School Vouchers Essay -- Position Paper School Vouchers

School Vouchers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  School vouchers can be described as financial funding given to students who elect not to attend public schools. Therefore the government would not be spending money educating that student in a public school. A school voucher is the allotment of money that the government would have used for that student to attend public school. This money is then given to the family of the student to help fund the education of that student. This money cannot be used for anything other than education. There are many sides to take and many opinions to be had. It is very clear that the prospect of school vouchers is an issue to be debated. Some people feel that if they are not using the government’s form of education then they should be paid for not using it, in order to help finance other forms of education. On the other side of the issue, some people feel that school vouchers would be used in many cases to subsidize religious schools. This becomes a hot topic due to the separ ation of church and state. In short, does money not being used by a student belong to that student, and can it be used for a private, and sometimes religious, school. There are only two logical options to solve this dilemma of school vouchers. The first is that the government provides school vouchers to students not enrolled in the public school system. The second is that the government does not provide school vouchers to students not enrolled in the public school system. There are many stipulations that could be applied to both sides of the argument, but the bottom line remains the same. The government can either provide or not provide school vouchers. If the government should decide to provide school vouchers, there are both positive and negative aspects to that decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Considering that the United States government would grant school vouchers to students, there would be many positive gains. For instance, that choice would level the playing field, with regards to education, between low-income families and upper class families (Messerli). This would be accomplished by providing monetary funding to families of students that could not previously afford to attend an institution of private education. In turn, more students would be able to enroll in private schools. An increase in attendance at private schools would be a benefit to the whole of the education system. This ben... ...ios and variables presented, I would recommend that a nationwide voucher program be introduced. I feel that a voucher program’s benefits far outweigh the shortcomings. A voucher program would not only be beneficial to parents and students, but also to education as it stands today. Parents would benefit by basing their decisions about education on the worth of the school instead of on money. Students would benefit by having a choice between public and private school. Even students not involved in the voucher program would benefit, by smaller class sizes, more diversity, and better teaching due to competition between schools. Education as we know it today, both public and private, would benefit by having more choices, and would then be able to assist more students in reaching their educational goals. Bibliography Coulson, Andrew J. Should You Fear School Choice?. 22 Sep. 2004. Mackinac Center for Public Policy. 3 Jan. 2005. Helping state leaders shape education policy. 2004. Education Commission of the States. 3 Jan. 2005. Messerli, Joe. Balanced Politics. 2 Oct. 2003. 3 Jan. 2005. . The pros and cons in the school voucher debate. 2002. Pagewise, Inc. 3 Jan. 2005. .

“Natural Disaster Hotspots: A global risk Analysis”

Researchers from Columbia University, the World Bank, the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and other partners produced a report entitled â€Å"Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis† which presented a global view of areas highly prone to natural disasters and risks associated with such natural hazards. The aim of this report is to inform and design developmental efforts to reduce disaster related losses in the future by identifying high-risk geographic regions in the world. This report analyses the characteristics and location of risky hotspots for six major natural disasters like drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. According to report, more than half the world’s population i.e. about 3.4 billion people live in at least one hazard prone area, which could effect their lives miserably. These natural hazards cause innumerable deaths, sufferings and losses to the amount of billion of dollars every year throughout the world. The worst affected are the developing countries, which cannot absorb the huge cost associated with disaster relief, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction due to repeated disasters and thus gets caught in a poverty trap. World Bank provided emergency assistance to the amount US$ 14.4 billion to 20 countries from 1980-2003 as claimed in this report which has serious implications on the method of working of the World Bank. This startling statistics recommend the International development community to adopt the proactive and preventive approach to address the disasters before actually they hit to reduce the vulnerability of developing countries to natural hazards. This will also help in their mission of fighting poverty. Keeping in view the same objective, it also recommends that managing disaster risk should not be taken only as a humanitarian issue but also be an integral part of development planning of any nation. Information on Multi-hazard Risk management strategies, encouraging their implementation, promoting development of long-term plans and improving exchange of information at local, national, regional and global levels among organizations and individuals is supplied in this report. This report also summarizes the case studies, which this project undertook to exhibit methods to reduce vulnerability of the areas by adopting appropriate risk-sensitive strategies. In short, this report explicitly and scientifically explains the ways to manage natural hazards to reduce Poverty and vulnerability. In the words of Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, â€Å"The Natural Disaster Hotspots report is a path-breaking effort and a wonderful scientific accomplishment. I'm certain that it will prove to be a crucial tool and will stimulate further research in the area. Applying risk analysis to disasters such as earthquakes, drought, and other natural hazards using rigorous science will have huge benefits for policy-makers and for the world.† (Provention Consortium) Now, the need is to coordinate the efforts globally to focus on the areas at the highest risk of natural disaster and reduce their risks, which still remains uncoordinated. WORKS CITED 1.   Earth Institute News (March 29, 2005) Risk Analysis Reports Over Half of World’s Population Exposed to One or More Major Natural Hazards Retrieved on June 21, 2007 from W.W.W: http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2005/story03-29-05.html 2.Provention Consortium Activities: Identification and Analysis of Global Disaster Risk Hotspots Retrieved on June 21, 2007 from W.W.W: http://www.proventionconsortium.org/?pageid=32;projectid=15 ; ;

Louisia May Alccott

The story Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott is about the lives of the four March girls, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy, living with their mother in New England as their father is away serving as a chaplain in the Civil War. Even though the girls bicker like all siblings, they keep their loving home together as they wait for their father to return from the war. The sisters struggle to support themselves and keep their household running despite the fact that the family recently lost its fortune. In the process, they become close friends with their wealthy neighbor, Theodore Laurence, also known as â€Å"Laurie. Let me give an introduction of the 4 beautiful March girls. Margaret March also known as Meg is the oldest of the March sisters. She is pretty, simple, and interested in the finer things in life. Josephine March also known as Jo is the second oldest of the March sisters. She is a teenager just like Meg. She is tall and skinny, a tomboy who always says and does the wrong thing, very tal ented, good-hearted, and a good writer. Elizabeth March also known as Beth is the second youngest, she is a sweet music lover, and is a little artistic also.Beth is the only one without ambitions, whose only desire is to live at home with her parents and practice her music. She is almost to good to be real,loves doll collection and her many cats,and always has just the right kind word for any situation. Beth is so shy that she is unable to attend a public school and therefore gets her schooling at home. Amy is the youngest who intends to marry for money so she would be in the high society and have wealthy friends, expensive jewels, and expensive clothes. Amy is also a little selfish but very social,elegant,and spoiled.Those are the characteristics and personalitys of the 4 beautiful March girls. Each of the March girls have an imaginary â€Å"castle† for which she hopes, but each ends with a very different â€Å"future† than she would have imagined for herself. Like wh en Amy finally got the chance to fulfill her dreams, she turns it away and turning instead to Laurie to marry, her childhood friend. Turns out that Laurie's grandfather Mr. Laurence is wealthy and left his entire estate to Laurie. In the end all of the girls learned that no amount of wealth can bring more happiness than that of a close and loving family.But as the girls grow older, each faces her own personal demons and moral challenges. Jo, our beloved protagonist, must tame her tomboyish ways and learn to be more ladylike while pursuing her ambition to be a great writer. Meg, the oldest, must put aside her love of wealth and finery in order to follow her heart. Beth, the shy one, must conquer her bashfulness, while Amy, the youngest, has to sacrifice her aristocratic pride. The girls are guided in their personal growth by their mother, â€Å"Marmee,† and by their religious faith.The family's tight bonds are forever changed when Meg falls in love with John Brooke, Laurie's t utor. Meg and John marry and begin a home of their own, quickly populated by twins Daisy and Demi. Another marriage seems imminent when Laurie reveals to Jo that he has fallen in love with Jo' but Jo does not like him back in that same way. Then Laurie goes to Europe accompanied by his grandfather. He pursues his passion for music and tries to forget Jo. Then seperatly Amy travels through Europe with her wealthy Aunt Carroll and cousin Flo and nurturs her artistic talent.Jo goes to New York as the governess for a family friend, Mrs. Kirke, experiencing the big city and trying her hand as a professional writer. Only after Beth died Jo found the mixture of paths and heartfelt sincerity that enables her to write stories that have the publisher begging for more of the same. Jo's talent for writing develops in spurts, writing first innocent romances for a local paper, a novel that receives mixed reviews and finally â€Å"sensation† stories for a tabloid in NY. While in New York, J o meets German expatriate Professor Bhaer, whose intellect and strong moral nature spark her interest.Back in the States, Jo returns home to care for her bereaved parents and learns to embrace her domestic side. Across the Atlantic, Laurie and Amy discover that they lack the genius to be great artists, but that they make an excellent romantic pairing. After Beth, who has never been strong, dies young, Amy finally got the chance to fulfill her dreams, she turns it away and turning instead to Laurie to marry since the sorrow of their loss solidifies Amy's bond to Laurie. her childhood friend. Turns out that Laurie's grandfather Mr. Laurence is wealthy and left his entire estate to Laurie.But when All the loose ends are tied up as Jo and Professor Bhaer marry and start a boarding school for boys, while Amy and Laurie marry and use the Laurence family wealth to support struggling young artists. The Brooke, Bhaer, and Laurence households flourish, and the novel ends with a birthday party for Marmee, celebrating the extended March family connections and the progress of Jo's boarding school, Plumfield. In the end all of the girls learned that no amount of wealth can bring more happiness than that of a close and loving family.