A Tale of Two Sides on Free Speech on College and University Campuses

The issue of free speech on campuses has raised a lot of controversies over the decades. The issue has been explored by various philosophers to include Immanuel Kant. The issue of free speech raises a polarizing debate revolving around censorship and absolutism, “This is a rigid and sometimes unyielding system, to be sure. Humans are frail and full of prejudices, prone to peddle stupidity (sometimes unknowingly) in the service of power.”¹ Freedom of expression is a democratic right. Free speech on campuses is the only way that can be used to pass contentious viewpoints. Free speech as a form of expression is a debate of condition and principle and a subject of debate in its own rights. According to John Semley, there exists a way out of this polarizing debate between free speech absolutism and censorship.² There are many difficult issues surrounding university free speech.  Currently, the most pressing issue on free speech is more about creating a balance between unobstructed dialogue that focuses on making the various constituencies on campus feel included.  Institutions of higher education have shifted from protecting free speech to promoting liberal belief. Instead of providing a platform for the expression of ideologies, and a much broader framework for disagreement, free speech has become a source of controversies and disagreement on colleges and university campuses.

According to John Semley Political correctness is among the factors stirring the debate on free speech in universities, “In the 1960s, the administration of UC Berkeley famously banned on-campus political activity in response to activism and rallies: students had, among other things, participated in campaigns to support registering African Americans in the South to vote.”³ This controversial issue dates back to the 1960s and continued to be heated as it entered a new phase in the new century.  The year 2014 saw multiple campus speakers being disinvited from protests staged by students.  New vocabulary to include safe spaces emerged to define the acceptable limits of speech, “…our campuses are now being torn asunder by people who advocate for “social justice” and “safe spaces” on the one hand and people who champion “free speech” and “facts and reason,” on the other.”⁴ In most of his writings, Kant sought to separate institutional rights and duties. “Kant who was not just a professor and lecturer but also worked in various advanced administrative capacities believed in a strict system of higher learning based on academic mentorship, the rigorous accumulation of knowledge, and the watchful protection of that knowledge.”⁵ Kant emphasizes the freedom to evaluate ideas. The system itself is a political one and Kant expresses his displease with the system “ the freedom from tyranny from uninformed, bad faith interference” and “ Scholars were entitled to tell their emperor to take a hike, not because of some reductive notion of freedom as an unchecked intellectual id but precisely because their thinking was subject to strict standards of inquiry that conferred their own kind of authority”⁶.  This shows how the university as an institution has the autocratic authority to restrict and allows only what it holds as right. 

Free speech is of fundamental democratic value in university campuses. Free speech allows students to protest against rules that prevent the inclusion of various students ideas that have been ignored and dismissed, “ Two decades later, another wave of free-speech debates took hold, as students in the 1980s and 1990s demanded that universities expand the campus’s intellectual franchise to include those who had been previously ignored or deliberately silenced and to expand the curriculum to account for these people’s insights and ideas…”⁷. Free speech can be utilized to act as the backbone of a revolution. Freedom of speech in universities promote the sharing of intellectual ideas and prevent the censuring of students who decide to share their ideas, “ Lindsay Shepherd, then a twenty-two-year-old graduate teaching assistant, made international headlines when she was censured for showing a clip of a public broadcaster’s current-affairs program in a Wilfrid Laurier University communication studies tutorial,…. Shepherd explains over the phone, months later, she ‘wanted to make a larger societal point about how something innocuous, like grammar, can actually be politicized.’”⁸ Free speech in colleges and universities will help in ensuring that opinions are valid, ‘In a university, all perspectives are valid’⁹.

When various ideas are expressed without limitation it could result in chaos.  Shannon Dea, who is a philosophy professor at the University of Waterloo argues that freedom of speech, “isn’t for everyone to get their participation sticker and to be able to advance their own opinion.”¹⁰ Another drawback of free speech is, “freedom of expression on campus compromise the historical role of universities”^11.free speech absolutism is subject to being used to hurt and marginalize other students, an incident where free speech was used to hurt other students happened in 2013 at Carleton, where a free speech wall was torn down by the universities students who claimed that the wall that had been erected for students liberty was being used to violate and attack LGBTQ students, “the free-speech groups set out to deliberately trigger certain students, who are, in fact, then triggered.”¹² There have been several cases where student unions and university authorities refuse to set up a speech wall since free speech has been deliberately used to trigger a specific group of students, thus testing the limits of free speech, “…or no other reason than to test the permissible limits of free expression itself.”¹³. Students' misuses of free speech absolutism is the greatest drawback of free speech.

            When students join campus, they are not familiar with the idea that they are being integrated into a community that is strictly governed by already set and rigid intellectual standards.  According to Semley, “The great irony of today’s free-speech absolutism is that it smothers so much speech by making so many students (like transgender students in the wake of the Lindsay Shepherd incident) feel afraid or bullied”¹⁴. If free speech absolutism is adopted then those who will speak the loudest will always be the ones that have nothing to lose and are not subject to bullying, “ —if you can say what you will—then the people who will speak loudest will almost necessarily be those are most secure…”¹⁵. If free speech absolutism were to prevail on university campuses, students would have to recognize the acceptable limits of speech. The benefits of free speech absolutism have been unevenly distributed and can undermine other democratic values, “A focus on freedom of expression has a tendency to inflate its relative importance, such that it can supersede that other right”¹⁶.

Inconclusion, free speech absolutism is the only way that can be used to pass even the most contentious viewpoints.  Instead of facilitating a much broader framework for disagreement free speech has become the source of disagreement. An immediate resolution of the much-polarized debate on free speech seems to be far from over since neither side can accommodate compromise.  Immanuel Kant in most of his writings Kant sought out to separate institutional rights and duties. Free speech absolutism has benefits to include allowing the expression ideologies and evaluation of idea which agrees with Kant’s philosophy.  Free absolutism has drawbacks that include allowing freedom of expression in universities compromises the historical role of universities and free speech absolutism is subject to being used to trigger the emotions of marginalized groups to include the LGBTQ community. For free absolutism to exist on university campuses students must recognize the acceptable limits of speech and maintain within those boundaries.  

Notes

1. John Semley, Are University Campuses Where Free Speech Goes to Die? The Walrus. March 27,2020.
2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Ibid
7. Ibid
8. Ibid
9. Ibid
10. Ibid
11. Ibid
12. Ibid
13. Ibid
14. Ibid
15. Ibid
16. Ibid

Bibliography

Semley, John. Are University Campuses Where Free Speech Goes to Die? The Walrus. March     27,2020. Retrieved from; https://thewalrus.ca/are-university-campuses-where-free-   speech-goes-to-die/

Multiculturalism

Edward J. Blum the leader of the nonprofit group, Students for Fair Admission Inc accused Harvard University one of the country’s most prestigious institution of applying a race-conscious admission policy. The non-profit group accused the university of discriminating against Asian-American applicants by limiting the number of students from this race that can be admitted in the university (Carroll, 2019). Its been sixteen years now since the implementation of affirmative action policies that allow universities and campuses to consider race in the admission process (Carroll, 2019).  This implementation saw many Black students admitted in campuses and universities in the country following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which in return raises the question whether there exists a relationship between crime and education (Carroll, 2019). Affirmative action has faced a lot of opposition since the day it was implemented.  

Edward Blum hopes that the court will declare the use of race when considering admission as unconstitutional. SSFA has accused Harvard of utilizing quota systems to restrict the admission of Asian American students while giving white students an added advantage (Li, 2018).  In its defense the renowned institution has argued that its practice is completely constitutional and considering race during admission is necessary to achieve the institution’s goal of diversity.  Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the Harvard University admission policies does not discriminate Asian Americans.  The accusation of race discrimination are solid accusations, in the event SSFA decides to appeal the recent decision of the court the investigations into the university’s admission policies could be extended.

A race conscious admission policy is important in ensuring diversity. In case of an appeal, the court would further its investigation into the admission policies of the university to establish the biasness of the policies (Jaschik, 2019). Both sides had long planned to appeal the court decision. In case of an appeal and the subsequent court ruling favors the SSFA diversity in universities and campuses could be compromised since SSFA strongly suggest that putting race into consideration opens a doorway for discrimination. In case of an appeal the SSFA is in a position to argue that the judge was too quick to give the school the benefit of the doubt, therefore, further probe into the matter is needed (Jaschik, 2019).  At the end of the trial the judge insists that she cannot order the dismantling of a perfect admission process that is constitutional based on the claims that it could be made better.

 The SSFA consists of Asian-American students who in their own opinion have been hurt by the school’s admission system, most of them applied to Harvard and were rejected. Their appeal would still be based on the accusation that Harvard discriminated against Asian-American applicants and as a result the university violates their civil rights (Li, 2018). The Appeal of the Fisher V. University of Texas could challenge the functions and effectiveness affirmative action policies. The diversity of higher education is important in ensuring that university and campuses classes are not homogeneous (Jung, 2018). Ensuring diversity in campuses relies on a race conscious admission.

Inconclusion, race conscious university admission polices lead to diversity in campuses. The recent trail, Fisher V. the University of Texas involves accusations made against the prestigious institution, Harvard university. The university has been accused of discriminating Asian-American students during admission. The affirmative policies implemented sixteen years ago supports the use of race during admission to ensure diversity. However, SSFA argues that the use of race promotes discrimination. Harvard won the case against SSFA. An appeal by the SSFA would lead to further probe into the admission policies of the university which in return would question the effectiveness of the affirmative policy actions.

References

Carroll, D., (2019). “Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard: Will the Case Sound the Death     Knell for Affirmative Action?” Retrieved from;             https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/jiop/articles/2019/summer201  9-fair-admissions-v-harvard-affirmative-action/

Jaschik, S., (2019). “Judge Upholds Harvard's Admissions Policies” Retrieved from:             https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/10/07/federal-judge-finds-          harvards-policies-do-not-discriminate-against

Jung, C., (2018). “Harvard Discrimination Trial Ends, But Lawsuit Is Far From Over” Retrieved from;             https://www.npr.org/2018/11/02/660734399/harvard-discrimination-trial-is-ending-but-     lawsuit-is-far-from-over

Li, M., (2018). “I support affirmative action. But Harvard really is hurting Asian Americans.”      Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/10/18/17995270/asian-          americans-affirmative-action-harvard-admissions-lawsuit

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND SITE INVESTIGATION

Batch plant and fabrication shops

A batch plant or a concrete plant a manufacturing plant where concrete material is combined before being conveyed to a building site ready to be discharged. It can also be defined as a tool that chains several elements to form solid.  These elements comprise air, water, admixtures, aggregate like rocks and gravel, sand, fly ash, slag, silica fume, and cement. A batch plant can have a variability of portions and fittings, like mixers, aggregate batchers, cement batchers, conveyors, radial stackers and many more to help come up with concrete.

There are two types of batch plants that are manufactured to suit different needs. These batch plant types will help provide various requirements (Schwartz 2000). These types are; Ready mix plants that pools together all elements excluding water at the batch plant. This combination is then put into a ready-mix truck. Later water is added to the mixture in the truck and combined during transportation to the job location. Then we have the Central mix plants, this one combines some or all of the ingredients comprising water at a central location. Then the ultimate product is conveyed to the job location.

A fabrication shop, on the other hand, is a plant that tenders on a job, typically based on engineering representations. The key benefit of fabrication shops is the concentration of these many procedures that are frequently needed to be completed comparably through a collection of dealers. A one-stop fabrication shop benefits contractors to limit their necessity to work with numerous dealers to complete difficult projects.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the process of learning natural systems works, stay different and yield all the things it desires for the ecosystem to stay in stability. To be sustainable means that a procedure or state can be preserved at a particular level if it is required. As society sustainability can be denoted as achieving current wants without negotiating the capacity of upcoming generations to meet their particular desires. Sustainability has four fundamental pillars these include human sustainability; purposes to preserve and develop the human resources in society, social sustainability; targets to reserve social resources by capitalizing and generating services that establish the outline of our society, environmental sustainability; purposes to advance human wellbeing through the security of natural resources, and economics sustainability; purposes to keep the resources undamaged.

In construction, sustainability will entail various aspects like using renewable and biodegradable resources, minimizing energy intake and waste, building a healthy, environmentally-friendly atmosphere, and guarding the natural environment (Kibert 2008). This sustainability in construction possesses various benefits like reduction in construction cost, increased productivity since environmentally friendly workplaces help employees perform efficiently. Sustainability in construction can also lead to improved health and better quality of life this is because workers are protected from hazardous materials. A sustainable building can also be a brilliant chance for inventive research in the industry. Fresh ingredients are worked on and as an outcome, more advanced methods are being established and implemented.

References

Kibert, C. J. (2008). Sustainable construction: Green building design and delivery. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Schwartz, M. (2000). Basic concrete engineering for builders. Carlsbad, CA: Craftsman Book Co.

Analysis of a Child

Introduction

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development explains the nature and the development of human intelligence. This theory explains in detail how humans gradually acquire and use knowledge. In the beginning, Piaget was interested in how at a tender age child make a lot of mistakes while trying to solve problems (Hammond, 2014). He is a firm believer that children are not similar to adults, children have more advanced cognitive abilities compared to adults. This theory has four stages of development, these stages are grouped with age. The main goal of this theorist was to shed light on the mechanism and processes by which children develop into individuals who can reason and construct an idea. Erik Erikson was responsible for modifying Freud’s controversial theory of psychosexual development to a psychological theory (Sneed et al., 2006). According to this theorist, ego contributes to the development of a child by assisting the child to master attitudes, ideas, and skills at each stage of development, this mastery is responsible for making children responsible members of society (Sneed et al., 2006). According to this theory, there are eight stages of development.  The discussion below contains a biography of a child, successful parenting techniques and parenting techniques that can be recommended to this specific child.

Biography

Name: Abigail Crane

Gender: Female

Siblings: Jane & Hendrick

Parents: Dwayne Crane & Anna Crane

Date of Birth: 21st March 2012

Physical Concerns: diagnosed as short-sighted at the age of four, allergic to peanuts and is left-handed.

Eye Color: Brown pupil

Hair Color: Black

Parenting Techniques

• Boosting the child’s self-esteem by ensuring that the child is surrounded by positive members of society. Children begin developing their senses as babies and often see themselves through other people. According to Collins and the National Research Council. (1984) the words and actions of parents and those of the society surrounding the child affect the development of self-esteem more than anything else. At Abigail’s age, she is free from domination, she is at the age of the ego, where a child can turn away from the family to the outside world, in return, this will allow the child to become rapidly socialized which allows the development of self and social knowledge that is necessary for them to adjust in society. This is as per the Erikson theory.
• Set limits and be consistent with your discipline. Discipline is a necessity in every household, discipline helps children choose acceptable behaviors and learn self-control. Limits established by discipline allows children to grow into responsible adults. Throughout Piaget’s theory, he is interested in what children do regardless of whether children break the rules or not (McLeod, 2015). He showed a strong interest in the moral judgment of children, according to his theory, children’s understanding of rules, moral judgment and punishment tend to change as they get older.  There are two main moral thinking when it comes to children; Heteronomous Morality and autonomous morality. Heteronomous morality is morality imposed by outsiders, obeying these rules imposed by outsiders is not a choice but a must since they accept that the rules are made by an authoritative figure. Autonomous morality is based on the children’s rules, at this stage, children recognize that there is no absolute right or wrong, the morality of an action depends on the intentions and not the consequences.  At the age of 9 to 10 children’s understanding of moral issues undergo a reorganization.
• Try and catch the child doing good. As a parent, it is important to find something to praise every day about a child (KidsHealth Medical Experts, n.d). Praising a child encourages good behavior in the long run compared to repeated scolding.
• Be a good role model. In most scenarios’ children learn how to act from their parents. The parent needs to be aware that they are constantly being watched by their kids (KidsHealth Medical Experts, n.d). A parent should exhibit the behavior they hope to see in their kids.
• Make communication a priority. One should not expect kids to do everything simply because they are authoritative figures, they deserve an explanation as much as adults do. As a parent, it is important to make your expectations clear and if there is a problem it should be described (KidsHealth Medical Experts, n.d). Also, be open-minded and put suggestions brought forth by children under consideration.

References

Collins, W. A., & National Research Council. (1984). Self-understanding and self-regulation in   middle childhood. In Development During Middle Childhood: The Years from Six to       Twelve. National Academies Press (US).

Hammond, S. I. (2014). Children’s early helping in action: Piagetian developmental theory and   early prosocial behavior. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 759.

KidsHealth Medical Experts (n.d). Nine Steps to More Effective Parenting. Retrieved from;             https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/nine-steps.html

McLeod S. (2015). Piaget's Theory of Moral Development. Retrieved from;             https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget-moral.html

Sneed, J. R., Whitbourne, S. K., & Culang, M. E. (2006). Trust, identity, and ego integrity:           Modeling Erikson’s core stages over 34 years. Journal of Adult Development, 13(3-4),          148-157.

College Students: These Soft Skills Lead To Academic Success

Introduction

Soft skills are ways that help a person interact with the rest of the people. For example working with other people in a team is a soft skill. They help you to be flexible and be able to adapt to new environments or situations with ease. They are a big attribute to a student’s academic success and achievements.

According to Sloane (2014) there are three main soft skills for academic success. Time management is a big skill used for success. As a student, how you maintain and use your time is very important. Managing time helps in balancing school work, social life and sometimes even work. As a student sometimes you have so much to do and only this skill could help in organizing and scheduling.

Teamwork is a soft skill that enables you to work in different groups and this includes working with people you are not familiar with. This skill helps you to get out of your comfort zone and not only depend on yourself but also know how to depend on other people. Teamwork improves on your communication skills since you have to share your thoughts in the group.

 Organization skill is used in planning and recording. A student has to use this skill to plan, make records in order to have organized work. This skill helps a student to explore and manage their work with ease. Organization skill helps a student to follow the proper procedure.

In the Bryant & Stratton APA guide I used pages four and six. Original documentation is used and is important to a writer since the writer is able to find information from the original source. Accurate source documentation makes the writer find the original information. Citations and references should be made when a writer is using a source document to avoid taking someone’s work and making it their own. Referencing should be done to help a reader know exactly where a writer got the information from.

Conclusion

Time management, teamwork and organizational skills are the three main skills that lead to a student’s success. They guide a student through their projects and in group discussions. The three skills are useful, not only in school, in their social life and also in the outside world making one to step out of their comfort zones.

References

 Sloane, C. (2014).College students: These soft skills lead to academic success

Why I returned to School

Introduction

Returning to school is a decision that I made because I wanted to better myself financially and socially. I needed to return to school to advance my education and be a better person. This will increase the chances of qualifying for better paying jobs. It will help me get the knowledge and ideas I need for me to be able to one day put up a business. To be able to live a happy and healthy life is my dream and through advancing my education I know it will be fulfilled. Knowledge is the best tool anyone can have and is used in our everyday lives and this makes me hungry for more. Meeting new people, engaging in different conversations and sharing experiences will help me get more informed. I decided to return to school to better myself, provide a better life for my children, and for opportunities for a promotion into management.

To be able to better myself, I need to learn how to boost my self-confidence, how to have the sense of accomplishment and also how to improve on self-awareness. Self-confidence is very important in our everyday lives and it determines your performance. I want to boost my self-confidence so that I can be able to give excellent results at work and even in the society. The art of communication is also a skill that I want to learn so as to improve on my self-confidence. This will help me know how to relate and treat people around me. I want to be able to try new things and also challenge myself to new tasks and for me to achieve this I need to know how to boost my self-confidence. I want to be successful person in life and in everything I do and going back to school will help me accomplish this. The feeling of having accomplished a task successfully brings so much joy. Advancing my education will help me tackle all the tasks handed to me with more knowledge and new ideas. This will help me achieve more goals with less struggle. I want to improve my self-awareness skill. I want to know myself more, my strengths and weaknesses, what motivates me and generally the areas that I am good at and also how to manage each one of them. Sometimes I judge myself harshly when I am unable to accomplish a task and maybe I am not even good at it.

 I want to build a better life and future for my children. This way I need to learn how to be a better provider, how to have more family time and also how to lead by example. Being the best parent and being able to provide for my children is my dream. I want to be able to provide them with knowledge and other material things that they need, take them to good schools and give them the best education. Being a better provider includes an increase in my finances. This will be possible when I advance my education, get a job promotion and with a better pay. I want to learn how to manage my time on different activities so I could have more family time. Family is everything and having more family time will bring more closeness and joy. Time management skills will be important for me to learn so as to have more family time. This will help to allocate and manage time for different activities we will perform as a family. I want to be a role model to my children and by this I need to learn the qualities and practice them so as to lead by example. I have to learn how to have good morals, how to be respectful, obedient, be patient, and all the other qualities of a good leader so that they can follow. By returning to school I will give them a good example and show them that school is important and necessary.

I want return to school to advance my career. This will help me in managing opportunities, get a pay rise meaning more money and avoid the third shift. In managing opportunities, I will be able to know how to come up with business ideas and how to implement them. Every opportunity I get will be well thought of and put into practice. This will help and improve in the development of a business. Opportunity management knowledge will help to bring economic developments whereby the wellbeing of a business will be improved. Advancing my career will give me a chance to get a promotion and this will increase my pay. An increase in my pay means that I will have more money and will help me live a better life. This will be a motivating factor in terms of performance. It will make me work harder and use all the knowledge that I have gained while in school so as to maintain it. This will enable me to have more savings and acquire some things that I could not afford before I got the increase. I will be more dedicated and loyal to my work. There will be no third shift for me after I advance my career. I will be working on the normal shifts and going back home to my family. Third shifts can be boring and unsafe, can cause family conflicts and I will be free from all these. In terms of health, working on third shifts has major impacts on the body, for example they increase the risk of depression, heart attacks, workplace injuries and also changes ones metabolism. This means that I will live a healthy and stress free life.

Conclusion

The decision to return to school is the best decision one could ever make in their life. The advantages that comes along with it is all worth it. One acquires more knowledge that help them through life and also in their workplace. The gains of returning back to school are evident, for example you learn how to communicate and relate with people. Returning to school helps one to boost their self-confidence and get guidance on how to be a better person for themselves and for other people. It helps one to establish their strengths and weaknesses and how to deal with them. It helps one to learn how to relate and treat their family and how to be a role model. Career advancement comes along with job promotions, salary rise and respect from people. I decided to return to school to better myself, provide a better life for my children, and for opportunities for a promotion into management.

 Case Studies

Case A

According to Banerjee (2016) social economic challenges are at the forefront of putting a child at a disadvantaged position. Children from socially and economically challenged backgrounds have high possibilities of underachieving in various subjects. The state government of Virginia is among those that are emphasizing on the essentialness of widening participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and related careers. On the quest of increasing students’ performance in standardized STEM test it is important to understand the causes of this failure. These children are being held back from achieving their full potential in STEM subjects by factors that are beyond their control, including, ethnicity, gender and poverty.  A child born in an underprivileged background is bound to face many challenges in life, this means that the child will have to endure compromised learning trajectories, reduced employment opportunities and lower income thereby setting a trend and a vicious cycle of poverty (Banerjee, 2016).  It is important to break this cycle and uplift the disadvantaged in the society.  

Therefore, understanding the factors that contribute underperformance in the school will help in the development and implementation of strategies that will help in boosting the performance of these students.  These students are at the adolescent stage and the fact that most of them come from minority groups means that they experience situations that can be deemed unfair. A survey conducted on minority students in junior high revealed that despite the tender age of these students they have encountered situations that can be perceived as racial/ ethnic discrimination (Banerjee, 2016). Survey data has gone ahead to indicate that any form of discrimination has a high possibility of causing psychosocial and academic side effects.   First generation students from minority groups which make up the majority of these students experience language barriers that put them in a disadvantaged position. The teacher’s perception of these students is another cause of underperformance. As these children begin their early education in stages such as kindergarten the minority students are rated lower than their white counterparts regardless of their academic ability (Banerjee, 2016). Survey data suggests that teachers base their initial rating of students on ethnicity.

A lack of positive attitude towards school and learning can also be a contributing factor to low academic scores in low-SES and ethnic minority students. Research has identified an association between negative emotions and cognitive performance of students living in poverty (Isik, et al., 2018).  These children come from economically challenged backgrounds, neighborhood economic hardship has been described as an important predictor of low attainment in math.  Familial factors such as lack of parental academic involvement, authoritative parenting, lower maternal education and family background is among the factors that contribute to the low performance of these students. Families play an important role in the lives of their children, academic and otherwise (Isik, et al., 2018). As a result, children that come from families living in poverty and unemployment have lower chances of having their families involved in their education.  Parental academic engagement has proved to have strong effects on socially and economically disadvantaged children.

Inconclusion, the majority of the students are from low-SES ad from minority groups living in America.  To be able to solve the problem of underperformance in these children it is important to identify the causes and be able to develop a better solution to remedy the situation.  Among the factors that cause underperformance among these students is language barrier, lack of motivation and discrimination. It is important to be able to boost the performance of these students with focus on breaking the vicious cycle and poverty.

Case B

According to Kien (2017) social economic inequalities and challenges have continued to hinder the immunization of children from low economic social statuses. For the past five years the school has had to battle measles outbreaks, this case study aims to establish the relationship that exist between the school’s student and the immunization status and the pattern of measles outbreaks.  Measles immunization is important and public health vaccination has proved to be one of the most effective public health strategies that is used to control this disease.

This case study aims to systematically locate, quality appraise and synthesize academic literature exploring the relationship that exist between measles outbreaks in children that come from low social economic back ground, the main research questions being addressed are;

• Which factors contribute to the measle outbreaks in children from low social economic backgrounds?
• What are the measures that can be implemented by the school to put an end to reoccurring the measle outbreaks?

Therefore, a literature review will be conducted using various data sources. A Case study that was cried out to review vaccination data of people from low social economic classes from 2006 to 2014 is one source of data and information for the case study. The aim of the study was to determine the magnitude of social economic inequalities in measles vaccines. The study revealed that there was a decrease in measles vaccine coverage rate among families and individuals with low social economic status (Kien 2017). This indicated that children born in ethnic minority groups, have uneducated mothers and living in poverty are less likely to receive the measles vaccination. The measles vaccine coverage declined among children of mothers with more education and belonging to the socially economically stable families.

Measles has been classified as one of the most contagious infectious diseases and fatal for both adults and children (Glatman-Freedman, et al., 2012).  The onset signs of this diseases include, fever, cough and rash that follows the 12 days incubation period.  Measles is a leading vaccine preventable disease and a cause of child mortality. Among the factors that cause measles outbreaks is social and economic inequalities. Young children from poor backgrounds are at a disadvantage position and most of them do not get the chance to be vaccinated, further complications experienced by these children, including malnutrition, Vitamin A deficiencies and various immune comprising factors may continue to put the children at risk as they increase the potential of outbreaks.  Neighborhoods with low-SES families are likely to have low measles vaccine coverage and as a result transmission can occur in epidemic proportions thus resulting to severe outbreaks.

To prevent further outbreaks of measles in the school it is important to have well laid strategic plans. According to solutions presented by Gastanaduy, et al., (2018) the first step of containing the outbreaks is to assemble an outbreak control team. When one student reports a measles outbreak the school should enhance its surveillance to identify additional cases or other students with the diseases. Collaborating with healthcare providers to terminate these outbreaks should also be considered by the board since such outbreaks are a matter of public health. The healthcare providers will be required to administer medical procedures, including proper cases management that includes the administering of Vitamin A.   the school should implement control activities to limit virus transmission.  Lastly, the school should also be at the forefront of vaccinating unvaccinated students.  

Inconclusion, measles is a vaccine preventable disease, measle coverage rates are determined by economic and social factors.  Research has revealed that immunization rates among the socially and economically disadvantaged families are low, these families live in concentrated neighborhoods and the chances of an outbreak are very high. The school should take the above described steps to control measles outbreaks that have long been affecting the schools’ student to ensure that the students continue to perform well without any hindering factors.

Case C

            According to Chiru, et al., (2012) Project Based Learning (PLB) is a teaching method where students learn by actively engaging in real-life activities and projects. An earlier case study conducted at MIDA Learning Technologies to compare the impacts of project based learning and traditional curriculum concluded that project-based learning is capable of driving students’ outcomes. The research also confirmed that PBL enhances students’ performance as well as increases student’s motivation and engagement and lastly improves the teacher and student interactions. In an attempt to understand the impacts of PBL and teachers’ engagement in grade-level planning sessions on social studies on students from grade four to twelve this cases study examines the depended and independent variables of a qualitative study. The first step is to understand the significant influence the both have on students’ performance. In project-based learning the independent variable to be examined is the method of learning while the dependent variable is the students score. PBL can be termed as a powerful tool that connects students with their communities. PLB is capable of raising student’s achievement in high poverty communities, PLB has proven to be a promising educational approach.

Therefore, the dependent and independent variables are the method and the scores.  The data for the case study will be collected from various literature reviews.  The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental and descriptive study is to establish whether PBL helps students develop the understanding needed to transfer their knowledge and skills in order to achieve higher scores as well as the impacts of teachers’ engagement in grade-level planning sessions (Kingston, 2018). Research has already confirmed that PBL has a significant impact on the results of students, a cases study that used ACT Aspire data from grade four students compared the performance of students from six schools. Three school used PBL as a method of teaching and three other schools used the traditional mode of teaching.  The results of this study indicated that there is a significant difference between the results of the schools using PBL and those using the traditional teaching approach. This result served as evidence to support the claim that PBL enhances the performance of students in all subjects, inclusive of social studies. Social studies is a subject that requires students to explore content area materials, PBL enables these students to be able to transfer and use their skills to achieve higher assessment scores.

Teachers are expected to be knowledgeable of their professions and maintain a high level of academic standards while in their professional paths teaching learners using various learning methods. Teachers are professionals who are required to be highly qualified in their subject area. Students improvement in certain subjects depends on the teachers understanding of the subject.  Dating back to the 20^th century institutes that were focused on teacher’s development encountered a lot of criticism and as a result majority of teachers were always skeptical of attending teacher’s development programs. Despite that times have changed and peoples’ perception has changed, teachers are still reluctant in attending staff development programs (Barnard, 2004).  Following the boards attempt to conduct a qualitative analysis about teachers perception of the efficacy of  subject -specific professional development on the quality of teaching and students learning experience, the purpose of the study would be first to identify teachers perception of staff development programs and to determine whether  teacher development programs provide knowledge to educators that in return promotes the students achievement.  The results of such a qualitative study should provide the school board with data that can be used to evaluate the position of staff development programs and the changes that are required.

References

Banerjee, P. A. (2016). A systematic review of factors linked to poor academic performance of             disadvantaged students in science and maths in schools. Cogent Education, 3(1),   1178441.

Barnard, R. E. (2004). A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Perceptions of Staff Development in       Three Public Northeast Tennessee Elementary School Districts.

Chiru, L., & Chiru, C. (2012). Opportunity assessment for the introduction of the integrated         learning unit in chemistry education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 4056-           4060.

Gastanaduy, P. A., Banerjee, E., DeBolt, C., Bravo-Alcántara, P., Samad, S. A., Pastor, D., ... & Durrheim, D. N. (2018). Public health responses during measles outbreaks in elimination       settings: Strategies and challenges. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 14(9), 2222-   2238.

Glatman-Freedman, A., & Nichols, K. (2012). The effect of social determinants on immunization             programs. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 8(3), 293-301.

Isik, U., Tahir, O. E., Meeter, M., Heymans, M. W., Jansma, E. P., Croiset, G., & Kusurkar, R.    A. (2018).             Factors influencing academic motivation of ethnic minority students: A      review. Sage Open, 8(2),             2158244018785412.

Kien, V. D., Van Minh, H., Giang, K. B., Mai, V. Q., Tuan, N. T., & Quam, M. B. (2017).           Trends in childhood measles vaccination highlight socioeconomic inequalities in       Vietnam. International journal of public health, 62(1), 41-49.

Kingston, S. (2018). Project Based Learning & Student Achievement: What Does the Research    Tell Us? PBL Evidence Matters, Volume 1, No. 1. Buck Institute for Education.

My Obstacles and Lessons Learned

During my childhood, I only had one dream, which I strongly believed would be the turning point of my life; that was becoming an adult. My elder brother seemed to enjoy everything he was doing, including playing basketball with his friend and going out whenever he wanted, and that was exactly what I wanted. What I never realized at that time was the fact growing up was also attached closely to decision making because not deciding is also a choice. As time went by, my love for basketball become almost everything to me until it becomes the main contributor to my mental deterioration.

I had enjoyed playing basketball, and I had made a significant number of friends; unfortunately, things turned around when I joined high school. One of the rules to join the basketball team, which was part of my life, was competence and a high level of skills. Although there were a lot of challenges at that point, I managed to get into the school team. At that period, I was very happy, and during that time, I was given a chance to play most of the games because of injuries that some of the team members had. Things changed when we entered the regular season, and I was not given the opportunity despite having the skills just like some members who played often. Besides, the time I get a chance, the coach failed to create enough attention, which broke my heart.

I remember a scene where I scored, and later the coach claimed that he never saw it. It was a moment I expected could change his perception, but it just becomes proof that I could be a star. I went into depression, and I could not do anything meaningful, and my performance even went down. Some of the things I learned are that everything we plan might not go our way and that we should be kind to be people because we might never understand the extent we impact their lives. The experience was terrible, but it gave me the reason to move on

 Intervention program to reduce smoking among college age students

Introduction

Tobacco use is the major cause of death in the U.S due to smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Smoking contributes to 30% of cancer deaths and every year, 440,000 dies from tobacco use.  In the U.S and Canada, the smoking rate is high in young adults due to a variety of factors such as feelings of anxiety, peer pressure, social norms in college, among other factors.  Many interventions have been implemented, such as face-to-face consulting, online intervention programs, health intervention programs, among other applications.  The purpose of this paper is to research the smoking cessation intervention to college students.  These interventions will help young adults and encourage them to stop smoking.

 Intervention Programs

• Online Smoking Cessation Intervention Program

 Online intervention program such as Quitstop is an effective method to support college students stop smoking.  Rather than using traditional interventions, online smoking cessation intervention allow smokers and ex-smokers to exchange social support including informational support (helps smokers improve health) and nurturant support ( helps smokers gains socio-emotional support) (Bingham et al, 2010).  Both types of social support will help smokers achieve physical and psychological well-being.  These kinds of social support are   shared online   between a large numbers of users.  Online intervention program improves social interaction and allow the people from the online community to build confidence, and improve self-esteem.

• Self-help smoking-cessation program

 The purpose of the self-help intervention program is to help smokers overcome smoking one their own.  Health professional or support groups are not involved.  Smokers are provided with a 2-booklet program or written material with student lifestyles, self-quizzes, behavioral exercises, strategies to avoid smoking, among other information (Travis & Lawrance, 2009).  The features and content found in the program are unique in a way that smokers make informed decisions to quit for smoking. 

• Mobile phone text-messaging cessation intervention  program

              The program is designed to send text messages through a computer.  Rather than sending a text message from a mobile device to another, the program uses text-messaging websites to send message to smokers (Graha et al, 2009).  The web sites message involves information such as adherence; appoint attendance, among other relevant information.  When an individual receives the message and perceives the information as to quality and helpful, they improve behaviors.  The web-based intervention also allows smokers to improve treatment adherence (Graha et al, 2009).  In general, a web-based cessation programs engage hundreds of thousands of smokers and will enable them to browse the site where they access information and gain support.

• Cognitive-behavioral mood management intervention program

            This program is designed to help smokers with depressive symptoms.  Cognitive-behavioral mood management is a cognitive behavioral therapy that deals with smokers thought and behaviors (Schleicher et al, 2012).  Therefore, the program aims at changing the smoker's thoughts and actions and this means that smokers will change thoughts, understand triggers to smoke, develop alternate behaviors, and improve emotional health.

• Quit and win contest program

 The primary goals of this program are to motivate smokers to quit smoking and to provide incentives (Thomas et al, 2010).  This means that smokers are unable to quit on their w own and but they want to engage in smoking cessation programs to attempt cessation.  In Quit and win contest program, smokers join the contest and are provided with financial incentives.  The abstinence rate in  Quit and Win contest is 50-70%, and this means that smokers develop abstinence from smoking (Thomas et al, 2010).  During the contest period, smokers are provided with counseling to reduce relapse and increase intrinsic motivation. 

 Theory

• Online Smoking Cessation Intervention Program is theory based, and it addresses knowledge in social cognitive theory. The intervention and theory  promotes;
• Social support
• Social interaction
• Share knowledge
• Physical and emotional well-being (DiClemente et al, 2013)

• Self-help smoking-cessation program addresses perceived self-efficacy in social cognitive theory. The program and the  theory  focus on;
• Smoking cessation through one's capabilities
• self-refection
• evaluate won social-system
• Perception of self-efficacy  (DiClemente et al, 2013).

• Mobile phone text-messaging cessation intervention  program addresses  knowledge and at the   theory and  the program focus on
• cost-benefit analysis
• smoking awareness knowledge
• Learns health behavior
• Improves self-efficacy
• Develop health behaviors (DiClemente et al, 2013).

• Cognitive-behavioral mood management intervention program is theory-based, and it addresses the outcome expectations. The intervention and theory focus on;
• quit smoking
• improve physical and mental health
• Develop desirable behaviors (DiClemente et al, 2013).

• Quit and win contest program addresses the goal formation. An individual believes  that at the end of  the program, he or she will;
• Quit smoking
• Gain a reward (DiClemente et al, 2013).

 Conclusion

 The research finds that smoking contributes to morbidity and mortality among college students.  Effective intervention programs should be developed to help college students address the smoking problem.  Recommended interventions include web-based intervention,   Quit and win contest program, CBT, and Self-help smoking-cessation program.  All these programs will reach large audiences and deliver intervention content.

References

DiClemente, R. J., Salazar, L. F., & Crosby, R. A. (2013). Health behavior theory for public

health: Principles, foundations, and applications. Jones & Bartlett Publishers

Graham, A. L., Jacobs, M. A., Cohn, A. M., Cha, S., Abroms, L. C., Papandonatos, G. D., &

Whittaker, R. (2016). Optimising text messaging to improve adherence to web-based

smoking cessation treatment: a randomised control trial protocol. BMJ open, 6(3),

e010687.

Schleicher, H., Harris, K. J., Campbell, D., & Harrar, S. (2012). Mood Management Intervention

for College Smokers With Elevated Depressive Symptoms: A Pilot Study. Journal of

American College Health, 60(1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2011.567403

Travis, H. E., & Lawrance, K. G. (2009). Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the

Effectiveness of a Tailored Self-Help Smoking-Cessation Intervention for Postsecondary

Smokers. Journal of American College Health, 57(4), 437–444. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.57.4.437-444

Bingham, C. R., Barretto, A., Walton, M., Bryant, C., Shope, J., & Raghunathan, T. (2010).

Efficacy of a Web-Based, Tailored, Alcohol Prevention/Intervention Program for College

Students: Initial Findings. Journal of American College Health, 58(4), 349–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480903501178

Thomas, J., An, L., Luo, X., Scherber, R., Berg, C., Golden, D., … Ahluwalia, J. (2010).

Abstinence and Relapse Rates Following a College Campus-Based Quit & Win

Contest. Journal of American College Health, 58(4), 365–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/0744848090338026

Self-examination

 Personal and dominant learning style developed during toddler years and how it is reflected in character and behavior in the present

 Introduction

  If I am asked who I am , I can give as many responses as possible concerning what I like,  my identity, my roles,  individual character,  and other things that are influenced by nature and nurture.  However, the psychology studies have helped understand that to understand who I am,   it is important to focus on the subjective personality as it helps an individual to reflect on oneself through subjective experiences.  Therefore, the transition from childhood to adulthood helps understand who I am since the transition is associated with many experiences in the life-world.  In other words, the experiences I have gone through from childhood to adulthood will help know my own life, describe the experiences, and eventually identify my distinctive sense of self.  Many factors can help a person identify oneself but according to own experiences, the learning styles both personal and dominant during toddler years shaped my adulthood and or other words, they played role in my personal development.  Therefore, the learning styles did not only provide knowledge and skills but it helped develop character and behaviors and more importantly, identify who I am.

             Both dominant and personal learning styles played a role in the process of development.  Through learning, I gained knowledge and skills, and I was able to develop the right attitudes and character.  Development from childhood to adulthood was promoted by both physical and mental elements (Manoharan, n.d).  This means that during development, I was able to think, communicate effectively, interact, and develop unique personal character.  Today, all things I do including behaviors, thoughts, actions, interactions, and other things are influenced by childhood.  However,  it is worth saying that social and cultural organizations shaped by personality (Manoharan, n.d).  For example, psychological experiences helped become the person I am today.  During childhood, I experienced love from parents, family members, and peers.  I gained psychological and emotional support from my family and this affects how I behave today.  Second is a cultural experience.  This means that I grew up in a culture that recognized diversity, and the culture provided support networks that helped develop physically and emotionally.  My culture had a positive impact in my life in that acceptance and inclusion allowed me to express myself and to share with other interests and activities and hence it promoted self-development.  Nevertheless, education institutions where I gained learning style played the most significant role since this is the place where I gained life-skills.

Dominant learning style developed during toddler years

  School and early education supported and promoted my physical and psychological growth.  At school, my teacher had a lesson plan to meet each need.  Students have different learning styles or in other words, students absorb and comprehend information differently due to factors such as environment, emotional factors, and others (Rather, 2010).  Thus, the teacher incorporated different styles of learning including; visual- the teacher used charts and pictures and students could identify the shape of the picture, the size, the color, the location, among other things.  The second type of learning style was auditory- the teacher could teach through talking and discussion and students could identify the tone, the volume, the words, and the tune, among other things.  The third method is to read/write methods.  The teacher could allow students to learn through writing notes and reading written information.  The last method is kinesthetic-the teacher could teach by giving concrete experiences, and students could engage in physical activities to enhance their learning (Rather, 2010).  In these learning styles, I developed the write/ reading style.  It is worth saying that this method of learning has affected every aspect of life including family, friends, and school.  I have an extraordinary capacity to learn through reading and writing.  As a reading/writing learner, I enjoy reading, taking notes, writing essays, and I can absorb and store information.  From this style of learning, I have developed a character of being quiet.  Most of the time I am busy reading, studying, and taking notes.  This benefits me in that I increase comprehension, and the independent reading strengths my creativity and writing skills.

 Even though I discovered reading and writing as my learning style, I had a mix of learning styles since I also used the auditory learning style.  Although  I concentrated on reading and writing, I also wanted to acquire more knowledge from other subject areas. The auditory method helped to gather information and therefore I had no deficits in reading and writing (Rather, 2010).  I can say that this method has helped in becoming creative and discovering new things.  I like researching to gather facts and evidence and use my critical thinking skills to interpret results. 

             The learning style that I developed during childhood had helped me improve my reading and writing skills.  Today, I am a critical thinker and more importantly, I can make reasoned judgments not only in my studies but also in real life.  The childhood education affected my adulthood in that I grew up knowing how to interact and communicate effectively and today, I am a better student and a better person in the community.  I am proud of my childhood in that as I reflect on my childhood experience, I acknowledge that those experiences have allowed me to engage in social activities, cultural events, and other things that life demands (Rather, 2010).  My reading and writing ability has improved my confidence.  This is because the confidence I applied in writing is the same confidence I apply in dealing with life challenges and difficulties.  Note that in writing, I used to make mistakes, at times writing was terrible, but I could learn from those mistakes.  In life, I am confident to apply my creativity and try new things,  I learn from mistakes,  I move out of my comfort zone to explore the world, and look forward to a bright future.

Personal learning style developed during toddler years

 Based on experience, I developed other learning styles and they greatly shaped by adulthood.  Apart from the dominant learning styles that were introduced by teachers, I developed my style, which is a social learning style (Ellis et al.2009).  Even though I liked reading and writing while alone, I loved interacting with other students in a group setting to identify problems and find solutions.  Note that as writing/ reading learner, I am creative and therefore I like solving problems.  However,  it becomes hard to address challenges alone and therefore interaction or social learning creates relationship dynamics and promotes cooperation (Ellis et al.2009).  This type of learning shaped my adulthood in that by working together with other students, I developed the character of being cooperative, and it helped develop skills in areas such as sports and arts.  Moreover, the social learning style allowed interacting with students in a variety of settings and therefore I developed desirable characters, which are reflected in my adulthood.  From social learning, I have developed commitment, courtesy and cooperation, and life skills such as decision-making, creative thinking, problem solving, self-awareness, ability to create and maintain relationships, and acquisition of knowledge.

Conclusion

             The learning styles, both personal and dominant have helped me understand who I am in various settings.  From the VARK model of learning styles, I have two types of learning styles; auditory, and reading and writing.  I developed these styles at toddling years, they have improved my education, and more importable they have helped understand my brain, my behaviors, and character.  Even though other institutions such as social and cultural institutions played role in shaping my personality, the education institution provided me with the best learning styles, which helped me not only in educational settings but also in understanding myself.  Moreover, the learning style helped develop important skills in life and more importantly, I learned how to interact with people in different settings.  At first, I was introduced to the dominant learning style and I preferred reading/ writing, and auditory learning, which helped me become creative and cooperative.  Later, I develop a personal learning style, which is social learning, and this improved my personal development since it taught me to value teamwork that helps me to evaluate things using different perspectives.

References

Ellis, A., Abrams, M., & Abrams, L. D. (2009). Personality theories: Critical perspectives. Los

Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Manoharan. P.K.  (n.d).  Education And Personality Development. APH Publishing

 Rather A.R. (2010). Psychology Of Learning And Development. Discovery Publishing House

Case Review

 Violation of Title IV and Title IX

 First case

 The principle of The Rhinebeck Central School District was involved in sexual harassment.  Thomas Mawhinney worked as the principal for 10 years during his job tenure, he violated Title IX by sexually harassing high school female students.  According to Title IX, the federal law states that students should not be discriminated  on  sexual basis or in other words they should not be denied benefits based on sex (U.S  Department of Justice, 2009).  The Plaintiffs filed the case to the United States District Court in 2004 and 2006, the court made a consent judgment and ordered the Central School District to create a comprehensive plan, provide harassment training, create sexual harassment policies, among other roles all aimed at creating a discrimination-free education (U.S Department of Justice, 2009).  The consent decree also ordered the school to pay $152, 500 for compensation and for attorney's fees.  

 Second court case

 According to Title IX and Title IV, all students should access education in a nondiscriminatory environment.  However, the  Arcadia Unified School was involved on  gender based harassment by restricting transgender students from using bathrooms, restrooms,  and other sex-specific accommodations (National Center for Lesbian Rights, 2019). The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a complaint and stated that the Arcadia Unified School violated Title IX by discriminating on a sex basis.  The Office of Civil Right and the Department of Justice resolved the dispute through a resolution agreement or in other words, the Arcadia Unified School and the NCLR agreed that the school should treat male students as male, recognize the transgender rights and policies, and ensure that transgender students have equal access school resources (National Center for Lesbian Rights, 2019).  The NCLR served as an advocate for transgender students and he ensured that transgender students are free from harassment and discrimination.

 Third court case

 In 2009, Quinnipiac announced its plan to create a varsity sports team and eliminate some athletic events.  Five Quinnipiac women's filed a complaint and stated that the Quinnipiac University violated Title IX by eliminating women from the volleyball team and by denying them athletic opportunities (FindLaw, n.d).  The District Court offered a preliminary injunction.  In  2010, there was a bench trial and provided the  plaintiffs with an injunction relief or in other words the court ordered the Quinnipiac to stop the act of discriminating female students by denying the athletic participation opportunities (FindLaw, n.d).  The judge addressed the issue fairly or in other words, he acted as an advocate of student by supporting an equal athletic opportunity to both male and female students.

  Fourth Case

In 2010, The Anoka-Hennepin School District was involved in sexual harassment.  Some students academic performance was   affected since their fellow student harassed them due to their sexual orientation (U.S Department of Justice, 2012).  The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the United States District Court.  In 2012, the parties filed a consent decree and the school district was ordered to create a comprehensive plan, improve the training of faculty, appoint Title IX coordination, hire an expert consultant for mental health, improve efforts for investigations for harassment, and ensure consistent monitoring and evaluation (U.S Department of Justice, 2012).

             In the above cases, there was a violation of Title IV and Title IX.  However, in each case, the mode of violation is different.  Nevertheless, the resolutions aimed at creating a high-quality environment where all students gain equal academic support.

References

 National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). (2019). Case Summary & History. Retrieved from: http://www.nclrights.org/cases-and-policy/cases-and-advocacy/student-v-arcadia-unified-school-district/

 U.S  Department of Justice. (2009).  Case Summary: A.B. v. Rhinebeck Central School District & Thomas Mawhinney. Retrieved from: https://casetext.com/analysis/case-summary-ab-v-rhinebeck-central-school-district-thomas-mawhinney

 U.S Department of Justice. (2012). Case Summary: Doe & United States v. Anoka-Hennepin School District. Retrieved from:  https://casetext.com/analysis/case-summary-doe-united-states-v-anoka-hennepin-school-district

 FindLaw. (n.d). BIEDIGER v. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY. Retrieved from: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1608295.html

NSG THEORY

What insight did you take away from the article?   

The key insights that I take away from the article are that today,  nurses have shifted from mind-body nursing to transcultural nursing that entails the use of multiple factors such as religious, language,  economic, beliefs, and others (Fawcett, 2002).  Note that patients come from different backgrounds and therefore nurses should have a transcultural understanding to understand patient's cultural needs.  I have also learned that transcultural nursing is connected to a holistic-centered perspective and this means that nurses put many factors into consideration to solve physical and mental problems (Fawcett, 2002).  Thus, transcultural nursing expands nurses knowledge, and allow them to understand social, cultural, and other factors, and hence offer culturally based care.

What did you learn about Madeleine Leininger?

 From the interview, I have learned that Madeleine value diversity and she is ready to transform nursing practice to ensure that transcultural nursing practices are integrated into the healthcare setting.  While he was working in a child guidance home as a clinical specialist, she realized that children were from different cultures and they behaved differently in terms of how they ate, talked, dressed, among other behaviors (Fawcett, 2002).  However, there was no culturally based care or in other cultural diversity was not valued.  In the interview, Madeleine shows that that she supports culturally based care.  She believes that professional care entails understanding the needs of diverse cultures and meeting their needs (Fawcett, 2002).  I have learned that Madeleine is devoted to ensure that by 2020, nurses will accept the reality that nursing is a transcultural based profession.

Do you share any of Leininger′s views, perspectives or ideas?

 The Leininger's idea that I would like to share is that transcultural nursing is rewarding. This is because nurses are not relying on mind-body perspective but they have gained new ways or rather new thinking and practices that have promoted healing (health) (Fawcett, 2002).  I agree that transcultural nursing is improving the client's well-being in that nurses are providing quality care with the help of cultural knowledge.

Were there any ideas, views or perspectives that you disagreed with?

I disagree with Leininger's ideas that nurses lack cultural and care knowledge.  I believe that you cannot work as a nurse if you do not have care knowledge.  Therefore, before nurses engage in nursing practices, they know what care is and know how to do care.  I believe that in nursing, basic knowledge is based on caring (Fawcett, 2002).  I think instead of using the term 'care',  Leininger should provide care knowledge or the phenomenon of care.

How might you use these ideas from the interview in your practice?

I would use the ideas from the interview by accepting diversity between groups of people.  In a  healthcare community,  I would  adapt to   different cultures and respect others' cultural values (Fawcett, 2002). I would first evaluate my own beliefs and accept others different beliefs and this method will allow me to take a holistic approach toward offering patient-centered care.

If you were interviewing Madeleine Leininger what would you ask her?

If I were interviewing Madeleine, the question that I would ask her is that “will the transcultural nursing research go beyond the nursing discipline to include an interdisciplinary approach to guide the research and practice?”

References

Fawcett, J. (2002). The Nurse Theorists: 21st-Century Updates—Madeleine M.

Leininger. Nursing science quarterly, 15(2), 131-136.