Parents Need Help Essay Example for Free

Parents Need Help Essay In today’s society parents are faced with a critical parenting question that was not necessary 20 years ago; which video games should I let my children play? Parenting is tough enough without having to deal with a child that gets upset because he cannot play a certain video game that all of his friends are playing. The values that children are raised to believe in are those of their parents, not those of the city, state or country they live in, and those family values are the most important values a child will learn. Some very influential people in our society believe that the government should be able to dictate what a child is or is not allowed to play or watch. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich believes that â€Å"Parenting is hard work and the state has a compelling interest in helping parents raise their children to be upstanding men and women. † (Whitehead, 2005). Some studies show that these violent and sexually explicit video games provide â€Å"harmful effects ranging from health problems to violent behavior. † (Rutgers University Law – Newark, 2012). The completed studies and comments from government officials have very informative information and hard evidence to support their statement of â€Å"Parents Need Help†. As detailed in many articles and polls, one of the major problems with parents allowing their child to play violent or sexually explicit video games is covered in a 2013 Harris Poll. â€Å"The findings underscore the lack of awareness Americans have about the video game rating system, as well as confusion in the market†, said Mike de Vere, President of Harris Poll. PRNewswire, 2013). If parents took the time to understand the video game rating system like they understand a movie rating, they would be better informed as to what each game consist of. Parents have no problem letting a young child watch an â€Å"R† rated movie that shows violence and sexual activity, but if that same child is showing violent tendencies or sexual behaviors they are quick to blame video games for the behavior. Many American children spend a large amount of time playing video games. As a parent, you may be confused as to whether these games are beneficial or not† (http://www. thefreelibrary. com, 2008). If a parent takes the time to review what each of the video game ratings are and what material will be in the video games along with reemphasizing family values there would be less political emphasis on parenting. There has been violent and sexual behavior from children in a ysfunctional and functional home, but if a parent takes the time to ensure their child understands the difference between fiction (video games), reality (everyday life) and monitors their child’s behavior less of these violent outburst would occur. Movies provide the same access to violence and sexual behavior as video games do but there is no political agenda to ban movies that have a less restrictive rating system than video games. Parents need help restoring parental rights and help in stopping the government from taking over their parenting rights. When the government moves in and takes charge of everything that we as citizens can and cannot do, it provides today’s children with the authority to disobey their parents because the government said something different. If the government wants to help, then they should start applying stricter fines on the video game manufacturers and the stores which sell the video games. Threatening them with a fine and not imposing that fine when a manufacturer or retail store provides content to a minor, is allowing them to continue to profit off of children. Impose the fines and make it a stringent fine, at which point manufacturers and retailers would start adhering to the video game restrictions and responsibility would fall back to the parents of which games their children play. In closing, government officials should concentrate on raising their children and guiding our country instead of worrying about how each individual raises their children. Acts of violence and sexual behavior will still occur whether children are playing video games or not; they see it every day on television shows, cartoons, movies and in the news. Parents need to be more vigilant in monitoring what their children are doing, watching, and playing as well as ensuring that your family morals and values are upheld by each member of the family. If we do not accept the role of a parent then we cannot complain when the government decides what we as a society can and cannot do.

Family Structure in the UK Essays -- Social Science, Family Life, Brit

As family structure has changed in the UK, so child care arrangements have become more diverse and complex. What are the implications of these changes for children? Introduction In the last 50 years or so, family life has changed becoming more diverse and complex, which has been the source of research by social scientists especially the effects of divorce on children. Marriage is no longer an institution that couples need to suffer if times are difficult, divorce is easier and cohabitation is more morally acceptable. The ideology of the nuclear family whilst not outdated is not the only type of family in which to raise children. The modern more complex family arrangements include step families, lone parents, step sibling relationships and shared care arrangements, which are the subject of more recent research. For the purpose of this study it will focus on the research relating to divorce and the new arrangements for children. One psychological study reported divorce as pathological; possibly in the early days using moral judgements to imply that ‘divorce is bad for children’. ‘They feel that their childhood has been lost forever. Divorce is a price they pay, as forfeit to their parents’ failures, jeopardizing their future lives’ (Wallerstein and Blakeslee, 1989, p. 43) More modern liberalised studies are comparing the divorced with the non-divorced children, to demonstrate that divorced families may have been labelled wrongly and in some cases may be a positive change. It is this more optimistic viewpoint which this research seeks to promote. Literature review As families are changing; the ideological nuclear family which existed in the past is less common, and attitudes are changing (Kelly 2003, p 237). C... ...hood , 10, 131-146. Pryor, J., & Rodgers, B. (2001). Children in Changing Families Life After Parental Separation. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Simpson, B. (1998). Changing Families: An ethnographic approach to divorce and separation. Oxford: Berg. Smart, C. (2003). Introduction: New Perspectives on Childhood and Divorce. Childhood , 123-129. Smart, C., & May, V. (2007). The Parenting Contest: Problems of Ongoing Conflict over Children. In M. Maclean (Ed.), Parenting after Partnering, containing conflict after separation (pp. 65 - 80). Oxford: Hart Publishing. Trinder, L. (2007). Dangerous Dads and Malicious Mothers: The Relevance of Gender to Contact Disputes. In M. Maclean (Ed.), Parenting after Partnering, containing conflict after separation (pp. 81-94). Oxford: Hart Publishing. Wallerstein, J. S., & Blakeslee, S. (1989). Second Chances. Reading: Corgi.

Who Killed the Electric Car Analysis

IN 1996, ELECTRIC CARS BEGAN TO APPEAR ON ROADS ALL OVER CALIFORNIA. THEY WERE QUIET AND FAST, PRODUCED NO EXHAUST AND RAN WITHOUT GASOLINE. TEN YEARS LATER, THESE CARS WERE DESTROYED. TEACHER’S GUIDE â€Å"A QUIETLY SHOCKING INDICTMENT OF OUR GAS-GUZZLING AUTO COMPANIES AND THE PETRO-POLITICIANS WHO LOVE THEM. † –KAREN DURBIN, ELLE MAGAZINE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2006 †¢ TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2006 WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? NOTE TO THE TEACHER Who Killed the Electric Car? is a powerful tool pertinent to many academic disciplines and adaptable to a variety of abilities, learning styles, and classroom goals.This rich, self-contained film requires little or no additional research on the part of the instructor or the class, but can be used as the foundation for independent student research. The film divides neatly into two nearly equal and independent segments that can be shown on successive days or at different points in a unit. Both segments offer excellent discussion opportunities. The classroom experience of students taking courses on environmental science or offerings that include a unit on air quality or environmental concerns would be enriched by viewing Who Killed the Electric Car?.Courses that encourage interest in engineering and practical math applications would also benefit. The ethical and civic questions that the film explores offer a natural connection for teachers working in the area of civics, government, ethics, and business ethics. In many of these courses the film could be treated as a case study. The ethical questions raised are nearly unlimited and a large variety of higher-level-thinking activities can be developed from the film. Included in this packet are discussion prompts, class activities, and research suggestions. 1 FILM SUMMARY included, the General Motors electric vehicle is eatured. As this segment concludes, the success of the industry’s legal strategy is symbolized by a celebrity-studded funeral for the electric car. This segment is filled with factual analysis that examines conflicting claims about emissions, practicality, costs of various fuels, and consumer demand. Who Killed the Electric Car? is presented as a whodone-it mystery. Staying true to this genre, the film opens with necessary background information, describes the crime committed, answering all of the what, where, and when questions, and then in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gathers the suspects for lose scrutiny, coming to a conclusion on the guilt or innocence of each. The second half of Who Killed the Electric Car? is Sherlock Holmes at his best. The seven suspects identified in the first half of the film are scrutinized. One by one, consumers, batteries, oil companies, auto manufacturers, the U. S. government, the California Air Resources Board, and the newest villain, the hydrogen car, pass under the bare bulb in the inspector’s interrogation room in an attempt to answer the question asked in the film’s title: Who Killed the Electric Car? At the end of each segment the featured suspect is judged as guilty or innocent.Opening with a bit of automotive history that establishes the electric car as a competitive alternative to the internal combustion engine, Who Killed the Electric Car? takes the viewer back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the dawn of the automotive age. A straightforward explanation of why gasoline beats out electricity as the fuel of choice and how the internal combustion engine wins dominance concludes the broad overview. The film then moves to the recent past with the introduction of the California Air Resources Board and their 1990 decision to require that ten percent of all ars sold in California by each car manufacturer be zero-emission vehicles by the year 2003. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde response of automotive companies is revealed; production and marketing of zero-emission cars is detailed, a period during which the legal and political teams of the same manufacturers work to defeat the law that gave birth to modern electric vehicles. While several manufacturers are The film ends on a positive note, recognizing a grassroots movement that envisions cleaner air and energy independence. In a John Kennedy-style appeal, the film claims that those who solve our energy onundrum will be those that â€Å"change the world. † 2 SELECTED SCENES FOR CLASSROOM REVIEW 1:19 19:40 Two million new cars are sold in Television advertisement for G. M. ’s California each year. electric car. 2:55 21:21 Cheap oil supports the combustion Introduce Dr. Alan Lloyd of C. A. R. B. engine over the electric car. 3:35 22:10 Air quality in California: Manufacturer’s lawsuit to â€Å"Black cloud of death. † overturn emissions standards. 4:32 22:30 Each gallon of gasoline burned yields President Bush endorsing hydrogen 19 pounds of carbon dioxide. technology in the State of the Union. 4:55 22:43 Introduce S.Davi d Freeman. Hydrogen Hummer and the hydrogen highway. 7:40 23:20 Creating demand for electric cars. C. A. R. B. hearing on the emissions standards. 8:50 25:30 C. A. R. B. and California’s C. A. R. B. vote to kill the standards. zero-emission policy. 12:40 26:15 Cost to run an electric car equals Manufacturers start to collect gasoline when gas is 60 cents per gallon. the electric cars. 14:10 27:35 Californians Against Utility â€Å"Save the electric car† campaign, Company Abuse including the mock funeral. 16:10 29:30 G. M. claims to have built electric cars Last EV1 collected. according to demand. 19:10 31:20Marketing; How far, how fast, EV1s in a G. M. lot. how much? 3 33:20 50:36 G. M. spokesperson explains the Suspect: Car Manufacturers fate of the collected EV1s. 35:30 56:20 PBS at the car crusher. Suspect: Government 36:58 1:03:57 S. David Freeman, â€Å"We’re up against Suspect: C. A. R. B. most of the money in the world. † 37:15 1:07:02 Vigil for th e EV1s. Suspect: Hydrogen Fuel Cell 38:40 1:11:08 Would you buy one of these electric President Bush at a hydrogen cars? Display check for 1. 9 million filling station. dollars offered to G. M. 39:20 1:15:05 â€Å"Who controls the future? Last cars moved. He who has the biggest club. 1:18:52 39:34 1 Scene from Naked Gun 2 /2: Automotive Museum The Smell of Fear. 40:25 1:20:30 List of suspects. Verdicts. 40:58 1:22:32 Suspect: Consumers â€Å"The fight about the electric car was quite simply a fight about the future. † 43:20 1:23:58 Suspect: Batteries Introduce James Woolsey and Plug In America. 1:27:19 46:38 â€Å"The one group of people that steps Suspect: Oil Companies up to take it on is the group that will change the world. † 4 DISCUSSION PROMPTS These prompts can be used for full-class discussion, small group conversations, or adapted for use as writing assignments of varying length and detail. What compromises related to cars and transportation are you willing t o make to preserve and improve air quality? Brainstorm possibilities and then discuss each one, focusing on the average consumer. †¢ What one assertion in the film do you disagree with? Why? †¢ What one assertion in the film troubles you the most? Why? †¢ In your own words, explain why the car manufacturers collected and destroyed the electric vehicles. †¢ Did government serve the people in the case of electric cars? Why? †¢ Does government have the right to tell companies what to manufacture? Why? †¢ How important an issue is our nation’s dependence on oil?Explain. †¢ Do you agree that those who solve the energy question will change the world? Explain. †¢ Should the world oil supply be divided evenly according to population, given to those able to pay the highest price, or reserved for developing nations? Explain your opinion. †¢ Is it acceptable for a nation to use oil as a weapon? Why/why not? †¢ Would you characterize each of the following as a good citizen or a bad citizen? Why? -The oil companies -The automobile companies -U. S. consumers -Scientists researching hydrogen fuel -The citizens trying to save the electric car †¢ Is energy a national security issue?Why/how? Explain. †¢ How is the use of hydrogen as a fuel related to the reemergence of nuclear power? †¢ Does drilling for more oil in the pristine wilderness make sense? Why/why not? †¢ Given the information provided in the film, do you believe electric cars are a reasonable alternative to combustion engines? Why/why not? †¢ Given the information provided in the film, do you believe you will be able to buy a hydrogen-powered car in the next 10 years? 20 years? Ever? Why/why not? 5 MOCK COURT Choose defense and prosecution teams for each of the seven defendants identified in the film.Have the teams prepare for a mock trial using the information in the film and if desired, additional research. Stage a trial with a jury that has not seen the film. Roles: Judge: Acts as presiding officer maintaining order, resolving conflicts, and charging the jury. Prosecution team: Presents evidence against the named defendant using witnesses, charts, graphs, and physical evidence. The team would also cross-examine defense witnesses. The prosecution’s job is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendant. Defense team: Presents evidence that rebuts the prosecution’s view and may suggest alternative perpetrators.The defense may use witnesses, charts, graphs, and physical evidence. The team would also cross-examine prosecution witnesses. The defense’s job is to create reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. This activity can be used as an alternative assessment of student knowledge while also building critical thinking and oral presentation skills. 6 COMMON GOOD Open the activity by reading the paragraph below. Allow for a few minutes of general comment on the concept of the â€Å"common good† and the claim by then G. M. president Charles E. Wilson: What’s good for the country is good for General Motors and vice versa.The preamble to the United States Constitution opens with the words: â€Å"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. † These words imply a common interest that is shared by citizens and government, a concept often referred to as the â€Å"common good. † In 1953, the then president of General Motors, Charles E.Wilson, was nominated by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as his Secretary of Defense. During Wilson’s confirmation hearings, senators were concerned that he would have difficulty making a decision that could hurt General Motors, a major defense contractor, even if the decision was in the best interest of the United States. When asked this question, Wilson assured senators that he could make such a decision but that he could not imagine such a situation, â€Å"because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa. † Student instructionWho Killed the Electric Car? implies that the â€Å"common good† is not being served by the decision to abandon electric vehicles and embrace hydrogen technology. Write your own definition of the â€Å"common good. † Make groups of 3 to 5 and share these definitions. Try to agree on a group definition. Evaluate General Motors’ decision to kill the electric car program in light of your group’s definition. Be ready to report your findings to the class. Do Mr. Wilson’s thoughts from 1953 reflect the General Motors Corporation that is presented in the film? If the Senate c alled the current president of G.M. to explain the death of the electric car, imagine what he might say that would be quoted more than 50 years later. 7 HIDDEN AGENDA Teacher introduction As a class, brainstorm about the term â€Å"hidden agenda. † When you get all the ideas on the board, make groups of 3 to 5. In groups, have the class discuss the ideas on the board and then write a definition of â€Å"hidden agenda† that the group can agree on. As a class, share these definitions and create one working definition for the whole class. Have students return to their groups and discuss what â€Å"hidden agenda(s)† the following may have had.To make a claim, the group must have at least one piece of solid evidence from the film. Each group should decide which three of their claims are the strongest and prepare to present them to the class. Present and discuss: Automobile companies: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________ ________________ Evidence: Oil companies: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: Filmmakers: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence:Car companies: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: Federal government: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: Fans of the electric car: Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: C. A. R. B. : Hidden agenda: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence: 8 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF BUSINESS? What is the role of business in a democratic/capitalist society?The complex interaction between business, government, and consumers is presented as a case study in Who Kil led the Electric Car?. After viewing the film, clarify your own attitude toward the role of business, before any discussion, by using the prompts that follow. Prioritize the entire list from 1, most important, to 10, least important, and then write just a sentence or two that explains each ranking. Using your results, make groups that include individuals with different attitudes. While you discuss the movie, analyze how different views of business influence opinions about the film. ______ The role of business is to make a profit. _____ The role of business is to make a good product. ______ The role of business is to serve the consumer. ______ The role of business is to support government. ______ The role of business is to educate government. ______ The role of business is to educate consumers. ______ The role of business is to improve life. ______ The role of business is to protect the environment. ______ The role of business is to provide consumers with choice. ______ The role of b usiness is to invent solutions to society’s problems. 9 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT? What is the role of government in a democratic/capitalist society?The complex interaction between business, government, and citizens is presented as a case study in Who Killed the Electric Car?. After viewing the film, clarify your own attitude toward the role of government, before any discussion, by using the prompts that follow. Prioritize the entire list from 1, most important, to 10, least important, and then write just a sentence or two that explains each ranking. Using your results, make groups that include individuals with different attitudes. While you discuss the movie, analyze how different views of government influence opinions about the film. ______The role of government is to defend the nation. ______ The role of government is to create a just society. ______ The role of government is to protect the consumer. ______ The role of government is to protect business. ______ The rol e of government is to regulate business. ______ The role of government is to educate consumers. ______ The role of government is to improve life for all citizens. ______ The role of government is to protect the environment. ______ The role of government is to provide consumers with choice. ______ The role of government is to invent solutions to society’s problems. 10 MAKING THE CASEIn the second half of Who Killed the Electric Car? , each of the suspects in this mystery is held up to scrutiny. Acting as an unbiased detective, develop a list of the evidence offered for guilt and the evidence that indicates innocence. In groups or as a class, use these evidence lists as the basis for a debate that leads to a vote on each suspect. The suspect___________________________________________________ Evidence to convict Evidence to acquit 11 BRIAN DANIELS teaches history and ethics at Hudson High School, Hudson, Massachusetts. He is the school facilitator for the democratic school initi ative atHudson High and an active member of the school’s First Amendment Schools team. He has been teaching for thirty years and holds bachelor’s degrees in history and psychology from Boston College and a master’s degree in critical and creative thinking from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He will become the Curriculum Director for English and Social Studies grades 6-12 in the Hudson school district in the summer of 2006. He has been published several times in the Boston Globe and has an article slated for publication in October of 2006 in the National Social StudiesSupervisors Association magazine. A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS A DEAN DEVLIN/PLINYMINOR PRODUCTION A FILM BY CHRIS PAINE â€Å"WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? † NARRATED BY MARTIN SHEEN EDITED BY MICHAEL KOVALENKO CHRIS A. PETERSON DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY THADDEUS WADLEIGH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY MICHAEL BROOK CONSULTING PRODUCER ALEX GIBNEY EXECUTIVE PR ODUCERS DEAN DEVLIN TAVIN MARIN TITUS RICHARD D. TITUS PRODUCED BY JESSIE DEETER WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CHRIS PAINE FOR BRIEF MILD LANGUAGE. WWW. WHOKILLEDTHEELECTRICCARMOVIE. COM WWW. SONYCLASSICS. COM

What Is Black Power

The term â€Å"Black Power† refers to both a political slogan popularized between the 1960s and the 1980s, as well as the various ideologies aimed at achieving self-determination for black people. It was popularized within the United States, but the slogan, along with components of the Black Power Movement, has traveled abroad. Origins After the shooting of James Meredith in the March Against Fear, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (influential within the Civil Rights Movement) held a speech on June 16, 1966. In it, Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) declared: This is the 27th time I have been arrested and I aint going to jail no more! The only way we gonna stop them white men from whuppin us is to take over. What we gonna start sayin now is Black Power! This was the first time Black Power had been used as a political slogan. Although the phrase is thought to have originated in Richard Wright’s 1954 book, â€Å"Black Power,† it was in Ture’s speech that â€Å"Black Power† emerged as a battle cry, an alternative to more tempered slogans like â€Å"Freedom Now!† employed by nonviolent groups like Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. By 1966, many black people believed that the Civil Rights Movement’s focus on desegregation failed to examine how America had weakened and humiliated black people for generations  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  economically, socially, and culturally. Young black people, in particular, had become tired of the Civil Rights Movement’s slow pace. â€Å"Black Power† became symbolic of the new wave of the black freedom struggle that broke from earlier tactics focused on the church and King’s â€Å"beloved community.† Black Power Movement Malcolm X Bring about the freedom of these people by any means necessary. Thats our motto. We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. The Black Power Movement began in the 1960s and continued throughout the 1980s. While the movement had multiple tactics, from non-violence to proactive defense, its purpose was to bring the ideological developments of Black Power to life. Activists focused on two main tenets: black autonomy and self-determination. The movement began in America, but the simplicity and universality of its slogan allowed it to be applied globally, from Somalia to Great Britain. The cornerstone of the Black Power Movement was the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Founded in October of 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party was a revolutionary socialist organization. The Panthers were known for their Ten-Point Platform, the development of free breakfast programs (which were later taken by the government for the development of WIC), and their insistence on building black people’s ability to defend themselves. The party was heavily targeted by the FBI surveillance program COINTELPro, which led to the death or imprisonment of many black activists. While the Black Panther Party started with black men as heads of the movement and continued to struggle with misogynoir (misogyny directed at black women) throughout its existence, the women in the party were influential and made their voices heard on many issues. Notable activists in the Black Power Movement included Elaine Brown (the first Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party), Angela Davis (leader of the Communist Party USA), and Assata Shakur (a member of the Black Liberation Army). All three of these women were targeted by the United States government for their activism. While the Black Power Movement saw a decline in the late 1970s, due to the relentless persecution of those involved (such as Freddy Hampton), it has had a lasting impact on black American arts and culture. Black Power Definition in Arts and Culture Kwame Ture We have to stop being ashamed of being black. A broad nose, thick lip and nappy hair is us and we are going to call that beautiful whether they like it or not. Black Power was more than just a political slogan  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  it introduced a change in overall black culture. The â€Å"Black is Beautiful† movement replaced traditional black styles like suits and permed hair with new, unapologetically black styles, like full afros and the development of soul. The Black Arts Movement, founded in part by Amiri Baraka, promoted the autonomy of black people by urging them to create their own journals, magazines, and other written publications. Many women writers, such as Nikki Giovanni and Audre Lorde, contributed to the Black Arts Movement by exploring themes of black womanhood, love, urban struggle,  and sexuality in their work. The effects of Black Power as a political slogan, movement, and form of cultural expression lives on in the current Movement for Black Lives. Many of today’s black activists draw on the works and theories of Black Power activists, such as the Black Panther’s Ten-Point Platform to organize around ending police brutality. Sources Black Power Speech. Dictionary of American History, The Gale Group Inc., 2003.Gist, Brenda Lovelace. Eloquently Speaking. Xlibris, December 7, 2010.History.com Editors. Civil rights activist James Meredith shot. History, AE Television Networks, LLC, July 27, 2019.Walker, Samuel. Black Power! A Slogan is Born. Today in Civil Liberties History, Samuel Walker, 2014.