Thomas Paine :: essays research papers

Author During the 1770s Thomas Paine was a political philosopher and writer. He encouraged people to fight for American independence from Britain. He is one of the more creative figures of his period. Paine talked about American revolutionary ideas with his 1776 writing, Common Sense. In the writing, Paine made a point that Great Britain was trying to corrupt the American colonies and that they contributed nothing to America’s well being. Summary Paine published this 50-page story, Common Sense, on January 10, 1776. In this essay, it said that the American colonies had received no advantage from Great Britain, which was trying to corrupt them, and that every thought of "common sense" called for the colonies to become independent and to establish a republican government of their own. The story criticized Great Britain for its corruption toward the colonies as a whole. Argument Thomas Paine’s "Common Sense" played a large part in the separation from England. Paine thought the colonies had the right to revolt against a government that imposed taxes on them but didn’t give them the right to represent them in the current government. Thomas believed there was no reason for the Colonies to stay dependent on England. He had an awesome way of persuading people to take action through his writing. Paine says that sooner or later independence from England must come, because America had lost touch with the mother country. All the arguments for separation of England are based on nothing more than the facts and arguments. Paine saw the government as a possessed demon that could only become good when it was represented truthfully and changed by elections. He uses argumentation, in that the writer presents and logically supports a particular view or opinion. Paine uses motivation by which people’s values, desires, wishes, and needs are m entioned. His writing’s brought courage in a time of need to people who wanted to become independent. At the time that Paine wrote "Common Sense" the colonies were still thinking about declaring their independence from Great Britain. Some people told their leaders in the Continental Congress to act against separation from the mother country, which made thousands of colonists undecided about what to do. Today’s Government of the United States is similar to that of England in the 1770’s. They are similar in ways such as taxes and basic ways of living. Both control our rate of taxes without our say in the matter.

Single-Sex Schools Fail to Improve Learning Essay

In 2002, only about a dozen schools were separating the sexes, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, an advocacy group. Now, an estimated 500 public schools across the country offer some all-boy and all-girl classrooms. 2Proponents argue the separation allows for a tailored instruction and cuts down on gender-driven distractions among boys and girls, such as flirting. But critics decry the movement as promoting harmful gender stereotypes and depriving kids of equal educational opportunities. The ACLU claims many schools offer the classes in a way that conflicts with the U. S. Constitution and Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. Researchers also have weighed in. 3For many parents, the rationale for placing their child in a single-sex school is the belief that academic performance will be improved. New research finds an absence of evidence to support this assumption. Moreover, evidence does exist that sex segregation increases gender stereotyping among children and teachers and legitimizes institutional sexism. 4The findings are the crux of a new article in the journal Science that examines single-sex schooling. â€Å"Though public sentiment may have strengthened in support of such settings for improving the learning environment and outcomes for both boys and girls, the science is just not there to support this,† said Richard Fabes, Ph. D. , one of the authors of the Science article. 5The Study authors cite evidence that single-sex and coeducational outcomes are equal. Similar large-scale reviews in Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand found little overall difference between single-sex and mixed-sex academic outcomes. Talk to our students and our graduates and they’ll tell you about the value of learning in an environment where competitive and collaborative spirits are unleashed in the absence of gender-based expectations. 6Another misconception rebutted in the article is the claim that boys and girls learn differently. Study authors said that this premise is not supported by research as neuroscientists have found few differences in children’s brains beyond the larger volume of boys’ brains and the earlier completion of girls’ brain growth — neither of which is known to relate to learning. 7Critics of single-sex education argue that socializing, especially between genders, should be an integral part of education. â€Å"Positive and cooperative interaction with members of other sex is an effective method for improving intergroup relationships,† according to the authors. 8On the other hand, an influential conservative political movement, represented by the presidency of Ronald Reagan; public concerns about sexual freedom; a rise in unmarried–particularly teenage– pregnancy; and the growth of sexually transmitted diseases led to a reexamination of coeducational policies. There is evidence, however, that sex segregation increases gender divisions among children. â€Å"Separating boys and girls in public school classrooms makes gender very salient, and this salience reinforces stereotypes and sexism,† Fabes said. 9Moreover, for both girls and boys co-education provides a more realistic way of training young people to take their places naturally in the wider community of men and women. It helps to break down the misconceptions of each sex about the other and provides an excellent foundation for the development of realistic, meaningful and lasting relationships in later life. 10The authors note that research has shown that labeling and segregation of any form – be it, gender, eye color, or randomly assigned T-shirt groups – is detrimental as this implies that the groups differ in important ways which may lead to the development of bias. â€Å"Is it ever good to segregate on the basis of race, income or age? I think the answer is no,† Fabes said. â€Å"There is no good evidence that it is ever a good time to separate and segregate. Any form of segregation undermines rather than promotes equality. † Source: Arizona State University http://psychcentral. com/news/2011/09/23/single-sex-schools-fail-to-improve-learning/29723. html Writer’s Arguments Counterarguments Writer’s Refutation

Amy Tan Summary Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 567 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? AlhaddadA Essay Submitted by  AL HADDAD, AHMED MOHAMED (AL HADDAD)  on  9/10/2010 6:14:16 PM Amy Tan is a daughter of a Chinese emigrant, who had a dream of going to America, to escape poverty and provide a better quality of life and education for her daughter. This dream is accomplished, providing her daughter with the right tools to become a successful writer, and she then goes and discusses her relation with her roots and heritage, through the language she is speaking now, English. She mentions her passion for language and how it is the tool of her trade. She is basically sharing with us her views and opinions, about language, and how it affected or limited her possibilities in life. Moreover, I believe the story is very deep and conceives an important message. Its not just about the language itself, but also defines relationships with parents, the cultural background and heritage. It views life through an international individuals perspective, and is about leaving your home country and living abroad. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Amy Tan Summary Essay" essay for you Create order It is about fighting for your future, demanding a better quality of life, survival of the fittest. It is also about the generation gap, how our opinions and language differs, about being ashamed, at some point, of your parents, because they portray a negative image which could affect your reputation, indirectly. In the end, it is about coming home, in a way, after a long absence, and being proud again of what you are and what your heritage is. Initially, Amy Tan experiences a feeling of shame because her friends, sometimes, could not understand what her mother was saying. Furthermore, she is also upset because they said her English is â€Å"broken†, â€Å"as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed†. She also stated that this limited her perception of her mother and that â€Å"her English reflected the quality of what she had to say†. Because, to express something in a wrong or imperfect way, you must be imperfect or limited in your thoughts. Amy Tan, unfortunately, did not perform well on her achievement tests, simply because her mother taught her to think in a different manner than other students. She was lead to believe, due to the strong influence from her teachers, that Asian students would be much better into engineering, accounting or anything else than an English. However, she eventually discovers the benefits of her mothers teachings and advice. Fortunately, she happens to be rebellious in nature and enjoys the challenge of disproving assumptions, she decides to major in English and write fiction. To conclude, Amy ultimately realized how important and meaningful her mothers broken English and started to appreciate her mother and respect her culture and heritage. In the final paragraph she explains her motives for writing about her mother â€Å"I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her thoughts†. I perceive that our culture plays a big part in our lives and helps us to better understand ourselves, even though causing complications at times, it fundamentally leads to alternative opportunities. Grade: B 1. This is a generally well-organized summary essay. 2. For a summary essay, you are supposed to provide information found in the article, without adding additional ideas and making personal comments. 3. Reference should be put after your quotation, including author’s name, year of publication and page number.