Helena Viramontes Miss Clairol Essay -- short story, Miss Clairol

Helena Viramontes' short story, "Miss Clairol," takes the reader through a day in the life of Arlene, a single Hispanic mother, and her daughter, Champ. They begin their day at K-Mart in search for just the right beauty products for Arlene because she is going on a date that evening. After leaving without paying, they spend the day at home. Arlene prepares for the date while Champ assists her, watches television, and fixes herself dinner. Once Arlene is sufficiently fixed, she leaves for the date, ignoring Champ as she yells goodbye. Although I had to read "Miss Clairol" all the way through several times in order to develop a full understanding of the story and its purpose, I needed no extra reading to understand Arlene and my feelings about her. From the beginning of the story, my gut reaction to Arlene was disgust, and as I continued to read, my distaste only enlarged. Although I do not feel that Viramontes' sole purpose was to disturb the reader by her characterization of this sin gle mother, that was what kept my attention from the moment she was introduced. My dislike for Arlene began with the mere description of her physical appearance . When Arlene is first presented, she is depicted wearing "bell bottom jeans two sizes too small" and "a pink strapless tube top" (78). Not only do her clothes fit improperly, but "her stomach spills over the hip hugger jeans" as well (78). I next realized Arlene is accompanied by her young daughter, Champ. I was caught off guard by her blatant use of profanity in front of Champ. For example, she responds to Champ's question about which Miss Clairol box to grab saying, "Shit, mija, I dunno," and after dropping a gum wrapper on the ground, the simple comment, "Fuck it," expresses her nonchala... ...e next man is so far from romantic in the way I understand the concept, that it angers me to hear about it. Arlene's misunderstanding of romance epitomizes my serious dislike for her. My experience with good parenting and romance is so opposite of Arlene's parenting and ideas of romance that I am repulsed by them. Because it is so easy to develop set ideas of what is right and wrong concerning these concepts at such a young age, it is difficult to rid myself of the biases now that I am a young adult. These cultural biases that created the lens through which I read this story strongly affected my perception of Arlene in a way that no one else can experience. Work Cited Viramontes, Helena. "Miss Clairol." Literature and Gender: Thinking Critically through Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Robyn Wiegman and Elena Glasberg. New York: Longman, 1999. 78-81. Print.

Corporal Punishment Should Be Reintroduced in Schools Essay

Corporal Punishment as described by the Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus is â€Å"punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating†. As long as students understand that corporal punishment is based on authority, not violence or Abuse, and acknowledge that the authority is being used for legitimate purposes such as; discipline, Respect, appropriate classroom behavior and maintaining high levels of learning, they can easily understand why it is something that their Principal should be allowed to perform with Parental Consent. Nowadays, students control the classroom and disregard the teacher’s orders and authority.† Authority† – the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. Since students know that teachers cannot do anything more than send them out of class, teachers are left with an un-teachable classroom due to the distractions caused by â€Å"nuisances in class†. Students who are defiant or non-compliant can be the most challenging to teach. They frequently interrupt instruction, often do poorly academically, show disrespect and may show little motivation to learn. If parents â€Å"spare the rod† at home and send an undisciplined child to school, then its fair to say it becomes the responsibility of the school to instill discipline. If the parents and the school fail the child in this regard, then the resulting undisciplined child will learn the hard way about the consequences of unacceptable behavior later in life. Corporal punishment, unlike loss of privileges, such as having your mobile phone taken away, no Facebook activity or a firm lecture about your behavior, allows the child to draw a clear line on what is not acceptable behavior. In the UK, corporal punishment has been banned in schools for numerous years. By reintroducing corporal punishment, teachers will regain the respect and healthy order in the classroom that they should have had in the first place. It is also essential to make it clear to the student being punished the guidelines upon why they are receiving that punishment. . If criminals are punished for crimes, then students must also understand that there are penalties for their actions. If you look at educational statistics and reports from the past to the present, violence and delinquency in schools were 200 to 300% lower than they are now according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) and NCES (National Center for Education Statistics). They show through extensive data children in schools during corporal punishment eras that; students performed better, focused, less instances of delinquency and Respectful. In addition, there were also fewer recorded incidents of students and teachers being accosted, assaulted, harassed and violated. References http://www.collinsdictionary.com http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/crimeindicators2011/key.Asp Http://nces.Ed.Gov/programs/crimeindicators/crimeindicators2011/key.Asp http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/parents-back-corporal-punishment-in-schools-2355544.html House of Commons: Corporal punishment lawful with parental consent [HISTORY] On 28 January 1997 the UK parliament debated reinstating Corporal Punishment in state school’s, ten years after it was abolished. The move failed, but the debate is quite interesting.

Childhood Education An Important Part Of The...

Not only does affordable childcare impact the U.S but countries all over the world. Ensuring children have the right stimulation, nurturing and nutrition—is one of the smartest investments a country can make (Early Childhood Development, nd.). Having a good foundation can help contribute to the financial and social wealth of their societies. These children have higher employment and earning more, have better health, lower levels of welfare dependency and crime rates than those who do not have these early opportunities. It may help address inequality, help educate children so they can break the cycle of poverty giving next generation a better start. Early childhood education helps form the basis of intelligence, personality and social behavior. Children who receive early childcare tend to achieve more success at school. Childcare is an important part of the infrastructure for economic development. When understanding how early childcare impacts the economy globally there is evidence from both developed and developing countries. Research indicates that an additional dollar invested in high quality preschool programs will yield a return of anywhere between $6 and $17 (Early Childhood Development, nd.). Having affordable childcare will also keep talented workers in the workforce ensure better outcome for our kids. Although the U.S has high childcare rates it is not the only country that struggles with this issue. In England the average family may spend up to 27% of theirShow MoreRelatedDevelopment Of Exceptional And Special Needs Children Essay1672 Words   |  7 PagesThe early childhood sector is increasing rapidly across the Caribbean. 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