The Purpose and Benefits of Classroom Observation

The Purpose and Benefits of Classroom Observation Classroom observation is a process by which the institute of nursing-Academic Support Person(ASP) sits in on one or more classroom sessions, records the instructors teaching practices and student actions, and then meets with the instructor to discuss the observations. The main purpose behind the classroom observation is to allow a teacher to get feedback from an objective, experienced observer and to involve in context-specific discussions about teaching with adviser. The observation should not be an endorsement for promotion and tenure, a judgment of the teachers teaching methods, styles and skills, or an assessment of the teachers knowledge of disciplinary content. It is purely developmental rather than intimidation and making decisions. Classroom observation has been used many years ago to evaluate the quality of teaching provided and the consistency between the curriculum plan and the actual delivery of the material by teachers. Wagg (1999) stated that the purpose of looking at implementation is to see whether there is mismatch between intention and strategies. Classroom observation has constantly been seen as an effortful task from the side of the teachers. Negative attitudes have been expressed from several teachers venting their disappointment about the process by which observation has been implemented. This feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction is not a product of today; it is possibly an aggregation of many years of authoritarian, impressionistic, and impartial models of supervisions with teachers feeling of little ownership. Because the observer has a great role in renewing the teachers contracts, they had to conform to the supervisors viewpoints .This is considered an exceptional limitation of the obser vation process. Diverse research revealed that the way teachers behave in the classroom and the instructional methods they use impact the degree students learn. Consequently, using classroom observations, educators and investigators are capable of providing feedback that may improve the teaching practices in the class. Hopkins (2002) considers that the motivation behind any school observation is not limited to classroom research only but it extends to the professional development of teachers. This is because of the many years of observations that contemporary educationalists agreed to desert through time the conventional recitation lesson (Wragg 1999). Clearly, different forms observations encompass different criteria. These criteria may be comprehensive or specific. Some observation forms may focus on the students behavior while others may seek out the response of teachers to such behaviors. According to Hopkins (2002), there are four methods of observation: open, focused, structured, and systematic. Each method needs special instrument. . Observation tools are forms that are to be filled out by the observer. Depending on the observation technique, some forms or instruments may simply be a blank sheet, a worksheet, a scale, checklists, computer software, or a tally sheet. Some observers may be affected by the setting in which the lesson takes place and may focus on some particular feature of the teaching of one specific subject, like science or English. This in turn may influence whether they adopt a quantitative style, which is a type of systematic approach; counting and recording of individual events, or a qualitative method, wh ich is a type of the open observation approach, trying to look behind and beneath the mere frequencies (wragg 1999). Furthermore, there are many observations tools used by teachers on their classes or in peer observation settings (Malamah-Thomas 1987, Wajnryb 1992). Such instruments are powerful developmental tools for teachers and for trainees advisors, allowing both to look at the lesson systematically in conjunction with the feedback from advisors. Therefore, teachers and observers must perceive the instruments similarly to avoid misinterpretations and predispositions of the items within the tools. At the level of the ION, instructors have expressed the issue of the perception of the observation tool many times. In addition to the way the classroom observation is conducted. However, the questions that continue to irritate my colleagues and leave them preoccupied with an answer to them are that, do all classroom observers perceive and interpret the same observation items within the checklist in the same wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦?Is there any problem in the observation methods? This actually urges me to investigate these issues in the Institute of Nursing (ION) to find out any discrepancies in the understanding of the observation checklists and or any defect in the observation process. To pursue the task appropriately, the advisors will not be participated in any other job but collecting data. Randall and Thornton (2005) refer to an advisor who has no other than to observe and take notes as a non-participant observer (Gebhard and Oprandy 1999). As the name designates, this kind of observation requires the observer not to engage in any interaction with the individuals being observed. Instead, the observer should concentrate on a particular behavior a specific criterion (Wragg, 1999, Hopkins 1999, 2002). For an observer, it is very important to avoid preconceptions and afterward approach whatever is to be observed with an open mind (Wragg 1999). Due to its direct involvement with the individuals observed, observation does have a benefit; however, it is time-consuming (Robson, 2002). Pre-judgments and predispositions may also produce troubles with observation. Such troubles may lead to misinterpretation of the data being collected (Brophy Good 2003). Therefore, the observer should avoid any personal biases that may contaminate his/her results. In this small scale study, the entire process of observation, from the instrument used by the observer to different stages of teacher observation, was totally decided by the observer and the investigator. The terms observer and advisor will be used interchangeably. Background The United Arab Emirates (UAE) encompass three institutes of Nursing (ION) located in Sharjah, Ras ELkhaimeh and Fujairah Emirates and they are governed by the Ministry Of Health (MOH).According to the policy, the ION has an observation system performed by three persons: the Central Academics Coordinator (CAC), Academic Support Person (ASP)and the Branch Manager(BM). The class room observation is held two times per semester and as needed. One observation is announced and the other is unannounced. At the level of each ION; the observation responsibility is delegated to the ASP. In case the teacher observation result was unsatisfactory, the CAC will be called to reobserve the same teacher within two weeks of the unsatisfactory observation but can also observe those with satisfactory outcomes. The BM does a spot check from time to time on the ongoing of the teaching process. The three observers use the same observation instrument and it is qualititative (open methods) in nature where ob servation bias can sometimes significantly affect the result. The session Appraisal form is composed of 29 items focusing on two areas of classroom practices: Effective Questioning (8 items), Effective Teaching Practices (21 items). These items are marked as, Accomplished, Partially accomplished, and Not accomplished. The final result is either satisfactory or unsatisfactory (Appendix 2). The adopted teaching methodologies are cased-based and lecture-based, depending on the course. Most of the teachers at the ION are well experienced and hold master degree. I have been working as a senior nursing tutor for the last seven years in the ION. It happened more than once a teacher got two or more different feedbacks from the observers. The teachers always blame the observers for their inconsistency in the understanding of the observation items and in the way the observation is conducted. The majority of the tutors wonder whether a difference should be there while using the same observation checklist and the same observation methods. The investigator will try to answer this question and orient the teachers to the findings. Research Questions Is there a significant difference in the perception of the same observation items within the instrument used by the different advisors in the ION? Is there any defect in the observation process? Purpose The investigator will try to: Find out any discrepancies in the observation tool among the observers. Identify the drawbacks of the observation method. Report to the curriculum committee and teachers these inconsistencies (if any). Observation Methods Classroom observation is a collaborative process. Both the teacher being observed and the observer have vital roles before, during, and after the observation. Collaborating at each phase of the process can help put both participants at ease so that each benefits from the experience (University of Washington 1998). Classroom observation is conducted through three phases that were adapted from Day (1993) and Richards and Lockhart (1994) were: pre-observation meeting, observation phase, and post-observation follow-up phase. The researcher will be use the ION designated tool during the observation process. (Fig 1). Pre-conference phase is executed before the classroom observation. The purpose of this meeting to share information that helps both the instructor and observer prepare for the observation and to illuminate the explicit outcomes of the lesson observed. It also aims at clarifying the activities through which these outcomes will be attained. Information exchanged during this meeting includes overall process of the evaluation, the purpose of the observation, course information, lesson plan, instructional objective(s) , class activities, instructional methods, What you want the observer to pay attention to, Where youd like the observer to sit , what will happen during the observation, and observation follow up opportunities. This phase does not take place in the ION. The second stage of the process is the observation phase (Data Collection) or the execution of lesson. The ION observers gather information to be discussed latter with the tutor. These data include instructor doing/saying, students doing/saying, instructional methods, teacher-students interaction, and flow of the sessionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. Generally, the ASP will use a checklist tool designed for this purpose of classroom observation (Appendix 2). The observers, unlike the traditional supervisors who usually sit at the back and document the classroom events, sit where they can have a good view of the class. Analysis of the collected data and preparing for the post-conference take place immediately, next to the observation, it is suggested that observers code the data checked in their notes. Identify information that links to the following: Organization and presentation of the lesson, level of student concentration, interactions, and participation, the quality of interpersonal relationships between the teacher and students, effectiveness of instruction and how instruction could be improved. The third stage is the post-conference phase or follow-up. Shortly after the observation, the advisors emphasize the positive areas of the observation process such as the strengths of the lesson. The teacher will be asked to evaluate and reflect on his lesson at first. Then, the observers will discuss the collected data with the teacher. It is a descriptive stage where the observers describe the various phases of the lesson. The observers during this phase ask probing questions that guide the teacher through the process. They also provide direct feedback on the areas the teacher has asked for in the pre-observation conference. In doing so, many of the areas for improvement are originally stated by the teachers because they had a chance to reflect on their teaching. Figure Observation Cycle: Adapted from: http://www.commnet.edu/emprel/trng/tm_3_2_clasobs.html (2004). Validity and reliability in observation It is essential that observation is as objective as expected and advisors must be mindful of their own interests and predispositions so that the data gained is as valid and reliable as conceivable and not designated to verify a point (CCC 2004). Observers customarily continue-the-spot notes to complete an observation schedule so that any extra or uncommon actions can be noted. For example A come into the class and talked to teacher, this interrupted classroom for 3 minutes; Fire alarm rang at 2.24pm so the class was shorter today than usual. Field notes are often written post assessment and the advice is to do this as early as possible. Robson (2002) proposes that you should never begin a second class observation before sorting out your records for the first one Practice in utilizing a schedule before the actual observation will assist the observer to settle uncertainties in how to employ it or how to record unforeseen or vague data. Reliability of observation will originate from appraiser consistency. Appraisers have to make sure that they make parallel decisions about similar situations on diverse events. They must also take similar decisions about similar events if they see or hear them again; say on video or audio tape. Preferably, having more than one appraiser observing the same events, at least in initial practice sessions, so that there can be agreement on what is going on and how it is to be coded. The two observers at the ION were aware of these points to ensure the validity and reliability of the class supervision. Limitation of the study It is worthy to mention that the scope of this study is limited to a group of teachers of Nursing in Fujairah campus in an educational zone. Therefore generalization of the study might not be possible. Literature review Even though the classroom observation is seen as a crucial element of each educational system, researchers have found that teachers were not satisfied with the observation process. The main reasons researchers found were judgmental, evaluative nature of observation, authoritative role of observers and prescriptive nature of feedback (Akbari and Tajik 2007). Wang and Seth (1998) found out that classroom observation has gained a negative reputation in the ELT profession because of its subjective, judgmental, and ill-defined nature. Many instructors resent being observed at short notice by important people who judge their performance according to their own, not necessarily appropriate criteria, and make unwelcome suggestions for change. It seems as if these inspectors have the final word on whether their performance is good or bad, right or wrong. In many situations the observers enter the classes to look at the teachers performances to decide at the end of the academic year who will continue in his/her job or not. Certainly, this perception places teachers under too much stress which negatively impacts their performance in classroom. Randall and Thornton (2001) believed that anxiety levels in the lesson execution phase can become very high and can precipitate failure on the side of the teacher to generate an effective lesson (Fig 2). Figure 2: The effect of anxiety on performance (adapted from Randall and Thornton, 2001) Regarding the process of the classroom observation in the UAE, Alwan (2001) find out that the instructors in the UAE are acquainted with the observation; yet, it does not take the systematic approach that would increase the achievements for the teachers. Consequently, such ad-hoc appraisal practices can simply yield extensive teacher anxiety, a lack of belief in the validity of the observation, and a delicate discouragement of other institutional initiatives to sustenance teachers efforts to deliver courses effectively (Murdoch, 2000). Nevertheless, classroom observation should be intended at enhancing professional growth of the teacher rather than threatening them. It should also focus on the strengths of the lesson. The tutors and through their dealings with the students will recall which areas delivered in a good manner and the ones that require revisiting. It is valuable to point out that the advisors role is to explore with the teachers so that they have the chance to reflect on their own teaching with the expectation that this approach will turn into a fundamental part of the teaching and learning process. Therefore, it changes into a reflection in action process that is conducted during the teaching learning process. Schon (1983) explained this reflective process by saying: Both ordinary people and professional practitioners often think about what they are doing, sometimes even while doing it. Stimulated by surprise, they turn thought back on action and on the knowing which is implicit in actionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦usually reflection on knowing-in-action goes together with reflection on the stuff at hand. (Schon, 1 989) Therefore, classroom observation is getting more importance than before. The purpose of many of them is intended towards professional development. It is through experiential learning that the tutors will be self-evaluative and hence will be capable of reflecting on their teaching strategy. Heron (cited in Randall and Thornton 2001) said that working from experience the client (the teacher) is prompted to uncover incidents which are important, reflect on these incidents and to discover new meanings for these incidents, and then prepare to put the learning from experience and reflection back into new experience. Finally, it is of merit to mention that teachers teach many lessons of which only few of them are observed. Accordingly, If the observed lessons are considered valuable and worthy to be observed then they must be regarded as worthy to be analyzed appropriately, for little purpose was served if, after a lesson, observers simply exude good will, mumble vaguely or appear to be uncertain why they are there, or what they should talk about (Wragg, 1999). Methodology To inquire about teachers dissatisfaction with the overall observation process, a two phase qualititative study was conducted. In the first phase, the observation instrument revisited to see whether the observers perceive its item similarly or not. In the second phase, a questionnaire was distributed to all ION teachers in an attempt to evaluate the method of observation conducted there. Ethical Considerations The ethical considerations were carefully considered before conducting the study. A permission letter was sent to the concerned people to consent them. Anonymity and confidentiality of teachers responses guaranteed (Appendix 3). Part I: Procedures and Participants Two observers visited Diploma I class to assess a teacher teaching Nursing Care of Adults 201.One of the observers is the ASP whose tenure is 11 years and the other is a critical friend who holds a master degree in education and has 10 years of teaching experience. Both are familiar with the observation tool. This approach was used to explore inconsistencies in the perception of the observation items within the specified from. They were informed about the process; they should sit at different corners in the back of the class (Fig 5), do not speak to each other, and fill in the appraisal form the way they perceive it with an evidence for each partially or not accomplished item. Data Analysis At the end of the classroom observation the researcher collected the two filled forms and sit with the two observers to discuss the findings. The data analyzed by utilizing simple statistics, and tables. Results The two forms were collected, and it was found that two items were uneven where each tutor has his own perception. Class Subject Observer 1 Observer 2 Session Time Teaching Method Diploma 1 Nursing Care of Adults/Hyperthyroidism Academic support person, 11 years teaching Experience Critical Friend, more than 10 years teaching 50 minutes Case-based The mismatched items were two out of 29 items; the two items were located under the Effective Teaching practices. See table below: Finding of first observer marked as (1) and (2) for the second Effective Teaching practices Accomplished Partially Accomplished Not Accomplished 26. Asks students to evaluate their own or others responses. 2 1 29. Demonstrate the ability of dealing with problem students 1 2 Observers Justification First observer 26. Asking student to evaluate and reflect on the answers given, getting feedback from classmates should be done frequently in the case based session as this would involve the students in the class and enhance their understanding. This should be observed as a dominant feature in the session and not only once or two. 29. The students were enthusiastic, motivated and participating actively, it was loud voice but not noise, but you have to ask students to lower their voices to hear their classmates .Raising their hands without calling Sirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Is fair enough. Second observer 26. Students were fairly able evaluate their answers and that was done with two students only. As for the responses of their colleagues; the students were called more than once to reflect on their answers when the teacher asked them: 1) Do you agree with S? Why? 2) Why did M relate the presence of excessive eating to weight loss? Comment on her answer. Although, the teacher tried with them, the students were not able to evaluate their responses. 29. Loud voice from the side of the students will disturb the learning environment preventing the others from hearing the answers, the teacher tried to control students noise particularly when they gave answer together, but he could not. Abiding by the classroom norms is the responsibility of the teacher. Setting clear guidelines should be made to limit this behavior. At the back of the session appraisal form there is a room left for the appraisers comment to reflect and set the areas that need improvement on points that are not covered clearly in the observation form but should be part of the lesson or he may emphasize certain points seen in the class. The first observer A) Group work: The teacher should give more time (more than 10 minutes) for the group work to allow the students to prepare and discuss the task properly among them as the task given require deep analysis. Moreover, the teacher should ensure that all the students are participating in the discussion within the group. Checking group work output is not necessary to be done with each group, as far one or two groups were investigated, then the other groups could be done if required by the judgment of the tutor. The Second observer A) Group work: Ten minutes for each task is fair enough as the students should come prepared from their home. The time is given only for discussion and preparing the transparency. Giving more time will waste the teacher time and hinder his ability to cover the course objectives. Group work output was not explored: teacher has to reveal all group findings and seek evaluation or comments from other groups. The first observer B) Teaching strategy The teacher should implement various teaching strategies in the classroom such as role play, watching and commenting on videos to promote students understanding, involvement and make the session interesting. The Second observer B) Teaching strategy The session was quite interesting. According to the task discussed in the session, role play or video would not be effective as the demonstrations used by the teacher plus the clinical examples and the real life examples given by some students were satisfactory to cultivate the different concepts in the sessions. Discussion One method for analyzing the observation findings of the two observers is through triangulation. Triangulation in the classroom research involves checking the perceptions of more than one person to see if ones own interpretations have any support Wragg (1999:111).The total number of the items in the observation checklist is 29, and the debatable points were 2. Then, the agreement was around 93% and disagreement in 7%, which means that the instrument used is reliable. When the observers agree on > 80% of their observation, this means the information and the data are reliable Wragg (1999). It is believed that different style dimensions of learning of the observer may have a possible influence on providing feedback to the teacher. (Randall and Thornton 2001:134). The first observer, the academic support person, conducted more than four observations to the observed teacher, and knows him better than the second colleague. Hence, he built his feedback on his previous knowledge of the learning style of the observed teacher and provided the feedback in a consultative rather than confronting approach, The students were enthusiastic and participating actively, it was loud voice, but not noise, but you have to remind students to lower their voice to hear their colleagues . Part II Procedure: The participants filled a qualititative questionnaire of seven questions (Appendix I). The questionnaire was piloted before being administered. A total of eleven questionnaires were administered through face to face contact with the investigator. Ten of them were collected and analyzed. Participants The participants in this study were ten teachers of Nursing in one of IONs. They have been teaching in the ION for more than 7 years. Those teachers have been observed by three different observers using the same tool. The teachers are male and females and range in age from 36 to late 54. They majority of them are native Arabic speakers from different countries and two teachers are westerns. They are of multi-cultural background. Data Analysis The responses to the questionnaire were gathered and then analyzed. The responses were calculated using simple statistics and presented in charts. Results of the Questionnaire Items No. of Teachers Percentage I have been observed two times by the ASP 8 80% I have been observed three times, two by the ASP and once by the CAC 2 20% I felt anxious and blocked when the observer visited my class 10 100% I am dissatisfied with way I observed. I did not meet with the observer before the session 10 100% The observer was sitting in the back, ticking on the observation form. 7 70% The observer did not tell the students who he is, creating unstable setting in the class. 7 70% The late feedback does not reflect the immediate feedback. 8 80 % The observation is not intended at teacher development. 9 90% The feedback is threatening if it is unsatisfactory. 9 90% Classroom observation does not fulfill my educational need 7 70 Classroom observation has no impact whether negative or positive. 2 20% Classroom observation partially fulfill my educational need 1 10% Discussion Obviously, there are no defects in the observation instrument. So, where is the problem? The result of the questionnaire provided to ten teachers revealed that the problem is in the observation process itself. The majority of the tutors (80%) have been observed two times per semester by the ASP whereas the remaining 20 % were observed three times by the ASP and the CAC (table 1). All the teachers (100%) expressed various levels of frustration and anxiety when they are observed. They assured that the observers themselves were a source of apprehension. Teachers added that none of the observers take an action to alleviate their anxiety. All the tutors (100%) expressed their feelings of dissatisfaction with the observation methods as no pre observation conference is conducted neither before the announced or the unannounced visits. This puts more stress on the side of the observees. Furthermore, 70% of the teachers mentioned that the way the observer enters and sits at the back of the cla ss ticking items on a checklist. This disrupts the stability of the classroom environment as the students perceive that he is observing them making them reluctant to answer and participate in the class effectively which in turn impact the execution of lesson. This is because the observer did not identify himself to the students as well as the purpose of being there. Moreover, he sits in the corner of the class and started to document his notes all the time. Accordingly, the students think that he is writing about them. Another significant point raised by 80 % of the teacher is the feedbacks given by the observers. They confirm that the immediate feedback provided is inconsistent with the late feedback received by the teachers. The striking issue was the perception of the 90% of the teachers for the session appraisal as a threat rather than developmental (Fig 3).Teachers feels intimidated and frightened by the entire supervisional process. This is because the models of observation we inherited are authoritarian and directive. All these factors combined their effects to increase teachers anxiety and dissatisfaction. When teachers asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the process of observation, 70% considered it unsatisfactory as it does not fulfill the educational needs of the teacher and did not enhance their teaching methods, 20% were neutral and 10% was fairly satisfied( Fig 4). This necessitates reconsideration of the overall observation process. Number of teachers Frequency of observations Percentage 8 2 80% 2 3 20% Table Frequency of observation Figure 3 Perception of classroom observation Figure 4 Satisfaction level Recommendations: Based on the findings of this Investigation, the investigator recommends certain points to enhance the process of the classroom observation. Having a pre-observation conference will guide the observers during the observation phase and will ease the teachers level of anxiety that result from the process in the part of the teachers. This will also assist the discussion that takes place in the post-observation conference. The professional teacher is one who is able to reflect critically on their own practice (Schon 1983, Wallace 1991). Accordingly the overall process will promote refl

Tok Natural and Human Sciences

In my opinion I believe that expectations influence or observations greatly. If we think something will happen we are more likely to look hard for it. If we want something to appear then it is more likely that we will think that we see it. An example of this is when people hallucinate. Someone is more likely to see a ghost if they believe or are expecting to see one. In natural sciences when looking for something in an experiment we may think we see it if we are really hoping or expecting to see it.For example when looking for bubbles rising in different liquids and we are expecting one to rise then we may think we saw one and if not expecting one to rise we may think that it wasn’t one. Another supporting example is when we are looking for someone and we see someone either in the distance or we see a flash or someone, if we are expecting to see that person or hoping to see them we may interpret them as the one we are looking for.This shows how expectations can influence our o bservations in seeing what we want and/or what we expect to see. Although to an extent expectations don’t completely influence our observations. They don’t change them only impact on them. We may see after that it isn’t when we focus more on the subject. So our observations can be momentarily manipulated but not completely. It depends whether it is a positive expectation or negative expectationHuman Sciences – How do the human sciences differ from the natural sciences? Human sciences study human life and human activities. It includes fields of study such as social sciences like history, anthropology, sociology and many others. Basically, everything that has humans all over it. Natural sciences on the other hand studies the universe. It includes fields of study such as biology, astrology, chemistry, physics and others. Basically, everything about nature and what is around us.

The Ronald Reagan Administration

In the year 1980, an unstable economy at home, a hostage crisis overseas, and the end of prior administrations that were not trusted at all troubled The Untied States. Ronald Reagan was elected as the oldest president at sixty-nine years old on November 4th, 1980. Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois and before he was elected he served two terms as California governor first year starting in 1966. He served to presidential terms from 1981-1989. Reagan's track record proved to be very strong and included welfare cuts, decreasing the number of state employees, and halting radical student protesters.Like other GOP members, Reagan came into office promising to limit the power of government and to strengthen American military power overseas. â€Å"In this present crisis,† Reagan said in his inaugural address in 1981, â€Å"government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. † He was saying that government was holding the economy back of its full potentia l. Ronald Reagan wasted no time in institutionalizing the new conservative creed. In 1981, after surviving an assassination attempt, Reagan pushed his plan of lower taxes which was that proved most beneficial to the rich and steep budget cuts through a tentative Congress.Additionally to that year he cut spending on social security, debilitated and weakened organized labor groups, and lived up to his campaign promises and commitments by reducing government regulations and laws that had prevented mergers while managing the banking industry. Also, in 1981 he appointed conservatives who would carry out his vision of smaller government to agencies like the EPA, his cabinet, and the courts. A big keystone was Anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan administration’s foreign policy.The Reagan Doctrine had a unstable relationship with the Soviet Union and Central America, more so than with other nations. President Reagan drove for a space-based missile system to help keep America on the offen sive and, to protect ourselves from other countries trying to attack the Untied States. He also pushed for a â€Å"Caribbean Basin Initiative† in expectations of stimulation of economic growth in the United States. Many critics saw Reagan's military tactics as illegitimate and dishonest.They disagreed with the quantity of funding relegated to military efforts in Central America. . These funds were used to intervene in Grenada and El Salvador, and aided pay an undercover war against the revolutionary government of Nicaragua. As expected from a timid Liberal Congress, funding for the Nicaraguan war was blocked. Nonetheless, the National Security Council raised the money to finance the intervention. Reagan saw the Soviets at the heart of every international dispute, from revolution in Central America to international terrorism in the Middle East.To frustrate the Soviets, Reagan called for the largest and most expensive peacetime military buildup in American history. Ronald Reaga n made the Untied States of America military powers way stronger than ever, he was always trying to improve the military’s technology and weapons. He made America one of the strongest military powers when in office. With his telegenic features and extensive experience in front of a camera from his career in Hollywood, Reagan was ideally suited for politics in a growing media age.Though intellectually unaspiring and often disengaged in his leadership style, he brilliantly articulated themes of patriotism, individualism, and limited government that resonated with millions of Americans. The President worked tirelessly in effort to propel his campaign for a second term. Ronald Reagan's victory in the 1984 presidential election underscored his political popularity which he carried 49 states and 525 electoral votes. Through his speeches he repeated his anti-Communist bombast that Soviets and Communism, as a whole, would fail.He despised the Soviets and told the country they would f ail in anything against America. Ronald Reagan's second term witnessed a radical change in U. S. and Soviet relations. He was concerned about a possible backfire against his policies; Reagan called for a â€Å"constructive working relationship† with the Kremlin. At the same time, a new leader was emerged in Mikhail Gorbachev, came into power determined to change Soviet society by introducing a series of political and economic reforms.In determination to avoid an expensive arms  race and allow economic growth to take place, Gorbachev declared a suspension, or delay, on deployment of medium range missiles in Europe and asked the United States to do the same. The result of these growths was a series of four Reagan-Gorbachev summits, which concluded in the first U. S. and Soviet treaty to reduce the number of nuclear weapons. Treaties were then worked out and caused demolition of some missiles and allowed onsite checkups and inspections to occur. This was big for both countryâ €™s’ as the missiles were demolished from attacking each other.This was one of the many huge accomplishments while Reagan was in office. The Soviet Union no longer standing the type of threat it once did, Reagan and his anti-communist attitude and mentality still did not let up. Reagan with a goal of greater participation in the third world, the military's attention and care was soon afterward shared with the Middle East and its terrorism. Previous administrations had not been completely honest with the public as to what exactly their foreign policies involved. For this reason, great attention was turned toward President Ronald Reagan's handling of foreign policy in 1986.That year, there was assumption of the United States trading weapons with Iran in exchange for the return of American hostages being held in Tehran. In 1986, despite a Congressional ban, Reagan approved and authorized the sale of arms to Iran. This complex arrangement's aim was to furtively fund Nicaragua n rebels' efforts to defeat the cruel Sandinista government, successfully stopping the spread of Communism. All this was done in an effort to send a strong message to the Soviets that further Marxist activity would not be tolerated.Reagan was not a fan of communism he was an anti-communist. He did not accept it, and always had his eyes on communist. Despite these wins over communism, Reagan's authority was diminished and weakened in his second term by this scandal. Congressional hearings and investigation by special prosecutors led to the indictment of some of the President's top advisers. By the conclusion of his presidency, conservatives spoke greatly of the â€Å"Reagan Revolution,† which reduced the size of the government, reduced and lowered taxes, and technically â€Å"won† the Cold War.However, some claimed that Reagan's domestic policies forced excessive adversity on the poor and created a piercing increase and surge in homelessness around the whole country, wh ile his extreme military spending produced an extraordinary budget deficit. People say he increased military power over economic attentions. Possibly the critical irony of Reagan's presidency was that he improved public faith, confidence, and trust in the office of the presidency at the same time that his enormous scarcities crippled Washington's capability to reply to demands for greater government services.Nonetheless in actuality, his anti-Communist movement led to a grander involvement in the third world, particularly in Central America, and made his point very clear that he would stop at nothing to achieve worldwide democracy. Ronald Reagan's passionate opposing Communist rhetoric could be viewed as very debatable in its time, but events have shown he was prophetic in regards to the complexity of Soviet interior flaws. In an address to the British Parliament on June 8, 1982, Reagan declared that the Soviet Union was in the middle of a â€Å"great revolutionary crisis† an d expressed hope that Communism would wind up â€Å"on the ash heap of history.†He noted the depth of Soviet economic stagnation. Which he said, â€Å"The dimensions of this failure are astounding,† and, â€Å"A country which employs one-fifth of its population in agriculture is unable to feed its own people. Over centralized, with little or no incentives, year after year the Soviet system pours its best resources into the making of instruments of destruction†. The Soviet authorities criticized this Westminster speech, one of the most important of Reagan’s presidency.Still, what Reagan had defined was no secret to numerous Communist Party officials. One of them was Gorbachev, who evoked in his memoir that he was acquainted with the â€Å"disastrous picture† of Soviet agriculture millions of acres wasted, villages abandoned, and soils ruined by pollution. It was not until after President Reagan's two terms in office that his efforts against Communis m were understood as necessary. Less than a year after Reagan left office, the Berlin Wall was knocked and the Cold War was officially over in 1991.The Soviet collapse and failure was the result of a conclusion of many events, including the Chernobyl disaster, rebellion in the Baltic republics, and the rising expectations of consumers in a socialist system that could not manufacture anything of use. Reagan was right about the Soviet collapsing. Reagan was indeed sensible in his pomposity and his Anti-Communist views. These actions on his behalf led to greater worldwide investment in democracy. Ronald Reagan was a great natural born leader. He was a great speaker and his speeches were so motive.He was one of most influential political leaders in modern American history. Reagan’s presidency was a social, ideological, and political impact for the Untied States of America. He was one of the main leaders against anti- Communism. Ronald Reagan made the country stronger in political and military wise. Reagan thought you should be able to dream big and to accomplish your dream. Ronald Reagan thought you should have the determination, courage, strength, and hope to live that big dream and make it become real. Reagan thought outside the box and wanted Americans to live with big hope with their freedom.

The Vietnam War Was A Time Of Grief - 1308 Words

The vietnam war was a time of grief for many who left their homeland and traveled thousands of miles on rocky ships to foreign lands with foreign languages. Homes were abandoned, paperwork was feverishly gathered, and there was hope for a better life out of vietnam. Scattered within refugee camps across the world, the â€Å"boat people† desperately waited for their new life, hoping for the best. However depending on when they resettled and what their reason for leaving Vietnam was, these immigrants and refugees had different experiences starting a new life socially and economically. Tensions grew in Vietnam and the U.S. forces were sent overseas. The people of Vietnam had mixed reactions, some waited and hoped for things to get better, and some†¦show more content†¦A policy called screening took place which sorting the Vietnamese refugees into those who left the country due to political reasons and those who simply left to start a better life. Those who seeked a better life were called â€Å"economic migrants† and had a smaller chance to move to a western country than those who wanted escape from political repression. Places such as Hong Kong formally endorsed the screening policy in 1989. They wanted to exterminate any hope that they would be able to move to a western country and to discuss what should be done to people who refuse to go back to Vietnam. In December 1989 Hong Kong deported 51 refugees back to Vietnam. They had believed most of the 53,000 boat people in those camps were â€Å"economic migrants†, and had apparently forced th ose people out. They had also called for â€Å"volunteering† . The number of boat people was expanding still, even though it has been years since the Vietnamese Conflict. Other Countries are also said to have pushed and rejected 10,000 refugees. The world had possibly forgotten about the aftermath of the war that ended years ago. When these people arrived after the first wave of refugees, they received less federal refugee assistance which dropped from 36 months to 8 months. The Vietnamese refugees had a hard time staying out of poverty or has a hard time improving compared to earlier arrivers. Many new refugees were attracted to California for its welfare benefits, education, warmShow MoreRelatedHow Do You Deal With Grief?1066 Words   |  5 PagesHow do you deal with Grief? What is grief? How does one cope with grief? Grief is a state of being in deep sorrow sometimes caused by someone’s death. Everyone has a different way of dealing with grief. In Tim O’Brien’s essay, How To Tell A War Story, he gives a first class view of the time he spent serving in the Vietnam war. O’Brien describes the different ways in which him and his fellow soldiers dealt with the death of other soldiers in the platoon. By recounting stories, O’Brien processes hisRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1472 Words   |  6 PagesCarried by Tim O’Brien. 2. Many character’s develop throughout O’Brien’s novel, but there is a chapter dedicated to the entire development of Mary Anne Bell and the extreme effects the war had on her. Although Mary Anne is not involved in any other piece of the novel, she is a perfect example of the effects of war on individuals- which are an important aspect of The Things They Carried. Throughout the chapter titled â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†, Rat Kiley tells the story of how a fellow medicRead MoreThe Things They Carried by Tim O’brien1610 Words   |  7 Pagesduty and so concedes to fight in Vietnam. CLIMAX †¢ During their tour of duty, the men of the Alpha Company must cope with the loss of their own men and the guilt that comes from killing and watching others die. FALLING ACTION †¢ After he returns from war, O’Brien grapples with his memories by telling stories about Vietnam. 2. MAJOR CONFLICT †¢ The men of the Alpha Company, especially Tim O’Brien, grapple with the effects—both immediate and long-term—of the Vietnam War. Characters Protagonist Tim O’BrienRead MoreVietnam Was Mass Murder Of People Of Different Socioeconomic Ideologies1455 Words   |  6 PagesThe only thing American politicians accomplished in Vietnam was mass murder of people of different socioeconomic ideologies. American politicians told blatant lies told to the American public, and forced a military draft for an unfavorable war. As a consequence, they quickly lost the majority of support on the home-front. As time progressed the nationalist Vietnamese would develop strategies to make most actions by the South Vietnamese and American militaries ineffective. Their policies ofRead MoreThe Trojan Women Movie Review642 Words   |  3 PagesThe film The Trojan Women is an anti-war film not only condemning the emotional and societal affects of war in general, but also focusing on the effects of such conflicts upon women in particular. This focus allows the story to be more universally relevant, particularly so to the mothers, wives, and daughters who watched the men in their lives being called to serve in the Vietnam War, and subsequently watched the harrowing television coverage of hundreds of body bag being shipped back home. AlthoughRead MoreThis Well Said Quote By Marshall Mcluhan Shows That Civilians1453 Words   |  6 Pageshappened on the battlefields. With the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, this proves just what the Veterans of Vietnam actually went through. With the psychological approach, one can see how PTSD affected many veterans, how loved ones were affected by the war, and how Tim O’Brien changed throughout the war. This proves that the war not only changed the veterans from Vietnam but actually the world around them. PTSD, otherwise known as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a disease of the mind causedRead More`` The Gangster We Are All Looking For, Water Serves As A Metaphor For Mobility1729 Words   |  7 Pages Unlike Dao, the people in the novel do not recognize water with success, and in contrast, escape reality rather than staying close to it. The complexities of a country and its people struggling to maintain their agency against the consequences of war are highlighted through the experiences of a young girl. The contemporary refugee text uses movement as a desire for stability, and therefore a yearning for recognition of an identity. However, the narrator’s struggle for this recognition implies thatRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1348 Words   |  6 Pagesduring the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War taunted several soldiers after the forced draft and long war time memories. O’Brien presents the book as both a war memoir and a personal autobiography retrospectively . His primary motive of reiterating and working through the flashback memories is to find some meaning towards the Vietnam War. Working and reworking through the memories illuminates the raw conditions the American soldiers shared together during the time period. O’Brien spends a lot of time elaboratingRead MoreThe Effect of Vietnam War on the Soldiers1679 Words   |  7 Pages The Vietnam War was the longest and the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. The United States was involve in the Vietnam from 1944 to 1973, but it was only during the last years that the U.S deployed ground troops (Lawrence 1). For the first time the United states was the aggressor. Vietnam is situated thousands of miles from the United States, so Vietnam was not a direct threat to the United States’ safety. The Vietnam leader Ho Chi Minh seem to look up to the United States,Read MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1597 Words   |  7 Pagescaptivating powerful war story memoir, which is beautifully and intensely well written by Tim O Brien. The novel explores the physical and emotional trauma of the Vietnam War and its impact on soldiers fears. The author and protagonist Tim O’ Brien communicates provoking nonlinear narratives or frame stories through his own point of view presenting the audience with a window into the disturbing widespread, e ndless, and meaningless death, violence, and savagery in war-torn Vietnam. The author cleverly