Telling the Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Telling the Christ - Essay Example The gospels of Matthew and Luke are examples of what has been mentioned earlier and to prove this point, it is encouraged that the authors’ approaches be considered in the retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reading Matthew 27:45 to the last verse of the book, one could see details of the accounts of Matthew from the time Jesus was crucified until He met with His disciples in Galilee after His resurrection. Luke, on the other hand gives a more detailed descriptive narrative starting from the same time Matthew used until Jesus ascension to heaven, found from the forty- fourth verse of chapter twenty three until the last verse of the last chapter. From these readings, one could determine some similarities and also differences which will bring a clearer picture of the circumstances as we look closer. Matthew and Luke both start their narratives by describing the setting, mentioning and confirming that there was darkness that fell on the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. The two authors probably have seen the importance of making mention of this because the darkness was a fulfillment of the prophecies during the ‘day of the Lord’ mentioned in Joel 2:10 and 31 and, Zephaniah 1:15. Both prophets mentioned the dreadful day of the Lord when the sun stops shining, the moon turns to blood and the stars fail to shine. This similarity is a confirmation of each other, making the claim strong and acceptable in the analysis of the scriptures. Following the introduction of the setting, the two authors mention two different utterances of Jesus as he was hanging on the cross. Matthew quotes Jesus saying, â€Å"Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?† wherein he was understood by the spectators as calling unto Elijah for help. He was given a drink of wine vinegar and cried out in a loud voice before he gave up his spirit (Attridge, 1719). Luke on the other hand quoted Jesus saying, â€Å"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.† This does not mean that Matthew and Luke have different stories of the same event rather, Luke filled in the information that was just mentioned in passing by Matthew. Matthew mentioned Jesus crying in a loud voice before he died and Luke quoted the last words of Jesus. This is what is meant by what was mentioned earlier that the gospels complement each other. Another difference is the mention of Matthew of the guards who were paid to make sure that no one would steal the body of Jesus. The story continues to show that the guards witnessed the rolling away of the stone that covered the tomb and that they have seen the angel of the Lord who was like lightning in appearance. They told the chief priests what happened but they were paid to tell that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Matthew went on to mention that the story circulated and was retold ‘until this day’, meaning even until the day the gospel was written. This part is not mentioned at all by Luke, showing that Luke had other things in mind that he wanted to emphasize in his gospel. Matthew on the other hand, showed how concerned he was in proving the authenticity of the story of the resurrection of Jesus so he made sure to mention the plot of the high priests against the claim of Jesus’ resurrection. After narrating the plot to deny the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew proceeds with his story to the arrival of the eleven disciples in Galilee, meeting with Jesus.

The Effects on GPA Essay Example for Free

The Effects on GPA Essay The academic performance of high school students always constitute a major source of concern for educational practitioners as a result, any factor that could potentially improve this performance is worth considering (Everson and Roger, 2005). The importance of high school education derives from the fact that it provides an essential platform for academic and non academic accomplishments, psychological growths, the foundation for subsequent higher education and future life (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). Consequent upon this perceived importance, factors that could potentially inhibit or improve high school students performance are worthy of in depth investigation. One such factor that has been shown to considerably influence high school performance is the participation in extra curricular activities. To a large extent, participation in extracurricular activities in high school is generally considered as a vital component of the educational experience (Galiher, 2006). However, the influence of participation in extracurricular activities has not been clearly defined. While some studies have linked positive academic outcomes with extracurricular activities, such as the study carried out by Cairns, Farmer, and Mahoney (2003); others have shown that there exist no significant relationships and even in some cases, some studies have reported negative relationship. As a result, the effect of extracurricular activities on high students performance has become a topic of educational, political, and community debate for more than a century (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002: 465). This paper intends to contribute to this debate by reviewing the several literatures on the topic. Historical Overview Fujita (2005) noted that the early adoption and development of extracurricular activities in high schools was slow. During those early years, most educators saw it as a fad that will fade away with time. For example, Marsh and Kleitman (2002) observed that before the turn of the twentieth century, educators were critical of participation in school extracurricular activities. To these early educators, high schools should be focused on solely on narrowly defined academic outcomes, because, non academic activities were believed to be primarily recreational and of no educational value. Some even contented that such recreational activities could be detrimental to the academic performance of high students. As a result, extracurricular activities participation for high students was discouraged in the early 1900s. Burnett (2000) provides an indepth review of the history and early developments of extracurricular activities in high schools. However, over the course of the last couple of decades, educational practitioners and researchers have adopted a more positive perspective of extracurricular activities; with most of then contending that these activities positively impact psychological developments of students and at the same time help improve academic performance. This change in perception is not unrelated to the large and growing body of research that have continually examined the links and relationships between extracurricular activities and academic performance of students using a wide array of research methods and tools. To a large extent, the bulk of studies conducted on this topic over the course of time point to a positive relationship between extracurricular activities and a host of academic, social and psychological outcomes, while very few of these studies report negative relationship. However, the primary problem with research in this field is that researchers have often adopted different variables in different research methods making generalization of the effects of extracurricular activities on academic and social performance of high students difficult to make. Relevant Theoretical Literature The basic theoretical framework that underlies the various studies carried out in this field involves correlating students’ academic performance with their participation or lack of, in extracurricular activities. For example, in Galiher (2006), the author collated data about the various extracurricular activities present in a particular high school and the list of students that participate in these activities. The grade point averages (GPA) and cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) for these students was also collated and participation in extracurricular activities was then correlated with students’ academic performance. The basic idea, generally, is that if participation in extracurricular activities positively impacts academic performance, then students involved with these activities would perform better academically, when other factors, such as age, IQ, gender, socio economic status etc have been controlled for. Analyzing the commonly used methodological designs in studying the relationship between social and academic performance and participation in extracurricular activities, Marsh and Kleitman (2002) observed that there are three research designs often employed by researchers. The first involve a one-time data collection research design that correlates extracurricular activities with the selected outcome variables. The second also involved a one-time data collection design, but controls for background variables such as socioeconomic status, gender, and age before correlating extracurricular activities participation with the selected outcome variables; while the third framework involve longitudinal studies where the same outcome variable are measured on multiple occasions so that the actual effect of extracurricular activities on the selected outcome variables are estimated after controlling for earlier outcomes (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). While, according to Marsh and Kleitman, all of these frameworks are not perfect, they have all been used to show positive relationship between extracurricular activities and social and academic variables. Relevant Research In researching the relationships between extracurricular activities and students academic outcomes, researchers have sought to delineate what constitutes extracurricular activity. In this light, extracurricular activities have been broadly divided into in-school and out-of-school activities. The divisions are self descriptive. Furthermore, out-of-school activities can be subdivided into structured and leisure activities. While structured activities have been described as activities that require active effort from the participating parties and provide an environment for expression of ones identity or interest in sports, performing arts, academic, and leadership activities(Eccles and Barber, 1999 quoted in Marsh and Kleitman, 2002), leisure activities are activities that enjoyable but not demanding (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002) e. g. driving around or talking to friends. Extracurricular activities have also been grouped into formal and non-formal activities (Fujita, 2005). Here, formal activities refer to all structured and organized activity, irrespective of whether it is in-school or out-of-school, while non-formal activities refers basically to out-of-school leisure activities. From this classification, the influences of extracurricular activities on academic performance can be streamlined. For example, it is only reasonable that in-school structured activities will better influence academic outcomes and thus increase GPA than out-of-school activities. In this sense, Gerber (1996) investigating the relationship between academic outcomes and the two type of extracurricular activities reported that there is a greater and more significant positive correlation between in-school extracurricular activity participation and GPA than for out-of school structured activities. This distinction between extracurricular activities notwithstanding, there is ample research studies that point to the academic and social utility of extracurricular activities. In one of the early definitive studies carried out in this field, Marsh (1992) using a large longitudinal study that investigated the social and academic performance of students while in school and two years after graduation, reported that students who participated in extracurricular activities were more likely to have higher school satisfaction, higher internal locus of control meaning that students felt more in control of their lives; higher social and academic self-concepts; and higher educational and occupational aspirations in school and two years after completing high school (Marsh, 1999; Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). Several other studies have reported a positive correlation between participation in extracurricular activities and academic performance. For instance, Marsh and Kleitman after reviewing several previous studies observed that extracurricular activities help in building and strengthening academic performance, even if the activities are not obviously related to academic subjects. Darling, Caldwell, and Smith (2005) after an extensive longitudinal study reported that students who participated in school-based extracurricular activities had higher grades compared to those who were not involved in any extracurricular activity. In a more specific study, Galiher (2006) investigated the relationship between students participation in extracurricular activities and their current grade point averages and cumulative grade point averages. The author did not only investigate this relationship, data was also analyzed to see if there existed grade point increments with increasing participation in more than one extracurricular activities. The author concluded that Not only was the analysis consistent with the correlation data but also showed very clearly that students who were participating in one or more activity were getting better grades than students who were not involved in any school activities. The mean grade point average for students who participated in one or more activities was approximately one grade point higher than students who were not involved, which is equivalent to one letter grade (Galiher, 2006: 11-12). This study showed, definitely, that there is a positive relationship between students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their academic performance (indicated by the GPA) and that with increasing participation, students are more likely to get higher grades. Implications for Practice With the decreasing educational achievement recorded in schools nationwide, educational practitioners and researchers are under pressure to find ways to better improve the performance recorded in schools. With this increasing pressure on educators to perform, any factor that shows potential of improving academic performance deserves serious attention. Again, with the decrease in funding available for public schools, coupled with the poor performance of schools, educational decision makers are often under intense pressure to make decisions concerning the continuance or removal of academic and extracurricular programs. From the above, it is apparent that research studies indicating positive correlation between participation in extracurricular activities have two major implications. First, it provides educators with a valid instrument for increasing the academic performance of students. The knowledge that students achieve greater academic and social outcomes with increase participation in extracurricular activities will definitely prompt educational practitioners to promote healthy and effective extracurricular activities tool for enhancing academic achievements. Two, it make the decision process easier for educational decision makers who have to decide concerning the continuation of extracurricular programs. Instead of rationalizing the removal or continuance extracurricular programs, decision makers will be more productively engaged with how to better harness the potentials of these programs. Implications for Inquiry Despite the several positive implications of extracurricular activities that have been reported in several studies, one major that deserves further investigation was raised by Hunt (2005). After studying the relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance, the author reported no positive outcome, instead, he argued individuals who were academically sound at earlier ages were more likely to participate in extracurricular activities raising the question of whether extracurricular activities indeed influence academic performance or is a result of it. This area still deserves further study. Summary It has been argued that high school experiences provide an essential platform for academic and non academic accomplishments, psychological growths, the foundation for subsequent higher education and future life. Thus, any factor that could possibly influence students ability to perform their best while in high school is worth investigating. Extracurricular activities constitute one of the factors that have been shown to influence students performance in high school. In this paper, several literatures on this topic were reviewed. To a large extent, it was shown that extracurricular activities participation improves students academic performance. Thus, students that participate in one or more extracurricular activities were more likely to have higher GPAs compared to students that did not participate at all. Work Cited Burnett, M. A. (2000). One strike and youre out: An analysis of no pass/no play policies. High School Journal, 84(2): 1-6. Cairns, B. , Farmer, T. , and Mahoney, J. (2003). Promoting interpersonal competence and educational success through extracurricular activity participation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95: 409-419. Eccles, J. S. , and Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14: 10-43. Fujita, K (2005). The Effects of Extracurricular Activities on the Academic Performance of Junior High Students. The Masters College. Available at http://www. kon. org/urc/v5/fujita. html [Accessed June 21, 2008]. Everson, T H and Roger E. M (2005). Everyone Gains: Extracurricular Activities in High School and Higher SATÂ ® Scores. College Board Research Report No. 2005-2. Galiher, S (2006). Understanding The Effect Of Extracurricular Involvement. Thesis. School of Education, Indiana University, South Bend. Marsh, H. W. (1992). Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension of the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals? Journal of Educational Psychology, 84: 553-562. Marsh, W. H and Kleitman S (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4): 464-510. McNeal, B. R (1995). Extracurricular Activities and High School Dropouts. Sociology of Education, 68(1): 62-80.

Analysis Of Feyerabends Against Method Philosophy Essay

Analysis Of Feyerabends Against Method Philosophy Essay Paul, Karl Feyerabend (1924-1994) is one representative of the post positivism, studies Philosophy and Methodology of Science.  He formulated a number of fruitful methodological ideas, developed the anarchist theory of knowledge, which has received great attention in the international philosophical community. Paul Karl Feyerabend was born January 13, 1924 in Vienna.  He received an excellent education.  His interests were very different: in Weimar, he studied drama in London, and in Copenhagen he studied philosophy, microphysics, and in Vienna history.  His teaching career began in Vienna as an assistant professor of the Vienna Institute of Arts and Sciences.  From 1951 he lectured at the University of Bristol, from 1958 he worked in the U.S. (because of this it is usually ranked among the American Scientists).   Name Feyerabend has acquired international fame thanks to the concept of epistemological anarchism.  Furthermore, Feyerabend criticizes the view that the theory is just a convenient scheme for organizing facts.  He emphasizes that every scientific theory has its own special way of viewing the world.  Her perception is influenced by peoples shared beliefs and expectations, and through this the experience and our perception of the real.  It turns out that the facts and experimental results, serve as a measure of reliability theory in the classical science, is not so infallible, but rather due to the original setting of the researcher.  On the basis of this statement, Feyerabend introduces the rule, which states that it is necessary to introduce and develop hypotheses that are incompatible with the well-grounded theory that existed previously with the facts and the experimental data.  Because it is often the evidence that can disprove a theory, it can be obtained only by us ing an alternative that is incompatible with this theory.  The recommendation to use an alternative only after a denial has discredited the orthodox theory, puts, according to Feyerabend, the cart before the horse.  The rule of the Feyerabend puts the basis of its pluralistic methodology.  In the article against the methodological constraint (Against Method, London: Verso, 1975) Feyerabend wrote that a true scientist should compare ideas with other ideas, not experience, and seek to improve those concepts that were defeated in the competition, rather than discard them.  In doing so, he retains the concept of man and cosmos as contained in the book of Life or Pomander, and will use them to gauge the success of the theory of evolution and other innovative concepts.  Feyerabend gained fame largely due to the requirement to develop incompatible with the facts of the theory on the grounds, that there was no single more or less interesting theory, which is consistent with all kn own facts.  It was for the possible existence of a pluralistic methodology to the lack of established standards, propaganda, coercion.  Hence the thesis that everything is permissible (anything goes). Feyerabend said that science is a relatively new form of knowledge that occurred two hundred years ago, which was born in a fierce conflict with religion and, perhaps, itself sooner or later be barred from forward positions in any other form of knowledge. Science is much closer to myth than willing to allow philosophy of science.  It dazzles only those who have already decided in favor of a particular ideology or not at all reflect on the advantages and limitations of science.  After all, modern science is dominated not by virtue of its merits, but because of the organized for her advocacy and promotions.  This is a form of ideology, and it, according to Feyerabend, should be separated from the state, as is already done in regard to religion.  How can be organized the state, in which there is an approach to science? First of all, Feyerabend rejects the idea that to solve the problems there should be a theory, developed by experts, for example,  intellectuals who explain what is possible and what is impossible.  In a free society, intellectuals, and ideas that their value, and the ways that they deem most appropriate, represent only one of many traditions.  Problems are solved by non-specialist (though their advice is not ignored).  Feyerabend writes: But take, for example, the idea of motion of the Earth.  It originated in antiquity, was defeated by arguments and then was considered an incredible absurdity of Ptolemy, and, nevertheless, returned in triumph in the 18 century.  One can cite many other examples to prove the following moral: the time lag in the development of some ideology (which is a bunch of theories, connected with a specific method and more general philosophical concept) should not be considered grounds for its removal. To create a free society, there should be provided equal rights to all traditions, but in order to implement this project to change the structure of society from the ideological to the protective (do not impose a theory as required, but supporting all theories).  Of course, Feyerabend often has been accused of outrageous and utopian, but we cannot deny the positive influence of his critics on the academic, an established and dogmatize science. In his book Against Method and Science in a free society, Feyerabend defended the idea that there is no methodological rules, which are always used by scientists.  He opposed a single, tradition, scientific method, arguing that any such method of putting some limits on the activities of scientists, and thus limits of the progress.  According to his view, science would benefit most from a dose of anarchism in scientific theory. He also believed that anarchism in theory is desirable, because it is more humanistic approach than the other scientific systems, since it does not force scientists to rigid rules. Can we exclude the possibility that the presently known science, or search for truth in the style of traditional philosophy, will turn a man into a monster?  Is it possible to exclude the possibility that it will be waning man turned into a miserable, moody, arrogant mechanism, devoid of charm and sense of humor?  Can we rule out the possibility asks Kierkegaard that my work as an objective or rational critical observer of nature weakens my human nature? I believe that the answer to all these questions must be negative, and I am sure that  Reform of Sciences will make them more anarchistic and more subjective (in Kierkegaards sense) is essential. (Against Method) Feyerabends position in the philosophical community is radical enough, since it implies that philosophy cannot successfully describe science as a whole, nor can it develop a method of separating scientific papers on nonscientific entities, such as myths.  It also suggests that developed and recommended by the philosophy of common course of science should be rejected by scientists, if it is necessary for further progress. To support his contention that adherence to methodological rules does not lead to success in science, Feyerabend cites examples to refute statements that would (correctly) help the science is valid corresponds to certain fixed rules.  He considers some of the episodes in the history of science considered as the indisputable examples of progress in science (such as the scientific revolution of Copernicus), and shows that in these cases violated all accepted rules of science.  Moreover, he argues that if these rules are adhered to, then in these historical situations scientific revolution could not happen. One of the criteria for evaluating scientific theories, which have been actively criticized by Feyerabend is a criterion for consistency.  He points out that the insistence on the fact that the new theory has consistently continued the old theory that gives undue advantage of the old theories, and that the sequence with respect to the old theories does not lead to the fact that the new theory describes reality better than another new theory, which is a  sequence not in compliance.  That is, if you need to choose between two equally compelling theories, the choice of one of them, which is compatible with the old, already invalid theory will be more aesthetic choice, rather than rational.  After the acquaintance with such theory, scientists can also be harmful because they do not discard much long-standing bias in the transition to a new theory. Many critics agree with Feyerabend . He states that everyone has the right to choose.  And the option do not drown is not necessarily true.  In other words, it seems that Feyerabend does not believe the pursuit of truth and objectivity, knowledge of concepts about the really important goal. The first step in the critique of conventional human concepts and responses is to get out of the circle and either to invent a new conceptual system, such as a new theory that comes into conflict with the most firmly established observational results and reverses the most plausible theoretical principles, or to transfer  a system of what is science, of religion, mythology, from the ideas of incompetent people, or from the ravings of a madman. Feyerabend 1993. One problem is the concept that blurs the line between Feyerabend process of the invention of a scientific theory and its justification.  Arguing that the source of the theory can be anything goes, he denies the need for rational jus tification of the theory, thus diverting their concept to the region of extreme relativism. For all the apparent humanity of the concept, the desire to create a society where everyone will be developed individually, and the state will protect all forms of knowledge, Feyerabend provisions are too general and abstract. In any of his works he does not explain what in fact is bad in this or that theory, or whether the generally accepted concept about the world order are false. Towards a theory of epistemological anarchism, Feyerabend push its social and political beliefs.  He always came to the consideration of science and its methodology from the standpoint of humanism, happiness, and the free development of all people.He opposed to the spiritual enslavement of people, and rebels against the science when it dogmatization is used as a bondage. Anarchism of Feyerabend is, in fact, a rebellion against the spiritual slavery, which keeps peoples bourgeois culture.

What the High School Educator Must Know :: Discourse Community Education Essays

What the High School Educator Must Know Consider all that a high school educator must know (or at least attempt to know). The truly good ones--the ones who motivate us, instill a love for learning, and ultimately change our lives for the better--know a great deal (salaries and public perception notwithstanding). They know their subject matter, they know and understand human motivation, they are aware of the power of interpersonal relations and how to use that knowledge to gain the most benefit from the least potential, they understand the po wer of their own rhetoric (even if they don't consider rhetorical studies an important aspect of their academic lives), and most importantly, they know how to share this knowledge with others. High school educators today (the good ones) are mentors, frie nds, counselors, coaches, researchers, sources, role models, disciplinarians, crisis managers, and on and on. With all that our really good high school educators know and do, it might seem absurd for me (a high school educator) to sugg est that we need to dig in and truly understand yet another aspect of our students' lives, and yes, even our own. But I am suggesting just that. If we don't understand the powerful impact discourse communities have on what we do, how we do it, and what we're trying to ach ieve, we are shortchanging ourselves, and more importantly, we are shortchanging our students. Just what is a discourse community though? And why are so many in the field of rhetoric bandying about this term? This "social framework regulating textual production" (Porter 38) goes by many names: it's what Stanley Fish calls "the interpretive co mmunity," what Michel Foucault calls "the discursive formation," and what Patricia Bizzell calls "the discourse community" (38). James Porter of Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, however, seems to have generated the clearest definition of a discourse community. A "discourse community" is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated...[The community] shares assumptions about what objects are appropriate for examination and discussion, what operating functions are performed on those objects, what constitutes "evidence" and "validity," and what formal conventions are followed. (38-39) It is important to remember that we all are part of various discourse communities throughout our lives (each of which dictates the conventions we follow, the language we use, and the credence we give to what we hear or read).

Lakota woman

Mary Crow Dog was a Native American who wrote the book Lakota Woman as her autobiography.   She was a half-blood Sioux Indian.   She was born on the year 1953 and lives at the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation located in the state of South Dakota.   Her given name was Mary Brave Bird.   She became Mary Crow Dog after marrying Leonard Crow Dog, a medicine man and a spiritual leader of AIM or American Indians Movement who is also responsible in reviving the ancient Indian culture and ceremonies including the sacred but outlawed Ghost Dance.   To date, Mary Crow Dog has already one daughter named Jennifer and three sons including her first child Pedro and the two from her husband, which they named June Bug and Anwah.   Lakota Woman was one of the two books authored by Mary Crow Dog. The book Lakota Woman started in a light manner where Mary begins to teach the readers some facts, which are not commonly known by many of us.   Ethnically speaking and as taught by Mary, Sioux was divided into two parts: the eastern and the western.   Eastern Sioux was called Dakota, and the Western Sioux was the Lakota.   It was almost the same except that Dakota people cannot pronounce the letter â€Å"L†. Technically, Lakota was a formation of a seven tribes in Western Sioux also known as seven Sacred Campfires.   One of the tribes was the Brule Tribe or Sicangu in a Lakotan language, which is also known as Burned Thighs, and which Mary described as great warriors as they were during their times.   In this tribe Mary Brave Bird belongs. It was in 1870 and 1880 when the Brule Tribe along with other Sioux were forced to put in a reservation camp and trying to create new people living in an Americanized way including living without horses and hunting which Indians are born to live with. Lakota Woman was merely a full-blown and a first-hand account of Mary’s life.   She collectively told everything she has experienced.   She said that it was really hard and difficult to survive in any reservation camp, especially growing women like her.   She lived fatherless in a one-room cabin inside the Rosebud Reservation.   There she stated stories of some Indian women close to her whom she known was undergone maltreatment and injustice practices such as making them infertile against their will, beaten by their husbands or any men, brutality from American authorities, and the worse scenario of being murdered. Mary’s experiences in a Catholic boarding school were more of a distressing one rather than making happy memories.   At her young age, she found out that being an Indian female is only a third-class human being.   Inside the boarding school, teachers and nuns were trying these Indian girls to be Americanized, got whipped and beaten whenever found any disobedience practices in accordance to their upright monastery standard, which includes practicing their native customs, values and language. Her adolescence was even worse especially when she decided to step out of the boarding school.   She confessed her life was even more miserable as she got hooked into drinking and smoking, used drugs, victimized by poverty, racism and cruelness of the outside world.   Mary was 14 then when she got raped.   Age 17 when Mary finally had the best decision of joining the American Indian Movement where she participated right away in the 71-day long Wounded Knee standoff at South Dakota.   Then she married Leonard Crow Dog. When her husband was arrested, Mary Crow Dog began empowering herself and made herself vigilant in her own way knowing that most Americans were trying to kill their old native traditions, religion and the ancient Indian heritage as a whole.   Her active involvement in the AIM was getting stronger and stronger as she learned to be a public figure, delivering public speeches, informing the public about the mission and vision of their movement.   While helping Leonard endure his prison life, she eventually established a new strength as she traveled to gain support for their advocacy of fighting for the rights of American Indians. Although the Lakota woman was originally wrote as an autobiography book having personal accounts of Mary, it has to be consider one of the essential pieces of history volumes because it noted numerous historical facts and events that are important in American Indian history.   For those who have scant knowledge about it, especially in this modern generation, reading Lakota Women would be a great help.   Our interests in Indian stories should not just stop by having a fascination with it because there is more in reality, which contains the good and bad sides of it that we have to know and understand well. R E F E R E N C E S Dog, Mary C. Lak â€Å"Lakota woman† In 1953 at the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, one of the most controversial American Indian authors was born. Mary Brave Bird (Sioux Indian name) which will be Mary Crow Dog in the future and to be an active activist against racial discrimination by the American whites was the writer of the two famous books, Ohitika Woman and the Lakota Woman.Lakota Woman which had contributed to the Indian’s historical struggle against racial discrimination is the autobiography of Mary Crow Dog. Here she described in full details her stressful story as an Indian girl who defined herself as half-breed. Her father has the blood of an American white while her mother is a full-blooded Sioux woman. Unfortunately, Mary was looked down upon by whites and full blooded-Indians alike because whites despised the Indians and vice versa. In effect, she grew up without friends and a loner.Born by a Catholic mother, Mary was persuaded to be a believer of this faith. She grew up in an indecent n eighborhood where men are jobless, drunk and worthless. Women are even treated like slaves by their husbands. Having the blood of a white American, she was brought to a Catholic boarding school to Americanize her but Mary described her school environment comparative to prisons of the Nazi concentration camps.She escaped from her school when she cannot bear the harsh treatment and the grave discrimination against her. Being outside the campus she joined small groups of outsiders and found solace with their company. She learned how to live the hard way but ultimately also learn how to blend with the drifters and smoke marijuana. She also became an alcoholic and was involved with many troubles.Meeting a guy at the young age of 16, married and got pregnant eventually did not change her confused life. Mary was in constant motion and nowhere to go. She learned to live in the ghetto and had to be tough with the harsh environment.Mary believed and felt that she was more of an Indian rather than partly an American because she was always treated as one. She became a member of a movement called the American Indian Movement (AIM) where he met her future husband, Leonard Crow Dog. Leonard was an Indian activist and a medicine man of many villages. He is constantly on public speaking against racial discrimination of American Indians and spoke of their rights and speaking of injustices.   AIM, however, was founded in 1968 with the goal of fighting the white’s discriminatory justice and social system. Their movement was inspired from the revolutions of blacks against whites’ racism.Eventually, Mary’s amazement with Leonard’s eloquence got Mary’s interest and the two fell in love and finally married. But Leonard was 12 years older than Mary and marrying him was not easy. The family of Leonard does not agree with the relationship because she was not a pure Indian by blood. Her family does not accept Leonard either because he is not a Christi an. As they both fought for their love, eventually their love lead to marriage.One of the highlights of this book was the killing of one of the leaders of AIM by a white man in 1973. The murderer was not properly investigated and was quickly released without the proper trial. The American Justice system obviously was one-sided for the whites as in this case. The American Indians were outraged and riots were formed outside the court which led to destruction of properties, looting, and more fighting with the police. The struggle led to their grouping at the Wounded Knee. Wounded Knee was symbolical to the Sioux Indians as this is where in 1890, 300 Indian men, women and children were massacred by authorities fighting for their rights of their ancestral land.Mary participated in spite of being pregnant. She said she was ready to face any consequence if there would be an attack against them. Although the FBI and the federal government tried to stop their protest, their pleas for fair tr ial had not been heard. Riots again broke out which resulted in the killing of two Indians and several people injured including a white man.That same year, Leonard together with three of their members thought of bringing their case to Washington to personally state their grievance. But during Leonard’s absence, Mary’s uncle was murdered. Together with her son Pedro, she went to attend her uncle’s funeral. But on the way to her visit, the police snatched her, put her in prison and took her baby away. Leonard was outraged when he discovered about his wife’s events. He immediately went back from his meeting in Washington with an agreement in his hand and bailed out Mary out of prison.One of the uneventful things that Mary encountered was when she and her husband attended a ceremony for Indian rites in Washington. After the rite and about to go home, they found out that their gas tank was punctured and leaking. Two white men who obviously are the culprit were still there and even laughing at them.Confronting them, they began to attack Leonard, pulling his long hair and pushing him over. The commotion attracted a number of Indians and approached to help. Incidentally, some white men with their baseball bats appeared from nowhere and attacked all the Indians. Mary run to the police car parked nearby but instead of helping them they left and did not intervene. Later, they learned that one of the popular pastimes of these whites was to beat up Indians roaming in their area.Leonard was a decent man and popularly known as a medicine man with no interest in politics. But to the white community, he was an activist, a rebel and a dangerous person especially after his stint at the Wounded Knee. The federal government knew that he has a great influence over all the Indians in the reservation areas and would listen to him. Eventually, a criminal plot was staged against him and the white’s influence in the federal court has led to his arrest. He was jailed with a 200,000 US dollar fine.Mary had no option but to earn this money through public speaking on behalf of her husband’s imprisonment and the need to raise the money. Although money has been raised and he was freed, their house was burned down afterwards and attacks against AIM members resulted in many killings. Until now, their cases have never been investigated (Wolf).Work Cited:Wolf, Dan. â€Å"Lakota Woman.† 2006. http://ericstoller.com/blog/2006/03/30/lakota-woman/.

The Salem Witchcraft Trials Overview

The Salem Witchcraft Trials Overview Salem Village was a farming community that was situated approximately five to seven miles to the north of Salem Town in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the 1670s, Salem Village requested permission to establish it own church due to the distance to Town’s church.   After some time, Salem Town reluctantly granted Salem Village’s request for a church. In November 1689, Salem Village hired its first ordained minister – the Reverend Samuel Parris – and finally Salem Village had a church for itself. Having this church gave them some degree of independence from Salem Town, which in turn created some animosity. While Reverend Parris was initially welcomed with open arms by the residents of the Village, his teaching and leadership style divided the Church members.   The relationship became so strained that by the fall of 1691, there was talk amongst some church members of discontinuing Reverend Parris’ salary or even providing him and his family with firewood during the upcoming winter months. In January 1692, Reverend Parris’ daughter, 9-year-old Elizabeth, and niece, 11-year-old Abigail Williams, became quite sick. When the children’s conditions worsened, they were seen by a physician named William Griggs, who diagnosed them both with bewitchment. Then several other young girls from Salem Village also displayed similar symptoms, including Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott and Mary Warren.   Ã‚   These young girls were observed having fits, which included throwing themselves on the ground, violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming and/or crying almost as if they were possessed by demons inside. By late February 1692, local authorities had issued an arrest warrant for the Reverend Parris’ slave, Tituba.   Additional warrants were issued two other women that these sick young girls accused of bewitching them, Sarah Good, who was homeless, and Sarah Osborn, who was quite elderly. The three accused witches were arrested and then brought before magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin to be questioned about the witchcraft allegations.   With the accusers were displaying their fits in open court, both Good and Osborn continually denied any guilt whatsoever.  Ã‚   However, Tituba confessed. She claimed that she was being assisted by other witches who were serving Satan in bringing down the Puritans. Tibuta’s confession brought mass hysteria not only in the surrounding Salem but throughout all of Massachusetts.   Within short order, others were being accused, including two upstanding church members Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, as well as Sarah Good’s four-year-old daughter. A number of other accused witches followed Tibuta in confessing and they, in turn, named others.   Like a domino effect, the witch trials began to take over the local courts.   In May 1692, two new courts were established to help ease the strain on the judicial system:   the Court of Oyer, which means to hear; and the Court of Terminer, which means to decide. These courts had jurisdiction over all the witchcraft cases for Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties.    On June 2, 1962, Bridget Bishop became the first ‘witch’ to be convicted, and she was executed eight days later by hanging. The hanging took place in Salem Town on what would be called Gallows Hill. Over the next three months, eighteen more would be hanged.   Further, several more would die jail while awaiting trial. In October 1692, the Governor of Massachusetts closed the Courts of Oyer and Terminer due to questions that were arising about the propriety of the trials as well as declining public interest.   A major problem with these prosecutions was that the only evidence against most of the ‘witches’ was spectre evidence – which was that the accused’s spirit had come to the witness in a vision or a dream. In May 1693, the Governor pardoned all witches and ordered their release from prison. Between February 1692 and May 1693 when this hysteria ended, more than two hundred people had been accused of practicing witchcraft and approximately twenty were executed.