Disaster Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Disaster Management - Essay Example He/ she is also responsible for organizing and integrating a team that aims at rescuing and preventing further damage and deaths of people and domestic animals by the calamity. The chain of command is as follows. At the top most is the disaster commander who is in charge and responsible for the whole situation. Immediately under the disaster commander are the public information officer and liaison officers. The public information officer should understand principles of risks in communication. He/she is responsible for giving accurate public health information to the public and collaborating agencies. His/her role is to ensure that the message is consistent. The liaison officer, on the other hand, serves as a point of contact for supporting agencies and answering their questions and providing briefings whenever necessary. The officer also prevents the agencies from being bombarded with questions and requests. The next level includes the operations chief officer whose main work is to d evelop and implement strategies and tactics with the aim of carrying out incident objectives. He is responsible for organizing tactic resources and ensuring that there is good communication with the people delivering the resources. The planning chief officer also falls in this level and he/she is responsible for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information. The personnel are responsible for compiling an incident action plan and focusing on what might come next within the incident. The personnel should possess qualities of good written and communication skills. Within the same level, the logistics chief officer is responsible for acquiring space and supplying equipment necessary for the incident. He/she should be fast, accurate, and precise. Finally, within the same level, a chief finance officer is responsible for ensuring proper contractual and financial processes are in place. He/she also ensures that the resources ordered are available and expanded if necessary. The financ ial officer should be familiar with financial systems and able to keep accurate financial data. The spilled carbon monoxide, oil, and many more hazards present within the residential houses are some of the environmental issues the public nurse has to deal with but are beyond her field of operation. Incidences of power loss and damage of houses are also beyond her area of operation, hence the need to work with different agencies in order to facilitate quick and prompt rescue mission. The health nurse relocates victims from their houses to safer shades in case of flooding. Under circumstances when clean water is not available, the public health nurse advices on drinking of boiled water and bottled water. In case of oil spillage and paints in a residential house, the health nurse contacts an environmental specialist to advice on how to clean up household hazards. The public health officer also helps victims through decision-making by being caring, understanding, and listening to their fears. He/she also helps the victims reduce anxiety and pressure. Under situations where the victim does not speak or understand English, the public health nurse uses gestures to communicate. This helps the nurse to go through the victim’

Cost method november Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost method november - Essay Example It is crucial for managers to comprehend the merits and demerits of the two systems to satisfy the needs of their business operations. The budget presented entails schedules that raise various concerns leading to the recommendation that the company should switch to the activity-based costing system of accounting. The first concern is the quarterly budget that in my opinion requires further subdivision to generate quarters. Mainly, cycling takes place in temperate weather conditions. Buying materials for bicycle production for the start of sales hikes demand therefore, requires the producer to incur a quarter before the demand. Another concern regards accounts that remain uncollectable. The master budget for the company is not specific it its cash budget line. It closely refers to the uncollectable receivables. Variable factors in this context emanate from economic features among them limited sponsorship and thus resulting in wrong accounts (Gazely & Lambert, 2006). From the budget, the company is setting aside a budget for 140 bikes inclusive of labour costs. It is appropriate to cut down on the level of production of extra parts in the inventory. The viability of any business can be measured by how the company effectively utilizes its resources while plummeting unnecessary costs hence Competition Bikes Inc. should strive to avert extra discretionary costs. The method of distributing manufacturing overhead by activity-based costing (ABC) to products is efficient compared to the traditional method of costing. Precisely, activity-based costing assigns the right percentage of resources to particular products. While monitoring and allocating organizational costs to products and objects, activity-based costing remains a more sophisticated and logical method as opposed to the traditional costing system (Bragg, 2001). It is possible to distribute

Epistemology and Knowledge Essay Example for Free

Epistemology and Knowledge Essay Epistemology, or the study of knowledge, requires the scholar analyze the what, how, and why’s of their own knowledge. Asking these questions of themselves is essentially applying that which they have learned. There are different origins of knowledge as conceptualized by philosophers, educators, and scientists. Early philosophers defined knowledge as â€Å"justified true belief† (Cooper, pg. 23). In order for an individual to know something it must be true, he or she must believe it, and the belief in it must be justified or rationally reasonable. Later, early modern philosophers required knowledge to be proven and absolute. The scientific method was employed to provide proof for ideas and beliefs. The means by which knowledge is acquired varies. Feldman cites sources of knowledge as perception, expert testimony, memory, reasoning, and introspection (Feldman, 2003). As an educator, instructing primary age students on a daily basis, I must not only have great insight into what I believe, but I also must have insight into my student’s knowledge as well. Instructors need to know a number of things about their students, such as: Do the students have adequate prior knowledge to understand the new material being presented? Are the students sufficiently motivated to engage in the cognitive tasks required of them? Does the information fit an existing scheme of knowledge or will it require some alteration of current understanding? Understanding what my student know and at what depth they are able to apply that knowledge guides my instruction. My natural curiosity, a natural inclination for question, and a need for answers motivate the search for explanations. Knowledge and wisdom give an understanding of our position, role, and function in the world. Achterbergh and Vriens (2002) stated, â€Å"The role of knowledge in generating appropriate actions is that it serves as a background for articulating possible courses of action (articulation), for judging whether courses of action will yielded the intended result and for using this judgment in selecting among them (selection), for deciding how actions should be implemented and for actually implementing action (implementation)† (pg. 223). Knowledge enables interpretation of experiences, predictions of consequences, and provides the ability to make informed decisions. My own personal epistemology is a product of each of these views. Personal experiences have a major influence on beliefs and should be an acceptable source of knowledge but not the only consideration when acquiring knowledge. There is also a place for the scientific method which offers proven data to base knowledge. For me, knowledge is a product of reasoning (Feldman, 2003). I derive knowledge from information imported through different modes and from various sources, such as personal experiences, advice from experts, and data. These inputs of information are cognitively processed and filtered with the reference to past experience and prior knowledge to become new â€Å"justified true beliefs† (Cooper, ). Thus, knowledge acquisition is a process involving the collection of raw data or information, reasoning, and judgment making. For example, after my students have taken a test, I look at the data, think about the patterns in the data, or the lack of a pattern using prior knowledge and experiences as a filter. Finally, I decide what my next step or strategy will be. Do I need to reteach the subject because the pattern suggests that most of my students did not fully understand the skill or concept? Or do I move on to another more complex skill or concept because my students have proven themselves knowledgeable? It is in this way that I acquire knowledge and apply that knowledge to planning lessons for my students. Many of my colleagues rely solely on the scientific method to make decisions in regards to student learning. They are satisfied with looking at a spreadsheet full of data and believe that it tells the complete story in regards to students. They are also under the assumption that scores derived from a series of multiple choice tests given on a set of skills will reveal if a student has acquired the desired knowledge. Basing grades on these tests is also appropriate. I do not believe that this tells the full story of my student’s knowledge. These tests may demonstrate the ability to regurgitate this knowledge within a certain context, but out of this context this may not be true. I do, however, use this data to help inform many of my decisions, however, I do not make decisions based exclusively on this data. There must be a balance  of reasoning, using my 16 years of experiences and training, as well as raw data tells a more complete story of my student’s knowledge and abilities. I have worked for Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), in Porterville, California, my entire career. PUSD’s vision and mission statements read as follows: â€Å"PUSD students will have the skills and knowledge to be prepared for college and career and to make a positive impact in a dynamic global society. The mission of PUSD is to provide students a dynamic, engaging and effective educational experience that prepares them with the skills to be productive citizens in a global society. † As a result, it is perceived that all students will develop and demonstrate â€Å"critical thinking and problem solving skills; cultural awareness and the ability of collaborate with diverse groups; effective communication skills of listening, speaking and writing; creativity and innovation; leadership, self-management and organizational skills obtained through real world applications and community involvement; (and) the ability to navigate the global world of work and further their education (Porterville, 2012). † Porterville Unified (PUSD) has given explicit expectations for what students should know at the end of their educational career with the district, how students get to these end goals is a little less clear and left to the judgment of the teachers. There are some expectations of teachers and lessons presented to students given by the district. Many professional development hours have been spent on instructing teachers about the specific things that administrators will look for as they do brief observations of classroom instruction. The expectations include teaching explicitly to the essential standards; posting of the essential standard being taught; 80% student engagement during the lesson; display of exemplary work; higher order questioning and thinking skills. Administrators collect this data and share it with grade levels and school wide to help teachers focus on areas that are lacking. Administrator walk-throughs give a quick snap shot of the type of teaching and learning taking place during a lesson and they help to build a holistic picture of the teaching methods and resources being used (Hetzner, 2011). PUSD has placed an emphasis on the strategies needed for effective lessons and, in turn, effective student learning. As a 4th grade teacher for Porterville Unified School District, my task is to create daily lesson plans that serve to guide me as I teach my students. My first step in creating these lessons is to determine my student’s level of prior knowledge. I can accomplish this by looking at formal and informal assessments and data. Observation of this data gives me a better understanding of what my next steps with my student should be. In some cases, I need to go back and reteach skills, while in other cases I can teach my students a new skill. I have to make an informed decision as to what cognitive level I need to teach to next. Awareness of how my students are performing as well as where I need to be as far as pacing and staying on track to get through all the skills needed to be taught within the year are vital to my daily task as a 4th grade teacher. As I compare my personal epistemology with that of my district, I realize that I spend more time assessing data after the lesson has been taught while the district places more emphasis on data collected during a lesson. Both of these approaches are valuable and, in fact, the district does place value on the end result (i. e. State test scores), however, there is little action that can take place after the end of the year data is collected. PUSD has placed and emphasis on good instruction because they see it as the road to a good education, as well as, the skills and goals they have set in the mission and vision statements. Our epistemologies align in that we both rely on the research of experts. I trust, as does PUSD, that the data given by experts is valuable to our own knowledge and it should guide how I teach my students. The district also views its teachers as experts in the field and has given many freedoms in the presentation and uses of resources when teaching students. As I reflect on my school districts focus as compared to me I realize that even though our epistemologies are not exactly aligned we are aligned in our focus of the students. Students come first. That means I will use whichever strategies I need to in order to create effective student learning. Reviewing test scores and planning lessons are vital to student learning, however, I have been so centered on what I am teaching that my students have not been engaged as well as they could be and thus have not learned the subject matters to their full potential. Also, although pacing is important, it should not be of top priority. Top priority should be assessing my students during the lesson and changing strategies, or even the skills being taught, if my students are not engaged. There is no point in plowing through a lesson if the majority of my students are not listening to what is being taught. This new insight will definitely help to drive my instruction and will help make me a more effective teacher. References: Achterbergh,J. , Vriens, D. (May-June 2002). Managing viable knowledge. â€Å"Systems Research and Behavioral Science. † V19i3p223 (19). Cooper, D. E. (Ed. ). (1999). Epistemology: The classic readings. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Feldman R. (2003). Epistemology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hetzner, Amy, 2011. Walk-throughs give school administrators firsthand view of staff in action. JSOnline: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. May 14, 2011. Retrieved on November 20, 2012 from: http://www. jsonline. com/news/education/121843078. html Porterville Unified School District, 2012 . PUSD: Vision and mission statements. Retrieved on November 20, 2012 from: http://dnn. portervilleschools. org/dotnetnuke/District/VisionMission. aspx.

Principles of the 1948 National Health Service

Principles of the 1948 National Health Service This assignment will outline the main principles of the 1948 National Health Service and will provide a commentary on the organisation and structure of the NHS. To begin this assignment will provide context by briefly exploring healthcare provision prior to the development and implementation of the NHS. Healthcare Pre-NHS Godber (1988) suggests that prior to the development of the NHS the Poor Law had provided health care support for the indigent in Britain for nearly a century and this included institutions and infirmary wards with a medical officer in charge to provide healthcare with the larger ones gradually taking on the functions of general hospitals for the acutely ill. Voluntary hospitals, which were often run by charitable organisations developed specialist services. Hospitals for patients with communicable diseases, tuberculosis, and mental illness and handicap had long been provided by local authorities; originally for public safety. Hospital surveys carried out during the Second World War revealed not only shortages of beds and buildings in a poor state, but that services were not provided in the areas which most needed them (Powell, 1992). From 1911 personal health care for low income workers was provided through National Health Insurance; however this did not cover hospital care. Other medical care was often delivered by general practitioners and payment for services was a matter for the individual, therefore it was often the rich or affluent that had access to healthcare rather than the lower classes. The Beveridge Report of 1942; which was a very influential report on social insurance and allied services, identified five evils within the society of the day: want, ignorance, disease, squalor and idleness. It was recommended in this report that a compulsory system of state insurance (to which employers, employees and the state would contribute) would be established to cover sickness, unemployment, retirement pensions and support for young families (National Archives, 2011a). The Beveridge Report (1942) pointed to the establishment of a comprehensive national health service as a necessary underpinning to a national social insurance scheme. The Labour Party had a long-standing commitment to a national health service and when they came into office in July 1945, Aneurin Bevan was appointed Minister of Health. Within a matter of weeks, Bevan produced a plan for a fully nationalized and regionalized National Health Service (National Archive, 2011b). At the conclusion of the Second World War Britons wanted a change in how healthcare was delivered particularly as medical care had made big advances in the war, soldiers had been offered higher standards of care than they were likely to encounter after demobilisation (Portillo, 1998). Civil servants and politicians had identified a growing momentum towards change and began looking at opportunities for transformation in how health care was provided. The National Health Service Britains National Health Service came into effect on the 5th of July 1948; it was the first health system to supply free medical care to the whole population and the first healthcare provision that was based not on an insurance principle but on the provision of services available to everyone (Klein, 2006). The transformation from fragmented and inadequate care provision to a structured and accessible body was unique and although planning had taken many years with varying obstacles; such as the outbreak of war and changes in political leadership, the implementation of a progressive and universal way of delivering care to all was finally introduced. As such, the new health service arguably constituted the single biggest organizational change and greatest improvement in health care ever experienced in the nations history (Webster, 1998). The NHS brought together all of the hospitals; regardless of ownership, and also the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, opticians and dentists that were once paid through charity or private funds into one organization. The Main Principles of the NHS Underpinning the NHS is a set of core principles and Bevan (1952) stated that the essence of a satisfactory health service is that the rich and the poor are treated alike, that poverty is not a disability, and wealth is not advantaged. With the development of a national health service the three main core principles cited by Bevan (1948) were that it met the needs of everyone, it should be free at the point of delivery and that it should be based on clinical need, not on the ability to pay. These principles ensured that every member of the British nation from young to old and from rich to poor were able to receive free health care for any medical condition, a phenomena that was unusual to say the least in comparison to how heath care had been delivered previously. The introduction of the National Health Service ensured medical treatment and poor health was not overshadowed by concern regarding finances and payment or that members of society lived in fear of medical expenses they could not afford. Beckett (2004) suggests that within a month of the vesting day of the National Health Service, in 1948, 97 per cent of the general public were signed up for treatment. This was viewed as a triumph for the minister of health, Aneurin Bevan, as it was perceived that he had built a system of care and disease prevention on a set of principles never seen before in any global society. These core principles ensured that everyone would have their healthcare needs met and even today the three principles remain the foundations from which modern health care services are delivered; in essence homeless people requiring care for frostbite or dental pain can receive access to health care as can wealthy property developers who have had a skiing accident or have the need for a wisdom tooth to be removed. The National Health Service may be perceived to be free to those requiring medical care and treatment, however the service requires funding to ensure practitioners employed are pad and that resources such as medicines, equipment and treatment areas are funded. To do this from inception the NHS has been funded by a system of taxation levied by the government, contributions are made through systems of national insurance contributions and income tax with small amounts being made through private practice under the NHS umbrella (Rivett, 1998). From 1948: The structure of the NHS Under the 1946 National Health Service Act, it was recommended that the health minister had the duty to promote in England and Wales a comprehensive health service which was to be developed with the purpose of improving the physical and mental health of the population and to oversee the move towards prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease and illness. The services to be provided to meet these aims were to be free of charge and for the first time, the Minister of Health was made personally accountable to Parliament for hospital and other specialised services in addition to being indirectly responsible for family practitioner and local health services (Levitt et al., 1999). He was indirectly responsible for family practitioner and local health services. The structure of the newly formed National Health meant that all hospitals were nationalised and they were managed by either regional hospital boards or boards of governors who were accountable directly to the minister for health. Funding was provided directly by the ministry of health to the regional health boards and this in turn was given to the hospital management committees who had the responsibility for the management of budgets and funding for services (Levitt et al., 1999). As family practitioner services had refused to be managed and overseen by the newly formed National Health Service and Ministry of Health, executive councils were formed to ensure services such as general medical, dental and ophthalmic resources were delivered, these were referred to as Primary Care services. Local authority departments were made responsible for community health services, including health visitors and district nurses, vaccinations and immunisations, maternal and child welfare, ambulance services and services for the mentally ill and those with learning disabilities who were not in hospital (Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry, 2001). From 1948: The Changing Organisation of the NHS During the early stages of the NHS it is identified that there was a three part structure that had three branches which included; hospitals, primary care and local authority health services. This structure prevailed until 1974 when a more integrated arrangement was introduced which held three distinct levels of management at a regional, area and district level. A change of government to conservative leadership in the 1970 general election meant that the three part structure of the NHS that had been prevalent since the beginning of the service implementation became replaced in favour of new local authority control. General practitioners, hospitals, health centres and nursing services were brought under the control of a single area health authority which reported to regional health authorities (National Archives, 2011c). An American economist in the 1980s produced a highly critical report of the NHS suggesting that it was inefficient, riddled with perverse incentives and also that it had become a culture that was resistant to change (Enthoven, 1985). Due to the damning nature of this report the organisation of the NHS once again changed and it was suggested by Enthoven (1985) that the NHS would be more efficient if it was organized on something more like economic market principles. Enthoven (1985) argued for a split between purchaser and provider, so that Health Authorities could exercise more effective control over costs and production as a result the NHS administration was broken up into trusts from which authorities bought services. The role of Regional Health Authorities was taken over by 8 regional offices of the NHS management executive and this process ensured that the NHS became truly a nationally administered and centralized service (Klein, 2006). With changing governments there has been ongoing change reflected within the organizational structure of the NHS. Within recent years the labour government had attempted to alter the structure of the NHS by introducing strategic health authorities and Primary Care Trusts. In recent months with the election of the coalition conservative and liberal government yet more new organizational changes to the NHS have been identified. Ramesh (2011) has identified that the NHS will undergo a radical pro-market shakeup with hospitals, private healthcare providers and family doctors competing for patients who will be able to choose treatment and care in plans laid out by the government today. These changes will aim to reduce the numbers of management staff that are present within the current labour determined legacy within the NHS and the new approach will also allow NHS hospitals to chase private patients as long as the money is demonstrably ploughed back into the health service (Ramesh, 2011). Andrew Lansley, the health secretary for the current coalition government presented to parliament in July 2010 a white paper which set out ambitious plans for the NHS. These plans had a simple aim: to deliver health outcomes for patients which are among the best in the world, harnessing the knowledge, innovation and creativity of patients, communities and frontline staff in order to do so (Lansley, 2010). The White Paper, Liberating the NHS (Department of Health, 2010) suggests that it will abolish all of Englands 152 primary care trusts, which currently plan services and decide how money should be spent; these radical proposals would save the taxpayer more than  £10bn over the next decade and under the plans, GPs will be responsible for buying in patient care from 2013, with a new NHS commissioning board overseeing the process (Department of Health, 2010). Conclusion The work of Beveridge and Bevan in the 1940s was undoubtedly pioneering and visionary with many members of society being able to access healthcare for the first time regardless of their financial means. The implementation of the NHS ensured that healthcare was available to everybody regardless of means and that it would be free from the point of delivery, principles that remain in essence part of modern day healthcare and National Health Services. The NHS has seen many governmental changes since 1948, it has been re-organized and the structure has altered, however regardless of this it has remained a service that all British people can access and a service that many other countries have been unable to replicate. The foundation of the NHS was challenging and there were many critics, however the foresight of political leaders such as Bevan and Beveridge ensured health care remains free at the point of delivery in this country.

History Of Music :: essays research papers

Music has been around sense the dawn of time. When man first started to discover music it was not the kind of music we have today. All it consisted of was grunts, moans, and banging things. Music has evolved just as much as the people that created it. From Chromagnum men to musician and from grunting too classical music, rock, and rap. The first people imitated music from nature. They mimicked the sound from their every day life. It had no rhythm, beat, or tune it was just noise, but later turned into what we now call music. Ancient people used music for much more than entertainment they used it in every day life. They would yell and scream during battle, blow a horn as a warning, have ceremonies to honor the dead or bring the rain, signal danger, to show your importance in society, it was also used as a healing power. On the front lines of battle would be a soldier that would be holding a drum or a flute. When this was a common act the instruments would be spread around to different cultures after a battle. This brought on a new way of looking at music. Around the 16th century people started to collect instead of play music. A persons hands and feet were the first of all the instruments and is still the most common, because every one has them. A persons hands and feet were readily available, and easy to use. The drum is the second most common percussion instrument. Like most of the other instruments the drum was found by accident when someone hit a hallow log with a stick. The hallowed out stumps then became drums that were decorated. Drums were used for war or for signaling over long distances. The drum was a common instrument because it was so easy to use; all they had to do was strike it. The second percussion instrument was the rattle. The rattle was found later in the time when humans started to grow plants. It was found accidentally when someone picked up a dried out gourd of some sort and shook it. The ancient rattles were readily available because the people that grew the plants were just learning how to grow plant so they made many mistakes. The harp has been around since humans have started to use tools. The harp was founded during the hunt.

Heavy Metal Essay -- Art

Heavy Metal Heavy Metal’s popularity is and has been on the rise due to its many bands and increased guitar technology. Since the mid 1960’s, when heavy metal spread to the U.S. from England, it has grown in popularity. Many of the first bands that came from Europe came with two intentions; to spread heavy metal to other parts of the world, and to make it grow in popularity. (Ragland 1). Heavy metal is a form of rock ‘n’ roll music played on electric guitars and amplified to unnatural volume levels. Such effects as feedback, distortion, reverb, and Wah Wah pedals are commonly added to the music. These effects create completely new sounds, exploiting the possibilities of electric guitars. Most heavy metal music is based on death, Satanism, youth, and teenage rebellion. It is broken into three sub categories; speedcore, thrash metal, and death metal. Heavy metal is the general term for these three categories combined. It is often just called metal. Most heavy metal music is based around the electric guitar. (Ragland 1-2). Guitar technology has changed a lot since the beginning of the rock era. In the early 1950’s electric guitars were very expensive and had few capabilities. Inventions such as wah wah pedals, fuzz boxes, distortion, reverb, and amplifiers have increased the electric guitar's capabilities of making new sounds and music. The new devices have also made rock music more popular. More among the heavy metal population than the many other branches of rock ‘n’ roll. (Hewens). Heavy metal music grabs a hold of rock’s most rudimentary elements; youth, rebellion, sex, fantasy, and a good time at all costs. It is directed towards the alienation and trauma that plagues adolescent life, particularly among the lives if teenage boys. They tend to see their lives as controlled by parents and teachers. For many others, it is a way to release frustration and anger. For instance, a heavy metal concert to those who like heavy metal, is not just a musical performance, full of elaborate costumes and settings. It is a community of teenagers who participate in a shared celebration of youth. (Ragland 1-2). Heavy metal tends to be male-oriented, but metal is not exclusive to the male population. Its basic audiences are dominate by white, male teenagers from criminal backgrounds. Women in heavy metal are usually objects of lust. They are visualized as m... ...icion. "Money is what makes the world turn round." Although that is just a saying, it is somewhat quite true. It brings happiness and misery into peoples lives. In Great Expectations, Pip proves to the reader that money can really make a difference in a person's life. In the beginning of the story Pip was not wealthy, he was living in poverty. His manners were not as great as a rich person's, he did not own much of anything, and he was treated poorly because of that. Joe was not wealthy, and nor was Mrs. Joe. They treated Pip like they would anyone else, as an equal. When he went to Estella’s house, she treated him like he was a laboring boy. Just by looking at him, she concluded that she was better than him because he looked poor, and she looked rich. That was the first time Pip didn’t look at everyone as an equal. He looked at Estella as being rich, and him being poor. As Pip gets older, he becomes wealthy. He took this for granted and treated the poor as he was once treated so many years ago. He believed that money was power. Estella and Ms Havisham were powerful people through his eyes. He wanted to be more like them. As he became a gentleman, he became more like them.

Argumentative Essay Essay

Analysis of â€Å"We should cherish our children’s freedom to think† â€Å"We Should Cherish Our Children’s Freedom to Think† is written by Kie Ho and expresses his belief of the education in the US. Throughout the article he argues that the American school system â€Å"is not perfect, but it is a great deal better than any other† (Ho, 2007, p. 114). His arguments are reflected through his thoughts and experiences but are weakened by vague evidence. Ho (2007) states that since public school has provided children with opportunities and direction to fulfill their creativity, the US has developed into a country of innovation. He strongly supports this claim with his own experience and idea. On a (2007)â€Å"excursion to the Laguna Beach Museum of Art, where the work of schoolchildren was on exhibit† (p. 113) Ho got the idea that supports his argument. (2007) When public schools give students opportunities to participate in creative activities, the general public assumes that this freedom to choose is universal. This is not true according to Ho’s different personal sources. (2007) A Polish refugee, a German friend and a Lebanese believe that the American education system is far behind their home countries. Ho’s evidence for his first argument favors his reasoning, but is vague on documenting sources. This weakens his argument a lot and results in less persuasive evidence. He assumes that the idea of people who thinking freedom to choose is a norm without any supporting evidence and that the information from his friends is trustworthy knowledge. Furthermore, Ho (2007) makes a comparison between the imagination of his childhood in Indonesia and his son at school in the US. Ho explains that, (2007)â€Å"When I was 12 in Indonesia, where education followed the Dutch system, I had to memorize the names of all the world’s major cities† (p. 13). While (2007) his son at the same age grew up in California had not much knowledge about world’s major cities but had a better imagination because he took creative geography at the age of 6. Both these examples are good strong arguments and support his belief that the American school system has given children a better imagination by introducing creative thinking in class. But then again his personal sources are weak evidence towards making a conclusion that (2007) imagination helps children to learn because it can help them to visualize what they are learning. This idea is also drawn from his son’s life, but is not supported by any other evidence than what he believes. Additionally he feels like the education system took away an important factor in his learning; the ability to â€Å"experiment freely with ideas† (Ho, 2007, p. 113) and gain confidence. (2007) When looking at the quality of the school one does not include the factor of freedom but only how knowledgeable a student is. Consequently this takes him to the counter part of his story were his son was awarded for using his imagination in an essay at school. The evidence strengthens Ho’s argument of that the school system gives a student freedom to choose and gain more confidence when awarded for trying new ways. When looking at the quality of his sources the argumentative appeal weakens a lot. He draws a conclusion from his own experience and assumes that â€Å"disgruntled American parents forget†¦[that] their children are able to experiment freely with ideas† (Ho, 2007, p. 113). If he would have had a supporting source to this claim, rather than only his own experience the argument would stand much stronger. Ho’s next evidence is based on his statement where he admits (2007)â€Å"that American education does not meet high standards† (p. 113) but only because of how the system is now. If one would make American education meet high standards, students wouldn’t be able to function in the way they do now. This is the weakest point of Ho’s argumentative appeal. The argument in some sort misleading because he is later claiming that â€Å"Our public education certainly is not perfect, but it is a great deal better than any other† (Ho, 2007, p. 114). When combining these two ideas he’s saying that (2007) a school system that does not meet high standards in basic courses is basically still a great deal better than any other because of the creativity and confidence it gives students. Ho wants to keep the school system how it is now and not put any more stress on the students with providing them with a higher quality education. Here again Ho doesn’t cite any of his sources. How can he know that providing students with a higher quality education will make them not function the way they do now. It is no doubt that the American school system is bad, but there is no proof that making it better would â€Å"retard their impulses, [and] frustrate their opportunities for self-expression† (Ho, 2007, p. 113). Overall the argumentative appeal in this argument is weak because of the lack of sources and misleading evidence but leads you in some way towards his overall belief. Finally, Ho argues that (2007) critics of American education do not understand the real purpose of the education. In all studies that are done on education the only measurement that has been left out is freedom. He explains that it’s omitted because people have never had freedom in education and therefor never seen the positive effects. To clarify this he applies this to that the importance of freedom in education â€Å"extends even to children the license to freely speak, write and be creative† (Ho, 2007, p. 114). Here Ho relates the first amendment into to right to freely speak or write. This makes a lot stronger evidence for his argument. But on the other side he still doesn’t cite any of his sources and in particular the last sentence were he writes â€Å"Our public education certainly is not perfect, but is a great deal better than any other† (Ho, 2007, p. 114). These words are very strong and almost make it look like he exaggerates to make his cause clearer. Ho is right in some way of his saying but from the general public viewpoint he is wrong. If Ho look at school as an institution that is supposed to teach students to experiment with ideas and fulfill their creativity he is absolutely right. However this is not the real purpose of school. School is an institution made for students to gain knowledge and not mental skills. Ho has several good arguments for his cause but I think his arguments are not strong enough. The starting argument I would say connects to the topic well, but is not very strong. The reason the US is a country of innovation is not only because of the school system, there is other more important factors that made this happened. Later he draws a conclusion about that children need the American school system the way it is to function. This is a little less good of an argument, he doesn’t cite the evidence anywhere and here a chance he made this up by himself. Continuing on, he claims that increasing the quality of the school will retard student’s impulses. This claim is also vague. There is no evidence of this happening, and he doesn’t say that it has even been tried. At last he finishes of saying that American education is good enough the way it is now. I would say I disagree with him at this point. American education does provide a lot of freedom in education, but this generates a lot lower level of knowledge and therefor goes against what education really is about, to learn as much as possible and get a broader perspective of the world.