Childrens literature Essay Example for Free

Childrens literature Essay Child development was broken down into four theories. These theories focused on intellectual and cognitive development as well as social development and moral judgment development. Theoretical models can be applied to children’s literature by different kinds of books. Children in the younger ages enjoy books like Dr. Seuss the cat in the hat or The Bernstein bears books that focus on things like right from wrong and education. Children learn from these kinds of books at a young age and the books can be related to their lives. As children get older books become more meaningful and become something they can relate to. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the book I chose, because I felt like it was well known and something children could connect to and enjoy. The story of Harry Potter can be related to by many children. The trials the he faces as a boy living with his aunt and uncle in the â€Å"non-magic† world can be understood by some who have encountered the same things. He was unappreciated, bullied, made fun of, and treated unfairly just because he was unliked. On his eleventh birthday he finds out that he is actually a wizard and there is a school for kids just like him. His parents, who were killed when he was a baby, were also magic people, and he was excited to be able to learn about them. At the school, Hogwarts, he is befriended by two people who truly become his best friends and family, and he is finally happy to know there are people who care about him. I think this book can be related to Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development. Piaget’s cognitive theory of development was outlined into four periods of intelligent development. The sensorimotor period, the preoperational period, the period of concrete operations, and period of formal operations. The period of formal operations hits right at the age group that the Harry Potter series was intended for. This period occurs between the ages of eleven and fifteen when young people begin to use formal logic, engage in a true exchange of ideas, comprehend the viewpoints of others, and understand what it means to live in society. Most readers of this stage have entered adolescence and are ready for more mature topics. I think that this theory applies to this book as kids can relate to Harry’s life with the Dursley’s and the world he is living in. After finding out he is a wizard they can also relate to all the situations he will face while  there at Hogwarts. Children can use their imagination to take them away into their own world where they can get away from reality even for a moment. As far as the book itself goes, literary criticism is meant to interpret the meaning of literature. I believe this book is approached by formal criticism. Formal criticism focuses on the work itself rather than the literary history of the book. When I read this book I am not worried about the author and her life or anything about the literature. I am focused on the action and story itself and the suspense it brings to its readers. I found this criticism part of the paper a little more challenging, but I agree with my decision as I did not think that any of the others fit. There is much that children and even adults can learn from reading books. There are books for children ages zero to three that focus mainly on shapes, colors, animals, and numbers. There are books for younger children up until age ten that are about little girls or boys and their adventures that they go on with their imaginary friends. Books about friendship and forgiveness that teach children to be kind and considerate of others as well as unselfish and giving. Books for ages eleven to fifteen that focus on life as a teenager when your mother or father does not understand you and you are desperately trying to figure out who you are. Books that can teach compassion and loyalty to family and friends and just overall make you imagine worlds you could have never dreamed of. Finally to the ages of sixteen to nineteen when you are googling over that boy or girl you so wish would notice you or even if you are interested in the fantasy world of dragons and wizards, there is a book out there that can teach every one of us something about ourselves. Books are out there to teach us new things and take us places we never knew we could go. It is all about actually reading what the author has to say and listening. For me reading was a way of life and something that made me who I am today. I encourage reading for everyone and I hope that my son is as passionate about reading as I am. References Russell D. L. (2008) Pearson education, Ch. 2: The Study of Childhood: pg. 1 The Discover of Childhood. Russell D. L. (2008) Pearson education, Ch. 3: The Study of Literature; para. 20 Literary Criticism.

The World According to Gump: All Nuts and Gooey Centers Essay -- essay

The World According to Gump: All Nuts and Gooey Centers "Life is like a box of chocolates," says Forrest Gump (as played by Tom Hanks) to anyone who will listen."You never know what you're going to get." This homily introduces us into the "world of Forrest Gump," both the random strangers Forrest encounters on his park bench, as well as the film's potential audience.Its folksy wisdom is meant to characterize for us the commonsense, down-to-earth, accepting and exceptional attitude supposedly unique to Forrest Gump; an attitude we will better understand once we have, as the advertisements put it, "seen the world through the eyes of Forrest Gump."Thus this dictum about chocolate is meant to capture what we might call the Gump Worldview: life is full of surprises, some of them odd or funny looking, but all of them enjoyable. Yet, if we can pull ourselves away from the tempting treats for a reflective moment, we might ask ourselves: is a box of chocolates really all that full of surprises?Is it really the case that you never know what you're going to get?If your experience with chocolates is anything like mine, you might agree that, finally, there are ultimately very few surprises to be had this way; that in fact chocolates exist in a fairly simple world where everything is either full of nuts or conceals a gooey center.And so this epigraph does indeed capture the Gump ideology--and a sugary, binary ideology it is. Yet it certainly does not capture the philosophy or mood of the book upon which the film is based.Forrest Gump, by southern writer Winston Groom, begins with the line, "Let me tell you this: being a idiot is no box of chocolates."Thus the film takes what is in the book a statement of protest and cynicism and... ...historical events in which it deals; and that ideology is disturbing.To protest the war is seen as indicative of a personality disorder; in fact, to protest anything is characterized as a psychological flaw, a self-destructive, self-indulgent neurosis.The epigraph for the film reads: "The world will never seem the same after you've seen it through the eyes of Forrest Gump."How true.How troubling, for it suggests that if our vision of history were as blinkered and our desires as ideologically vaccuous as are Forrest's, then all of our dreams (which we shouldn't have) will come true, and all of the world's conflicts (which are mere shams) would be solved.For Forrest Gump the film, life is indeed a series of chocolate-coated surprises--as long as you forget each chocolate the moment it is consumed and you desire nothing more than a steady diet of nuts and gooey centers.

Haverwood Furniture Inc Case Study Essay

Background on the merger In April 2008 Haverwood Furniture merged with Lea-Meadows, a manufacturer of upholstered furniture for living and family rooms. The merger was not planned in any conventional sense. The merger proceeded smoothly since the two firms were located on adjacent locations and the two companies would maintain as much autonomy as was economically justified. The only real issue that still remained was merging the selling efforts. The question was straight-forward â€Å"do we give the upholstery line of chairs and sofas to our sales force, or do we continue using the sales agents?† Haverwood’s vice president said the line should be given to his sales group, but Lea-Meadows said the upholstery line should remain with sales agents. Lea-Meadows Inc. Lea-Meadows Inc. is a small, privately owned manufacturer of upholstered furniture for use in living and family rooms. The firm is more than 75 years old. The company has some of the finest fabrics and frame construction in the industry. Their net sales in 2007 were $5 million and the total industry sales in 2007 were $15.5 billion. A forecasted industry sale for 2008 is about $16.1 billion. Over the past 5 years sales had increased 3% annually, also believing that this trend would continue. Lea-Meadows employed 15 sales agents to represent its products. Sales agents found it necessary to deal with several buyers in a store in order to represent all the lines carried. On a typical sales call, a sales agent first visited buyers to discuss new lines, in addition to any promotions being offered by manufacturers. These new orders were sought where and when it was appropriate. Lea-Meadows paid an agent commission of 5 percent of net company sales for these services. Also were thought to have spent 10-15 percent of their in-store time on Lea-Meadows products. There is no influence on who to sell their products to but there is a stigma of not selling to discount houses. Records show that agents were calling on specialty furniture and department stores. An estimated 1,000 retail accounts were called on in 2006 and 2007. All agents had established relationships with their retail accounts and worked closely with them. Haverwood Furniture Inc. They are a manufacturer of medium- to high-priced wood bedroom, living room and dining room furniture. Their net sales in 2007 were $75 million; and the industry sales of wood furniture in 2007 were $12.4 billion. It is projected that in 2008 they will have $12.9 billion in industry sales. The company has 10 fulltime sales representatives, who call on 1,000 retail accounts. They perform the same activities as sales agents but were paid a salary plus a small commission. In 2007 the average sales representative received an annual salary of $70,000 and a commission of 5% on net company sales. Total administration costs were $130,000 Haverwood’s salespeople were highly regarded in the industry. They were known particularly for their knowledge of wood furniture and willingness to work with buyers and retail sales personnel. Sales representatives were presently making 10 sales calls per week with an average sales call running three hours. Their remaining time was accounted for by ad ministrative activities and travel. It was also recommended that the call frequency be increased to seven calls per account per year. Pros and Cons Points in favor for combing the two companies Haverwood has one of the most respected sales force in the industry. Their sales force could easily learn the lingo to interacting with upholstery buyers. Selling Lea-Meadows would only require 15% of present sales call times More control over sales efforts is possible and a combined sales forces fits with the belief that â€Å"only our people are willing and able to give† It would not look right if both representatives and agents called on the same stores and buyers because of the overlap on the companies on both companies’ accounts. Points in favor of keeping in the sales agents All sales agents had established clients and were highly regarded among the store buyers. Sales agents represent little cost beyond commission Sales agents were committed to the lea-meadows line. Sales agents were calling on buyers not contacted by haverwood sales force. Haverwood sales people would have a tough time learning the ways of lea-meadows because there are over 1 billion possible items to learn. Both companies make valid points but the main thing is to determine the cost and profitability. Financial calculations based off the cost of sales force,  and sales agents. Haverwood 10 (sales force members) x $70,000 (average salary) = $700,000 .005 (commission) x $75,000,000 (net sales) = $375,000 x 10 = $3,750,000 $130,000 (total sales administration costs) Total cost of sales force $4,580,000 Lea-meadows 5,000,000 (net sales) x .05 (commission) = $250,000 x 15 (sales agents) Total cost of sales agents $3,750,000 Although Lea-Meadows pays their sales agents less with 5 more employees, their profit margins fall 5% below that of Haverwood. It ultimately will affect them more than the cost for Haverwood affects them. If Lea-Meadows were to give their line to the Haverwood sales force, they would only need to pay for 15% of the cost for the sales force. Haverwood Total sales force cost = $4,580,000 Lea-Meadows $4,580,000 x .15 (percentage of time devoted to Lea-Meadows line) = $687,000 The decision to give the line to Haverwood saves Lea-Meadows $3,063,000. Haverwood’s sales process Haverwoods personal Sales forces Retail Consumer Lea-Meadows sales process Lea-Meadows Sales agency Retail Consumer

The 20th Century