Materialism of the American Dream - 593 Words

The pursuit of American Dream itself can lead to crime. The American dream is a materialistic dream; the success and fulfilment of wealth. The success is achieved by working hard and achieving your goals but when people leave school without prerequisite they face a miserable future no matter how hard they work, which leads to criminal behaviour. Working class are the ones that feature in criminal statistics because people without opportunities become frustrated and turn to crime as a way from escaping the real world (Vanlamka, 2014). Strain theory points out that those WCC criminals are opportunistic and motivated rather than social control theory points out that people behaviour is learned from childhood. Robert Agnew and Broidy (1997) explained how strain theory can be used in explaining the differences of crime rate in small groups, in communities and in adolescents. They used this theory to show the increased rate of crime among females and males. According to their studies, females tend to experience as much or more strain than males but they commit less crime (Agnew and Broidy, 1997). Females tend to be concerned with maintaining closer relationship with others, therefore lower rates of property and violent crime. Males tend to be concerned with material success, therefore higher rates of property and violent crime. Females experience negative treatments like discrimination and higher demands from family. Males experience more conflicts with peers and are more likelyShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby American Dream Essay1030 Words   |  5 PagesThe American Dream and â€Å"The Great Gatsby† The American Dream can be described as someone starting at the bottom of the social or economic ladder and working hard towards prosperity, wealth and fame. By having money, a car, a big house, nice clothes and a happy family symbolizes the true American dream. 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By having money, a car, a big house, nice clothes and a happy family symbolizes the true American dream. This dream also represents that people, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in life by his or her own work. The majority of people pursue the American Dream for themselves, th eir families and their legacy. Several years ago theRead MoreSister Carrie and the American Dream1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream is surely based on the concept of â€Å"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness† but it is above all, a matter of ambition. James Truslow Adams, an American writer and historian, in 1931 states: life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†, which not only points towards a better standard of living for Americans but also denounces a degree of greed in the US society. Ambition not only â€Å"killed the cat† butRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay906 Words   |  4 PagesMaterialism in the Great Gatsby America has been labeled The land of opportunity, a place where it is possible to accomplish anything and everything. This state of mind is known as The American Dream. The American Dream provides a sense of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. This dream, however, originates from a desire for spiritual and material improvement. Unfortunately, the acquisition of material has been tied together with happiness in AmericaRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald992 Words   |  4 Pagesdeath of the American dream during the 1920’s. Based on the happening of the 1920’s, this model is certainly reasonable. F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby use the motifs of materialism, carelessness, and decay seen in the 1920’s in order to show a decimation of the American Dream, and the human race. Throughout The Great Gatsby it is very easy to recognize how the time period affected the author s point of view, one of the motifs that is affected by the time period is materialism. During theRead MoreIn America, During The 1920S, A Decade Known As The Roaring1338 Words   |  6 Pagesas The Roaring Twenties, there was a transformation in American prosperity due to the rise of consumer culture and, increasingly, materialism became more prominent in society. Americans, in newfound prosperity, looked to increase their wealth without limitations and consumed itself with leisure culture for self-gratification. 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The American dream is always evolving and changing. The American dream for present day is similar to the dream of the 1920’s. An Ideal of the American life is to conform to what our society has determined is success. Money, materialism and status had replaced the teachings of our founding fathers in the 1920’s. A return to family valuesRead More‘the Great Gatsby Depicts a Society Which Exists in a State of Confusion and Moral Chaos.’ Discuss.1006 Words   |  5 PagesNick Carraway’s eyes, and is considered one of the great pieces of American literature of all-time. The Great Gatsby shows a society that is in an immoral and crazed state. Jay Gatsby himself shows the corrupt American society and lifestyle. Affairs and cheating display the unethical aspects of the community. Materialism and the desire for possessions cause people to dispose themselves of values. The inaccuracy of the American Dream leaves the society confused and complicated. In deeper analysis

What Makes A Christian - 1971 Words

All individuals are entitled to and subscribe to a different worldview. Although worldviews may overlap in certain aspects, many of them are nothing alike. All throughout time and around the globe, people have continuously held beliefs that varied from others around them and made their group different from the rest, this is part of what makes humans unique and interesting. This fact does not mean that a specific view is more accurate or more pertinent, simply different. While acknowledging that all ideas are not equal, it is also important to note that each human has been made equally and is free to think and choose what to believe as they wish. As a Christian, I acknowledge and truly hold fast to the idea that God the creator of the†¦show more content†¦God is far more powerful than all of the beings which reside on earth combined, for he made them all and knows their inner workings, strengths, and weaknesses. He is aware of what happens in our lives at every moment and is there to guide us and help us through the hard times, constantly teaching us how he would want us to live. He can be anything to anyone in need, he is strong, wise, holy, almighty, loving, and many more aspects that he slowly reveals to us as we believe in him and will continue to reveal when we pass from our earthly bodies to the heavenly forms he has waiting for us in heaven. The whole of the Lord’s creation is all around us, and is composed of the things we see, as well as the things we cannot see (Characteristics of God 2005). God has made the universe, the planets, and the starts, the earth, and everything within it. He created the Earth, the Sun. the entire universe and all that is included within it. The mountains and valleys, the rivers and seas, the animals of the great deep, the birds which fly in the air, and the creatures which roam the planes of the earth are all his creation and all were carefully and lovingly made (Genesis). Humanity While not every human follows the guidance of human nature, we were meant to be kind and thoughtful of others, to treat others as you would like to be treated, and take care of ourselves and those around us. The sinful events that man has

Educational Reforms in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Educational Reforms in Australia. Answer: Introduction In the past decade the production of greater national consistency in Australian schools has exhibited some historically unmatched attempts (Sevage, 2016). These include; development of a national curriculum, setting national standards for teachers, literacy and numeracy standardized national assessments and revising of the national model of funding school. The world and economy has undergone continuous changes from the globalization of world economies and this is the major concern driving the need for these reforms (Sevage, 2014). Australian system of education offers primary, secondary and tertiary education. Both the primary and the secondary level are compulsory. The tertiary level of education which includes higher education and vocational education and training has proved to be important. The government has shown its effort to ensure that when students are done with senior school, they join universities and colleges. This paper will attempt to discuss the reforms of education in Australia. The meaning of the word reforms in this paper is; the action or process of reforming or putting a change into an institution. Five major challenges evidence in the Australian education system will be discussed. The reforms taken to overcome these challenges will also be discussed. This paper will basically point out the education reforms by introducing or talking about the challenges first. This paper will be important for the school management and most importantly for the government in an attempt to put under control these challenges in order to improve the Australian quality of education (Masters, 2016). The Analysis The first challenge in primary, secondary and the tertiary levels of study is inadequacy of funds. According to Connors and McMorrow (2015), the distribution of resources between and within school sectors have been affected by recurring themes and political forces, and the policy issues and tensions. The schools lack enough money to run and attain the set goals and objectives. Australia has the government and non-government schools in its different states and territories. The government schools which are also known as public schools are free to attend. This however applies to Australian citizens and permanent residents. According to Dow (2015), the government only caters for fees and this does not cover for other charges such as textbooks and uniforms. Therefore students who cannot cater for the other charges are disadvantaged. This affects individual students and the school generally. Research shows that most of the low performers are from a poor socioeconomic background. A conclusi on can therefore be drawn that inadequate funding does affect performance negatively. This is a challenge in the education sector of Australia. The government of Australia has however taken steps towards this challenge. The liberal paper wrote of the Turnbull government having set aside an addition of 1.2 billion dollars for education funding and reforms in the schools (Masters, 2016). A promise of school funding that will grow every year is something that the government voiced to the people. All this has been done with an aim of lifting the students performance and results. The second challenge in the education system is that of unqualified teachers. Field Rickards observed in his report the main challenges facing teacher education in Australia, that the country has too many teachers yet there is an undersupply of specialist teachers. This has resulted to teachers working out of their expertise. The government has looked in to this problem and reforms have been made. The federal government has issued a new requirement. Teachers are expected to be in the top 30% for literacy and numeracy (Rickards, 2016).The Turn bull government also put into place reforms such as: having minimum proportions of trainee teachers specialize in literacy and numeracy, ensure that principals are certified before their appointment, incentivize high performing teachers to work in disadvantaged schools etc. The Australian school curriculum is also a challenge. Many features in the curriculum have been unchanged for decades and so they are not at per with the 21st century needs and interest. At this era there has been a change in technology, communication and social networking. Harris-Hart (2010) noted that a new curriculum was introduced in 2010. There is an increase in globalization and most of the challenges and innovations needed now are different from those of the past. The curriculum therefore needs a change so as to prepare the students with knowledge and skills that will help them meet the now demands (Rickards, 2016). The government has therefore resulted to a change in the content of curriculum and approaches to learning and teaching. A national curriculum is being developed where age will be something that will be considered in schools. Gifted students may be beginning school earlier then the set minimum age. Flexible learning arrangements focused on growth will be set. Teachi ng will be personalized so that terms such as success and failure can be redefined. Another challenge in the system is that of identifying the needs of the students who may be termed as low achievers. Students have varying levels of cognitive, physical, social and emotional abilities. Students who do not meet the minimum standards of achievement end up lagging behind in every school year. Andy (2016) noted that the government therefore has made reforms which will enable the teachers to get hold of them and study them early enough and work towards helping them. Recommendations I would recommend that the problem of political forces and policy issues be solved so as to ensure the distribution of resources in the Australian schools is efficient. There also should be a teachers board that would monitor the teaching practices to ensure that the teachers are qualified in advancing education to the students. The curriculum should be changed regularly to accommodate the necessary changes that may improve the acquisition of education in Australian schools. Conclusion Most of the challenges in the education sector have been noted and the government has shown interest in solving them by coming up with reforms. Some reforms such as the new curriculum which has been put in to practice by a few schools have proved efficient. It can be deducted that the education reforms in Australia has greatly contributed to the improved performance in the Australian schools. The government therefore has a role of ensuring that students get quality education by solving every challenge that may be an obstruct to the way students obtain their education References Andy, C. (2016). The quality reforms needed to get all Australian students ahead. [Online] malcolmturnbull.com.au. Available at: https://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/the-quality-reforms-needed-to-get-all-australian-students-ahead [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Connors, L. and McMorrow, J. (2015). "Imperatives in Schools Funding: Equity, sustainability and achievement" by Lyndsay Connors and Jim McMorrow. [Online] Research.acer.edu.au. Available at: https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/14/?lid=14 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Dow, C. (2015). Reform of the higher education demand driven system (revised) Parliament of Australia. [Online] Aph.gov.au. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/pubs/rp/budgetreview201415/higheredu [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Harris-Hart, C. (2010). National curriculum and federalism: the Australian experience: Journal of Educational Administration and History: Vol 42, No 3. [Online] Tandfonline.com. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220620.2010.492965 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]. Masters, G. (2016). Five challenges in Australian school education. Policy Insights Issue 5. Camberwell, VIC: ACER. Available at: https://research.acer.edu.au/policyinsights/5/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]. Rickards, F. (2016). What are the main challenges facing teacher education in Australia? [Online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-main-challenges-facing-teacher-education-in-australia-63658?utm_medium=emailutm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20August%2031%202016%20-%205515utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20August%2031%202016%20-%205515+CID_e23d2baa02bb6b7ce286bac5f873f80eutm_source=campaign_monitorutm_term=What%20are%20the%20main%20challenges%20facing%20teacher%20education%20in%20Australia [Accessed 6 Apr. 2017]. Savage, G. (2014). National agendas in global times: curriculum reforms in Australia and the USA since the 1980s: Journal of Education Policy: Vol 30, No 5. [Online] Tandfonline.com. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680939.2014.969321 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017]. Savage, G. (2016). Whos steering the ship? National curriculum reform and the re-shaping of Australian federalism: Journal of Education Policy: Vol 31, No 6. [Online] Tandfonline.com. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02680939.2016.1202452 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017].