Community

“ Our kids ‘s jobs begin in the place, and can be solved at place. ”

Rearing is cardinal to the endurance and success of the human race. Everyone who has of all time lived has had parents, and most grownups in the universe become parents. Opinions about rearing abound, but surprisingly small solid scientific information or considered contemplation exists about rearing.

Rearing is a occupation whose primary object of attending and action is the kid. Children do non and can non turn up as lone persons but parenting is besides a position in the life class with effects for parents themselves ( Femmie Juffer, 2007 ) 5.

“ Children Begin by loving their parents ; as they grow older they judge them ; sometimes they forgive them. ”

– Academy award Wilde ( English humourist )

Since Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby discovered that kids use their parents as a secure base to carry through their fond regard and geographic expedition demands, an impressive organic structure of empirical research has been devoted to the hunt for the beginnings and effects of ( in ) secure child-parent attachment relationships.

Secure attachment relationships have been associated with better societal competency and with more optimum parent and peer relationships than insecure fond regards. The construct of secure attachment relationships and the related construct of parental sensitiveness appear to be extremely important for the clinical field, including the development and rating of attachment-based intercessions for at-risk and clinical households.

The most of import portion of parenting is love and seting in clip and energy to back up kids. Although love is the most of import demand, it is non plenty. Unless parents understand their kids ‘s unique demands, they are unable to give their kids what kids today need. Parents may be giving love, but non in ways that are most helpful to their kid ‘s development.

“ Without an apprehension of their kids ‘s demands, parents can non efficaciously back up their kids. ”

On the other manus, some parents are “ willing ” to pass more clip with their kids, but do n’t because they do n’t cognize what to make or their kids reject their attempts. So many parents try to speak with their childs, but their childs merely shut up and state nil. These parents are willing, but do n’t cognize how to acquire their childs to speak. Some parents do n’t desire to shout at, hit, or penalize their kids, but they merely do n’t cognize another manner. Since speaking with their kids has non worked, penalty or the menace of penalty is the lone manner they know.

“ To give up old ways of parenting, new ways must be employed. ”

The universe is sing a crisis in rearing. Every twenty-four hours, there are increasing studies of kid and adolescent force, low self-pride, Attention Deficit Disorder, drug usage, adolescent gestation, and self-destruction. Almost all parents today are oppugning both the new and old ways of rearing. Nothing seems to be working, and our kids ‘s jobs continue to increase.

Some parents believe that these jobs come from being excessively permissive and giving kids excessively much, while others contend that out-of-date patterns of parenting, like paddling and shouting, are responsible. Others believe that these new jobs are caused by negative alterations in society.

Excessively much Television, advertisement, or excessively much force and sex on Television and in films are pegged by many as the perpetrators. Surely society and how it influences our kids are portion of the job, and some helpful solutions can be legislated by the authorities, but the biggest portion of the job starts at place. Our kids ‘s jobs begin in the place and can be solved at place. Besides looking to alter society, parents must besides recognize that they hold the power to raise strong, confident, concerted, and compassionate kids.

To get by with the alterations in society, parents need to alter their parenting attack. During the past two hundred old ages, society has made an historic and dramatic alteration towards greater single freedom and rights. Even though our modern Western society is now organized by the rules of freedom and human rights, parents still use rearing accomplishments from the Dark Ages.

Parents need to update their parenting accomplishments to raise healthy and concerted kids and teens. Businesss know that if they are to remain competitory in the free market, they need to maintain changing and updating. Likewise, if parents want their kids to be able to vie in the free universe, they must fix their kids with the most effectual and modern attacks to rearing ( John Gray, 2007 ) 11.

Several societal tendencies are now disputing parent-child relationships. Single parent households may be the most at hazard. Although, there ever have been individual parents in the United States, the causes of lone parenting have changed. Single parents of old coevalss were chiefly widows and widowmans. Parents are now more likely to be individual because of divorce or ne’er being married. Individual parents in today ‘s society may be more stray and possibly more disillusioned than the individual parents of the yesteryear. The concluding study of the National Commission on Children, approximately 25 per centum ( more than 16 million ) kids lived with merely one parent in 1989, twice every bit many as in 1970.

Parental employment places a great strain on parent-child relationships. Parents may hold to depend on other health professionals, for illustration, to put bounds and supply counsel during their kids ‘s formative old ages. Between 1970 and 1990, the proportion of female parents with kids under age six who were working or looking for work outside their places rose from 32 per centum to 58 per centum. Today, about 10.9 million kids under six have female parents in the paid labour force ( National Commission on Children, 1991 ) 74.

Three facets of rearing have been highlighted as cardinal to kids ‘s early linguistic communication and acquisition: ( 1 ) the frequence of kids ‘s engagement in everyday acquisition activities ( e.g. , shared book reading, storytelling ) ; ( 2 ) the quality of caregiver-child battles ( e.g. , parents ‘ cognitive stimulation and sensitivity/responsiveness ) ; and ( 3 ) the proviso of age-appropriate acquisition stuffs ( e.g. , books and plaything ) .

Early on and consistent engagement in everyday acquisition activities, such as shared book reading, storytelling, and learning about the letters of the alphabet, supply kids with a critical foundation for early acquisition, linguistic communication growing and emergent literacy. A overplus of surveies besides indicate that the quality of parent-caregiver interactions play a formative function in kids ‘s early linguistic communication and acquisition ( Tamis-LeMonda, 2009 ) 52.

In the yesteryear, psychologists analyzing the development of kids focused about entirely on kids ‘s relationships with their female parents. Today, they have come to hold that male parents play a unique and important function in fostering and steering kids ‘s development. Many experts now believe that male parents can be merely as nurturing and sensitive with their babes as female parents. As their kids turn, male parents take on added functions of steering their kids ‘s rational and societal development. Even when a male parent is ‘just playing ‘ with his kids, he is fostering their development ( Ross Parke, 2006 ) 25.

Need for the study

The National Commission on Children ‘s national study titled Speaking of Kids ( 1991 ) studies that a bulk of American grownups, irrespective of age, race, matrimonial, or parental position believe that it is harder to be a parent today than it used to be ( 88 per centum ) and that parents today frequently are unsure about what is the right thing to make in raising their kids ( 86 per centum ) . Compared to ten old ages ago, respondents believed kids today are worse off with regard to their moral and spiritual preparation ( 53 per centum ) and the supervising and subject they receive from their parents ( 56 per centum ) .

Children themselves wished that their parents were more persevering in puting and implementing regulations. Thirty-nine per centum of kids 10-17 said they “ sometimes ” wished their parents were stricter or maintain a closer ticker over them and their lives. Another 8 per centum said they wish this a batch. Merely about 1 per centum said they “ ne’er ” wanted their parents to be stricter or more attentive. Because of the rapid gait of alteration in our society and an increasing consciousness of and esteem for cultural and values diverseness, parents will go on to be challenged to spread out on traditional manners of childrearing.

The wellbeing of our state ‘s kids is clearly at hazard. Harmonizing to the National Commission on Children ( 1991 ) , one in four striplings prosecute in societal behaviours that can take to serious longterm trouble ; many more are vulnerable for future jobs ( National Commission on Children, 1991 ) 72.

Most parents do their best to supply a loving and nurturing atmosphere for their kids. Poor rearing includes the undermentioned behaviours:

• Maltreatment
• An environment where there is a batch of reasoning and struggle
• Ignoring the kid

Some parents are overwhelmed by their ain personal state of affairss and are unable to look after their kids ‘s demands suitably. The kids who were ignored or who lived in high-stress families had problem showing themselves verbally. They besides had problem with societal accomplishments. Sharing plaything was hard for them, and they had problem playing. The British survey concluded that the deprived kids really started preschool with developing encephalons.

The kids who were holding problem with their societal accomplishments could be helped if they received intensive aid from their instructors. Unfortunately, instructors are busy caring for the full category and have problem happening the clip to give the kids who are behind the degree of attending they need ( JC Redmond, 2009 ) 66.

A survey by UNICEF of 21 industrialised states, An Overview of Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries ( 2007 ) , came to the singular decision that there is no strong relationship between per capita GDP and kid well-being.

A government-funded reappraisal in Britain of research crossing 25 old ages found that the incidence of many mental wellness jobs in kids had doubled since the 1970s. Today, one in 10 British kids – that ‘s more than a million – suffers from a clinically recognizable upset, such as depression, anxiousness, anorexia or terrible anti-social behavior ( Tom McGurk, 2009 ) 71.

“ Surveies have shown that kids who go through their parents ‘ divorce have more behavior jobs, symptoms of psychological maladjustment, lower academic accomplishment, Social troubles and debatable relationships with both parents.

In United States of America, reported statistics Tells that Children from fatherless places are:

• 5 times more likely to perpetrate self-destruction
• 32 times more likely to run off from place.
• 20 times more likely to hold behavioural upsets
• 14 times more likely to perpetrate colza.
• 9 times more likely to drop out of high school.
• 10 times more likely to mistreat chemical substances ( become drug nuts )
• 9 times more likely to stop up in a state-operated establishment
• 20 times more likely to stop up in prison.
• 3 million teenage misss have sexually transmitted diseases

At least 1 out of 4 adolescents ( between 14years to 19years ) suffer from sexually transmitted diseases ( CRISP, 2009 ) 73.

Some of the rough worlds faced by kids in India are presented below:

Less than half of India ‘s kids between the age 6 and 14 merely go to school.

95 in every 1000 kids born in India do non see their 5th birthday.

Amongst married adult females in India today, 75 % were under age at the clip of their matrimonies.

58 % of India ‘s kids below the age of 2 old ages are non to the full vaccinated. And 24 % of these kids do non have any signifier of inoculation.

More that 50 % of India ‘s kids are malnourished.

More than 50 per cent of misss fail to inscribe in school ; those who do are likely to drop out by the age of 12.

CHILD LABOR

19 % of kids are employed for domestic aid.

25 % of the victims of commercial sexual development in India are below 18 old ages of age.

Large Numberss of kids work merely because there is no alternate – since, they do non hold entree to good quality schools.

Poor and bonded households frequently “ sell ” their kids to contractors who promise moneymaking occupations in the metropoliss and the kids end up being employed in whorehouses, hotels and domestic work. Many run off and happen a life on the streets ( Sharanam Centre, 2007 ) 75.

Everyone knows good parenting is good for the wellness of kids, but surveies show that good parenting besides consequences in kids who grow up to be healthier grownups. Research indicates that grownups who had nerve-racking relationships with their parents in childhood are more likely to endure from disease in midlife. “ Since parents are normally the most meaningful beginning of societal support for much of early life, the perceptual experience of parental lovingness, and parental loving itself, may hold of import regulative and prognostic effects on biological and psychological wellness and unwellness ” ( Claudia M. Lenart, 2009 ) 55.

Joint detention and shared parenting ( i.e. , joint physical and legal detention ) have been studied for more than a quarter-century, with the bulk of surveies bespeaking important benefits for kids. When parents cooperate and minimise struggle, kids do better with shared parenting/joint physical detention.

Rearing Can Overrule Effect of Genes in How Babies Respond to Stress, the survey found both cistrons and rearing were of import to the development of how babies ‘ encephalon which helps to modulate cardiac responses to emphasize. The findings suggest that although cistrons play a function in the development of physiological responses to emphasize, environmental experiences such as female parents ‘ sensitive care-giving behaviour can hold a strong influence, adequate to alter the consequence that cistrons have on physiology really early in life ( W. Roger Mills-Koonce, 2008 ) 68.

It has been known for a long clip that life in poorness amendss kids ‘s rational abilities. Good Rearing Raises Kids ‘ Mental Skills. Survey Shows Better Parenting Skills Sharpen Minds of Kids in Poverty ( Martin Downs, 2008 ) 62.

Babies need predictability and security, which they get when their female parent and male parent respond systematically, quickly, and suitably to their calls, smilings and other signals. As a babe develops a relationship with his or her female parent and male parent, he comes to prefer them to other grownups, in a procedure known as fond regard. Psychologists agree that babes with secure fond regards to their parents have better opportunities to develop into happy, successful, and well-balanced kids and grownups.

The research worker had personal experience about the effects of rearing both its ailment effects and good effects. Investigator being specialising in the field community wellness nursing felt the demand and was motivated to carry on the survey on cognition sing the parenting roles among the twosomes of urban and rural community and learn them about rearing functions with the aid of multimedia bundle.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

“ A comparative survey to measure the effectivity of multimedia bundle on cognition sing rearing functions among the twosomes of selected urban and rural community ” .

Aim

To measure the bing degree of cognition sing rearing functions among twosomes of the urban and rural community.

To measure the effectivity of multimedia bundle on cognition sing rearing functions among twosomes of the urban and rural community.

To compare the pretest and posttest degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the twosomes of urban and rural community.

To compare the pretest and posttest degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the male and female parent of urban and rural community.

To compare the pretest and posttest degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the male parent of the urban and rural community.

To compare the pretest and posttest degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the female parent of the urban and rural community.

To tie in the average betterment of cognition mark on rearing functions with the selected demographic variables.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

Effectiveness

Refers to the result of the multimedia bundle sing rearing functions among twosomes of urban and rural community, which will be evaluated by the structured cognition questionnaire prepared by the research worker.

Multimedia Package

Refers to logically designed information ‘s with the usage of modern media to discourse and learn sing rearing functions. This bundle consists of learning stuff in the signifier of ocular literacy and picture in a sequence which explains the parent ‘s function in general parenting, developmental mileposts, cognitive development, moral development and acquisition disablements.

Rearing

It refers to the public presentation of assorted functions and activities of raising a kid instead than the biological relationship by the parents.

Rearing Functions

It refers to the function of the parents in raising the kid. Roles included in this survey are about

General Parenting which includes significance and constructs of Responding, Preventing, Monitoring, Mentoring and Modeling ;

Developmental Milestones which includes significance, designation of age specific undertakings of the kids, ways to assist the kid to achieve mileposts ;

Cognitive Development which includes significance, phases of cognitive development and ways to better the cognitive development ;

Moral Development which includes significance, phases of moral development and ways to better the moral development of the kid and

Learning Disabilities which includes significance, causes, early warning marks and ways to take attention of kid with such job.

Cognition

Refers to the ability of twosomes to understand and reply the inquiry on rearing functions as elicited by structured cognition questionnaire.

Couples

Husband and married woman of selected urban and rural community with 1-6 year of married life holding kids.

Premise

Couples may hold some cognition sing rearing functions.

Adequate cognition on rearing functions may assist the twosomes to supply effectual parenting.

Adequate cognition sing rearing functions may forestall many childhood jobs.

NULL HYPOTHESES

NH1: There is no important difference between pre and station trial degree of cognition sing rearing functions among the urban and rural twosomes at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

NH2: There is no important difference between pre and station trial degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the urban and rural twosomes at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

NH3: There is no important difference between pre and station trial degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the male and female parent of urban and rural community at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

NH4: There is no important difference between pre and station trial degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the urban male parent and rural male parent at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

NH5: There is no important difference between pre and station trial degree of cognition sing rearing functions between the urban female parent and rural female parent at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

NH6: There is no important association between the average betterment cognition mark on rearing functions and selected demographic variables of the urban and rural twosomes at the degree of P & lt ; 0.05

Boundary line

The survey is delimited to a period of four hebdomad.

The survey is delimited to the twosomes populating under the same roof.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

A conceptual model or theoretical account is made up of constructs that are mental image of a phenomenon. These constructs are linked together to show their relationship between them.

The conceptual model is based on TRANSTHEORETICAL MODEL/ SOCIAL CHANGE MODEL ( JAMES.O.PROCHASKA ) . This model consists of the undermentioned elements.

PRECONTEMPLATION:

The theory says that the Individual has the job ( whether he/she recognizes it or non ) and has no purpose of altering and goes through the procedure of Consciousness raising ( information and cognition ) , Dramatic alleviation ( function playing ) and Environmental reevaluation ( how job affects physical environment ) .

In this survey the research worker perceives the importance of the job and prepares the multimedia bundle with extended reappraisal of literature and expert ‘s sentiment to better the cognition of twosomes in selected urban and rural community sing the parenting functions on general parenting, kid ‘s cognitive development, developmental mileposts, moral development and acquisition disablements.

Contemplation:

This phase involves the Individual ‘s acknowledgment of the job and he/she is earnestly believing about altering and goes through the procedure of Self-reevaluation ( measuring one ‘s feelings sing behaviour ) .

In this survey the research worker approaches the twosomes of selected urban and rural community and obtains their consent to take part in the survey after supplying equal information sing the demand for the survey and benefits thereby makes the twosomes to go cognizant of the job.

Preparation:

In this phase the single recognizes the job and intends to alter the behaviour through the procedure of Self-liberation ( committedness or belief in ability to alter ) .

In this survey the research worker conducts the pre trial appraisal of cognition sing rearing functions among the twosomes of selected urban and rural community with the aid of the structured questionnaire. The structured interview agenda consists of demographic variables like age, gender, educational position, business, household income per month, faith, type of household, no of old ages of married life, no of life kids, age of the kid, topographic point of life, manner of acquiring information about parenting and structured questionnaire incorporating inquiries sing rearing functions on general parenting, kid ‘s cognitive development, moral development, developmental mileposts and larning disablements. The research worker prepares the twosomes for deriving the cognition sing rearing functions.

Action:

In this phase the Individual has enacted consistent behaviour alteration through the procedure of Reinforcement direction, Helping relationships, Counterconditioning and Stimulus control.

In this survey the research worker by supplying the multimedia bundle which consists of talk in the signifier of pictural and picture shows sing rearing functions on general parenting, kid ‘s cognitive development, moral development, developmental mileposts and larning disablements provides a assisting relationship to derive equal cognition to supply good parenting to their kids.

Care:

In this phase single maintains new behaviour. In this survey the research worker conducts the station trial appraisal of cognition after one hebdomad from the twenty-four hours of intercession utilizing the same structured questionnaire which was used for pre trial to cognize the betterment in the cognition. If twosomes had equal cognition support was given by supplying brochure as care of cognition and twosomes with unequal cognition reappraisal was done.

OUTLINE OF THE REPORT

Chapter I: Dealt with the background of the survey, need for the survey, statement of the job, aims, operational definitions, void hypotheses, premises, boundary lines and conceptual model.

Chapter II: Deals with the reappraisal of related literature.

Chapter III: Presents the methodological analysis of survey and program for informations analysis.

Chapter IV: Focuss on informations analysis and reading.

Chapter V: Enumerates the treatment of survey.

Chapter VI: Gives the sum-up, decision, deductions, recommendations and restrictions.

The study ends with selected Bibliography and Appendices.

Community service should be required for high school students to graduate. Teaching students responsibility, respectfulness, and the lessons of life are some of the many benefits to community service. Students need to learn the importance of a community as a whole and experience the real world before they leave high school because making a difference in your community can help students realize how much assistance your community needed in the first place. Teenagers need to realize that knowledge does not only stem from book sense, it also includes common sense and how society works.

Many individuals may understand that there are people around the world that are not as privileged as most, but being able to help those in need can be truly eye-opening to students who are ignorant of how society works. Few people may think that students already have too much on their plate without adding more responsibilities, but I feel that community service can put the real world into a different outlook for teenagers. Community service can help students learn to truly appreciate the things that they have in life and how they can help their community become a better place.

One of the major reasons that teenagers feel irritated with a school is because they feel as if high school is not teaching you how to be a responsible adult. However, required community service hours can change this perspective. A student who believes that reading a book is pointless can help out the community by reading to children and helping them read as well. Working within your community can take what many students think is pointless learning and change it into a real-life skill.

Many individual students are not as invested in learning as others. Students can learn from the mistakes of the others that have messed up along the way when they visit homeless shelters that have recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Students who have debated dropping out of high school can talk to people at local food banks that regret dropping out as they are now struggling to put food on the table for their families because they do not have the required education. Teenagers can learn how important their future is from visiting and assisting local food banks and homeless shelters.

Life is a learning process – it leads you through series of ups and downs that, unfortunately, one is unable to foresee. I possess a diversity of experiences, so I owe a debt of gratitude to the people especially my family, friends and the community has contributed to my intellect of who I am and my opinion of the world.

My life changing experience is an interesting story to the average teenage situation. This gave me a true outlook on people and their behaviour. My identity had been shaped by influences of nationality, race, ethnic group, physical appearance, culture, talents, interests, and language

Culture is defined as the behaviours of a particular group of people that are commonly considered to be the tradition which are conveyed from generation to generation. Identity can be defined as a set of personal or behavioural characteristics by which an individual can be associated with a certain group or the state of an individual having some specific qualities which identify him with a particular group of people or things. The combination of these two nouns (culture and identity) gives rise to cultural identity which refers to the sense of belongingness to a particular group or culture. I strongly believe that although some cannot be related directly, all these qualities will influence my graduate studies in MA Program at the KAIPTC.

This journey begun in a community called Hohoe in the Volta Region where I had both my Basic and Senior Secondary education. I found myself in that community because my father was Medical Practitioner specialized in Obstetrics and Gynecologist at the Hohoe Government Hospital. After my Secondary Education, I have a long-held interest in becoming a Computer Engineer. Somewhere along the line, i changed my mind by joining the Police.

In 2005, I went through the rudiment of the Police training and had my first posting to the Fingerprint Section at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters where i was selected to go for further training at the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the United States secret Service at the Scotland Yard for a period of one year. Not until I was offered the scholarship to continue my studies at the FBI, I have always been the same. And I will be the first to admit this: it was very scary training. I was unable to predict what was ahead of me since I was about 1,686 miles away from home, where I had built every memory of my life. When making the choice to upgrade myself, I found that I was repeatedly asking myself the same question: Why would I want to leave something so great? That is my parents, and the friends I socialize with in my community? For me, the chance of finding something greater, in a place that I had never experienced before, was the motivation I needed to just go for it no matter the occurrence. The answer to my question is the sole reason I chose to take chance ten years ago, and why I am convinced moving away from my hometown and country to study outside was the best decision I could ever made. Moving from Ghana to Scotland Yard, little did I know that it was one of the greatest decision i have ever made and that has been the biggest turning point in my life.

Due to my cultural identity, I have individually and collectively experienced many challenges at the Scotland Yard. One challenge is that of persistent identities in the form of racial perceptions. This is because many people keep on asking me about my race because my bodily appearance and complexion does not suggest I am of a Ghanaian origin and my mates feel superior than those of us from Africa. They tend to perceive us as inferior, wrong in all aspects and strange.

Another challenge I faced as a result of my cultural identity is prejudice. My fellow college mates who appeared to have come from wealthy backgrounds tend to show intolerant and unfairly biased attitude towards me and other people of my status. I missed my family, friends and the over familiar warmth of my Community. I was used to the home-made food prepared by my mother especially fufu and lightsoup on weekends. One thing that came to mind was how i was going to live on my own, meaning, be responsible for every decision I made and be accountable for my financial crisis if I overspent. The fact that I was able to independently perform the task that was assigned me has heightened my confidence.

I had to adjust to live the new style, culture and social life. Everything was strange to me. I neither spoke French, Spanish or Latin languages. It was a problem. I realized I had to put more efforts and embellish my sentences. I lived in mortal fear of loosing friends I made or even getting confused with documents because I do not speak French. I was ridiculously shy and hate having to repeat myself or worst, asking people to repeat themselves. I struggle with French accent and that got my share of strange looks from colleagues or choice of words that may not mean exactly what I wanted to say or are not commonly heard.

Despite the majority of people I met, being amazingly nice, I also dealt with my share of racists and bigots. People made fun of my race, or made me feel I did not belong because of my ethnicity. But, through all the ups and downs of immigrant life and adjusting to life abroad, somehow I managed to fall in love with USA. At some point, I realized that “fitting in” was not up to anyone else’s but me. If I wanted my colleagues to embrace me, I was going to have to embrace it first.

I met some incredible people both Citizen and other international students who I am proud to call my friends today. I saw things from different perspectives. These friends taught me about how strong we all are, but in different ways. At the end of the programme, formed a Working Group comprising colleagues of diverse backgrounds from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Australia, United Kingdom, Geneva and South Africa. I have since been an active member that, use modern techniques of investigations and profer solutions to emerging economic crimes such as Money laundering, cyberfraud and Nacrotic cases in a couple of countries. I find it overwhelming with the skills and confidence I have developed.

Moving forward, i went back to the University where i graduated with BSc. Computer Science and LL.B. Though, I am still learning, i now have a much more confidence than I used to be because my employers consult me on issues though i am a junior rank.

The study of Law at the Faculty level had a significant impact in my life that has made me a much more empathetic person. But most importantly, it has taught me that the respect for diversity, equality and fairness be it one’s identity in society, age, religious beliefs, culture, gender or race should always be my hall mark. According to Dalai Lama ,’Conflicts arise when we dwell on secondary differences between us; differences of nationality, faith, whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated. What’s more helpful to remember is that we are all human beings and from that point of view, we are all the same.” Having lived in a couple of different countries in the past, I cannot help but say that respect for human rights is universal. When we come out with new friends of diverse professional backgrounds, we develop a much richer understanding of the world.

With regards to experiences that had a positive influence on me was when I led teams on the field to conduct investigations in five Regions concurrently because of my technical know-how. Honestly, I didn’t know where to start. It was hard to pinpoint an exact moment where I began to question my values and overall, my perspective on certain aspects of issues I was confronted with. I faced lots of opposition from my colleagues because of stereotype (exaggerated generalization of being a female leader).

Essay Outline

Argument: Although budding a new university is bound to bring about many benefits to us as a community, it is also bound to come With its pack of disadvantages.

Support 1: With a new university in my community, there will be many advantageous.

Support 2: We will get to Interact With people from Other parts Of the country.

Support 3: I come from a traditional community, which morals, peace and quiet.

Thesis: It will be upon our community to decide what they feel is important to them; the expansion/development of the community or the retention of our values.

Model Essay

Developments are very critical in any region. However, everything has its price. For instance, development Of

one area could mean Increased cost of living In the area and in another area, it could mean the disruption of social values in the community. For instance, although building a new university is bound to bring about many benefits to us as a community, it is also bound to come with its of disadvantages.

With a new university in my community, there will be many advantages. For starters, there will be exposure.

My small community will be able to expand due to the university. This is because an educational institution creates all forms of employment. There will be bookshops, hotels, hostels, residential apartments, restaurants, clubs, and even lecturing opportunities.

The other side of exposure is that we will get to interact with people from other parts of the country. This

widens our thinking and helps us make new friends. Our local football team is not doing so well, so if the university team can give us some great scores, then we wdl have new heroes to support. We will also be going to watch university teams as part of our recreation activities.

The downside of everything is that I come from a traditional community, which values morals, peace and

quiet. With a university around, all of that will be flushed down the toilet. The other issue is that with the increased

population, there will be very little space. Apartment or hostel owners might just raise the rent because if you can’t pay up, there is a student somewhere who desperately needs a room.

Obviously, education is crucial to the growth of any new area. However, this often comes with its unique

costs to the area in which any learning Institution is set up. As such, it will be upon our community to decide what

they feel important to them; the expansion/development of the community or the retention of our values.

Useful Expressions

Discussions of race and community relations in all facets of American life are often limited to generalized attitudes that are at base, interracial. That is to say, the dominant, or white culture, sets standards for the perceived subordinate culture. The expectation is that all cultures that make up the United States must adhere to what is American in order to benefit from the promises of America and its Constitution, that of liberty and prosperity. To complicate matters, the dominant culture also dictates who reaps the benefits of Americanism, despite behavior.

Throughout American history there have been many folks who challenge such notions for the sake of a single cause. Whether it is the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, or education and housing reform, protest, or the ability of an oppressed group to say “no” to injustice and lack of choice grounded this nation. While on the surface such protests are commendable and admirable, an undercurrent exists that is usually left unchecked. Freedom to earn money and prosper as well as own land is within ones rights as an American that have been upheld as “self-evident.

What complicates such a simplistic and arguably accessible accomplishment is that one group determines how far another group can go, the extent its members can be successful. This notion of superiority is seen within cultures in this country as well. When discussing the history of Blacks in America, the legacy of slavery must be acknowledged as a constant line feeding into ideas of superiority. Such ideas permeate attitudes of whites towards blacks, yet ironically; it also nourishes beliefs within the black community and causes the drawing of class distinctions.

Adopting the attitudes and beliefs of ones oppressors and pinning such expectations –not being open to examining and maintaining ones own culture in the midst of or in spite of a dominant culture contributes to the holding back of progress. It can be construed that uplifting the race, based on white paternalistic notions of respectability serves a very limited purpose. Ignoring or attempting to eradicate free black Americans relatively young past in order to accept and uphold standards designed for another culture, namely the dominant one, only serves to polarize an already fragmented culture.

Since before freedom, free blacks in the North established class lines comparable to their white counterparts. There was a clear black aristocracy made up of well-educated, wealthy and professional blacks. Many determined that the closer they were to white culture the more superior, much like the stratification that existed on slave plantations when the slaves who possessed the lighter complexions found themselves working closer to the master and his family. Such slaves often experienced privileges that the darker-skinned slaves could not even imagine. The legacy of slavery is most prevalent as class distinctions are drawn among blacks.

Where this is seen even more, ironically at time just a half-century beyond slavery, is during the Great Migration. Many established northern blacks saw themselves as successful, having achieved middle class status. While working on uplifting the race to a level of respectability, that is, a most acceptable group among middle class whites, they adhered to faith, hope, and charity. Faith occurred in the form of the church, hope in the manner in which many experienced prosperity, and charity, that which was offered the less fortunate migrants fresh from the cotton fields, who needed to be groomed for proper behavior.

Even with faith, hope, and charity, like their white counterparts, the sense of superiority among the established black community made it clear that only a select few would reap the benefits of the liberty and prosperity promised to all. Eastern cities like Washington, DC had a clear distinction between free blacks and the black aristocracy. The lines were drawn with regard to churches one attended, clubs in which one belonged, and neighborhoods where one could purchase homes. Likewise, whites, too, determined class lines based on what they deemed appropriate behavior of the Negro.

For example, in 1916 Mary Church Terrell, daughter of one of America’s first black millionaires, was refused service at a drug store soda fountain. She and her husband formally protested to the store manager, who immediately apologized for the clerk and said, “We do not care to serve people of any race at our fountain who are not genteel, but such objection certainly could not obtain against your wife, yourself and any high class colored person” (Gatewood 67). Clearly for some whites the aristocrat of color warranted different and better treatment than did ordinary blacks.

In black communities throughout the US, old established families occupied a position of aristocracy. As a black observer noted, “almost all communities possess a few thoroughbred families who glory in lineal ancestry and carry wherever they go the tone and flavor of unconscious refinement, pride, that manifest their culture, achievement, behavior, and ancestry. Family trees genealogical charts often included an assortment of European noblemen, white American statesmen, African kings, and Indian Chieftains. Even Chicago where there is nothing old, I found the same spirit” (Higgenbotham 70).

In Chicago the black population in 1880 was 6480 and increased seven-fold by 1910. There were groups called the 400, the upper 10’s, and the high-toned people. (Higgenbotham 117). Stratification in black society, one Chicago editor noted was “proceeding along its natural course exactly analogous, or at least similar to, the formation of social groups of the white race in this country” (Gatewood 124). The Great Migration forced the established Black community in Chicago to make major adjustments and accommodations.

Historically, black churches and civic groups had, like their counterparts in the South, resisted any involvement in social issues. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants, however, simply could not be ignored; churches, being African- Americans richest and most influential institutions, were quickly called to action in the effort to help migrants properly adjust themselves to life in Chicago. Blacks already living in Chicago, Old Settlers were aware of the implications of the Great Migration. The Old Settlers strove to establish respect from whites and a sense of equality within the city’s socio-economics system.

With the arrival of southern blacks, most of whom were unfamiliar with urban mores, the Old Settlers feared that the progress they had achieved would be dashed. They feared that all whites would equate all blacks with the rural and uneducated migrants. Moreover, the Old Settlers realized the enormous strains placed on many of the migrants who arrived lacking a place to live or a sense of direction in the achievement of personal stability. This is where the church and civic organizations played a big role in offering shelter, food, and clothes to the migrants until they could do for themselves.

These organizations provided services for migrants, such as assisting them in obtaining a job. They did it for charity yet the self-interest; yet capitalism was ever present. Borrowing from ideologies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, the church and civic groups adopted the lifting as we climb approach. For men it was good for business, for the women, status was most crucial so they were motivated by position in the community to be charitable. This is many ways mimics the white progressives whose Christian-based affect was prevalent in their charitable work.

Likewise, a certain sense of hypocrisy and fear of association influenced the intentions and efforts to Americanize, or make the migrants Chicagoans, the people they were assisting, often resulted in a miscarriage of sensitivity to the values of an established culture. Gwendolyn Wright in her text Building the Dream offers that such reformers “did bring much genuine concern, but they brought moralistic middle-class biases to their crusade” (Wright 129). This attitude had an impact on the housing issue for blacks in Chicago as lines were drawn, gates were built, and people were shut out.

For so many, Chicago was the land of promise and potential. The dream of liberty and prosperity seemed very close at hand as hopeful migrants left their homes in the Deep South. They met many established Blacks in Northern urban centers who “visualized the progress of their race in terms of education, personal economic success, judicious political action, and co-operation with powerful and influential white people” (Drake 51). From 1890 to 1920 economic, political, and social lives of blacks in Chicago underwent tremendous transformation. (Knupfer 30).

It was believed that the influx of blacks had “Negroes rapidly replacing foreigners as Chicago’s problem” (Drake 60). Given this information, advancing the race became an issue and many aristocratic and middle-class blacks felt the dichotomy of being black in America much like their foreign counterparts; allegiance to an ethnic group as well as to America. The result of this duality lead to the class divisions reminiscent of the days of slavery. The select few living life much like the whites or aspiring to do so and many left behind eating the scraps, when they could get them.

PA is attending an adult numeracy class because he was sent by his employer. His employer completed his Level 2 National Test last year and is now insisting that all his employees follow suit. Non-completion will result in no promotion and no annual pay rise Initial assessment The key implications here are that PA is currently working at Entry Level 3 in most numeric areas. He should be able to increase his ability level and undertake Level 1 without too many problems.

However he needs to achieve Level 2 in order to gain his pay rise and promotion so this will put him under a lot of preasure and additional stress. According to Tennant (1988), PA, as a 36 year old, is in his midlife transitional period and will be “Adopting a changing time perspective and revising career plans”; this can be substantiated as PA is attending a numeracy course because of changes that are taking place at work. His employer has stated that the course must be completed and the Level 2 National Test must be passed or PA will not receive a promotion or his annual pay rise.

This is an unusual situation, as according to Charnley & Jones (1987), “Getting a pay rise as a direct result of tuition is extremely rare”. Patterns of adult learning reflect class divisions in society and the different expectations and perceptions resulting from those divisions. Factors such as social class, gender and race impact on decisions to learn, as each is associated with particular cultural pressures and norms. According to Maslow (1973) once physiological needs have been met safety or security becomes predominant.

In other words, there is a need for self-preservation and a common concern for the future e. g. , will we be able to maintain our property and our job in order to provide shelter and food tomorrow and the next day? It is likely that this is the stage PA is at particularly as he knows that if he does not pass the relevant exams he will not get a pay rise or promotion. Peer and reference group influences can also be extremely strong (Evans, 2000). People who are habitual learners tend to belong to groups where education is seen as a normal activity.

They also tend to be involved in other forms of social participation. Non-learners belong to groups for whom engaging in learning is not part of normal behaviour – this is certainly true of PA who would not have engaged initially in numeracy earning through his own choice, and who, until recently would not engage in any social activity e. g. attending a school fund raising evening. Among male manual workers, for example, there is a strong culture of group conformity and solidarity.

To engage in education that is not immediately job-related is seen as what women or children do and is, therefore, not a masculine activity (McGivney, 1996). Social class continues to be the key discriminator in understanding participation in learning. Over half of all upper and middle class (AB) respondents are current or recent learners, compared with one-third of the skilled working class (C2) and one quarter of unskilled working class people and people on limited incomes (Gallup Survey 1996).

However, what and how much is learned can be influenced by the learner’s motivation (NIACE, 1997) and, from my own experiences within the post-compulsory education sector, I would have to agree with this. However, motivation to learn could be, in turn, influenced by an individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking. PA’s current, positive, beliefs about himself as a learner and the nature of learning appear to have had a marked influence on his motivation.

It could be said that the rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for success or failure may enhance or interfere with the learner’s quality of thinking and information processing. Motivational and emotional factors may also influence both the quality of his thinking and information processing as well as his individual motivation to learn. Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner’s attention on a particular task.

However, intense negative emotions (e. g. , anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e. g. , worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatising labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and contribute to low performance (Evans, 2000). This could be seen during PA’s recent Numeracy Level 1 National Test when he experienced mild anxiety, but was extremely motivated and positive about the experience and his ability – and he passed first time!

Motivation is, therefore, not a simple issue, since individual motives and action are strongly affected by where people are located (socially, culturally and spatially) and the constraints or incentives that operate on their choices (NIACE). PA blames his current lack of knowledge and qualifications in numeracy on his underachievement at school. If we look more closely it becomes apparent that, because of his age, PA would have been attending school during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

It was during this time that the early underachievement of boys first became evident, as large scale studies of children’s achievements at Primary school pointed to the fact that girls consistently out-performed boys (Myers, 2000). Therefore there was a shift away from public concern about girls’ achievement to boys’ achievement, or underachievement, at school in exams. The concern about ‘boys’ underachievement’ has been characterised in educational policy initiatives at national, local and school levels, most significantly in the imposition of the national literacy and numeracy strategy (Barrs and Pidgeon 1998).

However, overall improvements in achievement are often ignored and gender differences are ascribed to the detrimental effects of ‘the feminisation of teaching’ (Epstein et al, 1998). The concern for boys’ underachievement was highlighted by Murphy and Elwood (1998) who argued that improvement in female achievement is not shared by girls from low socio-economic backgrounds and may not be apparent in some subjects. Similarly, Epstein et al (1998) questioned the global application of the category of boys’ underachievement’ by asking, ‘… hich boys? At what stages of education? … according to what criteria? ‘ We could say that by definition, gender roles are the social norms that dictate what is socially appropriate male and female behaviour (Tobias, 1997), and are part of the socialisation process of human beings. These roles are also influenced by each individual’s cultural and economic background (Tobias, 1997). It could be said that gender roles influence women and men in virtually every area of life, including family and occupation.

This is certainly true for PA, who feels that it is his duty to provide for his family and to have the greater earning capacity regardless of his lack of formal qualifications. Everyone recognises that there are significant differences between male and female, even if they are only physical. However, others see not only the physical but also the social, emotional and intellectual differences. In addition there is belief that, by the age of sixteen, females have matured more than boys by up to as much as two years (Skelton, 2001).

This could mean that girls have an advantage by viewing exams in a far more responsible way and recognising the seriousness and importance of the academic and career choices in the future. PA agrees with this as he did not take his schooling seriously and, quite possibly due to the fact that PA knew he was underachieving and he was unmotivated, he left school at 16 with no formal qualifications. He has only recently started to regret his actions. The figures from the 1996 Gallup survey could also be used to illustrate this as more adult men (25%) are currently learning compare to adult women (21%).

Now that he is within the adult education sector, PA appears to see learning numeracy as a process of liberation. This may be because PA now feels that the educational process is not static and that his learning is a cultural action for freedom. It no longer involves one person teaching another, but rather people working with each other to ensure each individual reaches their potential. This was also the understanding of Bruner (1973), who suggested that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas based upon their current / past knowledge.

Adult learners also appear to be more receptive to learning if there is a context to the learning. Teaching adults numerical skills which ‘transfer’ means exposing “students to different contexts which have the same mathematical content” (Rees and Barr, 1984) e. g. electrical work, decorating, shopping or linked to employment. This is certainly true for PA who works better, and appears to have a deeper understanding, when he can see there is a relevance and context to what he is learning.

According to Bruner (1973), the teacher and student should engage in active dialogue and the task of the teacher is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learners’ current state of understanding. During numeracy there are so many ways of doing and explaining one thing, one example would be the various descriptions used for the actions of ‘add’ and ‘subtract’, another example would be the various methods of teaching long multiplication.

In addition, Bruner (1973) stated that the curriculum should be organised in a spiral manner, so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned, “The concept of prime numbers appears to be more readily grasped when the learner, through construction, discovers certain handfuls of beans cannot be laid out in completed rows and columns” (Bruner, 1973). When working with PA, as for all my learners, I ensure that I question his current method and understanding of each numeric topic before I go into the topic in depth.

This way I am constantly building on his current knowledge and understanding. A high percentage of the learners at Rochford Adult Community College are White British and PA falls into this group, ‘Rochford has one of the lowest ethnic minority populations, well below half of the national average’ (Rochford District Council, 2005). However, according to the Home Office’s Commission for Racial Equality, 2002, the United Kingdom is a changing society and these socio-economic changes are reflected in our growing cultural and ethnic diversity.

These changes bring many gains, but sometimes there are tensions and divisions that may lead to fracturing within, and across, local areas and communities. However, whatever the nature of community divisions, the basis of the solution is often the same; community cohesion. The Home Office’s Commission for Racial Equality, 2002, suggests that community cohesion may be achieved by raising awareness and understanding and developing shared values with mutual trust and respect.

The Home Office describes a cohesive community as one where there is common vision, a sense of belonging, where diversity is valued and where there are similar life opportunities with “… strong and positive relationships being developed between people from different backgrounds… in colleges and in schools… ” (www. homeoffice. gov. uk, 2003). This is also the ethos of Essex County Council and consequently Castle Point and Rochford Adult Community College (www. essexcc. gov. uk, 2005).

Last year I did my placement in Cork Simon Communities Outreach project. I really enjoyed this placement and as I had a lot of knowledge on this project I decided to do my Community Development project on the Outreach project. I realised while working on the Outreach team how important the service was because when young people first become involved in street life they do so because they see no other option. Many leave situations of acute family breakdown or violent situations. They may have been exposed to alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse and have lived under the strain of poverty and unemployment.

Street life seems to me like an insecure, lonely, frightening and dangerous situation for any person to find himself or herself in. Unfortunately people living on the streets are quickly exposed to alcohol, drugs, crime and prostitution. Many people do not know how to get help and many have lost contact with services. For the most part people who are out of home are not easily identified.

They “hang around” and dress similarly to other people. They have however, no consistent support or care and nowhere they call home. For the most part they are invisible. This is where the Outreach Street Service’s importance comes in; The Outreach team has a good understanding of the situation among people on the streets. Outreach contacts people out of home at risk. Outreach befriends people and builds trusting relationships with people. The Outreach team provide information about services provided and the location of these services. Oliver Hoegener created ‘The Yellow Leaflet’ which Simon published and the Outreach team always carry these leaflets to give to new people on the streets of Cork. Outreach also puts people in contact with services and all street work is documented.

History

The Simon Community was established in Ireland in 1969, there are now 4 Simon Communities in the Republic of Ireland; Dublin, Dundalk, Galway and of course Cork which was set up in 1971.

The philosophy of the Simon Community is the framework, which guides the community’s policies, practice and day-to-day running of its projects. The guiding principles set the parameters within which the staff work and residents live while in the community. The community’s philosophy is based on Acceptance, Community, Long-Term Care and Campaigning. The philosophy also embraces and includes, A commitment to justice, sharing, creating space for people, being as democratic as possible, being part of the wider community, providing care, support and solidarity, valuing relationships, encouraging participation, inclusiveness. The community also has a strong voluntary ethos.

The community’s policy is to: Empower people, to encourage independence, to encourage people to take responsibility, to be inclusive and to facilitate those who wish to tackle any difficulties they may face such as alcohol and drug addictions etc. Change is not a primary focus, though it is facilitated where possible.

There is a strong emphasis on Confidentiality in Simon, all matters relating to residents remains confidential and all people involved in Cork Simon Community must bear in mind that all clients have a right to privacy. This enables trusting relationships to be built within and between various members of the community. All workers must respect clients as individuals with the ability to make decisions and changes in their lives, in light of their beliefs and values.

The Outreach project is a new project of the Cork Simon Community. Since January 2002, the two Outreach workers (Carmel Moore & Oliver Hoegener) have been doing intensive street work in Cork. The project is targeting ‘rough sleepers’ and offers easy access to support and advise on a wide range of issues. One of the main aims of the project is harm reduction and prevention as well as making and maintaining contact with service users on the street.

The Outreach team liaise’s with other agencies such as Drug and Alcohol Services, the Homeless Adolescent Unit and the other Drug Task Force Projects. Outreach links in with a wide number of other groups in the city e.g. YMCA, Gardai, Southern Health Board, local community groups, youth workers etc. Outreach works in collaboration with the existing Youth Homeless Drug Prevention Project as well as with other Simon projects, such as (1) The shelter; where the Outreach worker and shelter staff can establish times that the outreach team can bring people into the building to gain access to the shelters services. (2) Day centre; again the outreach team works from the day centre in befriending people and building new relationships with ‘rough sleepers’. (3)

The Soup run; The nightly soup run meets between 60-80 people each week some are sleeping rough while others are living in the private rented sector or in corporation flats. The Soup Run provides hot meals, blankets, advice and companionship for the homeless.

In March 2002 the Outreach team set up a Lunch run, they were aware of the need for a weekend service because places like the Upper Rooms only provide a Monday to Friday service and a lot of Cork’s homeless people were dependant solely on the soup run at weekends as their only source of food, similar to the soup run, the lunch run gives out tea, soup, sandwiches and fruit in the evening around the streets of Cork city, I think this was an excellent service to set up because while on placement I did the lunch run and it proved to get very popular after a few weeks of being established, it is only the Outreach workers which do the lunch run. The two Outreach workers work more closely with the Youth Drugs worker and liase with the volunteer co-workers on the nightly soup run.

Managed

The Crisis Services Manager who is accountable to the director of cork Simon manages outreach.

Financed

A substantial amount of money required to run the Simon Community on a day-to-day basis is raised by the community itself through voluntary fund-raising such as flag days, church gate collections, Simon shops and sponsored events. The State also contributes to the Simon Communities running costs in the form of rent. While each Simon Community is autonomous and is responsible for financing and running its own projects, all Communities work closely together and collectively form a national federation with the national office in Dublin acting as a resource, servicing and co-ordinating agency. Working together as a national body has many practical advantages and gives expression to that founding principle which states that no one community alone can ever be Simon.

Evaluation

From working in the Simon Community I do believe that the organisation is a very successful one. From attending weekly meetings where issues like barrings, a residents physical/mental health, issues that occurred in all areas of Cork Simon etc, were being discussed, I realised how complex it was just to run the whole project and how some decisions that were made had such a huge impact on other people e.g. a rough sleeper being barred from the use of all Simons services, these decisions really annoyed the Outreach team because then as the Outreach worker it is your duty to go out on the streets, find this rough sleeper and try to get them into other services.

Even though the whole organisation is so complex and controversial you just have to look back at Simon’s vision of society where: there is no homelessness, and compassion, respect and empathy are the core of the community’s relationships, and justice, equality and social inclusion are central to state policy.

Also the mission of the Simon Community to develop preventative strategies that will divert people becoming homeless, to campaign for the right for appropriate accommodation and responsive services for the homeless, to provide quality care, accommodation and services which support and empower people who are homeless, marginalized, vulnerable or socially excluded.

I believe that the policy of Simon and the Core Values are very realistic, Simon does not discriminate and in theory the organisation is getting stronger and providing an essential service for the homeless of Cork.