Bootlegging and Al Capone Essay - 1895 Words

BOOTLEGGING In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, this amendment made the consumption and sell of alcohol illegal. A group of people referred to as â€Å"moral reformers† felt that banning the sell and consumption of alcohol would better protect the lives of people as well as make them better (Rose). Businesses, such as industrial businesses, believed that it would better productivity if the workers could remain sober. The Volsted Act was passed shortly after the Eighteenth Amendment to make sure it was enforced since local authorities did not do such; there were only fifteen hundred agents to enforce the law and the act was also underfunded. Therefore, the Prohibition was not enforced well enough and the organized crime rates†¦show more content†¦Rich and poor people opposed the Prohibition and Capone felt that he was, â€Å"†¦supplying a public demand. If (he) (broke) the law, (his) customers†¦some of the best people in Chicago, (were) as guilty a s (he) (was).† –Alphonse Capone (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Capone saw nothing wrong with bootlegging and he often expressed it and showed his opposition towards the Prohibition Act. He stated that, â€Å"Prohibition (had) made nothing but trouble†. He is basically saying that he is not the problem with the crime in Chicago but the government is, for enforcing the law. He also expressed how, â€Å"When (he) sell(s) liquor, it is bootlegging; when (his) patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it is called hospitality.† Now he is saying how he feels the government is discriminating against how alcohol is distributed. Capone is a criminal who’s trying to put reason behind his illegal actions (BrainyQuote). MURDER Al Capone was notorious for his bootlegging and annihilating his competition; in order to do that, he had to kill them. Before Capone became the big time bootlegger/ murderer/ assassination coordinator, he had already taken a couple of lives. Capone had begun working for Torrio as an enforcer, bouncer, and bartender; he was in a bar fight that got him his scar and his nickname â€Å"Scarface†. Shortly after this incident, in 1919, in New York he was arrested because there were suspicions that heShow MoreRelatedEssay On Al Capone1271 Words   |  6 PagesAl Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in h is way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his selfRead MoreBootlegging1172 Words   |  5 PagesA.J. D’Angelo Ms. Roach Classics in American Literature 20 April 2011 Bootlegging â€Å"The more taboos and inhibitions there are in the world, the poorer people become†¦ The more articulate the laws and ordinances, the more robbers and thieves arise† (qtd. in â€Å"Rumrunning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). The 1920’s in American History was an extraordinary time period due to the extreme prosperity of the people who lived in it. The lust for bigger and better conveniences was developed and led people to want easy money. AfterRead MoreGet Capone: the Rise and Fall of America’s Most Wanted Gangster1696 Words   |  7 PagesGet Capone: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Wanted Gangster Al Capone. Everyone is bound to hear the name at least once in his or her life. The charming, broad smile, the greenish gray eyes, heavy set, and five foot ten and a half; a seemingly normal man. Until someone notices the scars. A faded purple, still fresh looking, Al Capone’s scars marred the normal face, they gave a glance into the life of the notorious gangster. But who was Mr. Alphonse â€Å"Scarface† Capone? One reporter comments,Read MoreEssay about al capone1573 Words   |  7 Pagescrime came to a rise in the 1920’s. And in the high ranks of organized crime was Al Capone. Al Capone ran many illegal businesses including bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and murders. There were many gangs in the world of organized crime and Al Capone’s was at the top. Al Capone was the most infamous gangster in the 1920’s. Being a big time gangster was big business. Money was made fast and very easily. Bootlegging alcohol was by far the most profitable in the 1920’s, this was because of theRead MoreProhibition was the Time to be a Criminal in America999 Words   |  4 Pagesnoteworthy criminal during this time was Al Capone, in Chicago, he bribed government officials, ran bootlegging rackets, prostitution, and gambling dens. Al Capone didnt become a criminal overnight, at a young age he dropped out of school and was welcomed into the local gang. (Federal Bureau of investigation) This is where he meet the gang leader, Johnny Torrio, Capone would later join him in chicago to help with bootlegging . In 1920 Torrio invited Capone to work in the rackets in Chicago, a fewRead MoreProhibition and Al Capone858 Words   |  3 Pagesthe collapse of law and order in the 1920’s, perhaps the most recognized figure to emerge from the time is Al Capone. â€Å"The New York Times said of Al Capone that he was the symbol of a shameful era, the monstrous symptom of a disease which was eating into the conscience of America. Looking back on it now, this period of Prohibition in full, ugly flower seems fantastically incredible. Capone himself was incredible, the creation of an ugly dream.† (www.umich.edu) He impacted society through his ruthlessRead MoreAl Capone And The St. Valentines Day Massacre1337 Words   |  6 Pagesin Chicago, USA climaxing a huge rivalry between the North Side Gang and Al Capone’s. Capone was one of the most dominant and well-known gangsters during the Prohibition Era, ranging between 1920 and 1933. Prohibition in Chicago was huge, many people wanted to go out for a drink and have a good time after work but the 18th amendment said otherwise. Capone thought he could take this situation into his own hands by bootlegging beer and liquor throughout Chicago, but other gangs such as Moran’s wantedRead MoreEssay about The Notorious Al Capone140 6 Words   |  6 Pagessome of the most notorious minds and of these included the most well-known, Al Capone. Capone began to take over the Chicago area in 1925 as a young bartender and eventually controlling the criminal network. From bootlegging and racketeering, Al Capone became one of the most influential gangsters in history with control over the judicial and political powers that would soon come to an end as quickly as it started. Capone saw the prohibition movement coming and acted on it with a business mind. HeRead More Al Capone and Probation Essay1252 Words   |  6 Pages Al Capone is the single greatest symbol of collapse of law and order in the United States during the Prohibition Era. The act of Prohibition brought power to Al Capone, which he used to expand his organized crime activities into a stranglehold over the city of Chicago. Liquor trade became very profitable during Prohibition, and the struggle for control over the bootleg empire erupted into a full-scale war between rival gangs in Chicago. Capone gradually came to symbolize all the criminal evils ofRead MoreEssay on Alphonse Scarface Capone762 Words   |  4 Pagesamp;#8220;Scarface; Capone BACKGROUND INFORMATIONnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899. He grew up in rough neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY where he would attend school only up to the sixth grade, when dropped out. Capone got his nickname amp;#8220;Scarface; from a knife attack by the brother of a woman whom Capone had insulted. The attack left him with three scars across his face and a new nickname. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Capone joined

Usefulness Of Value At Risk And Basel Frameworks Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3133 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? 1. Introduction In order to understand the usefulness of VaR and other risk metrics for the setting of capital adequacy requirements it is useful to compare various measures used by financial institutions and legislative statutes of the Basel Frameworks. Traditional approaches to banking regulation emphasises the understanding that the existence of capital adequacy plays a central role in the long term financing and solvency positions of banks, especially in helping the banks to avoid bankruptcies and their negative externalities on the financial system (Dewaitpont and Tirole 1994) The notion of liquidity must be well defined unfortunately the word, liquidity has so many facets that it is often counter-productive to use it without further and closer definition (Goodhart 2008). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Usefulness Of Value At Risk And Basel Frameworks Finance Essay" essay for you Create order However; in the context of liquidity risk management, a banks liquidity can be defined as the ability to fund increases in assets and to finance obligations as they fall due. Therefore liquidity refers to the risk resulting (Nier 2005) from a financial institutions failure to pay its debts and obligations when due because of its inability to convert assets into cash readily. Moreover, liquidity risk also refers to the inability to procure sufficient funds due to high costs of liquidity transformation that may affect the financial institutions revenues and capital funding either now or in the future. The main objective of liquidity management is to ensure adequate liquidity in all circumstances so that banks have the ability to meet its cash flow obligations. Since maturity transformation of short-term deposits into long term loans is one of the banks fundamental roles banks are therefore inherently vulnerable to liquidity risk stemming from both an institutional-specific nature and a contagion effect which has the ability to cause a ripple effect throughout global markets. 2. Liquidity Management Several areas are of concern in the context of liquidity risk management, (Nier 2005) firstly data may be scarce and lacking in quality and historical data is not necessarily an accurate predictive agent; thus data may not be a reliable proxy for stress testing. Sound liquidity management for both short term and long run purposes is an integral component of a banks contingency funding plan that would aid banks in the event of a financial crisis. Fundamentally, liquidity risk measurement comprises four measurement systems (i) use of ratio analysis (Dowd 2002) where the applications of ratios are developed to measure various components of a banks balance sheet. Such ratios include the minimum liquid asset (MLA), the capital asset ratio (CAR) and the minimum cash balance (MCB). In addition a banks liquidity position needs to be monitored with the application of these ratios both on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet terms (ii) Cash flow measures; where a projection of cash flows base d on both supply and demand for liquidity exists under normal market conditions. The recent global financial crisis has highlighted the importance of adequate liquidity of banks coupled with five key features relating to financial regulation and (Cross 2010) supervision; systematic risk, pro-cyclicality, regulatory arbitrage and transparency. The inadequate regulation and supervision of banks globally has prompted regulators to review current liquidity requirements and statute in order to mitigate liquidity risk and prevent future crises from recurring. The existing approach to capital regulation in the US and E.U is based on Basel I and Basel II and has been identified by regulators and commentators as one of the key factors contributing to the financial crisis. However, Basel I and Basel II focused on capital only, with no internationally agreed (Moodys 2011) quantitative standard for liquidity. In December 2010 the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published the final for m of a set of reforms to strengthen liquidity risk management by international active banks (the 2010 Liquidity Paper). The liquidity paper is intended to address concerns highlighted in the Economic crisis, where a lack of liquidity and inadequate liquidity risk management operated together to amplify difficulties caused by credit losses and due to the interconnectedness of markets affected all (Moodys 2011) markets with subsequent dire consequences. The Basel iii revises proposals set out in the initial framework for improving liquidity risk management and controlling liquidity risk exposures set out in the Committee paper adopted in September 2008. 3. The Basel Accord and Ratios Whilst the problem of solvency was at the core of the financial crisis between 2007- 2009, it demonstrated that illiquidity can amplify the depth of such a crisis. A bank can face impending illiquidity of two kinds: (i) Market Illiquidity which occurs when banks cannot sell assets without realising large losses and (ii) Funding liquidity when banks that rely on short-term funding cannot refinance long maturity assets (ESFRC 2011). If banks hold enough highly liquid assets and do not place heavy reliance on short-term funding, the contagious effects of capital deficit will be lessened. Market discipline cannot be relied upon to resolve this externally; it however could be addressed by increasing capital requirements. However, the costs to the banking system would be reduced by employing liquidity requirements along with less stringent capital requirements. The Basel Committee has evoked two requirements that must be satisfied by banks regarding maturity transformation. The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) is designed to promote short term liquidity resilience which compares the stock of high quality liquid assets held by a bank to its net cash outflows (Moodys 2011) during a hypothetical 30-day severe stress scenario. The liquidity ratio will be set at a minimum of 100%, requiring high calibre liquid assets to fully cover the net cash outflows in such a scenario, and the liquidity coverage ratio must be maintained at all times. The Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) refers to a ratio between availability of stable funding relative to the need created by long-term assets. The NSFR limits the degree of maturity transformation of banks, and therefore enhances funding liquidity. 4. Weaknesses of Basel Accord Standards Both sets of ratios are based on a complex set of weighing factors, which could be specified in a simpler manor. Instead of a variety of weighted factors, liquidity requirements could be in the form of a minimum ratio of cash and other highly liquid and riskless assets to total (ESFRC 2011) assets instead of the LCR and a simple measure of maturity mismatch instead of the NSFR. These requirements should be applicable under normal economic conditions; however in a period of a weak economic climate could these conditions be relaxed. Basel iii definition of high quality liquid assets in the context of the LCR ratio consist of cash and high quality government debt plus discounted proportions of high quality corporate and covered bonds. There is a risk that the high quality assets standard is too conservative to the end that it could create a shortage of liquid assets or significant concentration risks (Ref). Thus it is more restrictive than the standards central banks typically mainta in for collateral eligibility under the liquid facilities that serve as a key area to the banking system. Basel iii new liquidity standards should be an addition to firm level risk management and micro-prudential regulation, if combined with micro-prudential regulation and improved supervision. By raising liquidity buffers and reducing mismatches the new standards will indirectly address systemic liquidity risk as it will reduce possibility that banks will have a simultaneous requirement for liquidity. However policymakers will need to ensure that the weights and factors in the calibration of such ratios do not fully restrict banks (ESRFC 2003) in their ability to undertake maturity transformation or in the ability of money markets to act as a buffer for the financial institutions to manage their short term liquidity needs. If the standardization is too restrictive it may encourage migration of some banking activities into less regulated practices including towards shadow banks t hus potentially accentuating rather than alleviating systemic risk. The Basel iii standards could therefore extend the quantitative liquidity requirements to less regulated institutions. A framework that is too rigid may force banks to take risks to reach compliance, resulting in a high correlation amongst particular assets and concentrations in some of them. Consequently, the LCR ratio may inevitably tip towards high holdings in eligible liquid assets that could effectively reduce liquidity during a systemic crisis. Also, by applying unvarying quantitative standards across countries may not be suitable as a number of countries may not have the markets to extend term funding for banks given the absence of a bond market in a domestic currency, which would accordingly require banks to be subject to exchange rate risks. An analysis on the NSFR by (OECD 2010) finds that the ratio would not have indicated problems in the banks that ultimately failed due to poor liquidity management an d overuse of short term wholesale funding. Therefore the NSFR appears to have several limitations and should not be used as an appropriate technique to mitigate liquidity risk. For Basel iii to be effective liquidity requirements will need to be set at a high level for all institutions, resulting in a prohibitive cost to the real economy; otherwise the possibility will always exist that a (OECD 2010) systemic liquidity event will exhaust all available liquidity. In such circumstances central bank support is warranted to ensure that systemic liquidity shortages to not morph into large scale solvency problems. A problem so far has been the lack of analysis of a uniform measure of liquidity risk and to the extent to which an institution contributes to this risk. 5. Liquidity Risk Measurements Metrics Including Value-at-Risk (VaR) The analysis of liquidity requires bank management to identify measure and monitor its positions on an on-going basis as well as to examine how funding requirements are likely to evolve under various scenarios including adverse conditions (Cross 2010). However, liquidity is difficult to define and even more difficult to measure (Persaud 2007), due to the underlying variables driving the exposure can be dynamic and unpredictable. Until recently, managing and measuring liquidity risk was rarely seen as a high priority by most banks and financial institutions. Furthermore, no agreement has existed in the international community on the proper measurement of liquidity; hence there was not an integrated measurement tool to cover all dimensions of liquidity risk available to financial institutions. As to liquidity risk metrics in use, it is considered necessary to distinguish between analytical approaches such as VaR, that are focused on assessing potential effects on profitability, li quidity risk models and measures which aims at assessing cash flow projections of assets and liabilities, or the inability to conduct business as a result of a lack or a reduction of secured and unsecured funding capacities and/or liquid assets. Banks generally apply a variety of measurement techniques dependent on the specific type of risk that they want to assess, (e.g. funding liquidity risk, market liquidity risk etc.) Where institutions have adopted quantitative analyses for the assessment of liquidity risk, this approach has tended to be a deterministic (Cross 2010) one, such as static maturity ladders however; in such cases distributions for determining risk exposures are not utilised as scenario analysis is based on user-defined assumptions and resulting estimates therefore produce only a single view of the future. Therefore a more effective alternative is a stochastic approach which has been proven effective for both market and credit risk management. In this framework, (Cross 2010) the future values of risk factors are calculated under a variety of randomly generated scenarios thus producing probability distributions. See Appendix (1) for Stochastic Approaches Thus in reality most markets are less than (Cross 2003) perfectly liquid. If regulators in countries required banks to use VaR models for risk quantification processes the results from such models would produce inaccurate results as (i) there is no estimate of tail risks and losses (ii) difficulties in identifying the non-linear pay-offs characteristics of many complex and structured products (iii) no consistent method of aggregating risks across different asset classes, (iv) concentration on the distribution of portfolio value changes resulting from movements in the mid-price of each asset and (v) separate modelling of asset prices and portfolio size amongst others. Bangia et al (1999) cites that VaR methodology does not distinguish between market risk and liquidity risk, because historical market prices are supposed to embrace latent liquidity effects. Severe critique has been made regarding VaR as a measurement of liquidity risk; whilst it isnt completely appropriate it does still give an insight into the level of risk of an institution. Hence where VaR is insufficient, through the use of stress testing it becomes an adequate compliment (Kotz Gerhrig 2010). Where VaR reflects price behaviour in everyday markets stress testing simulates portfolio performance during abnormal market periods. The CGFS (2005) cites that stress testing is increasingly viewed as a complement to the previously defined VaR rather than as a supplement. Generally two types of stress testing are differentiated, the Scenario tests where the source and the financial risk parameters that are affected by the shock are well defined, and the Sensitivity test in which neither the shock nor the parameters are defined. The BCBS (2008) strongly recommends that regular stress testing of banks is imple mented as it can be helpful in detecting liquidity risk and checking if the current exposure remains in accordance with the banks established risk tolerance. VaR models assumes model conditions as to the unwinding of the position with one trade at a predetermined price equal to the current quoted mid-price, within a fixed period of time and no consideration of the size of the position. Liquidity in the market is connected to a variety of factors (Cross 2003) including the relative size, frequency, traded volumes, and the credit worthiness of the issuer amongst others, thus in order to account for these variables the standard VaR will require an adjustment to incorporate market liquidity and transaction costs into the VaR framework. See Appendix (2) for VaR calculations. 6. Conclusion It is unlikely that there is a single and uniformly best measure of liquidity risk considering the differing natures of financial institutions and their respective funding arrangements. However analysis finds that standard VaR methodology is an inadequate measure of liquidity risk as it does not distinguish between market and liquidity risk and does not take into account the level of risk within a particular institution. Adjusted VaR methods coupled with stress testing have proven to be a compliment which will incorporate liquidity risk into the computation. Other measurement methods such as the SRL model has the benefit of using daily market data and standard risk management methods to interpret individual contributions to systemic risk into a macro-prudential measure. The SRL can produce opportune and forward looking measures of risk of simultaneous liquidity shortfalls in financial institutions (IMF 2011). Alternatively or as a compliment to the SRL the ST framework could be imp lemented, as with other stress testing techniques it captures systemic solvency risk by assessing the vulnerabilities of institutions to a common macro-financial shock, and then adds this to risk of liquidity shortfalls ad assesses transmission of liquidity risk to the rest of the system through their exposures to the interbank market (2011). References Bangia A., Diebold F.H., Schuermann T., Stronghair J.D (1999), Modelling Liquidity Risk with Implications for Traditional Market Risk Measurement and Management, Working Paper, pp. 99-106, Wharton School, Philadelphia. Bardenhewer, M (2007) Modelling Non-maturing Products, in Matz L., Neu P., Liquidity Risk. Measurement and Management. A Practitioners Guide to Global Best Practices, John Wiley Sons, Chichester. Barrel, R et al (2009) Optimal regulation of bank capital and liquidity: how to calibrate new international standards [Online] Available At: https://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/occpapers/op38.pdf [Last Accessed 29 April 2011]. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, A Framework for Measuring and Managing Liquidity, September 1992. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Sound Practices for Managing Liquidity Risk in Banking Organisations, February 2000. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, The management of liquidity risk in financial groups, Bank for Intern ational Settlement, May 2006. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2011), Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision. Blanco, C (2010) Financial Liquidity Adequacy [Online] Available at: https://www.blackswanrisk.com/pdf/June04RiskDesk.pdf [Last Accessed 28 April 2011]. Cross, A (2010). The new capital and liquidity proposals- Implications for Banks and their Supervisors [Online] Available at: https://siteresources.worldbank.org/FINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/Session4AndrewCross.pdf [Last Accessed 23 May April 2011]. Dowd K., (2002) Measuring Market Risk, John Wiley Sons, Chichester. ESFRC (2011) Basel III The need for simplicity in capital and liquidity requirements [Online] Available at: https://www2.lse.ac.uk/fmg/events/conferences/2011/financialRegulation_24Jan2011/ESFRC_Statement.pdf [Last Accessed 01 May 2011]. IMF(2011) How to address the systemic part of liquidity risk [Online] Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/gfsr/2011/ 01/pdf/chap2.pdf [Last Accessed 23 May 2011]. Moodys Analytics (2011). Basel III New Capital and Liquidity Standards FAQs [Online] Available at: https://fermat.eu/downloads/basel-iii-faq.pdf [Last Accessed 1 May 2011]. Nier, T Tiesset, M (2005). Liquidity, Banking Regulation and the Macroeconomy [Online] Available at: https://www.bis.org/bcbs/events/rtf05AspachsNierTiesset.pdf [Last Accessed 01 May 2011]. Otker,R, Pazarbasioglu, C (2010), Impact of Regulatory reforms on large and complex financial institutions, Staff position Note no 2010/16 (Washington: International Monetary Fund, November). Reserve Bank of New Zealand (2009) Capital adequacy ratios for banks simplified explanation and example of calculation [Online] Available at: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~igiddy/articles/capital_adequacy_calculation.pdf [Last Accessed 26 April 2011]. Wignall, A Atkinson, P (2010). Thinking beyond Basel III: Necessary solutions for capital and liquidity [Online] OEDC Journal: F inancial Market Trends Available at: https://hb.betterregulation.com/external/OECD%20-%20Thinking%20beyond%20Basel%20II%20%20Necessary%20Solutions%20for%20Capital%20and%20Liquidity.pdf [Last Accessed 1 May 2011]. Woschnagg, E (2007) ICAAP Implementation in Austrian Banks [Online] Available at: https://www.oenb.at/en/img/fsr_16_special_topics_02_tcm16-95421.pdf [Last Accessed 29 April 2011]. Vento, G La Ganga, P (2009) Bank liquidity risk management and supervision: Which lessons from the recent market turmoil? [Online] Available at: https://www.eurojournals.com/jmib_10_06.pdf [Last Accessed 1 May 2011]. Appendix 1 This approach is expressed in a formula using Cash Flow at Risk (CFaR) as a measure of the maximum expected loss expected as a deviation from the mean, with a confidence interval alpha for a defined holding period: Where ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ± is the confidence interval in which the cash flow at risk will not be exceeded by the maximum loss, CF is the cash flow with left tail confidence interval alpha, and is the cash flow in the reference case (typically the mean of the stochastic distribution). From CFaR, a further risk indicator can be drawn, namely the Liquidity at Risk (LaR) which can be defined as the proportion of the available liquidity that remains with the firm after CFaR has been entirely subtracted from the formula: Where available liquidity is defined as the amount of liquidity can be raised with the level of risk aversion of the bank is willing to endure. Another facet of liquidity risk is market risk, it should be noted that in the standard VaR models are typically based on the assumption of normal markets, and also assumes that any quantities of securities can be traded without influencing markets prices

Argumentative Essay on Cursive Writing - 1075 Words

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Taught more than thirty decades ago, cursive writing has a famed and legendary past. It was once a vital element of American education but is now becoming an archaic artefact as technology advancement and the requirement of more regulated tests push it out of the education system. Cursive writing should be scrapped out of the education system for there is no need of wasting time and resources to continue teaching a skill that won’t be beneficial to the students in the near future. For many students in America, cursive writing is as foreign as the hieroglyphics of the ancient Egypt. In most colleges and universities, more students are increasingly using tablet computers†¦show more content†¦As pointed out by Penny Joy a curriculum coordinator of Plymouth Canton Community Schools, she quotes that â€Å" normally she receives a lot more calls daily with parents asking her why her school continues to teach cursive than calls requiring that more time be devoted to teaching cursive writing†. She continues to say that â€Å"she sees no reason to continue teaching cursive in her school since they don’t have time for it†. They would rather allocate that time and resources to other industrious subjects and projects. â€Å"Handwriting is already suffering a major blowback† says Joanne Jacobson who is a curriculum director of Fraser Public Schools. Cursive may be legible for kids who are below third grade but by the time they reach fifth grade they all have developed their own style of handwriting. With or without learning cursive writing, a child’s handwriting develops for better over the years. One of the excusable reasons given for continued teaching of cursive is speed. Quite honestly, most students’ nowadays don’t use pen and paper for taking notes. Apart from a section of SAT exams, almost all the other papers like term papers, assignments and research papers are presented electronically for marking. Who still presents their assignments in form of handwritten notes? Who still has to worry about speed with all the dynamics of technology such as taking notes on tablets and laptops?

Dream High free essay sample

Maybe it is small, maybe it is lofty, maybe it is simple, maybe it is hard to achieve. But Hip Hop and e. e. cummings tell us never give up your dream. Some lyrics and poems talk about similar things, like talking about achieving dreams; both the lyrics and poems give us inspiration. If we want to dream high, we must try ours’ best. Somebody have a dream, he has a lot of difficulty on the way of seeking the dream, but he has fire in his heart, so he perseveres in his dream and never give up. You don’t say good luck, you say don’t give up. †(The Fire)From the lyrics we can see, make an effort, must depend on yourself. And two old men have dreams, though they are old, but they still seek their dreams. â€Å"Still look dream. †(#12)The poem is similar to the lyrics, It also tells all people have dreams, whoever. We will write a custom essay sample on Dream High or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Even an old man, his dream is not ridiculous at all. Dream is not only individual; peace is the common dream of the people. In a peaceful world, all people’s dream flying high. It’s about war, people suffer calamities. Mothers crying too often from they lost child leaving. †(Guns Are Drawn)It’s a lively description about people who lived in war. The war can bring people harm; peace is the common wish of the people. And then it’s about animals was fettered by human. â€Å"Where freedom is compulsory, and only man is god. † (#69)All lifes are equal; there should not be any fight between human and animals. Only if human live with animals in peace, the world will be finer, and dreams fly high. Dream high in Hip Hop and e. e. cummings. In the Fire, a man tries his best to achieve his dream, he is strict with himself, and he never takes notice of other people’s ridicules, why? Because of his dream. And in e. e. cummings #12, two men have their own dreams, though they are old, but they still seek their dreams. So all people have dreams, even old man, if we want dream high, we must try hard. Every single person have dreams, Hip Hop and e. e. cummings tell us, if we want dream high, we must try hard, like the lyrics, â€Å"I dream high I dream a dream When it’s tough I close my eye and The moment my dream comes true continue to recall and get up†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ 