Gender Bias in Education Essay Example for Free

ï » ¿Gender Bias in Education Essay Sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, listening to the same teacher, boys and girls receive very different educations. (Sadker, 1994) In fact, upon entering school, girls perform equal to or better than boys on nearly every measure of achievement, but by the time they graduate high school or college, they have fallen behind. (Sadker, 1994) However, discrepancies between the performance of girls and the performance of boys in elementary education leads some critics to argue that boys are being neglected within the education system: Across the country, boys have never been in more trouble: They earn 70 percent of the Ds and Fs that teachers dole out. They make up two thirds of students labeled learning disabled. They are the culprits in a whopping 9 of 10 alcohol and drug violations and the suspected perpetrators in 4 out of 5 crimes that end up in juvenile court. They account for 80 percent of high school dropouts and attention deficit disorder diagnoses. (Mulrine, 2001) This performance discrepancy is notable throughout Canada. In Ontario, Education Minister Janet Ecker said that the results of the standardized grade 3 and grade 6 testing in math and reading showed, persistent and glaring discrepancies in achievements and attitudes between boys and girls. (ONeill, 2000) In British Columbia, standardized testing indicates that girls outperform boys at all levels of reading and writing and in Alberta testing shows that girls, significantly outperform boys on reading and writing tests, while almost matching them in math and science. (ONeill, 2000) However, the American Association of University Women published a report in 1992 indicating that females receive less attention from teachers and the attention that female students do receive is often more negative than attention received by boys. (Bailey, 1992) In fact, examination of the socialization of gender within schools and evidence of a gender biased hidden curriculum demonstrates that girls are shortchanged in the classroom. Furthermore, there is significant research indicating steps that can be taken to minimize or eliminate the gender bias currently present in our education system. The socialization of gender within our schools assures that girls are made aware that they are unequal to boys. Every time students are seated or lined up by gender, teachers are affirming that girls and boys should be treated differently. When an administrator ignores an act of sexual harassment, he or she is allowing the degradation of girls. When different behaviors are tolerated for boys than for girls because boys will be boys, schools are perpetuating the oppression of females. There is some evidence that girls are becoming more academically successful than boys, however examination of the classroom shows that girls and boys continue to be socialized in ways that work against gender equity. Teachers socialize girls towards a feminine ideal. Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up. Girls are socialized in schools to recognize popularity as being important, and learn that educational performance and ability are not as important. Girls in grades six and seven rate being popular and well-liked as more important than being perceived as competent or independent. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to rank independence and competence as more important. (Bailey, 1992) This socialization of femininity begins much earlier than the middle grades. At very early ages, girls begin defining their femininities in relation to boys. One study of a third grade classroom examined four self-sorted groups of girls within the classroom: the nice girls, the girlies, the spice girls and the tomboys. Through interviews researcher Diane Reay found that nice girls was considered a derogatory term indicating, an absence of toughness and attitude. (Reay, 2001) Furthermore, the girlies were a group of girls who focused their time on flirting with and writing love letters to boys, the tomboys were girls who played sports with the boys, and the spice girls espoused girl-power and played rate-the-boy on the playground. Reays research shows that each of the groups of girls defined their own femininities in relation to boys. (2001) The Reay study further demonstrates how socialization of girls occurs at the school level by tolerating different behaviors from boys than from girls. Assertive behavior from girls is often seen as disruptive and may be viewed more negatively by adults. In Reays study, the fact that the spice girls asserted themselves in ways contrary to traditional femininity caused them to be labeled by teachers as real bitches. (2001) This reinforces the notion that girls misbehavior to be looked upon as a character defect, whilst boys misbehavior is viewed as a desire to assert themselves. (Reay, 2001) A permissive attitude towards sexual harassment is another way in  which schools reinforce the socialization of girls as inferior. When schools ignore sexist, racist, homophobic, and violent interactions between students, they are giving tacit approval to such behaviors. (Bailey, 1992) Yet boys are taunted for throwing like a girl, or crying like a girl, which implies that being a girl is worse than being a boy. According to the American Association of University Women Report, The clear message to both boys and girls is that girls are not worthy of respect and that appropriate behavior for boys includes exerting power over girls or over other, weaker boys. (Bailey, 1992) Clearly the socialization of gender is reinforced at school, Because classrooms are microcosms of society, mirroring its strengths and ills alike, it follows that the normal socialization patterns of young children that often lead to distorted perceptions of gender roles are reflected in the classrooms. (Marshall, 1997) Yet gender bias in education reaches beyond socialization patterns, bias is embedded in textbooks, lessons, and teacher interactions with students. This type of gender bias is part of the hidden curriculum of lessons taught implicitly to students through the every day functioning of their classroom. In Myra and David Sadkers research, they noted four types of teacher responses to students: teacher praises, providing positive feedback for a response; teacher remediates, encouraging a student to correct or expand their answer; teacher criticizes, explicitly stating that the answer is incorrect; teacher accepts, acknowledging that a student has responded. The Sadkers found that boys were far more likely to receive praise or remediation from a teacher than were girls. The girls were most likely to receive an acknowledgement response from their teacher. (Sadker, 1994) These findings are confirmed by a 1990 study by Good and Brophy that noted that teachers give boys greater opportunity to expand ideas and be animated than they do girls and that they reinforce boys more for general responses than they do for girls. (Marshall, 1997) Beyond teacher responses, special services in education appear to be applied more liberally to boys than to girls. Research shows that boys are referred for testing for gifted programs twice as often as girls, which may be because, giftedness is seen as aberrant, and girls strive to conform. (Orenstein, 1994) Boys represent more than two-thirds of all students in special education programs and there is a higher the proportion of male  students receiving diagnoses that are considered to be subjective. While medical reports indicate that learning disabilities occur in nearly equal numbers of in boys and girls, it may be the case that, Rather than identifying learning problems, school personnel may be mislabeling behavioral problems. Girls who sit quietly are ignored; boys who act out are placed in special programs that may not meet their needs. (Bailey, 1992) Gender bias is also taught implicitly through the resources chosen for classroom use. Using texts that omit contributions of women, that tokenize the experiences of women, or that stereotype gender roles, further compounds gender bias in schools curriculum. While research shows that the use of gender-equitable materials allows students to have more gender-balanced knowledge, to develop more flexible attitudes towards gender roles, and to imitate role behaviors contained in the materials (Klein, 1985) schools continue to use gender-biased texts: Researchers at a 1990 conference reported that even texts designed to fit within the current California guidelines on gender and race equity for textbook adoption showed subtle language bias, neglect of scholarship on women, omission of women as developers of history and initiators of events, and absence of women from accounts of technological developments. (Bailey, 1992) Clearly the socialization of gender roles and the use of a gender-biased hidden curriculum lead to an inequitable education for boys and girls. What changes can be made to create a more equitable learning environment for all children? First, teachers need to be made aware of their gender-biased tendencies. Next, they need to be provided with strategies for altering the behavior. Finally, efforts need to be made to combat gender bias in educational materials. A study by Kelly Jones, Cay Evans, Ronald Byrd, and Kathleen Campbell (2000) used analysis of videotaped lessons in order to introduce teachers to their own gender-biased behavior. Requiring in-service programs to address gender bias in the classroom will make teachers more aware of their own behaviors: As a teacher, I was struck by the Sadkers research on classroom exchanges and was forced to acknowledge the disproportionate amount of time and energy, as well as the different sorts of attention, I give to male students. (McCormick, 1995) Once teachers have recognized their gender-biased behaviors, they need to be provided with resources to help them change. In their study focusing on how the effects of  a gender resource model would affect gender-biased teaching behaviors, Jones, Evans, Burns, and Campbell (2000) provided teachers with a self-directed module aimed at reducing gender bias in the classroom. The module contained research on gender equity in the classroom, specific activities to reduce stereotypical thinking in students, and self-evaluation worksheets for teachers. The findings from this study support the hypothesis that female students would move from a position of relative deficiency toward more equity in total interactions. (Jones, 2000) This demonstrates that teachers who are made aware of their gender-biased teaching behaviors and then provided with strategies and resources to combat bias are better able to promote gender equity in their classrooms. However, beyond changing their own teaching behaviors, teachers need to be aware of the gender bias imbedded in many educational materials and texts and need to take steps to combat this bias. Curriculum researchers have established six attributes that need to be considered when trying to establish a gender-equitable curriculum. Gender-fair materials need to acknowledge and affirm variation. They need to be inclusive, accurate, affirmative, representative, and integrated, weaving together the experiences, needs, and interests of both males and females. (Bailey, 1992) We need to look at the stories we are telling our students and children. Far too many of our classroom examples, storybooks, and texts describe a world in which boys and men are bright, curious, brave, inventive, and powerful, but girls and women are silent, passive, and invisible. (McCormick, 1995) Furthermore, teachers can help students identify gender-bias in texts and facilitate critical discussions as to why that bias exists. Gender bias in education is an insidious problem that causes very few people to stand up and take notice. The victims of this bias have been trained through years of schooling to be silent and passive, and are therefore unwilling to stand up and make noise about the unfair treatment they are receiving. Over the course of years the uneven distribution of teacher time, energy, attention, and talent, with boys getting the lions share, takes its toll on girls. (Sadker, 1994) Teachers are generally unaware of their own biased teaching behaviors because they are simply teaching how they were taught and the subtle gender inequities found in teaching materials are often overlooked. Girls and boys today are receiving separate and unequal educations due to the gender  socialization that takes place in our schools and due to the sexist hidden curriculum students are faced with every day. Unless teachers are made aware of the gender-role socialization and the biased messages they are unintentionally imparting to students everyday, and until teachers are provided with the methods and resources necessary to eliminate gender-bias in their classrooms, girls will continue to receive an inequitable education. Departments of education should be providing mandatory gender-equity resource modules to in-service teachers, and gender bias needs to be addressed with all pre-service teachers. Educators need to be made aware of the bias they are reinforcing in their students through socialization messages, inequitable division of special education services, sexist texts and materials, and unbalanced time and types of attention spent on boys and girls in the classroom. Until educational sexism is eradicated, more than half our children will be shortchanged and their gifts lost to society. (Sadker, 1994) References  Bailey, S. (1992) How Schools Shortchange Girls: The AAUW Report. New York, NY: Marlowe Company. Jones, K., Evans, C., Byrd, R., Campbell, K. (2000) Gender equity training and teaching behavior. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (3), 173-178. Klein, S. (1985) Handbook for Achieving Sex Equity Through Education. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Marshall, C.S. Reihartz, J. (1997) Gender issues in the classroom. Clearinghouse, 70 (6), 333-338. McCormick, P. (1995) Are girls taught to fail? U.S. Catholic, 60, (2), 38-42. Mulrine, A. (2001) Are Boys the Weaker Sex? U.S. News World Report, 131 (4), 40-48. ONeill, T. (2000) Boys problems dont matter. Report/ Newsmagazine (National Edition), 27 (15), 54-56. Orenstein, P. (1994) Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap. New York, NY: Doubleday. Reay, D. (2001) Spice girls, Nice Girls, Girlies, and Tomboys; gender discourses. Girls cultures and femininities in the primary classroom. Gender and Education, 13 (2), 153-167. Sadker, D., Sadker, M. (1994) Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. Toronto, ON: Simon Schuster Inc.

The relevance of Training and Development’s strategic Essay Example for Free

The relevance of Training and Development’s strategic Essay Introduction One of the most important ingredients for consistently high performing entities is the presence of an excellent human resource management (HRM) system. A board level Human Resource strategy backs the development of the HRM systems in any organization. A good HRM policy helps address the issues of the employees by communicating work, establishing channels for employee views, cater to their needs of self-respect, in turn motivating them, and ensure the provision of mechanisms that help in intellectual / skills advancement. Where HRM constitutes a disjointed and a discriminatory activity or where quality people to manage these systems are not available, it is likely that HRM may fail to deliver according its true potential. Human resources date back to the early agro based-civilizations. The present day human resource notion emerged at the start of the 20th century. While Taylor argued for maximum efficiency disregarding the social element involved, the human relations movement was set up by a group of psychologists and people specialists in 1920. Originating from the USA, this forum negated the Taylor’s theory, which viewed workers as a commodity that lacked psychological needs. (Craig, 1987) The rise of this forum was gradual and steady throughout the last century. There ideas were based on empirical evidence that key ingredients in the success of business entities were human resources, which if led effectively could result in a united force. However, the efficiency focus of Taylor never lost ground and the 1960’s saw a number of highly numerically based methodologies trying to negate the human resource concept. However, human resources are globally recognized as an essential element within an organization. What is Human Resource? In the modern era, entities use the words â€Å"human resources† to highlight the clerical support activities of the personnel section mixed with coherent tasks including futuristic planning, setting targets, monitoring and control and worker relationship management. The terminology has its roots in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. (Richard and Elwood 2001) What is a human resource depends on the perspective in which we speak about it. While classical economics classes it as a factors of production, modern day usage refers to the workers in the entity in general and in particular the specific set of people who deal with workers, from joining to leaving. In very broad terms, human resources prioritize the achievement of the highest return from funds spent on the workers while at the same time reduce any adverse circumstances that may harm the entity in monetary terms. Ethics, professional conduct and sustainability of the two are paramount for human resource managers. Human resource management involves the following activities: Long term planning with regard to hiring of human capital. The recruitment process Enrollment Procedures Instruction and skills improvement. Assessing achievements. Career advancement Dealing with labor turnover and resultant issues. Worker Relationship Management Worker Data Management. Remuneration and other matters related to monetary aspects. Counseling and/or consultancy to aid workers in overcoming problems at work. Human Resource Development Employers don’t want to hire workers that do not suit the criteria for the job. Thus, it is essential that human resource managers are able to match the expectations of the entity with the relevant applicant. Worker hiring is dependent on both interior and exterior reasons. While the exterior portion deals with the environment in which the entity operates and considers macroeconomic issues and thus lacks control over them, the interior portion deals with controllable mechanisms like the culture and/or the hierarchy of the entity itself. The combination of instruction, structural and intellectual advancement endeavors is called Human Resource Development (HRD). The idea is to raise efficiency at every level of the entity. HRD uses organized study mechanisms that aid in the creation of required skills and tools that help workers to carry out their tasks effectively. Another important mechanism utilized is teams that help introduce and supervise new techniques and structures. Usually, HRD activities comprise monitoring of career advancement, instruction, training in the field of sales, marketing and client relationships to ensure good code of conduct and professional behavior, providing support to freshly hired workers through a basic organization 101 course of study and creating awareness amongst employees with regard to health and safety hazards. Strategic Human Resource Management Strategy is long term planning and thus strategic human resource management refers to the future aspirations and plans of the firm with regard to human capital. It takes a macro economic view of the firm’s objectives and the required human capital to help them achieve them, paying specific regard to the values, norms and culture of the firm itself. SHRM includes all those efforts on behalf of the management that employ a course of action for the gradual recruitment and continued professional development of human capital and the use psychology to align worker interests with strategic objectives. (James, 2005) However, sadly the distinction between human resource management and human resource development is not so clear cut. While the argument is that management and development of human resources are two distinct activities and should be kept separate, with HRD being outsourced, many organizations today have human resource departments that deal with the administrative traditional functions as well as attending to continued professional development. Integration of HRD into the HRM Programs Strategic planning is concerned with attaining and sustaining a long standing competitive lead on the competitors of the firm. HRD is an important tool in this respect as it helps in the creation and nourishment of the required skills that help in the achievement of strategic objectives. HRD may be described as bringing out the best out of every worker through systematic instruction and continued professional development and thus creating synergies at every level of the entity strata. Through the years, HRD has been known to target training and instruction, structural education and career advancement. While these are essential ingredients to success as far as human resource management goes, other tools are also equally necessary. In the modern business environment, a well rounded set of professional techniques are necessary for effective HRM. However, HRD instruction and professional development play an important role towards the achievement of the entitys strategic vision. Training and Development At all levels of human resource management and development, the importance of training and development cannot be ruled out. Specialists educated in the field of training and developments are necessary to carry out programs dealing with instructions and professional development for workers. (Beeby and Rathborn, 1983) The attitude of management towards training has been changing over the years. Today training is viewed as an important and effective mechanism which helps in raising the quality of the workforce and brings economies in the use of skills. This helps in the achievement of the entitys strategic objectives. Training is seen as a service to the worker. However, since it reaps benefits for the entity itself, its importance as a strategic tool cannot be discarded. The development of a business or a commercial organization is related to the training and development (T D). The design and the outcome of the trainings performed at an institution amends and meliorates the performance of the company. After hiring of employees at an organization, the next prominent and presumptive step is the training and development of the team to polish their skills and break the ice among them to co-ordinate. It is axiomatic that some of the new hired employees are not going to be experienced with the work so they would need extraordinary training to bring their guts out so, they can act and work efficiently   in the new environment. Numerous organizations held contrary trainings and development programs according to their forthcoming resources and necessities. On the opposite side the most important fact is that the training and development programs helps to forefend the managerial obsolescence. Organizational troubles either macro or micro can be solved by these trainings. These programs play a vital role in bringing off the changes in organizational structure caused by merges, amalgamations, enormous growth, imbibing and off shoring. Employee Training and Development: Reasons and Benefits Being viable is the solution to keep going. Training and developing the employees, keeping them motivated to propel and advance further and updated with the industry and the upcoming and present technologies is essential to achieve the plans and goals. Training is any activity where expertise and amateurism is brought together and spheres of skills and expertise flow from the expert to the untrained workers. On the other hand, a multi pronged strategy for pushing the overall level of the entitys performance to another level or milestone is referred to as development. Typical Reasons for Employee Training and Development Usually, entities engage in training and development in order to bridge the gap between actual work and expectations as identified by performance appraisals. Other reasons may include developing an internal benchmark for desired performance levels, continued professional development, to mitigate succession risk, to serve as a tool for testing performance management or to provide valuable operating instructions with regard to a business activity.    Typical Topics of Employee Training Usually, employees require training with respect to certain key areas. These include Communications (to overcome linguistic barriers), Computer skills (for effectively managing office tasks, Customer service ( to help employees understand the needs of the client and figure out ways to solve them), Diversity ( to encourage the acceptance of varying ideas and/or values), Ethics ( to ensure the highest possible code of conduct) Human relations ( to encourage a better perspective with regard to coping with work pressures), Quality initiatives ( To provide guidance on ideal standards for products, processes and procedures), Safety ( to guide on the measures to be taken to help prevent work and product hazards) and Sexual harassment (to ensure responsive, modest behavior). (Beeby and Rathborn, 1983) General Benefits from Employee Training and Development    Benefits of training are numerous. Various sources (as cited at the end of this paper) provide diverse views as to the advantages workers derive from this activity. From the organizations perspective, employees find greater job satisfaction, higher motivation, higher acceptability of change and creativity. This would result in mitigating reputation risk, result in monetary gains for the firm as a result of higher efficiency and present a better image of the entity for the outside world.    Role of Training and Development in SHRM    The entity needs to mold its core business activities with its expectations from human capital and thus bring about an integrated plan of its training requirements. Delegation and empowerment at lower levels is one way to achieve an overall increase in performance levels. Thus, a highly qualified and empowered unit of individuals catering to the training needs of the whole entity is a must for SHRM. The HRM department caters to three levels of strata and / or spheres; the ordinary worker, the entity and the career. While the focus on workers is to lend an ear, hear their problems and at the same time advise/aid them in overcoming their problems, entity level activities include aligning human capital with overall business strategies in order to achieve an overall improvement in the bottom line. The tool employed here is mainly a mechanism which helps in the acceptance of change due to interior and exterior environmental changes. Career development is a matching strategy which helps in delegating that work to the workers that best utilizes their true potential. The HR department also caters to training and development. Analyzing and highlighting areas for improvement and coming up with appropriate structured training programs for eradicating these shortcomings is an important role that HR plays in the entity. Orientation and education programs are examples of the types of training mechanisms that might be employed by HR. Gubman writes After getting the right talent into the organization, the second traditional challenge to human resources is to align the workforce with the business—to constantly build the capacity of the workforce to execute the business plan.(Gubman, 1996) Expanding on his statement, a rigorous system of monitoring, assessing and control procedures help in the formulation of effective strategies to harmonize human capital with overall corporate strategy. Another step would be the use of monetary aspects to align personal interests with overall corporate objectives. Overall, this would helps in achieving set objectives while at the same time reducing the risk and the cost of non compliance with ethical and legal standards. With authority flows responsibility and the HR department is accountable if it fails to deliver quality structured mechanisms for training, like educational programs. The responsibility is not just to deliver but also to effectively execute these programs. Understanding the inherent intellectual abilities of the workforce and the suitability of a particular training program for the entity are essential knowledge for the HRM professional. â€Å"The quality of employees and their development through training and education are major factors in determining long-term profitability of a small business†¦. Research has shown specific benefits that a small business receives from training and developing its workers, including: increased productivity; reduced employee turnover; increased efficiency resulting in financial gains; [and] decreased need for supervision. say Roberts, Seldon, and Roberts in their book titled human Resources Management. (Robert et al, 1996) Businesses provide training to workers in different spheres of business activity. These include policy assurance, relationship management with stake holders and effective management.   Training is either on-the-job or off-the-job. Where workers are required to learn through experience in real life situations, the training is said to be on-the-job. Within on-the-job training there are a variety of tools at the disposal of the training manager. These include instruction, coaching and job rotation. The use of artificial work situations and focus on theoretical aspects is referred to as Off-the-job training. Classroom lectures, artificial scenarios involving experiments, testing and role play are examples of off-the-job training methods. The advantage thus follow as a result of higher productivity, cost savings due to lower monitoring requirements, mitigate the risk of occupational hazards and contributes to overall tranquility in the work place. As career advancement takes place gradually, entities should also develop mechanisms to help mitigate the risk of running out of effective and experienced managers by constantly focusing on management development procedures. These procedures are a set of integrated processes that help in the nourishment of managerial skills in the workers of today. This technique is itself divided into two branches; on-the-job development, and off-the-job development. Coaching, job rotation, under study assignments and multiple management are examples of on the job development procedures. On the other hand, the use of artificial scenarios, theoretical training through conferences, seminars and lectures are the examples of off-the-job development procedures. Note that these programs are dynamic and their effectiveness would be reviewed constantly to ensure the best possible output. Career development, monitoring and control of performance, remuneration and training are by far the key areas for any HR department. However, unfortunately, career development is not given due importance. This is because it is seen in individualistic terms, thus failing to recognize that by focusing on this area, firms can ensure a readily available set of quality skills while at the same time tend to the self actualization needs of the employee.   Arguments also tend to explain the relationship of career development with the establishment of worker networks outside the formalities of the corporate world and thus ensure out reach to potential resources via these informal channels (Edstrà ¶m Galbraith, 1977). Active team exercises are an example of HRD being aligned with SHRM. Through the use of this method of training, firms can develop their staff to actively cope with, understand and solve problems that result from being part of a community. Moreover, with the advent of technology, HRD professionals today have access to more innovative tools for dynamic training and development of employees; these include, for instance, the â€Å"color blind† game. It is an exercise that presents a particular problem and helps highlight the barriers which exist in simulated/virtual team structures with respect to communication and consensus. (Mager, 2005.) Other such processes and experiments are also available to highlight potential problems in the group dynamics of the corporate entities. Thus, paying higher attention to these problems by actively applying a wide variety of tools could help in the removal of barriers to business success, improve the bottom line and at the same time tend to the self actualization needs of the employees. Moreover, a coherent strategy in this regard would contribute to overall objectives. Transfer of Training Transfer of training is a phenomenon of persistent application of the learned behavior by the trainees in the training process to their job. This learned behavior comprises of knowledge, skills, cognitive and creative strategies. The generalization of training and the maintenance of learned skills form an important component of transfer of training. Generalization is the trainee’s potential to utilize all the skills and knowledge (verbal knowledge and motor skills) on the work related problems and situations which are somewhat similar but not completely identical to the problems and situations encountered during training. Maintenance of the learned skills is to incessantly bring into play all the newly acquired capabilities. There are several factors contributing in the whole process such as training design, trainee characteristics and work environment. Training design, as the name suggests refers to the physical characteristics of the learning environment as well as the sources utilized to train the trainee. Another ingredient, which along with training design, influences learning trainee characteristics i.e. the attitude of the training participants. Last but not the least; work environment plays a highly crucial role in determining the learning, retention and transfer of training. The execution of whatever the trainee has grasped during his training depends largely on the manager’s support, peer support, technology support and the conducive climate for transfer of training. (Carolyn, 2003) Several aspects have been recognized that manipulate the degree to which understanding gained from the training program transfers to the work. These includes factors such as, the environment at work; the qualities of the learner, etc. It has been seen that an important factor manipulating the transfer process is the degree to which the learner is given the chance of practice and provided with productive opinions from the trainer. Training on One-to-one basis can endow the trainee with this opportunity. Monitoring the employees once they get back to the work can smooth the progress of the transfer of training, particularly if the training promotes the progress and use of comprehension passed on during coaching. For transferring the training, the element of self management should also be taken into account since the trainee can be confronted with various obstacles in the work place which can thus impede the process of transfer. Other than the trainee’s ability, some outside forces also come into place. These forces may include disobliging the management and peers, time pressure, curtailment and cost cutting prevalent in many companies. These impediments make pose negative effects on the transfer weight of learned capabilities. Thus not only the learner’s own positive attitude but also the management cooperation is greatly demanded. With the ever increasing global competition, organizations are giving considerable importance to training and transfer of training. Many companies are now recognizing the value of human, social and structural knowledge in order to bring the maximum out of trainees. (Mary, 2005) Conclusion Humans are different from projects, financial matters and business activities, and thus human resource management has a unique role in the management of human capital and its needs for training and development. Human capital forms the back bone of any organization and thus the importance of a separate dedicated function to manage them is not deniable. Failure to effectively manage human capital is an indication of corporate failure itself and must be predicted, verified and rectified. There are essentially three types of resources: Physical – machinery and stock Financial – Monetary resources in any form Human – Capital to convert the other resources into profitable assets. It is essential to have a coherent and proactive human resource development function in any organizations as they help you fulfill the provision of a healthy, vibrant, ethical and intellectual human capital which uses the other resources available in the best possible manner and thus helps in the achievement of corporate objectives and goals. Human resource development needs to be part of the overall corporate strategy (SHRM) as the long term growth prospects of any company are dependent upon the quality of its labor, which can be greatly enhanced through the use of training and development. References Gubman, L. Edward.1996. The Gauntlet is down. Journal of Business Strategy.17 (6). 33-36 Roberts, G, Gary, S, and Carlotta, R. 1996. Human Resources Management. Washington, D.C.: Small Business Administration Edstrà ¶m, A. Galbraith, J. R. 1977. ‘Transfer of Managers as a Coordination and Control Strategy in Multinational Organizations’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 248-263. Beeby, J.M., and Rathborn, S. 1983. Development Training Using the Outdoors in Management Development Management Education and Development 14 3, 170-181. Craig, Robert L. 1987. A Guide to Human Resource Development, 3rd Ed. New York, New York. McGraw-Hill. OConnor, J Seymour, J. 1994. Training with NLP: Skills for Managers, Trainers, and Communicators. London, England: Thorsons. Mager, Robert. 2005. HRD Training and Development. New York: Jaico Publishing. House. Laird, Dugan. 2003. Approaches to Training and Development (3rd Edition). Irvine, CA: Perseus Publishing  . Wilson, John P. 2005. Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organizations. Chicago, IL: Kogan Page. Kirkpatrick, D. 1983. A Practical Guide for Supervisory Training and Development (2nd ed.) Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Gilley, J.W. Eggland, S.A. 1989 Principles of Human Resource Development. Addison-Wesley, NY. Johansen, K., Kusy, M., Jr., Rouda, R. 1996. The Business Focus of HRD Leaders: a picture of current practice. Minneapolis: Academy of Human Resource Development. Richard S.A. and Elwood H.F. III. 2001. Foundations of Human Resource Development. New York: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Laurie, B and Darlene, R. 1997. What Works: Training and Development Practices. Washington, DC: American Society for Training Development Neal, C and Carnie Ives, L. 1982. Up the HRD Ladder: A Guide to Professional Growth. New York: Addison-Wesley Pub. Ronald R. S. 1998. Reinventing Training and Development. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Jon M.W. and Randy L.D. 2005. Human Resource Development. United States: South-Western College Pub Richard A.S. and Elwood F.H III. 2001. Foundations of Human Resource Development. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Juani, S., Clare, M., Steve, B., and Alan, P. 2005. Human Resource Development: Strategy and tactics. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. James, G. 2005. Strategic Human Resource Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd Carolyn, N. 2003. How to Manage Training: A Guide to Design and Delivery for High Performance. Miami, FL: AMACOM. Mary, B.L. 2005. Beyond Transfer Of Training: Engaging Systems To Improve Performance. Houston, TX. Addison-Wesley.

Benefits of ICT in Education and Classroom Management

Benefits of ICT in Education and Classroom Management ICT has so many advantages in the learning and teaching process. Classroom management is one of them that gained benefits from ICT. According to experienced teachers who use ICT in their classrooms that ICT may make the classroom controlling more effortless because ICT provides materials that make the class more interesting and easy to control (Cox and Webb, 2004). The existence of several sorts of ICT tools gives the class other support of learning especially in terms of visual and auditory learning. Thus the definition of classroom management Content management occurs when teachers manage space, materials, equipment, the movement of people, and lessons that are part of a curriculum or program of studies (Froyen Iverson, 1999, p. 128). This managing will lead to organizing students behavior. Jacob Kounin (1970) has vital studies about effective classroom management, which obtained to systematic results in classroom management techniques. Also, he found critical dimensions of effective class control containing the following issues: withitness: teachers know what each pupil is doing; they have eyes in the back of their heads so are able to pay attention to several things at the same time; Letting pupils know what behavior is expected of them at any given point in time; Smoothness: teachers are able to guide pupil behavior verbally or non- verbally without having to interrupt teaching; Maintaining group focus and interest. Leask and Pachler(2005:44) ICT is beneficial for teachers too, to discipline students deportments in the class. In withitness teachers never are busy with other things in the class while answering a question or other activities (Leask and Pachler, 2005). They should pay their attention to students behaviour even they observe them out of the corner of their eye, it will be good. In addition, students know what they are going to do next time. Finally, in smoothness teachers use efficient techniques that guide students in a way, which does not lead to a noisy atmosphere in the class, but without interrupting teaching process. ICT and Motivation: The British educational communications and technology agency (Becta, 2003) has a research about ICT and motivation, which reports that regular use of ICT across various curriculum subjects, may have a useful motivational impact on students learning (cited in Cox, 1997). It is clear that students stand more time in front of their tasks by using ICT like computer than other methods such as: classic method, which was manual, which is manual. ICT may solve discipline problems and decrease them. Moreover, students who used ICT for educational reasons in school feel more successful were more motivated to learn and have raised self-confidence and self-esteem (cited in Software and information industry association 2000). For example, while writing a paragraph by hand there is no grammar check to correct mistakes, but while ICT programs such as Microsoft Office word, which will detect most of the spelling and grammar mistakes. This process will encourage and motivate students certainly. Leask and Pachler, 2005 refer that the impaCT2 project evaluated the motivation of students through 15 case studies in their books. Researchers found that ICT not only encourages students to become more concentrated on the task. ICT also was seen by some teachers to improve both the competency and cognitive functioning (Cited in Comber et al., 2002, p. 9). Effective learning and teaching with ICT: In the late of 20th century and with the beginning of 21st century, ICT has played roles from simple to vital roles especially in developed countrys school. Learning and teaching process become more effective by using ICT. The use of ICT has developed in different ways to meet the needs of learners in different curricular areas. The use of ICT can: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ help learners be creative; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ be a useful aid to problem solving; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ provide ready access to a world of knowledge and research; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ improve the quality of presentation. (2004, p. 7) ICT assisted students to be more creative in their learning process and it is a beneficial support for problem solving by using different ICT facilities such as: software programs, Internet, and printer. Today, learners have thousands of resources by using ICT in condition while sitting in their home not by searching for knowledge in libraries. Presentations became visual and auditory for students in addition to using software programs like power point. However, all these factors need effective teachers and managements or administrators to apply and achieve these effective benefits on students. The educational effectiveness of ICTs depends on how they are used and for what purpose. And like any other educational tool or mode of educational delivery, ICTs do not work for everyone, everywhere in the same way. (Tinio(2002), p. 19). The useful use of ICT in educational and pedagogical fields changes from person to person and from place to place. It bases on how they are practiced and for which reason. Undoubtedly, some educators use technology in particular computer and the Internet more efficiently than others. They know very well how they use it and when or where and for which occasion. Hence, teaching students the effective use of ICT especially in enhancing access and raising quality is another reason to promote students performance by using ICT and gaining more. The Barriers or Obstacles to the development and integration of ICT in education In the twentieth century schools encounter a number of difficulties including integration of information and communication technologies into the teaching and learning, education curriculum and change in methods in pursuit of developing learner lifelong learning skills (Sabaliauskas and Pukelis, p. 1). Undoubtedly, this is a complex process to change the system of learning and teaching from a traditional method to ICT method. Some people like (Schoepp, 2005) called difficulties as barriers. A barrier is defined as any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective (Schoepp, 2005, p. 2). There are many barriers or difficulties that stand up in front of the development of ICT in education. Teacher-level barriers are lack of teacher confidence, competence and resistance to change negative attitudes. Also, there are school-level barriers, which are lack of time, lack of effective training, lack of accessibility, and lack of technical support (Bingimlas, 2009, p. 237- 241) Disadvantages of ICT Obviously, there are several kinds of drawbacks of ICT in the classroom or outside classroom. The costs of equipments are so expensive that prevent more schools to purchase. Sometimes, students engage with ICT tools for other purposes. Also, ICT is not safe usually for saving data and information because the potential errors may occur in the Windows program or other software programs and hacking by others. The following disadvantages give a list of objectives that staff and facilitators may be required to deal with should problems occur throughout using the ICT equipment. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cost à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Distractions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reliability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Damage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Safety à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hacking (Anon, 2008, http://www.newman.ac.uk/Students_websites/~s.r.i.whitton/Advantages%20%20disadvantages.htm) Integrating ICT throughout the curriculum Jhurree (2005) states that the educational and pedagogical mend happen throughout the world to promote educational level. The integration of ICT in education system is one of them. The effective integration of ICT into classroom needs a systematic plan and scheme. Also, it depends on the policy makers how well understand the dynamics of integrating of ICT. Yet, ICT has been a complex issue because it will change the education completely. The difference that ICT will make in education is conditioned by what education wants to realize with ICT in the context of its needs and strategic ends. The educators must have developed the practice. It begins by good planning that provides the real state of the learners based on globally accepted curricular standards. The value of the ICT tools to make a difference is dependent on the educators identification of the instructional outcomes, methods and materials that ICT can bring efficiently and effectively deliver for the teachers and the learners (Macasio, J. (2008), http://aralaneteacher.ning.com/forum/topics/integrating-ict-in-teaching) Levine (1998) emphasises that the significance of planning, which is based on serious school needs then to be achievable and realistic. The scheme or policy should be practical to solve or change the school situation and to improve learning environments that will be effective. To attain objectives that have not been attained efficiently otherwise: expanding access, promoting equality, improving the internal efficiency of educational systems, enhancing the quality of education, and preparing new and old generations for a technology-driven market place (Haddad and Jurich, 2002, p. 47). The integrating ICT into education offers many useful factors such as: an evolved learning environment for learners by giving motivation that make them to work with instruction interestingly and efficiently. ICT has the capability for making instruction easier, more challenging and motivating for teachers. Nowadays, it is possible to contact with people throughout the world by using ICT especially comput er and the Internet. Teachers play a crucial professional role in ensuring that the integration of ICT into pedagogies is educationally sound. They evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of available technologies, deciding when and how to use them with their students.(MCEETYA (2005), p. 4). Teachers integrating ICT into their education need suitable learning activities and facilities to: motivate, engage, and personalize learning. Also, developing ICT literacy establishes communities of learning. ICT and assessment Previously, teachers were assessing their students in different methods such as: exam, quiz, writing essay, assignments, and oral exams, but all these methods were inside the class. Nowadays, information communication technology has changed the situation by using computer and the Internet but it is in the beginning of the loop. Students can send their assignment to their teacher by e-mail or exams and also (open-book; structured; timed). Participation in online discussions Publication of student work /presentations Experiential activities, such as role-play Debates Reviews Journals and reflection (Anon, http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/t4l/elearning/onlineassessment.html#options) These are all methods that give students an opportunity to access online and share their ideas and requirements? As can be seen, assessment opportunities making use of the web are still rather similar to non-computerized methods and often only use computer communication to submit or comment on students work in traditional ways. Where computer testing per se is used it often comprises short answers and multiple- choice questions Leask and Pachler(2005:136)

Popularity of Soccer Around the World Essay -- essays research papers

Popularity of Soccer Around the World I am going to talk about the most popular sport in the world: football. Now, you may be having visions of huge quarterbacks, dressed up in their padding and helmets, parading down the field during the Super Bowl. But the other kind of football, the football the rest of the world knows, has no padding or helmets. This other football is known in America as soccer. In more than 175 countries across the globe, football, or soccer, rates as the number 1 national sport. Football dates back as far as thousands of years ago. There are records that show that ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt, and China (among others) played an age-old form of football with a stuffed leather ball. Early games in Old England were like mob riots. There were no rules; it was anything goes! The games were so rowdy and violent that many English rulers tried to outlaw them. But it didn’t work. In fact, English travelers took the game with them, spreading it all around the globe. But there needed to be rules. In 1863 the Football Association was formed, or FA, in England. They developed the first real set of rules for modern soccer, or football, as we know it. And actually, the word â€Å"soccer† came from their name, specifically from the word â€Å"assoc†. By 1900 football teams from all different countries were playing against each other, and there was a need for a common set of rules. In 1904 the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or more commonly...

Use of Humor in Erdrichs Tracks Essay -- Erdrich Tracks

Use of Humor in Erdrich's Tracks  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   An old adage claims that laughter is the best medicine to cure human ailments.   Although this treatment might sound somewhat unorthodox, its value as a remedy can be traced back to ancient times when Hypocrites, in his medical treatise, stressed the importance of   â€Å"a gay and cheerful mood on the part of the physician and patient fighting disease† (Bakhtin 67).   Aristotle viewed laughter as man’s quintessential privilege:   â€Å"Of all living creatures only man is endowed with laughter† (Bakhtin 68).   In the Middle Ages, laughter was an integral part of folk culture.   â€Å"Carnival festivities and the comic spectacles and ritual connected with them had an important place in the life of medieval man† (Bakhtin 5).   During the trauma and devastation of German bombing raids on London during World War II, the stubborn resilience of British humor emerged to sustain the spirit of the people and the courage of the nation.   To laugh, even in the face of death, is a compelling force in the human condition.   Humor, then, has a profound impact on the way human beings experience life.   In Louise Erdrich’s novel Tracks, humor provides powerful medicine as the Chippewa tribe struggles for their physical, spiritual, and cultural survival at the beginning of the twentieth century.   While the ability to approach life with a sense of humor is not unique to any one society, it is an intrinsic quality of Native American life.   â€Å"There is, and always has been, humor among Indians . . . † (Lincoln 22).  Ã‚   In deference to their history, this can best be described as survival humor, one which â€Å"transcends the void, questions fatalism, and outlasts suffering† (Lincoln 45).   Through their capacity to draw common... ...emain the contrary powers of Indian humor† (Lincoln 5).   For the Chippewa, this humor provides powerful medicine for the physical, cultural, and spiritual preservation of their tribe.  Ã‚        Works Cited   Bakhtin, Mikhail.   Rabelais and His World.   Bloomington:   Indiana UP, 1984.   Erdrich Louise.   Tracks.   New York:   Harper Collins, 1988.   Ghezzi, Ridie Wilson.   â€Å"Nanabush Stories from the Ojibwe.†Ã‚   Coming to Light.   Ed. Brian Swann.   1st ed.   New York:   Random House, 1994.   Lincoln, Kenneth.   Indi’n Humor.   New York:   Oxford UP, 1993.   Sergi, Jennifer.   â€Å"Storytelling:   Tradition and Preservation in Louise Erdrich’s Tracks.†Ã‚   World Literature Today   66   (Spring 1992):   279-282.   Towers, Margie.   â€Å"Continuity and Connection:   Characters in Louise Erdrich’s Fiction.†Ã‚   American Indian Culture and Research Journal   16   (1992):   99-115.     

In Defence of Harry Flashman Essay

It is understandable why the first mention of the character of Harry Flashman – the opportunistic philanderer of his Majesty’s service who lied and cheated his cowardly way through the Victorian pages of his fictional memoirs by George MacDonald Fraser – is enough to deter the browsing lady, though far be it from anyone to say it should. Since patterns of book-buying snake across the sexes like a flailing sidewinder, it would be hopeless to say as to where on the shop shelf the hand might lay to rest. Nevertheless, for a series of stories far too overlooked for the public’s common good, what could the otherwise fairer sex also find to appreciate in a man whose charm seems as fictitious as the women who fall for it? To put it more simply: can this man – to borrow the blurb – be all bad? If the name â€Å"Flashman† is shouting forward from the back of your mind, dare the â€Å"Lord Flashheart† be named as the bothering heckler? Don’t think him an unwanted associate, for ‘Blackadder’s’ slavering womaniser could be seen as an exaggeration of the â€Å"Flashman persona† and certainly close to what Harry himself may have become had he not, by hand and boot of queen and empire, been thrown into the Flemingesque scenarios he haphazardly emerged from, some the wiser and better-shaped. Unlike the all-consuming debauchery of his comedic counterpart, Harry’s lechery is merely a tempered impetus; punctuating his desire for the English comforts that makes for the only form of patriotism you’ll see in him, if you can call it patriotism – the patriotism of Bond it most certainly is not. What differs Harry from James is awareness, and when taking stock, the idiom trumps the ammo. It would be daft to credit Harry’s decision making with the weighing of political consequence, however; that would be a laughable excuse; something he doesn’t begin to admit. It’s fear that has his mind running back to the jolly English riff-raff and the spread of beds that await. Though isn’t to think with your legs the best strategy for the reporter? Reluctant maybe, Harry is a better reporter than he is a soldier. This cowardice kept him alive ’til a time when he could afford to admit the truth. Concerning the First Afghan War, the truth about a man, General Elphinestone who single-handedly stripped the meat from his ranks as he rung them through the Khord-Kabul pass on their retreat from Afghanistan. Long after witnessing rom on high, the massacre of the regiments from which he had high-tailed the night before, Flashman verbally guts he whom he declares â€Å"No fate could be bad enough for†: â€Å"I still state unhesitatingly, that for pure, vacillating stupidity, for superb incompetence to command, for ignorance combined with bad judgement – in short for the true talent for catastrophe, Elphy outshines all as the greatest military idiot of our own or any other day†¦ † Now what a sorry waste of insightful wit it would have been to have it lost amidst the idiot pride of a fellow more gallant than Harry. Elphinestone is not alone; Harry considers many of the figures he meets to be – to varying degrees – morons, despite his care to concede a grace here and there. It’s no surprise that he met such a top-heavy pile of fools; he was, after all, involved in some of the worst disasters of British imperialism – all the more reason to flee when he could. But you know the fastidious type. Perhaps you’ve a friend whom fits this description, in which case, you’ll understand how empowering it feels to have them praise you – you’re worth a cheer! When chance encounter pairs Harry with one he considers of rare dignity, you too, as the reader, hold them as praiseworthy, or rather, worthy of investigation. It was in 1842 when he jumped into the carriage of Lola Montez – an Irish dancer girl turned adventuress of Europe whose life was spent â€Å"playing with kingdoms† as one might romantically say. Her appearances in ‘Royal Flash’ are glimpses; moments too brief to capture her entirety, yet he alludes to a life beyond the pages with so delicate a respect that one is inspired to follow. Whilst Harry never himself existed, he may as well have. It’s very easy to speak of his personality as anything but fictional. Perhaps to no great surprise considering we get to know the fellow through his own confessions, worded not merely to the benefit of his own authenticity, either. The true blue honesty rubs off well onto those he brushes shoulders with. It’s what we have to thank this bounder for – dramatising without disfiguring a past of characters pallid to most today and enriching the pursuit of history for ourselves. Harry once said about the Earl of Cardigan, that some human faults are military virtues; for Harry, some human faults are literary virtues.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 6

It was a full-force invasion. Even before the echoes of breaking glass had died, figures in black uniforms were swarming through the window. Dark ninjas, Keller thought. An elite group made up of vampires and shapeshifters, the Night World experts at sneaking and killing. Keller's mind, which had been roiling in clouds of stifled anger, was suddenly crystal clear. â€Å"Nissa, take her!† she shouted. It was all she needed to say. Nissa grabbed Diana. It didn't matter that Iliana was screaming breathlessly and too shocked to want to go anywhere. Nissa was a vampire and stronger than a human Olympic weight lifter. She simply picked Iliana up and ran with her toward the back door. Without being told, Winfrith followed close behind, orange energy already sizzling between her palms. Keller knew she would provide good cover- Winnie was a fighting witch. She made full use of the new powers that all the Night People were developing as the millennium got closer. As one of the ninjas lunged after them, she let loose with a blast of poppy-colored energy that knocked him sideways. â€Å"Now you!† Keller shouted to Galen, trying to hustle him into the hallway without turning from the ninjas. She hadn't changed and didn't want to if she could avoid it. Changing took time, left you vulnerable for the few seconds that you were between forms. Right now seconds counted. Galen got a few steps down the hall, then stopped. â€Å"Grandma Harman!† I knew it, Keller thought. He's a liability. The old woman was still in the living room, standing with her feet braced apart, cane ready. Her apprentice, Toby, was in front of her, working up some witch incantation and tossing energy. They were right in the flow of the ninjas. Which was as it ought to be. Keller's mind had clicked through the possibilities right at the beginning and had come to the only reasonable conclusion. â€Å"We have to leave her!† Galen turned to her, his face lit by the multicolored energy that was flying around them. â€Å"What?† â€Å"She's too slow! We have to protect you and Hiana. Get moving!† His features were etched in shock. â€Å"You're joking. Just wait here-I'll bring her.† â€Å"No! Galen-â€Å" He was already running back. Keller cursed. â€Å"Go on!† she yelled to Nissa and Winnie, who were at the entrance to the kitchen, where the back door was. â€Å"Take the limo if you can get to it. Don't wait for us!† Then she turned and plunged into the living room. Galen was trying to shield Grandma Harman from the worst of the energy being exchanged. Keller gritted her teeth. This group of ninjas was only the first wave. They were here to breach the wards and make an opening for whatever was going to follow. Which could be a dragon. The ninjas hadn't finished their job, though. Most of the wards were holding, and the one that had fallen was on a small window. The dark figures could only squirm in one at a time. The house shook as whoever was outside slammed power at it, trying to break a bigger entrance. Faintly, Keller heard an engine rev up outside. She hoped it was the limo. Galen was pulling at Grandma Harman. Toby was grappling hand-to-hand with a ninja. Keller batted a couple of the sneaks out of her way. She wasn't trying to kill them, just put them out of commission. She had almost reached Galen. And then she heard the rumbling. Only her panther ears could have picked it up. Just as the first time when she'd heard it, it was so deep that it seemed both soft and frighteningly loud. It shook her to her bones. In a flash, she knew what was coming. And there was no time to think about what to do. Galen seemed to have sensed it, too. Keller saw him looking at the roof just above the door. Then he turned toward Grandma Harman, shouting. After that, everything happened at once. Galen knocked the old woman down and fell on top of her. At the same time, Keller sprang and landed on top of both of them. She was changing even as she did it. Changing and spreading herself out, trying to make herself as wide and flat as possible. A panther rug to cover them. The brick wall exploded just as the window had, only louder. Shattered with Power, Keller thought. The dragon had recovered†¦ fast. And then it was raining bricks. One hit Keller in the leg, and she lashed her tail in fury. Another struck her back, and she felt a deep pain. Then one got her in the head, and she saw white light. She could hear Galen shouting under her. It seemed to be her name. Then nothing. Something wet touched her face. Keller hissed automatically, pawing at it in annoyance. â€Å"Lemme lone.† â€Å"Boss, wake up. Come on, it's morning already.† Keller opened heavy eyes. She was dreaming. She had to be. Either that, or the afterlife was full of teenage girls. Winnie was bending over her with a dripping washcloth, and Nissa was peering critically over her shoulder. Behind Nissa was Iliana's anxious little heart-shaped face, her hair falling like two shimmering curtains of silvery-starlight gold on either side. Keller blinked. â€Å"I was sure I was dead.† â€Å"Well, you got close,† Winnie said cheerfully. â€Å"Me and Toby and Grandma Harman have been working on you most of the night. You're going to be kind of stiff, but I guess your skull was too thick to crack.† Keller sat up and was rewarded with a stabbing pain in her temples. â€Å"What happened? Where's Galen?† â€Å"Well, golly gee, Boss, I didn't know you cared-â€Å" â€Å"Stop fooling around, Winnie! Where's the guy who's got to be alive if the shapeshifters are going to join Circle Daybreak?† Winnie sobered. Nissa said calmly, â€Å"He's fine, Keller. This is Iliana's house. Everybody's okay. We got you guys out-â€Å" Keller frowned, struck by a new worry. â€Å"You did? Why? I told you to take the girl and go.† Nissa raised an eyebrow wryly. â€Å"Yes, well, but the girl didn't want to go. She made us stop and turn back for you.† â€Å"For Galen,† Keller said. She looked at Diana, who was wearing a pink nightgown with puffy sleeves and looked about seven. She tried to make her voice patient. ‘It was good to think of him, but you should have followed the plan.† â€Å"Anyway, it worked out,† Nissa said. â€Å"Apparently, the dragon blew the house down on top of you, but then he walked right over you trying to get to us.† â€Å"Yeah. I was kind of hoping he wouldn't realize Galen was there,† Keller said. â€Å"Or wouldn't realize he was important.† â€Å"Well, when he found we'd already gotten away in the limo, he and his buddies took after us in cars,† Winnie said. â€Å"But Nissa lost them. And then Iliana†¦ insisted, and so we circled back. And there you were. Galen and Toby were digging you out. We helped them and brought you here.† â€Å"What about Grandma Harman?† â€Å"She came out of it without a scratch. She's tougher than she looks,† Winnie said. â€Å"She talked to Iliana's mom last night,† Nissa added. â€Å"She fixed everything up so we can stay here. You're supposed to be a distant cousin, and the rest of us are your friends. We're from Canada. We graduated last year, and we're touring the U.S. by bus. We ran into Iliana last night, and that's why she was late. It's all covered, nice and neat.† â€Å"It's all ludicrous,† Keller said. She looked at Iliana. â€Å"And it's time to stop. Haven't you seen enough yet? That's twice you've been attacked by a monster. Do you really want to try your luck for a third time?† It was a mistake. Iliana's face had been sweet and anxious, but now Keller could see the walls slam down. The violet eyes hazed over and sparked at the same time. â€Å"Nobody attacked me until you guys came!† Iliana flared. â€Å"In fact, nobody's attacked me so far at all. I think it's you people they're after-or maybe Galen. I keep telling you that I'm not the one you're looking for.† This was the time for diplomacy, but Keller was too exasperated to think. â€Å"You don't really believe that. Unless you practice being stupid-â€Å" â€Å"Stop calling me stupid!† The last word was a piercing shriek. At the same time, Diana threw something at Keller. She batted it out of the air automatically before it could hit. â€Å"I'm not stupid! And I'm not your Witch Child or whatever you call it! I'm just a normal kid, and I like my life. And if I can't live my life, then I don't want to-to do anything.† She whirled around and stalked out, her nightgown billowing. Keller stared at the missile she'd caught. It was a stuffed lamb with outrageously long eyelashes and a pink ribbon tied around its white neck. Nissa folded her arms. â€Å"Well, you sure handled that one, Boss.† â€Å"Give me a break.† Keller tossed the lamb onto the window seat. â€Å"And just how did she make you two turn around and come back for us, by the way?† Winnie pursed her lips. â€Å"You heard it. Volume control. She kept screaming like-well, I don't know what screams like that. You'd be surprised how effective it is.† â€Å"You're agents of Circle Daybreak; you're supposed to be immune to torture.† But Keller dropped the subject. â€Å"What are you still hanging around for?† she added, as she swung her feet out of bed and carefully tried her legs. â€Å"You're supposed to stick with her, even when she's in the house. Don't stand here staring at me.† â€Å"You're welcome for putting you back together again,† Winnie said, her eyes on the ceiling. In the doorway, she turned and added, â€Å"And, you know, it wasn't Galen she kept screaming we had to go back and get last night. It was you, Keller.† Keller stared at the door as it shut, bewildered. â€Å"You can't go to school,† Keller hissed. â€Å"Do you hear me? You cannot go to school.† They were all sitting around the kitchen table. Iliana's mother, a lovely woman with a knot of platinum hair coiled on her neck, was making breakfast. She seemed slightly anxious about her four new houseguests, but in a pleasantly excited way. She certainly wasn't suspicious. Grandma Harman had done a good job of brainwashing. â€Å"We're going to have a wonderful Christmas,† she said now, and her angelic smile grew brighter. â€Å"We can go into Winston-Salem for a Christmas and Candle Tea. Have you ever had a Moravian sugar-cake? I just wish Great-aunt Edgith had been able to stay.† Grandma Harman was gone. Keller didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated. Despite what she kept saying, as long as the old woman was around, Keller would worry about her. But with her gone, there was nobody to appeal to, nobody who could order Iliana into safekeeping. So now they were sitting and having this argument. It looked like such a normal breakfast scene, Keller thought dryly. Iliana's father had already left for work. Her mother was bustling around cheerfully. Her little brother was in a high chair making a mess with Cheerios. Too bad that the four nicely dressed teenagers at the table were actually two shapeshifters, a witch, and a vampire. Galen was directly opposite Keller. There were shadows under his eyes-had anyone gotten any sleep last night?-and he seemed subdued but relaxed. Keller hadn't had a chance to speak to him since the dragon's attack. Not that she had anything to say. â€Å"Orange juice, Kelly?† â€Å"No, thank you, Mrs. Dominick.† That was what this family thought their last name was. They didn't realize that witches trace their heritage through the female line and that both Iliana and her mother were therefore Harmans. â€Å"Oh, please, call me Aunt Anna,† the woman said. She had her daughter's violet eyes and the smile of an angel. She was also pouring Keller juice. Now I see where Iliana gets her scintillating intelligence, Keller thought. â€Å"Oh-thanks, Aunt Anna. And, actually, it's Keller, not Kelly.† â€Å"How unusual. But it's nice, so modern.† â€Å"It's my last name, but that's what everybody calls me.† â€Å"Oh, really? What's your first name?† Keller broke off a piece of toast, feeling uncomfortable. â€Å"Raksha.† â€Å"But that's beautiful! Why don't you use it?† Keller shrugged. â€Å"I just don't.† She could see Galen looking at her. Shapeshifters usually were named for their animal forms, but neither Keller nor Raksha fit the pattern. â€Å"I was abandoned as a kid,† she said in a clipped voice, looking back at Galen. Diana's mother wouldn't be able to make anything of this, but she might as well satisfy the princeling's curiosity. â€Å"So I don't know my real last name. But my first name means ‘demon.'† Diana's mother paused with the juice carton over Nissa's glass. â€Å"Oh. How†¦ nice. Well, then, I see.† She blinked a couple of times and walked off without pouring Nissa any juice. â€Å"So what does Galen mean?† Keller said, holding his gaze challengingly and handing her full glass to Nissa. He smiled-a little wryly-for the first time since sitting down. † ‘Calm.'† Keller snorted. â€Å"It figures.† â€Å"I like Raksha better.† Keller didn't answer. With â€Å"Aunt Anna† safely in the kitchen, she could speak again to Diana. â€Å"You understood before, right? That you can't go to school.† â€Å"I have to go to school.† For somebody who looked as if she were made of spun glass, Diana ate a lot. She spoke around a mouthful of microwave pancake. â€Å"It's out of the question. How can we go with you? What are we supposed to be, for Goddess's sake?† â€Å"My long-lost cousin from Canada and her friends,† Diana said indistinctly. â€Å"Or you can all be exchange students who're here to study our American educational system.† Before Keller could say anything, she added, â€Å"Hey, how come you guys aren't at school? Don't you have schools?† â€Å"We've got the same ones you do,† Winnie said. â€Å"Except Nissa-she graduated last year. But Keller and I are seniors like you. We just take time off for this stuff.† â€Å"I bet your grades are as bad as mine,† Diana said unemotionally. â€Å"Anyway, I have to go to school this week. There are all sorts of class parties and things. You can come. It'll be fun.† Keller wanted to hit her with the pot of grits. She had a problem, though. Iliana's little brother Alex had escaped from his high chair and was climbing up her leg. She looked down at him uneasily. She wasn't good with family-type things, and she especially wasn't good with children. â€Å"Okay,† she said. â€Å"Go on back and sit down.† She peeled him off and tried to start him in the right direction. He turned around and put his arms up. â€Å"Kee-kee. Kee-kee.† â€Å"That's his word for ‘kitty,'† Iliana's mother said, coming in with a plate of sausages. She ruffled his white-blond hair. â€Å"You mean Kelly, Kelly,† she told him. † ‘Keller, Keller!† Winnie corrected helpfully. Alex climbed into Keller's lap, grabbed her hair, and hoisted himself into a standing position. She found herself looking into huge violet baby eyes. Witch eyes. â€Å"Kee-kee,† he said flatly, and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Winnie grinned. â€Å"Having trouble?† The kid had two chubby arms around Keller's neck now and was nudging her chin with his head like a kitten looking for pets. He had a good grip, too. This time, she couldn't peel him off. â€Å"It's just-distracting,† she said, giving up and petting him awkwardly. It was ridiculous. How could she argue with baby giggles in her ears? â€Å"You look kind of sweet together,† Iliana observed. Tm getting dressed for school now. You guys can do whatever you want.† She floated off while Keller was trying to think of a reply. Nissa and Winnie hastily followed her. Galen got up to help Iliana's mother with the dishes. Keller tugged at the baby, who clung like a sloth. Maybe there was shapeshifter blood in this family. â€Å"Kee-kee†¦ pui!† That was what it sounded like. â€Å"Pwee?† Keller glanced nervously at his diaper. â€Å"He means ‘pretty† Iliana's mother said, coming back in. â€Å"It's funny. He doesn't usually take to people like that. He likes animals better.† â€Å"Oh. Well, he has good taste,† Keller said. She finally succeeded in detaching him and gave him back to his mother. Then she started down the hallway after Iliana, muttering, â€Å"Too bad about his eyesight.† â€Å"I think his eyesight's just fine,† Galen said, right behind her. Keller turned, realizing they were alone in the hall. His faint smile faded. â€Å"I really wanted to talk to you,† he said.