Clinical Supervision in Counseling Essay Example for Free

Clinical Supervision in Counseling Essay Professional competence is shown in many counselors throughout the world. One way that competence is displayed by counselors is their ability to utilize clinical supervision and consultation. Even long standing professionals in the field of counseling continually seek supervision. When confronted with difficult ethical decision making and unique situations in its best to gain an outside objective viewpoints. In reference to the case study, there are plenty of ethical dilemmas and unethical decisions made by Joe and his supervisor. It is clear their personal values differ from those who choose to follow ethical codes in counseling. The APA and ACA’s ethical standards and codes have certain relations in comparison to the violations which Joe and his supervisor have perpetrated. To avoid breaches of ethical codes, there are ACA ethics committee members to inform appropriate relationship standards with all individuals involved in the counseling process. Clinical supervision is important to utilize for each counselor’s self-awareness. The case study implies that Joe ended counseling sessions with Jill because they had mutual feelings of attraction towards each other. He made an ethical decision in doing so by recognizing the counseling relationship would be ineffective. Joe and Jill began a sexual relationship which ended abruptly after a month, with no physical or verbal contact afterwards. Joe had a guilty conscious of their unethical relationship. The imperative action he failed to do was follow through with the proper referral process by choosing to obtain clinical supervision from his supervisor for Jill’s well-being. However, Joe and his supervisor recently started a sexually relationship. He did not seek referral assistance for Jill to avoid hurt feelings from his supervisor. Inquiring the behaviors of both counselor and supervisor, there were evident breaches of ethics. The counselor and supervisor should have the knowledge that any non-professional relationship between the two is unethical and a breach of ethics. In other words, they should have known better. Teaching and modeling ethical and professional behavior is an important responsibility of a supervisor (Argosy, 2013). All psychologist, counselors and members of the ACES (The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision) must abide by the ACA and APA Code of Ethics. The ACES has developed ethical codes for counseling supervisors and is in accordance with the purpose of the ACA as well as a founding division of the ACA. According to ACES, the best practice guidelines are intended to support supervisors in their work. The ACES’s guidelines are offered to augment the judgment of supervisors as they make it their requirement to offer ethical and legal protection of rights of supervisors, supervisees and clients, and meet professional needs of supervisees while protecting client welfare (ACES, Best Practices in Supervision, 2010). With regards to ACES practice guidelines there are other exceptional tools or standards available to ensure supervisors know crucial standards for their practice. The American Counseling Association created a â€Å"Journal of Counseling Development†: Standards of Counseling Supervisors (ACA/ACES, 1990, JCD v69 n 1, Pg. 30, Vol. 69). † The standards implemented is this journal are important to counseling supervisors toS develop core areas of knowledge, competencies, and personal traits that characterize effective counselors. What happened between the counselor and the supervisor was extremely unacceptable. My values clash with their values. I am sure when I am counseling clients for mental health I will be attracted to a few men here and there. I may even be attracted to my supervisor or a colleague of mine. Physical or emotional attraction is a normal function as a human being, and is not a dangerous or awful thing. Making verbal or physical actions to distinctive attractions will not be the case for me. I would not want to jeopardize my career involving an unethical mistake concerning my attraction to one of my clients. I value the direction in which I am being educated, and I will value even more when I am certified and access a seemingly well respective job. Ethical standards and codes are needed to be taken very seriously. The APA and ACA have very similar codes of ethics and ethical standards. As I have stated before, Joe and his supervisor breached certain codes of ethics specifically pertaining to having a sexual relationship. According to the APA ethical standards it states, â€Å"Psychologists do not engage in sexual relationships with students or supervisees who are in their department, agency, or training center or over whom psychologists have or are likely to have evaluative authority (APA, 2010). One of the ACA Codes of Ethics involving relationships has boundaries regarding supervisory relationships. Logically, between current supervisees and their supervisor sexual and romantic interactions or relationships are prohibited (ACA, 2005). Within the APA and ACA ethical standards, they seem to have overall similar conclusion regarding sexual relationships between counselors and supervisors. One difference I recognized is that the APA states ethical ways of going about multiple relationships with clients, although it is best to refrain in case of impairment to the psychologist’s competency (APA, 2010). Also, The ACA has ethical standards involving potential ethical beneficial relationships with supervisees in a non–professional setting, such as attending a funeral for the supervisee. This has to be discussed between the supervisor and supervisee and documentation of the rationale for the relationship is a necessity (ACA, 2005). Members of the ACA and APA ethics committee have a huge responsibility to manage enforcement of the ethical codes concerning the APA or ACA and to enhance professional development through professions. Committee members have important obligations such as processing cases of alleged violations. However, a committee member cannot warrant the job review of any member affiliated or that is under the Code of Ethics. If I was an ACA Ethics Committee member, I would inform appropriate behavioral codes for counselors, especially new counselors to the field. I would certainly inform them of the no tolerance policies of sexual or intimate relations with co-workers or clients, as well as all ethical codes. I would make them aware of the role and function of what I do as a part of the committee. For example, we as a committee process complaints of ethical violations or alleged violations. Most importantly I would want to educate health professionals of the membership according to the ACA codes, and what the roles and functions of ethical committees. I would like to continue to adopt many values of ethical codes, ethical decision making, standards and principals for supervision that I highly appreciate.

Improving Child Observation Journals

Improving Child Observation Journals Master of Education: Reading and Literacy Abstract The purpose of this study is to describe the effect that providing journal and case study paper examples, more time to observe in the child care center and the use of different teaching methods will have on the improvement of observation journals and case study papers. This action research involved Child Development classes at Deerfield High School during the fall 2008 school year. Students struggle with completing weekly observations and case studies. This paper will share the findings of research that was done to assist students. If students have a better understanding of the observations and case studies, are provided with examples and are given more time to observe, the desired outcome is that their observation journals and case study papers will improve. Introduction Background of Problem I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois. Deerfield is a northern suburb of Chicago and the high school has approximately 1,800 students. I have been teaching at Deerfield High School for four years. While I have been at this high school, I have taught Child Development Preschool Lab, Consumer Economics, Freshman Advisory and Contemporary Living. Family and Consumer Science classes were formerly referred to as Home Economics which involved becoming a knowledgeable homemaker. In Child Development classes, proper parenting techniques were emphasized. Now that Home Economics has evolved into Family and Consumer Sciences, there is an emphasis on preparing students to become well-informed parents as well as preparing them to become educated professionals who may work with children in their careers and their personal lives. Last year I taught two sections of Child Development Preschool Lab, which is the focus of my action research project. My first period class had 11 female 10th-12th grade students and my second period class had 14 female 10th-12th grade students. Every week in Child Development Preschool Lab, my high school students, referred to as the high school friends, plan and teach lessons to two to five year old children in the on-site child care center, Deer Park Teaching and Learning Center (DPTLC). The students also observe these preschoolers, referred to as Deer Park friends, every week while they are in the child care center. The students typically really enjoy the class; however, they struggle the most with observing the children and creating their observation journals and semester case study papers. Through the use of their journal entries, the high school friends analyze and evaluate one specific Deer Park friend’s physical, intellectual, emotional and social development and write a case study paper to determine how a specific child is developing for their age. As a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, I believe it is essential for high school students to be able to communicate what they observe or see through detailed written form. Specifically, in Child Development Preschool Lab, this information should later be used to make conclusions about how a preschool aged child is developing physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. Providing students with life long observation, analytical and written communication skills to be used in their future will benefit the student learner. Rationale for my Research The focus of this research study will be helping my students improve their observation journals and case study papers during first semester. Observing, journaling and the semester case study paper are what students struggle with the most all year in this class. It causes frustration and anxiety for the high school students and me. I often find myself wondering how I can make this a more pleasant learning experience for everyone involved (high school friends, Deer Park friends and me.) In each observation journal, the high school friends are required to record six different observations every week. Each observation should include a factual description of what they see, an educated opinion of how the child is developing, and an assessment of the child’s developmental rate for their age. The students go into the DPTLC on-site child care center to observe children ages two to five years old. After approximately one month of observing a variety of Deer Park friends, high school friends are assigned a specific child to observe for the remainder of the semester. Students are given 20-25 minutes of class time every week to observe in the child care center to collect their observations. The journal entries collected over the semester are used to assess one Deer Park friend’s developmental rate in the four areas of development. The journal entries act as evidence to support how the high school friend rates the Deer Park friend’s development in the case study paper. Observing and journaling are taught in two class periods. I spend about 40 minutes initially teaching this assignment the first time. I spend approximately 20 minutes reviewing it the second time a few days later. Observing and journaling are taught during a lecture while students take notes. I provide one or two examples of journal entries on the board and we discuss this as a class. Chapter notes, developmental milestone handouts and the textbook appendix are shown to students as a resource to use when they are assessing how the Deer Park friend is developing for their age. Feedback is provided to students on their observation journal entry assignments on a bi-weekly basis. I provide comments on their journals and return them to the students within two days of them turning them in. I will occasionally have a one-on-one meeting with students who really struggle with the assignment. The evidence that supports students struggle with observing, journaling and writing their case study papers includes my observation that students are confused and frustrated with this assignment year after year, low scores on journal assignments, students not completing journal assignments and students struggling with the semester case study paper. Intervention Planned to Implement Through my experiences teaching observing and journaling in Child Development Preschool Lab for the past four years, I believe that students struggle with observation journals and their case study papers because they are not given enough time in the child care center to collect sufficient observations. This causes students to feel rushed which increases frustration and anxiety. Additionally, more time should be spent and different teaching methods should be used when teaching observing, journaling and the case study paper. Finally, student work may improve if excellent examples of observation journals and case study papers were given to students. Focus Statement The purpose of this study is to describe the effect that providing journal and case study paper examples, more time to observe in the child care center and the use of different teaching methods will have on the improvement of observation journals and case study papers. Research Questions Therefore, my research question is: What are the benefits of providing Child Development Preschool Lab high school students with journal and case study paper examples, more time to observe in the child care center and the use of different teaching methods among students to improve observation journals and case study papers in Child Development Preschool Lab during the fall semester? The questions that I will be exploring include: How will giving more time to observe in the child care center impact the high school students journals and case study papers? What teaching methods should I use to teach observing and journaling? Will spending more time on teaching observing and journaling improve student work? How will providing excellent examples of observation journals and case study papers impact student work? Will student anxiety and frustration levels decrease if more observation time is given? Key Terms High School Friends High school students in the Child Development class who work with the preschoolers in the child care center. Child Development Preschool Lab An Applied Arts course that incorporates Child Development curriculum along with a practical lab experience where high school students work with preschoolers in a child care center. Deer Park Friends Twoto five year old preschool children that attend the Deerfield High School on sitechild care center. Case Study Papers The Child Development Preschool Lab first semester final project where students analyze one preschooler’s rate of development for their age. Observation Journals Weekly observations that high school students make about the preschoolers when they are in the child care center interacting with the children. Deer Park Teaching and Learning Center (DPTLC) The name of the Deerfield High School on site child care center where two to five year olds come for child care. Four Areas of Development Intellectual, social, emotional, physical are the four areas in which children develop. Literature Review Students learn in many ways and it is essential that educators meet different student needs by implementing a variety of teaching strategies. Sometimes this involves class discussions, providing examples to guide students, modeling a concept, or encouraging students to learn through hands-on learning experiences. Many high school teachers have said that students respond well when they are motivated to learn and when they are actively engaged in the lesson. Benefits of Observing Preschoolers Observing preschoolers is essential for students who are working with young children. The information that is learned through seeing what a young child can do first hand is critical in helping a high school student assess how a child is developing. These observations also act as a credible source to support their evaluation of the preschooler’s developmental rate and provide specific examples to the parents in the high school student’s case study paper. Through observation, teachers are able to gather valuable information about the preschoolers that may help them in planning and preparing developmentally appropriate lessons (Barbakoff Yo, 2002). Barbakoff Yo suggest that teachers use a running record or a checklist to record their observations of a child. Providing teachers with adequate time to collect and record observations of the preschoolers interacting with one another is â€Å"time and energy well spent† (Barbakoff Yo, 22). Perhaps allowing students to spend more time observing the children in the child care center will increase their understanding of how children develop. This may lead to more creative lesson plans and more thorough journals and case study papers. Teaching Methods and Student Motivation Research has also shown that several teaching methods have been proven to be more effective than others when motivating students to learn. Lam Law (2007) examined the relationship between how the use of teaching writing strategies and motivating students affects student writing performance. Students should be challenged and need to understand the importance of the writing assignment they are expected to complete (Lam Law). According to Lam Law, the writing assignment must be related to something they can connect with in their past, present or future. Student writing also improves when students are curious about the topic they are writing about and when they are provided with feedback (Lam Law). Lam Law support the idea that when students are motivated and understand â€Å"why† they are completing an assignment they are more likely to grasp the idea being taught and are more successful. Writing Strategies: A Four Step Process Collins Collins (1996) have identified a four step process that educators find useful when teaching students to write. These writing strategies include; â€Å"identifying a strategy to teach, introducing the strategy by modeling it, allowing students to use it and helping students work toward independent mastery through repetition and practice† (Collins Collins). Although modeling and practicing new concepts is beneficial, some students are not able to grasp the content being taught through this strategy (Collins Collins). Collins Collins have found that some students learn best through the use of concrete visual examples. When teaching students a new idea, educators may find it useful to consider what excites and motivates students to learn and what teaching methods address all student needs. Providing Examples to Students Providing students with excellent examples to guide them in their work is a teaching strategy that has been found to be useful for students. In the article, â€Å"Students’ Perceptions of Teaching and Learning: The Influence of Students’ Approaches to Learning and Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching, a ninth grade student who was interviewed said,† â€Å"the best way of learning is definitely hands on, trying it yourself, I think that is a very good way. And seeing examples of what you’re doing† (Campbell, Smith, Boulton-Lewis, Brownlee, Burnett Carrington, 2001). Additionally, Day Elksnin (1994) discovered that the concept being taught should be described, modeled, discussed (talked through aloud) and practiced by the students. Students may be involved in this process from the very beginning by asking them what they struggle with most and what they think may help (Day Elksnin). Providing feedback to the students is also effective when students are struggling (Day Elksnin). Day Elksnin’s research supports the idea that presenting students with examples and models of previous work will assist them in the understanding of the assignment which will lead to improved grades. How Students Learn Best Many students have been interviewed and surveyed on how they learn best. They have become a valuable resource when evaluating how different teaching strategies impact their feelings while they are in the class and their success rate on assignments. Campbell, Smith, Boulton-Lewis, Brownlee, Burnett Carrington (2001) found that when interviewed, both students who have a deep approach to learning and students who have a surface approach to learning, felt that when being exposed to new concepts, they learned more when they were in a caring, supportive environment and when they were actively engaged in the lessons being taught. However, when the class was teacher focused and when students were lectured to, both types of students became surface learners and were not as engaged (Campbell et al.). Their perceptions of the class were negative compared to the hands-on, active classes that built the students self-esteem (Campbell et al.). This can be related to students’ anxiety and frustration levels when learning. If students feel they are in a supportive, caring environment that provides hands-on learning experiences, they will approach learning in a deeper way. Child Development students experience hands-on learning on a weekly basis when they are in the child care center teaching and observing the preschool children. As educators, it is vital that we consider the different needs of our students when teaching a new concept. Our students may be some of our best resources when evaluating the teaching methods we use. Teachers should consider the methods used to teach the lesson, the time period given to teach the new concept, and the amount of frustration or excitement the teaching strategy or assignment brings to students. Data Collection Methodology In this study, which focuses on describing the effect that providing journal and case study paper examples, more time to observe in the child care center and the use of different teaching methods will have on the improvement of observation journals and case study papers, I will primarily be using qualitative data. The form of qualitative research method I plan to use is ethnography. Ethnography is fitting to my research due to the fact that I will be observing my students when they are working in there every day surroundings (Glanz, 2003). I also found ethnography to be appropriate for my research because I will use observations as a main source of my data collection (Glanz, 2003). The research method I am using is not a case study because I am collecting data that I will interpret and focus on a group rather than an individual (Glanz, 2003). The research questions that guide my data collection are: How will giving more time to observe in the child care center impact the high school students’ journals and case study papers? What teaching methods should I use to teach observing and journaling? Will spending more time on teaching observing and journaling improve student work? How will providing excellent examples of observation journals and case study papers impact student work? Will student anxiety and frustration levels decrease if more observation time is given? (See Appendix A) When collecting my data, I am interested in comparing my perceptions of what students struggle with when observing, journaling and writing their case study papers to the students’ perceptions of what they struggle with when observing, journaling and writing their case study papers. The data will be collected during the first semester of the 2008-2009 school year. The data I will collect will primarily be qualitative which will include my own observations, colleague interviews and collection of student work. I value how my students are feeling about the projects assigned in my class so I will ask for input from the students as well. This data will be provided through a student focus group and student surveys at the beginning and end of the semester. All of the data collected will assist me in answering the questions I am exploring in this action research project. Colleague Interviews There are three teaching professionals I interviewed before the high school students began observing in the child care center. The Deer Park Teaching and Learning child care center Director, another Child Development teacher and an English teacher were asked for input on my topic. When interviewing the child care center Director (See Appendix B) and the Child Development teacher (See Appendix C), I investigated the time spent on teaching journaling and observing and the teaching methods they felt were beneficial to the students. I also wanted to understand their perceptions on how they feel providing students with example journals and case study papers impacts the students understanding of the assignment. Through these interviews, a qualitative research method, I was able to understand the teachers’ views on providing students with more time in the child care center to observe. When interviewing the English teacher (See Appendix D), I focused on strategies used by this teacher to improve students writing. It was also beneficial to find out what students in English class struggle with most when they are writing and what the teacher does to address these struggles. I am hoping to apply this information to my class to assist my students when they are writing their case study papers. I asked both the English teacher and the Child Development teacher what type of presentation methods students struggle with and what type of presentation methods get students excited about learning. Student Focus Group At the beginning of the semester, I will hold a class discussion regarding the amount of time given to observe in the child care center (See Appendix E). During this class focus group, a qualitative research method, I intend to also get feedback from the students regarding their views on how providing example observation journals will impact their understanding of the observation journal writing process. What I have found in the past is that students have a pretty good gage on what they need to be successful so asking students what their needs are at the beginning of the semester is important. Student Survey – Questionnaire Two surveys (See Appendix F) were created to request information from students in the two Child Development classes I teach. The intentions of the surveys, a qualitative research method, were to ask the students for their input to address the following questions: How will providing more time for you to observe in the child care center impact your observation journals and case study papers? What teaching methods do you benefit from most when learning about observing, journaling and writing your case study papers? Will spending more time on teaching observing and journaling improve your journals and papers? How will providing excellent examples of observation journals and case study papers impact affect your understanding of the assignment and your work? Will your anxiety and frustration levels decrease if more observation time in given? The questionnaire will be implemented at the beginning of the semester, before they observe, and at the end of the semester, after their papers are wr itten, to gain a better understanding of the students’ viewpoint on this assignment. Collecting Artifacts Another qualitative research method I plan to use is to sporadically collect the students’ observation journal entries throughout the entire semester. My intention is to analyze the improvement of the students’ work as the semester goes along. I will collect the journals after the first time they observe when more time is given in the child care center, more time is spent on teaching observing and journaling and examples are provided to the students. I will compare this to the observations I have made in regards to student work from previous years. Collecting these artifacts throughout the semester will allow me to evaluate the students’ understanding of observing and journaling as they progress through the semester. It will also provide me the opportunity to give the students feedback so the students will feel guided in this process. At the end of the semester, I will collect the final case study papers and the scores on the journals and papers, which is a quantitative data collection method. This will allow me to analyze student progress throughout the semester. The case study papers will also provide me with an idea of each student’s overall understanding of observing and how they are able to relate the information they have gathered through their observations to how a child is developing. Observation and Field Notes While students are using the example observation journals to guide their own journal writing, I will observe and note, qualitatively, the ease at which students do this. I will also note how often the students refer to their examples as the semester progresses. Throughout the semester, during the first ten minutes of class and the last ten minutes of class, I will observe and make notes on the students’ frustration levels related to observing. The beginning and end of class is a time when students talk to each other about a variety of things they are dealing with at the time. This will be an ideal time for me to step back and listen to their discussions between one another in regards to observing, journaling and writing their papers. Timeline for Collecting Data: Time of Year Data Collection Source Data Collection Source Data Collection Source Data Collection Source Before Semester Begins 3 Colleague Interviews Beginning of Semester Student Focus Groups Collect Artifacts – Observations Journals Scores Student Survey – Questionnaire Observation Field Notes Middle of Semester Collect Artifacts – Observations Journals Scores Observation Field Notes End of Semester Collect Artifacts – Observations Journals Scores Student Survey – Questionnaire Observation Field Notes Data Analysis Qualitative Data During my data collection I will obtain data through colleague interviews, student focus groups, student surveys, observations, and artifacts. After my data is collected I will organize the data (Glanz, 2003). In order to organize my data I will read and reread the data to allow myself the ability to distinguish any patterns that are important (Glanz, 2003). Themes that I am prepared to find through my data collection is that students will benefit from examples that are provided. After analyzing my observations, students surveys, and student focus group notes I predict I will find students will be relieved to have examples of the paper. I find that with provided examples students enjoyment of the project will be much more positive. To analyze my data I will group student in three categories: students that view examples as helpful, students that view examples as no help, and students that view examples as hurting their understanding. I will collect my data and then put each student in one of the three categories in which they fit. After I collect data I will need to code the data and find any themes or patterns that arise (Mills, 2007). Quantitative Data The quantitative data that I am collecting in my research is the student’s case study paper scores. I will use the scores to compare if student did better this year than from previous years. I will compare student’s papers to papers from the past two years. I will need to also review students overall scores throughout the year to be sure that the students did better because of the examples provided and my teaching methods but not because of the student’s natural ability. Call for Action and Predictions Affected Population The findings of this study will provide valuable information to high school teachers who have students who struggle with or are frustrated by the writing process. English teachers typically are responsible for teaching students the writing process and allowing them to practice that skill in their class. However, writing may be reinforced in all subject areas. The more practice students have with writing, the more likely they will be successful, especially if they are motivated and are writing about something they can connect with or enjoy. Both types of students, students who struggle with writing and those who do not, may benefit from the research found in this study. I predict that providing examples to students and modeling writing strategies, will allow students to gain a better understanding of the observation journal and case study paper assignments. If students are able to visually see clear examples of what is expected in their writing, they are more likely to succeed and become less frustrated. Specifically, the students who will benefit from this study the most are my current students and future students because I will alter my teaching methods to include examples of previous student work. My colleague’s, Susan Johnson, students will also benefit if she decides to implement similar strategies when teaching observing and journaling. Importance of ResearchOnce this data is collected and analyzed, it will provide me with the information I need to make changes to the way I teach observing and journaling. At this time, students are very frustrated with observing and writing their papers and I believe the data that I will collect may provide some insight into â€Å"what† specifically students are struggling with and â€Å"why† they have such a hard time with these assignments. I believe if I can find what is frustrating to students I can help students focus on the importance of the project rather than the difficulty. The data will also allow me to ask other educational professionals and students their opinions on this issue so I can gain multiple perspectives. Hopefully, this will allow me to implement change in my teaching methods, the assignment and the students learning experience. Hypothesis and Future Outcomes Although I have not collected any data at this time, I expect student frustration levels to decrease and the quality of student work to increase if students are provided more time in the child care center to observe. I anticipate students would not feel as rushed and may be able to gather more thorough descriptions of what they see if they could spend the entire period in the center rather than half of the period. More time in the center may also provide students with an enhanced learning experience because they might be more likely to interact with the preschoolers and become more engaged in what they are observing. Student’s engagement in observing may motivate them while they are completing their observation journals and writing their case study papers because they will have more experiences with the children to refer to. I foresee the students’ understanding of observing and journaling to improve if more time was spent on teaching these concepts and if a variety of engaging teaching methods were used. It can be frustrating for students when they are not given enough time to learn a new concept. Allowing students time to practice and discuss examples of observing in groups, partners and individually before going into the child care center, will enable students to become more comfortable with the observation process. Many students get excited about learning new ideas when they are learning through hands on experiences and working with other students. When I am teaching observing and journaling, I will try to provide students more opportunities to do this before expecting them to go into the child care center to observe on their own. I feel this will help motivate students about the observation and case study project.Finally, I anticipate that providing students with examples of observation journals and case study papers will assist them in their understanding of the assignment.

The Discovery and Colonisation of America

The Discovery and Colonisation of America In 1492, America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. It had, however, already accidentally been discovered by Scandinavian Vikings about 500 years earlier. The Vikings were not alone when they discovered America. It was an unknown fact that Native Americans had come to America and inhabited it much earlier. Because this wasnt acknowledged, the Native Americans were never seen as the original discoverers. In 986, Bjarni Herjolffson set out from Norway in an attempt to reach Iceland and eventually Greenland. Greenland was the land Bjarnis father, also an adventurist, had failed to completely colonize on his fleet, led by Erik the Red. Bjarni got lost on the way to Greenland because of fog and storms. Eventually, he did find the land he was searching for. Bjarni did not discover America, but he was the first to make it out while he was at sea. Back in Norway, one of Erik the Reds sons, Leiff, became interested in the story Bjarni told. He decided he wanted to continue the adventure and find out which land Bjarni had seen on the horizon. In search of the best landscape to land on, Leif Eriksson and his crew sailed along the eastern coast of America. After passing the Baffin Island and what is now Labrador, they picked the best environment. They named it The Wineland. Leiff Erikssons crew inhabited the area, where they found grapevines and other products to bring home. They built houses, stayed for the winter and returned home with wine and food. The Discovery of America: The Spanish and Portuguese The first explorations and conquests were made by the Spanish and the Portuguese. In 1492, a Spanish expedition lead by Christopher Columbus sailed to the continent America and introduced the New World to the Western World of that time. He began studying the civilizations that he had encountered : the friendly Native Americans. After this, European conquest, exploration, and Colonisation quickly followed and expanded. After the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, approved of by the Pope, Spain and Portugal divided the entire non-European world between themselves, with a line drawn through South America. This first occurred along the Caribbean coasts on the islands of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and beginning in the early 16th century, extended into both North and South America. In 1498, Columbuss third trip reached the South American coast. With help from their powerful Indian allies, the Spanish rapidly conquered territory. As a result, they gained control of much of western South America, Central America and Mexico by the mid-16th century. Over this same period, Portugal colonized much of eastern South America, which is now Brazil. The Colonisation of America During the early and mid-sixteenth century, the English tended to view North America as a base for piracy and harassment of the Spanish(In the late 1560s a rebellious act broke out in the Netherlands, and the rebels were Protestant. British Queen Elizabeth aided these rebels. Spain, being Catholic, saw these rebels as a threat. Because of the fact that the British helped the Dutch Protestants, Spain became resentful towards England). By the end of the century, the English began to think more about North America as a place to colonize: as a market for English goods and a source of raw materials. The English claimed that New World Colonisation offered England many advantages. Not only would it enrage Catholic Spain, it would supply England with raw materials and provide a market for finished products. America would also provide a place to send the English poor. America also satisfied more personal needs : rigorously religious English felt that they were not accepted in England, and Ame rica would create a more liberal environment. Spain and England were hostile towards eachother over trade and colonisation. On August 8th, 1588, the English defeated Spain in the Spanish Armada. England was now able to colonize North America. English Joint Stock companies founded Jamestown in 1607. They failed because they were looking for gold, didnt farm, and drank contaminated water. They came during spring, which was deceiving. They didnt plan for winter. Many died the first winter. John Smith, who had been to America in the winter before, saved them. He said, Work or Starve. So, they started farming, and everybody was fed. The English Joint Stock company sent over 50 women to help repopulate Jamestown. The Pilgrims werent called Pilgrims until 150 years later. These strictly religious immigrants called themselves Saints. The Saints left England because they were not accepted for their religion. They went to the Netherlands, but they didnt want their children growing up being non-Englishmen. For this reason, they came to the New World. Early other European Colonisations in North America included the French colonies of Acadia and Canada, the Swedish colony of New Sweden, and the Dutch New Netherland. Also Sweden participated in occupying North America. As the colonies started to grow, Britain decided on the policy of salutary neglect : the British American colonies were to be obedient towards Great Britain. Conflicts between Britain and America The Seven Years War resulted in the decisive turning point in British-colonial relations. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 criticized Britains control of the seas and trade, as well as its sovereignty over much of the North American continent. To fund this war, Britain, unable to borrow any more money from other countries, raised its taxes. This had a very heavy effect on the citizens. Also, bureaucracy arose in England in order for the government to get all the money they could. Britain found it North Americas responsibility to aid them in their war expenses. However, New world institutions of self-government and trade, used to the policy of salutary neglect, refused and rebelled against this demand. The war developed and Britain became more dependant on North America : Military supplies and an increased demand for goods contributed to the wealth of the North American Colonies. The 7 years war had put Britain into great debt, so the Parliament insisted on a raise of taxes once again. The British government believed the colonies should pay their fair share to the nations expenses. Because the colonies were not represented in the Parliament, the North Americans found the raised taxes intolerable. The orthodox British view, dating from the Glorious Revolution of 1688, was that Parliament was the highest authority in the empire, and so anything Parliament did was constitutional. In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain fundamental rights that not even Parliament could violate. The American Independence The concept of American Independence began when many more colonists began to reject the authority of the Parliament, since they werent represented, but were expected to pay taxes. They believed this violated their rights as Englishmen. The colonies petitioned King George III for intervention with the Parliament. To force him to do so, they boycotted British goods but kept their loyalty to the British crown. These acts were ignored. The colonists proceeded to create an army. Following acts to achieve the same goal were seen as rebellion and treachery. In 1776 the Colonies responded by declaring their independence Frances government secretly provided supplies to the revolutionaries. France eventually entered the war in 1778 along with the Spanish and Dutch. They treatened to invade Great Britain and put the English army, which wasnt so strong, to the test. Due to Great Britains naval power, it was able to occupy coastal cities in America. The more rural areas, where most of the population lived however, were less easy to control. The French involvement proved to be beneficial when the French naval victory at Yorktown in 1781 to the surrender of a British army occurred. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States. http://news. softpedia. com/news/How-Did-Vikings-Discover-America-49891. shtml http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/European_Colonisation_of_the_Americas http://www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/database/article_display. cfm?HHID=670 http://mr_sedivy. tripod. com/america. html http://www. taxanalysts. com/museum/1756-1776. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Salutary_neglect http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby :: The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The American Dreamâ€Å": what does it mean? Wealth, material possessions, and power are the core values of â€Å"The American Dream.† For many Americans, the dream is based solely upon reaching a higher standard of living. Gatsby was one of these Americans who lived his whole life in pursuit of wealth and power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gatsby based his whole self-being on how much money he earned and the possessions he had. He felt that with money came many other advantages to life. Gatsby’s sole purpose for acquiring wealth was to win back his old love. When Gatsby first met Daisy he was underprivileged and considered unworthy because of his lower class status. He knew that while he was poor there was no chance of them ever uniting as a couple. â€Å"I was poor†, Gatsby had no money and he thought that Daisy â€Å"was tired of waiting around for me† (131). Gatsby felt that the only way to win Daisy back was to reach for what many people considered the â€Å"American Dream.† Gatsby achieves â€Å"The American Dream†, but his idealistic faith in money and life’s possibility twist his dreams and life into worthless existences based on falsehoods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gatsby was able to reach his aspiration in becoming wealthy. He worked all of his life employed in many different jobs in hope of making it big and being able to show Daisy what he had become. He felt that money would be able to buy him happiness. Gatsby also bought a huge house to try and impress Daisy. â€Å" A factual imitation of some Hotel De Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden† ( 5.) His house was nothing more than a symbol of his wealth. Gatsby used the house in an attempt to win Daisy back. He would throw party after party hoping that one day she would attend and be amazed at what Gatsby had become. He bought all of his possessions not for himself, but to show others what he was worth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gatsby realized that Daisy’s main and only concern in life was money. She was so caught up in money and material things that it was more important to her than true love. This made Gatsby believe that anything was possible when you had money. After becoming wealthy his only purpose was to swoon and impress the shallow Daisy.

The Poem Girl by Jamaica Kincaid Essay -- Poetry, Poem, Jamaica Kincai

The poem "Girl" by author Jamaica Kincaid shows love and family togetherness by creating microcosmic images of the way mothers raise their children in order to survive. Upon closer examination, the reader sees that the text is a string of images in Westerner Caribbean family practices. Jamaica Kincaid has taken common advice that daughters are constantly hearing from their mothers and tied them into a series of commands that a mother uses to prevent her daughter from turning into "the slut that she is so bent on becoming" (380). But they are more than commands; the phrases are a mother's way of ensuring that her daughter has the tools that she needs to survive as an adult. The fact that the mother takes the time to train the daughter in the proper ways for a lady to act in their time is indicative of their family love. The fact that there are so many rules and moral principles that are being passed to the daughter indicates that mother and daughter spend a lot of time together. The reader gets the impression that the advice that the mother gives her daughter has been passed down from many generations of women. The advice of the ages has enabled their daughters to endure hardships and to avoid making the same mistakes that they had made, such as planting okra far from the house because it attracts red ants. There were some women in the past that learned this lesson the hard way, and included it in the litany of advice for future generations. But "Girl" also shows the hostility and family dissension that the females suffer. The world of the women is not comprised solely of setting the table for tea or determining which day to wash the white clothes or the colored clothes; there is a darker side to their lives. The mot... ...ably performed tasks such as washing laundry on a rock, ironing her family's clothes, or cooking pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil. When I first read "Girl" I was amazed at how much work young women had to do in early 1900's. We can definitely say that the role of women has changed over the years in the United States. We do not have to do so many grueling tasks to get through our everyday life. Today, mothers teach their daughters to be more independent. Women in third world countries do not have the luxuries we do. They still have many rules that hold them back from being their own person. Works Cited Jones, Gertrude. Personal Interview. April 15, 2006. Paul. Ephesians 5:22-23. Life Application Study Bible. Jamaica Kincaid. Vanessa Pupello. Fall 1997. Emory University. April 15, 2006. http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Kincaid.html

Critical and Creative Thinking Essay

INTRODUCTION What is thinking? Basically, thinking is one way for human to practice the act or exercise their intellectual or process of thought. In other way, thinking can also mean as a way of reasoning and judgment. In easier words, thinking is the active process by which human develops by understandings of us, others and our world. The process of thinking enables us to solve problems, interpret information, make sense of our feelings and attitudes, discuss important issues, establish beliefs, and work toward the completion of goals. Thinking is an essential component in our life as a human being. As saying by Bill Beattie goes, â€Å"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.† Thinking can be derived in two ways, critical thinking and also creative thinking. Critical thinking is active and purposeful thinking about how we arrive at our understandings of everything in this world and selecting those modes of thinking which are most successful in clarifying and enhancing our understanding. Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically in a consistent manner attempt to live rationally, reasonably, and empathically. â€Å"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.† – Martin Luther King, Jr. Critical thinking is an exceptional mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skilfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them. Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unusual solutions which may look unsettling at first but eventually become useful and brilliant. Creative thinking can be inspired both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking (higher order thinking). A simple definition of creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something new. However, creativity is not the ability to create out of nothing, but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creative ideas are surprising and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no one seems to have thought of yet. â€Å"Creative thinking is not a talent; it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits.† — Edward de Bono Creative thinking is the process which we use when we come up with a new idea. It is the merging of ideas which have not been merged before. Brainstorming is one form of creative thinking: it works by merging someone else’s ideas with your own to create a new one. You are using the ideas of others as a stimulus for your own. This creative thinking process can be accidental or deliberate. â€Å"It is the function of creative people to perceive the relations between thoughts, or things or forms of expression that may seem utterly different, and to combine them into some new forms, the power to connect the seemingly in connected.† – William Plomer The importance of critical and creative thinking is undeniable. In order to comply with the National Education Philosophy; which emphasize on the development of a whole-rounded individuals and capable of taking challenges, CCTS is very crucial and important to be nurtured in every students or individual. Part 1 – CURRENT SITUATION OF CCTS IN SCHOOL. I have been working as a contract teacher for 3 years in two different schools. Throughout those 3 years, I have been teaching Mathematics for one year and teaching English Language for about 2 years. As far as I can remember, during my contract as an English teacher, CCTS was not being implemented and in fact, I don’t even know the importance of critical and creative thinking skills that have to be highlighted and implemented to the students. But, I realize that the Literature Component that currently being taught in school is very suitable and able to nurture CCTS in students. This is because, it promotes students to think of the situation, analyse the current situation and interpret what is going to happen in the future. Besides, some of the literature components such as poems make students think something outside of the ordinary and be creative to play with the words and also the meaning of the sentences. I remember from my previous course on Literature Component during my contract teacher is that, the awareness as to the need to cultivate CCTS among students in Malaysia has been an issue of concern to many. Malachi Edwin (1992) stated that literature in English besides developing reading skills will also help develop students’ critical thinking skills. He adds that these skills will in turn provide students opportunities to understand themselves and their fellow human beings better. In line with Malachi Edwin’s view on the potentials of literature and its role in the cultivation of CCTS, the present research is aimed at using literature as the base through which CCTS can be promoted effectively. Literature in English has been chosen from the many subjects offered in the Malaysian curriculum for two reasons. Firstly, literature in English can be seen to cut across the various subjects in the curriculum as the contents of literary texts are so diverse that they incorporate social, political, scientific, technological, medical and all other areas of life. Secondly it is an undeniable fact that literature plays an important role in our present curriculum since it is now being taught to students from Form 1 to Form 5 as a component of the English Language syllabus. There is no doubt that the very nature of the subject which requires analysis, solving problems and interpretation can encourages critical and creative thinking. In English Language, other syllabus that are currently being taught such as grammar, reading comprehension and others would not make student to fully use their thinking process. As the knowledge is something that you can remember and it is basically a skill that u can achieve. It is strongly believe that learners can only become proficient language users if they, besides using the language and knowing the meaning, could display creative and critical thinking through the language (Kamarul Kabilan, 2000). This suggests that the learners must be creative in their production of ideas, and critically support them with logical and rational explanation, details and particulars and also examples. For me, as a teacher, it is essential for us to recognise the subject in our curriculum before we can understand and trying to teach students or cultivating CCTS in studying literature. The role of literature in English in the Malaysian curriculum has gone through tremendous changes. Before this, literature components that have been taught in school are just simple to know about the story and how to answer the examination. Most of the students or even teacher do not know that the literature components is actually a powerful tool that can be used to instil critical and creative thinking in students. The English language syllabus for Form Four states clearly a number of objectives of the curriculum but the objective which is of relevance to the present study is Objective Number Three as quoted below: ‘listen to, view, read and respond to different texts, and express ideas, opinions, thoughts and feelings imaginatively and creatively in spoken and written form’. (Huraian Sukatan Pelajaran, Ting IV. KPM, 2003) Part 2 – CHALLENGES FACED IN IMPLEMENTING CCTS IN SCHOOL. There are basically three reasons why CCTS is quite difficult to be implemented in school. They are: 1) Teachers themselves, 2) Students background, and 3) School Authority. First, during my contract with the school, I have never been exposed to CCTS. I don’t even know the existence of CCTS in school. The first time I heard about CCTS is when all English teacher was sent to short courses on Literature Component in 2009. Besides that, I have never know about the training in CCTS and the school never emphasize and put interest in getting the teacher trained in CCTS. Even though the teachers has been sent to the courses on the implementation of CCTS in Literature Component, we have no idea on how to implement the CCTS and still lacking in the idea to teach CCTS in class. We basically have the basic idea of CCTS but the problem is, we do not know how to implement the skills in teaching the language. Besides that, teachers have a lot of responsible rather than teaching students. There is lots of clerical work that should be done. This is somehow can interrupt teachers focus in giving all out in class. Teachers were given work out of their scope. There is too much administrative work and teaching subjects they were not trained for. In Malaysian education context, teachers play huge role in teaching and learning. They determine and direct the content, activities and processes of teaching and learning in classrooms. It is the teachers who decide on the aims, goals, and strategies of teaching to be implemented in classrooms. Unfortunately, not all teachers have the same idea about teaching. It is not only the students who need to think and act creatively and critically but the teacher should also do the same. When I was thinking about the Set Induction for my lesson, I had been challenged to think of a set induction that I had never use or seen before. In making the students interested to what the lesson are going to be for that day, I have been using songs, drama or even quotes from famous celebrities for my induction set. Secondly, the education system should teach students to be great thinkers, not followers. Unfortunately, it did not work out that well. This might be happening because of the student’s background. Sometimes, the family is not very helpful in ensuring the successfulness of one student. Parents also play an important role in providing encouragement for children to learn. Encouragement and incentives such as praise and prizes should be given to kids if they get good results. The education of the child is the collective responsibility of the family members. The education of the children in a family is the collective responsibility of all family members. The student will become a good thinker and they should be able to master critical and creative thinking. As such, they should be trained with activities that have been focused and aimed to produce a high intellect thinker. Unfortunately, not all students are interested because they fail to see the importance of thinking skills or even learning English. In short they do not know why they need to learn English. One way to solve this problem is, we as a teachers have to give a reason and rational in learning English. I have to do this, because students nowadays always want to know or have rewards when they do things, including studying. Thirdly, the school authority can also become a problem for teacher to implement the CCTS. The task given to teachers by the school authority sometimes can take teachers time and energy. Besides that, the teachers need to comply with the syllabus that they had to finish in the given time. This is sometimes can become a challenge for teacher to spend time in conducting critical and creative thinking in class. Even when I was a teacher, I have some difficulties in finishing the syllabus on time, especially Literature Component. When teaching Literature Component, I need to take some extra time to let the students think about the story or poems. Some students do not know how to interpret the information from the poem. This is actually quite hard for teacher to teach the students the thinking skills when there is no enough time. Thinking skills is not something that the teacher can teach over night, but it takes some time to do it. Part 3 – POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATION Every problem must have a cure. In order for CCTS to be fully implemented and useful in school system, all the teachers need to be exposed to any new invention in general and ‘thinking skills’ specifically as well as how to incorporate them in the lessons, such as through videos, workshops, talks, and others. Besides that, continuous development must be carried out from time to time as ‘refresher’ course for the teachers. This is because, teacher are just like another human being that always forgets and tend to be careless. Apart from that, teachers need to be aware of the importance of thinking skills so that it will be carried out in the classroom more and can be fully utilised on classroom. Furthermore, the questions asked in the classrooms will determine the ‘thinking’ that the pupils are doing, so teachers need to be exposed and nurtured to have and apply questions and questioning technique that will elicit thinking. Teachers should also know the activity that will be done in classroom. The activity should be able to get students to observe the texts particularly literature components carefully and critically, to draw upon their vocabulary and to think creatively and critically about the material given. Besides training and preparing teacher to be critical and creative, problem-based learning (PBL) can also be one of the methods that can be used to challenge students to learn how to think. Students will work cooperatively in groups to find solutions to real world problems and more importantly, to develop skills to become self-directed learners. Here, the goal of problem-based learning is viewed as learning for capability rather than learning for the sake of acquiring knowledge. Students develop critical thinking abilities by constantly relating what ideas they generate and to what they want to do with the information (Gallagher, 1997). In an activity like problem solving, both kinds of thinking are significant to us. First, we must examine and study the problem; then we must create potential solutions; next we must pick and implement the best solution; and finally, we must assess the efficiency of the solution. As you can see, this process reveals an alternation between the two kinds of thinking, critical and creative. In practice, both kinds of thinking operate together much of the time and are not really independent of each other. Furthermore, for me, as a teacher we have to think aloud in front of our students. Let them hear what are we thinking and puzzling our way slowly through problems in the subject. I have tried to think aloud in class in front of my students, and they show a good response. Especially, when they say that they never think the way that I thought and surprise to hear my thought. But, when doing this, the teacher should voice our thinking slowly and clearly, so the students able to hear them and response to them. In Critical and Creative Thinking Skills class, I have learned about Socratic questioning. Now I know that as a teacher, we have to regularly question our students Socratically. Such as, investigating various dimensions of their thinking: their purpose, their evidence, reasons, data, their claims, beliefs, interpretations, deductions, conclusions, the implications and consequences of their thought, their response to alternative thinking from contrasting points of view, and others. CONCLUSION Creative and critical thinking skills should not be taught separately as an isolated entity, but embedded in the subject matter and woven into the curriculum. Due to this, the present educational system in Malaysia no longer put emphasis on the 3Rs but rather stressed critical thinking skills, scientific skills as well as technological skills in the schools’ curriculum. It is in fact possible to do creative and critical thinking activity often, in any English language class. However, being stuck in the curriculum system as in Malaysia, with the exam-oriented teaching and learning in school, I tend to predict that CCTS will be quite hard to be fully implemented in school. However, with the fresh English curriculum introduced by the Ministry of Education starting from year 2010, I really expect that students will be further exposed with new ways of teaching and learning in English. It was stated that the change of the curriculum involves the language art and grammar components with focus on fun learning as well as the ability converse in Standard English, with emphasis on pronunciation and phonics (Ministry of Education, 2009). If the changes are actually applied and assessments are made on the result, I am certain that we can do better in enlightening the teaching and learning of English in Malaysia and at the same time produce students who are able to think critically and creatively in any situations. REFERENCES Beyer, B. (1987). â€Å"Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking.† Boston: Ally and Bacon Inc. Kamarul Kabilan ( 2000) .Creative and Critical Thinking in language Classroom.The internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6, June 2000 retrieved 16th April 2010 from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kabilan-CriticalThinking.html Moore,K.D. (2005). Effective instructional strategies: from theory to practice. California: Sage Publications Inc Nurliza Othman (2002) Thinking Skills; A motivational Factor in ELT. Jurnal Pendidikan IPBA (2) 5 2002 ; 101-109 White, R.V. (1995) .New Ways in Teaching Writing. USA : Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages ,Inc

Human Wildlife Conflicts

ANIMAL ‘RIGHTS' OR HUMAN ‘DUTIES'? – A JURISPRUDENTIAL QUAGMIRE ON ANIMAL RIGHTS (HUMAN RIGHTS vs. ANIMAL RIGHTS- JURISPRUDENTIAL FRONTIERS) ABSTRACT Our ecosystem is a sophisticated organization which includes multitude of flora and fauna that coexist harmoniously without disrupting the sacred equilibrium. Homo-sapiens have topped this ladder of species by virtue of the sixth sense of thought. Even though humans do possess this exceptional faculty of reason, they cannot thrive in solitude but can only sustain by placing them amongst the rest of the organization. When humans started organizing themselves, attained civilization and improved their standards of living, they unfortunately undermined the relative importance of the co-organisms which make up the system, thus giving rise to the emergence of an anthropocentric society. The Research Problem The jurisprudential quagmire is the question whether animals too require ‘rights' analogous to that of human rights. Human rights are those inalienable, universal and egalitarian fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled merely by reason of his or her birth as a human. In the light of this definition, â€Å"animal rights† is an absolute misnomer. In jurisprudential terminology, a right is an interest recognized and protected by law. A right unlike an interest is a valid claim or potential claim, made by a moral agent under principles that govern both the claimant and the target of the claim. It presupposes two legal persons, viz., the subject of the right and subject of the duty. Animals cannot be the bearers of such rights because the concept of rights is essentially human; it is rooted in and has force only within a human moral/legal world. Moreover, by no stretch of imagination, animals can be regarded as legal persons. In fact, it is not the interes t of the animal but the interest of the human beings that animals should also coexist with them. According to Leon Duguit, your ‘right' is a byproduct of the other person preforming his duty towards you. He says there is no right but only duty. If the other has a duty towards you, you feel like having a ‘right'. Viewed in the light of Duguit's theory, the mounting problem of protection of wildlife is actually a human rights issue and not an issue of animal rights. Animalright is, in fact, an illusion created by human beings performing their duties to animals, to the ecosystem, to the nature and to the society effectively. If law is about balancing of conflicting interests as pointed out by Rudolf Von Ihering and later developed by Roscoe Pound, the conflict involved here is the conflict between the interests of those who indiscriminately destruct the ecosystem for personal motives and of those who are concerned about the mother earth. The Scheme of the Article This article seeks to explore the true nature of the jurisprudential basis of the legal protection of wild life and endeavors to put in correct perspective the need for eco-governance. It argues that animals cannot have ‘rights' in the jurisprudential sense; that right of an animal is an illusion created because of the presence of human duty to protect it; that if human beings acquire human rights by birth, they also incur absolute human duties by birth; that the ultimate objective of wild life protection law is to save and protect the ‘animals' and not their ‘rights'. It concludes that human beings are reckoned to be morally upright species and causing pain and suffering to animals puts them in a position much lesser than that of human. ADHEENA BIJU IVth Semester B.Com., LL. B (Hons) School of Legal Studies CUSAT Kochi-22