A safe and disciplined learning environment is the first requirement of a good school. Young people who are safe and secure, who learn basic American values and the essentials of good citizenship, are better students. In response to growing levels of violence in our schools, many parents, teachers, and school officials have come to see school uniforms as one positive and creative way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.

They observed that the adoption of school uniform policies can promote school safety, improve discipline, and enhance the learning environment. The potential benefits of school uniforms include:

• decreasing violence and theft — even life-threatening situations — among students over designer clothing or expensive sneakers;
• helping prevent gang members from wearing gang colors and insignia at school;
• instilling students with discipline;
• helping parents and students resist peer pressure;
• helping students concentrate on their school work; and
• helping school officials recognize intruders who come to the school.

As a result, many local communities are deciding to adopt school uniform policies as part of an overall program to improve school safety and discipline. California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia have enacted school uniform regulations. Many large public school systems — including Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis — have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools. In addition, many private and parochial schools have required uniforms for a number of years. Still other schools have implemented dress codes to encourage a safe environment by, for example, prohibiting clothes with certain language or gang colors.

Source: http://www2.ed.gov/updates/uniforms.html

Due in your lab section the week of April 14 – Planetary Travel
In this essay, you will examine the issues of extra-solar planet detection and our environmental hazards. Your task is to present a thoughtful, well-researched argument for a point of view. In the end you will make and present an informed judgment on the need and feasibility of planetary travel.

A. Consider the state of planet Earth. There are many environmental issues that pose a threat to the ecology and welfare of our planet. Examine one of these issues and discuss how the problem began and how it impacts our environment.

B. If the hazard and problem described above were not solved, then the environment on Earth would be less hospitable to most (if not all) life. Given this dire scenario, humanity might want to find a new planet on which to live. In this context, discuss one method by which scientists are trying to detect planets outside of the Solar System.

C. Let’s assume that we need to travel to one of those star systems. Pick a star system where scientists think an extra-solar planet exists. Make a note of its name and distance from Earth. If we design a spacecraft that can travel at a tenth of the speed of light, how long would such a journey take? Make sure to show to your work.

D. There are many issues that must be addressed prior to making the journey to the new planet. Is this a journey that is worth taking? In consideration of what you have written above, please include the following to support your argument:

1. Given the length of the journey to the extra-solar planet, what are some of the practical concerns that the travelers must address?

2. Suppose life already exists on that planet. What are the ethical considerations? How could we avoid taking the environmental problem that initiated this journey with us to the new planet?

3. What type of planets have we actually been detecting? What are the likely environmental conditions of this planet?

Some suggested references:

California & Carnegie Planet Search (site is sometimes down)
Thinkquest: Environmental Problems
Capabilities of Various Planet Detection Methods
A History of the Search for Extrasolar Planets
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pressing Problems for Planet Earth
Source
Hallman, Eric. Reflective Essays, Astronomy 1001: Exploring the Universe. Astronomy Department, University of Minnesota. 23 June 2003. .

Source: http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/astro_1001.html

Famed psychologist Gordon William Allport once said, “So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.” This veracity hold true for short-essayist James Thurber. “How to Name a Dog”, one of his excellent pieces, fascinates readers. As an interesting, relaxing, and humorous article, it winningly grabs one’s attention. Many are charmed by his amiable tone, extravagant hyperbole, and comic expressions.
Amiable tone is one of the fascinating elements in this story. Thurber tells his story in the first-person, giving it a warm, congenial quality. Readers feel that the essay is written as if it were addressed to a personal friend. Additionally, his use of casual diction lends the work a heartfelt air that captivates an audience. Amiable tone is a key point that makes this story being enjoyable.
The second feature that attracts people is the extravagant hyperbole. Thurber uses many exaggerated examples to evoke strong feelings through the whole story. Often, this technique induces laughter from the audiences. Also, though hyperbole cannot be taken seriously, the statements used offer half-truths that help tell the story. For example, though dog-naming is not really the “176th item on [his] list,” the task doesn’t warrant his undivided attention either. Extravagant hyperbole is the other way that Thurber catches reader’s attentions.
The main ingredient of this story is the comic expressions. In the beginning of the story Thurber uses the ironical humor making readers laughing. His comic expressions successfully lure people continuing to read the story. Every single word from this book has a magic that makes someone feel happy and relaxed. The comic expression is the main element of the story which affects ones desire of reading.
“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs — jolted by every pebble in the road.” This famous quote was said by social reformer and abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher and it really reflect the work of famous writer, James Thurber. “How to Name a Dog” is one of the excellent informal essays of him. It attracts people because of its amiable tone, extravagant hyperbole, and comic expressions.

By Eric Hallman

Due in your lab section the week of March 10—Energy Sources
In this essay you will explore the feasibility of implementing and sustaining hydrogen fuel cells as a new energy resource. Your task is to present a thoughtful and well-researched argument for a point of view.

A. Write a short introduction stating your “thesis” (the point you will argue), and then label each of the following sections appropriately.

B. Summarize the key information about hydrogen fuel cells. Briefly explain what they are, what they may be used for (e.g. transportation), how we produce the needed hydrogen, where we will get the hydrogen, and how much energy it will take to produce it.

C. Discuss how fuel cells compare to other energy resources like natural gas, solar, wind, water. etc. Will fuel cells be a cost effective replacement for our country’s energy needs?

Some suggested references:

HyWeb – Hydrogen Fuel Cell Energy Information
U.S. Department of Energy: Fuel Cells
Useful Hydrogen, Fuel Cell and Renewable Energy Links
Fuel Cell Vehicles
Department of Energy—Energy Information Administration

http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/astro_1001.html

Eric Hallman
Astronomy 1001: Exploring the Universe

Guidelines:

The Reflective Essays are short papers which discuss the interaction of humans with their environment on Earth. They should be 400 to 600 words in length (about two pages). You should spend about five hours on each one, two or three hours researching and then two or three hours writing. What you write must be consistent with current scientific thinking and cite sources appropriately. On matters of opinion, you are free and encouraged to take any position you choose. You will be graded on the coherence, clarity, accuracy, logic, and relevance of what you write.

You must list your sources in a references section; this should be complete enough that someone else could check all the facts that you state. You may use information from the lectures and labs, but you will also want to do some research either in the library or on the web to get enough information to write your essay. Specifically, you are required to cite at least three references for each paper, and top grades will be assigned only to essays that appropriately make use of and cite multiple references.

For each essay, you must follow closely the assigned questions, unless you have proposed an alternative format to your lab instructor and received explicit permission to use that format. For example, you could propose to provide the same scientific information by writing a fictional story about an asteroid hitting the Earth, instead of simply answering the assigned questions. The decision about what alternative formats are acceptable is up to your lab instructor.

The essays are due in lab during the weeks indicated.

We suggest, in the strongest possible terms, that you have a friend read a draft copy of your essay and give you feedback in order to make revisions before you submit your final and only essay. First drafts are unlikely to satisfactorily meet the grading criteria, and top grades will only be given if the essay is free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Source: http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/astro_1001.html

Reflective Essays

Eric Hallman
Astronomy 1001: Exploring the Universe

Topics : 1. Due in your lab section the week of Feb 17—Cosmic Impacts on Earth as a Threat to Civilization

In this essay, you will explore the question of how much, if any, economic effort should be devoted to the pre-detection of possible Earth impacts as well as development and implementation of collision prevention strategies. Your task is to present a thoughtful, well researched argument for a point of view. In order to address this issue in a compelling way, structure your essay according to the following outline:

A. Write a short introduction stating your “thesis“ (the point you will argue), and then label each of the following sections appropriately.

B. In one paragraph, summarize the key information we have about impacts between objects in the early solar system, including their origins and consequences.

C. Summarize our current knowledge regarding the threat of impacts on the Earth now. Be sure to include how the probability of an impact depends on the size of the impacting object and how the expected level of destruction depends on that size, as well.

D. Briefly describe serious efforts that are currently either underway or proposed to protect Earth from impact hazards.

E. Propose and provide a rationale for how much money the U.S. should spend yearly on impact prevention efforts. To establish its priority, your argument must include a comparison with at least one other expenditure on a national level, and must be supported by the information you have presented above.

Some suggested references:

National Optical Astronomy Observatory Press Release, February 2003
Astronomy Magazine, February 2002, “Target Earth”.
Australian Spaceguard Survey
Impacts and Defense Strategies (notes from an interesting organization called P.E.R.M.A.N.E.N.T.)
NASA Asteroid and Comet Summary Site (good list of current and planned missions)
Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (see FAQs for overview, plus other good links)
Near Earth Object Report (Task Force findings and recommendations for UK

Source:http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/astro_1001.html

- Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of thesis statement

by Douglas Hartmann

This examination requires you to write a 6-8 page essay (somewhere between 1200 and 2000 words) based upon one of the three topics listed below. This essay will be graded on how thoroughly you deal with the issues posed in the question, how effectively you use materials from the course (especially assigned readings) to illustrate and elaborate your points, and how clearly and creatively you express your argument on the whole.

1. Although Jennifer Pierce focuses primarily on issues of sex segregation and gender stratification in Gender Trials, class and status inequalities also play an important role in the social organization of the law firms she analyzes. Explain how gender and class interact, intersect or contradict in Pierce’s study. Then, compare Pierce’s understanding of the relationships between gender and class with the one Lillian Rubin uses in her study of working class families. Which of these analyses, in your view, provides a better model for understanding the relationships between class and gender in the U.S., and why? After you have addressed these issues fully, draw upon Bonnie Thornton Dill’s discussion of the varied experiences of African American women to incorporate race into your analysis. What are the advantages of such multidimensional approaches to social stratification?
2. Elijah Anderson (“The Police and the Black Male”) and Gwendolyn Mink (“The Lady and the Tramp”) deal with the way in which certain groups of poor men and women –– especially poor men and women of color –– have been seen by the dominant culture as somehow dangerous, menacing or threatening. Compare these articles, focusing on: (1) who or what is being threatened in each case; (2) how the threat is realized and dealt with; (3) the costs and consequences of these strategies; and (4) how all of this varies by gender. Then, consider Robin Kelley’s description of the different ways in which some of these supposedly threatening individuals –– young, urban African Americans –– have responded to their predicaments. Use Kelley’s article as a springboard for discussing the possibilities and/or limitations of challenging and changing the complex, interlocking system of social stratification that results when race, class and gender are combined in the ways Anderson and Mink describe. What broader conclusions about social stratification in the U.S. can you draw based upon these readings?
3. Both Lillian Rubin and Jay MacLeod offer essentially class-based critiques of American society, focusing especially upon the problematic (that is, un-sociological) ideals of individualism and meritocracy that MacLeod calls the “achievement ideology.” At the same time, both present a data that seem to suggest that race and gender are important dimensions of the American stratificatory system as well. But how important do MacLeod and Rubin think race and gender really are? In what ways do they matter? Using concrete examples and/or quotes from each book, explain how race and gender fit into Rubin and MacLeod’s respective visions of social stratification. Then address the following questions: Which of these books do you think offers the more useful or important model for understanding the American stratificatory system and challenging the injustices associated with it? Does this book offer a full and satisfactory model of the intersections and interactions of race, class and gender? If so, defend your position. If not, use other readings or ideas from the course to explain its weaknesses and suggest alternatives to it or ways in which it may be improved.

Source

Hartmann, Douglas. Final Essay Topics, Soc 3954: Race, Class, and Gender. College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota.

Source: http://writing.umn.edu/tww/disciplines/sociology/assignments/soc3954-finalessaytopics.html

These are some ideas for Christian essay topics:

• How do the images of the emperor from the fourth to the sixth century compare to the images of the emperor in the first to the third century?
• Select a story from the Old or the New Testament and discuss how it is represented between the third and the sixth century.
• What caused the Flood according to the Old Testament? What can people do to prevent it?
• Trace the development of church architecture between the fourth and the seventh centuries.
• Why I want to become a Christian educator?
• Discuss the representation of the human form in two out of the following media in the Late Antique period: manuscript painting, ivory, metalwork, mosaics.
• Satan, the Anti Christ, Lucifer. What power do they embody and who is it according to the Bible? Who created this power and for what purpose?
• Trace the formation of icon painting until the seventh century.
• Gender, race and religion.
• Religious Beliefs and Practices in the Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
• Choose two churches in Ravenna and compare and contrast their iconographic programmes.
• What types of art and architecture are associated with pilgrimage from the fourth to the seventh century?
• What was the impact of pagan iconography on the development of early Christian art and architecture? (Limit your discussion to two media out of the following: sarcophagi, catacomb paintings, metalwork, ivories, mosaic, and manuscript painting).
• What is said in the Bible, in Ten Commandments, about Idolatry? Interpret these words. Express your own point of view concerning this issue.
• Why are the architecture and iconography of Saint Sophia in Constantinople important for early Christian art history?
• What makes Coptic art distinctive in the Early Christian art traditions?
• Where does the human soul fall into after death? Paradise and Hell. Do they really exist?
• Read the Old Testament; find the chapter about the tower of Babel. What was the aim of building this tower? Can this idea work nowadays?
• Constant, never ending struggle of the evil spirits with good spirits. What for does it exist? For a kind of balance, equilibrium or:: Give bright and interesting examples and explain your point of view.
• If you were given a slap in the cheek, turn the other cheek of yours. It is a well-known idea of total mercifulness, forgiveness extracted from the Bible. Is it possible to heed to this rule in the present -day world? Develop this idea in your essay.
• What is the Holy Trinity? What idea does this unity embody? Take the excerpts from the Bible.
• Read a parable from the Bible. Comment on its moral and explain its main idea and apply it to the real life situation.
• Talk about how a person can change his direction in life thanks to religion.
• Who is Mary Magdalena? Why did the Christ forgive her all her sins? What is the Christian idea of the absolution? What do you think of this idea?

Source: http://www.goodessaytopics.com/christian-essay-topics.html

You are welcome to choose one of the Streetcar Named Desire essay topicswhich are represented below.

Streetcar Named Desire Essay Topics

• “Desire” is used throughout the play, both literally and figuratively. At the end of Act II, Blanche tells Mitch that Desire is the opposite of death. Explain her use of desire.
• What does Williams’s depiction of Blanche and Stanley’s lives say about desire?
• Traditionalism versus defiance in the Streetcar Named Desire.
• Morality and Immorality in the Streetcar Named Desire and in the Picture of Dorian Gray.
• Are there symbolic meanings suggested by the names of places (e.g. Desire, Elysian, Cemeteries) in the play? If so, explain the symbolic meaning.
• The plot of A Streetcar Named Desire is driven by the dueling personalities of Blanche and Stanley. What are the sources of their animosity toward one another?
• Blanche’s “world” is often contrasted to the world of Stanley’s and Stella’s. Blanche firmly states the kind of world she wants: “I don’t want realism. I want – magic!” In what way is Blanche’s world an illusion? Is it any less real than Stanley or Stella? What defines reality in A Streetcar Named Desire? What defines illusion?
• A Streetcar Named Desire can be described as an elegy, or poetic expression of mourning, for an Old South that died in the first part of the twentieth century. Expand on this description.
• At the end of the play, Blanche is taken away to an asylum. Do you believe she is insane? If she isn’t, what defines her sanity? Do you think she is responsible for her circumstances?
• Describe the use of light in the play. What does its presence or absence indicate?
• How does Blanche’s fascination with teenage boys relate to her decline and fall?
• Compare and contrast Mitch to the other men in the play.
• Compare and contrast Blanche and Stella.
• Describe the relationship between Stanley and Stella. Since Blanche and Stella are sisters and share the same background, why do you think one sister is so attracted to Stanley and the other so repulsed by him? Can you find out a pattern in their marriage? Why is the word “animal” used on them?
• From the beginning of the play to the end it presents a sexual tension. Describe the presence and influence of sexual desire that you see in the first three scenes. Does the attraction between Mitch and Blanche seem different from the attraction between Stanley and Stella?
• The play includes many stage directions referring to music. What music and songs are present in the first three scenes (e.g. “the blue piano” and polka)? What is the significance of that music? In what ways is it symbolic? How does the music relate to the characters
• Blanche drinking problems. Why does she drink? What is she nervous about?
• Can you explain the dynamics of Blanche’s encounter with the newspaper boy? Why does Blanche flirt with him?
• What does Blanche want from Mitch? Is she honest with him? Describe their relationship. Is Mitch an aristocratic southern gentleman? If not, provide examples to support your answer. Do they love each other? How is their relationship different from the relationship between Stanley and Stella?
• Music is as much a part of A Streetcar Named Desire as the dialogue. It is often argued that music acts as a second dialogue within a play. Blanche explains her relationship with her husband. What does she unexpectedly learn about him? How does she respond to this? What does her husband do? How does Blanche respond to his death? Does this explain why the polka music repeats in her mind? What does this music symbolize for Blanche?
• Why did Blanche have so many “intimacies with strangers” (118)?
• Blanche and Stanley are alone in the apartment. Why is Stella not present? Blanche again mentions Shep Huntleigh. He, too, has taken on a symbolic meaning for Blanche. What does he represent to her? Why does she tell Stanley a lie about Shep Huntleigh? What does Stanley mean when he asks Blanche, “Shall we bury the hatchet and make it a loving-cup”? Why does Blanche say no?
• At the end of the play, Blanche is taken away to an asylum. Do you believe she is insane? If she isn’t, what defines her sanity? Do you think she is responsible for her circumstances?
• What do you think is the symbolic meaning of the Mexican woman selling flowers for the dead in scene nine?

Source: http://www.goodessaytopics.com/streetcar-named-desire-essay-topics.html