Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning

Questions: 1: Summarise key aspects of legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice that directly impact on your teaching and on your learning environment. 2: Evaluate own roles and responsibilities in the lifelong learning sector. Review your roles and responsibilities in identifying and meeting the needs of learners. 3: Analyse the boundaries between the teaching role and other professional roles. Evaluate own responsibilities in relation to other professionals. 4: Explain how to establish and maintain a safe and supportive learning environment. Explain how to promote appropriate behaviour and respect for others. Explain how to establish ground rules with learners to promote respect for others. 5: Create a plan for a 15 to 30 minute session keeping in mind the needs of your learners. 6: Explain the need to keep records of assessment of learning. Summarise requirements for keeping records of assessment in an organisation? Answers: 1. The aspects of legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice that directly impact on my teaching and learning environment Teachers must obey various types of legislative requirements and variations of practice in our environment. The honorable Parliament has been defined the form of legislation as an Act. In addition, the statutory codes of practice should be applied by every teacher (WASC Capacity, 2007). According to the codes of practice the expectation of teacher is present, as well as it is also observed how an individual within a profession is expected to react, as example teaching profession. First of all we need to understand the basic difference between a legislative requirement and code of practice. Legislative requirement: this act is defined by Parliament and it is usually enforceable through the order of courts and a teacher must do its duty according to law. Code of practice: the code of practice involves some rules that draw an outline how a person is expected to behave in a particular profession or situation (Kirova and Penkin, 2013). Statutory code of practice: in any kind of legal action this statutory code of practice is approved by honorable Parliament as important evidence. There are various types of generic legislation and codes of practice that must be followed by teachers such as Health and Safety at work Act 1974 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Data Protection Act 2006 Safer practice, Safer learning 2007 On the other hand, some major health and safety codes of practice can create an impact on the teaching role such as followed: Manual handle situations, control of substances hazardous to health and work along with equipment of display screen must be applied by teachers (WASC Capacity, 2007). Moreover, we should aware about risk factors also such as electricity cables, fire exits blocked, bags should not be kept under the table (Editorial Board, 2012). 2. Own roles and responsibilities in the lifelong learning sector in identifying and meeting the needs of learners As a trainer, I will evaluate my role and responsibilities. In order To meet the needs of my learners I have to plan some adequate resources, approach style of teaching and operational activities. According to being attached to lifelong learning sector I need to upgrade my knowledge about my specialist subject (A. Hunt, 2012). In addition, I need to improve my teaching practice regular basis. Ill have to maintain the attendance record of my learners, and Ill write the individual action plan, learning plan in the record book because it is a vital responsibility as a teacher in lifelong learning sector. Ill have to use different types of technical software such like MS-Excel, MS-PowerPoint to teach better, as well as to improve my teaching skills Ill adopt various teaching approaches like interactive teaching for better demonstration and explanation (N. Harris, 2008). On the other hand, Ill plan different approaches to meet the requirements of my learners. I will always encourage my le arners for collaboration for better group performance. In addition, to that, I will use a systemic improvement strategy and regularly monitor the performance of my learners (A. Hunt, 2012). After that, I will analyze a sampling of student work to plan the progress report of my learners. According to the researcher, the interdisciplinary is very complicated study, and it is very difficult to achieve and sustain. In order to work and across several disciplines the students are faced with serious challenges (Editorial Board, 2012). On the other hand, the VARK questionnaire took the responsibility to clarify these problems, as well as it would help the students to become more self-aware. I can review my role with the help of VARK questionnaire to meet the requirements of my learners and according to individual needs and interest; I will provide the assessment plan. For an example, the common way to exchange information is speech and this information received by the Ear of students. For those students with aural attachment VARK questionnaire provides a set of strategies for learning by ear (N. Harris, 2008). On the other hand, some students can learn better by a display and called visuals. With the help of graphs, charts and flow diagrams they can learn effectively. 3. The boundaries between the teaching role and other professional roles and own responsibilities in relation to other professionals The teaching role includes some several boundaries such as telephones calls to learners but harassing them is not a good thing at all. Also getting to close or informal and getting personal with students are main boundaries of the teaching role. The teachers should not emotionally involved and maintain a relation only on a professional level (Roberts, 2012). Moreover, teachers and other professionals have their own part on the sides of their boundaries such like administration, IT, and other support staffs have their individual role to play in the training center. If you have any assured problems with your laptop, projector or any other IT equipment within the organization, you will not repair it yourself, but you must report to an IT expert within the organization (Roberts, 2012). On the other hand, health and safety issues should be forwarded to the Health and Safety Executives or Fire officers. You may teach your learners but do not allow them to access the objectivity and imparti ality of assessments. In addition, you might access, but you cannot verify your own measurement in both ways internally and externally. However, the inclusion determines the requirements of learners but according to teachers always it is impossible to do this without support themselves. Moreover, you always aware of your limitations and responsibilities to provide support both for yourself and your learners in exact areas (Penn, 2008). It is very significant to build and agree on roles and responsibilities with other professionals. In order to inform everyone about the roles and responsibilities the professionals including me should introduce themselves at the first meeting. Different types of problems can arise if my roles and responsibilities are not defined correctly to other professionals and a lack of understanding about what they expect from me. To be able to access any help and any kind of advice I need for work together to meet common objective it is very imperative to know where my roles lie with external professionals. In a teaching center everybody wants to improve the future of a child. With the help of regular meetings with other professionals everyone can be up to date because it is important to agree on similar objectives, working phase and interact with other professionals (Flaherty, Gay and Semler, 2013). On the other hand, it is very significant to hear others point of view; no matters if their ideas are no longer help to the child. In addition, we both have enough time periods to consult each and every matter, so it is very significant to make sure that thing. 4. A safe and supportive learning environment and appropriate behavior and respect for others, ground rules with learners to promote respect for others. As a teacher of a lifelong learning sector the health and safety issues come first, a teacher should take a safety measure of the classroom including air ventilation, classroom temperature, electric wires, laptops, computers, electronic equipment etc (Flaherty, Gay and Semler, 2013). In addition, the teachers should be aware about the information of fire exits, kitchens and toilets also. After that teachers should move forward to the curriculum. There are different types of activities located by a teacher, so a teacher must understand the individual behavior. In order to create a safe, supportive and stimulating learning environment, the learner motivation is very significant. With the help of proper learning environment, a teacher can promote positive social interaction and active engagement in learning. In other words, the teachers can use their professional knowledge and understanding to establish a respectful, positive and safe learning environment where the relationship between students and teacher based on mutual trust, social support and positive attitudes to learning, participation and achievement (Hindman, Grant and Stronge, 2010). As well as teachers should improve the communication and always maintain the learning and behavior of learners and provide the desired feedback on a particular appropriate behavior of a student. The management of learning sector must conduct the behavior management strategy to achieve the best result in a fair, consistent and sensitive manner. Moreover, in order to create and maintain an engaging, challenging, supportive and safe environment of learning, the teachers of learning sector must manage their teaching time, resources and physical space and they should monitor the independent and group work to improve the performance of students (Giannakis, 2008). In a classroom, the students may come from different culture, religion, custom and background, so it is possible that they have independent thinking and opinion. In order to improve the learning environment, the learners should show correct respect and suitable behavior for each other. In addition, the teachers should maintain some crucial or ground rules for all students such as contact of eye, interaction, relax, respect, attitude and skills. Moreover, the ground rules conclude the appropriate behavior and respect to others (Hindman, Grant and Stronge, 2010). Introducing into a new classroom, the teacher must identify the objectives of the definite course and at the very first meeting the teacher must set the ground rules. The teacher must have a clear observation to those students who can break the boundary rules, but the teacher should give them an opportunity to improve their attitudes towards study. In order to get the more useful result, the teacher should divide the classroom into two groups and each group comes up with individuals sets of rules. However, with the help of this division they can understand the value of teamwork and achievement. After receiving the list, teacher has to focus a balanced view to all identified points, as well as at the time of negotiation with learners the teacher should give them the sense of worth because it will help to gain the trust of learners. Moreover, the teacher must ensure that these rules should be followed by the learners, and they should respond to the policies of the present teaching sector (Giannakis, 2008). 5. A plan for a 15 to 30 minute session keeping in mind the needs of your learners First of all, I have to right down the requirements of my pupil. After that, I will call students at once, and I will listen to him/her needs again. With the help of my interaction skill I will provide the best learning solutions according to my knowledge. At the last stage of the conversation, I will ask again if there any doubt occurs or not (Briefing, 2015). 6. The need to keep records of assessment of learning requirements for keeping records of assessment in an organization The assessment of learning should be protected by the learning sector because it concludes all relevant information about both learner and teacher. If it was lost, then it can be misused, and learner security will be at risk. So, the management should take proper steps to protect all assessment of learning such as preserve a record notebook, maintain a hard drive, and store the data in virtual cloud account, for example, GMAIL, GOOGLE (Witte, Harden and Harden, 2009). References A. Hunt, G. (2012). Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning. 1st ed. CANADA: STLHE. Briefing. (2015). Recruiting Retaining Adult Learners, 17(5), pp.2-2. Editorial Board. (2012). Urology, 80(1), p.A2. Flaherty, K., Gay, P. and Semler, L. (2013). Teaching Shakespeare beyond the centre. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Giannakis, M. (2008). Facilitating learning and knowledge transfer through supplier development. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 13(1), pp.62-72. Hindman, J., Grant, L. and Stronge, J. (2010). The supportive learning environment. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education. Kirova, B. and Penkin, I. (2013). The code: the Da Vinci code, TM code, QR code ... Journal of Intellectual Property Law Practice, 8(8), pp.599-602. N. Harris, (2008). Teacher Training, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement. 1st ed. Washington: Stanford Universitry. Penn, B. (2008). Mastering the teaching role. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. Roberts, A. (2012). The Role of Metalinguistic Awareness in the Effective Teaching of Foreign Languages. Oxford: Lang, Peter, AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. WASC Capacity, (2007). Using Educational Technology to Enhance Learning and Teaching. 6th ed. UK: WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review. Witte, A., Harden, T. and Harden, A. (2009). Translation in second language learning and teaching. New York: Peter Lang.

Movie Review Coco Essay Example

Movie Review: Coco Essay Few film production companies could imagine that an animated film with death as its center would appeal to a wide audience. The question posed at the heart of Coco, the latest Pixars film is if a person can honor his family along with pursuing his dreams. The film whirls around an aspiring 12-year-old Mexican boy Miguel Rivera (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) who dreams of becoming a musician, against the fact that his family proscribed music after his great-great-grandfather left his family for music. Despite the familys hatred for music, Miguel covertly plays guitar and covets to become a popular musician like Ernesto De La Cruz. On Dia de Muertos(Day of the Dead), Miguel fights with his family about performing in a local music talent show, which doesnt go well with music-loathing Riveras and especially his abuelita (voiced by Renee Victor), who gets agitated and smashes Miguels guitar like a pinata. After fighting with his family, Miguel finds himself a guitar in the tomb of his idol, Ernesto De La Cruz(voiced by Benjamin Bratt), a well-known musician. Without realizing a thing, Miguel robs a guitar from the crypt and plays it, which gets him transported to the Land of the Dead. The films about how he returns back to the world of the living and his adventures in the land of the dead. Stunning visuals with sophisticatedly ordered and intensely striking storytelling being the trademarks of the best movies of Pixar Animation Studios, Coco will also thrill the audience with Pixars usual verve and style. The land of the dead with skeletons walking and talking with a glaze of fluorescent flower petals paved upon the streets is visually appealing. This whole imaginative journey in the land of the dead is full of mindblowing sights and creatures which is worth getting lost in. The brilliant, colorful visuals and a mysterious chain of adventures that happen throughout the film is what makes Coco interesting like other Disney-Pixar films. We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Review: Coco specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Review: Coco specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Review: Coco specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Civil Rights Movement Timeline From 1951 to 1959

Civil Rights Movement Timeline From 1951 to 1959 This  civil rights movement  timeline chronicles the fight for racial equality in its early days, the  1950s. That decade saw the first major victories for civil rights in the Supreme Court as well as the development of nonviolent protests and the transformation of Dr. Martin Luther King  Jr. into the movements preeminent leader. 1950 The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the segregation of African Americans in graduate and law schools. The initial case was fought by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Marshall used this win to begin building a strategy to fight the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine established in 1896.   1951 Linda Brown, an 8-year-old girl in Topeka, Kan., lives within walking distance of a whites-only elementary school. Because of segregation, she has to travel by bus to a more distant school for African American children. Her father sues the school board of Topeka, and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. 1953 The Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tenn., which runs workshops on organizing protests for individuals such as union organizers, issues invitations to civil rights workers. 1954 The Supreme Court decides Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, arguing that separate but equal schools are inherently unequal. The decision legally prohibits school segregation, declaring it unconstitutional. 1955 Rosa Parks attends a workshop for civil rights organizers at the Highlander Folk School in July.On Aug. 28, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, is killed near Money, Miss., for allegedly whistling at a white woman.In November, the Federal Interstate Commerce Commission forbids segregation on interstate buses and trains.On Dec. 1, Rosa Parks refuses to give her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott.On Dec. 5, the Montgomery Improvement Association is established by a group of local Baptist ministers. The organization elects the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,  pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, president. In this role, King would lead the boycott. 1956 In January and February, whites angry about the Montgomery Bus Boycott bomb four African American churches and the homes of civil rights leaders King, Ralph Abernathy, and E.D. Nixon.On court order, the University of Alabama admits its first African American student, Autherine Lucy, but finds legal ways to prevent her attendance.On Nov. 13, the Supreme Court upholds an Alabama district court ruling in favor of the Montgomery bus boycotters.The Montgomery Bus Boycott ends in December, having successfully integrated Montgomerys buses. 1957 King, along with Ralph Abernathy and other Baptist ministers, helps found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in January. The organization serves to fight for civil rights, and King is elected its first president.The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, obstructs the integration of Little Rock High School, using the National Guard to block the entry of nine students. President Eisenhower orders federal troops to integrate the school.Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which creates the Civil Rights Commission and authorizes the Justice Department to investigate cases of African Americans being denied voting rights in the South. 1958 The Supreme Court decision Cooper v. Aaron rules that a threat of mob violence is not reason enough to delay school desegregation. 1959 Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visit India, the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi, who won independence for India through nonviolent tactics. King discusses the philosophy of nonviolence with Gandhis followers. Updated by Femi Lewis.

A Little Fox Never Hurt Anyone

A Little Fox Never Hurt Anyone A Little Fox Never Hurt Anyone A Little Fox Never Hurt Anyone By Kate Evans We all know that good looking women are described as foxy. But foxes, with their rusty color and reputation for craftiness, can be used in many other colorful, unique, and descriptive expressions. For example, A foxs sleep is when one feigns indifference while keeping a close eye on someone. A wise fox will never rob his neighbors hen-roost, meaning a thief should steal from people far from home so as not to get caught. Theres my personal favorite, I gave him a flap with a fox-tail, which means that I made a fool of someone. To set a fox to keep the geese would be someone who trusts those who should clearly not be trusted with important tasks. If its a case of the fox and the grapes, then someone really wants something, cant obtain it, so they pretend they never wanted it in the first place. And of course, theres the often relevant when a fox preaches, take care of your geese. So, go off and flap someone with a fox-tail or just try and work one of these expressions into your next short story! Apollo Theater, Ms. Brown had the limo pull to a stop before a 100-foot-long Chyna Doll billboard, featuring a very foxy Foxy, clad only in a blue feather bikini. (www.nytimes.com) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†Awoken or Awakened?Ulterior and Alterior

Evidence course work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Evidence course work - Essay Example Legal principles aim at promoting the rights of children throughout the administration of justice. This means that the legal system needs to uphold the fact that children, including individuals aged 17 years, are people in their own right and thus possess obligations and rights. These rights and obligations must be taken into consideration and respected by judicial and administrative authorities. 17 year olds enjoy special rights at police stations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the array of legal rights endowed on 17 year olds while in police custody for interviewing. The paper will further make pertinent recommendations to enhance the level of protection offered to juveniles in the initial stages of the juvenile justice process. Background International, regional and national legal principles hold that children possess special interests, needs and rights, which must be appreciated in all stages of the criminal justice system. This means that the administration of justice, both criminal and otherwise should always be guided by principal principles of non-discrimination, which are aimed at upholding the best interests of the juvenile. The European Convention on Human Rights is one of the most relevant regional legal principles that countries in Europe seek to incorporate into their domestic legal systems in order to provide guidance on the treatment of juveniles within the justice system3. The Convention has influenced the creation and implementation of legal provisions such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the Human Rights Act 1998 with the view to enhance the protection of juveniles’ rights in all spheres of life. Notably, recent court cases have revealed that PACE is inadequate in its protection of juveniles since it promotes the treatment of 17 year olds as adults during interviews at the police station. In R. (on the application of HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 982 (Admin) (QBD (Admin)) , the court ruled that the failure to revise PACE 1984 Code C in a manner that differentiates between adults and 17 year olds is a direct contravention of the government’s legal duty under the Human Rights Act 19984. PACE 1984 Code C allows police officers to treat 17 year olds as adults5. For instance, police officers are allowed to delay juveniles’ phone calls to their guardians on the pretext that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the exercise of the right to a phone call will impair the investigations. PACE Code C considers juveniles as all individuals who seem to be below the age of 17 years in the absence of evidence to the contrary6. Since the ratification of the Children Act in 1908, the criminal justice system has maintained that young offenders must be treated differently from adults in all stages of the justice process. Other legal principles such as remand and sentencing legislation, for instance, Criminal Justice Act 2003, Powers of Criminal Cou rts Sentencing Act 2000 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 also differentiate between those below and over the age of 18 years7. Additionally, the Prison Service Instruction 08/2012 describes children as all individuals under 18 years. Under Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) a child is essentially a person under 18 years, unless the law applicable to the child delineates that majority is attained at a

Fixed Base Operator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fixed Base Operator - Essay Example Hence, gradually there was a shift in early decades to bifurcate the jobs between pilots and the technicians. Now the two are totally different fields and much more such fields have been introduced in support of operations. The rationale has been that each and every person in aviation field has a well-defined job and that it is interwoven to such an extent that all these fields work together just to keep an aircraft high up in the air safe. The airport is one of the most vital elements in our air transportation system. A well-equipped airport provides a variety of facilities for the aircraft and for crews and passengers. These include runways and taxiways, which may be lighted for day and night use; a terminal building with lounge areas for passengers, and possibly a restaurant and shops; automobile parking lots; ramp areas and hangars for aircraft storage; and maintenance shops for aircraft and avionics. In the United States, there are about 13,000 airports and 4,000 heliports (land ing sites for helicopters). About 5,000 of these landing facilities are used by the public. It may surprise you to learn that only about 650 airports are served by airlines; most of the Nation's airports are used by general aviation pilots and their aircraft. The atmosphere at these airports is usually a lot less hectic and pressured than the environment at a major airline facility. Some airports are owned by municipalities, states, counties, and cities. Others are operated as privately owned businesses. A fixed base operator (FBO) is a retail firm that sells general aviation products or services at an airport. The FBO may employ one or two people, or it may have as many as one hundred workers. One or more of the following services are offered: aircraft fueling; airframe, engine, and/or instrument repairs; avionics sales and service; aircraft modifications; flight training; ground school; aircraft rentals and sales; and air taxi service and charter flights. Student pilot training ha s been rising in recent years, as have sales of new general aircraft both of which have been traditional sources of income for many Fixed Base Operators. Services. The services offered by a modern FBO may include any or all of the following: Aircraft fueling, de-fueling and oil dispensing: This aspect is normally carried out by professionals from various oil companies under

Gangs of Youth Essay Example for Free

Gangs of Youth Essay Tattoos, graffiti in the walls, foul language, drugs, guns and violence are the most popular notions for â€Å"street gangs†. Street gangs are prevalent ever since the 19th century, when there was a surge of immigrants in the United States. They are an identity, a fearful group of people who organizes a variety of delinquent activities. Though gangs have been widely used in popular culture, as observed in the invention of slang words, baggy pants, hip-hop and rap music, they are a threat to society. Gangs are not really cool as what is being portrayed in our television sets. The following questions, which were taken from GWC, Inc. [1997], provide us some ideas on how to assess whether our community or school is suffering from severe gang activity. 1. Do you have graffiti on or near your school? 2. Do you have crossed out graffiti on or near your school grounds? 3. Do your students wear colors, jewelry, clothing; flash hand signals; or display other behavior that may be gang related? 4. Are drugs available in or near your school? 5. Has there been an increase in physical confrontations or incidents of threats, abuse, or intimidation in or near your school? 6. Is there an increasing presence of weapons in your community? 7. Do students use beepers, pagers and cellular phones? 8. Has there been a drive-by shooting in your neighborhood? 9. Have you had a show-by or a display of weapons near your schools? 10. Has there been an increase in the truancy rate and/or daytime burglaries? 11. Are there an increasing number of racial incidents in your community or school? 12. Does your community have a history of gangs? 13. Is there an increasing presence of informal social groups with unusual names? If most of the answers are yes, then your community or school is definitely in need for an effective gang prevention program. But before doing so, I will first discuss about the proliferation of street gangs, its history and its impact to the society especially to the youth. I will also provide recent reports on the current statistics in some areas; then I can now dwell on the useful measures on how to fight and avoid gang activity. What are gangs? The Children’s Health Encyclopedia [n. d. ] mentioned that there are a couple of definitions of gangs, specifically, youth gangs. In general, they are a â€Å"loosely-organized association† who were formerly alienated by the society. They are headed informally by a leader. The members are usually between ages 12 to 24 and they have a gang name to identify themselves. The members of the gang share something in common in them. Usually they have the same race or ethnicity, same social class or some characteristic that are usually defined by some form of a symbol, usually represented by tattoos, graffiti, clothing or even hand signals. According to Safe Youth [2007], gangs are most of the time male-dominated and have their own territory. Such male members have experienced a loss of a male figure at home. For females, they often participate in gang activity during family crisis or drug addiction. They have been characterized to be run-away-from-home youths. Moreover, another characteristic of these gangs is that they may either be a subsidiary of a larger group of gangs. Some gang organizations have their respective mother groups whom they share similar attributes and culture. It is also common for such gangs to have their own set of rules and codes of conduct. Some even have weird rituals of their own. They treat each other as kin or family; since in the first place, they were formed because they felt some kind of alienation with their respective lives. Gangs can compensate and nurture the members a sense of belongingness. They also can gain power and influence especially when they cooperate to fight for their own endeavors. They gain confidence and self-worth especially when gang members are promised to be given protection or better yet a higher social status. They do organized crime activities in order to get what they want. These activities are violent and nature and such can threaten a lot of lives. According to the U. S. Department of Justice, groups must be involved in criminal acts before they are deemed to be called as gangs. Such acts, according to Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005], can vary from extortion, robbery, smuggling, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and defending their territory. Basically, there a two types of gangs, city and urban/rural gangs [Green, 1999]. In cities, gangs are situated in a particular â€Å"turf† or â€Å"hood†, unlike in urban/rural areas, gangs are dispersed and some needed to travel in order to be with their members. According to Green [1999], there three indicators of gangs: saggin’, flaggin’, and braggin’. Sagging is manner of dressing. Gangsters are usually wearing loose clothes like baggy pants and caps that are tilted in a different manner. Some gangs have a unique style, which makes them distinct from other gangs like hairdos and leather jackets. Flagging is the show of colors. Gangs have a branding color which represents them. Last is bragging, which is self-explanatory. They brag about being gangsters though they are very secretive about their activities. History Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005] stated in their paper, â€Å"North American Transnational Youth Gangs: Breaking the Chain of Violence† that youth gangs can be traced even as far as the end of American Revolution. They said that such violence was heightened during the immigration and population shifts during the early 1800s, 1920s, 1960s and in the latter 1990s. Though in Europe, gangs are already popular in the 14th Century. It was reported in the 1999 National Youth Gang Survey that gangs in the United States are composed of 47 percent Hispanic members, 31 percent African-Americans, 13 percent Caucasian, 7 percent Asian and 3 percent others. These can traced from the 10 to 12 million undocumented Hispanic aliens in 1970s and 1990s. The most popular Hispanic groups are Calle 18 and Mara Salvatrucha. They were the first gangs to accept members from other nationalities as well as recruit outside their own territory. Outside means that even the youth, as young as elementary and middle schools are involved in the use of weapons, stealing money and selling drugs. The GWC, Inc. [1997] believed that gangs use children because if ever they are caught, they will not go to jail. It was also said by Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005] that during the 19th century, Irish and Italian street gangs were greatly concentrated in the East Coast cities, while African-American gangs were mostly in Los Angeles especially during the 1960s and 1970s. When you migrate, most probably the neighborhood the family is exposed are much disorganized, thus leading to exposure to crimes and gang activities. Statistics As shown by the GWC, Inc. ’s Gang Guide [1997], the FBI thinks that there are around 400,000 youths who are members of gangs in the United States. Moreover, the Journal of American Medical Association believes that 94 percent are active gangs in the cities. Such cities according to the American Street Gang can include up to 40 different gangs. In the Children’s Health Encyclopedia, in between the years 1996and 2001, over 90 percent of the largest cities in America are reported to have gang activities in their area. Between 1998 and 1999, it was studied that there was a 27 percent increase in gang membership in the suburban areas while 29 percent in rural areas. Gangs do not only involve the minorities like the Latinos or the African-American, all nationalities or ethnic groups, despite economic class and geographical setting are highly involved in gangs. Earlier we said that males dominate that gangs and females are only involved usually when she experiences family problems and had run away from home. It was discovered by A. Campbell in his research that female gang members have experience a larger risk in gang membership. According to Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005], the reported gang activity in 1970 was 270, by 1998, it increased by whopping 800 percent with 2,500 cities. In a comparative study of gang members and youths-at-risk in Cleveland, it was found that 44. 7 percent of gang members were reported to committing auto theft, as compared to 4. 1 percent of non-members. Moreover, 40. 4 percent of gang members said that they have participated in â€Å"drive-by shootings†, while only 2. 0 percent of non-members have done so. Furthermore, 34. 0 of gang members have been reported to intimidate or assault crime victims or witnesses, compared to none from the non-members. 72. 3 percent of gang members acknowledged that they have assaulted rivals, compared to 16. 3 percent. More so, 17. 0 percent of gang members have committed robbery compared to 2. 0 percent of non-members. We can conclude in this study that being involved in gangs exposes one to be more at-risk even greater than those who are already at-risk yet non-members of gangs. According to Safe Youth [2007], recent studies reveal that member of youth gangs join before they reach 18 years old. In contrast to the notion of the public, such members do not commit to a long-term membership. In a span of one year, only one-half to two-thirds remain in their gang. To heighten our claim earlier that gang members are more at-risk than at-risk non-members, Howell and Decker [1999] revealed that youth gang members have higher drug usage rate than non-gang members. Moreover, Battin-Pearson, et al. [1998] said that delinquency rates are higher for gang members, which includes the use of illegal drugs, display of violent behavior and even the rate of being arrested. Between 1989 and 1995, it was reported by the United States Departments of Education and Justice that the percentage of gang activity doubled. This heightens the strong correlation of gangs with the proliferation of guns and drugs inside the school campuses. However, there is contradiction with the study. Chandler, et al. [1996] believed that gangs have not been the cause of victimization inside the schools although it was found to contribute to the dangerous atmosphere. Presence of gangs in school has even brought protection to students who are part of the minority groups. It was reported in the 2002 and 2003 National Youth Gang Surveys that 4 out of 10 large cities in the United States have experienced 10 or more gang homicides [Egley, 2005]. In Los Angeles and Chicaga, half of the reported 1,000 homicides were gang related. This also implies a frequent use of firearms. Risk Factors In the study of Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005], if the following risk factors increase, it was believed that the youth has higher probability of joining a gang: marginal neighborhoods, family, academic problems, peer groups, drugs and violence. Marginal Neighborhoods involve a more dangerous environment and most of these neighborhoods are highly exposed to drugs. Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005] said that those who are living in these neighborhood are thrice more likely to join gangs. More so, such neighborhoods who are highly exposed to drugs like Marijuana, youths are 3. 6 likely to join a gang. Youths with families headed by a single-parent are 2. 4 more likely to join gangs than those families who are headed by a complete set of parents. As mentioned earlier, those males who missed a father figure will seek out such companionship in gangs. More so, with a broken family, it is much easier for a child to acquire belongingness and love from a gang. However, as long as families promote violence, and there is low parental care and love in the family, a youth will be highly misguided, leading to gang membership. Academic problems lead to higher gang membership because as already mentioned earlier; gangs can lift low self-esteem individuals. Since academic failure contributes to low self-esteem, such youth are 3. 6 times more prone to join the gangs. When there is low commitment to study in school, a child is more likely to join a gang, since it can mean that he or she prefers other activities. Such activities as we know can be more violent in nature, and may or may not be done within the school premises. Peer groups are great motivators for the youth to join a gang. When you have friends who are members of such gangs, you are also twice as likely to join too. Peer pressure is sometimes very hard to resist because friendships are broken if you cannot do a favor for a friend. We know that people do need companionship especially in school and it is difficult if we do not have friends around. They are a source of protection as well. Drugs and violence can evidently trigger gang membership. Youths who already use Marijuana, are 3. 7 times more prone to join gangs. This is definitely true since where else can you get such drugs but from those gangs. To be able to get it easier, one should join them. Moreover, it was revealed that if the youth has been engaged in a violent behavior before, they are 3. 1 time more prone to join the gangs. Lonnie Jackson [1998], the author of Gangbusters: Strategies for prevention and intervention also provided a list of risk factors. It includes again the exposure to crime and violence during the â€Å"formative years†. Role models from a particular ethnic group can also increase the likelihood to gang involvement. It also includes lack of parental control. Moreover, the lack of equal economic opportunities can also be the reason for gang involvement. The lack of â€Å"social and recreational activities† for the children, few employment opportunities and unmet employment qualifications and skills can trigger gang involvement. Youth enticed to power, money and drugs are evidently more likely to join these gangs. Immediate gratification is very attractive for some youths and this encourages them to join the gangs. Moreover the lack of sense of belongingness and security, as well as powerlessness will lead the youth to those gangs. Another source of gang influence would be the popular media. Though there is no substantive evidence, violence seen in films, even song lyrics from hip-hop or rap music can increase pressure in joining gangs since gang life are usually being portrayed with such glamour and power that even kids imitate them. Kids these days are dressing up like gangsters even though they are not, and it can be reason why they join gangs. They think it so cool. Impact of Gangs in Schools Gangs in school will obviously increase the violence in schools, though we cannot directly blame the gang members for them. According to Trump [1993], students enrolled in schools with evident gang presence are twice more likely to fear of being victims of violence, than those whose schools without gangs. In an interview of Boyle [1992], he said that gang members perceive schools as evils and forms of incarceration. They see school as a place for gathering and hosting violent activities. What is worse is that, even gang members who are already suspended or kicked out from school can be found in the campus with their fellow gang mates. They use school as a form of a hang-out place rather than a place for learning. Burnett and Walz [1994] said that gangs can broaden its reach even influencing the youth in gang-free schools, causing a wider influence and greater involvement in criminal activities. According to Chandler et al. [1998], youth gangs are correlated with issues in delinquency especially during elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics [2005] have reported that most students in urban schools are most probably report the existence of street gangs in their school with 31 percent, compared to suburban students and rural students with 18 percent and 12 percent respectively. According to Thompkins [2000], security officers, security cameras, and even metal detectors can serve as a means of deterrence, yet these causes fear among the people on school, knowing that such security was brought about by the heightening of gang activity in the school. Impact of Gangs on its Participants Most of the gang members are already involved in delinquent acts even during the time that they are not still members of the gang [Burnett and Walz, 1994]. Most likely, such delinquent acts will be heightened. They will be frequently involved in drug abuse, as well as violence against their neighbor and a lot more. There are many consequences of being involved in such gangs. If ever they do not follow the rules of their gang leaders, most likely they will be victims as well, facing more punishments than those who are non-members. Also, if the gangs were discovered, they can be arrested and put into detention. When they grow up, they can be put into prison. Gang life distorts a lot of healthy relationships especially if it is for long term. The gangs have so much power over their members and can limit their own capacities. It can deprive them their own ambitions and aspirations. They bring chaos to the community and it can break families. It is more likely to happen that a youth can be dropped out early in school. When this happens, there is less chance for the child to be employable in the future, thus increasing unemployment rate together with crime rate. Moreover, it can also bring about early pregnancy or teen motherhood, which brings about an unstable family and lack of parental care. We already discussed earlier that such families are more likely to produce delinquent children. Thus, we see a cycle going on in here. If you expose your child to an unstable environment, most likely, he or she will carry it in the future. Economic impact of youth gangs There are in fact economic costs associated to youth gangs just like any other crimes. Medical expenses are actually large, especially to those who were victimized. In a year, $655 billion are spent in the United States because of crimes and it was believed that a huge amount can be attributed to gangs [Fight Crime: Invest in kids, 2004]. In Los Angeles Hospital trauma center, it was revealed that $5 million was spent to the 272 gang-related gunshot victims. It was also reported that youth gangs turned to be entrepreneurial organizations, involving hard core drug operations in various numbers of states. An example of which is the Black Gangster Disciples Nation [Burnett and Walz, 1994]. It actually has a hierarchy with several officers with specialized jobs. They have a chairman, with board of directors who are in charge in the drug trafficking in their areas. They have regents, who are in charge in the drug supply as well as in overseeing the â€Å"drug† stores. They also have area coordinators, who are in charge in collecting revenues from several spots. They have enforcers who are like their police and punish members who cheat. Last are the shorties, or the â€Å"interns† who composes the staff in the drugs selling spots. So evidently, such gang is already very organized and they have climbed their way up because of their wider influence and power. How to fight gang activity Gang activities are very serious issues that need to be addressed. A lot of youths are being misled to another path, damages their lives, the lives of the people around them as well as their future. But, it’s never too late to pull them out of their misery and prevent those kids who are about to be victimized. The National Education Association developed a â€Å"Safe Schools Framework† in order to aid schools and communities to pinpoint the gangs in their areas [Safe Youth, 2007]. They are recommending cooperation among schools, families and communities in developing strategies in alleviating gangs in their areas, as well as promoting safety and security in the campus. We adopt three components of the framework: prevention, intervention and suppression. Under prevention, we should aim to prevent the youth in getting involved in gangs, as well as in gang-related activities. This includes heightened awareness and education of the negative consequences of joining gangs, and testimonials from former gang members discouraging them to be involved. By intervention, we mean that we create possible alternatives for the youth in terms of their after-school or extra-curricular activities. More so, we provide counseling for those who are already in trouble, and promote part-time jobs for students. By suppression, we should use adequate measures in identifying, isolation, punishing and rehabilitating criminal offenders [Safe Youth, 2007]. In order to fight the existence of gangs in the schools, we should promote policies like adapting a school uniform, implementing curfews to discourage delinquent activities at night, encouraging students to be punctual, as well as enforcing strict policies on underage drinking and bring of deadly weapons in schools. During the 1930s, the Chicago Area Project has already started in bringing about recreational activities and self-improvement campaigns in order to convert gang members [Johnson and Muhlhausen, 2005]. However, it only increased crime since they treated as gangs as a group. In other states, they have strict anti-gang laws but were not effective in enforcing laws. In states like California, Minnesota and Virginia, they have established gang task forces but it was observed that their success greatly relies on the sustainability of their efforts, a variety of strategies and strong political will. It is very difficult to do that for all the states. The U. S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has recommended several strategies like after-school activities, dropout prevention, parent-training programs, efficient tracking of former offenders, job programs and many others. However, many failed to reduce delinquency [Johnson and Muhlhausen, 2005]. Other programs were also seen to be ineffective, like the GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) which used police as instructors in schools on the dangers of gang participation. During their evaluation, the program has no significant effect on gang membership [Johnson and Muhlhausen, 2005]. Moreover, the on-the-job training provided by the Department of Labor had produced counterintuitive results. Instead of preventing the disadvantaged youth, it actually increased the arrests related to gang activity. It was suggested by Johnson and Muhlhausen [2005] that the following strategies must be used. First, they should foster stable neighborhoods. It is very important for the government to ensure the safety of the environment of the people. They know that an unstable neighborhood produces delinquent activities, thus by enforcing policies that could enable a more secure neighborhood will be of great help in reducing gang membership. Second, they need to reduce illegal immigration. We know for a fact that gangs were formed due to alienation and a sense of discrimination from the society. By requiring stricter requirements for labor and immigration, we are also ensuring the safety of these people and help the rise of gangs in the country. Third, there should be strategies to â€Å"deny time for gang activities†. Parents should be aware that they play a great role in forming the behavior of their children. They should help their children in avoiding being influenced by those groups by telling the possible dangers of gang membership. Fourth, there should also be an emphasis on the prevention on the individual. Counseling programs must be strengthened, helping students to overcome their family problems and encourage them to find happiness in other things, instead of resulting to drugs and violence. Last is to ensure that the suppression is a product of collaborative efforts of several different agencies. An enforcement of a policy will not be successful if people do not have a general consensus about it, or do not cooperate. Strategies must also be simultaneously be implemented in order to make the campaigns against gang violence to be systematic. We still have a long way to go in eliminating gang violence. However, if we start now at our own homes, we can prevent these children from being involved in such gang activities. There are various tools to assist them. We need to focus on the sustainability and effectiveness of those tools in order to ensure success. Bibliography Gang. (n. d. ). Encyclopedia of Childrens Health. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from Answers. com Web site: http://www. answers. com/topic/gang Howell, J. (2006). The Impact of Gangs on Communities. NYGC Bulletin. Retrieved April 22, from IIGC Website: www. iir. com/nygc/publications/NYGCbulletin_0806. pdf. Green, F. (1999). Street Gangs in School. Retrieved April 20, 2008 at Keys to Safer Schools Website: http://www. keystosaferschools. com/Newsletter%20Vol. %208%20pg%203. htm. Safe Youth. (2007). Gangs fact sheet. Retrieved April 20, 2008 at National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center Website: http://www. safeyouth. org/scripts/facts/gangs. asp. Burnett, G. and G. Walz. (1994). Gangs in the Schools. Retrieved April 20, 2008 at Eric Digests Website: http://www. ericdigests. org/1995-1/gangs. htm. Johnson, S. and D. Muhlhausen. (2005). North American Transnational Youth Gangs: Breaking the Chain of Violence. Retrieved April 20, 2008 at Heritage Website: http://www. heritage. org/research/urbanissues/bg1834. cfm.