The Impact of Discipline in the Behavior of Middle School Students Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Discipline in the Behavior of Middle School Students Essay Abstract: While the impact of discipline on middle school students can vary, it is important to investigate into practices and discipline strategies that have been proposed used and for middle school environments. It is becoming increasingly clear that problem behaviors need to be addressed not only by school staff but by the community. The following review outlines the fundamentals of middle school discipline, the strategies used and the effectiveness of each, as well as how to gauge effective methods. Middle school discipline has been a growing concern among school administration, families of the students and communities for over the past ten years. Many articles have stated that middle school students display the most aggressive behavior of all levels of education as well as having the highest bullying rate and discipline problems. Researchers agree that middle school is a breeding ground for negative behavior due to students desiring to find themselves and a place to fit in. Different methods have been implemented with varying results. Some experts have argued that many methods have not been given ample time frames in order to accurately depict success. However all relevant methods concern prevention, and in many cases intervention, when building a successful disciplinary system and improved behavior among students. Literature found on this subject is innumerable; the present review has two purposes: (a) review a sample of literature for its significance in understanding the discipline process as well as the effects it has on students and (b) reviewing and analyzing methods supported by the authors of said literature. The most prominent authors were George Sugai PhD., Robert H. Homer and Jeffrey Sprague; these authors contributed more several articles on disciplinary methods, some of which will be found in this review. The guidelines used when reviewing articles were if the methods of discipline discussed by the authors provided evidence, statistics and viability. The majority of the reviewed articles were found to be significant contributions for the implementation of disciplinary methods in middle school settings. When reviewing the chosen ten articles, the most commonly agreed theory was the need for improving upon the use of general solutions when dealing with negative behavior; such as, suspension and expulsion. The most significant articles explained the need for proactive programs to deter poor behavior as well as the inclusion of tested and approved methods. The following includes brief reviews of ten chosen articles from scholarly journals, the similarities found as well as opposing points of view and the conclusion of the most relevant findings. School-wide Approach to Discipline   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When evaluating a middle school in terms of its discipline procedures and their effectiveness, many times the particular school will find the need for method when dealing with poor behavior. The authors of all the chosen articles agree that a general approach to discipline does not work.   In A Schoolwide Approach to Student Discipline (Homer, Sugai and Horner, 2000) the authors express the theory of â€Å"a culture of competence† which they explain the importance of being proactive where the school as a whole would foster positive behavior and the expectations of the students to act accordingly. In support of this method several studies such as the High Five Program were discussed, revealing the effectiveness of such programs. Two other theories are expressed, in order to â€Å"address the needs of students at risk of disruptive behavior† the authors suggest that the schools create rapid response methods to support these students and prevent future discipline problems. The third theory is to focus on the students with â€Å"high-intensity problem behaviors†. While I agree with the first two theories, I think it is poor practice to focus on the students with disciplinary problems; while they need support, singling out any student as a problem child could cause further damage. The authors’ goal in writing this article was to persuade readers of the necessity of school-wide methods, where all students and administration are involved in the creation of a safe learning environment. The most informative article was found in Impact journal, the authors of School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Investing in Student Success (Horner, Sugai and Vincent, 2005) were thorough in their research and supporting data. The authors report the increase of problem behaviors among students and the need for building a much needed positive social culture. An extension of the school-wide method the School-wide positive behavior support (SW-PBS) method â€Å"is an approach that begins with a school-wide prevention effort† which â€Å"adds intensive individualized support for those students with more extreme needs†. Building from the theory represented in Sungai and Horners first article, where the need to focus on problem students was expressed, this approach provides high risk students with outlets for intervention. The remainder if this program expresses preventative strategies. What was most informative were the â€Å"five core strategies† of the SW-PBS which include: a) focus on prevention b) teaching appropriate social behavior and skills c) acknowledging appropriate behavior d) Gathering and making use of data about student behavior as a guide for behavior support decisions, and finally, e) investing in the systems that support adults in their implementation of effective practices. This method is becoming prominent, â€Å"2900 schools across 34 states are now implementing or in the process of adopting SW-PBS†, primarily in elementary and middle schools. Translating Research into Effective Practice: The Effects of a Universal Staff and Student Intervention on Indicators of Discipline and School Safety (Sprague, Walker, Golly et al. 2001)The methods examined in this study involve â€Å"†¦a universal intervention package aimed at improving the safety and social behaviors of students in elementary and middle schools. Its goals were to assist schools to provide effective educational services, behavioral supports, and social-behavioral skills teaching to all students in the school†. Like most researchers of modern discipline methods, the authors agree that general and quick solutions have little to no effects on middle school student behavior. By using the Effective Behavioral Support (EBS) Model to evaluate the school’s â€Å"discipline and climate† researchers were able to compare and contrast â€Å"treatment† schools and comparison schools. A very thorough study was performed and the results were consistent with the authors’ objectives, making EBS a viable disciplinary model. A newer method being discussed among schools and education professionals is the family centered approach. Implementing Family-Centered Interventions within the Public Middle School: Linking Service Delivery to Change in Student Problem Behavior (Stormshack, Dishion, Light and Yasui, 2005), discussed the change in preventative discipline from a strictly school setting to a family-centered method. As the authors explain, â€Å"despite the clear link between behavior problems at home and at school, mental health service delivery does not usually cross these settings and provide integrative solutions to problem behaviors.† The authors blame lack of â€Å"appropriate interventions†, school staff being trained and operating on an â€Å"individual model of development and service delivery† and shifts in priorities because of public opinion and policy. This particular article is most sensible. These authors believe children’s’ behaviors displayed in school are representative of their home lifestyles. â€Å"Effective family management skills are critical for preventing the developmental difficulties associated with adolescent problem behaviors†. The authors make reference to several studies supportive of their argument for family-centered interventions. The design of the Family Resource Center by the authors was used in studies to provide support. The results reported were positive. James K. Luiselli, Robert F. Putnam and Michael Sunderland were also supporters of school wide intervention and prevention methods. They did however address one problem occurring with the implementation of school-wide practices. It was their opinion that â€Å"effective schoolwide discipline practices have been designed, but in most cases, intervention efficacy has been evaluated in the short term†. That is reasoning behind the report in Journal of Positive Behaviors; Longitudinal Evaluation of Behavior Support Intervention in a Public Middle School (2002). This short term evaluation presented a problem of accuracy in reporting the usefulness of a certain method. â€Å"This report describes a longitudinal (4-year) evaluation of a behavior support program implemented with the entire student population in a public middle school†. This study was unique in three ways: a) it provided a long term rather than short (usually one year) evaluation b) this study, unlike others reported had included the entire population of a middle school; which in this case was in western Massachusetts and possibly the most unique characteristic of this study, c) â€Å"the procedures developed over the four-year period were solely the product of the staff at the school. There were limits (bias) to this study, such as the primary population came from middle to upper-middle class families; a more valid approach would have been to have samples of students from all classes. However, the program created by the staff was successful as reported by the authors. The staff program entailed a reward system for students behaving by the rules and expectations.   While it would not be this reader’s personal choice of programs, it did work successfully for that particular middle school. Staff Challenges   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What challenges does middle school staff face? The most commonly reported behavioral problem stems from bullying. Since the early 90s, schools have opened their eyes to the devastating effects of bullying. In a self-reported study, researched and reported by David W. McConville and Dewey G. Cornell, the researchers found that the link between aggressive attitudes and aggressive behavior were linked. Their research, found in the Journal of Emotional Behavior Disorders (2003) involved 403 middle school students of a suburban central Virginia school, and reporting via survey their personal â€Å"attitudes towards peer aggression†. Based on the students belief systems, students expressed what they though about bullying, what constitutes bullying and if they have ever fell victim to such students. While bullying is an enormous obstacle in learning institutions, especially middle school, this report was insignificant to the understanding of student aggression. To survey middle school students, who are at the peak of discovering their individuality and alliances with other students, is ludicrous, they can not be expected to answer truthfully for fear of being discovered by fellow students.  Ã‚   A more informative and useful report was found in the January 2006 issue of Middle School Journal. Bullying in Middle Schools: Prevention and Intervention is an in-depth look into the problems of bullying in middle schools. The authors believe that â€Å"school personnel must understand the scope of bullying in the United States as well as characteristics of bullies and victims†.     Both bullies and their victims are at risk of negative futures. The authors are in agreement that â€Å"†¦effective programs are comprehensive, targeting students, schools families and the community. With this theory the authors are combining all relative methods reviewed above. Building awareness, social skills and supportive intervention can improve student behaviors. This article was very informative and thorough in its research. One strategy found in the Middle School Journal relates to a method described in an article found in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Volume 46. Four Pennsylvania teachers created a program to teach middle school students socialization skills and tolerance. With use of a popular, age appropriate novel, Crash, by Jerry Spinelli (1996, Random House), students engaged in an interactive learning experience. Students went beyond reading with role play, journal writing, â€Å"Readers Theatre† and several other activities to learn the moral of the story about the effects of bullying. The results were overwhelmingly positive. This study is relevant to a behavior support system, where staff is showing support to kids, giving them strength to stand up against bullying, while giving bullies an outlet and a way to stop problem behaviors. In theory, by creating â€Å"safe† classrooms, thus a safe school environment, the effects of bullying will decrease. The Middle School Journal depicted a similar anti-bully program, Bullybusters. The same strategy as using a novel, students are encouraged to participate in a play depicting the roles of students against bullying as well as demonstrating the effects of bullying. This too has excellent results. How Do We Know If It’s Working?   Regardless of the method used or the programs implemented, unless there is an accurate documenting process is which to base results on, the methods are useless. Long term school discipline needs to be in place for a positive change to occur; the only way of accomplishing this is to research, experiment and document. Most importantly a study or program use must be in place for more than one year to see accurate results. Using Office Discipline Referral Data for Decision Making about Student Behavior in Elementary and Middle Schools: An Empirical Evaluation of Validity (Irvin, Horner, Ingram, Todd, et al.2006) suggests strategies in which to evaluate the effectiveness of school-wide approach to student discipline. The authors believe that data-based decision making can be beneficial to the social climate of the school and behavior of the students. The authors present an â€Å"empirical study of the validity of one systematic approach to collecting and using such information†, including the information of student behavior when using intervention methods in a school-wide atmosphere. One may question the need for such an extensive report; however, because schools are in need of finding new methods to promote positive behavior and preventative disciplinary measures, it is in the school’s best interest to consider current and relevant studies on method effectiveness. The authors of Using Office Discipline†¦ used surveys and information contained in a â€Å"web-based computer application called SWIS which used for entering, organizing, managing, and reporting office discipline referral data, in order gather information of the effects of School Wide Disciplinary methods. The data provided was useful in determining whether to use a school-wide approach. The study was done locally and surveys can be misleading, the authors admit this, but for its basic purpose as a building block for further studies, it was informative. Terrance M. Scott and Susan B. Barrett suggest using the time spent as staff and student alike when engaged in disciplinary action as a source of evaluation. In Using Staff and Student Time Engaged in Disciplinary Procedures to Evaluate the Impact of School-Wide PBS (2004), the authors describe positive behavior support (PBS) as â€Å"the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve social change†. Tracking time and money spent on disciplinary actions is a useful technique in evaluating the effectiveness of a program, this is displayed in studies and statistical data provided by the authors; the results were, for the most part, positive, however the overall evaluation process is in itself time consuming. Conclusion The methods for middle school discipline are numerous, as research has shown, regardless of the method chosen, to have the best effect on the students a school must approach discipline as a school-wide process. After analyzing the above literature, it is clear that a disciplinary model must be used long-term and be followed with an appropriate evaluation. The most appropriate methods, in my opinion, were ones in which used interactive tools, such as a book or play, to engage students in positive behavior. It is clear that the old methods of general discipline have become obsolete. Communities, school staff and researchers have realized the need for a change in the school environment, especially middle schools, which are the highest rated institute for behavioral and disciplinary problems. References Barone, B., Kearns, J., Quinn, K., Stackhouse, S., Zimmerman, M., (2003). Using a Novel Unit to Help Understand and Prevent Bullying in Schools: Bullying Affects Most Children. Reading Activities Helped Middle School Students Become More Aware of This Serious Issue. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 46, 582+. Retrieved October 13, 2006 from Questia database. Boland, J., Horner, R., Ingram, K., Irvin, L., Sampson, N., Sugai, G., Todd, A., (2006). Using Office Discipline Referral Data for Decision Making about Student Behavior in Elementary and Middle Schools: An empirical Evaluation of Validity. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8, 10+. Retrieved October 10, 2006 from Questia database. Homer, H., Horner, R., Sugai, G., (2000). A Schoolwide Approach to Student Discipline. School Administrator, 57, 20. Retrieved October 12, 2006 from Questia database. Horner, R., Sugai, G., Vincent, C., (2005). School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Investing in Student Success. Impact, Retrieved October 9, 2006 from http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/182/over2.html Luiselli, J., Putnam, R., Sunderland, M., (2002). Longitudinal Evaluation of Behavioral Support Intervention in a Public Middle School. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4, 182+. Retrieved October 13, 2006 from Questia database. McConville, D.W., Cornell, D., (2003). Aggressive Attitudes Predict Aggressive Behavior in Middle School Students. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, Iss. 3, 1. Retrieved October 10, 2006 from Questia database. Milson, A., Gallo, L., (2006) Bullying in Middle Schools: Prevention and Intervention. Middle School Journal, 37, 12-19. Retrieved October 12, 2006 from http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/January2006/Article2/tabid/693/Default.aspx Scott, T., Barrett, S., (2004). Using Staff and Student Time Engaged in Disciplinary Procedures to Evaluate the Impact of School-Wide PBS. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 6, 21+. Retrieved October 9, 2006 from Questia database. Sprague, J., Walker, H., Golly, A., White, K., Myers, D., Shannon, T., (2001). Translating Research into Effective Practice: The Effects of a Universal Staff and Student Intervention on Indicators of Discipline and School Safety. Education Treatment of Children, 24, 495+. Retrieved October 10, 2006 from Questia database. Stormshak, E., Dishion, T., Light, J., Yasui, M., (2005). Implementing Family-Centered Interventions Within the Public Middle School: Linking Service Delivery to Change in Student Problem Behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 723+. Retrieved October 15, 2006 from Questia database.

Life of Pi (Unabridged) by Yann Martel Essay -- Life of Pi Unabridge

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities that interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional — but is it more true? Pi, short for Piscine Molitor Patel, is a young Indian boy growing up in South India in the 1970's. His father owns a zoo and, with increasing political unrest in India, decides to sell up and emigrate to Canada. They accompany the wild animals on board the ship on their journey to the new zoos in North America. The ship sinks and Pi finds himself the only human survivor onboard a life raft that contains, rather remarkably, a zebra, a large motherly orangutan, a frenzied hyena and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Of course, the law of nature eventually rules and Pi ends up as the tiger's last remaining occupant. He must use all his knowledge of zoology and animal behavior to create boundaries and survive. Which he does for 227 days. In Pondicherry, India, Piscine â€Å"Pi† Patel enjoys his childhood as the son of the local zookeeper means plenty of fun things to do. In that role, Pi learns a great deal about the wild beasts that his father keeps. Though a Hindu, Pi also finds pleasure in learning about Christianity and Islam and willingly practices the three belief systems over the objections of his family and religious leaders. Now sixteen, Pi's father decides to relocate to Canada. His dad sells most of the animals, but takes a few with them on their sea voyage. However, disaster strikes with the ship sinking. Pi accompanied by a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and Richard Parker the 450-pound Bengal share a raft. Richard eliminates the other animals leav... ...mingly endless sea. Soon after, at long last, he reaches land. He attains Enlightenment. The tiger bounds off into the jungle-- Pi's suffering is released completely. He is nursed back to health and lives a relative normal life, with the distinction that his experience has fully awakened him. He walks as a true adult among the many spiritual children of the world. He still has the normal problems, challenges, and disappointments of life; Enlightenment does not mean everything is perfect. But Pi can bring forth what is needed in each moment, and does not suffer from the pains, failures, and sorrows of being human. He lives through them without getting caught in them. (Similarly, he is fully awake for all the wonderful pleasures and intimacies of life. And in all occurrences, he brings a deep compassion and love for all beings). The best part of the story is the end. (Stop reading if you don't want to know). This is a true story. It doesn't need all the longwinded interpretation you just read. It stands on its own as truth. Maybe it's just a story of a boy and a tiger on a boat. Either way, Pi Patel shows us the compelling power of the human spirit in the face of deep suffering.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 18

Chapter 18 I have been out among you, eating and talking and walking and walking and walking, for hours without having to turn because of a wall in my way. The angel woke me this morning with a new set of clothes, strange to the feel but familiar to the sight (from television). Jeans, sweatshirt, and sneakers, as well as some socks and boxer shorts. â€Å"Put these on. I'm taking you out for a walk,† said Raziel. â€Å"As if I were a dog,† I said. â€Å"Exactly as if you were a dog.† The angel was also wearing modern American garb, and although he was still strikingly handsome, he looked so uncomfortable that the clothes might have been held to his body with flaming spikes. â€Å"Where are we going?† â€Å"I told you, out.† â€Å"Where did you get the clothes?† â€Å"I called down and Jesus brought them up. There is a clothing store in the hotel. Come now.† Raziel closed the door behind us and put the room key in his jeans pocket with the money. I wondered if he'd ever had pockets before. I wouldn't have thought to use them. I didn't say a word as we rode the elevator down to the lobby and made our way out the front doors. I didn't want to ruin it, to say something that would bring the angel to his senses. The noise in the street was glorious: the cars, the jackhammers, the insane people babbling to themselves. The light! The smells! I felt as if I must have been in shock when we first traveled here from Jerusalem. I didn't remember it being so vivid. I started to skip down the street and the angel caught me by the shoulder; his fingers dug into my muscles like talons. â€Å"You know that you can't get away, that if you run I can catch you and snap your legs so you will never run again. You know that if you should escape even for a few minutes, you cannot hide from me. You know that I can find you, as I once found everyone of your kind? You know these things?† â€Å"Yes, let go of me. Let's walk.† â€Å"I hate walking. Have you ever seen an eagle look at a pigeon? That's how I feel about you and your walking.† I should point out, I suppose, what Raziel was talking about when he said that he once found everyone of my kind. It seems that he did a stint, centuries ago, as the Angel of Death, but was relieved of his duties because he was not particularly good at them. He admits that he's a sucker for a hard-luck story (perhaps that explains his fascination with soap operas). Anyway, when you read in the Torah about Noah living to be nine hundred and Moses living to be a hundred and forty, well, guess who led the chorus line in the â€Å"Off This Mortal Coil† shuffle? That's where he got the black-winged aspect that I've talked about before. Even though they fired him, they let him keep the outfit. (Can you believe that Noah was able to postpone death for eight hundred years by telling the angel that he was behind in his paperwork? Would that Raziel could be that incompetent at his current task.) â€Å"Look, Raziel! Pizza!† I pointed to a sign. â€Å"Buy us pizza!† He took some money out of his pocket and handed it to me. â€Å"You do it. You can do it, right?† â€Å"Yes, we had commerce in my time,† I said sarcastically. â€Å"We didn't have pizza, but we had commerce.† â€Å"Good, can you use that machine?† He pointed to a box that held newspapers behind glass. â€Å"If it doesn't open with that little handle, then no.† The angel looked perturbed. â€Å"How is it that you can receive the gift of tongues and suddenly understand all languages, and there is no gift that can tell you how things work in this time? Tell me that.† â€Å"Look, maybe if you didn't hog the remote all the time I would learn how to use these things.† I meant that I could have learned more about the outside world from television, but Raziel thought I meant that I needed more practice pushing the channel buttons. â€Å"Knowing how to use the television isn't enough. You have to know how everything in this world works.† And with that the angel turned and stared through the window of the pizza place at the men tossing disks of dough into the air. â€Å"Why, Raziel? Why do I need to know about how this world works? If anything, you've tried to keep me from learning anything.† â€Å"Not anymore. Let's go eat pizza.† â€Å"Raziel?† He wouldn't explain any further, but for the rest of the day we wandered the city, spending money, talking to people, learning. In the late afternoon Raziel inquired of a bus driver as to where we might go to meet Spider-Man. I could have gone another two thousand years without seeing the kind of disappointment I saw on Raziel's face when the bus driver gave his answer. We returned here to the room where Raziel said, â€Å"I miss destroying cities full of humans.† â€Å"I know what you mean,† I said, even though it was my best friend who had caused that sort of thing to go out of fashion, and not a moment too soon. But the angel needed to hear it. There's a difference between bearing false witness and saving someone's feelings. Even Joshua knew that. â€Å"Joshua, you're scaring me,† I said, talking to the disembodied voice that floated before me in the temple. â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"I am everywhere and nowhere,† Joshua's voice said. â€Å"How come your voice is in front of me then?† I didn't like this at all. Yes, my years with Joshua had jaded me in regard to supernatural experiences, but my meditation hadn't yet brought me to the place where I wouldn't react to my friend being invisible. â€Å"I suppose it is the nature of a voice that it must come from somewhere, but only so that it may be let go.† Gaspar had been sitting in the temple and at the sound of our voices he rose and came over to me. He didn't appear to be angry, but then, he never did. â€Å"Why?† Gaspar said to me, meaning, Why are you talking and disturbing everyone's meditation with your infernal noise, you barbarian? â€Å"Joshua has attained enlightenment,† I said. Gaspar said nothing, meaning, So? That's the idea, you unworthy spawn of a razor-burned yak. I could tell that's what he meant by the tone in his voice. â€Å"So he's invisible.† â€Å"Mu,† Joshua's voice said. Mu meaning nothing beyond nothingness in Chinese. In an act of distinctly uncontrolled spontaneity, Gaspar screamed like a little girl and jumped four feet straight in the air. Monks stopped chanting and looked up. â€Å"What was that?† â€Å"That's Joshua.† â€Å"I am free of self, free of ego,† Joshua said. There was a little squeak and then a nasty stench infused us. I looked at Gaspar and he shook his head. He looked at me and I shrugged. â€Å"Was that you?† Gaspar asked Joshua. â€Å"Me in the sense that I am part of all things, or me in the sense of I am the one who poofed the gefilte gas?† asked Josh. â€Å"The latter,† said Gaspar. â€Å"No,† said Josh. â€Å"You lie,† I said, as amazed at that as I was at the fact that I couldn't see my friend. â€Å"I should stop talking now. Having a voice separates me from all that is.† With that he was quiet, and Gaspar looked as if he were about to panic. â€Å"Don't go away, Joshua,† the abbot said. â€Å"Stay as you are if you must, but come to the tea chamber at dawn tomorrow.† Gaspar looked to me. â€Å"You come too.† â€Å"I have to train on the poles in the morning,† I said. â€Å"You are excused,† Gaspar said. â€Å"And if Joshua talks to you anymore tonight, try to persuade him to share our existence.† Then he hurried off in a very unenlightened way. That night I was falling asleep when I heard a squeak in the hall outside of my cell, then an incredibly foul odor jolted me awake. â€Å"Joshua?† I crawled out of my cell into the hall. There were narrow slots high in the walls through which moonlight could sift, but I saw nothing but faint blue light on the stone. â€Å"Joshua, is that you?† â€Å"How could you tell?† Joshua's disembodied voice said. â€Å"Well, honestly, you stink, Josh.† â€Å"The last time we went to the village for alms, a woman gave Number Fourteen and me a thousand-year-old egg. It didn't sit well.† â€Å"Can't imagine why. I don't think you're supposed to eat an egg after, oh, two hundred years or so.† â€Å"They bury them, leave them there, then dig them up.† â€Å"Is that why I can't see you?† â€Å"No, that's because of my meditation. I've let go of everything. I've achieved perfect freedom.† â€Å"You've been free ever since we left Galilee.† â€Å"It's not the same. That's what I came to tell you, that I can't free our people from the rule of Romans.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because that's not true freedom. Any freedom that can be given can be taken away. Moses didn't need to ask Pharaoh to release our people, our people didn't need to be released from the Babylonians, and they don't need to be released from the Romans. I can't give them freedom. Freedom is in their hearts, they merely have to find it.† â€Å"So you're saying you're not the Messiah?† â€Å"How can I be? How can a humble being presume to grant something that is not his to give?† â€Å"If not you, who, Josh? Angels and miracles, your ability to heal and comfort? Who else is chosen if not you?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't know anything. I wanted to say good-bye. I'll be with you, as part of all things, but you won't perceive me until you become enlightened. You can't imagine how this feels, Biff. You are everything, you love everything, you need nothing.† â€Å"Okay. You won't be needing your shoes then, right?† â€Å"Possessions stand between you and freedom.† â€Å"Sounded like a yes to me. Do me one favor though, okay?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Listen to what Gaspar has to say to you tomorrow.† And give me time to think up an intelligent answer to someone who's invisible and crazy, I thought to myself. Joshua was innocent, but he wasn't stupid. I had to come up with something to save the Messiah so he could save the rest of us. â€Å"I'm going to the temple to sit. I'll see you in the morning.† â€Å"Not if I see you first.† â€Å"Funny,† said Josh. Gaspar looked especially old that morning when I met him in the tea room. His personal quarters consisted of a cell no bigger than my own, but it was located just off the tea room and had a door which he could close. It was cold in the morning in the monastery and I could see our breath as Gaspar boiled the water for tea. Soon I saw a third puff of breath coming from my side of the table, although there was no person there. â€Å"Good morning, Joshua,† Gaspar said. â€Å"Did you sleep, or are you free from that need?† â€Å"No, I don't need sleep anymore,† said Josh. â€Å"You'll excuse Twenty-one and I, as we still require nourishment.† Gaspar poured us some tea and fetched two rice balls from a shelf where he kept the tea. He held one out for me and I took it. â€Å"I don't have my bowl with me,† I said, worried that Gaspar would be angry with me. How was I to know? The monks always ate breakfast together. This was out of order. â€Å"Your hands are clean,† said Gaspar. Then he sipped his tea and sat peacefully for a while, not saying a word. Soon the room heated up from the charcoal brazier that Gaspar had used to heat the tea and I was no longer able to see Joshua's breath. Evidently he'd also overcome the gastric distress of the thousand-year-old egg. I began to get nervous, aware that Number Three would be waiting for Joshua and me in the courtyard to start our exercises. I was about to say something when Gaspar held up a finger to mark silence. â€Å"Joshua,† Gaspar said, â€Å"do you know what a bodhisattva is?† â€Å"No, master, I don't.† â€Å"Gautama Buddha was a bodhisattva. The twenty-seven patriarchs since Gautama Buddha were also bodhisattvas. Some say that I, myself, am a bodhisattva, but the claim is not mine.† â€Å"There are no Buddhas,† said Joshua. â€Å"Indeed,† said Gaspar, â€Å"but when one reaches the place of Buddhahood and realizes that there is no Buddha because everything is Buddha, when one reaches enlightenment, but makes a decision that he will not evolve to nirvana until all sentient beings have preceded him there, then he is a bodhisattva. A savior. A bodhisattva, by making this decision, grasps the only thing that can ever be grasped: compassion for the suffering of his fellow humans. Do you understand?† â€Å"I think so,† said Joshua. â€Å"But the decision to become a bodhisattva sounds like an act of ego, a denial of enlightenment.† â€Å"Indeed it is, Joshua. It is an act of self-love.† â€Å"Are you asking me to become a bodhisattva?† â€Å"If I were to say to you, love your neighbor as you love yourself, would I be telling you to be selfish?† There was silence for a moment, and as I looked at the place where Joshua's voice was originating, he gradually started to become visible again. â€Å"No,† said Joshua. â€Å"Why?† asked Gaspar. â€Å"Love thy neighbor as thou lovest thyself† – and here there was a long pause when I could imagine Joshua looking to the sky for an answer, as he so often did, then: â€Å"for he is thee, and thou art he, and everything that is ever worth loving is everything.† Joshua solidified before our eyes, fully dressed, looking no worse for the wear. Gaspar smiled and those extra years that he had been carrying on his face seemed to fade away. There was a peace in his aspect and for a moment he could have been as young as we were. â€Å"That is correct, Joshua. You are truly an enlightened being.† â€Å"I will be a bodhisattva to my people,† Joshua said. â€Å"Good, now go shave the yak,† said Gaspar. I dropped my rice ball. â€Å"What?† â€Å"And you, find Number Three and commence your training on the posts.† â€Å"Let me shave the yak,† I said. â€Å"I've done it before.† Joshua put his hand on my shoulder. â€Å"I'll be fine.† Gaspar said: â€Å"And on the next moon, after alms, you shall both go with the group into the mountains for a special meditation. Your training begins tonight. You shall receive no meals for two days and you must bring me your blankets before sundown. â€Å"But I've already been enlightened,† protested Josh. â€Å"Good. Shave the yak,† said the master. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when Joshua showed up the next day at the communal dining room with a bale of yak hair and not a scratch on him. The other monks didn't seem surprised in the least. In fact, they hardly looked up from their rice and tea. (In my years at Gaspar's monastery, I found it was astoundingly difficult to surprise a Buddhist monk, especially one who had been trained in kung fu. So alert were they to the moment that one had to become nearly invisible and completely silent to sneak up on a monk, and even then simply jumping out and shouting â€Å"boo† wasn't enough to shake their chakras. To get a real reaction, you pretty much had to poleax one of them with a fighting staff, and if he heard the staff whistling through the air, there was a good chance he'd catch it, take it away from you, and pound you into damp pulp with it. So, no, they weren't surprised when Joshua delivered the fuzz harvest unscathed.) â€Å"How?† I asked, that being pretty much what I wanted to know. â€Å"I told her what I was doing,† said Joshua. â€Å"She stood perfectly still.† â€Å"You just told her what you were going to do?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"She wasn't afraid, so she didn't resist. All fear comes from trying to see the future, Biff. If you know what is coming, you aren't afraid.† â€Å"That's not true. I knew what was coming – namely that you were going to get stomped by the yak and that I'm not nearly as good at healing as you are – and I was afraid.† â€Å"Oh, then I'm wrong. Sorry. She must just not like you.† â€Å"That's more like it,† I said, vindicated. Joshua sat on the floor across from me. Like me, he wasn't permitted to eat anything, but we were allowed tea. â€Å"Hungry?† â€Å"Yes, you?† â€Å"Starving. How did you sleep last night, without your blanket, I mean?† â€Å"It was cold, but I used the training and I was able to sleep.† â€Å"I tried, but I shivered all night long. It's not even winter yet, Josh. When the snow falls we'll freeze to death without a blanket. I hate the cold.† â€Å"You have to be the cold,† said Joshua. â€Å"I liked you better before you got enlightened,† I said. Now Gaspar started to oversee our training personally. He was there every second as we leapt from post to post, and he drilled us mercilessly through the complex hand and foot movements we practiced as part of our kung fu regimen. (I had a funny feeling that I'd seen the movements before as he taught them to us, then I remembered Joy doing her complex dances in Balthasar's fortress. Had Gaspar taught the wizard, or vice versa?) As we sat in meditation, sometimes all through the night, he stood behind us with his bamboo rod and periodically struck us on the back of the head for no reason I could discern. â€Å"Why's he keep doing that? I didn't do anything,† I complained to Joshua over tea. â€Å"He's not hitting you to punish you, he's hitting you to keep you in the moment.† â€Å"Well, I'm in the moment now, and at the moment I'd like to beat the crap out of him.† â€Å"You don't mean that.† â€Å"Oh, what? I'm supposed to want to be the crap I beat out of him?† â€Å"Yes, Biff,† Joshua said somberly. â€Å"You must be the crap.† But he couldn't keep a straight face and he started to snicker as he sipped his tea, finally spraying the hot liquid out his nostrils and collapsing into a fit of laughter. All of the other monks, who evidently had been listening in, started giggling as well. A couple of them rolled around on the floor holding their sides. It's very difficult to stay angry when a room full of bald guys in orange robes start giggling. Buddhism. Gaspar made us wait two months before taking us on the special meditation pilgrimage, so it was well into winter before we made that monumental trek. Snow fell so deep on the mountainside that we literally had to tunnel our way out to the courtyard every morning for exercise. Before we were allowed to begin, Joshua and I had to shovel all of the snow out of the courtyard, which meant that some days it was well past noon before we were able to start drilling. Other days the wind whipped down out of the mountains so viciously that we couldn't see more than a few inches past our faces, and Gaspar would devise exercises that we could practice inside. Joshua and I were not given our blankets back, so I, for one, spent every night shivering myself to sleep. Although the high windows were shuttered and charcoal braziers were lit in the rooms that were occupied, there was never anything approaching physical comfort during the winter. To my relief, the other monks were not unaffected by the cold, and I noticed that the accepted posture for breakfast was to wrap your entire body around your steaming cup of tea, so not so much as a mote of precious heat might escape. Someone entering the dining hall, seeing us all balled up in our orange robes, might have thought he stumbled into a steaming patch of giant pumpkins. At least the others, including Joshua, seemed to find some relief from the chill during their meditations, having reached that state, I'm told, where they could, indeed, generate their own heat. I was still learning the discipline. Sometimes I considered climbing to the back of the temple where the cave became narrow and hund reds of fuzzy bats hibernated on the ceiling in a great seething mass of fur and sinew. The smell might have been horrid, but it would have been warm. When the day finally came for us to take the pilgrimage, I was no closer to generating my own heat than I had been at the start, so I was relieved when Gaspar led five of us to a cabinet and issued yak-wool leggings and boots to each of us. â€Å"Life is suffering,† said Gaspar as he handed Joshua his leggings, â€Å"but it is more expedient to go through it with one's legs intact.† We left just after dawn on a crystal clear morning after a night of brutal wind that had blown much of the snow off the base of the mountain. Gaspar led five of us down the mountain to the village. Sometimes we trod in the snow up to our waists, other times we hopped across the tops of exposed stones, suddenly making our training on the tops of the posts seem much more practical than I had ever thought possible. On the mountainside, a slip from one of the stones might have sent us plunging into a powder-filled ravine to suffocate under fifty feet of snow. The villagers received us with great celebration, coming out of their stone and sod houses to fill our bowls with rice and root vegetables, ringing small brass bells and blowing the yak horn in our honor before quickly retreating back to their fires and slamming their doors against the cold. It was festive, but it was brief. Gaspar led us to the home of the toothless old woman who Joshua and I had met so long ago and we all bedded down in the straw of her small barn amid her goats and a pair of yaks. (Her yaks were much smaller than the one we kept at the monastery, more the size of normal cattle. I found out later that ours was the progeny of the wild yaks that lived in the high plateaus, while hers were from stock that had been domesticated for a thousand years.) After the others had gone to sleep, I snuck into the old woman's house in search of some food. It was a small stone house with two rooms. The front one was dimly lit by a single window covered with a tanned and stretched animal hide that transmitted the light of the full moon as a dull yellow glow. I could only make out shapes, not actual objects, but I felt my way around the room until I laid my hand on what had to be a bag of turnips. I dug one of the knobby vegetables from the bag, brushed the dirt from the surface with my palm, then sunk in my teeth and crunched away a mouthful of crisp, earthy bliss. I had never even cared for turnips up to that time, but I had just decided that I was going to sit there until I had transferred the entire contents of that bag to my stomach, when I heard a noise in the back room. I stopped chewing and listened. Suddenly I could see someone standing in the doorway between the two rooms. I drew in my breath and held it. Then I heard the old woman's voice, speaking Chinese with her peculiar accent: â€Å"To take the life of a human or one like a human. To take a thing that is not given. To claim to have superhuman powers.† I was slow, but suddenly I realized that the old woman was reciting the rules for which a monk could be expelled from the monastery. As she came into the dim light from the window she said, â€Å"To have intercourse with anyone, even down to an animal.† And at that second, I realized that the toothless old woman was completely naked. A mouthful of chewed turnip rolled out of my mouth and down the front of my robe. The old woman, close now, reached out, I thought to catch the mess, but instead she caught what was under my robe. â€Å"Do you have superhuman powers?† the old woman said, pulling on my manhood, which, much to my amazement, nodded an answer. I need to say here that it had been over two years since we had left Balthasar's fortress, and another six months before that since the demon had come and killed all of the girls but Joy – thus curtailing my regular supply of sexual companions. I want to go on record that I had been steadfast in adhering to the rules of the monastery, allowing only those nocturnal emissions as were expelled during dreams (although I had gotten pretty good in directing my dreams in that direction, so all that mental discipline and meditation wasn't completely useless). So, that said, I was in a weakened state of resistance when the old woman, leathery and toothless as she might have been, compelled me by threat and intimidation to share with her what the Chinese call the Forbidden Monkey Dance. Five times. Imagine my chagrin when the man who would save the world found me in the morning with a twisted burl of Chinese crone-flesh orally affixed to my fleshy pagoda of expandable joy, even as I snored away in transcendent turnip-digesting oblivion. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!† said Joshua, turning to the wall and throwing his robe over his head. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!† I said, roused from my slumber by the disgusted exclamation of my friend. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhh!† said the old woman, I think. (Her speech was generously obstructed, if I do say so myself.) â€Å"Jeez, Biff,† Joshua stuttered. â€Å"You can't†¦I mean†¦Lust is†¦Jeez, Biff!† â€Å"What?† I said, like I didn't know what. â€Å"You've ruined sex for me for all time,† Joshua said. â€Å"Whenever I think of it, this picture will always come up in my mind.† â€Å"So,† I said, pushing the old woman away and shooing her into the back room. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua turned around and looked me in the eye, then grinned widely enough to threaten the integrity of his ears. â€Å"So thanks.† I stood and bowed. â€Å"I am here only to serve,† I said, grinning back. â€Å"Gaspar sent me to look for you. He's ready to leave.† â€Å"Okay, I'd better, you know, say good-bye.† I gestured toward the back room. Joshua shuddered. â€Å"No offense,† he said to the old woman, who was out of sight in the other room. â€Å"I was just surprised.† â€Å"Want a turnip?† I said, holding up one of the knobby treats. Joshua turned and started out the door. â€Å"Jeez, Biff,† he was saying as he left.

President Richard Nixon s The War On Drugs - 1335 Words

Starting in 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs. He stated, â€Å"America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive.† The War on Drugs aimed to fight against a supply and demand epidemic that had America at its knees. Nixon’s policies blatantly reflect society s attitude regarding the trafficking of illegal narcotics. In 1973, Nixon initiated an interdiction effort in Mexico. The United States spent millions of dollars tightening border control, which led to a standstill in trade between the two countries. The standstill devastated Mexico’s economy due to the lack of commerce and tourism in and out of the country. Despite the War on Drugs mission to cease the trade of drugs in and out of the United States, it has proved â€Å"ineffective in stopping the use, manufacture, or trafficking of drugs. The War on Drugs has also create d a whole host of subsidiary problems. Including the lack of education throughout Mexico and the highest incarceration rate the United States had ever witnessed. The War on Drugs has devastated Mexico’s socio-economic infrastructure while failing to stop the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs, both domestically and internationally. The War on Drugs attempts to solve the supply side of narcotics with crude and unnecessary punishments for a demand side issue. The United States fails to realize that Mexico is not the problem,Show MoreRelatedCombating Drug Use in America1096 Words   |  5 PagesThe use of illegal drugs has plagued society for thousands of years. Illicit drugs use can be found all around the world. The War on Drugs is a term applied to a campaign on the prohibition of drugs of drug use, with the effort to reduced illegal drug trades. 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