Reflection In Occupational Therapy Practice

Reflection In Occupational Therapy Practice I have always struggled with reflection, initially I didnt see the point of going over and over events that had happened, I was confident that the action I had taken at the time was right for the moment, but if I felt that it wasnt I would acknowledge that and improve next time, obviously this process is going on in my head, (according to Schon this is Reflection in action), and improves with experience over time, I can understand how reflecting can help with thought and behavioural processes, and also provides evidence so others can see the outcomes of my actions. It seems to me that reflection is used to teach people skills that they may not have, some people are good with people and some are not, I do not think that is something that can be taught. You either have it or you dont. Initially I was quite apprehensive with my choice of placement community mental health having worked, with adults with mental health problems, in the past, I was basing my past experience on what I would experience at the placement; and my past experiences had not always been positive, so I was maybe a little anxious to start with. What I found was totally different to my preconceptions, I had never experienced group work before, and was interested with the impact this would have on the service users and also what the Occupational Therapy (OT) role was. The therapists were there to facilitate, and support the group processes, initially I queried that the OTs were more counsellors than OTs, and many had chosen to gain a counselling qualification to aid their role. Then again If everything is about occupation and has meaning to someone, then to enable an individual with low self esteem, or mild depression to engage with their fellow peers could be part of the OT role, especially if i t enables them to participate in work, leisure and self care. My critical incident is taken from one experience in a creative group, half way through my placement. Reflective practice is not a new concept Boud, Keogh and Walker (1985) stated 20 years ago that it features the individual and their experiences, leading to a new conceptual perspective or understanding. They included the element of learning, as well as involvement of the self, to define reflective practice: â€Å"Reflection is a forum of response of the learner to experience† (Boud et al. 1985) Johns and Freshwater (1998) also described the value of reflective practice as a means of learning. There is no doubt that â€Å"reflection† is a complex concept that has defied consensus on definition although some commonalities exist. It involves the self and is triggered by questioning of actions, values and beliefs. An understanding of the purpose of reflective practice and its components can be gained by considering some of the definitions provided in literature. A few useful definitions include the following: †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice† (Reid, 1993) †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Reflective practice is something more than thoughtful practice. It is that form of practice that seeks to problematise many situations of professional performance so that they can become potential learning situations and so the practitioners can continue to learn, grow and develop in and through practice† (Jarvis, 1992). To maximise learning through critical reflection we need to locate ourselves within the experience and explore available theory, knowledge and experience to understand the experience in different ways. Thus Boyd Fales (1983) claim that critical reflection: †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"is the core difference between whether a person repeats the same experience several times becoming highly proficient at ones behaviour, or learns from experience in such a way that he or she is cognitively or affectively changed†. Critical reflection is viewed as transformational learning which according to Baumgartner (2001) can happen either gradually or from a sudden or critical incident and alter the way people see themselves and their world. According to Kolb (1984) reflecting is an essential element of learning. He developed the cycle of experiential learning which has formed the basis of many models for reflective practice in the past two decades. Kolb draws attention to the fact that, when we want to learn from something that has already happened to us, we need to recall our observations of the event and then reflect on those observations in some way. Once we have these ideas in our heads, Kolb suggests that we frame some action as a result and that this possible course of action is seen as our ‘learning. This will then inform any action that we take as a result of the experience. Kolb (1984) advocated that experiential learning was a cyclical process, emphasising that there was no end to learning but just another cycle. The crux of experiential learning is that the learner in not a passive recipient of education, but actively explores and tests their environment. Schon (1983) suggests that we can engage in reflection in one of two ways; either by ‘reflecting on action, after the experience, or by ‘reflecting in action, during the experience. When reflecting-on-action, the first step in the process is the description of the incident. Much attention has been given to the value of recording events and experiences in written form, particularly through the use of reflective diaries and journals (Zubbrizarreta 1999 and Tryssenaar 1995). The exercise of diary writing promotes both the qualities required for reflection, i.e. Open-mindedness and motivation and also the skills i.e. self-awareness; description and observation; critical analysis and problem-solving; and synthesis and evaluation (Richardson Maltby, 1995). www.practicebasedlearning.org Pre-requisites for effective reflective practice include honesty and openness. Gillings (2000) states that a commitment to self-enquiry and a readiness to change practice are important if the individual is to get the most out of the process. Many authors identify self-awareness as essential to the reflective process. This implies that the individual needs to be well informed of their own character, including beliefs and values. Many models of reflective practice also include self awareness and questioning of beliefs, values and attitudes. The last stage of many models of reflection relates to a willingness to change practice, where new conceptual perspectives are reached in order to inform practice. If the learner is not willing to change practice they will not gain the potential benefits from the process in terms of practice development, advances will not be made and professional practice will not evolve. As an OT professional I am required to use clinical reasoning skills which enable me to make responsible therapeutic decisions; these decisions are based on professional judgements which are guided by individual morals and ethical values. (Sabonis-Chafee Hussey 1998) My understanding of morals will be dependent upon my background, social environment, values and possibly religious beliefs, whilst ethics is: ‘†¦the study and philosophy of human contact†¦ (Purtilo, cited in Sabonis-Chafee Hussey 1998) Every professional organisation has a code of ethical conduct and core values, these provide a guideline for making decisions and choices that can be regarded as proper (Creek 2003), and to assist professionals in practising the values and principles that promote and maintain high standards in OT. The main principles outlined in the code of ethics include; the ability to demonstrate concern for the well being of the client, cause no harm, respect the rights of all involved, maintain a high level of competency, to comply with laws and set policies, to be truthful and accurate and refrain from false claims. An understanding of ethics gives me positive general guidance rather than defining limits to certain behaviours. Ethics influence every aspect of occupational therapy. Beginning in OT education when issues of plagiarism, library resources, and confidentiality begin, and then in the clinical environment from supervision, practice issues and client issues. (Duncan 2006) In the last 20 years, reflection has gradually become more popular in care and healing professions. In many quarters, the reflective practitioner is seen as a crucial sign of the ideal practitioner. Not everyone agrees though, that truly professional or expert practitioners are or should be reflective practitioners. According to Dreyfus, real professionalism is characterised by the absence of reflection. Only novices and beginners need to think about what they are doing. Expert practitioners, in contrast, just do what needs to be done; they do it without thinking about it Practitioners, novices or experts, reflect when they consider what to do in somehow unusual situations, when they try to figure out how to handle a new and unexpected problem, when they have to choose between two nearly identical options. Kinsella (2001), in advocating reflective practice for occupational therapists, emphasised the need for both reflection and action on that reflection (praxis). From this perspective, in order to learn from the reflective experience it is necessary to alter the normal way of responding. Argyris and Schà ¶n (1974) termed this ‘double-loop learning. The act of paying attention to what would normally be routine may become part of a long process, with the stimulus being noticed again and again until further deliberate reflection is required. Schà ¶n (1983) noted that reflection-in-action was precipitated by a surprise, something not expected, interrupting the normal flow of experience. However, there are almost certainly ways in which a reflection is triggered other than this. An educational event may do this or a series of conversations with a colleague or an observation of a colleagues practice (reflection-on-action). Critical Incident: Creative Group K was attending a weekly creative group at the unit, it was 2 weeks before Christmas and we were making paper chains. K had a very limited attention span and could be quite disruptive, during quiet periods in the group she would whistle, sigh, hum, tap fingers or pencils on the table which we would ignore focusing instead on her creative project. The previous week K had referred to the OT as ‘Blondie which I thought was inappropriate and mentioned this to the OT, she said she had been aware but had chosen to ignore the incident and see what would happen this week. I had chosen to use scissors with a crinkly edge and because of this, from then on K referred to me as Smart-Arse or as The Student, I didnt feel she was trying to be nasty, I felt she thought she was making a joke. I informed her that my name was Julia in case she had forgotten and carried on with what I was doing. H the OT commented on her using the word smart a lot and wondered why that was. K replied that she was surrounded by smart people and hoped that some of it may rub off on her. We asked if she felt uncomfortable in the group and why she felt she wasnt smart and she replied that was what she had been told all her life. K was definitely street smart, but possibly had mild learning difficulties. She then changed the subject and we spoke about her Xmas decorations, after that she called me Julia and the OT by her name. Why did I choose to respond to K? Because I felt she was disrespecting group boundaries To get her to stop To be aware of respecting others in the group There may have been another reason for her hostility What happened then? She stopped She chose to share personal experiences with the group about her life and her feelings. How was the situation handled? I feel the situation was handled well, I did not get angry, I brought her attention to my name, and with the OT we made inquiry into her reasons for her behaviour, she did not get angry. Any legal or professional issues? I had to maintain a professional manner throughout the situation, I may have been ‘The Student but there was an expectation, I may not have been in uniform but in that capacity I was a professional, so needed to be aware of attitudes, boundaries, and behaviour. Johns model for structured reflection (1994) is more of a list of key questions to guide an analysis of a incident or general experience. Johns recognizes the benefits of sharing reflections which is an essential part of building a community of practice and the importance of the situatedness of an incident as highlighted by the attention given to influencing factors and learning as involving considering actions to support others: Description: Drawing out of the key issues within an experience through a description of thoughts and feelings and contextual background of the experience Reflection: Examination of ones motivations and the resulting actions, the consequences of actions for all stakeholders (including their possible emotional reactions). Influencing factors: Determining internal and external factors that influenced decisions and actions.Determine knowledge that did or should have influenced decisions and actions. Alternative strategies: Evaluation of ones actions and consideration of other possible choices and their respective consequences. Learning: Situating the experience and feelings within past experience and future practice and in providing support to others and considering the impact the experience will have on reflection-in-action. By using Johns reflective model as a guide, I have been able to reflect on the incident and this has enabled me to evaluate the actions that I took during the incident, questioning whether my response was appropriate. It has also allowed me to think of other ways I could have dealt with the situation and the possible outcomes. The reflective strategy has helped me to learn from this experience and has given me an insight into how I might improve my own future practice. It has also shown me that, by continuing the reflective process by following reflective frameworks such as Johns in future incidents, I may improve the ways of dealing with situations, and acknowledging that I am actually learning something from every experience that I have. Conclusion Reflective practice has been identified as one of the key ways practitioners can learn from personal experience. In education it is recognised as an essential tool for students to enable them to make the links between theory and practice. It enables practitioners to develop knowledge and skills necessary for professional practitioners. Reflective practice can be summarised as experience-reflection-action (ERA) and seen as a cycle and having the following components: Things (experiences) that happen to a person The reflective process that enables the person to learn from those experiences The action that results from the new perspectives that are taken. Reflective practice uses personal experience as a starting point for learning, by thinking about these experiences in a purposeful way the individual can understand them differently and take action as a result. The learning acquired using reflective practice differs from the theory which underpins practice, it is also different from the skills acquired from interacting with others because it involves thinking about things and actively making decisions, therefore reflective practice bridges the gap between pure theory and directed practice by providing a strategy that helps to develop understanding and learning. The importance of reflection has been reinforced to me in writing up this critical incident, because I hadnt realised how important maintaining boundaries were, and the showing of mutual respect. Continuing professional education is also accepted as having an important role in facilitating change in practice. It is argued here that reflection on practice is the means to ensure continuing development of both individuals and the profession in order to meet the challenge of change. Reflection may also be prompted by a challenge from another occupational therapist, a multidisciplinary team member or a student. Reflective diaries and written assignments are also useful ways of prompting application of theory to practice. In addition to applying theory to practice, literature searching, critiquing and reviewing, essential to postgraduate education, also stimulate reflection. References: Alsop, A. (2000/2004) Continuing Professional Development for therapists. U.K. Blackwell Science Available on-line at http://0www.netlibrary.com.serlib0.essex.ac.uk/Reader/ Baumgartner LM (2001) An update on transformational learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. No89:15-22. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Boud D, Keogh R Walker D (1985) Reflection: turning experience into learning. Kogan Page, London. Boyd E Fales A (1983) reflective learning: the key to learning from experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23 (2): 99-117 Clutterbuck, D. (1998) Learning Alliances: Tapping into Talent. Institute of Personnel and Development, London. Creek, J. (2003) Occupational Therapy defined as a Complex Intervention London: College of Occupational Therapists. Available from: http://www.cot.co.uk/public/publications/skills/ot_definition/intro.php (Accessed 13 Jan 2010) Dimond, B.C. (2004) Legal Aspects of Occupational Therapy (2nd ed.) Oxford. Blackwell Science Duncan, E. (2006) Foundations for Practice in Occupational Therapy (4th ed) Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Jasper, M. (2003) Beginning Reflective Practice Foundations in Nursing and Health Care. Cheltenham. Nelson Thornes Ltd Johns C (2000) Becoming a reflective practitioner. Blackwell Science, Oxford. Kolb DA (1984) experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Mattingly, C and Fleming M (1994) Clinical Reasoning Forms of Therapeutic Practice Philadelphia. F.A. Davis Moon J (1999) Reflection in Learning Professional Development. Kogan Page, London. Reid B (1993) ‘But were Doing it Already! Exploring a Response to the Concept of Reflective practice in Order to improve its Facilitation Nurse Education Today, 13: 305- 309. Richardson G Maltby H (1995) reflection on practice: enhancing student learning. Journal of advanced Nursing. 22:235-242. Roberts, A E K (2002) Advancing Practice through Continuing Professional Education: the Case for Reflection British Journal of Occupational Therapy May 65(5) Schon, D.A. (1995) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York. Basic Books Sabonis-Chaffe B, Hussey S, M (1998) Introduction to Occupational Therapy 2nd edition, Mosby, USA Tryssenaar J (1999) Interactive journals: an educational strategy to promote reflection. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 49 (7), 695-702. Wackerhausen, s (2009) Collaboration, Professional Identity and Reflection across Boundaries. Journal of Physical Health 463 472 Zubrizarreta J (1999) Teaching portfolios: an effective strategy for faculty development in occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 53(1), 51-55.

Organic Hair Dyes Essays -- cosmetics, history, ancient rome

Organic Hair Dyes Organic dyes in hair products and cosmetics have been used throughout history for many aspects of culture and art. Today organic dyes are used in the process of hair dying and colouring where many aspects of the organic molecule are taken into account. Some dyes are permanent where they stay until the hair falls out, where some dyes can be washed away due to their binding process into the hair1. Certain dyes have their own way of being set into hair fibres and easier ways to set these are being researched. Hair dyes have been used throughout history and have been remarkably improved on, many new colours and processes have been made and many issues have come with them. Hair dyes have been used throughout history and started out in very simple ways. Around 3150BC ancient Egyptians were one of the first to start using dyes in hair.2 From a plant called â€Å"Henna† they obtained the leaves and mashed them in mildly acidic conditions.3 When the leaves are mashed in these conditions the leaves release a molecule called lawsone.3 This molecule is the organic molecule responsible for the brownish red colour and is the dye acquired from this mixture. With small amounts of the molecule mixed with various other compounds, oranges can even be created. Mashed henna also incorporated with para-phenylenediamine (PPD) to give a dark black red colour. 3 This molecule will not stay in the hair unless it is somehow oxidized once in the hair fibres but was not discovered until the 1900s. It is speculated that the ancient Egyptians used slaked lime and water with lead oxide to make a paste where it was then rubbed into the hair for a long period of time .2 The slaked lime and water solution was very high in alkali metals,... ...hnology improves and the safer the process is becoming for all users. References 1. Clausen, T. Hair Preparations. Wiley . 2006. Volume 1.1-46. 2. Nayland, C. (2006, 10 26). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://carlanayland.blogspot.ca/2006/10/ancient-egyptian-hair-dye-technology.html 3. Wikipedia. (2014, 04 02). Henna. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna 4. The hair in ancient times. (2014, 04 04). Retrieved from http://thehistoryofthehairsworld.com/old_age_2.html 5. Raja et al. Pelagia Research Library. 2012, Volume 3.156-161 6. San Rafael. The Chemistry of Plant and Animal Dyes.1-5. 1981. Volume 58.1-5. 7. Discovery of hair dye. (2014, 04 04). Retrieved from http://humantouchofchemistry.com/discovery-of-hair-dye.htm 8. Morel. Olivier ,Christie. Robert. American Chemical Society. 2011. Volume 4. 2537-2561.

Discovering a Community in the Projects :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Discovering a Community in the Projects As I was driving through my hometown of Any Town, USA, I began thinking of the community and how it compares to other communities. Then an area of the town caught my eye. It is an area shunned by the citizens who do not live there. It is referred to as the "projects" or low income housing. This area has a bad reputation in the community. The children who live there are thought of as trouble makers, the adults, lazy. However, I noticed something different, something that the "outsiders" seem to neglect. It was neighbors that act like neighbors. The children were playing together and the parents were sharing events with each other. This conversing and playing is something I do not see much of in the other parts of Any Town. In my opinion, this detached housing development was a closer community then all of Any Town. There is closeness between the people who live in those buildings that I have not seen in my own neighborhood. That bond between neighbors is what everyone says we have lost due to computers and other technology. As a result, low-income housing neighborhoods may benefit from not being able to afford things like computers. They benefit because the people of the neighborhood need each other for help, even with things as simple as homework. The richer the parents, the less interested they were in time at home. The poorer they were, the more interested (Snell 28). So these neighborhoods are built around people with low income, yet they prosper because of that. I believe that our society is dying due to computers and other things we now rely on. Things so materialistic as beepers, cell phones, and voice mail have become part of our survival. We do not even have to drop in at home to say hello to our family anymore, we just send a quick e-mail. People who do not rely on these technical things rely on each other for entertainment as the children do by playing together outside, to inform each other of current events, or even to chat face-to-face rather than computer screen-to-computer screen. It is thought that it takes a community to raise a child, and a small community can accomplish that more so than a large one (Nelle 9). The small community within a larger one is able to prosper on its own because it has to, in a sense. Discovering a Community in the Projects :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers Discovering a Community in the Projects As I was driving through my hometown of Any Town, USA, I began thinking of the community and how it compares to other communities. Then an area of the town caught my eye. It is an area shunned by the citizens who do not live there. It is referred to as the "projects" or low income housing. This area has a bad reputation in the community. The children who live there are thought of as trouble makers, the adults, lazy. However, I noticed something different, something that the "outsiders" seem to neglect. It was neighbors that act like neighbors. The children were playing together and the parents were sharing events with each other. This conversing and playing is something I do not see much of in the other parts of Any Town. In my opinion, this detached housing development was a closer community then all of Any Town. There is closeness between the people who live in those buildings that I have not seen in my own neighborhood. That bond between neighbors is what everyone says we have lost due to computers and other technology. As a result, low-income housing neighborhoods may benefit from not being able to afford things like computers. They benefit because the people of the neighborhood need each other for help, even with things as simple as homework. The richer the parents, the less interested they were in time at home. The poorer they were, the more interested (Snell 28). So these neighborhoods are built around people with low income, yet they prosper because of that. I believe that our society is dying due to computers and other things we now rely on. Things so materialistic as beepers, cell phones, and voice mail have become part of our survival. We do not even have to drop in at home to say hello to our family anymore, we just send a quick e-mail. People who do not rely on these technical things rely on each other for entertainment as the children do by playing together outside, to inform each other of current events, or even to chat face-to-face rather than computer screen-to-computer screen. It is thought that it takes a community to raise a child, and a small community can accomplish that more so than a large one (Nelle 9). The small community within a larger one is able to prosper on its own because it has to, in a sense.

Comparison of Dylan Thomas Fern Hill and Robert Frosts Birches Essay

Comparison of Dylan Thomas' Fern Hill and Robert Frost's Birches Poets often use nature imagery to comment on the relationship between humans and the natural environment surrounding them. Traditionally, this relationship is portrayed in a positive manner as it places emphasis on the concept that nature is representative of beauty; consequently, embracing this representation will enlighten the human experience. The facets of that relationship are represented within Dylan Thomas' "Fern Hill" and Robert Frost's "Birches". Both poets invoke an image of nature that is picturesque, serene and innocent in order to convey a message that one can have a fulfilling life if they focus on the beauty that exists within the primary world. Conversely, Coleridge's "Dejection: An Ode" contains a different interpretation of what one's relationship with nature should involve. The speaker feels that a simple appreciation of beauty is insufficient; one must identify with that beauty through the soul in order to be enlightened. Despite the fact that "Fern Hill" and "Birches" initially appear to express satisfaction about the value of superficial human experiences, when analyzed in conjunction with "Dejection: An Ode", the meanings of these two poems are altered. Frost's "Birches", Thomas' "Fern Hill" and Coleridge's "Dejection: An Ode" all convey different levels of dejection upon initial examination; however, when contrasting the expressions of the speaker and the imagery patterns of the poem, these levels of dejection become increasingly ambiguous. The relationship between the... ...rly, all three poems contain elements of dejection at one point; however, the presence of that dejection is tested in Coleridge's case, and increased within the Frost and Thomas poems. It is incredibly ironic that the one poem that was an ode to dejection turned out to be the most positive of the three. WORKS CITED Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "Dejection: An Ode." The Broadview Anthology of Poetry. Eds. Herbert Rosengarten and Amanda Goldrick-Jones. Peterborough: Broadview P, 1993. 183. Frost, Robert. "Birches." The Broadview Anthology of Poetry. Eds. Herbert Rosengarten and Amanda Goldrick-Jones. Peterborough: Broadview P, 1993. 410. Thomas, Dylan. "Fern Hill." The Broadview Anthology of Poetry. Eds. Herbert Rosengarten and Amanda Goldrick-Jones. Peterborough: Broadview P, 1993. 632.

Lab Questions: Latin Music Essay

1. Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern USA. One of the contributions of Latinos to the US, Latin jazz gained popularity in the 1930’s into the late 1940s. 2. They were the original Mambo Kings in New York in the ?40?s and are considered the most innovative and influential orchestra in the genre. 3. Dizzy Gillespie incorporated Latin music into his music by the rhythmical of Latin music with jazz and also using Latin musicians in his band. 4. The Palladium was once a studio in New york but then was home of the mambo where people from different races danced and had fun. 5. The television and films increased the exposure because movies and television shows were exposing some genres of Latin music by dancing and singing in the shows and also in the films. 6. Latin music influenced rock music using some Latin rhythms in their songs to make their song even better. 7. Latin music had such a great influence on the development of popular music because popular music were using some Latin material in their songs and people were amazed to what they were listening to so more and more artists were using Latin rhythms in their music and It sounded great. 8. Well yes because I love dancing so when I listen to some songs to dance to I can hear the Latin material in the songs and it amazes me to know that Latin music is really a big part of our music culture.

Chemistry Research Part 1 Acids Essay

Ethanoic acid is non-toxic and is a weak acid [4], meaning it will not do any damage to most surfaces as it does not corrode or bind to other metals, therefore can be easily removed through washing or rinsing it [2]. Disadvantages: Ethanoic Acid is the slowest de-scaler of the three acids, and is therefore the least effective. It also may cause an unpleasant smell, and can have a negative effect on the taste of coffee [6] meaning one would need to spend longer time rinsing and cleaning the machine thoroughly to ensure that the taste of the coffee is not affected. Citric Acid Advantages: Citric acid leaves behind zero toxic residues and has just enough acidic concentration to descale without etching or damaging household surfaces in any way and there are no volatile compounds or products that harm the environment. Disadvantages: Because citric acid is a weak acid, it won’t remove heavy build-up of scale very quickly. It is also a powder hence it must be dissolved for use. It also works best with hot water meaning there will be higher energy consumption. Even when used with hot water, citric acid is not as effective at descaling as Sulfamic acid. Sulfamic Acid Advantages: Sulfamic acid is the fastest de-scaler – It dissociates into hydroxonium ions more readily in aqueous solution than the others, therefore giving a greater concentration of atoms that are able to react with the calcium in lime scale. It is safe to use because it does not produce chlorine gas [5], which can be toxic. Sulfamic acid also has a low volatility. Disadvantages: Sulfamic Acid can be an irritant to eyes or skin and is the most expensive of the de-scalers. Q2) How these de-scalers remove limescale Limescale forms when hard water is heated above 61Â °C or when it is left to evaporate on surfaces such as taps and showerheads. Hard water is water that contains high quantities of calcium and magnesium ions. These hardness minerals, in the form of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, precipitate out of hard water to form limescale [1]. Therefore, to clean or remove limescale, something needs to dissolve or soften calcium carbonate and/or magnesium carbonate, so it can easily wash away. Acids cause mineral deposits such as rust to oxidise, thereby weakening them and making it possible to simply wash them away. Lime scale removers work by chemically reacting with the lime scale to form safe chemicals and ions. Lime scale is Calcium Carbonate, and when broken down by strong acids, produces Calcium Chloride, Water and CO2. These are much safer, and can be washed away with water, to remove the CaCl from the area. Bibliography [1] http://www.dynapipe.co.uk/how-to-remove-limescale.htm [2] http://www.coffeehomedirect.com/how/to/clean/a/coffee/maker/with/vinegar [3] http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7404899_delime-coffee-maker.html [4] http://incarinsurance.org/advantages/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-ethanoic-acid-as-a-descaler-.html [5] http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130123013345AA71LkB [6] http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?scy=ZA;slg=ENG;ctn=HD5405/60;dct=FAQ;refnr=0092154;view=aa12_view_partial.html;session=20120502004843_66.249.71.242;faqview=1

Education in Evolution: from Freire’s Bank Clerk to Problem Poser

Our portrait as students is an evolution of experiences of continuous life’s challenges and disasters. In our childhood, we consider our parents the first teachers. In the process of growing and maturing, we join the educational world going to school at the same time that we are introduced to the school of life. As scholars, we have experienced Freire’s two educational methods – bank-clerk and problem-posing.It is true that the educator would decide what method to employ, however, at the end, most of us, including the students depicted in ancient and modern literature, would choose to be critical thinkers and exhibit Freire’s â€Å"Emerging Consciousness†, opening the door to creativity, critical and a revolutionary learning process. Usually, the beginning of our education starts at home; our parents are the first ones who teach us how to behave with manners and cultural customs. The education that we received at home can be different for everybody and the reason is different cultures, languages, and religion.The way our parents and families teach us can be defined as coalition of bank clerk and problem posing methods, the parents are the teachers and we are the students, sometimes the parents use the â€Å"banking† concept, they talk and give commands and the students just listen and accept the commands. As Freire declares Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits which students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat.This is the â€Å"banking† concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits (Freire 72). Freire tells us that using â€Å"banking† education, the parents become narrators and the children just containers to be filled with the parents’ knowl edge. Pedagogy of the Oppressed emphasizes that communication between parents and children, doesn’t exist in a â€Å"banking† education. â€Å"Banking† education means suppression and by suppression, children are limited to extend their learning process by being filled by the parents’ ideas.But do the parents realize that using a bank-clerk method minimizes or annuls their children’s creative power? Some parents do not realize it, they become oppressors and their children the oppressed. They consider their children inexperienced and ignorant. The parents think that their children have to learn what they teach them without asking or questioning anything, this way they would be integrated into the society accepting the passive role imposed on them. Strepsiades can be a good example of a father using â€Å"banking† education. Strepsiades wants his son to join the Thinkery to learn the two logics to save him from his debts.In the beginning, Phei dippides does not want to join the Thinkery because he believes that people from the Thinkery are crazy and what is taught is a fraud. Finally, Strepsiades persuades Pheidippides and he joins the Thinkery. Strepsiades claims â€Å"So tutor him in your two logics – traditional Philosophical Logic and that flashy modern sophistic logic they call Immoral because it’s so wonderfully wicked. In any case, if he can’t master both logics, I insist that he learn the Immoral Kind of argument† (The Clouds 66). Strepsiades does not question Socrates methods, he tells Socrates to take his son as his student and teach him the two logics.Stresiades does not care whatever it would take for Pheidippides to learn the two logics. Stresiades sees Pheidippides just as tool that would server the purpose of avoiding to pay his debts. Pheidippides is the oppressed and he can not question or criticize any method that they would use in the Thinkery to teach him the two logics. How ever, other parents like mine, using a coalition of both educational methods, sometimes talk in a mandatory way and nothing is negotiable; as Colonel Graff, the head of the battle school, does with Ender.Occasionally, my parents talk to me as a friend in a rational way, sharing their experiences and exposing their problems. As equal human beings, we reach the communication between teacher and student; in the process of learning from each other we expose Freire’s â€Å"emerging consciousness†. We do not see parents just as an authority, we see them as friends, together, through dialogue, critical criteria, and creativity we develop a problem-posing education.In Ender’s case, he is the third child of the Wiggin’s family; he knows that he could not stay with his biological parents, his instincts push him toward new experiences and the discovery of new things. He leaves his parents in an early age to join a battle school. Beginning on that day, Colonel Graff acts as Ender’s father at the school and Ender’s life would not be the same again. Like Ender, I felt the same attraction when I first joined culinary school at age of 13, leaving my family far away to experience one of the biggest challenges in my life.I would be alone in a place where everything and everybody was unknown to me. This life experience was a vital part of my educational journey. As Freire believes â€Å"Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obligated to respond to that challenge† (Freire 81). Freire thinks that when we find challenges in our life, that relate to ourselves, we develop the power to perceive critically the way of our existence in the world and in which we find ourselves; becoming teachers-students and students-teachers.Graff enforces â€Å"banking† education on Ender, manipulating, isolating, and limiting his existenc e in the school. Graff believes We could be wiped out and it would adjust, it would get on with the next step in evolution. But humanity doesn’t want to die. As a species, we have evolved to survive. And the way we do it is by straining a straining and, at last, every few generations, giving birth to genius. The one who invents the wheel. And light. And flight. The one who builds a city, a nation, an empire. (Ender’s Game 35). Graff explains to Ender why they chose him to join the battle school.He tells Ender that they expect him to be a hero and save humanity. As a tutor and teacher. Graff, being a bank-clerk, pushes Ender to his limits, but Ender’s reaction is different, the more they challenge and isolate him the more he awakes his emerging consciousness. Ender soon becomes the best strategist and leader of the battle school. On the other hand, Pecola’s story is totally different from Ender’s. Pecola bears the blame for the sins, crimes, mistake s or misfortunes of her parents, she suffers abuses from her parents, and people at the school even the cashier from the grocery store that sees through her.She is treated as a marginal person who does not fit in to white people’s view of what beauty means for society. For Pecola, beauty means to have blue eyes. Pecola feels As long as she looked the way she did, as long as she was ugly, she would have to stay with these people. Somehow she belonged to them. Long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness, the ugliness that made her ignored or despised at school, by teachers and classmates alike. She was the only member of her class who sat alone at a double desk. The blues eye 45). Pecola does not like the world of isolation and oblivion where she lives. She associates black with ugliness. She tries to find an answer to why people ignore and despised her at the school and at home. She thinks that the solution for all her problems is to get blue eyes, and for her blue eyes are synonymous of acceptance and beauty. Unfortunately Pecola’s experiences at the school are not pleasant, fortunately, we join the educational world going to the school, and enjoying the adbantanges of education.The school of life together with the other educations helps us to improve our civilization. In this process, we find educators that would choose the â€Å"banking† system or the problem posing method. In my experience, some of the professors that I had in the past, used â€Å"banking† system; they would become transmitters and we would be the receptors. Most of the time with this kind of education you learn whatever the teacher tells you to learn, but in a short period of time this information would disappear. With a problem-posing education there is a relationship between professor and student.The class would become more active and teacher and student would become subjects of the educational process and humanism, they would learn from each other. Freire believes Those who use the â€Å"banking† approach, knowingly or unknowingly (for there are innumerable well-intentioned bank-clerk teachers who do not realize that they are serving only to dehumanize), fail to perceive that the deposits themselves contain contradictions about reality. But, sooner or later, these contradictions may lead formerly passive students to turn against their domestication and the attempt to domesticate reality.They may discover through existential experience that their present way of life is irreconcilable with their vocation to become fully human (Freire 75). Freire tells us that sometimes bank-clerk teachers do not realize that this method affects the students. It limits their thinking capability to be critical, to be creative and to develop new theories or ideas. He also tells us that the contradictions about reality sometimes may lead the passive students to awake their consciousness and to go against thei r teachers and the â€Å"banking† method in order to become fully human.For example, Ender usually is pushed to his limits by Graff who uses a â€Å"banking† method, isolating him from the rest of the students, challenging and changing the rules always. But Ender never surrenders, he answers his teachers in a problem poser way solving all the challenges using his emerging consciousness. It is true that at a certain point, Ender believes â€Å"It’s the teachers, they’re the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other. The game is everything. Win win win. It amounts to nothing† (Ender’s game 108).Eventually, Ender sees the teachers as his enemies and the game as nothing, which he demonstrates through such actions as his at the battle against two armies. As Freire says the contradictions about reality, leads the passive students to turn against the domesticate reality. Ender declares â€Å"I’m trapped here, Ender thought, trapped at the End of the World with no way out. And he knew at last the sour taste that had come to him, despite all his successes in the Battle School. It was despair† (Ender’s Game 141).Ender tells us how he feels about being manipulated and also about lacking control over his own life. He fears the possibility of running out of ideas and not being able to win. He is worried because he has a huge responsibility. He is the last hope of the humanity. He knows that if he wants to win against the Buggers he has to learn more about them, he has to learn how to love his enemies, this way he finds their weaknesses and he uses this strategy to destroy them. However, Ender and Pheidippides are from different genres and belong to distant eras.Pheidippides in the Thinkery is exposed to radical thinkers like Sophistry and by highly imaginative thinkers like Socrates. Above all, this creates repercussion, undermining traditional values and corrupting the moral of youths. Sohpist ry is a clear example of a problem poser method and he teaches Pheidippides that the principles of a society, such as justice and truth, are just concepts that can be adapted or interpreted to the needs of society. After he graduates from the Socrates’ Thinkery, Pheidippides believes that he is a new man.Using his emerging consciousness he thinks that with this power he can challenge everybody and everything. Pheidippides points out â€Å"But now, now that Socrates has made a fresh Pheidippides of me, now that my daily diet is Philosophy, Profundity, Subtlety, and Science, I propose to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt the philosophical propriety of beating my Father† (The clouds 103). Pheidippides emerging consciousness allows him to break and create his own rules, he says that his father deserves the beating because his father ordered him to play a lyre and sing a song even when Pheidippides did not wish to do it.His father keeps ordering things and Pheidippides did not agree with his father’s wishes, consequently he beat his father. Pheidippides justifies his acts telling his father that he beats him because he loves him and he says that for him loving and beating are synonymous. Pheidippides emerging consciousness makes him a bully. Never mind Pheidippides, Pecola’s classmates torment and abuse her for being black and ugly, she is also raped by her father, and eventually she becomes pregnant by him.Although the baby dies, her mother treats her coldly, as she thinks Pecola is ugly and is ashamed of her. Pecola becomes a martyr, she just wants to disappear from this world. She thinks that she is responsible for all bad things that happen in the world. Claudia who is Pocola’s friend comments The damage done was total. She spent her days, her tendril, sap-green days, walking up and down, up and down, her head jerking to the beat of a drummer so distant only she could hear. Elbows bent, hands on shoulders, she flailed her arm s like a bird in an eternal, grotesquely futile effort to fly.Beating the air, a winged but grounded bird, intent on the blue void it could not reach—could not even see—but which filled the valleys of the mind. (The bluest eye 204). Claudia describes Pecola who has lost her mind. Pecola is force farther into her fantasy world, which is her defense against violence and cruelty. The school of life awakes Pecola’s emerging consciousness in a different way from the other students, instead to expose to the world and confront the challenges; she drives herself into a state of madness over the blue eyes.Tired of a dark and sad world she decides to disconnect with the reality and she creates her world, with her own rules and friends where everything is beautiful and perfect, where she has the bluest eyes. It is true, that our emerging consciousness is the result of our different educations that is based on a problem-poser method, it does not serve the concern of the opp ressor. Freire thinks as revolutionaries, we perceive the world as a reality in the process of evolution instead of a static reality. Therefore we should strive for a humanist society.