1,205 words

Beauty, truth, and realism in educational philosophy and art

What do you think is real, true, good, beautiful and logical? The English poet John Keats wrote in his poem entitled "Ode to a Grecian Urn": "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, -- that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Keats meant that beauty was synonymous with the kind of logical…

~7 min read

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1,782 words

John Stuart Mill's harm principle and individual liberty

In what is perhaps his most famous work, the book-length essay on Liberty, nineteenth-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill attempts to define both the extent of human liberty and the ways in which society can ensure its survival.

~9 min read

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1,075 words

Henry Hudson's four voyages and search for a northwest passage

Henry Hudson and His Travels: The Explorer's Life, Routes, Destinations, And Intended Destinations Little is known of the early life of Henry Hudson, the English navigator and explorer during the great, Elizabethan age of exploration.

~6 min read

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2,190 words

Professional dress of teachers affecting student behavior in middle school

Middle school teachers in the United States today are faced with a daunting task. Overcrowded classrooms, federal and state mandates, and an increasing number of English as second language learners frequently contribute to less-than-ideal learning environments.

~11 min read

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1,288 words

Theravada Buddhism's appeal to Western practitioners compared to Zen and Mahayana

The facts of Buddhism are simple and easy to understand. The Buddhists use a sacred book called the Tripitaka, or the Pali Canon. To translate the Tripitaka from an ancient Indian language into English is tough, because it is so long, over forty volumes.

~7 min read

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1,198 words

Five-paragraph essays and portfolio assessment in student writing

Requiring students to produce compositions or essays in a standard five-paragraph format is one of most popular methods of assessing student performance, especially in English, History, and Social Studies classes. The essay format does indeed have many points in its favor as a method of assessment.

~6 min read

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1,423 words

Narrative perspective in Heaney's and Gardner's versions of Beowulf

The legend of Beowulf is one of the most representative Anglo-Saxon texts, and as such, it has benefited from many translations and adaptations into Modern English.

~8 min read

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1,575 words

Sir Thomas More's moral opposition to King Henry VIII

Yet, at the same time, his drastically self-interested acts as king managed to significantly alter the course of English history. Furthermore, the philosophical and moral questions that his reign posed both the people living in his age and today remain relevant and compelling.

~8 min read

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1,723 words

Language choice and cultural identity in African literature: Achebe and Ngugi

When authors are relating the African experience, must they write the original book in the native language? Does this add to the experience? Better yet, does writing it in English lose its cultural identity?

~9 min read

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1,703 words

Social and political differences between England and the colonies before 1776

Describe the social and political climate in England; how was it different in the colonies. Although English culture was not as admired as French culture within the European community - indeed the English seemed "...only a cut above barbarians" (Middlekauff p.

~9 min read

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