Background of Benjamin Franklin Essay Example for Free

Background of Benjamin Franklin Essay â€Å"The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin† was thought by himself to be â€Å"the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection†. It refers to when he was in his twenties, around 1726, he found himself jobless; penniless; in debt and suddenly a single father. He was very intelligent and he knew there was definitely something wrong in his life and he was eager to make a change. So he wrote this autobiography not only to tell his son about his life but also to improve his financial situation and to provide a model for self-improvement for anyone interested. In order to achieve his goal, Franklin developed and committed himself to a personal improvement program that consisted of thirteen virtues. Actually, Franklin found twelve virtues out of thirteen in the reading (124). And another one was from the suggestion of his friend (133). Franklin made a list of thirteen virtues as follow: silence; order; resolution; frugality; industry; sincerity ; justice; moderation; cleanliness; tranquility; chastity and humility (125-126). The first eight virtues relate to people’s attitudes towards their daily activities and their challenges, which belongs to personal virtues . The last five virtues that Franklin stated concern one’s attitudes toward people with whom one has to be dealings, which fall into social virtues. Franklin set forth the thirteen virtues in a very practical and rational way. Simultaneously, he gave reasons for the order of these virtues (126). He put temperance at the top of the list, while humility came last. If a person can conquer temperance, such a primal urge for food or drink, he can keep a cool and clean mind to do something more important, thus making self-development in other virtues. Overall, his rational arrangement for the virtues makes each prior virtue help Franklin acquire each following virtue. In order to acquire these thirteen virtues, Franklin charted his daily progress, focusing his attention on one virtue each week, so after thirteen weeks he had completed all the virtues (127-128). Keeping track of his successes and failures in a small book, he kept it with him at all times for many years. Every night before going to bed, he would reflect and evaluate himself on what he had acquired and what he had failed. His goal was to minimize faults in his life, thus indicating he was moving toward living a more virtuous life free of mistakes. Although Franklin tried to follow the virtues himself, he sometimes strayed from his good intentions. The most troublesome virtue he met with was order (130-132). It was partly because Franklins good memory made order not as necessary. When he was young he remembered whenever he left anything. As he grew older, his memory became poorer and poorer, which caused him problems with order. Partly because he was a business man to be interrupted from the public frequently so that he could not focus on something as it was expected. Another troublesome virtue Franklin confronted with was humility (133). Virtually, Franklin was born to be proud, but he had to pretend to be humble in public so that he could establish a good social status. Though Franklin admitted in his autobiography that he often fell short, he believed the process helped make him a better man and contributed to his success and happiness (131-132). For example, temperance contributed to his long life and good health. As for persisting in Industry and Frugality, he accumulated a lot of wealth and gained a large scope of knowledge to do scientific research. All those virtues together had shaped Franklin’s very pleasant personality. Furthermore, the autobiography indicates Franklin was very intelligent. Initially, he could list out these virtues in the reading (124) and the method of virtues was very rational for people to follow(127). In all his life, Franklin had followed his plan of virtues and become a person full of virtuousness. He also set a good model for the descendants to follow and expressed his good will for them (132). As for the autobiography itself, I completely agree with his consents â€Å"the bold and arduous project.† It means that it was not easy for people to follow. But Franklin himself had proved to be very successful in many fields by following his plan of thirteen virtues. Franklin was also a very responsible person because he educated and raised his son on his own. He was passionate about science, that’s why he had made great contribution to our society, making a lot of inventions: lighting rod, Franklin’s stove and odometer, so on and so forth. The autobiography can be of great use to others. If only we descendants can follow his virtues, we can make great self-improvement in our own fields and in moral standards. I have been reckoning how Franklin made his own name? When he was twenty-two years old, he was strikingly impoverished and a single father. But by the age of forty-two, Franklin had achieved all his goals, which were not acquired by accident, but by his strong faith in his virtues. For more than twenty years, six days a week with dirty hands, Franklin had been doing the routine work in the printing house. Every night he constantly made self-criticism on what he had achieved and what he should have to acquire. If only I can follow some of Franklin’s thirteen virtues, I am definitely making great progress in my study overseas and in my future teaching career. Take the virtue order for example, it sounds so minor that we can easily neglect in our daily life, actually, searching for items for class every day is always time-consuming. If I can arrange everything in its place, I would study more efficiently and achieve much higher grades. Of course, the thirteen virtues are a good guide for me to follow. In fact, keeping track of how well I do in maintaining the virtues and having positive character traits, as Franklin did, is worth trying.

The Causes of Teen Pregnancy, Violence, and Drug Abuse Essay -- Exposi

The Causes of Teen Pregnancy, Violence, and Drug Abuse The headlines proclaimed the controversial news: race, poverty, and single-parents were NOT the irrevocable harbingers of drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and violence. Instead, researchers were claiming that behaviors that parents and teens could influence -- such as problems at school and the amount of time spent "hanging out with friends" and the type of friends they chose -- could predict trouble. Some cynics speculated that this was a right-wing conspiracy to justify abolishing federal programs for the poor. Some assumed that the media, always keen for a "dog bites man" story, had oversimplified research results to get a newsworthy sound bite. On the other hand, some youth advocates welcomed the idea that impoverished minority youth with single parents didn't necessarily have three strikes against them. This study, "The Effects of Race/Ethnicity, Income, and Family Structure on Adolescent Risk Behaviors", by Robert Blum, MD. has important implications for all parents and adults who work with youth. The study examines the extent to which race and ethnicity (white, black, or Hispanics), income (6 categories, ranging from $10,000 or less to $61,000 or more), and single-parent homes (i.e., family structure) predict several specific problem behaviors among middle school students and among high school students: - Smoking - Alcohol consumption - Suicidal thoughts or attempts - Weapon-related violence - Ever had sexual intercourse (yes/no) These were measured as a continuous range of behaviors, except for sexual intercourse. The results show that race, income, and family structure each influence many of these problem behaviors. I... ... statistics, you will realize that a white teen from a middle-class two-parent family is almost as likely to get into trouble (or stay out of trouble) as a Black or Hispanic teen from a poor single-parent home. This report should encourage parents of disadvantaged minority students, and the teachers and other adults who work with them, because it indicates some important influences that can be modified to help these children. On the other hand, it provides a real wake-up call for white, suburban families who think their children are immune from serious problems. And, it helps explain why substance abuse and tragic violence can occur even in seemingly safe, middle class communities. Source Cited Blum, Robert, MD. "The Effects of Race/Ethnicity, Income, and Family Structure on Adolescent Risk Behaviors" American Journal of Public Health December 2000.

Paying College Athletes

Persuasive Speech Nearly two weeks ago, over 700 men and women signed on to play in the largest post-season tournament in professional sports, or should I say, amateur sports. The athletes in March Madness, the post-season basketball tournament, practice multiple times per day, all year round, and even on the weekends. When they aren’t busy between practice and traveling around the country, they are watching film to make themselves even better. That sounds a lot like a professional athlete to me. The only thing that isn’t professional about their lives is their pay check. The networks that host March Madness rake in millions of dollars through commercials. The schools rake in money through merchandise and ticket sales. The athletes rake in, well, nothing. Other than experience and exposure, these athletes aren’t allowed to make any money or even accept rewards for their accomplishments. The money generated by March Madness rivals the money earned from the post season of nearly every professional sports league in the world. At $613 million, the NCAA is earning over 40 percent more ad revenue than the entire NBA playoffs and over 60 percent more ad revenue than the entire post season for Major League Baseball. Given that professional basketball and baseball players bring home millions to their families every year, one has to wonder: What is the NCAA doing with all that money? The money doesn't disappear just because the players' families don't get it. Instead, we see coaches signing blockbuster deals worth tens of millions of dollars. It's time to let the players have a piece of the pie. You can't possibly convince me that head coach Gene Chizik was worth more to Auburn’s championship football than their quarterback Cam Newton. Plus, kids in Alabama aren't buying Chizik jerseys from the university. Still, we somehow expect that a kid from the inner city should be happy with a scholarship. The truth is that almost none of us would accept a scholarship over a job that generates tens of millions of dollars. That’s why we see kids like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James coming straight out of high school and to the NBA. Now, for them, that move paid off. However, there have been plenty of talented high school students who were lured by the money of professional sports but were never able to make it. Now they’re stuck without a job or an education. As Americans, should we be encouraging this risky behavior? Those who oppose paying college athletes say that a full ride scholarship with free room and board should be enough, and the kids should get used to the idea of working hard in school and not worrying about money. However, kids are only guaranteed these scholarships one year at a time. Meaning that if a kid sustains a career or season ending injury, now he’s left at school without a scholarship. Now he can’t pay for his classes. Now he can’t pay for room and board. Most college athletes can’t pay the fees their school charges, so why not help them out if they get hurt? Others also say that athletes can go out like any other citizen and find a job if they need to support their family while in college. The reality is no college athlete can possibly hold a job while being part of a team. Between traveling half the season, suffering through day long practices, sitting through night classes, these kids can’t find any time to fit in a job. Like I said, this dilemma encourages many to skip college and enter the pros, sometimes, without enough experience and no college education. Allowing the payment of athletes would end the lying and cheating that all but criminalizes big-time college sports. All the rumors and finger pointing, often times without any evidence, only creates dark clouds around universities. When SMU was convicted of rewarding their football players with cars and other material items, the football program was given â€Å"the death sentence† for one year, and it destroyed their reputation. Without distractions in the media, kids would be allowed to focus and not worry about the safety of their programs. The current system is practically like slavery. These kids work their hearts out and play through injuries in fear of losing their scholarship. Meanwhile, their families are left at home, struggling without their kids’ help. Keeping athletes and their families in poverty while coaches and administrators get rich is not only un-American; it is an emmbarrassment to us all.

Importance Of Self Efficacy And Perseverance As The Sole...

III. Literature Review A. First Reoccurring Theme/Area of Focus One of the first and foremost reoccurring themes throughout the review of current literature on this subject has been the concept of self-efficacy and perseverance as the sole reason of black male success and retention at Hispanic Serving Institutions. In a doctoral work entitled, â€Å"Personal and Institutional Factors Relationship to Self-Efficacy of Persistence to the Senior Year in College Among Self-Identified Black Undergraduate Students in a Hispanic Serving Institution,† author Sandra Fletcher analyzes eight key factors that are alleged to have a significant role in the success and retention of Black males at Hispanic Serving Institutions. The eight factors listed as determinants of success were, â€Å"self-pride/personal goal, professional aspiration/career, motivation to support family, desire to have financial independence/better job, to serve community, opportunity to go to college, being first-generation college student, and prove to family the value of higher education† (Fletcher 2012: vii). Using a variety of statistical procedures including descriptive statistics and correlation, Fletcher analyzes the role these determinants play in black male success rates by centering them around four secondary research questions,: 1) for self identified black males at HSIs, what role do personal factors play in overall success and college completion rates? 2) What institutional factors (i.e. academic setting andShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pages40071 173—dc22 I. Cameron, 2009040522 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ISBN 10: 0-13-612100-4 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-612100-8 B R I E F TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Preface xvii Introduction 1 PART I 1 2 3 PERSONAL SKILLS 44 Developing Self-Awareness 45 Managing Personal Stress 105 Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively 167 PART II 4 5 6 7 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS 232 233 Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively Gaining Power and Influence 279 Motivating Others