Free Essays on Emily Dickinson

EMILY DICKINSON Emily Dickinson lived in an era of Naturalism and Realism (1855-1910). She lived in a period of The Civil War and the Frontier. She was affected by her life and the era she lived in. She also had many deaths in her family and that’s part of the reason that she was very morbid and wrote about death. Emily Dickinson grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century. As a child she was brought up into the Puritan way of life. She was born on December 10, 1830 and died fifty-six years later. Emily lived isolated in the house she was born in; except for the short time she attended Amherst Academy and Holyoke Female Seminary. Emily Dickinson never married and lived on the reliance of her father. Dickinson was close to her sister Lavinia and her brother Austin her whole life. Most of her family were members of the church, but Emily never wished to become one. Her closest friend was her sister-in-law Susan. Susan was Emily's personal critic; as long as Emily was writing she asked Susan to look her poems over. Emily Dickinson was affected by her life for several reasons. One of the reasons was that she was never married, though she went through many serious relationships, she never settled down. Another reason that she was affected by her life was that her mother was not â€Å"emotionally accessible†. She was not close to her mother and never shared any of her feelings with her, which most daughters feel they can. This might have caused Emily to be very weird and strange. The Dickinson children were also raised in the Christian tradition, and were expected to take up their father’s religious beliefs and values without any fighting or arguing. Emily did not like than she can not chose for herself her own beliefs and religion. Emily did not enjoy the popularity and excitement of the public life, unlike her father. So she began to pull away from it. In the presence of strangers Emily could be shy, silent o... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Free Essays on Emily Dickinson The authors of the two poems are Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. The name of Dickinson’s poem is â€Å"This quiet dust was gentlemen and ladies.† The name of Walt Whitman’s poem is â€Å"Song Number 6.† I believe that these two poems are different in a lot of ways, but they are alike in that they both speak of death. The poems have few similarities. Although both Dickinson and Whitman seem to be very interested in death and what happens after life. They seem to be intrigues in the uncertainties of death; for example, Whitman asks, â€Å"What do you think has become of the young and old/ men?† He wants to know exactly what happens after death. Dickinson also reminisces about how these people were once alive and she wonders what that did in life. She said, â€Å"And Lads and Girls/ Was Laughter and Ability and Sighing.† These poems are different in more ways than one. Emily Dickinson seems to wonder what these dead people were like while they were alive. She said, â€Å"This quit Dust was Gentlemen and Ladies/ And Lads and Girls.† Dickinson doesn’t seem to wonder about what happens after death as much as Whitman. They also had different writing styles. Whitman wrote in free verse, while Dickinson had a rhyme scheme. I like Emily Dickinson’s poem better because it was short and to the point. I like that Dickinson is interested in what these people were like before they passed on, because I have wondered that exact same thing more than once. I also like that Dickinson used a rhyme scheme, because that makes the poem easier to read.... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson EMILY DICKINSON Emily Dickinson lived in an era of Naturalism and Realism (1855-1910). She lived in a period of The Civil War and the Frontier. She was affected by her life and the era she lived in. She also had many deaths in her family and that’s part of the reason that she was very morbid and wrote about death. Emily Dickinson grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts in the nineteenth century. As a child she was brought up into the Puritan way of life. She was born on December 10, 1830 and died fifty-six years later. Emily lived isolated in the house she was born in; except for the short time she attended Amherst Academy and Holyoke Female Seminary. Emily Dickinson never married and lived on the reliance of her father. Dickinson was close to her sister Lavinia and her brother Austin her whole life. Most of her family were members of the church, but Emily never wished to become one. Her closest friend was her sister-in-law Susan. Susan was Emily's personal critic; as long as Emily was writing she asked Susan to look her poems over. Emily Dickinson was affected by her life for several reasons. One of the reasons was that she was never married, though she went through many serious relationships, she never settled down. Another reason that she was affected by her life was that her mother was not â€Å"emotionally accessible†. She was not close to her mother and never shared any of her feelings with her, which most daughters feel they can. This might have caused Emily to be very weird and strange. The Dickinson children were also raised in the Christian tradition, and were expected to take up their father’s religious beliefs and values without any fighting or arguing. Emily did not like than she can not chose for herself her own beliefs and religion. Emily did not enjoy the popularity and excitement of the public life, unlike her father. So she began to pull away from it. In the presence of strangers Emily could be shy, silent o... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson In 1874, Dickinson’s father died. This left her deeply distressed. Her mother suffered paralysis a year later and was invalid for the rest of her life. It was during this time that Dickinson cared for her mother and really came to love her. Dickinson’s mother died in 1882. While growing up, the Dickinson children were devoted to one another, even though the house lacked joy. The children had no relationship with their mother, and their father was stern and involved with his work (Donoghue 452). Dickinson spent the first twenty-five years of her life secluded from all but her closest friends. She had many intense intellectual friendships with several men in succession. She quaintly referred to these men as her tutors. The first of these was Benjamin F. Newton. He was a law student in her father’s office who encouraged her to read and take her talent for writing poetry seriously. Because of Newton’s early death, she looked to Reverend Charles Wadsworth for guidance. â€Å"She soon came to regard him as her dearest ‘earthly friend,’ and for purposes of poetry created in his image the ‘lover’ whom she was never to know except in imagination† (Hart 224). Wadsworth’s departure from her life is greatly associated with her increasing fascination with poetry. This prompted her correspondence with T.W. Higginson. His kind words and support helped her through lonely years. She also befriended Samuel Bowles, Dr. J.G. Holland, and H elen Hunt Jackson. These were the few individuals who Dickinson allowed to read some of her works (Hart 224). Dickinson strongly resisted the doctrine of â€Å"election.† This is the view that some were marked from birth for salvation and others were condemned to Hell. At Mount Holyoke, Dickinson was among those who had not been redeemed. She was one of three not saved. To be considered such, she was expected to declare some religious experience. She refused to do so, just to gain a social acceptance. ... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born to Edward, and Emily Norcross Dickinson on December 10th, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was believed that during her childhood, the household was a joyless, restrictive life. Scholars believed that it was dominated by a tyrannical father, but since then, that vision has been modified. Now, it appears that the Dickinson children’s lives were very normal. They spent their days with the usual childhood activities, playing games and pranks, also splashing through mud puddles and exploring the countryside. As they grew older, they went to parties and fretted over infatuations and complained about household chores. Emily had two other siblings. Lavina, her sister was two years younger than Emily, and Austin, who was one year older, was her brother, and her best friend. At 17, Emily enrolled at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She left ten months later for an unknown reason. When she quit, it marked the end of her Formal education but kept teaching herself, studying poetry, and other writings. She even knew much of the Bible by heart. She felt very strongly about how poetry made her feel. She once said to a friend, â€Å"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.† Emily attempted to get her works published in the early 1860’s. She sent her writings to Thomas Wentworth. She sent four of her poems to him in her very first attempt to be a publishing poet. He knew she had raw talent, an his response was significant. However, her rough rhythms and imperfect rhymes were counting big against her. He suggested she change that as well as her spelling and grammar. Emily chose not to publish anything then. The death of her father marked the beginning of Emily’s physical reclusiveness from the world. But the separat... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts. She had a younger sister named Lavina and an older brother named Austin. Her mother Emily Norcross Dickinson, was very dependent on her family and was seen by Emily as a poor mother. Her father was a lawyer, a Congressman, and the Treasurer for Amherst College. Emily’s grandfather was also known for building the brick mansion in Amherst. That house was later known as the Homestead. Unlike her mother, Emily loved and admired her father. Since the family was not emotional, they lived a quiet secure life. They rarely shared their problems with each other so Emily had plenty of privacy for writing during her childhood. As she matured she began to notice the gap between herself and her family’s religious belief's. She refused to accept the god of her parents and made it know that accepting things the way they are was not her style. Emily and her family attended The First Congregational Church on a regular basis. Emily did not like going to church because she didn’t think of herself as being very religious. She refused to believe that Heaven was a better place than Earth and eventually moved away from the church. Emily saw herself as a woman who had her own way of thinking. By the time she was twelve, her family moved to a house on Pleasant Street where they lived from 1840 to 1855. Emily was already writing letters, but wrote most of her poetry in this home. Emily only left home to attend Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for two semesters. During this time Emily was very energetic and had few freinds. She also was involved town social events. Even though her stay there was brief, she impressed her teachers with her courage and directness. They felt that her writing was very impressive. At the age of twenty-one, Emily and her family moved to the Dickinson Homestead on Main Street. This move proved to be very difficult for Emily. This was difficult for Emily ... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Much Madness is Divinest Sense â€Å"Much Madness Is Divinest Sense† was published in Emily Dickinson’s first collection, which was simply called Poems. This poem concentrates on society’s judgmental views of non-conformists. In this essay, I will be explicating this poem line by line paying close attention to the unique capitalization, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and wordplay. Much Madness is divinest Sense- To a discerning Eye- Much Sense- the starkest Madness- ‘Tis the Majority (1-4) The â€Å"Eye† (2) is a vague image. Dickinson utilizes a synecdoche to further the image of the â€Å"Eye† to be representational of a â€Å"wise† person who has the power to label behavior â€Å"normal† or â€Å"mad†. Much Madness is divinest Sense- To a discerning Eye- Much Sense- the starkest Madness- ‘Tis the Majority (1-4) The poem opens with a statement that is a paradox. The capitalization of â€Å"Much Madness† (1) draws the readers focus to and emphasizes the juxtaposition of â€Å"Much Madness† (1) and â€Å"divinest Sense† (1). Although these words are contradictory, Dickinson finds a relationship in meaning; while society views nonconformists as mad and conformists as sane, it is actually the nonconformist who is sane and the conformists who are mad. Questions that may arise with the first two words in this line might concern what she means by â€Å"madness.† Is Dickinson referring to insanity or anger? There is a difference in the degree of madness that’s acceptable and combining â€Å"Madness† (1) with â€Å"divinest† suggests that not only madness is an important issue but also that it is connected with the divine on some level. The capitalization of the word â€Å"Eye† (2) in the second line emphasizes the pun on the pronoun â€Å"I†. When Dickinson writes, â€Å"To a discerning Eye† (2) she is specifically referring to the speaker of the poem. The speaker is the â€Å"discerning I† (2), they are the one ... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was considered to be one of the greatest American lyric poets that ever lived. Emily was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was raised in a traditional New England. She lived a very sheltered and exclusive life, rarely venturing out of her bedroom. Emily stayed in her room and wrote poetry, and read books all day. Emily never had any of her poems published, because she hated fame, and did not want to be acknowledged for her work. Emily Dickinson was born December tenth 1830. Her father Edward Dickinson, was a successful lawyer, a member of congress, and for many years treasurer of Amherst College. Emily’s mothers name was Emily Norcross Dickinson, she was a submissive timid woman. (Emily 352) Emily had an older brother and a younger sister. Emily’s brother William Austin was a lawyer. William and Emily were not to close relationship wise; she never really opened up to anyone. Her younger sister Lavenia was in a way like Emily, she also never left the house. Lavenia was the chief housekeeper of her household. Neither Emily nor Lavenia ever married. Emily’s brother Austin married a woman by the name of Susan Huntington, in 1856. (Skiba 216) Emily used to go to school with Susan. Over the years Emily grew very close to Susan, Emily considered her to be her best friend. Susan lived right next door to Emily; she was a very big influence in Emily’s life. Many other writers such as John Keats, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Isaac Watts and many other biblical poets also influenced Emily. (Emily 352). In Emily’s childhood she was shy and different from the others. Emily did attend school, before she became completely unsocial. She went to Amherst Academy for a few years, before attending Mt. Holyoak College. (Skiba 216) Emily loved to read especially if it had anything to do with Shakespeare or Religion. While at college she majored in Chemistry and Astronomy. (Dickinson, New Book 153) Almost ... Free Essays on Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson, recognized as one of the greatest American poets of the nineteenth century, was born December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts (Benfey, 1). Dickinson’s greatness and accomplishments were not always recognized. In her time, women were not recognized as serious writers and her talents were often ignored. Only seven of her 1800 poems were ever published. Dickinson’s life was relatively simple, but behind the scenes she worked as a creative and talented poet. Her work was influenced by poets of the seventeenth century in England, and by her puritan upbringing. Dickinson was an obsessively private writer. Dickinson withdrew herself from the social contract around the age of thirty and devoted herself, in secret, to writing. She never married, finding in her poetry, reading, gardening, and close friendships, a rich and fulfilling life. Emily grew up with a privileged childhood. She was the eldest daughter of Edward Dickinson, a successful lawyer, member of congress, and for many years treasurer of Amherst College. Her father gave here the time, and literary education, as well as confidence to try her hand at free verse. Emily’s mother, Emily Norcross Dickinson, was a submissive, timid housewife dedicated to her husband, children, and household chores. The Dickinson’s only son, William Austin, also a lawyer, succeeded his father as treasurer of the college. Their youngest child, Lavina, was the chief housekeeper and, like her sister, Emily, remained a home, unmarried, all her life. A sixth member who was added to the family in 1856 was Susan Gilbert, a schoolmate of Emily’s, who married Austin and moved into the house next door the Dickinson home which they called Homestead. Emily and Susan were very close friends and confidantes, until Susan and Austin’s marriage. It was at this time tha t Susan stopped respo! nding to the notes and poems that were often exchanged between the two ( ). Emily’s letters to Su...

Ontemporary dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ontemporary dance - Essay Example There has never been a single specific style of modern dance in any era. Though it often uses the body alignment and movement of ballet, modern dance has developed beyond the vocabulary of ballet, and has reached the threshold of success due to these three modern choreographic creators. Ruth St Denis was one of the most prominent dance creators of the First generation; she was the pioneer of modern dance in the era in which there was no concept of turning dance into choreography. It is often said that Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey were influenced by St Denis, this is due to the fact they were classmates who studied dance together in 1920s, later they broke away and developed their own philosophies of modern dance which provided these women the opportunity to become directors and choreographers. "Particularly, in the ballet world, these roles had been and continue to be dominated by men". (Dance, 2006) St. Denis was the one who escorted traditional dance to the threshold of modern dance where she incorporated elements of Far Eastern dance into her choreography. Later St. Denis married her dance partner Ted Shawn who founded the "Denishawn" company and trained many great dancers who went on to form their own companies. Martha Graham akin to St Denis, has had an enormous impact on the field of modern dance. "Her notion of contraction and release (a torso based movement of a sharp intake of breath followed by a strong exhalation), her groundbreaking dances based on mythology, and her theatrical personality have made her the best known modern dancer of all time. Graham created a technique that emphasized "contraction and release". These words are now synonymous with modern dance. Graham was the first modern dance choreographer to reach out to other genres of modern art for collaboration. She is considered the most influential and famous modern choreographer of the 20th century. Humphrey developed a fundamental theory of movement based on "fall and recovery" that became the basis of her technique". (Dance, 2006) There is a difference between the influences of Martha Graham and Humphrey, Graham developed her own choreographical dances while Humphrey remained in contact with St Denis by joining her Deinshawn Company in 1917 and was teaching classes and performing with the company in featured roles. "Charles Weidman was Humphrey's choreographic and dance partner in the 1920s and 1930s, and was himself a key figure in the development of the American modern dance. Humphrey began her choreographic career while at Denishawn, where she created, with St. Denis, famous pieces like "Soaring," set to the Schumman score of the same title, and "Sonata Pathetique," to the Beethoven score". "In 1928, Humphrey and Charles Weidman left the Denishawn company to found their own school and company. Like Martha Graham, Humphrey was interested in moving away from the sentimentalis m and romanticism of the Denishawn company toward a new dance vocabulary and style that was truly "modern"." (The Solo Dancers) Ruth St. Denis created an exotic movement vocabulary through dancing and choreography that balanced precariously between sensuality and religion. By the 1930s Martha Graham was developing a dance technique whose angularity and sharp

Adonis musati project Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adonis musati project - Article Example The Adonis Musati is a name that has a great significance for the project as it points to the mission of the project. Adonis Musati is the name of refugee who died in a line while queuing to have his application of being a South African Asylum seeker verified. His death, which resulted from fatigue and hunger, touched the heart of many and hence this project was launched to ensure that such an incidence did not happen again in the history of this country. From a broad look, refugees in South Africa have always been face of major challenges after escaping from the neighboring countries. For instance, there is a high inflow of Asylum seekers from Zimbabwe, a country that has constantly been involved in war. Unfortunately, these refugees end up suffering from torture and discrimination in the government. The process of becoming an asylum seeker has always been rough and punctuated by strings of corruption. Consequently, the rights of these marginalized groups have always been suppressed and this only makes the situation worse for them. Adonis Musati Project is an interventional project that aims at alleviating any form of suffering from those who escape their countries due to harsh conditions. The aim of the project is to ensure that Asylum seekers are provided with basic necessities such as food, clothes and shelter and to ensure that they are free from any form of suffering. The project has pulled a large number of sponsors to help in funding the project and support the welfare of this minority group. The project also seeks for the rights of the refugees in their process of applying to be South African Asylum seekers. They protect especially the females who are vulnerable to harassment and the old who cannot take care of themselves. The project has continuously taken an initiative to improve the lifestyle of the marginalized in an effort to make them equal humans in the face of the world. The

Emergence of Integrated Marketing Communication Essay

Emergence of Integrated Marketing Communication - Essay Example The integrated marketing campaign cannot be successful if the different deliverables are not put in a direct fashion towards the target audience; no matter it is the primary one or the secondary target market. The marketing plan, however, remains the key in such a situation and it cannot be counted off, no matter how difficult the undertakings or executions of the IMC turn out to be. Thus IMC and MC must go hand in hand towards a successful execution of the product and/or service’s message geared towards the relevant target audience. Message consistency is indeed a significant aspect of the integrated marketing campaign since the old campaigns might just get mixed with the newer campaigns that are brought forward by the relevant brand, which could either be a product or a service and in some cases, a hybrid also works to some effect. The message must remain geared towards a selected target audience as this ensures that there are no shortcomings on the part of the people for which the message is put out, in the first place. With that, we must understand that a well balanced IMC campaign looks to plug the shortcomings which usually arise in the wake of changing messages and when certain strategies and tactics are amended for one reason or the other. The reasons could be aplenty but the most important thing here to understand is the fact that the message must remain synchronized and there are no double meanings or embedded messages beneath the new campaign brought forward by the product and/or service. Message consi stency within an effective and efficient IMC campaign suggests that the brand team has done its homework well and that there are no hindrances in the wake of it achieving short-term benefits and long-term, strategic profits.  

People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do

People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does. Introduction With technology moving at such a rapid pace, etiquette and ethics have a hard time keeping up. Five years ago few people had even heard of electronic mail or "e-mail" and even today, whether to add a hyphen or not it is of trivial debate. As a society, we hold dear the value of privacy and confidentiality as a basic fundamental right. Access to the new technology of electronic mail can jeopardize both values. What privacy rights should employees enjoy, and how can these be reconciled with the legitimate need of organzations to control and manage their network? People have come to depend on email as a way to communicate, even actually creating less of a divide for families that live far away or even in another country. But there are quite a few ethical concerns that we, as a society, should begin to consider. The hardest part, as with most ethics, is definition of what is right or wrong and ultimately . . . compliance. Does electronic mail present ethical dilemmas in the areas of confidentiality, security, and ownership? And further, will the actual tone of writing create ethical and social implications in the way that we communicate? This is an essential issue for society as a whole. If this newly created "cyber-community" doesn't have some kind of consistency then frequent misunderstandings can and will occur perhaps even causing social turmoil. A Bit of History In 1775, the colonies needed a way to communicate with each other. Statesman Benjamin Franklin, the first Postmaster General, helped develop the postal system we know today. This system helped bind the new natio... ...uman Resource Management. " Workplace Privacy Poll." 1999 Online. Available:http://www.shrm.org/surveys/privacy.htm Soden,A., "Protect Your Corporation From Email Litigation," Corporate Legal Times, May 1995. http://www.stedwards.edu/stubook/comput.htm www.aptosjr.santacruz.k12.ca.us/computers/page9.html USPS History: http://www.usps.gov/history/his1.htm http://www.nua.ie/surveys, Apr. 16,1999. "300 Million Online by 2005 Asia, South America to Lead Way," http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/demographics/data.html (March 31,1999) University of Massy. http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwits/emailpol.htm Haisting, Larry J. EDI: A New Way of Doing Business, St. Paul, MN,1993. Moore, Dinty W. The Emperor's Virtual Clothes, Workman Publishing, 1995. Sims, C. (1993 Dec. 6) Reporter discipled for reading his co-workers email. New York Times, P.A3.

Micro Environment

|Chapter | | 1 | Introduction 1. 1 Problem Background There are about three billion people, half of the world’s population, living on the income of less than two dollars a day. Among these poor communities, one child in five does not live to see his or her fifth birthday. One study in 2006 showed that the ratio of the income between the 5% richest and 5% poorest of the population is 74 to 1 as compared to the ratio in 1960, which was 30 to 12.To enhance international development, the United Nations Organization (UNO) announced the millennium development goals,aimed to eradicate poverty by 2015. In this regard, microfinance is the form of financial development that has its primary aim to alleviate the poverty. Governments, donors and NGOs around the world responded enthusiastically with plans and promised to work together towards the realization of these goals.In the recognition of microfinance, the UNO celebrated the year 2005 as a year of micro-credit, as a result this financ ing instrument is perceived worldwide as a very effective mean against hunger and poverty, mainly in developing countries. Microfinance is a credit methodology, which employs effective collateral substitute for short-term and working capital loans to micro-entrepreneurs. The level of a country’s poverty has long been linked with measures of its economic development. Little consideration was given to the social reorganization of the natural resources (e. empowerment vs. alien ation of people, sustainable use vs. depletion of the environment). The economies with positive growth rate of Gross National Product (GNP) were measured by their poverty mitigation. This gratitude emphasized on the achievement of wealth and technology as a path for development and assumed that improved lives for all would be the natural consequence. Microfinance is not a new development. Some developed countries as well as developing countries particularly in Asia hav e a long history of microfinance.Dur ing the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in number of European countries, microfinance evolved as a type of the informal banking for the poor. Informal finance and self-help have been at the foundation of microfinance in Europe. The early history of microfinance in Ireland can be traced back to 18th century. It is a history of how self-help led to financial innovation, legal backing and conductive regulation, and creating a mass microfinance movement. But the unpleasant regulations prompted by commercial bankin g brought it down.The so-called Irish loan funds appeared in early eighteenth as charities, initially financed from donated resources and offering interest free loans. They were soon replaced by financial intermediation between savers and borrowers. Loans were granted on short–term basis and instalments were scheduled on weekly basis. To enforce the repayment, monitoring process was used. In Latin America and South Asia, the microfinance has grown out of experiment s, but the best-known start was in Bangladesh in 1976, following a widespread famine in 1974 and a hard-fought war of liberation in 1971.Its origin can be traced back to 1976, when Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank, as an experiment, on the outskirts of Chittagong University campus in the village of Jobra. The inspiration of Grameen Bank came to Muhammad Yunus’ mind when he lent the equivalent of $26 to $42 to exploited women who were working as bamboo furniture maker. He saw that, they were enthusiastic about it and paid back their loans on time.In the beginning, Muhammad Yunus focused the activities of Grameen Bank mainly on savings and small loans, and decided to put the interest rates high enou gh to cover the expenses. Finally yet importantly, he asked borrowers to organize themselves in solidarity groups of five people (who have to meet every week in order to repay their loans and to ex change their opinions). Inspired by the success of his experiment, he decided t o spread out this system to other villages in Bangladesh. In 1983, this institution became a bank.Today it operates in almost 36000 villages and serves more than 3500000 people. On 13th October 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize went to Muhammad Yunus and Gramen Bank, the microfinance institution he founded 30 years ago. Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. 2 Eventually we are in a situation, in which Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, tells us the goal spread of micro-credit and finance, which give us the hope, may be our great-grandchildren will go to museums to see what poverty was like. This report is about microfinance and its contribution to the improvement and poverty alleviation for millions of the poorest people of Ba ngladesh. Micro finance has a huge impact on the lives of millions of poor people..Numerous scholars and NGOs have been working to take microfinance within the reach of poor people, who are still not benefited by the conventional financial system. It was believed that microfinance is not important for all people but most groups can benefit from this idea. In this report, we try to present evidence of the important contributions made by microfinance in the eradication of poverty by increasing the income generating activities, empowerment of poor people to access development services such as health and education, and reduction in vulnerability. 1. 2 Problem StatementIn the light of problem, background leads to the following problem statement, Impact of Microcredit on poverty alleviation of the poor people in Bangladesh 1. 3 Objectives of the study To be meaningful, every work must have to formulate the objectives of the study. In the light of the topic of the report, the objective of this study is to show how microcredit works, by using group lending methodology for reducing poverty and how it effects the living standard (income, saving access to health and education, etc. ) of the poor people in Bangladesh. 1. 4 Methodology of the studyData & information are mainly collected from secondary sources. We have used several books, research literatures, articles, journals and report, as secondary sources for our study. Internet sources were also used as a secondary source for our report. Since the internet sources are less reliable, we have limited the use of those sources to the web pages of prominent organizations like Grameen Bank. Most of the sources, we tried to use, are reliable and are acceptable almost everywhere. Nevertheless, from them we had to choose the most appropriate literature for our report.For this reason, we had to go through numerous references related to this topic, to find the suitable materials. Besides these, Google Scholars were also used to find the suitable research material. The keywords used when searching for scientific articles and literatures were; microcredit, microcredit and Bangladesh, poverty reduction and microcredit, Muhammad Yunus and microcredit,living standards and microcredit etc. 1. 5 Limitations Due to shortage of time, the accuracy of information may not have been completely flawless. 1. Definitions and Key Concepts Microcredit It is a component of microfinance and is the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs, who are too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Especially in developing countries, micro-credit enables very poor people to engage in self-employment projects that generate income, thus allowing them to improve the standard of living for themselves and their families. Poverty Poverty is a condition in which a person of a commumity is deprived of the basic essentials and necessities for a minimum standard of living.Since poverty is understood in many senses, the basic essentials ma y be material resources such as food, safe dringking water and shelter, or they may be social resources such as access to information, education, health care, social status, political power, or the opportunity to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. According to the World Bank’s (1980 ) definition of poverty, condition of life so characterized by malnutrition, illiteracy, and disease as to be beneath any reasonable definition of human decency. Extreme Poverty/Absolute PovertyExtreme poverty is the most severe state of poverty, where people can not meet their basic needs for survival, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, sanitation, education and health care. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is a Millennium Development Goal set by UNO. To determine the number of extreme poor people around the world, the World Bank characterizes extreme poverty as living on the daily income of US $1 or less. It has been estimated that around 1. 1 bill ion people currently live under these conditions. Moderate povertyIt indicates the condition where people earns about $ 1 to $2 a day, which enables households to just barely meet their basic needs, but they still have go for many of the other things – education, health care –that many of us take for granted. Relative Poverty It means that a household has an income below the national average income. Micro finance Institutions (MFIs) A microfinance institution is an or ganization, engaged in extending micro credit loans and other financial services to poor borrowers for income generating and self-employment activities.An MFI is usually not a part of the formal banking industry or government. It is usually referred to as a NGO (Non-Government Organization). |Chapter | | 2 | Theoritical Framework 2. 1 What is microcredit? Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not consi dered bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit.Microcredit is a part of microfinance, which is the provision of a wider range of financial services to the very poor. 2. 2 Features of microcredit †¢ Size – loans are micro, or very small in size †¢ Target users – micro entrepreneurs and low-income households †¢ Utilization – the use of funds – for income generation, and enterprise development, but also for community use (health/education) etc. †¢ Terms and conditions – most terms and conditions for microcredit loans are flexible and easy to understand, and suited to the local conditions of the community. Usually micro-credit is provided to a particular geographical area or community. †¢ Micro-credit funds are sometimes initiated in response to the needs of a particular group . †¢ Some loan circles and lending institutions require participants to attend ongoing business training and mentoring programs, which is not the case with traditional debt lending. †¢ Micro-credit is recognized as having increased risk and is treated as a separate class of product by lenders. †¢ Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty. It is targeted to the poor, particularly poor women. 2. 3Classification of microcredit I. Traditional informal microcredit (such as, moneylender's credit, pawn shops, loans from friends and relatives, consumer credit in informal market, etc. ) II. Microcredit based on traditional informal groups (such as, tontin, su su, ROSCA, etc. ) III. Activity-based microcredit through conventional or specialised banks (such as, agricultural credit, livestock credit, fisheries credit, handloom credit, etc. ) IV. Rural credit through specialised banks. V. Cooperative microcredit (cooperative credit, credit uni on, savings and loan associations, savings banks, etc. VI. Consumer microcredit. VII. Bank-NGO partnership based microcredit. VIII. Grameen type microcredit or Grameencredit. IX. Other types of NGO microcredit. X. Other types of non-NGO non-collateralized microcredit. |Chapter | | 3 | Major MFIs and their role in Bangladesh Back during late 1970s, when the Jobra experiment was underway under Professor M. Yunus, the Dheki Rin Prokolpa was initiated by the Bangladesh Bank in collaboration with the Swanirvar Bangladesh, and several other pilot schemes were initiated by a handful of the NGOs who were active then.At that time, it was difficult then to conceive that these initiatives would lead to a major micro-credit movement, which would make Bangladesh known to the rest of the world. Even during the 1980s, in spite of Grameen Bank’s success, the main discourse amongst development practitioners in Bangladesh centred on the desirability of micro-credit program as opposed to concie ntization. By 1990, unhindered experimentation in the fields led to a quiet resolution of the debate and the country experienced a massive expansion of micro-finance activities during the 1990s.This is borne out by the figures on the time path of MFI expansion (see Figure 1), [pic] Many studies and surveys have been carried out by different agencies regarding the working of MFIs and their impact on the poor people in Bangladesh. The agencies like Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and World Bank have found strong evidence that functioning of MFIs have helped the people in meeting their daily needs and at the same time building their assets.It has been stated in The World Bank Economic Review that microfinance has not only helped people to develop in their material capital but also in the human capital, by better access to health care and education system, and general awareness among the people about their rights and duties towards society. However, there are numerous MFIs w orking in Bangladesh at present so it is almost impossible to mention all of them. Therefore, we have chosen four of the most important ones and try to give the overview of them. 3. Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) With a vision of â€Å"a just, enlightened, healthy and democratic Bangladesh free from hunger, poverty, environmental degrad ation and all forms of exploitation based on age, sex, religion and ethnicity†, BRAC started as an almost entirely donor funded, small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help the country overcome the devastation and trauma of the Liberation War. Today, BRAC has emerged as an independent, virtually self-financed paradigm in sustainable human development with its motto ?Alleviation of poverty and empowerment of the poor. It is the largest in the world employing 97,192 people, with the twin objectives of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. Through experiential learning, BRAC today provides and protects liveliho ods of around 100 million people in Bangladesh. Diagnosing poverty in human terms and recognizing its multidimensional nature, BRAC approaches poverty alleviation with a holistic approach. BRAC's outreach covers all 64 districts of the country. 3. 1. Microfinance Programs of BRAC, at a Glance (Source: BRAC Annual report 2005) |Inception of micro finance programme |1974 | |Programme coverage |Districts 64,Thanas:507 | |Total No of Area/Branch Offices |1,381 | |Total No of village Organizations |160,197 | |Total No of Members |4,837,099 | |Percentage of Women Members |98% | |Outstanding Borrowers |4,159,793 | |Cumulative Loan Disbursement |165,794 million (US $3,094) | |Members’ Savings |9,159 million (US 141 million) | |Average Loan Size |9,452(US $145) | |Repayment Rate |99. 49% | 3. 2 Grameen Bank The history of origin of Grameen Bank can be traced back to 1976, when Professor Muhammad Yunus, head of the Rural Economics Program at the University of Chittagong, launche d an action research project to examine the possibility of designing a credit delivery system to provide banking services targeted at the rural poor.The initial activities started from Jobra village (adjacent to Chittagong University) and some in th e neighboring villages in the following years. Later in 1979, with the sponsorship of central bank and support of the nationalized commercial banks, the project was extended to Tangail, a district north of Dhaka. Later the Grameen Bank became an autonomous organization through the government legislation of October 1983. Today, Grameen Bank is mainly owned by the people whom it serves and they own 90% of its shares and remaining 10 % are owned by the government. 3. 2. 1 Microfinance Programs of Grameen bank, at a Glance (Source: Gra meen Bank annual report 2007) |Numbers of Members |7. 5 million | |Percent of Women Members |97% | |Number of Canters |99,502 | |Number of Villages covered |59,912 | |Number of Branches |2,499 | |Number of A reas |81,334 villages | |Number of Zones |21 | |Cumulative amount Disbursed since Inception |256,497. 40 (Million Taka) | |Cumulative Disbursed during |2005 39,183. 49 (Million Taka) | |Amount of Loan outstanding |27,970. 31 (Million Taka) | |Members |20,138. 7 (Million Taka) | |Non-Members |11,521. 19 (Million Taka) | |Portfolio Growth Rate |39. 66% | 3. 3 Association for Social Advancement (ASA) ASA in Bengali means ‘HOPE’. ASA is a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, which provides micro-credit financing. It was established in 1978 by Shafiqual Haque Choudhury who is also the current chairman. Its functioning is basedon the institutional support system.Innovations and simplifications of staff training, monitoring and bookkeeping are the three areas responsible for ASA's ability to effectively manage established units and pursue bold growth initiatives simultaneously. This makes the operations smooth and efficient. This makes it simple and easy to operate both for the organization and for the clients, without the unnecessary delays of bureaucracy and red-tape. Its mission is to â€Å"reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the poor through the provision of qualitative and responsive micro finance services in an innovative and sustainable way†. ASA offers a successful alternative microfinance model to that of the Grameen bank.ASA combines low cost operations and high growth to fuel its success. ASA continues to perfect the role of financial intermediation by developing a variety of savings p roducts that are quite successful at generating the necessary funds from local sources. The experiences of ASA's managerial dynamism and replication of its simple model have much to offer the diverse microfinance sector as it accommodates demand for quality Financial services by the poor masses. ASA is confident that a financially viable microfinance sector that provides competitive financial services to its customers will be able to expand outreach at a pace similar to its own. 3. 3. Microfinance Programs of ASA, at a Glance (Source: ASA Annual Report 2005) |Inception of micro finance programme |1978 | |Programme coverage |Evenly distributed over the country | |Total No of Area/Branch Offices |2,291 | |Total No of village Organizations or groups |178,904 | |Total No of Members |5. 99 millions | |Percentage of Women Members |Not sex biased | |Outstanding Borrowers |4. 8 millions | |C umulative Loan Disbursement |33,082 million (Taka) | |Total Members’ Savings |3,036 million (Taka) | |Average Loan Size |Taka 7,129 | |Avg. savings balance by members |Taka 748 | 3. 4 Proshika Immediately after the ‘WAR OF LIBERATION’ in 1971, a group of young men, who could realize the inadequacy of the conventional development practices, began to plan development activities with an alternative appr oach. With an objective to contribute to rebuilding the war-ravaged country, they formed Proshika M anobik Unnayan Kendra (Proshika Centre for Human Development).The development process of PROSHIKA, one of the largest NGOs of Ban gladesh, started in a few villages of Dhaka and Comilla districts in 1975, although the organization formally took its first step in 1976. Proshika is an acronym of three Bangla words, proshikkhan (training), shikkha (education) and kaj (action). PROSHIKA envisages a society, which is economically productive and equitable, socially just, environmentally sound, and genuinely democratic. The main mission of PROSHIKA is to conduct an extensive, intensive, and participatory process of sustainable development through empowerment of the poor.Through empowerment, the poor are or ganized and made aware of the real causes of their impoverishment, a leadership is developed among them, their material resources are mobilized, income and employment is increased, and capacities are developed to cope with natural disasters. Empowerment makes th e poor functionally liter ate, enables them to take better care of their health, to get involved in environmental protection and regeneration, get elected in local government bodies and community institutions, and provides the poor with better access to public and common property resources. 3. 4. 1 Microfinance Programs of PROSHIKA, at a Glance ((Source: PROSHIKA Annual Report 2005) |Numbers of Members |2. 7 millions | |Percent of Women Members |Approximately 60% | |Number of Groups |148,039 | |Number of Villages covered |23559 | |Number of Slums |2102 | |Number of Households |2. 3 millions | |Number of primary Groups |148,039 | |Cumulative Disbursed during 2005 |Taka 31,870 millions | |Number of Education Centres Set Up So Far |53,616 | |Persons graduated with technical skills |1. 11 millions | |Chapter | | 4 | Impact of Microcredit Program on Poverty Alleviation 4. What the microcredit clients do with the loan money In one of the country's large formal MFIs, it was found that about sixty eight per cen t of the clients used 54% of their total loans for small trades. A few clients used 64% of the loan money for buying homestead and cropland. A small number of clients used 67% of the loans to build new houses. Some spent 15% of the total loan for medical treatment of their relatives and themselves. Some spent 19% of the total loan money for consumption purposes. A few clients used 29% of loan money for sending their relatives abroad for jobs. A smaller number of clients used 18% of their loan for major repairing of their dwelling houses.A handful of clients used 42% of the loan for buying television sets, furniture and gold ornaments, while others used the loan money in buying rickshaws, livestock and lending to others in a modicum scale . In another large non-governmental organisation (NGO)-MFI, it was spotted that fifty per cent of the clients used 95% of the total loan money in trading businesses like vegetables, grocery, fish, and betel leaves, etc. A few clients used 40% of the loan money in repaying occasional borrowed debts. Some clients used 35% in agricultural farming. Some used 37% of the total loan for buying livestock for rearing. A few clients used 41% loan money for redeeming mortgaged cropland.Some clients used 61% of the loan money for sending relatives abroad. Again some used 34% of the loan money for meeting the debts from moneylenders. Some clients used 15% of the total loans in repaying loan installments of other NGOs. Some clients used 17% of the loan for medical treatment. Some used 100% loan for house construction, while others used the loans for buying land, rickshaw vans and consumption purposes. Yet again in another large NGO-MFI in the country, about fifty per cent clients were noticed using 66% of the total loan in running their businesses. Several clients used 43% of the total loan for marriage ceremony of their family members.A few clients used 38% of the loan for house construction and repairing. Some used 32% of the total loans in repaying loans of the local moneylenders. A few clients used 59% of the loan for various litigation purposes. Some clients spent 41% in food consumption. Some clients used 67% loan for weaving purposes. Others used the loans for medical treatment, buying livestock, cropland, taking others land for cultivation and repaying loan installments of other NGOs. In a mid-level MFI operating in the urban areas, cent per cent clients used 86% of the total loan in various types of businesses that include grocery, cattle hide, computer composing, photocopy service, commercial phone service, saree selling, etc.Some clients used 84% of the total loan for house construction. A few clients used 81% of the total loan in buying land in the villages where they hailed from. In a pretty tiny NGO-MFI, some clients were found using 74% of the total loans for buying fishing equipment like nets and boats, etc. Some clients used 46% of the loan for buying livestock. A few used 74% of the loans as business capital. Some kept 52% of the loans as savings in the commercial banks, while others used the loan money for repairing houses and meeting medical costs. 4. 2 Impact of Microcredit The major objective of microcredit (MC) is to create income among poor households and thereby alleviate poverty.In this respect the question can be asked at two levels, first, whether MC leads to an improvement in income and second whether the increase in income is sufficient to lift them above the poverty level. There is also a third aspect related to the second that is whether poverty alleviation takes place on a sustained basis. Though most impact assessment studies examine the impact of MC on income, the analyses concentrated on mainly the first question. It should be mentioned that most studies consider the total impact on growth of income and do not examine whether a redistribution of credit fund has a redistributive impact on poverty and income of households 4. 2. 1 Findings of PKSF ME Study by BID SPalli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) commissioned a longitudinal Monitoring and Evaluation Study (MES) which was conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). Started in 1997, the studies were completed in 2001. The study covered 3026 sample households spread over 91 villages located in 13 of PKSF POs operational areas. A census was administered in late 1997, covering 19151 households in 91 villages. The first and the second round surveys under the study were administered in 1998 and 1999 and the third and final round survey was conducted in 2000. Some findings on the impacts of microcredit as presented here are gleaned from the reports and papers prepared by BIDS. The summary of the PKSF-ME Study by BIDS is shown in the Table below- Table: Impacts of Microfinance (compared to non-participants) Broad Category |Indicatiors |Type of Change |Cause of Change | |Economic Impact |Income |+ |Self employment activities | | |Food Security |+ |Greater access to cultiv able land through the | | | | |rental market | | |Wage (land poor) |+ |Transport and other non-agril activities sup. by MC| | |Employment (land poor) |+ |better access to the land rental market | | | | |Wage emoloyment in non-ag. sector | | |Assets (land poor) |+ |av. ow land size than non-participants | | | | |larger operational holding | | | | |impact of MF (poultry livestock, bi-cycles, | | | | |rickshaw/van) | |Social and other |Fertility and contraceptive use |+ |program participation | |development impacts | | |female methods dominate | | |Health and Nutrition |+ |program placement effect | | |Sanitation and drinking water |+ |program participation | | |Literacy and school enrollment |+ |program participation | | |of children | | | | |Social mobility |? |do not vary significantly | | |Women articipation and HH |+ |participation in a MC program | | |welfare | |increasing women’s income | 4. 2. 2 Measuring the Impact of Microfinance Grameen Bank has been tracking the pro gress of its clients in achieving all ten indicators since 1997, and reports that 55 percent of its established members (Grameen annually surveys all clients who have been in the program more than five years) had crossed the poverty line by the end of 2004: [pic] (Source: CIA World Factbook: http://www. cia. gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bg. tml) This is an impressive achievement, and exactly the type of information that one might hope any MFI would be tracking. Though it might seem arbitrary to determine that achieving all ten indicators constitutes movement out of poverty, in fact all poverty lines are to some degree arbitrary, and they are meant to quantify whether or not families are meeting basic needs—such as those represented in the Ten Indicators. Knowing that 55 percent of established Grameen clients never go hungry, have access to safe drinking water, and send their children to school is important to Grameen. Table 1: Poverty rates among Grameen Bank members vs . Non-participants, 1984-85 |Grameen members |Target non participants |All households | | | |Grameen |Comparison |Grameen |Comparison | | | |villages |villages |villages |villages | |Moderately poor (percent) |61. 0 |83. 7 |80. 4 |61. 5 |76. 3 | |Extremely poor (percent) |48. 0 |76 |74. 4 |47. 1 |54. 6 | Table 2: Poverty rates among Grameen Bank members vs. Non-participants, 1996-97 |All households | | |Grameen |Comparison | | |villages |villages | |Moderately poor (percent) |18 |57. 5 | |Extremely poor (percent) |15 |54. 5 | Table 1 and 2 suggest that Grameen Bank members are substantially less poor than non-members, and that Grameen Bank’s activities affected the poverty levels of entire villages. The centerpiece of the findings of a survey is that every additional taka lent to a woman adds an additional 0. 18 taka to annual household expenditure—an 18 percent return to income from borrowing. Notably, the returns to male borrowing were considerably lower, only 11 per cent.The paper and the book reported a variety of â€Å"wider† impacts, including: †¢ A one percent increase in credit to Grameen women increased the probability of girls’ school enrollment by 1. 86 percentage points. †¢ A 10 percent increase in credit provided to women increased the arm circumference of girls by 6 percent. †¢ A one percent increase in credit to women increased the height-for-age of both boys by 1. 42 percent and girls by 1. 16 percent. Microcredit is not merely an instrument for credit extension to the poor borrowers. It is a movement to emancipate the poor to alleviate their poverty, improve their quality of life, and build their capacity and awareness and to integrate them economically and socially into the mainstream of the economy.The benefits of microcredit go beyond the quantifiable ones, there are other benefits, which are not seen, but are evident in the socio-economic transformation of rural Bangladesh. |Chapter | | 5 | Conclus ion We have come to the conclusions that there is a noticeable and positive impact of microcredit activities on the living standards, empowerment and poverty alleviation among the poor people in the society. If one can help, a poor person to stand on his own that cannot only bring about a revolution in their lives but also in the society. The dream of a healthy and educated society with no discrimination and biased can be achieved through this simple thought, the dream which seems to be coming true and becoming practical.The simple vision of one man, Muhammad Yunus has taken the shape of the revolution and has shown the ray of hope in the path of life to every human, irrespective of his background or status or position. The hope of a life that no one will sleep hungry, no one will die due to lack of medication, our children can read and write on their own and everyone will be the pillar of the society. Scope for further research The current study did not consider the reasons of moti vation to join the microfinance program. Another area that has not been investigated is the difficulties that the borrowers face to repay the loan. These areas deserve to be studied by future researchers in the field. There is also another field, which is neglected in our study that the supply gap of MFIs.Actually, to what extent the MFIs are capable to deliver their service to the poor people. Further research could be conducted in this area and for finding the reasons for the gap between demand and supply in terms of microfinance services. References www. google. com Grameen Bank official website (www. grameen-info. org/) ASA official website (www. asabd. org) BRAC official website (www. brac. net) PROSHIKA official web site (www. proshika. o rg/) Rahman, R. I. , 1994, Impact of Credit for the Rural Poor: An Evaluation of Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation's Credit Program, Report Nr: 1207, BIDS, Dhaka. (found on the internet)The World Bank, 1996, Staff Appraisal Report, Bangladesh Po verty Alleviation Micro-finance Report 1, South Asia Region. (Found on the internet) Khandker, S. R, 1998, Micro-credit Programmes Evaluation —- A Critical Review, IDS Bulletin of International Development Studies 29 (4), 11-19. (Found on the internet) Measuring the Impact of Micro? nance: Taking Stock of What We Know (December 2005) – by Nathanael Goldberg. (Found on the internet) Impact of Microfinance on Living Standards,Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation of Poor People: A Case Study on Microfinance in the Chittagong District of Bangladesh. -by Mohammad Arifujjaman Khan and Mohammed Anisur Rahaman.

School Uniforms in Public School - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 710 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/02/15 Category Education Essay Level High school Tags: School Uniforms Essay Did you like this example? ABSTRACT Public school settings are not always the professional learning environments that we hope for our children. There are many factors that create a school’s culture, one of them is the way that the students dress. Some schools try to control dress with dress codes, other schools opt for school uniforms. While school uniform policies have their critics, the positive effects of school uniforms overshadow the criticisms. As stated by Holloman, LaPoint, Alleyne, Palmer Sanders-Phillips (1996) Many school stakeholdersstudents, teachers, staff, families, community members, and elected officials believe that uniforms†¦ curb negative behaviors associated with student dress such as teasing, absenteeism, tardiness, gang-related activity, and school violence† (as cited by Mitch Knechtle, 2003) and these beliefs are backed up by the fact that a large California school district reported to have made, â€Å"a remarkable decrease in†¦.sex offenses, weapon offenses, assaults and battery offenses† (West, Tidwell, Bomba Elmore 1999) after having implemented a school uniform policy. Mixing words such as â€Å"murder† and â€Å"assault† with the thought of children’s safety is terrifying, but there are still other equally terrifying problems in schools that uniforms may alleviate. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "School Uniforms in Public School" essay for you Create order Another student safety area that should be considered is of outside violence coming in to our children’s schools. Cohn (1996) asserts â€Å"Arguments for school uniforms include such claims as school uniforms promote student safety by making it easier to identify people who do not belong on school grounds† (as cited by West, Tidwell, Bomba Elmore, 1999). Given the increased frequency of school shootings in recent years, it is of the utmost importance to be able to easily distinguish between those who do and do not belong in the school. That means that students, teachers, security guards and administrators as well as visiting parents should be able to identify peculiar persons within schools, which could be more easily achieved if all those who belonged in the schools were in uniform. It is impossible to remove all negative aspects from our children’s public school environment and school culture, but if changing clothing requirements can help to make our children safer while in school, imagine the impact such a change can make in other areas that are equally important. Clothing affects culture, and school culture affects academics. Who does not want their child to be successful in life? Teaching children from a young age how to dress professionally is a step in setting them up to be the successful child that will grow into the successful adult, after all our children are future leaders. Do children who start out going to a school with a uniform policy always understand the importance of dressing professionally? They may not, but if they do not know anything else except for wearing a uniform, chances are the children will not fight a public-school uniform policy, and they may take more pride in their appearance. One study done by West, Tidwell, Bomba, and Elmore (1999) with parents of children in the fourth-grade shows that forty-six percent of parents surveyed believed that uniforms create a climate conducive to learning and forty-nine percent believed that uniforms promote a spirit of school pride. It is also interesting that seventy-four percent of participants believed that uniforms eliminate visible differences in family socio-economic background. By eliminating socio-economic competition, kids are less likely to compete with each other over inconsequential things, and we may anticipate that they will instead work harder to compete academically. By removing the stress of worrying about what they are going to wear, and having a precise set of rules and expectations. References DaCosta, K. (2006). Dress code blues: An exploration of urban students reactions to a public high school uniform policy. The Journal of Negro Education, 75(1), 49-59. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/222106654?accountid=37812 Mitchell, H. W., Knechtle, J. C. (2003). Uniforms in public schools and the first amendment: A constitutional analysis. The Journal of Negro Education, 72(4), 487-494. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/222122999?accountid=37812 Murray, R. K. (1997). The impact of school uniforms on school climate. National Association of Secondary School Principals. NASSP Bulletin, 81(593), 106-112. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/216036861?accountid=37812 West, C. K., Tidwwll, K. K., Bomba, A. K., Elmore, P. A. (1999). Attitudes of parents about school uniforms. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 91(2), 92-96. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/218184738?accountid=37812