Managers and Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Managers and Communication - Essay Example The study has scrutinized the nature and function of communication. In addition, the methods of interpersonal communication have been identified namely; personal and interpersonal communication methods. Barriers to effective interpersonal communication and ways of overcoming those barriers have been discussed. In addition, the ways in which communication flow from to lower levels of management has been put forth. Additionally, the impact of technology in communication has been discussed. The research methodologies employed in this study include Survey research design because under consideration the entire population under investigation. Moreover, questionnaires were utilized to collect data. Questionnaires were piloted and later distributed to 21 managers. Quantitative data was analyzed statistically using pie charts as indicated. The findings were obtained and recommendations were made. Managers and Communication entail the integration of communication by managers to ensure that there are seamless operations within an organization. Managers utilize communication to ensure proper coordination between the employees, suppliers, customers and all stakeholders within and outside the organization. Managers utilize communication to make decisions and solve organizational problems. Through communication, managers can be in a position to direct employee’s skills and efforts towards achieving organizational goals and objectives.  Further communication help to solve problems that affect employees, this may help to prevent the bigger emergence of bigger problems that may affect the entire organization operation. In addition, managers utilize communication to pass the necessary information to the relevant departments in order to ensure that everything with an organization is learning properly.  

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Out of various strategies that businesses use for ensuring business success, change itself is a strategy that the business needs to take careful attention in implementing of it, managing it and managing its resistance as well. First part of this piece of research paper presents a brief discussion on organizational success and analyzes how Cadbury’s organizational structure will have to change especially in relation to Mintzberg’s theory of organizational structure. Second part of the paper discusses strategic change and how effectively it can be implemented and managed in Cadbury. Organizing for Success Organizational strategy and organizational structure are closely interrelated. Organizational strategy refers to a special way that the organization positions itself in relation to its stakeholders, given the organization’s resources, capabilities and mission etc (Stonehouse, Campbell, 2004, p. 354). Strategic choices of a firm influences the structure and design of the organization as well. As argued by Alfred Chandler, the structure follows the strategy mainly because the decision maker in a firm develops managerial and growth strategies that become the basis for designing the structure of the organization (Stonehouse, Campbell, 2004, p. 354). ... The strategy being implemented influences the structure and design of the firm. For instance, if a firm implements customer focus strategy or customer relationship strategy, it will have to focus on delivering greater values to customers by concentrating on value propositions and the whole organization attempts to gain attractions from the customers. Strategy thus affects organization’s structure. Though there are various approaches to organizational structure, Mintzberg’s theory of organizational structure seems to have gained considerable attention in recent years as many researchers have widely studied its significance in organizational behaviour. According to his theory, there are two basic approaches to the formation of organizational structure, they are contingency approach and configuration approach (Stonehouse, Campbell, 2004, p. 364). Contingency approach has been described as a structure that the organization depends largely on various factors like the nature of its business, nature of its strategy, its size, geographical span of its activities, its age and history etc. according to Mintzberg’s view, it is better for an organization to base its structure on configuration approach rather than basing on contingency approach because factors like span of control, need for formalization, centralization or decentralization etc are to be logically configured in to internal consistent groups (Stonehouse and Campbell, 2004, p. 364). Contingency approach and configuration approach are considered to be the main determinants of organizational structure according to Mintzberg’s theory. According to Mintzberg’s organizational structure theory, an existing organization will be fit in

Scene Analysis Of Casablanca Film Studies Essay

Scene Analysis Of Casablanca Film Studies Essay Second Essay Question: Deconstruct a scene from one of the films weve seen this semester. Address how the director used the actors, dialogue, lighting, camera movement, sound, editing, and production design to get their point across in the film. Casablanca was released in 1942 by the director Michael Curtiz. The film was considered one of the best motion pictures ever made. The films actors, strong emotions, and loving triangle all helped out in having a classical film. The last scene in Casablanca where Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) were saying their final goodbyes as an airplane was in the background setting was one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinematic. Actors: Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart): Rick Blaine was the owner of Ricks Cafà © Amà ©ricain. He apparently appears in the whole film to be a man who is not moved by anyone. He refuses to take drinks from the customers of the cafà ©. He also didnt seem to care about the war and that refugees have gathered in Casablanca. From the start of the film and Rick shows himself as a mysterious and complicated man but on the other hand he is also generous, discriminating, and political. After Ilsa has arrived to Casablanca, flashbacks came across Ricks mind and reminded him of the time they spent in Paris. He appeared to be so much happier than he is without her. Another difference is also that back in Paris he was called Richard. After the attack of the Nazis, Rick and Ilsa agreed to leave Paris together. But Ilsa stood Rick up in the train station, and this was their separation. Rick was in so much pain of what Ilsa did to him and suffered from heartbreak. After that, Ilsa showed up at the bar, Rick reacted so angrily and refused to give her and Victor Laszlo the letters they need of transit. Finally, at the end of the film Rick becomes the hero and he sacrifices his love to Ilsa and his life in Casablanca so that Victor Laszlo can get away with Ilsa and finish his political work. So basically there were three characters that Ricks appeared in the movie with. First, In Paris he was so romantic, then in Casablanca he was hard-hearted, and finally at the end of the film he appeared to be self sacrificing hero (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman): Ilsa is extremely loyal to her husband, Victor Laszlo. She believes she love Laszlo, but on the other hand she also says that she is in love with Rick, back when they were in Paris and also after she arrived to Casablanca. She had a very good reason to tell Rick that she loves him when she was in Casablanca so that she can get the letters of transit that she needs. Her feelings are always dreamy and vague which makes it hard to understand her right. Long time ago when Rick was in Paris, she sent him some letters claiming that she cant see him anymore. And that now can be a proof of her capability to protect her real feelings from those people who loves her. From all the characters in Casablanca, Ilsa was one of the most people who clearly had a lot of pain from the unexpected change of wealth. First of all, her husband Victor got arrested and reported to be dead. Then, when he came, she was supposed to escape with him throughout Europe with the Nazis. After that, in Casablanca she met Rick once again and fell in love with him all over, but unfortunately she was suppose to leave him once again. Ilsa didnt had an easy life, and one of the greatest tragic in the whole film is her fate. Finally, at the closing scene of the film, we can feel that the chances of Ilsa living happily ever after ending do not exist. Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid): One of the main characters in Casablanca is Victor Laszlo, who is the least complicated person. He is an absolute noble hero. Victor Laszlo is a handsome and confident man. His wife was Ilsa and he loves her so much to the extent that when he knew about her and Rick he accepted the fact and claimed he understands. He was ready to give anything for Ilsa to get away safely from Casablanca. Victor likes politics. His want of beating the Nazis is the best ambition for all the actions he ever took. He places himself as a favored to battle through it. As much as Victor Laszlo is priceless to the Allies as much as he is critical to the Nazis. Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains): Louis is not a man of strong opinion, but was a friend to whoever had power. He never likes Strassers believes but he works with him. For a part in the film, Louis was shown as a careless and selfish man who cared about absolutely nothing but himself. He takes advantage of pretty women refugees and usually gets fixed winnings from the casino of Rick. He told Rick not to count on him as a friend, but he couldnt hide his feelings for his friend (Rick). Towards the ending scene of the film, the men committed to their friendship when they committed themselves to the Allied cause. Rick committed by shooting Strasser and letting Ilsa escape with Victor out of Casablanca, while Louis committed by choosing to get away from Casablanca along with Rick. Lighting: The lighting has a great effect on the mood of the whole film. At the beginning of the movie most of the scenes and shots were brighter than when the film came towards the end where they were darker. There was a scene close to the ending scene of the film in Ricks cafà © where Victor Laszlo was taking refuge after the meeting was attacked. The scene inside the cafà © was at night and it had an absolutely low key lighting. The drama of the movie was being built slowly through the beginning up till the end of the movie. The dimness of the film increases the drama and the worry of the viewers more. The shots towards the end of the film become more extreme due to the gap among special parts of the shots. This Chiaroscuro effect also helped in raising the worry due to the clear bright lights and deep dark shades. Against the light of the background, there was Captain Renault, a poster boy, wearing his black uniform. Those two were shots from the final scene when Rick holds Cap tain Renault as a hostage and pressure him into letting Victor Laszlo getaway. Moreover, there was a fog in this final scene in the airfield, that had a gray invading of the scene and actors, which generate a feeling of suspicious. That resulted in making the viewers not knowing how the fight is going to be solved. Here the lighting technique was sharp and differs from the cinematography that is in all the other parts of the film. Sound: The director used the sound in this scene effectively. While filming the movie, he discovered that the sound stage was very small to be suitable to an actual airplane. So he decided to put the actors on a soundstage at Warner Bros where there was no real airplane. He also puts up half and quarter size models of Lockheed Electra 12A. The scene was raped around the machine that produces fog to cover up the artificiality of the background set. In this last scene of the movie, the actors never left the soundstage of the airplane. Also, towards the last scene of the movie, there was a shot that shows very quick two aircraft engines that has dramatic noise from the strong piston engines driving up and the fan spinning round in a high speed. One of the shots was showing the right side of the engine of the aircraft. And the other shot shows the left side of the engine. Along with those shots, the fog was being spread to go with the cloudy smoggy look that covers the rest of the closing scene. The director was so talented in making a great job in sound editing so that the sound of the engines makes the film mix together well with the soundstage of the film. Camera Movements and Dialogue: The ending scene of Casablanca had many camera movement techniques. After Captain Renault (Claude Rains) and Victor Laszlo depart, the camera starts to follow Rick and Ilsa, where it was neither of their view points. The camera was from the side. After that, Rick sends Ilsa to escape with Victor. After a cut away to Captain Renault, the camera builds up again to highlight the remarkable conversation; the camera was also from the side. As the camera follows up again at the final minute it shifts to Rick. Then the camera goes into a series of reverse angle shots first from Rick to Ilsa, then to Rick again, then to Ilsa, then to Rick again, and finally back to Ilsa one more time. The camera shifted either to the face of the person who was talking or to the other person. There was a hidden meaning in these shifts of the camera. It either meant stressing the conversation or drawing attention to understanding what is said. Another frame got both characters (Rick and Ilsa) in, that changed into an analytical point of view shot of Ilsa. Her tears were glowing in her eyes and the feeling of the light was becoming softer at her face. At the same time, Rick was talking to her and said Im not good at being noble, but it doesnt take much to see that the problems of three little people dont amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. After that, Ilsa dropped down her chin, because she felt that she was crushed by fate. Then Ricks hands held Ilsas chin and raised it up again saying Now, now . And this was a close up in the camera movement. After that there was a cut of the point of view of Ilsa, and the hidden meaning here is so that women viewers will be able to understand her situation. Rick said Heres looking at you kid. Then a shot of a close up happened again, where it demonstrates that Ilsa understood that Rick wants the best for her and that she accepted his decision of letting her escape with her husband. Then there was a cut back to the point of view of the guy that she really loves. After that the emotions stopped for a few seconds with a fast cut away to Major Strasser, who is the Nazi commander in charge of Casablanca, who was walking fast to reach to the airport. The camera then goes back to the airport, where a private conversation was held between Rick and Victor who were facing each other. Ilsa was at the background of the scene trying to wipe her tears away. Then there was a fast shot of Captain Renault from Ricks point of view. There was again couple of reverse angles which were used to highlight the speakers conversation. First, from Victors point of view there was a fast cut away to Ricks point of view of Ilsa. Here all three of them were in the frame together. And she backs up what Rick is saying. The shot after that returns to Rick then to Victors face who believed what Rick said and accepted his brave explanation. Then there was a three shot right after the two shots of Rick and Victor, with Ilsa on the right side wiping her tears away and she was considered in the staging position. Then a shot went back to Rick and Victor alone when Victor was saying: Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win. After that a shot went to the engines of the plane. Then there was a three shot of the characters looking at the plane. Then a few series of close ups follows with a great awareness of the eyes of the actors as they act in response to the actions. First, Rick looks at the plane then at Ilsa, and Ilsa looked back at him, then both Rick and Ilsa looked at Victor, then Victor looked right into Ilsa and said: Are you ready, Ilsa?, so she turned her head for the last time and looks at Rick, then at Victor and she said: Yes, Im ready. In this scene Rick is giving up on Ilsa and making her getaway with Victor, and Ilsa on the other hand is accepting Ricks decision in letting her go. Next, a cut to a wide shot of all the three actors appeared. Ilsa stepped in front and the camera movement started following in and to the left to set up some characters significant. For the first time, Ilsa stands next to Victor and Rick was alone facing them. Ilsa said: Good-bye, Rick. Then there was a close up of Ilsas face that softly softened the light at her face and completed saying: God bless you. Next, there was a high angle shot of Rick, the Director is trying to emphasize that we are looking for the first time down to Rick, because Ilsa was gone from his life forever, and was back with Victor. Then he said: Youd better hurry. Youll miss that plane. We were seeing this scene from Victors point of view because now the couple is Ilsa and Victor. After that, the camera was far away from the staging position when Ilsa and Victor were walking away towards the plane. That scene was taken again from Ricks point of view, where he was seeing both of them walking out of his life. And by that he realized the generous sacrifice he has done. After that, the camera showed a reverse angle shot of Victor and Ilsa, as a couple this time, walking to the camera. Then they looked at one another and we can see that Ilsa was trying to hold herself together. And as they get closer to the camera, we see that Victor was slowly cut off when the camera was slowly moving to the left side. The director wanted to focus the attention here on Ilsas face because she was walking away from the man she loves. After that the camera cuts into a close up to Rick alone in the frame (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). After that, the camera cut away to both Captain Renault when Major Strasser just came. Major Strasser tries to make a phone call for help, when Rick asked him not to, but since he didnt respond, Rick shot him. Then the police arrived, and in few seconds Captain Renault said: Round up the usual suspects. Now, Rick and Captain Renault are alone at the closing scene of the film. They watched the plane as it took off from both their point of view and then from a revered angle shot. The director tries here to make the viewers feel the loss of Rick in his eyes. After that another revered angle shot to their point of view appeared then the plane faded away within the fog (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). Finally, Rick and Captain Renault walked away together. Then the camera gets into a crane shot by rising up by looking down in a high angle shot at them as they keep walking from the staging position. Then Rick says: Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Then as they continue walking the music arise (Turner, Casablanca, 1999). As for this Dialogue, the beautiful friendship that will start to begin between Rick and Captain Renault was the last closing sentence in Casablanca. Moreover, the dialogue of Casablanca was all filmed on a soundstage, but that doesnt make it any less of great dialogue. Editing: The editing of Casablanca was attractive and high in excellence. At the closing scene of the film, the close ups of the airplane with the engines represented the scene as if it was in a real airport with a real plane, and was so hard to find out that all of that was acting in front of a fake plane. Moreover, when the shot was on the airplane taking off, it appeared that the first part of the airplane was the real one and the second part was the studio effect. All together, the story, casting, acting, dialogue, staging, music, sound, lighting, camera movement, editing, and production are so great that viewers just cared about whats happening, not about how the film was created and done. Third Essay Question: Some historians argue that films reflect the political and social mores of society at the time of its creation, is this accurate statement? Is the subject matter of the movies weve watched driven by society or does society drive the entertainment industry to create films within a specific moral, social, or political context? Discuss. More frequently, American movies reflected the absolute influence of the society. The industry is willing to sell more products. That case was mainly right when it came to studio era. J. Dudley Andrew, who is a movie scholar, saw and noticed that in The Major Film Theories: A natural rapport grew up between the public which went to the movies weekly and the producers who needed to supply the people with a variant of what they liked and were used to. (Gehring, 1997). Some movies influence society. For instance: Star Wars it still has a continuing force, which was released again in 1997. Gehring, who is a professor and an author of lots of film books, his occupation covered a some of his adolescence of the 1967s which is called dark comedy to get back on the1930s fashion of clothings. Hollywood tries to safegaurd its contribution, because they are not new nor warrantied. Furthermore, the film production is more involved in reflecting societys desires and needs than in directing them. People who puts all the responsibility and guilt on Hollywood for the most part of the societys troubles are not noticing nor considering real life mores and films (Gehring, 1997). The fiction part in Hollywood has been acknowledged for a long time by the majority of critics and reviewers of the genre between high art and mass culture. For the common audience of those fictions, there has been a lot of questioning about the behavior and sexual mortality in the film trade; there was also a concern about the moral value of films and their impact on the society as a whole (Springer, 2008). Some Hollywood movies reflect social attitudes or generalize from specific films. Fictional films are very difficult and hard to make. Social products are completed, distributed, and received by the audience. The critics examine completely in order to evaluate their roles as historical evidence. For instance: it is too risky to take into consideration only some films from a particular period of time as an easy reflection to the American society. Furthermore, the attitudes that are represented in a particular film might symbolize a chain of compromises cautiously designed to be non-offensive. Also, some individual firms and companies might point out indicate very unusual attitudes toward race relations or womens rights for example. Approaches about class, gender, ethnicity, work, and all other aspects of life are represented in fictional films and movies as they are novels and plays. As a mass visual entertainment, those fictional films reflect the social attitudes in a precise dramatic manner. Some movies which were released from 1915 to about 1955 were Americas mainly popular structure of narrative entertainment. At that time, movies tended to be targeted to larger group of audience, who are even larger than most of the audience of plays and novels. Moreover, movies by then reflected social attitudes more precisely than any other medium, as they got into the maximum number of people. The huge amount of audience doesnt necessarily mean that movies in America characterized all points of view. In filming a movie, directors and staff tries to avoid certain controversial points of view in order not to offend a huge number of people. Also, the producers of films try not to insult any wide groups of people and they normally stay away from political controversial, so that they can be able to sell the film internationally to make profit. A film that is driven by the society is basically stating whats really happening in the real world in a movie. Some movie directors try to reflect the picture of whats happening in the world or society by exaggerating a little more. Other film directors might just mirror real life in their movies. Others might be brave and in their movies that they show what is hidden in the society and represent it in their movies. A great example of a movie that is driven by the society could be Casablanca. Since it was filmed during War World II and it has some political and social mores of the society. Another example is the movie Amadeus, since it was a story about the lives of Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, who are two composers and that was during the latter half of the 18th century On the contrary, some movie director wants to add something to the society or want to drive a new idea or message into it, so they do that in their movies. This is what its called society drives the entertainment industry to create films within a specific moral, social, or political context. Those kinds of movies are more open minded, because it requires more creativity and imagination to come up with something new more than the movies that are driven by the society. Most of those kinds of movies are imaginary movies. Another issue of argument of the same field might be that modern society is addicted to media entertainment. Simply, people in society couldnt live without all the noises, the images, the technology weve reached to nowadays. Media and films might affect society as well. It could have positive or negative influence on people. For example, violence movies might affect children, teenagers, or adults as well. They might get influenced unconsciously with what they watch in those violent movies. It can affect ones moral values, political, and social mores and make them more aggressive. Moreover, films of teenagers drinking or dealing with drugs also affect adolescence negatively. On the other hand, movies that have great morals affect people positively. For example, movies that might deal with family gathering throughout the whole film, can teach the audience the importance and the value of a family. In conclusion, a lot of writers, historians, and people argue about weather films reflect our political and social mores of our society or vice versa. The subject of the matter here is still and will remain a subject of argument and discussion, although it defers from one movie to another. Some movies combine both. For instance, a movie can be driven by society and also could be that society drove the entertainment industry to create the film or parts of it within a specific social moral and political context.

The Enlightenment Period and Napoleons Rule Essay -- European History

The time of the Enlightenment was a time of great change, reform, and the emergence of great minds such as Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and even Copernicus. These men cleared the path to thinking in a new way and brought about the change necessary for the Scientific Revolution. The Enlightenment allowed people to think more critically and even was the time in which the â€Å"Experimental Method† was consolidated by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642, Buckler, J., Crowston, p.592 para. 6). It allowed people to begin to think â€Å"out of the box† if you will. Monarchies and the power of the king before this time ruled over the general population unthreatened and very rarely did opposition come to stand. Quite often if opposition did stand it was shortly met with a quick disbanding, or even the death of the â€Å"heretic† that created the uprising. Napoleon was a good example; he did not stand for freedom of speech and quite often worked to regulate publ ic opinion. However, with the Enlightenment around the corner, it helped to pave the way and prepare the country of France for the French Revolution. Commoners, as well as the clergy, and nobility began to stand up more against monarchical rule, and voiced their opinions on controversial subjects. With the emergence of Napoleon Bonaparte the future of France seemed to be a dictatorship under his rule inevitably. The French Revolution was a time also of great change. The hopes of the people were moving from an absolutist monarchy to a hopeful constitutional rule by the peoples, with the help of the Estates General which had not been called upon since 1614 (Buckler, J., Crowston. P.689, para. 3). In July, of 1788 King Louis XVI listened to his people and called a spring sessions of the est... ...lution by commanding the states as emperor. Although he did solve many economic crises, won many victories in strategic battles, and helped progress equal rights among citizens, he did not uphold the most important ideal of the French Revolution which was to be more about a people governed constitution not a dictatorship under Napoleon. In Conclusion, Napoleon was a very charismatic leader, and did many great things for France. As an emperor he was more than well liked and was probably one of the most intriguing individuals of his time, he was a brilliant strategic thinker, and got what he aimed at done generally. However, his over ambitious thoughts led to his downfall at the battle of Waterloo in which the allies of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain defeated him and imprisoned him on the island of St. Helena far off the western coast of Africa.

Life Affirming Teaching

How can we as a people introduce a life affirming way of teaching? A liberating and human freedom approach. I will attempt to show you that is can be a more excellent way of teaching. Through liberation, accountability, creativity, critical consciousness a nd human freedom. In the Webster's dictionary it says that â€Å"Life -Affirming means to indicating that life is value: positive and optimistic. And Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying, â€Å"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its ow n reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.   It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.† (â€Å"NOVA|Einstein Quotes| PBS† 2018) It is said that â€Å"Liberation is a praxis; the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it† (Freire,79). Learning can bring a liberating experience for a student. It can open up one's imagination to recognize th at they, the student, as they learn, can teach also. In Paulo Freire's book â€Å"Pedagogy of the Oppressed† it is mentioned that the way that we have been taught is more of the banking system. It has a narrating â€Å"subject† which is the teacher and the â€Å"object† which is the student. The teachers task is to â€Å"fill† the students with the content of the teacher's â€Å"narrative†. (Freire,71) In a way that exemplifies empty words as one teaches, with no dramatic change or power behind them. Education becomes an act of dep ositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. (Freire,72) This reminds me of the hierarchy way of thinking, because the way the banking concept of education according to Freire is that â€Å"knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing† (Freire,72) When the educator can minimize the educated it can bring a sense of pervasive insecurity to the student, which can produce more of an oppression.ED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 2 Gain ing an education has been one of the most forced way of being in our society. One is not able to gain employment without a certain certificate or masters. It is said that an education can make you rich, while others without an education have become wealthy . Education be it, Christian or secular has played a huge role in reproducing people who have not or will not think for themselves. It's alm ost as if they are based in fear, because according to society, one cannot obtain wealth without an education. Accor ding to Entrepreneur website, an education can either be a stepping stone or a road block on the path to achievement. (Smale) We must then approach education in a way to liberate one's mind and replace an oppressive way of thinking to educate others that they too can be creative. The solution is not to â€Å"integrate† them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that struc ture so that they can become â€Å"beings for themselves†. (Freire,74) Our responsibility as educators should be to engage our students into partnership to help them have a sense of security. † Feelings of insecurity bring chaos in one's life and with them a shi ft in perspective which leads to a decrease in quality of life and ability to experience happiness. In fact, feeling insecure affects all aspects of oneself: decision making, relationships, self -view, creativity, etc.† (Pitaru) If insecurity is capable of effecting all aspects of our lives then we need to attempt to make the learning experience as secure as possible for the students. Learning takes place within the interrelatedness of all aspects of human experience. (Miller,1995) Our human experience or so me might say human freedom is something we all have a legitimate right to. As Groom says, People who suffer a lack of freedom knows it, in its absence. (Groom,83) He also states that â€Å"The starting point for affirming our possibility for freedom is the bibl ical claim that we are created by a free creator. (Groome, 84) We are created in the image and likeness of a divine being that has showed us how to live in freedom. We are free primarily forED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 3 God because it is only by saying yes to the image of whom we are a reflection that we can say yes to our own authentic selves, and only as our own true selves can we be free. (Groome,84) With freedom comes a beautiful thing called liberty. Liberation requires critical consciousness a nd creative thought. The most important reason for liberation in education lies in its drive towards reconciliation. (Freire,72) The banking system will not work in a liberated education setting because that system mirrors oppression. Oppression can be a controlling mechanism that can stifle one's growth and can cause death to one's being. Oppression – overwhelming control – is necrophilic; it is nourished by love of death, not life. (Freire,77) Once a person learns this there is no going back to the old way of thinking. There is a stretching of sorts, in a person's mind and one recognizes that they will not be oppressed any longer. There is a freedom in knowledge and it is there to set the oppressed free. â€Å"To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone c an learn. (Hooks, 13) It is attainable for anyone of us, and anyone can teach it, with an open heart, mind and a sense for changeability. According to Groom in the three dimensions of human freedom, we have, in our freedom for God the capacity to â€Å"know† g ood (rational freedom), to freely â€Å"choose† the good, (freedom for choice, freedom for inner compulsion), and to â€Å"do† the good (freedom for action, freedom from external constraint or servitude). (My emphasis) (Groome,85) If we know then we can choose and then we can move with action and do. That's how we can move forward in recognizing that we can learn as well as teach in a way that can bring us liberation. We can eventually teach with a life -affirming way. According to Groom, the rational of our freedom is rooted in our ability for self -reflection, which expresses the transcendent aspects of being human. This can give us the capacity to know the good with sufficient clarity to be held responsible. (Groome, 85) Without this accountabilityED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 4 freedom would be non -existent. In other words, we have freedom of choice even to the point of being able to choose unfreedom. (Groome, 86) Action is the next phase of freedom, how do we act out our true freedom? Well, according to Groome, our freedom for God and thus for ourselves is realized in our freedom for others. (Groome, 86) We want to be free but we are not truly free until we live in a way of thinking that we are to be of service to others. That is a beautiful definitio n of giving back to our communities and students. True freedom is â€Å"Freedom for God is a possibility of authentic freedom for oneself†. (Groome, 87) How do we live out this â€Å"freedom† we have been generously given? According to Groome its through Jesus Chris t, with a Christian perspective. (Groome, 88) In James 1:25 (NRSV) â€Å"But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act — they will be blessed in their doing† . We can and will be blessed when we make the conscious decision to help others. The freedom we gain is not for us alone but for those whose lives we touch. Those who we can share our truth with and show that God's freedom is an everlasting one, not a superficial one. 1 Peter 2:16 , it says, â€Å"As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil†. To be faithful, is a choice and to serve is a way we can thrive in freedom. Freedom is not just a self -serving freedom of â€Å"I can do whatever I want, when I want† True freedom in Christ is being free to free others. Freedom for God is the possibility of au thentic freedom for oneself. (Groome,87) In Christ we can now be free from anything that is attempting to stop our freedom. For those of us who are of the Christian faith we believe that we have a freedom in our belief system, however, for those who are n ot believers. I have found out that they too have a freedom in or if they have a spiritual encounter. One can say my way is truth yet another personED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 5 might say, â€Å"but no, my way is truth†. I have found that whoever or whatever we believe, we can come to a pl ace of freedom and live a life affirming way of being. To live a life -affirming way of being, we must teach that it is possible. Christian faith and human freedom can be hand in hand, if it is being taught without manipulation or judgment. According to Groome, â€Å"Any form of manipulation or indoctrination is both bad education and blatantly counterproductive to the purposes of Christian education† (Groome,98) That's why we must make a difference when we teach. My using a life affirming way of teaching, we ar e helping the student to think for themselves and to trust themselves in their learning process. It's a responsibility that some might not want to take but if we want society to be a more loving and compassionate one we must be patient and teach in a lovin g environment and not with a controlling way of being. â€Å"Our intentions must be to sponsor people toward a lived Christian faith that is both free and freeing†. (Groome,99) We must be intentional in helping others when we teach. We must be aware of their li ves and cultures and be authentic and show a genuine love and care for them. We should meet them at their individual needs, not mirror superiority over them. We can show as we learn more about our own freedom in our humanism. â€Å"Human freedom within history will always be an ongoing journey rather than a point of arrival†. (Groome,99) According to Nurten Gokalp, â€Å"Education can be defined as the process of developing and completing of human being†. â€Å"The purpose of education is to provide the appropriate condit ions to people for maintaining themselves as a whole†. (Gokalp,2012) Education should be a way of helping others meet their own personal potential and not make them into robots or people who have no way of thinking or creating their ow n way of being. There should always be a freedomED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 6 in education to allow the person to help create their own guidance in themselves. There is a wholeness in a life affirming way of teaching that can usher the person into their own greatness. â€Å"Freedom is an important factor in t he process of determining one's self and others†. â€Å"Freedom in this sense is usually regarded as a presupposition of moral responsibility: the actions for which I may be praised or blamed, rewarded or punished, are just those which I perform freely†. (Gokal p,2012) . Now that's human freedom in a life affirming way, in every sense of the word. â€Å"Human being can not choose to be free or not, but with education he can realize his freedom and learn to use it.† And finally, â€Å"real freedom is to choose to comply with the enlightened mind† (Gokalp,2012) This is what Freire calls problem -posing education and that is the education we need to flourish in, in these days and times. â€Å"Problem -posing involves a constant unveiling of reality† he says it, â€Å"strives for the emerge nce of consciousness and critical intervention in reality†. He mentions that students will meet the challenges of the world and instead of running from them they will run into it. (my interpretation) He says, â€Å"Their response to the challenge evokes new cha llenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed. Education as the practice of freedom -as opposed to the education as the practice of domination -denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent, a nd unattached to the world.† (Freire, 81) I'd like to say that we all should want to live a life of freedom and liberty. It is something that comes naturally to some and is very hard for others. If we being the part of the education system, can help to shap e a person's perspective on life then we should attempt to do it in a holistic approach. There should be an authentic liberation and freedom that emulates from us intoED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 7 our students, so we can draw out their talents and abilities so that we can make a more peaceful and compassionate way of being in this world. The banking system will not work for this generation. We have too many minds that won't just sit and be still and take it, like other generations before us did. We will ask questions and we will expre ss our differences. There is a self -justice that is beginning in our society and its used in self -expression and in all the ways of communication. Education is a praxis of freedom and a way for people to practice their rights in learning and contributing to society. We are an awake society and live in a more conscious frame of mind. We won't go back to sleep, we won't lay down and roll over every time someone wants us to. We will be a positive contributing factor to our world and be conscious of it. We wil l teach others to love the earth and to more kind in its evolving. Education is a beautiful example of liberation, especially in one's way of giving back. We will fight for our freedom from oppression. We will make others recognize that we are humans and that we will not have anything less then, full humanity. We won't live in a dehumanizing way of being any longer. Because once you've tasted freedom, one can never go back. We won't go back to laying down and allowing others to speak violence into our bein gs. â€Å"Any situation in which some individuals prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate human beings from their own decision -making is to change them into objects. (Freire,85) W e will not be objects any more. We can't any more, especially when we have an open consciousness and revelation that we don't have to live this way any longer. Now we have a mandate to live out and bring life to our students. ED Darlene Hooks Sring/2018 8 Bibliography †¢ â€Å"NOVA | Einstein's Big Idea | Einstein Quotes (Non -Flash) | PBS†. 2018. Pbs.Org . http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/wisd -nf.html. †¢ Freire, Paulo. 2000. Pedagogy Of The Oppressed . New York: Continuum. †¢ Smale, Thomas. 2018. â€Å"8 Hugely Successful People Who Didn't Graduate College†. Entrepreneur . https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/299620#9 . †¢ Pitaru, M.S., L.P.C, Di ana C. 2018. â€Å"Identifying And Tackling Feelings Of Insecurity†. Blog. Unleash Your Creativity . https://blogs.psychcentral.com/unleash – creativity/2015/10/insecurity/ . †¢ Miller, Randolph Crump. 1995. Theologies Of Religious Education . Birmingham, Ala.: Religious Education Press. †¢ Hooks, Bell. 1994. Teaching To Transgress . Routledge. †¢ Gokalp, Nurten. 2012. â€Å"Philosophy Education And Human Freedom†. Procedia – Social And Behavioral Sciences 47: 477 -479. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.683.

Thought and Man

According to Holbach, humans have no control whatsoever, no matter how much said humans believe they do. He explains that free will is a construct of the human mind and that all of our choices are determined by desire and necessity. Even when a mad man sticks his hand in a fire, he is acting on some sort of greater desire to impress upon his counterparts or for his own self-betterment. In his opening deposition he states that man is connected to universal nature and submitted to the necessary and immutable laws she imposes on all beings. This is interesting because many arguments that are connected to the idea of determinism and free will are linked to the existence of God or another omniscient power. This is one of the only well explained arguments against the belief of free will that doesn’t lend itself to imposing personal religion onto the reader/scholar studying the work. The examples provided by Holbach are wide and well prepared to lend significance to his argument. He starts off talking of a man tormented by a violent thirst, if said man is shown water he will automatically want to drink it, as it is an inherent need for that water to live. He will however falter and think about not drinking the water if someone were to tell him it were poisoned. Holbach covers any conflicting thoughts to this situation by saying that a mad man may very well still drink of the poisoned water. He is not acting of his own free will as the actions of fools are as necessary as those of the most prudent individual almost set to be counteractions that hold the world in balance. Holbach continues on saying that the actions of man are never free. Man acts selfishly in every action he partakes in, he does make fairly educated decisions over what he must do though as he bases all his decisions on opinions, received ideas, consequences of his temperament that point to his own happiness. As we said in class about the door holding situation, you may not want to hold a door open for someone that is following behind you about three steps. It only takes a second out of your day, but the initial thought of any person opening the door first, is what will this person do for me if I hold the door for them? Even if the person didn’t think what will I get now, there’s the inherent belief of karma and the repercussions that will befall either the opener or the person the door is being opened for. Even as we are given apparent choices in our every day lives, such as whether or not to hold open a door for someone or to drink poisoned water or not, but even these observed choices don’t mean e have freedom. We are constantly in pursuit of our own happiness and success over anyone else’s. We strive to make ourselves appear better than those around us. A hero rushing into a burning building is acting on the same choices the coward does, he takes the foolhardy choice however because his desire to be viewed as a hero outweighs, in his mind, his personal safety. Holbach continues on his discussion to say th ere is no difference between a man who jumps from a building and the man who is pushed from a building. Both men are acting on the same choices, whether to fall or not, although the second man’s ability to act on the choice not to fall is directly correlated to how hard he is pushed or thrown from the building. The first man may be leaping of his own volition and may not scramble to grab on to anything that will slow or stop his apparent demise. The second man will probably be making his own choices once he’s air born by doing just that, grabbing onto anything in his path as he falls and screaming his lungs out. The man who holds his hand in a fire as a symbol of bravery and strength of his people has his choices over whether or not to be in the fire. He however does it to make his people look stronger, striking fear or adoration into the hearts of his enemies. Once you recognize he’s doing this for the betterment of his people or of himself we can begin to realize just what Holbach is trying to say, that no matter what choices we are faced with, we will almost always, without regard for the other choice, do what’s best for us and us alone. A choice that is apparent in this present time is the out striking of suicide bombers. These people have a choice of either blowing themselves up or not. The problem is that when these people are Middle Eastern they are usually promised 72 virgins when they reach their promised land. That’s a pretty weighty option and most guys would kill for that, quite literally in the sense of this discussion. Once you give rewards to outlandish behavior you’re setting up the world for destruction. It changes the morality issue most people argue with on if something is good or evil by replacing it with hey, it may be not good, but I get all this cool stuff if I do it! The preceding argument only works with male suicide bombers however as I know a lot of girls who wouldn’t enjoy having 72 virgins in the afterlife. The men definitely get the better end of the deal. It makes one wonder what the mentality of the female bombers is, do they get something better in the afterlife too for going along with this ‘decision’? r is the act of the suicide bomber in the female’s eyes actually a choice and not something done for the betterment of herself except for the fact that it makes her apparently an equal to the men in her country. That answers my own disbelief over their choices. Most women in the Middle East are not allowed to show any skin, let alone do much for themselves while in their own homelands. If they are given an opportunity to become seen as an ind ividual in her countrymen’s eyes, of course she will take it. Even when it calls for giving one’s life for the apparent greater good. Even when trying to come up with an objection to Holbach’s view, I couldn’t come up with anything substantial to hold against it, the more I tried to fight against his discussion, the more I saw he is correct. Humans are inherently selfish and will always do what’s best for themselves over anything for the greater good. Man has no control over his decisions, he may like to think he does, but when you look back on every decision we’ve ever made in our lives we see that our choices were more often than not, done out of selfish reasons. Few people can go out into the world giving themselves selflessly and without thought. Even if we try to make the conscious effort to do something good for someone every day, that’s only one out of a million choices we make every day. I’m guilty of holding the door for someone following a few steps behind me but I get irritated when they don’t say thank you to me as they pass by, and I do think that Karma will treat me well later in my day and life for every time I do take the time to hold a door for someone, or pick up a pencil someone has dropped, or any other source of everyday happenings.