Essay on Differences in Men and Women in Story of an Hour

The Story of an Hour - Differences in Men and Women Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" appears merely to explore a woman's unpredictable reaction to her husband's assumed death and reappearance, but actually Chopin offers Mrs. Mallard's bizarre story to reveal problems that are inherent in the institution of marriage. By offering this depiction of a marriage that stifles the woman to the point that she celebrates the death of her kind and loving husband. Chopin challenges her readers to examine their own views of marriage and relationships between men and women. Each reader's judgment of Mrs. Mallard and her behavior inevitably stems from his or her own personal feelings about marriage and the influences of societal expectations. Readers of differing genders, ages, and marital experiences are, therefore, likely to react differently to Chopin's startling portrayal of the Mallards' marriage, and that certainly is true of my response to the story compared to my father's and grandmother's responses. Marriage often establishes boundaries between people that make them unable to communicate with each other. The Mallards' marriage was evidently crippled by both their inability to talk to one another and Mrs. Mallard's conviction that her marriage was defined by a "powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature." Yet she does not recognize that it is not just men who impose their will upon women and that the problems inherent in marriage affect men and women equally. To me, Mrs. Mallard is a somewhat sympathetic character, and I appreciate her longing to live ou... ...o relate more easily to her predicament and are quicker to exonerate her any of responsibility for her unhappy situation. Conversely, male readers are more likely to feel compassion for Mr. Mallard, who loses his wife for reasons that will always remain entirely unknown to him. Older readers probably understand more readily the strength of social forces and the difficulty of trying to deny societal expectations concerning gender roles in general and marriage in particular. Younger readers seem to feel that Mrs. Mallard is too passive and that she could have improved her domestic life immeasurably if she had taken the initiative to either improve or end her relationship with her husband. Ultimately, how each individual reader responds to Mrs. Mallard's story reveals his or her own ideas about marriage, society, and how men and women communicate with each other

Tragic heros :: essays research papers

TRAGIC HEROS â€Å"A tragic hero is a character who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice and depravity, but by some error or frailty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is a quote by Aristotle. This quote means a tragic hero isn’t well known for being fair, but isn’t brought down by being bad and unfair, they are brought down by their own flaws. This is true because some tragic hero’s aren’t fair at all but don’t get punished for it. They get punished by their own flaws. Two examples of these tragic heroes’s come from â€Å"Antigone† by Sophocles, and also â€Å" The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar† by William Shakespeare. A tragic hero from â€Å"Antigone† is Creon. Creon is very stubborn. Creon says it will be illegal to bury Polynices. Antigone, Polynices’ sister, buries him. Creon, the king, punishes Antigone because what Polynices did was not right and he didn’t deserve to be buried. Antigone was confined to a tomb, in this tomb, she took her own life. Haimon, Creon’s son, didn’t like this because he was Antigone’s Cousin and fiancà ©e. Haimon killed himself. Eurydice, Creon’s wife, heard how it was Creon’s fault that their son is dead, so she killed herself. Now Creon is all alone. He ended up like this because of his stubborn attitude. He was to stubborn to bury Polynices, and it caused this chain of events, proving he is a tragic hero. Another tragic hero is Julius Caesar from â€Å"The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar† by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar is a tragic hero because he is stubborn, and thinks he is untouchable because he is so popular. Brutus, Julius’s close friend, was talked into stopping Julius Caesar from gaining absolute power. Cassius, the man who convinced Brutus to stop Caesar, was gathering more conspirators so they could assassinate Caesar. Julius Caesar’s wife gave him a warning about some bad happening, and so did the fortuneteller, and so did the people who sacrifice animals. Caesar didn’t listen and went to the Capitol with Brutus and the conspirators. Tragic heros :: essays research papers TRAGIC HEROS â€Å"A tragic hero is a character who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice and depravity, but by some error or frailty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is a quote by Aristotle. This quote means a tragic hero isn’t well known for being fair, but isn’t brought down by being bad and unfair, they are brought down by their own flaws. This is true because some tragic hero’s aren’t fair at all but don’t get punished for it. They get punished by their own flaws. Two examples of these tragic heroes’s come from â€Å"Antigone† by Sophocles, and also â€Å" The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar† by William Shakespeare. A tragic hero from â€Å"Antigone† is Creon. Creon is very stubborn. Creon says it will be illegal to bury Polynices. Antigone, Polynices’ sister, buries him. Creon, the king, punishes Antigone because what Polynices did was not right and he didn’t deserve to be buried. Antigone was confined to a tomb, in this tomb, she took her own life. Haimon, Creon’s son, didn’t like this because he was Antigone’s Cousin and fiancà ©e. Haimon killed himself. Eurydice, Creon’s wife, heard how it was Creon’s fault that their son is dead, so she killed herself. Now Creon is all alone. He ended up like this because of his stubborn attitude. He was to stubborn to bury Polynices, and it caused this chain of events, proving he is a tragic hero. Another tragic hero is Julius Caesar from â€Å"The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar† by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar is a tragic hero because he is stubborn, and thinks he is untouchable because he is so popular. Brutus, Julius’s close friend, was talked into stopping Julius Caesar from gaining absolute power. Cassius, the man who convinced Brutus to stop Caesar, was gathering more conspirators so they could assassinate Caesar. Julius Caesar’s wife gave him a warning about some bad happening, and so did the fortuneteller, and so did the people who sacrifice animals. Caesar didn’t listen and went to the Capitol with Brutus and the conspirators.

Ghost Story of the Haunted House :: Urban Legend Ghost Stories

The Haunted House This haunted house in Hagerstown was built long ago. It is the site of a most interesting ghost story, which happened to my friend’s friend’s grandmother. Now while I have heard many stories similar to this, I have never known someone to be involved in one and actually affected by it. My friend’s friend is a Caucasian, 17-year-old, female Christian from Hagerstown. Her dad is a postal worker, and her mother works for the government. The story takes place in the house her grandmother temporarily lived in as a child. I collected this story while I was hanging out with my friend in her room. I happened to mention this assignment, and in comes one of her friends with a story to tell: This story takes place in Hagerstown, Maryland. It’s in this old house where my grandmother lived for like a year when she was younger. Before her family moved in, there was an old woman who had just died there. Her room just so happened to be the same room my grandmother stayed in. My grandmother would tell me that she would leave her room, and when she came back, her door would not only be shut, but locked. And this even happened when she was in the room sometimes. Plus, there was this rocking chair that was already in the house when they moved in, and it would just rock on its own. Now apparently, there were already rumors that the house was haunted. So, after not even living there for a year, my grandmother and her family moved out.After researching haunted houses in or near Hagerstown, I was surprised to see the many accounts of so called â€Å"haunted† houses in this area. The story I collected includes one of the most common characteristics: the mysterio us rocking chair that will rock on its own free will. Many of the accounts reported online shared this feature. The other main paranormal activity from this story is the door shutting and locking itself. This same phenomenon seems to occur in many ghost stories. None of the articles I found online mentioned this feature, but such incidents appear in other stories I have heard from books and movies, so the door shutting and locking itself is certainly not unique to the story above.

Assess the Argument That Modern Childhood Is a ‘March of Progress‘

The march of progress, traditionally depicting a compressed presentation of 25 million years of human evolution, can be applied to sociologists view on childhood- is it ‘evolving’ for the better? The ‘March of progress’ view argues that, over the past few centuries, childhood in western societies has been improving steadily, and is even better than ever today. We can then go onto say that the ‘march of progress’ evidently paints a bad picture of the past; as Lloyd De Mause puts it- â€Å"The history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only begun to awaken. The further back in history one goes, the lower the level of childcare, and the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised and sexually abused. † Writers like Aries and Shorter look on from this dark past, and hold to the belief that children are more valued, better cared for, protected & educated, enjoy better health and have a lot more rights than previous generations. On the other hand, certain sociologists would disagree with this; for example, Sue Palmers. Her view uplifts the concept of â€Å"The Five Finger Exercise†; the belief that ‘language, love, education, play & discipline’ are what children crucially need for healthy development. In her opinion, children in the UK today are going through, what she calls, ‘toxic childhood’- in the past 25 years, children’s physical, emotional and academic development have been effected and damaged by rapid technological and cultural changes. These ‘changes’ include emphasis on testing in education, computer games, junk food, intensive marketing on children, even the long hours parents work. All of these factors (which weren’t as dominant in society, in the past) have negative effects i. e. an increase in child obesity. Neil Postman has a similar negative opinion on childhood- he stated that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’. In contrast to Palmers opinion that children are being affected by rapid technological and cultural changes, Postman believes the disappearance of childhood is down to young people being given the same rights as adults. Similarities in the way children and adults dress, the decrease of traditional unsupervised games, ven rare cases of children committing ‘adults crimes’, such as murder. Also, as education intensifies, young people will be able to enter the adult world at an earlier age, rapidly increasing the disappearance of childhood. Though Iona Opie argues that this is not true that childhood is not disappearing; she believes there is still evidence that childhood culture exists, based on a lifetime of research into children’s games, rhymes and songs (led by herself and her husband, Peter Opie). Contradictory to Postman’s findings, Opie came to the conclusion that children can, and do, create their own independent culture which is separate from that of adults. Child liberations argue against both Palmers and Postman- they argue that western ideas of childhood are being globalised (far from disappearing). International humanitarian and welfare agencies have imposed western norms on the world, of what childhood should be- a separate life stage, based in the nuclear family and school, where children are innocent, dependant & vulnerable and have no economic role. Therefore, childhood is far from disappearing, but western notions are simply being globalised. For example, anti child labour campaigns, or concerns about ‘street children’ in less economically developed countries, reflect western ideas of what childhood is ‘ought’ to be like. Though this kind of activity could be the norm for children in that specific culture; possibly important preparation for adult life in their society. So in this view, childhood isn’t ‘disappearing’, but it is spreading across the world.

The Ashinabe Culture

The research is focused on one of the Indian tribes of Canada called the Ashinabe. Their culture and social customs are investigated, its importance determined and put into context within the contemporary culture. The Ashinabe of the Great Lakes tribes settled in Turtle Island in Canada before the arrival of the Europeans or the â€Å"light-skinned race â€Å"as the Ashinabe called them.They were a member of the group called the First Nations consisting of native â€Å"Indian† inhabitants of Canada. The Ashinabe had close family ties and kin communities.However, like other natives of modern times, the Ashinabe had to fight for their rights to their land and culture. As inherent to the natives who first inhabit the Continents of America, the Ashinabe are rich in social custom. The meaning and practices of these customs are handed down from generation to generation by the respected Elders through stories that are often identified as myths and legends. The Ashinabe had clear di vision of what does a woman and man do in society. The women were in-charge of household chores while the men go out to hunt for food.The Ashinabe males take pride in their hunting skills. Another particular example of Ashinabe social custom is the telling of stories, of which the prominent one is the foretelling of the future through the Seven prophecies of Fire that represents seven different eras. It is interesting to note that in these fourth through sixth prophecies, it tells of the coming of the â€Å"light-skinned people† and how they will influence the Ashinabe people and this is validated by history when the Europeans came and took over the land and introduce their own teachings and way of life.The Ashinabe people love to hold ceremonies which is often a reflection of their religious beliefs (in spirits of nature). In conducting their ceremonies the Ashinabe had the social custom of gathering together in circles. They have a ceremony called the sharing circle where a facilitator encourages the members of the circle to share their feelings or their views concerning a problem or solution.If it is a healing circle, facilitated by experienced healers, the members are asked of their desire to begin the healing process and this could be an emotional activity for the participants hence emotional supports are provided during and after the circle. For doctoring ailments, the medicine man consults the spirits for remedies. In both circles, a stick, or stone or feather is passed around to make the sharing easier and focused. In ceremonies, sacred fires are lit and tobacco offerings are offered to the Creator, Kitchi- Manitou.The most well known ceremony of the Ashinabe is the Pow Wow (feast of the pipes) with its activity of following a Pow Wow trail all summer. Unfortunately, because of commercialization and as an attraction to tourist, people forget that Pow Wow is indeed a serious ceremony for peace and giving gratitude and appreciation for the spirits of nature, with each song and dance offered as prayers to their Creator. The participants wore colorful regalia, jingle dress that is full of symbolic meaning but unfortunately recognized by most as just a costume.Feasts are then held after the Pow Wow ceremony where squash, corn and beans (the Three Sisters that sustained their ancestors) are always included to feed the people. A spirit plate, containing a sample of every dish, is made before any one partakes of the food and it is passed around for the guest. Feasts are also held for other occasions like weddings or when naming a child. The Ashinabe also practice the giving away of gifts in their ceremonies and feasts to honor someone and this gifts should be meaningful to the giver and to the one with whom the gift is given.The social custom of the Ashinabe people is very important as it reflect the way of life of the past and hence, the history of the early inhabitants of Canada. Although their ceremonies are considered now as o ne of the main tourist attractions and their ritual object as souvenirs, to the Ashinabe it held a deep symbolic meaning and tells so much of who they are as a person and people. Moreover, the social custom of the Ashinabe tells so much of how they view life and understanding these social customs is the key to understanding the Ashinabe mind and culture.The Ashinabe culture in some ways contradicts the contemporary culture which can be a source of conflict and tension, like for example in contemporary culture, tobacco is not used as an offering and women seeks fulfillment outside the home. However, one can observed that Ashinabe culture is similar to the contemporary culture like having a feast and ceremony for special occasions. Moreover, as the Ashinabe culture gets intermingled in the mainstream culture they help enrich and give color to the culture of the whites.For example, the Pow Wow had become a good attraction for business, the arts and objects of the Ashinabe people had be come favorite souvenirs and home decorations. However, the Ashinabe also adopted the culture of the whites, making them lose their own culture and hence their leadership and confidence in themselves. At present, Ashinabe people are trying to revive their culture but the problem however is with the Cultural Appropriation that takes place when the dominant whites claim as their own the culture (their arts and literature, for example) of the minorities like the Ashinabe.The whites gain profit by selling the arts of the Ashinabe. Moreover, the most painful is the taking of the Ashinabe historical lands (without their consent and often through a betrayal of trust and promises) which had played a major role in their cultural history. This has been one of the sources of contention and conflict between the government and the Ashinabe people at present.

Spirit Airlines Strategic Choice and Evaluation

Strategic Choice and EvaluationThe next phase associated with strategy formulation is the strategic analysis and choice phase of the process. According to Pearce & Robinson (2013), â€Å"Business managers examine and choose a business strategy that allows their business to maintain or create a sustainable competitive advantage† (p. 238). Therefore, a business such as Spirit Airlines should evaluate their current strategy and determine areas of improvement in order to grow the business in a way that aligns with their company mission.The airline industry hosts a number of significant external factors that influence business strategies and alternatives. The purpose of this paper is to evaluation and present alternative strategies for Spirit Airline’s future growth as a company. Furthermore, the following paper will seek to identify the best value discipline for Spirit Airlines and in turn suggest a generic strategy and grand strategic for the organization.Evaluation of Alt ernativesSpirit Airlines is universally known for its ultra-low-cost, low-fare airline services that provide affordable travel opportunities throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America (Spirit Airlines, 2012). Maintaining a strategically low-cost structure directly aligns with Spirit Airline’s target market, which allows the company to offer low priced basic services combined with a range of optional services for additional fees (Spirit Airline, 2012).The airline has earned a reputation for delivering cost effective fares and reliable on-time service with a no frills. In order to realize maximum growth, enhancements to the existing low cost strategy must be implemented to create a greater advantage in the market. Spirit Airlines has identified opportunities for growth with the release of the latest 10k Annual report. By the airlines own admission, the company is suffering with a failing reputation and insufficient customer service  interactions (Spirit Ann ual Report, 2012).In addition, Spirit Airlines recognizes that its current conditions, if not corrected, will have a significant impact their competitive stance in the industry. The airline industry is highly competitive with respect to routes, fees and services and although Spirit is well known for lower fares, the fares alone will not protect the company from the risk of future failure. The implementation of long term strategic goals will not only correct inefficiencies with the existing strategy, it will also focus on necessary improvements to help Spirit achieve its growth potential.Pearce & Robinson (2013) identifies the implementation of long term objectives as tools used to correct significant issues for the long run. Therefore, the solution will not only impact the present, but the future as well. According to Pearce & Robinson (2013), â€Å"Strategic managers recognize that short-run profit maximization is rarely the best approach to achieving sustained corporate growth an d profitability† (pg. 191). An evaluation of Spirit Airline’s current issues with customer service and competition warrants the use of value disciplines and new strategies.Value DisciplineBest value disciplines are similar to generic strategies; however value disciplines place significant emphasis on superior customer value, using a selected discipline. The value discipline is comprised of three values: operational excellence, customer intimacy or product leadership (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). Previously it was established that Spirit Airlines would need to improve customer service interaction to experience growth in the future and gain sustainability among competitors in the market. Of the three value discipline identified, customer intimacy is the strategy that would provide the most benefit for the organization. Spirit Airlines currently uses the operational excellence strategy, as the company focuses on providing its best value products at all times.Spirit Airlineâ⠂¬â„¢s product base consists of low fares, easy online booking, on-time service, deluxe leather seating and an expanding route selection. Spirit is able to offer these amenities at a low cost due to their reduced unit operating cost and other cost cutting strategies. For example, Spirit Airlines reduces overhead expenses in the area of marketing as it utilizes its website and direct-to-consumer marketing to drive ticket sales (Spirit Airlines, 2013).The main focus of the airlines strategy is to deliver on its product base at competitively low prices by reducing overhead. While Spirit Airlines has perfected their operational excellence discipline, there is room for improvement in the customer intimacy strategy. According to Pearce & Robinson (2013), â€Å"Customer Intimacy strategy continually tailors and shapes products and services to fit the increasingly redefined definition of customer service† (p. 205). This strategy is precisely what Spirit Airlines is lacking in their c urrent business model strategy. Spirit Airlines contends that customer loyalty and intimacy are a huge risk for the organizations future success and their reputation (Spirit Airlines Annual Report, 2012).Customer intimacy strategy as it pertains to Spirit Airline will seek to better the company’s reputation by aligning customer service activities with the business model, thereby responding quickly and professionally to customer needs. Additionally, the implementation of this strategy will drive the airline to place emphasis on the profitability of a loyal customer relationship as opposed to the revenue of a ticket sale.Generic StrategyGeneric strategies enable the implementation of long term objectives and provide a foundation for how the organization will best influence the market. Pearce & Robinson (2013) defines generic strategies as, â€Å"A core idea about how a firm can best compete in the marketplace†. (pg. 195). Generic strategy includes striving for low cost l eadership within the industry, the promotion of differentiation methods to bring a unique image to the market and lastly, it impresses upon the importance of focus strategy in order to accommodate the needs of the market segment (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). Currently, Spirit Airlines utilizes the generic strategy of low-cost leadership to achieve and sustain their low cost position.According to the Spirit Airlines Annual Report (2012), â€Å"Our operating costs per available seat mile is 10.09 cents, which is significantly lower than that of major network carriers, American Airlines, Delta, United, and US Airways†, (p. 7). Spirit has successful achieved this with a low-cost leadership strategy that ensures high aircraft utilization, operation of a modern single fleet type of Airbus, which is associated with lower maintenance costs and efficient flight scheduling (Spirit, 2012). The company is consistently seeking  innovative cost savings ideas to improve processes and custome r satisfaction.Continuous improvement of Grand StrategyA grand strategy is a long tern plan that provides an organization with basic direction for implementing its long term goals. Additionally, grand strategies are imperative as they provide a basic timeframe for achieving long term business objectives. The grand strategy is comprised of 15 strategic principles: concentrated growth, market development, product development, innovation, horizontal acquisition, vertical acquisition, concentric diversification, conglomerate diversification, turnaround, divestiture, liquidation, bankruptcy, joint venture, strategic alliances, and consortia (Pearce & Robinson, 2013).Spirit Airlines uses the innovation strategy to allow customers the freedom to choose buy-up options that appeal to them. Thereby unbundling packages and making it more affordable to travelers. â€Å"This innovative approach is utilized to grow the travel market and stimulate new economic activity while creating new jobsâ₠¬ , (Spirit Airlines, 2013 p. 1). According to the Spirit Airlines Annual Report, the organization lacks marketing alliances that may harm them in the future (Spirit Airlines Annual Report, 2012). Many airlines including American, Delta, United and US Airways have marketing alliances with other airlines under which they market and advertise their status as a marketing alliance (Spirit Airlines Annual Report, 2012).The Annual Report state, â€Å"These alliances, such as One World, Sky Team and Star Alliance, generally provide for code-sharing, frequent flier reciprocity, coordinated scheduling of flights to permit convenient connections and other joint marketing activities. Such arrangements permit an airline to market flights operated by other alliance members as its own. This increases destinations, connections and frequencies offered by the airline. Our lack of marketing alliances puts us at a competitive disadvantage† (Spirit Airlines Annual Report, 2012 p 18). Since one of Spirits long term objective is to gain a better competitive position in the market, the addition of a strategic alliance grand strategy would be best suited for the organization.Strategic alliances as described by Pearce & Robinson (2013) are, â€Å"Partnerships that exist for a defined period during which partners contribute their skills and expertise to a cooperative project (p. 231). In the case of Spirit Airlines, the use of alliances between other organizations related to the airline industry would work to together to gain a mutual benefit. For example, Sky Team provides comprehensive access to an extensive global network with over 1,000 destinations for traveler to explore.SkyTeam partners with 19 airlines to provide travelers with a more flexible, convenient and beneficial travelling experience (SkyTeam.com, 2013). As part of Spirit Airline’s long term objective a strategic alliance would expose the organization to a greater customer base, more routes and destinati ons. On the other hand, an organization like SkyTeam also benefits as travelers utilize their services to book travel reservations.RecommendationSpirit Airlines is currently has the lowest per seat operating cost of any other domestic airline company; however they are still confronted with strong competition in the industry (Spirit Airlines Annual Report, 2012). Therefore, additional strategy enhancements are needed to grow the company. After careful consideration of all strategies and value disciplines, it is recommended that Spirit Airlines utilizes the customer intimacy strategy to build brand and customer loyalty. As previously mentioned, an overhaul of customer service would be necessary to aid in relationship building technique between Spirit and its customer base.Another strategy recommendation previously mentioned is the implementation of a grand strategy used to determine the course of action for many of Spirits long term goals. Specifically, a strategic alliance strategy i s the most critical strategy, as it will allow the company to expand the product selection with the help of a strong mutual alliance in the industry. This strategy is a more cost effective approach than spending millions of dollars on marketing campaigns.Thereby keeping operation cost low and pass-through the benefit onto the travelers. Spirit Airlines has been successful over the years with their current strategy, but competitive position will always be a risk. Therefore, the implementation of this strategy will add competitive leverage.

Early Childhood Curriculum Essay

While being in this course I have learned about the different curriculums, philosophies and theories. In this paper I will be discussing how to develop an appropriate curriculum for preschool children. This paper will include the following topics: the theories and/or philosophies of Montessori; concepts learned throughout this course, how to apply them into an early childhood classroom focusing on the understanding components to design a curriculum for a preschool classroom based on ages 3 to 5 year old children. First let’s discuss the philosophies of both Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget. Maria Montessori ideas and beliefs are embedded throughout every early childhood program and her influence on our thinking about curriculum has been profound. She was a tireless child advocate and believed that all children deserve a proper education. Montessori insisted that through proper early education, underprivileged and cognitively impaired children could be successful if they were given a chance to learn. She was one of the first to establish a preschool for poor and mentally retarded children in Rome; these preschools were called â€Å"Casa dei Bambini†, which translated in English as â€Å"Children’s House.† Dr. Montessori proposed that children that are at risk and the notion that society had a moral responsibility to devote resources to early child intervention. Our textbook states that. â€Å"Montessori embraced and expanded Froebel’s kindergarten concept; she felt that children were natural learners and should drive much of their own learning. She asserted that children should be grouped in multiage (2  ½ to 5 years) classes to allow flexibility and opportunities for peer mentoring. Montessori developed an extensive set of â€Å"didactic† materials and lessons designed to be attr active to children and used by teachers to teach specific concepts and skills. She adapted furniture to child size as a gesture of respect for the unique needs of early learners† (Jaruszewicz, 2012). I agree with her philosophy and theory, because children do need the freedom to learn at their own pace and not to be pressured to do what they see other children do. It is also important the classroom learning environment to be attractive  so that it will draw the children to be there and learn new and exciting things. In order to use the teaching method, the teachers must be trained to work with all children and understand that no one child develops the same as another. The other philosopher that I will discuss is Jean Piaget. A contemporary of both Montessori and Dewey, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development that initiated a constructivist view of curriculum (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget conducted several experiments with young children that proved that their mental concepts are learned through trial and error experiences . Young children will continue to do things that they have been told not to do, until the consequence of their actions has been reached. For example, when a parent tells their child not to stack the building blocks up too high or they will fall on them which could lead to them being hurt; the child continues to do that the same thing over and over again to see if what their parent said is true. Once the child has seen the building blocks fall over on them is when they have learned that they don’t need to do that. His work confirmed early learning as distinct from other developmental periods, implying, therefore, that materials and activities for young children should reflect the idiosyncratic way in which they think and process stimuli (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget proposed that cognitive development occurs in four different stages, three of which occur during early childhood. In the sensorimotor stage, infants and toddlers process experience and begin to coordinate movement through sensory exploration. Preoperational thinking of preschoolers emerges spontaneously, as they are internally motivated to make sense o f their environment by testing ideas and theories in play and exploration with materials (Jaruszewicz, 2012). Piaget and Montessori are the main philosophies that stood out to me in this course the most. Next I will discuss the Core knowledge preschool sequence curriculum and the areas inside it. With strong focus on challenging, but appropriate content, the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and Teacher Handbook is unique among early childhood programs. It outlines a cumulative and coherent progression of knowledge and skills in all developmental areas and integrates developmentally appropriate practices for both content and instruction. Using the core knowledge curriculum helps with creating appropriate activities that prepare the preschool age children to learn. Children are  always ready to learn; as long as the teacher understands that, each child will be eager to learn in new and exciting ways. It is important for teachers to make sure that the information that they wish to teach the children in the classroom is appropriate and fun. The Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence Curriculum focuses on five different areas: Social Skills, Early Literacy skills in reading and writing, Mathematics, Science and Visual Arts. It is important for children to learn how to interact with other children their age early in their lives to develop their social skills. One of the many things I love about Montessori is that Montessori teachers see the ‘whole’ child-developmentally, academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. There is a myth out there that says simply placing children in the same room and having them do activities helps them develop social skills. I disagree. Developing social skills needs to be a value in the classroom as well as modeled by the teachers/adults who are around the children. Using manners, demonstrating what Montessori called ‘Grace and Courtesy’ and always being respectful of the child are key ingredients to helping a child develop social skills. There are several ways to help expand children’s social skills. The activity that would be used to develop social skills would be to have the children sit in a circle on the floor, pass an object around each child to take turns telling the class something about them. Whether it is there name, favorite color, parents name, how many sibling they may have, etc. When are playing together in the classroom they learn to take turns, shared things and playing with others in general helps them develop social skills. The development of language in early childhood classrooms is an umbrella for the Montessori curriculum. The teachers and parents consider activities on the shelves of the Language area as the heart of actual language learning. The techniques used in a Montessori classroom are different when it comes to teaching language and literacy. Teachers, parents, and administrators need to recognize communication as the foundation for the meaningful development of language concepts and skills. Effective communication depends on authentic relationships be tween communicative partners. Teachers have the responsibility (actually, the opportunity) to develop and expand learning relationships with young children. This is truly the ultimate opportunity to make a difference. Seen in this light, conversations with young children on  the playground, during field trips, on the way to the bathroom, in the midst of conflict resolution, during lessons, and countless other times create the context for the development of language skills. Relationships of trust are built between children and teachers and among peers. Classroom work further contributes to language concept and skill development within this context of meaningful communication. It is important to talk children especially infants constantly, so they can develop a strong sense of vocabulary. Children catch on to everything that they may hear. So it is definitely important to be cautious what language you use around children. Printed materials and images are strongly important in an early childhood classroom. These materials make the classroom attractive to children as well as make them want to learn about what those images and books mean. Phonemic awareness is part of a balanced literacy program, and can be developed in several ways during shared reading and shared writing. Shared reading and shared writing typically occur during the language arts time block, but may also occur during content-area learning. On to my favorite subject any grade level or age is mathematics. In an early childhood classroom, teaching young children mathematics somewhat easy and in some cases not so much. Getting children ages three to four year olds to learn their numbers and one to one correspondence can be a challenge, but it requires patience to teach the children the meaning of number awareness. Provide children with authentic, hands-on learning experiences-DO NOT USE WORKSHEETS. In preschool you should play to the children’s natural curiosities and look to your student’s interest to guide l esson planning. You are setting up children for a lifetime of learning and you should create excitement around what you. Also, the more hands on the activity is, the more learning styles you are engaging, and the more the child enjoys it the more they will learn and retain! Create activities that children are actively involved in learning something new, such as how to count and recognize numbers. Numbers are not the only thing that children can learn that is related to mathematics. Shapes are how to perceive and recognize them are important as well. Teaching children about shapes and how many sides each one has involves numbers as well. Mathematics and Language go together because you are using vocabulary words to decide the shapes, numbers, etc. In conclusion, this paper touched on some important factors to help develop a developmentally  appropriate curriculum for preschool/pre-K age children. It is important to provide activities for young children and make sure the environment is a positive, warm and inviting one that children will want to come to school and learn new things. In this paper I disc ussed the standards for each core knowledge area to develop an appropriate curriculum for young children. References Jaruszewicz, C. (2012). Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. In C. Jaruszewicz, Curriculum and Methods for Early Childhood Educators. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.