Causes of Low Birth Rates

Causes of Low Birth Rates Childless or Childfree? Actress Katherine Hepburn said, â€Å"If motherhood doesn’t interest you then don’t do it!† She didn’t, along with opera singer Maria Callas, Queen Elizabeth I, and Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren , recently portraying Queen Elizabeth II. Melissa Dear, of the Family Planning Association, was recently quoted as saying that the falling birth rate was partly a reflection of the failure to provide women with adequate support. That may be so, but perhaps it is simpler than that. Perhaps more women want to have fun rather than have a baby. Not that babies can’t be fun some of the time, but really, what would you choose: worrying about ear infections, and wondering how to replace the front tyres on the car when you need to buy a miniature pair of winter boots which cost more than the ones you saw in your own size at Clarkes; or wondering about what to wear to your dinner party and where to go on holiday this year? In the past women reaching their thirties with no sign of a child would automatically be at the receiving end of thick streams of sympathy for their plight. After all, don’t all women have a deep maternal drive, this instinct, this burning desire to procreate? To experience for the best part of a year, haemorrhoids, backache and the raging hormones of pregnancy followed by the undeniably painful effort required to pass an infant the size of a melon through an opening better suited to something four inches in diameter. Then there’s the post pregnancy weight gain, possible occasional urine incontinence that means avoiding sneezing or coughing in public, and in private, your love life goes down the pan. Population forecasts suggest that of those women who are of childbearing age now, one in five may never have children. Some proportion of that will be due to infertility, but there will also be those women who make the choice not to have children. Some people might think this is an abnormal decision based on an immature worldview. There will still be the knowing nods and, â€Å"You’ll change your mind later!† â€Å"You are not truly a woman until you have given birth to a child.† Dr C Hakim, senior research fellow at the LSE said that researchers had been unable to account for the growing number of childfree women, finding no parallel with infertility statistics. Her research showed that there are rising numbers of women choosing not to have children. The childless woman is not necessarily bewailing her fate. Dr Hakim points out that around 10% of women reach the age of 45 with no children. She says: The whole idea of the childfree lifestyle is beginning to be recognised by the media. Private feelings are being legitimised and people are beginning to feel that they are not being deviant in some way. That â€Å"deviant† behaviour was addressed in a Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Phone-In, with women discussing problems in the workplace as childfree employees. You might think that it’s the mothers that have all the problems, considering they are the ones who have to work flexi hours, coming in late after the school run and having to rush off at the end of the school day. They are tied to school holidays, and are at the mercy of childminders in term time. However, the childfree women phoning in were generally quite resentful of the fact that they could not take advantage of later mornings as they had to cover the time the mums were not there. Victoria, a nurse, said, â€Å"I have covered for maternity leave, Christmas and all the other times that working mothers assumed was their right to be at home. I don’t get any tax relief or benefits for not having children, and I would like a little recognition now and then.† 20% of the adult female population in Britain are childfree, and Sarah from Leatherhead felt that she was treated as â€Å"a less useful citizen, despite holding down a demanding job† because she had no children. She said she was made to feel inferior and less important than the women with children, despite the fact that she often worked longer hours and seldom took time off. Why would childfree women would want to go on holiday in the summer with all those child-filled families? Surely the whole point is not to be around children? Apparently not. Childfree women do not necessarily dislike children; it is simply parenthood they are rejecting, and being a parent certainly is linked with disrupted lives and financial insecurity. Those women who do decide to have children are having them later. In 2005 the average age at which women had their first child was 27.3 years, with the highest rate of fertility being in their early 30s. Despite the rise in teenage pregnancies which alters the average, bringing it down, this is still a rise of almost 4 years since the 1970s. Clearly women are choosing to stay childfree for longer, concentrating on careers or travel, or just organising their lives before giving up their independence. Even then, it’s not all plain sailing! Julia Roberts, 39, actress and mother of 2-year-old twins reportedly said â€Å"I didn’t realise that I would get no sleep at all. I am so sleep deprived I can’t even stand, I have to sit down all the time.† Could it be that some women who have children are ever so slightly jealous of their carefree childfree sisters? Bibliography Dear, Melissa. (2002) Birth rate at all time low http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2570503.stm accessed 19 April 2007 Hakim, Dr C (2004) Family-friendly policies are unlikely to influence the voluntary childless http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2004/Family_FriendlyPR.htm accessed 19 April 2007 Hepburn, Katherine. http://cheerfullychildless.com/CheeryQuotations.htm accessed 19 April 2007 Murphy, J (Unknown) re Julia Roberts Childcare tips from celebrity mums http://www.gomamatoday.com/modernmama/parenting/celebchildcaretips/?MemID=11 accessed 19 April 2007 National Statistics, (2006) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/PopTrends126.pdf accessed 19 April 2007 Swann, C (2001) Famous people without children http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/childfree_by_choice/58081 accessed 19 April 2007 Woman’s Hour (2005) Childfree Women http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_13_wed_01.shtml accessed 19 April 2007

War Outline

Intro- It was mid-spring in the United States Capitol- Washington, DC, the grass was green and onlookers could take in the view of the Washington Monument. On the specific date of April 17, 1965, the streets were not only occupied by historical monuments and statues of American History, but also occupied of 25,000 outraged protesters against the Vietnam War. This rally, organized by the Students for a Democratic Society, was the first significant act of defiance towards the Unites States Government.And this act of defiance was the beginning of a societal trend of abhorrence towards the Vietnam War. An angered country, defiance in Society and opposition in many households, is just the commencement of the Antiwar Movement. * Anti-War Movement (Overview): 1. A country-wide disapproval of the Vietnam War. a. â€Å"We weren’t on the wrong side in Vietnam, we were the wrong side. † –Daniel Ellsberg The most Dangerous Man in America.. b. Many Households disliked it beca use the number of people being drafted rapidly increased over two months and it affected them. . The deaths of the soldiers were twice as heartbreaking because they died in a war that their families disapproved of. 2. The Vietnam War was the first war to be played out in people’s homes (on their televisions and radios). d. Several different News Channels showed clips and photos taken by photographers and videographers in Vietnam. e. The general public couldn’t stand the realities of war, such as dying children and mass murders etc. f. This meant the general public scrutinized and judged it more often than previous wars. . It was even worse with the fact that most people didn’t see why the US army was involved in the first place * The Beginning of the Anti War Movement. * â€Å"Hey, Hey LBJ! How Many Kids Did You Kill Today? † * * Celebrities and The Anti War Movement. * Muhammad Ali. * Muhammad Ali, the world heavyweight boxing champion, refused to even c onsider going to Vietnam in 1966. * Called him a draft dodger and traitor because he refused to go to Vietnam because of his beliefs. Muhammad Ali also tore up his draft card and other men had followed his footsteps. * As a Muslim, he held war to be against his religious principles. * According to an article written by Jack Olsen in Sports Illustrated, the Governor of Illinois found Ali ‘disgusting', and the Governor of Maine said Ali ‘should be held in utter contempt by every patriotic American'. * An American Legion post in Miami asked people to ‘join in condemnation of this unpatriotic, loudmouthed, bombastic individual'. 2. * Washington DC Marches. April 17, 1965 * Organizers had expected about 2000 marchers. The actual count was about 25,000. * This was the largest anti-war protest to ever have been held in Washington DC at that time. * The number of marchers approximately equaling the number of US soldiers in Vietnam. * The college students’ main motiv e for this ‘gathering’ was to protest against the US bombing campaign. * November 27, 1965 * 35,000 anti-war protesters circle the White House then march on to the Washington Monument for a rally

Coach Carter Way Essay

The American Educational institution is stereotypical in a sense that’s it’s built around the American Dream concept. The American educational institution set that platform for the future. Students go to grammar school, junior high, and high school in aspiration to go on to higher education. In the movie coach carter, the struggle, is what’s built character in the players to become elite, therefore, pressing the stereotype that knowledge is power In this situation, Cruz a player says –‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. You’re playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously g ive other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. â€Å"This central quote of the film packs a powerful emotional punch. Clients will often focus on a fear of failure before realizing that it is success that is more frightening. Success entails making sacrifices, and trading the comfort of mediocrity with the intensity of glory. â€Å"It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us† because in the dark we can hide and remain anonymous. When we start to shine, we open ourselves up to the world and to possible criticism. Shining brightly also means obtaining greater amounts of responsibility The film Coach Carter was very captivating. To others it may seem a little clichà © like another â€Å"Piece of the Action† with Sidney Portiere or â€Å"Lean on Me† with Morgan Freeman. Both films are American stereotypical educational institutions in their own rights. However, Coach Carter intersects where they are parallel, by not just giving the students tough love, but giving the players more than hopes of being great athletes. The Coach, Ken Carter gives these players affirmations and inspirations so that they may go on to become great men. In the film Coach Ken emphasizes academics, leadership and gained the respect of his players. The American educational institution is stereotypical in a sense that it is built around the concept of the â€Å"American dream†. This concept sets the platform for the future. You go to grammar school, junior high and on to high school all in aspiration to go onto higher education. Also to think that with higher education there is greater opportunity. â€Å"Well, let me tell you what I see. I see a system that’s designed for you to fail. Now I know you all like stats so let me give you some. Richmond High only graduates fifty percent of its students. And of those that do graduate only six percent go to college; which tells me when I walk down these halls and I look in your classrooms, maybe only one student is going to go to college. Well damn, Coach Carter, If I ain’t going to college, where am I going to go? Well that’s a great question. And the answer for young, African American men in here is this: probably, to prison. In this county, thirty three percent of black males between eighteen and twenty four get arrested. So look at the guy on your left, now look at the guy on your right. One of you is going to get arrested.† (Coach Ken Carter, Coach Carter Film, 2005) In this Film Coach Ken Carter emphasizes on the dire need for academia. Throughout the movie he belts out the many statistics that the Richmond basketball players are up against. He rules with an iron fist. He also acknowledges that many of the players are not performing well in their current classes and forces their parents to get active, and forces the players to improve their grades. He helps them make this change by enforcing s contract, study time and discipline. In Coach Carter acknowledging that these players need a strong academic support system he pushed them harder so that they may have that option for higher education. â€Å"You said we’re a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One person triumphs, we all triumph.† (Jason Lyle, Coach Carter Film, 2005) In the film Coach Carter, the struggle, is what built character in the players to become elite. Coach Carter showed leadership by his motivation to inspire these young men. His leadership came from his passion to teach and coach. This film was a direct reflection of his integrity and leadership. In this docudrama Coach Carter did not fill these young men with a false hope. He served a purpose in letting these young know that they could break the statistics and the institutionalized stereotypes placed upon their education based upon numbers. He laid the foundation for the expectation of an American dream. In the film Coach Carter, Coach Carter gains the respect of the players by being driven and unwavering. He allowed them to find themselves, he valued them and he taught the players self worth. He did not just talk a good talk he walked the walk. He was a true example of practice what you preach. He lived every single work he spoke to the players and they respected that. â€Å"I came to coach basketball players, and you became students. I came to teach boys, and you became men.† (Coach Ken Carter, Coach Carter Film, 2005) His goal was to gain the respect of these young men while teaching them that it is more the life than the four corners of their block and what was going on in their life at the present. He did not just gain the respect of just the players he gained the respect of his colleagues and the parents. In conclusion Coach Ken carter defied the odds of the stereotypical American institutional education system for young men of color in an impoverished area such as Richmond California. He emphasized on academia which heightened the expectation of his players. He gained the respect of his players by being a man if his word, showing great restraint and growing the distance to be the role model that they needed. He is indeed a leader because he pushed the envelope and exposed them to thought patterns I’m not sure they could have ever conceived on their own. Coach Ken CARTER broke the mold.

Literacy Throughout A Large Majority Of My Schooling Essay

Literacy Throughout a large majority of my schooling, I was taught the five paragraph essay. There was always a right or wrong answer and in the end when everyone turned their papers in, they would all be similar. There was no creative aspect, structure and grammar was always important and in the end, all of the students would end up receiving an â€Å"A†. That is, until seventh grade. That was when I realized just how important literacy is. I was taking a course entitled â€Å"Creative Writing†, and it opened up my mind to two ideas. The first, was that there were more ways to write a paper other than the five paragraph essay. The second, was that literacy could be more than for just a grade. Before I had begun the class, I always thought there was a right or wrong way to write a paper. A typical five paragraph essay, with a specific topic, and in the end would end up being similar to all of my follow classmates’ papers. I would turn it in, get the same grade a s all my peers and be happy with it. This class made me realize that that was not the only kind of writing there was. It taught me that there were more options available and more creative ways to write rather than the way they’ve been teaching and pounding into our heads since we were young. Literacy to me, before I started the class, meant following the guidelines and getting a grade. There was no leeway or openness. There was always a right or wrong way to literacy. I walked in and sat down at my table, reached into myShow MoreRelatedThe Story Of American Public Education780 Words   |  4 PagesKerrigan Cesar School: The Story of American Public Education 1 During early schooling the religion was taught in the teachings, there was a certain level of fear was instilled in all children that if they disobeyed to follow authority they would fail (Joel Spring). 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