Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Primitivism and Exoticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Primitivism and Exoticism - Essay Example If an entity is being adopted or being infiltrated in the other culture then the entity becomes foreign for that specific culture. Exoticism deals with the exotic adoptions in arts from diverse and previous cultures and incorporates it in the modern era of art. It demonstrates that â€Å"Exoticism is to space what Primitivism is to time†. However, Primitivism and Exoticism in the modern music congealed the preceded understanding of these two schools of thought in the modern art. Exoticism and primitivism in music do not only deal with foreign or previous contents and contexts but also utilized the developed outcomes of those contexts in the modern manner. This paper is aimed to discuss the association of Exoticism and Primitivism to the music in the era of modernism and it will be discussed in the light of chapter seven of the book Modernism and Music: Anthology of Sources by Daniel Albright. Primitivism The side of modern music which is embarked in the ideology of Primitivism is contained with some distinct traits which are not usually found in the conventional ideals of primitivism in other modern art forms like paintings. It can be understood by contrasting the two art forms in the domain of Primitivism. Primitivism in the art is accepted to be consisting on three major factors. These major factors are intensely separate in their realistic sense and concepts. However the modern primitivism does incorporate all three of these distinct factors which are fascination, the factor of disgust and a significant proportion of terror. Modern primitive art is formulated by the compilation of these three factors in which the pessimistic account is more illuminated than the optimistic shade of the demonstration. (Albright, 2004). Primitivism in modern music is significantly different from the other art forms regarding Primitivism. It can be said that Primitivism in music contains a less amount of pessimism as compared to the Primitivism in painting and literature. Musical primitivism is immensely based on research and this research involves the analyses of folksongs. The researchers of these folksongs realize the non modernity of those folksongs which were produced in the preceding times. The essence of Primitivism is steeped under the principle that the art of previous times must be adopted and demonstrated on the canvas of modern art in the modern times. Similarly, the Primitivism in modern music manifests the correspondence of preceding folksongs with a lesser of the dark side (Albright, 2004). Primitivism and Modernism Modernism is often described as the post feudal and post colonial era in which the preceding ideologies were replaced with the modern ideologies including the equality of mankind. The most fundamental change which is marked to be identified as the major change was the rise of capitalism and industrialization in the prominent parts of the world. This major change initiated the congealment of society by every possible aspect and perspective including the system of politics in the society, educational system and most importantly the art. The period of modernism is also known as the era of enlightenment in which many thinker and artists played there significant roles in their scope of excellence. Many of the artistic movements were formed and appreciated in

Monday, October 28, 2019

Racial Profiling within America’s Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

Racial Profiling within America’s Criminal Justice System Essay The criminal justice system of America is deeply scarred with racial bias. Crimes are being committed and, in turn, are resulting with innocent people doing hard-time. Thankfully, newfound methods of appealing court rulings are finding justice for these minorities; however, the results are as shocking as the crimes being committed. When it was found that the majority of successful appeals were of minorities, the true defects of the system was apparent. The minority community is being critically judged for things they’re not doing. Throughout the last decade lawmakers have be aiding the racial profiling scene. Arizona legislature passed a law allowing for an officer to demand papers of any person that proved their legal citizenship. The law, intending to lower the illegal immigrants in Arizona, became a symbol for racial profiling within our government. President Obama strongly opposed the passing of the law saying that it threatened â€Å"to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe† (Archibold). It is a very rare occasion where the President speaks out about state legislature, proving the enormity of the law and its regards to human rights in America. The law, dubbed the â€Å"Show Me Your Papers† law, has Arizona residents furious. Faulting someone of being illegal, purely based on their appearance is a very subjective issue. Someone with a last name of Garcia or Rodriquez is much more likely to be suspected of being in the country illegally rather than someone with the last name of Smith. Because Smith has a very typically â€Å"American† last name, he, most likely, wouldn’t be asked to prove citizenship. This is a perfect example of the kind of profiling that Arizonians are concerned about. Not only have lawmakers been creating laws supporting racial profiling, but laws such as the â€Å"Stand your Ground† law in Florida are allowing for racial profiling to occur under a pseudonym. The â€Å"Stand your Ground† law allows for someone to use deadly force, if needed, in order to protect themselves from harm’s way. The recent slayings of teenagers Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, two African American teenagers, have so far been defended under the law, bringing uproar to the stateespecially among the black community. Even worse, it’s considered legal. Families and friends of these children defend them as being upstanding citizens killed due to their race. Although Martin and Davis have not been the only people murdered under the law, they are the ones bring publicity to it. Due to the media attention, the policy’s effect on different racial groups is finally being questioned. John Roman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, conducted a study intending to measure the racial bias within the policy. Roman focused his study on killings that were considered justified within the eyes of the court: the murder of people that just committed a felony. â€Å"Roman found that the killings of black people by whites were more likely to be considered justified than the killings of white people by blacks†¦. In non-Stand Your Ground states, whites are 250 percent more likely to be found justified in killing a black person than a white person who kills another white person; in Stand Your Ground states, that number jumps to 354 percent.† (Childress). Roman’s findings show that even laws that weren’t aimed to become a racial issue are. The issue, however, is that it’s not being stopped despite the blatantly obvious ramifications. Some might argue that people of color are being convicted for more crimes than other races because they’re the ones committing more crimes. A valid point, however, with the recent advancement of these races throughout society, it would be thought that these numbers would be heading in opposite directions. In reality, minorities are being served harsher consequences than their white counterparts despite their equal standing in society. Michigan State University (MSU) conducted a study revealing that there was often racial bias when selecting a jury—especially those involving minority parties. The study conducted by MSU examined jury selection as well as the decisions made by said juries. â€Å"The MSU study of capital charging and sentencing found that those who kill whites are more likely to get the death penalty than those who kill blacks. The MSU study found that a defendant is 2.6 times more likely to get the death penalty if the victim is white.† (ACLU). Following the study, North Carolina passed a law entitled the â€Å"Racial Justice Act†. This piece of legislature made it possible for inmates to appeal their sentences due to supposed racial profiling. Since the passing of the law last year, there have been 4 successful appeals. The law doesn’t guarantee that the whole sentence will be reversed; however, it puts in place a system that allows for flaws in the length/severity of the sentence to be readdressed. The passing of the law as well as the MSU study prove that although there are more minorities being charged for crimes, the charges are of ill-willed intentions. In addition to undeserved charges, DNA testing has exonerated hundreds of people for crimes in which they were convicted over the past few years. When DNA testing became readily available to the criminal justice system, crucial flaws began to surface. It was realized that people were serving hard-time for felony crimes they didn’t commit. University of Virginia Law professor, Brandon Garrett, studied the first 200 people exonerated through said DNA testing. He compared the demographics of the exonerees concluding that â€Å"[Of] the innocent group, all male save one†¦71 percent were minorities. The vast majority of exonerated rape convicts (73 percent) were black or Hispanic, while studies show only about 37 percent of rape convicts are minorities.† (Wood). These hundreds of people are provide valid evidence supporting that, although people of color are being convicted of more crimes, they are also being cleared of said crimes. Racial ethnicity plays a large factor when it comes to being convicted of a crime. Oftentimes, a person of color is automatically assumed to be more likely of committing a crime than a Caucasian person. People of minority races are being targeted as criminals purely based on their looks rather than their guilt. Laws have been passed both for and against said issue, providing for a government that is facilitating racism. Racial profiling isn’t an act that would be thought of as happening in the 21st century, following the Civil Rights movement of the mid 1900’s. Despite the advancements in society, America’s criminal justice system hasn’t quite advanced so far. Works Cited Archibold, Randal. â€Å"Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration† NYtimes.com April 23, 2012. Web. New York Times January 30, 2013. Childress, Sarah. â€Å"Is There Racial Bias in ‘Stand your Ground’ Law?† PBS.org, July 31, 2012. Web. UNC-TV January 30, 2013 ACLU. â€Å"North Carolina Racial Justice Act† ACLU.org, December 17, 2012. Web. American Civil Liberties Union January 30, 2013 Wood, Mary. â€Å"Study of First 200 DNA Exonerations Shows Flawed Criminal System† law.virginia.edu, July 23, 2007. Web. University of Virginia February 2, 2013

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Ecstasy :: essays papers

Ecstasy MDMA, or Ecstasy, was first made in a lab in Germany in 1912. The German pharmaceutical company E. Merck patented it in 1914, not as a medicine, but as a chemical for making more useful drugs later on. MDMA was forgotten until 1953, when the United States Army funded a secret University of Michigan study to develop chemical weapons. After learning that MDMA was non-toxic, the government put it back on the shelf. Rumor says that the drug was tested for mind control purposes, or as a â€Å"truth drug†, but there is not actual evidence of that. In 1978, Alexander Shulgin wrote a book detailing the MDMA experience called Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved: A Chemical Love Story. Many psychiatrists took Shulgin's findings seriously enough to combine MDMA with sessions with their patients' normal therapy. In the early '80s, MDMA made its way from the doctor's office to the dance floor from a Texas entrepreneur who synthesized the drug in a lab. He re-named it "Ecstasy" and sold it for $20 a hit—legally—in Dallas-Fort Worth clubs. But, the Drug Enforcement Agency worked quickly to outlaw MDMA, and Ecstasy officially became an illegal drug in 1985. What Ecstasy does is simple. It combines two opposite effects, stimulation and relaxation, but in also provides a small quality of empathy. Psychotherapist RD Laing took MDMA in Esalen, California, in 1984 when it was still legal. He said, "It made me feel how all of us would like to feel we are anyway . . . smooth and open hearted, not soggy, sentimental or stupid.† Another psychologist described it as providing a "brief, fleeting moment of sanity". Most people describe the feeling like being in love. The most common feelings experienced are empathy, openness, peace and caring. However, there have been cases in which the user has a decrease in defensiveness, fear or paranoia, sense of separation from others, aggression, and obsessive behavior. Side effects of Ecstasy can range from mildly uncomfortable to life threatening physical and emotional reactions. Your temperature goes up when you take Ecstasy, like a fever. Dancing in a hot warehouse doesn't help your body cool off, so it's no surprise that one of the most common Ecstasy-related injuries is heatstroke. Along with high body temperature, you sweat and urinate a lot if you take Ecstasy.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Movies Represent Storytelling at Its Best Essay

Imagery, sounds, storytelling ability, excellent editing, serious acting and creative imaginations are all technically combined to make a good movie. Movies represent storytelling at its best. The writer gives a script to the director who interprets it and creates a core team of professionals that includes the cinematographer, the designer (and his team), the sound engineer, the actors, and the editor. They make ï ¬ lms to entertain, to express emotion, tell stories, deliver messages, to dream, to imagine, and it is all because they have a passion that drives them. Filmmaking takes time, patience, dedication, commitment, and an understanding of the process in its totality. If ï ¬ lmmakers are oriented toward story and performance, they must learn to visualize the narrative. The story must unfold in the mind’s eye, as it is conceived and created. The ï ¬ lmmaker has to see the movie while the screenplay is being written and during pre-production before the cameras roll. (LoBrutto 2002) Matthew Vaughn created a make-believe movie which insinuates that mutants are everyday people that exist among us; and there were times during the movie that the thought actually crossed my mind. Owing to the fact that, making a film is a most complex artistic enterprise and that, movie making is the only creative endeavor that encompasses all of the arts: writing, photography, painting, acting, music, dance, and architecture; the filmmaker must take on the challenge of telling a story via image and sound each time a movie is made. (LoBrutto 2002) Storytelling A movie is a story; it is as simple as that. Movies are really a category of art that use various kinds of technical combinations of imagery and sounds to tell stories. However, how the story is told, often make fictions seem real, non-fictions become personal, fantasy appear realistic and musicals, like Burlesque, http://youtu.be/9snF_LsF-OI expand into song and dance. There is always something that viewers can relate to in movies. Nevertheless, â€Å"Movies are not, and are not meant to be, blueprints for how to live our lives. They are, however, reflections of lives.† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) The story, X-Men: First Class, is about former closeted mutants coming out and embracing their difference. However, the film began with a setting during the period of the holocaust when Magneto was a young boy in Poland. The boy’s name was Erik Lehnsherr (later named Magneto). The story highlights aspects of the enslavement of Jews by the German Gustapo. The close-up shots of the numbers that were branded on the arms of the Jewish people in the concentration camp align the story with an actual historical event. Those shots coupled with the boy’s forceful separation from his mother help to authenticate and solidify the director’s attempt at reality. His anger and fury at the separation triggered his mutant power of magnetism that caused him to rip the metal fence that stood between himself and his mother. The Gustapo commander’s name was Schmidt (later Sebastian Shaw). It was he who shot and killed Erik’s mother in cold blood, before the child; resulting in Erik’s mutant power of magnetism being triggered and magnified during his subsequent angry outburst. Sebastian Shaw murdered the boy’s mother because he wanted to see a demonstration of the boyâ€⠄¢s mutant powers. Mission accomplished, Shaw wanted to train and harness Erik’s mutant power to use it as a weapon. On the other hand, Charles Xavier was a brilliant academic who is of gentry stock. As we saw it when he was a boy, he had the power of telepathy. He also had the ability to read and control other people’s minds. In the beginning of the film, Charles was quite blatant and unapologetic about reading people’s minds without their permission as was the case when he was talking the woman at the bar, before Raven interrupted. He became a CIA consultant on humans with mutant abilities then later he and Erik (who became his close friend) recruited, trained and formed X-Men: First Class a department within the CIA. Both men, Charles and Erik formed a league of mutants to fight against the plans of the evil Sebastian Shaw. There were also minor storylines about interpersonal relationships and the mutants’ personal insecurities as it related to personal acceptance. Overal l the storyline of a Jew’s revenge against his former Gustapo torturers was good; revenge in this case was sweet. Acting Actors are the most visible elements in a film. The actors †¦. In X-Men: First Class There was wild card and character actors but there were no star actors (except for Hugh Jackman’s one clip appearance when he used the f word). The acting was mediocre because at times it did not come across as being natural. It appeared to be acting, more the type for a stage production than for the cinema. However, if I should compare the two main characters; Michael Fassbender did a good job of portraying Erik’s anger, loss and hurt that he suffered growing up in a concentration camp. McAvoy in Charles’ character on the other hand, did not have much negative experience to work with and his character came across as Erik’s boring telepathic side-kick. Kevin Bacon did justice to Sebastian Shaw’s character. With the exception of Raven, the other actors were not really given much screen time. There were many actors but not much solid acting, although there was a lot of action. Cinematography The director of cinematography’s job is to take the director’s view of how the movie should look and help the director to get the shots that he wants with ideas on camera angles, types of cameras, and lighting suggestions that will best serve the director in getting the type of feel he wants out of each scene in the movie. (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011). The cinematographer is specifically responsible for its look, in very specific, shot-by-shot terms. He or she is responsible for the images that the camera sees, and by extension the images that the audience will see in the finished film. . Cinematography means â€Å"writing with movement.† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAbhclxSNTw The cinematographer demonstrated knowledge based brilliance and skillful use of all type of shots in this clip. He coupled it with the bright natural sunshine made the finale to this clip quite moving. The words â€Å"Never Again† were delivered in a deep focus close up shot of Magneto. The cinematographer used long, medium and close-up shots as well as deep focus. His variety of shots and choice of lightings made this film very entertaining. Editing â€Å"The film editor helps create the film, literally constructing it, piecing together different takes of individual scenes and then placing the selected scenes in the order that tells the story the director wants to tell. The editor’s role is crucial to the making of a successful film. Poor editing does the audience the ultimate disservice when it comes to film.† (Goodykoontz, 2009). The scenes were fast paced, action packed, story driven to the point where there was nothing noticeably wrong or out of place with the editing. It was done in an incongruous style and that added to the overall excitement. The fast movements created the desire to watch this film again and again. The editing was clean. There were no visible or audible hitches. The story flowed and it was quite riveting and entertaining because it reflected real life human struggles for acceptance. Sound â€Å"Music has been a crucial part of the movie going experience since before the advent of recorded sound in films. So important was its use that over time directors began inserting musical cues, or signals, for specific music to be played at specific times.† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) I particularly favored the scene that brought Xavier and Erik together; it contained a variety of magnificent sounds. When Erik was in the sea and there was also a bevy of boats and ships around him; there were sounds of boat horns; there were natural sounds of water splashing against the sides of the ships and the ripping sounds of the speed boats dividing the water. During the destruction of Shaw’s ship, there were credible sound effects of the unreeling of the massive chain on the anchor; the crashing banging sounds and the explosive sounds. The complimentary sound of background orchestra music playing that loaded repeated andante beat (da-dap da-dap da-dap) that suggests action and then there was the dialogue. Overall, the music and sounds were seamlessly interwoven into each scene to further engage the audience’s attention. Added to that, amidst all the other sounds, the dialogue was clear and audible. The overall sound for this movie was good. Style and Directing A film director is the creative force behind a movie. He is the one who is responsible for the end product that the viewing public pays to see at the movie theatre. His word is final on the visuals, the sounds and the acting. According to Vincent LoBrutto in his book, The Filmmaker’s Guide to Production Design; â€Å"A good director must have a ï ¬ rm idea of how to translate the script cinematically.† (LoBrutto 2002) LoBrutto went on further to say that, directors read the script for an overall impression and impact. It does not matter who the scriptwriter(s) is/are, it is the director’s interpretation, shots and takes that viewers see at the movie theatres. The buck stops at the film director. (LoBrutto 2002) Director Matthew Vaughn has his own fast-paced action-packed style of directing. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891216/ He tried to make comic book characters seem real by fusing natural historic events like the holocaust (Erik was in the concentration camp during the Holocaust where his mom was killed) and the Cuban missile crisis into the plot. Vaughn created elaborate props and set designs and he used every computer graphics skill to enhance the story. X-Men: First Class doesn’t just rely on the usual fast paced scenes and top notch special effects that are typical of action movies; it raises the bar several notches. It doesn’t lose its sentimental core amidst the explosions and super feats but it continues to provide viewers a complex storyline to follow. This is Vaughn’s â€Å"Kick Ass† style. There is humor as in the training sessions when Banshee, after receiving clear instructions and encouragement; fell straight to ground without even attempting to try. There was much laughter at his expense. Humor is Vaughn style; as his previous work â€Å"Kick Ass† showed; that coupled with the elaborate props and high tech sound effects; complete his signature on the project. The director Matthew Vaughn placed his stamp on this movie through the production design, the acting, the dialogue, the cinematography and especially the sounds. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891216/ Impact of society on the film and vice versa Whether it is in appearance, fashion, or behavior, films romanticize a certain lifestyle that is eagerly imitated by audiences. Fashion magazines promise that we can â€Å"Get Angelina’s Look† if we follow the tips inside. Celebrity gossip publications keep readers up-to-date on the comings and goings of seemingly everyone who has appeared in a movie. The Internet and social media are practically choked with chatter about film— box-office results, reviews, gossip, and more. Beyond such obviously shallower aspects, film can influence how we live, our morality, and our behavior. (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) â€Å"Film can influence how we live, our morality, and our behavior.† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) Filmmakers will argue that, this effect is unintentional because movies are a part of a make believe world but there are those who pattern what they see, and make it their reality. An example of society’s impact on film is portrayed in the indelible affect that the holocaust had on Erik; he was soaked with hatred and revenge for the former Gustapos who imprisoned him, especially Sebastian Shaw. This is a portrayal of the agony that the Jewish people suffered at the hands of the Germans. That intrinsic hatred became the fuel for his mutant powers. The others had to hide their difference from normal society, for fear of rejection but above all the fear of unknown reaction to them. Likewise, the film is highlighting the fact that some people among us who are different from us, want acceptance and they also want to feel a sense of belonging just like normal people. Their differences are as varied as the characters in the film and their needs are as similar. It is sending a message of acceptance, brotherhood and unity. Genre â€Å"A genre is so called because it tends to use familiar story formulas, character types, settings, and iconography (visual imagery with symbolic implications), all of which lead viewers to have certain expectations about what the movie will be like before actually watching it. .† (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) It is a type, or category of films that is usually easily recognizable as part of a certain genre. Genres tell the audience up front what to expect from the product they are buying. If they like a particular kind of story, chances are they will like this particular film, especially if the writer and director give the expectations a little twist. X-Men: First Class is an action-fantasy. It is loaded with action but it is also loaded with some fantastic comic book feats. At the start of the film, the MARVEL logo is shown; that is an indicator that it is a comic book story. The ability for humans to alter and mutate into other beings, is genre specific activities for fantasy. While the fast-paced actions during the confrontations/battles with good and evil are typical of action films. Therefore, it is difficult to place the film within any one genre because it can fit into several: drama (Erik’s beginning and the dramatic separation from his mother); fantasy (Erik’s control of the missiles in mid-air); action (the air and sea confrontation). Application of at least one approach to analysis and Interpretation Films are often used to express emotion, deliver a message, to dream and to imagine; all having to do with human psychology. A psychological approach to analyzing a film is especially concerned with how a film provides examples of various psychological theories and concepts, particularly those of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (e.g., sexual symbolism, subconscious repression and dreams, the id, ego, and superego, the collective unconscious). Identity crisis was an issue in the film. Psychologist Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human growth and development at the fifth stage looks at Identity versus Identity confusion. This was played out so well by Raven. It states that adolescents must be allowed to explore different roles in a healthy manner in order to achieve a positive identity; or else they will experience identity confusion. (Santrock, 1989) Raven obviously received no previous parental guidance regarding self-acceptance and role explorations; she hid behind a morphed socially accepted form. She was more comfortable being someone else and she often abandoned her true identity. Accept Yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csii_f5f204 â€Å"You want society to accept you, but you can’t even accept yourself,† said Magneto to Raven. Raven had a serious problem of identity confusion and she struggled with self-acceptance. In the above clip Erik challenged her to accept herself in her true blue form. The movie embraced people who were physically different, while at the same time it was highlighting their struggles to gain social acceptance and their deep-down desire to be normal. This point was introduced as early as the meeting with Charles and Raven. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEKxXYrb2Rk The insecurities about their difference continued to play out in the dialogue between Raven and Charles as well as Raven and Hank. http://youtu.be/PKnL_MwwU3o Charles Xavier, who like Erik, had no visible disability, seemed to have had a more rational approach to life in general. He was more in control of his behavior and his decisions than Erik. According to Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, the ego makes rational decisions (Santrock, 1989 p. 34). An example of this was the scene where Charles was in his kitchen and Raven (who he looked upon as a sister) entered in her unclothed blue form, in a sensual rather sexual manner. Charles’ ego quickly assessed the situation and decided that it was wrong and he chided her with disgust in his voice. His conscious ego made a decision. Similarly, psychologist Albert Bandura’s social learning theory speaks to conforming to social behavior within the one’s environment (Witt & Mossler, 2010). Charles Xavier knew that society, especially the upper class to which he belonged, would definitely not accept Raven in her true form. His socialization caused him not to even consider having a relationship with a blue woman; blue blooded one, perhaps. Overall textual themes There are five categories that make up the theme of every film: the plot, the emotional mood, the character, style or texture, and ideas. (Goodykoontz, & Jacobs 2011) There were several themes in this film. †¢Self-Acceptance: The lack of social acceptance motivated the mutants to bond together as a brotherhood; and help each other to gain control of their super power as well as provide them with a safe non-judgmental environment. †¢Brotherhood and Unity: They watch out for and watch over each other; they literally function like a family with Erik and Charles as the parents. At Charles castle during the training days. †¢Inter-Personal Relationships: Charles and Erik seem to have a deep seated tenderness for each other as was seen in those close up shots when Charles was shot in his back. Erik held him in his arms and the moment captured a deep relationship. †¢Revenge: Erik hunted and killed all his torturers. Sebastian Shaw’s killing was the final reveng e and the sweetest. Conclusion Imagery, sounds, storytelling ability, excellent editing, serious acting and creative imaginations are all technically combined to make a good movie. Movies represent storytelling at its best. The writer gives a script to the director who interprets it and creates a core team of professionals that includes the cinematographer, the designer (and his team), the sound engineer, the actors, and the editor. They make ï ¬ lms to entertain, to express emotion, tell stories, deliver messages, to dream, to imagine, and it is all because they have a passion that drives them. Filmmaking takes time, patience, dedication, commitment, and an understanding of the process in its totality. If ï ¬ lmmakers are oriented toward story and performance, they must learn to visualize the narrative. The story must unfold in the mind’s eye, as it is conceived and created. The ï ¬ lmmaker has to see the movie while the screenplay is being written and during pre-production before the cameras roll. (LoBrutto 2002) The film was good, exciting, colorful, action packed and almost believable. However, due to its suggested sexual contents and the one time use of the f word, I cannot recommend it for the family. Twaitney O. Reference Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. LoBrutto, V. (2002) The Filmmaker’s Guide to Production Design New York, NY: Allworth Press Santrock, J. W. (1995). Life-Span Development. Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark Witt, G. A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult Development & Life Assessment. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAbhclxSNTw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhRZIsk0Bdc @font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu72xKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0460-052F,U+1C80-1C88,U+20B4,U+2DE0-2DFF,U+A640-A69F,U+FE2E-FE2F;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu5mxKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0400-045F,U+0490-0491,U+04B0-04B1,U+2116;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu7mxKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+1F00-1FFF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu4WxKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0370-03FF;} @font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu7WxKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0102-0103,U+0110-0111,U+1EA0-1EF9,U+20AB;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu7GxKOzY.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0100-024F,U+0259,U+1E00-1EFF,U+2020,U+20A0-20AB,U+20AD-20CF,U+2113,U+2C60-2C7F,U+A720-A7FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Regular'),local('Roboto-Regular'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOmCnqEu92Fr1Mu4mxK.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0000-00FF,U+0131,U+0152-0153,U+02BB-02BC,U+02C6,U+02DA,U+02DC,U+2000-206F,U+2074,U+20AC,U+2122,U+2191,U+2193,U+2212,U+2215,U+FEFF,U+FFFD;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local(' Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fCRc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0460-052F,U+1C80-1C88,U+20B4,U+2DE0-2DFF,U+A640-A69F,U+FE2E-FE2F;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fABc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0400-045F,U+0490-0491,U+04B0-04B1,U+2116;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fCBc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+1F00-1FFF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fBxc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0370-03FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;sr c:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fCxc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0102-0103,U+0110-0111,U+1EA0-1EF9,U+20AB;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fChc4EsA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0100-024F,U+0259,U+1E00-1EFF,U+2020,U+20A0-20AB,U+20AD-20CF,U+2113,U+2C60-2C7F,U+A720-A7FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:normal;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium'),local('Roboto-Medium'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOlCnqEu92Fr1MmEU9fBBc4.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0000-00FF,U+0131,U+0152-0153,U+02BB-02BC,U+02C6,U+02DA,U+02DC,U+2000-206F,U+2074,U+20AC,U+2122,U+2191,U+2193,U+2212,U+2215,U+FEFF,U+FFFD;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com /s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xFIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0460-052F,U+1C80-1C88,U+20B4,U+2DE0-2DFF,U+A640-A69F,U+FE2E-FE2F;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xMIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0400-045F,U+0490-0491,U+04B0-04B1,U+2116;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xEIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+1F00-1FFF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xLIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0370-03FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstati c.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xHIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0102-0103,U+0110-0111,U+1EA0-1EF9,U+20AB;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xGIzIFKw.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0100-024F,U+0259,U+1E00-1EFF,U+2020,U+20A0-20AB,U+20AD-20CF,U+2113,U+2C60-2C7F,U+A720-A7FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:400;src:local('Roboto Italic'),local('Roboto-Italic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOkCnqEu92Fr1Mu51xIIzI.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0000-00FF,U+0131,U+0152-0153,U+02BB-02BC,U+02C6,U+02DA,U+02DC,U+2000-206F,U+2074,U+20AC,U+2122,U+2191,U+2193,U+2212,U+2215,U+FEFF,U+FFFD;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc3CsTKlA.woff2)forma t('woff2');unicode-range:U+0460-052F,U+1C80-1C88,U+20B4,U+2DE0-2DFF,U+A640-A69F,U+FE2E-FE2F;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc-CsTKlA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0400-045F,U+0490-0491,U+04B0-04B1,U+2116;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc2CsTKlA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+1F00-1FFF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc5CsTKlA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0370-03FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(// fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc1CsTKlA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0102-0103,U+0110-0111,U+1EA0-1EF9,U+20AB;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc0CsTKlA.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0100-024F,U+0259,U+1E00-1EFF,U+2020,U+20A0-20AB,U+20AD-20CF,U+2113,U+2C60-2C7F,U+A720-A7FF;}@font-face{font-family:'Roboto';font-style:italic;font-weight:500;src:local('Roboto Medium Italic'),local('Roboto-MediumItalic'),url(//fonts.gstatic.com/s/roboto/v18/KFOjCnqEu92Fr1Mu51S7ACc6CsQ.woff2)format('woff2');unicode-range:U+0000-00FF,U+0131,U+0152-0153,U+02BB-02BC,U+02C6,U+02DA,U+02DC,U+2000-206F,U+2074,U+20AC,U+2122,U+2191,U+2193,U+2212,U+2215,U+FEFF,U+FFFD;}if (document.fonts && document.fonts.load) {document.fonts.load("400 10pt Roboto", "");document.fonts.load("500 10pt Roboto", "");} html {overflow: hidden;}body {font: 12px Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;background-color: #000;color: #fff;height: 100%;width: 100%;overflow: hidden;position: absolute;margin: 0;padding: 0;}#player {width: 100%;height: 100%;}h1 {text-align: center;color: #fff;}.hid {display: none;}h3 {margin-top: 6px;margin-bottom: 3px;}.player-unavailable {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;right: 0;bottom: 0;padding: 25px;font-size: 13px;background: url(/img/meh7.png) 50% 65% no-repeat;}.player-unavailable .message {text-align: left;margin: 0 -5px 15px;padding: 0 5px 14px;border-bottom: 1px solid #888;font-size: 19px;font-weight: normal;}.player-unavailable a {color: #167ac6;text-decoration: none;}.yt-embed-thumbnail {background-size: cover;background-position: center;background-repeat: no-repeat;height: 100%;}.ytp-lightweight {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;width: 100%;height: 100%;}.exp-invert-logo #header:before, .exp-invert-logo .ypc-join-family-header .logo, .exp-invert-logo #footer-logo .footer- logo-icon, .exp-invert-logo #yt-masthead #logo-container .logo, .exp-invert-logo #masthead #logo-container, .exp-invert-logo .admin-masthead-logo a, .exp-invert-logo #yt-sidebar-styleguide-logo #logo { background: no-repeat url(/yts/img/ringo/hitchhiker/logo_small_2x-vfl4_cFqn.png); background-size: 100px 30px; } .exp-invert-logo #yt-masthead #logo-container .logo-red { background: no-repeat url(/yts/img/ringo/hitchhiker/logo_youtube_red_2x-vflOSHA_n.png); background-size: 132px 30px; } @media only screen and (min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 498px), only screen and (min-width: 499px) and (max-width: 704px) { .exp-invert-logo.exp-responsive #yt-masthead #logo-container { background: no-repeat url(/yts/img/ringo/hitchhiker/yt_play_logo_2x-vflXx5Pg3.png); background-size: 40px 28px; } } .guide-sort-container {display: none}var ytcsi = {gt: function(n) {n = (n || '') + 'data_';return ytcsi[n] || (ytcsi[n] = {tick: {},info: {}});},now: window.performance && window.performance.timing &&wi ndow.performance.now ? function() {return window.performance.timing.navigationStart + window.performance.now();} : function() {return (new Date()).getTime();},tick: function(l, t, n) {ticks = ytcsi.gt(n).tick;var v = t || ytcsi.now();if (ticks[l]) {ticks['_' + l] = (ticks['_' + l] || [ticks[l]]);ticks['_' + l].push(v);}ticks[l] = v;},info: function(k, v, n) {ytcsi.gt(n).info[k] = v;},setStart: function(s, t, n) {ytcsi.info('yt_sts', s, n);ytcsi.tick('_start', t, n);}};(function(w, d) {ytcsi.setStart('dhs', w.performance ? w.performance.timing.responseStart : null);var isPrerender = (d.visibilityState || d.webkitVisibilityState) == 'prerender';var vName = (!d.visibilityState && d.webkitVisibilityState)? 'webkitvisibilitychange' : 'visibilitychange';if (isPrerender) {ytcsi.info('prerender', 1);var startTick = function() {ytcsi.setStart('dhs');d.removeEventListener(vName, startTick);};d.addEventListener(vName, startTick, false);}if (d.addEventListener) {d.addEventListener(vName, functi on() {ytcsi.tick('vc');}, false);}var slt = function(el, t) {setTimeout(function() {var n = ytcsi.now();el.loadTime = n;if (el.slt) {el.slt();}}, t);};w.__ytRIL = function(el) {if (!el.getAttribute('data-thumb')) {if (w.requestAnimationFrame) {w.requestAnimationFrame(function() {slt(el, 0);});} else {slt(el, 16);}}};})(window, document); http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/fullcredits http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891216/

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Student Motivation

Student motivation is an important aspect of education, students across all subjects in secondary education lack motivation. Students are intrinsically motivated to learn at an early age but as they get older they lose their intrinsic motivation. Teachers use extrinsic rewards in the classroom not to motivate but to regulate student behavior. Motivation is a dominant part of a students' educational experience from preschool onward but it has received limited attention amongst an education reform agenda engrossed mainly on accountability, standards, and tests, teacher excellence, and school administration. As students move through the school system from preschool to high school they become more disengaged this eventually leads to more high school dropouts. It is very important that we know how motivation is perceived by students as well as teachers. This will give some indication as to the types of professional development that will provide teachers with strategies to help improve student motivation and engagement. This will be necessary if we want our students to be successful and become a function part of our society. Keywords: academic achievement, intrinsic reward, extrinsic reward, strategies, professional development and student autonomy Today many of our students are slipping through the cracks because of their lack of motivation, these students come to school every day sit in our classrooms and walk out of them not learning or attempting to learn. They are not motivated or engaged in our classes even though we utilize strategies to challenge, motivate and engage. Students' motivation can influence what and how they learn. In turn, as students learn and perceive that they are becoming more skillful they are motivated to continue to learn. (Schunk, 2016). This is not the case for most of our students in the classrooms, it is up to the teacher to engage and be cognizant of how they learn. As children advance from preschool to elementary they demonstrate a great amount enthusiasm for learning, they are engaged and are eager for knowledge. Students during this timeframe are intrinsically motivated. However, students' interest in learning and the desire to perform fades as the years go by, their intrinsic motivation decreases. The lack of motivation is the main reason why many students drop out of high school, they feel unmotivated and unchallenged. The lack of motivation in education is a valid and persistent problem that needs to be addressed. Recent studies look at the perception of motivation by students' and teachers' which from the students prospective indicates that their motivation stems from their interactions with their teachers and their social environment. This is a concept seen in Vygotsky's theory of learning which dealt with the impact of the social environment and its influence on cognition. Vygotsky considered the social environment critical for learning and thought that social interactions transformed learning experienced. (Schunk 2016) Trending among these studies are student's interactions with teachers and peers, the classroom environment, building relationships with teachers, teacher feedback and student autonomy over their learning. The research question examined in this paper is: What are students' and teacher's perceptions of motivation and engagement in grades 9-12? In exploring the perceptions of students and teachers this paper will address the effect of the social environment on student motivation and engagement in the classroom.Learning Theory AssociationThe social cognitive learning theory is based on the concept that students learn by observing and modeling the behaviors of others. Students observe models, explain and demonstrate skills then practice them. (Schunk, 2016) It also discussed the importance teaching students' strategies that will help them to learn how to control their behavior and direct their own learning. Self-efficacy refers to the perception of one's capabilities to produce actions; outcome expectations involve beliefs about anticipated outcome of the actions. (Schunk, 2016) Students' self-efficacy will shape their motivation for learning and goal attainment. The social cognitive theory is also based on the concept that people learn from their environment. The environment's influence on behavior occurs when students look at a slide without much conscious deliberation (environment =behavior). Students' behavior often alters the instructional environment, if the teacher asks questions and students give the wrong answers, the teacher may reteach the same points rather than continue the lesson (behavior = environment). (Schunk, 2016) Motivation engages students in activities that facilitate learning. (Schunk, 2016) Students may become more motivated by watching similar others succeed than by those who they believe are superior in confidence. (Schunk, 2016) Research indicates that most of the students attributed their engagement and motivation to their teachers. They expressed that their teachers motivated them, building a social relationship with their teachers led to them being motivated. (Seigle, Rubenstein & Mitchell, 2014) The establishment of a positive social relationship fostered students' engagement and motivation. Students also pointed to the fact that they related to those teachers who were passionate about their work, knowledgeable in their field and the method of delivery was interesting and interactive. (Seigle, Rubenstein ; Mitchell, 2014) Another negative impact on student motivation is teacher burnout. The emotional exhaustion of teachers contributed to a reduction of student motivation because it leads to low autonomy-supportive teaching, the conclusion was teacher burnout weakened student motivation because teachers influence students through instructional styles, and the emotions they show. Students' perception of how their teachers feel about teaching can affect their motivation to learn. (Shen, McCaughtry, Martin, Garn, Kulik, & Fahlman, 2015) Although motivation is boosted when students observe teacher giving praises and high grades others for hard work and good performances, motivation is sustained over time when students believe their own efforts are leading to better performances. (Schunk, 2016). A recent study indicated that students will exhibit encouraging social and academic motivation when their perception that their teachers and peers make available to them clear expectations, help and advice. The contribution of peers and teachers have a positive effect on student motivation. Providing classroom support, help, advice and instruction and the creation of a safe environment and emotional support all contribute to student academic and social motivation. (Wentzel, Battle, Russell, & Looney, 2010) Utilizing an electronic gradebook, and a point system student were the autonomy over their learning and behavior. This gave students the choice of how to perform this gives them the autonomy of making choices hopefully good choices that will benefit them in the end. Giving the students autonomy over their grades motivated them to want to be better students which led to student engagement. (Koth, 2016) Student autonomy over their grades would motivate them intrinsically, when students are intrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity for reasons intrinsic to the activity. The reward comes from working on the task: the task is both the means and the end. The reward for intrinsic motivation may be feelings of competence and control, self-satisfaction, task success, or pride in one's work. (Schunk, 2016) In a perfect world all students would be intrinsically motivated but we don't live in a perfect world so we as educators must foster intrinsic motivation since research shows that as students advance in age this type of motivation deteriorates. To intrinsically engage students, we need to encourage students to take an active role in their learning. We also need build rapport with students, teachers can get to know their students on a more personal level this will encourage engagement. When planning for your students be clear in your expectations of them, what they should expect where content is concerned and when items will be due in advance so they know ahead of time. (Buskist, Busler & Kirby, 2018) Some teachers use extrinsic rewards to encourage academic achievement and appropriate behaviors, teachers gave tangible rewards to help motivate students to behave in a positive manner. However, it was most often used to manage student behavior not to motivate students to be academically successful. (Hoffman, Huff & Patterson, 2009) Research indicate that teachers' perception of student motivation research that teachers do not always know what motivates students in as much as they many claimed that students' lack of motivation was due to that fact that they did not find the subject relevant. Teachers are not using strategies that will motivate students. There is also the implication that teachers need to seek professional development to help them acquire strategies to help motivate student. Which many are not willing to do. (D'Elisa, 2015) Definitions of Key TermsAcademic achievement: this represents routine results that show the degree to which a person has mastered explicit goals that were the concentration of actions in instructional atmospheres, specifically in school, college, and university. For the purpose of this paper the end academic achievement will be graduating high school.Intrinsic reward: is an intangible award of acknowledgement, a sense of accomplishment, or a cognizant satisfaction. The reward for intrinsic motivation may be feelings of competence and control, self-satisfaction, task success, or pride in one's work. (Schunk, 2016)Extrinsic reward: is an award that is tangible or physically given to you for achieving something. This is most often used by teachers to manage student behavior not to motivate students to be academically successful. (Hoffman, Huff & Patterson, 2009) Strategies: A plan of action in the case of education to motivate students, a variety of ways used in the classroom to motivate and engage.Professional development: In education, the term professional development may be used in reference to a variety of focused training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help administrators, teachers, and other educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness. Student autonomy: is when students take control and accountability for their learning, in terms of what they learn and how they learn it. The initial point being the idea that students are capable of self-direction and can progress to have independent, proactive approach to their academic accomplishments.Gaps in the ResearchThe gaps in the research points to that fact that most of the research done were done in urban cities rather than a mixture of urban and rural areas.There are also some limitations in what can be done in the schools because of the need for all parties to work collaboratively to use the research finding to improve motivation and engagement. Another gap in the research was that many of the studies done on student motivation were not done in the United States they were done in Asia, Canada and Australia. Students' lack of motivation leads to disengagement and dropout from school and educational pursuits, an inescapable issue, that is widespread among all our schools. Filling in the gap requires identifying and using effective motivational strategies, tested and proven in schools for students, by teachers and administrators. For the most part teachers who can identify the reason behind students' lack of motivation will try to use strategies the feel with help those students. For example, if teachers believe that students are unmotivated because they don't see the content as personally relevant, they tend to include examples of its relevance. Similarly, if teachers believe that school-based skills are disconnected from students' career goals and future aspirations, they tend to work at showing students how skills can fit for them. However, when teachers are confronted with diverse and contrastive needs, such a direct correspondence of strategies is more difficult and a sense of helplessness is common (Hardrà © & Sullivan, 2009).Biblical WorldviewApplying a Biblical worldview to different aspects of education allows for another way to look at education as well as educators.The worldview that is most closely related to the social cognitive learning theory is that of Naturalism. In this worldview we acquire knowledge through innate and autonomous human reason, including methods of science, we can know the universe the cosmos, including this world is understood to be in its normal state. (Sire, 2009) Naturalism denies that there is a God the creator and like the social cognitive theory a child is born with innate faculties which merely have to develop naturally. These faculties work on their own within the framework of the languages and cultures to which they are exposed. According to the social cognitive theory student learn through observation, student observes, models, explain and demonstrate skills then practice them (Schunk, 2016). In a Christian worldview God directs us to teach without holding back, in Romans 12:6-7 â€Å"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;† God has given us gifts, which we need to use to its fullest. If god gave you the gift of teaching then you should teach to the best of your ability, to meet the needs of all your students. Conclusion Students' lack of motivation is a huge problem across the United States, if we are to combat this problem we as educators need to know what is the main reason behind this lack of motivation. We need to focus on current research, collaborate with policymakers as well as school administrators if we want to help inspire motivation and engagement. If this means we must give up precious time to learn new strategies to promote student autonomy and self-directed learning it will be well worth it. To be able to see students staying in school graduating high school and moving on to higher education would be an astonishing vision. Students are most likely to display positive aspects of social and academic motivation when they perceive their teacher and peers are providing them with clear expectations for social and academic outcome. As educators we must continuously commit to equipping ourselves with the tools that will help our students to become motivated and engaged. Student Motivation Student motivation is an important aspect of education, students across all subjects in secondary education lack motivation. Students are intrinsically motivated to learn at an early age but as they get older they lose their intrinsic motivation. Teachers use extrinsic rewards in the classroom not to motivate but to regulate student behavior. Motivation is a dominant part of a students' educational experience from preschool onward but it has received limited attention amongst an education reform agenda engrossed mainly on accountability, standards, and tests, teacher excellence, and school administration. As students move through the school system from preschool to high school they become more disengaged this eventually leads to more high school dropouts. It is very important that we know how motivation is perceived by students as well as teachers. This will give some indication as to the types of professional development that will provide teachers with strategies to help improve student motivation and engagement. This will be necessary if we want our students to be successful and become a function part of our society. Keywords: academic achievement, intrinsic reward, extrinsic reward, strategies, professional development and student autonomy Today many of our students are slipping through the cracks because of their lack of motivation, these students come to school every day sit in our classrooms and walk out of them not learning or attempting to learn. They are not motivated or engaged in our classes even though we utilize strategies to challenge, motivate and engage. Students' motivation can influence what and how they learn. In turn, as students learn and perceive that they are becoming more skillful they are motivated to continue to learn. (Schunk, 2016). This is not the case for most of our students in the classrooms, it is up to the teacher to engage and be cognizant of how they learn. As children advance from preschool to elementary they demonstrate a great amount enthusiasm for learning, they are engaged and are eager for knowledge. Students during this timeframe are intrinsically motivated. However, students' interest in learning and the desire to perform fades as the years go by, their intrinsic motivation decreases. The lack of motivation is the main reason why many students drop out of high school, they feel unmotivated and unchallenged. The lack of motivation in education is a valid and persistent problem that needs to be addressed. Recent studies look at the perception of motivation by students' and teachers' which from the students prospective indicates that their motivation stems from their interactions with their teachers and their social environment. This is a concept seen in Vygotsky's theory of learning which dealt with the impact of the social environment and its influence on cognition. Vygotsky considered the social environment critical for learning and thought that social interactions transformed learning experienced. (Schunk 2016) Trending among these studies are student's interactions with teachers and peers, the classroom environment, building relationships with teachers, teacher feedback and student autonomy over their learning. The research question examined in this paper is: What are students' and teacher's perceptions of motivation and engagement in grades 9-12? In exploring the perceptions of students and teachers this paper will address the effect of the social environment on student motivation and engagement in the classroom.Learning Theory AssociationThe social cognitive learning theory is based on the concept that students learn by observing and modeling the behaviors of others. Students observe models, explain and demonstrate skills then practice them. (Schunk, 2016) It also discussed the importance teaching students' strategies that will help them to learn how to control their behavior and direct their own learning. Self-efficacy refers to the perception of one's capabilities to produce actions; outcome expectations involve beliefs about anticipated outcome of the actions. (Schunk, 2016) Students' self-efficacy will shape their motivation for learning and goal attainment. The social cognitive theory is also based on the concept that people learn from their environment. The environment's influence on behavior occurs when students look at a slide without much conscious deliberation (environment =behavior). Students' behavior often alters the instructional environment, if the teacher asks questions and students give the wrong answers, the teacher may reteach the same points rather than continue the lesson (behavior = environment). (Schunk, 2016) Motivation engages students in activities that facilitate learning. (Schunk, 2016) Students may become more motivated by watching similar others succeed than by those who they believe are superior in confidence. (Schunk, 2016) Research indicates that most of the students attributed their engagement and motivation to their teachers. They expressed that their teachers motivated them, building a social relationship with their teachers led to them being motivated. (Seigle, Rubenstein & Mitchell, 2014) The establishment of a positive social relationship fostered students' engagement and motivation. Students also pointed to the fact that they related to those teachers who were passionate about their work, knowledgeable in their field and the method of delivery was interesting and interactive. (Seigle, Rubenstein ; Mitchell, 2014) Another negative impact on student motivation is teacher burnout. The emotional exhaustion of teachers contributed to a reduction of student motivation because it leads to low autonomy-supportive teaching, the conclusion was teacher burnout weakened student motivation because teachers influence students through instructional styles, and the emotions they show. Students' perception of how their teachers feel about teaching can affect their motivation to learn. (Shen, McCaughtry, Martin, Garn, Kulik, & Fahlman, 2015) Although motivation is boosted when students observe teacher giving praises and high grades others for hard work and good performances, motivation is sustained over time when students believe their own efforts are leading to better performances. (Schunk, 2016). A recent study indicated that students will exhibit encouraging social and academic motivation when their perception that their teachers and peers make available to them clear expectations, help and advice. The contribution of peers and teachers have a positive effect on student motivation. Providing classroom support, help, advice and instruction and the creation of a safe environment and emotional support all contribute to student academic and social motivation. (Wentzel, Battle, Russell, & Looney, 2010) Utilizing an electronic gradebook, and a point system student were the autonomy over their learning and behavior. This gave students the choice of how to perform this gives them the autonomy of making choices hopefully good choices that will benefit them in the end. Giving the students autonomy over their grades motivated them to want to be better students which led to student engagement. (Koth, 2016) Student autonomy over their grades would motivate them intrinsically, when students are intrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity for reasons intrinsic to the activity. The reward comes from working on the task: the task is both the means and the end. The reward for intrinsic motivation may be feelings of competence and control, self-satisfaction, task success, or pride in one's work. (Schunk, 2016) In a perfect world all students would be intrinsically motivated but we don't live in a perfect world so we as educators must foster intrinsic motivation since research shows that as students advance in age this type of motivation deteriorates. To intrinsically engage students, we need to encourage students to take an active role in their learning. We also need build rapport with students, teachers can get to know their students on a more personal level this will encourage engagement. When planning for your students be clear in your expectations of them, what they should expect where content is concerned and when items will be due in advance so they know ahead of time. (Buskist, Busler & Kirby, 2018) Some teachers use extrinsic rewards to encourage academic achievement and appropriate behaviors, teachers gave tangible rewards to help motivate students to behave in a positive manner. However, it was most often used to manage student behavior not to motivate students to be academically successful. (Hoffman, Huff & Patterson, 2009) Research indicate that teachers' perception of student motivation research that teachers do not always know what motivates students in as much as they many claimed that students' lack of motivation was due to that fact that they did not find the subject relevant. Teachers are not using strategies that will motivate students. There is also the implication that teachers need to seek professional development to help them acquire strategies to help motivate student. Which many are not willing to do. (D'Elisa, 2015) Definitions of Key TermsAcademic achievement: this represents routine results that show the degree to which a person has mastered explicit goals that were the concentration of actions in instructional atmospheres, specifically in school, college, and university. For the purpose of this paper the end academic achievement will be graduating high school.Intrinsic reward: is an intangible award of acknowledgement, a sense of accomplishment, or a cognizant satisfaction. The reward for intrinsic motivation may be feelings of competence and control, self-satisfaction, task success, or pride in one's work. (Schunk, 2016)Extrinsic reward: is an award that is tangible or physically given to you for achieving something. This is most often used by teachers to manage student behavior not to motivate students to be academically successful. (Hoffman, Huff & Patterson, 2009) Strategies: A plan of action in the case of education to motivate students, a variety of ways used in the classroom to motivate and engage.Professional development: In education, the term professional development may be used in reference to a variety of focused training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help administrators, teachers, and other educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness. Student autonomy: is when students take control and accountability for their learning, in terms of what they learn and how they learn it. The initial point being the idea that students are capable of self-direction and can progress to have independent, proactive approach to their academic accomplishments.Gaps in the ResearchThe gaps in the research points to that fact that most of the research done were done in urban cities rather than a mixture of urban and rural areas.There are also some limitations in what can be done in the schools because of the need for all parties to work collaboratively to use the research finding to improve motivation and engagement. Another gap in the research was that many of the studies done on student motivation were not done in the United States they were done in Asia, Canada and Australia. Students' lack of motivation leads to disengagement and dropout from school and educational pursuits, an inescapable issue, that is widespread among all our schools. Filling in the gap requires identifying and using effective motivational strategies, tested and proven in schools for students, by teachers and administrators. For the most part teachers who can identify the reason behind students' lack of motivation will try to use strategies the feel with help those students. For example, if teachers believe that students are unmotivated because they don't see the content as personally relevant, they tend to include examples of its relevance. Similarly, if teachers believe that school-based skills are disconnected from students' career goals and future aspirations, they tend to work at showing students how skills can fit for them. However, when teachers are confronted with diverse and contrastive needs, such a direct correspondence of strategies is more difficult and a sense of helplessness is common (Hardrà © & Sullivan, 2009).Biblical WorldviewApplying a Biblical worldview to different aspects of education allows for another way to look at education as well as educators.The worldview that is most closely related to the social cognitive learning theory is that of Naturalism. In this worldview we acquire knowledge through innate and autonomous human reason, including methods of science, we can know the universe the cosmos, including this world is understood to be in its normal state. (Sire, 2009) Naturalism denies that there is a God the creator and like the social cognitive theory a child is born with innate faculties which merely have to develop naturally. These faculties work on their own within the framework of the languages and cultures to which they are exposed. According to the social cognitive theory student learn through observation, student observes, models, explain and demonstrate skills then practice them (Schunk, 2016). In a Christian worldview God directs us to teach without holding back, in Romans 12:6-7 â€Å"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;† God has given us gifts, which we need to use to its fullest. If god gave you the gift of teaching then you should teach to the best of your ability, to meet the needs of all your students. Conclusion Students' lack of motivation is a huge problem across the United States, if we are to combat this problem we as educators need to know what is the main reason behind this lack of motivation. We need to focus on current research, collaborate with policymakers as well as school administrators if we want to help inspire motivation and engagement. If this means we must give up precious time to learn new strategies to promote student autonomy and self-directed learning it will be well worth it. To be able to see students staying in school graduating high school and moving on to higher education would be an astonishing vision. Students are most likely to display positive aspects of social and academic motivation when they perceive their teacher and peers are providing them with clear expectations for social and academic outcome. As educators we must continuously commit to equipping ourselves with the tools that will help our students to become motivated and engaged.