Bullying

The â€Å"peanut gallery† may not directly bully the victim, but by standing on the sidelines giving their attention to the actions they encourage they bully. Even though I am not a bully, I have been part of the â€Å"peanut gallery† that makes bullying an even worse situation. The â€Å"peanut gallery† are students that can make a positive change to stop bullying. As students, we can take action to stop bullying in our schools and I have some ideas to make this happen. I and a group of students would dedicate one week at the beginning of the school year to hold an anti-bullying campaign called â€Å"Bully Beatdown. The â€Å"Bully Beatdown† campaign would raise awareness to the issues of bullying. For the campaign kick-off, I would hold a rally for students to share their personal stories and experience with bullying. I would invite a counselor or a psychologist specializing in anti-social behavior to speak at the rally about the effects of bullying. The person could train students on anti-bullying tactics. During the â€Å"Bully Beatdown† campaign, I would have students perform skits acting out different bullying scenarios and ways they can stop bullying such as befriending a victim of bullying. To promote my campaign, I would pass out information flyers and pamphlets, buttons, and signs to post throughout the school in bathrooms, gyms, lunchrooms, and hallways. Another feature of the campaign will have students sign a social contract agreeing to not participate in bullying of any kind, to stand up for the victims of bullying, to not be a bystander to bullying, and to report bullying to teachers or a responsible adult. I would create an organization called â€Å"Bully Guardians† which is a community of students who act as a support network for students targeted by bullies. The students who were spectators to bullying can become a â€Å"Bully Guardian. † Many students are afraid to report bullying incidents they observe because they might become targets themselves. I would create an â€Å"Anonymous Email System† for those students who don’t want to report an incident in-person to a teacher or the principal. The student could send an email explaining the bullying incident they saw or encountered. After the campaign kick-off, I propose that each month schools devote a day to bully awareness and to report on the progress they’ve made to stop bullying. I believe my plan of action is practical and easy to implement in schools.

The firsts in your life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The firsts in your life - Essay Example There were a total of nine participants including me in the course. As far as the theoretical parts go they were easy. A total of seven hours of theoretical teaching lead in the culmination of an exam in which the minimum pass percentage was cent percent. That means anyone wishing to pursue skydiving further than theory was supposed to obtain a score of 100 out 100. Eventually the day arrived. In the dressing room we put on our diving overalls, parachutes, altimeters (gadget that keeps track of the altitude), helmets, gloves and goggles. Last minute reminders, tips, tricks, prayers in short there was a general buzz of excitement around; an excitement that reverberated with a tingling sensation in my spine. All the divers queued up and boarded a twin otter double engine aircraft. The aircraft taxi, takeoff, and eventual ascension to nearly 12,000 feet seemed something irrelevant compared what was coming. "Of course who can force me to jump if I don't want to" that was the thought running in mind during the time of the flight. It's odd how some silly reasoning like not wanting to disappoint your instructor could be a factor in one's resolve when death seems more than just a possibility, but it did. Finally when the plane reached approximately 12,500 feet the rear ramp was opened. In an instant my goggles smoked up, after the smoke cleared I was shocked to see the plane empty of the sky-divers. The only ones left behind were instructors and jump facilitators, all with a brooding grin on their faces. It was my moment of truth, no excuses. Those few seconds, my toes peeping over the edge of the plane, all I heard was my instructors command, "Now!", and I jumped. With the earth nearly twelv e thousand five hundred feet below, those few seconds became the defining moment of my life. (Skydiving.com) The first few seconds, I had a sense of falling, and falling fast. Those initial few seconds nearly took the life right out of me quite literally as during the first few seconds (till one is stabilized) breathing is strained. Suddenly everything became peaceful, calm, as if one was falling through emptiness into oblivion. The speed and that sense of falling were gone; replaced by what some would call weightlessness; I was floating for all I could say. Keeping an eye on the altimeter which showed nearly 6,000 feet (meaning I had dived nearly half the distance) I braced for opening the parachute. At soon as the altimeter crossed the 5,500 mark I pulled the ripcord. The parachute ballooned without any problems. The great anti-force slowed me with a jolt. The canopy flight, of course, was to take more time than the free fall. This was when I began getting a good look at my surroundings; the view was simply breath-taking. (Skydiving.com) Ever heard the word "On top of the world" I'm sure it refers to the sky-diving experience and nothing else. After taking in the scenery for a while it was time to get the bearings right for the landing. The tension mounted again as I neared the landing area, piercing the clouds. But maneuvering the chute proved to be easier than I considered it to be. Eventually I landed,

California's History of Segregated Education Essay

California's History of Segregated Education - Essay Example Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was one of the courts’ rulings, which permitted legal segregation for approximately 60 years. Some people were against, any form of, segregation. For instance, Gonzalo Mendez and other Latino parents filed a case (in 1945) to end segregations, in California’ public schools. The case filed was known as Mendez v. Westminster (1946). They argued that it was wrong to separate students into different schools, simply because they were of different races (Latino or Mexican). The judgement, on this case, was in favour of Mendez: even though the schools’ lawyers argued that the students were segregated because they spoke a foreign language. The court ruled that according to the 14th Amendment, all students had the right to access equal education. Following this ruling, it was unconstitutional to segregate students, on the basis of their national originality. Mendez case, however, was never appealed to the United State Supreme Court. The Brown v. the Education (1954), case also aimed at ending segregations, in California. It ruled that education was to be given to all, on equal terms. The ruling on the Brown case, however, faced some challenges. For instance, the Southern states defied the ruling, while some White Community prevented the NAACP from enrolling Africa-America students, in Central High School (Caplow 305). These three cases were related in that the Mendez case laid the foundation of the Brown case, while the Brown case brought about the reversal of the Plessy (1896) case, in 1954. Both the Mendez and Brown cases also DEJURE segregations of public schools (Ritzer 180). Segregations between the Latino and Mexican America resulted to poor Mexican schools. There were less-experienced teachers, in the Mexican schools than in the Anglo schools. The Mexican students were given less educational materials than the Anglo students (Ritzer 234). In fact, the Mexican students were taught in crowded classrooms, while the Angl o students were taught in spacious classrooms. The segregation was also evident in their curriculum, which was carried out, in the Anglo, and Mexican schools. The Anglo students were taught geometry and biology, while the Mexican students were taught industrial skills and domestic chores (Dundjerski 352). In addition, most of the Anglo teachers discouraged the Mexican students from advancing beyond the eighth grade. Indeed, the Mexican curriculum was of low quality such that the students could not get, any prominent job, after they were through with their classes. The education, which the Mexican got, would only get them cheap jobs in the prospering agriculture communities of California. This segregation, therefore, could not allow the Mexican students to get advanced education; if they got advanced education, then they would not accept farm labor. Segregation between Latino and Mexican America resulted into the discrimination of Mexicans. Mexicans were not allowed in most of the pa rks, dance halls, eateries, hotels, stores, and barbershops. They also had less access to public swimming pool; they were only allowed to swim for one day, weekly (Dundjerski 203). In addition, the swimming pool was cleaned and drained, immediately after the Mexican-America had swum. The Mexican Americas were, also, not spared in the restaurants; they were only served after all the white customers had been served. Today segregation is still evident, in some parts of California. For instances, those schools that are located in