Working With Multiracial Students Essay example -- melting pot, interra

America has always been considered the melting pot of the world, but in recent years with the climb in the number of interracial marriages, (Root 1996) American school systems must learn how to cater to the needs of multiracial students. In this paper, multiracial â€Å"refers to people who are of two or more racial heritages. It is the most inclusive term to refer to people across all racial mixes. Thus it also includes biracial people† (Root 1996). Multiracial students face problems with developing their racial identity and feeling approval from peers who are not mixed, making their experiences in school more difficult especially in a social context (Gibbs 1990 as sited in moss and davis). For current and future educators, this means that there will be a growing need to support students from mixed backgrounds and create curriculums that cater to their needs as well as give those students positive perspectives on their racial make up. This paper will explore the complications that multiracial students face with their identity development and how schools and teachers can positively impact this development. Multiracial students face many problems coming to terms with their racial identity due to the inability to fall under a mono-racial category. In recent years, the amount of biracial births are out numbering the amount of mono-racial births, and these children will soon be entering the school system (Root 1996) with new unique problems when concerning their own racial identity. According to Poston, â€Å"Racial identity is defined as "pride in one's racial and cultural identity" (1990, p. 152 as cited in counseling biracial students). Compared to mono-racial peers, multiracial students are faced with constant conflicts over how to embrac... ... all aspects that make up their racial identity (Root 1996). Multiracial inclusion can be laced into everyday activities and projects. Works Cited Harris, H. L. (2006). African american school counselors: Their perceptions of biracial individuals. Journal Of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, 34(1/2), 1-19. Chiong, J. A. (1998). Racial categorization of multiracial children in schools. Greenwood Press Moss, R. C., & Davis, D. (2008). Counseling biracial students: A review of issues and interventions. Journal Of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 36(4), 219-230. Wallace, K. R. (2004). Working with multiracial students : Critical perspectives on research and practice. Greenwich, Conn: Information Age Publishing. Root, M., P., (1996) The multiracial experience: Racial borders as the new frontier. Copyright 1996 by Sage Publications, Inc.

Connection Between Human and Animals Essay

â€Å"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.† This was quoted by Hippocrates, a Greek philosopher. The numerous animal imageries in Timothy Findley’s book The Wars are used to show the similarities and differences of the way how human treat animals and their life. The characters Captain Leather, Rodwell and Robert Ross reveal their own connections to the animals respectively, and the connections fully prove the good side and the bad side of human nature. Captain Leather is a commanding officer, he is one of the negative characters and he treats animals without humanity in the novel. When the barn yard is on fire, Robert’s first thought is the animals, and he wants to set the horses and mules free. However, Captain Leather tries to prevent Robert from freeing them, a hundred horses and thirty-five mules, and he does not even care about those real lives. He screams at Delvin, â€Å"‘Shut those God damn gates! Sh ut them! Shut them! You traitor’† (183). He is a selfish officer, and he is very cruel and merciless to animals. A life means nothing to Captain Leather, and he has no feeling towards the death of the soldiers. When Robert tells Captain Leather that perhaps there are a lot of soldiers died in the trench, Captain Leather does not even worry about it, he seems to think that those men were born for fighting and sacrificing for the wars: â€Å"Leather even said ‘Just so’ when Robert explained that he hadn’t been able to locate his men and that he feared they had all been killed† (116). Captain Leather orders Robert and his men to go to the forward position to set up the guns, and Robert knows that they will be dead for certain because the position is very closed to the German lines. Captain Leather does not understand how dangerous the war is, and he just gives orders: â€Å"Laid down the purpose of the new guns. Gun beds would have to be put in ‘here and here’ and ‘there and there.’ Here and there was all right–but there and there was a death trap† (116). Captain Leather never cares about the soldier’s lives, and fighting a war is just like playing a game for him. He totally loses his humanity in the brutal war. In the novel, Rodwell always shows compassion and mercy to injured animals and wants to protect them. He is an optimistic person, and he knows how to enjoy his life during the war. Toad is one of the animals that Robert has saved. Even though nobody likes toad because of their ugly appearance, Rodwell still wants to cure the injured toad, he cherishes every creature’s life. The toad also has strong vitality, just like every soldier that wants to survive during the war: â€Å"Rodwell had saved the toad by putting it into the drinking water pail and placing sheets of Devlin’s glass on top† (133). Rodwell saved a rabbit during the war. The rabbit is a symbol of innocent and purity, just like Rowena and himself, and the rabbit reminds Robert of Rowena. The rabbit has survived when they got attacked: â€Å"The rabbit turned with its eyes shut tight and huddled in the corner of its cage facing Robert† (110). Rodwell tries to defend the animals with his life, although he knows that he can possibly lose his life. He respects animals and he tries to prevent the German from killing a cat, but he fails. He sees the cat’s life as his own life and he cannot accept the abuse of cats, so that finally he chooses to commit suicide: â€Å"They would not be stopped-and, seeing that he took an interest, they’d forced him to watch the killing of a cat. Half an hour later, Rodwell wandered into No Man’s Land and put a bullet through his ears† (135). Rodwell is like the animals, having purity and virtuous, he is not like the soldiers, violent, and killing, he appreciates and respects every living creature in his life. Although the war is cruel, it does not destroy Rodwell’s conscience. He is still very kind t o his friends and family. When Bonnycastle, Devlin and Levitt introduce Rodwell to Robert, they give their high assessment of Rodwell, Bonnycastle says, â€Å"‘[He thinks Robert will like Rodwell]’ ‘[The animals] have all been injured. That’s [Rodwell’s] sort of hospital’† (85). Rodwell predicts that he will die in the war, so he writes a letter to his daughter. The letter indicates Rodwell’s faith and the value of life. In the letter, Rodwell writes, â€Å"I am alive in everything I touch. Touch these pages and you have me in your fingertips. We survive in one another. Everything lives forever. Believe it. Nothing dies† (135). Rodwell only draws animals in his sketchbook just like communicating with animals, but Robert is the only human being in the book. Rodwell draws Robert because he sees Robert as one of the animals which are pure and innocent; unfortunately, Robert is trapped by the war, â€Å"In all of them—on every page, the drawings were of animals. Of maybe a hundred sketches, Robert’s was the only human form. Modified and mutated—he was one with the others† (138). Rodwell sacrifices his life for the wars, but his soul will be alive forever. His faith and mercy will stay in their memories as long as their live. The protagonist Robert Ross has connection with the animal’s portraits in the story reflects his personalities and the circumstances that he encounters. Once Robert ran with a coyote, he wondered why the coyote did not even kill any animals as a food source. Although the coyote is a predator, it only kills the ones who threaten its life: â€Å"And when it came to the place where the gophers had been sitting, neither did it pause to scuffle the burrows or even to sniff at them. It just went right on trotting-forward towards its goal† (25). The friendship between Robert and coyote is also peaceful, the coyote notices that Robert is behind and it allows Robert to follow. The coyote trusts Robert, it knows that Robert will not hurt it and it tries to communicate with Robert. This can be shown in the novel: â€Å"the valley was vacant: safe–and that Robert could proceed to the water’s edge to drink. It barked three times–a precise announcement it was leaving† (27). This strongly proves that human and animals can be friends, and the coyote is one of his friends in his life. In the novel, the rat symbolizes the hope and life. Robert saw a rat was trapped in the waterlogged trenches; he sets that rat free, because that was the only alive animal that is in the trenches. Later, â€Å"Robert wondered †¦ if setting the rat free had been a favor–but in the moment that he did it he was thinking: here is someone still alive† (114). The rat’s life is just like human’s life, both of them are precious. Throughout the whole novel, every time when the bird appears, it symbolizes freedom, life and warning. When Robert is in trouble, the bird will appear and give him a signal. Robert hears the bird is singing when he rolls over and sees the German, and then he realizes the sound of bird means that the German relents and shows mercy. He just let Robert and his men go: â€Å"A bird sang, something like a white-throated sparrow: one long note descending; three that wavered. This was the bird that had sung before† (127). After the German gets killed, the bird sings again, this time, the sound of bird is sorrowful. The bird is sad for the death of the German, also the bird is like the soldiers, it does not like the war, and it aspires for peace: â€Å"The bird sang†¦The sound of it would haunt him to the day he died† (131). Robert Ross sees his shadow from these animals, they have same characteristic and they are all very kind. As a soldier, Robert knows that the value of human life is treasurable so that he does not want to kill the innocents. The death of Rowena has a big impact on Robert’s life, and this incident changes his whole life. Even though Robert does not kill Rowena, he thinks that Rowena’s death is related to him. Robert feels guilty about Rowena’s death, so that he wants to join the war and escape from pain, â€Å"All he knew was that his hands felt empty. In this mind, they kept reaching out for the back of Rowena’s chair† (19). When Robert and his soldiers get gas attacked, Robert acts calm, and he reacts very fast. Robert is the only one who has the gas mask, and the rest of the soldiers do not have masks. Robert gives his mask to a wounded soldier, he does not even consider himself, and he just wants to save all the lives. He orders the rest of soldiers to urinate on their shirts and put it over their faces. They lie down for a moment, lastly, they get saved but unluckily, the injured soldier died, â€Å"Robert threw the gas mask at Bates. ‘Put that over [the injured soldier’s] face. And remember this gun is pointed right at your back’† (124). When Robert and his soldiers try to climb out from the trenches, he sees a German soldier and he is lenient so that he decides to ignore the German soldier: â€Å"He didn’t want to point it at him yet. He waited to see what reaction the gun itself would get† (129). As a soldier, Robert is not cruel, he appreciates every life, and he tries his best to protect his friends and family. By comparison, Captain Leather, Rodwell and Robert Ross, they treat animals and humans differently, Rodwell and Robert Ross are kind, but Captain Leather is cruel. Findley uses the relationships between humans and animals to reveal that in most cases, the nature of human is pure and innocent but sometimes merciless. Throughout the whole novel, human who respect animal’s life also show the most respect for life in general. As a reader, I realize that all the living creatures in the world are the same, they should respect each other. Works Cited Hippocrates. Notable Quotes about Animals & Humanity. Findley, Timothy. The Wars. Canada: Penguin Group, 2005.

The Reality of Death in Emily Dickinsons Poem, I Heard a...

I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died –, written by Emily Dickinson, is an interesting poem in which the poet deals with the subject of death in a doubtful yet both optimistic and pessimistic ways. The central theme of the poem is the doubtfulness and the reality of death. The poem is written in a very unique point of view; the narrator who is speaking is already dead. By using symbols, irony, oxymoron, imagery and punctuation, the poet greatly succeeds in showing the reality of death and her own doubtful feelings towards time after death. The use of fly in the poem, I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died –, act as a symbol which represents the hope of the person on her deathbed. The quietness in the room is described as â€Å"the Stillness in the†¦show more content†¦However, once more, â€Å"there interposed a Fly† (12), interrupting not only the silence but also the narrator’s mind which is trying to calm before the fear of death. This is because, the fly act as the last string the narrator can hold on to, or in other words, the last string that will connect the narrator and the world. With all her possessions assigned to others, the narrator does not own any physical possessions and she is also standing on the margin of losing her life. The sound of the fly buzzing and the sight of the fly flying around the room allow the narrator on the deathbed to know she is still alive and existing in the world as a human being. The fly, when seen from the positive or the optimistic point of vie w, can act as a symbol of hopefulness, for life existing in the same room with death can be interpreted as fly blocking and stopping the door of death from opening. Although the fly can be interpreted as a symbol of hope, this is ironic because a fly is something very trivial and unnoticeable. A fly is commonly known as an irritating and annoying insect and is not welcomed by the people. However, in this poem, the fly is welcomed by the narrator, who is about to face death. Interestingly, each time the fly is mentioned in the poem, its first letter is always capitalized. This shows that the fly in the poem is not something trivial and unimportant but rather a significant individual being. Also, the constant mention of the fly, for example, â€Å"I heard aShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis of I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died and Jilting of Granny Weatherall1714 Words   |  7 Pagesprimarily to a future life after death but a transformation in this life of both ourselves and this world† (Peters, 845). Salvation is not only something that can be found after death; people can finds salvation at any point by deciding to make a transformation in thei r lives to better themselves as well as the world around them. However, most humans seek salvation to find solace in the critical moment of their death; individuals find comfort in the belief of life after death or an eternal sole. SeveralRead MoreEmily Dickinson : A Comparison Of Death791 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Dickinson is one of Americas greatest and most original poets of all time. Over the span of her lifetime she came to compose many poems that pertained to the topic of death, which made it seem as if she had an almost morbid fascination with the subject. Her poems I heard a Fly buzz –when I died, and Because I could not stop for death— are some of the many poems that she wrote on this ghastly topic. Even though the poems are somewhat similar with the main focus being death from differentRead MoreI Heard A Fly Buzz, By Emily Dickinson1227 Words   |  5 PagesEmily Dickinson’s poem Fr 591 â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz,† describes the scene of the s peaker’s death in a very obscure way. The poem is entirely located in a single room and the speaker is participating in a common deathbed ritual that would have taken place at that point in time. The room is quiet, many mourners are preparing for the speakers final moments, and the speaker begins to will away all of her material possessions. When the speaker is about to commit to death, a fly interrupts the scene andRead MoreThe Concept of Death in Emily Dickinsons Poetry: An Analysis3177 Words   |  13 Pagesï » ¿Death in Emily Dickinsons Poetry Introduction Emily Dickinsons 19th century anti-sentimental death poetry illustrates the awful struggle she faced with her spirituality and the realities of life, death and despair. Her attitudes were compelled by a perplexity regarding the prospect of Immortality and the afterlife. Dickinson almost appears at times to see in Death the personification of Relief. In other poems, she seems to see Death as something frightening and demanding of ones faith. InRead MoreEmily Dickinson Review and Interpretation of Poems #449, #465, and #7121476 Words   |  6 PagesEmily Dickinson Emily Dickinsons poetry mostly reflects her feelings towards death and the projected events after death. As a poet, she was a very inward, and wrote about feelings that came from deeply within her--unlike other poets of her time whose societies were directly shown in their poetry (i.e.-Walt Whitman). Of course social and historical values shaped her personality, but in her poetry alone little can be derived about either the time period she lived in or the political and societalRead MoreCritical Analysis Of I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died1381 Words   |  6 PagesLater in her life, Dickinson writes about death and the overwhelming presence of death. Her famous poem, I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died, talks about death and the decay of the body. According to Helen Vendler’s Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries, it gives an analysis of the I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died in line 7 of the poem the king will be coming and will reclaim what belongs to him and when he comes it will be witnessed by the bystanders in the room. The King is coming for the deceasedRead MoreAnalysis Of Emily Dickinson s Emily 1867 Words   |  8 Pagesmay be. I Heard a Fly Buzz—when I died does all that but it also perplexes the reader, making one wonder what was Emily Dickison writing about in this poem? And what is the reader supposed to take away? It begins with the tone, in the very first sentence, I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—, there is a puzzling, almost disbelief on the part of the speaker. They can’t seem to believe that the fly is there, at their deathbed; interrupting what should be a sad moment. After that line the poem goes on withRead MoreAnalysis Of Emily Dickinson s Writing1953 Words   |  8 Pageschoice that would compel the reader to follow their logic and truly see what was being presented. Emily Dickinson, an American Writer, was well versed in the duality and power behind every word choice penned to the page. Dickinson’s poetry is a fine mix of linguistic genesis, syntax abnormalities, and connotative imagery that formed a lasting impression on audiences more than a century after her death. These complex elements that keep reappearing within the fine lines of her poetry has kept many criticsRead MoreEmily Dickson Poetic Style Of The Works Of George Eliot, Hawthorne, The Brownin gs, And Other Earlier959 Words   |  4 PagesKnown as one of America’s best poets, Emily Dickson poetic style sets her apart from all the rest. Every writer has his/her own unique ways based on theme, style, and punctuation special just to him/her; this is the same of Ms. Dickinson. Before peering into her work, lets get a little background information into the lifestyle, literary work that influenced her, and religious change of her time. Dickinson lived as a recluse. According to the experts the â€Å"Dickinson s reading was comparatively wideRead MoreEssay about Emily Dickensons Poems1190 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"I heard a fly buzz when I died† (I heard a fly, 1); the death in this poem is so effortless, besides the illusion of death that it presents it is so scary. The appearance of a simple and trivial fly at the peak of life only frightens and disconnects us. As we approach the end of the poem, the fly has obtained an awful meaning. Without doubt, the fly becomes the most central image. The fly makes a genuine appearance in four stanzas of the poem and that is what the speaker experiences in dying. †I