Cambridge Admissions Essay -- Cambridge Admissions Essay

Cambridge Admissions Essay As a child growing up in Communist China, I woke up every morning to the blasting of People's Central Broadcasting Station from a large radio on the dresser and fell asleep every evening in the surreptitious murmuring of Voices from America from a small radio by Grandpa's pillow. By fourth grade, I figured out that the two stations often reported the same events from opposite standpoints, using different words and tones, and thus projected contradictory interpretations onto the same events. Eager to share this revelation with my grandparents, I pointed out the differences between the two stations by singing their respective theme songs and by imitating the voices of their newscasters. To my disappointment, they were much more alarmed than amused. "Don't you talk nonsense in school," Grandma warned me. "You'll bring us trouble." With hindsight, I have realized that her reproach was no more than an attempt to protect what little freedom we did have. Back then, I knew only enough to keep my mouth shut, but I could not shut my mind off to questions that sprang up the more I listened, questions that shattered my faith in what I was taught. Like a small window that opened unto another world, the radio by Grandpa's pillow made me re-examine my own world in a new light. More than the accumulation of knowledge, learning, for me, means to test my own beliefs and prejudices against other points of view and to understand the reasons behind our differences. The classes I have taken at Harvard in the humanities and social sciences have shown me how to observe multiple layers of meaning in a given cultural situation, while campus journalism, internship with a documentary filmmaker, and summertime explorati... ..., philosophy and theater-as well as make a film composed of ten or twenty video "postcards," or an anthology of poetic fragments. Half will be detailed observations of Cambridge-thoughts on and video clips of spots I would frequent and of individuals I would see on a daily basis. The other half will be snapshots from travels to other parts of Europe-of places I may never see again and of strangers I will meet on the road. The most crucial criterion for inclusion in the anthology will be revelation-the moment captured has to be a window opening unto a different world, be it an idyllic countryside or warring battleground, an international city or a private home, a civilization that perished centuries ago or a community that has just come to be. This will allow me to explore the different possibilities of sharing what I see and experience with those not there with me.

When the Levees Broke

The hurricane Katrina is considered one among the greatest disaster that crossed America after the new millennium but the world was not much in awe upon hearing that significant news where thousands are left homeless and needed to be rescued. The media even snoots why the president didn’t passed by the disaster area when he was bound for India. By glancing at New Orleans pre and post hurricane images, one can easily decipher how great the physical damage incurred by the disaster. For instance the New Orleans playground of which the lines and images are almost erased, the lines that delineates its physical make-up is no longer vivid which shows that the state physical structures were badly damaged (Military). The cities were 80% submerged in water when the levees broke and making it the deadliest hurricane since 1928. After the levees broke, the press commented that Hurricane Katrina has put an end to the annual celebration of the Southern Decadence which brought thousands of revelers for the homosexual celebration which was even acknowledge by its past city officials (Releases). Repent America director even concluded that it is the â€Å"act of God which destroyed the wicked city (Marcavage). † Post Katrina victims have to endure depressions which are worsening from 2006 to the present year and psychiatrist often reminds their patients that it is normal to feel that way just like saying men it is alright to feel bad because you loose a job, a wife, a house etc. and it mean that you are not crazy. Sometimes people talked that they will meet in the next Mardis Gras but just to find out that it can not happen that or this year. Social behavior such as depression is increasing as years go by. Social problems create another problem and life is becoming more problematic not to mention the rising criminalities which are brought by poverty in spirit and in material things. Being the costliest among US calamity, there would be no easy way to solve the crisis. However, years have passed and it seems that there is social and physical distance that makes it difficult to arrest the problem. Space is defined by Nicolas Nova as distance between people, a marker which explains the kind of interaction or which reveals social relationships (Nova). The prolonged crisis after the hurricane in the New Orleans does not only envelope the lack in material resources but more so in the lack of concerns for the simple reason that man is repealed by holocaust or in other words, man has the natural tendency to run away from destruction than to rebuild. It is for this reason that the prolonged rehabilitation of the city is not due to the social issue of race discrimination but the inability of those concerns to make a collaborative efforts in rebuilding their state. Since, if it is race related, where are the least of its brethren, the Diasporas, the Africans and African-Americans and the rest with other backgrounds of ethnicity. To rebuild New Orleans after the hurricane is a big job, it must be understood that physically the work is tremendous and socially the barrier is within. These spaces should be re allocated or distributed within ones environment to his most proximate neighbor and to its leaders. There is a dire need to augment the distance of the physical and social spaces that is ruining or leading the city into decay! There is a need for state leaders who are not just politically inclined but with minds and hands that can work consistently together. Re-building a nation after a great disaster is indeed a very great undertaking and that calls for a man and a woman who can perform an ordinary task extraordinarily well. Works Cited Military. â€Å"Satellite Imagery of New Orleans.† (2005). 4 March 2008 . Nova, Nicolas. â€Å"Socio-Cognitive Functions of Space in Collaborative Settings : A Literature Review About Space, Cognition and Collaboration.† (2003). 03 March 2008 . Releases, Press. † Hurricane Katrina Destroys New Orleans Days Before â€Å"Southern Decadence† 8/31/05.† 4 March 2008 . When the Levees Broke The hurricane Katrina is considered one among the greatest disaster that crossed America after the new millennium but the world was not much in awe upon hearing that significant news where thousands are left homeless and needed to be rescued. The media even snoots why the president didn’t passed by the disaster area when he was bound for India. By glancing at New Orleans pre and post hurricane images, one can easily decipher how great the physical damage incurred by the disaster. For instance the New Orleans playground of which the lines and images are almost erased, the lines that delineates its physical make-up is no longer vivid which shows that the state physical structures were badly damaged (Military). The cities were 80% submerged in water when the levees broke and making it the deadliest hurricane since 1928. After the levees broke, the press commented that Hurricane Katrina has put an end to the annual celebration of the Southern Decadence which brought thousands of revelers for the homosexual celebration which was even acknowledge by its past city officials (Releases). Repent America director even concluded that it is the â€Å"act of God which destroyed the wicked city (Marcavage). † Post Katrina victims have to endure depressions which are worsening from 2006 to the present year and psychiatrist often reminds their patients that it is normal to feel that way just like saying men it is alright to feel bad because you loose a job, a wife, a house etc. and it mean that you are not crazy. Sometimes people talked that they will meet in the next Mardis Gras but just to find out that it can not happen that or this year. Social behavior such as depression is increasing as years go by. Social problems create another problem and life is becoming more problematic not to mention the rising criminalities which are brought by poverty in spirit and in material things. Being the costliest among US calamity, there would be no easy way to solve the crisis. However, years have passed and it seems that there is social and physical distance that makes it difficult to arrest the problem. Space is defined by Nicolas Nova as distance between people, a marker which explains the kind of interaction or which reveals social relationships (Nova). The prolonged crisis after the hurricane in the New Orleans does not only envelope the lack in material resources but more so in the lack of concerns for the simple reason that man is repealed by holocaust or in other words, man has the natural tendency to run away from destruction than to rebuild. It is for this reason that the prolonged rehabilitation of the city is not due to the social issue of race discrimination but the inability of those concerns to make a collaborative efforts in rebuilding their state. Since, if it is race related, where are the least of its brethren, the Diasporas, the Africans and African-Americans and the rest with other backgrounds of ethnicity. To rebuild New Orleans after the hurricane is a big job, it must be understood that physically the work is tremendous and socially the barrier is within. These spaces should be re allocated or distributed within ones environment to his most proximate neighbor and to its leaders. There is a dire need to augment the distance of the physical and social spaces that is ruining or leading the city into decay! There is a need for state leaders who are not just politically inclined but with minds and hands that can work consistently together. Re-building a nation after a great disaster is indeed a very great undertaking and that calls for a man and a woman who can perform an ordinary task extraordinarily well. Works Cited Military. â€Å"Satellite Imagery of New Orleans.† (2005). 4 March 2008 . Nova, Nicolas. â€Å"Socio-Cognitive Functions of Space in Collaborative Settings : A Literature Review About Space, Cognition and Collaboration.† (2003). 03 March 2008 . Releases, Press. † Hurricane Katrina Destroys New Orleans Days Before â€Å"Southern Decadence† 8/31/05.† 4 March 2008 .

The North Carolina Pre K Program Requirements - 1471 Words

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program, formerly known as More at Four, is geared towards bettering the lives for At-Risk 4-year-old children. Exposing children to an early learning experience that will promote a positive learning environment to ensure Kindergarten readiness is what drives the program. Upon arrival, each child is screened using the Brigance 4-year-old tool to assess and determine the child’s developmental skills and abilities. According to the text, â€Å"Classroom tests and assessments play a central role in the evaluation of student learning. They provide relevant measures of many important learning outcomes and indirect evidence concerning others† (Miller, Linn, Gronlund, pg. 139). While many educators and families†¦show more content†¦Benchmarks include comprehensive Early Learning Standards; staff meet education/licensure requirements, professional development; 1:9 staff/child ratio; developmental screens and referral; evidence-ba sed curriculum and formative assessments; monitoring and nutritional requirements† (http://ncchildcare.dhhs.state.nc.us/general/mb_ncprek.asp). Problem Statement and Research Question As an educator in the early childhood education field, I have had the opportunity to become aware, experienced, and exposed to At-risk children in the NC Pre-Kindergarten classroom. My goal with this action research paper is to adhere to the benefits and everlasting impact on children whom attend and children who did not attend the NC Pre-Kindergarten program. How does NC Pre-K program ready children for Kindergarten? How does a child that did not attend an NC Pre-K classroom differ from those children that did? What are the goals and standards that are addressed in the NC Pre-K classroom? What, if any, curriculum is used in the classroom? Lastly, what assessments and screening tools are used to measure growth from the beginning of Pre-K to the end of the school year? These are the questio ns that will give my research guidance and direction to better educate the reader. Review of the Literature Who Benefits? In the article entitled Why All Children Benefit from Pre-K the question brought forth, â€Å"Should publicly supported, high-quality pre-kindergarten be available to