are led to believe that Squanto simply â€Å"saved the newcomers from starvation ? and [taught] the Pilgrims how to survive†(David p. 24). This misconception of Squanto is the exact opposite of what many Natives thought of him(Vine p. 201). He became aware of his position with the English and began to threaten the indians by telling them he would â€Å"release the plague† (Johnson p. 2) on them if they did not do what they were told. He also provided the English with certain secrets that allowed them to easily defeat other Native tribes and control their land. Squanto was a key factor in the downfall of many tribes of that area, and he is not nearly as great a man as he is traditionally portrayed. From an English point of view, Squanto could be considered a hero due to the importance of the information he provided for the English. Had he not helped them so graciously, they may have died during their first winter. Despite his great deeds toward the English, Squanto could also be considered a traitor. He betrayed his Native friends only to gain power for himself and also for the English. While he was essential to the survival of the Pilgrims, he betrayed his own people in the process of helping the English. BIBLIOGRAPHY David, Lester. â€Å"Squanto: A Remarkable Man. † Boy’s Life. November 1995: 24 Johnson, Caleb. â€Å"The History of Ttisquantum. † Internet Explorer. Online. America Online. 21 September 1999. 16:49. Vine, Deloria Jr. Custer Died for Your Sins. New York: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969 Winslow, Edward. Good Newes from England. London, 1624.