Organization of the study Essay Example for Free

Organization of the study Essay The study will be organized into four chapters in accordance with the Action Research, as table 1 displays. TABLE 1 Organization of the study based on action research Action Research Steps Chapters 1 2 3 4 Planning/Conceptualization X Fact Finding X X X Evaluation X Chapter 1 has stated the problem and purpose, explained the importance of the study, and stated the method. Chapter 2 will survey the literature to identify and report behaviors required to effectively analyze the characteristics of the church leaders, church members and surrounding neighborhood. Chapter 3 will report the validated behaviors for the role of the church. Chapter 4 will review and summarized the study, offer appropriate conclusion and discuss recommendations for change and future study. A review of literature available regarding the Black church and the involvement of the church in the community reveals a pattern of strong involvement of the church in the community. African presence in the Bible shows a clear participation in the early Church as well as a respect for African involvement. The early history of the church, as well as its mid-20th century involvement in the civil rights movement, sets a precedent for community involvement in secular matters for the church of today. Modern involvement of the Black church in secular life and the wider community touches all aspects of secular life, including physical and mental health of its parishioners, youth advocacy and youth programs, economic development, community volunteering, and literacy. Additionally, more traditional areas of pastoral involvement, such as bereavement counseling, may have some overlap with secular counseling due to increasing involvement in secular mental health providers in life events previously handled in a primarily pastoral manner. BIBLICAL CONTEXT Blacks have a strong presence in the Bible, and there is no evidence of the modern idea of racial inferiority to other peoples in the writings. Both Old Testament and New Testament writings refer to Africans who were highly placed, and do not show any evidence of the discrimination or enslavement African Americans have faced. â€Å"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt† (Hosea 11:1) The Queen of Sheba was a notable Biblical African; she was treated as an equal and given full honors as a head of state. â€Å"And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him all that was in her heart† (1 Kings 10:2) The genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew lists several African women – â€Å"And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;† (Matthew 1:5) Rachab and Ruth were African women, as was Thamar. The gathering of Jews at Pentacost related in Acts included those of African origin. â€Å"Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of ibya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. † (Acts 2:9-2:11). Two of the teachers at Antioch were also African – â€Å"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brough up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul† (Acts 13:1). Of these teachers, Simeon (called Niger, Latin for â€Å"the black†) and Lucius of Cyrene were African. The wealth of African presence and importance in the Bible makes it clear that the African American church has a strong Biblical precedent. HISTORICAL CONTEXT The African church was active and important in the history of the early church. The Synod of Hippo, held in 393 in Hippo Regius (corresponding to northern Algeria) was instrumental in forming Christianity as we know it today; that is where the first canon of the New Testament was approved. Several other synods were also held in Hippo Regius, as well as councils in Carthage and Alexandria (Hendrickson, 2002, 320). Egypt and Algeria were centers of Christian worship. Major historical events in Christianity, including the Reformation, spread Christianity further into Africa. When Africans were captured and sent to the New World as slaves, they brought with them a melange of religious practice, including Christianity, native religions and others. The black church in America was established during the 1700s, during which time many African Americans were still suffering under the yoke of slavery. The first uniquely black church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, was established by Richard Allen in 1816; membership in the new denomination exploded, reaching almost 6,000 members by 1820 and spreading to the south and west quickly (Simms, 2000, 101). The Black Methodist church immediately took on the characteristic role of the black church, fighting oppression and slavery, providing loans and business advice and other social services to their worshippers (Simms, 2000, 101). The church was instrumental in abolishing slavery; David Walker’s work â€Å"Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World†, published in 1829, which castigated the institution of slavery and used Scriptural quotation and traditional Christian morals to prove the immorality of slavery and the moral bankruptcy of the slave owners, provided a galvanizing force to the Abolitionist movement as well as encouragement to those still enslaved (Simms, 2000, 102). Simms relates the spread of the Black church throughout America to the exodus of Southern blacks at the start of World War I; given a sudden chance at employment and expansion, Southern blacks moved north into the industrial heartlands of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana as well as into the Northeast, and they brought their religion along with them. One notable congregation was the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem, which provided political, social and economic support to its 14,000 members (2003, 102). Blum remarks on the position of the church in the Black community, â€Å"the Black church has been the enduring center and focal point of Black communities and the refuge from racism and poverty†¦ the church provided Blacks with a shelter, and indeed, was the most significant of all Black institutions (1993, 609)†. At the time the Black church differentiated from white denominations, slavery and oppression against Blacks was rife. The church’s establishment was a form of protest against the ruling white majority and a spiritual refuge from the larger world. Because the congregants of the Black church have never had the luxury of a coherent, secular social support structure, the church has taken on the role of social caregiver as well as spiritual caregiver. According to Gadzekpo (2001, 609), the church had from its inception a distinct, African-American culture, and was not an attempt to mimic the white church as is often assumed. â€Å"The major aspect of Black Christian belief was freedom†¦ for the African in America as a slave, it meant release from bondage; after emancipation, it meant education, employment and freedom of movement for the â€Å"Negro†, and for the past forty years it has meant social, political and economic justice for the African-American (2001, 609). † According to Gadzekpo, a call to God’s service was seen as a call to freedom; it is a basic tenet of the Black Christian church that God wants Black Christians to be free because they, too, are made in his own image. The involvement of the Black church in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was notable, not only because church leaders precipitated a major change in the secular culture, but because it set a pattern of involvement of the church in secular matters, including political, social and health. Leonard Gadzekpo discusses the involvement of the Black church in the civil rights movement. He states: One may present the Black church as an institution that gives some direction to the aforementioned aspects of African-American life and influences them, particularly in American society at large. The core values of Black culture – such as freedom, justice, equality, an African heritage and racial parity in all aspects of human life – were inherent in the Christian ethos that gave birth to and nurtured the civil rights movement. (2001, 609). With the founding doctrine of the Black church being religious, political and physical freedom, the involvement of the church in the civil rights movement was inevitable. Likewise, involvement of the church in the political and social problems that African-Americans face today is inevitable. As Gadzekpo notes, †¦ the Black church, therefore, has reached the point in the last decade of the twentieth century in which searing demands are being made for a return to the tradition of self-help and agitation†¦ the development of new and creative approaches has become commonplace in the face of internal pressures involving changes within African-American society, external pressures involving prevalent and persistent racism, and the hostile environment in which the church exists. (2001, 610) The history and current position of the church within the Black community clearly indicate that there is a need for involvement of the church in secular matters as well as spiritual, and that the church, by providing this involvement, would be continuing the tradition of service which the church was founded in. However, as Simms notes, the church struggles with the bifurcation of the black community. More affluent blacks who have managed to escape the traditional economic and social confines of the African American experience have not remained within the church to continue to support its mission. The modern black church is a divided entity, rather than a united whole, which weakens its efforts and causes difficulty in determining its path (Simms, 2000, 105).

Disabled by Wilfred Owen and Out, out’ by Robert Frost

Disabled by Wilfred Owen and Out, out’ by Robert Frost How the theme of loss is communicated in the poems Disabled by Wilfred Owen and Out, out’ by Robert Frost   The poems Disabled by Wilfred Owen and ‘Out, out by Robert Frost were written 1917 and 1916 respectively, the poems were both written with the theme of loss featuring prominently throughout the narrative. Wilfred Owen was an English poet and soldier during the First World War, he was one of the leading poets of the First World War and his shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare and stood in stark contrast both to the public perception of war at the time and to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets who had a romantic view of war. Wilfred Owen used his poems to express his negative attitude to the First World War. His use of comparisons and harsh imagery keeps his readers entertained throughout the whole poem. Robert Frost was an American poet who was highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life in the United States of America and his command of American colloquial speech. Robert Frost uses literary terms such as imagery, personification and caesuras to describe the theme of loss throughout the poem ‘Out, out’. The poems both display the theme of loss quite prominently and frequently refers to the theme of loss in order to show how they felt during the time of writing. The theme of loss in Wilfred Owen’s poems originated from his surroundings when he wrote it; the poem ‘Disabled’ was written by Wilfred Owen in 1917 while he was recovering from injuries that he had sustained in the trenches of the Western Front. Wilfred Owen’s view on the war was quite poor at this point as he had seen many horrors while fighting in the trenches and because of his exposure to victims of Shell Shock otherwise known as post-traumatic stress disorder. The poem ‘Disabled’ talks of the tormented recollections and thoughts of a soldier in World War I who has lost his limbs in battle and is now confined to a wheelchair and is utterly helpless. The poem contrasts the living death he is now facing with the pleasures he once enjoyed â€Å"before he threw away his knees†. The main character then recalls the frivolous crowds which had cheered as he joined up to fight in the war. The main character then notes how the crowds had look ed smaller and less enthusiastic, and how women no longer look at him but at the strong men who were whole. Wilfred Owen uses the poem title itself: ‘Disabled’ to display the theme of loss, the title is quite important as it is what grabs the reader’s attention and gives a brief description of the poem and the title ‘Disabled’ certainly does that and is to the point, this gives the reader a picture in their mind of loss in the poem due to imagery and the use of language throughout the poem. The poem ‘Out, out’ was written by Robert Frost and published in 1916, it is be based on a true event which occurred in March 1910 when the son of Frosts friend and neighbour lost his hand to an accident with a saw and bled so profusely that he went into shock and died. Robert Frost emphasizes on the innocence of the boy through personification frequently throughout the poem in order to show the theme of loss. Frost concentrates on the apparent innocence and passivity of the boy. The poem ‘Out, out’ can be used to demonstrate how extreme circumstances such as war can force innocent and young boys and men to leave their childhood innocence behind, and ultimately be destroyed by circumstances created by the responsible adult as well as the idea that even if somebody dies life will go on as if nothing happened. Disabled is a potent and strong poem which communicates the theme of loss because of mainly the style and structure that Owen has used. Harsh words are used to emphasize the theme of loss inside the poem through imagery; this is shown when the man is wearing a â€Å"ghastly suit of grey’ which shows the man’s morbid and depressed state of mind. As well as that the narrator says sleep ‘mothers’ the main character from the laughter and noises of young boys which suggests that the man no worth living for and prefers the temporary respite sleep provides. He regrets the loss of ‘throwing’ away his knees which suggests that the ideas and inspirations behind joining the war were not as patriotic or loyal as they should have been and his vanity and immaturity only has now left him a cripple. The girls all touch him like a â€Å"queer’ disease† while he used to dance with them freely in his youth; this shows how he has paid for his vanity with the loss of his legs. Wilfred Owen also uses comparisons frequently to demonstrate loss, the line: About this time â€Å"Town used to swing so gay† uses past tense to help compare the town before the war and after the war, this helps to show how he is regretting the losses since he joined the army. The phrase â€Å"Now he is old; his back will never brace† shows the man’s loss through his physical state and can be compared to the phrase: â€Å"for it was younger than his youth, last year.† The use of imagery is used when the narrator talks of the man’s life bleeding out of him through a wound on his thigh, and the use of the word ‘purple’ which is usually a colour denoting life and vitality, shows that the ordeal the soldier had gone through when he had been injured had a deep impact on him, as he no longer feels like he had a reason to live or be happy while compared to when he was younger when he was full of joy and was living life to the fullest. The poem also illustrates how the man’s lifestyle changed dramatically through contrasts between his past life and his current state to show the theme of loss. He was once described as a great athlete and was popular with girls but now he is in a wheelchair and they touch him like a queer disease, and he notices how their eyes pass from him to the strong men that were whole, this is contrast to before when he was the centre of attention. He is no longer seen as a normal person. The man notes that once there was an artist was once eager to paint him but compared to before Now he is old, his back will never brace; hes lost his colour very far from home. The analogy is drawn between being a soldier and playing sports highlights the selfish motives the man had for joining the army such as ‘jewelled hilts, daggers in plaid socks and smart salutes’ which can be seen as a very naà ¯ve view of the army, it also acts as a constant reminder to the man that his pride and va nity had caused him to lose the exact things he had been proud of: he would never again run in a field or score a winning goal, he would never again be praised for being a hero but will only pitied and mocked endlessly for being a cripple. Things that would previously have been boasted about such as the small injuries received in a football match, and being carried on the shoulders of his team mates after a match have become permanent sources of sorrow as he no longer has his legs and needs to be carried around helplessly by nurses and doctors. This contrast is chilling and distressing as it shows his loss though comparisons between his past and his present state. The idea of how much he has lost is made worse when the ‘Only a solemn man who brought him fruits, Thanked him; and then enquired about his soul.’, this section is quite significant as it shows that there is only one man who cares to ask how he is and only then he is only caring because of his own selfish reas ons and does not really care about how the man is doing, this helps further the theme of loss on ‘Disabled’. The poem ends on a sad and mundane note as the man wonders why they do not come and put him to bed. It is a reminder that he will have to have others do things for him from now on, this shows how the man is now reliant on others to help him and that he has nothing to live for anymore furthering the sense of loss in ‘Disabled’. The title of the poem ‘Out, out’ is an allusion to William Shakespeares tragedy Macbeth, in the play Macbeth is shocked to hear of his wifes death and comments on the brevity of life in the quote ‘out, out brief candle’. It refers to how unpredictable and fragile life can be. This title itself also relates to the narrative as the poem is also about how unpredictable and fragile life is. The theme of loss is communicated in ‘Out, out’ with the constant use of personification, an example of this would be the personification of the Buzz Saw which constantly buzzes and snarls while jumping out of the boy’s hand in ‘excitement’. The line: â€Å"leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap† as well as the word ‘excitement’ to describe the saw helps to create an image in the readers mind through personification that the saw has a mind of its own. This is uses later on to help display the theme of loss l ater on in the narrative. The poem is penned in blank verse with deviations from iambic pentameter to create a rhythm for when you read the poem, this helps to create tension to help display loss and tension as the narrative goes on. Robert Frost initially starts poem with mentioning the tragic event to come when he states that he wished that the workers would have â€Å"called it a day† and â€Å"given† the boy â€Å"the half hour that counts so much when saved from work†, this leads the reader to wonder what will happen as there is foreshadowing for a unknown event. This eventually leads to the sense of loss when the boy nearly severs his hand. After the boy’s hand is nearly severed, he is still mature and old enough to realize that he has lost too much blood to survive. The boy is shown to desperately attempt to â€Å"keep the life from spilling† from his hand, but even that is only an attempt, since nothing can be done and everybody including t he boy knows he will die soon. Above all, though, the boy hopes to maintain his physical dignity in his death and would rather die with a hand than die with a missing hand, this helps to shows the theme of loss when the boy dies. Robert Frost also shows the theme of loss when he writes: â€Å"the watcher at his pulse took fright†¦.† this use of imagery shows that maybe an acquaintance and not a family member who is with the boy when he dies. This scene is a cold image and shows a lack of humanity to help demonstrate the theme of loss as the boy is shown to be without much family when he dies. Near the end of the poem the narrator says ‘Little—less—nothing’, this is an example of diminishing words and the caesura used creates a pause to put emphasis on what has just been said. The theme of loss is communicated here because it shows that the boy is weak and that he has nothing because his life has been taken away from him. To communicate the them e of loss at the end of the poem Robert Frost writes that the workers: ‘And they, since they were not the one dead, turned to their affairs’, this shows that the family did not feel much emotion when the boy died and instead just carried on with their work without the boy. Onomatopoeia is also prominent throughout the poem as it helps highlight the extended personification, an example of this would be: ‘And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled’, this helps build up tension for when the boy loses his hand to help further communicate the theme of loss. In the two poems â€Å"Out, Out† by Robert Frost and â€Å"Disabled† by Wilfred Owen, a similar theme of loss is portrayed. Both of these poems deal with the subject of physical loss, as both protagonists of these poems experience amputation which are also both accidental, in the case of ‘Disabled’ the loss of the man’s legs and the loss of a hand in ‘Out, out’. Both Robert Frost and Wilfred Owen have managed to captivate their audience’s attention, and also a certain degree of sympathy for the protagonists’ misfortune in ‘Disabled’ and ‘Out, out’. The two poets do this quite well in their poems, with the use of common literary techniques and linguistic skills, such as similes, metaphors, personification, personification, imagery, contrast, and more literary devices, which range from subtle to very obvious. The heavy use of imagery throughout the poem helped to create an image in the reader’ s mind which helped to show the protagonist’s loss. Overall, this helps to make the two poems communicate the theme of loss effectively throughout the narrative. In their different ways the poems ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘Out, out’ by Robert Frost communicate the theme of loss through literary devices and language features. In the poem ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen; Owen mainly uses comparisons to draw contrasts between his current state and his former life in order to show loss while the poem ‘Out, out’ by Robert Frost mainly uses literary devices which include imagery and personification well as caesuras to help convey his theme of loss. However both poems deal with the subject of physical loss and both Robert Frost and Wilfred Owen manage to captivate the reader’s attention and create a sense of sympathy through the theme of loss. I personally feel that ‘Out, out’ by Robert Frost is more effective due to the heavy use of imagery to help show the protagonists loss. Overall the writers communicated the theme of loss effectively throughout the narrative.

Power of One :: essays research papers

â€Å"Inclusion, not exclusion, is the key to survival.† What does this mean? To say the least, the definition is clearly stated in The Power of One. Initially, Peekay in The Power of One was isolated by members of his family, and as a result of that he was excluded by society because of his background. Ultimately, he was excluded within his own race because of his actions throughout this story. â€Å"One thing got to all of them more than everything else. They couldn’t make me cry.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peekay was isolated by his family and suffered through deaths and losses. Peekay’s father died early in his life and from there on out he had to learn to live with the idea of death. The next deaths came from Granpa Chook, his mother, and Nanny. Losses continued when Doc went back to Germany, and a camp guard killed Piet. Even when he picked up all his strength as a young man, his losses continued when Maria, his love, was also killed. It just kept on adding up, and Peekay kept taking blow by blow. â€Å"Don’t cry, Peekay. Sister’ll know I told you if you cry.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next, Peekay suffered exclusion, and for him it wasn’t much different. He was English, and the Afrikaners in his society hated him. The English took over and governed their territory. â€Å"I was a rooinek and a pisskop. I spoke the wrong language. And now I was obviously made differently.† Therefore, Peekay was discriminated against because of his background. For example Peekay was even whipped while hanging upside down. It’s amazing that something such as that occurred. Lastly, Peekay went through exclusion because of the way he acted. Peekay was a friend to the blacks, which was very uncommon. He even started a Saturday school in which to teach blacks to read throughout their tribes.

All Quiet on the Western Front Essays: The Loud Message -- All Quiet o

All Quiet on the Western Front: The Quiet Novel that Screamed a Message In Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front", the main character Paul Baumer who is 18 years old, is sent to the front to fight for his homeland, Germany. He and his friends go through a spectrum of typical war expiriences: the deaht of a comrad, the terror of shelling, the abuse by their officers, etc. Remarque as well as Paul hates everything about the war: its meaninglessness, the lives of young people that it destroys or the innocent people that it kills. Throughout the whole book, the author conveys this hatred in many different ways. The most common way Remarque shows his hatred is by using the plot of the novell itself. He offen does this by describing the death of Paul's close friends or by describing the sickness of his mother. A good example of this technique is the death of Paul's friend Kemmerich. It can be felt how terrible the death of innocent people is while...

Corruption of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may themes, however the most salient one relates to the corruption of the American Dream.   The American Dream is that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her own hard work.   The dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur making it successful for himself.   The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth.   The American dream is sublime motivation for accomplishing ones goals and producing achievements, however when tainted with wealth the dream becomes devoid and hollow.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When the American dream was pure, motivation and ambition were some key aspects of the pure American dream.   "He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way...and distinguished nothing except a single green light"(page.26).   It shows how Gatsby was striving for the his goal and trying to accomplish it. When the dream was pure, motivation and self-discipline were present. This quote talks about Gatsby's daily agenda and how in the earlier days he upheld the pure American Dream "No wasting time at Shafters, No more smoking or chewing, Read one improving book or magazine per week, Save $3.00 per week, Be better to parents" (page 181- 182). Nick says "I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes-a fresh green breast of the new world"(page 189). This quote shows the pristine goals of where the possibilities were endless and one could accomplish anything through hard work.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The American dream became corrupted, its main aims were wealth and power.   Gatsby became corrupted because his main goal was to have Daisy. The only reason he want Daisy was that she symbolized wealth and took on the characteristics of money. "Her voice is full of money"(page127). Gatsby needed to have an enormous mansion so he could feel confident enough to try to win Daisy. " That huge place over there? Do you like it?   I love it" (page95).  Ã‚   The tainted dream was so empty that having accouterments of wealth could   even incite feelings of love.

Critical Thinking Assignment

Exercise 1-1 1. What is an argument? An argument is a two part structure of claims; one part contains a premise and the other a conclusion. 2. T or F: A claim is what you use to state an opinion or a belief. 3. T or F: Critical thinking involves attacking other people. 4. Tor F: Whether a passage contains an argument depends on how long it is. 5. T or F: When a claim has been questioned, an issue has been raised. 6. Do all arguments have premises? Yes 7. Do all arguments have conclusions? Yes 8. T or F: if it is impossible for the premises of an argument to be true without the conclusion also being true the argument is deductively valid. . T or F: The more support the premises of an argument provide its conclusion, the stronger the argument. If the premises being true means that probably the conclusion is true, the argument is inductively strong. 10. Can a conclusion be implied, or must it always be explicitly stated? It must always be explicitly stated and consists of words and phra ses like therefore, thus, and consequently. 11. Explain the connection between an argument and an issue. When you have an issue you are raising a question to a claim and arguments are claims structured into two parts. Both are connected through claims. 12. T or F: â€Å"Miller Lite tastes great† is a value judgment. 13. Are all value judgements about matters of taste? 14. T or F: All value judgments are equally subjective. 15. T or F: Only claims subject to scientific testing are worth discussing. 16. T or F: All arguments are used to try to persuade someone of something. 17. T or F: All attempts to persuade someone of something are arguments. 18. T or F: Whenever a claim is called into question, an issue has been raised. 19. T or F: Moral value judgments might all be true. 0. T or F: Sometimes we transfer a favorable or unfavorable opinion of a speaker to what the speaker says 21. T or F: Explanations and arguments serve the same purpose. 22. â€Å"Therefore† and â€Å"consequently† are conclusion indicators. True 23. T or F: â€Å"Rhetorical† or â€Å"emotive force† refers to the emotional content or associations of a word or phrase. 24. T or F: the rhetorical force of language can get in the way of clear and critical thinking. 25. T or F: We should not try to put our own position on any issue in the most favorable light.

Summary Response Essay Instruct

In the article, Blinder cites reliable evidence to successfully argue his opinion that the American education system needs to be revised in order to better prepare workers for employment in the current market. In the first section of the Blinder article, he starts off talking about much education one should accomplish. Blinder states, â€Å"In a progressive society, such as worrisome social phenomenon might elicit some strong policy responses, such as more compensatory education, stepped-up efforts at retraining, reinforcement of the social safety net† (Blinder 9).Americans are shredding the safety net; they keep on taking away reinforcements that help pep the playing field â€Å"fair. † According to Blinder, an effect of this is Social Darwinism, where the work force has become survival of the fittest. Employers are looking for people with a high level of education and good people skills. Having good people means being able to communicate well with others; it is a soft skill you must acquire. Later on in the article, Blinder talks about offspring. In the article he explains that offspring is, â€Å"the movement of jobs overseas† (Blinder 9).Countries with lower wages are taking jobs from Americans. Blinder talks about three reasons why jobs are becoming offshore. The first reason is because of â€Å"simple arithmetic. † The second reason is because of the growth in technology; people are now able to do jobs across seas in an efficient manner. This has a negative effect on American workers, because that means fewer job opportunities. Lastly, the number of workers overseas is growing rapidly, and these workers are willing to work longer hours, for lower pay, with few, if any, benefits. Blinder then goes on to talk about different types of jobs.Next in the article, Blinder discusses the different between personal and impersonal jobs. The higher paying jobs are the personal services that roved a specific service that cannot be provided remotely, like a plumber or a hair stylist, for example. He goes on to talk about how the American system of education is not preparing children the right way in school. Schools have them so focused on studying and memorizing for standardized testing instead of personal people skills. Blinder says how, â€Å"starting in elementary schools, we need to develop our youngsters' imaginations and people skills† (Blinder 12).In the end he talks about education needs to better prepare children for the kinds of personal service jobs that cannot be exported. Blinder did a good job explaining his points about the workforce and about how it is changing. With every problem he presented, he argued and discussed a plan to improve that problem. For example, in relation to the personal service jobs, he wants to start children off earlier with learning people skills. Throughout the article, Blinder did not use any confusing words or ideas; he was straightforward and explained himself. He did e xpress his opinions, but they did not come off too strong or heavy-handed.His opinions are supported with evidence and his article is written professionally, leaving he reader clear about what he was trying to say. I agree with what Blinder is talking about in the article. We need to push kids to get a college degree, not for the quantity of education, but for the quality. In America, we push kids to memorize and pass standardized tests that do not help them prepare for the future. Kids need to be learning how to apply what they learned in the real world and how to use that information to interact with people. The truth is, personal jobs are higher in salary. For example, think about doctors.Many medical specialists are foreign; many alienated individuals come to the United States to take advantage of our excellent programs in higher education and stay in the U. S. For work. While I have no problem with this, I also worry that our early education system is failing students since few er and fewer are achieving the kind of advanced education required to be a medical specialist or something similar. Have never lost a job to someone overseas, but my best friend had to move because her dad's job was offshore and they had to relocate for him to look for work. I want to be a special education teacher, which is a personal service, for now.It scares me with all this growth in technology. Look how many online schools there are now. Will one day in the future there be no teachers, just assignments on a computer screen? We need to learn from the past and use it to prepare for the future in order to be successful in the workplace. What if your job is exported? In the article, â€Å"Will Your Job Be Exported,† by Alan S. Blinder, he discusses how job exportation has become an unfortunate reality for so many Americans. Many people are losing jobs to people from other countries. Americans have to fight to keep personal service jobs versus impersonal services.