The Original Style of Jon Scieszka :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Original Style of Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka has an original style that is all his own. Many of his books such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and The Frog Prince Continued have led several people to believe that he has created a new genre of children's literature: using unique perspectives to retell classic fairy tales. But what motivated Scieszka to become an author? And how does he come up with his innovative ideas? I will answer these questions by discussing Scieszka's many inspirations including his teaching career, students, and his family. Scieszka began his love for books early on in his life when he and his mother spent time together reading. It was during these times that one of his favorite authors emerged. Dr. Seuss stood out because "he was the first author that I realized was a different person - that there actually was a person who wrote the book" (Scieszka). It was then that he decided that creating books for others to read would be entertaining. He did not give this idea much thought until after he became an elementary teacher. That was when he reconsidered the idea of writing children's books. As a second grade teacher he learned many things about children including what kind of books they enjoyed and which ones did not even keep their attention. As Scieszka himself said, "...there's nothing more discriminating than a group of second graders sitting on the floor. And they'll tell you if they don't like it, or if it's boring, or if it's stupid, or if it doesn't make sense" (Scieszka). This helped to shape his ideas as to what would be interesting and fun for children to read. Students have done more than just inspire him to write. Many have helped give him ideas. In Math Curse after her teacher tells her that almost everything has math involved in it; the narrator discovers how true the statement is as her world explodes into a giant math problem. Scieszka credits this idea to some of his "less accomplished" students and how they perceive math (Scieszka). Another source for his ideas comes from within his own house. His own daughter has unknowingly inspired him on at least one occasion. When she was small she enjoyed the popular story of The Gingerbread Man. After an endless amount of times of rereading the story Scieszka wondered: What would happen if the lady ran out of gingerbread and had to make him out of something else? The Original Style of Jon Scieszka :: Biography Biographies Essays The Original Style of Jon Scieszka Jon Scieszka has an original style that is all his own. Many of his books such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and The Frog Prince Continued have led several people to believe that he has created a new genre of children's literature: using unique perspectives to retell classic fairy tales. But what motivated Scieszka to become an author? And how does he come up with his innovative ideas? I will answer these questions by discussing Scieszka's many inspirations including his teaching career, students, and his family. Scieszka began his love for books early on in his life when he and his mother spent time together reading. It was during these times that one of his favorite authors emerged. Dr. Seuss stood out because "he was the first author that I realized was a different person - that there actually was a person who wrote the book" (Scieszka). It was then that he decided that creating books for others to read would be entertaining. He did not give this idea much thought until after he became an elementary teacher. That was when he reconsidered the idea of writing children's books. As a second grade teacher he learned many things about children including what kind of books they enjoyed and which ones did not even keep their attention. As Scieszka himself said, "...there's nothing more discriminating than a group of second graders sitting on the floor. And they'll tell you if they don't like it, or if it's boring, or if it's stupid, or if it doesn't make sense" (Scieszka). This helped to shape his ideas as to what would be interesting and fun for children to read. Students have done more than just inspire him to write. Many have helped give him ideas. In Math Curse after her teacher tells her that almost everything has math involved in it; the narrator discovers how true the statement is as her world explodes into a giant math problem. Scieszka credits this idea to some of his "less accomplished" students and how they perceive math (Scieszka). Another source for his ideas comes from within his own house. His own daughter has unknowingly inspired him on at least one occasion. When she was small she enjoyed the popular story of The Gingerbread Man. After an endless amount of times of rereading the story Scieszka wondered: What would happen if the lady ran out of gingerbread and had to make him out of something else?

Living in Sin by Adrienne Rich: Of Simplicity and Brevity Essay

Poetry has turned off a lot of people Because of its confusing nature and interjection of difficult-to understand symbolisms, poems have been disregarded by many. Yet what most people do not know is that the landscape of poetry has changed tremendously in the past years. Contemporary poets have realized that their works should no longer include flowery words and deep allegories to be beautiful – that in fact, the poems that eventually become popular are those marked with simplicity and brevity and those that posses the ability to touch the readers’ hearts. If one is to get reacquainted with poetry, Adrienne Rich’s Living in Sin is a good place to start. This particular poem talks of something that is very common nowadays – domestic partnership without the grace of marriage. But the â€Å"sin† Rich referred to in the title does not point to the seemingly sinful relationship of living together but was more a tirade on how people can sometimes persuade themselves about staying in a relationship even when the ‘expectations’ on the particular relationship have not been met. Living in Sin tells how a woman has realized that living with the person she loves is not all â€Å"A plate of pears, / a piano with a Persian shawl, a cat / stalking the picturesque amusing mouse† and that there is indeed â€Å"dust upon the furniture of love†. In Living in Sin, Rich describes how a relationship is something that one needs to work at. This poem is the best one to pick up when trying to re-embrace poetry because it differs greatly from those written under the pens of 15th and 16th Century poets. Revolving around a present-day issue, Living in Sin is sure to be easily understood by new readers. Most of the people nowadays can surely relate to the fact that certain aspects of a relationship can be disillusioning. Almost anyone who enters a relationship do so armed with certain positive expectancies that are – sadly – not met as the relationship progresses. By painting images of boredom (â€Å"†¦he, with a yawn, / sounded a dozen notes upon the keyboard, / declared it out of tune†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) and disappointment (â€Å"she, jeered by the minor demons, / pulled back the sheets and made the bed and found / a towel to dust the table-top, / and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.†), Rich successfully communicates her message. Rich’s successful telling of her message can be attributed to her ability of steering clear from highfalutin words and hard-to-imagine imagery. In fact, Living in Sin is marked by simple words and symbolisms that are common to everyone. The language that Rich used in this particular poem is something that we all understand. These are just more reasons to actually pick up and enjoy this particular poem. Yet the good points of Living in Sin do not end there. This particular poem is also armed with only a few lines. Rich employed just 26 lines and a mere 196 words in conveying her message yet those numbers have been enough to transfer Rich’s messages to the readers. Undeniably, no other literary piece can achieve such feat but poetry. Living in Sin – and poems in general – are lovable in that one need not go through lots of word tangles to feel exactly what the author wants him/her to feel. True enough, poems of old are pretty hard to understand, talking about things that most modern-day people can no longer relate to. Yet as with everything, poets have changed and have taken to voicing out topics that are close to today’s readers’ hearts. Adrienne Rich is but one of those poets who have successfully mastered combining relatable subjects with easy-to-grasp symbols and language in her poetry. And reading one of her more popular poems, Living in Sin, will surely convince this generation that poems should be given a chance because, contrary to popular belief, they are beautiful literary pieces that are worth reading.

Non traditional threat to US Essay

In my opinion the most pertinent Non-traditional threat to the US is the economy. It is the single most important, globalized, and un-accounted for problem in the US. The current problem is so bad that the US economy is days away from a (partial) default. This would be the first default since possibly the 1700’s at the founding of the nation. The problem with this is the US green back is the reserve currency of the world (all or most investments are made in US dollars). If the US defaults it will cause a ripple effect that will make the 2008 global financial crisis look small in comparison to the lobal catastrophe that will occur. The reason most investments are in US dollars is because dollars have historically been the most stable currency in the modern age. The US defaulting on its debts has both internal and external effects. The total of US government debt is over $ 16. 9 trillion. (US Debt Clock) Of that debt, $ 4. 8 trillion is owned by governmental agencies. This includes agencies such as the social security (holds over $2. 5 trillion dollars). Of the public debt, foreign investors own $5. 7 trillion. Keep in mind this is Just the actual government debt; effects of a default would be uch bigger. The US reached its debt ceiling in 2012. The US constitution – 14th Amendment, Section 4 – directly forbids the government from defaulting on its debt. Thus to cope with the debt ceiling being reached the government has been taking extraordinary measures in order to pay their debts (for instance suspending investments on individual pension funds). When these measures are exhausted, the government will not bring on a global economic collapse as they default on all their bonds. They will Just be forced to balance the economy – to match their spending with their collected revenue. This is a very different issue (still with its problems) to a full default. What is important is that a full default is likely to not happen. The brinksmanship between the rogue Republicans and the government would only threaten a ‘technical’ default on the shortest-dated US government bonds, because their shorter lives mean their maturity date is nearer than the rest of the government’s ‘safe’ assets. The problem here, as ever, is not whether the federal government is able to repay the principle from these bonds, but the short-term methods used to make these repayments. The US treasury would still be seen as a ‘safe investment’, albeit in more economically uncertain times, and thus bonds would probably rise in price – believe it or not, the US government 10-year bond decreased in price after news that the media reported a default was unlikely. Though we are quick to forget, there have been 17 government shutdowns between 1976-1996 and the debt ceiling is raised almost every year – a full default never happens. This brinksmanship is historically common, and it is the media and politicians that fuel the political fire by indicating that this is the year where it will default.

Employee Performance Essay

The methods presented here are designed to develop elements and standards that measure employee and work unit accomplishments rather than to develop  other measures that are often used in appraising performance, such as measuring behaviors or competencies. Although this handbook includes a discussion of the importance of balancing measures, the main focus presented here is to measure accomplishments. Consequently, much of the information presented in the first five steps of this eightstep process applies when supervisors and employees want to measure results. However, the material presented in Steps 6 through 8 about developing standards, monitoring performance, and checking the performance plan apply to all measurement approaches. A HANDBOOK FOR MEASURING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE foreword The handbook has four chapters and three appendices: ⠝™ CHAPTER 1 gives the background and context of performance management that you will need to understand before beginning the eight-step process. ⠝™ CHAPTER 2 defines accomplishments, which is key to using this handbook successfully. ⠝™ CHAPTER 3 includes a detailed description of the eight-step process for developing employee performance plans that are aligned with and support organizational goals. ⠝™ CHAPTER 4 provides study tools, including a followup quiz and a quick reference for the eight-step process. ⠝™ THE APPENDICES contain example standards that were written specifically for appraisal programs that appraise performance on elements at five, three, and two levels. After reading the instructional material, studying the examples, and completing the exercises in this book, you should be able to: ⠝™ DEVELOP a performance plan that aligns individual performance with organizational goals  Ã¢ â„¢ USE a variety of methods to determine work unit and individual  accomplishments ⠝™ DETERMINE the difference between activities and accomplishments ⠝™ EXPLAIN regulatory requirements for employee performance plans P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N T: B A C K G R O U N D A N D C O N T E X T emember the story about the naive student in his first English literature course who was worried because he didn’t know what prose was? When he found out that prose was ordinary speech, he exclaimed, â€Å"Wow! I’ve been speaking prose all my life!† Managing performance well is like speaking prose. Many managers have been â€Å"speaking† and practicing effective performance management naturally all their supervisory lives, but don’t know it! Some people mistakenly assume that performance management is concerned only with following regulatory requirements to appraise and rate performance. Actually, assigning ratings of record is only one part of the overall process (and perhaps the least important part). Performance management is the systematic process of: ⠝™ planning work and setting expectations ⠝™ continually monitoring performance ⠝™ developing the capacity to perform ⠝™ periodically rating performance in a summary fashion ⠝™ rewarding good performance The revisions made in 1995 to the governmentwide performance appraisal and awards regulations support â€Å"natural† performance management. Great care was taken to ensure that the requirements those regulations establish would complement and not conflict with the kinds of activities and actions effective managers are practicing as a matter of course. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT PLANNING In an effective organization, work is planned out in advance. Planning means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving organizational objectives. Getting employees involved in the planning process will help them understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done. The regulatory requirements for planning employees’ performance include establishing the elements and standards of their performance appraisal plans. Performance elements and standards should be measurable, understandable, verifiable, equitable, and achievable. Through critical elements, employees are held accountable as individuals for work assignments or responsibilities. Employee performance plans should be flexible so that they can be adjusted for changing program objectives and work requirements. When used effectively, these plans can be beneficial working documents that are discussed often, and not merely paperwork that is filed in a drawer and seen only when ratings of record are required. MONITORING In an effective organization, assignments and projects are monitored continually. Monitoring well means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to employees and work groups on their progress toward reaching their goals. The regulatory requirements for monitoring performance include conducting progress reviews with employees where their performance is compared against their elements and standards. Ongoing monitoring provides the supervisor the opportunity to check how well employees are meeting predetermined standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic standards. By monitoring continually, supervisors can identify unacceptable performance at any time during the appraisal period and provide assistance to address such performance rather than wait until the end of the period when summary rating levels are assigned. MEASURE WHAT IS IMPORTANT—NOT WHAT IS EASY TO MEASURE It is easy to count the number of days since a project began, but if that is all that you measure, is that enough information to assess performance? No, probably not. Or if, for example, a customer service team only measures the number of calls that come into the team (the easy measure) and does not attempt to measure customer satisfaction with its service (the more difficult measure), the team does not have complete information about its performance and has no idea how well it is serving its customers. In addition, because what gets measured gets done, the team will probably focus on how it can increase the number of calls it receives and ignore the quality of service it provides. As a result, organizations need to anticipate the behavioral and unintended consequences of measuring performance. As an example, recently a medical laboratory came under fire because of the errors it made in certain of its cancer tests. A high number of cancer tests that the laboratory had approved as negative turned out to be wrong—cancer had actually been

Sexual and Urologic problems in patients with Type 1 Diabetes Essay

Sexual and Urologic problems in patients with Type 1 Diabetes - Essay Example It occurs due to a combination of peripheral resistance to insulin action and an inadequate secretory response by the beta cells. Both types of diabetes are associated with similar complications. However, since the onset of hyperglycemia earlier in type- 1 diabetes, complications are more severe and occur at a much early age than those with diabetes type-2. Diabetes results in several complications, the most important of which are neuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy. There are several other complications which impact the quality of life like sexual and urologic complications. Sexual and urologic problems are common in diabetes population because of the damage to blood vessels and nerves. In this essay, sexual and urologic complications in diabetes, especially diabetes type-1 will be discussed. Insulin is an essential anabolic hormone secreted by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. It is essential for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats (Lamb, 2009). The hormone helps entry of the glucose into muscles by stimulating the conversion of glucose to glycogen and by inhibiting liver gluconeogenesis. It also slows the breakdown of fat and protein. In type-1 diabetes, there is either absence, destruction or loss of beta cells leading to inadequate insulin production. This causes uninhibited gluconeogenesis and at the same time decreases the use and storage of glucose, resulting in hyperglycemia. Beyond a certain limit, kidneys fail to absorb glucose resulting in glycosuria, osmotic diuresis, dehydration and thirst. The protein and fat breakdown also increase causing increased ketone production and weight loss. Without appropriate insulin supplementation and management, individuals with diabetic ketoacidosis lose weight continuously and eventually succumb to diabetic ketoacidosis (Lamb, 2009). Diabetes type-1 is associated with

Bereavement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Bereavement - Essay Example The mourner's history of losses, personality style, and pre-morbid mental health adjustment also impact the grief process (Rando, 1993). Clearly, the traumatic circumstances that surrounded the events of September 11th added an unprecedented degree of complexity to the grief of those who experienced losses that day. While it appears reasonable that issues related to the trauma itself must be resolved before there is sufficient intrapsychic energy to deal with the loss per se, parsing out the differences between the symptoms of post-traumatic stress and those of complicated grief can be challenging (Figley, Bride, & Mazza, 1997). Depressive symptoms may also be confusing and interfere with recognition of and response to the symptoms of complicated grief (Rando, 1993). Especially in the initial phases of recovery from a traumatic loss, individual interventions are an appropriate modality of treatment. The process of assessment for the variety of co-morbid risks that can accompany traumatic loss is facilitated in individual sessions. There is also the opportunity to provide support and problem solving that specifically address the challenges that have been generated by both the loss itself, the circumstances surrounding it, and its intrapsychic concomitants. But because of the sense of emotional isolation that commonly accompanies both trauma and the loss of a significant other, support groups are an excellent adjunct to individual treatment (Figley et al., 1997). Studies report the importance of the supplemental support system such groups provide, and the critical necessity for the normalizing discussions about reactions and difficulties that take place in group sessions (Yule & Udwin, 1991; Fitzgerald, 1994; Rando, 1988; Underwood & Dunne-Maxim, 1992). In later stages of recovery, group support can be essential to the process of going on with life. Immigrants and Cultural Minority Groups Given both the effect that culture has on grief and bereavement, and the disproportionate rates of infant death, particularly among Afro-Caribbean immigrants compared to European, Latin American, Mexico and those born in the United States, we sampled providers serving this community. The importance of cultural competence cannot be overstated. Cultural competence should include: providers being aware of their own cultural traditions and beliefs, learning about the cultural beliefs and customs of the community being served, genuine appreciation and respect for cultural diversity and being empathic, flexible and prepared to tailor the care to meet individual and family needs of those that have suffered a loss (ACOG). The Needs of People Experiencing Loss, Grief and Bereavement There was broad agreement that the needs of individuals in relation to loss, grief and bereavement are highly individualised. There is a wide range of grieving styles and experiences. However, the fundamental needs of bereaved individuals are for support and acceptance. This includes recognition and validation of their grief and grieving style, from family, friends, employers and the general community. Arguably, grief and bereave

Service flower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Service flower - Essay Example It is because of the latter that the report presents an array by which managers can also evaluate models of their companies with respect to their specific setting. Applebee’s is a distinguished brand dealing with casual foods that boost of amassing a great amount of popularity over the years. Its first restaurant joint opened in 1980 and gradually the company has been able to acquire over 2000 joints all over the United States of America. Given the fact that its main dishes relate to the American diet of chicken, salads, pasta and riblets; Applebee’s has managed to receive a warm reception from the citizens. From its headquarters in Kansas, Missouri, Applebee’s has seen a continual growth in human resource whose economic well-being depends on the company (Quenqua). Thus, a strong team of managers exists to oversee activities such as order taking, payment and billing, influenced by the day-to-day operations. Positive business strategies and models are also essential in the running of such a franchise, given the nature of the specific business. The service flower concept is an idealistic approach used to analyze the services offered by a company to its customers. The core services of the business have preference over the peripheral ones, but attention is on how the entire process affects the product; this explains why aspects such as branding and marketing are important. However, important to the company is the distinction of the core products from the supplementary services, since the latter only help facilitate acquiring a competitive advantage over rivals. Usually it may be by way of increasing the appeal from customers or enhancing the value of the final product in the end. Often ignored is the delivery process of a product to the customer for consumption. Since this is the point where there is direct contact with a potential customer, a set of exceptional skills are crucial to closing a deal (Millford 11). Among the issues that the report seeks to