Friday, March 6, 2020

Understanding Canadas Parliament and How Laws Are Made

Understanding Canadas Parliament and How Laws Are Made Canada is a  constitutional monarchy, which means that it recognizes the queen or king as the  head of state, while the prime minister is the  head of government.  Parliament is the legislative branch of the federal government in Canada. Canada’s Parliament consists of three parts: the Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons. As the legislative branch of the federal government, all three parts work together to make the laws for the country. Who Are the Members of Parliament? The Parliament of Canada is made up of the sovereign, represented by the governor-general of Canada, plus the House of Commons and the Senate. Parliament is the legislative, or law-making, branch of the federal government.   Canadas government has three branches. The members of Parliament, or parliamentarians, meet in Ottawa and work with the executive and judicial branches to run the national government.  The executive branch is the decision-making branch, consisting of the  sovereign,  the  prime minister  and the  Cabinet. The judicial branch is a series of  independent  courts that interpret the  laws  passed by the other branches. Canadas Two-Chamber System Canada has a  bicameral  parliamentary system. That means that there are two separate  chambers, each with its own group of  parliamentarians:  the  Senate  and the  House of Commons. Each chamber has a Speaker who acts as the presiding officer of the chamber. The prime minister recommends individuals to serve in the Senate, and the governor-general makes the appointments. A senator must be at least 30 years old and must retire by his or her  75th  birthday.  The Senate has 105 members, and the seats are distributed to give equal representation to the major regions of the country. In contrast, voters elect representatives to the House of Commons. These representatives are called Members of Parliament, or MPs.  With few exceptions, anyone who is qualified to vote can run for a seat in the House of Commons. Thus, a candidate needs to be at least 18 years old to run for an MP position.  Seats in the House of Commons are distributed in proportion to the population of each province and territory. In general, the more people in a province or territory, the more members it has in the House of Commons. The number of MPs varies, but every province or territory must have at least as many members in the House of Commons as it has in the Senate. Making Law in Canada Members of both the Senate and the  House of Commons propose, review and debate potential new laws. This includes opposition party members, who also may propose new laws and participate in the overall lawmaking process. To become law, a bill must pass through both chambers in a series of readings and debates, followed by careful study in committee and additional debate. Finally, the bill must receive royal assent, or final approval, by the governor-general before becoming  law.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Country risk analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Country risk analysis - Research Paper Example Therefore, the country’s economy is growing and when united with its population increase, India is indeed a very significant nation for investment in the world (Machiraju 36). This paper will seek to discuss a country risk analysis with reference to India by taking the perspective of a multinational corporation considering expanding its operations into that country, and is intended to assess the business environment in that country. Geographical Location Bounded in the south eastern part by the Arabian sea, in south by the Indian Ocean, and on the south eastern side by the Bengal Bay, the country of India shares her border land with Bhutan in the north-eastern side, Pakistan on the western angle, and Nepal, China, Burma, and Bangladesh on the eastern side (Machiraju 49). India covers an area of 1,269,219 square miles (3,287,263 sq km); the capital city is New Delhi, while the major cities include Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata. With regard to the Indian Ocean, India l ies within the vicinity of Maldives and Sri Lanka while the islands of Nicobar and Andaman share the maritime border with the states of Indonesia and Thailand (Saleem 66). This indicates that India lays within a very vibrant economic location – a factor that gives this country too much international openness. Thus, any multinational corporation considering expanding its operations into this country should do so without hesitation. Accordingly, the Indian naval hydrographic charts maintains that the coastline of India measures up to 4,700Â  mi (7,517 kilometers) lengthwise; within that distance, 3,400Â  mi (5,423 kilometers) belong to India’s peninsular and 1,300Â  mi (2,094 kilometers) to the Nicobar, Andaman, and Lakshadweep chains of the island (Devonshire-Ellis 48). This country has several rivers which major origin is Himalaya that flows through the country to the Bengal Bay. Brahmaputra and Ganges are the major rivers supplying India with larger amounts of wate r. The Ganges River has important tributaries such as the Kosi and Yamuna (Carbaugh 54). Cases of flooding are common with the Yamuna tributary but the major peninsular rivers such as the Tapti and Narmada have steeper gradients, which deter them from causing floods. The country is geographically divisive and the costal characteristics comprise the marshy Kutch Ran situated in the western part of India (Bouchet, Ephraim, and Bertrand 50). The country has alluvial Sundarbans delta found in eastern India. Climate The Himalayas Mountains and the Thar Desert have a great influence on India’s climate. Fact findings show that they both act as the driving force of the country’s major sources of income. They are the pivotal determiners of the winter and summer monsoons winds, hence influencing the culture and economy of the state strongly (Machiraju 55). The Himalayas also shield India from the excruciating wrath of the cold katabatic winds of Central Asia by keeping the India n subcontinent bulk warmer as opposed to similar states under same latitudes (Carbaugh 84). The Desert of Thar has a pragmatic role to play as it attracts the moisture-laden summer monsoon winds, which blow from the south-west. These winds are very important to the people of this country as they provide most of the country’s rainfall when they blow between the months of June and October (Saleem 81). India has four predominant climatic groupings, namely

Monday, February 3, 2020

The Advantages of Modern Technology in Buildings Safety Essay

The Advantages of Modern Technology in Buildings Safety - Essay Example This discussion aims to uncover various advantages that technology has brought in regard to safety of buildings. Thesis Statement: The three major advantages of embracing technology in buildings are: reduction and minimization of pollution within the building expand security system and enhance communication. The three mentioned advantages will be discussed in details so as to divulge and reveal what role exactly technology plays in protecting lives of people and reducing risks of harm and danger. Overtime, Civil engineers have worked so hard to make sure the new wave of technology is incorporated into and embraced by the building industries so as to improve the security conditions of those buildings. Most buildings that host factories indulged in manufacturing products usually pose a lot of danger to those who work in such places; pollutions in at least some form become inevitable. Such buildings require effective technological channels tools installed in them that can help dispose these wastes without causing harm to people. Human safety comes first and this is the reason why all efforts must be made to ensure people who are accommodated in any building are secure and free from harm. It is important to acknowledge that the new technology comes both with merits and limitations but the advantages supersede and are far much more and better than the disadvantage and this explains why it is witty to clinch and tightly grip onto the modern technology. When the good things that use of technology fetches are weighed against hitches it is likely to bring, it becomes evident that technological application is the best thing that a building can ever have. According to Gray (2008), workers who operate machines that produce chemicals and/or gases are usually at high risk of being exposed to contaminated liquids and gases that can easily create health hazards. Pollution is the initiation of an

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Effectiveness Of The Early Intervention Approach

Effectiveness Of The Early Intervention Approach Within this essay I am not going to list the reasons to believe in the effectiveness of the early intervention approach. The usefulness of early intervention itself is not in dispute. I will, however, be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of different types of early intervention. I will discuss the reasons to believe that some intervention schemes are better than others concerning ways to handle social issues. This essay will discuss the definitions of the terms used in the title. I will look at the motivations behind the schemes and discuss ways of analysing their effectiveness. In relation to the importance of child participation and the amplification of childrens voices, I would also like to look at childrens views on their own situations and why they feel like they should engage in acts that would qualify as a social issue. Defining the key words Using the term social issue in reference to children and families tends to suggest childhood delinquency, drug abuse, violence, teenage pregnancy, crime and etcetera. The word issue implies that there is a problem that should be dealt with; an issue is not an acceptable or desired means of behaviour and it opposes the social ideal. However, many questions arise concerning who has created the definition of this ideal. The language used in the title suggests that the ideal consists of the eradication of all social issues. (which the Government has highlighted.) Used in CTC Effectiveness is an expression that is used by the Government when evaluating early intervention. In the UK, The government drives forward the need for evaluation and assessment of early years practices (Lewis Utting, 2001). It is a commonly held assumption that to achieve the goals of evidence-based practice and cost-effectiveness, evaluation is a necessity, not a luxury (Ghate, 2001, p23). Preventative early intervention initiatives have become more common since the arrival of the New Labour government in the late 1990s (Ghate, 2001). Whether they are led by the government or by other organisations, an early intervention programme generally has the aim of reducing negative social outcomes the children may contribute to when they grow up. Within this essay, I will be using examples of two different types of early intervention scheme: government-led and community-led. Different types of intervention Government-led Throughout the 1990s, there was a growing recognition that wider social, political and economic factors were negatively influencing the families and communities that children grew up in (Hannon Fox, 2005; Glass, 2001). Shortly after New Labour was elected to power in 1997, Tony Blair stated that by 2010, the number of children living in poverty within the UK would be halved and by 2020 it would be eradicated ( ). As a result of this, the New Labour government introduced a number of early intervention initiatives with the aim of reducing social exclusion due to poverty (Clarke, 2007). The New Labour government has shown a serious commitment to the early intervention approach, having invested hundreds of millions of pounds into one initiative in particular: Sure Start (Hannon Fox, 2005). To begin with, Sure Start was targeted primarily at working with parents of young children from the most socio-economically deprived areas in the UK. By doing this, therefore, the government aimed to potentially tackle future issues that their children might create. One statement of Sure Starts intentions is described by Clarke (2007); (Sure Start aims to avoid) social exclusion in adulthood, primarily by enabling children to realise their potential within the education systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (p.699). Sure Start reflects its aim by working both directly and indirectly with the child; directly by providing such things as pre-school childcare; and indirectly by providing services for parents and the wider community (Belsky Melhuish, 2007). Other government early intervention approaches that have been introduced since 1997 with the aim to break the cycle of poverty include: child tax credits, working tax credits and child benefits. Government policies and green papers such as Every Child Matters (2003) support the early intervention approaches by outlining the standards for child well-being and suggesting guidelines to help professionals reach these standards. The 2007 Childrens Plan recognises the importance of providing support for parents, in order to gain their enthusiasm for their childs education. Parental enthusiasm and involvement is a key factor when trying to initiate an intervention scheme ( ). Government programmes and large scale intervention programmes such as Communities That Care (CTC) are not the only types of early intervention. Communities themselves have long developed programmes that tackle issues important to them. Sure Start was to be focussed on relatively small areas of need, reflecting the desirability of action at the level of communities (Hannon Fox, 2005, p3) Community-led Non-government led organisations have been set up all over the country in response to different communities needs. One example is Kids Company, a charity which aims to provide practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people (Kids Company Website, 2008). This statement seems very similar to the one Sure Start uses. Kids Companys methods of early intervention, however, differ significantly from those of Sure Start. Kids Companys effectiveness lies in its provision of innovative, flexible and child-centred services. Kids Company provides targeted therapeutic and social work interventions, and universal class and group access to the arts. (Gaskell, 2008, p4) Personal relationships with people they are reaching. Self-referal. Accessibility is an important factor for intervention schemes. If parents or children do not access intervention (whether it be through choice or lack of knowledge) The assumption is that behind every child is a responsible adult, who will navigate the path to services (Camilla Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p15). Sadly, the truth for many children who would benefit most from intervention services is that their main carers are not willing or cannot be bothered (uninterested?) to allow their child to attend (Batmanghelidjh, 2006). Motivations behind intervention schemes Politics Childrens welfare? Money The intention for the Sure Start initiative was that it should be based on the best evidence of what works (Glass, 2001, p14). Lack of funds can mean that some children get overlooked by local authorities and social services. In her book, Camilla Batmanghelidjh (2006) describes coming into contact with children who were suffering from lack of food and neglect, referring these children to social services, but discovering that they were not eligible for help due to lack of resources and too many cases of sexual and physical abuse. Many children drop out of the education system and are never pursued by the system because the behavioural and emotional difficulties of the children are too much of a burden to school staff (Batmanghelidjh, 2006). Many interrelated factors place children at risk of adopting behaviour that could be seen as a social issue. Many children who already practice such behaviour are likely to have been conditioned by their familys socio-economic circumstances. Socially unacceptable behaviours can lead to social exclusion, which can, in turn, result in the next generations social exclusion (Clarke, 2007). Childrens attitudes, achievements and behaviour are shown to be linked to the environment in which they grow up in. The largest influence is shown to be that of the family (Parton, 2007). Talk about EPPE. The key, when looking at dealing with social issues, lies in tackling the underlying factors. This could be by the means of providing services and/or resources. These factors include poverty, poor nutrition, emotional neglect and underachievement. There is an overall understanding that these factors cannot be isolated from one another (find evidence). Intervention is a term that suggests that an outside source will come in to intervene with whatever is going on and disappear again once too issue is fixed or eradicated. Analysing effectiveness (research) Evaluating larger scale early intervention programmes Early Effects of CTC (Hawkins et al, 2008) Reports positive effects, but the results are quantitative looking at if the children have taken drugs or shown signs of delinquent behaviour. Not looking at the childrens views of how the project may have changed their lives issues such as being listened to, valued and feeling part of the community. if services cannot specify what changes they expect to see for `successful users, evaluators certainly cannot measure them, let alone pass judgement on whether the service has proved effective. (Ghate, 2001, p25) Strengths of early intervention approaches imply that these are the reasons for perceived effectiveness. Contrary to the strengths of early intervention projects, their weaknesses reveal the space for improvement within the services. The New Labour government has introduced several interventions that aim to benefit families. Much research would support the idea that early intervention schemes such as Sure Start have a positive benefit on childrens well-being ( ), but how far can research reflect the true picture of what is happening to under-privileged children in this country? This pressure to measure a settings effectiveness can detract from the amount of time practitioners can spend with the children: Time and energy is, therefore, increasingly sapped from those providing services to fill in forms for external purposes, rather than supporting children. (Lewis and Utting, 2001, p4). Ironically, this could negatively affect the effectiveness of the intervention. Accessibility- If many people are accessing services, then the likelihood of them having an impact is increased. Alternatively, if there are not enough staff members to meet the needs of the attendees, then the likelihood of effectiveness is inevitably decreased. Before an educational outcome there needs to be an emotional one (Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p23). Successful outcomes or effectiveness of an intervention service are not instantly noticeable. It may take years for disturbed children to engage in behaviour they were previously unable to. Their outcomes are personal, and their successes are often individual and emotional first, before they become visible in the world of academia and work. (Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p 22) The problem with presenting outcomes in the way that they are being demanded is that clinicians try and exclude children from their services who are likely not to provide positive outcomes. p.23 This is not through cruelty, though, but because the clinician relies on the money they earn for doing their job effectively. Money is essentially the reason why so many children do not receive the services they should. Children are being dehumanised by being treated as statistics that keep adults in their jobs. So many of our current interventions with vulnerable children come from the perspective of the well-adjusted adult, needing to preserve our own sense of safety. (p 153) Short-term initiatives, where the practitioner enters the childs situation, offers a quick-fix cure and then disappears again, are merely cosmetic. This kind of intervention offers no real solution to the issues that disadvantaged children face. The government thrive on statistics that have been distorted to reflect their political goal (find some). The public want statistics to show them that issues are being resolved. It is to do with how committed people are to seeing change. Short-term initiatives are ineffective, due to the fact that people are complex beings. Effective early intervention programmes have recognised the need to build relationships with the people behind the issues. Conclusion Children who carry out anti-social behaviour are sometimes referred to as being delinquent (Hawkins, 2008). This reflects the medical model of disability, that which implies that the fault lies within the child and needs to be fixed. The aim of some early intervention programmes can be to benefit wider society rather than the child. Blair (2008) spoke of a new political initiative that would identify those most at risk of offending at birth. This kind of intervention would not be beneficial to the child. Being labelled from birth as a potential offender could produce a self-fulfilling prophesy. The most effective early intervention programmes are those that make a commitment to the children themselves; that aim to make them feel valued as members of society and offer them the best opportunities. Many of the early intervention programmes explored, such as Communities That Care (CTC) concentrate on notions of bringing the community together and building social capital from within the community. We cannot expect children to act as responsible members of the community unless they are treated as such. Not just gathering their views but involving them, involving them in planning and developing of programmes as will see constant criticism from the children is nothing actually happens Disenchantment The delinquent child (Hawkins, 2008) Looking at how the child is framed within early intervention programmes. Is it to make them feel valued, important and give them the best opportunities? Or is it to sort them out for the sake of wider society? Government initiatives: Identifying those at risk of offending at birth (Blair, 2008). Fits with governments crack-down on anti-social behaviour and ASBOs. More positive: Sure Start, parenting programmes. Want to prevent the problems before they start, but such approaches label the child before they have even offended. This is likely to alienate them further from society. Not helpful! Distribution of power CTC Programme is systematically applied from the outside Community driven and the community identifies problems they believe need addressing But, research by (Brown et al 2007) into the Community Youth Development Study: Leaders were those who already held leadership positions i.e. mayors, city managers, police chiefs, school superintendents. These were the people who were interviewed, alongside five referred leaders No effort to break down power relationships. Study itself is not representative. We do not hear the views of different community members. Older respondents and those from law enforcement were more likely to report higher baseline levels of collaboration than younger respondents or those from other community sectors (Brown et al 2007). So again criminal justice system taking the lead. Ultimately, people sacrificing their time and finances can do such impressive things for the need of their communities. And I think thats what our world is desperately in need of lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about. Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution, 2006) Define what can be meant by social issues in this essay. What does it mean to deal with social issues? What is effectiveness? How can we measure such a relative/ idiosyncratic thing? What types of early intervention are there? Government programs Surestart Voluntary sector- charity work/ people choosing to live in disadvantaged community to help change for the better. Education? Therapists? Health? NHS, midwives, health visitors etc. What reasons are there to believe that these methods work? CTC data (large no.s of opinion surveys do these fully reflect true picture?) Case studies? Government studies (truly reliable? Short term? Who are they financed by and for what purpose?) What alternative approaches are there to early intervention?! (What are we comparing early intervention to to make the assumption that it is the most effective approach to deal with social issues? Other countries (Norway and Sweden) Are families engaging with intervention projects? Non-engagement (Anning and Ball 2008) Intervention or need of resources Arnold et al (2003): Specific needs of communities and the individuals themselves within such communities need to be addressed. Great diversity of needs It is the environment that needs changing not the individual. Brown et al (2007) CTC organizes the adoption of a science-based approach to prevention into five stages that correspond to Rogers (1995) stages of innovation diffusion. Each stage is guided by a set of milestones and benchmarks that are used to monitor CTC implementation p181 Diffusion is the process through which (1) an innovation (2) is communicated through certain channels (3) over time (4) among the members of a social system (Rogers, 1995). Most individuals evaluate an innovation, not on the basis of scientific research by experts, but through the subjective evaluations of near-peers who have already adopted the innovation. Diffusion is essentially a social process through which people talking to people spread an innovation.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Administrative Theories of Management Essay

Henri Fayol a French industrialist has wrote a book title Administration Industrialle et Generalle in 1916 , according to his book theories about management he thought could be applied to the management of any organization with administrative responsibilities. Fayol identified five function which is still used today to all management activities , they were planning , organizing , commanding , coordinating and controlling . Fayol gives 14 principle of management : 1.Division of work According to Fayol , specialization increases output by making employees more efficient. Most of the employee may be able to deal with each item work that given to them if work is divided according to their skill and technical expertise . See more: My Writing Process Essay 2.Authority Fayol defined authority as ‘the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience.’ That means , managers must be able to give order to the employees . Along with it , the responsibility will goes on. 3.Discipline Discipline is an essential for the smooth running of business which is without it an enterprise or organization is unable to prosper. An employees must obey and respect the rules that are state by the organization . 4.Unity of Command An employee should receive orders from one superior only . Fayol regarded having ‘dual command’ is leading to uncertainty and hesitation on the part of subordinates and will make conflict between managers. 5.Unity of direction ‘One head and one plan for a group having the same objective.’ that mean the organization should have a single plan of action to guide managers and workers . 6.Subordination of individual interest to the general interest There should be no conflict of interest between individual ambition and the well-being of the organization as a whole. This principle requires a firm but fair hand from superiors who should set a good example. 7.Remuneration Workers must be paid a fair wage for their services . Fayol looked for some basic principles in the method of payment such is it shall assure fair remuneration , encourage keenness by rewarding well-directed effort and not lead to over-payment going beyond reasonable limits. 8.Centralization Fayol considered that an element of centralization must always be present which is each subordinate are involved in decision making. 9.Scalar Chain It is also known as line of authority . The unity of command can lead to excessively chains of authority which hinder communication. Hierarchic organizations regularly insisted that departments communicated with each other only through their heads. 10.Order For Fayol, people and materials should be in the right place at the right time . This presupposed the resolution of ‘the two most difficult managerial activities: good organization and good selection.’ He saw the basic problem as the balancing of an organization’s requirements with its resources. 11.Equity Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinate and treated them equally in order to obtain commitment from them . 12.Stability of tenure of personnel A management should provide orderly personnel planning and ensure that replacements are available to fill vacancies because employees need a period of stability in a job to deliver of their best. 13.Initiative Fayol cautions managers against the personal vanity which prevents their employees from allowing to think through a problem and implement a solution rewarding experience which increases motivation and high levels of effort. This meant , employees are allowed to originate and carry out their plans for the organization. 14.Esprit de corps. ‘Dividing enemy forces to weaken them is clever, but dividing one’s own team is a grave sin against the business.’ It is saying about promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the organization.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Jewish Temple Sections

Sections of the Jewish TempleMrs. McCurdy Mostly From Icons, p. 10-11 The Outer Court is also known as the Court of Gentiles Gentiles or non-Jews were not allowed beyond this court. Traders could be found here selling birds and animals to be used for sacrifices. It was also a place to change Roman money into Temple money (money-changers). [When Jesus got angry with these people and threw them out of â€Å"His Father’s House† he did this because they were giving the people a very poor exchange rate, and so were make lots of money at their expense, after all, they had to buy the sacrifices with Temple money! The Court of Women Women and children were not allowed to beyond this area. It was a favourite meeting place for families when they came to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. [This was probably where Mary would have been looking for Jesus when he was 12 years old. ] The Court of Israelites Only Jewish men were allowed to enter here. They would see the altar of sacrifice and the offers being made to God. At the time of Jesus, animal sacrifices were an important part Temple worship. The Court of Priests This was exclusively reserved for priests. In this area was the altar on which the birds and animals were sacrificed. Only domestic animals would be sacrificed. This included pigeons and doves, the offerings of poor people. The Holy of Holies This was the innermost and most sacred part of the Tempe. A large veil covered its entrance. Only the high priest was allowed to enter, and he only went in once a year, on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. He offered sacrifices and asked God’s forgiveness in the name of all the people. On this day only he spoke aloud, in full, the name of God. [You will learn much later from the Gospel of Jesus’ trial that during this trial, before the High Priest, when asked, Jesus said he was the Son of the â€Å"Blessed One†. The Jewish authorities were then able to accuse Jesus of blasphem, because only the High Priest was allowed to speak out aloud the name of God, so under Jewish law, Jesus was committing a grave sin. ] This day marked a new start, a renewal of faithfulness to the laws of God.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

When Youve Lost Your Faith - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1834 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Religion Essay Level High school Tags: Faith Essay Did you like this example? I was just 14 years old when I had gotten accepted into Wake STEM Early College High School. Wake STEM is a high school that focused mainly on the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Wake STEM was also partnered with North Carolina State University, which was one of the colleges I wanted to go to growing up. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "When Youve Lost Your Faith" essay for you Create order Everything was great when I had heard that I had gotten into the school. I thought it would get me into the college that I had wanted to go to and I could start playing football (because I wasnt going to the normal schools that were big on sports and had the teams already predetermined). During the summer before my freshman year of high school, my mom would take me to Athens Drive High School early in the morning for football practice. Athens Drive was the school that students at Wake STEM would have to go to if they chose to play sports because the school had no sports of their own. For football practice, I would have to be at Athens Drive and be dressed for practice by 7 a.m. The first day I got to Athens Drive for practice I was a bit late. As I arrived I saw the team stretching on the practice football field, as I started walking toward the locker room I felt a pit in my stomach and wanted to turn back around, but I kept walking. As I stepped into the building I met the head coach in person. He looked at me and said You must be Shaun as he gave me a firm handshake. I told him that I was, and he walked me to the locker room and unlocked the door as he told me to put my cleats on and get dressed for practice. He showed me to my locker and put my name on a piece of duct tape and stuck it on the locker door. I had already been dressed for practice, so I put my cleats on and placed my shoes and my drawstring bag in the locker. The coach and I walked to a cart and got on and he started driving us to the field. As we got closer to the field he asked me what position I played and I said I had never played before but I was good at throwing the football and I wanted to try quarterback so he brought me over to where the quarterbacks were stretching. I got off the cart and started stretching with the other quarterbacks. There were five other quarterbacks; Farley, Otumus, David, Tre, and Will. After we were done stretchin g we all introduced ourselves and started doing drills. The quarterback coach was Coach Stephens, he played quarterback at the University of Florida and at the University of North Carolina. At first Coach Stephens told me to just watch the drills so I knew what I was doing and after a couple cycles I jumped in and did pretty good for my first day ever. After individual position drills were done we all got together as a team and had a scrimmage(of course being the first day I was just watching). While watching the scrimmage I got confused on where we were supposed to stand after they flipped the direction the offense was going and I ended up on the wrong side. I felt so embarrassed at that moment and I sprinted to the place where I was supposed to be. After practice was finished outside we all walked back to the locker room to put on normal shoes. I hadnt noticed it before(probably because I was nervous), the locker room smelled horrible with the scent of sweat and clothes that had not been cleaned in weeks. After putting on my sneakers we all met in the gym and the coach split us into lower and upperclassmen. The lowerclassmen went into the weight room while the upperclassman stayed in the gym for agility training. After about an hour or hour and a half, the upperclassmen and lower classman switched so that we were in the gym. After practice was over my mom picked me up and brought me back to her work. This cycle continued throughout the summer. As I kept going to practice I continued to get better and better and more situated and used to the practices. Eventually, summer ended, classes at school started, and practices moved to the afternoon (after school).When classes started at Wake STEM, as soon as I walked in the building I felt as if I didnt belong but I ignored what I was thinking and went on with my day. The first day was the only day where we had no work because in all the classes we were just getting to know everyone and find out what the classes were like. It was really easy to get to know everyone in the classes because there were less than 200 students in the entire school. After the first day of school, all the classwork hit us. At first, I was able to keep up with school, get all my work done, do good in school, and go to football practice and games. Throughout the year the workload became more and more. I tried to keep up with everything but Wake STEM did not care if you played sports and you dont have enough time for all the work they gave you. Eventually, I started missing more and more work. Because I was missing s o much work my grades started to drop exponentially. I started to freak out because in middle school I had never had problems with my grades and I was always an A and B student. With my grades dropping so fast I decided to quit football for the rest of the year so I could keep up with my work. After quitting football my grades did not improve much if any at all. Even without playing football the workload was too much for me to handle and I barely passed any of my classes. After my first year at the school, I told my mom I wanted to leave the school and that I couldnt do that much work for 4-5 years(the 5th year was an option where you take all college classes). My mom told me that the first year at Wake STEM was the hardest year there because they were trying to get some students to quit. I decided to give the school another chance and decided to stay. In deciding to stay at Wake STEM I had also decided to play football again. When summer had started again after my freshman year I returned to Athens Drive for football practices in the mornings. This summer was going much better than the previous one because I was situated with how the practices functioned and I was able to participate in practice activities that I was unable to do the previous summer. This summer there were only four quarterbacks to start the summer. Farley and Otumus had graduated so that left me, Tre, David, and the new freshman, Christmas. This summer started off great as I got better and better. Practice was going so well for me that I had even started taking some reps with the varsity team during practice. Just when everything was going well in practice, a couple weeks before school and games would start, a new quarterback from California transferred to Athens Drive and destroyed what I had worked for. This new quarterback was probably the rudest person I had ever met and we almost got into a couple fights in practice. The new quarterback had taken my starting spot because he was faster and I was never able to earn my spot back. After that kid had just transferred there and was just given the starting spot I had lost faith in my ability to play football and practices became miserable to go to. Eventually, the summer ended and school started up again.The school was just the same sophomore year as it was my freshman year where I could keep up with my work and get good grades and out of nowhere the teachers would drop a bunch of work on us and I was unable to keep up with it a nd eventually started struggling again. Throughout the year my grades got worse and worse. When the first semester ended the principle had sent a letter to my parents stating that he recommends that I transfer out of the school by the end of the year because he doesnt think that I belonged there. When I heard about the letter it just proved my thoughts from freshman year, I did not belong at Wake STEM. I didnt know what to do with myself. There comes a point in everyones life where they lose faith in someone or something. I had lost faith in myself. I wanted to leave Wake STEM and leave everything behind me and go back to a normal high school. The only reason I wouldnt let myself quit was that I felt like if I transferred schools I would be a disappointment to my parents and I didnt want that to happen so I stayed at the school for my junior year. Going to school and practice was a struggle for me every day. Going to that school and going to practice where my starting spot was just given away I became depressed and lost motivation for anything and I started gaining a lot of weight. By the end of my junior year, my GPA had dropped down to a 2.7 and I weighed 205 lbs. At that point, I had enough and didnt care what my parents thought of me so I transferred schools and went to t he school I was originally supposed to go to. At that point, I decided to quit football for my senior year and focus on school although I got a job at the country club down the road from the school. At the new school, I did great in school, I got all my work done and my grades were way better than they ever would have been at Wake STEM. By the end of my senior year, I was able to bring my GPA from a 2.7 to a 3.0 in just one year while having a job. My senior year I was able to get out of my depression and feel good about myself again, I was able to lose weight(down to 175 lbs By the end of the summer) and get into Coastal Carolina University(becoming the first one in my family to be able to go to college) which never would have been possible if I never got out of Wake STEM and got out of my depression. Because I left of Wake STEM and did great in school, I regained faith in myself in all aspects of my life.