Purpose Of Education In Singapore

Purpose Of Education In Singapore Education is said to be as old as humanity itself. (Gordon, 1966) All living things, regardless of animal or human origin, are born with a capacity and need to be educated. The genetic makeup of any animal causes it to recognize that educating their offspring plays a crucial role to ensuring their survivability in the wild. Prehistoric human beings realize this too but modern human beings also recognize that in todays complicated world, our purposes for educating our young are far more complex than simply knowing how to gather and hunt for food. Thus, in this essay, I will briefly explore both the selfish and the societal reasons for education in our modern society before delving specifically into the aims of education in Singapore as well as their implications. There is one fundamental limitation to be addressed the aims of education are ever changing. Survivability in todays modern society is defined differently from the past and also differently from the society of the future. Hence, there are no fixed aims of education because our purposes will change along with the current societal needs and mindsets. The question Why do we educate? can be answered from the selfish point of view. Firstly, as human beings, we evolved from animals and are instinctively concerned about our survival. Thus, the most evident reason and aim in pursuing education is for the sake of our livelihoods. This is also known as the bread and butter aim (Gordon, 1966) because we desire to be educated so we can graduate with better qualifications and hence land a better paying job. This utilitarian purpose of education enables people to provide the basic necessities, and possibly luxuries, for themselves. While this practical aim may be important, I believe that there are many other things Man has to live for other than simply money. The other selfish reason is nobler. It is to pursue education for the sake of education. Although it is still a selfish reason, it is in contrast to the livelihood aim because people who believe in this deem education as more than a vehicle for the mere acquisition of knowledge to gain wealth. These are people who have developed an intrinsic motivation for lifelong learning and see that education as a dynamic tool that allows one to think and adapt independently as compared to a static process of memorization. (Gordon, 1966) Other than selfish reasons for education, there are also societys objectives in having its people educated. The first societal purpose of education is to have socially contributive citizens. Ironically, this societal purpose ties in with the selfish purpose for livelihood. In achieving the knowledge, skills and understanding required of us to deal with a specialized and better paying job, we unintentionally play a part in the creation of societys workforce and hence contribute to economic development and growth of the country. (Biesta, 2009) This relates very closely to the educational theory of Essentialism. Essentialism, grounded in philosophies of Idealism and Realism, disregards interests and promote teaching useful knowledge instead for the learner to use in society. In addition, discipline is a key focus in Essentialism as it emphasizes on how the learner is expected to respect legitimate authority to function efficiently in society. (Ellis, 1981) Hence, Essentialism is crucial in creating people who participate effectively in society. Another social intention of education involves character and moral development as emphasized by Aristotle (Homiak, 2007) and by Herbart in the 19th century. Aristotle claims that there are 2 sides to every Man. The baser side involves primal animal instincts of brutality and passion while the humanitarian side involves morality and intellect. The aim of education, Aristotle insists, should be towards developing human character through the humanitarian aspect. (Gordon, 1966) In accordance to Aristotles claims, I personally believe that while we should develop the humanitarian portion, we should focus equally on both the intellectual and moral sections because they are of equal importance and not place greater emphasis on the intellect as our society currently does. The last societal aim of education is for society to create responsible citizens of a country through the development of every child the political agenda behind education. The 2 aspects to this societal aim are the positive and the negative. The positive aspect is what Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of America during her husbands presidency, describes as good citizenship. (Roosevelt, 2008) She illustrates how education is to help a child see and understand the various governmental processes through the government departments of law and legislation along with Americas relationship to the rest of the world. The child, being able to see such things, will see himself as a part of a greater being and understand where his own usefulness may lie. I agree with Roosevelt as National Education is a vital aspect of Singapores education system and this will be elaborated further. The negative aspect however, has roots in the USSR. Lenin, the Communist leader, once expressed: Without teaching, there is no learning. Without learning, there is no knowledge. Without knowledge, there is no Communism. Without Communism, society degenerates into capitalist decay. (Nicholas, 1983) The leadership of the Soviet Union then started to shape its national education programmes to promote Communist propaganda to the children in order to guarantee the security of the Communist ideology. (Nicholas, 1983) This is an example of how a country can use its education system with a political motive to legitimize a particular political doctrine. While the purposes of education are inexhaustible and constantly changing, Singapore has managed to define its own rational of educating her citizens for the 21st century society. As extracted from the Ministry Of Educations (MOE) Website, Singapore has 4 clear Desired Outcomes of Education (Ministry of Education, 2010). They are: Confident person, self directed learner, active contributor and concerned citizen. These 4 desired outcomes of education are adaptations of the purposes of education as discussed above and this essay will only focus on the latter 2. The first desired outcome of education that I am focusing on is the creation of an active contributor. An active contributor is one who cooperates well in a team, takes lead and responsible ventures and is original and competent in his actions. (Ministry of Education, 2010) The reason for this desired outcome of education is Singapore having no natural resources except for her population. Therefore, Singapore, having to rely on her people for economic growth and development, has no margin for mistakes and emphasizes on the need for her people to contribute. This need resulted in several educational policy changes, the most obvious trend being the inclination towards Essentialism. Singapore chooses to adopt a practical and utilitarian approach to education though the Bilingualism Policy in 1966. (Dixon) Learning English aided communication with the Western world and was considered an Industrialization language. In the year 2000, the Mandarin language was promoted in order to help foster economic relations with China. Singapore also privatized education through allowing autonomous and independent schools, created a public ranking of all schools in 1992 (Tan, C. Wong, B. Chua, J.S.M Kang, T, 2006) and started the Thinking Skills, Learning Nation (TSLN) policy in 1997 in recognition that literacy only is not enough to survive economically in the 21st century and highly innovative individuals were crucial too. (Teo, 1997) These 3 policies encourage competition between schools and students for better results and prestige as well as promoting the freedom of ingenuity. These result in Singapore being able to nature the full potential of her citizens, develop an abil ity driven economy and encourage Research and Development, both surmounting to greater economic contribution. These policy changes have significantly impacted Singaporean teachers and students alike. Both teachers and students had to be proficient in the English language in order to understand each other. More teachers were recruited to teach the various mother tongues of Malay, Tamil and Mandarin. Students had to work harder to compete and get into a prestigious and elite school. In addition, students had to pay higher fees for autonomous or independent schools. Teachers also had to rethink their teaching methods and engage students more to promote creativity and induce intrinsic motivation to learn instead of mere memorization. As our former Minister of Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, explained diverse paths were also provided for students with talents in different fields so as to train young people to embrace change and do well in life. (Lee, S.K. Goh, C.B. Fredriksen, B. Tan, J.P. 2008) In evaluation, while these policies appeared feasible in theory, practice proved it wrong. The Bilingual Policy was admitted to be a mistake. (Hoe, 2009) Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew said that his implementation of the Bilingual Policy caused students to be put off by the Chinese language instead of fostering a love for the language. However, MM Lee is not entirely wrong as students are able to fluently converse, read and write in their Mother Tongues. This echoes the education theory of Essentialism where societal gains are placed before personal interests. Another policy that was changed in 2004 involved the softening of the school ranking system. (Shanmugaratnam, 2004) While this policy may be effective in differentiating students of varying IQs, this has also objectified students as they are either classified condemned, normal or gifted. This is a result of our focus on meritocracy and ability. Streaming is not effective because students are not given equal chances to flourish in different aspects of their character but is solely based on how well he does in his studies in a particular examination. Lastly, the TSLN policy is cast in a more positive light as it shifts Singapore from an efficiency-driven education system to an ability-driven education system. (Lee, S.K. Goh, C.B. Fredriksen, B. Tan, J.P. 2008) This is a better policy as it offers students greater flexibility and choice in their education. Students are now able to choose from a range of educational institutes like the School of the Arts (SOTA), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the Singapore Sports School and the Singapore Institute of Technology to develop their talents and abilities. Nonetheless, while this can be seen as a deviation from Essentialism, the main objective of the TSLN policy is to remain economically competent in the 21st century. The other desired outcome is the creation of a concerned citizen through moral education. Moral education in Singapore was, and always will be, aimed at forging citizens together and promoting common values to prevent racial and cultural tension amongst the 4 racial groups. (Tan, J. Gopinathan, S. Ho, W.K., 1997) The reason for this desired outcome is due to the largely polarized cultural groups in Singapore directly after independence. Hence, there was a need to bring together the people of Singapore and thus, moral education is needed for nation building and cohesion. The introduction of moral education into the education system resulted in several policy changes. The more significant ones include the mandatory singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the National Pledge (1966) in all schools every morning (Tan, C. Wong, B. Chua, J.S.M Kang, T, 2006), the implementation of Education for Living as a subject (Tan, J. Gopinathan, S. Ho, W.K., 1997) and more recently, the National Education for all levels and Community Involvement Programme (CIP) in 1996 for lower level schools and Service Learning for upper levels. (Ministry of Education, 1998) These 3 policy changes work towards the cohesion of Singaporeans as a whole regardless of race or religion and promote social concern and civic responsibility amongst citizens. These policy changes have affected teachers and students in a more subtle manner. Students then had to learn the National Anthem and Pledge by heart. Teachers were required to undergo training to learn and teach the Education for Living syllabus, Good Citizen, as a subject in the various Mother Tongues. Furthermore, teachers also had to learn how to organize and manage students for CIP and incorporate National Education into everyday teaching. The compulsory singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the Pledge is effective because the Pledge embodies our goals as a country as shown by the words, One united people to signify cohesion in diversity, and to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our Nation and the recitation every morning reminds students that diversity is not an obstacle and that Singaporeans should always care for the country. Furthermore, although the CIP and Service Learning projects have noble intentions and are theoretically effective, they turn out to be less efficient in practice. For example, secondary school students carry out the bare minimum of 6 hours of community work in order to meet the criteria set by the Ministry of Education. This defeats the purpose of CIP as it does not properly inculcate students to sincerely help out the needy but only forces students to help because their schools said so. In conclusion, ultimately, Singapore is still a survival-driven society and economy. Having only people as resources has not made it any easier. Hence, regardless of what policy changes or desired outcomes of education, Singapores ultimate goal in education is to remain economically competent in the 21st society. 2191 words.

Environmental Analysis: Southwest Airlines Essay

INTRODUCTION Southwest Airlines Co. began its operations in 1971 and has been serving the industry for the past 43 years now (Southwest Airlines, n.d.). It is the major domestic airline, and ranked number one in 2014 by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (United States Department of Transportation, 2014). Back in 1971 the airline began its services in Texas in the cities of Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. The company has been ranked as the nation’s largest low cost carrier (Mergent, 2012). It offers the lowest fares, and has the lowest cost structure in the industry. Southwest Airlines Co. also acquired AirTran Holdings Inc. in 2011 and now owns AirTran Airways. The company has been ranked 9th among the 50 most admired companies in the world according to a survey by Fortune magazine (Fortune Magazine, 2013). Southwest uses the exchange symbol LUV on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This paper will summarize an environmental scan of Southwest Airlines to include an analysis of the most important external environmental factors in the remote, industry, and external operating environments, the most important strengths and weaknesses of the organization, an assessment of the company’s competitive position, and analyze the structure of the organization and how this affects organizational performance (University of  Phoenix, 2013). POLITICAL FACTORS The Airline and Aviation industry underwent Governmental Regulations by the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the simultaneous creation of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). This Act enabled the CAB to control the service fares, the entry of new airlines from the market and the exit of existing airlines from the same, and the assigning of air routes to different airlines. Then the Federal Aviation Act was passed in 1958 and led to the formation of the Federal Aviation Administration in August 1958. The rule making was shifted to the FAA and it had control of the air routes, the airline safety and air traffic controls. The Airline Deregulation Act was passed in 1978 and falls in the category of Federal Law. It eliminated the governmental authority over determination of service fares and control of routes and new airlines entry into/exist from the airline industry. As a result of the act, the CAB was dissolved in 1984. The FAA was not eliminated and it remained in control of airline safety and air traffic control (United States Government Accountability Office, 2006). This Amendment came into force in 1979 and comes within the category of federal law. It manages the air traffic at Dallas Airfield in Texas. Initially, this amendment posed such restrictions on nonstop flights that their routes got limited to Texas and its neighboring states only. However, the restrictions were taken off in 1997 and 2005. The Amendment was revoked in 2006 but some restrictions will expire in 2014. Soon after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Southwest was about to begin interstate flights. But restrictions were imposed by the Congress and the airline was disqualified to ticket/operate flights beyond Texas and the states touching its borders. ECONOMIC FACTORS A number of economic constraints are also there in the environment that have their relative impacts on Southwest’s operations. These include: Higher unemployment rates, which Southwest had been challenging by refusing to lay off employees even during surging unemployment. Increase in operating costs. Instable credit market and capital market. Declining demand for air travel. Economic Recession in the country (Southwest Airlines, et al., 2013). SOCIAL FACTORS Social factors influencing performance include an increase air pollution caused by the airline industry as a whole; gases are emitted in upper atmosphere causing an increase of around three percent of greenhouse emissions globally. Also, fuel efficiency has increased significantly from the past three decades. The airline industry has been divided into labor unions which include several types of unions such as the Flight Attendants’ Unions, the Machinists’ Unions, and the Pilots’ Unions. The majority of the employees are part of such unions which has led to an increase in labor costs for the entire airline industry. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Fuel efficiency is increasing. Aircrafts that are more fuel efficient are being developed and the engines are being redesigned to cater to this change. The Air Transportation System has been reformed by the introduction of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). This system is supposed to be implemented in the country by 2025. The system revises air routes and updates it to satellite system management; the promotion of usage of GPS technology for navigation, route length shortening, time reduction, and fuel saving, etc. The JPDO (Joint Planning and Development Office) has been setup to facilitate the development of NextGen. Apart from that, the tracking system has been  updated and routes have been improved significantly. Airline forecasting and algorithms have allowed improvements in prices and costs for airlines in the industry. The average age of an aircraft in the industry is around 13 years. The market is expected to grow and revenues are likely to increase. HOW SOUTHWEST SHOULD CONFRONT THESE THREATS Southwest should take active measures to deal with all the above measured threats. To combat with political threats of regulation, the Shelby agreement does help by providing expansion in a few routes. However, they are still less and the routes and areas served need to be expanded. Some sort of agreement should be made for that. To deal with its economic threats, Southwest is already implementing fuel cost saving strategies. It has already reduced its fares for the passengers, which provides it with a competitive edge. Southwest has adopted a no-layoff policy with reference to its employees, in the face of high unemployment rates. Therefore it should work to control and ultimately minimize its operating costs. To deal with the social issues present in the industry, careful negotiations and dealings with the various kinds of unions should be done. Environmentally safe emissions of gas should be reviewed as well as alternate sources of energy. Technology is increasing in the industry. Southwest needs to be able to afford the latest technology so that it could offer superior quality of service than its competitors. SOUTHWEST’S STRENGTHS Southwest Airlines has a number of strengths. It uses the inner city airports and focuses on point-to-point service, which reduces the connections and facilitates nonstop routing. That resultantly reduces the total flight time. This makes it easier for Southwest to charge low flight fares for its passengers. The airline also serves downtown airports including Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Burbank, Oakland, San Jose, Manchester, Baltimore-Washington International, Hollywood, Long Island Islip and Providence airports. This way the airline can make good use of its assets and perform on time and be reliable. That ultimately shows up as an increase in market revenue (MarketLine, 2012). The company has also employed successful advertising methods. It has reduced its  overall operating costs and has been profitable for 36 consecutive years. It is known in the airline industry as being the best low cost carrier. SOUTHWEST’S WEAKNESSES Contractual obligations associated with the purchase of future aircraft, debt payment, and leasing arrangements resulted in a lowering of the companies’ credit rating in 2009. This has affected the company’s ability to secure future financing (Tellex, 2012a). With increased technology, fewer companies are dependent on face-to-face meetings resulting in a lower demand for business travel. Reappearing downturn in the economy have also reduce the amount of those who travel for leisure. The subsequent result in the overall decrease in travel is lower profit margins for the company (Tellex, et al., 2012b). The company continues to rely heavily on revenue generated by passenger travel, earning only one percent of its revenue through the transportation of freight and cargo. Considering that passenger travel is heavily dependent on price, fluctuations in fuel and security costs can expose profits to volatility (Tellex, et al., 2012c). The airline has always maintained a conservative growth strategy. It needs to develop a more aggressive, robust business plan in order to keep up with other industry leaders in the modern economy. The company is currently limited to approximately 68 cities domestically and relies heavily on one aircraft manufacture (Boeing) to produce its fleet (Tellex, et al., 2012d). MAIN COMPETITOR One of the major competitors to Southwest Airlines is Delta Airlines, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. It has a few significant weaknesses such as the legal issues it has recently faced (including 2009’s antitrust lawsuits) that have had their impact on the company’s brand image. Also, the company is heavily indebted. In Fiscal Year 2011, the company had a long term debt of $11,233 million, and in FY2010 it was $12,553. The interest expense was also very high. That is why it is more  prone to recession and because of this financial depression it is also unable to acquire additional funds. That has become a threat to its liquidity. The company also faces increasing fuel costs, competitive threats, and extensive governmental regulation (MarketLine, et al., 2012). While it is difficult to combat governmental regulation, Southwest Airlines can build upon Delta Airline’s weaknesses, because it has remained profitable and has also become fuel efficient in the recent past. Also, the company has been successfully able to reduce its overall cost structure and provide high customer service, which is why it is amongst the top ranked airlines in the industry. This automatically creates value for the stakeholders. SOUTHWEST’S COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The company follows a low-cost competitive strategy by offering low fares to its customers which happen because it has been able to reduce its operating costs. It focuses on inner city airports such as the Dallas Love Field. To minimize costs, Southwest doesn’t provide meals in flights. It also uses Boeing 737 aircrafts which are technologically more fuel efficient. This makes its ranking high in customer services as compared to other airlines in the industry. RECOMMENDED MODIFICATIONS TO SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY Assuming that the United States economy is undergoing a downturn, Southwest Airlines will need to make a few amendments to its strategy. These include improving its cost efficient structure and maintaining its existing customer base as well as begin providing healthy meals on an economical basis without increasing the flight fares too much. It should focus on what it does best and also build upon its competitive edge of excellent customer service. That way it would be able to combat the effects of an economic downturn, partially or completely. IMPACT OF GLOBAL COMPETITION ON SOUTHWEST’S STRATEGY If viewed from a global perspective, the company needs to make several revisions to its competitive strategy. Although Southwest has a competitive edge in the local industry because of its low fares and low cost structure, to be able to face global competition, the company needs to begin serving more routes, as the number of routes it serves currently is making it seem like a competitive disadvantage for the company. Also, the company should utilize its profits for the provision of healthy quality meals. An overall improvement in the operations should also be considered. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE Perhaps the most important element of Southwest Airline’s success is the company’s decentralized organization structure. The airline places a limited emphasis on organizational structure allowing employees and management committees to make decisions. The company’s policies are developed by combining employee input and measuring all decisions against its own code of ethics. The company continuously demonstrates its ability to develop relationships through the formation of cross-functional teams that share goals and knowledge and build a mutual respect for one another rather than blaming. â€Å"Focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at Southwest† (Gittell, 2003, p. 177). Southwest defines leadership as a process that can occur at any level of the organization but is most productive on the front lines. Supervisors assume a position of servitude to their subordinates going beyond the traditional responsibilities of that role. Employees are viewed as internal customers who deserve nurturing and training. The company intentionally distorts the lines between work and personal lives to enhance family and community relationships. The end result of such an organizational structure is improved flight departure performance, faster turnaround times, greater staffing productivity, fewer lost bags, and fewer customer complaints (Gittell, 2003). CONCLUSION Since its inception in 1971, Southwest has continuously distinguished itself from other airlines in the industry. For 41 consecutive years, it is the only airline to sustain a profit. The company’s organizational structure reflects its commitment to customers and employees alike. The benefits of this commitment have established the company as the benchmark for the industry in terms of loyalty and customer/employee satisfaction. Rankings such as number one in air transportation (United States Government Accountability Office, et al., 2006), number nine in _Fortune’s Most Admired Companies_ (Fortune Magazine, et al., 2013), and number 12 on _Forbe’s Best Companies to Work For In 2013_ (Forbes, 2013) also provide testament to the success of the company’s business strategy. In order to sustain this level of success in the long-term and remain competitive within an industry that already has limited flexibility created by an unusually large amount of fixed costs, federal and union regulation, manufacturer dependency, and economy. The company must give consideration to developing a more transformational model. Fortunately for Southwest, the company has no need to reinvent itself. However, this model should include an cost-effective approach to fleet expansion and additional freight and cargo transportation services to generate more revenue while retaining their proven formula for organizational structure and customer service. References Forbes. (2013). _The 25 Best Places to Work in 2013_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45eddil/no-12-southwest/ Fortune Magazine. (2013). _World’s Most Admired Companies_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Fortune: http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/southwest-airlines-9/ Gittell, J. (2003). _The Southwest Airlines Way: Using Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance._ New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved June 8, 2014 MarketLine. (2012, December 21). _SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from MarketLine: http://advantage.marketline.com/PageForbidden?returnUrl=%2FProduct%3Fpid%3D345D3B5B-CDC8-4F13-AD68-8D79064FB08A%26view%3DSWOTAnalysis Mergent. (2012, Decemeber 14). _Company Detail: Southwest_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Mergent Investor Edge: http://www.mergentinvestoredge.com/companyDetail.php?compNumber=7750&companyName=Southwest%20Airlines%20Co&ticker=LUV&cik=0000092380&pagetype=detail&exchange=NYS&country=USA# Southwest Airlines. (2013, December 31). _LUV Investor Relations_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from 2013 Annual Report: http://southwest.investorroom.com/company-reports Southwest Airlines. (n.d.). _Company Profile_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from LUV Investor Relations: http://southwest.investorroom.com/ Tellex, T. (2012, March 20). _Southwest Airline SWOT Analysis_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Exploring the World of Business: http://www.tamaratellezmba.com/blog/2012/03/20/southwest-airlines-swot-analysis/ United States Department of Transportation. (2014, May 15). _Airline Traffic Data_. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from Bureau of Transportation Statistics: http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/press_releases/bts024_14 United States Government Accountability Office, (. (2006). _Airline Deregulation._ United States Government Accountability Office. Retrieved June 8, 2014 University of Phoenix. (2013). _STR/581 Week 3 Individual Assignment: External and Internal Environmental Analysis_. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from

Poe’s “The Black Cat” as an Example of Gothic Story

Poe's â€Å"The Black Cat† as an Example of Gothic Story Edgar Allan Poe, who lived a short and tragic life, was mainly known for his gothic stories embedded in the atmosphere of terror and suspense, with insane protagonists placed in gloomy settings. He is considered to be a horror-master and his literary output renders him a father of the detective story and one of the most prominent gothic story writers (Fisher 2004: 81). The Black Cat, first published in 1843 in The Saturday Evening Post (Sova 2007: 35), is one of many visible instances of Poe’s talent in writing gothic fiction.Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it is an excellent example of a gothic story due to its numerous features characteristic of this genre (Hayes 2004: 85). Although gothic fiction is a genre which was born in England at the end of the 18th century, it was soon well-received in the United States, where it influenced a wide array of writers. It was primarily based on the European Romantic Movement b ut over the course of time, tragic and supernatural dimensions were added to these stories as the leading themes in America. The genre has a number of characteristics, one of which is the setting.Main protagonists are usually placed in an old, abandoned castle, with secret chambers and passages. The action of gothic stories take place in dark, spooky and dismal places. The plot is very often mysterious and some unexplainable events occur on regular basis. Gothic authors try to produce an atmosphere of suspense in their works by creating unpredictable characters, who struggle with madness, anger and acts of panic, in order to threaten the readers. The characters’ state of mind, their feelings and emotions, frequently take precedence over the plot.Ghosts and supernatural events are more than common in gothic texts and so are the tormenting visions and unlucky omens that often haunt the main characters. What is more, female characters who appear in such stories, for instance, ar e often put in distress, threatened and dominated by enraged males (Childs and Fowler 2006: 99-100). The Black Cat is a story narrated by an unnamed storyteller who at the very beginning, claims to be totally sane and rational and states that he is sentenced to death and will be killed the following day.Thus, he wants to reveal his dark secrets and make a confession to unburthen his soul (Badenhausen 1992: 487). From the start, the reader is made to perceive the narrator as an average man who loves his wife and is a great admirer of animals. The story, set in an ordinary house with nameless characters, changes over the course of the action into a thorough description of the narrator’s mental state and his acts of madness. Still, no further details on the lives of the main protagonists, including their profession or age, are provided as the story unfolds.The storyteller, due to his addiction to alcohol, becomes an abusive monster who ends up murdering his wife while attempting to kill the cat (Fisher 2004: 209). The narrator’s wife is a character whose love to animals, as opposed to her husband, is unconditional and unwavering. By following the gothic convention of literature, The Black Cat can be read as a story of the clash of masculinity and femininity (Fisher 2004: 86). One of features of the gothic fiction, as mentioned above, is presenting the female character in distress.Gothic writers very often try to present the relations between the tyrannical and impulsive male and a feeble and helpless female. The narrator in The Black Cat was, as a young boy, a very tender and delicate man (Stark 2004: 260). Nonetheless, his behavior over the course of time changed drastically. Heavy drinking alters his life as well as the lives of his nearest ones including his wife and pets. Still, no information on why the narrator hits the bottle is given in the text (ibid: 260-261). The shift in his behavior is very abrupt and unexpected.The plot progresses so q uickly that it is hard to see when exactly the storyteller becomes a mad man. â€Å"I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others†. The bullied wife faces the acts of violence of her husband tacitly and she seems to be subordinated by him, perhaps even afraid of rebelling against him. The couple does not have any children and the wife has no one who would support her and stand up for her in front of her cruel spouse (Bliss 2009: 97; Badenhousen1992: 493; Sova 2007: 36). The narrator bluntly says, â€Å"I now blindly abandoned myself, my uncomplaining wife, alas!Was the most usual and the most patient of sufferers†. Pluto, the animal from the title and, simultaneously, the object of the narrator’s madness, is a key character in the story. In the narrator’s mind, his favorite pet turns all of a sudden from a lovely little friend into a beast which frightens him. â€Å"A faithful and sagacious cat†, as descr ibed at the beginning, used to be the best playmate of the narrator. For many long years, they enjoyed spending time together. The horror of the pets and the wife begins when the narrator starts to drink alcohol.Nevertheless, he admits that he is aware of the dramatic change in his behavior caused by the addiction and he sees that he has started treating his wife and his pets badly (Sova 2007: 36). One night, after returning home drunk, the narrator gouges the cat’s eye out using a pen knife. A horrible deed, described in one sentence, is followed by a paragraph starting with â€Å"When reason returned with morning† in which the narrator describes his internal feelings after committing the act and the feeling of guilt which vanishes as soon as he starts drinking again.The above cited sentence proves the narrator’s awareness of the brutality of his actions, but the subsequent events show that at the same time, he does not feel any remorse (Bliss 2009: 97). Still, one morning, not long after cutting out the eye, the narrator, on a spur of a moment, hangs the cat on a tree in the garden. His explanation is utterly illogical: with tears in his eyes he says, â€Å"Hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; – hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin† (Sova 2007: 35).The latter citation clearly proves the Gothicism of the story. A mad man murders an innocent cat only because it was good. A deed so illogical that it cannot be explained rationally. One bloody act, aimed at playing on emotions, giving a thrill, kindling the feeling of terror and cruelty in readers, is just a beginning of the murdering path that the narrator takes (Bliss 2009: 98). The night after committing â€Å"the deadly sin† the fire breaks up, burning down the dwelling place of the storyteller, destroying his fortune, and leaving him in despair.The next day, a strange figure, a n apparition of a gigantic cat, appears on the wall, the only wall that survived the fire. To explain the strange figure on the wall, the narrator suggests that the cat was thrown to the room by someone at the night of the fire and as he puts it, â€Å"the falling of other walls compressed the victim of my cruelty into the substance of the freshly-spread plaster; the lime of which, with the flames, and the ammonia from the carcass, had then accomplished the portraiture as I saw it†. Not long after killing Pluto, the narrator finds another cat during one of his bar crawls.The cat looks surprisingly familiar: it has similar fur in dark color and it lacks one eye, just like Pluto. There is, however, one significant difference between these two cats. The second one has a white spot on its fur which at first sight, according to the narrator, is just a spot, but with time, it starts to look like gallows to him (Bliss 2009: 97). The spot on the cat’s fur, as well as the sign on the wall after the fire that occurred the night after hanging the first cat, can be perceived as an omen – a supernatural element in the story.The fate of the second cat is also different than Pluto’s. Another day, the narrator together with his wife are in the caller doing some housework, an ordinary situation that ends in a dramatic way. The cat, all at once, appears under his owner’s feet nearly tripping him over. In the act of an unrestrained rage, the narrator takes an axe attempting to kill the cat- the beast. His wife prevents him from committing the murder and in consequence, the killing punch strikes her head (ibid: 98). (†¦) I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan†. The narrator in only two sentences describes the killing of his own wife. Not only is he imperturbable after perpetrating the brutal murder, but he also becomes preoccupied with the problem of how to get ri d of the body instead of showing some grief after his wife’s death. He considers several possible ideas, even â€Å"cutting the corpse into minute fragments, and destroying them by fire†.The husband, and from now on also the coldblooded killer, considers defacing the body of his once beloved wife just to cover up the entire murder of his. The idea of burying the body in the wall of the cellar is a recurring theme in gothic stories. Poe used this idea also in The Cask of Amontillado, for example (Badenhousen 1992: 490). â€Å"I had walled the monster up within the tomb! † The last sentence of the story emphasizes the gothic mystery visible in the work. An act of burying the wife in the wall must have taken the narrator some time.How could he miss the fact that the cat hid itself in the gap while he was immuring his wife? How did the cat manage to survive four days behind the wall without the fresh air and any food? The questions to which answers remain shrouded i n mystery are major characteristic of this genre. To recapitulate, the story of the cat and its mad owner is undeniably a masterpiece. Each sentence in the text is meaningful and each needs a scrutiny to properly interpret the whole work. The gothic literary convention is mostly visible in the main character, who happens to be the narrator of the story.He scares the reader by being unpredictable, rage-driven and unreliable. Moreover, the pace of the story, keeping the reader in a lasting suspense, and the presence of numerous omens make The Black Cat one of many very elaborate examples of Poe’s gothic stories. References Badenhausen, Richard. 1992. â€Å"Fear and Trembling in the Literature of the Fantastic: Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat†, Studies in Short Fiction 29, 4: 486-498. Bliss, Ann V. 2009. â€Å"Household Horror: Domestic Masculinity in Poe's The Black Cat†, The Explicator 67, 2: 96-99.Childs, Peter and Roger Fowler. 2006. The Routledge Dictio nary of Literary Terms. London: Routledge. Fisher, Benjamin Franklin. 2004. â€Å"Poe and the Gothic Tradition†, in: Kevin J. Hayes (ed. ), The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. London: Cambridge University Press, 72-91. Sova, Dawn B. 2007. Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File. Stark, Joseph. 2004. â€Å"Motive and Meaning: The Mystery of the Will in Poe's The Black Cat†, The Mississippi Quarterly 57, 2: 254-263.

Lesson Plan Snacks Sorting and Counting

During this lesson, students will sort snacks based on color and count the number of each color. This plan is excellent for a kindergarten class and should last about 30–45 minutes. Key Vocabulary:Â  Sort, color, count, most, leastObjectives:Â  Students will classify and sort objects based on color. Students will count objects to 10.Standards Met:Â  K.MD.3. Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. Materials Small bags of snacks. Snacks could include MMs, small bags of jelly beans, or fruit snack bags. Healthier options might include small baggies filled with dried fruit or an assortment of Cheerios.For modeling, the teacher should have some translucent colored disks, or at the very least colored overhead markers.For their independent work, they will need small baggies or envelopes with 20 squares of three different colors. There should be no more than nine squares of any color. Lesson Introduction Pass out the bags of snacks. For the purposes of this lesson, we will use the example of MMs. Ask students to describe the snacks inside. Students should give descriptive words for the MMs—colorful, round, tasty, hard, etc. Promise them that they will get to eat them, but math comes first! Step-by-Step Procedure Have students carefully pour out snacks onto a clean desk.Using the overhead and colored disks, model to students how to sort. Begin by describing the lesson objective, which is to sort these by color so that we can count them more easily.When modeling, make these types of comments to guide students understanding: This one is red. Should it go with the orange MMs? Ah, a green one! Ill put this in the yellow pile. (Hopefully, students will correct you.) Wow, we have a lot of brown ones. I wonder how many there are!Once you have modeled how to sort the snacks, do a choral counting of each group of snacks. This will allow for students who are struggling with their counting abilities to blend in with the class. You will be able to identify and support these students during their independent work.If time allows, ask students which group has the most. Which group of MMs has more than any other group? That is the one that they can eat first.Which has the least? Which group of MMs is the sma llest? That is the one they can eat next. Homework/Assessment An assessment for students following this activity may take place on a different day, depending on the time needed and the attention span of the class. Each student should receive an envelope or baggie filled with colored squares, a piece of paper, and a small bottle of glue. Ask students to sort their colored squares, and to glue them in groups by color. Evaluation The evaluation of student understanding will be twofold. One, you can collect the glued square papers to see if students were correctly able to sort. As students are working on their sorting and gluing, the teacher should walk around to individual students to see if they can count the quantities.