Exodus and the Ethics of Labor Essay -- Social Issues, Oppression

Oppression is something that has been repeated throughout history all over the world. Whether it was the oppression of Black Americans during the Jim Crow period or the oppression of Jews in Nazi Germany during World War II, oppression is an unethical act that humanity has not yet moved past. Looking to the Bible as a source of Christian ethics in terms of how to fight oppression and promote equality brings to attention how God intended His people to be treated, especially the poor and the helpless. The book of Exodus is a primary guide for what the ethics of labor ought to be in the work force to avoid oppression. One might reference the story of the Israelites in the book of Exodus. The Israelites are under the thumb of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians that force them into slave labor. The grueling and overly strenuous labor conditions in which the Israelites are put under is comparable to the labor conditions that the employees of slaughterhouses are forced to endure today, as illus trated by Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. By comparing these two labor conditions, the reader is able to apply the Biblical ethics found in Exodus to modern times. â€Å"Knocker, Sticker, Shackler, Rumper, First Legger, Knuckle Dropper,† these are just a few of the positions the workers at a slaughterhouse get assigned to. Simply reading the names of the above job positions induces a sense of nausea and hints at the inherent brutality that these positions demand (Schlosser, 172). Because the weight and size of cows is unpredictable, most of the labor in the slaughterhouse must be done by hand. On the kill floor of a slaughterhouse, workers are forced to slice cattle into halves with a power saw â€Å"as though they were two-by-fours,† (Schlosser, 170). Wo... ...is people to be free and live and work under ethical and just conditions. Jesus preaches that as long as the Israelites follow his commandments, they will be â€Å"treasured among all people† and that they will live in a â€Å"land of milk and honey,† (Exodus 3:8). Unlike the unethical laws that the Pharaoh forced upon the Israelites, Jesus’s commandments are moral and promote the common good of the whole community. The Bible says in Exodus 1:12, â€Å"But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.† This provides hope the workers in the slaughterhouses whom are still forced to work under unsafe conditions today. The workers must become collectively active and speak up and fight for their right to an ethical work environment. Ultimately, the minorities and immigrants will become the majority, and the â€Å"dictators† of the world will be forced to step down.

Courage in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is told from the point of view of a girl named Scout Finch. The story is set in a predominantly white neighborhood. Scout’s father is a lawyer, and the story begins when he is tasked to defend an African-American wrongly accused of raping a white woman (Lee 2002). The involvement of Atticus Finch in this case brings upon them verbal and physical abuse, such that Scout almost fought off her aggressors in school with her fists (Lee 2002). Her father, Atticus, tells her not to be provoked, to keep out of trouble, as they should not mind what other people are saying (Lee 2002).   This shows what Plutarch is saying regarding courage: â€Å"Courage consists not in hazarding fear, but being resolutely minded in a just cause.† For sure, Atticus is fearful for his strong-willed daughter and son; however, he is resolute on defending Tom Robinson. Atticus’ courage is not about skirting fear, but seeing only the justification for taking on Tom Robinson’s case. Like a horse with blinders, Atticus is focused on the case. This is why he does not want Scout or Scout’s brother Jem, to fight other people when they taunt the children regarding the case: other people do not matter. As long as Atticus knows that what he is doing is right, opinions of other people should not bother him. This is what he is trying to instill upon his children. He is also trying to teach them that courage does not only come from one’s fist or the barrel of the gun; courage is being deciding to follow through with a decision whatever it takes, regarding the insurmountable challenges. This for me is one of the aspects of courage. It is important to be resolute on a decision. As people say, obstacles occur when our mind is taken off the goal. It also takes courage to keep one’s eyes on the goal, to ignore the obstacles in our peripheral vision. No matter how insurmountable the challenge is, we still have to go for it, especially if we believe it to be right. Our world is shaped by people faced with impossibilities, yet they did not give up. These people caused the French Revolution, invented light bulbs, fought for women’s suffrage. We all live in a better world today because of them, and they did it because they had courage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Courage I feel, is also found in everyday decisions. Obviously, it takes courage to sign the document that would start the Manhattan project, but courage is also involved when one befriends a stranger too. Scout does this in the book, befriending and trying to see what the world is like for Boo Radley (Lee 2002). Other people shun him, and make up horrible stories instead, but Scout has the courage of a child not yet corrupted by the world. In the end, she realizes that he is a good person. This is a courageous act, admitting your mistake, and accepting someone ostracized by society. Scout may not be aware of the implications of her action, but she flouted her neighborhood’s notion of propriety (just like her dad), and reinstating the fact that humans are above the standards we set for ourselves. This is courage too. And I believe that this is the hardest of all to do. To fight injustices in your everyday life is not only exhausting but harrowing, yet this is one area you will be able to do your most. Everyday decisions require staunchness of decision; these decisions are not â€Å"one-time big-time† deals. You will live with the effects of these decisions for every single day of the rest of your life, and the effects will be magnified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Courage also must precede all other qualities. If one does not have the courage to do what is right, even if one has a sense of what is right and wrong, this knowledge will not be put to use, because fear will convolute one’s sense of right and wrong. Winston Churchill once said, â€Å"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.† In the book, Atticus was courageous enough to follow through with his conviction that Tom Robinson is innocent (Lee 2002). He knows he will inevitably lose the case, as the jury is all-white (Lee 2002). Yet, he forges on. If he did not push through with his decision, or if he wavers, we would not have seen his other attributes: a responsible and loving father, an understanding neighbor, an upright man. If he had let himself be dwarfed by fear, we would not have seen the other qualities, as these have all been dwarfed by fear.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is another aspect to courage I must point out: courage is not being able to not know fear while undertaking a difficult task. Courage knows this fear, even before one accepts the task, and yet goes on with it anyway. Courage, for me, knows fear, of being fully aware of the implications of your decision, and you continue because you will not forgive yourself if you did not do the right thing or if you continue so that those who come after you will not be placed in the same situation. This for me is the essence of courage: of making a decision, and acting upon it, so that other people will not have to make the same decision because you have made the world a better place to live in. Courage prefers to go out like a blaze in the night. It is, to quote Dylan Thomas, to go not gently into the night, and to rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Literacy and the Dibels Program - 1904 Words

Literature Review: Literacy Literacy, especially among very young children in the school system, is highly significant both for what they are learning today and what they will do and need in the future. There are several ways to teach children literacy, and one of those ways is through the Dibels system (Coyne Harn, 2006; McCormick Haack, 2010; Nelson, 2008). Dibels is designed to help children who are behind in reading comprehension (Coyne Harn, 2006; Langdon, 2004). These children may have learning disabilities, but they may also be without any kind of disability and merely lag behind because they were not given opportunities to read and develop their skills in ways that were comfortable for them and that could foster good learning environments (Riedel, 2007). Many children who get involved with Dibels do so because their teachers see that they need extra help. They may be underprivileged and not have had access to books, or they may come from households where the parents cannot read properly (or at all) and where reading is not seen as something that is significant (Coyne Harn, 2006; Langdon, 2004; McCormick Haack, 2010). Of course, that is not always the case. Some children come from homes where reading is a popular activity. They may or may not enjoy reading, but they struggle with it for various reasons. They could have a learning disability or some form of mental handicap, or there may just be some kind of mental block or issue that stops them fromShow MoreRelatedThe Percentage Of Public Elementary And Secondary School Students1046 Words   |  5 Pagesliterature The researchers’ in this study conclude that ELL students participating in secondary-tier interventions using curricula with a direct instruction approach and delivered in small groups presented greater outcomes in student progress on DIBELS assessments and for the Woodcock Reading Mastery test. The researchers cite other reading studies that have used these same assessment methods as giving validity to their use. Their study outcomes further suggest that direct instruction using evidence-basedRead MoreReading Instruction For English Language Learners1012 Words   |  5 Pagesinterventions using curricula with a direct instruction approach and delivered in small groups demonstrated greater outcomes in their progress on NWF and ORF on the DIBELS assessments and for the Woodcock Reading Mastery test when compared to ELL students at the comparison schools that were not exposed to a three-tier reading program. This study suggests that direct instruction using evidence-based read ing practice in small groups of 3-5 students is a teaching method that should be employed by teachersRead MorePhonics Program : The Effectiveness On Kindergarten Dibels2385 Words   |  10 PagesFundations Phonics Program in Kindergarten: The effectiveness on Kindergarten DIBELS Phonemic awareness is a vital role in literacy instruction. Many schools and districts adopt a commercially published basal reading program and it becomes the cornerstone of their instruction ( (David Chard, n.d.). We also know that through investigation and research it has shown us that word-recognition instruction and instruction in oral language skills related to word recognition were inadequately representedRead MoreEffectiveness of Dibels1909 Words   |  8 PagesDynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Validity and its Relationship with Reading Comprehension Introduction to Research Reading fluency is considered an integral component of the reading process and it has a big presence in the classroom. Its importance became evident since the National Reading Panel (2000) pronounced fluency instruction and assessment an essential and was thus incorporated into the reading First guidelines of No Child Left Behind in 2002 (Shelton,Read MorePhonics Difficulties3490 Words   |  14 Pagesmostly based on phonics. DIBELS here in Alabama is an assessment used to diagnosing phonics difficulties as well as a number of other things. DIBELS stands for The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills it is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the achievement of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. DIBELS is a short fluency measured used to commonly watch the progress of early literacy and early reading skills in students. DIBELS tested are made of sevenRead MoreA Note On Phonemic Awareness969 Words   |  4 Pages/b/, the second is /a/, and the third is /t/. Putting all of these graphemes together makes the word â€Å"bat.† If I were to change the /b/ to a /r/, the word would change to an entirely different animal (Cunningham Allington, 2007). DIBELS - First Sound Fluency: DIBELS First Sound Fluency measures how well students can say the initial sounds in words. To start, the assessor will model the first word in â€Å"man. â€Å"Listen, the first sound in man is /m/. What is the first sound in â€Å"man?† If the studentRead MoreTeaching Fluency- Implications for Repeated Readings as a Viable Strategy in Teaching Fluency in the Second Grade Classroom1716 Words   |  7 Pagesto define fluency and measurement tools. I will also discuss Repeated Reading as a viable strategy for teaching Fluency in the second grade classroom. I chose this particular topic, because I felt it would be most beneficial in influencing my own literacy instruction. Fluency has been recognized by the National Reading Panel Report in 2000 (NRP; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000) as being an essential component for success in learning to read. â€Å"If children do not acquireRead MoreWhy Is Literacy Is A Secondary Goal?1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe intention for FAST to be math and science focused does not mean that literacy is a secondary goal; it means that STEM concepts are integrated into the literacy equation for our students. Literacy encompasses three components for students; Reading Workshop, English Language Arts (ELA) and Writing. These subjects will be taught as a block, particularly in the early grades when students are progressing from learning to read, to reading to learn, so that students have more opportunities to linkRead MoreEffectiveness Of Phonological Awareness Interventions On First Grade Children With Intellectual Disabilities4580 Words   |  19 Pageswith students’ instructional level and their achievement in literacy performance for first grade students who have intellectual disabilities (ID). The information presented focused on early literacy development, phonological awareness, intellectual disabilities, and evidence-based interventions. Early Literacy Development As stated earlier, only one third of the students in the U.S. are proficient in reading. The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) conducted a review of over 500 research studiesRead MoreLiteracy Action Is An Essential Blueprint For Improving Student Achievement821 Words   |  4 PagesA literacy action is an essential blueprint for improving student achievement. It requires an action plan that uses data to drive instruction, student performance, programming, and resources. Also, designing effective professional learning opportunities is essential to improve and develop new ideas, strategies, and skills to help student achievement. Research has shown that educators and schools need to focus on professional learning opportunities but also need to follow up workshops to keep their