Saturday, May 23, 2020

Essay about Growing Old - 1073 Words

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief, all will go through the aging process. However, how well each endures that process depends on the individual. After my Visit at English Oaks Convalescent Home, a skilled nursing facility for adults’ age 55 and older, I found this to be true. During my visit, I conversed with many â€Å"residents† whom were alert and oriented and very aware of the aging process. We conversed about the process of aging and the factors that appear to account for a longer life. We talked about adjusting to aging as well as the positives of growing old. After my visit, I realized that we all age at different rates and aging is a highly individual process that affects people in unpredictable ways. It is inevitable that we all†¦show more content†¦This is attitude is very different than that of the Elderly I spoke with at English Oaks. Several different residents said that they no longer felt they contributed to society and they felt as though they were a burden to their loved ones. Unlike the Abkhasians, they did feel the need to fill time by playing Bingo or another activity and they felt a significant difference from what they were to what they are. The differences in the Abkhasians and the English Oaks residents disclose the sociological principle that aging is socially constructed. Nothing in the nature of aging summons forth any particular set of attitudes, rather attitudes toward the aged are rooted in society and therefore differ from one social group to another (Henslin 2004). We all adjust to things differently. This, too, is true of aging. The activity theory assumes that the more activities elderly people engage in, the more they find life satisfying. (Henslin 2004) I found this to be true during my visit at English Oaks. I noticed a lot of different activities available to the residents. Several of the residents felt that the more time they spent in activities the more energy and younger they felt. Several stated that the activities helped them adjust to not only their new environment but to growing older. On the other hand, there were those that preferred to not participate in activities and were adjusting fine. Another theory of how peopleShow MoreRelatedOld Age Cohort Is Becoming The Fastest Growing Cohort2119 Words   |  9 Pages the 85+-year-old age cohort is becoming the fastest growing cohort in the United States (Transgenerational). Therefore, it is essential for the government, researchers, as well as the individuals in the growing age cohor t, to fight the negative stigmas of growing older, as well as preserve their health in order to lead happy and healthy lives. The primary aim of ‘Challenging Aging Stereotypes; Strategies for Creating a More active Society’ is to inform its readers, young and old, about the detrimentalRead MoreHow Should We Accept Inevitable Progression Of Growing Old And Finally Death? Essay1369 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction How should we accept inevitable progression of growing old and finally death? In today’s modern society the very subject of aging is often taboo and shrouded in anxiety and shame. The same holds true in regards to the death. The Mere mention of dying tend to make most people uncomfortable therefore the subject is rarely ever talked about unless as part of a classroom or at the end someone’s life. Mitch Albom’s inspiring bestseller brings to light these trials and tribulations of theRead MoreGrowing Old: a Psychological Interpretation of About Schmidt862 Words   |  4 Pagesand even seemingly difficult life circumstances help make a person stronger. Her lifes work offers soothing, reassuring suggestions to lead a better life while coping with the nature of death. With the knowledge of these psychological theories on old age and death and dying I experienced this movie in a whole new light seeing as I had perviously watched it before this assignment. I believe that the movie is a very good portrayal of the end stage of life and what a person goes through when losingRead MoreOld Boy Growing Up With A Parent Of The Air National Guard823 Words   |  4 PagesJuan is a four-year-old boy growing up with both parents. Silvia, Juan’s mother, is a stay at home mom giving her the ability to be with her son and develop a close relationship. Jessie, Juan’s father, is an airline worker and a member of the Air National Guard. Jessie also has a close relationship with his son because of the daily interactions they have with each other. However, Juan’s world completely changed when his father was deployed to the Middle East and his mother had to begin work againRead MoreHome Schooling Vs. Public Education1449 Words   |  6 Pages 160’s and 170’s in religious and hippie communities in an attempt to train children in their values. However, in many states home schooling was illegal until a court battle in the 10’s legalized it. Since that time, this type of education has been growing worldwide. In 18, it was estimated that about 1.5 million children were being home schooled. By 000, the estimate changed to 1.7 million children (Ray). In addition, the reputation of home schooling changed considerably. In a survey conducted in 18Read MoreThe Need For The Home Education Is Becoming An Increasingly Popular Choice For Educating Children1888 Words   |  8 Pagesin order to homeschool them. However, it was reported that the family was not engaging in schoolwork; instead the children spent their time â€Å"singing, playing music and preparing for Jesus’ return† (El Paso County). One of their children, a 17-year-old girl, ran away from the home in order to enroll in a public school. Although she should be a junior in high school, she is starting out as a freshman (El Paso County). The family refused to provide any evidence to the state that shows proof of actualRead MoreEssay on Definition of Home Schooling1622 Words   |  7 Pagesparents are scared to send their children to public schools, due to the number of school shootings that have occurred within the last 10 years (Parents Shout Out, 2001). After the shootings in Littleton, Colorado, some homeschooling leaders reported a growing number of parents inquiring about home-educating their children (Ishizuka et. al., 2000). Other parents find their student is one of forty-five children in the classroom. Forty-five children for every one teacher is a horrible student to teacherRead MoreHomeschooling Is The Education Of Children At Home2356 Words   |  10 Pageshomeschooled† source 11.There is no need for a teacher certification or record keeping and 5 Students in the relevant homeschool family are eligible to enroll in non-core public schools classes such as band, physical education, and music†. †Source 11.A growing number of kids in the U.S. are home schooled, and many colleges seeking to diversify their student bodies are welcoming them with open arms. The percentage of homeschooled applicants is tiny. Admissions officers say homeschool applications often standRead MoreHome Schooling Essay2497 Words   |  10 Pagesguardians and even students, are faced with having to attend schools that are not necessarily high ranking or offer excellent education. â€Å"public schools are turni ng out a poor product--illiterate and unprepared graduates. For example, American 13-year-olds have been documented as having math skills that rank below their counterparts in 14 other developed countries. One survey noted that just one-third of high school juniors could place the Civil War in the correct half-century. Equally troubling, publicRead MoreEssay on What Home Schooling Really Is3901 Words   |  16 Pagesyear, an estimated 1.7 million to 2.1 million K-12 level students, or 3-4% of the school-age population, were home schooled† (Old Schoolhouse Magazine, P. 1). Also, â€Å"in nearly every state, the number of children being educated at home is rising about 10% a year† (USA Today, Sept. 3, 2003). Home schooling kids are also rising in academic excellence, especially in SAT scores. Old Schoolhouse Magazine states that the average home schoolers SAT score is 1100, 80 points higher than the average score for

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Education of Children Essay - 1170 Words

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne was born on February 28, 1533, into a time when only the wealthy received the privilege of a good education. At around 1539, Michel was sent to the College of Guienne in Bordeaux, where he completed the curriculum under the direction of George Buchanan by the time he had reached his thirteenth year. Michel spoke well of his educators and praised their teaching techniques, but he chastised the stern discipline of most of the schools during his time, saying that if one were to visit a college where lessons were in progress, nothing could be heard, save â€Å"the cries of children being beaten and of masters drunk with anger.†1 In his essay, Of the Education of Children, Montaigne emphasizes some very important†¦show more content†¦The hard work of a student should always be rewarded, as this will encourage the child to study harder. Teachers should learn to understand the children they are teaching. They should not punish students who take a little longer to grasp certain subjects for being slow learners. Instead, the educators should teach their subjects with passion, so as to inspire the students to study more readily and with enthusiasm. Education should be taught by enticing the interest and feelings, not by harsh words and a whip. Learning should be one of the greatest pleasure in the life of a child. Humans are born with a natural curiosity of the world around them, and want to learn the answers to all the â€Å"whys† and â€Å"hows† of the world. Our minds find delight an education that is well taught. The goal of education is to make the process of learning satisfying and enjoyable. The responsibility of an educator is making sure that the students understand what is being taught. A tutor should not always â€Å"bawl into a pupils ears as if one were pouring water into a funnel†5, but make his pupil â€Å"taste things, select them, and distinguish them†6 by his own ability of percepti on. Montaigne suggested that teachers should quiz their students on their studies to be sure they are grasping the concept. Some students will grasp concepts quickly, and others will be a little slower. A good teacher knows how to teach each student according to theirShow MoreRelatedChildren : Children And Education1762 Words   |  8 Pages Children And Education Gisselle Frattini Keiser University Children And Education Introduction The World Health Organization created the prerequisites of health back in 1986. They decided that the fundamental conditions and resources of health should include peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, and social justice and equity. (The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 2017). Today we face a social issue that affect many children in United StatesRead MoreEducation Programs For Children And Their Children965 Words   |  4 Pageswished. Though my daughter is grown and now has school-aged children of her own, schools are still pitching fundraising ideas through the students and their families. Children are often the primary, or initial family members to see advertising for the fundraising items. Sometimes schools have classroom televisions showing educational programming to students, along with commercials. According to Hartman, DesJardins MacDonald (2014), children were projected to spend an estimated $40 billion in 2002Read MoreThe Education Of Children With Disabilities996 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Through advocacy, the role of education in the lives of persons with disabilities has been high on the agenda over past years. Education can be considered as far reaching, for this reason many countries capitalize on education to improve its human resources, creating opportunities for elevation and sustainability. Thus, the education of children with disabilities has been a focal point of much discussion when considering ways of assisting these persons with overcoming a number of obstaclesRead MoreIs Education For Disabled Children?1202 Words   |  5 Pages Education for disabled children has always been a critical issue because in some places parents were not ready to accept that their children were disabled, and schools also used to keep these students out of the classes. In these situations, disabled children were left behind. That s why in 1975 Federal law, IDEA Individual Disability Education Act took place. According to this law, disabled students from age 3 to 21 can get free and appropriate public education. This paper briefly discussesRead MoreBilingual Education for Children1219 Words   |  5 PagesBilingual Education Bilingualism is a subject that has triggered trillion of debates worldwide. There are those who argue that no specific period of time that is designated to learn a certain language. They stress that anybody can learn a new language at whatever age. Others do argue that using bilinguals is prepositioning the child on a wrong footing on how to learn the first language and the second language. Whether this people have a point or not is the major point of writing this paper. OneRead MoreLack Of Education For Children966 Words   |  4 Pagesunderprivileged of the basic human needs such as water, food, clothing, shelter, health care, education etc. some people in the society face poverty more because of lack of employments or unequal opportunities, this is more in the case of families than other members of the societies. In the family there is the man, woman and children. This may also result to lack of education for the younger ones (children). A lot of reasons can cause family poverty, including under-employment and Unemployment. SomeRead MoreEducation For Children With Disabilities954 Words   |  4 PagesIn American Education we explore the evolution of legislation that was passed to protect students with disability rights and their families. Educators who believed in special education or exceptional students went through trials and tribulations to pass several acts such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Education for All Handicapped Children Act o f 1975, and including others that will be defined in this essay. As a future educator, I believe many people are not accepting of students with disabilitiesRead MoreThe Education Of Children With Disabilities970 Words   |  4 Pagesdisabilities, deserves a quality education that respects and promotes his or her right to dignity and the development of their full potential. Access to a quality education is a fundamental right that should be provided to all human beings. In the past education for children with disabilities was provided by private institutions, if it was even provided at all. Children with disabilities throughout the world have been excluded from mainstream society. In many countries, children with disabilities wereRead MorePhilosophy: Education and Children759 Words   |  4 PagesBeliefs about teaching and learning Being an educator means that you are someone who cares and wants to see children be successful in your class and in their futures. The reason I want to become an educator is to make a difference in a childs life. I have worked with children for over seven years and everyday I spend with a child I learn someone new, about them and about myself. I want to give back to the community in which I was raised. I want to show them that they have helped make me becomeRead MoreThe Education Of Immigrant Children Essay1981 Words   |  8 Pagespopulation today. Many of us don’t realize how many immigrant children there really are. In her interview, â€Å"The Education of Immigrant Children†, posted by Harvard Graduate School of Education on December 11, 2014, Mary Tamer, a graduate student, speaks to Harvard Professor Natasha Warikoo in order to inquire into some of the issues immigrant children face in their lives. According to Tamer, by 2050 more than one-third of school chi ldren will be an immigrant, or the child of an immigrant (Tamer)

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man - 1210 Words

The recent surge of diversity—from the Chilly Nut MMs to globalization—has made many yearn for the past, when things were more â€Å"normal† and less diverse. Understanding the destructive nature of this human tendency, Ralph Ellison, through the experiences of his narrator and through the use of rhetorical devices, weaves his argument against conformity and for diversity in his critically acclaimed work, Invisible Man. He asserts that man must retain his own sense of individuality and embrace the differences of others, as conforming to a certain self-made ideology only exacerbates his desire for self-preservation, a detriment to the progress of humanity. Conformity forces man to gain power for survival. As a result, he becomes more self-centered. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Doctor Bledsoe, the egotistic college director, declares in his conversation with the narrator that as Negroes, they must behave in a way that fits in with societal standards, thereby acquiring manipulative power. He declares, â€Å"‘I had to be strong and purposeful to get where I am. I had to wait and plan and lick around†¦ Yes, I had to act the nigger!’,† asserting that he attained his â€Å"powerful† position only because he conformed to self-perceived standards of the white trustees and falsified his subservience (Ellison 143). Hence, he had to care more about himself in order to get what he thought was power. Similarly, Eric Reed, in A Futile Struggle? Power and Conformity in High School and the Society atShow MoreRelatedRalph Ellison s Invisible Man925 Words   |  4 PagesIn Ralph Ellison’s, Invisible Ma n, Grandfather’s dream presents a piece of advice that challenges and opens Invisible Man’s eyes to different perspectives. The dream haunts Invisible Man as he often refers to and reflects upon his grandfather’s advice. Invisible Man struggles with its complex and unclear meaning, but it eventually leads him to find his true identity. Through this struggle, Ellison suggests that power and conflicting ideologies can make it difficult to find one’s identity in a racistRead MoreRalph Ellison s Invisible Man1268 Words   |  6 PagesRalph Ellison s â€Å"Invisible Man† is an illustration of African American scholarly work managing the racial fight against African Americans in the USA. The fundamental character, in this specific case it is the storyteller, stays anonymous all through the novel which permits him to present his backgrounds with a specific level of separation, yet, in the meantime offering the pursuer a look into his one of a kind view o f the occasions that occur all throughout the novel. As the novel unfolds it turnsRead MoreAnalysis Of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man1190 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Position in Invisible Man In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the author portrays a world in which black men are dominated by a white, racist patriarchy. With this, Ellison draws a connection between both the plight of women and black men—both are oppressed by white males. The author repeatedly portrays women’s suffering from invisibility by continuously erasing their human presence throughout the novel since they only function as devices for men to use. More-so, Ellison depicts how men—includingRead MoreRalph Ellison s Invisible Man1429 Words   |  6 Pageswho incorporate political or social issues into their novels are often doing so in order to create a deeper meaning by allowing these elements to serve as a basis while also allowing these elements to give the characters direction. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the main social issue that prevails throughout the course of the novel is race in the society. The concept of race as one of the main focuses of this novel in particular provides a basis for the main character, the narrator, for whichRead MoreRalph Ellison s Invisible Man886 Words   |  4 PagesA major aspect of the black power movement in the 20th century was the emergence of civil rights groups such as the black communist party. Most civil rights groups in the North consisted of black and white members. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, he portrays the corruption concealed in such groups through the narrator’s involvement in the Brotherhood. The narrator was appointed as the spokesman for a black communist coalition in Harlem. His experience in the Brotherhood causes him to be alienatedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Prologue Of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man1367 Words   |  6 PagesIn the prologue of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the unnamed narrator says that he is invisible, for he is not actually seen—or rather recognized—for his true self but through the imaginations of others’ minds. As s urreal as his life under this â€Å"invisibility† and, literally, the ground is, the Invisible Man convinces with vivid details and emphatic diction. But the passage detailing his hallucination seems out of place, as it has far more ambiguous language and moral. However, his hallucinationRead MoreThe Real History in Ralph Ellison ´s Invisible Man Essay1831 Words   |  8 Pagesabout the novel Invisible Man. I chose the novel Invisible Man because it is literally perfect for this assignment. I am fully appreciative of the fact that it is extremely hard for any author to publish a novel that does not sway from the â€Å"real† history being referenced. Also, I do not believe that Ellison necessarily wrote this novel with intentions to include exact characteristics of the past, or in an ahistorical way. However, throughout the text of the novel Invisible Man, there are severalRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance And Its Impact On Ralph Ellison s Book The Invisible Man Es say2165 Words   |  9 Pagesimpact on Ralph Ellison’s book The Invisible Man. This paper will illustrate how the Harlem Renaissance assisted the African-American intellectual community to gain acceptance in mainstream America and prompted the writing of the book The Invisible Man, written by Ralph Ellison. Throughout this paper, I will examine the social context and climate of Ellison’s work. This paper will focus on the experience of a young African American man who claims to be invisible. However, the young man argues thatRead More`` Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison : A Black Man s Search For Identity2068 Words   |  9 Pagesidentity can also be defined as one’s name. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a story about a black man’s search for identity in a racist, 1930s America. The first person narrator of this story is nameless, missing one key part of identity from the beginning; the only identifying trait that we are given is the color of his skin, which says a lot about his social position during this era, but not much about him as an individual person. â€Å"Who the hell am I?† (Ellison 386). This is the question that the narratorRead MoreRevelations Of The Fictional Characters Of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man1402 Words   |  6 PagesDrew Wiseman Mrs. McElroy AP English 12 September 3, 2012 Revelations of the Protagonist In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the main character goes through a spiritual realization just as Meursault does in Albert Camus’ The Stranger. In the Invisible Man, Dr. Bledsoe leads the protagonist astray to the fabled Harlem of New York City. Once the narrator arrives in Harlem, it becomes apparent that he was sent to Harlem as a punishment and has been permanently expelled from black college. The narrator

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte - 1476 Words

Jane Eyre, a bildungsroman novel by Charlotte Brontà « provides a perfect example of the life that orphans faced during the Victorian Era. It shows the treatment they received throughout life and the conditions they were subject to. Brontà « shows us these conditions through the main character Jane Eyre’s childhood and the influences including that of her Aunt Reed and her administrator at Lowood (the boarding school where her Aunt enrolled her) Mr. Brocklehurst, and the general institution of the Lowood School. Brontà « also shows how Jane benefitted from her time at the Institution. Jane Eyre, the main character, is an orphan with a strong sense of self-righteousness. During the Victorian Era, orphans were common, so much so that orphanages were â€Å"overflowing: even their waiting lists were full† (Banerjee, August 22, 2007). This was primarily due to epidemics such as typhus, which was the disease that took the lives of Jane’s parents. If they were lucky enough, many orphans were spared from the overcrowded orphanages and â€Å"taken in by other branches of their family, with various degrees of willingness.† (Banerjee, August 22, 2007). After her parents pass away, Jane is taken in by her uncle on her mother’s side Mr. Reed, who is very wealthy and treats her very well. He actually showed more love for Jane than he did his own children, which caused conflict between Jane, her aunt and cousins. When he was sick and in his deathbed he had Jane â€Å"brought continually to his bedside andShow MoreRelatedJane Eyre By Charlotte Bron te1601 Words   |  7 Pagesfeminist, one must see it through the lens of the time and place Brontà « wrote it. Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre was a feminist work in that Bronte expressed disdain for oppressive gender structures through the voice of Jane Eyre, and the actions of Bertha Mason. Jane Eyre was a steamy novel for its time, with imagery as blatantly concealed as Jane’s description of Rochester’s hand as being â€Å"rounded, muscular; and vigorous†¦long, strong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Brontà « 312) A modern reader might blush at the description and itsRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1437 Words   |  6 Pagestools that depict history. One great work of art that portrays these constant struggles is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà «. While addressing social issues of a governess, Brontà « also tackles Victorian society’s corrupt and unjust ideals by using different settings and characters such as Mr. Rochester and Gateshead Manor. In Jane Eyre, the depiction of a rigid social class restricts the protagonist, Jane Eyre, from marrying her love, Mr. Rochester. Sadly, Jane’s relationship is also jeopardized by passionRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1374 Words   |  6 PagesJane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Within the specter of the Gothic fictions arises the atmosphere of gloom, terror, and mystery with some elements of uncanny challenging reality. One major characteristic function of the Gothic fictions is to open the fiction to the realm of the irrational and perverse narratives, obsessions, and nightmarish terrors that hide beneath the literally civilized mindset in order to demonstrate the presence of the uncanny existing in the world known rationally through experienceRead MoreJane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte781 Words   |  3 PagesThrough her trials and tribulations, Charlotte Bronte has kept her passion for poetry alive and remains as one of the most influential British poets of all times. Even though she is one of the most famous female writers of all times, she is mostly famous for her most popular novel Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte has experienced more tragedy in her life than happiness by losing her mother and all five of her siblings. But, in her moments of tragedy, she expre ssed her feelings through poetry. As a resultRead MoreJane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte949 Words   |  4 PagesSurrounded by witnesses, Jane stands in front of the minister, poised to take her marital vows as the mystery of Thornfield unravels. Unbeknownst to her, Rochester’s actual wife, Bertha Mason, is within close proximity.The knowledge of Bertha, and the mystery, will pose as a test to Jane s morals and her character. Through Jane Eyre, a powerful Victorian-era novel, Charlotte Bronte portrays the role of women in Victorian society while masterfully solidifying Jane’s role as its polar opposite: anRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1714 Words   |  7 Pages Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brà ¶nte voiced the radical opinions of Brà ¶nte on religion, gender, and social class. Jane Eyre, a young orphan who lived with her vituperative aunt and cousins, strayed away from the Victorian ideals of a woman and established a new status for herself. Jane Eyre was originally written in 1827 and was heavily influenced by the late gothic literature of the 19th century. Gothic literary aspects such as supernatural occurrences, mysteries and dark secrets, madness and dangerRead MoreJane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte1620 Words   |  7 PagesIt is often said that it is the role of literature to challenge and confront the conventional values of a society. In the novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte the idea of challenging and confronting conventional values is stressed often. Perhaps it is in relation to the author herself, as seen in the autobiographical elements recognizable throughout the novel. Some of these autobiographical elements include the form of which the novel is written in, called Bildungsroman where the story is focusedRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe nineteenth-century Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is considered to be a gothic novel. Gothic literature took place mostly in England from 1790 to 1830, falling in to the category of Romantic literature. The Gothic takes its roots from previous horrifying writing that extends back to the Middle Ages and can still be found in writings today by many authors including Charlotte Bronte. The strong description of horror, abuse, and gruesomeness in Gothic novels reveals truths to readers through realisticRead MoreJane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte929 Words   |  4 PagesIn Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontà « explores how Jane wants to find love--not just romantic love but to value and sense of belonging. The book challenges how the language of middle-class love affects the way a character’s self-identity can alter the action, how Jane sees herself later when she found love and sense of belonging as independent women. When Jane was a child she struggles to find her own identity Jane begins to change through her journey once she realizes her own identity and this helpsRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte1359 Words   |  6 PagesFollowing the ex periences of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, expresses many elements of gothic literature throughout her novel Jane Eyre. In her perfect understanding of gothic literature, she expresses the three types of evil commonly found in gothic literature, including the evil of the supernatural, the evil within or the instinctual evil motives of humans, and lastly, the evil because of societal influence. Jane Eyre experiences all of these three evils with her aunt and three cousins with her residency

You Suck A Love Story Chapter 6 Free Essays

string(64) " Tommy said quietly as he climbed into bed with his clothes on\." Chapter Six Do Animals Get the Blues? Clint was the only one of the Animals still left at the Marina Safeway. He was tall, with a wild mop of dark hair and thick, horn-rimmed glasses that were held together with medical tape, and he had a look of deep panic on his face. He’d been trying to keep the store together for nearly a week with only a couple of stock boys from the day crew, and a porter from a temp service (even Gustavo, the Mexican porter with five kids, had taken off with the Animals), but now a huge order had come in on the truck and he knew he needed professionals. We will write a custom essay sample on You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 6 or any similar topic only for you Order Now He dialed Tommy’s number for the fifth time that night. It was four in the morning, but Tommy was their leader – and perhaps the best frozen-turkey bowler the world had ever known. He knew what it meant to be an Animal; he would be awake. The machine beeped. Clint said, â€Å"Dude, they’re all gone. I need your help. It’s just me, some temps, and the Lord to-night.† Clint had been recently reborn after five years in a drug-induced haze. He swore that the Lord would forever be on his night crew. â€Å"The guys took off for Vegas. Call me. No, just bring your box cutter and come to work. I’m buried.† Once they had been nine strong, the Animals. Nine men, all under the age of twenty-five, left alone in a grocery store for eight hours with only Tommy to supervise them. They’d been given their name by the day manager, who had come in one morning to find them drunk, hanging from the giant Safeway letters on the front of store, pelting one another with marshmallows. Tommy had recruited them to fight the old vampire. They’d found the vampire, sleeping inside a vault on his yacht, and they had also found his art collection. After selling it for ten cents on the dollar, each of them had netted a hundred thousand dollars. Tommy went home with Jody, Clint went home to pray for the vampire’s soul. Simon had been killed. The rest of the Animals headed for Vegas. Clint hung up the phone, then sat down hard in the manager’s chair. It was too much responsibility. The weight of it would drive him over the edge. Even now he could hear dogs barking in his head. â€Å"Front door,† the temp night porter called over the half wall of the office. Clint stood up to see the Emperor and his dogs at the double electric doors. He grabbed the keys, disarmed the alarm, and opened the door. The Boston terrier shot by him, heading for the beef-jerky display. â€Å"Your Majesty,† Clint said. â€Å"You’re out of breath.† The big man held his chest as he panted. â€Å"Gather the troops, young man. C. Thomas Flood has been turned to a bloodsucking fiend. Gather your weapons, we must charge again into the breach.† â€Å"It’s just me and noobs,† Clint said. â€Å"Did you say that Tommy’s a vampire?† â€Å"Indeed. I saw him not two hours ago. As pale as death.† â€Å"Well, that’s not good.† â€Å"Your talent for stating the obvious is unprecedented, young man.† â€Å"Come in.† Clint stepped away from the door. â€Å"We are going to need to pray on this.† â€Å"Well, there’s a start,† said the Emperor. â€Å"Then I need to call Tommy and tell him to never mind about coming to work,† Clint said. â€Å"Splendid,† said the Emperor, without a hint of sarcasm. â€Å"I believe we’ve achieved a new level of doomed.† â€Å"You’ve always been good to me,† Jody said. â€Å"Well, I try,† Tommy said. He was going up the narrow stairway to their loft. She was slung over his shoulder, her forehead bounced off his belt with every step. She seemed so light. Tommy was still amazed at his newfound strength. He’d carried her ten blocks already and he wasn’t even feeling it. Well, he was a little tired of listening to her, but physically he wasn’t fatigued at all. â€Å"I can be such a bitch sometimes.† â€Å"That’s not true,† Tommy said. Yes, it was. â€Å"Yes it is, yes it is. Yes I am. I am a total bitch sometimes.† Tommy stopped at the top of the steps and dug in his pocket for his keys. â€Å"Well, maybe a little, but – â€Å" â€Å"So I am a bitch? You’re saying I’m a bitch?† â€Å"Oh my God, is the sun never going to come up?† â€Å"Listen, you’re lucky to have me, you wuss.† â€Å"Yes I am,† Tommy said. â€Å"You are?† He swung her over to her feet, then caught her before she went over backwards into the wall. She had a big goofy smile on her face. Sometime during the evening, blood had dripped down the front of her blouse and there was some smeared on her lip. She looked a little like she’d been punched out. Tommy tried to rub away the blood with his thumb. The cloud of alcohol breath she let go on him made him wince. â€Å"I love you, Tommy.† She fell into his arms. â€Å"Right back at you, Jody.† â€Å"I’m sorry I gave you noogies. I’m still learning to harness my powers, you know.† â€Å"That’s okay.† â€Å"And called you a wuss.† â€Å"No problem.† She licked the side of his neck, nipped at him. â€Å"Let’s make love before the sun comes up.† Tommy looked over her shoulder at the destruction they had wrought on the loft the last time they’d done it, and he said something he never thought he would hear coming out of his own mouth. â€Å"I think I’ve had enough for tonight. Maybe we should just lock down.† â€Å"You think I’m fat, don’t you?† â€Å"No, you’re perfect.† â€Å"It’s because I’m fat.† She pushed him away and stumbled into the bedroom, then tripped and tumbled face-first into the shredded remains of their bed. â€Å"And old,† she added, although it was only through his acute vampire hearing that Tommy understood this, since she was speaking directly into the mattress. â€Å"Fat and old,† she said. â€Å"You’re going to get whiplash from those mood swings, Red,† Tommy said quietly as he climbed into bed with his clothes on. You read "You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 6" in category "Essay examples" Then he lay there beside her thinking about all that they had to do, about how they were going to have to find a place and move without going out during the day, and beyond that, just exactly how were they going to survive and stay hidden? The Emperor could tell. Tommy could tell he could tell. And as much as he liked the Emperor, it wasn’t a good sign. And so even as he worried, and listened to his girlfriend yell at him, C. Thomas Flood became the first vampire in history to actually pray for the sun to come up. A few minutes later, his prayers were answered, and the two of them went out. Since becoming a vampire, Jody had always hated the way consciousness came on at dusk like the streetlights coming on. There was no groggy twilight between sleep and wakefulness, just â€Å"bam, welcome to the night, here’s your to-do list.† Not tonight. Tonight she got her twilight, her grogginess, and a headache as well. She sat upright in bed so fast she nearly somersaulted off the end, then, when her head didn’t seem to follow her, she lay back down with such force that her pillow exploded, sending out a snowstorm of feathers to whirl around the room. She moaned and Tommy came bounding into the room. â€Å"Hey,† he said. â€Å"Ouch,† Jody said, grabbing her forehead with both hands as if to hold her brains in. â€Å"That’s new, huh? Vampire hangover?† Tommy waved some feathers out of the air in front of him. â€Å"I feel like death warmed over,† Jody said. â€Å"Cute. I’ll bet you’re missing coffee right now.† â€Å"And aspirin. I’ve fed off of you when you’d been drinking. Why did it affect me now?† â€Å"I think maybe the huge cat guy had a little more in his blood than I did. Anyway, I have a theory about that. We can test it later, when you feel better, but right now we have a ton of stuff we have to do. We’ve got to figure out the move. Clint called me from the store last night. Wanting me to work. Then he called back all freaked out, saying I shouldn’t come in.† Tommy played the message for her. Twice. â€Å"He knows,† Jody said. â€Å"Yeah, but how does he know?† â€Å"Doesn’t matter. He knows.† â€Å"Fuck!† â€Å"Little bit softer now,† Jody said, holding her hair like it was hurting her. â€Å"Too loud?† Jody nodded. â€Å"You know, for your notebook, Tommy. Vampire senses when you’re hungover? Not so good.† â€Å"Really? That bad?† â€Å"Your breath is nauseating me from across the room.† â€Å"Yeah, we need toothpaste.† â€Å"There’s someone at the door?† Jody covered her ears. She could hear sneakers scraping the sidewalk from all the way downstairs. â€Å"There is?† The door buzzer sounded. â€Å"Yep,† she said. Tommy ran to the front windows and looked down to the street. â€Å"There’s a Humvee limo out there that’s about a block long.† â€Å"You’d better answer it,† Jody said. â€Å"Maybe we should just hide. Pretend we re not home.† â€Å"No, you need to get it,† Jody said. She could hear the shuffling at the door, the rock and roll playing in the limo, the bong bubbling, lines being chopped on a CD case, and a male voice repeating the phrase â€Å"sweet blue titties† over and over like a mantra. She grabbed the pillow from Tommy’s side of the bed and pulled it over her head. â€Å"Answer it, Tommy. It’s the fucking Animals.† â€Å"Dude,† said Lash Jefferson, a wiry black man with a newly shaved scalp, wearing mirror shades. He pulled Tommy out of his doorway and hugged him furiously – crazed, back-slamming, good-to-see-you guy hugs. â€Å"We are so fucked, dude,† Lash continued. Tommy pushed away, trying to reconcile that he was glad to see his friend with the fact that Lash smelled like a beer-bar urinal filled with mackerel. â€Å"I thought you guys went to Vegas,† Tommy said. â€Å"Yeah. Yeah. We did. Everyone’s in the limo. It’s just that I need to talk to you. Can we go inside?† â€Å"No.† Tommy almost said that Jody was sleeping, which had been his excuse for keeping the Animals out of his loft in the past, but Jody was supposed to have left town. â€Å"Step in the stairway, I’ve got something happening upstairs.† Lash nodded and looked over the top of his shades and bounced his eyebrows. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed over. Tommy could hear his heart racing. Coke or fear, he guessed. Both maybe. â€Å"Look, dude,† Lash said. â€Å"First thing, we need to borrow some money.† â€Å"What? You guys have over a hundred grand each from the art we sold.† â€Å"Yeah, we did. We had a big weekend.† Tommy figured in his head. â€Å"You guys blew over six hundred grand in what – four days?† â€Å"No,† Lash said. â€Å"No, not all of it. We’re not completely broke.† â€Å"Then why do you need to borrow money?† â€Å"Just twenty grand or so, to get us through to tomorrow,† Lash said. â€Å"Luckily I almost have my MBA and have mad business skills. Otherwise we’d have been broke yesterday.† Tommy nodded. Twenty grand was about six months’ salary for him at the Safeway. He’d been a little intimidated by Lash’s almost-MBA up until now. Now he was just worried that Lash would be able to tell he had changed. He said, â€Å"So, like you were saying, you’re fucked.† â€Å"We were doing fine, only down like ten grand each, until we met Blue.† Lash looked at the ceiling wistfully, like it was a distant memory he was trying to conjure, instead of something that had happened a couple of nights ago. â€Å"Blue?† â€Å"You know that group they have in Vegas? The Blue Men?† â€Å"Yeah, the guys who paint themselves blue and pound on pipes and stuff?† Tommy was lost. â€Å"Yeah,† Lash said. â€Å"Well, it turns out there are blue women, too. Or at least there’s one. And dude, she’s sucking us dry.† In the back seat of the limo, Blue held Barry’s face between her boobs, snugly enough to keep him under control, but not so snug that he couldn’t breathe. While the other Animals had drunk, smoked, and fucked themselves into a zombielike stupor – and now lay sprawled about the glittery interior of the limo – Barry had opted to do two hits of XTC, a line of coke, and a bong load of sticky skunk weed, which had put his brain into some sort of redundant tribal loop that had him kneeling naked before her, chanting â€Å"sweet blue titties† for the last twenty minutes. She just couldn’t take it anymore, so she had grabbed his curl-fringed bald head and pulled his face into her cleavage just to shut him up. Mercifully, he had gone quiet, because she really didn’t want to suffocate him as long as he still had money. It takes a meandering road of wrong turns to take a girl from being the milky-skinned Cheddar princess of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to a blue-dyed call girl turning tricks at downtown casinos in Vegas, but Blue would be damned if she’d add yet another wrong turn by smothering a golden goose between her proportionally improbable silicon joy orbs. The Animals were her way out, and if she had to stay in character as an Alien Pleasure Unit or a blueberry muffin to keep them on the hook, she would. Blue was a method hooker. Early in her adventures, after she’d left cocktailing due to a propensity for spilling drinks, and before she’d begun stripping, where her lack of balance was mitigated by the presence of a sturdy pole, she had a short career acting in low-budget porn. She befriended a promising actress named Lotta Vulva, who gave her a book on the Stanislavski Method. â€Å"If you can find your sense memory,† Lotta said, â€Å"it will keep you from barfing on the actors. Directors hate that.† The  «Method » had served Blue well since then, as it allowed her to calculate betting odds or figure her checkbook while her character was performing acts that she herself would have found unpleasant or outright disgusting. (How much better to reside in her sense memory of the budding Cheddar princess, coaxing the hearty, whole-milk goodness from the udders of a Holstein, than to face the harshly lit reality of her actions?) After six months Blue was driven out of the film business by a  «defect » one director called â€Å"not enough tits to fill a shot glass,† which no amount of Method was able to remedy. She returned to cocktailing, albeit at a strip club, where she seldom had to carry more than one ten-dollar beer at a time, until she saved enough money for breast-augmentation surgery and made her way to the pole. She danced her way through her twenties, before she was driven off the stage by younger, more gravity-resistant girls, and because she had skipped personal typing class in high school and had therefore besmirched her permanent record, she landed in the employ of an outcall escort service. â€Å"I feel like I’m doing Domino’s delivery blow jobs,† Blue told her roommate. â€Å"Satisfaction in twenty minutes or less or your money back. And the agency is taking most of the money. I’ll never get out of this business at this rate.† â€Å"You need a gimmick† said her roommate, a cocktail waitress at the Venetian. â€Å"Like those Blue Men guys in the show. I swear they’d just be a bunch of frat boys beating on garbage cans if they weren’t painted blue.† And so it began. The fallen Cheddar princess of Fond du Lac found some semipermanent skin dye, opened credit-card deposit accounts, had some pictures taken, placed ads in all the free sleaze rags around the city, and Blue was born. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t have been able to make a living without the gimmick – most guys will shag a snake if you hold it steady for them. But it turned out they would pay a lot for the exotica of a blue woman. She worked as much as she could handle, and her savings had climbed to the point where she could actually see the possibility of an exit. But about that same time, she realized that by going blue, she had opted out of the pipe dream of every hooker, stripper, and telemarketer: the rich guy who would take her away from it all. The whale who would drop a fortune on her to become his personal pet. There would be no big score for the blue chick, or so she thought, until the Animals called her in for a combination strip show and fuckfest. Where they got the money didn’t matter. What mattered was that they had a lot of it, and it appeared that they would keep giving it to her until it was all gone. She had nearly half a million dollars in her makeup case, and Blue – the character Blue – could put up with a lot of attention from the Animals while she hid in the back of her mind and formulated an investment strategy. The tall, skinny one, Drew, had opened the hotel-room door and said, â€Å"Hi. We discussed it and agreed that when we were kids, we all really wanted to bone a Smurf.† â€Å"I get that a lot,† said Blue. â€Å"We just wanted to bone a Smurf,† Lash said. â€Å"Understandably,† said Tommy. â€Å"She’s really nice,† Lash said. â€Å"Important quality in a ho,† said Tommy. â€Å"But now we can’t seem to quit.† â€Å"So you want me to do what – hold an intervention?† â€Å"No, you’re our leader. We look to you for other things. So we want you to give us money so we can keep partying, and pay our rents and stuff.† â€Å"And when all of my money is gone, then I can intervene.† â€Å"Sure, if you feel you have to,† said Lash. â€Å"How’s your credit?† â€Å"Lash, are you high?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Right. Of course. What was I thinking?† Tommy was relaxing now about Lash noticing that he was a vampire. Clearly the former stewards of Safeway night stock, in addition to being wasted, had gone collectively out of their minds. â€Å"Lash, I don’t almost have an MBA like you, but isn’t there sort of some business principle that you’re violating? I mean, isn’t there a class about not spending your rent money on hookers or something?† â€Å"Step off, Flood,† Lash said. â€Å"You hooked up with a vampire.† â€Å"She was cute,† Tommy said. â€Å"An important quality in a vampire,† Lash said, looking over the top of his shades. â€Å"She had sex with me,† Tommy countered. He wanted to say that she was nice, but Lash had already used ;nice; for his blue hooker. â€Å"I think I’ve made my point,† Lash said. â€Å"Give me your money.† â€Å"You haven’t made your point. You completely haven’t made your point.† Tommy reared back as if to punch Lash in the chest, as the Animals did to one another all the time, but remembered that now he might crush some of the Animals’ ribs. Instead, he said, â€Å"Don’t make me cave in your skinny chest, bee-yotch.† â€Å"Your redheaded vampire kung fu is no match for the fearsome blue booty kung fu.† Lash made a howling chicken noise and waved his hands around as he fell back into a fighting stance, then went right back onto his ass on the steps. He laughed until he choked, then coughed and said, â€Å"Seriously, dude, if you don’t give us money, we’re going to be totally broke in about six hours. I did the math.† â€Å"You could go back to work,† Tommy said. â€Å"Clint called here last night. They’re buried at the store. They need night stockers.† â€Å"No?† Lash said, pulling down his sunglasses. â€Å"Yes,† Tommy said. â€Å"Then we’re not fired?† â€Å"Evidently not,† Tommy said. â€Å"That’s it. We could go back to work. That’s what we’ll tell her. We have to go back to work.† â€Å"Why didn’t you just tell her to go away before she did you all the way here from Vegas.† â€Å"We didn’t want to be rude.† â€Å"Oh, right. Well then, off you go.† Lash pushed to his feet and steadied himself on the banister long enough to look Tommy in the eye. â€Å"You okay? You look pale.† â€Å"I’m heartbroken and shit,† Tommy said. He hated it, but Lash’s bloodshot eyes peering over the sunglasses had actually given him a twinge of hunger. â€Å"Right.† Lash went through the security door. Tommy watched him as he paused at the rear door of the limo and turned back. â€Å"You need some blue nooky to cheer you up?† Lash asked. â€Å"Our treat.† â€Å"No, I’m good,† Tommy said. â€Å"All for one, and whatnot,† Lash said. â€Å"Appreciate it.† Tommy shrugged. â€Å"Heartbroken.† â€Å"Okay.† Lash threw open the limo’s door and two of the Animals, Drew and Troy Lee, rolled out onto the pavement, followed by a great storm cloud of pot smoke. â€Å"Fuck, dude. Did you know there was a door there?† said Drew, the scruffy thin one. â€Å"Look,† said Troy Lee, the Asian guy who actually did know kung fu. â€Å"Hey, look, it’s fearless leader.† â€Å"Go to work,† Tommy said. â€Å"It’s only seven. You guys can get sobered up and be completely ready for your shift at eleven.† Not a chance, Tommy thought. â€Å"Yeah, we can do it,† Lash said, peeking into the limo. â€Å"Hey, Barry, climb off, motherfucker, I’m up next, then it’s Jeff’s turn. I put it on the board. Blue, don’t let him do that to your ear, baby, you won’t hear for a month.† Tommy closed the security door and sat down hard on the steps, hiding his face in his hands to try to make it all go away. The Animals had been his friends, his crew. They had taken him in when he was alone in the city, made him their leader, and if he got the tone of Clint’s second message right, in about four hours, when they got to the store, they were going to turn on him. How to cite You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 6, Essay examples

Physical Education In High Schools Essay Example For Students

Physical Education In High Schools Essay My philosophy of physical education in the secondary setting deals with students becoming physically fit. Also, students learn how to communicate with others, especially in a team setting. My philosophy also holds in it different teaching methods. Methods that physical education teachers can use to get the most out of their students. With this philosophy of physical education I plan to use it toward becoming a good teacher. The major reason for having physical education in secondary schools is to lead the students toward a better lifestyle and to be physically fit. I have learned a book that I have studied five factors of a physical fit person. One factor is that a physically fit person has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities. The second factor, is the person physically fit. The third factor is does this person participate regularly in physical activity. The fourth is a physically fit person knows the implications of and the benefits from involvement in physical activity. The last factor is that a physically fit person values physical activity and its contributions to a healthful lifestyle. The plan as physical educators is to have each child be a physically fit person, by their exit of high school. This will take some work but I believe it could be done. Another very important issue to be learned in secondary physical education is teamwork. This is a very important aspect in everyday life. This helps people think of others as much, or more, than themselves. Today some work places are going to the team oriented style of work. The worker needs to be able to express ideas amongst his/her teammates and come with solutions together. A good activity that could be introduced in secondary physical education programs is a ropes course. Rope courses are great for students to get into the teamwork mentality. This could help students be dependable on each other and trust each other. Education is not only a necessity, but a major part of life. Some children perceive school as a punishment. Including myself, that was the way I felt as a little child. But as I grew older I found out that learning can be fun. Some children seem to take education for granted. Educators need to be aware of this and make children realize that they are accomplishing something every time a fact is embedded in their head. A good way of letting children no they are learning is by positive feedback. Positive feedback can work wonders with struggling students, as well as achieving students. In my own experiences of playing sports I had two very different coaches. One coach was very positive and one was very negative. The coach who offered positive feedback is the coach I admired more, and is also the coach I listened to the most. The coach who said negative things, I didnt care to listen to. By giving positive feedback the teacher or coach allows the child to be a believer in his/her self. When the learner starts believing in themselves then learning becomes easier and more learning occurs. I would like to make physical education an enjoyable learning environment. A place where children can look forward to coming, especially in the secondary setting. Students have so many other things to think about. Guys think about girls and girls think about guys. Some students even have to worry about their after school job. Physical educators need to be able to express the subject matter in a interesting way for the learners to better understand. If teachers made an effort to make their classes as enjoyable as possible for learning, students may eventually love attending physical education classes. Every student has the ability to learn. Some students learn at a more rapid pace than others. In physical education class we will be teaching them all. Our job as physical educators is to bring out the best in each student. .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .postImageUrl , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:hover , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:visited , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:active { border:0!important; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:active , .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u660eca2c33da899cb19afcb50cec694f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Njals Saga: A Fictional Account Of Early Iceland Essay Even if the student doesnt learn easily. For example, special education students have trouble learning, if they can accomplish just a simple task it would be great. The teacher could give that student feedback on a job well done and the .

Friday, May 1, 2020

Porter Generic Strategies and Strategic Group free essay sample

The report will undertake a strategic analysis of Global Automobile Industry. Relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts will be applied to the automobile industry in order to make better understanding of its strategies. Firstly, the report will provide background information such as industry definition, competitors and history outline. It will also include reasons for undertaking this research. Secondly, strategic analysis of Automobile industry will be conducted with respect to Macro-environment (PESTEL) factors. In addition, impact of macro-environment factors on consumer demand and growth in the industry will be evaluated. Main key drivers among the PESTEL factors will be identified and explained. Thirdly, the report will conduct analysis of the Automobile industry on the basis of Porter’s five forces (Industry analysis) and implications for the same will be provided. In the next section, strategic groups operating in the Automobile industry will be identified and analyzed. A Strategy Canvas will be formulated and blue ocean space will be suggested. Lastly, generic strategy as pursued by strategic group will be explained along with its response to macro and industry forces. The reports will conclude with a summary of key findings. 2. INTRODUCTION 2. 1 Rationale for the research The research will focus on strategic analysis of Automobile Industry. Automobile Industry is one of the most prospering industry having footprints globally. This research is being conducted to gain insights to strategies adopted by a global industry in order to fulfill customer and macro environment needs. It would be worth knowing how a huge industry behaves in different environments. This research is valuable to companies or individuals looking to expand into automobile industry. Through this report, they can get familiar with different strategies implemented by companies to remain competitive. 2. 2 Automobile Industry And Its History Automobile industry is defined as number of companies involved in production, design, development, selling and marketing of motor vehicles. Many companies in this industry are also involved in manufacture of components such as engines, bodies and batteries. Key competitors in automobile industry include Toyota, General motors, Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen. Outline of Automobile industry history is as follows:  1769- Automobile powered by steam engine designed by French engineer Nicolas J. Cugnot. 1886- this era is regarded as birth of modern automobile. A German named Karl Benz manufactured three-wheeled Motor wagon. 1900s- In 1908, Ford Company led by Henry Ford created the ‘Model T’, being the first car sold to average families. William C. Durant established General Motors. 1910s- Ford set up an assembly line of mass production of Model T selling at an affordable price. In 1914, four cylinder based Dodge ‘Model 30’ was manufactured.  1920s- this stage is regarded as growth stage with many people purchasing their first car. In 1925, Chrysler Corporation was established with many other small companies being set up. 1930s- Due to 1920s great depression, there was a decline in sales growth. 1940s- During Second World War, there were advances in technology with vehicles being manufactured for military purposes. 1950s- More technological advances in cars were seen. 1960s- Automakers shifted focus to safety features. The first company to invent seat belt in its all series as a standard feature was Studebaker- Packard.  1970s- Due to oil crises, focus of automobile industry shifted to production of fuel-efficient cars. After 1980s- Car production became global with companies enjoying benefits of low cost labors in India and China. Currently, Automobile industry is in growth stage as companies are in process expanding market share and differentiating their offerings. There is more room for technology improvement and product features upgrade. 3. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 3. 1 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION This report is based on secondary sources of data as it best fulfills the requirements of the research. Mostly, Qualitative data is used to answer all the sections of the report as the research is based on theoretical strategies. Theoretical frameworks and concept stated by relevant authors have been used. For this, related articles as written by concerned authors are used. The research is based on articles accessed via Google scholar and concepts have been extracted from Google books in order to form basic knowledge of various strategies or theoretical frameworks. Other famous books reviewed by Harvard and Oxford are also used for the same purpose. The researcher has also made use of industry reports such as Data monitor and KPMG survey report. In terms of media articles, quality sources such as wall Street journal and Economic Times are used. 3. 2. 0 MACRO-ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Macro environment refers to the context in which the industry or a company operates. These factors are uncontrollable which influences industry’s strategic decision-making and implementation. PESTLE (political, economical, social, technological, Legal, environmental) framework is used to assess the industry’s external macro environment. Political/Legal According to Henry (2008), political factor includes taxation rule, government regulations, and government stability that may influence the investment and working of an industry. Various laws are implemented for employment, health and safety, etc. and these laws various from one nation to another. The automobile industry faces strict regulations from the government in various fields such as taxes, trade restrictions, gas emission control, vehicles recycling, vehicle safety and noise pollution control. In addition, there are government standards like theft prevention applicable to engines, equipment and new vehicles manufactured for sale in Unites States, Europe, etc. (Datamonitor Industry profile, 2010). As a result of growing environmental concerns, government has also imposed strict regulations on manufacturing facilities pertaining to water discharges, air emissions and usage and discarding of harmful materials. Thus, Political and legal factors can be considered negative for the industry because of heavy taxation, strict laws being an obstacle to auto industry activities and moreover this varies from home country to host country. Economical Economic factors refer to monetary policies, inflation, employment rate and price of raw materials. There has been a recent price hike in fuel, which has shifted demand to fuel economical or hybrid cars. For example, In India, there has been decrease in sales of petrol cars due to recent price rise. There will be more demand for diesel cars that will affect entry-level car’s business which are mostly petrol driven (Economic times, 2012). Economic factors can pose a negative impact on automobile industry due to sudden activities such as recession that leads to decrease in vehicles sale. However, It can also be considered positive due to favorable factors like urbanization, increase in household income, growth in economies particularly in developing nations such as India and China, which accounts for more population. Social Dransfield (2001) states that numerous changes take place in a society that affects business in some or the other way. It can be age, population, buying preference or employment. In developing countries, car is regarded as a symbol of social status as compared to usage. Some consumers are more concerned about the design. There has been a shift in consumer preference due to awareness of environmental problems and are prompted to buy hybrid cars which are environmental friendly. Social factors are positive as demand for more choices (styling and body shape of car) is continuously growing. This leads to development of niche (sub segments) market for vehicles. Technological Due to the influence of other macro factors (political, environmental), technology for electric and hybrid vehicles is developing. Research is underway for increasing battery capacity. Some countries are developing their infrastructure to set up battery charging stations. In order to attract safety conscious consumers, automakers have developed: New airbag: Sweden’ s Autoliv (safety technology suppliers) have developed shoulder straps with built in air bag for extra safety Pedestrian’s safety: New system installed in cars to spot people on foot in dark to avoid accident. Fuel efficiency: Addition of more gears to transmission Automated driving (Wall street Journal, 2013) Thus, Technological factor is considered as positive due to recent developments in automobile industry. Environmental Auto industry is concentrating on the production of zero emission cars for the safety of environment. There are various regulations for gas emission and disposal of harmful materials. Environmental regulations are being imposed on original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for fuel economy and gas emissions (KPMG International, 2010). Moreover, these restrictions vary globally from one region to another adding complexity to the various vehicles manufactured by OEM as they have to regularly update their product assembly in order to meet various regional regulations and hence this increases manufacturing cost. In this case, Environmental factor is negative for the industry. 3. 2. 1 IMPACT OF PESTEL FACTORS ON GROWTH AND CONSUMER DEMAND Social, Economic and Environmental factors have a huge impact on growth and consumer demand in automobile industry. With the growing awareness of environment and health safety, auto industry is focusing on hybrid cars with the help of government incentives. Moreover, fuel economy has also prompted buyers to opt for green products. For example, the recession adversely affects consumer demand, as people tend to save money for essential necessities. Sturgeon and Biesebroeck (2010) states that the worst impact of economic crises was faced by US auto assembly line and parts manufacturing units in North America, some of which were permanently closed down. Also, vehicle sales declined in the UK in may 2009 by 24. 8% as compared to the same month in 2008 (Institute of motor industry, 2010). Currently, the consumer demand for vehicles has shifted to developing economies as mature markets are facing recession and are subjected to urban driving restrictions. Emerging economies are more focused in purchasing luxurious cars as compared to matured markets, which are opting for green cars (KPMG Global Automotive Executive survey, 2013). The automobile industry is targeting expanding middle classes in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) due to more opportunity. The graph (Figure 1) clearly shows increase in vehicle sales and production in developing markets while the same decreasing in developed markets. This influence can be contributed to Economic factor affecting Auto industry. Figure : Vehicle Sales and production in developing and developed markets (Source: KPMG Survey, 2013) 3. 2. 2 FUTURE KEY DRIVERS FOR AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY The researcher suggests that technology and economic factors are the two key drivers as compared to other macro factors. Any industry is successful only if consumer demand is there. Consumer demand is influenced by income and economic growth. In a healthy economy like BRIC, industry will grow more rapidly as compared in matured markets. Hence, Economic conditions play a major role in future growth of automobile industry. Technology helps in various ways such as reducing production cost, being competitive, providing new solution and creating new segments. For Example: Production of electric car due to technology has led to birth of new market segment and accounts for more sale. 3. 3. 0 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3. 3. 1 FIVE FOURCES ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS According to Porter (2008), there are five forces that shape industry competition such as Threat of new entrants, Rivalry among existing competitors, bargaining power of suppliers, Bargaining power of buyers and Threat of substitutes (Figure 2). Figure : Porters five forces Threat Of New Entrants Threat of a new entrant to automobile industry is low because of many barriers to entry. Small-scale investment cannot be fruitful for someone to enter automobile industry. There are huge costs associated with startup production plan and developing technology. Furthermore, it is difficult for a new entry to establish network with dealers and distributors, who prefer a known brand name having more consumer demand in the market. There are already numbers of well-established brand names present in Automobile industry like Audi, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, and Honda etc. The top players such as GM motors hold licenses to copyrights, many patents and trademarks (Datamonitor, 2010). Bargaining Power Of Buyers In Automobile industry, buyers are large organizations that are financially strong. There are many players in automobile industry. Buyers are dominant when they have many options to choose (Porter, 2008). However, this is weakened by brand strength of top incumbents, as buyers are likely to deal with a well-established name in order to boost its sales. Buyer power can be considered as moderate. Threat Of Substitute Or Products Used cars can be considered as major threat as a substitute. Consumers look for more affordable solutions and opt for used cars, as they are cheaper than new ones. However, customers in emerging economies give preference to social status earned by buying a new car. Transport links are also improving in many countries but this won’t have much effect on consumer buying pattern. Overall, threat of substitute is weak. Bargaining Power Of Suppliers Raw materials in Automobile industry include steel, wood aluminum etc. In addition, it also comprises of assembled components, transportation, energy, etc. These suppliers are generally big companies who supply inputs to wide variety of Industries and their operation is not limited to just Automobile industry. Hence, this makes them powerful. However, Also Automobile players are not dependent on any one supplier as they purchase raw materials or services from number of suppliers. Thus, bargaining power of suppliers is moderate. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Due to presence of number of players in automobile industry, rivalry between competitors is high. Customers have wide variety of options to choose from. Players have to remain competitive to meet customer demands. Factors such as increase in raw materials, cost in production, cost in developing technologies put pressure on incumbents. 3. 4. 0 STRATEGIC GROUP ANALYSIS 3. 4. 1 STRATEGIC GROUP IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY Strategic group analysis helps in understanding competitive structure of a broad industry. A strategic group is defined as group of firms or companies that has following characteristics: Pursuing similar competitive strategies. For Example: using similar price positioning strategies, using same distribution channels. Similar characteristics in terms of aggressiveness and size. Having same resources and competencies. For example, global existence, RD, brand relations and logistics ability. (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2010) In Automobile industry, there are three strategic groups namely Ultra luxury, Luxury and mass market group. Two dimensional graph using prestige and price positioning is shown in the figure 3. Ultra luxury strategic group such as Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini follows similar strategies focusing on narrow segment of customers while luxury cars group such as Audi, BMW provides differentiated and valuable features to more customers as compared to Ultra luxury. Mass-market strategic group such as Toyota, Ford provides services at an affordable cost to high number of customers. Firms tend to compete with each other in their respective groups. Figure : Strategic group (Peng, 2012) 3. 4. 2 STRATEGY CANVAS AND BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY Strategy canvas is a tool proposed by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their famous book related to Blue ocean strategy. Strategy canvas shows range of factors on which the firms competes. In simple words, it shows how competitors in an industry attract customers or the way customers buy the product or service. The strategy canvas (Figure 4) done on main competitors of Automobile Industry shows various factors on horizontal axis and vertical left side represent offering level. Figure : Strategy canvas of main competitors (Strategic learning software, 2013) For Mass-market strategic group (Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota), the two critical success factors are mileage and price as shown in strategy canvas. They invest heavily on manufacture of fuel-efficient cars and low cost in order to attract customers. Mass-market buyers look for cars those are cheaper to buy but at the same time have good fuel mileage. For Luxury strategic group (Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes), two factors for success are safety and style. Customers in this group looks for safety as well as style, these customers have more money to spend and therefore they look for all round package, which means, a company that offers almost everything. Luxury group competitors like Audi, BMW Mercedes, try to offer a complete package to its customers. For Ultra luxury group, two factors critical for success are style and horsepower. Competitors attract their customers by offering the most powerful engines. Customers in this group also like to stand out of the crowd and thus they go after the most stylish car. Price is the last factor they are concerned about. According to Kim and Mauborgne (2005), Blue ocean strategy means creating uncontested market place where competition becomes irrelevant instead of competing in existing market place. It can be noticed from Strategy canvas that competitors within a particular group competes against each other on same factors. In mass market, Ford, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota follow same path to attract customers by offering them value car at affordable price  with good mileage and low maintenance cost whereas in Ultra Luxury segment, Prices and maintenance cost of the car are the least competing factors for car manufacturers in this group. However, there are customers who want a powerful and stylish car as offered by Ultra luxury group but at the same time they want to purchase it at a price offered by mass-market group. So, we can see there is a g ap in the market where a new space or category can be born by merging style, horsepower and low cost. 3. 5 BUSINESS STRATEGY CHOICE There are main three generic strategies namely Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus strategy (Focus low cost and Focus differentiation) as seen in Figure 5. Focus low cost strategy caters to demands of narrow segment with low cost as compared to remaining market while Focus differentiation strategy caters to demands of narrow segment competing through differentiated services/products (Mellahi, Frynas and Finlay, 2005). According to Porter, the generic strategies are proposed to strengthen principal firm’s position relative to the Porter’s five competitive forces (Peng, 2012). Figure : Generic strategy (Google image) Mass Market strategic group follows cost leadership strategy that competes on low cost providing better value to average customers. This group pursues cost leadership strategy with functional areas such as logistics, manufacturing services and materials (Figure 6). For example: Nissan pursuing cost leadership strategy by its alliance with Renault by reducing production cost under Renault Nissan purchasing Organization (Nissan Annual report, 2008). Luxury strategic group pursues differentiation strategy providing differentiated and unique features to customers whose main functional areas are RD, Marketing, sales. These firms invest hugely on brand recognition, innovative technologies and quality. Ultra Luxury group pursues focus strategy, which focuses on a particular or narrow group or special of customers who are ready to pay high prices. Figure : Funtional areas of strategic group Cost Leadership strategy doesn’t imply selling products at low price but is concerned with selling products at an average price and enjoying above average returns achievable through low cost production. Use of advanced technology has made this possible. With firms pursuing low cost strategy, they can build threat to a new entry and also reduce threat of substitutes (low cost used cars). According to Miller (1988), Cost leadership strategy can be best pursued in stable and predictable environment whereas differentiation strategy is best suited to uncertain environments with the use of liaison devices and technocrats. Differentiation strategy can create further barriers to potential new entrants due to its excellence in innovation, marketing and brand power. In addition, threat of substitute is lowered because of customer loyalty to the luxury brands. Buyers have less negotiating power due to absence of close choices or alternatives. However, differentiation strategy firms can face risk in case of recession because customers can become price sensitive and value price over differentiation (unique features). A firm following Focus strategy has limited segments and thus enjoys more protection from rivalry. High degree of customer loyalty and efficient core competencies poses a threat to new entrants. As it focuses on a specialized segment, it has more degree of protection against substitutes. 4. CONCLUSION Automobile industry has to obey various government regulations, legal requirements and environmental norms and this varies from one region to another. As compared to other macro factors, Technological and Economic factors will be the drivers for Automobile industry. Innovation is critical to success of automobile industry in terms of upgraded automobile features, production facilities and competition. Competition is high in automobile industry with the presence of many players. Threat of a new entrant is low to incumbents as it involves huge investment in production and technology. Customer loyalty also plays a vital role in automobile industry. At present, there are three strategic groups operating in auto Industry following different generic strategies: Mass-market pursues cost leadership; Luxury group follows differentiation and Ultra luxury strategic group pursues focus strategy. Companies in a particular strategic group tend to compete on the basis of same factors such as price, maintenance cost, service, etc. Generic strategies also influence industry forces in automobile industry.