Developmental Psychology and Expressive Arts Essay Example for Free

Developmental Psychology and Expressive Arts Essay An explanation of each of the areas of learning and development and how these are interdependent. There are 7 areas of development in the learning and development for children as described in development matters in the early years foundation stage 2012 DFE Cheshire. There are 3 prime areas of development and 4 specific areas of development. The prime areas area personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language development. The specific areas are literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design. Personal, social and emotional development: The areas of personal, social and emotional development is about how a child makes relationships, has self-confidence and self-awareness and manages behaviour. For example, a child of 26 months will demonstrate to their parents that they can be independent and they could show this by saying ‘no’ if they don’t want to do anything. Physical development: Physical development is about how children can move around and handle things by themselves and health and self-care. For example, a child who is 10 months will pull themselves up to help them stand and they will hold onto someone they know or a piece of furniture for support. Communication and language: Communication and language is about how a child can listen and pay attention, to understand others and be able to speak. For example, a child who is 5 months will make their own sounds in response when someone who is familiar is talking to them. Literacy: Literacy is about a child who is learning to read and learning to write. For example, a child who is 16 months will be interested in books and rhymes and could also have a favourite. Also the could draw/write with their finger in the sand. Mathematics: Mathematics is about children learning about numbers, shapes, space and measures. For example, a child who is 40 months could be able to separate a group of 3 or 4 objects indifferent ways, and begins to recognise that the total is still the same. Understanding the world: Understanding the world is about how children see people and communities, how they see the world and technology. For example, a child who is 30 months could ask a question or comment on the aspects of the world, such as where they live or where a different family member lives. They might ask why they live in different places then them. Expressive arts and design: Expressive arts and design is about exploring and using media and materials, and being imaginative. For example, a child who is 60 months will be able to understand different media and combine them to make a new effect. These 7 areas of learning and development are all interdependent. An activity that shows this is playing play dough and basing this activity on the book postman pat. Personal, social and emotional links into this activity because they are all talking to you and each other about what they are doing with the play dough. This is interdependent with communication and language because they are speaking to each other while they are doing the activity. Communication and language is interdependent with physical because when they are making play dough people to do with postman pat they are using their fine motor skills to hold the cutter and rollers properly. Physical is interdependent with maths because when the children make the people, they can count how many people of objects they have made. Also they can be making different shapes which will help them learn. Maths is interdependent with literacy because they could make their names out of the play dough with the cutters and there could be some alphabetical letters they can also use. Literacy is interdependent with understanding the world because they will be using their senses and their knowledge to understand the book and be able to complete the play dough. Understanding the world is interdependent with expressive arts and design because using play dough is a type of media so they will gain skills. This is also helping the children learn more effectively and to be more creative. Early learning goals: Each aspect of the areas of learning and development have early learning goals. Most children will achieve most of these by 60 months. The outcomes have been reduced in the EYFS 2012. ‘Children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others needs and feelings; and form positive relationships with adults and other children. This is from the personal, social and emotional: making relationships ELG 40-60+ months. For example, if a child was playing with lots of toys and another child was sitting alone with nothing to do, the child would share their toys with them so they become happy. This will help for them to build a relationship and become better friends.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find :: essays research papers fc

Views and Characters Flannery O’Connor wrote the short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in the hopes of portraying to the reader the racist views of the time: many of the ideals possess "a kind of holy madness or beauty." (Kirszner 238). These are the words mentioned in Literature, and express the emotions that O’Connor made the grandmother experience in the story. The story takes on a sort of irony throughout to provide a comedic look at old values and traditions, displaying to the reader how we advance over time. The grandmother very ignorantly describes just how separate dark and light colored people were during the period: "Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!" she said and pointed to a Negro child standing in the door of a shack. "Wouldn’t that make a picture, now?" she asked and they all turned and looked at the little Negro out of the back window. He waved. "He didn’t have any britches on," June Star said. "He probably didn’t have any," the grandmother explained. "Little niggers in the country don’t have things like we do." The language that is shown in this section of the story clearly demonstrates the difference between what is acceptable, and what is racist. O’Connor clearly provides us that she never has the intent to be racist herself, but rather her characters, possibly an influence in her life, are to blame. The grandmother shows her politeness to June, but also shows her rudeness by describing the dark colored boy with such racist terms, providing the reader with a sense of the "holy madness" that resides within her. The story contains eleven characters, of which only one illustrates her lack of coming together and recognizing everyone as a whole, rather than as separate races. Despite the obvious difference in language barriers, the grandmother does reflect a soft side: "Two fellers come in here last week," Red Sammy said, "driving a Chrysler. It was a old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them fellers charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do that?" "Because you’re a good man!" the grandmother said at once. Of notable importance, the name Sam means to listen, or to hear, supporting the fact of racial differences. (Babycenter) This could be the explanation why the characters, Sam and the grandmother, have the most polite conversation in the entire short story.

Leadership and Steve Jobs

I would like to start out by saying what leadership means to me personally. According to what I learned while I was in the marines being a leader means that you have to be strong and not just on a physical level but on a mental one as well. I have seen leaders make some very tough decisions and sometimes they do have to make the tough decisions even if it is not the most popular one. In the marines leadership also meant having the task to discipline others as well as being disciplined yourself. One had to be tough so that they can show others how to be the same and survive in difficult situations that life may bring your way.I found an interesting approach to leadership in ebscohost under the article Leaders teaching Leaders written by authors Buck, Marty and Martin, Mary. This article talks about a leadership program at Medtronic Inc. that encourages leaders of the company to do a great amount of self-reflection. A direct quote from Lonny Stormo the Vice President of Medtronic Inc. states â€Å"I wanted an opportunity for my leadership team to spend time on their own development,† explains Lonny Stormo, vice president for Pre-Market Quality.â€Å"In our busy day-to-day work, we don't give our leaders enough time to reflect and identify the areas of development they think are vital for their leadership development. By carving out time †¦ you drive commitment to the process. † I believe this approach gives the leaders of that company the confidence to make intelligent decisions and the employees of the company confidence in the leaders of the company to make the right decisions. The self-identification competencies concept from the article was very intriguing to me as it mainly gives one a chance to look at the great skills they have and how the skills were learned.In my opinion this is a good concept to not only develop leadership abilities but to focus on how each individual can use their strengths to be the best leader that they can be. I h ave learned from another article in ebscohost titled Coaching written by Elowitt, Andrew that leadership can encompass many different areas. For instance, this article talks about lawyers and what is expected of them regarding management of many different cases. Lawyers are expected to have knowledge and display competent leadership abilities in multiple areas include the latest laws when it comes to technology.Although most of the skills that they are expected to know about leadership are not taught in law school it is beneficial for the lawyer to improve on many skills to develop more knowledge and become the best lawyer that they can be. This approach gave me a new view on leadership by teaching me that I could be a good leader in any field as long as I kept an open mind and have a willingness to learn new things. Another important part of this concept is going beyond just knowing the subject but this article also suggest that developing good relationship skills is very crucial t o be a good leader.In my personal years of experience I have found that the best teamwork comes when each team member has a good relationship with each other and the leader of that team. There is a quote in Business News Daily that can be found at the link http://www. businessnewsdaily. com/2632-leadership-quotes. html that Bill Gates stated that says â€Å"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who will empower others. † Another quote is â€Å"You cannot be a leader and ask others to follow you, unless you know how to follow too.† This was spoken by Sam Rayburn a former speaker of the house. These quotes mean a great deal to me when it comes to leadership. The first one by Bill Gates makes me think that in order to be a good leader that one must have a vision to see greatness and also be able to communicate that greatness to others so that they may become great as well. The second one by Sam Rayburn is one that I always lived by. It lets me know that I should lead by example and not to ask others to do what I am not willing to do myself.This method has made leaders credible and trustworthy or made them into false leaders that are basically company men. The leader I have chosen to talk about is Steve Jobs the late Apple CEO. The reason I have chosen him is because he was an important leader in my field of study which is network administration and he was an awesome leader for Apple and in the technology industry. I have discovered in Wikipedia that Steve Jobs was not only the cofounder of Apple but also Pixar Animation Studios and was viewed as a guru regarding the advancement of consumer electronics.In an article I read in ebscohost from Harvard Business Review there was a quote that was spoken about the leadership style of Steve Jobs by Gilberte Houbart director of Media Product Design that states â€Å"Steve Jobs was a role model of courage and discipline: courage to get through multiple failures and discipline to learn from them. He stayed focused and worked hard, even in the face of illness and death. † I would like to emulate his leadership abilities and this lets me know that I must have the courage to achieve even when obstacles stand in my way and that I can learn from failures.Also from what I read in ebscohost I learned that he was a very hard worker and focused individual and wanted the best from others. It has been said all over the media that Steve Jobs was very persuasive and charismatic when it came to dealing with employees. However, some of his employees described him as being erratic and temperamental and also somewhat of a bully. According to Wikipedia Jobs was a demanding perfectionist that wanted his business and products to be in the forefront of the technology industry.Steve Jobs may have been a little rough around the edges and difficult for some people to work with but I as well as many others have to admire his vision and determination to be the very best in the indust ry and sometimes hurting a few feelings along the way may be unavoidable. Steve Jobs will always be legendary for all that he has achieved for as long as there is information available for us to read. In conclusion I would like to restate what leadership means to me. According to all of my wonderful sources and personal experience I have learned that being a leader is a great deal more than just telling people what to do.Being a leader means to have a vision and being able to communicate it to other as well as developing a good relationship with them so that they will believe in your ability to lead. Steve Jobs may not have always been the most likeable person on the block but his persuasiveness and ability to project his vision was unparalleled. Being a good leader also means being a good follower. This is a concept that many leaders forget but is very fundamental in getting people to believe in one’s ability to be a good leader rather than the employee just viewing that per son as someone telling them what to do.There are also many times when the decision that the leader makes is not always the most popular one but if the person that is in leadership learns to evaluate their selves as I mentioned that I learned from a project that is going on in Medtronic Inc. they will learn to be confident in their decisions and evaluate that the right course of action is being made. I now know that to be an effective leader I will have a vision and pursue knowledge in spite of any obstacles that may come into my path to success. I will persevere and learn from my failures and learn to be persuasive hopefully in a manner similar to Steve Jobs.

The Battle of Alam Halfa in North Africa During WW II

The Battle of Alam Halfa was fought from August 30 to September 5, 1942, during World War IIs Western Desert Campaign. Armies Commanders Allies Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery4 divisions, XIII Corps, Eighth Army Axis Field Marshal Erwin Rommel6 divisions, Panzer Armee Afrika Background Leading to the Battle With the conclusion of the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, both British and Axis forces in North Africa paused to rest and refit. On the British side, Prime Minister Winston Churchill travelled to Cairo and relieved Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command General Claude Auchinleck and replacing him with General Sir Harold Alexander. Command of the British Eight Army at El Alamein ultimately was given to Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery. Assessing the situation at El Alamein, Montgomery found that the front was constricted to a narrow line running from the coast to the impassable Qattara Depression. Montgomerys Plan To defend this line, three infantry divisions from XXX Corps were positioned on ridges running from the coast south to Ruweisat Ridge. To the south of the ridge, the 2nd New Zealand Division was similarly fortified along a line ending at Alam Nayil. In each case, the infantry was protected by extensive minefields and artillery support. The final twelve miles from Alam Nayil to the depression was featureless and difficult to defend. For this area, Montgomery ordered that minefields and wire be laid, with the 7th Motor Brigade Group and 4th Light Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division in position behind. When attacked, these two brigades were to inflict maximum casualties before falling back. Montgomery established his main defensive line along the ridges running east from Alam Nayil, most notably Alam Halfa Ridge. It was here that he positioned the bulk of his medium and heavy armor along with anti-tank guns and artillery. It was Montgomerys intention to entice Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to attack through this southern corridor and then defeat him in a defensive battle. As British forces assumed their positions, they were augmented by the arrival of reinforcements and new equipment as convoys reached Egypt. Rommels Advance Across the sands, Rommels situation was growing desperate as his supply situation worsened. While he advance across the desert had seen him win stunning victories over the British, it had badly extended his supply lines. Requesting 6,000 tons of fuel and 2,500 tons of ammunition from Italy for his planned offensive, Allied forces succeeded in sinking over half of the ships dispatched across the Mediterranean. As a result, only 1,500 tons of fuel reached Rommel by the end of August. Aware of Montgomerys growing strength, Rommel felt compelled to attack with the hope of winning a quick victory. Constrained by the terrain, Rommel planned to push the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, along with the 90th Light Infantry through the southern sector, while the bulk of his other forces demonstrated against the British front to the north. Once through the minefields, his men would push east before turning north to sever Montgomerys supply lines. Moving forward on the night of August 30, Rommels attack quickly encountered difficulty. Spotted by the Royal Air Force, British aircraft began attacking the advancing Germans as well as directing artillery fire on their line of advance. The Germans Held Reaching the minefields, the Germans found them to be much more extensive than anticipated. Slowly working through them, they came under intense fire from the 7th Armoured Division and British aircraft which exacted a high toll, including wounding General Walther Nehring, commander of the Afrika Korps. Despite these difficulties, the Germans were able to clear the minefields by noon the next day and began pressing east. Eager to make up lost time and under constant harassing attacks from 7th Armoured, Rommel ordered his troops to turn north earlier than planned. This maneuver directed the assault against the 22nd Armoured Brigades positions on Alam Halfa Ridge. Moving north, the Germans were met with intense fire from the British and were halted. A flank attack against the British left was stopped by heavy fire from anti-tank guns. Stymied and short on fuel, General Gustav von Vaerst, now leading the Afrika Korps, pulled back for the night. Attacked through the night by British aircraft, German operations on September 1 were limited as 15th Panzer had a dawn attack checked by the 8th Armoured Brigade and Rommel began moving Italian troops into the southern front. Under constant air attack during the night and into the morning hours of September 2, Rommel realized that the offensive had failed and decided to withdraw west. His situation was made more desperate when a column of British armored cars badly mauled one of his supply convoys near Qaret el Himeimat. Realizing his adversarys intentions, Montgomery began formulating plans for counterattacks with the 7th Armoured and 2nd New Zealand. In both cases, he emphasized that neither division should incur losses that would preclude them from taking part in a future offensive. While a major push from 7th Armoured never developed, the New Zealanders attacked south at 10:30 PM on September 3. While the veteran 5th New Zealand Brigade had success against the defending Italians, an assault by the green 132nd Brigade collapsed due to confusion and fierce enemy resistance. Not believing a further attack would succeed, Montgomery cancelled further offensive operations the next day. As a result, the German and Italian troops were able to retreat back to their lines, though under frequent air attack. The Battles Aftermath The victory at Alam Halfa cost Montgomery 1,750 killed, wounded, and missing as well as 68 tanks and 67 aircraft. Axis losses totaled around 2,900 killed, wounded, and missing along with 49 tanks, 36 aircraft, 60 guns, and 400 transport vehicles. Often overshadowed by the First and Second Battles of El Alamein, Alam Halfa represented the last significant offensive launched by Rommel in North Africa. Far from his bases and with his supply lines crumbling, Rommel was forced to move to the defensive as British strength in Egypt grew. In the wake of the battle, Montgomery was criticized for not pressing harder to cut off and destroy the Afrika Korps when it was isolated on his southern flank. He responded by stating that Eighth Army was still in the process of reforming and lacked the logistical network to support the exploitation of such a victory. Also, he was adamant that he wished to preserve British strength for a planned offensive rather than risk it in counterattacks against Rommels defenses. Having shown restraint at Alam Halfa, Montgomery moved to the attack in October when he opened the Second Battle of El Alamein. Sources Defensive Military Structures in Action: Historical ExamplesBBC: Peoples War - Battle of Alam Halfa