Communication problem of an international student Essay

Communication problem of an international student - Essay Example I was away from home as well and I missed my family and friends. With all these problems already going on I ended up in a great deal of trouble again. The whole problem started when I was driving my friend to the airport. I dropped my friend off and was on my way back to the hostel. I was driving and had just reached the airport toll when I realized that a police car was coming behind me and it was signaling me to stop. I did not understand what was wrong though I did sense some great problem ahead. I pulled over and two policemen came out of the car. They came forward and started telling me that I had crossed the speed limit set for that road. They fined me and they started telling me other formalities. I was very confused because I had never ended in such a trouble before and also because I was having a communication problem with them due to my weak English. The policemen thought that I did not understand the seriousness of the issue and I was given the punishment of attending cour t the next day. I was very scared because this was the first time that I had been caught by police and on top of that I had actually ended myself in deep trouble and would have to attend court. The next day in court was as difficult as was the experience with the policemen. I was fined heavily and was asked to submit my apology. I complied with the court orders because I did not want anymore issues to arise. This experience was a very difficult one for me. I felt ashamed and guilty that I had not even realized.

American History Inmigration between 1880 and 1920 Essay

American History Inmigration between 1880 and 1920 - Essay Example Political instability and the spread of diseases in the homelands of the immigrants also forced them to opt for immigration and lead a better life. Other reasons included the lack of employment and chances of progress. The killings and persecution of people on the basis of their religion was also a reason why people left their homelands. There were many countries from where people chose to immigrate to the United States which included people from Italy, Russia, and Poland and to certain extent from China as well. This era of 1880 and 1920 was also a period of industrialization and it was a period of progress for the United States. The immigrants moved to the country and started working in the factories and mills of America. They settled for lower salaries as compared to the nationals. The great influx of immigrants led to the increased crowding in the cities and hence the maintenance of the infrastructure became very difficult. This led to problems like overcrowding accompanied by po or conditions of living for the immigrants. The crime rate also increased due to the rise in these problems. The increase in the number of immigrants created problems for the nationals as well and hence the immigrants became the targets of discrimination.

A Homophobic Environment And Schools Education Essay

A Homophobic Environment And Schools Education Essay Homophobia refers to the negative feelings that some people have towards people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered LGBT and can often lead to harassment, bullying and victimisation. Despite this definition, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (2013) state that it is not just limited to being targeted at those who identify themselves as being LGBT. They believe that people who are merely perceived to be gay can be targeted, as well as those who do not conform to stereotypical gender roles. Boys who display characteristics that are stereotypically feminine and girls who display characteristics that are stereotypically masculine can be faced with abuse in schools. For example, AVERT (n.d.) write that boys are usually stereotyped as sporty and strong decision-makers, and girls are expected to be emotional and expressive. Therefore, boys can be labelled as being gay if they dont like sports, if they happen to show their feelings or if others think they are being too in timate with other boys. A study by Rivers (2000, p14) found that there are a number of places this bullying can take place, including in the classroom, playground, corridors, toilets, changing rooms and on their way home. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007, p.16) list a number of ways that children can experience homophobic bullying. They argue that it can consist of verbal abuse (such as mean jokes, suggestive remarks, teasing and name calling) or non-verbal abuse (such as mimicking them and using offensive gestures towards them). They also argue that pupils could be ignored or excluded from joining in with others, be threatened or experience physical abuse (such as hitting or kicking). It also states that pupils may experience cyber-bullying via email, chat rooms, social network sites and mobile phones. Furthermore, they state that offensive graffiti or distribution of other offensive material could be used to harass the child. Stonewall (n.d.) state that teachers have a legal duty to ensure homophobia is dealt with in schools. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that there is a need to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of pupils (Firth, 2012, p6). Under this law, teachers must identify and implement measures to promote good behaviour, respect for others, and self discipline amongst pupils, and to prevent all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying (Stonewall, n.d.). Firth (p.6) states that the Equality Act 2010 imposes a duty on schools to be proactive in promoting equality of opportunity for all. She says that, under this law, is it illegal to put people at a disadvantage based upon their sexual orientation and, therefore it offers protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Firth (p.6) also talks about the Human Rights Act 1998 which requires schools to respect and value all of their pupils and states that they have a right to private life and to be free from discrimination. Department For Education and Skills (2004, p9) states that OFSTED insists that inspectors report how schools promote the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters policy. These outcomes are being physically and mentally healthy, staying safe and being protected from harm and neglect, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution by being positively involved in community and society, and economic wellbeing. It adds that it will be impossible to deliver all five of these outcomes in a culture of homophobia. Despite these laws being in place, Moore Rosenthal (2006, p.132) argue that there is now considerable evidence that schools are a powerful site for homophobia to flourish and this is also reflected in research published by Stonewall, a charity organisation which fights for LGBT rights. They have conducted a number of surveys in recent years, asking for both the pupils and teachers points of view and experiences of homophobia in schools. The School Report (2012) was a survey of more than 1,600 gay young people in Britain. It found that more than half of LGBT people experience homophobic bullying at school (Stonewall, 2012, p.2) Even if they are not bullied, ninety six per cent of gay pupils heard homophobic remarks such as poof or lezza whilst ninety nine per cent hear derogatory phrases such as thats so gay (Stonewall, 2012, p.5). Thurlow (2001, p.36) writes that sticks and stones may be more likely to break their bones but the relentless, careless use of homophobic pejoratives will most certainly continue to compromise the psychological health of young homosexual and bisexual people by insidiously constructing their sexuality as something wrong, dangerous or shameworthy. Dye (n.d.) quotes Sue Allen, chair of Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG) as saying that Every generation has a word which they use as a term of offence [] today it is gay'. She claims that pupils in primary schools begin using it to mean anything thats naff or abnormal and, as a result, by the time they reach secondary school, a feeling of negativity surrounds being gay. Plummer (2001, p17) agrees that initially when pupils are using these terms they are not referring to homosexuality. He says that pupils will use the term gay to refer to something that looks a bit different, a bit tacky, pathetic or anything like that. He states those who were called poofters were the ones that werent in the in crowd such as those who didnt play sport or those who were interested in collecting things or reading. Moore Rosenthanal (2006, p.172) argue that sexual connotations are not attached to these offensive terms until the children get into their teens but despite this, they recognise that these terms have deeply negative and offensive meanings. Therefore, even if they start off in a non-sexual sense, the powerful effect of these precisely targeted homophobic terms [] provides a hostile context for the development of a homosexual indentity. Barnes (2011) believes that the reason children use and laugh at this type of derogatory terminology is because they dont have all the facts about homosexuality. After they kno w the facts, she argues, they begin to use the correct words in the correct way.   Stonewalls School Report (2012, p21) details a number of statistics that show that many pupils report a decline in their attendance to lessons. For example, it states that seventy per cent of LGBT pupils admit to skipping school at least once. Furthermore, nearly half of the LGBT pupils who experience homophobic bullying admit to skipping school because they are being bullied. This can lead to them getting behind in their work and ultimately their attainment may be affected. 43 per cent of bullied of LGBT pupils state that they feel they are underachieving in their school work. (p.20) Over 30 per cent change their plans for future education because they are being bullied, meaning that they are more likely to leave school at 16, rather than carrying to study for their A-Levels and go to university, for example (p.21). Stonewall state that Ofsted requires schools to stamp out homophobic bullying in their inspection framework and, therefore they believe that schools should see tackling homophobic bullying as part of their wider drive to improve behaviour and boost aspiration, standards and attainment. (p27) There are concerns that schools are not doing enough to make all pupils feel welcome in their school. Stonewall (2012, p.20) found that more than fifty per cent of LGBT pupils feel as if they dont belong at their school and 46% dont feel as if they can act like themselves when they are at school. A similar percentage claim that it is hard for gay people to feel accepted in school and nearly fifty per cent of bullied LGBT pupils say that they have low self-esteem (pp.21-22). Furthermore, forty one per cent dont feel part of their school community and 30 per cent disagree with the notion that their school an accepting, tolerant place where I feel welcome. Barnes (2011) believes that it is essential that the curriculum reflects the community we live in and therefore, as LGBT people are a legitimate part of our community, they should also be included in the curriculum. She states that it is preferable to seep LGBT people into [the pupils] consciousness rather than to explicitly confront the students with LGBT issues. She believes that this can be done through a combination of inclusive lesson plans and giving them the facts through discussions that arise. Stonewall (2009a, p12) lists examples such as discussing LGBT characters in novels, civil partnerships and different families. They state that these are all ideal ways to discuss gay issues in a sensitive and appropriate manner. In order to ensure that the pupils feel accepted in school, they also recommend displaying posters which communicate positive messages of equality such as the Some people are gay, get over it campaign. The best schools do more than tackle homophobic bullying and therefore schools should work towards embracing an environment where diversity is promoted and celebrated across whole school community. (Stonewall, 2012, p27) However not all teachers are happy to include LGBT issues into their lessons. In January 2009, a London primary school teacher faced disciplinary action after she refused to read the book And Tango Makes Three, written by Parnell Richardson in 2005 (UK Parliament, 2013a). The story book tells the story of a gay penguin couple and once she realised that she that the book was advocating gay marriage she refused to continue reading it because of her Christian beliefs. She is not alone. The UK Pariliament (2013b) states that a 2013 poll conducted by ComRes found that over forty thousand teachers say they will probably refuse to teach about the importance of same-sex marriage if the Marriage (Same Sex couples) bill is eventually passed. Dashwood (2011) expresses that in her experience of homophobia in schools, she believes it is actually the pupils who show the most amount of tolerance, rather than the teachers. She argues that it is often young people who are the most accepting members of a school community, and a consequence they put many of their teachers to shame. She concludes that the government should ensure that educators are not responsible for any homophobia in the classroom, before attempting to tackle homophobic bullying among pupils. Stonewall (2012) states that whilst children in faith schools are no more likely to report homophobic bullying than those in non-faith schools (p.4), teachers in religious schools are more likely to make homophobic remarks and less likely to challenge pupils when they hear them make homophobic remarks, than those who teach in non-faith schools (p.12). Garner (2011) believes that a number of faith schools view themselves above the law and think they can do anything that they believe is line with their religious beliefs. Stonewall (2012, p.21) states that gay pupils who are bullied are at higher risk of suicide, self-harm and depression. LGBT organisation, Revel and Riot (n.d) suggests that the reasoning behind these thoughts are due to internalised homophobia; subconsciously-developed negative feelings LGBT people feel towards themselves because of their sexuality. Revel and Riot state that LGBT people may start to have these negative attitudes because they are affected and hurt by the discrimination gay people receive in society. They believe that internalised homophobia can take a number of forms. Firstly, a gay person can live in denial, where they live their lives pretending to be heterosexual which can lead to the person feeling unfulfilled and lonely. Secondly, a person can remain closeted. This means that they take part in homosexual activity but keeps it a secret from the people close to them. Revel and Riot argue that being closeted is linked with high-anxiety, low self-esteem, increased ri sk for suicide and general lack of fulfillment. The Stonewall survey (2012, p22) found that more than fifty per cent admit to taking actions to deliberately harm themselves, such as cutting or burning themselves. Nearly fifty per cent of LGBT people who are bullied show symptoms linked with depression whilst thirty five per cent of those who werent bullied showed depression symptoms (p.22) Almost a quarter of LGBT pupils admitted to attempting suicide at some point, whilst over seventy per cent claim to have at least considered it. Stonewall (2012, p.4) compares these figures to those published by the Samaritans which states that only seven per cent of all young people (either straight or LGBT) have ever attempted suicide and less than fifty per cent have considered it. Rebel and Riot (n.d.) argue that the worst form of internalised homophobia is aggressive denial, where a person feels so strongly that they should not be gay that they repress their sexual desires and act out in a ho mophobic manner towards other LGBT people. Over a quarter of bullied LGBT pupils say they feel guilty about getting bullied whilst over sixty per cent say they feel embarrassed and over forty per cent say they feel ashamed.(Stonewall, 2012, p.21) It is not always easy for teachers to be aware of when a pupil is the victim of homophobic bullying and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007, p16-17) believe that this is because many pupils are embarrassed to admit it, perhaps because they do not want to disclose their sexuality to their teacher or because they are embarrassed that they are being perceived in this way and being bullied for it when they actually are not LGBT. Alternatively, they argue that some pupils may choose not to tell their teachers that they are being bullied because they worry about how the staff may deal with the problem given the sensitivities involved (p.19) A Stonewall report from 2009 focused on responses from teachers of both primary and secondary schools on their experience of homoph obia in the classroom. It found that nearly thirty per cent of teachers state that they would not feel confident in supporting a pupil who decided to come out as LGBT to them (Stonewall, 2009b, p16). Furthermore, forty per cent say that they would not feel confident in providing information, advice and guidance on gay issues to their pupils. Concerns about how teachers will respond correlate with figures from Stonewalls School Report (2012, p.12) that shows that many LGBT pupils feel that their schools often fail to intervene when homophobic bullying and language occurs. The report found that the rate of homophobic bullying is much higher in schools where teachers never step in when they hear homophobic remarks, compared to schools where the teachers challenge homophobic remarks every time. (Stonewall, 2012, p.13) Up until 2003, it was illegal for teachers to intentionally promote homosexuality or to promote the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship (National Archives, n.d.) This was stated as part of Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act. Even though this has now been repealed, there may still be confusion of what is acceptable. This fairly recent change of the law may leave those that have been teaching for a while confused as to what they are allowed to do. If they have always been told that they are not allowed to teach about gay issues throughout their career, many may continue to ignore these issues even now the ban has been lifted. Bridges (2013) agrees with this notion as she states that gay relationships seem to be outside the comfort zones of many teachers, and is therefore not tackled with as much rigour as other types of bullying. Pupils who have gay family members can also feel the effect of homophobia in the classroom. Stonewalls Different Families (p.20) states that whilst lots of pupils who have gay parents are open about their families, most are careful about who they tell. Those who feel that they have to keep their families secret from everyone find it stressful. The report states that many pupils with gay parents are worried that they will get bullied and this prevents them from being honest about their families. The report concluded that pupils with gay parents dont feel as though their families were reflected in the classroom. It states that too often, schools assume that pupils have a mum and a dad both in classroom activities and in letters that are sent home. Therefore, the report recommends that teachers cease to make this assumption to avoid this insensitivity towards the pupils who have alternative families (p.22). Firth (2002, p7) acknowledges the importance for pupils who come from LGBT famil ies to feel that their families are recognised, accepted and respected. For this reason she believes that it is entirely appropriate to have discussions amongst young pupils about the diversity of families that exist within society. It is not just the pupils who experience homophobic abuse. Williams (2012) states that a 2006 survey by the Teacher Support Network discovered that two-thirds of LGBT teachers had experienced harassment or discrimination at work because of their sexual orientation. She writes that 81% of those received discrimination from the pupils and but 46% said their colleagues were responsible. Dellenty (2012) hopes that gay teachers will have the strength to come out and hopes that schools support them when they do as there will be pupils who have gay family or friends and those who will grow up to be LGBT themselves. He argues that these people deserve and need a representative diverse range of authentic role models in schools. The Department for Children, Families and Schools (, p.13) writes that the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 aims to protect all members of staff against discrimination or harassment on the grounds of their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orienation. Aside from bullying, there are also concerns that gay people are not well enough informed when it comes to sexual health. The Sex Education Forum () states that young LGBT pupils often report feeling left out of sex and relationships programmes. The Department for Education and Employment (2000) wrote that schools have a responsibility to ensure that the needs of all of their pupils are met in the sex education programmes. They argue that that all pupils need to feel that sex and relationship education is relevant to them and sensitive to their needs, regardless of their sexual orientation. They add that teachers should be able to deal honestly and sensitively with sexual orientation, answer appropriate questions and offer support. Stonewall (2012, p) found that two thirds of gay pupils dislike taking part in team sports. Futhermore, a survey by the National Union of Students () found that 42% per cent of LGBT pupils had a negative experience of playing sport at school which lead to them feeling as though they dont want to play any sports at college or university. The report concludes that schools should encourage LGBT-inclusiveness by using sport as a way of expressing to pupils that homophobia is not acceptable behaviour and that all members of a sports team should contribute to creating an inclusive environment. They should also make an effort to support students to participate in a broad range of sports, including those that are not typical for their gender. The celebration of LGBT History month in some schools is a step in the right direction. The National Union of Teachers (NUT, 2013) argues that LGBT History Month helps teachers to promote equality, value diversity and implement effective strategies to eradicate homophobia. The idea is to make pupils aware of the achievements of LGBT people in Britain, as well as the struggles they faced in society. Taking place every February, It is an opportunity to show that discrimination against people is wrong and must be challenged.  The NUT adds that students in school [] need to discuss human rights and have the life skills for a world where LGBT and straight people are equal. The LGBT History website outlines a number of reasons why this celebration is beneficial to the whole school community. It states that it is essential for everybody to be aware of the role of LGBT people in society and claims to aim to help gay people be viewed by students as motivators, inventors, artists, scientists and stars, rather than as victims. It also hopes to help boost the self-esteem of young LGBT pupils so they feel safe enough to continue with their education and grow to be happy and healthy adults who are less likely to suffer from violence, depression, and suicide. It is also an opportunity to provide postive role models for the pupils. An extreme example, but one that has been launched in other countries, is that of a gay school; a school for gay pupils, such as the Harvey Milk High School in New York. Launched in 2003, it was set up for those pupils who had been victimised and abused in their previous schools so much so that they were falling behind in their work or felt too afraid to attend their classes (Henley, 2004). Many of its pupils express that without the school they would make no academic progress and Henley (2004) writes that the school boasts that 95% of its students graduate, compared to just over 50% across New York generally. However, the idea is not popular amongst as people can get bullied for a number of reasons. Henely (2004) quoted Mike Long (who at the time was the chairman of the New York Conservative Party) as saying if we need a special school for homosexuals, maybe we need a special school for little short fat kids because they get picked on too. Indeed, Stonewalls research found that homo phobia was only the second most frequent form of bullying, behind bullying for being overweight. It is important to consider, therefore, that whilst these pupils may not get bullied for their sexual orientation anymore, they could still be targeted for other reasons. Furthermore, there are concerns that separating homosexual people from heterosexual people at an early age is only going to cause a wider segregation later on in life. Henley (2004) writes that some gay activitists believe that creating a new form of gay ghetto is no way to encourage integration and understanding, adding that in the real world, [] gay and straight people have to learn to co-exist. The Department for Education and Skills (2004) believe that schools are the ideal place to challenge homophobia because they make a significant contribution to the development of values and attitudes in young children that are likely to be highly resistant to change in later life.

Fiancial Problems :: essays research papers

Money? Can money buy everything? Can money buy love? I have a dilemma that I can't seem to figure out. I’m so confuse and don’t know what to do now. Things happened so fast that I wish I could freeze the hand of time so that I can think for a while. I remember I have been with someone for 6 months. Before we met each other many of my friends been talking about her. When I first saw her I have this weird feeling inside of me and for the first time in my life I felt in love. So we talked and a couple days later we got hooked up. We were very happy and truly in love with one another, but unfortunately ever since we hooked up, both of our luck has gradually went down. She was worst than mine. I mean we were really in bad lucks, which created trouble and problems for us and mostly financial problems. Even though we knew we love each other a lot but we fought almost everyday for the past month or two because of the problems that we have to deal with that stressed us out. She told me to leave her because she didn't want me to stay with her and be poor and miserable. She told me she felt useless since she couldn't even take good care of me. She would like it better if I was to be with someone whom can take better care of me. I know what she meant but the thing was that I didn’t want to go. I can't just leave in when she's down knowing that I do love her. This entire problem is eating up inside of me. I haven’t been happy for a long time. I just hope that all these bad lucks will disappear soon. But when? When will things be normal again? I am so weak but yet I still want to be with her. What should I do? I think I should stay with her; although life may be tough but at least we are both happy. On the other hand, I know there is someone out there that cares for me a lot and she has money. I did like her too for a short period of time. If I hook up with her money won't be an issue anymore, but I don't love her.

The Relationship Between Study Habits

The relationship between study habits and academic performance of IT students A Research Proposal Presented to the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences & Communications Department Far Eastern University – East Asia College In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Subject ENGL303 Educational Research By: Buen, Nica Chrizza N. E. Cruz, Yves Justin C. Diocareza, Darwin Joseph V. Marquez, Samwell Kervy A. Masbate, Kristine Gay A. September 5, 2012 ABSTRACT This research highlights the relationship between the study habits and the academic performance of second year IT students.A habit is defined as a planned schedule done regularly, while to study is to gain knowledge. Therefore, study habits are done regularly in order to expand learning. It is the way how students accomplish their homework and how they prepare for an exam. This research discusses how important study habits are in achieving students’ academic good performance. This also presents how many hours the students are studying, how they prepare for an exam, and what is the comfortable place and time for them to study in order to show if these factors are contributors in attaining better academic performance.A survey questionnaire that is composed of 8 questions related to the topic was given to 50 second year IT students in Far Eastern University – East Asia College. The data gathered in the survey includes the midterm and final grades of the students which shows how they performed during those periods. After the survey, the researchers found out that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying yet, they still accumulated passing grades in the midterm period, and they even got better marks in the final period of the previous term. From the given data, students have different ways on how they will prepare for an upcoming test.Most of them prefer to be alone. The comfortable place for them to study has also something to do in order for them to attain good academic pe rformance. Great number of the respondents answered that they study inside their bedroom and they are at ease to study during evening from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. One of the survey questions is how the students spend their vacant time. According to the collected data, most of the respondents play which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, playing just for fun, and so on. Next to that is surfing the net which includes visiting social networking ites such as facebook, etc. It is being observed that most of the students spend their vacant time in front of the computer which is a common scenario nowadays. The last question asks the respondents opinion whether their study habits help them achieve good academic performance or not. Majority of them answered â€Å"yes† which is true that can be observed in their previous midterm and final GPA. A theoretical analysis, backed up by the survey results, indicates that study habits really affect a student’s academic perform ance. Good grades can be achieved by proper study habits. It s not necessary that students should study for a long period of time because the amount of time spent for studying does not mean that students can already pass in their subject. Some students find difficulties in some subjects, so they pay more attention to it that consumes much of their time. In order to overcome those difficulties, they have their own ways on studying for them to understand their lessons. Time and place are also factors to be considered in studying. Good place and right time make the students comfortable and study with ease. INTRODUCTION Education plays a vital role in students’ life.It is not only about acquiring knowledge, taking down notes during discussions, answering exam, passing in the test, or even attaining good grades; but also it is also about teaching the students how to be independent in the real life. Finding solutions in the given problems happen in the real life. Projects, assignme nts, and exams that come at the same time also take place in the real world. These things train students to decide what to do, what are the things that should be paid attention first, what comes next and what will be the last priority. Someday education will be the only one they have in hand in order to become successful person. It will be their weapon to overcome those obstacles they might encounter along the journey of their lives. In order to acquire better education, students should focus on studying no matter how hard it is. There are times that they might find difficulties, but there is always ways to surpass those trials. Good study habits play a vital role in the development of the students’ education. It can help them in studying a lot. It is a strategy on how the students acquire knowledge effectively. Establishing study habits are one of the determining factors for attaining passing grades. It efers to the schedule, plan, and the timeframe where studying is done in order to attain good academic performance. Students are always directed to the fact that poor study habits will lead to miserable scores, and good study habits will result to excellent marks. Grades are also a determining aspect of knowing student’s academic performance, which means the attained knowledge over a certain period of time. Therefore, proper study habits lead to good academic understanding and having good grades, otherwise leads to bad academic understanding and having bad grades. But always keep in mind that a student’s study habit is not the only factor to onsider, because factors such as age, past subject learned, IQ, learning ability, mentors, gender and so on are also something to consider as well. Nevertheless, the researchers would like to investigate the relationship of study habits and academic performance of IT students. In the research, the researchers would like to determine the answer to these questions: 1. What are the students’ inform ation according to: a. hours spent in studying, and b. studying skills? 2. How did study habits affect the academic performance of the students? The study aims to actuate the relevance of study habits to the academic performance of the tudents through survey questionnaires. This also concentrates on the findings related to the students’ preferred place and time to study; how they prepare for an upcoming test; in what way do they spend their vacant time; and also discussing if their study habits help them achieve good academic performance. The scope of the study are the IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College and the limitations of the study are those enrolled second year IT students in the first term. There would only be a number of questionnaires to be used in the survey, which will be limited to a number of students as well.Therefore, there will only be a number of students who will participate in the study. METHODOLOGY This part exhibits the meth ods to be employed in going through the research. This comprises the number of target participants, the research design, the collection of data, the materials to be utilized in putting up the study, and the analysis of the research. Corpus The selected respondents were second year IT students from Far Eastern University – East Asia College, in random gender and age span, provided that they are second year IT students currently studying at Far Eastern University – East AsiaCollege. 50 students as research respondents were under descriptive survey method of study. Majority of the respondents were with specialization in Digital Arts. The focus of the study was the IT students in second year, and they are considered as the target population. After the researchers had conducted the survey, the students differed themselves in terms of their study habits in their answers. I. Research Design This study used a descriptive survey type with an attempt to determine the relationshi p between the study habits and the academic performance of IT students. It lso aimed to find out the hours spent in studying, study skills and habits, and the grades accumulated using these habits. The descriptive survey type was chosen in order to observe the subject in an entirely natural and unchanged setting. It was also chosen because it can easily identify, illustrate, and evaluate the relationship involving the two variables mentioned. The study wanted to discover the significant influence of the independent variable from the dependent variable. It sought to observe the data gathered in order to come up with a considerable result regarding the relationship of the subject matters. II. SamplingSimple random sampling was used in this research where in only little information about the population is needed because the gathered data is already sufficient for the study. Simple random sampling method was also used because of three main reasons. First, because it is free of classific ation error. Second, its simplicity makes it easier to analyze and interpret the data collected. Finally, the cost of sampling is little enough to make efficiency less vital than simplicity. III. Data Gathering The researchers presented a letter to the respondents to ask permission from them if ever they are willing to fill up the survey form.The implementation of the survey was done inside the campus of FEU – East Asia College. Only one questionnaire was answered by an individual so that repetition of data would not be done. Only IT students on their second year level were given the questionnaire. Each one of the chosen respondents would have to answer the given questionnaire. Every question must be answered with all honesty. Data gathered would be strictly confidential. IV. Research Instrument The instrument used is a self – prepared questionnaire composed of 8 questions related to the research topic and includes some important personal information such s name (optio nal), grades, and etc. It also specifies the direction in answering the survey test and the possible selection of answers. There will be no right or wrong answers. The gathered information will be treated confidentially and will only be used in the study. V. Data Analysis After the implementation of the survey, the data was tabulated in order to get the percentage of each choice in each question. The percentage was calculated by dividing the number of respondents in each choice by the total number of respondents multiplied by one hundred. The data was represented by a graph that was either a bar raph or a pie graph depending on the values that is presented. The graphs were a representation of the data to show the proportion of the percentage of each choice in each question. The data was analyzed based from the graph and the data gathered. Each of the graphs was analyzed based on percentage. The relationship among the data was observed and a correlation between them was looked into. Cover Letter on the Survey Questionnaire Date _______________________, To whom it may concern, Good day! We have the honor to request you to participate in our research study entitled â€Å"The relationship etween study habits and academic performance of IT students†. The study wants to know how study habits affect the academic performance of the students here in FEU-East Asia College. The respondents are the second year IT Students enrolled in the first term. This study is a requirement for the finals of the course English303 Modern Communication. We therefore are requesting you to answer this questionnaire with your dedication. We assure you to keep gathered data confidentially and to use it in our study only. Thank you very much. God bless. Sincerely yours, Cruz, Yves Justin Survey QuestionnaireName (optional): _______________________________________ Age: __________ A. Instruction: Please answer the following questions with honesty and sincerity. Put a check in the bracket s. There will be no right or wrong answers to this questionnaire. Your answers will be based on your own experience. Rest assured that the gathered data will be confidential and will be used only for this study. 1. How many hours (estimated) do you spend for studying? [ ] less than 1 hour [ ] 1-2 hour/s [ ] 5-6 hours [ ] 3-4 hours [ ] others: ________ 2. What is your previous midterm GPA? __________ 3. What is your previous final GPA? _________ 4. How do you prefer to study if there is an upcoming test? [ ] alone [ ] writing outlines [ ] with peers [ ] reading aloud [ ] with music [ ] silent [ ] with snacks [ ] others: ________ 5. Where is the comfortable place for you to study? [ ] library [ ] classroom [ ] bedroom [ ] coffee shop [ ] campus (freedom park) [ ] others: ______ [ ] home 6. What time is comfortable for you to study? [ ] morning (6 a. m. to noon) [ ] evening (6 p. m. to 9 p. m. ) [ ] afternoon (noon to 6 p. m. ) [ ] others: ______ 7. How do you spend your vacant time? _ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 8. Do you think that your study habits help you in your academic performance? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Total number of respondents: 50 Percentage = Number of Respondents x 100 Total Number of Respondents Figure . Time spent in studying In Figure 1, according to 34% of the surveyed IT students, they spent approximately 1 to 2 hours in studying.There are 22% of the respondents answered 3 to 4 hours, while 20% managed to study in less than 1 hour only. As you can see 14% of them allotted 5 to 6 hours, and the 10% of the students chose others. It shows that most of the students spent 1 to 2 hours in studying, and only few consumed 5 to 6 hours a day. This is the same result as in the survey â€Å"How many hours should you study per day? † posted in Student Doctor Network (2010). Based on the data showed, 23. 93% answered 1 to 2 hours only, while 5. 85% of the respondents voted 5 to 6 hours of studying. This means that students have their own amount of time spent in studying.No specific length of time is used in studying as a whole. According to Cat (2010), it depends on the students’ capability to understand what they are studying about. Students have different learning ability level, which is another factor why they take so much time in studying. Figure . Previous Midterm GPA Figure 2 presents the Midterm Grade Point Average (GPA) as of the previous term, 3rd term SY 2011 – 2012. Based on the gathered data, 40% got an average of 2. 1 to 2. 5; 26% of the respondents got 2. 6 to 3. 0; 16% received 3. 1 to 3. 5; 14% got 1. 6 to 2. 0, and only 4% got an average GPA of 1. to 1. 5 during the midterm period. Written in the FEU – East Asia College Student Handbook (2010 rev. ed. , p. 18 – 19), â€Å"the college follows the numerical grading system with the following grade points and their corresponding descriptions and equivalences:† Table 2. 1: Numerical Grading System Grade Points Percentage % Description 4. 0 97 – 100 Excellent 3. 5 93 – 96 Superior 3. 0 89 – 92 Very Good 2. 5 85 – 88 Good 2. 0 81 – 84 Satisfactory 1. 5 78 – 80 Fair 1. 0 75 – 77 Pass 0. 5 74 below Failed 0. 0 – Not Attending 6. 0 – Pass 7. 0 – Officially Dropped 8. 0 – Credited 9. 0 – IncompleteThis information presented in Table 2. 1 further implies that 100% of the respondents passed during the previous midterm period. Figure . Previous Final GPA Figure 3 shows the previous final GPA of the respondents. Among the respondents, 34% got 2. 1 to 2. 5 averages and also the same percentage of respondents got a GPA from 2. 6 to 3. 0. There are 18% of them passed with a GPA of 1. 6 to 2. 0, while 14% got 3. 1 to 3. 5. Comparing the results of their midterm grade to final grade, no student got an average from 1. 0 to 1. 5 during the finals. The 14% of students who got 1. 6 to 2. 0 grades in the midterm period as been added by 4% during the final period. The 26% of the respondents who got 2. 0 to 3. 0 GPA during the midterm period became 34% in the finals. Generally, this means that the students had a great improvement during the final period even though 16% of students who got 3. 1 to 3. 5 GPA in the midterm period decreased by 2% during the finals. All in all, 100% of the surveyed IT students got passing grades during the previous final period. Figure . Preference of study habit when there is an upcoming test The data in Figure 4 shows that 48% of the students prefer to study alone if there is an pcoming test. While 42% wants to study with music, 32% preferred to study silent. There are 30% of the respondents write an outline to serve as there hand outs or re viewers, 28% study with snacks, 16% who read aloud, 12% wants to be with peers, and 8% answered others. This shows that students have their own method to be prepared in an exam. Most of them review a lot if they are studying alone or with peers. Some wants to study if they are listening to the music, while others preferred to be silent and so on. According to Palm Beach Community College (PBCC, 2008), noise that distracts students rom studying should be minimized, however there are some students who need some sound or some silence. Studying with music can cause distraction (Sigafoos, 2012). On the other hand, Donnell (1999) stated that music helps a person to express what he is thinking. He shared a little known fact that Albert Einstein was very poor in school before, but because of music, he was able to improvise his figured out problems and equations. Now, he was known as one of the smartest people in the world. Writing an outline for studying is a good habit of students. This ma y serve as notes for them o review especially if they need to prepare for an exam. Writing is another way of memorizing because as students take down notes, they are already putting those words in their minds. This is the same with reading a loud or even reading silent. Students can gain more knowledge through it. Teachers do not always discuss all the topics, so some questions are left in students’ mind. In order to understand some of those, reading is very essential. There are also cases in which students choose to study with peers. Statistically, students who study in group, earn higher grades than those who study independently.This is because in this way of studying more brains are exchanging of thoughts and ideas and students are able to share their knowledge to others. Figure . Comfortable place to study Figure 5 comprises the comfortable place for the students to study. Based on the research, 64% used to study inside their bedroom, 40% at home, 10% at the library, 6% a t the classroom, 4% at the coffee shop, 4% at the campus and 8% chose others. One of the most important factors in studying properly is choosing where you can study more effectively. Many students sell themselves short from the very beginning by choosing to study in laces such as their dorm room, their bed, in the dorm lobby, and other places which are not always the most conducive to effective studying (Singal, 2012). According to K. Roell (2012), many places are good venue to study; only that student has to take a look three things when finding a good study place: comfort, appropriate noise levels, and information access. In his article entitled Top 10 Places to Study, library is the number 1 best place to study, while bedroom is just second to it. Library is a silent place where students can concentrate in studying; and is easy to access the information they needed.Next to the two are the coffee shop, bookstore, park, classroom, friend’s house, community center, and tutori ng center. According to PBCC (2008), bedroom is not a proper venue to study because it is a place where to sleep not to study, but it can be seen in the figure above that most of the students are comfortable in their bedroom for their studying matters. In this case, it depends on the students choice where they want to study as long as they are comfortable, can concentrate well in studying, have access of information, and of course far from distractions. Figure . Comfortable time to studyIn Figure 6, comfortable times for the students to study are listed. Majority chose evening from 6 pm to 9 pm, which holds 54% of the respondents. There are 20% of the students study at morning from 6 am to noon, 16% at the afternoon from noon to 6 pm, while 10% answered others. Maybe are studying whenever they want or they are at the mood. Based on the gathered data, most of the students find to study better at the evening. However, some of them are tired right after school, so they do not study in the evening and prefer at the morning. Some says that it is better to study in the morning because it is still fresh in mind and asy to remember. There are some who do not study in the afternoon because they tend to fall asleep. Figure . Spending vacant time Figure 7 shows the answers listed by the students on how they spend their vacant time. Based on the data gathered, there are 34% answered playing which includes playing computer games, playing guitar, and so on. There are 32% of the students spend their vacant time by surfing the net which includes visiting social networking sites such as facebook, yahoo, google, etc. There are 26% of the students hang out, and only 18% said that they study, review or do their assignments.There are also 18% who answered they sleep during vacant hours. Eating and watching movie or television are of the same percentage which is 14%. Texting, earning money and doing household chores are also the same percentage which is 2%. This survey shows that o nly few of the students spend their vacant time in studying and most of them are in front of their computer playing or surfing the net. Figure . Opinions of the students if study habits help them Figure 8 shows how many percent of the students are helped by their study habits. There are 80% of them answered â€Å"yes†, 6% said â€Å"no†, and 8% answered â€Å"maybe†.There are 4% of the respondents answered â€Å"not much† and 2% said â€Å"sometimes†. Study habits played a significant role in achieving good grades. The dependent variable, which is the academic performance of IT students, is really affected by the independent variables, which are the study habits. This elaborates that proper study habits lead to better understanding and achieving passing grades, while incorrect way of studying results to poor understanding and receiving failing grades. CONCLUSION To sum it up, majority of the students are affected by their study habits positively.Mo st of them passed during their midterm period and had a great improvement during the finals although a large percentage of the respondents are studying in 1 to 2 hours only. In this paper, the researchers have investigated the relationship of the two variables involved and found out that good study habits as the independent variable directly affect the academic performance of the students (Bagongon & Edpalina, 2009). This research also shows that every student has different studying styles. However, the findings do not imply that studying in a long period of time always esults to a better academic performance. Sometimes, a short period of time is enough to achieve a better academic performance provided that they are comfortable with the time, place, and strategy of studying. RECOMMENDATIONS The researchers would like to suggest to students to establish a good study habits which may help them attain good academic performances. Spending at least 2 to 3 hours in studying per day is rec ommended as an average amount of time for the students to study. In addition, this research advises to find a place where no one or nothing will distract them from studying; choose a omfortable time to study wherein, they will not get bored or tend to sleep; apply some strategies on how they will be able to understand their lessons; and also spend their vacant time in a productive way. Following this will help students manage good academic performances. For other personnel who will perform a study on the same field and will use this paper as their guide, the researchers would like to suggest that they improve and know other possible method of data gatherings; construct a framework for better outputs; and to study very well the factors that affect the academic performance of the students and relate them to each other.REFERENCES Bagongon, C. K. & Edpalina, C. R. (2009). An example of a research paper. Retrieved July 28, 2012, from scribd. com Web site: http:www. scribd. com/doc/118222 91/example-of-a research-paper Purdue Online Writing Lab (1995). Guide of APA style of writing. Retrieved August 5, 2012, from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/07/ The Coastal Researchers Group (2010). A survey about how many hours do you study per day. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://forums. studentdoctor. net/showthread. php? t=704431 Sigafoos, S. (2005). The bad effects of listening to music while studying. eHow: Discover the xperts in you. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from ehow. com Website: http://www. ehow. com/info_8767350_bad-effects-listening-music-studying. html Donnell, L. (1999). Mind and the brain. Brain and mind: Mind behavior. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://www. cerebromente. org. br/n15/mente/musica. html Palm Beach Community College (2008). Reviews on related literature. Retrieved from August 28, 2012, from Web site: http:www. scribd. com/doc/11822291/example-of-a-research-paper Conjecture Corporation (2003). Is group study more efficien t than independent study? Wise Geek: Clear answers for common questions.Retrieved August 30, 2012, from wisegeek. com Website: http://www. wisegeek. com/contest/is-group-study-more-efficient -than-independent-study. htm Singal, A. (2012). Study skills: Choose a good study area. Power to Change: Students. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://powertochange. com/students/academics/studydorm/ Far Eastern University – East Asia College (2010). Grading System of FEU – East Asia College. Student Handbook. (rev. ed. ) p. 18 – 19. Benfield, G. , Ramanau, R. , & Sharpe, R. (2009). Student learning technology use: preferences for study and contact. Brookes eJournal of Learning and Teaching, 2(4).

East of Eden Essay

East of Eden deplores many religious matters, specifically, the concepts of sibling rivalry and the age old battle between good and evil. In the biblical Book of â€Å"Genesis,† the brothers Cain and Abel offer God â€Å"the father† a sacrifice. God favors the shepherd Abel’s sacrifice of his best lamb over the farmer Cain’s grain. Subsequently, in a Jealous rage, Cain kills his brother Abel, only to be marked by God and banished to wander the earth. Stanford dropout, John Steinbeck applies the story of Genesis heavily in East of Eden; the concepts of this iblical allusion are evident in both generations of brothers. In each generation, one of the Trask brothers is moral and good while the other brother behaves badly and immorally, already we see how the Trask family parallels â€Å"Genesis. † Because the good Trask brothers are favored, the bad Trask brothers develop envious tendencies and a recurrent theme of sibling rivalry appears throughout the book. The first generation of Trask brothers, Charles and Adam, follow the Cain and Abel biblical model from the very beginning. â€Å".. it’s awful not to be loved. It’s the worst thing in the world†¦ t makes you mean, and violent, and cruel. † (Steinbeck 347). This quote epitomizes the root of all evil in the Trask generations- lack of recognition to one of the sons. When their deadbeat father Cyrus favors Adam’s birthday gift of a puppy over Charles’ expensive knife, Charles nearly beats Adam to death. Although Charles does not kill Adam, he is a clear allusion to Cain. While Adam wanders the Earth in the army, it is Charles who remains on the farm, where like Cain, he becomes marked with a dark brown scar. Adam therefor, is reflected as Abel. â€Å"Humans are caught†in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too†in a net of good and evil. † (127). This quote is a clear representation of the Adam and Charles relationship throughout the novel. The incident that occurred over a simple birthday gift sparked a Jealous rage that caused Charles and Adam to remain at odds with each other throughout their entire lives despite their love for each other. The next generation of Trask brothers, the dark haired Cal and fair-haired Aaron, also carry out the dynamics of the Cain and Abel tale. Cal’s Jealousy towards Aron is due to the favoritism that Aron receives from their father Adam; this is especially seen through an episode that resulted in Aarons death. For some reason, Adam favors Aron over Cal and when Cal offers his father a birthday present of $1 5,000 to help him recover his financial losses, Adam scorns him for making the money during a war-time economy. In a rage, Cal takes his brother to isit the notorious prostitute that birthed the two boys. Emotionally traumatized, Aaron runs away to the army during World War l, and dies soon after. Cal lies to Adam when asked about ‘Aaron’s whereabouts. â€Å"Where is he? † â€Å"How do I know? † said Cal. â€Å"Am I supposed to look after him? (p. 562). This sequence between Cal and Adam portrays the emotional barrier between the two that seems to bring out the untruthfulness in Cal that reflects his ancient parallel, Cain. Thus, the biblical tale plays out with Cal, although inadvertently, killing his brother. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a the concept of timshel. While psychologically shattered Adam reminisces over Cathy, Lee and Samuel share philosophical discussions over the ancient Hebrew word â€Å"timshel. † Timshel defies the pattern in the Cain and Abel tale, rather than condemning the less favored brother to a life of sin it pursues the issue of free will and grants Cal the strength to depart from the inherently bound evil motives that ossessed him at an early age.