Death Ceremonies in Luhya Tribe

Death Ceremonies in Luhya Tribe Introduction Scientifically, death refers to a point in which biological functions of a once living organism become terminated. It could simply be referred to as a cessation of living of a certain biological being, in this case, a human being. The word itself has its origin from the Old English language.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Death Ceremonies in Luhya Tribe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Further, it comes from a reconstruction of analysis by etymology of the dauthaz of a Proto-Germanic origin. All living things, inclusive of human beings, have to succumb to death. In humans, however, there seems to be various causes other than the normal biological aging or the so-called senescence in the technical term. The latter is mostly common in wild animals. Nowadays, human beings do succumb to their inevitable end from such causes as suicide, homicide, war, accidents and malnutrition. There is also the un common predation by other living organisms or other human beings who are crazy enough to prey on fellow human beings (GrowthHouse, 2005). Therefore, no matter how lucky a person can get to survive the many years on this earth; eventually the person succumbs to old age and goes to an unknown afterlife, if at all it exists. However, it is intriguing to note that the proper declaration of whether a person is still alive or dead gets a bit complicated because of some medical reason. A person, declared to be clinically dead, might legally be alive. On the other hand, a person might be pronounced legally dead from the fact that the person is brain dead even if the victims’ lungs are still working. Such a person on the contrary is still clinically alive. Unfortunately, however, the law is just the way it is and so we have no choice but to take the legal option in such matters. This, therefore, just shows the paradox surrounding this issue (Ashkenazi, 1988). The Luhya Away from all t he medical and legal terminology to a certain tribe in the Western part of the Republic of Kenya. This tribe is called the Luhya tribe and is one of the 42 tribes of the Republic of Kenya. This Bantu tribe is believed to have migrated from the now Egypt and most of its cultural practices are shared amongst its 18 sub tribes including some of the Bantus’. Death According to the Luhya Despite the early introduction of the Christian religion in the early 1902, most Luhya families especially in the rural parts of Kenya still practice their traditional death ceremonies. This has lead to most of the tribes mixing the Christian religion with their traditional practices thus leading to syncretism (Ayot, 1996). This phenomenon has lead to a continually weakening of the Christian faith.Advertising Looking for research paper on anthropology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Superstitions Surrounding Death The Luhya have v arious superstitions with regard to death. This is from their profound believe that an outcome of something or just an undertaking that is very important and which might happen in a future that is not so far could be easily told through various portents or omens. One of the most common presages in this tribe includes the sighting of an antelope. This to the Luhya people implies that the person will be very lucky on his or her journey. Unfortunately however should one sight a night owl while on a journey, then that is a signal of a looming death in the family. This harmful omen has to driven away therefore by use of a firebrand. On the same note, should an owl be heard near ones homestead, it would as well be a signal of a looming death in that homestead and therefore a firebrand has to be again used to drive the owl away. This seems to be the only sure way of averting the death in that family. Other superstitions regarding death in this tribe include a belief that if an excessively crying child without any probable cause is an expression of a looming death to the parents. On the other hand, a woman climbing the roof of a hut is taken to imply that she has a desire to kill her husband. Other superstitions that are more common even in many cultures across the world are trying as much as possible to avoid mentioning death to a severely sick person. Even if the person seems to eventually die given a short time, the Luhya customs strictly prohibit any person from making utterances that might seem to be implying that the said person will die. Death Ceremony In the Luhya tribe, there was always enough time that was devoted towards taking care of the sick and in the unfortunate event of occurrence of a death, they always had enough time to bury their dead. Occurrence of death in a family was always followed by a ceremony to remember the departed person. The great ceremony that was usually performed in the home of a deceased person used to take up to 40 days. This is b ecause this tribe always did hold funerals with lots of high regards. To the tribe, their belief in spirits and animisms led to them trying to their level best to please the spirits of their ancestors. This is clearly from the fact that a departed person has automatically joined the ancestral world and the Luhya tribe really fears displeasing their ancestors. During the death ceremony or the mourning period of 40 days, sacrifices would often be made to please the spirits. Although due to influence from other cultures and general change in cultural practices these sacrifices are still made even though the ceremony takes only one week nowadays. Some other practices like uprooting of a big tree so as to bury an influential man in the society are rarely practiced now days.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Death Ceremonies in Luhya Tribe specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the one thing that is still largel y practiced despite the high presence of Christianity is the burring of the dead either on their sides while facing east where the sun rises or seated upright. Additionally, the grave has to be always 3 -4 feet deep. All these practices are done with one aim of making sure that the ancestors and the departed spirit is well pleased. Another tradition that is still in practice is the thrusting of a spear on the grave of a person who was a warrior in the society. Nowadays however, this honor is given to any person in the society that was fighting in any way for example through political means for the rights of the Luhya people. Rituals Surrounding the Death It is mandatory that a bull is slaughtered during the Luhya funeral ceremony. Along with it, several chickens are usually slaughtered to feed the mourners. Some pieces of the meat from the bull would then get roasted in a ceremony to please the ancestors and the departed spirit. In this ceremony, only the elderly in the family and t he clan that forms that sub tribe of the Luhya would partake of the meal. Children and women would not be allowed to eat the roasted meat or in more know terms the barbecue. It is also customary that if death has occurred in a certain Luhya family, then all the immediate members in that family have a clean shave. The shaving of the hair can be extended to the extended family if at all they live next to each other. This is because in most cases, the cousins would rarely consider themselves as cousins but would most likely consider themselves as brothers and sister. In that sense, extend families that tend to live next to each other would eventually start functioning as one family with any elder ,member in that family being the head of that family. If the dead individual happens to be a man past 18 years of age and had not yet been married, the Luhya believe that the dead person has to be punished for not making enough efforts towards ensuring the continuity of his tribe. It is almost a crime for any man as long as he has successfully passed through the circumcision ceremony to die before having furthered an offspring somewhere. This is because a clan might actually size to exist due to the death of a man in the society. The main reason is that the Luhya tribe believes that male children are the true members of the tribe and not women. As a matter of fact after a lady has been married of to another tribe she automatically seizes to be a member of the Luhya tribe.Advertising Looking for research paper on anthropology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore dire consequences which involve the piecing of the scrotal suck of a man are performed prior to his burial if he died before producing any known offspring. This procedure is performed one night prior to his burial. Again this is performed so as to ensure a reduction of anger carried by the ancestors on the failure of one of their descent (Were, 1967). The Bonfire During the whole mourning period especially before the burial of a deceased person, a bonfire is usually light. 2 days prior to the burial of a deceased person especially if the person was fully grown and was capable of making his or her own decisions, some matters relating to debts that a deceased person had are discussed. At the bonfire, it is agreed on who is to pay for any debts that the deceased was holding prior to their dead. Additionally, if someone owed the dead person that is usually the best time to let the people know especially the next of kin. This is because the Luhya tradition forbids that one shou ld complain of debt that a deceased person had after the person has been buried. Of course with most people opting to write their wills, this practice is has greatly diminished. Instead, the bonfire is only used to keep the mourners warm at night during the mourning period. Effect of the Changing Times With most of the Luhya population having moved to larger cities of Nairobi, Mombasa and other great cities across East Africa and the world over, the 1 week ceremony has become unpractical let alone the 40 days ceremony. Therefore especially due to the related pressures of working and other commitments in life, these burial ceremonies would always take 1 week unless if the deceased was very influential in the society for example the death of the form Vice President of the Republic of Kenya, the Late Kijana Wamalwa. Most of the Luhya’s living far away would only attend the official burial day and again return to commemorate the 40th day after the burial ceremony. Another effect of the changing times is the fact that the Luhya tribe initially rarely talked of harmful acts that had been done by the dead. However nowadays, they are more open to clearly lay out the life of a departed person with few exaggerations. Conclusion Clearly, from the various superstitions and myths present in this tribe, the Luhya people, just like any other person out there, dread death. This tribe believes that death is as a result of displeasing the ancestors or having come in contact with harmful omens. On the contrary, death is inevitable to each and every human being. It ought to be embraced if it comes along. Human beings are probably the only animals who are nowadays in a position to have some form of understanding towards the mortal nature of life. Therefore, we humans ought to have an understanding that as much as we all have wishes as to where we are going after death, no one knows for sure. However, one way or another we will all be dead one day (Nuland, 1994). Therefore, death, as much as it impacts on the loved ones left behind, ought not to be such a vital issue. Rather, it should be embraced as an essential passage of each and every one of us (Lienhard, 1997). Some unnecessary superstitious measures ought to be scraped off. This is because if each one knows the principal causes of death, and if one successfully manages to beat all those famous causes, then old age is always there to provide the last straw. Ashkenazi, Allan. Death Receptors: Signaling And Modulation. Science, 281(1988), 12-23. Ayot, Henry. The Luhya of Kenya. August 1996. Web. GrowthHouse. Handbook for Mortals : How We Die -Then And Now. 2003. Web. Lienhard, John. How we Die. 1997. Web. Nuland, Sherwin. How we die: Reflections on Life’s Final Chapter. London: Alfred Knopf Inc., 1994. Were, Gideon. A History of the Abaluyia of Western Kenya. Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1967.

Verb Agreement

7 Classes of Noun/Verb Agreement 7 Classes of Noun/Verb Agreement 7 Classes of Noun/Verb Agreement By Mark Nichol Below youll find seven classes of noun/verb agreement you need to understand. 1. Indefinite Pronouns Most indefinite pronouns correspond to singular verbs: â€Å"Someone has left her plate on the table.† â€Å"Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion.† â€Å"Each boy is responsible for his actions.† To confirm, test for the proper verb form by writing a simple sentence in which is follows the pertinent pronoun: â€Å"Someone is missing† (not â€Å"Someone are missing†). The proper verb form for some indefinite pronouns depends on the reference: â€Å"All of the soup is gone. (Soup is a single entity.) â€Å"Some of the comments are favorable. (The comments are counted as separate entities.) The indefinite pronoun none can be singular or plural depending on the context: â€Å"None of the jewels are missing.† (None of the components of the whole entity in question are missing.) â€Å"None of the jewelry is missing.† (Not one part of the whole entity is missing.) 2. Conjunctive Phrases The simple conjunction and cannot necessarily be replaced by such phrases as â€Å"along with,† â€Å"as well as,† and â€Å"together with†: â€Å"The doe along with its fawns is resting in the meadow.† (This sentence is correct, however, if â€Å"along with its fawns† is inserted into the sentence â€Å"The doe is resting in the meadow,† which requires bracketing commas. The same is true of the other phrases.) 3. â€Å"Either/Or† and â€Å"Neither/Nor† Neither and either refer to two compared or associated objects as individual entities and are therefore usually employed with singular verbs: â€Å"Neither she nor I are ready for that.† â€Å"Either option will work for me.† Informally, however, an exception is made in such constructions as â€Å"Are either of you ready?† In â€Å"either/or† and â€Å"neither/nor† constructions with a mixture of singular and plural nouns, the verb form is determined by whether the closest noun is singular or plural: â€Å"Either the captain or one of the lieutenants are leading the patrol.† â€Å"Neither the students nor the teacher remembers hearing anything.† However, because the plural noun and the singular verb still clash in the second sentence despite their lack of proximity, it is advisable to construct the sentence so that the singular pronoun precedes the plural one: â€Å"Neither the teacher nor the students remember hearing anything.† 4. Positive and Negative Subjects in Combination A subject consisting of positive and negative sentiments that differ in singular and plural form should be followed by a verb that corresponds with the positive element: â€Å"The delivery of the speech, not its contents, is the issue.† As with â€Å"either/or† and â€Å"neither/nor† constructions, perhaps it is best to rearrange the sentence so that the singular noun is in proximity with the verb: â€Å"It is not the contents of the speech, but its delivery, that is at issue.† 5. Expletives In sentences beginning with such expletives as here and there, the actual subject, which follows the verb, determines the verb form: â€Å"There is a word for that.† â€Å"Here are several choices.† 6. Plural Nouns for Single Objects Plural nouns that name single objects, such as scissors and pants, are matched with plural verbs unless the phrase â€Å"pair of† precedes the noun; in that case, pair is the subject: â€Å"Scissors are dangerous.† â€Å"A pair of scissors is required for this activity.† Some other nouns ending in s are also singular in meaning: â€Å"The mumps is a disease you don’t hear much about anymore.† Meanwhile, others stand for a single thing but call for a plural verb: â€Å"Thanks are in order.† 7. Fractional Phrases Phrases referring to a mathematical portion may, depending on the context, be singular or plural: â€Å"A small percentage of the employees are opposed.† â€Å"A large percentage of the cargo was damaged.† â€Å"Three-fourths of the land is forested.† â€Å"One-third of the trees are oaks.† Numbers expressed as part of a mathematical operation are linked with a plural verb, but the outcome of a computation is expressed as a single entity: â€Å"Ten and six are added together to equal sixteen.† â€Å"Ten minus six is four.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Letter "Z" Will Be Removed from the English AlphabetWhen Is a Question Not a Question?

Human genetic disorders can arise as a consequence of mutations in Essay

Human genetic disorders can arise as a consequence of mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial genomes. Using specific examp - Essay Example These are called so because they carry genes for the determination of the sex of the newborn and they are also of two types i.e. X & Y chromosomes where X is for female and Y for Male. The chromosomes are mainly classified either on the basis of their banding or on the basis of the position of the centromere i.e. the central point of every chromosome. The basic constitutive component of these DNA molecules, euchromatin and heterochromatin is the main factor on which the DNA on all these chromosomes differ from each other. Still, on some of the chromosomes e.g. 1, 9 and 16 show heterochromatin in their centromere region where as Chromosome Y is also considered to contain more heterochromatin. (T. STRACHAN and A. READ, 2004,p19) Mitochondrial genes There usually are two strands in mitochondrial genome i.e. H and L strand. The H strand is supposed to encode more genes i.e. 28 out of 37 where as the L strand encodes the remaining number of genes. The mitochondrial genome is not very much similar to the nuclear genome as it does not contain any introns as well as it is very much compact and tightly packed as compared to the loosely packed nuclear genome. Most of the coding sequences are separated by one or two of the non coding bases while overlapping is observed in only some of the coding sequences. In some genes post transcription introduction of of UAA codon i.e. termination codon is necessary since they lack their own termination codons. (T. STRACHAN and A. READ, 2004,p19) Figure 9.3 The organization of the human mitochondrial genome. The H strand is transcribed from two closely spaced promoter regions fl anking the tRNAPhe gene (grouped here as PH); the L strand is transcribed from the PL promoter in the opposite direction. In both cases, large primary transcripts are produced and cleaved to generate RNAs for individual genes. All genes lack introns and are closely clustered. The symbols for protein-coding genes are shown here without the prefi x MT- that signi fi es mitochondrial gene. The genes that encode subunits 6 and 8 of the ATP synthase (ATP6 and ATP8) are partly overlapping. Other polypeptide-encoding genes specify seven NADH dehydrogenase subunits (ND4L and ND1–ND6), three cytochrome c oxidase subunits (CO1–CO3), and cytochrome b (CYB). tRNA genes are represented with the name of the amino acid that they bind. The short 7S DNA strand is produced by repeat synthesis of a short segment of the H strand (see Figure 9.2). COMPARISON OF NUCLEAR AND MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME (T. STRACHAN and A. READ, 2004,p21) Single gene disorders These mainly include autosomal, X linked and Y linked. These disorders are called as Mendelian disorders as they follow the mendelian order of inheritance. Some other disorders such as Non mendelians ones are also included in the list. (AKUL MEHTA.2012) Both the sperm and the egg contribute to the formation nuclear genome in the zygote whereas the mitochondrial is supposed to take the sequence from t he egg only.(T. STRACHAN and A. READ, 2004) Autosomal dominant These disorders are usually common in the offsprings who have one of the two parents with the abnormality. These disorders are mainly caused by mutation in one of the genes only with the 50 % possibility of getting the mutated gene. The disease usually develops later in the life or it would even not appear at all as the penetrance

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Bullying - Essay Example It is agreeable that bullying is practiced mainly in schools and over the internet and this form of harassment comes with adverse negative impact on the youths among other victims. However, the author has stated that the problem can be effectively controlled through several measures. Notably, this article is not only educational and exciting, but also comprehensive. For instance, it has discussed different forms of bullying, their causes and effects. Most of the articles addressing issues on bullying have always failed to discuss how bullying has affected students. The assertions in the article concerning bullying have also been comprehensively substantiated using clear examples. The claim that school bullying has led to enormous number of suicide incidences in United States has been substantiated by using the case of Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide as a result of school bullying. To validate the assumption that cyberbullying can lead to serious psychological and mental problems, the article has provided an example of the death of a thirteen-year-old Megan Meier that came because of a serious psychological problem. Moreover, the arguments involve more than one principle. The opinions in the article are convincing because they are explicit, logical and have been presented using a plain language. Reading through the article, there are no technical words that can cause problems to the readers. The use of technical words always affects the readability and understanding of the main ideas being presented. The clarity of the first paragraph clearly brings the message that the article is about bullying. Arguably, with the use of complex words, it would not be easy for the readers to understand the main arguments by going through the first paragraph. The article is explicit because the readers can easily recognize the

Fundamentals of Research Essay Example for Free

Fundamentals of Research Essay Research is a vital part of someone life because for the person to find information or wants to know anything he or she would need to conduct a research. People use other scientific approaches to conduct testing on data and research. The most common scientific approach people uses are scientific method because they can find the most reasonable solution to his or her testing. When working in the human services field research is one of the major tools used by case workers, managers, and counselors, and therapist. The scientific methods provide workers with enough information to make important decision on a regular base. Before human services professionals enter the field they conduct research or gathered information from his or her research so they could have information about his or her client. This type of research helps human service professional on his or her cases. The description, definition, and explanation of the scientific method on how human services professional uses research to conduct business will be present in this paper. The definition of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method research will be presented and an example on when to apply mixed method research in human services works. The definition of the scientific method is a â€Å"general expression for the methodology of science, or systematic research approach or outlook emphasizing the use of empirical reasoning† (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 1). Other books or dictionary defined scientific methods as the â€Å"principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypothesis† (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d.). When people think of the word â€Å"scientific,† the first thing pop into people minds is the study of the human body, geography, chemistry, biology, or even natural sciences. In human services there is also some form of scientific method demonstrate by workers. Human services worker demonstrates social science when working with clients, organizations, business, and other professional working in the same field. Human services workers used scientific method to take survey, answer questions, and conduct assessments in human services work. The scientific method provides statistic on children and elderly abusive, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy, just to name a few. The scientific method helps human services workers find statistic or information on why children and elderly are being neglect and abusive by family members and friends. There are so much homeless veterans on the street, or even why sex-offenders are released from prisons back into society where they could harm children again. The steps involved in the process of scientific inquiries are observation, research, testable hypothesis, experiment hypothesis, analyze results, and draw conclusions. The next few paragraphs will describe the steps in the scientific inquiry. Observation provides information base on the real-world. Human service workers use social science to work on cases in the real world. The real-world provides workers with the knowledge they need, when working in the field. The information taken from the real-world is passed on to the research stage. The research stage allows case works to understand the basic information being observed. Some case workers may end-up finding the same information other workers has found already. It is the responsibility of the case workers to continue researching the information the case worker found. This process still has unanswered questions, which makes it easier to continue the research process and investigate into the information from the observation process. The next stage becomes the most vital stage in the scientific inquiries. Next the testable hypothesis is basically the background information from the research work. In, this process case workers have an opportunity to explain the observation he or her has made and ensure accurate the testing is. Some time, the information from the research data case workers collected for the experiment might be off from the hypothesis. This type of demonstration allows case workers to gain some kind of knowledge about the areas they might need to investigate more. It does not mean the first experiment is not accurate but other testing needs to be conducted. This allows case workers to make knowledgeable experiments so he or she could find answers to the questions that were unanswered. This is how case workers conduct business in the real world-by working on finding reliable and accurate understanding of the world. The fourth stage consists of conducting an experiment to test the hypothesis. This stage allows case workers to test their hypothesis to discover if the data they collected from his or her observation, research, and testable hypothesis is accurate. The steps followed according to the formula of the data for the experiment. It is important to identify the structure of the testable hypothesis. The variable from the testable hypothesis might be off so it is important to retest the experiment. Case workers take notes to determine any finding or mistakes that might happen, it is best to document the experiment so there is no repeat of the same experiment. This process ensures the data case workers collected is reliable and consistent to his or her hypothesis. One mistake could cause the whole experiment to go wrong. If the hypothesis is not constant the conclusions case workers draw from the observations, the research collected for the experiment will not have any type of meaning to the hypothesis. The next two final stages are analyzing the data and draw the conclusions. In the analyzing stage case workers data are presented, the facts are organizes, relationships are built, and the information is calculated so it could be analyzed and interpreted. In this process case workers could take the information gathered and determine if the hypothesis could be approved, rejected, or revised. After this process human services worker could start preparing his or her report and summarizing each stage for discussion. If the report is good enough the conclusions will relates to the body of the research. The report should still have room to modify any new information needed. This opens up the door to unanswered questions and leave room for additional studies. Human Services workers use the scientific method to conduct assessment and survey on domestic violence on women and children in the community. The problem here is how to conduct the necessary assessment to determine the number of women or children who are victims of domestic violence. The hypothesis should be to use the number chart with W’s representing the number of women and C’s to determine the number of children in domestic violence. The experimentation is conducted within two facilities where women and children are held. There is four associated available to help out with the experiment. Each associated will have his or her data which will be used to answer the question. The hypothesis will be tested and if additional testing is needed it will be conducted. The case workers will have an opportunity to analyze the results of the assessment. Finally the conclusion could be executed in the proper way and everyone could agree on the findings. Qualitative research is the studies in which the raw data exist in a non-numerical form (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 4). Qualitative research discusses the type of research human services workers used when working in the field on different type of psychology, social sciences, and sociology cases. Quantitative research is the studies in which the raw data exist in a numerical form (Rosnow, Rosenthal, 2008, pg. 4). Quantitative research discusses the type of assessment or survey case workers used to conduct experiment. The areas are Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics human services used to determine the hypothesis and draw conclusion using the natural science tools. Both could be used in the human services field for example, in the number of domestics’ violence cases among women and children on the number chart. Using the qualitative research the study would be the age of the women and children. Using quantitative research on the number chart is the study of children taken out of their homes. It depends on the situation or case being studies to determine, which research between the qualitative and quantitative to use. The mixed method research is defined as the procedures for collecting both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study, and for analyzing and reporting this data based on a priority and sequence of the information (Creswell, 2008, pg. 552). The mixed method research demonstrates more of a complete indication of the study to any problems compared to either the qualitative and quantitative method. Mixed method research provides answers to questions and analysis statistic where qualitative and quantitative method cannot provide. An example of the mixed method research is the study of quantitative measurement to determine the impact of the treatment base on the outcomes. The qualitative part exactly comes before the experiment. Researchers collect the data to qualitative to determine the used of the design for the treatment being conducted. The fundamental of research is to determine if the information gathered is accurate enough to advance to the next stage. This process in human services work is vital because case workers the information gathered must be observe, research, test the hypothesis, perform the experiment hypothesis, and analyze the results, and finally draw a conclusion. The research method is beneficial to any human services workers or facility. The accuracy of the experiment must be strong enough to stand on its own for human services organizations to offer this type of services. Once the scientifically area shows improvement services will advance and goals of the human services organization and workers will be accomplished. References Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2012, from Scientific method: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scientific%20method Rosnow, R. L., Rosenthal, R. (2008). Beginning behavioral research: A conceptual primer (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Descriptive Essay on Basketball Gym -- description, Observation Essay

The gym where I practice to win, the YMCA, is a place where I know who I am. It is a place I can go to escape my problems for awhile and release some stress. It is not the actual physical building, but rather the events that have occurred over the years. It is where I have formed some of the closest friendships. It is the place I have invested years of hard work for many of my accomplishments. To some it may seem odd that a place associated with sweat and physical pain can mean so much to one person. However, in my eyes it is almost like a second home. A certain familiarity has developed over time that makes it home. As I sit here, I can vividly picture myself there. I drive my car into the pot-hole filled parking lot off the main street, and park in the same spot I always have, people just seem to know that’s my spot. Walking around the back I gently push open the wooden door, which is like a barrier between two different worlds. The hot thick air quickly rushes out and escapes past my body. The familiar damp smell of sweat still inundates my nose when I walk into the ...

An exploration into play, provision and pedagogy

Greek children enjoyed making balls for pigs' bladders showing heir creativity side and Roman children liked to play with toy soldiers. They also took part In running and Jumping games and piggybacked flights. Hoops were made out of the iron frames of wheels. Depending on the society in which children live, children's play would be reflected. In the case of Greek and Roman children, physical activities took place alongside adults. During this period, play was never documented as it was not considered worthy of doing so. By the 18th Century play was valued.Rousseau believed that children should be able to roam freely and explore the outdoors ready to learn and read through play. He believed that children looked at play and work as a whole and that children should play as a right for it showed their potential. In 1998, Scratch and Spoke (2007, pap) describe two approaches to play in the 19th and 20th centuries; classical and modern dynamic. The classical theories were to explain the re ason that play existed. The reasons being: – The relaxation theory in which individuals recharge energy that they exhaust in work.Therefore play is relaxation and a source of energy before beginning work again. – The surplus energy theory, in contrast to the relaxation theory, viewed play as a means of eliminating excess energy. Play therefore was regarded as an instinctive behavior with no immediate goal. Herbert Spence's theory was heavily influenced by the work of Schaller. – Play as pre-exercise. According to this perspective play is an instinctive way of preparing children for adult life. Play experiences are similar to those they will experience as adults, and therefore children are rehearsing adult skills In their play.Gross adopted this view in the late nineteenth century, he believed play was functional and characterized by undefined activity, pleasure and dominated by process rather than reduce. He believed that experimental play developed mental skill s and self-control, and Imitative play developed Inter-personal skills. In contrast to the classical theories. The modern perspectives have a different view on the context of play. The theorists 1 OFF that Piglet believed children's knowledge was increased through engaging with the environment.He studied play primarily from a cognitive viewpoint. From Piglet's perspective, learning takes place through two processes, these being ‘assimilation' and ‘accommodation'. Assimilation is when new knowledge is accepted from the oral and accommodation is adapting this new information to make links with previously developed understanding or schemas. Piglet believed that learning is a continuing process of adaptation to the environment. Piglet viewed the child's development as leading learning, with play having a strong influence on development.Therefore play has an important educational purpose however Piglet paid less attention to the role of language in learning. McLeod (2007) sta tes that Weights believed all children's learning happened within a social context. He was a social constructivist and in his theory he placed the support of others such as adults which is well known as scaffolding. These adults are as central to developing children's understanding. Therefore, language makes a critical contribution to the development of the child's learning. The adult has a distinct role in moving children on from their present, to their potential development.In contrast to Piglet, Weights understood learning to lead development. He believed children create play that has purpose which in turn determines their affective states. Weights stated that the child's greatest achievements were possible in play because: ‘In play a child behaves ended his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself (Augusto 1978: 102). Essentially then, the child moves forward through play activity. One approach to play in which the s etting have shown some links to is Regis Emilie.This approach believes that collaboration and documentation is vital to a child's development. Regis also sees the environment as the third teacher. The settings behavior policy (2013 p. L) states that We place great emphasis on our values of mutual trust and respect for all and for the community ND environment in which we live' This can therefore link into the fact of the environment acting as a third teacher as the children are able to use the outdoors area for a number of different occasions such as learning days and playtime's.The settings play provision supports this evidence as the main form of play which is offered is free play. Free play is when a child is able to choose what activity they would like to do, how they want to do it, when to stop and start something else. Free play does not have any external goals that are set by the adults and there isn't a curriculum in which to follow. Although practitioners usually provide the space and resources for free play and might be involved, the children take the lean and the adult responds to cues from the children.The setting provide a set period of time when the children are able to access whatever resources they wish, including the outdoors, and they are able to develop their play and learning in this time, in their own way. Developing different hypothesis about life and make their own conclusions. The setting has a number of children that acquire challenging behavior and therefore, supports the theory of Surplus energy. Today it is evident that children have fewer opportunities for outdoor play. The environment for outdoor play is generally understudied and the role of the adult in this is frequently involved.In play children tend to seek out risks, because through these they develop their self-esteem these skills. Adults in the setting are now overly cautious and their fear reduce children's opportunities to set themselves challenges and take risks. Early E ducation (2012) states that ‘Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong readership between practitioners and parents and careers. ‘ It has become evident that the behavior in the children has seen to be more challenging when the weather is bad and the outdoors area is shut.Perhaps down to the fact that the children are then not able to access all areas of play in which they feel benefits them. The setting should therefore have an undercover area, or an area in which children who feel they need to work off any additional energy that they may have, can do so. This should be accessible for these children in all weather situations. If this is not available for the children to access, then it will slow down part of their development in which play helps to aid. Children are highly motivated to play, although adults' find defining and understanding children's play a challenge.All a spects of development and learning are related in play, especially their cognitive development. When children have time to play, their play grows in complexity and becomes more cognitively and socially demanding. Through free play children are able to explore different materials and discover their properties which will help them then to use heir knowledge of materials to imaginative play such as role play. During role play, children are able to express their emotions and reveal their inner feelings which is a key time for the adults to be observing the children and ways in which they handle different situations.It helps to give an insight into each child's interests. If a child is experiencing any traumatic experiences, play can help that child to deal with these in their own way which is helping them to maintain emotional balance, physical and mental health, and well-being. Free play not only lets a child to explore different activities but it also enables them to develop a sense o f who they are, their value of themselves and others. Play also helps a child's language and social development as they are learning the skills to communicate and share. Play England (2007, p. 6) state that Early pioneers in early childhood studies such as Forbore, Interiors and Steiner, who were influenced by the work of Rousseau, influenced the early year's curriculum. They all believed that childhood is a distinctly different state from adulthood and that adults therefore should not seek to prepare children for adulthood. This is therefore in contrast with the play as pre-exercise theory. Forbore, Interiors and Steiner all believed children are self-motivating that adults have a tendency to be too dominant and cut across this motivation.Interiors, however, did not believe in play or toys. Children in her kindergartens experienced real household tasks. Forbore believed that children were strong and confident and that through play they saw things through to completion. The setting supports Steiner's theory as he believed that children need free, creative play to develop their spirit, their bodies and heir minds and in the setting there are many different creative resources available for the children to access such as a craft area, outdoors area and role play.Steiner also believed it was important to provide real life tasks for children which will then give them a sense of belonging and connectedness to the environment and again this is achieved through the outdoor area. The setting offers the opportunity for allows children to cook different recipes based on ingredients found in the outdoors. Steiner also believed that educators needed to provide rhythm and structure in the hillside's day. The setting has a visual timetable in order for the children to understand the structure of the day ahead.There is also circle time in which the children are able to communicate with both their peers and their adults and can talk about their own individual interests. These are then taken into account for future planned activities. However, if for whatever reason the setting is unable to stick to this plan this can confuse the children's understanding of the day and put them on edge. It also makes it harder for practitioners to be able to take the time to observe ND document the interests of children and therefore resulting in activity plans that aren't quite suitable to the needs of the children.In conclusion, I feel that the play provision in the setting could use a lot more structure in the sense of planned activities which are more vital to the children's development. These activities should be based upon their interests and although it is hard to find the time in the day to document these interests, I believe it should be made a priority as the children will not gain all that they could from their play time. I also believe that the outdoors area deeds more accessible and more appropriate resources to help aid their development; not Just in there c ognitive aspects but also their social and language development.