Eulogy for Grandfather :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Grandfather My grandfather and I had a number of secrets between us. Most of these, I can't tell; the salient feature of a secret is not the matter contained within the secret, but the trust implied. But I'll tell you one secret, because I think it's important, and because I think that my grandfather won't mind. It's a little secret, without much drama to it: My grandfather once told me that he would have liked to have been a history teacher. Like I said, it's a little secret. It's a little dream. But ever since he told it to me, four years ago now, the image of my grandfather in front of a class, teaching history, has stayed fixed in my memory. It is something that seems right and true. Part of this may have to do with the fact that, in a very real sense, my grandfather embodied history to me. I have only just now come to that point in my life where time has loosed itself from its moorings, and memory has begun to develop an appreciable depth. But to me, my grandfather always seemed to have that depth. We can all remember asking our grandparents about their lives; it's fascinating to a young person, because here is someone talking about a time and a place that never existed or could exist for that young person. Here, before you, is someone who has traveled through time. And as you reconstruct the past with a grandparent, you also reconstruct the person. My grandfather had always been my grandfather: Older, balding, and grumpy. But he was also once a child, who didn't speak English until he was five years old. He was a teenager who used to play baseball. He was a young man who was dragged to a USO dance by a buddy, there to meet the woman he would marry. There's a richness of a life that can only be told though a recitation of its history. My grandfather came truly alive to me when I knew his life. A place and its history are meaningless unless there is a context in which to place it. The proper context for my father was within his family. Families are also the embodiment of history: The individual elements change as the men and women of it pass though time, but the family remains. My grandfather told me that in the little Italian town from which our family came, there is a book that lists the names of our family back hundreds of years. Eulogy for Grandfather :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Grandfather My grandfather and I had a number of secrets between us. Most of these, I can't tell; the salient feature of a secret is not the matter contained within the secret, but the trust implied. But I'll tell you one secret, because I think it's important, and because I think that my grandfather won't mind. It's a little secret, without much drama to it: My grandfather once told me that he would have liked to have been a history teacher. Like I said, it's a little secret. It's a little dream. But ever since he told it to me, four years ago now, the image of my grandfather in front of a class, teaching history, has stayed fixed in my memory. It is something that seems right and true. Part of this may have to do with the fact that, in a very real sense, my grandfather embodied history to me. I have only just now come to that point in my life where time has loosed itself from its moorings, and memory has begun to develop an appreciable depth. But to me, my grandfather always seemed to have that depth. We can all remember asking our grandparents about their lives; it's fascinating to a young person, because here is someone talking about a time and a place that never existed or could exist for that young person. Here, before you, is someone who has traveled through time. And as you reconstruct the past with a grandparent, you also reconstruct the person. My grandfather had always been my grandfather: Older, balding, and grumpy. But he was also once a child, who didn't speak English until he was five years old. He was a teenager who used to play baseball. He was a young man who was dragged to a USO dance by a buddy, there to meet the woman he would marry. There's a richness of a life that can only be told though a recitation of its history. My grandfather came truly alive to me when I knew his life. A place and its history are meaningless unless there is a context in which to place it. The proper context for my father was within his family. Families are also the embodiment of history: The individual elements change as the men and women of it pass though time, but the family remains. My grandfather told me that in the little Italian town from which our family came, there is a book that lists the names of our family back hundreds of years.

Department of Defense Essay

Effective organization management is determined by the level and quality of public relations employed by the leadership in it. This has mainly been the case due to the direct demand for organizations to enhance their images to the external world upon which they rely on. Of greater importance are the services industries which directly rely on the consumers perceptions of their services as opposed to direct supply of products. Being considered as a direct intrinsic system to activate their system for external image, most of the leaders have been strongly embarking on it to ensure higher returns for their organizations. Such has been the case with the (DoD) Military Public Affairs system which has greatly tried to integrate itself with the community via offer of different services and direct interlink with them. Community relations objectives Arguably, ethical demands are considered to be intrinsically derived and externally displayed with emphasis on cohesive relations between organizations and the public. Therefore, it originates from the core of the management and effected by the established systems. In the theory of public relation ethics, Albert Sullivan argues that public relations involves a direct internalized system which is expressed externally via direct activities and interlink with the public (Pearson, 1999). Pearson continues to say that ethics begin with the people’s minds that must conceptualize it to become part of their system. Military Public Affairs has internalized the system by inculcating it to the immediate internal network necessary to develop the correct culture for the DoD. The Department emphasizes on its commitment to fostering good relations on mutually acceptable terms with the public, at home, and abroad on which the military depends on. Of greater importance is the emphasis by the DoD on the need for holistic adherence to human dignity and sanctity at all times (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007). Though military specialists have been calling for less involvement of the military with the public issues, the department has defied odds and ensured direct interface upon which the public have increasingly been informed on the roles and duties of the department in relation to their security and that of the international community. Besides, the policies of the Department of Defense have increasingly been taught to the public and opened for direct criticism as well as possible recommendations on improvements for the same. Direct support and integration with the community According to Russel (1966), human actions and desires are direct reflections for the sense of mind which is often used to denote the best possible consideration that would guarantee highest returns for them. However, this has been a major center for conflicts between the people and their systems in the society. Russel ethics indicates that external consideration is of essence for extended benefits. However, scholars have argued that care should be taken to reduce the negative effects that result from the actions perceived to be good. As a result, the Department of defense has been supporting organizations through loans and fund-raising. The head of DOD Component Command may provide a limited basis for equipments and logistical support to needy organizations especially those dealing with humanitarian services (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007). Besides, the Department officers have been offering voluntary support to these charitable organizations during their off duty periods to boost their development and human services capacity. The department also offers selective benefits and preferential treatment to specific organizations especially those in military operation regions. To ensure it commits itself to serving the community, the department dissociates itself from involvement and support to partisan political activities (Center and Jackson, 1995). Therefore, this assists it to be highly impartial and more effective in serving the community. Increased information and coordination with the public By the time Pearson wrote down the Public relations theory, it was clear that vast criticism had strongly risen on the implication of truth and direct impacts that resulted from its revelation. However, Pearson regards to truth as the direct mirror that indicates an individual or an organization’s consideration necessary for establishing the correct picture is pasted in the respondent’s minds for making the correct decisions. Joint civilian meetings and instantaneous meetings with the management served as a direct platform for the system where most people were able to change their minds about the military as well as improve the direct interlink with the system (Department of Defense (DoD), 2007. Through this system, most people had benefited from assistance scheme of the department. Recently, strong appraisals have been posted to the department for ensuring increased information to the community as it directly provides the officers to the department. Conclusion Effective organization management is determined by the level and quality of public relations employed by its management and leaders. Arguably, this has been the main premises that the department of defense has embarked on to ensure better and effective disposal of its duties. Previously, there was strong misconception between the people regarding the role of military until the DoD moved in to clear its image. The direct interlink of the department by giving back to the community has not only raised the confidence of the people to the system, but also improved the general utility of the department. Organizations should struggle to establish better interlink with their consumers and public. Reference List Center, A. and Jackson, P. (1995). â€Å"Public relations Practices,† Upper Saddle, N. J. Prentice Hall. Department of Defense (DoD), (2007). Department of defense directive: Public Affairs Relation Policy, Washington: DoD. Russel, B. (1966). â€Å"The elements of ethics† Philosophical essays. London: Longmans, Green. Pearson, R. (1989). Sullivan Theory of public relations Ethics. Public relations review. XV(1989):52-62.

Learn ESL Through Movement

If youve tried, and struggled, to learn English as a second language (ESL) the usual ways, its time to try it Dr. James Ashers way—through movement. With a student seated on each side of him, Asher demonstrates his technique by asking them to do what he does. Thats all. They dont repeat what he says, they just do what he does. Stand,  he says, and he stands. They stand. Walk, Asher says, and he walks. They walk. Turn. Sit. Point. Within minutes, he gives commands as complicated as, Walk to the chair and point at the table, and his students can do it by themselves. Heres the clincher. In his DVD, he demonstrates in Arabic, a language nobody in the room knows. In study after study, Asher has found that students of all ages can learn a new language quickly and stress-free in just 10-20 hours of silence. Students simply listen to a direction in the new language and do what the instructor does. Asher says, After understanding a huge chunk of the target language with TPR, students spontaneously begin to speak. At this point, students reverse roles with the instructor and utter directions to move their classmates and the instructor. Voila. Asher is the originator of the Total Physical Response approach to learning any language. His book, Learning Another Language Through Actions, is in its sixth edition. In it, Asher describes how he discovered the power of learning languages through physical movement, and the lengths to which he went to prove the technique through scientific experimentation involving the differences between the right and left brain. Ashers studies have proven that while the left brain puts up a fight against the memorization of new languages that occurs in so many classrooms, the right brain is completely open to responding to new commands, immediately. He is adamant about the need to comprehend a new language silently, by simply responding to it, before attempting to speak it, much like a new child imitates his or her parents before beginning to make sounds. While the book is on the academic side, and a little dry, it includes Ashers fascinating research, a lengthy and comprehensive QA that covers questions from both teachers and students, a directory of TPR presenters around the world, comparisons to other techniques, and get this, 53 lesson plans. Thats right—53! He walks you through how to teach TPR in 53 specific sessions. Can learning take place if the students remain in their seats? Yes. Sky Oaks Productions, publisher of Ashers work, sells wonderful full-color kits of different settings such as home, airport, hospital, supermarket, and playground. Think Colorforms. Remember the pliable plastic forms that stick on a board and easily peel off to move? Responding to imperatives with these kits has the same result as physically moving. Asher also shares samples of mail he has received from people around the world. One of his letters is from Jim Baird, who writes that his classroom has wall-to-wall white boards on which he has created communities and complete countries. Baird writes: Students are required to drive, walk (with their fingers), fly, hop, run, etc. between buildings or cities, pick up things or people and deliver them to other places. They can fly into an airport and rent a car and drive it to another city where they can catch a flight or a boat, all kinds of possibilities. Sure is fun! Asher is generous with the materials and information he provides on his Sky Oaks Productions website, known as TPR World. He is clearly passionate about his work, and its easy to see why.