The Civil Rights Movement Essay Example for Free

The Civil Rights Movement Essay The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most well known social movements in American History. But have you ever stopped to think of what really makes up a movement? Social movements are demonstrations used to express dissatisfaction with a certain policy or practice. Movements are all made possible by devoted leaders, bold, ordinary citizens, community support, and political institutions. Although the aforementioned components make social movements possible, the main driving force for a successful movement- such as the Civil Rights Movement- is having bold individuals willing to take risks for the cause. People willing to risk their lives for a cause are the main factor that can push a movement to success. An example of a group of ordinary people that had a profound impact on the Civil Rights Movement is the Greensboro Four. The Greensboro Four were students at North Carolina AT that facilitated sit-ins at the Woolworth’s store â€Å"whites only† lunch counter. They were refused service and were asked to leave, but instead of fighting back or leaving, they merely sat at the lunch counter and waited to be served. They knew that they would not be served, but for the sake of making their point known they remained seated until the store closed. As a result of their protest, many other protesters followed in their footsteps in the following days. Each day, the Woolworth’s store was occupied by more and more African-American protesters. Sales at the store dropped drastically, and in the end the segregation policy at the store was abandoned. Protests in neighboring towns arose as the news of the Greensboro Four spread. The Greensboro Four helped bring integration to North Carolina quickly. They acted as models, and their success inspired other people to stand up for their rights. Without visionaries such as the Greensboro Four, people would not have taken the risk to protest against segregation. There would have been nobody to inspire ordinary people, and convince them that they could cause a change and get rid of segregation. The Greensboro Four, and other individuals that stood out like them, are a prime example of why the Civil Rights Movement was successful. The brave individuals took a risk to support their cause, despite the hardships they faced in the process. Their protests not only inspired other people to start their own protests, but they gave hope to people that were aspiring to eliminate segregation.

Effects of Underage Drinking on Society Essay -- Alcohol Regulation, Y

Underage Drinking Anyone who is below eighteen years of age is considered as underage and laws in many countries prohibit such a person from consuming alcohol. Alcohol happens to be the most commonly abused drug not only among the youth but also among adults. This paper explores underage drinking, its effects on the society and outlines what can be done to curb it. Young people are considered to constitute the largest number of alcohol consumers and they account for a large portion of alcohol sales. This is despite the strict drinking laws that govern many countries as regards alcohol purchase and consumption. Underage drinking, which has been on the increase, is allegedly the major cause of alcohol-related problems facing the modern society. The most severe effects of adolescent drinking include drunk driving that leads to accidents and even death, violence, poor performance in school, addiction, poor relationships and damage on adolescent brain development among others (Bonnie and O’Connell 58). The society is to a great extent affected by these effects through deaths and lost productivity among the youth. This has become a challenge to the society and government, which has been accused of doing nothing about this menace. Weak personal character, bad social states and poor cultural settings are some of the major factors that are belie ved to be behind underage drinking. Bad character among adolescents is a major factor behind underage drinking and it is caused by the personal beliefs and attitudes of the young adults towards alcohol, defiance, low commitment towards personal objectives and undue interpretation of freedom (Komro and Toomey 2). The lack of principles and autonomy, which help the youth to say no to illicit beh... ...wn to a personal decision on whether one should or should not consume it as others will still do even if all these interventions were to be put in place. The strategies above can therefore not guarantee an end to underage drinking but they can give significant and sustained reduction in adolescent drinking if efficiently implemented. Works Cited Bonnie, Richard J., Mary Ellen O’Connell, and National Research Council (U.S). Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. Washington, DC: National Academic Press, 2004. Print. Ellul, Duncan Aaron Borg. Risk Perception, Awareness and Prevention Measures to Reduce Underage Drinking and the Illegal Purchase of Alcohol in Malta. Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publishers, 2005. Print. Komro, Kelli A., and Traci L. Toomey. â€Å"Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking.† The News. 19 Jan. 2011: 1-29. Print.

Mary Maloney

Ali Sobers December 9, 2010 Block 3 Lamb to the Slaughter There is more then what meets the eye, and not everyone is what they depict themselves as. In Ronald Dahl’s â€Å"Lamb to the Slaughter,† Mary Maloney, the wife of Patrick Maloney, accidentally kills her husband. Throughout the course of Dahl’s short story, Mary Maloney is portrayed as an innocent victim and a methodical criminal. In the beginning, Mary Maloney is perceived as an innocent victim. Mary Maloney is a loving and devoted wife whose husband unexpectedly leaves her.Everyday she anxiously awaits her husbands arrival home from work, â€Å"glanc[ing] up at the clock† every few minutes â€Å"merely to please herself† in anticipation of him coming home (317). Because Mary is so committed to and consumed by her marriage, she is shocked and devastated when her husband decimated their marriage. Also, Mary Maloney is six months pregnant. Mary Maloney’s skin is very smooth and has a sl eek quality â€Å"for this is her sixth month with child† (317). Mary is six months pregnant, when her husband tells her he is leaving, we feel sympathetic toward her because she thought she was going to have a wonderful married life.Finally, Mary Maloney mistakenly kills her husband. Mary Maloney is shocked and â€Å"feeling cold† when she sees her husband lying on the ground so innocent and she is still holding the preposterous â€Å"piece of meat† (320). Since Mary is so heartbroken, she could not control herself and accidentally kills her husband with a lamb leg. In the end, Mary Maloney has been represented as a methodical criminal. Mary Maloney cleverly gets rid of the murder weapon, by cooking it. She takes the weapon, the lamb leg, and â€Å"place[s] it in a pan† then she â€Å"turn[s] the oven on high† and tosses it inside (320).Since Mary did not want to get caught, she destroys the weapon by heating up the oven to cook it for dinner. The n, Mary makes up an alibi to cover up the murder. She figures out a way to â€Å"t [ell] her story about going to the grocer† and she persuades the police on her side (322). Mary, being very clever, puts together a scenario that helps covers up the crime she committed. Finally, Mary Maloney laughed and giggled. The detectives were contemplating on what the weapon is and hey were agreeing that â€Å"it is under their very own noses† and when Mary Maloney hears them she â€Å"beg [ins] to giggle† (324). Mary Maloney has sneakily tricked the policemen to eat the murder weapon and as they do so, she is proud to have accomplished her job. In The Lamb of the Slaughter, Mary Maloney is revealed as blameless and a meticulous criminal. In the end, she is determined to cover up her unintentional mistake and pretends like nothing has happened. Though times may be hard, and depressing, you should always think before you hurt somone.

Early Reader/Late Reader Does it Matter

Nothing seems to give parents and educators more anxiety than a child who isnt reading at grade level. Just a generation ago, public schools in the U.S. didnt begin formal reading instruction until first grade. Today, a child who enters kindergarten without knowing all the sounds of the alphabet or who isnt reading simple books by the beginning of first grade is likely to be targeted for remedial instruction as soon as they walk in the classroom door. On the other extreme, some parents whose children who start to read at age three or four take it as a sign their child is more intelligent than their peers. They may push to get their offspring into gifted programs and assume their early lead with print gives their kids an advantage that will carry them into college. But are these assumptions valid? At What Age Should Children Begin Reading? The fact is, many educators believe that the range of whats normal for beginning readers is actually much broader than public schools acknowledge. In 2010, Boston College professor Peter Gray wrote in Psychology Today about a study at the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, where a philosophy of child-led learning meant that the age at which students began reading ranged from four to 14. And the age a child starts reading doesnt necessarily predict how they will do later on. Studies have found that theres no long-lasting advantage for students who learn to read early. In other words, children who learn to read later than others usually catch up so quickly once they start that within a few years theres no discernible difference in ability between them and early readers. A Range of Reading Among homeschooling kids, its common to find youngsters who dont learn to read until age seven, eight or even later. Ive seen this in my own family. My older son began reading on his own at around age four. Within a few months, he was capable of reading chapter books like Danny and the Dinosaur all on his own. By age seven, he was up to Harry Potter and the Sorcerors Stone, often reading ahead on his own after our bedtime readaloud of the series was over for the night. His younger brother, on the other hand, let it be known that he was not interested in reading at age four, or five, or six. Attempts to sit down and learn letter combinations with a popular series like the Bob Books produced only anger and frustration. After all, he was listening to Harry Potter every night. What was this cat sat on a mat stuff I was trying to foist off on him? If I left him alone, he insisted, hed learn to read when he was seven. In the meantime, he had someone at hand to read whatever was required, in the form of his cooperative older brother. But one morning, I walked into their shared bedroom to find my younger son alone in his bed with his favorite Calvin and Hobbes collection, and his older brother in the upper bunk reading his own book. Sure enough, his older brother had gotten tired of answering his beck and call and told him to read his book himself. So he did. From that moment on, he was a fluent reader, capable of reading the daily newspaper as well as his favorite comic strips. Older But Not Reading -- Should You Worry? Did this three-year difference in reading affect them later in life? Not at all. Both boys went on to earn As in college English classes as high schoolers. The late reader even beat his brother on the reading and writing portions of the SATs, scoring in the 700s on each. Keep them challenged by adding non-text-based sources of information, such as videos and podcasts, to your stock of interesting reading material. Of course, some reading delays do signal a learning disability, vision problem, or other situation that should be looked at more closely. But if you have older non-readers who are otherwise learning and progressing, just relax, keep sharing books and text with them, and let them learn at their own pace. Updated by Kris Bales