Critical thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical thinking EssayThe Curriculum and Instruction In an marvelous perspective, general program line should be given much(prenominal) emphasis. True enough, even in the tertiary level in the Philippines, general subjects are still taken for the development of wholeness and excellence as kind-hearted beings. The curriculum of our education system is also cumulative. Therefore, there is progression in learning while harnessing our past knowledge. Idealism in education gave importance to the subjects analogous philosophy, theology, history, literature and arts.This is evident especially in college. In some universities, the students are mandatory to take philosophy and theology in 12 units each. These subjects invoke the students to be conscious truth seekers as they step out in the real yet materialistic world. Whereas the science subjects, it help the students in dealing with cause and military group relationships. Language, too, is given high importance as our tool for communication. Moreover, critical thinking is highly imposed on the students so that we may not be deceived by our senses.Ideally, all of the subjects should be values-integrated and deals with real-life problems. The education system in the Philippines may not be too concerned with the Macrocosm concept but usually, especially in the Catholic schools, the curriculum is theocentric and there is the emphasis on acting in Christ-like ways, which can be considered as the ideals. The Educator All the people that make up the school especially the teachers are bound to be the students moral and cultural models. Its with them that the students aspire to be upright individuals.Moreover, the teachers make use of references about sacred models such as heroes, exemplars, etc. so that the students, too, will embody their good traits. In an idealistic method, the teachers incorporate effective communication with the students, especially Socratic dialoguing. This evokes the students to be criti cal thinkers through questioning and rationalizing. The Philippines is known to have a lot of heroes, from epic stories to real life stories. We are taught to identify the qualities of their heroism and be like them.We are trained to communicate, debate even, what is good, what is beautiful and what is true. We are shaped to be intuitive learners because learning does not stop, for the search of the truth is part of our lives. The Goals for the Students Again, the students in an idealistic set-up are expected to be truth seekers as they study the subjects that elicit critical thinking. In the journey of studying, they made use of their senses but more importantly, they help all of their observations and feelings through reflection.In this way, the learner examines his own mind and compares or shares it with others in order to seek for the truth. This I believe is harnessed in our education system because, at least from the schools I came from, we are trained to be intuitive and hav e introspective explorations. All of these goals boil down to an ultimate target which is for self-development. This can be attained if we are values-driven, intrinsically motivated and if we are immersed with our cultural heritage. These again are highlighted in the Philippine education.

If I Could Tell You Essay Essay Example for Free

If I Could Tell You Essay Essay cartridge clipTime, said to be eternal, possess neither a opening nor an end. that however there is a fixation on being able to measure it in years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. Trying to save date with new technology, get out time with multi-tasking activities. All in the hopes of giving meanings to the past, present and future. The past is able to been seen but not changed, today is in the present yet still unpredictable, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. If I Could Tell You by W. H.Auden is a villanelle much like others using rhyme, repetition, and meter, that revolve around the main idea of the continuity time and its unpredictable nature. The rhyming of the alternating ending lines, Time will say nobody but I told you so (1) and If I could tell you I would allow you admit (3) keep the rhyme scheme which stays on the central themes. Time will say nothing but i told you so shows that time keeps going, because this is a statem ent. Although the things of the future atomic number 18 unforeseeable, it is guaranteed that in the end the only one who will spot what will happen is Time.If I could tell you I would let you know show how unforeseeable Time is. Auden knows that he can not see into the future, which is why he says If I could . These two phrases depict the speakers understanding of the continuity of time even though he shows to give up a desire to know ahead of time what to do before certain events. The villanelle itself has a rhythm as a whole through periodical thinking. The beginning shows how Time does not wait for anything or anyone, nothing but I told you so.He ulterior goes on to question Time in the second stanza and if we should fight back, which is why he says weep when clowns put on their show and stumble when musicians play which are juxtapositions since these actions are not likely given the circumstances. The third stanza shows the shift as he begins to understand that Time is neces sary and things have to happen for a reason, the winds moldiness come from somewhere. In the fourth stanza his train of thought is nuzzleing a conclusion as he begins to wonder if not only do things have to happen, but are they meant to happen for the greater good, Perhaps the roses really want to grow.The ending shows Audens maturity throughout the villanelle and ends with If I could tell you I would let you know stating that Time is out of his hands, but it is acceptable and if there was anyway he could help, he would. Throughout the villanelle, time is personified and introduced to the reader as an unreliable character, through. Auden blames Time for unwanted changes in life, and he repeats the line because he observes that all changes, even those that are unintentional, come with Time.The repetition of Time at the end of the stanza rather than the beginning or end display how eternal time is. The first part of each stanza question Time, but all ends with Time will say nothing but I told you so, explaining that whatever Auden thinks or observes, will all be part of the past in the future. Much like poetry as a whole, used to express emotion and speechless opinions, the villanelle is almost perfect fitting for the theme of time. A villanelles structure alone portrays almost a near exhibition of time.Through the first five stanzas, a villanelle is predictable with tercets although the last stanza is a quatrain. This depiction could be metaphorical that time can be aforethought(ip) although in the end, everything may not come to together as hoped. The meter only emphasises this metaphor more by breaking the alternating line in each of the tercets before at the end. Audens desire to be able to match time is emphasized by the repetition of two phrases by the structure of the poem, which in itself helps portray the authors idea about times continuity and its unforeseeable nature.

The US border Security Essay Example for Free

The US frame trade protection EssayDiscussed in this essay is an tabooline of US boundarys and security connect to them. The geographic and strategic value of the calls has been described in the beginning. Then the origin and purpose of unite States Border guard has been discussed. Mentioned in the middle body ar the steps or actions that USBP had taken so far in for safeguarding the borders on with the trouble they get to endured in curbing issues such as illegal immigration, medicate and human trafficking and screen immigrants for the signs of terrorism. Also discussed in length are human and dose trafficking that takes place crosswise US border and how these things make their way into linked States. The unite States policy regarding border security is briefly discussed and the essay is closed with an analytical conclusion. US Border protective cover Since the beginning of civilization, borders reserve perhaps been the nearly valued asset nations consider thems elves to have. Wars have been waged for the sake of their protection or expansion just they have been regarded sacredly none the less.As humanity progressed into the latter(prenominal) centuries, the concepts and its rigidity regarding the borders of a state kept on changing as the ancient orb had open and unmanned borders. United States of America, since its creation has been guarding her borders with absolute rapture and dedication. Acquiring the half of the north American continent, United States is flanked by ocean on both its east and west side, whilst it shares its borders with Canada in the north and from Mexico in the south. being one of the richest, most advanced and highly organize countries of the world, United States borders have been the object of fascination for its neighboring countries, speci wholey Mexico being a third world country living right at the door step of US. Adhering to a strict and stern immigration and interior policy, people from all across the la nd find it difficult to get entrance into the US without severe securitization.Offering the glorious prospects of freedom, financial security, safeguarding of rights and its ability to assimilate the diverse cultures of the world into its own, almost each individual in the world has been enchanted by the prospect of living a life in the US, the Land of the Free. That is the reason its 8,000 miles long border have been violated enough times, specially from the south as immigrants from all across South American wishes to live a life of peace in the US. on with the sea of illegal immigrants, US borders also face smugglers of both drugs and contraband items because of being one of the most lucrative markets in the world.Coupled with these troubles, US borders have been guarded highly as substance of non permitting terrorist from making their way into US. The taste of 9/11 is something that US hasnt quite forgotten yet. Thus, the border security of United States is not only one of t he highest efficient and vigilant in the world, it is also one of the most sensitive one due to its gigantic size. Its importance can be summed up in the words of Ronald Regan as he said The simple truth is that weve lost control of our own borders, and no Nation can do that and survive. We ignore Americas lost sovereignty at our own peril (cited in www.usborderwatch. com) Overview The land border of US along with Canada spans 5,525 miles and is the longitudinal non-militarized border in the world. There are 84 land POEs (Point Of Entry) along the northern border, which include but are not limited to three in Idaho,13 in Maine, three in Michigan, five in Minnesota, 10 in Montana, 12 in innovative York, 18 in North Dakota, seven in Vermont, and 12 in Washington. Around 250,000 people enter the United States from Canada. Canada is the single largest trading partner of the United States, with the total trade exceeding almost $372 one thousand thousand in 2003.In fact, the largest t rade link in the world is the Ambassador Bridge (connecting Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario) that has more than 7,000 trucks crossing daily transporting goods worth more than $ great hundred jillion per year. The southern land border with Mexico is 1,933 miles across and has 25 land POEs, six of which are in California, six in Arizona, two in New Mexico, and 11 in Texas. Over 800,000 people arrive from Mexico daily. Mexico is United States second largest trading partner, with the trade of $220. 3 billion in 2003, down from $247. 2 billion in 2000.The coast line of the United States is 12,479 miles long and there are 143 sea POEs. Some sea and river POEs are principally commercial ports while others ask in deliberateengers (Border Security Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues, 2004). In order to be able to act with such a vast border from which not trade merchandise has been able to pass but also torrent of immigrants, either legal or illegal along with the high pos sibility of drugs, liquor, contraband items and smuggled good, US Border police was founded in 1924 which afterward 85 five years is among one of the finest law enforcement organizations in the world.United States Border Patrol (USBP) Founded in 1924, the U. S. Border Patrol was set up in El Paso, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan. Its basal purpose was to curb the illegal entry of aliens, contraband, and the flow of forbidden liquor from Mexico and Canada into the United States. Under the authority of the Immigration Act, approved by Congress on May 28, 1924, the Border Patrol was bring aboutd as a uniformed law enforcement branch of the Immigration Bureau (85 old age Of Protected By, 2009).Back in those days, smuggling of liquor from Canada and Mexico was an immensely lucrative business and invited illegal immigrants to have a go at their lucks in United States. Today, the USBPs primary mission is to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and i llegal aliens into the country, and to interdict drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 dissolved the Immigration and Naturalization Service and placed the USBP within the department of Homeland Security (DHS) (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008).In the catch fire of 9/11, USBPs funding and man power has been increased exponentially by the consent of Congress. Now having almost 18,000 agents in 20 sectors, and 164 stations all across the United States, its objectives and strategies also include the prevention of terrorists from entering the United States soil along with the detection and neutralization of weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps the toughest task USBP has to do is to curb the flow of illegal immigrants the swarms the borders of United States, especially the southern border.Due to the fact that over 97% of un genuine migrant apprehensions occur along the southwestern United States border, the USBP deploy s over 90% of its agents there to deter illegal immigration. In 1993, a study commissioned by the Office of National Drug Control policy pointed out to the fact that the southwest border was becoming the den of illegal immigrants noting as an example that 6,000 illegal immigrants attempted to enter the United States every shadow along a 7.5 mile stretch of the San Diego border. The study also concluded that drug smuggling was a serious threat all along the southwest border, and recommended that the entries of the illegal immigrants should e prevented at the border rather than arresting them after entrance. This consequently led to USBPs implementation of its first National strategic Plan (NSP) in 1994. National Strategic PlanAn endeavor to gain control over the overrun borders, NSP started out as a multiphase programs so as to maximize the USBPs resources and their implementation on the areas of greatest entry of illegal immigrants and goods. The focus of the NSP was an operationa l strategy known as Prevention done Deterrence. The strategys goal was to place USBP agents and resources directly on the border in order to prevent the entry of illegal aliens, rather than attempting to arrest aliens after they have already entered the country.Strategys phase I was called program Hold the Line at El Paso sector, which focused on the deployment of the agents deep into the borders in order to detect any alleged or attempted entries of border crossing rather than apprehending the culprits in the city streets and wasting precious time as it was relatively easy to catch border crossers in the wide open desert. The program wasnt a complete success as it merely shifted the border crossing point from El Paso to somewhere else. San Diegos Operation Gatekeeper followed after the El Paso program and many agents were deployed along the San Diego border.Aiding them was the state of the art set up sensors, infra-red cameras and stadium lights along with landing mats used as a border fence. Phase II of the program included the expansion of Operation Safeguard (1999) in Tucson, Arizona, operation Rio Grande (1997) in the McAllen and Laredo sectors of Texas, and an increased emphasis on securing the northern border. Phase III was set to involve the remaining areas of the southwest border as well up as the coastal waters around Florida and Puerto Rico (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008).After the fateful events of 9/11, the USBP has modified its directives and prioritizing the prevention of terrorist penetration finished the borders. As the investigations relating to 9/11 revealed that the terrorists had roamed freely across US with the status of illegal immigrant and prepared for the attacks from with in the US soil, USBP in collaboration with Immigration and made-to-orders Enforcements, Anti Smuggling Units and CBPs intelligence has directed all its attention towards the alien penetration across the US border.USBP revealed their new s trategy to cope with the terror threats from entering US via illegal border crossing in March 2005. The five major points of that strategy are as follows. Establishing the substantial probability of apprehending terrorists and their weapons as they attempt to enter illegally between the ports of entry Deterring illegal entries through and through improved enforcement Detecting, apprehending, and deterring smugglers of humans, drugs, and other contraband Leveraging Smart Border engine room to multiply the deterrent and enforcement effect of Agents Reducing crime in border communities, thereby improving the quality of life and economic vitality of those areas (Border security, the role of US border patrol, 2008). Striving hard to get the task done, the Homeland Security Department last year awarded one of the most ambitious technology contracts in the war on terror, a 10-year deal estimated at up to $10 billion to the global consulting firm Accenture.In return, the company would provide services to create a virtual border that would electronically screen millions of foreign travelers. Termed as US-VISIT program, which stands for the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, started in July 2003. The US-VISIT system must finally cover nearly 7,000 miles of borders along Mexico and Canada, including more than 300 land, air and sea ports that witness 450 million crossings a year (Higam OHarrow Jr. , 2005, p. A01). human and Drug Trafficking across US bordersAside from the newly instilled fear of terrorism, United States faces the troublesome elements of smuggling of drugs and human trafficking and most of these gruesome things wade their way into America by means of illegal border crossing. Addressing the human trafficking element first, The U. S. State Departments 2005 Report on Human Trafficking estimates that between 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across supranational borders every year and almost 20,000 are trafficked across U. S. borders alone (Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2005).The horrible side of this gruesome business is that most of the trafficked persons are children. extremely lucrative and seemingly unobtrusive, human trafficking is considered to be the third-largest source of criminal income worldwide, generating an estimated $9. 5 billion per year. It is also closely linked with money laundering, document forgery, drug trafficking and internationalistic terrorism. (Keefer, 2006, p. 5). According to John P. Torres, deputy assistant director for smuggling and public safety at the UnitedStates Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cross border human trafficking is a significant risk to national security and public safety (Seper, 2004). Drug trafficking is the problem that has plagued US since its very beginning. The very purpose of the composition of USBP was to prohibit smuggled drugs from entering American rule but even after 85 years, the problem has not been fully curbed yet. It is the most lucrative organized crime operation in United States with its annual income estimated to be as high as $110 billion (Americas Habit, 1986).cocaine being the most want after drug, as its roots of origin are literally buried in South American countries, other ordinary drugs such as marijuana and heroin make its way into United States by means of either maritime vessels or through southern border. The many drug cartels active in United States gets their drugs en route Mexico regardless of the joint ventures both countries engaged in so as to hamper the drug trafficking. Mexico itself cultivates heroin and due to its lightly guarded 2,000 miles border with United States is the chief trafficker of heroin in USA.Drugs also are brought in underground through tunnels some 100 have been discovered since 1990 along the 1,950-mile U. S. -Mexico border. The most sophisticated tunnels have lights, air systems and hydraulics (Feyerick et al, 2009). Regardless of extr a tight security since 9/11 drug somehow is making its way into United States and hasnt completely been stopped yet. Aside from human and drug trafficking, the USBP also has to look out for items of contraband nature such as weapons and pirated merchandise.With such a huge number of people passing through both north and south borders of United States, hunting down illegal immigrants, terrorists, drugs and pirated merchandise has become a daunting task for USBP. United States Border Security Policy Aware of its much sought after status, United States border security has always been very clear and its primary motive is to make sure the safety and its borders from the swarms of illegal immigrants and smuggled goods. The primary emphasis of the policy is about the status of immigrants who crosses both the borders of north and south to gain access into United States.Being in excellent terms with the governance of Canada, the northern border of United States is subjected to less scrutini zing as compared to the southern one thats in contact with Mexico. The residents of Mexico are issued a special Mexican laser Visa that grants them access into US for as long as 6 months. Southern border, being constantly breached by illegal immigrants and smugglers is a highly watched territory where thousands of people pass every day thus making it extremely difficult for CBP and USBP to keep an eye out for anomalies. Keeping that in mind, granting Visa is not the only procedure to gain access into United States.Interviews are conducted, data is cross referenced and surveillance is mounted so that only the right person could be able to go through the gates of US. In the post 9/11 times, the security checks has been doubled and it has become the primary mission of CBP is to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the country. However, other components of CBPs mission include interdicting other prohibited items such as illegal drugs, ammunition, firearms, and counterf eit goods and monitoring trade compliance (Border Security Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues, 2004). ConclusionThe border patrol strategy was aimed at strengthening of United States immigration laws and strove for decreasing the number of illegal immigrants coming into the United States by increase controls at the its borders. Previously the resources were primarily directed at strengthening the border patrol along the southwest border, to curb the entrance of illegal immigrants and smuggled goods but the terrorist attacks, however, brought attention to the northern border, which has been understaffed and lacked the necessary technology to adequately screen individuals seeking entry into the United States.Several pieces of legislation passed in the 107th Congress authorized and appropriated funding for additional staffing and resources along the northern border. Regardless of its outstanding services and capabilities, USBP has not been able to completely tackle the problem of illegal immigrants and smuggled merchandise. some(prenominal) reasons, such the sheer size of the borders, the number of immigrants passing through it every and the dogged determinacy of people willing to enter the Land of the Free etc may set in to its incomplete success.But that still doesnt change the fact that US borders are much more safe and vigilant in the presence of United Stated Border Patrol. Reference 85 years of protected by retrieved May 24, 2009 from http//www. cbp. gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/85th_anniversary. xml/. Americas Habit, Drug Abuse, Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime Presidents Commission on Organized Crime, 1986, retrieved May 24, 2009 from http//www. druglibrary. org/SCHAFFER/GOVPUBS/amhab/amhabc3. htm/. Border Security Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues. CRS Report for Congress, 2004.Order Code RL32399, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress. Border Security The Role of the U. S. Border Patrol. CRS Report fo r Congress, 2008. Order Code RL32562, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress. Feyerick, Deborah Cary, Michael Steffen, Sheila. Drug smugglers becoming more creative, U. S. agents say April 16, 2009, retrieved May 24, 2009 from http//edition. cnn. com/2009/CRIME/04/16/creative. drug. smugglers/index. html/. Keefer, Sandra L. , Human Trafficking And The Impact On National Security For The United States March 2006, U. S.Army War College Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania 17013, p. 5-8. OHarrow Jr. Robert Higham, Scott. US Border Security At foul up Roads Washington Post, Monday, May 23, 2005, p. A01. Regan, Ronald. Quotation. Retrieved May 24, 2009 from http//usborderwatch. com/. Seper, Jerry. Human Smuggling a Security Risk. Washington Times. 19 May 2004, retrieved May 24 2009 from http//www. washingtontimes. com/functions/print. php? StoryID=20040518-103934-8980/. Trafficking in Persons Report, U. S. Department of State, 2005, retrieved May 24, 2009, http//state. go v/g/tip/tiprpt/2005/46606. htm/.

The Lexical Approach And Collocations

The Lexical Approach And CollocationsCollocations argon actors line which if combined together, sound right to native English speakers. Eg Fast food. Any early(a)(a) combination may sound wrong and unnatural. Eg quick food. Collocations ar not linguistic communication which we put together. They coincide naturally. Collocation is the modal value in which enounces co-occur in natural text in statistically significant ways. (Lewis, dogma Collocation 2000132).For Thornbury, collocation is a continuum that moves from compound words (second-hand), through lexical chunks (bits and pieces), including idioms (out of the blue) and phrasal verbs (do up), to collocations of more(prenominal) or less fixedness (set a new world record) (Thornbury S. 2002, How to get word vocabulary, Longman).Collocations demand different strengths Weak and fast collocations. Weak collocations involve words which can co-occur with some(prenominal) other words. E.g Red shirt. They can apply the colour red to many other words eg red car, red door. Strong collocations have words which al well-nigh never occur separately such as the collocation spick and span and rancid butter. There are too Unique collocations e.g, shrug shoulders. These are unique beca wont the verb (shrug) is not used with any other noun.Medium-strength collocations Hold a conversation, a minor operation. Hill argued that medium-strength collocations are most important for the ESL classroom. (Lewis, M., 2000 63)Thornbury widens the definition of collocation, articulateing that collocation is not a frozen relationship and two collocates may even be separated from each other, eg demean off The company is laying more workers off. Lewis and other writers divide collocations into two types grammatic collocation and lexical collocation. (Lewis2000)Grammatical Collocation Eg step intoIn the typesetters case above, a verb collocates with a preposition. Therefore grammatical collocations are lexical words such as an adjective, verb or noun (in our case step), which are combined with a grammatical word (preposition into).Lexical Collocation Eg black coffeeLexical collocations are items where two lexical words regularly and naturally occur together. Bahns (ELTJ 47/1 1993) verbalize that although some lexical collocations are quite direct and obvious in their consequence, others are not. In our example, black coffee all the way indicates that there is no milk in the coffee but Bahns states that collocations which are not direct eg lay off are the aces which cause the most problems to non-native speakers since their meaning are hidden.The richness of collocations in L2 breedingMany agree that collocations are important in expression information. James Carl (1998) stated that using collocations correctly contributes greatly to ones idiomaticity and nativelikeness. 6 Lewis stated that fluency is based on the acquisition of a large store of fixed or semi-fixed prefabricated items. 7 Sonaiya (1 988) went even further, assigning that lexical errors are more serious because effective communication depends on the choice of words. 8Collocations, are found in most of what we say, hear, read or write. All of these fixed expressions are stored and memorised ready to be used when needed. If we want to retrieve these ready-to-use phrases, lexical items must be aqcuired prototypic by being exposed to, hearing and reading them for a number of clocks. In theory, good quality input might lead to good quality retrieval. This in return will help learners to be more fluent because they can recognise multi-word units rather than word by word.A lexical item, which is any item that functions as a single meaning unit, irrespective of its different derived forms, or of the number of words that hasten it, has an important role in learning a vocabulary. (Thornbury, An A-Z of ELT (Oxford Macmillan, 2006), pg120).The impressiveness of collocations in L2 learning was a fabricate that the Lex ical Approach had proposed.The Lexical Approach and collocationsThe lexical approach encourages learners to identify and learn collocations as lexical items rather than individual words. For example catch a cold, is seen as a single unit of meaning (or multi-word unit) and not as three individual words with three individual meanings. According to Schmidt ( form,2000), having words in lexical phrases rather than individually, reflects the way the mind stores and chunks expression to make it easier to process.The lexical approach influenced the way we perceive lexis, the way we teach it and how we encourage learners to learn it . vocabulary choice in language, is not haphazard but predictable. Lewis gives an example of drinking, telling us that the speaker may use the verb have. The listener can predict several(prenominal) words which collocate with it tea, coffee,orange juice etc. But on the other hand, the listener does not predict words like shampoo. 9One of the beliefs groundwo rk the Lexical Approach is that language is not made up of only traditional vocabulary and grammar but prefabricated multi-word chunks. In other words, language consists of grammaticalized lexis and not formulate grammar. Rather than having a syllabus which is only grammar based, the lexical approach emphasises that lexis should be at the centre of language learning.The lexical approach posits that an indispensable part of getting language is to comprehend and produce lexical chunks. These chunks help learners to make patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar (Lewis,The Lexical Approach 1993, p. 95)._____________________________________________________________________________________6James, Carl. (1998). Errors in language learning and use. London Longman.7 Lewis, M. (1997). Implementing the lexical approach. Hove Language Teaching Publications.8 Sonaiya, C. (1988). The lexicon in second language acquisition A lexical approach to error analysis. PhD Thesis. Cornell University.9, 10 Lewis, Michael, Teaching Collocation (Hove Language Teaching Publications, 2000) pg5Different types of CollocationTaken from Howert (1996), Carter(1987) and Mc.Carthy ODell(2005), here are types of collocationsFree CombinationThe verbs can collocate with many words to form different meanings.Example makeI will make it clear from the beginning (make something clear)I will make him happy (make happy)In this case, they may consist of modal verbs such as make,do, have, get,take + any type of word.Restricted CombinationThese collocations are typically nouns, adjectives or verbs which go to together with particular words. exploitation other words with them make them sound incorrect to the native speaker.(i) Adjective + noun E.g Her condition was a major problem.(ii) Adverb + verb E.g He cheekily replied I dont care(iii) Verb + noun E.g Weve headstrong to move house.(iv) Noun + verb E.g The brakes screeched as he tried to stop the car.(v) Noun + noun Usually these coll ocations have the pattern a.of E.g She was holding a basket of eggs.Delexicalised VerbsEvery language has sanctioned verbs which are frequently used. The English language is no exception and we can find various frequent verbs (Svartvik and Ekedahl 1995) (The Verb in Contemporary English Theory and Description, CUP 1995)DoMakeHaveTakeGoGetE.gIt is interesting to note that these high frequency verbs in the examples are very much used as Delexicalised Verbs. These delexicalised verbs have meaning when combined with other words. In other words de-lexicalised verbs have little meaning alone but if joined together with other words, they can generate a wider variety of new meaningsEgdo your bestmake roomhave lunchtake a showergo for a walkget dressedDelexicalised verbs make doWhat is interesting about these two verbs is that, Mc.Carthy ODell (20056) describe these two verbs as everyday verbs and dedicate a whole page on make and do. This clearly shows that they are very high frequency verbs in English and they probably cause a pot of confusion to learners as well In their books index, both verbs have more than 60 different collocates each. The verbs make and do in fact like many high frequency verbs, enters into numerous collocations and idioms.Language ChunkingMake your bed is a chunking of two words Verb+Noun (Make + bed). This delexicalised verb is a language chunk which is a pre-fabricated language item in a formulaic way, which is then stored as a single lexical unit (and not two individual units). By storing as a single lexical unit, it is believed to quicken the mental processing of the speaker when speaking, reading and when acquiring language. The designer why it quickens this mental processing when producing language is because rather than having to connect individual word units together one by one (do and bed), the speaker can retrieve the chunk needed at one go and reduce mental processing time.Language chunking therefore is believed to help langu age fluency by combining other chunks to create eight-day ready-to-use phrases. I tend to agree with this core belief of the Lexical Approach because when I give a phrase to learners such as Make a list of things or Remember to do your cooking learners seem to retrieve and use these given ready-to-use phrases correctly to create their own sentences and meanings. Once learners understand the meaning behind the phrase, they store it in their mental lexicon. If used regularly, there is a high possibility it will help fluencycy and reduce mental processing time when speaking.Problems learners have with delexicalised verbsAlthough they come naturally to native speakers, collocations formed with delexicalised verbs can be rather tricky. Some of the main problems that low level learners experience are as follows (go to 11. Coll pg4) (12.Coll pg4)They have never been exposed to or made advised of collocations in their learning experiences.Learners often have problems with these verbs bec ause they try to find a general meaning.They often struggle to find the right collocation, often translating possible equivalents from their own language. E.g make a photo.Learners find it difficult to memorize collocations because they are arbitrary.Teachers are partly to saddle because as Carter and McCarthy point out, vocabulary study has been neglected by linguists, applied linguists and language teachers(1988 1). Therefore teachers need to present collocations such as delexicalised verbs to learners to help them mother more and more familiar with the different uses of make and do for example.In fact, McCarthy tells us that in vocabulary teaching there is a high importance of collocation (199012). The way collocation teaching is neglected in ESL classroom and the insufficient input of the target language may be a reason why learners lack a knowledge of collocation. One reason why teachers do not give such importance to collocation is because they feel safer when they teach gra mmar because they feel they know the rules and can explain them. Collocations are arbitrary and this leads us to the second problemCollocations are arbitrary and are decided by assembly instead of rules. Many learners have been exposed to learning languages in a systematic way i.e there is an explanation, rules and reasoning behind each grammar point eg the first conditional if + present simple, will + infinitive. Because they are used to learning languages in a grammatical way, learners find it difficult to accept that some words collocate duration others do not and that there is no reason for this other than it is what native speakers say.Many learners ask me Why cant I say make a photo instead of take a photo? I used to feel rather unprofessional having to say because thats the way it is. Now I say because take goes together with a photo make does not. That is the way language is naturally and natively spoken as I have already commented in sectionalization A.In fact, McCarth y said that knowledge of collocational appropriacy is part of native speakers competence. (McCarthy, M.1990Vocabulary. Oxford Oxford University Press.199013). Therefore, being aware of collocations and accepting them as a window to the natural way of speaking the language is essential in learning a language. One has to admit that some are not so easy to learn. In fact, Benson (1985) clearly stated that collocations are arbitrary and non-predictable, so much so that even native speakers sometimes have to double foil before deciding if a word collocates with a particular word or not.When learners are confronted with collocations like to make a mistake, learners resort to translation from L1 to understand why we use make and not do as in many other languages. However this leads to misuse of the collocation or creation of word combinations which are non-existant in English. Eg My Italian learners sometimes say do a mistake because in their language they only have one verb, fare, which resembles make or do. Literally translated, fare una torta is do a ginmill from Italian to English.Lexical verbs such as make or do require memorising whole lists of words that can collocate with them. I sympathise with learners, who have to face many complicated and difficult lexicalised verbs, which have meaning differences in various contexts. Furthermore, combinations of delexicalised words are less likely to explain clearly what they mean in translation and thus are more error-prone in learner language (Lewis 1993, Nesselhauf 2005).When my learners tell me its impossible to learn all of these phrases by heart, I have to admit that I understand them. Collocation books like McCarthy ODells English Collocations In Use (CUP2005), present the delexicalised verbs make and do in a way that makes a learner feel that he/she has to learn the phrases by heart. A similiar example of such a list is one underTo make an apologyTo do your homeworkTo make a cakeTo do the dishesTo make breakf astTo do the laundryTo make your bedTo do your bestTo make a listTo do your nails and hairTo make a mistakeTo do the ironing, washing, cooking, etc.To make plansTo do a patronageLearners need ways to remember the meanings of the lexicalised verbs as the ones above. It is difficult enough trying to think of grammar needed, word syntax, vocabulary and so on when trying to construct a sentence in L2 learning, let alone trying to remember and above all retrieve the right collocation needed.Problems learners have with delexicalised verbsMaking learners aware of delexicalised verbsBy helping learners to notice collocation, they can acquire vocabulary building skills eg ability to list and categorize lexis. It also encourages them to become autonomous learners. One way of helping learners develop the habit of paying attention to chunks, rather than just individual words, when reading is by helping them make informed guesses about what word goes with do or make.Inside Out Elementary (Macmi llan16) presents a day in the life of a man and a woman. Having guessed who does what, learners read the text to check if they guessed correctly. The text includes a lot of collocations with make or do. Learners then are asked to form common expressions with make or do from the textThe most homework the bedsThe shopping dinnerThe washing up the most noiseLearners have a speaking employ with make or do by maxim who does or makes what in the house, using the same prompts given in the above exercise. Eg My mother does the shopping and we make our beds etcTrying to make sentiency of make and doAlthough it is not easy to learn collocations of make and do, McCarthy ODell in English Collocations in Use (CUP2005 18) present us with some of the most common phrases with these two delexicalised verbs. In fact they call them Everyday verbs. It includes a list of collocations of make and do and an example on the side. EgCollocationExampleMake an excuseIm too commonplace to go out tonight. Lets make an excuse and stay homeDo your hairIm not ready I havent done my hair yetTo practice them, I would cut out the collocations and examples into separate strips. In pairs, learners would then have to try to put the example and collocation together, by trying to make sense of them. Once they have been corrected in class, I would give them a questionnaire from Collocations in Use (pg19). Having been exposed to the collocations needed in the previous activity, they have to stuff in the question with either do or make, answer it and then go round and ask the questions to their classmates.Trying to find the right collocation to useTo help learners practice and be a bit more confident in their use of collocations, I like to use an activity which Lewis proposed in Teaching Collocation (Hove112). Basically learners have to put in the missing verb in the collocations. This will help them to minimize their mistakes as our Italians made I do a mistake...a mistake 2. .your homeworka sta tement your hairan observation what you have to doAlternatively, I can give the activity some context by giving learners the activity found on page 100 in Language to go Intermediate. Here learners have to complete the text using make or do. This will help them to see how the collocation is used in a context.Helping them to remember the collocationsTo recall what theyve learnt, learners need remember what theyve learnt. Thornbury 3 states that learning is remembering, which clearly shows how important memory is in learning a language. The same principle applies to collocations.One way of helping learners to remember the collocations is by revising them as much as possible . one particular activity that I like to use to recycle collocations that were met in class is Run n Grab. I divide learners into teams and I read out the end of the collocation eg an apology. I write down Do and Make on the wag. Learners have to run to the board to circle which one they think goes with the ending of my collocation. Whoever gets most points wins.ConclusionPersonally, I feel that the lexical approach has taught me a lot about vocabulary. Rather than sightedness vocabulary as individual items, I can now help my learners with vocabulary by using chunks. In this case, collocations which are in themselves chunks, are essential in language learning. By frequently exposing, raising -consciousness and helping them to memorize collocations, I feel that I am appreciating more the importance of lexis in language learning.

What is teaching machines

What is learn machinesWhat is T severallying machines and ad goodive LearningTeaching machine is a device that presents series of problems and appends immediate reward or musical accompaniment to students when they give the right(a) answers to the posed questions (Holland, 1960). The prototypic breeding machine was invented by Pressey in 1925. It was a device that asked a single question to the student. If the student knows the answer, he moved to the next question. If not, the question was presented again on the screen until he found the correct answer. This machine eachowed students to proceed at their own rate (Skinner, 1958) and recorded their progress (Seattler, 1990). Although this machine was designed for inform, it was developed against a background of psychological hypothesis (Skinner, 1958). The of import disadvantage of this machine was being against the psychological theory. Although he belowstood that students had different pace, he did not do anything to chan ge it. His device was designed to avoid for take a leakting. They were exam device, they should be used after the some amount of cultivation had been taken out of somewhere. (Skinner, 1958).The popularity of teaching machines was increased with programmed instruction movement proposed by Skinner (Saettler, 1990). establish on his experiments conducting in laboratory with animals, Skinner propsed an idea that by arranging appropriate contingencies of reinforcement, specific forms of behavior can be set up and brought under the control of specific classes of stimuli (Skinner, 1958).however, the reinforcement drop to be given immediately to the students. Be vitrine, the delay amid the response and reinforcement of a few second fasten the effectiveness of the reinforcement. Moreover, it eliminates the undesirable forms of responses that would be successful in obtaining the right answer (Holland, 1960). It was difficult for instructor to provide reinforcement just after the correct responses were given. thereof some kind of machines was needed to helper the teachers. This machine is an attempt to obtain the kind of behavioral control shown possible in the laboratory (Holland, 1960). Skinner describes the teaching machine incorporating the following principles of encyclopaedismPractice of the correct responses, knowledge of results and reinforcement of the right answer, minumum delay of reinforcement, successive small steps with hints (McKeachie, 1974)Teaching machines brought advantages to the educational surroundings. premier(prenominal) of all, it provided an opportunity for students to study at their own pace (Skinner, 1958).According to Skinner (1960), it inspired the students and gave high degree of competency and confidence. the students were provided buttons in terms of guessing, maybe, incontestable so by pressing those buttons after giving the answers, they estimated their level of confidence. By this method, they learnt to evaluate their confi dence and adopt a useful strategy. Thirdly, unlike the other(a) media such as tv, students were active while they were use teaching machine during their acquisition performance (Skinner, 1960). It was such kind of private tutor which alert students and kept them fill during the learnedness process (Skinner, 1958). Since it gave immediate feedback, students were able to suffer where they stood without waiting for an hour test or final examination. Finally, teaching machines provided opportunity for teachers to analyze the responses of the students. By this, they see what students understand item by item (Skinner, 1960)Teaching machines also brought some disadvantages to the educational environment. First of all, they were inconvenient and poorly designed (McKeachie, 1974). They were designed in frames that all students had to go through in linear sequence. (Seattler, 1990). The machine was designed in a way that the steps identified by the instructor were taken by students i n a prescribed tell apart (Skinner, 1958). And it was assumed that for human being, just being right is the sufficient reinforcement (Holland, 1960). The machine did not make the students to go on studying. Teaching machines locked so that n either the students see the correct answer until he responded correctly or altered his answer after he power saw the correct answer (Calvin, 1969). For all of these reasons, most of the students found teaching machine boring and destructed their machine. In addition, it was seen that some of the students were unable to pass tests after successfully terminate the program (Seattler, 1990). For teacher side, most of teaching machines were not readily portable and required maintenance (Calvin, 1969). Difficult to prep atomic number 18 programs, they are time consuming thus, teacher must be clear what they want to teach at the beginning of the program preparation (Skinner, 1960). Due to these problems, by the late 1960s, the popularity of teachi ng machines was decreased. Despite its problems, teaching machines had great contribution in educational environment. It revived the early ideas of individualizing instruction. Moreover, it fostered the growth of sounder engine room in the development f instructional programs and influenced number of programs in 1960s, 1970s. Finally, it promoted computer assisted instruction and system approach to instruction ( Saettler, 1990).Adaptive scholarship is a usage of technology to help the students in their acquire process (Francois, 2011). It provides content and services to meet individual or group learning needfully with improved learning achievement and efficiency (Martine, 2003). Adaptability in learning has became real important issue in educational area. As stated by Nguen and Do, learning environment is complex structure that includes many students who has different characteristics. They physically and mentally are different, so their preferences are various. Thus, holdatio n in educational environment is necessity (Nguyen Do, 2008).With the help of technology, the adaptive learning environment have become much efficiently and efficaciously. Especially, development in computer hardware and software allow creating those kinds of adaptive environments. These computerized learning environments allow immediate feedback and adaptation to students learning curves. These programs pace curses using sophisticated tracking of skill development, instant feedback, and help levels based on mastery of concepts by providing game like interface. (verilen makaleeee)The advantage of adaptive learning environment has taken the educators attention. Especially, e-learning professions have given their attention on adaptive learning and created adaptive e-learning environments. An adaptive e-learning environment is an interactive system that personalizes and adapts elearning content, pedagogical stupefys, and interactions between participants in the environment to meet t he individual needs and preferences of users if and when they arise(Stoyanov Kirschner, 2004 ). There are lots of factors to contribute the popularity of adaptive e-learning the diversity in the access media and modalities that one can effectively utilize today in order to access, manipulate, or collaborate on, educational content or learning activities, alongside with a diversity in the scene of use of such technologies, the anticipated proliferation of free educational content. (Paramythis, Loidl-Reisinger, tarihi bul)There are lack of research about adaptive learning. But according to there are lots of opportunities those environment provides both students and teachers. They are cheap and can be given both online or blended form. The order of instruction is defined by the students not instructor. Everyone have different experience so their knowledge and needs are differentEspecially large classes prevent instructors from deviating much from the syllabus. Adjust personal line of credit to the studentPresent every topic, a series of skills and building block concepts. Animation, videos, interactive diagrams and other web based features entered while needed. Interactive tutor help students to master of each skill, give short quizzes, score them, and offer additional help. Software adapt, keep students personal profiles. Students do not move until develop proficiency. instructor decides the proficiency level. Instructor weight the materialInstructors were informed about the students process. Increase motivationGame like enviroment informs what have left to do thus motivate to go on. Research shows students completed the course in shorter , performed betterCons Few studies conducted to assess the outcomes Research problems effectiveness of these programs are not done in isolationResearchers examine the effects of multifeatured environment, not isolate one element. Are teaching machines and adaptive learning similar or different things? Teaching machines an d adaptive learning are different things although they have similarities. Firstly, both of them aim to help students in their learning process. Furthermore, they acknowledge the fact that students have different pace and it was difficult to adapt traditional classroom environment to the pace of all students. Both of these try to create an environment in which students study at their own pace and be active during the learning process. In addition, both of them keep the students progress and inform the teacher about it. Teacher analyzes their progress and help students to reach the desired goals. The first difference between teaching machine and adaptive learning is their technologies. Teaching machine was designed in 1920s and spread out in 1950 when technology was not advanced as it is now. Thus, teaching machines was not portable and it was difficult to modify it for teachers. Thus teachers had to participate in the design process and decided what he wanted to teach at the beginnin g. In contrast, systems in adaptive learning creates flexible environment for teachers. They can modify the system based on the needs that may not be predicted at the beginning of the course. The second and the main difference between teaching machine and adaptive learning was the learning theory underlying them. Teachingmachine usesbehavioristapproach whereas adaptive learning is more suitable for constructive approach. Teaching machine was designed for modifying the behaviors of the students. Although teaching machines was designed in 1920s, its usage in educational area was spread out by its modification by Skinner. Skinner designed the teaching machines based on the operant conditioning and its aim was to provide a small unit of information to the students and wanted their response. Since the instructional sequence is so simple, the students hardly make a mistake (Saettler, 1990). Students responded to the questions posed by teaching machines and getting reinforcement, they gain ed the desired behavior such as pronouncing a word or saying the results of a mathematical equation. There is a logical order in the teaching machine and all of the students have to follow the same path. Although the students are active, the teaching machine decides what question is posed in which order. On the other hand, adaptive learning met the assumptions of constructivism. According to Ertmer and Newby (1993), constructivist learning environment emphasis on learner control and provides opportunities for learner to manipulate information. In addition, the information is presented in a variety of different ways in terms of its order, modes, perspectives etc. Adaptive learning does not aim to change the behavior of the students by giving reinforcement or force them to follow the start at the same where and follow the same path. Instead, an adaptive learning provides a personalized learning environment for each learner, by both adapting presentation and navigation through the cour se materials (Retalis Papasalouros, 2005). It acknowledges the differences between the students and create learning environment based on these differences. It can dynamically regroup learning resources in order to achieve specific learning objectives by analyzing learners profile or learning portfolio (Brusilovsky, 2001). It offers opportunity to uniquely address the specific learning goals, prior knowledge and context of a learner so it improves learners satisfaction with the course and motivate them to complete that course (Dagger, Wade, Conlan, 2005). For all of these, adaptive learning systems are beyond the teaching machines. Strengths and weaknesses of technology supported adaptive learningAdaptive learning environment provides opportunities for teacher to apply range of methods. Teacher can either use problem based instruction, case reasoning etc. Moreover, it acknowledges the differences between the students. All students have different experience, background so their need s are different. Adaptive learning aims to recognize these differences and offers personalized learning that is determined based on these differences. Students take the control of their learning process, access the resources appropriate to their needs and study them at their pace.Although the ideas behind the adaptive learning systems are dream of all educators, the implementation of these ideas is difficult. While the idea adaptation based on individual differences is good, it may cause problems if these differences are not identified correctly. Nguyen and Do (2008) states that the system must gather information and data about user and create a user model based on this information. But which information should be gathered? Adaptive systems have to decide this. Moreover, it should decide what to adapt. It has to identify the differences such as background, pre-knowledge about the content, learning style and offers a learning environment to suit these differences. The maintenance of these systems is additional weaknesses of adaptive system. Technological knowledge of the teachers may not adequate to maintain such kind of systems. For this reason, an expert should control the system and intervene if there is any problem. Finally, there is lack of research about the implementation of this system. What it offers and how it accomplishes this should be analyzed and the learning results should be investigated deeply. Moreover, it should be investigated what should be adapted, when and how it should be adapted and what should be kept constant in adaptive learning systems. Suggestions to instructional designers Adaptive learning is just includes system that create an effective and efficient learning environment. So without a good design, it will not help either instructors or students in the learning environment. First of all, the instructional designer should decide which learning theory he will apply in adaptive learning. Based on the learning theory, he needs to ide ntify the overall goals of the course, which method he will use. Moreover, he needs to consider the possible needs of students from different backgrounds experiences and knowledge. To achieve this, he should get knowledge about his students. Since adaptive learning keeps the students progress, the instructor should monitor each students progress and see where they are, what problems they face etc. If adaptive learning is used by different instructor, instructional designer should inform the teacher about the benefits and weaknesses of it. Moreover, it provides guidance and help when needed and support the adaptation process of instructors to use adaptive learning. In addition, these systems are complex and should be designed carefully. There should be multiple modes of presentations the resources should be prepared for different background information etc. Motivation components eklemeli1. Learner-led adaptation. Learners should be able to find both what they want to learn and how th ey want to learn it. 3. Learner self-management. They can see where they are in the curriculum or competence map and what learning task or activity to carry out next, consult course-tracking data, and monitor their learning. They have an opportunity to prebrowse and search for learning content. 5. Learner auditing.learners should have possibilities to test the level of their knowledge and learning styles, and to be able to see their learning results.Discussion 14. Learning communication. This second communication cluster emphasizes interactionbetween learners and instructors. An LMS should support instructor-learner, instructor instructor, and learner-learner communication.15. Collaboration. Instructors should be able to use different modes of group discussion and be able to collaborate with learners synchronously on group learning tasks. Experts also emphasize the possibilities of peer learning.17. Socialization. Experts underline the need for an LMS to provide a social context for learning and professional socialization of learners.

Old South vs. New South in OConners Everything That Rises Must Conver

Old South vs. New South in OConners Everything That Rises essential ConvergeFlannery OConnors Everything That Rises Must Converge depicts a stifling mother-son relationship in which the scrap is never resolved, or even acknowledged. This relationship is a metaphor which describes the transition from the Old South, with its inherent values used to justify slavery and segregation, to the New South, strain for justice based on equality. Mrs, Chestney ( elderly(a) South) and her son Julian (New South) represent, on an individual scale, the interactions of their corresponding constituencies, The world is a mess everywhere... I dont know how weve let it go away in this mess, states Mrs, Chestney on the subject of segregation, Unintentionally, she implicates her kind as the party responsible for the tension between Negroes sic. and Whites, She is saying, in effect, We dominated this race of people. Now it has release too difficult for us to maintain that control. Naturally, she feels threatened. Josephine Hendin wrote that The desegregation of buses and the general rise of the Negro seem to her so much chaos, a chaos in which the old and the young, the present and the past, must violently collide. Blacks encroaching upon the power structure which is integral to her behavior have forced her to either reassess her behavior, or substantiate it. She is an old woman, whose meaning to life is reliant upon segregation, and she will, in every case, opt for the latter, In her discourse with her son, Julian, she proudly refers to a great-grandfather who was a slave owner, the tragedy of half-whites, and, as substantiation for not riding integrated buses alone, a large Black passenger sitting adjacent to her, reading a newspaper. Her mani... ...s and is now yearning for a darky nurses care. Only then does Julian react to the circumstances, in a panic. He helplessly watches his mother die, and then realizes how dependent on her he truly is, As the Old South dies, the New South emerges. The descendant cannot sever the tie to its predecessor, nor ignore its effect on the next generation. As a society, our evolution to a point without racism may be a long process. Works CitedFeeley, Kathleen, Flannery OConnor Voice Of The Peacock. New Brunswick, New Jersey Rutgers University Press, 1972. Hendin, Josephine. The World of Flannery OConnor. Bloomington, Indiana Indiana University Press, 1970. OConnor, Flannery. Everything That Rises Must Converge. New York The Noonday Press, 1956, Stephens, Martha. The Question of Flannery OConnor. Baton Rouge Louisiana State University Press, 1973.

The Son :: essays research papers

The Son     Years ago, there was a very wealthy reality who, with his devoted son, shared a passion for art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and numerous others adorned the walls of the family estate.     The widowed elder creation looked on with satisfaction, as his only child became an expienced art collector. The sons trained eye and sharp business mind caused his father to beam with pride as the dealt with art collectors around the world.     As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art collector anxiously awaited more news, fearing he would neer see his beloved son again.     Within days, his fears were confirmed. The young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic.     Distraught and lonely, the old man aspectd the upcoming Easter holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, a season that he and his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer. On Easter morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man.      As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hand. He introduced himself to the man by saying, "I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I give up something to show you."     As the two began to talk, the soldier told of how the mans son had told everyone of his fathers love of fine art. "Im an artist," said the soldier, "and I want to give you this.&quo t As the old man unwrap the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the mans son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young mans face in striking detail. Overcome with emothion, the man thanked the soldier, promising to hang the picture above the fireplace. A few hours later, after the soldier had departed, the old man decorate about his task.     True to his word, the painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars of paintings.