Benefits of Participating in High School Debate

Benefits of Participating in High School Debate In schools across the world, debate teams are valued for training students in public speaking, grace under pressure, and critical thinking. Student debaters have several advantages, whether they choose to join debate teams on campus or if they debate as members of a political club. Debating provides practice in developing sound and logical arguments.Debate gives students an opportunity to practice speaking in front of an audience and thinking on their feet.Students participating in debate show initiative and leadership.The research debaters perform expands their minds and increases their understanding of multiple sides of important issues.Students hone their research skills in preparing for debates. What Is a Debate? Essentially, a debate is an argument with rules. Debating rules vary from one competition to another, and there are several possible debate formats. Debates can involve single-member teams or teams that include several students. In a standard debate, two teams are presented  with a resolution or topic, and each team has a set period of time to prepare an argument. Students typically dont know their debate subjects ahead of time. However, participants are encouraged to read about current events and controversial issues to prepare for debates. This can give teams special strengths in certain topic areas. The goal is to come up with a good argument in a short amount of time. At a debate, one team argues in favor (pro) and the other argues in opposition (con). In some debate formats, each team member speaks, and in others, the team selects one member to speak for the entire team. A judge or a panel of judges assigns points based on the strength of the arguments and the professionalism of the teams. One team is usually declared the winner, and that team advances to a new round. A school team can compete in local, regional, and national tournaments. A typical debate format includes: Teams are advised of the topic and take positions (pro and con).Teams discuss their topics and come up with statements expressing their position.Teams deliver their statements and offer the main points.Teams discuss the oppositions argument and come up with rebuttals.Teams deliver their rebuttals.Teams make their closing statements. Each of these sessions is timed. For instance, teams may have only three minutes to come up with their rebuttal. Interested students without a team at their school can look into starting a debate team or club. Many colleges also offer summer programs that teach debating skills. Lessons Learned Through Debate Knowing how to synthesize information and deliver it to an audience succinctly- even an audience of one- is a skill that benefits people throughout their lives. Debate skills can come in handy when interviewing for jobs, networking for career advancement, conducting meetings, and giving presentations. These soft skills can help in most careers because debate students learn the art of persuasion. Outside of the working world, having good communication skills is useful in activities as ordinary as meeting new people or as special as making a wedding toast in front of a crowd, as debate helps people learn composure and confidence when speaking with others.

Students Dating College Professors

Students Dating College Professors While relationships between students and professors arent unheard of, they can be a source for all kinds of problems. A professor is in a position of authority over a student, whether or not he or she is that students teacher or supervisor, which makes any dating arrangement tricky at best. Ultimately, if the two are consenting adults (theres no scenario where its OK for a high school teacher to date a current student), theres not much anyone can do to prevent them from pursuing a romantic relationship. But expect there to be consequences. Is It OK for College Students and Professors to Date? First things first: A student must be 18 years old to legally be able to consent to a relationship with an adult. Beyond that, some schools have specific rules about what to do if a student and a professor want to pursue a romantic relationship. If thats the case at your institution, know that the answer to your dating question lies in the faculty and/or student handbook. Breaking those rules could jeopardize the professors job and the students status. What to Do If Your School Has No Policy If youre at an institution where there arent official rules about dating, there are most likely some guidelines or unofficial community expectations. Is it frowned upon? Is it OK to date a professor, so long as youre not in one of his or her classes? Be aware that even if youre not breaking any rules, your relationship, and how its perceived could cause problems. Even if the professor isnt the students teacher when the relationship starts, problems could arise if the student ends up in the professors class later on. As a member of the faculty, the professor holds power over the student. Many schools discourage professor/student dating for these reasons. Additionally, other students may perceive a student dating a professor as having an unfair advantage. If youre dating a professor whose classes you take, students may think youre getting special treatment or grades you havent earned, no matter if you actually are. Say your professor/partner tutors you in a subject youre struggling with or helps you figure out which classes to take and get you the classes you need. From your perspective, youre just enjoying the benefits of a nice relationship. But its unfair to other students, who dont have the same access. A student dating a professor should be prepared for tension with peers, as they may envy the inside access to the faculty world. What If It Doesnt Work Out? Dating a professor can have tricky long-term consequences. If you break up, you may still have to see each other regularly around campus or, worse, in class. All those questions about fairness the relationship initially raised will remain, only the student may now be at a disadvantage, with his or her ex having power over grades and reputation with other faculty members. The student could potentially damage the professors reputation as well if he or she shares details of the relationship. Ultimately, you both need to consider the rules and have a discussion about the potential risks of a relationship. Be sure that its worth it because the costs could be severe.

Zoology. Mitosis and biglight phases of embryological development Essay

Zoology. Mitosis and biglight phases of embryological development - Essay Example Mitosis is divided into these following phases: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Prophase is when the chromatin liquefies into a structure known as a chromosome, which allows the chromatin to become visible. Prometaphase is what happens when the nuclear envelope breaks itself into smaller fragments and then disappears entirely. Metaphase takes place when the chromosomes are situated in the center of the cell prior to splitting into the two daughter cell sets. Anaphase is when the chromosomes separate within the eukaryotic cell. The last phase, telophase, is when the stages and effects of prophase and prometaphase are reversed within the eukaryotic cell. Meiosis takes place when the chromosomes are split into halves, and is an essential part of sexual reproduction. Meiosis has many more complex stages then mitosis, as seen in the following: meiosis 1, prophase 1 (which consists of these further stages: leptotene, zygotene, pachytene, diplotene, diakinesis, and synchronous processes), metaphase 1, anaphase 1, telophase 1, and meiosis II. In meiosis 1, the homologous chromosomes are separated into two haploid cells. During prophase 1, the pairs of homologous chromosomes recombine with other pairs. The following are the phases of prophase 1: leptotene - each separate chromosome condenses into long threads inside of the nucleus; zygotene - the thread-like chromosomes line up with each other;

American Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

American Politics - Essay Example Finally, bureaucracy refers to the characteristics which exist in the organization like inflexibility or red tape. During the 1930s Max Weber illustrated bureaucracy as the ideal method of managing government departments and agencies. Max Weber outlined five major principles which guide bureaucracy in an effective and efficient manner. The principles are; formal hierarchical structure, management by rules, specialization, purposely impersonal and competency based employment (Ehrenreich, 1999). Max Weber favors an official hierarchical structure. Each level of the organization controls the sublevels below it. Likewise, the organizational level is controlled by the level above it. This formal hierarchy is responsible for the centralized decision making in organizations. Management through rules ensures that organizational decisions made at the top levels are implemented consistently at lower organizational levels. Max Weber also illustrates specialization and division of labor as one of the principles. Staffs are divided into units, according to the competencies they possess, or the type of work. Purposely impersonal principle ensures that all organizational stakeholders are treated equally. For example, provision of goods or service of the same quality and quantity to all the customers, for equal value. The bureaucracy also ensures that people are employed according to the skills they possess (Woods, 1998). These five principles ensure effective and efficient service delivery in the bureaucracy. The official hierarchical structure ensures smooth decision making process in the organization. The top management is responsible for making strategic decisions, which is then communicated downwards for implementation. Management by rules ensures that all staffs work according to the planning objectives. Specialization increases the quality of service offered because, employees offer services only in the areas they have enough competencies in.

The film Educating Rita Essay Example for Free

The film Educating Rita Essay Educating Rita tells a story of two people from the opposite ends of life. An uneducated working class woman finally realises the value of education and class and with the assistance of her alcoholic upper class tutor Frank Bryant, she embarks on a journey to gain the knowledge that she deeply yearns for. There are many advantages that a film has over a production of a play. It would be inconvenient and problematic to have lots of settings and changes therefore we immediately know that the film Educating Rita has more advantages over the play. It has close up shots of the characters and different settings. The burning books scene is a great example of this. In this scene Denny (Ritas husband) find a pack of Contraceptive pills which Rita has been taking. Outraged he throws all of Ritas books into a flame. We see Rita and the books through many different angles. One of the shots includes us looking at the burning books from Ritas point. This makes us feel empathy. We also see Rita from where the books are burning. At this point we feel sympathy for her as we see the expression on her face how miserable she is about her books. In the play we would not see Denny burning Ritas books and Rita helplessly just standing there from this amount of angles. We are only able to see the play from one angle which is from out seats. Another advantage that the film has over the play is the added scenes. Added scenes one the most common ways a film can use other methods in order to put across its message. A good example of this method is the scene when Denny finds the contraceptive pills. We do not see this in the play. We see Denny entering the living rooms and tossing the packet on the table. In the film we sense trouble instantly when we witness Denny looking under the floor boards as we earlier saw Rita hiding the pills in the same spot. Throughout the entire film, there are a number of shots that describe the lifestyles of both characters. Ritas journey takes us through her neighbourhood. Through several long shots we instantly understand that the area is almost a dump. The streets are littered heavily, there are abandoned caravans on the sides, two large tanks on the far end of the street which is extremely hazardous and a siren blares in the distance indicates danger. This scene concludes that lower class people who can only afford up to this degree live in an environment like this. On the other hand, Franks environment is the opposite. As Frank walks home we see large amount of space including trees spread out finely, autumn leaves landing swiftly on the ground, parked cars and bird chirping in the distance.

Human Genome :: essays research papers

Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international 13 year effort that began in October of 1990. The main objective of the project is to map the entire human DNA sequence. The project was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances have moved the completion date to 2003. A rough draft of the human genome was completed in June 2000. Efforts are still underway to complete the finished high quality sequence. Many laboratories around the United States receive funding from either the Department of Energy (DOE) or the National Institutes of Health, or from both, for the HGP. Other researchers at colleges, universities, and laboratories throughout the United States also receive funding for the project. At any given time, the DOE Human Genome Project funds about 200 separate investigators. At least 18 countries have established human genome research programs. Some of the larger programs are in Australia, France, Sweden, China and the United Kingdom. Some developing countries are participating through studies of molecular biology techniques for genome research and studies of organisms that are particularly interesting to their geographic regions. The Human Genome Project Organization helps to coordinate international efforts in the genome project. There are many benefits and goals of the Human Genome Project. Rapid progress in genome science and a glimpse into its potential applications have helped observers to predict that biology will be the most important science of the 21 century. Aside from its medical and scientific benefits, the development of genomics research presents U.S. industry with many opportunities. The Consulting Resources Corporation Newsletter (Spring 1999) said that the sale of DNA based products and technologies in the biotechnology industry are rejected to exceed $45 billion by 2009. One of the goals of the project is improved knowledge in the area of molecular medicine. Increasingly detailed maps have aided res earchers seeking genes associated with dozens of genetic conditions, including inherited colon cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and familial breast cancer. Also, molecular medicine will benefit with the improved diagnosis of disease, rational drug design, gene therapy and pharmaceutical â€Å"custom drugs†. Another area that will benefit is that of Microbial Genetics. Despite our reliance on the inhabitants of the microbial world, we know little of their number or their nature.: estimates are that less than 0.01% of all microbes have been identified. Also, expected benefits include developments of diverse new products, processes, and test methods that will open the door to a cleaner environment.

Sex Education Taught to 8 Year Olds

Eight-year-old children are being targeted for more detailed sex education in schools. In Christchurch today, Family Planning is launching a new resource for teachers of late-primary and intermediate-age children. The launch has upset the conservative lobby group Family First, which is urging Family Planning to â€Å"butt out† and leave sex education to parents. The resource, called The Sexuality Road, is aimed at younger children because research shows that they are now entering puberty earlier. Young people have a right to understand what is happening to their bodies and their emotions,† Family Planning director of health promotion Frances Bird said. â€Å"Sexuality education that works starts early, before young people reach puberty, and before they have developed established patterns of behavior. † The Sexuality Road provides teachers with a programme of 10 lessons and evaluations per year. Each year comes with lesson plans, activity worksheets, and resources. Year 5 and 6 (nine and 10-year-old) pupils look at pubertal change, friendships, gender, families, menstruation, fertility, conception and personal support. Year 7 and 8 pupils focus more on changing feelings and emotions and their effects on relationships, sexual attraction, decision-making around sexual attraction, conception and birth, contraception and support agencies. Bird said international evidence showed children were entering puberty earlier than had been seen in decades. The average age of puberty for girls in New Zealand had fallen to between nine and 14 and for boys, it was between 11 and 16, Bird said. â€Å"Some people are concerned that providing information about sex and sexuality arouses curiosity and can lead to sexual experimentation. There is no evidence that this happens,† she said. New Zealand teenagers rate second-highest in the developed world for teen pregnancies. The Press last month revealed research showing more than a third of 16-year-olds have already had sex and half say they have been in love. An Education Review Office report, commissioned by the ministries of Women's Affairs, Health and Education, found at least half of all sex education in schools was presented by teachers with no qualifications in the subject. Liggins Institute director, and newly appointed chief science adviser, Professor Peter Gluckman has earlier called for action to address the â€Å"emerging national crisis,† in sex education for younger children. â€Å"Sex and health education has to become mainstream and away from the idea that it's only for the physed teacher who is least equipped to deal with it,† Gluckman said. Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said children should be taught sex education by their parents when they were ready. â€Å"The simple message to Family Planning is `butt out and leave it to parents',† McCoskrie said. Parents know their kids the best. They know their emotional and moral development best and have their own values. Family Planning should not be interacting with kids of that age. † McCoskrie said schools had become â€Å"one-stop shops† for dealing with social problems in the community. Some parents felt overawed by â€Å"the sex talk† with their children, so resources should be put in to helping them better understand what was required, McCoskrie said. â€Å"It needs to be values-based and we think parents are the ones who determine the values. Bird said children should be exposed to a range of values, attitudes and opinions. According to a survey run on the Netmums parenting website, the majority of parents believe children should start learning about sex and relationships when they are eight years old. I can hear them already. The shocked and outraged tones of the other â€Å"moral† majority reacting to yet another progressive plot to corrupt children. â€Å"We'll have no sex education here! † Or if we must, let them wait until they're actually doing it. That is sad, because such views are themselves transformative, turning sex from a natural and evolving topic to a dangerous threshold, making childhood sexualisation more, not less, likely. Talking about sex starts much earlier transforms the likelihoods that children will be better informed. Children use sexual terms long before they reach the age of eight (year 3). Listening recently to year 1 conversations, I overheard boys talking about â€Å"having sex† (they mean â€Å"cuddling†). They insult each other using terms such as â€Å"gay†. Discussion of sex runs through the playground discourse like Blackpool through a stick of rock: it's just very badly formed. Talking about sex needs to start earlier so that children will not be confused at a leter time when it is learned thru their peer group. A straw poll of local school kids suggests little useful sex education is received before the age of 13. That's two years after the average age at which girls begin their periods – five years after some. If you're not told about such stuff at home, how terrifying to be eight and suddenly bleeding. A range of studies report puberty starting earlier in western societies – and while the reality of sexual experimentation may not be as graphic or extreme as the tabloids would have us believe, that, too, can begin long before 13. Sexual orientation and identity, too, can be obvious at a very early age (from six onward): once more, how scary to grow in an atmosphere that makes â€Å"queers† always the butt of jokes with no balancing official information. Sex doesn't have to be sexual in nature. Many of the dirtiest, smuttiest most adult things about sex are just that: adult. There is a depressing read-across from adult values to child: many people assume that a child doing something â€Å"sexy† understands their behavior and intends the result. Children learn through play. Girls dress, use makeup and dance in ways that would be erotic if their mums did them – but absolutely aren't when they do. Children can be educated about sex without focusing on the erotic. It's never too young to learn respect for the beliefs of sexually actions. The most misleading thing about this debate is that opponents caricature sex education as being about just one thing. In fact, broad and structured sex education will provide grounding in relationships, biology, safety, health, respect for others and consent. These will be introduced at the appropriate point using language appropriate to the age discovering them. In a world in which many adult relationships continue to be conducted through the emotions of childhood – and one in four women (and one in five men) are still suffering domestic violence – early sex ed is as much about learning the most basic of lessons – the right to say no – as anything else.