Values for Children Essay Example for Free

Values for Children Essay Values for children is a very broad and controversial topic. There are many, myself included, that believe that our values come from God. I do understand that the same values can be taught without the use of God’s name, but I feel they lose something. Teachers with good values make an impact on students at every level. I know my most influential teacher does. I hope to one day as good of a teacher as she was. The values that I believe each educator needs to give a child what they most deserve are love and flexibility If a teacher loves her students, she wants to make sure that they are getting everything that they need, such as meals, clothing, and cleanliness. Whether it is from their parents or finding the family the help that they need to provide for the child. Love also gives patience and respect to those students that don’t understand a concept. These are exemplified in the philosophy of St James Preschool Program: PHILOSOPHY At St. James Catholic Preschool we will provide a safe, loving atmosphere where children can develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, creatively, socially, and spiritually. We will provide opportunities to learn in many different developmentally appropriate ways. We are a Catholic Christian Preschool, and will provide opportunities to learn to appreciate all of God’s creations. We will learn about God through song, prayer, and day-to-day activities. We will strive to instill a positive self-image in each child, and will gently guide him/her in making good choices. We want your child’s first school experiences to be positive ones, and will always make this our number one priority. From the St. James Preschool Handbook Flexibility, or an ability to go with the flow, is an asset to any teacher, especially when working with young children. Planning your day around little ones is very hard to do. Everything takes longer than normal and if a child has made up their mind not to do something it will take twice as long. Being flexible gives a teacher the ability to see around the problem and make adjustments to the schedule or activities of the day to accommodate the  children’s needs. Mrs. Linda Goesche was my Kindergarten teacher. She was amazing. I was small and young for a kindergartner. She worked with me and my parents to try to get me ready to move on to First Grade, but I just wasn’t ready. She came to my house and met with my parents and I. She did her very best to explain to me why I couldn’t move on with my class. I was very upset by this as most children would be, but by the time I finished my second year of kindergarten I was over it and not struggling to keep up. Actually, I was very blessed, I didn’t struggle much during the rest of my school career. I believe that Mrs. Goesche’s love for me and all of her students made her an exemplary teacher. I love kids. I didn’t know how much until I started to volunteer at my daughter’s school. I want to make their day better, to teach them something new, and to watch the look of discovery on their faces when they get it. My biggest struggle will come with flexibility. I like to do things on a schedule and get them done so I can move on to the next thing. With children that isn’t an option. You have to move at their pace and do things on their level. I know that I have a lot to learn, but I can’t wait to get started.

Perfection According to Mayrs What is Evolution :: What is Evolution Essays Mayr

Perfection According to Mayr's What is Evolution In his book titled What is Evolution, Ernst Mayr bravely attempts to explain the complex biological processes of the development of plants and animals. His book, however, reaches beyond the realm of the science text book. With What is Evolution he attempts to educate an audience which may not have a strong science background but instead a strong literary background. Through this book Mayr strives for "a mid-level account of evolution, written not just for scientists but for the educated public." In short, he attempts to write a (non-fiction) scientific novel. Though his attempt to combine great literature and hard science is admirable he often gets himself into awkward situations when trying to please both the scientific and artistic sensibilities. His major problem in the book surrounds the use of the word "perfect." As a biologist, it may be easy to pass this word off as a synonym of "adaptedness," simply meaning well-suited to one's environment. As a literary-minded person, let al one English major, however, this word cannot slip by so easily. To the novel-reader, more than to the science-reader, this word carries a lot of baggage which cannot be ignored. So, why does Mayr use this word and what is he really trying to say? Does Mayr truly believe that evolution can be perfect? The baggage that gets snared when Mayr uses the word "perfect" in his discussions of evolution is the complicated literary definition given to this word. Exact and flawless are some common synonyms of the word perfect. Perfection is something that has reached the pinnacle, the zenith of existence. Nothing which is perfect needs any alterations, modifications or changes. When something is perfect it exists with ease. It does not struggle to remain where it is, and it does not struggle to remain alive; it works in harmony with its environment. Going beyond the definition, something that is perfect is commonly more highly valued than those things around it which have not yet reached perfection. People place a certain amount of value on things that occur with ease. The human race seems constantly to be striving for something that is faster, cleaner. Something that can achieve these goals with ease earns the title of perfection and is highly. The only problem with perfection, as least in the realm of science, is that once the peak of perfection is reached there is no place towards it can further develop.

Principles and Theories of ethics Essay

In their quest to seek for solutions on ethical issues, human beings have constantly been formulating theories. These theories form an important point from where any investigation should be launched. As people invent new ideas or even improve on the current existing ideas, more challenges and complications come up. This has been observed in the modern world where scientific advancement has seemed to dominate in every field of knowledge. Among these fields of scientific inventions is the medical field which many people have believed to reduce the mortality rate and at the same time increased the life expectancy among many people in the world. Despite all these, fertility rate has seemed to reduce among the people while the terminal illnesses have been rapidly increasing. It is this reason that many doctors and medical practitioners have joined hands to look for long lasting solutions to these problems. Some of these solutions have been unearthed, which include the use of stem cells in treating patients with these problems. This has however raised many questions especially on issues concerning ethical justifications. This paper therefore examines two of such works that were carried out by Dr Shroff and Dr. Kerkis as reported in articles entitled ‘mice have been used to make human sperm’ and ‘Stem cell treatment lets Aussie breathe’ respectively. (http://www. news. com. au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23768047-5012754,00. html ; http://search. news. com. au/search? us=ndmperthnow&sid=5012760&as=NEWS. WORLD. CANDSAMERICA&ac=TST&q=Mice%20to%20replace%20men%20as%20sperm%20donors ) According to Rainbow C, there exist four principles of ethics. These include; least harm, justice beneficence and respect for autonomy. According to the principle to the principle of least harm, it is prudent to make a choice that will harm the least number of people. The choice made should also result to the least harm to the people involved. In the modern world, there are so many men who are willing to have children but unable because their sperms are not viable. According to the research, there is still hope for couples who experience such problems. The use of mice in production of human sperms therefore adheres to the principle of least harm and thus justices the use of mice in production of viable human sperms. The extraction of the dental pulp from teeth is however harmful but there harm is less as compared to the inability of a man to produce viable sperms. (http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm ) The principle of justice on the other hand encourages actions that are fair to the concerned. Such a decision should be consistent and based on logic unless justified otherwise by existence of justified extenuating circumstances. In the case of mice and human sperm cells production, it should be noted that the men are first given the opportunity to try their best to get children in the natural way. Professional medical practitioners who exploit any other alternative of dealing with such a situation confirm their inability. The couples are finally given the chance to choose what is good for them and thus the use of mice is only for those who are willing. This therefore adheres to the principle of justice. Dr Kerkis has also made it clear that she first used stem cells from dental pulp that was extracted from ‘a male donor’. It therefore means that the process is justified by the adhearing to the principle of justice since the consent of the concerned was first sought. (http://www. lancs. ac. uk/fss/resources/ethics/theories. htm ; http://www. trinity. edu/cbrown/intro/ethical_theories. html) According to beneficence principle, people must do all that is seen to be good. Just like the utility principle, it is always advisable to maximize what is good and minimize the evil. It is very true to say that the greater the amounts of good that people do, the more the benefits. According to this principle, production of viable human sperm cells by mice will do well to those who are unable. Apart from improving the psychological health of the concerned, it will also strengthen family bonds that may otherwise be weakened by the inability to get children especially in those communities where children are highly valued as an important ingredient in a happy marriage. (http://www. trinity. edu/cbrown/intro/ethical_theories. html ) According to the principle of respect for autonomy, it is very important to ‘allow people to reign over themselves and to be able to make decisions that apply to their lives ’. This is based on the fact that only an individual can understand why he/she chooses a particular lifestyle. Since every human being must be respected, any decision, especially that which involves intimate issues, must come from him. In order to do so, he must get enough information in the consequences and finally, his consent must be obtained. The reason is because every human being has hisher emotions and motivations that heshe understands from hisher own life experiences. It is the right for every person to lead a life style that he she actually enjoys in which the control over it is vested in hisher decision. It is however important to realize that there exists two perspectives of autonomy respects; paternalists and libertarians views. According to paternalistics, ‘an authority prioritizes a dependent person’s best interests over the dependent person’s wishes’. In the case of mice and human sperms, since the man is aware of his inability to produce viable sperms even though he may wish to have children, he has the freedom to choose to live without them. If he decides so and realizes more satisfaction without the children than using mice to produce viable sperms, he becomes libertarian. When his wife and medical practitioner convinces him to use mice to get children, the principle of autonomy is violated and he becomes a paternalistic since his wish may not be based on the use of mice in producing the viable sperms even though his interest is to get children. Libertarian perspective is therefore observed when the person’s wish is prioritized over hisher best interest. The person maintains hisher autonomy over hisher decision. (Allan J. Kimmel, 1988, pp. 42) In the case of stem cells treatment for the paralyzed man is Australia, the principle of least harm is violated since the extraction of the embryonic stem cells will cost the life of the unborn child irregardless of whether the concerned woman’s consent was given or not. Human life ideally begins after fertilization and it is wrong to deprive the unborn of its right to live in favor of a person who has already had the chance to be born. If such actions were to be encouraged, many people will never live to be born and this will cause more harm than treating the paralyzed people especially if Dr Shroff’s vision is to be realized as expressed by her hopes â€Å"her technology would be made available around the world to patients suffering from incurable diseases and terminal conditions. † Dr Shroff’s technology also contradicts the principle of justice. The fact that there are many incurable diseases and terminal conditions that may be cured using embryonic stem cells does not justify the act of depriving the unborn the right to life. It will therefore be an act of injustice to deprive the unborn of their right to life. The only extenuating circumstance should be when the woman’s pregnancy threatens the life of both the unborn and its mother. The doctor’s advice should be sought and any alternative exploited before the decision to terminate the pregnancy and donate the embryonic stem cells is arrived. It should be realized however that this would result to paternalistic autonomy. Dr Shroff’s technology will also violate the principle of beneficence. This is because the embryo will not benefit in any way from the act of donating its stem cells. The embryo itself cannot give permission to donate the stem cells. The principle of autonomy is not spared either. The patient may enjoy a paternalistic autonomy but the embryo, which is indeed a human being does not have autonomy to decide on whether to donate the stem cells or not . For a person to make any sound decision on any issue, the principles however form the basis of ethical themes. According to rainbow C, there are five major ethical theories. These include virtual ethical theory, deontological theory, casuist theory and utilitarianism ethical theory. (http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm ) According to virtual ethical theory, a person is not judged through his/her actions but through his/her character. An action may not necessary indicate a persons normal behavior since behavior and action are normally conflicting. It is however important to observe an individual’s reputation, motivation and morals while making any judgment on any behavior that may seem to be unusual, irregular or unethical. It should however be observed that any individuals change of character is not put into consideration in this theory. This theory justifies the use of embryonic stem cells in the treatment of paralyzed patients. The assumption is that the doctors and the medical practitioners who actually carry out the process of extracting and injecting the stem cells into his/her victims body are people who are trusted and socially approved by the members of the community. Their character justifies their actions and thus they should not be questioned about what they do as long as a patient’s life is saved. The act of extracting the embryonic stem cells cannot be used to prove the doctor as guilty of murder as long as his/her record of accomplishment in this profession of medicine is clean. According to Rainbow C, the society’s rights are ethically correct and must be protected and prioritized while making any decision. All societies’ rights are ethically valid because the majority in any society endorses them. Those who have the power and resources may bestow rights upon people. The society is therefore responsible for deciding on what should be considered as a society is right. The issue of mice producing viable human sperm cells may not be welcomed by many societies. This is because many people do not think that human beings and animals especially the mice can share sperm cells. A child produced by such sperms may be isolated from the other people and this may cause more suffering and harm to it than good. Termination of human life is also unacceptable in the society. This is evident in countries where Christianity is the dominant religion. If the use of contraceptives is criminalized in such societies, it is even worse to extract embryonic stem cells to treat paralyzed people or even those with terminal illnesses. In such societies, everybody has the right to live and those people who are already born should seek medication incase of any ailment but not to destroy a life in order to save themselves. (http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm ) According to deontological theory, people’s obligation and duties that have been assigned to them should guide them in the process of solving ethical dilemmas. By so doing, the person is believed to have done what was ethically correct. Doctors should help sick people. In this case, sickness refers to any abnormal functioning or dysfunctional of any body organ. Those people who cannot produce viable sperm cells should seek medical attention and the doctors have a duty and obligation to ensure that such people can get children. The theory therefore justifies Dr Kerkis and Dr Shroff’s actions. It is a doctor’s obligation to ensure that all incurable diseases and terminal conditions are adequately dealt with. The casuist ethical theory is based on the assumption that the current dilemma in question can be successfully solved in a similar way to previously solved dilemmas. This theory therefore compares the current ethical problem with past and similar ethical dilemmas that were successfully solved. It therefore justifies Dr Kerkis and Dr Shroff’s actions since their previous works as medical practitioners have been reported to bare good fruits. It however fails to acknowledge that a similar ethical dilemma may not have been witnessed before. (http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/505222_2 ; http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm ) The utilitarianism ethical theory supports any choice that produces the most benefit to most people. Such a choice is seen to be ethically correct. This theory therefore foresees the outcome of an act and judges it based on the benefits that are likely to accrue. There are two types of utilitarianism. These include act utilitarian and rule utilitarianism. According to rainbow c, â€Å" In act utilitarianism, a person performs the acts that benefit the most people, regardless of personal feelings or the societal constraints such as laws. Rule utilitarianism, however, takes into account the law and is concerned with fairness. A rule utilitarian seeks to benefit the most people but through the fairest and most just means available. Therefore, added benefits of rule utilitarianism are that it values justice and includes beneficence at the same time† (http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm ) Two or more of these ethical theories should be combined in order to make the best ethical decision. For instance, I would solve Dr Kerkis dilemma by applying utilitarianism ethical theory, rights ethical theory and casuist ethical theory. I would also solve Dr Shroff’s ethical dilemma by applying rights ethical theory, utilitarianism ethical theory and virtue ethical theory. (http://courses. cs. vt. edu/~cs3604/lib/Ethics/notes. html ) Conclusion All the ethical theories have common goals that must be achieved for them to be successful. These common goals are the previously discussed ethical principles. It is important to realize that different points are emphasized by the theories that help people to arrive at a decision that is ethically correct. Different people usually use ethical theories in a different way depending on their individual experiences. The theories and principles of ethics lay a good foundation of analyzing actions since they guide people in making ethical decisions. This means that whether Dr Kerkis and/or Dr Shroff are justified or not to proceed with their work or not depends on which principle as well as the ethical theory an individual bases his /her ethical analysis. References Rainbow C, Descriptions of Ethical Theories and Principles, [Retrieved] 8th August, 2008, [From] http://www. bio. davidson. edu/people/kabernd/Indep/carainbow/Theories. htm Lancaster University, Ethical theories [Retrieved] 4th August, 2008. [From] http://www. lancs. ac. uk/fss/resources/ethics/theories. htm Ethical theories compared http://www. trinity. edu/cbrown/intro/ethical_theories. html relations between utilitarian, deontological, and Aristotelian ethical theories Lawrence M. Hinman, Introduction: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory Excerpted from: Lawrence M. Hinman, Contemporary Moral Issues, 2nd ed. (Prentice-Hall, 1999). Ethical theories [Retrieved] 1st August 2008, [From] http://courses. cs. vt. edu/~cs3604/lib/Ethics/notes. html Ethical Theories, Principles, and Decision-Making Models, [Retrieved] 3rd August, 2008 [From] http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/505222_2 Allan J. Kimmel, 1988, Ethics and Values in Applied Social Research: Ethics and Values in Applied Social Research, SAGE. Stem cell treatment lets Aussie breathe http://www. news. com. au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23768047-5012754,00. html Perth now Sunday times, July 7th, Mice to replace men as sperm donors http://search. news. com. au/search? us=ndmperthnow&sid=5012760&as=NEWS. WORLD. CANDSAMERICA&ac=TST&q=Mice%20to%20replace%20men%20as%20sperm%20donors

Essay on National Missile Defense - 4089 Words

National Missile Defense Historical Perspective On March 23, 1983, through a nationally televised address to the nation, then President Ronald Reagan envisioned a †Star Wars† defense system to replace the existing element of mutual deterrence between the two Cold War superpowers. The system calls for a high-tech impenetrable ballistic missile shield for the United States. The speech marks the birth of the Strategic Defense Initiative1 (SDI). It came about when the Soviets then had numerical advantage over the United States in ballistic missiles that are increasingly accurate and powerful. In fact, the Soviets has the ability to overwhelm the United States missiles on the ground should a conflict ever occur. Arms race is a†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately, some of these nations are not in concert with the goals and vision United States has for world peace. In fact, they oppose United States’ growing influence in their region and view the presence of United States an obstacle to f ulfilling their own regional agenda. They harbor anger and contempt towards the United States for its role. Furthermore, today’s environment provides increasing accessibility to technology, information and expertise to design, build and deliver weapons of mass destruction that can threaten our security. There exists an immediate need to address our nations capability to defend itself competently in the event of a missile attack from these nations. The recent years has also seen the emergence of many groups that embrace terrorism. The world witnessed in pure anger the events of September 11, 2001. Also, mindless suicidal bombings on streets and shopping malls full of innocent civilians constantly filled our news. These acts underscore the undivided intent of groups to disrupt world peace at any cost. Accordingly, these groups have expressed interest in acquiring chemical, biological or nuclear capabilities to further enhance their ability to terrorize. Their indiscriminate use of these new abilities threatens our interest at home and aboard. In 1999, then President Clinton signed into law The National Missile Defense Act of 19992 that allowed the United States to deploy a National Missile Defense (NMD) when technologicallyShow MoreRelatedThe Need for a National Missile Defense Program in the United States1146 Words   |  5 PagesThe Need for a National Missile Defense Program in the United States Several hundred Soviet, nuclear tipped, ballistic missiles streak towards the United States without any form of opposition or challenge to their impeding destruction. The result of a situation like this would be no doubt disastrous, but it is a situation that could very well take place if the United States does not install a national ballistic missile defense program. 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