College Application Essay Examples Admission Essay Topics

College Application Essay Examples Admission Essay Topics Even when we finally joined we only declared war on the Nazis in response to their declaration of war on us. Clever minds like Lehrer, Vonnegut, and Heller looked at Americans patting themselves on the back after the war, as if we had won a moral victory. The same people who hadn’t wanted to fight the Nazis in 1939 or earlier were now congratulating themselves for defeating them. I find it useful to see my own traits and philosophies in a character, where I can examine them with greater clarity than if I were peering directly into my own mind. I finished re-reading the book in late December and the experience was well timed. This gives me hope that every individual holds ultimate power over her or his own life. They can decide if it is most meaningful to live with dignity, or with kindness, or with passion. Whatever the ultimate outcome, if they have made choices based on their principles, their ending is happy. The end of the book, and thus the Narnia series, is death. Just death, of everyone and everything, as Aslan, the Jesus-like lion and creator of Narnia, leads the dead spirits of all Narnians, including most of the main characters, to…Narnia. Where, as the characters describe, the world was exactly the same as Narnia…but Truer. It was a simple interpretation of heaven, but it struck me. Reading Jane Eyre gave me a vocabulary with which to contemplate my own principles. Like waking up from a dream to realize a truer, better world, the Narnians were led to the truest and most awoken state. It is a simple parable that reminds of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where one man emerges from a lifetime of staring at shadows dancing on a cave wall to a real and vibrant and three-dimensional world. I had read Plato’s Republic, his Allegory of the Cave, and various dialogues in my sophomore year; I was surprisingly only finishing the Narnia series in my junior year. The story does not shy away from the dark and confusing. The characters struggle with death and injustice and poverty. I find value in the book’s happy endings, made more meaningful because their happiness is not derived from objective circumstances, but by the power of each character’s belief system. At the end of the book, the reader finds St. John is about to die, Mr. Rochester is badly disabled, Helen Burns is long dead, and Jane isn’t doing anything particularly worthy of ambition. The aspect of Clevenger that I identify with is not the blind followership, but followership nonetheless. I may not agree with the goal we pursue or how we try to reach it, but if I am given a job to do I will do it thoroughly and with all my effort. Pashtuns are the ethnic group that make up a majority of the fighters in that country and they have a system of core beliefs that make one a Pashtun called Pashtunwali. One aspect of this is Badal, or retribution, essentially meaning that if someone harms or even insults a friend or family member it is your duty as a Pashtun to take revenge, generally by spilling blood. Because of this, for every fighter we kill, we create a whole family of new fighters. This never-ending cycle is the reason Afghans have been fighting almost constantly since 1979. This is why I think that “warheads on foreheads” is strategically counterproductive. Being given the Sisyphean task of killing our way out of an insurgency, the only response I can have is to work very hard to be sure that the warheads are landing on the right foreheads. The Yosarian in me changes the question from “How do we succeed? ” to “How do we minimize the loss of civilian and allied life while we inevitably fail? So I’ll make Jane Eyre my great book, as it has caused me to feel greatly solaced. In a well-written book, life-altering challenges and mundane activities alike are transfigured into something of consequence, as if they are part of a grand, unperceivable pattern. I think it may be the moral certainty we now have about that war. Nazis are evil, we know that now, or at least many of us do, but at the time, the war raged for three years before the United States entered. ” The Clevenger in me responds to this new question with a sense of patriotic, even divine, duty. As a small child, I did not fully grasp the implications of translation and the issues that arise from recitation. Now, as a student of Latin, I understand the strain of translation. No two translations are ever the same, usually due to the education and bias of the translator. The D’aulaire’s remain true to the wildly complex myths of Ancient Greece while crafting an accessible book for children. But all of the sympathetic characters are fulfilled and have appeared to live their lives with intention, so their ends are far from tragic. I am tempted to write about a more important book, something a little weightier and more historic, but I feel it would be most appropriate to write about Jane Eyre. It’s a book that’s exceptionally significant to me because it has been an exceptional source of comfort. I once heard art defined as anything that makes its audience feel and react. I like this definition, so I’ll posit that any art that causes a person to feel, greatly, is great. I can see aspects of both Yosarian and Clevenger in myself. Like Yosarian I think it is important to question my reality, and view what I am told is “common sense” with skepticism. While Clevenger just blindly believed and followed what he was told was patriotic, Yosarian questioned why a bunch of people he didn’t know wanted to kill him.

College Application Essay Examples Admission Essay Topics

College Application Essay Examples Admission Essay Topics Even when we finally joined we only declared war on the Nazis in response to their declaration of war on us. Clever minds like Lehrer, Vonnegut, and Heller looked at Americans patting themselves on the back after the war, as if we had won a moral victory. The same people who hadn’t wanted to fight the Nazis in 1939 or earlier were now congratulating themselves for defeating them. I find it useful to see my own traits and philosophies in a character, where I can examine them with greater clarity than if I were peering directly into my own mind. I finished re-reading the book in late December and the experience was well timed. This gives me hope that every individual holds ultimate power over her or his own life. They can decide if it is most meaningful to live with dignity, or with kindness, or with passion. Whatever the ultimate outcome, if they have made choices based on their principles, their ending is happy. The end of the book, and thus the Narnia series, is death. Just death, of everyone and everything, as Aslan, the Jesus-like lion and creator of Narnia, leads the dead spirits of all Narnians, including most of the main characters, to…Narnia. Where, as the characters describe, the world was exactly the same as Narnia…but Truer. It was a simple interpretation of heaven, but it struck me. Reading Jane Eyre gave me a vocabulary with which to contemplate my own principles. Like waking up from a dream to realize a truer, better world, the Narnians were led to the truest and most awoken state. It is a simple parable that reminds of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, where one man emerges from a lifetime of staring at shadows dancing on a cave wall to a real and vibrant and three-dimensional world. I had read Plato’s Republic, his Allegory of the Cave, and various dialogues in my sophomore year; I was surprisingly only finishing the Narnia series in my junior year. The story does not shy away from the dark and confusing. The characters struggle with death and injustice and poverty. I find value in the book’s happy endings, made more meaningful because their happiness is not derived from objective circumstances, but by the power of each character’s belief system. At the end of the book, the reader finds St. John is about to die, Mr. Rochester is badly disabled, Helen Burns is long dead, and Jane isn’t doing anything particularly worthy of ambition. The aspect of Clevenger that I identify with is not the blind followership, but followership nonetheless. I may not agree with the goal we pursue or how we try to reach it, but if I am given a job to do I will do it thoroughly and with all my effort. Pashtuns are the ethnic group that make up a majority of the fighters in that country and they have a system of core beliefs that make one a Pashtun called Pashtunwali. One aspect of this is Badal, or retribution, essentially meaning that if someone harms or even insults a friend or family member it is your duty as a Pashtun to take revenge, generally by spilling blood. Because of this, for every fighter we kill, we create a whole family of new fighters. This never-ending cycle is the reason Afghans have been fighting almost constantly since 1979. This is why I think that “warheads on foreheads” is strategically counterproductive. Being given the Sisyphean task of killing our way out of an insurgency, the only response I can have is to work very hard to be sure that the warheads are landing on the right foreheads. The Yosarian in me changes the question from “How do we succeed? ” to “How do we minimize the loss of civilian and allied life while we inevitably fail? So I’ll make Jane Eyre my great book, as it has caused me to feel greatly solaced. In a well-written book, life-altering challenges and mundane activities alike are transfigured into something of consequence, as if they are part of a grand, unperceivable pattern. I think it may be the moral certainty we now have about that war. Nazis are evil, we know that now, or at least many of us do, but at the time, the war raged for three years before the United States entered. ” The Clevenger in me responds to this new question with a sense of patriotic, even divine, duty. As a small child, I did not fully grasp the implications of translation and the issues that arise from recitation. Now, as a student of Latin, I understand the strain of translation. No two translations are ever the same, usually due to the education and bias of the translator. The D’aulaire’s remain true to the wildly complex myths of Ancient Greece while crafting an accessible book for children. But all of the sympathetic characters are fulfilled and have appeared to live their lives with intention, so their ends are far from tragic. I am tempted to write about a more important book, something a little weightier and more historic, but I feel it would be most appropriate to write about Jane Eyre. It’s a book that’s exceptionally significant to me because it has been an exceptional source of comfort. I once heard art defined as anything that makes its audience feel and react. I like this definition, so I’ll posit that any art that causes a person to feel, greatly, is great. I can see aspects of both Yosarian and Clevenger in myself. Like Yosarian I think it is important to question my reality, and view what I am told is “common sense” with skepticism. While Clevenger just blindly believed and followed what he was told was patriotic, Yosarian questioned why a bunch of people he didn’t know wanted to kill him.

The Admission Essay

The Admission Essay At least two of the following documents must be submitted, with dates that evidence the 12-month qualifying period. At least one of the documents must be from the First Tier. As some evidence is more persuasive than others, more than two may be requested. No single piece of documentation will be considered conclusive. Plenty of resources for writing, as well as other helps. Here's your chance to hear firsthand from those-in-the-know at hundreds of colleges and universities nearby, across the country, and around the world. High school counselors and other advisers are cordially invited to attend the first NACAC Virtual College Fair on August 19. It’s go time â€" and we’ll be with you every step of the way. If you’re having trouble organizing your piece, try talking it out with someone, writing it a few sentences, creating it as an infographic or even a graphic novel - whatever helps you see it. That might be a good form for you if, for example, you were trying to convince a school that your summer job working on a landscaping team taught you a lot about chemistry, your chosen major. You could “draw” your essay as an infographic or word map or even as a graphic novel. Do what you need to do to imagine the story in your own head. Then, you can start translating it into a more polished form. The new burger-flipping environment challenged the writer, which shows that he's not afraid to push himself out of his comfort zone. His time watching and learning from Anuj demonstrates the candidate is eager to learn and marvels at expertise in any field. The Ê»Fresh not Frozen, Grilled not Friedʼ motto resonated in my mind. I had taken the plunge and secured my very first part time job. Try to share one profound message, not ten lacklustre statements. A moment, a conversation, a game, a class, an interaction - anything. Your essay needs to show why that's you, why you're different, and what you can offer. Here are a few tips to help optimise your essay and ensure you stand out from the pool of applicants. These examples can help you with your own essay, but before we reveal the secret to success, we should cover some of the basics. He's also the author of The Impossible Mentor, a deep dive into the foundations of discipleship. The more narrow your focus, the more concise and effective your essay will be. Each sentence should build on the last and compel the reader onward. You need to talk about something that impacted your life. Colleges respond to your ingenuity and self-awareness, not to your vast knowledge bank or a spiel of how impressive your were during high school. As we can see in the example essay, you must be brave and honest. The juxtaposition between the mundane life of fast food work and the overall tone, which includes jokes and melodrama, demonstrates the author's insight and unique perspective. Some college advisors, such as The College Essay Guy and Essay Hell post winners. Many colleges, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Connecticut post “essays that worked” going back several years. You are creating a guideline of ideas and topics to choose from that are uniquely tied to your life. Additionally, there must be an absence of information that contradicts the applicant's claim of residency. Admissions decisions will be released as indicated on the application deadline page. But there is no way in hell that he, flipping through his Instagrams and quietly plotting his next meal, is going to have an easy time summing up his essential him-ness in 500 words. process your personal data to serve you with personalized ads, subject to your choices as described above and in our privacy policy. You can find much more information about your privacy choices in our privacy policy. Even if you choose not to have your activity tracked by third parties for advertising services, you will still see non-personalized ads on our site. Get connected with everything you need to apply to college, research financial aid and scholarships, and get advice from counselors, advisors and mentors. Completing a foreign language college course at the elementary 2 level or higher. Evidence that the student meets one of these criteria will be requested by the higher education institution.

Personal Essay For Admission

Personal Essay For Admission Completing a foreign language college course at the elementary 2 level or higher. Evidence that the student meets one of these criteria will be requested by the higher education institution. At least two of the following documents must be submitted, with dates that evidence the 12-month qualifying period. At least one of the documents must be from the First Tier. Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution. Impress us with your content and who you are; not your ability to use a thesaurus. You could “draw” your essay as an infographic or word map or even as a graphic novel. Do what you need to do to imagine the story in your own head. Then, you can start translating it into a more polished form. Transcripts must include courses completed from 9th through 11th grade. A final high school transcript, which contains a graduation date and completed courses, will be required prior to the start of your first semester at FGCU. You will have to submit payment if you do not qualify for a fee waiver. She has worked for the University of Florida for 22 years as a magazine writer and editor, medical alumni director, academic catalog editor, and designer for print and web. This can vary depending on the specific application method you are using. The university does not collect personal information as you browse. Make your essay reflect your personality and uncovers your interests. As some evidence is more persuasive than others, more than two may be requested. No single piece of documentation will be considered conclusive. Additionally, there must be an absence of information that contradicts the applicant's claim of residency. Admissions decisions will be released as indicated on the application deadline page. Most of our readers would prefer if you wrote, “I hung out with a group of friends” instead of, “we congregated as a conglomerate of like-minded individuals”. Renee Buchanan is communications manager for the Division of Enrollment Management. The fee must be received to complete your application. Send the application fee waiver form to Undergraduate Admissions. To begin the process, you must submit an application andnon-refundable $30.00 application fee. This website stores cookies on your computer to improve your browsing experience. Here's your chance to hear firsthand from those-in-the-know at hundreds of colleges and universities nearby, across the country, and around the world. High school counselors and other advisers are cordially invited to attend the first NACAC Virtual College Fair on August 19. It’s go time â€" and we’ll be with you every step of the way. Get connected with everything you need to apply to college, research financial aid and scholarships, and get advice from counselors, advisors and mentors. Most experts say a great essay cannot compensate for an average academic record. But it can play a significant role in shaping perceptions of an applicant and might tip the balance in a borderline case. Always keep the prompt in mind and make sure your essay as a whole consistently works toward addressing the prompt. You don’t want to lose points because you lost focus and neglected to answer what the prompt asked of you. While it’s fantastic that you scored in the 90th percentile on the SAT verbal, that doesn’t mean you need to showcase your high-caliber vocabulary in your essay.

Essay Topics

Essay Topics Putting your ideas into the right words may take time. Don’t procrastinate on this part of your application. Once you zero in on your topic, it’s time to organize your ideas. You might want to use an outline, laying out your main points, developing supporting ideas, and sequencing your thoughts logically. This should help you to organize a clear rough draft. If you begin taking these steps well ahead of your deadline, you should have plenty of time to read through your own work, make revisions, share your essay with others, and incorporate feedback into future drafts. Many selective colleges and universities have their own essay prompts. With us, checking for mistakes is only the beginning. Of course, there will be no compromise when we examine your work for errors in spelling, syntax, punctuation, flow, sentence structure, etc. If a university finds out you lied on an application or essay you will get rejected, almost guaranteed. I never write my essays in order due to the way I think. I would start with the introduction, then halfway through, I would have a really good idea for the second paragraph. I would start writing the conclusion which might lead to two other strong ideas that could go in the first and third paragraphs, etc. While AdmitSee's findings focused specifically on applications submitted by students who were accepted to Ivy League institutions, the site has application materials for a wide variety of schools on its site. Visit our Writing Lab for more writing tips, pertaining both to your college essay, and to the array of other writing challenges you’ll face in college or graduate school. Writing multiple drafts assist in organizing your application essay and often assist in carrying the flow of your words to maximize impact on your audience. Revising your work eliminates grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and weak points that could work against you in your admission process. ServiceScape allows you to find the perfect editor in just a few clicks. You can find the right expert for your admissions essay, one who is ready to stand by your side from the get-go to the finish line and beyond. We'll proudly provide point-by-point critiques and invaluable feedback on how to rise up and above the crowd. I got pins and needles for a moment as I realized that, after all these years, our roles had been reversed. For the next couple of hours, Ms. Kanfer became my pupil. In this recording of a virtual information session, admission counselor Sterling provides an introduction to Chapman and walks you through the application process. Plagiarism is always wrong, and schools are getting better at detecting it. Before, I viewed education as a means to an end, a minor footnote in my transition to the professional world. A purposeful education produces change within and bettering the world around me. Additionally, current students answer participant questions. I asked so many people for advice â€" some said I bragged too much, others said I needed to brag more, while quite a few said I didn’t brag at all and that my essay was boring. When I stopped letting other people’s voices overshadow my own, my writing process truly began. I ultimately chose to write about it after I acknowledged the fact that my past actions don’t define me. Therefore, look to individuals who have background and expertise in the college admissions process. These tips were provided by Amy Clark, a proofreading professional who provides editing help for college admission essays. Revising, revamping or even rewriting the entire college admission essay is helpful in producing your best work. You should absolutely ask others to take a look at your essay before you submit it. As we work on things, we become blind to mistakes that will be glaringly apparent to others. However, limit the number of people you ask to two or three. Asking too many people for feedback will only confuse you and result in a lower quality essay as you revise the essay according to each person’s advice. Other colleges may simply offer you free writing space to provide a personal statement. However, the Common Application is perhaps the best starting point for anticipating likely college essay prompts. We also enlisted the help of a qualified expert in the field. Meredith Lombardi, Associate Director of Outreach and Education at the Common Application, offers a few tips on exactly what admissions officers are seeking from a great application essay. She figuratively reached out, grabbed a tired and disinterested reader and made him/her want to find out how the writer was possibly going to reconcile her opening with what was supposed to be an application essay.

What Is An Essay?

What Is An Essay? Analyze the samples we provide and make sure we are the best team of expert writers who can help you secure your spotlight. Keep in mind that some external valuable assistance with writing is able to advance you rapidly. Finally, you receive an academic paper and get a good mark at university. If we are talking about college admission essay writing help, you are guaranteed to enter the desired university. We’ve observed most students write a polished formal essay, yet submit a more casual short response. Give every part of the writing responses your best effort, presenting yourself in standard, formal English. At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. The best solution is to use the help of scholarship essay writing serviceEdubirdie, which is an expert through application essay writing services! We will help you with assignment and grant successful school admission that may bring you a scholarship. Thousands of happy customers are what we are proud of. An irreplaceable part of college entrance process is a college application essay, and this is a deciding point which may define whether a student will enroll or not. It is important to make this entrance essay flawless by using a reliable application essay writing service. Why not use some college application essay help online today to see the success tomorrow or at an early date? There are only good grounds to resort to our application essay writing service right now.FastEssay.com is one of the best places where you find all that you need to apply to the university and be admitted. Check out our college application essay writing service features. Creativity and knowledge of the admission process guarantees high quality of your essay. They know how to do their job and they know how to do it in a proper way. I was looking for writing experts to craft a college application essay for me and they did it just the way I expected them to. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often words in length. The working process is easy enough for anyone and consists of several stages you have to follow. Firstly, you ask our staff for help or some prompts. Then pay for essay a low fee that starts from only $13.99 per page and choose a suitable expert from a vast pool of professional helpers. As you write your supplemental essay, you should keep in mind that it will be used by the scholarship committees in selecting the scholarship finalists. Therefore, you may wish to craft your response within an academic framework. A great essay will stick in the board’s mind for right reasons. It means that when the time comes for them to decide, your great essay will come into play â€" we guarantee that it will be impossible for them to overlook it. Each student who completes an application for admission by the completion deadline will be considered for the appropriateacademic scholarshipfor the division indicated on the application. They may differ, so it is important that the writer knows and tailors your essay accordingly. Paperell range of authors has the right experience for this. By buying an admissions essay from Paperell you will increase your chances of succeeding with your application significantly. YouTube Tutorials Master each step of the admissions essay writing process and learn what it takes to craft a memorable submission one video at at time. A college admissions counselor does not want to read about your journey. We’re not suggesting that you need to explicitly hide affluence, and it’s not like you chose to be born into a wealthy family, but writing about things that flag privilege comes off as bragging. So if you beat the winter blues in Mexico, don’t force someone to read about it while they’re at their desk. Getting an essay online is 100% secure and anonymous.

Freshman Admissions

Freshman Admissions It could have easily performed as a Common App essay, but Mike had other things to say about himself in one of those prompts. Having my mom cut my hair is like flying on an airplane. Sure, it's risky with potential deadly results, but it gets me where I want to go in a short time. But as my mom and the airline industry have proven, out of the many flights from Chicago to New York, there always are a few memorable crashes. Lea Giotto is a student at the University of Michigan and a summer 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Fayal was unable to provide exact numbers on this data â€" she said AdmitSee needs to wait to receive more applications containing this type of information. I would also suggest adopting a single verb tense throughout the essay, rather than shifting suddenly from present to past to future. I will have to keep my vision of the world fresh and open, and not succumb to the hardening of established ideas, or onionizing, that I see occurring around me all the time. Find a picture and write why it is important to you. Pick a recent event and relate it to a turning point in your life. Select two ideals listed in our literature and relate them to your personal beliefs and convictions. Describe how a song, poem, piece of art, book, etc. influenced your life. [Although that might just be a stylistic preference, I’d try to carry a present tense throughout]. It is a wonder to delve into the Theory of Genre, yet amazing how complex certain topics can be given we give them the time of day. I spent weeks compiling data, creating visuals, and practicing my delivery. College, where one learns to question the status quo, seems like it would be the perfect place for a tomato living in a . Yet I also recognize that the coming time will be a challenge. I will be confronting new ideas, new situations, and new fears, and will have to assimilate these experiences without changing the fabric of my mind. Facing pushback from the school board when you present a well-researched plan to eliminate internet filters in high schools. You speak at three meetings advocating for this issue, but it ultimately doesn’t pass. Topic choice is crucial in responding to this prompt. Discuss an issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. A visit to campus is the first step in determining if Bridgewater is the right fit for you. That’s when you’ll see what life at BC is really like. Incidentally, for those of you obsessives out there who checked Mike's word count and discovered it to be 670 , keep in mind that this was not a Common Application essay. Natural Leaders are K-12 parents from within the participating school’s community trained by WABS to coordinate parent engagement activities at the school. You have the opportunity with the first line to pique curiosity and entice the reader to continue with interest. You could start part of the line with a quote, or a description of a memory. Another tact could be to explain how the field in which you want to study is important to you because of some prior experience in your life. You are thinking of a bright and comfortable future for yourself or your family. Having said that you must also think about building up your profile when applying to the college of your choice to pursue a career you are passionate about. I would try to move my leg or even shift an ankle but I never got a response. This was the first time thoughts of death ever cross my mind. The challenge of the internship was that, when it was finished, I had to turn all of the documents I had reviewed into a presentation at a , which I would then deliver to an elementary school class. If you want to study Criminal Justice, and it’s because of some strong sense of justice from some event in your past, explain that. Be precise in your response, and don’t veer off topic or ramble. Try to answer the question in a unique way, displaying your personality and colored by your story. The categories below will help walk you through the application process and answer questions you may have. Your decision to apply to Clemson is the first step on your journey to becoming a Clemson Tiger and an important part of a great academic university. Last but not the least, do not forget to use spell checker and correct grammatical errors before attaching it to your application. Aspiring for a college degree is a wonderful thought.

Sample Personal Statement Essay For College Applications

Sample Personal Statement Essay For College Applications While the precise topic of my thesis is undecided, I am particularly interested in Mexico and its development towards a more democratic government. Minoring in Spanish, I have read various pieces of literature from Mexico and have come to respect Mexico and Latin American culture and society. Additionally, my attendance would allow the Political Science department to make a more accurate determination on how well I would fit in to the program than from solely my graduate school application. My interest in attending the University of Rochester in particular, relates to my first semester at OU and the opportunity to take an introductory course in statistics with the now retired Dr. Larry Miller. Through the combination of a genuine appreciation and knack for statistics and with his encouragement, I proceeded to take his advanced statistics class as well as the first graduate level statistics course at OU. Participating in such a large study from start to finish has validated my interest in academic research as a profession. In order to pay for school and continue being active in the community, I enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard as a Medic. Due to the increased deployment schedule and demands placed on all branches of the military after September 11, my attendance in school has necessarily come second to my commitment to the military. There are various semesters where, due to this demand, I attended school less than full time. Despite taking a long time and the difficulty in carving separate time for school with such occupational requirements, I remained persistent aiming towards attending school as my schedule would allow. My military commitment ends this July and will no longer complicate my academic pursuits. I come from a small, economically depressed town in Northern Wisconson. The effort paid off as I earned not only an ‘A’ in the course, but also won the T.O.P.S. award in statistics. This award is given to the top undergraduate student with a demonstrated history of success in statistics. Professor Mitchell obtained a grant to take a class of students to Belgium in order to study the EU. This course revealed a direct correlation between what I had studied in the classroom with the real world. After spending several weeks studying the EU, its history and present movement towards integration, the class flew to Brussels where we met with officials and proceeded to learn firsthand how the EU functioned. This fall I will embark on writing an additional honors thesis in political science. I look forward to conducting this research as it will have a more qualitative tilt than my thesis in psychology, therefore granting an additional understanding of research methodology. As an undergraduate, I was privileged to gain extensive research experience working in a research lab with Dr. Carol. I continued my statistical training by completing the second graduate statistics course on model comparisons with Dr. Roger Johnson, a Professor in the Psychology Department. The model comparison course was not only the most challenging course I have taken as an undergraduate, but the most important. As the sole undergraduate in the course and only college algebra under my belt, I felt quite intimidated. Yet, the rigors of the class compelled me to expand my thinking and learn to overcome any insecurities and deficits in my education. Great writing is hard to achieve, but it’s possible if you’re smart about it. Anyone who works in journalism will tell you that you can catch any reader’s attention as long as you deliver a great introduction. You may think it’s redundant to mention that you need to read the instructions carefully, but with all the excitement and stress that characterizes this period of your life, it needs to be highlighted. Take a look at our college essay samplesto get an idea of what colleges are looking for in your essay. Our vision is to be the company that best recognizes and serves the needs of international students around the world. Colleges are simply looking for thoughtful, motivated students who will add something to the first-year class. Manuela is passionate about education and evolution and wishes to collect enough information in order to help students from all corners of the world take the big step towards their incredible future. You will have a maximum number of words, so the secret is not to try to cover everything in your essay. Create a plan before you actually start writing, organize your essay in three parts , and decide on the main ideas you want to express. Universities are looking for authenticity and quality of thinking, so don’t try to shape your essay around phrases or ideas that people have used many times before, but base it on your genuine beliefs.

College Admissions Essay Writing Help

College Admissions Essay Writing Help Once you've chosen the topic for you essay, write a first draft. Don't worry about making it perfect, just write down everything you can think of that relates to your topic. Don't try to copy someone else's tone in your writing. You don't have to sound like anyone else, you just have to sound like you. There are hundreds of possible topics that you can be asked to write an essay on. I am developing self-awareness, but I still have so much to learn. I want to travel to actual countries and take pictures on a bunch of disposable cameras because there is something magic about those blurry images that develop in the dark. I want to scale real mountains, close my eyes and sit cross-legged on their tops while the whole world around me spins wildly into the future. My donor’s file is the first item I packed when I recently had to evacuate my home during a hurricane. We know what admissions boards want and we know how to give it them while still using your voice and your ideas. Especially considering how short these essays usually are and that the general rule of thumb is to stick to just one point to expand on. And then there’s the danger of using too many clichés! Unless otherwise specified, use 1.5 or double spacing for your essay, format it with a one-inch margin all around and clearly delineate your paragraphs using a single space tab. Editing and rewriting should be done in sections, and after you are satisfied that each of it is in order, move on to the next section. Note your strongest impressions and how they affected you. If you loved the Grand Canyon, for example, write down three specific reasons why, aside from the grandeur and beauty that everyone loves. Describe an accomplishment that you had to struggle to achieve. Include what it was, how you tackled it, and how it changed you. Thanks to that first morning on Fall Creek, I’ve found a calling that consumes my free time, compels me to teach fly fishing to others, and drives what I want to study in college. Reflect on experiences or turning points in your life that shaped your perception of the world. Also, you can recall some jokes or personal anecdote to dilute your story with catchy, humorous elements. Tell us about a journey â€" real, imagined, or metaphorical. Applicants who qualify for TruMerit Automatic Admission will have the admission essay requirement waived for admission review. An easy way to write in your own voice is by avoiding clichés. Don't use phrases that you've heard repeated over and over, unless you can put your own, creative spin on them. Reflecting on those experiences will give you ideas for creative, unique ways you can portray them to admissions officers. Some places like the Common App will release the essay prompts from previous years, if you want to get an idea of what topics you might be asked to write about. Tell us the story of a street, path, roadâ€"real or imagined or metaphorical. As you can see from the attributions, the questions below were inspired by submissions from UChicago students and alumni. Don’t write about illegal activities or situations which put you in a bad light. Don’t state a point of view without back up details. Using Academized reliable service is the best way to ensure you get accepted to your chosen place of study. For competitive scholarship consideration, all applicants are encouraged to submit an essay. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 91,829 times. Word counts depend on the college or university in question. Start your essay with a good quote or a statement that reflects your whole theme perfectly. Make sure you write real experiences and do not make up stories. I treasure and protect the papers because they contain the only insight I have into half of my DNA. His essay is the sole connection I have to a man I will never meet. I will never know more about my donor than what he chose to reveal in his personal essay. Make sure that your essay does not exceed the maximum word and page length. This might mean cutting out whole sentences or it might mean using fewer words to say the same thing. Once you've drafted your essay, reread and edit it more than once. Read your essay first to make sure that it says exactly what you want it to say. Then read it again for spelling and grammar errors. At some point in everyone’s life, a promise stops being forever. But no matter how many times a promise is broken, I’ve always wanted to believe that someone will keep one to me.

Nyu Application

Nyu Application A separate request form is not required, however, students may be required to submit documentation in support of a request. If you have any questions about completing your application for admission, please contact the Office of Admissions at to speak with an admissions counselor. Writing an admissions essay is a chance to break off the standard five-paragraph essay as this gives you a little room to wiggle around. However, just like a five-paragraph essay, you need to wrap it up using a neat conclusion. The language used in the writing of an application essay should be formal and professional. Avoid cutesy and colloquial formatting choices as they are unprofessional and immature. Correct any mistakes you find, but be sure not to rely on grammar and spelling checkers as they cannot put your words into context. Be sure to keep the focus of the essay narrow and personal. Don’t tell your whole life story, but tell enough of it to answer the question. As you are telling your story, be honest, be yourself and do it in the most concise way you can. Before penning down a word of your admission essay, it is important that you understand the question and what it expects from you. Applicants should submit transcripts indicating rank for the latest completed semester prior to the application deadline. All applicants must submitthree required short answersand may submitone optional short answerresponding to prompts in your admissions application. Answers are limited to no more than 40 lines, or about 250â€"300 words, typically the length of one paragraph. Students may request a fee waiver by indicating their eligibility on the online application. (We do not require the SAT Essay or ACT Writing scores.) Scores included in transcripts and copies of score reports don’t meet this requirement. If you wish, you may submit either a video/short film or a written review/critique to support your application. This may be something you did for school or on your own. This is an opportunity to show us your potential as an RTF student. If you select a second-choice major other than the Division of General Studies on your application, write a second essay explaining your interest in this major, too. We want to give you enough time to craft the very best essays you canâ€"and the best way to do that is to tell you what they are now. All application essay samples (personal statement sample / statement of purpose sample) are for review only. We do not recommend that customers cite or otherwise use them for academic credit. Furthermore, avoid humor unless you are absolutely sure of it. What is funny to you may not be funny to someone else. A college admission essay doesn’t typically require a title unless it has been specifically mentioned in the instructions. Even after confirming that your essay is as close to perfect as it can get, you need to get it closer still. At the end of the essay, the question that was asked should have been answered fully and in detail. Afterward, take the time to think about it before brainstorming on the different ways to answer it. Our elite team of editing experts has helped thousands of academics, researchers, students, and business professionals improve their writing and achieve their goals. While revising and reworking the drafts is more of a “global” process, this step also includes changing phrases and fixing grammar, punctuation, and style errors in the work. Not everyone is a born writerâ€"in fact, pretty much no one is. The duration of the video should be no more than 5 minutes OR the review/critique should be no more than 500 words. If you have earned any college credit while in high school, request that the college or university send official transcripts to UT Austin. comparable to the average class rank of students from traditional schools who have equivalent SAT or ACT test scores. Rank should be indicated as your numerical position out of the total number of students in the class. For example, if you’re fifth in your class of 130, your transcript should report your rank as 5/130. After rewriting the essay several times, keep it away. Let it sit for a couple of hours untouched or even a whole day where the deadline isn’t close. After catching the new episode of that TV show you love or going a few chapters of the book you have been reading, go through your essay one more time. Want to see what a successful admission essay looks like, proceed with an application, make sure to follow all steps below. Do not rush your writing process; create space in your schedule to revise your work. Ultimately, it is up to you to polish your essay before you submit.

The Five Parts Of The College Paragraph

The Five Parts Of The College Paragraph As I was rejected from StuGo for the second year in a row, I discovered I had been wrongfully measuring my life through numbers--my football statistics, my test scores, my age, my height (I’m short). I had the epiphany that oh wait, maybe it was my fault that I had never prioritized communication skills, or open-mindedness . That must be why I always had to be the one to approach people during my volunteer hours at the public library to offer help--no one ever asked me for it. After experiencing many twists and turns in my life, I’m finally at a good spot. I know what I want to do with my life, and I know how I’m going to get there. Learning how to wake up without my mom every morning became routine. For me, time isn’t just seconds ticking by on a clock, it’s how I measure what matters. ” The thought screams through my mind as I carry a sobbing girl on my back across campus in search of an ice pack and ankle wrap. She had just fallen while performing, and I could relate to the pain and fear in her eyes. The chaos of the show becomes distant, and I devote my time to bringing her relief, no matter how long it may take. I find what I need to treat her injury in the sports medicine training room. Over time, I found it difficult being my family’s glue. I wanted back the family I had before the restaurant--the one that ate Luchi Mongsho together every Sunday night. I realize I choreograph not for recognition, but to help sixty of my best friends find their footing. The rollout plan for the iTaylor is to introduce it to the theater market. My goal is to use performance and storytelling to expose audiences to different cultures, religions, and points of view. Perhaps if we all learned more about each other's lifestyles, the world would be more empathetic and integrated. On the outside, I look like any smart phone, but when you open my settings and explore my abilities, you will find I have many unique features. After all, it is quite possible my future job doesn’t exist yet, and that’s okay. I can’t conceivably plan out my entire life at the age of 17, but what I can do is prepare myself to take on the unknown, doing my best to accompany others. Hopefully, my wings continue enabling me to fly, but it is going to take more than just me and my wings; I have to continue putting my faith in the air around me. Overtired, we don’t even realize we’re entering the fourth hour of rehearsal. This same sense of camaraderie follows us onstage, where we become so invested in the story we are portraying we lose track of time. I didn’t realize she would be the first of many patients I would tend to in this training room. Since then, I’ve launched a sports medicine program to provide care to the 500-person choir program. Laughter fills the show choir room as my teammates and I pass the time by telling bad jokes and breaking out in random bursts of movement. Over the next two years, things were at times still hard, but gradually improved. My parents decided to start anew, took some time apart, then got back together. My mom started to pick me up from activities on time and my dad and I bonded more, watching Warriors and 49ers games. Not long ago, I would have fallen apart at the presence of any uncertainty. As I further accept and advance new life skills, the more I realize how much remains uncertain in the world. Making my teammate smile even though he’s in pain. These are the moments I hold onto, the ones that define who I am, and who I want to be. I resolved to alter my mindset, taking a new approach to the way I lived. From now on I would emphasize qualitative experiences over quantitative skills. Despite knowing how to execute these very particular tasks, I currently fail to understand how to change a tire, how to do my taxes efficiently, or how to obtain a good insurance policy. A factory-model school system that has been left essentially unchanged for nearly a century has been the driving force in my educational development.

Application Essay

Application Essay Each body paragraph will have the same basic structure. Begin by writing one of your main ideas as the introductory sentence. When your time is up, a complete essay will score more points than an incomplete essay because the evaluator is expecting a beginning, middle and an end. If there is no way to cut down your essay without keeping your argument clear and strong, you must simplify your argument. In short essays, it is often better to have a broader thesis that you can support with one or two specific examples. This way, readers can infer implications from your thesis that you did not explicitly state. The answer is around 4 pages single spaced, and 8 pages double spaced. The introduction should attract the reader’s attention and show the focus of your essay. You can use shocking information, dialogue, a story, a quote, or a simple summary of your topic. Whichever angle you choose, make sure that it ties in with your thesis statement, which will be included as the last sentence of your introduction.6. The body of your essay argues, explains or describes your topic. Each main idea that you wrote in your diagram or outline will become a separate section within the body of your essay. Next, write each of your supporting ideas in sentence format, but leave three or four lines in between each point to come back and give detailed examples to back up your position. Fill in these spaces with relative information that will help link smaller ideas together.5. Notice how our conclusion was definitive but optimistic. We explain that colleges need to adapt their rules to fit the needs of their students. Yet still, confirm that cell phone use policies should be enforced. If our thesis was that cell phones should NOT be controlled in college, we would explain the dangers of not having access to cell phones. You should approach all essays with the same mentality, regardless of their length. The number of readers depends on the college’s review process. It will be anywhere from one reader to four readers. Topics like death and divorce are cautionary because they can be extremely difficult to write about. While these topics are tough, if you feel passionately that a particular tragedy impacted your life significantly and you do want to write about it, try to keep the essay’s focus on you. Think about your feelings regarding the situation, how it affected you and what you learned from the experience rather than just simply recalling the situation or the person you lost. Now that you have developed your thesis and the overall body of your essay, you must write an introduction. Yet, it is still short enough that it does not need footnotes and cited resources, usually. 500-word essays do not have to be exactly 500 words, but they should be as close as possible. The essay prompt may say “in under 500 words” or “in at least 500 words,” which would state whether 500 is the minimum or maximum word count. If that information is not specified, write as much as you need to comprehensively address the prompt without frivolous content. Yes, every college essay is read if the college has asked for it . 1,000+ word essay prompts are often used for writing competitions, where you may be asked to create a fictional story. The extra length gives room for extra creativity, but it also requires more time to put the perfect piece together. 500-word scholarship essays offer more writing flexibility than 250-word essays. With a shorter word count, you are often forced to summarize long-winded thoughts into quick to-the-point snippets. 500 words give you more room to express your opinion. Your goal is to compose a piece that clearly guides the reader through your thoughts and reasoning. You may have to adjust how you convey those thoughts based on the length. Your essay should always have a beginning, middle, and end. Another scholarship essay length you may encounter is 1,000 words. With a 1,000-word scholarship essay, you will need to cite sources and provide detailed references to support your claims. Your word processing software and settings may result in slightly different pages counts, but with conventional page margins and a 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font you can expect similar output. Examples of 2000 word count pages might be longer for blog posts, college essays or term papers, and operating manuals. We’re giving away a $1,000 scholarship to affected college students. All you need to do is submit a proof of your enrollment.

Our Tips On Writing Your College Essay

Our Tips On Writing Your College Essay Another way to get critical distance from your essay is to get criticism. And I don’t mean a slash-and-burn review like you might get from an unreasonable reality-TV competition judge. When done well, this strategy can workâ€"your goal is to stand out from the rest of the applicants and taking a risk with your essay will help you do that. Find the most relevant, memorable, concrete statements and focus in on them. Eliminate any generalizations or platitudes (“I’m a people person”, “Doctors save lives”, or “Mr. Calleson’s classes changed my life”), or anything that could be cut and pasted into anyone else’s application. Find what is specific to you about the ideas that generated those platitudes and express them more directly. If you plan on going to college, however, you’re in for some bad news. Essay writing is one of the more important things you need to get out of your high school experience, because you can’t get through college without it. When you apply to Penn, you must submit your application for admission to one of our four undergraduate schools. In the Penn-specific essays, be precise when explaining both why you are applying to Penn and why you have chosen to apply to that specific undergraduate school. I’m talking about constructive feedback from trusted friends, family, or mentors. Southwestern University Assistant Director of Admission Rebecca Rother recommends having two people review your essay. The first should be someone “who knows you super well, such as a parent, best friend, close teacher, etc. From a narrative perspective, consider using this experience as a jumping-off point for a bigger lesson about life or education, and then return to this experience towards the end of your essay. This narrative structure presents an excellent way to frame a story and is common in many successful admissions essays. Some of our specialized programs will have additional essays to complete, but the Penn essay should address the single-degree or single-school choice. We understand that you may be writing essays for different schools and you may want to reuse material, but read through your essay to make sure the content is relevant to the essay prompt. High school students who apply to The University of Texas at Austin for fall 2021 undergraduate admission will not be required to submit an ACT or SAT test score as part of their application. You should plan to submit your essays in conjunction with yourApplyTexasor Coalition for Collegeapplication. It’s a lot of work for you to write, it’s a lot of work for them to read and evaluate, but it really is for your own good. After three years of high school, you would probably be glad never to write an essay again. Essay you write should be sincere, personal, not formal or superficial. Universities are interested in promising and motivated students, who will study well, take an active part at academic and student life, find work after graduation, realize their career potential. A competently compiled admission essay will help the applicant to focus on successful aspects of his academic life and give good account of himself. In this writing, admission committee should see integrity and deep personality with wonderful qualities and experiences that aspire to the development and new knowledge. The gates of academia will open much easier with a strong college or university admissions essay. Many guides to writing application essays encourage you to take a risk, either by saying something off-beat or daring or by using a unique writing style. If you can get your essay finished during this summer, you’ll have plenty of time to adjust it or rewrite it, as well as to get started on other essays, as well. Plus you’ll be in a position to apply for early decision deadlines by the winter, which is always a good idea. So for now, how do you create a college application essay, personal essay, common app essay, or whatever you need to write to get in? These tips will get you most of the way thereâ€"you’ll just have to come up with the exact words. That means most schools will want to make sure you know how to put an essay together before they offer you admission. We cannot miss college admissions - it is part of services we offer. You can easily order a college admission from us and choose a writer who will write an essay for you. Medical experts from our team know medical terms and nuances to follow for admission writing. If you order medical school admission essay, it is a medical expert who will write an admission essay. You will be required to complete the short answer responses in order to complete and submit your admissions application. We are thrilled you are considering The University of Texas at Austin as your college home. The flexible and individualized learning aspects of Empire State College's programs require students to use and improve their reading and writing skills continually as they study at the college. In order to be successful from the beginning, students need to start with sufficient reading and writing skills. One is to show his energy, activity, enthusiasm within his favorite business.

Knight of Night - Literature Essay Samples

The period referred to as the Golden Age of English Drama was a revolutionary period when it came to the portrayal of human thought and behavior in society. Some would even argue that this period in Renaissance England was a major influence in the development of English identity. At the time, Europe was experiencing many changes in all social spheres and those changes were strongly reflected in English drama. Amongst the many great playwrights of the time the present essay will focus on was Christopher Marlowe, specifically two of his works: Tamburlaine the Great and Doctor Faustus. It was the thinking of Marlowe and his contemporaries that probably had the biggest influence in the shaping of English identity and the society of Early Modern England. The notions of the Marlowe and his colleagues, especially those belonging to the titular ‘School of Night’, were seen as outlandish and atheist by many critics and as a result the group was highly persecuted. However, as I wi ll attempt to argue, the ideas of the group and especially Marlowe, were more for the benefit of the people rather than for the detriment of the government. To this endeavor I will make two claims. The first is that Christopher Marlowe represented the notions of politics and religion in the use of theatrics (a blanket term which I will use to refer to all physical manifestations of a play such as props, scenery, etc.). The second being that Marlowe embodied his ideas about humanism in his two eponymous heroes to illustrate that one can decide his own fate and live on his own terms without the intrusion of politics and religion. In order to begin I would like to discuss some terminology that I believe is crucial to the foundation of my arguments. The first thing I would like to discuss is the title itself. The ‘Knight’ specifically refers to Christopher Marlowe. The ‘Night† as discussed in the introduction refers to the enigmatic ‘School of Night’, a group consisting of many artists and scholars such as Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, and to some extent even William Shakespeare. Because the group was so secretive it is really difficult to pin down their exact motives and some even argue their existence outright. However, the interpretation that I would like to examine is their critique of the government, and in Marlowe’s case, the interplay of politics and religion. Many of his critics accused him of some version of the following quote, â€Å"†¦affirming our [Savior] to be but a [deceiver], and Moses to be but a [conjurer] and seducer of the people, and the hol y Bible to be but [vain] and idle stories, and all religion but a [device] of [policy]† (Hunter, 149). This quote is allegedly attributed to Marlowe, although quotes such as these have dangerously lackluster evidence to support them, and it clearly depicts his feelings towards government and politics and it is this interpretation of his notions that I wish to use in the present essay. As I mentioned the particular quote has some questionable validity but many claim that Marlowe was responsible for some version of the above quote and many believed him to express similar notions occasionally. From this I can conclude that Marlowe was fairly aware that politics were fairly influenced by religion and in retrospect it is easy to support this as many English monarchs generally held on to the ‘divine right to power’. Another thing I would like to discuss is the notion of atheism. Marlowe is often alleged as an atheist and as it turns out, this connotation places on him an unwarranted stigma. The present definition of atheism differs greatly from the one used centuries ago. Today we define an atheist as someone who denounces the notion of a deity as well as the conventions of religion for a more humanistic approach to life. In Renaissance England the term was used as a throw-away word for immoral behavior. Nicholas Davidson claim â€Å"†¦in the sixteenth century, words such as ‘atheist’ and ‘atheism’ had no precise intellectual connotation, and were used mainly as terms of abuse or as a literary device on which to hang more orthodox arguments† (Davidson, 132). Davidson argues that the term was so loosely used that its potency in Early Modern England is questionable at best. Furthermore, some scholars agree that the term ‘atheist’ was synonymous wi th what we would call an anarchist. That is, not someone who is in open rebellion against the government per se but merely someone who strongly questions policy. And, if the above representation of Marlowe is to be believed then the suit of ‘atheist’ becomes a better fit for him. Certainly Marlowe was not a stranger to questioning the powers and policy of government. Michael Kelly claims that many writers before and after Marlowe used the written word to safely criticize the government through satire (Kelly, 3). This quote, coupled with everything we have been looking at creates the sense that Marlowe did indeed believe in the presence and power of religion, however as I claim, he believed the power it had over people was inferior to the innate human power, the idea of humanism. From this I can conclude that Marlowe held the belief that religion was responsible for the background workings of society and that he held strong disagreements of its efficacy. Now that the groundwork has been covered I believe I can argue for my first claim: that Christopher Marlowe stages his plays in such a way as to represent the presence of religion and politics as theatrical elements. I will use theatrical element to refer to every part of the play-making process that includes things like scenery, costumes, props, and so on. I believe this connection between theatrics and religion is reasonable due to Marlowe’s feelings about religion as a whole. In his paper, Davidson mentions that certain intellectuals (‘atheists’) were described my writer Thomas Nashe as those who â€Å"whose position and opinion it is that there is no Hel or misery but opinion’; they deny the accuracy of the scriptures and call Moses a magician† (Davidson, 135). This quote is not specifically attributed to Marlowe but it is a fairly common viewpoint held by critics of religion and government. Following from that, this next quote is more specifical ly connected to Marlowe, â€Å"I count Religion but a childish toy, /And hold there is no sin but ignorance† (Jew of Malta, Prologue 14-15). This quote is from the prologues to The Jew of Malta another one of Marlowe’s works. It is spoken by Machiavelli who was known to have his gripes with religion long before Marlowe. The mention of things like ‘toys’ and ‘magicians’ with reference to religion is what first allowed me to make the connection between theatrics and religion and although I do believe that the connection is not absolutely concrete I don’t believe that it is such a far leap to take. Furthermore, I believe that religion and plays share the quality of being greatly reliant on trust, that is, the notion of the suspension of disbelief. In a play the audience member has to believe that what he is seeing is the truth in order to fully immerse himself in the action, even though even the most common audience members in Marlowe†™s time would know that everything is fabricated for their entertainment. Religion is itself based on the idea of conviction and undisputed faith in god. Even though many believers cannot specifically explain the things that religious texts propose they still have faith in things like miracles and the omnipotence of god. In the following sections the specific examination of Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus will, in my opinion, make this connection more apparent. With that taken into consideration let us now look at the aforementioned plays more closely to see how this claim helps argue my second claim: that Marlowe portrays his characters in such a way to propagate the notion that human power stands above the power of things like politics and religion. The first play I will look at is Tamburlaine mainly because it’s first in terms of chronology. The connection between theatrics and politics is clearly evident here as politics and war is what fuels the plot and determines the actions of most characters. Tamburlaine seems to stand apart from all the other characters in terms of actions, behavior, and morality and I believe that is by design. Not only because he is the main character but because he is meant to embody the notion of humanism. The first thing I want to look at is Tamburlaine’s obsession with crowns. In 1.II.vi. Tamburlaine gives his famous soliloquy about the aspiring towards greater things and â€Å"the ripest fruit of all, /That perfect bliss and sole felicity, /The sweet fruition of an earthly crown†. This quote highlights two very important things: the first being aspiration which I will come back to later and the second is the idea of the crown. And that is what i want to put under the microscop e. It is the feeling of an earthly crown that Tamburlaine is after rather than the physical object. I think it is too drastic to say that Tamburlaine does not outright care about the physical crown but it seems reasonable to me to say that he is more interested in the power it provides. To him, it is just a prop and I believe that is what separates him from the rest of the characters, like Mycetes for example who goes far enough to hide it in a hole in the ground. Furthermore, regardless of how many crowns he wins it is never enough for him. He always seems to want more which is what ultimately kills him. That is what Marlowe was trying to accomplish with Tamburlaine: to show what aspiration can lead to. And it is fair to interpret Tamburlaine’s conquest in a negative light and likening him to Icarus or other tragic heroes who fell due to ambition, but one thing that cannot be undermined is what he was ultimately able to accomplish. Another thing to look at is specifically what he was able to accomplish and the position he came from. From the outset Tamburlaine is an outsider to the political sphere â€Å"Oft have I heard your majesty complain /Of Tamburlaine, that sturdy Scythian thief,. /Hoping (misled by dreaming prophecies) /To reign in Asia, and with barbarous arms /To make himself the monarch of the East (1.I.i 35-6 41-3). Additionally he refers to his shepherd parentage as an example of how far he rose. Yet even so he is able to greatly physically impact the world around him as he claims, â€Å"Here at Damascus will I make the point /That shall begin the perpendicular (1.IV.iv 84-5). This quote refers to him ‘redrawing’ the map to put his kingdom in the center of the world, exemplifying his power. What all these quotes illustrate is yet another quality of humanism that heavily contrasts the powers of politics and religion: the ability of one to live and die on his own terms. Everything tha t Tamburlaine does is on his own terms. For example, the whole exercise of using different color tents to reflect his mood and actions just seems very alien in the scope of the play. The colors reflect his actions and in whatever endeavor he strives towards he cannot be dissuaded or stopped: he not only massacres to virgins of Babylon despite their pleas, he kills his own son to the chagrin of everyone around him. But perhaps the greatest example of him taking his own life into his own hands is ironically his death. Throughout the course of the play Tamburlaine makes numerous challenges towards the gods (this is less an example of modern day atheism and more of the Marlovian interpretation of it of critiquing the powers that be), starting with Jove and then moving on to Mahomet, with either ‘responding’ to his challenges. That is, there are no repercussions for his actions and he takes it mean that he is unopposed. As a matter of fact, he imagines himself even doing god ’s work, â€Å"I that am termd the scourge and wrath of God† (1.III.iii 44). He adopts the title of the ‘scourge of god’ because he does what god cannot. One can even argue that this is another way of Marlowe showing the possible futility of religion. Regardless, what is to be taken from his constant badgering of the gods is that ultimately he dies. In class we discussed in part the two major interpretations of this. The first being that his ‘warrior spirit’ was too much for his body to handle and as a result he dies. The other is that the gods finally had enough and decided to punish him. The actual choice, in my opinion, is irrelevant. Whether or not the gods kill him he still dies on his terms. While dying he still calls the shots and determines what is to be done after he passes but what is more important is what he doesn’t do. That is, not once does he plead for his life or repent for what he has done. He doesn’t acknowledge that he was bested. As a matter of fact, he sees this as a step up, as an evolution for him because he finally gets to go and conquer heaven (as idealistic as that sounds) and he is reunited—hopefully—with Zenocrate. Taking one’s life into his or her own hands is a crucial tenet of humanism and it is a direct counter to the fate-based prospects or religion and the puppet-like control that monarchies held over their subjects. These beliefs were very idiosyncratic of Tamburlaine at they were one of the many reasons why he stood out. However, what I feel is the most apparent example of Tamburlaine exemplifying the humanist characteristics is the following speech he gives in part two of the play. While chastising his eldest son for being a pacifist rather than a warmonger he exclaims: View me, thy father, that hath conquerd kings, And, with his host, marchd round about the earth, Quite void of scars and clear from any wound, That by the wars lost not a drop of blood, And see him lance his flesh to teach you all (2.III.ii. 110-4). The first time I was made aware of it was in the theater and it just struck me as unbelievable: Tamburlaine at this instance is almost superhuman. Marlowe explicitly states that after decades of conquering a majority of the known world, Tamburlaine is left somehow unscratched. No weapon, no soldier, nothing can touch him other than himself and to me this shows just how much he stands apart from the play. It is almost as if he is some omnipotent observer or better yet some puppeteer who firmly controls the tide of the story. And by making Tamburlaine superior to the pomp and circumstance of the play, Marlowe shows that one can similarly take power into his own hands and somewhat ignore the pressures and influences of the world around him at least as far politics and religion are concerned. If anything Tamburlaine explores the intrinsic power held by human beings and how they can fight for their own identity by individualizing themselves. However, certain scholars like William Stull, w ho examines the plays in terms of psychology claims that Marlowe fails in his mission when it comes to Tamburlaine saying â€Å"[but] social interest plays no role in either part of Tamburlaine† (Stull, 449). To respond, I feel that in order to develop a more hive-mind identity it is more important to start at the individual level an in a sense that is what Marlowe was trying to show as well. Because Tamburlaine was such a charismatic person he managed to attract many followers who eventually shared his vision to great effects. Now I would like to look at Doctor Faustus and how the eponymous hero embodies similar qualities to Tamburlaine, much to the same end. As Tamburlaine did with politics, Doctor Faustus has a very strong connection between theatrics and religion. The plot is about a struggle for the soul of the titular character and all the props and characters involved are religious in nature. To begin, I would like to examine an interpretation of the play which I find somewhat obscure yet not any less potent. Throughout the course of the play Faustus poses many questions about the world, physical and metaphysical, to Mephistopheles. The latter answers, as many scholars argue, sarcastically or in a patronizing tone. Stull notes, â€Å"In answer to even the most slender questions of cosmology, [Mephistopheles] replies with truisms worthy of a schoolboy† (Stull, 457). An example of one of these would be when Faustus asks Mephistopheles what hell is and the latter answers that â€Å"all places sh all be hell that is not heaven† (v. 128). To me it is clear that Mephistopheles could be perceived as treating Faustus as a child. However, more to the idea of the present essay I would like to take yet another interpretation. To put it plainly: what if Mephistopheles does not really know the answers? There seems to be no proof that he actually does and is therefore offering Faustus common low-born answers or answers that are provided by religious canon, â€Å"Equally central, it was believed, was a preference for natural as against supernatural explanations, the view that all things come to [pass] by nature, or fortune. Hence Gods active supervision of the world came under challenge† (Hunter, 141). Granted, it does seem like a weaker interpretation but it is at least one that can be considered. On a metaphysical level I can argue that this was simply Marlowe trying to enforce the notion that religion cannot provide the answers to these questions because of a, somewhat common, thought amongst Marlowe’s contemporaries, â€Å"†¦ Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – had, it was occasionally suggested, all been invented for political purposes only, to aggrandize their founders and to secure the power of the secular rulers† (Davidson, 137). Even though it is not the strongest point to make it does at least show that there is something to question when it comes to Doctor Faustus. The next thing I wish to look at is a classical interpretation of the play as an allegory of sorts for the Calvinist notion of predestination. The idea claims that a human soul is destined to either go to heaven and hell before birth and that no action on earth can influence the decision in any way. This seems very problematic for me because if that is the case than the play only highlights the inefficacy of religion. What I want to pick on is the presence of the good and bad spirits. As we mentioned in class, those two characters represent the dichotomy of Faustus’ soul as it debates between repenting and sinning, respectively. Now, if we were to consider that the idea of predestination was actual doctrine then we would have to conclude that the presence of the angels is rendered useless. The play ends with Faustus dying and his soul being sent to hell so if predestination is correct then it would follow that this was going to happen regardless of what occurred during the pla y: it was determined before his birth and therefore long before the play begins. If that is the case then the good spirit cannot possibly persuade Faustus to meaningfully repent. Additionally, because Faustus is already doomed the bad spirit cannot further persuade him to sin and to further doom himself. Taking this into consideration the only conclusions I can draw from this is that either the Calvinist notion of predestination is wrong or that it is in fact right and that all the ‘earthly’ religious conventions are futile. This is just the tip of the iceberg and the spirits represent a much bigger pattern of inadequacy which religion provides. A majority of the tricks and charades that result from invoking the dark magic throughout the story either backfire or fall flat in terms of grandeur, for example the comic relief sections with Robin and Rafe. However, as has been the case throughout this essay is that all of the plot points, the magic tricks, and the like are m ostly just ‘sound and fury’. The real meat of the play is of course what happens to the title character and that is what I will now focus on. Just like Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus is a play in which the main emphasis is on the eponymous hero and, for the benefit of the present paper, how this hero take power into his own hands and takes control of his life in order to exemplify the notions of humanism. From the beginning we are introduced to a man who, like Tamburlaine, stands apart from his society by denouncing things like medicine, religion, and the law because he feels incomplete, and so he turns to the dark arts. Throughout the play Faustus’ descent into darkness consistently escalates all the way until his death. But he most important details to take out these events is that ultimately Doctor Faustus is the one truly responsible for what happens to him. As Stull notes, â€Å"For in true Adlerian fashion, it is not God or Lucifer who damns Faustus to a living hell. It is Faustus himself† (Stull, 458). He is the one who makes the conscious decision to delve into the dark arts. He is the one who chooses to summon a demon to do his bidding. And most importantly, he is the one who initiates himself into hell by offering to sell his soul to the devil. These actions, and their subsequent resolution are reminiscent of Tamburlaine. Both men share this almost unquenchable ambition for bigger and better things and eventually it is this ambition that overwhelms them but it is also this ambition that in turn allows them to transcend their realms. And in my opinion that is what is important here: the mere possibility of this sort of evolution is enough to inspire the audiences to pursue their own natural power and it is this sort of aspiration that could be seen as problematic for the power that be. What is problematic is the way in which this is portrayed in the plays by this sort of rebellion against politics and religion. In his plays, Christopher Marlowe portrays the presence of religion and politics of everyday life as theatrical elements that the man characters strive to escape or stand apart from in order to highlight their true potential. Although his beliefs were good in spirit they were still seen as problematic, which is a notion that extended to many of his contemporaries as well. The Golden Age of English Drama saw the rise of the English identity and its subsequent snuffing out by the same government that the playwrights sought to humanize. Regardless of what the opinions about them were, the members of the ‘School of Night’ are remembered as being greatly influential in the creation of English Renaissance drama and some, like Marlowe, have even influenced philosophers and scholars like Nietzsche and Freud to pursue their own studies into the human psyche and humanism as an alternative to the spectacle of religion. References Davidson, Nicholas. Christopher Marlowe and Atheism. Christopher Marlowe and English Renaissance Culture. Hampshire: Scholar, 1996. 129-47. Print. Hunter, Michael. The Problem of Atheism in Early Modern England. Transactions of The Royal Historical Society Fifth 35 (1985): 135-57. JSTOR. . Kelly, Michael J. Christopher Marlowe and the Golden Age of England. The Marlow Society Research Journal 05 (2008): 1-30. JSTOR. Romany, Frank, and Robert Lindsey, eds. Christopher Marlowe the Complete Plays. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

The Instituition of Marriage - 748 Words

Institution of Marriage In the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I will discuss how women were oppressed by the institution of marriage in the nineteenth century while making comparative references to â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin. Women were treated as second class citizens during the 1800’s, which under rule of their husband weren’t allowed to be a person of their own, but live in the shadow of their husband. The narrator in â€Å"The yellow Wallpaper† is diagnosed with a nervous disorder by her husband John and her brother, whom are both doctors, and given a resting cure. Living up to the ideals of nineteenth century women, the narrator is expected to be passive, forbidden to exercise her†¦show more content†¦The wallpaper is a symbol of the domestic lift that traps women. The narrator states, â€Å"Sometimes I think there are great women behind. Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very sha dy spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern-it strangles so† (311).She wants to continue to peel off the paper in order to free the women trapped inside, while at the same time free herself from the world in which she is trapped and only she can see. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† Louise is an oppressed woman living in her husband’s footsteps, when she learns that her husband is on the deceased list at work she feels a sense of newfound freedom and joy. She begins the recognition of selfhood and no longer feels as though she is owned and dominated by a man. After learning of her awakening she states, â€Å"Free, free, fee† (124). The women in both of these stories begin to feel free from the dominance and constraints of marriage when they realize their possession of self assertion. By abandoning their husbands, both of the women in these stories are given a chance to live without the burdens that have oppressed them in the institution of marriage. By relating the two women characters in the stories, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and â€Å"The Story of anShow MoreRelatedPlato Communism1302 Words   |  6 Pages-Plato says that private property and family are interdependant . So if only communism of property is adopted only half the goal will be acheived . Attachment to property cannot be given up untill family is there , this is only possible when the instituition of familty is abolished . It is the family for which one acquires property . So if the scheme of communism of property is to acheived then family has to be abolished . Plato gave an elaborate treatment to his scheme . He says that it is theRead MoreNo Religion Teaches Hatred1559 Words   |  7 PagesTags being, muslim, unfortable, amidst, hindu, normal, remove When Christian and Muslim schools can teach Bible and Quran, . Why Hindus cannot teach Gita or Ramayan in our schools? about Ramayan and the Mahabharat there.lets not target learning instituitions unless they teach hatred about other religion.We need to live in harmony with eah other and respect each other....yes , we religions in this world but others think that some day their religion will be in danger so they never prefer to teach thingsRead MoreAnita Desai : An Indian Novelist2023 Words   |  9 Pageshis wife Sarla, is an obstacle, because Deven’s marriage was against his choice. Sarla used to live in the same locality. Deven’s mother and aunts had observed Sarla for years and found her suitable in every way. Deven was more a poet than a professor when he married Sarla. Sarla was also a person of high aspirations. She had wanted to be rich and to be surrounded by luxurious atmosphere. Sarla’s dreams were not fulfilled with her marriage with Deven because they had to leave Deven’s townRead MoreJean Toomer s Literary Masterpiece Cane3302 Words   |  14 Pageswrites: â€Å"Carma’s tale is the crudest melodrama,† and it concerns a woman’s adultery (Toomer 15). Essentially, much like the blacks, Carma is for all intents and purpose owned by her domineering husband; and likewise, she desires more to life than her marriage can offer. For this, Carma’s tale might be considered a symbolic â€Å"call to arms† of sorts by Toomer to have African American’s reject their prescribed placement in society and begin pursuing their own true identity, one that is far removed from the

Dr. Skinner, An American Psychologist, And Jean Piaget

B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist, and Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, were two of the most influential human development theorists of the twentieth century. The two men approached the question of human development from very different angles. Skinner, a behaviorist, worked from a learning perspective and saw human development as a continuous process in which changes in behavior were responses to experience and adaptation to the environment. Piaget, on the other hand, took a cognitive approach and was concerned with the evolution of mental structures. Where Skinner saw development in quantitative terms, Piaget held that development occurred in â€Å"stages of development† in which qualitative changes enabled the individual to construct†¦show more content†¦He was fascinated with finding that at a certain age, children could solve a particular reasoning problem, but, more than that, at an earlier age, they nearly always gave the same wrong answer. Jean Piaget’s theory believed that cognitive development involves changes in cognitive processes and abilities. Piaget believed that early cognitive development is based upon actions and later progresses to changes in mental operations. Jean Piaget’s interest in cognitive development in children was first influenced by watching his 1-year-old nephew at play. Piaget observed his nephew playing with a ball. When the ball rolled to a place where the boy could still see it, the infant simply retrieved the ball and continued playing. When the ball rolled out of his sight, however, the child began looking for it where he had last seen it. This reaction surprised Piaget and struck him as irrational. Piaget came to believe that children lack what he referred to as the object concept. The object concept is the knowledge that objects are separate and distinct from both the individual and the individual s perception of that object. Jean Piaget set out to study his daughter as she developed through infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood. He quickly noted that during the early months of his daughter s life,

Deviance and violence in schools free essay sample

The article outlines the nature and development of the debate about deviance and violence in schools in England. It explains disciplinary differences in the use of terminology. The focus is on summarising the most recent evidence about the nature and extent of these issues. Policy and practice developments targeted at reducing problem behaviour in and around schools are discussed. The article concludes that there is a great deal of survey and monitoring data in England but a relative lack of in-depth and ethnographic research. KEYWORDS England, deviance and violence, schools The focus is on England, rather than Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) or the United Kingdom (which includes Northern Ireland). Although the four countries have the same government there is a degree of devolution of power that means that there are important differences in the way that the education systems are run, as well as differences in legal governance. The central government Department for Children Families and Schools (DCSF) covers England and Wales only. A few references include evidence from Wales, as well as England; there is one reference to an important longitudinal survey carried out in Scotland. 1 International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 8 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION FOCUS AND APPROACH OF THE REVIEW This review is focused on England and on the most recent research and developments, referring to older research and reports only when they are considered to be landmark or seminal studies. As shorthand this paper will at times refer to ‘problem behaviour’ when not specifically referring to criminal behaviour (that is behaviour that breaks the criminal law) or specific types of behaviour that are clearly defined in research, as in the concept of bullying. The approach taken in this review is inter-disciplinary, but it is most centrally informed by criminology, social policy and education research. The move to Children’s Departments in England in recent years has meant that a more inter-disciplinary approach is increasingly appropriate and particularly in relation to the focus of this review. It is acknowledged that there are mental health issues that may relate to the behaviour of young people in schools (Cowie et al, 2004) but this is not the main focus of this review. There is a great deal of research (Gillborn, 2008) as well as government monitoring data on ethnicity and schools (see for example, DfES, 2006). Monitoring gender and special educational need is an aspect of various annual national reports on schools and the educational system (see the www. dcsf. gov. k for a range of relevant reports). Research on gender (Osler et al, 2001) and special educational need (Visser et al, 2001) is also plentiful. These are all highly complex issues that cannot be covered adequately in a single review. The review was undertaken by updating existing reviews and collections (see for example Debarbieux and Blaya, 2001) on the subject of violence and various forms of ‘behaviour’ problems in schools in England (see relevant concepts and terminology in Figure 1). The social science bibliographic database ‘Assia’ was searched in order to located the most up-to-date published research. Research commissioned and published by the relevant government departments was located through their websites; as was that commissioned by the largest teaching unions. TERMINOLOGY The terminology used in England is quite complex and inevitably influenced by disciplinary, professional and political perspectives. ‘Deviance’ as a concept is strongly associated with criminology but is also recognised as including non-criminal infringements of social norms. Deviance’ as a concept, in both popular and academic discourse in England, has been replaced to a large extent by the concept of ‘anti-social behaviour’ (Home Deviance and violence in schools 9 Office, 2004; Rutter et al, 1998). The use of the word ‘violence’ generally refers to physically aggressive or threatening behaviour in England (Wright and Keetley, 2003). Figure 1 gives an overview of the concepts and terminology used in this review. Teachers and schools focus most on various pupil ‘behaviours’. Most often they refer to ‘disruptive’, ‘disaffected’ and ‘bullying’ behaviours, or sometimes behaviour is said to be ‘challenging. ’ These terms are associated with the particular focus of the behavioural description: for example, ‘disruptive’ refers to the interruption of the work of the teacher and other pupils, or even the smooth working of the school; ‘disaffected’ relates to a range of behaviours that imply a lack of affection for school and may include disruptive behaviour and non-attendance. Challenging’ or ‘inappropriate’ behaviour are other terms used by teachers in relation to how a behaviour impacts on them, or the school context. ‘Bullying’ behaviour is a strong and specific focus of research and campaigns in relation to pupil behaviour. Bullying is usually seen as a particular subset of aggressive and violent behaviours. The very serious nature of some bullying has led Hall and Hayden (2007) to debate whether some forms of bullying could be conceptualised as ‘hate crime. ’ International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 10 This review will cover the key evidence about the various problematic behaviours (shown in Figure 1) that together make up the available research on ‘deviance’ and ‘violence’ in English schools. It should be borne in mind whilst reading this review that the boundaries between behaviours that break with social norms or rules and those that break the criminal law have become increasingly blurred in recent years in England. This has happened partly as a result of the focus on ‘crime prevention’ (and the criminalisation of social policy, Rodger, 2008) and, partly because there is in any case the ossibility for interpreting actions in more than one way. For example, when does a playground ‘fight’ become ‘assault’? CONTEXT – DEVELOPMENT OF CONCERNS Although there is evidence of some concern about the behaviour of young people in school wherever there are historical records (see Tubbs, 1996). A more specific concern beg an to grow in England following the raising of the school leaving age in 1973. At the time this concern focussed on ‘disruptive’ behaviour and ‘discipline’ problems and led to a government enquiry, known as The Elton Report (DES/WO, 1989). The specific problem of bullying in schools was increasingly recognized during the 1990s and has been a focus of school based research and interventions ever since. In recent years there has been a national annual Anti-Bullying Week. The Education Reform Act 1988 is often seen as a watershed in relation to how schools are evaluated and what teachers can do to motivate all pupils. Prior to this Act, teachers had more freedom in what they taught and could devise courses for young people who did not respond well to traditional academic study. The Act led to the imposition of a National Curriculum on schools, this resulted in direct comparisons of test results between schools and the creation of ‘league tables’ of school test and examination results. The lack of flexibility in curriculum design and the pressure to achieve test and exam results is associated with increased evidence of ‘disaffection’ in schools and a rising rate of exclusion from school. The publication of the first national data on exclusion from school in 1992 and subsequent annual data is one measure of the limits of teacher tolerance of young people’s behaviour. Since the mid 1990s there have been broader concerns about safety in and around schools, following very varied and high profile events. For example, the fatal stabbing at the school gates of head teacher Philip Lawrence, by a teenager from another school, whilst trying to defend one of his pupils in 1995; ‘the Dunblane massacre’ (16 primary age children killed by an adult intruder in 1996); the fatal stabbing of Luke Walmsley, by another pupil, in a school corridor, in a rural secondary school in 2003; the abduction and murder of two schoolgirls by their school caretaker in 2002 (‘the Soham Deviance and violence in schools 11 urders’). More recently there has been a variety of high profile examples of children attacked by other children in and around schools (Lewis, 2005; Wainwright, 2005). Crime prevention and reducing social exclusion have been key themes applied to various areas of social policy, since the election of a ‘New Labour’ government in 1997. From 1997 to date, work with schools and young people is a mix of crime prevention and attempts to open up opportunity through education. The increased focus on crime prevention through education and schools could be seen as part of the wider debate about the criminalisation of social policy (Rodger, 2008). UNDERSTANDING PUPIL BEHAVIOUR: CHANGING EMPHASIS IN GOVERNMENT POLICY Official explanations of problematic behaviour within schools have evolved rapidly in recent years. One of the last Conservative administrations saw the issue as Pupils with Problems (DfEE, 1994) – illustrating a belief in the individual nature and location of ‘the problem’. The first New Labour administration changed the focus to Social Inclusion: Pupil Support (DfEE, 1999) – in keeping with the strong policy emphasis on combating social exclusion (see for example SEU, 1998). More recent reviews and guidance emphasise the quality of the teaching and learning environment, raising levels of school attendance and expectations (Steer, 2005) – highlighting the role of teachers and schools. The Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCSF2) website illustrates this latter perspective, referring to the behaviour and attendance strand of the Key Stage 3 strategy3: This programme will help schools promote positive behaviour and tackle the issue of low-level disruption. The aims are to ensure that all schools have the skills and support that they need to maintain creative and positive learning environments for all children to give support in developing positive behaviour throughout the school and to help schools to develop pro-active policies (DCSF, 2008a, para 1, my emphasis). There have been several changes in the name of this government Department in the last twenty years: DES/WO (Department of Education and Science/Welsh Office); DfEE, (Department for Education and Employment); DfES (Department for Education and Skills). At the time of writing DCSF refers to the department that covers child and family welfare, as well as education in schools. ?470 million was made available from 2003, to support the development of this strategy. Key Stage 3, refers to the educational stage for 11-14 year olds. 2 International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 12 There is some resistance to this emphasis on teaching and learning as the key to countering disruptive and violent behaviour in schools, from teaching unions, for example: Teachers cannot teach and pupils cannot learn in an environment where there is disruption and violence and where such behaviour occurs it cannot be explained away simply by attributing it to teachers’ abi lity to plan and deliver lessons appropriately (NAS/UWT, 2007, para 1). In the last few years, there is an increasing awareness of the need to have strategies in place to address the more extreme issues of weapons carrying and youth gangs in schools (see for example guidance to schools, DCSF, 2007a, 2008b; research sponsored by a teaching union, Broadhurst, Duffin and Taylor, 2008; and, academic research Hayden, 2008). METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES OF EVIDENCE There is a wide variety of evidence that can inform this review. Some of the research is undertaken by independent academic researchers, some is undertaken for (and by) government departments, charitable organisations, as well as statutory agencies. Surveys of school pupils are common. Research into bullying behaviour has a long history with the annual ‘Anti-Bullying Week’ adding an additional impetus to all kinds of monitoring and research activities. Surveys have also been conducted within schools in relation to criminal and anti-social behaviour. Some national surveys have been repeated a number of times in recent years, allowing the accumulation of trend data on offending and victimisation: such as the cross-sectional survey for the Youth Justice Board, carried out six times between 1999-2008, see summary, MORI (2006) and most recent reports at the time of writing (MORI 2008a, 2008b). The MORI survey includes a mainstream pupil sample (11-16 year olds) and a sample of young people attending Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and similar facilities for excluded pupils. There is also an ongoing annual survey of 10-25 year olds, undertaken by the Home Office, since 2003 (see for example Roe and Ashe, 2008). The Home Office survey includes a panel sample and a fresh sample each year, weighted to ensure that it is representative. Other research is longitudinal and tracks a cohort of over 4,000 secondary school children in one city (Edinburgh, Scotland), with a focus on youth transitions and crime (Smith and McVie, 2003). Key government-led enquiries about pupil behaviour that involve consultations with experts and practitioners have been undertaken at intervals: as in the Elton Report (DES/WO, 1989) and ongoing Steer Committee (see for example Steer, 2005). Interviews with teachers, pupils and parents are also relatively common (Hayden, 1997; Parsons, 1999; Hayden and Dunne, 2001). These Deviance and violence in schools 13 studies explore experience and perspective and provide insights into causes and potential solutions to problem behaviour. There has been a range of government-led programmes and interventions, as well as initiatives led by individual institutions and organisations, aimed at preventing or responding to problem behaviour in and around schools in the last decade alongside a great deal of evaluative research. Such research is often multi-method and includes analysis of secondary (organisational) data, as well as primary data from questionnaire surveys, interviews and observations. Some of this research has been funded by government departments, sometimes by agencies and organisations running the programmes. There has been increasing pressure since the late 1990s in England to adopt a more rigorous approach to evaluation, within what has often been referred to as the ‘What Works’ debate (Davies et al, 2000). Organisational and monitoring data is very plentiful in England, with a whole range of data being available as annual statistical reports: for example, data on exclusion from school is reported by special educational need and ethnicity; data on vulnerable groups such as children in care is also monitored and compared with the general school population in annual reports (see www. csf. gov. uk for a wide range of national statistical reports, as well as funded research reports). A great deal of data is available both at the local authority level and at that of the individual school. For example, inspection reports for individual schools are available on the internet – such reports include observations and information about pupil behaviour. KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS ON T HE SCALE AND NATURE OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR There are various ways in which we might try to estimate how big an issue ‘deviant and violent’ behaviour is in schools, some of this behaviour could be viewed as criminal, some could be seen as anti-social whilst other behaviour may be simply part of the growing up process and ‘testing the boundaries’ with adults. It should also be emphasised that some of the behaviour that is viewed as problematic or ‘deviant’ in a school (such as ‘disruptive’ behaviour) may not be viewed in quite the same way in other settings. This section will review the evidence and indicators about a number of problem behaviours. Differences in opinion are evident, between parents and teachers, about the extent to which a particular behaviour constitutes a problem severe enough (or deviant enough) to warrant school exclusion (Hayden and Dunne, 2001). Low-level disruption to lessons and harassment of teachers are a major feature of surveys focussing on pupil behaviour from the perspective of International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 14 eachers; but it is evident that pupils are reported to be the most frequent victims of the more severe events physical violence, bullying and harassment in schools (DES/WO, 1989; Gill and Hearnshaw, 1997; Neill 2002; Wright and Keetley, 2003; Neill, 2008). Neill (2002, 2008) has conducted a national survey of NUT (National Union of Teachers) members twice in recent years. Interestingly, in terms of his use of terminology, the first survey referred to ‘unacceptable behaviour’, the second survey refers to ‘disruptive behaviour’. Neill (2008) concluded that the overall pattern of behaviour was similar. Some serious behaviours did show an increase though: such as, pushing and touching teachers; teachers witnessing a pupil in possession of a weapon in school. Furthermore the tendency was for experiences of these sorts of behaviours to have polarised between 2001 and 2008, with some teachers experiencing more severe problems in 2008. Table 1 shows that disruption to lessons and offensive language are frequent experiences for teachers, with over 60% of teachers experiencing this form of behaviour weekly. On the other hand pushing, touching and other unwanted physical contact was not experienced by two-thirds of teachers, within a year; although 11. 6% (in 2008) experienced this weekly. Deviance and violence in schools 15 Research into personal safety and ‘violence’ in schools (Gill and Hearnshaw, 1997) provides a picture of what a random sample of 3,986 schools experienced in one school year. This latter study was undertaken by criminologists and is one of the earliest examples of using the word ‘violence’ in relation to the behaviour of school pupils. Selected findings from this research are presented in Table 2. Martin et al (2008) found that over two-thirds (68. 3%) of teachers in a small scale survey had suffered some form of ‘physical assault’ at some point during their career. These ‘assaults’ included: being bitten, pushed, having chairs thrown at them, having doors slammed in their faces. Tables 1 and 2 (and the work of Martin et al, 2008) are examples of perceptions of the prevalence of certain deviant and violent behaviours from the teacher perspective. Pupil-based self-report surveys present another perspective. Blaya (2002) reports an overall victimisation rate of 55% of pupils in a year, in a sample of English schools (within a comparative study of French and English schools in socially deprived areas). Recent MORI (2008 a, 2008b) surveys show similarly high rates of victimisations of school age pupils in their nationally representative samples: 51% of mainstream pupils and 61% of excluded pupils in PRUs had been a victim of a crime in the last twelve months. Again there are problems of definition and comparability across such surveys. For example, ‘physical violence, pupil to pupil’ (as referred to in Table 2) may be one-off acts of aggression; they may on the other hand be more sustained and may then be seen as ‘bullying’. Research on bullying is highly pertinent to this review. Such research is very well established and defined in England. According to Smith (2002, 11718) and based on the pioneering work of Olweus (1993) ‘bullying is a subset of aggressive behaviours, characterised by repetition and power imbalance’. Bullying takes various forms – physical, verbal, social exclusion and indirect forms such as spreading rumours. Technology is helping to increase the forms International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 16 bullying might take: for example ‘cyber- bullying’, where young people use text messages from mobile phones and the internet to bully others (DCSF, 2007b). Attacks on young people are sometimes filmed, again using mobile phones; these events may then be posted on the internet (these events are known as ‘happy slapping’). The MORI (2008a, 2008b) surveys show the high prevalence of threatening messages sent by voicemail or text (22%) and ‘happy slapping’ (16%) by mainstream pupils. Table 3 illustrates how bullying surveys still produce fairly wide ranging estimates of prevalence, depending on the way questions are asked and the timescale involved. Although, overall, Smith and Myron-Wilson (1998, p. 406) estimate that: ‘around 1 in 5 children are involved in bully-victim problems’ in the UK, with similar incidences reported in other countries. Furniss (2000) discusses whether some forms of bullying should be considered to be a crime, rather than as a school disciplinary matter. Furniss considers the issue both from the standpoint of existing legal provisions as well as from the point of view of the level of protection afforded to children. She points out that assaults on teachers (though less frequent than pupil to pupil assaults) are often reported to the police; whereas in pupil to pupil cases, parents are expected to make the decision about whether or not to involve the police. Official data and research on exclusion from school tells us more about teacher and official responses to pupil behaviour. There has been a massive Deviance and violence in schools 17 amount of research on exclusion from school since the early 1990s, when government monitoring data became available (see for example Hayden, 1997; Parsons, 1999). When permanent exclusion figures are compared with surveys of teacher experience like the ones already noted, one might be surprised by the relatively small proportion of children who are permanently excluded, according to official statistics. Official data shows a reduction in the number of permanent exclusions from schools from the mid 1990s, to date. Although the official figures for permanent exclusion represent a very small proportion of the school population (the rate of permanent exclusion was 12 per 10,000 school population in England or 0. 12% in 2006-2007) there were many more fixed period exclusions. Fixed period exclusions (a matter of days usually) are now monitored annually and are much more numerous, as Table 4 illustrates. Existing evidence shows an increase in fixed period exclusions in the last few years. The most common single reason given for both permanent and fixed period exclusions is ‘persistent disruptive behaviour’ (31% of all permanent and 23% of fixed period exclusions). Physical assault against an adult accounted for 11. 3% of permanent and 4. 4% of fixed period exclusions. Physical assault against a pupil accounted for 15. 6% of permanent and 18. 6% of fixed period exclusions (DCSF, 2008c). The MORI (2006) surveys show that excluded children tend to have committed more criminal offences (and more serious offences) than children who have not been excluded from school. Official records of non-attendance involve a much bigger proportion of the school population. Some form of non-attendance represent a form of ‘deviance’ others may be a response to ‘violence. ’ The reasons for nonattendance are varied, but in some cases at least they represent disaffection or disinterest in schooling and in others avoidance of work pressures or bullying. Schools record ‘non-attendance’ which covers authorised absence (for example through sickness) and unauthorised absence (which may include a range of situations including truancy and being a young carer). Truancy’ suggests an active choice not to go to school and is thus a particular form of absence. Official data shows some improvement in ‘authorised’ absence (that is where parents/carers provide a written explanation for the absence). There is a worsening of the situation in relation to ‘unauthorised’ absence International Journal of Violence a nd School – 9 – September 2009 18 (where no explanation is provided) since the mid 1990s, despite the massive investment of resources in following up pupil absence in recent years. The most commonly quoted figure in government announcements is 50,000 school children truanting from school on any school day. Further, around 100,000 pupils were found to ‘disappear’ from the school roll between years 10 and 11 (between ages 15 and 16) in a one-year period of monitoring (Ofsted, 2003). That is these young people did not go back to school at some point between the ages of 14 and 16 years. There is a complex set of circumstances and reasons to explain why children are not in school or not benefiting from school. They all have their behavioural manifestations, although it tends to be the ‘acting out’ child that causes most consternation amongst teachers and parents because such behaviour demands attention. Criminologists have a slightly different focus and many of the surveys conducted are more explicitly looking at the prevalence of offending behaviour and victimisation of young people of school age. The connection between disruptive behaviour in schools and crime was highlighted in a seminal study by Graham (1988). In more recent years self-report surveys conducted with school pupils, have provided us with a picture of young people’s overall involvement in criminal activity (as in the Youth Justice Board, MORI, 2006, and Home Office surveys, such as Roe and Ashe, 2008, noted earlier). However, there is very little research explicitly focussing specifically on criminal acts committed on the school site, presumably because of the extreme sensitivity of such data and the difficulties of gaining access to undertake the research. One self-report study of a sample of pupils from 20 state secondary schools (3,103 respondents) in Cardiff (South Wales) found that a fifth (20. 3%) of all pupils reported involvement in one of five categories of offence on the school site in a one year period (Boxford, 2006). Deviance and violence in schools 19 Table 6 illustrates the differences in prevalence of offending behaviours between boys and girls. Interestingly, this study reports varying levels of impact on offending behaviour in relation to individual and lifestyle factors, with school context exercising a different level of relative protection in relation to these factors. The study confirms the importance of school climate (defined as encompassing school ethos, respect for authority and parental school interest) and adds to current understanding in the finding that pupil relations (defined as based on pupils’ social capital and school disorder) also have significant associations with pupils’ involvement in crime in schools. This sort of study is important in a number of ways: it illustrates the high level of offending that may be occurring in schools; it adds to the debate about the extent to which schools (in combination with other agencies) can address these issues and it reminds us that some of the acts dealt with as a within-school disciplinary issue could be treated as a criminal offence. Weapons-carrying and gang related behaviour has been a major feature of newspaper headlines in England in recent years. Table 7 illustrates the varying estimates obtained from research. Often surveys (such as CtC, 2005; MORI, 2006; Roe and Ashe, 2008) do not specify where the weapons-carrying has taken place. Both the MORI and International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 20 Home Office surveys, referred to earlier, include questions on weapons carrying, but do not ask where. Research focusing on the school site has measured prevalence in different ways: by school, by teacher experience and by pupil self-report. In a range of ways schools are also a place where adults, parents and former pupils may vent their anger and frustration. There are various ways that we can estimate the scale of this sort of problem. Sometimes people want to gain access to the school site for the purpose of vandalism, arson or theft of school property. Further, schools may also act as a site for ‘professional perpetrators’ to gain access to children (Sullivan and Beech 2002). Sullivan and Beech (2002) quote an estimate that about 400 teachers in the UK were suspended each year, following allegations of abusing pupils. The need for better security for schools, as well as screening of school staff, has been highlighted in the public imagination by the events referred to earlier in this article; such as ‘the Dunblane massacre’, ‘the Soham murders’ and other deaths and woundings. More common security problems for schools include the destruction or theft of property. These issues raise very different security problems for schools. Security firms offer schemes such as ‘School Watch’ over the summer holiday period. These firms tend to focus very much on property and damage from arson, vandalism and grafitti, rather than harm to people (see www. chubb. co. uk). The risk of arson and Deviance and violence in schools 21 vandalism is known to be higher in deprived urban areas, than elsewhere. However, whilst arson attacks against schools declined from over 1,100 in 1994 to just under 800 in 2000 there was an increase in the proportion of arson attacks occurring in school time. Around 250 of the 800 arson attacks in 2000 were during the school day when pupils are present (Arson Prevention Bureau, 2002). More generally schools in England now have tighter systems of control for people coming on to the school site and greater awareness of the need for careful background and police checks on adults in contact with children. The use of CCTV is commonplace as are keypad entry systems to buildings. POLICY AND PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT It is clear from the previous sections in this review that there is plenty of evidence about a range of problem behaviours presented on the school site. Current policy development for children in England emphasises schools as entral to addressing broader issues of wellbeing and safety, as well as academic and vocational education. The key overarching framework for all of this is referred to as Every Child Matters. GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR CHILD WELFARE In 2001 a National Service Framework was announced for children’s services, to set in place standards against which all services would be inspected. Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) sets the overall agenda for w hat agencies working with children are aiming to do. Within this framework schools are centre stage as the main institution in touch with all children. This framework exemplifies the themes that are central to social policy under New Labour: reducing poverty and social exclusion, developing the role of schools, inter-agency co-operation, early intervention and a strong emphasis on supporting the role of parents and carers. Five key outcomes for all children are listed at the beginning of Every Child Matters, these are: ? Being healthy – enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle. ? Staying safe – being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to look after themselves. Enjoying and achieving – getting the most out of life and developing broad skills for adulthood. ? Making a positive contribution – to the community and to society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour. International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 22 ? Economic well-being – overcoming socio-economic disadvantages to achieve their full potential in life (Para 1. 3). The rest of the document focuses mainly on children most at risk, within a framework of universal services and the rights and responsibilities agenda. The thrust of the approach is around multi-disciplinary teams carrying out assessments under a common framework co-located around schools, Sure Start centres and primary care (community based health services). Schools are the focus as universal support centres and education is the organizing principle around which children’s services are organised. The Children Act 2004 provides the legislative spine for the wider strategy for improving children’s lives. The Act sets out to be enabling rather than prescriptive, so that local authorities have a considerable amount of flexibility in the way they implement its provisions. The overall aim is to encourage integrated planning, commissioning and delivery of services as well as improve multidisciplinary working, remove duplication, increase accountability and improve the coordination of individual and joint inspections in local authorities. Whilst the specifics of this vision are more complex, these ideals make sense at the strategic level. BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOLS Behaviour within schools is now largely seen as primarily related to the quality and appropriateness of teaching and learning, for the great majority of children. The Steer Committee (2005) also recognises that certain problematic aspects of pupil behaviour in schools are new: such as the general availability of technology like mobile phones, which are used by pupils in new forms of bullying and to record assaults and humiliations or to summon angry parents into the school at the behest of a pupil who has been disciplined. Furthermore the uncertainty about the meaning and application of in loco parentis4 is highlighted for contemporary teachers. It is noted by Steer (2005), as well as by the Elton Committee in 1989, that the legal judgements supporting this concept are very old and that the principle is based on an ancient doctrine of common law. This is seen as problematic in a context in which ‘the trend for parents to challenge schools at law, noted in the Elton Report, has continued and intensified‘(Steer, 2005, p. 80). At the school level, ‘school ethos’ was first recognised as an important influence on pupil behaviour and particularly delinquency in the seminal study by Rutter et al (1979). Although much of the focus is about ‘managing’ In loco parentis: this concept gives teachers the same authority over their pupils as parents have over their own children 4 Deviance and violence in schools 23 or ‘improving’ pupil behaviour, most of the strategies and training packages developed for schools require adults and institutions to include how they ‘manage’ or ‘improve’ behaviour, in essence how they build relationships and relate to pupils and colleagues. In short the issue of the ‘whole school climate’ and more specifically ‘school ethos’ is recognised as central to managing or improving behaviour in schools. At the same time, it is well recognised that issues may be complex at the level of the individual pupil: behaviour interpreted as disaffection may relate to a number of issues including child abuse and poor parenting; disrupted and stressful living circumstances; the disruptions associated with being ‘looked after’(being ‘in care’); relative poverty; special educational needs (or learning needs not met) and so on. However, disaffection, whatever the various causes is only one explanation for not attending school or behaving in a problematic way. Furthermore common issues relating to non-attendance are varied: such as, academic pressure and fear of failure; bullying; young carers; travelling families. Figure 2 illustrates that there is a wide range of responses to problem behaviour in schools in England. Whole school approaches recognise that school ethos and climate is crucial in promoting positive behaviour. The whole school approach is apparent in a raft of policies, agreements and strategies that are expected in all schools in England: such as behaviour management, anti-bullying, anti-harassment and equal opportunities policies; home-school agreements and particular strategies or approaches to realising these policies and agreements. The use of the curriculum to promote prosocial values, for example through citizenship education, and through teaching and learning strategies are yet another part of what all schools are expected to do. Individual pupils have ‘targets’ they are trying to achieve in relation to their behaviour (as well as academic learning) and some have individual plans for International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 24 behavioural and social reasons. In school and more intensive support is provided for individual pupils based on an assessment of their educational and social needs. Other provision is partly or wholly provided off the mainstream school site: these provisions focus on the most problematic or vulnerable children. We might conceptualise support for pupils in four tiers, with ‘Out of School provision’ being at the apex and ‘Whole School’ being at the base of a pyramid (in Figure 2). These provisions are in place with varying degrees of efficacy nationally. ‘In-school and more intensive support’; as well as ‘Combination and Re-integration Programmes’ are not readily available in some schools. In general, cities and the poorer areas of England have gained most additional resources under New Labour, albeit with strings attached. Deviance and violence in schools 25 Thus vulnerable children in more affluent areas have fewer options between being in and out of school. This raises important issues of equity in educational provision and support for all vulnerable children. SCHOOLS, SAFETY AND CRIME PREVENTION Schools are expected to consider risk and safety in a number of different ways: in terms of access to the school site from intruders, through vetting the suitability of their staff and in their everyday relations with children and adults who attend, work or visit the school. Schools were awarded ? 0 million in 2002-2003 to increase security measures through the Capital Modernisation Fund. Research intended to inform the development of policy and practice in this field was undertaken at the same time (Lloyd and Ching, 2003). Interestingly, this latter research identified external threats such as intruders, arson and burglary as greater concerns than internal threats from within the school community. The dynamic nature of school security is high lighted by this research, with pupil behaviour issues only emerging after the external threats already noted. Safer Schools programmes have developed since 2002. These programmes involve the police and other agencies working with schools, initially in high crime area. Safer Schools has now become a national programme, but varies a great deal in how it is run in individual schools. More recent concern about weapons carrying and gang culture entering the school environment has led to both legislative changes and new guidance to schools (DCSF, 2007a). The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 introduced the power for members of school staff to search pupils for weapons if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for suspecting that a pupil is carrying a weapon (with effect from October 1st 2007). Staff have the power to use ‘such force as is reasonable in the circumstances for exercising that power. ’ It should be emphasised that school staff have a power, not a duty in these respects. The police have grounds for searching a school for weapons if they ‘suspect’ that they may find weapons, prior to this Act they had to ‘believe’ this to be the case. Commenting on the guidance issued to schools on gangs, a spokesperson for the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said: ‘The Government’s guidance on gangs is a compilation of good sense and practical advice. Our evidence shows that there are a minority of schools which face increasing difficulties from weapons brought on to school premises. These schools need all the support they can get’ (NUT, 2008, para 1). Parents are also an important focus in government policy in relation to youth crime prevention. More coercive measures are being used towards International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 26 parents in a number of ways. The first parent was jailed in 2002 for failing to ensure that her teenage daughters attended school. In relation to behaviour in school as well as attendance, parenting contracts have been available to schools in England and Wales since early 2004 through the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. The Steer report (2005) adds support to the use of parenting contracts as well as parenting orders in highlighting the need for a ‘more immediate and consistent response to schools dealing with violent or abusive parents’ (p. 95). Schools have been able to apply directly to the courts for parenting orders since 2007. EFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR Certain basic principles and indicators of effective ways of responding to children who present problem behaviour are well known, if highly debated, in terms of how these principles are put into practice. For example, it is well established that early behavioural problems in pre-school children are indicative of the likelihood of developing more problematic and entrenched difficulties later in life. The costs of intervening early are known to outweigh those of responding later (Sutton et al, 2004). These are the kinds of principles that have informed the development of Sure Start and now Children’s Centres. At the same time it is recognised that there can be dangers in intervening in children’s lives too early. For example, DSRU (2004) cautions against ‘net-widening’, or drawing families into services when they could sort things out for themselves. Evidence about the kinds of programme that produce positive effects on children’s behaviour are well known by policy makers in England: for example, early education programmes in the United States such as High/Scope and Head Start have been well evaluated and demonstrate clear gains for disadvantaged children. Structured parenting programmes, such as that developed by Webster-Stratton, have also been found to be effective in improving parenting skills and in turn children’s behaviour. Cognitive behavioural methods have generally been shown to be effective in a wide range of circumstances (Falshaw et al, 2003). Overall, these programmes have been influential in England (Hayden, 2007). However, most evaluations of interventions for children presenting problem behaviour in England are relatively small scale and do not meet the scientific criteria required by ‘what works’ enthusiasts5. Most are too shortterm to follow through the longer-term impact (if any) of an intervention. It See for example, Wilson and Lipsey’s (2006) meta-analysis of 219 school–based violence prevention programs which shows that universal programmes were generally effective in reducing the more common types of pupil behaviours, and especially in relation to ‘high risk’ pupils. 5 Deviance and violence in schools 27 is impossible to conclude in some instances whether or not any improvements ndicated may simply be due to more resources and attention paid to an issue. Nevertheless, there are some useful advisory materials, produced for decision-makers, that provide a gateway to the very numerous sources of expertise and different approaches to combating violence and aggression in schools (see for example Gittins, 2005). Many new initiatives working with schools are based on the principle of sustainability. That is, it is assumed that after a period of funding an initiative the lessons learned can become part of mainstream professional practice. The expectation is that mainstream practice can either change or accommodate the work (vis-a-vis other pressures and that the new ways of working are compatible with performance management targets – the latter being a very strong feature of the public sector in England). Furthermore it is assumed that staff are willing and able to change their practice. This may well be the case in behaviour management and parenting programmes (as a particular way of doing something that a practitioner already has to do); but some initiatives set out to add value to existing services through the provision of more individual or small group opportunities for children. Furthermore, projects aimed at the prevention end of the continuum may well uncover more (unmet) need for services (DSRU, 2004, p. 26). The possibility that some ‘preventative’ services might actually uncover unmet need is a particularly pertinent issue to consider in relation to the focus of this review. Behaviour problems’, ‘special educational need’ and ‘mental health issues’ can each be seen as on a continuum and at least one in five children will experience one or more of these problems in the course of growing up. Behaviours may present as ‘deviant’ or ‘violent’ but the underlying causes may be any one (or a co mbination) of these latter issues. However, levels of need are very unevenly spread in communities, with higher levels of need being apparent in poorer areas. The potential scale of the need for more help, particularly in poorer areas, alongside the widespread level of anxiety and concern, from parents, politicians and the media, means that additional support for schools makes sense as a response to broader concerns about anti-social and criminal behaviour from young people. There is now much wider recognition of the need to advise and support parents in general on how to respond to and manage their children’s behaviour. Indeed there have been a number of television series focussed on the issue in recent years. Media images of out of control and anti-social ‘youths’ and stories about very disruptive and aggressive behaviour in schools can be influential in constructing popular perceptions and explanations of the issues to be addressed. It is common for various organisations, interest groups and the media to call for some issue to do with children’s behaviour to International Journal of Violence and School – 9 – September 2009 28 be addressed by ‘parenting programmes’ and initiatives in schools. Yet the behavioural expectations that are presented as the norm are at odds with subcultural differences and realities; this means that some schools may be at odds with the dominant norms of the communities they serve. Schools in England are now viewed as the universal service for all children and as a key service around which other children’s services might be colocated and planned. It is a vision with a great deal to commend it; although it is a vision that may take time to realise. Some key areas of instability are apparent in this vision. Quite apart from workload concerns, there are other practical problems such as space, particularly in some inner city primary schools. Further, the availability of appropriately trained and skilled personnel varies by area – specifically the evidence of teachers leaving the profession and of the drift of those who move jobs from the schools in the most adverse circumstances, to those that are easier places to work (Smithers and Robinson, 2005). Simply, schools that need staff most have difficulties in recruitment. Inclusive schools are self evidently better for individual children, as well as the communities they serve. However, it is plain that the ability of schools to be inclusive varies. Indeed the ongoing concern about behaviour in schools is evidence of the problems of coping with the ‘core business’ that already exist (Hayden, 2007). CONCLUSIONS Research evidence and monitoring data on the nature and prevalence of ‘deviance’ and ‘violence’ in schools is plentiful in England. In particular there are a plethora of self-report surveys from school pupils. Overall the evidence suggests that some forms of behaviour are very common, particularly disruptive behaviour, offensive language, bullying and other forms of aggression. Behaviour that would warrant the label ‘violent’ in England is less common, but there are indications of an increase in the more extreme behaviours and particularly in individual schools, many of which are in poorer socio-economic circumstances. A great deal of additional resources have gone into schools since New Labour came into power in 1997 and there has been a reduction in official records of permanent exclusion, as well as authorised absence, more training opportunities and support in behaviour management for teachers and so on. However, a major task remains; a task that is most strongly focused in inner cities and areas of social housing. The increasing socio-economic disparities in England during this same time period, as well as increasing parental choice over access to state schools has left some schools behind. In such schools the connection between problem behaviour and an environment in which it is difficult for teachers to teach and pupils to learn is all too apparent. Deviance and violence in schools 29 A key gap in contemporary school-based research in England is in the more time-consuming and in-depth ethnographic studies that focus on the dynamics of problem behaviour in schools in the most difficult circumstances. We need a more realistic assessment of how to educate the most problematic young people in a way that gives them the best opportunity for a positive future, alongside addressing the needs of the other young people with whom they share their schooling.