Opportunity to participate in SkillsUSA Essay Example for Free

Opportunity to participate in SkillsUSA Essay One of the benefits of attending a vocational high school is the opportunity to participate in SkillsUSA. Preparing for SkillsUSA was one of the most challenging and nerve racking experiences in my life. SkillsUSA is an organization of students and teachers working together to help its members become responsible, hard working, and dedicated young adults. At the beginning of my junior year in high school, my shop instructor approached me and told me about SkillsUSA, and also the events that pertained to information technology. It took me a few moments to realize that he was encouraging me to participate. I read through the information packet my teacher gave me and noticed that SkillsUSA was a lot bigger than I realized. SkillsUSA is not only about being skilled in the trade you are studying, it is about being an outstanding citizen, and giving back to your community in any way you can. The first thoughts that popped into my head were â€Å"Am I ready for this?† I chose to compete in the robotics and automation technology contest. I have always been interested in robots and how they work. Until then, I had no experience working with robots so I was really nervous, I did not have much confidence in myself. Not only did I have a few months to learn everything I can about robotics while keeping up with my schoolwork, and balancing my part-time job, but I also had to evaluate myself as a person. I was on the Internet and at the library every spare minute I had learning everything I could. I ordered kits off the Internet to practice working with robots so there were no surprises during the competition. It was hard work, but it paid off. Although I did not place at the competition, I did really well considering I started learning about robotics five months prior to the competition and I was competing against students who had years of experience on the robotics team at their high school. Becoming a SkillsUSA member means you must make a pledge to be prepared, to be diligent, to practice, work hard, to respect your trade, and have a good reputation with your peers, coworkers, parents, employers, and teachers. Making a pledge this important demonstrates how committed I am to become a better citizen. I made the pledge to myself, even though I did not become an official SkillsUSA member. I found I have more confidence and take pride in everything I do whether it is taking a test, completing homework, or even dealing with difficult customers at my job. Setting these standards for myself is important to me. When I look back on my accomplishments I realize that I did not have to set my mind to put forth my best effort because what I use to think of as my â€Å"best effort† is now second nature. In those five months I feel like I have grown as person more than any other period in my life.

Childhood Memories in My Papas Waltz by Theodore Roethke and Piano by

Childhood Memories in "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "Piano" by D.H. Lawrence "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke and "Piano" by D.H. Lawrence are two poems in which grown men recall memories of their childhood. "My Papa's Waltz" has a quietly sad, almost resigned tone as Roethke relives his nightly dances with his father as a young boy. Lawrence's "Piano" is somewhat dreamy as a man is taken back by a song to his childhood. While both are presented to us through similar personas, striking differences are apparent throughout the two poems. "My Papa's Waltz" is the pensive recollection of a boy's nightly waltz around the house in the arms of his father. Roethke's poem gives a voice to the often silent internal conflict that the children of addicts struggle with. The sad resignation of the young boy is solidified early on in the poem. In the first stanza Roethke sets a tone of both pain and loyalty with the line, "But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy" (479). "My Papa's Waltz" provides readers with the opportunity to see life through the eyes of...

Literacy & Numeracy Difficulties

As stated by Robinson (Foreman, P. 2008), Difficulties with Literacy and Numeracy affect and influence all aspects of school achievement. It is the largest disability in the community. Literacy and Numeracy problems are not always visible. Intervention is needed earlier to ensure the learning gap is not enhanced. Children with learning difficulties need to be identified in the foundation years to enable early intervention. Learning difficulties in Literacy and Numeracy leads to a downward learning cycle; as a lack of achievement causes a lack of motivation and confidence, which causes a further lack of achievement (Hunter-Carsch 2001). Teachers need to recognise and respond by tailoring instruction to the student’s interests, put in the time to motivate students to read, by developing the student’s confidence and commitment. Teachers need to understand how students feel and how to support them. The interactive model approach is becoming increasingly accepted, as it uses both the whole word/stories and letter-sound association in learning to read. This enables all students to learn reading strategies in the learning environment, with the effective intervention using phonological, semantic and syntactic cues. Literacy difficulties affect numeracy learning. Students need to learn basic mathematics for sufficient skills to survive in daily living. This is an essential component of the NCLB Act. Students must understand the language and concepts of mathematics, along with the processes of basic problem solving. Mathematics requires a detailed word-by-word approach, (Henderson 2001;Jitendra et al. 1998), to ensure a student builds an understanding of basic mathematical language and concepts. To achieve the understanding of basic mathematics language and concepts emphasis needs to be placed on doing things that relate to the students life and everyday activities, using concrete materials that reflect this. Students with learning difficulties have memory deficits which impair their ability to memorise information, therefore instruction should focus on the ‘figuring out the number facts’ (Ginsburge 1997). Early intervention can also come from parental input using resources such as ‘Tool kits for Parents’. Students need to see that tasks are meaningful and be able to be confident to complete tasks. To do this activities and resources used are to be specific to the students’ needs and interests and be clearly demonstrated to them. Identifying materials and resources to their local community would enable this. This is backed by McMillan (2011) and Rief, S. F & Heimburge, J. A. (2006) Ch. 3 Understanding and Reaching Special Populations of Students. Reference list Carnellor, Y (2004) Teaching Mathematics to Children with Learning Disabilities, Encouraging Mathematical Success to Children with Learning Difficulties, 2004. Ch. 1 pp. 1-10. Social Science Press, Australia. McMillan, J (2011) Classroom Assessment – Principles and Practice for Effective Standards-Based Instruction, 5th Ed, Boston, M. A: Pearson. Rief, S. F & Heimburghe, J. A, (2006). How to reach and teach all children in the inclusive classroom (2nd Ed. ). San Francisco: Wiley. Pp. 36-40. Robinson ‘Understanding Literacy and Numeracy’ Ch. 7, pp. 247-254; 285-289. Foreman, P. (2008) Inclusion in action. Cengage Learning. Robinson ‘Developing Literacy and Numeracy Skills’ Ch. 8, pp. 303-308. Foreman, P. (2008) Inclusion in action. Cengage Learning.

What Did The Stolen 3 Generation Affected The Australian...

Background: During the 1890’s and 1970’s, Indigenous Australians did not have equal rights as the ‘white’ Australians and were treated callously, anguished and tortured due to their race. The Stolen Generation was the event where children, who were of an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, were removed from their families. Many Indigenous children were forcefully removed from their families, never being able to see them again. The treatment towards the Indigenous Australian’s was horrific, as these children were taken away from their community, placed into an institution to be changed into the ‘white’ ways of doing things whilst being treated with brutality in the procedure. To demonstrate to what extent did the Stolen 3 Generation affected the Australian population several key areas of the will be examined. This includes; what was the Stolen Generation, when did the Stolen Generation start and when did it end, what was the caus e of the Stolen Generation. how did the Stolen Generation affect the Indigenous Australians and the non – Indigenous Australians and how significant was the event to Australian History. Once these aspects have been observed, it will become clear that the affect of the Stolen Generation to the Australian population was a significant part of the Rights and Freedoms movement which change the way the Indigenous population were recognised in our society. What was the Stolen Generation? The Stolen Generation was the event whereShow MoreRelatedWork Effectively with Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander People1300 Words   |  6 PagesIslander people 1. How many years ago, is it estimated, that the shape of Australia’s coastline was defined? †¢ 6000 years ago 2. In what year did the Dutch first explore Australia’s coastline? †¢ 1606 3. 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