Auditor at Deloitte Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Auditor at Deloitte - Research Paper Example Job security- There is fewer jobs that offer higher salaries and secured job than the job of an accountant. Any kind of business requires an accountant so the scope of landing a job as an accountant is immense. On top of that of one earns a CPA license or a master’s degree then the possibility of landing in a good job increases much further. The job of an accountant in addition to being secure is one where demand for accountants is likely to grow at a steady rate of 13% from 2012 to 2022. The pay package of an accountant is quite high and the minimum education required for being an accountant is a bachelor’s degree in accountancy. Now coming to the choice of Deloitte, Deloitte is one of the big 4 accounting firm. These accounting firms specialize in audit, and other jobs of finance. Over several years Deloitte has merged with several other firms on order to become one of the largest accounting firms on whole world. In 2013 the total annual revenue was $32.4 billion. The firm continued to grow through revision and approx annual growth in 2012 was 8%. The job at Deloitte is one of the most prestigious jobs at one of the most professional services of the world. Deloitte is one of the best places to work in the world (Deloitte). A career in audit at Deloitte is a key link in the financial reporting chain that puts one in the position of trusted advisor to different businesses across different regions. The skills required for the job are analytical skills required for the analysis of the business requirements. In addition one must be thoroughly aware of the audit practices at Deloitte. The job requires analytical skills; good grasp of subject knowledge in addition to understands the needs and requirements of the customers well so that specific solutions can be tailor made for the requirements of the clients. All these activities that need to be done are in keeping and adhering to the highest standard on independence,

Week 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Week 3 - Coursework Example The Act also has a crucial provision, Â §404 which requires companies to evaluate their internal financial-reporting controls on an annual basis. While the intention of this legislation is clear, the outcome is still debatable in terms of the benefits it brings to the company and the economy as compared to the costs. Some of the provisions that bring this debate include those that cover issues related to insider trading, auditor independence, internal controls, corporate responsibilities, and internal controls. After the collapse of Enron and WorldCom that left shockwaves throughout the corporate world and left investors in the biggest accounting scandal in history, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enforced. This act has become the most significant legislation that embraces corporate governance in the United States since the securities laws of the 1930s. SOX has resulted in a number of changes in the regulatory environment and governance in the United States, including requiring separate analysts of the financial statements from underwriters, requiring senior management to certify their company’s quarterly financial statements, heightened disclosure, and requiring attorneys to report fraud or crimes when detected without delay. While the intention of SOX is clear, there has been a debate about its effects. Proponents of this legislation maintain the fact that it helps investors be more confident in the safety of their investments because it has helped in improving the accuracy of th e financial reports and transparency. On the other hand, opponents argue that compliance to this Act results in a greater burden to public firms, especially those which are small because of increased average costs as a result of the new regulations. Studies show that SOX has resulted in a dramatic increase in companies’ compliance costs. Even though this cost has now reduced as

Child Rights On Decision Making Young People Essay

Child Rights On Decision Making Young People Essay Children have the same rights as adults. As a vulnerable group, children have particular rights that recognize their special need for protection and also that help them develop their full potential. Children are not helpless objects of charity or a property of their parents. They are recognized as human beings and the subjects of their own rights. A child is an individual, a family and community member with rights and appropriate responsibilities for his or her age and development stage. Children should enjoy the basic qualities of life as rights rather than privileges accorded to them (CRC 2006) Every child whether a boy or girl irrespective of age is unique and has important value as a human being with the right to respect for their human dignity. It has a right to be heard and to be considered in all matters and decisions that concern him or her, a right to be listened to and to be taken seriously (CRIN, 2002). This increases mutual respect and understanding between children and adults. Childrens participation protects them more effectively from abuse and exploitation. When we understand and respect childrens own experiences, we are able to create better protection mechanisms and the children themselves can act as active agents in their own protection. This helps to develop and build recognition of children as independent bearers of rights with a sense of identity and a positive implication for their self esteem (CRIN, 2002). Childrens rights are defined in a wide spectrum of economic, civil, political and social rights. These rights have been labeled as the right to protection and right to empowerment. Some of these rights are: Right to provision: Children have a right to be provided with a good standard of living, education and services, health care and a right to play. These include access to schooling, a balanced diet and a warm bed to sleep in. They also have a right to be protected from neglect, abuse, discrimination and exploitation (CRC, 2006) Children also have a right to participation. They have a right to their own programs and services and to take part in them. This includes decision making and involvement in libraries. Some rights allow children to grow up healthy and free. This include; Freedom of speech, Freedom of thought, Freedom from fear, Freedom of choice and to make decisions and Ownership over ones body. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a framework for addressing not only rights to child protection care and adequate provision, but also for participation. A child who is capable of making his or her own views shall be assured by the parties of the state a right to express them freely (CRC, 2006) The views of the child are given weight according to the maturity and age of the child. A child can participate in the sense of taking part or being present or participate in the sense of knowing that ones actions are taken note of and may be acted upon. The extent to childrens participation will vary between and within societies (CRC, 2006) There has been a clash between the childrens protection and participation rights. Protection rights protect the children against exploitation and abuse for the best interest of the child while participation rights allow children to take part in decisions concerning their lives and a right to freedom of conscious and to hold an opinion. Adults and their childrens views may not always coincide. Many childrens wishes and views are ignored by the adults for the best interest of the child. For instance; Every child is entitled to acquire a name and a nationality. All children registration should be upon birth. The childs name, birth date and parents names are recorded. When a child is given a name at birth, he or she is not given an opportunity to choose a name for himself or herself. The parents do this for the best interests of the child. The child may however, decide to change its name upon reaching the age of maturity. In this case the child is denied a right to participate in choosing its name at first but at later stages of development; the same child can participate in the same by changing to its desired name (CRC). A child has a right to be protected from all forms of punishment or discrimination regardless of their age, race, sex, religion, status, their expressed opinions, activities and beliefs of the family members. As much as a child has a right to religion, to express their opinion, or equality regardless of their age, these are sometimes restricted by their parents or legal guardians. For instance, a child is not at liberty to join a religion cult without the parents interference. It is not because the child is denied its freedom to worship but its for the best interest of the child (CRC). Children also have a right to get and share information and to express them. In exercising this right, they are supposed to be careful not to damage themselves or the freedoms, rights and reputations of others. They may share information through talking, writing or drawing. A childs wishes may be ignored if it is for the best of the child. For instance, a child may be denied the right to express dislike or hatred towards a particular person by hauling insults at the person. On the same, the child may be restricted on the manner of expression. For instance through shouting or screaming or demanding instead of asking politely (CRC). Children have a right of association. They have a right to meet and to join groups and organizations. Not all groups joined by children are acceptable by their parents or guardians; this brings a clash between the childrens right of association and prevention of joining them. Children are also restricted from joining into these groups if they stop other people from enjoying their rights. For instance a rioting group which will probably cause peace disturbance to others, or an outlawed group will not be acceptable that the children join (CRC). Children have a right to privacy. They are protected from attacks in their way of life, their name, families and homes. However, their way of life can be invaded by their parents or guardians if its for their best interests, for instance, when parents suspect that the child may be involved in drugs or other unlawful activities they may be forced to ransack the childs room or personal effects (CRC). Its a right for the children to access information. This they get through the radio, newspapers, television, internet and childrens books. They have a right to choose what kind of information they would like to access and in which manner. However, not all information is suitable or helpful to them (CRC). Most of the information provided by the mass media especially the radio, television and internet is unsuitable to children. It may contain violence, obscenity or strong language. Since these are harmful to the children they dont have a right over them and so their parents or guardians have to protect the children from such by deciding on what is good or bad for them. The parents also have to protect on what their children browse on the internet since they can access pornography or sites with violence which are harmful to the child (CRC). It is a childs right to live with its parents. The child can however be separated from the parents when the conditions are not favorable for the child. Such conditions may be neglect or abuse by the parents or separation by the parents hence the state has to decide on which parent has to live with the child. If the child has no parents the state decides on a home or an institution for the child to live. In this case the child may not have much of a say in the choice of who to live with. Sometimes children run away from their birth homes to live with their relatives or even live on the streets. This may be as a result of poverty or rebellion. The best interests of the child are considered first before the child is taken back to its parents home (CRC). Conclusion Children have a right to participate in decisions that shape their life and therefore should be given a chance to express their own opinion. However, this right is only exercised considering the maturity and the best interest of the child. Not all decisions that a child makes will be supported by their parents or guardians. For instance, a child cannot make a decision not to go school. For the best interests of the child the child will be forced to attend school.

Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life :: Essays

Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was born in London on Setpember 29th, 1810 to William and Elizabeth Stevenson. Her father William was a former Unitarian minister who, after retiring from the ministry, â€Å"combined farming, writing, and teaching before being appointed Keeper of the Records to the Treasury" (Allott 10). Her mother, Elizabeth died just over a year after giving birth and, consequently, while still an infant, Gaskell was sent off to live with her aunt, Hannah Lumb who resided in Heathside, Knutford. Throughout her young life, up until her 1832 marriage, Gaskell lived in various places around England including Stratford-on-Avon, where she received some education, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Manchester. It was in Manchester that she met her husband, William Gaskell, a minister’s assistant, â€Å"who was eventually to [become] Senior Minister and remain at Cross Street [Unitarian Chapel in Manchester] for the rest of a long, active life (Allott 11).† From 1832 to 1848, after her marriage to William Gaskell, Mrs. Gaskell lived a life of domesticity, giving birth to 6 children, with 4 surviving. Besides raising the 4 surviving children, Gaskell worked with her husband to aid, comfort, and minister to the poor of Manchester. In 1845, Gaskell suffered the haunting loss of her only son to scarlet fever at just nineteen months old. With the encouragement of her husband, Gaskell turned her grief towards writing, and her literary career began. Over the course of her literary career, Gaskell wrote â€Å"six novels, several nouvelles, a biography, about thirty short stories, a number of sketches and articles, and a few poems (Allott 8).† The novels, in chronological order were Mary Barton (1848), Cranford (1853), Ruth (1853), North and South (1855), Slyvia’s Lovers (1863), and Cousin Phillis (1864). The biography was of her good friend and fellow authoress, Charlotte Brontà «, The Life of Charlotte Brontà « (1857). Gaskell’s career included two controversies, one over her portrayal of the fallen woman in society in Ruth the other over accusations of libel from portrayals in The Life of Charlotte Brontà «. Despite these controversies, Gaskell remained a popular literary figure throughout her life, even enjoying a friendship and working relationship with perhaps the most popular writer of the day, Charles Dickens, to whose Household Words publication she became a frequent contributor. When Gaskell passed away in 1865, The Athenaeum â€Å"rated [Gaskell] ‘if not the most popular, with small question, the most powerful and finished female novelist of an epoch singularly rich in female novelists’(Victorian Web).

Effects of Music on Teenagers Essay

Every teenager who listens to music interprets the lyrics in a different way. Some people take out a deeper meaning from the lyrics, even going to the point of saying that music â€Å"saves their lives†. Music holds a powerful effect on an individual because it can stimulate and provoke multiple responses—physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. But, every genre of music gives its own message to teenagers. Some may enforce positive actions, while some condone negative actions. Rap has the negative status of objectifying women and promoting gang violence. On the other hand, rock has a positive reputation because it helps people cope with their problems and identify with their peers. Everyone, teenagers included, is susceptible to internalizing the messages they hear over and over again. The degree of those messages determines the effect on the teenager. Every genre of music effects teenagers in a different ways. In some genres, like rock, the positive effects outrun the negative, and in some genres, like rap, the exact opposite happens. Structurally, the rock and rap genres has noticeable differences between them. Generally, the sound of rock music rotates around guitars, bass, drums, and the keyboard. There is a large tendency to focus on instruments, especially the guitar, which requires considerable skill to play. For example, the rock band Fall Out Boy consists of four members who each play their own instrument while one member does vocals and plays an instrument. Alternatively, rap’s main focus is free styling and looping words to create a â€Å"story† in a flowing rhyme, keeping it in sync with the beat. In most cases, like the rapper Machine Gun Kelly, the artist preforms by themselves with the assistance with a DJ or MC to play the musical tracks for the songs. Rap displays a larger emphasis on lyrics, while ro ck likes to have a variety of sounds. In the rock genre, it’s all about expression. Rock music can speak about all kinds of topics, from love to some not so pleasant. Many rock musicians sing about real issues that teens are going through, which helps teens find motivation. Adolescents sometimes find it difficult to communicate with older people, most of the time because of ideological differences. This often makes teens with problems shy away from seeking help and guidance. Teens find hope and encouragement when they listen to music that talks about problems they are going through. The identification they are experiencing with the rock song  lyrics can also help teens to become more tolerant and open-minded. A study published for the 9th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition reported that mood regulation is one of the most important reasons why people listen to their favorite music (McCammon). Rock music can help mood regulation in teenagers, especially females who are prone to mood swings and depression. For example, the song Eye of the Tige r by Survivor can cause teens to associate with the underdog. The song provides a positive message, while keeping an uplifting tone throughout the whole song. The music provides depressed teens with a mode to forget their problems and participate in healthy activities, such as dancing. While rock has been given a positive reputation for allowing teenagers to express themselves, some have given it a poor reputation because it can intensify emotions. While those people who are naturally happy and cheerful are less likely to have effects from the negative lyrics, other, less fortunate teens might not be the same. Adolescents who are susceptible to negative, violent, or depressive thoughts are more likely to have those feelings, and act on them, after listening to rock music. At the same time, if a person is not experiencing those negative thoughts, the music can act as a catalyst, causing the teen to have these thoughts and urges. The rap genre is often given a negative reputation for the way it effects teenagers. Critics of the genre say that the music objectifies women and promotes drug use. For example, the song 9 Problems by Jay-Z, repeat edly refers to a woman as a â€Å"bitch.† This song allowed women to be categorized under the vulgar name â€Å"bitch†, because of the high reception the song received in the media (The Portrayal of Women Within Popular Music). A recent study by WebMD reports that teenagers who listen to rap music are more likely to have babies and engage in risky sexual behavior (Kirchheimer). Apparently, this behavior is because the lyrics in many rap songs promote the idea of women as nothing more than sexual objects. Correspondingly, it was shown that youth who listened to rap songs were more likely to get involved with drugs. This is because in some songs, the artists refer to drugs that the person has not heard of, which sparks their curiosity to learn and most likely try the new drugs. The rap genre can also give teenagers a false sense of belonging. When they hear about, or see in the videos, expensive possessions, they feel that if they spend their money to buy that stuff, they can be just like the  people in the videos. The media then uses this to their advantage to market products to the younger, naà ¯ve generations. Even though rap is seen as a vulgar music genre by a large population, it can be positive for teenagers. It makes a person feel good about who they are because even if they may not live a good life, they can relate to the lyrics in a particular song. This is different than the false sense of belonging because instead of the individual trying to fit in, they are finding the place where they fit in, while not changing themselves. Rap lyrics also help youth feel free and powerful. They are free to express what they want to express. Listeners of the music have even gone to the extent of calling the rap genre â€Å"a religion for troubled youth† because it provides them with an outlet to express themselves and something to believe in. It is evident that rock and rap are very different genres that expose different messages to teenagers. But, no matter the genre of music, studies have shown that the use of music videos show an increased open-mindedness to deviant behavior among teenagers. The music videos reinforce what is being heard in the lyrics with the use of visuals. They usually exhibit sexual innuendo, acts of aggression, and gender stereotypes. Research has shown that, after watching videos, men said it was necessary to pursue the women to an inappropriate extent, while women thought it was annoying and/or disturbing. Men scored higher in relations to attitudes for sexual overtones, while women scored higher on the acceptance of interpersonal violence. The results of the study also showed that women who were often subjected to violent music videos were more accepting of violence. Also, men had a greater acceptance of sexual stereotyping and rape myths after watching the videos (The Effects of Violent Music Content On Teens). Over time, people have stereotyped genres of music. Sometimes the music is seen as positive and uplifting. But other times it is seen as negative and downgrading. In the end, the way that music effects teenagers all depends on how the tee n acts and interprets the music. Depending on their emotional and mental status, they can have different reactions to the music than someone who has different feelings than them.

Bilingual Education Essay

A deeper sense of xenophobia has descended on America recently. The sleepy rural town of Pahrump, NV, reflected this animosity when it passed an ordinance that made English the official language and made it illegal to display foreign flags without an accompanying American flag (Curtis, 2006). In an act of civil disobedience, two Pahrump residents placed a Polish flag and an Italian flag (in reference to their own ancestry) on their front porch (Curtis, 2006). Vandals drenched the Italian flag with eggs overnight (the Italian flag looks similar to the Mexican flag). A majority of the voting citizens of Pahrump would eventually overturn the polarizing ordinance. This incident reflects a salient truth: many monolingual Americans feel uncomfortable with the influx of Spanish-speaking peoples because of the perceived lack of assimilation by Hispanics. This xenophobic atmosphere has trickled onto the realm of education: a movement for the elimination of bilingual education in public schools has gained more attention recently. Proponents argue that using native languages in the classroom impedes national unity (Brisk, 1998). Others feel that bilingual education impedes learning. This research paper examines a possible cause of the anti-bilingual movement. It also examines some arguments and counter arguments of bilingual education. Although by definition bilingual education may include English and any foreign language, this paper focuses on the Spanish-speaking population because of the perception many have about the Hispanic community: that it resists conforming to American culture. Such sentiments have contributed to the anti-bilingual education movement that has descended in many parts of America. This is unfortunate because bilingual education programs actually promote assimilation into mainstream American society. Bilingual Education 3 The bilingual education debate, as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, has garnished more dialogue lately because of another hot button issue; immigration. Newscasts often flash images of â€Å"illegal aliens† crossing our borders. Many talk shows often feature lively debates concerning effects of the undocumented workforce. The immigration debate finally sparked a massive protest in 20006 with the â€Å"Day Without an Immigrant† boycott that would affect American schools and businesses (Lendon, 2006). The topic of bilingual education has inevitably entered the debate. Editorial writers often slip in their stances on bilingual education when discussing immigration issues. Pugnacious talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh often host acidic debates on bilingualism in the United States. This issue will certainly not evaporate any time soon. What many opponents of bilingual education fail to mention is that there is an elephant in the room: xenophobia. Many monolingual citizens fear that American culture as they know it is morphing into something foreign. Considering America’s rich, colorful immigrant history, this fear baffles the mind. Why would the descendants of Poles, Germans, Czechs, Italians, and other European immigrants express such concerns? Critics of America’s evolving culture should focus on the similarities between the immigrants of their ancestors and the plight of today’s average immigrant. Many of America’s ancestors landed on our shores at the turn of the 20th century (Calderon, Slavin, 2001). Their European ancestors, like today’s immigrants, had the same dreams that many of today’s immigrants have: to escape the abyss of poverty or war. Although many immigrants faced linguistic and cultural obstacles, many witnessed their children succeed in school and acquire economic security. According to Calderon and Slaven Bilingual Education 4 (2001), â€Å"School is the ladder by which children of immigrants climb out of poverty and into mainstream society† (p. 8). The goal of the immigrants of yesteryear was clearly to assimilate by means of a quality education. If education is a major ingredient for assimilation of immigrants into mainstream society, then society should embrace bilingual education. A starting point is literacy, since reading cuts across all academic subjects. An effective strategy involves using a child’s native language in literacy instruction. We generally acquire reading skills by reading (Smith, 1994). By providing a child with reading material in his/her primary language, we provide the student with a healthier, stronger academic base from which to build on. Once a child acquires these basic skills such as identifying phonic blends in his/her mother tongue, the student digests the given topic easier. Equipped with reading and content knowledge skills, the transition into literacy in a second language then becomes smoother for the English language learner. Truly, a child’s native language is the best initial medium of instruction (Brisk,1998). I did not realize how important using a child’s native language was until I experienced an obstacle with a native Spanish speaker several years ago. Using only English, I was trying to teach a student fresh from Mexico the concept of active and linking verbs. I soon realized that she had never learned these basics about her own native language, let alone grammar of the English language. I soon resorted to teaching her grammar in Spanish. After she mastered the subject, I transitioned what she learned into the initial English lesson that I had tried teaching her earlier. This experience lends credence to the point that scholars make: children still have a lot to learn about their Bilingual Education 5 native tongue upon entering American schools (Brisk, 1998). Despite the fact that research supports using native languages as a tool for literacy, many continue their resistance to bilingual education; they argue for an all-English atmosphere in schools. An indirect but serious consequence of this approach is the psychological effect it may have on many Latinos. Many agree that language is a key component of every culture (Blanc, 2000). By discouraging Spanish from the classroom, the limited English proficient (LEP) student may feel that his or her native language or culture has less value than the mainstream culture. This may produce a sense of inferiority in the mind of many Hispanics and may cause strife among different ethnicities. Ironically, this moves many Latinos away from the assimilation ideal, which opponents of bilingual education do not want. In addition to affecting the morale of the LEP community, eliminating bilingual education programs may increase the already sky-high Hispanic high school drop-out rate. Lack of academic success is one reason Hispanic youths quit school (Lockwood, 1996). By removing their limited access to research-based programs such as bilingual education, they may suffer even less academic success. Eventually, this may produce a Hispanic community full of low-skilled, poorly educated people. In other words, it may produce a subclass. Again, this moves Hispanics away from the assimilation goal cherished by many Americans. Regardless of the benefits of bilingual education, anti-bilingual sentiments continue percolating. Some resort to using other Latinos as a means for obtaining their anti-bilingual agenda. Some cite Richard Rodriguez’s In Hunger of Memory: the Bilingual Education 6 Education of Richard Rodriguez as a case against bilingual education (Krashen, 2007). Rodriguez, a Mexican immigrant, enjoyed great academic success and assimilated into American society despite the lack of bilingual education. Some average Hispanics parallel Rodriquez’s anti-bilingual education stances. Forty-three-year-old waitress Ana Julia Duncan, daughter of Mexican nationals, received minimal bilingual services in the third grade (personal communication). Despite this fact, academically she performed moderately well (personal communication). Because of her success in school, Duncan feels that bilingualism has little value: â€Å"I didn’t speak English when I started school. I did OK. Why can’t anybody else do OK? † Unfortunately, her way of thinking strikes a familiar chord with other Latinos in her same situation. The Rodriquez and Duncan stories seem to act as support for the elimination of bilingual education. However, neither person represent the average, modern English language learner. In Rodriquez’s case, he grew up in a predominately white neighborhood (Kreshen, 2007). As a result, he was exposed to the English language a lot more than the average Spanish speaker. Since a child’s socio-cultural environment plays a major role in his or her intellectual development (Gregory, 2004), Rodriguez’s success should not surprise many. His peers, in essence, acted as quasi-tutors. Duncan’s situation parallels Rodriguez’s upbringing: she too grew up in a mainly white neighborhood (personal communication). Therefore she too received informal training or input from her peers. A majority of Hispanic LEP students, by contrast, live in predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhoods and lack the advantages Rodriguez and Duncan had as children (Kreshen, 2007). Bilingual Education 7 Despite the flaws in using Rodriguez and Duncan as microcosms in the bilingual education debate, some nevertheless insist in a total immersion approach in our schools. Although total immersion has no credible supporting evidence (Crawford, 2007), from a personal point of view, it does have a tinge of value. I had virtually no English-speaking skills as a very young child. My parents were Mexican nationals; my father worked at the post office while my mother stayed at home with the children. Thus, I had virtually no exposure to English. Upon entering my predominantly white kindergarten class in 1970, I realized that I was basically on my own since there were no other Latino children in that particular class. However, this sink or swim situation had a benefit. Within a year, I spoke conversational English. By the first grade, I became fairly fluent in English and would earn average grades. In my opinion, total immersion did play a role in my acquiring salient English skills. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the second grade, I felt as if I lost a part of my identity: I lost a good deal of my native language. I forgot some major Spanish vocabulary words, I started having trouble pronouncing many polysyllabic words, and I had developed a slight gringo accent. Mexican children noticed this and would often make fun of my awkward Spanish. To make things worse, my English skills still needed improvement. The presence of bilingual education may have prevented some of my linguistic obstacles by helping me maintain a healthy language base in both English and Spanish. Luckily, some of my teachers noticed my problem and placed me in a bilingual program along with three other students. One was in the same situation as myself; the Bilingual Education 8 other two were predominately proficient in Spanish who lacked major English skills. The bilingual teacher helped us maintain our strengths and helped correct our weaknesses by using our native language as a medium for instruction. By the end of the school year, I felt more confident. This research paper starts out with an anecdote that depicts a rural Nevada town struggling with xenophobia; it had voted in an English-only ordinance. Then, a connection between xenophobia in America and the anti-bilingual education movement is unveiled. Despite the fact that some school districts have pupils from as many as 130 different countries (Crawford, 2004), this paper focuses on the Spanish speaking English language learner because of a major criticism the Hispanic community endures; that it resists assimilation into the mainstream American culture. A â€Å"solution† for the this problem is the elimination of bilingual education programs in public schools. Proponents claim this would strengthen national unity. However, as this research paper demonstrates, purging such programs would actually gear the Hispanic English language learner away from assimilation, not towards it. If many opponents of bilingualism have their way, American schools will eventually have a monolithic, cookie-cutter approach to teaching its student population. In the United States, a country made from a rich tapestry of immigrants, this scenario would be very un-American. Bilingual Education 9 References Blanc, M. H. A. , & Hamers, J. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. England : Cambridge University Press. Summary: This book is a very elevated, academic piece of work. It provides the reader with a guideline to language behavior, tools to measure levels of bilingualism, and addresses bilingual development. Other areas the book concentrates on include the cognitive development of the bilingual mind, and the cognitive consequences of the bilingual behavior. Brisk, M. E. (1998) Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Education. Mahway, New Jersey: Cambridge University Press. Summary: This book examines the traditional debates about bilingual education. It also examines influences, both internal and external, on the bilingual student’s education. The author presents strategies for implementing quality bilingual services. Calderon, M. , & Slavin, R. (2001). Effective Programs for Latino Students. Mahway, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Summary: This book highlights programs that have worked well for the Hispanic population. It also addresses the unacceptable high drop-out rate of Latino high school students. The book goes a step further by unveiling the needs of higher-education for Hispanics, an area that has received relatively little attention. The authors also explain why many Latinos are at risk in America. Curtis, Lynette. (2006, Nov. 15). Pahrump Targets Illegal Immigrants. The Las Vegas Review Journal. Curtis, Lynette. (2006, Nov. 23). Backlash: Pahrump flag ban won’t fly. The Las Vegas Review Journal. Lockwood, A. T. Caring, Community, and Personalization: Strategies to Combat the Hispanic Dropout Problem. (1996). â€Å"Advances in Hispanic Education, 1. † Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Education. Summary: This book focuses on the dangerously real issue of the Latino dropout issue. T Gregory, E. , Long, S. , & Volk. (2004). Many Pathways to Literacy: Young Children Learning with Siblings, Grandparents, Peers, and Communities. New York: Routledge Falmer. Summary: This book looks at literacy, including bilingual literacy, using a sociocultural approach. It taps into the family structure in various ethnic groups. The book addresses bilingual education in the home and highlights the benefits of this strategy. The authors unveil the importance of using cultural norms as a means to teach literacy (such as story-telling). Another aspect of this piece is its assessment of children’s everyday life experience and how that impacts learning. On a personal note, this book didn’t really catch my eye at first because it didn’t focus on Hispanics specifically. I am happy that I finally opened it up because I was able to see some parallels between the Hispanic experiences and other ethnic groups. Krashen, Stephen. ( 1997). Why Bilingual Education? Eric Digest. Retrieved April 4, 2006 from http://www. ericdigests. org/1997-3/bilingual. html. Lendon, Brad. (2006, May 1). US prepares for ‘A Day Without an Immigrant. ’ Retrieved on April 4, 2007, from http://www. cnn. com/2006/US/04/28/boycott/ Smith, F. (1994). Understanding reading: A psycholinguistic analysis of reading and learning to read (5th ed. ). Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum. .