why barbarossa was expected essays

why barbarossa was expected essays Why was the German invasion of Russia to be expected? On June 22, 1941, the armies of Nazi-Germany stood on a two thousand kilometer long Front, preparing to attack Soviet-Russia. The inevitable assault on Russia was to finally satisfy an obsession of Adolph Hitler, the Nazi Fhrer. As for Joseph Stalin, the knowledge that three million men were standing on his front step about to break down his door should have come as no surprise. One of a number of acts by Hitler that should have alerted Stalin to possible invasion was the signing of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact. The Fhrer signed simply to give his armies time to further prepare for war. Hitlers history of pact breaking, as demonstrated by the absolute dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles and his disregard for the non-aggression pact with Poland was indication enough that Hitler could not be trusted. In addition, as Germany absorbed more and more land it should have become obvious to Stalin that the next move on the part of the Nazis would be in the direction of Russia. Hit lers long standing desire for Russias industries and agricultural lands as part of his belief in lebensraum or living space, had been public knowledge since he wrote Mein Kampf some seventeen years before. The Fhrers obsession did not end at lebensraum though; his anti-Communist feelings were an important indicator of his desire to obliterate the degenerate Slavs and their Communist government. When Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact, he was at a point of almost desperation. He had tried again and again to convince Britain and France to open a second front and all he had received was a few mild mannered brush-offs. So instead of a second front he got a promise from the one person he was afraid of, that Russia would not be invaded. But what Stalin failed to see was the Hitler had no intension of keeping his promise. Hitler had a lo ...

How to Help Kids Learn Digraphs in Spelling and Sounds

How to Help Kids Learn Digraphs in Spelling and Sounds Digraphs are two letters that make a third letter sound, when combined, such as ch or sh. Many sight vocabulary words use digraphs, which may provide a springboard for exploring these letter pairs when helping students learn to read new and unfamiliar vocabulary.   When considering a spelling program and how to best help children learn the sounds of the English language, you will need to choose words that help them understand all of the 44 sounds. Part of those 44 sounds include the digraphs. It is also important to distinguish letter digraphs from letter blends, which are letters commonly paired whose individual sounds are created in concert, such as sl, pl, pr, sr, etc.  Often, children with disabilities have difficulty hearing and distinguishing letter blends, but consonant digraphs are easier because even the voiced and unvoiced digraphs (th) are made in the same way, with tongue placement in the same place. Often, students who have problems with identifying and/or hearing digraphs are also struggling with hearing (hard of hearing) or articulating (apraxia) the letter sound.  Students with these difficulties should be referred to audiologists or speech-language pathologists for assessment and/or services. The consonant digraphs are: ch, sh, th, ng (final sound) ph, and wh. Strategies for Teaching Common Words With Digraphs Introducing the Sound Use decodable books with consonant digraphs to introduce the sounds.  Use picture cards (chew, chop, chin, etc.)  to introduce the sounds.Use a double ch letter card with other letter cards to build words.  Have students build the same words with an individual pocket chart. Practicing the Sound Word Sorts:  Put lots of words with paired initial sounds in squares.  Have them cut out the words and paste them under the consonant digraph, i.e. chs include chip and ship, shop and chop.   Sounds Sound: ch as in chew Initial ch sound:  chew, chop, chips, choice, chance, chain, champ, chase, cheer, cheek, cheat, chase, chalk, choose Final ch sound: touch, each, reach, coach, ditch, ouch, beach, teach, ditch, lunch Sound: sh like in shy or rush Initial sh:  shadow, shade, shine, shop, shell, shout, shrub, shut, share, shower Final sh:   push, rush, fresh, wish, wash, fish, dish, trash, ash, rash Sound: the unvoiced th as in this the, then, they, there, their, this, them, these, that, though Sound: the voiced th as in thin thin, think, thick, thank, theft, thumb, tooth, truth, with, width Sound: wh as in why why, where, what, when, while, wheel, white, which, wheat, whistle Final Sound ng as in ring sing, sang, wing, bang, clang, bong, dung, sung, mung, clung, cling Sound:  ph as in phone Phillip, phantom, phonics, phase, phlox

Effects of Food Pricing on Low and Middle Class Americans Essay

Effects of Food Pricing on Low and Middle Class Americans - Essay Example There is a growing the consensus about food prices increase, has been primarily occasioned by three key elements. Firstly, the changes in climatic conditions have been blamed for decreasing farmer's production in the United States. Because of global warming and environmental degradation, the extreme weather conditions have resulted in poor harvest due to reduced rains, harsh snowy conditions that destroy crops and inhibit dairy production in the North America. Consequently, food prices have continued to rise due to fundamental shifts in demand and supply in global markets. The increase in genetically modified foods has resulted in an increase of prices due to expensive technology employed. Besides, many food-processing companies have laid down expensive groundwork leading to high prices of canned food items (French, 841S). In America’s social life, the lower-middle class families are struggling just as the families living in poverty since they cannot be able to afford sufficient diet meals due to increasing pricing on such commodities. With the families not able to purchase enough food for the entire family, it results in food insecurity. Food security is widespread in any American societies living in lower-middle class and who have children (Grossmann and Varnum, 81). Since food price is an essential determinant of diet, it is then likely that these families are unable to feed on balance diet, and their nutritional status is compromised. It is not surprising that these families are only able to access, and buy lowest cost diets and these diets are the least unhealthy in the market. With high food prices in the market, such families are not able to meet their costs hence fail to buy the nutrients dense diets that they need. In the market, the diets that are composed of low energy density rich food products are expensive compared to the ones composed if refined grains with added sugars and fats (Powell and Chaloupka, 229). The increase in food pricing thus creates a barrier for the lower-middle income class of American citizens to access the nutrients dense diets.  

Charateristics of the Gifted Learner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Charateristics of the Gifted Learner - Essay Example The discourse presented by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) defines gifted students according to one which is stipulated in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to wit: â€Å"Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities† (National Association for Gifted Children, 2008, par. 1). With manifested innate and extraordinary talents and skills, these gifted students need academic interventions that would further develop their capabilities to maximum levels. In this regard, the current essay would use two constructive and two non-constructive characteristics of the Gifted Learner from the graphic organizer and provide definitions of the characteristics and a discussion of their impact on instruction. ... Constructive Characteristics Gifted learners have generally manifested characteristics which could be grouped according to: â€Å"(a) the diversity of areas in which performance may be exhibited (e.g., intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, academic), (b) the comparison with other groups (e.g., those in general education classrooms or of the same age, experience, or environment), and (c) the use of terms that imply a need for development of the gift (e.g., capability and potential)† (Johnsen, 2006, par. 6). From among the constructive characteristics of gifted learners, two would be expounded in the current paper: (1) they may show keen powers of observation and a sense of the significant; they have an eye for important details; and (2) they often have a large storage of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly. Keen powers of observation, the ability to sense the significant details and possessing an eye for important details fall under exem plary intellectual ability. Appendix A shows details of general intellectual abilities of gifted learners which are products of diverse researches from different scholars. From the list enumerated by Johnsen (2006), the following parallels showing keen powers of observation and focus on significant and important details, in addition to their ability to store and recall large amounts of information: Has an extensive and detailed memory, particularly in an area of interest. Is able to identify the important characteristics of new concepts, problems. Has a broad base of knowledge—a large quantity of information. Understands abstract ideas and complex concepts. Observes relationships and sees connections. Works conscientiously and has a high degree of concentration in areas of interest.

Are Teen Age Years The Best Essay Example for Free

Are Teen Age Years The Best Essay Are Teenage year the best of your life? The teenage years are considered the best years of your life that is what magazine. Im going to tell you why they are not. First you are always looked at to succeed by your parents, the lack of freedom we get and last but not least we are considered lairs and criminal among todays society. One of the disadvantages of being a teenager is that we are always looked to succeed in school so you can do and be better then them. They also say if we fool around the future for us is going the extinguished. Other disadvantage of being a teen is the lack of freedom we get. Sure we might live in a free country but are we all free? The freedom that Im talking about is staying up late, working and school. Staying up late I dont know about you but I have to get home before my parents I cant even be in front of my house to the wee hours of the morning. Working is another one we another one we cant work on weekdays because my Dad says it will effect my school work how will he know if he doesnt give it a chance. School is the worst of all we cant even wear earrings because its not part of the uniform I understand that but the shaving is just stupid how could you order someone to do something that comes in naturally. It is like telling someone you have to get a hair cut every week. Its violating our freedom of expressing. The worst part of being a teenager is that we are considered lairs and criminals among our society. For example if a bunch of teens walk into a variety store the owners automatically think we are going to rob them but the only thing we want is a little snack. The other thing is lying adults never believe teens why you ask? I dont really know. For example a teacher and a student get into an argument and its the teachers fault the principle is going to believe the teacher because they dont tell lies. So with the facts that I just stated that is why I have to say the teenage years are not what people say they are.

Symbols and Symbolism in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Heart Dar

Symbols and Symbolism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Symbolism has long been a tool of the storyteller, finding its origins in the folklore of our earliest civilizations. In more recent years, however, symbolism has taken on a new role, forming the skeleton upon which the storyteller builds the tales of his or hers thoughts and adventures. Knowing the power of this element, Joseph Conrad uses symbols to help the reader explore dark interiors of men. The symbols become a vehicle that carry the audience from stop to stop, the ride becoming an evaluation of the darkness contained inside the hearts of mankind. Through the use of Dark Africa as an overpowering symbol, Conrad's Heart of Darkness tells a story that evaluates man's tendencies to fall back on barbaric methods when not protected by civilization.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As Marlow proceeded through the jungle towards the uncivilized world of Kurtz, he said, of the men they passed , "They passed me within six inches, without a glance, with that complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages"(Conrad, 80).   Marlow's advancements into the jungle, acted parallel with my discovery: In our deepest nature, all men are savages. Marlow connects with the very backbone in which constitutes Conrad's theme "The shade of the original Kurtz frequented the beside of the hollow sham, whose fate it was buried presently in the mold of primeval earth.   But both diabolic love and the unearthly hate of the mysteries it had penetrated fought for the possession of that soul satisfied with primitive emotions, avid of lying fame, of sham distinction, of all the appearances of success and power"(... ...his goals have not been met; he died and so did his society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marlow and Kurtz could be considered as two conditions of human existence, Kurtz representing what Man could become if left to his own intrinsic devices outside protective society. Marlow, then, representing a pure untainted civilized soul who has not been drawn to savagery by a dark, alienated jungle. According to Conrad, the will to give into the uncivilized man does not just reside in Kurtz alone. Every man has inside himself a heart of darkness. This heart is drowned in a bath of light shed by the advent of civilization. No man is an island, and no man can live on an island without becoming a brutal savage. Inside his heart lies the raw evil of untamed lifestyles. Work Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness, New York: Dover, 1990.

Moral achievements during adolescents Essay

The adolescent period is marked by a number of physical and emotional changes for individuals. During this period, an individual strives to move from the identity that is dependent on parental and societal influence in to one that is determined by the individual. The purpose of this paper is to review the moral developments during this period of identity formation, and whether it is an entirely free process. To do this, the paper will rely on selected literature to study the various dimensions related to the issue. Introduction One of the hallmarks of adolescence is the search for identity. At this stage of human development, the individual attempts to cultivate a personal identity that will act as the basis for person’s future life. Consequently, this stage is mostly marked by defiance and general non conformity, which happens as one tries to explore practices that are not necessarily in line with both societal and familial norms and expectations. Although important, the search for identity may be a source of discord between an individual and the family or society. The discord may become a source of antagonism between the individual and the society, but more importantly, it may lead to a realization of moral consciousness for the adolescent. In the context of this paper, the word moral shall be taken to be what one perceives right or wrong based on personal conscience. In that regard, moral achievement refers to positive changes in conscience one undergoes during the adolescent period. The paper will be based on selected literature available on the subject. It is however worth noting that the subject under discussion is a multidimensional one, and for that reason, the paper will confine itself to those dimensions covered in the literature as a way of ensuring systematic coverage. The paper will study coping socialization agents, drug use, parental influence on school disposition and identity problems. These are some of the dimensions related to moral achievements. However, even though an individual is supposed to develop a personal identity during this period, the resulting identity is always influenced by external factors such as that from peers, societal and parental influence. Coping Coping refers to an individual’s ability to appropriately react to situations as they arise. Adolescents, like all the other human beings experience adjustments and extensive stressors. According to (Garcia, 2009), some of these stressors and adjustments include dealing with peer relationships, physical and emotional changes that an individual experiences during the period, family dynamics, poverty and crime. Proper coping means that the adolescents must be able to deal with these challenges with resilience and show positive health outcomes (Garcia, 2009). An adolescent achieves cognitive and moral development in a set of three stages. According to (Garcia, 2009), these stages are assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. In addition to these strategies, the adolescent develops critical thinking and information processing, which enables for gradual development of the mind in an adult like thinking one. Guided by the newly acquired traits of critical thinking and information processing, the individual moves away from what they conceive as parental influence and set out to develop their own way of approaching life. At this stage the individual is torn between peer influences and conformity with parental expectations. According to (Garcia, 2009), a well coping individual should be able to develop a healthy identity, which is one developed by the individual as opposed to one imposed by peers or parents. An important element related to coping developed during the adolescent period is the coping strategy. Most prominent of these strategies, according to (Garcia, 2009) is problem solving or help seeking. In other words, during this period, the adolescent will develop coping strategies. In the study, (Garcia, 2009) undertook a study of literature related to the general subject of coping. The study identified coping as coping as one of the key pillars in the health of adolescents. The study found that unhealthy coping strategies lead to unhealthy mental health states such as depression and exhaustion. It is therefore important that during adolescence one develops appropriate coping strategies towards various stressors and adjustments. Religion, peer pressure and drug use These issues are related to search for identity. At this stage, the individuals experiment with new religions, try different types of drugs, which may all be a result of succumbing to influences from peers. According to a survey reported by (Bahr & Hoffman, 2008), 22% of youths admitted having used cigarettes, while another 45% had used alcohol, with another 30% reporting being drunk and 18% acknowledged using marijuana. This was a survey done on high school seniors, most or all of who are in the adolescent stage. The finding is a pointer to how life is volatile for the adolescent. (Bahr & Hoffman, 2008) further notes that there is a negative correlation between religiosity and drug use. In a way, the report endorses religion as a way of reducing drug use because youths with religious affiliations showed less affinity to drug use. To justify this correlation, the study uses social control theory. According to the theory, deviance is more of a natural act while conformity is not. It then follows that religiosity brings in prosocial controls that encourage individuals to conform. Without it, the individuals would follow their natural instincts, which would mean becoming defiant. The other theory used by the report is social learning theory. From the perspective of social learning theory, the religious groups take precedence over friends and family on matters concerning drug use so that instead of individuals picking this habit from them, they are taught by the church (Bahr & Hoffman, 2008). After establishing theories to explain correlations, the study of (Bahr & Hoffman, 2008) notes some control variables such as gender and race and then goes ahead to carry out a survey to validate the hypothesis. The result found a negative correlation on religion measured against cigarettes, heavy drinking and marijuana. The results on other illicit drugs were inconsistent and therefore inconclusive. From the study however, it clear that adolescents can, to an extent, be protected from drug use by being encouraged to take up religiosity. Socialization for adolescents Within an adolescent’s life, there are several agents of socialization. Among these are school, family, peer groups (friends) and community. (Arnon, Shamai, & Ilatov, 2008) did a research in which peer pressure was examined and its effects compared with those of the other agents such as family, school and community. The researchers’ decision to focus on peer influence is premised on the fact that as people approach adolescence, they tend to move away from parents, religious institutions and other official socialization institutions within the community. That therefore leaves peers as the most significant influences at this point because the youths will tend to spend more time with them at the exclusion of the other socialization agents. The study also relies on social theory to explain the influences of peer groupings. Although the study notes the negative influence of peers, it nevertheless notes that it is important for peers to move away from parents for them to develop an independent identity. What the study finds negative is the tendency of the peers to move from parental influence in to conformity towards peer expectations. The identity so obtained will not be a healthy one according to the earlier noted definition. From the study, it emerged that peer groups were the most influential followed closely by family. Other agents, notably school and community only provided secondary influence. It is therefore clear that adolescents submit themselves to be influenced by peers and other socialization agents. Taking in to account the context of this paper, one can conclude that an adolescent’s moral achievement will largely be dictated by the kind of socialization agents in play during the period. Identity problem symptoms in adolescents (Berman, Weems, & Petkus, 2009) defines identity disorder as the inability of an individual to accept aspect oneself. A person is deemed to an identity disorder if for one reason or another, the individual cannot accept certain or all aspects related to his persona. Consequently, the individual becomes predisposed to self denial leading to a form of distress, which may manifest itself in a number of ways. Some of the areas of concern related to this problem, as listed by (Berman, Weems, & Petkus, 2009), include career choice, sexual orientation, friendship and religious identification. The research underscores the importance of identity disorder by citing the fact that the problem is listed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) criteria for mental disorders. The importance of identity formation is identified by Erik Erikson as crucial process in young adults because it does provide one with a future direction while at the same time giving a sense of continuity from the past (Berman, Weems, & Petkus, 2009). Adolescent’s search for identity is characterized by two dimensions; exploration and commitment. The two dimensions can be combined by the individual differently so as to come up with differing identity statuses. For instance, one of the statuses is known as achievement. An individual with this kind of status has a high exploration and commitment tendencies. Such kinds of individuals tend to be less predisposed to identity disorders. The aim of the study was to show that trouble with identity fit the definition necessary for them to be termed as disorder. Currently, issues related to identity crisis are classified as problems and not disorder, and have consequently been downgraded within the DSM hierarchy. The downgrade is symbolic because the hierarchy is used by various medical stakeholders such as insurance companies and medical practitioners to determine priority in terms of coverage and treatment. The study found that 14. 3% of the sample met DSM IV criteria for identity problem (Berman, Weems, & Petkus, 2009). It goes to show that the current classification of the problem is unfair because it underestimates its effects. The study then attributes the rise in the identity problem to increased globalization and immigration, which has subsequently led to more clashes between different cultures and more confusion. Moral achievement in as far as identity formation is therefore dependent on how the youth is able to cope with the increase cultural diversity (or clashes) and globalization. Parental influence and its role in on student’s attitude towards school Parents have a role to play in influencing the attitudes children adopt towards schooling. (Annear & Yates, 2010) did a study on how parents influence the children’s disposition towards school. The study drew from a number of aspects of parenting related to schooling such as perceptions of a child’s potential, monitoring and control, level of affect and focus on a child’s ability. The study takes the view that authoritarian kind of parenting was likely to result in lower grades as opposed to parents who allowed their children to undergo the normal process of socialization. It refers to the authoritarian type of parenting as restrictive parenting while for the more liberal parenting, the term used in autonomy support. The study used a sample made up of both parents and students to come up with its findings. The only variable within the study was whether the parent in question was a mother or father. Generally, the study found that autonomy support to have favorable results both in terms of grades and disposition. Further to that, the study found additional side effects of restrictive parenting as sadness, depression and loneliness. Conclusion From the foregoing, it clear that extraneous factors are more responsible at determining an individual’s moral achievement during adolescents. Ultimately, an individual will be responsible for shaping the direction life will take after breaking free of childhood dependencies and parental influence. It however emerges from the paper that even as one breaks free of these influences in search of individual identity external influence is not extinguished, rather, it is just transferred from one entity to another. Implied here is the fact that freedom from childhood dependencies does not mean complete freedom. In an ideal situation, approaching adulthood would mean that one gets to chart the future devoid of external influences so that the individual can claim full credit for the personality developed thereafter. However, that postulation is invalidated by the paper. Theories such as social learning and social control theory would have no place in an adolescent’s world or an adult’s world was that assumption to hold water. This paper limited itself to the adolescent ages between 12 and 18 years, and may not have sufficient grounds to make any inferences concerning post adolescent life. However, this matter can also be extrapolated, to some extent. Given that individuals at adolescence have partially entered adulthood, it also follows that adolescent behavior is not far from adult behavior. For that reason, it is safe to assume that adult behavior will also be subject to influences from external sources, and especially, socialization agents. Bibliography Annear, K. D. , & Yates, G. C. (2010). Restricitve and supportive parenting: Effects in children’s school affect and emotional responses. The Australian Educational Researcher , 63-82. Arnon, S. , Shamai, S. , & Ilatov, Z. (2008). Socialization agents and activities of young adolescents. San diego: Libra publishers. Bahr, S. J. , & Hoffman, J. P. (2008). Religiosity, peers, and adolescent drug use. Journal of Drug Issues , 743-770. Berman, S. L. , Weems, C. M. , & Petkus, V. F. (2009). The Prevalence and Increamental Validity of Identity Problem Symptoms in a High School Sample. Child psychiatry and human development , 183-195. Garcia, C. (2009). Conceptualization and measurement of coping during adolescence: A review of the literature. Journal of Nursing scholarship , 166-185.