The eNotes Blog Catcher in the Rye To Be Dropped from CurriculumPuh-lease

Catcher in the Rye To Be Dropped from CurriculumPuh-lease New Common Core Standards drop classic novels in favor of informational texts. The US school system will undergo some big changes within the next two years, chiefly due to a decision to remove a good deal of classic novels from the curriculum, or so the recent media reports would have you think. The idea behind discouraging or reducing the teaching of old favorites like The  Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird is to make room for non-fiction informational texts in the curriculum. These should be approved by the Common Core Standards of each state. Suggested texts include, Recommended Levels of Insulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Invasive Plant Inventory, by Californias Invasive Plant Council, among others. Mmmm, I just love me a good read on insulation levels while I soak in the tub. So, the idea behind this is that children who pass through such a school system will be better prepared for the workplace, their brains packed with useful, practical knowledge rather than brimming with literary fluff (my personal summation). It has the backing of the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief of State School Officers, and even the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, which partially funded the directive. But is that estimate correct? Will reading more non-fiction in favor of fiction breed better writing, or more informed graduates? The discussion is extremely divided. One Arkansas teacher wrote in this Telegraph article, In the end, education has to be about more than simply ensuring that kids can get a job. Isnt it supposed to be about making well-rounded citizens? Meanwhile, another reader weighed in for the pros of teaching more scientific texts: I dont understand how adding non-fiction books to reading lists REDUCES imagination.   Hard science is all about imaginationthe what ifs of nature and the universe  I am sick of English professors acting like English Literature is the only bastion of imagination/critical thinking/culture. When I first read that article stating that The Catcher in the Rye  and other novels specifically would be gone from curriculums nation-wide, I was alarmed and frightened, though I now know it was needlessly so. The reactions of protesters are a tad hyperbolic, given that the two soporific texts I named above are found amongst a long list of alternate suggestions in various subjects, for instance  Circumference: Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe by Nicholas Nicastro, and The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story by Richard Preston, interesting and well-written books in their own right. English Literature classes will not be barred from teaching certain classic novels, as some of the reports would have you believe, though they may have more limited time to teach them than before. Yes, the school system will be changed and possibly not for the better, but Salinger and Lee arent going anywhere. All in all, the arguments for both sides make overblown assumptions: on the one, that students will miraculously be better prepared for the job market, on the other, that all imagination and creativity will be drained from impressionable young adults. So, which side do you stand on, if either? Is the teaching of informational texts merited, or best left to vocational studies? Tell us in a comment below!

John G. Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice

John G. Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Glover Roberts, Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the 17th chief justice of the United States, serving on and presiding over the United States Supreme Court. Roberts began his tenure on the court on September 29, 2005, after having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate following the death of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Based on his voting record and written decisions, Roberts is believed to have a conservative judicial philosophy. Fast Facts: John G. Roberts Known For: 17th chief justice of the United States Supreme CourtBorn: January 27, 1955 in Buffalo, New YorkParents: John Glover Roberts and Rosemary PodraskEducation: Harvard University (B.A., J.D.)Wife: Jane Sullivan (m. 1996)Children: Josephine Roberts, Jack RobertsNotable Quotation: â€Å"You cant fight for your rights if you dont know what they are.† Early Life John Glover Roberts, Jr., was born on January 27, 1955, in Buffalo, New York, to John Glover Roberts and Rosemary Podrasky. In 1973, Roberts graduated at the top of his high school class from La Lumiere School, a Catholic boarding school in LaPorte, Indiana. While a student, Roberts wrestled, served as captain of the football team, and was a member of the student council. After graduating from high school, Roberts attended Harvard University, earning his tuition by working in a steel mill during the summer. After receiving his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in 1976, Roberts entered Harvard Law School and graduated magna cum laude in 1979. Legal Experience From 1980 to 1981, Roberts served as a law clerk to then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist on the United States Supreme Court. From 1981 to 1982, he served in the Reagan administration as a special assistant to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith. From 1982 to 1986, Roberts served as associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan. After a brief stint in private practice, Roberts returned to government to serve in the George H. W. Bush administration as deputy solicitor general from 1989 to 1992. He returned to private practice in 1992. D.C. Circuit Roberts was nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit- also known as the D.C. Circuit- in 2001. Tensions between the Bush administration and the Democrat-controlled Senate, however, prevented Roberts from being confirmed until 2003. As a Circuit Court judge, Roberts ruled on a number of major cases, including Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which concerned the legality of military tribunals. The court decided that such tribunals are legal because they are sanctioned by the United States Congress and because the Third Geneva Convention- which outlines protections for prisoners of war- does not apply to U.S. courts. Appointment to U.S. Supreme Court On July 19, 2005, President George W.  Bush nominated Roberts to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day OConnor.  Roberts was the first Supreme Court nominee since Stephen Breyer in 1994. Bush announced Roberts nomination in a live, nationwide television broadcast from the East Room of the White House. Following the September 3, 2005, death of William H. Rehnquist, Bush withdrew Roberts nomination as OConnors successor, and on September 6, sent the United States Senate notice of Roberts new nomination to the position of chief justice. Roberts was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 78-22 on September 29, 2005, and was sworn in hours later by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. During his confirmation hearings, Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his philosophy of jurisprudence was not â€Å"comprehensive† and that he did â€Å"not think beginning with an all-encompassing approach to constitutional interpretation is the best way to faithfully construe the document.† Roberts compared the job of a judge to that of a baseball umpire. â€Å"Its my job to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat,† he said. Roberts is the youngest chief justice of the Supreme Court since John Marshall served more than 200 years ago. He received more Senate votes supporting his nomination (78) than any other nominee for chief justice in American history. Major Decisions During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Roberts has handed down rulings on a number of major issues, from campaign finance to healthcare to free speech. Roberts concurred with the majority in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, one of the courts most controversial rulings. The decision asserted that the First Amendment protects the rights of businesses, non-profit organizations, and other groups to make unlimited expenditures, including those intended to influence political campaigns and elections. Critics of the ruling believed it has allowed for an influx of corporate money into elections, weakening the democratic process. Proponents, on the other hand, believe that such money is a form of protected speech. In the 2007 case Morse v. Frederick, Roberts authored the majority opinion, which held that educators have a right to regulate student speech expressed at or near school-sponsored events. The litigation concerned a student who held a banner reading BONG HiTS 4 JESUS across the street from a school event. Roberts, invoking the school speech doctrine, wrote that the school principal had reason to restrict this speech because it was promoting illegal behavior. In a dissenting opinion, Justices Steven, Souter, and Ginsberg wrote that the Court does serious violence to the First Amendment in upholding...a schools decision to punish Frederick for expressing a view with which it disagreed. Personal Life Roberts is married to Jane Marie Sullivan, also an attorney. They have two adopted children, Josephine (Josie) and Jack Roberts. The Robertses are Roman Catholic and currently live in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Legacy Roberts has played a significant role in Supreme Court history, often serving as a key swing vote on divided rulings. In 2012, he sided with the liberal side of the court in voting to uphold key provisions in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) as part of the decision National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. He sided with the conservative minority, however, in the case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Sources Biskupic, Joan. The Chief: the Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts. Basic Books, 2019.Liptak, Adam. â€Å"Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law, 5-4, in Victory for Obama.† The New York Times, 28 June 2012.Toobin, Jeffrey. â€Å"Money Unlimited: How Chief Justice John Roberts Orchestrated the Citizens United Decision.† The New Yorker, 14 May 2012.

Organization Behavior - Different Approaches to Management and Leaders Essay

Organization Behavior - Different Approaches to Management and Leadership - Essay Example However, the structure of any organization can be adjusted by organizational design and change. Organizational culture is defined as a set of shared values and norms by an organization that controls the interaction between employees, customers, suppliers and with all other entities whose interest is at stake (Jones 2007). An organization’s culture is shaped by its structure, ethics, by employment rights and by the environment surrounding the individuals. However, any two organizations operating in a similar industry might have very different cultures. An example is Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Coca-cola feels proud of its employees’ commitment to the organization and the role of top management in cautious and objective planning, provides them such an environment that most of the people spend their lifetime career duration in coca cola. On the other hand, in PepsiCo there occurs disputes; sometimes over the decision-making process and as a result, conflicts arise between top management and employees. However, organizational culture evolves just as the structure differentiates with the passage of time and can be adjusted by organizations’ change and design. In many organizations, managerial roles are categorized into three types of roles: informational, decisional and interpersonal role (Koontz and Weihrich 2006). Many of today’s multinational organizations and few other huge corporations are using this approach towards management. They became managers; aware of their roles and responsibility, and then they were responsible for achieving the organizational goals. This management approach focuses more on the decision-making process, both at the individual level and collective level (Koontz and Weihrich 2006). This management approach is adopted in organizations where the managers and employees have to make decisions regarding their work activities. However, it is criticized by most of the theorists that this approach to management is not effective because a managing organization is more than taking decisions.  Ã‚