Thursday, November 28, 2019

Twilight Soundtrack free essay sample

There was one thing besides the movie that die-hard Twilight fans were waiting for this November. On November 4th, the â€Å"Twilight† movie soundtrack was released. To be honest, I felt a little embarrassed pre-ordering the CD. Didnt obsessed fans do that kind of stuff? Didnt teens who scream whenever they see a shiny silver Volvo do that stuff? Was I becoming a crazy Twi-hard? The first song sets the mood for the album. I think Muses â€Å"Supermassive Black Hole,† which played during the baseball scene, is the best song on the CD. The way its fast-paced rhythm matches the singers slow but cool voice makes you want to play ball in the rain. Okay, maybe not, but you get what I mean. Then there is the band that I believe fits perfectly with the Twilight phenomenon. Paramore has always been a top contender for a spot on this album, and its not surprising why: their music just screams teen angst. We will write a custom essay sample on Twilight Soundtrack or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And their song, â€Å"Decode,† in my opinion, sets the tone for the entire movie. Ill admit that the first time I listened to the album, I immediately skipped to track 10. My incentive for buying this CD was to hear Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen in the movie) sing â€Å"Never Think.† Since his catapult to stardom, some of his music has appeared on the Internet. So it was no surprise that he would lend his vocals to the soundtrack. Pattinsons music has been compared to Jeff Buckley: bluesy with lots of groaning. But there is also a soft, subtle quality to his voice – completely swoon-worthy. Yes, I have a crush †¦ leave me be! Other artists on this album include the Black Ghosts, Iron Wine, Linkin Park, and Blue Foundation. And of course, the soundtrack wouldnt be complete without â€Å"Bellas Lullaby.† I believe the CD does justice to the book and movie. Though I wish it had more fast-paced songs, I truly enjoyed it.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Joys and Pains of Teaching Seniors

The Joys and Pains of Teaching Seniors There is a certain attitude in high schools that Senior teachers often get off easy. Typically, their students finish sooner than the rest of the school. Further, the worst behaved students have often times left school for good by that point. Despite these positives, teaching Seniors is not always a bed of roses. So how do we keep students who are suffering from Chronic Senioritis motivated? I cant say I have all the answers, but I can give you some insights that might help you make it through the last day of graduation practice without losing your mind or your patience. Teaching Seniors requires a person with a special personality. You cant take things as seriously with Seniors because, honestly, you are dealing with at least four special circumstances: Non-college bound students who are doing fine and will definitely graduate. They know that by second semester they only need to pass (not excel) in your class and therefore they do not take it seriously. Note: If you teach an non-required elective, this is even worse.College-bound students who by their second semester have already been accepted to their University and know that it is VERY rare that students will be turned away based on their last semester grades unless they fail.Students who are in danger of not graduating and are doing everything they can to stay afloat and make that grade that will give them the required GPA.Students who have no chance of graduating on time. These can be divided into two subcategories: those that will take the required summer courses to graduate and those that wont. Further, the ones who wont are often under the false impression that somehow a miracle will happen and they will be allowed to graduate. (Whats really sad is that many schools allow the se individuals to actually walk across the stage - just not get a diploma. Why cant we teach our students the harsh reality of their poor decisions? They will learn them soon enough - so arent we doing them a disservice by not helping them learn coping mechanisms now? But thats another article for another day.) So with that said, you can probably see that your best and average students are usually not interested in giving it their all. The only people still interested in working hard are those who either do or dont have a chance to graduate on time. And they are most interested in getting work in that will raise their grades. What to do? You can choose to give up for the last semester and just show movies - loosely based on your topic. You can continue teaching as always hoping they will settle down and get back to the way they were first semester. Or you can change what you are doing and include interest building activities that could actually result in some thinking and learning. Ideas for Interest Building Activities: Have the entire Senior class work on a project that culminates near the end of the year. In my school, we always had a Mock Legislature. Kids spent time writing bills and then for two days, the bills went through committees. If they made it through the House committees then they had to go to the Senate committees. If they made it out of their, they had to go to the entire House and Senate. If they made it out of that, the Governor would determine if it was a worthy bill and either sign or veto it. Of course, the competition for the top spots (committee chairs, Speaker, Governor, etc.) would be advertised and students would have to apply and turn in resumes. etc. This kept kids motivated and interested in coming to school. Hold classroom debates Go back to Grade School. The oddest thing happens with last semester Seniors. They are eager to leave but they are also (secretly) afraid of leaving the safety of High School. Therefore, they seem to really enjoy activities in class that requ ire artwork, cutting and pasting, experimenting, even coloring. Make them curricularly-sound - they will enjoy it. Teach them about what they can expect in College. Spend a little time talking to them about college and about how to succeed. Teach them note-taking skills. Let them in on some truths - like how important it is to figure out each professor at the beginning of a course to know how best to turn in work that they will appreciate. Help them create goals. There is no greater gift that you can give them giving students a road map to making their dreams become reality. Play educational games. Some simulation games provide students wiht a real depth of understanding. Interact has an awesome line up of simulations throughout the curriculum. Even though something might be listed as for Middle School, it can still be used in the upper grade. In the end, motivating Seniors is more about changing your teaching style to keep their interest. This is not say that you have to be an entertainer but if you want to make the last months of school enjoyable each year, try one or more of these strategies and see what happens. Good Luck!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

People, Organisations and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

People, Organisations and Leadership - Essay Example These can be explained by looking at the reasons the employees who left the organisation gave for leaving and then analyzing them using popular human motivation theories. The following literature looks at the reasons which the employees gave for leaving and the analysis. Managers who left indicated he following factors as contributing to their need to leave; Isolation As for the junior line managers, one of the main reasons that they gave for leaving was that they felt isolated and that they were not being involved in policy development. Two things arise from this. One of them is the fact that the executive managers failed to involve and consult the junior managers in the development of policies. It is an essential practice to always involve everyone in the organisation in any policy and strategy development process. Failing to do that will only lead to the employees feeling that they were left out in the process and this can increase the possibility of resistance to the strategies d eveloped (Hubbard, Taylor, and Pocknee 1996). At the same time, failing to involve the employees in development of policy and strategy development will only mean that the employees will most likely not agree with the changes (Turner and Crawford 1998). There is no new policy that does not involve a shift of the way the firm is operated. People generally do not like change. People do not trust change processes because they are never sure of how the process will affect their lives and work (Helen 2005). In this regard, people are built to naturally refuse and resist change. This could be the reason why the changes introduced did not work. The other reissue with failing to involve the line managers in the process is that the managers may have felt overlooked. According to Maslow’s law, people’s needs change as their lives progress. In this example for instance, the needs of an employee are not like those of a line manager. A line manager, apart from having a good job and a good pay, would like to have job satisfaction (Cooper, Funnell, and Lee 2002). This job satisfaction comes from knowing that he is respected and recognised by the senior management (Bangs and Schaper 2003). When this recognition is denied him by the senior management when management fails to consult him or her, they may have a feeling that they have not been not respected, and that thus have reduced job satisfaction. At the same time, recognition by the senior management is more likely to offer the manager a way to grow and advance in the workplace. Lack of respect from the juniors The junior line managers who left also talked about the fact that they did not feel respected by the employees they were managing. This can be a particularly big source of job dissatisfaction regardless of how much the managers were earning. Money is not the only satisfaction source in a job because there are other very complex issues affecting satisfaction and motivation (Grenway 2008). This issue is p robably connected with the above issue of isolation. The lack of respect from the subordinates could be because they know that their managers do not have the full backing of the senior management. According to the policy developed, line managers were supposed to have a closer monitoring of the employees in order to increase production. This may have increase worker dissatisfaction because as Turner and Crawford 1998 say, people do not like to be monitored