Education in India Essay

Takshasila was the earliest recorded centre of higher learning in India from at least 5th century BCE and it is debatable whether it could be regarded a university or not. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world in the modern sense of university. [2] Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. Overall System Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central,state, and local. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the State Governments, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government. The National Policy on Education (NPE) is a policy formulated by the Government of India to promote education amongst India’s people. The policy covers elementary education to colleges in both rural and urban India. The first NEP was promulgated in 1968 by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the second by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. It emphasizes three aspects in relation to elementary education: * universal access and enrolment, * universal retention of children up to 14 years of age, and * a substantial improvement in the quality of education to enable all children to achieve * Revival of Sanskrit and other classical languages for contemporary use. Today education system in India can be divided into many stages. * Pre- Primary – It consists of children of 3-5 years of age studying in nursery, lower kindergarten and upper kindergarten. At this stage student is given knowledge about school life and is taught to read and write some basic words. * Primary – It includes the age group of children of 6-11 years studying in classes from first to fifth. * Middle – It consists of children studying in classes from sixth to eighth. * Secondary – it includes students studying in classes ninth and tenth. * Higher Secondary – Includes students studying in eleventh and twelfth classes. * Undergraduate – Here, a student goes through higher education, which is completed in college. This course may vary according to the subject pursued by the student. For medical student this stage is of four and a half years plus one year of compulsory internship, while a simple graduate degree can be attained in three years. * Postgraduate – After completing graduation a student may opt for post graduation to further add to his qualifications. 10+2+3 pattern [. * The central and most state boards uniformly follows the â€Å"10+2+3† pattern of education. [11]:3 In this pattern, 10 years of primary and secondary education is followed by 2 years of higher secondary (usually in schools having the higher secondary facility, or in colleges),[11]:44 and then 3 years of college education for bachelor’s degree. [12] Distant Education * National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi is one of the mega open universities in the world and caters to around 1 million students around the world. Vocational Education. Vocational Education at Certificate level are offered by 1500 vocational institutions in the country in the areas of agriculture, business, commerce, health and para-medical, home science and humanities in addition to engineering trades. Primary Education in India The World Education Forum, held in 2000 set an ambitious goal: universal primary education by the year 2015. Schooling all children until they reach young adulthood is recognized as important because it leads to many substantial positive effects: better family health, lower birth rate, higher productivity, higher earnings, and improved economics of the country as a whole. Globally, however, more than 115 million children of primary school age do not attend school. The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education up to the age of fourteen years, referred to as elementary education in India. [14] The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. Further, education has been made free[14] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. [18] Current status of primary education in IndiaAbout 20% of Indian children between the ages of six and 14 are not enrolled in school. Even among enrolled children, attendance rates are low and 26% of pupils enrolled in primary school drop out before Grade 5. The situation is worse in certain sectors of the population Despite a vibrant emerging economy and a string of excellent colleges that produce high caliber professionals, India has not made the grade yet on primary education. Hurdles in primary education (double it as general problems as well) Shortage of resources and lack of political will. High pupil to teacher ratios,(shortage of teachers –one teacher schools) Shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. (toilet for girls etc. ) The National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education of 2009 recommended longer preparation for teachers, but the B. Ed curriculum structure continued to be for a single year. There is also a lack of enough skilled trainers and preparation to develop skills, abilities and attitudes to teach students. Poverty and illiteracy of the parent Gender Issues(girls cannot study). Social Issues like caste system (some castes are not allowed) Several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. (primary education) The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. [19] 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states. [19] The DERP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3. 5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. [19] . [19] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme. [19] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality HERE first Write to improve all the above negative issues. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)/Right to Education (RTE). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Movement) is a programme by the Government of India aimed at the universalization of elementary education â€Å"in a time bound manner†, as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free education to children aged 6–14 (estimated to be 205 million in number in 2001) a fundamental right. The programme was pioneered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1. 1 million habitations. In FY 2009-10,60% of SSA funds came from GOI. This has now been revised to 65%. The programme is looking to open new schools in those habitations without schooling facilities and to strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. SSA is now the primary vehicle for implementing the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL), is a focused intervention of Government of India, to reach the â€Å"Hardest to Reach† girls, especially those not in school. Launched in July 2003, it is an important component of SSA, which provides additional support for enhancing girl’s education over and above the investments for girl’s education through normal SSA interventions. The programme provides for development of a â€Å"model school† in every cluster with more intense community mobilization and supervision of girls enrolment in schools. Gender sensitization of teachers, development of gender-sensitive learning materials, and provision of need-based incentives like escorts, stationery, workbooks and uniforms are some of the endeavors under the programme. The future of primary education in India The importance of universal primary education has now been widely recognized by everyone involved. Policies and pledges are easy to make but implementation can be difficult and goals hard to achieve, especially in a vast and populous country such as India. International agencies, the government of India, and the numerous NGOs will have to work together with will, wisdom and tremendous energy to make their desire for universal primary education by 2015 a reality in India. Secondary education. For several decades, it has been argued in the literature that secondary education needs to be expanded both as a response to increased social demand and as a feeder cadre for higher education, giving little emphasis to its other important functions. It is also argued that investment in secondary education yields considerable social and economic returns, making it crucial for national development India is following a service-led growth model and striving hard to survive the global competition, in these conditions it is being increasingly recognised that secondary education, is the most critical segment of the education chain. Apart from the bottom-up pressure (i. e. arising from the growth of primary schooling) and the top-down pressure (as the source of potential intakes for higher education) for its expansion, there is a need to pay greater attention to secondary education as it caters to the needs of the most important segment of the population – adolescents and youth, the source of the future human and social capital of a nation. Secondary education covers children 14–18 which covers 88. 5 million children according to the Census, 2001. Features * A significant feature of India’s secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. * Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. * Another feature of India’s secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. [27] * A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan[28] Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education. [7] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[29] The government started the Kendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 for the employees of the central government of India to provide uniform education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employee’s family has been transferred. [7] Policy Initiatives in secondary education After independence, the first step towards improving policy planning for development of secondary education was the setting up of the Secondary Education Commission in 1952(also known as the Mudaliar Commission). The primary objective of the Commission was todiagnose the growth pattern and suggest measures for reorganisation and improvement ofsecondary education. The commission’s major recommendation was to develop a 3-yearnational system of secondary education after 8-years of elementary education (8 + 3 systemof school education) to make it a complete stage. The commission also recommended thereconstruction of the syllabus to provide a wider and more balanced course and adopt mother tongue as the medium of instruction (Kabir, 1955). Nearly one-and-a-half decades after the Mudaliar Commission, the Kothari Commission(1964-66), while articulating goals and objectives at all stages of education in the context ofnational development priorities, recommended for a 4-year secondary education system anddiscontinuing the practice of ‘streaming’ up to Grade X. It may be noted that, ten years afterthe commission submitted its report; education was placed in the Concurrent List States and the centre responsible for its development. This changed the policy context fordevelopment of secondary education. The National Policy on Education (NPE), of 1986 subsequently reiterated the views of the Education Commission to implement a 4-year secondary education system across the states and UTs. 23 The NPE emphasised improving equitable access to secondary education and the enrolment of girls, SCs and STs, particularly in science, commerce and vocational streams (Para 5. 13 of the NPE, 1986). The NPE and the Programme of Action (POA), 1992 while recognising secondary education as a critical instrument for social change, called for its planned expansion. The NPE, (as modified in 1992) specifically laid emphasis again on increasing access to secondary education with particular focus on participation of girls, SCs and STs; increased autonomy of Boards ofSecondary Education to enhance their ability to improve quality; introduction of ICT inschool curriculum for coping with globalisation; renewed emphasis on work ethos and valuesof a humane and  composite culture in the curricula; And vocationalisation through specialisedinstitutions or through the refashioning of secondary education to meet the manpower requirements of the growing Indian economy Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) This scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75% from 52. 26% in 2005-06 at secondary stage within 5 years of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation. The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i. e. , by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by 2020. Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) The Scheme of Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) has been launched from the year 2009-10. This Scheme replaces the earlier scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) and would provide assistance for the inclusive education of the disabled children in classes IX-XIITo enable all students with disabilities, after completing eight years of elementary schooling, to pursue further four years of secondary schooling in an inclusive and enabling environment. Higher education India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and the United States. [32] The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. [33] Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. [34] In India, education system is reformed. In future, India will be one of the largest education hub. After passing the Higher Secondary Examination (the grade 12 examination), students may enroll in general degree programmes such as bachelor’s degreein arts, commerce or science, or professional degree programmes such as engineering, law or medicine. [31] As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 33 institutes which are of national importance. [33] Other institutions include 16,000 colleges, including 1,800 exclusive women’s colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions. [33] The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology. [35] Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes. [36] Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system. [36] Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been globally acclaimed for their standard of undergraduate education in engineering. [36] The IITs enroll about 10,000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public sectors of India. [37] Several other institutes of fundamental research such as the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Indian Institute of Science IISC), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Harishchandra Research Institute (HRI), are acclaimed for their standard of research in basic sciences and mathematics. Government programs on Education Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan[. The Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan is a centrally sponsored flagship umbrella scheme aimed at providing strategic funding to State higher and technical institutions. States will develop comprehensive state higher education plans that utilize an interconnected strategy to address issues of expansion, equity and excellence together. Central funding will be linked to academic, administrative and financial reforms of state higher education. The Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan proposes to put a ceiling of maximum number of colleges to be affiliated to any university at two hundred . [17] Higher Education and Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) With the objectives and proposals of the Plan as the basis, the report mentions that the private sector has played an instrumental role in the growth of the sector. Private institutions now account for 64% of the total number of institutions and 59% of enrollment in the country, as compared to 43% and 33%, respectively, a decade ago. The Government has also given the required thrust to the sector in its Five Year Plans. During the Eleventh Plan period (2007–2012), India achieved a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 17. 9%, up from 12. 3% at the beginning of the Plan period. India’s higher education system faces challenges on three fronts: Expansion:India’s GER of16% was much below the world average of 27%, as well as that of other emerging countries such as China (26%) and Brazil (36%) in 2010. Excellence:Faculty shortage – there is 40% and 35% shortage of faculty in state and central universities, respectively. Accredited institutions – 62% of universities and 90% of colleges were average or below average in 2010, on the basis of their NAAC accreditation. Low citation impact – India’s relative citation impact is half the world average. Equity – There is wide disparity in the GER of higher education across states and the Gross Attendance Ratio (GAR) in urban and rural areas, and gender- and community-wise Drawbacks of Indian Higher Education System * Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupils, India is also home to many universities which have been founded with the sole objective of making easy money. * Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very hard to extirpate the menace of private universities which are running courses without any affiliation or recognition. Indian Government has failed to check on these education shops, which are run by big businessmen & politicians. * Many private colleges and universities do not fulfill the required criterion by the Government and central bodies (UGC, AICTE, MCI, BCI etc. ) and take students for a ride. * Quality assurance mechanism has failed to stop misrepresentations and malpractices in higher education. At the same time regulatory bodies have been accused of corruption, specifically in the case of deemed-universities. [39] Road Ahead in Higher Education * Merit-based student financing: This should ensure admissions to meritorious students independent of financial background * Internationalization of education: This would entail aligning different aspects of education (curriculum, faculty, etc) to international standards * Enabling a research environment. This would involve creating adequate means of research funding and practical application of research * High quality faculty: The need of the hour is to create a conducive environment and provide incentives to attract and retain high quality faculty. * Improved technology for education delivery: Leveraging technology for enhancing the teaching-learning experience will ensure better outcomes * Employability: Making education-industry relevant and practical would be the right way to ensure a highly employable talent pool India’s higher education system can be expected to be better aligned to industry and global practices, and be more transparent and inclusive by the end of Twelfth Plan period, provided the Government is able to create an enabling regulatory environment and put in place robust implementation, monitoring and quality assurance mechanisms. * Legislative support. One of the most talked about bill is Foreign Universities Bill, which is supposed to facilitate entry of foreign universities to establish campuses in India. * Private Sector-The private sector can be expected to play an instrumental role in the achievement of these outcomes through the creation of knowledge networks, research and innovation centers, corporate-backed institutions, and support for faculty development. Saakshar Bharat (Saakshar Bharat)/Adult Education. The Prime Minister of India launched Saakshar Bharat, a centrally sponsored scheme of Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI), on the International Literacy Day, 8th September, 2009. It aims to further promote and strengthen Adult Education, specially of women, Education Governing Bodies he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE): This is the main governing body of education system in India. It has control over the central education system. It conducts exam and looks after the functioning of schools accredited to central education system. * The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE): It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India. It conducts two examinations ‘Indian Certificate of Secondary Education’ and ‘Indian School Certificate’. Indian Certificate of secondary education is a k-10 examination for those Indian students who have just completed class 10th and Indian school certificate is a k-12 public examination conducted for those studying in class 12th. * The State Government Boards: Apart from CBSE and CISCE each state in India has its own State Board of education, which looks after the educational issues. * The National Open School: It is also known as National Institute of Open Schooling. It was established by the Government Of India in 1989. It is a ray of hope for those students who cannot attend formal schools. * The International School: It controls the schools, which are accredited to curriculum of international standard. * Classification of Colleges. Colleges in India come under four different categories. This categorization is done on the basis of the kind of courses offered by them (professional/ vocational) / their ownership status( Private/ Government) or their relationship with the university (affiliated/university owned). University Colleges These colleges are managed by the university itself and situated mostly in the university campus. Government Colleges The government colleges are few, only about 15-20 percent of the total. They are managed by state governments. As in case of other colleges, the university to which these colleges are affiliated, conducts their examination, lays down the courses of studies and awards the degrees. Professional Colleges The professional colleges are mostly in the disciplines of medicine, engineering and management. There are few for other disciplines too. They are sponsored and managed either by the government or by private initiative. Privately Managed colleges About 70% of the colleges are founded by the privately owned trusts or societies. But these institutes are also governed by the rules and regulations of the university they are affiliated to. Though initially started up as a private initiative, the state government also funds these college Private Education What is it? What is the need for it ? What are benefits? What are problems with it? What can be done to streamline it? India saw the largest increase in literacy rate in the decadeof 1991–2001 — from about 52 per cent to 65 per cent. From 2001 to 2011, the literacy rate increased by 9 per cent to 74 per cent (Planning Commission 2011). The 13 per cent increase in 1991–2001 has been the largest for any 10-year period in the history of the country. Private investments and the emergence of budget private schools was the main cause for this.! As parents began to earn more in the post-reform era, they began to invest in their children. As better employment opportunities arose, the value of education became more apparent to parents. This increased demand for education was met by a rapid expansion of budget private schools The biggest success story of literacy in India has been written withprivate initiative — parents’ willingness to pay and the edupreneur innovation of an aff ordable school. In post-liberalisation India, the importance of the private sector in economic growth is well understood and appreciated. For economic growth, the state’s role is primarily to enable the private sector as a facilitator, prudent regulator, impartial enforcer of contracts, and at times as a financier Incentives for efficiency are also weak. Government employees have little incentive to minimise costs, fi nd and correct mistakes, innovate, and acquire necessary information about resources and consumer demand. The high teacher absenteeism in government schools is just one indicator of poor incentives. . High prices in terms of tuition fees, donations andlong queues for admissions are signs of the shortage of quality educational institutions. The same paucity of supply existed for consumer goods before the 1991 liberalisation. The license-permit-quota raj still exists in our education system. Schools and colleges need to be made accountable not to education bureaucrats (licensors) but to parents and students (customers). The government policy should be to increase choice and competition in education as it has been done in many areas of the economy — facilitate, not control. The core competency of the private and public sectors should be combined. The private sector should be allowed to produce education — manage schools and colleges — and provide it to all who can aff ord to pay. For those who cannot aff ord to pay, the government should finance their education through scholarships, education vouchers and loans. Instead of focusing on the inputs to education, the government ensures the output — meaningful, high quality learning. This approach combines the efficiency and accountability of the private sector with the equity and independent supervision of the public sector. . Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) should evaluate schools and colleges and publish the results so that parents can make informed decisions. One key goal of global reformers is to increase the accountability of schools towards parents — restructure the system so that schools are at least as much accountable to parents as they are to the education offi cials. There are many ways to achieve this goal: put parents on school boards or district education councils, give powers to parent-teacher associations, create something like our village education committees . One new idea in this bucket is that of school vouchers. Several countries have undertaken pilot projects. The voucher is a tool to change the way governments finance education, particularly of the poor. It is a coupon off ered by the government that covers full or partial cost of education at the school of the student’s choice. The schools collect vouchers from the students, deposit them in their bank accounts and the banks then credit the school accounts with equivalent money while debiting the account of the government. Section 12 of the RTE requires private unaided schools to reserve 25 per cent seats in the entry-level class (nursery or Class I) for socially disadvantaged and economically weaker sections. The government would provide private schools with reimbursements equal to their fees or the per student cost in government schools, whichever is lower. EDUCATION REFORM Just as in economic reforms, the list of education reform ideas could be quite long. This paper suggests that two principles should be the focus of reforms in the education ecosystem — effi cient use of public funds and the promotion of equity and quality through choice and competition. Achieve Efficient Use of Public Funds. (a) Fund students, not schools (school vouchers, charter schools, conditional cash transfers); (b) Convert state funding to per student basis and link it to performance; (d) Give poorly performing state schools to private parties on learning outcome contracts; (e) Hire teachers at the school level, not at the state level; Promote Equity and Quality through Choice and Competition: (i) Apply the same standards to both private as well as government schools; (ii) Annual independent learning outcome assessment across all schools; (iii) Decentralise and depoliticise syllabi and textbooks; (iv) Open Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and state board exams to all students, not only for students who study in CBSE or state board affiliated schools.

Australian Identity: I Was Only Nineteen Analysis Essay

The text I have chosen to analyse in this written review is called ‘I Was Only Nineteen’, but also goes by the names ‘Only Nineteen’ and ‘A Walk in the Light Green’. It was composed by John Schumann, the lead singer/songwriter of the folk group Redgum. This examination will focus on topics such as the poetic techniques used, how Australian identity is portrayed, the effect the text has on the reader and my opinions. I Was Only Nineteen tells the story of an Australian digger’s experiences preparing for, fighting in, and reflecting upon the Vietnam War as an old man, psychologically and physically damaged from the chemical defoliant Agent Orange. Although it may seem like a long time ago – the war ended in mid 1975 – the scars it left behind will never fade. John Schumann uses numerous poetic devices throughout his hit song. The most frequently used techniques include rhyme (as is the same for most lyrical songs), repetition, rhetorical questions and multitudes of colloquialisms. Many of the mentioned techniques – as well as others in the song – provided the reader/listener with an opportunity to think about the theme of Australian identity. The colloquialisms applied to this ballad allow the reader to associate and relate to their own lifestyles in Australia. â€Å"Drinking tinnies†  ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€œ an Australian vernacular term meaning ‘drinking cans of beer’ – connects with the stereotypically casual attitudes of pub attendees Down Under. Schumann’s broad Australian accent for the entirety of this piece also expresses a feeling of Australia. Schumann makes a habit of mentioning genuine Australian and Vietnamese locations. â€Å"Puckapunyal†, â€Å"Canungra†, â€Å"Shoalwater†, â€Å"Townsville†, â€Å"Nui Dat† and â€Å"Vung Tau† are some of the several places noted in this song. By citing factual towns/cities, Schumann creates yet another bond with the audience, as most members would have heard of at least one of these before. The rhetorical questions used in this have Australian aspects to them. Schumann quotes â€Å"the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet†, Channel Seven being a very well known Australian television channel. By bringing up well known Australian icons and brands, the author involves himself with the audience. Although subtle, Australians can also relate to the line â€Å"Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon†. This particular sentence describes the historical event in which humankind first set foot on the moon: â€Å"kicked the moon†. This is an allusion that many Aussies – especially those who watched the 1969 moonwalk on their TVs – would understand and could pertain to. Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history. Second paragraph: The language and tone of ‘I Was Only Nineteen’ is solemn and reflective of the past. John Schumann has used various types of vocabulary to show this. Schumann’s wording of this text is well planned and thoroughly thought out. Sentences in this piece frequently begin with ‘And’, implying that the author is not yet done telling his story. In a way it symbolises that the pain of the war never ended, it is still continuing on. The chorus line â€Å"God help me, I was only nineteen† is a fundamental part of this song. It expresses the innocence and childhood that was lost by thousands of involuntary Australian soldiers during the war. This exact line is repeated four times throughout the song. On one occasion it is slightly changed to â€Å"God help me, he was going home in June†. This change, although only minor, adds more emotional significance to the statement whilst still continuing on the idea of lost innocence. Repetition of the same word (also known as anaphora) generates a sense of emotion and draws the reader/listener in – waiting for the next addition to the story. The phrase â€Å"an Asian orange sunset through the scrub† has double meaning, the obvious one being the colour of the sky at that point in time. But when more research is conducted, it becomes evident that it could also be hinting at ‘Agent Orange’, one of the herbicides/defoliants used by the US military during the war. It killed the foliage of the Vietnamese forests so as to prevent the Viet Cong from taking cover in the trees. Approximately 1 million people – including Australians – are disabled or have health issues due to Agent Orange. The theme of mateship and strong loyalty is also evident. Schumann says that he can still â€Å"see† and â€Å"hear Frankie†, implying that although Frankie lost his life, he will never be forgotten. â€Å"But you wouldn’t let your mates down ‘til they had you dusted off† also speaks of the fondness the author had for his fellow soldiers, dusted off being the military term for medical evacuation of wounded via helicopter. Again, Australian identity comes into play: the characteristic of utter loyalty hat Australians are renowned for. On the whole, the vocabulary used in this song carries with it a wide range of emotional value and deeper meanings (these aspects become especially evident when the text is explored and broken down). The structure of this song is constantly that of a quatrain. The rhyming scheme follows no specific pattern, but commonly exists in the form of ABAB and AAAA. A notably identifiable characteristic of this piece is the way the story is set out. The majority of the paragraphs feature a diverse location and emotion of the crowd. The opening stanza states that â€Å"Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal†. The setting of this verse is Puckapunyal and addresses the family members of the protagonist. The tempo is moderately slow and the feeling in the atmosphere is one of speculation for the unknown future to come, but also apprehension – â€Å"It was a long march from cadets† and a slight amount of self-doubt. In the second verse, the cadence speeds up and a sense of excitement begins to build. The thought of being amidst the action of the Vietnam War becomes very real and very near. This verse is the debut of the chorus line â€Å"God help me, I was only nineteen† – an appropriate time, due to the nigh possibility of death. â€Å"Townsville lined the footpaths as we marched down to the quay† mentions the Queensland city and its inhabitants. There are many other examples of this throughout the song, including Vung Tau and the maturity with which it is spoken of (in the third verse), the Vietnamese jungle and the living with the fear that â€Å"each step could mean your last one on two legs† (stanzas five and six) and back home in Australia, reflecting on the war and its events (eight and nine). The author has purposely made the shortest lines (6-7 words and 8-9 syllables) the most powerful. â€Å"It was a war within yourself† – one of the shortest lines – metaphorically describes how the overwhelming sensations of the war threatened at every moment to take over your soul. There are nine stanzas, each consisting of four lines. Although it may not seem like it, this layout is actually for a reason. The song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin contains long verses, sometimes as long as nine lines, which creates a flowing story and often doesn’t give the audience a chance to consider the impact of the lyrics. However, I Was Only Nineteen, with its four line verses, permits the readers and listeners to reflect and contemplate the meaning and poignancy of the stanza in the pause that follows. The flatness and monotony of Schumann in the song mirrors the futility and fatalistic attitudes of the Vietnam soldiers. They were well known for their ‘live every day as if it were your last’ approach on life. Many combatants, as young as fourteen (this was an illegal age and they used false documents) had no plans for the future, apart from having fun whilst they were still living. To many Australian citizens back then – and still now, the Vietnam War was pointless. Some say it wasn’t worth more than six million lives (civilian and military) just to stop North Vietnam’s communisation from taking over, others say otherwise. Although we will never truly known what it was like, Schumann’s writing allows us as readers/listeners to experience a smidgen of what it would have been like. Schumann has evidently spent time assembling the superlatively set-out structure, as this greatly impacted on his audience, including myself. After studying this text, I have developed a much greater and more profound respect for the Vietnam veterans. It isn’t spoken of much – not compared to the World Wars. These men and women were following instructions and it is not individuals who are to be blamed for the millions of casualties. Schumann has brilliantly yet terrifyingly depicted the horrors of war and the suffering endured by veterans for years – even decades after the fall of Saigon. His use of assorted poetic devices, intelligent and well-planned vocabulary and meaningful structure pave the way for a sure masterpiece.

Bringing Ethics Into Business

Outline the arguments for and against bringing ethics and corporate social responsibility into business The question of whether or not to bring ethics and corporate social responsibility into business is an ongoing one. â€Å"Business ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues such as bribery, discrimination and corporate social responsibility† (www. investopedia. com/terms/b/business-ethics. asp). The objective of this essay is to discuss the arguments for and against bringing ethics and corporate social responsibility into business. There are three arguments against bringing ethics into business. The first argument is that the availability of free markets and the pursuit of profit can be guaranteed benefit to all members of the community (Velasquez, 1998). This means that regardless of ethics, companies can contribute to the production requirements of the public. For example, there are some companies in Saudi which contribute to the provision of some modern medical equipment to the general hospitals to improve the health care. There is a counter-argument to this. Most companies have as their target only profit and the reduction of costs without paying attention to the interests of society. For instance, some factories flow chemical waste in rivers and lakes, therefore affecting fish, which is considered an important food source for humans. The second argument is the loyal agent’s argument (Velasquez, 1998). In some cases in business people have the right to reject something which is conflict with their ethics. For example, a Muslim woman was working in a clothing store and the boss asked her to take off her headscarf and adorn herself to attract customers, but the woman told him that her religion did not allow her to do that and the manager tried forcing her. Then she left her job and resorted to the law and won the case. In terms of the counter-argument, behaviour in business is covered by law of agency which states that in business, ethics have to be considered. The third argument is related to the law. Velasquez (1998) says that the law is all that is required in order to be ethical. This means that it should be enough for people to obey the law but the law and ethics are not the same for everyone. When it comes to the counter-argument there are aspects in ethics which is in some countries are legal but other countries would consider immoral. The laws of Saudi Arabia for example, require that business discriminate against women in ways people in other countries would not agree are ethical. However, there are four arguments in favour of ethics in business. The first argument is that all business should be based on morality which is achieved by humans (Corballis, 2011). This means that each person has factors that help him to do the right. The second argument argues that business cannot exist without ethics standards (Corballis, 2011). This means that standards of morality should be available for the continuation of work. There is a counter argument to this. There is a counter argument to this because business could collapse if stakeholders behaved unethically. The third argument is that ethics produce profit. According to Corballis (2011), there is evidence that certain companies have combined the ethical and the economic together. They make a profit and they are apparently ethical such as Hewlett- Packard, Levi Strauss and Starbucks. In terms of the counter-argument, this is a cynical view because a company which has ethics should not necessarily say that. The last argument is reward and punishment in business. Companies that have ethics they will be rewarded in turn will boycott companies that do not behave morally (Corballis, 2011). There is evidence of this: people still believe The Body Shop is totally ethical because the owner of this factory who is a woman was based in the manufacture of its products on natural products. However, when the company grew and it became big, it was coveted by one of the major companies which bought the company from the owner. Therefore, they did not change the principal name and people believe it still has the same ethics. When it comes to the counter-argument, companies pay a huge amount of money to specialists for publicity and advertising to hide their unethical dealings, such as HSBC. In conclusion, this essay has discussed above the arguments for and against bringing ethics and corporate social responsibility into business. From the above arguments, it can be seen that the arguments which support the importance of a morality in business are the most convincing because business without ethics will collapse. References:- Corballis, T. , (2011), Argument for and against business ethics and corporate social responsibility, lecture given at Middlesex University. Velasquez, M. G. , (1998), Arguments for and against Business Ethics, Business Ethics, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Investopedia. com/terms/b/business-ethics. asp, Retrieved August 7, 2011 from http://www. investopedia. com/terms/b/business-ethics. asp.

Role of IT in generating competitive advantage Coursework

Role of IT in generating competitive advantage - Coursework Example They serve as symbol towards achieving excellence and besides the symbol they are practical tool towards the tasks accomplishment. However yielding the best out of I.T setup requires thorough mechanism establishment that ensures maximum profits. This can be done through implementation of management strategies in alignment with information technology. The advantage served by information technology is the fact that activities that were done manually are being carried out with the help of this infrastructure which exists in the name of computer, internet and the field of information technology as a whole. Achieving competitive means surpassing the rivals, living up to the needs of modern day challenges and satisfying the customers’ needs. Companies strive hard for achieving this status and would invest in anything and everything to be competitively stronger than their rivals in the industry. In last two to three decades the use of information systems and relevant technology has b ecome one of the most essential tool towards achieving competitive advantage. ... Similarly people can fly between the continents in no time. The continents, oceans, mountains, and other barriers of past are no more obstacle to communication. This all has been made possible through technology and computer and information technology are the two major gifts of technology in it. with every individual possessing a cell phone or other form of digital device, the operations on non digital mode can hardly be imagined. Keeping up with the challenges and requirements of modern day, embracing the information technology is a must. It serves as that particular pre requisite that must be fulfilled in order to maximize the profits, gains, advantages and minimize the threats and losses(Schlemmer & Webb, 2008). No organization or government can think of living without the use and application of information technology. In fact it has equally penetrated into individual lives, even they cannot imagine life without cell phones, computers, and other digital devices which are part of o ur surroundings and have made our life far more comfortable than it was to the earlier generations. The slow pace of past generations and the modern day fast pace is the salient difference between the two and only one variable stands out in such cases and that is the information technology and computer dominance. Computer has dominated the world’s proceedings in every way. The competitive advantage can be in form of reducing the costs that would be otherwise incurred in the practices and completion of processes, increasing the company rating with reference to market standing, improving the company reputation through the eye of customers, improving the

The Principles and Rules used by Jundges to Interpret Statutes Essay

The Principles and Rules used by Jundges to Interpret Statutes - Essay Example According to the fictitious Act that has been used for his arrest, if Derek is defined as an employee than he is considered exempt, but if by throwing a party he has acted independently of that definition, then he is guilty of the charges. The following discussion will consider the position of Derek in relationship with his charged offense and use the rules and principles that judges utilize in order to make a judgement about the problem of the party. The definition of Derek’s position in relationship to his use of the land is vital in order to come to a well rendered conclusion. Judges and the Law The interpretation of a law becomes common law when a statute does not directly address an aspect of a situation that comes for judgment and a ruling will help to define that aspect. A judge, however, will not come into contradiction with a standing law in order to favor a different outcome to a trial (Miller and Cross 2011, p. 12). The intention of this structure is so that the law is consistent to the point at which it has already been defined, but is flexible at the points that have yet to be defined. In this way, the law grows and benefits from the learning process as human experience is developed and knowledge is gained. One of the most debatable positions on the standard of the rights of judges to debate the merits of law is through the â€Å"the rule in Heydon’s Case† which was defined in 1584. Lord Coke said at that time that â€Å"The office of all the judges is always to make such construction as shall suppress the mischief, and advance the remedy, and to suppress subtle inventions, and evasion for continuance of the mischief and pro private commodo, and to add force and life to the cure and remedy, according to the true intent of the makers of the Act, pro bono publico† (Solan 2010). This statement, whether or not one believed in the context from which it was created, clearly states that the law is the intention of interpretatio ns by judges. There are fixed rules and principles by which law is interpreted by judges in England in order to put limitations on the liberties that judges might use when interpreting statutes. A statute must be interpreted with equity so that the fairness of the law is the defining principle upon which it is interpreted. Where case law and legislative law come into conflict, Parliamentary Sovereignty is the ruling principle in which legislation will be considered over case law. Substantive law dictates that a law must be defined by standards of moral intent that are in line with the general understanding of right and wrong. Deference suggests that where others have interpreted law in one direction, it is likely that the law should continue in that direction of interpretation (Smith 1848, p. 828). Derek’s Position: Discussion The fictitious Prohibition of Unsolicited Parties Act 2010 suggests that ‘a gathering of more than a hundred people on land for a social purpose in which alcohol will be consumed’ (section 1) is a criminal offense when permission for this event has not been organised under the permission of a local magistrate (section 2). The exception to this, which is laid out in section 3 is that the occupant of the land, his family, his employee, or an agent operating under his

Bard, M. G. The complete idiot's guide to Middle East conflict Annotated Bibliography

Bard, M. G. The complete idiot's guide to Middle East conflict - Annotated Bibliography Example Bennett, A. G. (2009). The Big Book of Marketing: Lessons and Practices from the World's Greatest Companies. New York City: The McGraw Hill Companies. This book was taken into account because it gave an in-depth detail about the strategies of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola in Cyber war, and how both companies attracted internet users through its marketing approach. Although much is not written about the competition in internet, but at least Pepsi and Coke are competing for marketing slots on the internet. This book is about the internet marketing strategies and rivalry between different well established brands such as Google and Yahoo, HP and Apple etc. The book gives an early history of the initiation of cyber war between Coca Cola and Pepsi; where Coca Cola introduced â€Å"Coke Rewards† as result of Pepsi introduction of â€Å"Pepsi Stuff†. This book is extremely credible because of its neutral approach to cyber marketing with respect to different rival countries. Solis, B., & Kutcher, A. (2010). Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the Web. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. This Book was written by well known author of internet marketing Brian Solis and well known actor Ashton Kutcher. It gave an in-depth detail about internet marketing ventures of Coca-Cola and analyzes its success in that aspect.

Real Estate Law Week 9 Individual Work Research Paper

Real Estate Law Week 9 Individual Work - Research Paper Example ving Merchant Wholesalers against Nathan Lane associates created a precedent in which the Supreme Court ruled that it is the duty of a lessee to pay rent, or periodic compensations to the lessor. However if a landlord evicts a tenant from his property, that is the end of a lease, and the tenant is not obligated to pay any damages, or rent. The following are the needed elements of a lease, description of the property, duration of the lease, terms of the renewal, rent and security payments, use and occupancy agreements, the lessor’s right of entry and inspection. A lease agreement must give a vivid description of the property, and its area of location. This is for purposes of identification. It must also contain the time frame of the lease, from its beginning date, to the exact date that the lease period ends. It must also specify whether the tenant has an opportunity to renew the lease or not and also identify the use of the property under lease by the lessee (Brook, 2009). The agreement must also contain the rights of the landlord to enter the property, and inspect it. Plain English requirement are applicable to leases because leasing is an investment decision to the tenant and the landlord. The process of leasing can be complex, and chances are that problems can occur which may result to a lessor losing his property, or revenue from the lease. On this note, plain English highlights issues that face landlords and tenants in a leasing situation, and what they ought to put in consideration while drafting a leasing agreement. A landlord needs to know what his rights are, and if the lease document meets his or her needs. On this note therefore, the use of plain English will enable a lessor to know in a clear manner what these rights are (Brook, 2009). For a tenant, he needs to understand what the impacts of the lease are to his rights and obligations. For instance the location of a business premise is important for its survival; therefore it is important for the

Children's Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Children's Literature - Essay Example This beautifully written and illustrated little story "Anna’s Corn" by Barbara Santucci reads like a parable. Anna has a decision to make about holding on, letting go, and going on. Helpful for generating discussion with children about how to mourn a loss and commemorate in life-affirming ways. Grade Level using Fry Readability Graph: I randomly selected three 100- word passages from this book and I plotted the average number of syllables and the average number of sentences per 100 words on the graph. Then, I chose additional two 100-word passages and plotted it as well. I started counting 100 words from the beginning of the sentence and I counted the proper nouns only. Reason for Selection: This book educates children about the value of God-given talents and skills which they will need to nurture develop and share. Aside from this, the involvement of the parents and relatives with honing and teaching skills to children is important. Summary: A very old Navajo grandmother believes it is time her 10-year-old granddaughter, Annie, learns to weave. Gathering her family in the hogan, she asks each of them to choose a gift they wish to have (Annie's eyes choose the weaving stick) as she announces to her family that when the weaving of the new rug is completed, she will go to Mother Earth. The death of the grandmother happened right after Annie learned how to weave through her grandmother's patience and perseverance. Title: Pearl's Marigolds for Grandpa Author: Zalben, Jane BreskinIllustrator:Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication Date: 1997 Interest Level: Grade 1 Grade Level using Fry Readability Graph: I randomly selected three 100- word passages from this book and I plotted the average number of syllables and the average number of sentences per 100 words on the graph. Then, I chose additional two 100-word passages and plotted it as well. I started counting 100 words from the beginning of the sentence and I counted the proper nouns only. The average number of sentences per 100 words is 11.1 with the average number of syllables per 100 words as 120. This book is suitable for age 6 years old.Reason for Selection: This book deals with burial traditions how each culture has their own way of mourning and burial methods. The children will also learn that when a loved one leaves the earth, they will never be forgotten and will always be loved. Topic/Theme: Abandonment, Adolescence, Body Self-Image, Caregivers, Children, Disability, Family Relationships Summary: The story begins when Pearl comes home from school one day and learns from her mother that her grandfather has died.

Archival Studies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Archival Studies - Research Paper Example Organizations are at the verge of changing diverse activities to suit the most appropriate management procedures, it is therefore very appropriate to enhance an effective way of reviewing processing manuals. Update of processing manuals also offers the reader with the latest policies that exist in a particular organization. This reduces instances of confusion in an organization since each member has the same documentation of policies that he is supposed to abide by. Moreover, it keeps the employees at par in terms of objectives of a particular organization since they all have the latest information, which shows the latest targets of the organization. A poorly updated manual conversely leads to inconsistency therefore increasing the risk of violation of laws, regulations as well as other organizational standards. Even worse, it may result to a heightened risk of injury or harms of the employee and hence put the organization at the risk for lawsuits as well as other damages. Therefore, organizations should take time in maintaining as well as updating processing manuals in the most efficient way (American Psychological Association, 2004). From ancient times, record keeping has focused on utilization of paper documents as a way of keeping records. However, with the development of technology, documents are now stored using electronic gadgets. An electronic document is essentially a soft copy of a paper document while a paper document is a hardcopy of an electric document. There are dissimilarities between the varieties of data storage. To begin with, the scale of electronic information is much larger than the information on paper documents. Typically, the point is open since disks used to store the information at numerous gigabytes, and the size grows daily. One drive can contain a million or more documents, and a single company can hold backup files of up to five million records. Secondly, the efficiency of

Reflection on Practice - Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reflection on Practice - Portfolio - Essay Example , titled "The Darkest Corners," details the grim conditions and human rights abuses faced by people who are committed to psychiatric care against their will, even if they do not pose a demonstrable threat of harm to themselves or to others. "[Such individuals] are denied the right to make decisions regarding their own fate, including admission, discharge, and treatment," CHRD said in an e-mailed statement. "Forced medical treatment, violence, and mistreatment occur frequently." It said psychiatric care facilities frequently restrict or prevent patients from communicating with the outside world, including their relatives and lawyers, and assume that patients relatives have the right to direct their treatment, even if the person is still quite capable of thinking for themselves. Under the Chinese mental health system, patients have no right to independent reviews upon admission or during their time in psychiatric hospitals, and the judicial system is unwilling to handle cases brought by former psychiatric patients. The report cited the case of Fujian website editor Cheng Tianfu, who was reportedly kidnapped by a group of psychiatric healthcare workers in a van in January, 2008, while on his way to the train station to catch a train to Beijing. "During his one-month detention in the hospital, Cheng was subjected to electric shocks and forcibly medicated," CHRD said. "Only when Cheng’s family consented to his discharge was he allowed to leave the hospital." Chinas rapid economic growth and deepening social inequalities are ramping up stress across the population, with urban white-collar workers, high-flyers, and young people all seeking psychological help in unprecedented numbers, mental health professionals say. Even the medically-based psychiatric profession was virtually nonexistent until well after the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) had ended, and psychologists were almost unheard of until about a decade ago. Meanwhile, Wang Wanxing, founder of the

Philosophical thinking Essay Example for Free

Philosophical thinking Essay There are many forms of philosophical thinking that humans tend to immerse themselves into. Sometimes, even the realm of self idolatry can be a subject of one’s happiness in pursuit of his own idea of what is satisfactory. In a more conventional identification of this act, vanity can become an obsession and may induce certain effects to one’s character. According to Wikipedia, vanity is a form of self gratification with regards to one’s belief about his or her attractiveness and abilities. Most of the time, people with this philosophy tend to excessively compliment themselves without entertaining any forms of negative perception from the people around them. In religious perspectives, vanity is a form of idolatry to oneself in which a person may become too overwhelmed with his characteristics that he tends to ignore any other beings superior than what he is supposed to be, bypassing the concept of god. In modern times, vanity can be easily spotted and may be identified to almost all societies in the world. One may identify a vain person by simply observing the way he acts with regards to how he projects himself to the public. For example, a person may always need to do make up retouching, consistently apply perfumes and even always engage in small acts of looking for runs and protruding fibers out of his clothes. In some cases, vanity can also be identified not only in physical perspectives but also in one’s philosophy. Vain people tend to always tell self proclaimed abilities about how they can handle situations which seem to be a problem for others. With such acts, some people may even interpret them as a form of arrogance. It would be a fulfilling experience if someone will tell you compliments about how you look and praise what you can do, but the aim to always look forward for this reactions from people can become an obsession and may lead to vanity. Works Cited Wikipedia. November 7 2007. Vanity. Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia. November 19, 2007 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Vanity.

Business Development Plan and CRM: Thomas Cook Group

Business Development Plan and CRM: Thomas Cook Group 1.0 ABSTRACT Customer relationship management(CRM) consists of the processes a company uses to track and organize its contacts with its current and prospective customers. CRM in its broadest sense simply means managing all customer interactions. In practice, this requires using information about ones customers and prospects to more effectively interact with its customers in all stages of its relationship with them. We refer to these stages as the customer life cycle. The customer life cycle has three stages: Acquiring customers Increasing the value of customer retaining good customer BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT The specialist area o fbusiness development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at gaining new customers and at penetrating existing markets. Techniques used include: assessment of marketing opportunities and target markets intelligence gathering on customers and competitors generating leadsfor possible sales advising on, drafting and enforcing sales policies and processes follow-up sales activity. Project work: Learning of the major products and services of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. Major Clients Major Competitors Acquiring a larger market share Learning about Customer Relationship Management Objectives Acquiring new customers. Retaining existing customers To have larger market share Limitations: Sometimes it is very hard to get an appointment with a corporate client as they have tough schedules. Meeting the right person in the organization is not an easy task who has the decision making power. Lack of transparency by companies in providing their data. Time period constraint was there for carrying out analysis. 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 Company Profile Thomas Cook Group plc is a leading international leisure travel group, created by the merger of MyTravel Group plc and Thomas Cook AG in June 2007. Thomas Cook Group plc is a fully listed company on the London Stock Exchange. Thomas Cook (India) Limited is a part of Thomas Cook Group. It remains as a subsidiary of TCIM Limited, an unlisted private company, incorporated under the laws of England and Wales having its Registered Office at Peterborough, England, U.K. and holding 55.87% of the post Rights Issue paid-up equity share capital of the Company. Thomas Cook UK Limited (TCUK) apart from holding 21.45% of the post Rights Issue paid-up equity share capital of the Company, also holds 100% holding in TCIM Limited. Thus, TCUK indirectly holds 77.31% of the present paid-up equity share capital of the Company. 2.2 Thomas Cook (India) Limited During the year 2008, the Company successfully consolidated various businesses across Thomas Cook (India) Limited and its subsidiaries. The Company derived the synergy benefits in 2008 arising out of various initiatives like network harmonization, closure of non-core and loss making units, manpower realignment, and contributions from tourism boards for marketing spends, re-negotiation with vendors due to increased bargaining power. The one-time cost of integration amounted to Rs. 69.8 million. Thomas Cook organized a 19 city Summer Holiday Sale, a pan-India Holiday road-show offering the best Holiday deals. The roadshows were very successful giving a boost to the Domestic Business. The year 2008 was focused on Domestic Tourism with its launch through the brand name: My India, My Way. During the year, packages catering to the needs of different segments of customers were created. the Company was the first Travel Company to offer Indian Rail Bookings online in partnership with IRCTC on its portal. Further, the Company also integrated with Hotels4u real time on www.thomascook.in giving its online customers first hand access to over 30,000 hotels in the Hotels4u inventory. The Company also tied-up with Axis Bank for pre-paid forex card which offers exchange upto 7 currencies. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. is the largest integrated Travel and Travel related Financial Services Company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, Leisure Travel, and Insurance. The Company launched its Indian operations in 1881 and is celebrating its 127 years of world-class service in India. Thomas Cook (India) operates in the following areas of business, namely:Leisure Travel, Corporate Travel Management, MICE, Foreign Exchange, SWIFT Network, Travel Insurance, Credit Cards, Pre-Paid Cards, Life Insurance and E-Business. Post March 31st 2008, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) is a part of Thomas Cook Group plc UK (TCG). On March 7th 2008, TCG announced its decision to acquire TCIL from Dubai Investment Group. Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the largest travel groups in the world with a market capitalization of approximately US$6 Billion. In June 2006, Thomas Cook (India) acquired LKP Forex Limited and Travel Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. (TCI).TCIL presently operates in over 61 cities across almost 166 locations in the country. The company has overseas operations in Sri Lanka which is a branch of TCIL and Mauritius which is a subsidiary of Thomas Cook (India). The Company employs over 2,500 resources and is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the National Stock Exchange. Thomas Cook (India), over the years has received several prestigious awards such as the Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Golden Award for Best Travel. Recently, the Company won the Best Tour Operator at the CNBC Awaaz Travel Awards 2008 and was also accredited the P1 rating which is the highest financial rating given by Crisil. 2.3 Financial Facts of the Company Revenues as on December 31, 2010 as declared in the annual report was Rs 2588 million crore. A dividend of 37.5% on the equity share capital had also been the proposed dividend on the equity capital and preference Capital absorbs Rs. 93 million for dividend and Rs. 16 million for Dividend Tax. 2.4 Listing of Shares THOMAS COOK INDIA LIMITED is listed on two Stock Exchanges in India viz. Bombay Stock Exchange Limited, Mumbai and National Stock Exchange of India Limited, Mumbai. 2.5 Principal Bankers: State Bank of India ICICI Bank Limited HDFC Bank Limited IDBI Bank Limited Deutsche Bank Standard Chartered Bank The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Apart from this Thomas Cook has won the following awards: Best Travel Agency Award2004 given by TTG Asia Part of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for the 5th year in succession. The Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Governance, for the second time in a row. The Criteria for this award are transparency, excellence in conducting business, various levels of management, social and environmental responsibility, ethical business practice and Consistent creation of value for all the stakeholders. The National Tourism Awardfor 2001-2002 2002-2003, winning the second rank in category 1 for the company that achieved the highest foreign exchange earnings from Ministry of Tourism. National Tourism Award Best MICE Operator2006-07 National Tourism Award 3rd prize Inbound Operator2006-07 The Association of Business Communications of India(ABCI) where the company won the first prize for its website www.thomascook.co.in Awarded The Best Outbound Inbound Tour Operator of the Year award at the Hospitality India Awards 2006 hosted by Hospitality India. Recipient of the prestigious Government of India Ministry of Tourism award for Excellence in Conference Tourism Best Travel Agency India for the year 2008by TTG Asia Part of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Best Tour Operator by CNBC Awaaz in 2008 Best Outbound Tour Operatorin the 4th Hospitality India Explore the world Annual International Awards 2008 2.7 SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Image Overall presence Customized services Efficient sales staff High focus on customer satisfaction Handling last minute transactions Weakness Inability to fully cover each market Not aggressive in advertising Opportunities Unexplored Market Hotels in Manesar Threats Other players in foreign exchange market. 3.0 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3.1 About Foreign Exchange Market In todays world no economy is self sufficient, so there is need for exchange of goods and services amongst the different countries. So, unlike in the primitive age the exchange of goods and services is no longer carried out on barter basis. Every country in the world has a currency that is legal tender in its territory and this currency does not act as money outside its boundaries. So whenever a country buys or sells goods and services from or to another country, the residents of the two countries have to exchange currencies. Foreign exchange market is described as an OTC (over the counter) market as there is no physical place where the participants meet to execute the deals. The largest foreign exchange market is in London, followed by the New York, Tokyo, Zurich and Frankfurt. The market are situated throughout the different time zone of the globe in such a way that one market is closing the other is beginning its operations. Therefore, it is stated that foreign exchange market is functioning throughout 24 hours a day. 3.2 Need for Foreign Exchange If an Indian company exports cotton fabrics to USA and invoices the goods in the US dollar. The American importer will pay the amount in US dollar, as the same is his home currency. However the Indian exporter requires rupees i.e. his home currency for procuring raw materials and for payment to the labour charges, etc. Thus, he would need to exchange US dollar for rupee. If the Indian exporter invoices their goods in rupee, then the importer in USA will get his dollar converted in rupee and pay the exporter. From this we can infer that in case goods are bought or sold outside the country, exchange of currency is necessary. 3.3 Following are the major bifurcations: Full fledge moneychangers these are the firms and individuals who have been authorized to take both, purchade and sale transaction with the public. Restricted moneychanger these are shops, hotels, etc that have been authorizes only to purchase foreign currency towards cost of goods supplied or services rendered by them or for conversion into rupees. Authorized dealers these are the ones who can undertake all types of foreign exchange transaction. Banks are the only authorized dealers. The only exceptions are Thomas Cook, Western Union. 3.4 Participants in foreign exchange market The main players in foreign exchange market are as follows: Customers: The customers who are engaged in foreign trade participate in foreign exchange market by availing the services of banks. Commercial Banks: They are the most active players in the foreign exchange market. Commercial banks dealing with international transaction offer services for conversion of one currency into another. They have a wide network of branches. Central Bank: In all countries Central Bank have been charged with the responsibility of maintaining the external value of the domestic currency.. Generally this is achieved by the intervention of the bank. Exchange Brokers: Forex brokers play a very important role in the foreign exchange market. However the extent to which the services of foreign brokers are utilized depends on the tradition and practice prevailing at a particular Forex market centre. Overseas Forex market Speculators 3.5 Major Competitors The major players in the foreign exchange market VKC FRR WEIZMANN FCM TT FOREX CENTRUM RR SEN MERCURY 4.0 SERVICES 4.1 Holidays Inbound Inbound Tourist refers to tourists/ travelers coming to India. Inbound tour operators promote India as a tourist destination. TCIL organizes tours for foreign tourist visiting India. TCIL organizes Individual tours, group tours and Conferences. Various services offered in inbound business are accommodation, ticketing, roundtrip, excursion, land arrangements, airport transfer etc. These services are procured from providers of these services like hotels, airlines, transporters, guides etc. within India. Customers are typically individuals and are sourced by overseas principals, tour operators or travel agents. TCI, one of the subsidiaries is among the leaders in inbound tourism and works closely with tour operators worldwide. TCI has a widely distributed network of travel agents and tour operators worldwide. It has around 20 offices in India and a total of 11 offices in USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, China, Korea, Japan and Australia. TCIL also acts as a ground handling agent domestically for Charter flights coming from international destinations. TCIL also offers customized individual holidays, group escorted holidays, MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition) arrangements and emergency medical assistance. Inbound travelers handled by our Company are primarily from Europe and USA.TCIL enters into business arrangements with the foreign tour operators for servicing their customers when they arrive in India. 4.2 International Holidays Outbound tourist refers to Indian Nationals traveling out of India. TCIL offers outbound tour packages across approximately 50 Countries. Outbound packages include various services like air tickets, visa, travel insurance, airport transfer, hotel accommodation, sight seeing, etc. International Holidays is further classified into following categories: Group Escorted Holidays: These are ready made packages where a group of travelers is escorted by a Tour Manger. Customised Individual Holidays: Tailor made packages based on individual requirements MICE: Dealers/Employees are sent on tour by Corporates. Sales agency amongst others for Star Cruise, Rail Europe, Globus, Cosmos Tours, Greyhound, Amtrak, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations, Japan Rail and Costa Cruises 4.3 Domestic Holidays Domestic Travel refers to Indian Nationals (Tourists, Business Travelers, Students, Leisure travelers) traveling within India. Various services offered are accommodation, ticketing, roundtrip, excursions, land arrangements, airport transfer, etc. These services are procured from service providers like hotels, airlines, transporters, guides, etc. TCI, one of our subsidiaries specializes in special interest and incentive tours, conferences and air charter / cruise ship ground operations. It operates its own Taj Mahal Tour and Delhi City Tour and is a General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Palace on Wheels and the Deccan Odyssey. TCIL is an active member of various industry and professional organizations. 4.4 Air Tickets Book your Air Tickets for your travel with TCIL either offline or online through the sitewww.thomascook.in.   Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   TCIL offers a complete range for flights, right from Low Cost to Full service Airlines, to choose from. 4.5 Rail Tickets Book your Rail Tickets for your travel with Thomas Cook either offline or online through the sitewww.thomascook.in. You can choose either Indian Rail Tickets that are available via IRCTC or International Rail Tickets via Rail Europe. TCIL offers a complete range for Rail Bookings, International or Domestic. 4.6 Corporate Travel Corporate Travel forms a dominant share of overall travel business of our Company. TCIL manages the travel budgets of several large national and multinational companies. The large scale of operations enables it to effectively manage travel budgets of several Multi National Companies, Blue-Chip companies and Multinational banks to their advantage. The Company provides Integrated Travel Management / Advisory Services to more than 300 Corporates. TCIL provides customers a complete basket of products for all their travel needs: Air Reservations Hotel Reservations Land arrangements which includes sight seeing, car rental, transfers etc. Passport / Visa Service Conference / Incentive tour arrangements Foreign Exchange Insurance The branches specialize in offering tailor-made Travel Policies for each corporate, thereby bringing savings on spend. Based on requirements and volumes of business, corporate are serviced either by having a dedicated relationship team visits clients office regularly or having a dedicated expert travel consultant with Centralised Reservation System located at the clients site as an implant. 4.7 Meetings, Incentives, Exhibitions Conferences Experience:This refers to the experience of the travelers right from the time they board the airline to the foreign destination till the time they come back. The travel here is a REWARD for the dealers/employees of the company who have done well over a period of time. The company (as well as the employees) expects the trip to be an enjoyable, hassle free and fun filled experience. Thomas Cook understands their concern and provide them this experience through our:- Experienced, dependable and extensively traveled Tour Managers, who are available with the group 24 X 7, provide their personalized services to the group and at times, act as crisis managers. In contrast, the other tour companies often send their ticketing person as the tour manager. The requests for special Dietary requirements are taken care of completely. The Indians are very particular about the food they eat (e.g.) Jain food. It is made sure that the clients get the same, irrespective of the location they are traveling to. The sightseeings that are offered are often exotic and different from the rest of the tour operators. Customer Focus/Customer Centric/Exceptional Service:This primarily refers to the experience of the corporate with the sales representatives. There is a huge extent of customization in case of a MICE trip in terms of destinations, hotel requirements, conference needs, sightseeings to be covered, gala dinner venue, team building activities etc. The prime focus is always to cater to our customers specific needs and the intent is to delight the customer by always delivering more than promised by us/expected by them. Dependable:This comes out of the reputation of the company (TCIL) and the vast experience of handling a large number of MICE movements in the past. The fact that TCIL has trusted business partners (suppliers) for every destination and that there is always an experienced tour manager with the group ensures that the clients feel secure when they travel with us. Moreover, the reputation of the company ensures that there will be no let up in the service quality and there wont be any trivial financial issues. Reservoir of Knowledge:The experienced employees of the MICE business make sure that they function as a travel consultant to the client rather than being a travel agent to them. It is believed that with the expertise, TCIL is in a position to provide multiple options to our customers. This is especially true in case of clients who have a budget constraint. Once the client is provided with multiple options along with the pros and cons for the same, they are in a much better position to take a decision regarding the destination as well as the services that they expect us to provide them. Value for Money/Cost Effective: TCIL is committed to provide quality service to its clients and they do not believe in any compromise on the same (0% Compromise). It is made sure that the experience that our clients get is of a greater value than the cost that they pay for it. If TCILs cost is more than the competition, then there is ALWAYS a very strong reason for the same (which could be better quality of hotels, better airlines, EXTRA inclusions etc.). Product Innovation:Over the last decade or so, the MICE industry has been booming. Since then, some of the companies have been traveling each year (with multiple incentives/conference tours). They are always looking out for new destinations for the incentive trips. TCILs endeavour is to be ahead of the competition at all times and product innovation is one way of doing that. TCIL has promoted new destinations at different points of times which have traditionally never been thought of for a MICE trip. E.g. Jordan, Japan, Macau, Canada. Moreover, within the same destinations, TCIL has managed to change the product mix by changing the venues for Gala Dinner (at cruise, Desert Safari etc.) or including some exotic sight seeings or providing some out of the box team building activities or in any other way. Wide Reach:TCIL is confident of providing our customers with the best of the services at any destination that they wish to visit. This is due to the vast resources of the company and due to the number of trusted business partners that we have all over the world. One Stop Shop for MICE needs/Integrated travel services:Its the firm belief that once the customer enters one of our offices, all his travel needs will be catered to. TCIL provides the customer with the forex services, insurance cover and a travel card. Moreover, TCIL can service their visa requirements better than any other tour operator because of our goodwill and the relationships that we have with the various embassies/consulates. We have the ability to provide the customer with a 360 degree experience on a consistent basis. Work with Play:This is particularly true in case of the corporates who have an offsite for a conference/meeting. TCIL ensures that after a hard days work, they have a relaxed and fun filled evening. This can be done by sending them on a night cruise or by treating them to a Gala Dinner with free flow of liquor and a Live DJ. In one of the cases, we had sent a couple of VJs and RJs (RJ Taraana) from India who made sure that everyone from the group was involved in the fun activities. 4.8 Thomas Cook Credit Card Salient Features: Thomas Cook Titanium MasterCard features in brief: The card has been specially designed for frequent travelers. Attractive 6 reward points for each spend of Rs.100 on the card on Thomas Cook products Free Delivery of Foreign Exchange within city limits Rs. 5,000 discount on any Thomas Cook GIT product 1 Free Air ticket to a domestic destination on the issuance of new card Complimentary travel inconvenience insurance policy Access to MasterCard travel lounges at Airports across the world Redemption of reward points for Thomas Cook holiday packages, hotel stays, air tickets, airline upgrades, etc Conversion of Thomas Cook reward points to frequent flyer miles convert the reward points earned on card to frequent flyer miles on select domestic airlines. Positioned as a comprehensive travel card Assured gifts for the joining fees free air ticket / discount voucher Higher reward points for card swipes at Our Companys outlets Redemption of reward points against Thomas Cook products encouraged 4. 9 Travel Insurance Insurance business of being carried out through our 100% subsidiary Thomas Cook Insurance Services (I) Ltd. (TCISL). TCISL is a corporate agent of Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited. TCISL entered insurance distribution in 2001 and offers the following products and services: TravelCare (Overseas Travel Insurance)- Travel Care offers security for travelers which covers travel insurance, hospitalization, loss of documents, Repatriation of Remains, emergency Cash Advance or any other crises which requires assistance. FamilyCare- An Overseas travel Insurance cover for entire family of 4-5 persons with single overall sum insured. ScholarCare (Overseas Student Insurance)- A customized product for all students studying abroad which ensures timely assistance in case of unexpected surprises in a foreign land. CorporateCare (Overseas Corporate Travel Insurance)- For Companies where employees travel abroad frequently on work, we have customized group policies. All foreign trips undertaken by employees in a year are covered under a single policy. TCISL provides all insurance products at all our outlets, leveraging on ability to cross sell insurance products to our Travel and Forex customers. 4.10 Foreign Exchange Thomas Cook India is the largest non banking authorized Dealer in India providing an array of foreign exchange products and services to various customer segments in India, Srilanka and Mauritius It has the largest network of branches with 144 locations across 53 cities in India including 28 airport counters in major cities working 24 x7x 365 days. It also has a vast presence in Mauritius with 12 locations including international airport and also in Sri Lanka at 3 major locations. It has been awarded the best foreign exchange company by CNBC Awaaz for the year 2008 and 2009. 4.11 Service Strategy of Thomas Cook To deliver exceptional service to all internal and external customers By Being  Ã‚  Ã‚   By Providing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By Ensuring Proactive   Professional Service  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personal Care Speedy Flexible Transparent Reliable Creative 5.0 FOREIGN EXCHANGE Thomas Cook has been granted an authorized dealers license (category II) by RBI to deal in foreign exchange through its designated branches. Under this license, we have been, inter-alia, granted permission to undertake the following activities: 1. Retail purchases of foreign currencies and travelers cheques. 2. Bulk purchases/sales of foreign currencies from/to authorized dealers, money changers and franchisees. 3. Release / remittance of foreign exchange for the following activities: a. Private Visits b. Remittance by tour operators/travel agents to overseas agents/principals/hotels c. Business Travel (including for Central and State Government officials) d. Fee for participation in global conferences and specialized training e. Payment of crew wages f. Film Shooting g. Medical Treatment abroad h. Overseas Education i. Remittance under educational tie up arrangements with universities abroad j. Maintenance of close relatives abroad k. Stall rentals and participation fees in connection with participation in overseas exhibitions / fairs 4. Import and export of foreign currency and export of encashed Travelers Cheques 5. Maintenance of foreign currency accounts with banks abroad and undertaking forex cover operations in India and abroad. The activities permitted by RBI are carried out only at the specific locations permitted by RBI. As an Authorized Dealer, we are a member of the Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India. Our Company provides the foreign exchange and payment solutions for: Individual travelers Foreign exchange for leisure outbound travelers Foreign Exchange for migration, employment, medical treatment Remittances for students studying abroad, gift remittances etc Encashment services inward remittances for inbound tourists visiting India, Non Resident / Resident Indians. Corporates Travel money and remittances for business travelers. On site support for inbound tour conferences. Film production houses traveling for shoots abroad. Remittances of tour proceeds for tour operators. Institutions Bulk purchases and sales of foreign currencies from Banks, Non Bank Retailers and Money Changers. Our business model revolves around leveraging its position as an Authorized Dealer with systems, ability and experience of handling large volumes of forex transactions for both wholesale and retail customers in a highly cost-efficient manner. 5.1. Network The strong network enables TCIL to attract large wholesale clients such as public and private sector banks, FFMCs and RMCs to use our services. TCIL has a strong network of approximately 160 offices in 55 cities and 100 RMCs Hotel Franchisee. The Company has foreign exchange counters at the international airports of Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin and Trivandrum which are open 24 hours and 365 days a year to cater to the needs of the international travelers. It also has a round-the clock Foreign Exchange counter at the New Delhi Railway Statio

Becoming a teacher

Becoming a teacher Individual Essay Like most of my peers, I joined the teaching profession with some preconceived notions, to a certain extent based on observations of my teachers, both good and bad, and partly on my opinion of how things should be like in a perfect world. Personal Philosophy Every child having a sense of belonging As a child, I have good memories of my experience and education in primary school. I studies at an all-girls school where corporal punishment was still used to punish disobedient pupils. I remember that my language teacher who was also the discipline teacher was very strict, but I also remember that I respected her to a great deal and so do most of my peers. I felt that in a way this had formed my initial notion about teaching where teachers are respected and should maintain a level of control in the classroom. However, I am glad that we have progressed from corporal punishment as a way to maintain order in our classrooms. There are many other ways in which the teachers can gain their students’ respect and keep their classrooms orderly. I believe that it is important for me to show genuine care for my pupils through the way I teach and in the time I devote to my pupils. I believe this kind of caring nature is bound to positively affect the pupils. I believe it is also importan t for me to create a positive atmosphere where pupils are encouraged to discuss questions. Pupils should not be afraid of making mistakes as they are treated as opportunities to explore misconceptions and not reflection of their abilities. School being their second home, it is important that my classroom is a place where it is safe for them to make mistakes, a place where differences are tolerated and compromised on. Common sense and research tell us that students are more likely to cooperate with teachers whom they see as caring, trustworthy, and respectful (Weinstein, 2006 as cited in Weinstein, Romano, Mignano, 2011). It is important to develop a supportive and respectful relationship with pupils not only to gain cooperation but also for them to be seriously engaged in learning, to share their thoughts and feelings, to take risks and to develop a sense of social responsibility. Thus, I need organise my classroom in such a way that my pupils will feel safe and cared for emotionally, intellectually and physically. I remembered conducting the ‘Heart-to-heart’ session with my pupils during my contract teaching and I find this very useful in getting to know the pupils better. Also, pupils were tasked to write at least one journal entry every week on something special. These activities has helped me to know my pupils better and are a great stepping stone to improve the teacher-student relationship. Thus, I hope to continue to implement them in my class in the future. Focus on Students’ Strengths What really triggers me to join the teaching profession was the weekly tuition session I volunteered for during my university days and continued to this day. Working for a non-profit community organisation gave me the best experience in social interaction and interpersonal skills that I would have not learnt of. I hoped my experiences and encouragement would help them find a clearer path to their interests in life and work, but I found that I learned so much from them about bravery, tolerance and ambition to succeed. It is really heart-warming to know that the boys are grateful for the help and support of volunteers and love to engage in learning and games. This gave me a completely new view of life, communities and education. There’s no doubt that I found great satisfaction in sharing and encouraging the boys but I was surprised by how enlightening and fulfilling the whole experience was. Thus, I believe that it is important for me to develop their full potential by guiding t hem in their route of discovery. As children are our future, it is crucial for me to allow them to express their opinions and nurture their own ideas. These reasons confirmed my decision that teaching was what I want to do in life. At times, we need to tap into the life experiences of our pupils to discover what they can do beyond their academic achievements. As a teacher, I used to focus on what my pupils do not know or cannot do, and try to fix the problems. However, after going through the teaching experience and courses in NIE, I learned that responsible teaching also involves searching for strengths. This is important to develop the confidence and self-competency of my pupils (Lim, Thaver, Slee, 2008). I will need to create opportunities for pupils to succeed while challenging them. I was told that we need to scaffold for pupils to understand the concept better but little did I know that these small successes will also lead to increased pupils’ confidence. Engaged and Active Learning During my contract teaching stint, I learnt that each and every individual student in the class had a different background and there is a great diversity in there. Each student had their unique learning style and abilities. Their family backgrounds ranged from lower to the top tier of society. I learnt that different stakeholders, i.e. parents, school, child and teacher, all play a part in nurturing students. The socio-economic class of students affected their abilities and academic success, and different family structures gave different levels of support. All these differences made me understand that when conducting lessons, I cannot expect all students to have the same experiences. Learning is superficial unless the pupils are actively engaged. Therefore, I will need to use different teaching strategies in my class such as questioning, collaborative learning, hands-on activities and experiential learning events that will encourage active and constructive learning. However, conducting a class that actively engages the pupils require a lot of planning. Therefore, I need to ensure that I am well prepared by not only knowing the content knowledge but also the teaching objectives and strategies. The activities planned will also need to match the concepts, skills and goals of the lesson. When pupils are actively engaged, they focus on what is being taught and better process new information (Lorain, 2010). As pointed out by Tom Good and Jere Brophy (2008), when students must wait with nothing to do, there is a higher probability to result in undesirable behavior and a loss of valuable learning opportunities (Weinstein, Romano, Mignano, 2011). Through the various courses in NIE, I have learned how to better prepare myself for lesson and designing activities that are able to develop pupils’ relational understanding. This course also discusses various cooperative learning strategies such as think-pair-share, round table, and jigsaw which I could apply in my classroom to promote active learning. Also, to ensure that the group activities are carried out successfully, I need to ensure that there are certain classroom rules and routines to keep the classroom running smoothly. My Evolution as a Teacher-in-Training Establishing Productive Learning Environment One concept taught in this course that struck me most was the model for creating an inclusive learning environment which was adapted from Stice’s problem-solving model. This model helps me to understand and reaffirm some of the teaching practices which I have observed and learned during my teaching internship, relief teaching or contract teaching. The model aims to aid classroom learning environment that are not only academically inclusive but also socially. Creating a conducive physical environment can influence the way teachers and students feel, think and behave (Weinstein, Romano, Mignano, 2011).Thus, it is important for me to ensure that the physical furniture in my class are strategically arranged to suit the needs of the pupils. During my contract teaching, my teacher mentor created a reading corner at the back of her class with carpets and cushions for the pupils. I find this arrangement useful in managing the class. Once the pupils have completed the assigned work, they will proceed to the reading corner with a book and read silently. I felt that this has helped to inculcate in the pupils the love for reading. This also helps her manage the class and reduce unnecessary disruption when the pupils have completed their work. Occasionally on a rotationally basis, pupils are given 10 minutes break time where they are allowed to use the educational board games created. This encourages pupils’ self-directed learning as they exp lore different concepts in a fun and interactive manner. I have also learned that it is important to ensure that the notice boards are up-to-date with information and pupils work. Environment psychologists point out that the effects of the classroom environment can be both direct and indirect (Proshansky Wolfe, 1974 as cited in Weinstein, Romano, Mignano, 2011). For example, if pupils seated in straight rows are unable to carry on a class discussion because they can’t hear one another, the environment is directly hindering their participation. Students may also be affected indirectly if they infer from the seating arrangement that the teacher does not really want them to interact. Therefore, I need to be mindful on how my pupils are arranged in the class as it will send a message to them about how they are supposed to behave due to the link between classroom environment and student behaviour. Through this course, I also learned that it is important to create a sense of belonging for the pupils by providing them opportunities to make decision on how they want the classroom to be such as giving them the responsibility to decorate the class or as simple as putting up pupils work. Behaviour Management Another aspect which I find very useful is the various behavior management models which teachers could employ. I understand there is no one size fit all solution to various issues a teacher might face in school and each model has its own pros and cons. It is therefore up to the teachers’ discretion to choose the model that best suit their teaching style and the class profile. Personally, the concept of taking ownership under inner discipline resonates with me. I believe that it is important for students to accept ownership of their problem. Students need to learn that they are capable of taking ownership of their problems regardless of age. As teacher, I must trust that they also are capable of taking full responsibility for the problems their behaviours can create, not because of fear but because it is the right thing to do. Assertive Discipline is a direct and positive approach to make it possible for the teacher to teach and the students to learn. During my contract teaching, there were times when I felt I was unable to deliver the lesson properly due to poor class control and denied pupils the opportunity to learn. However, after seeking advice from the senior teachers, I made certain changes such as implementing the rewards and punishment system. As a result, I was able to deliver most of the lessons without much interruption. Students should be rewarded for good behaviour and punished fairly for bad behaviour. I think that having a short list of classroom rules posted in the class is beneficial. That way, from day one, they are aware of what is expected from them. However, it is necessary to exercise punishments with cautions to make sure students would not be more rebellious. I have also learned the various teaching style and I would prefer to adopt the democratic teaching style which the teacher p rovide firm guidance and leadership by establishing rules (Edwards, 2008). Pupils will then be taught how to establish an inner control that permits them to choose behavior compatible with their best interest. I realized that teaching was indeed a calling. One needed a passion to teach and to make a difference in peoples lives. One had to follow their heart and not their brain to appreciate the true difference made by being a teacher because being a teacher was hard work with many untold roles. One had to be unafraid to admit that mistakes have been committed and constantly reflect on lessons conducted so as to continually improve. Bibliography Edwards, C. (2008). Classroom discipline and management (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons. Lim, L., Thaver, T., Slee, R. (2008). Exploring Disability in Singapore. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia). Lorain, P. (2010). Teaching That Emphasizes Active Engagement. Retrieved May 1, 2014, from National Education Association: http://www.nea.org/tools/16708.htm Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., Mignano, J. A. (2011). Elementary Classroom Management Lessons from research and practice. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.