The Child Care Debate :: Free Argumentative Essays

The Child Care Debate "It irritates me that so many women think they are entitled to both brilliant, unimpeded careers and medals for being the world's greatest mothers. You cannot have it both ways," states Tunku Varadarajan in his article, "A Mother's Love." (http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/tvaradarajan/?id=90000479) At issue - a prescriptive issue - in Mr. Varadarajan's article is the debate over child-care. Are children who are placed in day care receiving the same quality of care they would have received at home with their mothers? According to Public Agenda Online (http://www.publicagenda.org/), in 1960, 88 percent of all children lived with both parents and fewer than 20% of all mothers worked outside of the home. In 1998, only 68% of children lived with both parents and 61% of mothers worked at least part time. With the increase in two-income families and single parent families, child-care has changed over the last 40 years. For Mr. Varadarajan the increased need for day care has less to do with the changing structure of the family and more to do with a woman's need for self-fulfillment. "... a working woman may attend to her professional needs, which are now deemed to be the same as a working man's (or father's)" While the author concedes that for some mothers working is a financial necessity, he questions the motives and morality of working mothers, mothers who choose to work are selfish and their "child's right to unabbreviated maternal care" is sacrificed. A recent study from the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development is the primary evidence Mr. Varadarajan provides in support of his argument. However, Mr. Varadarajan's article presents only one aspect of the study's conclusions, namely, children who are placed in child-care for more than 30 hours a week are three times more likely to show behavioral problems in kindergarten as those cared for by their mothers. But according to the study's authors, those children who spent more time in day care were still in the normal range of behavior: an important conclusion Mr. Varadarajan does not include in his summary of the study's data. Also noted by the study's author, Sarah Friedman, is that quantity of time in daycare may not be the cause of behavioral problems, in spite of the statistical link. Ms. Friedman states that there may be a rival cause: "the cause may be the fact that childcare providers are trained to focus on cognitive and achievement skills and not on self-re gulation and emotional regulation and ability to deal with frustration.

Charles Martin’s “Taken Up” Essay

Charles Martins Taken Up is a poem that could illustrate two possible scenarios. This poem can be interpreted as viewing a group of people waiting on, meeting, and leaving with extraterrestrial beings. It could also be a personified colony of aspen trees that are awaiting the sun on a spring day. It is written in free verse that does not have a specific amount of syllables per line. The poem consists of seven terza rima rhyming verse stanzas, which displays the authors control over the free verse form. These stanzas are constructed simply by using the rhyme scheme a a a, b b b, and so on. This poem is written in the third person narrative and describes the interaction between humans and aliens. It could also describe the scene of a colony of aspen trees waiting on a spring morning. The poem uses descriptive language so that one may easily construct a visual scene with their mind. The poem presents the use of literary devices—imagery, alliteration, metaphors, and personificatio n are most common. The poem was written in 1978 by the American poet Charles Martin, and could possibly capture the ideals of the American popular culture at the time. The Roswell incident of 1947 gave rise to a multitude of thoughts regarding the possibilities of extraterrestrials coming to earth. On the other hand, the poem could simply be about beauty and life as seen in nature. The opening lines of the poem possibly illustrate the extraterrestrial idea as well as a colony of aspen trees waiting for the sunrise on a spring morning. It begins:Tired of earth, they dwindled on their hill,Watching and waiting in the moonlight untilThe aspens leaves quite suddenly grew still,If we assume the poet is referring to people in this poem, these lines would illustrate a group of people dwindled, or sitting, on a hill watching upwards towards outer space. Line three, â€Å"The aspens leaves quite suddenly grew still† could possibly refer to the silence before something big happens. This type of silence can be compared to the silence a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? receives before knowing if he/she correctly answered the question. But if we were to assume that the poet is referring to a colony of aspen trees, then it could be read much differently. Because trees need sunlight to grow through photosynthesis, they might be personified in the sense that they dwindle in the moonlight while they are watching and waiting for the night to be over and the sun to rise. The third line illustrates the  calmness of a spring morning. Aspen leaves by nature easily catch the slightest breeze so this illustrates a deadening silence or calmness. The next three lines continue to illustrate both ideas of extraterrestrials as well as the aspen tree colony:No longer quaking as the disc descended,That glowing wheel of lights whose coming endedAll waiting and watching. When it landedThe first line reinforces the idea of silence or calmness because the quaking refers to the leaves of an aspen tree quaking, or rocking, back and forth. The disc descended could refer to a flying saucer, which was an idea of the American popular culture of what an alien space craft might look like. It might also be the moon going down in anticipation of the sun rising, which brings the life giving rays of light. Line two might illustrate the coming of the sun, glowing wheel of lights, and the closure of night, whose coming ended. It could also be compared with a wheel of lights, or a UFO. The third line, All waiting and watching. When it landed could refer to people waiting and watching this UFO land. On the other hand, it could mean that this aspen colony is personified in the sense that it is waiting and watching for the rays of sunlight when it landed giving the possibility of life to the saplings in the colony. The third stanza again carries dualism in its lines:The ones within it one by one came forth,Stalking out awkwardly upon the earth,And those who watched them were confirmed in faith:The first line could illustrate the extraterrestrials one by one getting off the UFO. The first line is followed by a descriptive line as people see them as stalking out awkwardly because it would be awkward to see something new from outer space that might have been proportionally dissimilar to a human. This first encounter with extraterrestrials would cause these people to be confirmed in faith. Their beliefs have now been confirmed; there are extraterrestrials in the universe. The other take on these lines illustrates a view of saplings, which came forth, or sprouted one by one growing awkwardly upon the earth in all the different directions that branches grow. These new trees were growing and the rest colony was confirmed in faith by their growth. They were ensured that a new generation of life was gro wing among the colony. In stanzas four and five it seems as if the extraterrestrial idea is clearly what the poet is referring to, but it could very well be another reference to the aspen tree colony. One must think abstractly to pull out dual meanings in the following lines:Mysterious voyagers from outer space,Attenuated, golden—shreds of laceSpun into seeds of the sunflowers spinning faceLight was their speech, spanning mind to mind:We come here not believing what we find—Can it be your desire to leave behindThe mysterious voyagers are extraterrestrials from outer space who are attenuated, or made slim, but have a huge face like that of a sunflowers spinning face. These lines help to paint a picture of what an extraterrestrial might look like. At the time, in American popular culture the thinning or attenuated physique of the alien with a huge sunflower like face was commonly used as the symbol for extraterrestrials. The golden may be descriptive of a really bright light that one may associ ate with extraterrestrials. Then in the next line the extraterrestrials speech was light, or low tone, which may reassure that no harm would come to those encountering this. The next two lines of the fifth stanza are written so that one may think an alien was talking about finding people whom they are not believing would want to desire to leave behind the earth. Or, it could be that the mysterious voyagers are the rays of light beaming on the earth from outer space where the sun is. The golden—shreds of lace is descriptive of the golden rays of life giving light that the sun produces. The rays are golden in color and as beautiful as lace. The rays of light allow the seeds to grow into the saplings of the aspen colony. The suns light that was spanning from mind to mind could illustrate personification in that the light was spanning from sapling to sapling, or seed to seed, giving each the necessary fuel for growth. The last two lines are lines of questioning. Do the saplings really want to leave behind the earth from where they began? The next stanza again questions both the colony of aspens as well as the people desiring to leave with the extraterrestrials:The earth, which those called angels bless,Exchaning amplitude for emptiness?And in a single voice they answered Yes,The line exchanging amplitude for emptiness could suggest the question of why would these humans leave this earth full of everything they need for life for a life in the emptiness of outer space? Likewise, these lines could be asking a question to the aspen saplings. Do the saplings really want to  leave the amplitude of the earthly body for the emptiness of the air above ground? Both parties answered Yes states that the people want to leave earth as well as the saplings wanting to grow from the earth and in a sense leave it as well. It is almost as sustenance is being taken from both people and the colony. People do not survive well for long in an environment without oxygen, such as outer space. Likewise, aspen trees only live for a short amount of time above ground (40-150 years); while there root system in the earth can survive for far longer (up to 80,000 years). (Wikipedia)The final stanza of this poem finishes off the dualism seen throughout the poem:Discord of human melodies all blentTo the unearthly strain of their assent. Come then, the Strangers said, and those that were taken, went. The first line refers to a discord, or disagreement among human beings whether or not to make the decision to take the assent into space. The extraterrestrials tell those who decide to go to come then and those who did not disagree with them went. On the other hand, the saplings are in strain of their assent meaning that gravity is working against the samplings that are stalking out awkwardly causing strain on their assent higher and higher into the emptiness of the air. The saplings want to continue this growth and the strangers can be compared to the sunlight that allow for growth to happen. The strangers supplied the saplings with the sunlight needed to be taken into the air. This poem can definitely been seen as a parallel between a human existence, and a non-human existence such as an aspen colony. How would a sapling or tree react to the sun flooding its life giving rays of light upon the earth each day? How would a person react to a UFO filled with extraterrestrials wanting to take you take you with them to outer space? Are such reactions natural on both parts? Does a sapling decide whether to become a tree and leave the ground from which it was once buried and only a seed? Likewise, does the human decide whether to leave its earthly home in search of the exploration of extraterrestrial life? These questions cannot be answered by the poem, but they do give rise to the idea of decision making. Sometimes in  life you are presented with issues that require decisions, and sometimes the decisions have already been made for you. The important thing is that once a decision is made, whether by you, or someone else, that you represent your decision personally, and learn from it if the results do not turn out the way you expected. References Mason, David. Western Wind. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 2006. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen Retrieved on 10-07-2007. Last modified 10-04-2007.

Genetic Engineering and Genetically Modified Food - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 687 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/02/14 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: GMO Essay Did you like this example? During centuries, human societies depended on traditional breeding techniques, which allowed them to supply members with adequate nutrition. Such methods as hybridization and plant grafting had satisfied people for thousands of years as they improved all characteristics of products (â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). However, with the progress made in all spheres, humanity could not leave the food industry without breakthrough innovations. First, it invented mutagenesis, the method that achieved unprecedented outcomes using using radiation and chemicals, and then, still more threatening for the mere survival of human species, transgenesis. The latter demonstrates advances in the development of human technology on an unbelievable scale; this technique implies that people have found ways to impact the plants and animals at the genetic level. GM organism is genetically modified, which means that its genetic code is changed by purposeful intrusion (â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). Such techniques as gene splicing or transgenic technology create the combinations of genes, so nature has nothing to do with the received plants, animals, or other organisms created in this fashion (Kromka). Although there are several advantages of growing genetically modified foods, disadvantages of this type of products are more crucial as they directly threaten the state of human health. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Genetic Engineering and Genetically Modified Food" essay for you Create order At first casual glance, genetic engineering can seem just a breakthrough in the food technology that provides a perfect solution to the problem of human nutrition across the globe. Thus, as DNA of any plant or animal can be modified according to need, it opens limitless possibilities of growing any food in any amounts (â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). Besides, the traits reached in GM products overpass any other breeding technique because transformed genes protect plants from pests and viruses reducing the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides. This implies protection of water, soil, and the surrounding environment, in general, from ecologically harmful influences (Qaim; â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). One more benefit of genetic engineering is the possibility to biofortify crops with the vitamins of the most pressing need. There is an experience of biofortification of rice, corn, sorghum, cassava, and banana plants with vital minerals and vitamins, which produc es a favorable impact on human health (Qaim). At the same time, health risks of GM products are even more prominent than advantages. Furthermore, they have not been studied thoroughly yet, so people are under threat that is not known, as the devil without a face. Comparatively new method of breeding can be a time bomb whose explosion should be prevented to preserve the human species. Fortunately, modern society is becoming more and more health conscious, and GM foods do not belong to the options of the healthiest standards. There has been a growing tendency in American society, in particular, to produce and consume increasing amounts of â€Å"natural† labeled products. For illustration, in 2013, consumers spent more than $40 billion purposefully seeking foods with â€Å"natural† labels (Kromka). Logic and sound judgment prompt obvious conclusion that GM products, or GMOs, are the direct opposite of this tendency of modern people to make food choices in favor of organic and natural options. There is a grave barrier, though, in the contemporary society not only in the US but also in Europe and throughout the world to the decision of many people to stick to naturally-based nutrition. Specifically, the commercial gain has motivated state economies to approve GM plants for general use. Thus, US has allowed ten GM crops and 120 GM seeds for use in the food industry and commercial contexts, including 90% of all corn, cotton, and soybeans (â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). Furthermore, the so-called processed foods, which are so popular in American society, contain ingredients produced based on genetic modification technology. Correct estimations are showing that 75% of processed foods contain GM ingredients (â€Å"Genetically Modified Food†). This situation reveals the severity of the problem of healthy nutrition. In spite of people’s increasing tendency to choose healthy food options, the spread of GMO is catastrophic and impossible to control. It reminds of a disaster that has reached the point where it has gone completely out of control. Therefore, the methods of dealing with GM production should correspondingly be radical, up to complete ban ning of this method of growing.