My Future Goals and Why Essay Example for Free

My Future Goals and Why Essay My future goal is to obtain enough education for me acquire some of the skills I want to work with women and children that have been abused, either violently or sexually. One of my main reasons for enrolling In the Addiction Studies Program here at Peninsula College is because drugs and alcohol play a huge part in Domestic Violence and other forms of abuse among other things. I would like to open a unique center, where women and children could go for safety, and I would incorporate and introduce Art Therapy as one of the many tools one needs to heal in this life long process. see more:how to achieve my goals essay I strongly feel as a child, art helped me escape to a place that I needed to go to in troubled times. As an adult, just plain therapy was on the top of the list, as a different form of abuse crept into my life. To my amazement, art helped me escape to that same place I went to as a child in troubled times. I want to help others heal, and educate all so as to stop these painful cycles of abuse that many times can be foreseen or stopped, with just a little awareness and education, as in my own personal case. The education, Ive only just begun. Compared to what I’ll need to be an Art Therapist, Ill be going to college for the next 5 to 7 years. Personally, Im not sure I have it in me to go to school for that long. I’ve decided recently that Im not going to make my goals too high, so as not to set myself up for failure like I have done so many times in the past. I am almost done with the Addiction Studies program here at Peninsula College, and when finished, I will continue to take classes to finish my Associate of Arts degree. If I decide to pursue Art Therapy, I will seek a Bachelor’s and Masters degree at Antioch College in Seattle. The reality of it all is that Ill probably do an online program through Western College in Bellingham. I have also been considering going all of the way and get my CDP, because I’m interested in Trillium Treatment Center and what they offer. For now, I am all about just taking one day at a time and trying to get healthy again, I have suffered from depression, PSTD and anxiety most of my life, and it seems that the older I get, the harder it is to snap out of it. I am going to change my medication next week because the Cymbalta doesn’t seem to be working as well as it should. I am looking for work because I believe that it is good therapy and I need the extra financial help. I have not worked since 2009, due to surgery on both left and right hands. I have Carpal Tunnel still but not as bad as I did before, and I know that not working has contributed to the depression. I believe that staying enrolled in classes has kept me somewhat sane, although it has been a struggle at times. Currently I am in the process of filling out an application at Healthy Families. I think it would be a great place to get my foot in the door while working with the population that I want to work with. I also have the contact person at Trillium Treatment Center, so I need to find out what it will take to maybe get my foot in the door there. I feel that it would be important for me to pursue my CDP since I am so close to completing the Addiction Studies program, and completing this is detrimental to my current state of mind. In the past, I have always come so close to getting my degree, but for whatever reason, I never finish anything I start. One of the drawbacks I am currently experiencing is that I really need to get a job that pays something, even just a little. Another drawback is that I have something on my record that has previously just kept me from getting a job that I really wanted and felt that I was ready for. The bad thing is, is that there shouldn’t be anything on my record, but I took the charge just to get it over with. I have been way too trusting most of my life, and never would have thought that other people could be so devious in their actions. I have taken this as one in many life-long lessons that needs to be applied to my life. I know that I need to get out into the community more and network with more people, so I have signed up to volunteer for the Project Homeless Connect on March 30th. There will be a training session that I need to attend on March 27th or 28th, and I am very excited to be doing this, as I am kind of a homebody and don’t really go out much unless I have to. In order for me to make any kind of difference, not only in my life, but others, I need to commit to doing it. On that note, I need to take some bold steps in the direction that I want my life to move in. As I explore and develop some of my ideas about what I really value in my life, I can use these values as a sort of road map into my future. Each value that I have can be like a compass point by which I can chart the course of my life and start walking in that direction. This is basically a four-point process that constantly repeats itself through life: First point is to contract my alues, second is to develop my chosen goals that will help me move into a valued direction, third, is to take very specific actions that will allow me to achieve those goals, and fourth, I need to contact and work with my internal barriers to move towards action. To help me achieve this, I have taken the first action in obtaining and reaching my goals by Creating the Road Map: Setting Goals. In Chapter 12 of the ACT workbook, I had listed some of my values in order of importance, manifestation, and life-deviation scores. Now I will need to decide which of those values I want to work toward incorporating into my life right now. I know that ultimately I will work on all of these, but for now, I will choose only one. This will give me a good model in which to work from and follow for the other valued directions I will want to take. I am going for the middle-of-the-road in order of importance, because there are some barriers that I am not quite ready to take on, but I feel that if I can just get past a few, I can build up my mental strength and self-esteem. I read a quote in the workbook that I wrote down and posted in several places throughout my home. The quote says, â€Å"I just want to do this because that’s what I want my life to be about. It’s not really about any outcome. I want to be alive until I’m dead. † I guess I liked this because I do not feel like I am really living anymore. I do not do any of the things I used to do and I have become dependent upon one person, and that person is not me. In the past I have felt like the goals I set for myself was the true goal, but that really isn’t the case. I have chosen a short-term goal that is obtainable and will help me with some of my long-term goals also. I have already signed up to volunteer for the Project Homeless Connect on March 30th. I only need to go to one training session, and have a choice to do the one day training either on March 27th or 28th. For me, this is huge, this is something outside of my daily routine of school and home, but I have checked my goal for the following items: Is it practical? Is it obtainable? Does it work with my current situation? Does this goal lead me in the direction of my stated value? I answered yes to all of the above, so the only barrier I would face in not accomplishing this goal would be fear, sickness or pure laziness. I also believe that one of the problems that I suffer with is an issue with self-control. Avoidance and fusion feed this pattern of mine, which in essence, disrupt my life and make it nearly impossible to achieve any goals, whether they are short or long-term. I have decided that I need to make a commitment to myself and follow through with it. I need to break the old behavioral pattern that has doomed me ever since I can remember. I am tired of being a failure and giving up, tired of making a commitment, breaking that commitment, the quitting that commitment all together. I am going to work on setting my goals and following through for myself. I want to live my life, not just pass through it. I want to thank you for your commitment to us as students; I have to say that you are one of my favorite Instructors, although you are not easy, I appreciate that you make us try harder, and sometimes that is just what a person needs.

Government Intervention On The Internet Essay -- essays research paper

Government Intervention on the Internet During the last decade, our society has become based on the sole ability to move large amounts of information across great distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone's life in numerous ways. The natural evolution of computer technology and this need for ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global network allows a person to send E-mail across the world in mere fractions of a second, and allows a common person to access wealths of information worldwide. This newfound global network, originally called Arconet, was developed and funded solely by and for the U.S. government. It was to be used in the event of a nuclear attack in order to keep communications lines open across the country by rerouting information through different servers across the country. Does this mean that the government owns the Internet, or is it no longer a tool limited by the powers that govern. Generalities such as these have sparked great debates within our nation's government. This paper will attempt to focus on two high profile ethical aspects concerning the Internet and its usage. These subjects are Internet privacy and Internet censorship. At the moment, the Internet is epitome of our first amendment, free speech. It is a place where a person can speak their mind without being reprimanded for what they say or how they choose to say it. But also contained on the Internet, are a huge collection of obscene graphics, Anarchists' cookbooks, and countless other things that offend many people. There are over 30 million Internet surfers in the U.S. alone, and much is to be said about what offends whom and how. As with many new technologies, today's laws don't apply well when it comes to the Internet. Is the Internet like a bookstore, where servers can not be expected to review every title? Is it like a phone company who must ignore what it carries because of privacy; or is it like a broadcast medium, where the government monitors what is broadcast? The problem we are facing today is that the Internet can be all or none of the above depending on how it is used. Internet censorship, what does it mean? Is it possible to censor a... ...m for our mind's thoughts will fade away. We must regulate ourselves as not to force the government to regulate us. If encryption is allowed to catch on, there will no longer be a need for the government to intervene on the Internet, and the biggest problem may work itself out. As a whole, we all need to rethink our approach to censorship and encryption and allow the Internet to continue to grow and mature. Works Cited Compiled Texts. University of Miami. Miami, Florida. http://www.law.miami.edu/c6.html. Lehrer, Dan. "The Secret Shares: Clipper Chips and Cyberpunks." The Nation. Oct. 10, 1994, 376-379. Messmer, Ellen. "Fighting for Justice on the New Frontier." Network World. CD-ROM database. Jan. 11, 1993. Messmer, Ellen "Policing Cyberspace." U.S. News & World Report. Jan. 23, 1995, 55-60. Webcrawler Search Results. Webcrawler. Query: Internet, censorship, and ethics. March 12, 1997. Zimmerman, Phil. Pretty Good Privacy v2.62, Online. Ftp://net-dist.mit.edu Directory: /pub/pgp/dist/pgp262dc.zip.

Multicultural in school setting Essay

The article, what makes a school multicultural? talks about social change in the society. The concept of multiculturalism has not been clarified but everyone has an idea of what it is and they are thus left to judge with their believes and biases. The article is well written and talks of the 21st century as a century that is very sensitive to culture focused on international matters as a way of getting orientation to the future because industrial changes that are taking place have caused the environment to suffer greatly. Multiculturalism has been shown to promote respect for all different type of people from the various races (Roysircar & Sandhu, 2003). The schools according to this article regard themselves as multicultural because of the diversity that they have racially and ethnically. The article does not however give a clear answer as to if; this is what makes the schools to be multicultural. The article discusses multiculturalism in the schools as an imperative of the law and the society. It also says that diversity should be valued. The article says that for a school to be considered as a multicultural it should implement it policies, perspectives, programs, practices and personnel to have a reflection on the heterogeneity of the affirmative action, which is dynamic. It should also be sensitive to needs of the groups, which include the student population. They should also be in a position to create an ambiance socially and culturally. The schools overall mission should be incorporated by its policies. The article says that the society is changing in a rapid rate and this is what forces the schools to also embrace the changes. Question #1 Opportunities and challenges that ethnic diversity poses to our society and our schools (N. Y) Some of the opportunities that the ethnic diversity poses to our society are that, it allows the people to immigrate into the other countries. For example, the United States has many immigrants who have come from different parts of the world some to work and some to learn. We have seen that many students who have are immigrants perform very well in schools due to availability of resources. It is also important to educate children about ethnic diversity so that they can understand about the stereotypes and the negativism that is directed towards various groups of people. When students get to learn that their ethnic group is valued, they get a very high self-esteem and become confident that they are indeed living in a society that is free. Some of the challenges brought about by this diversity are that, the society lacks a common heritage on which to base its education system on (Roysircar & Sandhu, 2003). Ethnic Diversity poses issues of insecurity in New York and majority of other countries through terrorism in the society because people especially the Muslims are stereotyped to be involved in many bombings. Ethnic diversity faces prejudices because it is regarded to be the cause of some of the social problems that are modern. These problems are unemployment, competition among groups in the society and in general the urban decay. Especially when the economy is not doing, well the minority in the New York are undermined. For the schools, they become flooded and the children end up dropping out. In addition, the college education becomes expensive for the immigrants since they are in a foreign land. Question #2: Contributions of the Arab Americans in the society and Challenges that they face. Arab American have greatly contributed to America in the sense that, they have lawyers educators and doctors among them in America. They are hence are in a position to help fight against diseases such as cancer and leukemia. Danny Thomas who was an Arab American Doctor, helped to establish a cancer centre for children that bore his name and today so many American children have benefited from this foundation. They have also helped America to diversify its cultures and languages, which even though it required a huge funding they were able to raise it with time. They also hold other positions that American can hold and hence contribute to the economy in the same measure. The Arab Americans face the challenge of being distrusted. This makes the Arab Americans feel that America is being unjustifiably hostile towards them. However, as much as the mistrust exists, majority of the Arab American love America (Donaldson, 2001). They also face the challenge of racism, misinformation about their history, discrimination and negative stereotyping. A stereotype goes that says they are the majority in the American prisons. The misconception about Arab Americans is spread through teachers, peers and mostly through the media, which depicts them as terrorist in movies. To solve some of the challenges that face them, the media has to change its stand and support the Arab Americans so that they can be treated equally in the society. If this does not happen the Arab Americans have, the task of having to work more than they have usually work in order to be treated equally it the society (Pope-Davis, 2003). REFERENCES Donaldson, K. (2001). Shattering the denial: protocols for the classroom and beyond. London. Greenwood Publishing Group, Pope-Davis, D. (2003). Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling & psychology. London. SAGE. Roysircar, G. & Sandhu, D. (2003). Multicultural competencies: a guidebook of practices. Dublin. AMCD. Rosado, C. (1995). Critical Multicultural Pavilion: what makes a school multicultural? Print viewed on July 24th, 2010. http://www. edchange. org/multicultural/papers/caleb/multicultural. html

Scientifically Based Research School Reform - 1551 Words

The policy mandates that school reforms and practices should be grounded on â€Å"Scientifically Based Research† and employ educators that are â€Å"Highly Qualified† (Manna Petrilli, 2008, p. 63). The â€Å"Scientifically Based Research† (SBR) and â€Å"Highly Qualified† (HQ) teachers are supposedly, fruits of collaboration between educational researchers and the policy makers. Regretfully, the overuse phrases have become mantras and in the process the real definitions of the words or how they are supposed to be implemented is convoluted. Combined with school leaders’ professional wisdom, HQ should be the foundation of school reforms and SBR supposed to inform teaching practices, curriculum decisions and school programs to improve student learning.†¦show more content†¦Reflectively, if policy makers have invested their own funds and time, or the cause or goals are more in line with that of their own ideology, then clearly they will have t o pay much more attention to the data before making their decisions. The finger-pointing reveals the miscommunication between researchers and policy makers, and is a major dilemma in the fragmentation of research effort. To further their own agenda, sometimes political entities higher influential â€Å"synthesizers† to carry out their own research in order to promote what their organizations deemed important (p. 77). As Petrilli states, the synthesizers put together the â€Å"High Qualified† research, package it into something that is ideologically suitable for their own agenda and pass it down to policy makers. The user-friendly language, same ideology and compelling evidence why policy makers should embrace the definition of HQ will ultimately help policy makers to make their decision. Education field as a whole, whether it is academic, research, structures, management or a combination of them all is a complex entity and full of political, social, economical and ideo logical agendas tangled deeply within it. One would think that if a program that has been researched extensively and the findings are conclusively effective, school leaders might want to use it to improve education practice. 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