My Journey as a Future Educator Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

My Journey as a Future Educator - Essay Example As my first day as a teacher’s assistant approached, my self-confidence took a huge dip. I felt so nervous, as I watched children in a playground in the school I’ve passed on my way home one day. The children I’ve estimated to be in the age group I will be working with seemed so intimidating all of a sudden. The older ones would climb to the highest point of the tower in the play equipment, flailing their arms ignoring the adults’ warnings way below them on the ground. I thought these children were fearless! I was afraid for myself. I guess it won’t be a piece of cake after all. My initial observation inspired me to turn to more studying about children at this age and how I should deal with them. I read several theories about this stage. I learned that working with all children regardless of age involves many considerations. One is to see each child at his or her own developmental level and create activities and opportunities appropriate to their pa rticular levels. The child needs to develop holistically, meaning each developmental area is given attention to so growth and development as a whole person ensues. The teacher needs careful planning and implementation of activities so that children under their care grow in all areas.The process of growth and maturity of an individual entails development in physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral areas. Development in one area affects another. In children, this is very obvious, as they are at a stage in life when development occurs rapidly.... Physically, a child’s body grows in accordance to the genetic structure he was born with. Logically, children grow bigger and taller and every year, their growth is obviously apparent in the clothes that don’t fit them anymore from a few months before, and the height and weight that drastically increased from their last doctor’s check-up. Physically, young children develop more strength as their bodies’ proportions become more adult-like. Beginnings of athletic skills such as running, jumping and hopping are manifested. Fine motors skills, such as writing and drawing, develop slowly Their motor skills also develop in accordance to their developmental needs. This means, the older they get, the more things they are expected to do, so they develop physical skills to be able to do such tasks. Intelligence is another area where one grows over time. I learned that by the time a child steps into the early childhood stage, his brain has attained 90% of its adult w eight by age 5 (Developmental Stages, 2011). This develops faster than any other body part. Jean Piaget, among others, has outlined a remarkable framework in the cognitive development of a person and describes each stage. Five to seven year old children belong to Piaget’s Preoperational Period. This marks the time when a child becomes able to represent objects and knowledge through imitation, symbolic play, drawing, mental images and spoken language. Lack of conservation skills is also characteristic of this stage. â€Å"Conservation is defined as the knowledge that the number, mass, area, length, weight, and volume of objects are not changed by physically rearranging the objects.† (Brewer, 2001, p. 58). The seven year olds are actually in transition to the next cognitive stage which is the Concrete

Gone with the Wind Essay Example for Free

Gone with the Wind Essay Gone with the Wind is a film based on Margaret Mitchell’s book with the same title. Tagged as one of the most memorable love stories in American history, Gone with the Wind is not only a story of love between Scarlett O’ Hara and Rhett Butler but is also a story of a woman’s struggle to keep her family alive through years of war. Set against the American Civil War, the film is mainly influenced by the events of that time. We get a glimpse of the social structures of the 1800’s and of the roles expected of women at that time. B. MEDIA The film, despite its historical background, is more of a dramatic manifestation rather than a documentary of the events during the American Civil War. Done in Technicolor, the film features theatrical music with a touch of country to go well with the Atlanta and Jonesboro settings. The music was mostly passively used in the background, segued to indicate change of scenes. However, there were some scenes when music was an integral part, enhancing the emotions and actions depicted in the film. Being a really old film, Gone with the Wind does not have the special effects that movies nowadays have. It is, however, effective in recreating the Civil War and making the viewers feel what it would have been like to be in that situation. Explosions and gunfire were used to reestablish the film’s setting. Shots were very conventional, using wide shots to establish a scene and close-ups to enhance emotional integrity. Gone with the Wind, featuring mostly Southern characters, includes a plethora of characters speaking with a Southern drawl. The language was mostly contemporary, with a few slang usages here and there. Hats off to the well-known actors such as Clark Gable (Rhett Butler), Vivien Leigh (Scarlett OHara), Leslie Howard (Ashley Wilkes), and Olivia de Havilland (Melanie Hamilton) for pulling off the characters originally designed by Margaret Mitchell. They were excellent actors and they gave life to characters recreated in this screenplay by Sidney Howard, though the story was flavorful enough that it can be portrayed by anyone with good acting skills. Featuring well-known actors, though, helped promote the film and possibly helped in raking in big money for the producer David O. Selznick. C. CONTENT The film offered abundant source of memorable scenes. In one of the earlier scenes, we see Mammy helping Scarlett get ready for the Wilkes’s barbeque party. Instead of a grumpy, complaining slave, Mammy seem to be in high spirits and just happy helping out the O’ Hara sisters. Though this highlights the sad social structure existent at the time of the movie, Mammy’s strong hold on Scarlett and her â€Å"don’t give me nonsense† approach to Scarlett’s usually hard-to-resist charms show how – despite the racial structure of the times – African-Americans play an integral role in the American household. However, in another scene, African-Americans were depicted in a negative way. When Melanie Hamilton was about to give birth, Prissy lets it slip that she is knowledgeable in midwifery. At a crucial point of the childbirth though, Prissy panics and admits, â€Å"Lawzy, we got to have a doctor. I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies. † This is eye-catching in the sense that is ‘glorifies’ one of the stereotypes associated to African-Americans. The way Scarlett O’ Hara acts is also often a point of contention in the movie. Though shown as a strong woman who was able to carry her family through bad times, Scarlett was also shown to be clingy and desperate in most scenes. This was most apparent during the Wilkes’s party, when she choreographed the whole afternoon to catch Ashley’s attention. In all the scenes mentioned, the main issue revolved around racial, social, and cultural boundaries. The scenes depicted how far along societal rules were during the setting of the movie. Though often criticized for being too leaning on stereotypical portrayals, Gone with the Wind still is very much a picture of the truth of that existed back then. D. BIAS Victor Fleming, the credited director of Gone with the Wind, was mostly an action film director and had his first hand at romantic drama with the film in discussion. One cannot say, though, that whatever biases the film had been his â€Å"fault†. Gone with the Wind is mostly producer-driven and Fleming may only have marginal influence on the film’s outcome. And since the film was highly-based on the novel, the â€Å"biases† can be attributed to what Margaret Mitchell wrote. (Myrick 126) E. EFFECTIVENESS / HISTORICAL CONTEXT Though very different from films that most of us are used to nowadays, Gone with the Wind was very effective in evoking the emotions it aimed for. The combination of the restructuring of the Civil War and the powerful acting accounts for the film’s effectiveness. The combination of both – plus its basis on a historical fact – also points to why the film was very profitable. Every American knows of the horrors that the Civil War brought us and the film’s effective depiction of this point in history made everyone love the film more. All in all, the film – with its combination of a moving plot, powerful cast, and good filming – was worth a watch. Though mostly dramatic than historical, anyone who wants to relive the Civil War can give this movie a shot. WORKS CITED Myrick, Susan. White Columns in Hollywood: Reports from the GWTW Sets. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1982.

What Went Wrong With Americas Schools? Essay -- essays research papers

What Went Wrong with America's Schools? Education is the key to any countries economic success. For a country to be economically sound, the business and industry within that country must be financially prosperous. In todays high tech world economy, businesses and industries need well educated employees to prosper. Therefore, the deterioration of a countries educational system should be considered a major economic problem. Between 1965 and 1980, the performance of American students dramatically declined, the educational system fell backwards, and it is affecting todays schools, as well as the future of the US's work force. During that 15 year period, US students' test scores severely dropped in comparison to other industrial countries. After 1980, the dropping scores leveled off, and recently, they have begun in increase. But American students must play catch-up with the rest of the world, and todays public school system is not prepared to facilitate the major leap forward that our educational system needs. Before 1965, America's public school system was producing better educated students with less money and fewer supplies than today. Each class was approximately 40% larger than today's classes, and they functioned with about one-third of the real dollar expenditures of present day schools. They taught with fewer books and less equipment, and did not have any of todays audio-visual material and equipment. Then, between 1965 and 1980, real dollar expenditures per student doubled as teacher to student ratio dropped by one forth. Yet, with more money and fewer students per class, student achievement deteriorated in every available measure. In 15 years, national SAT scores declined by 5 points annually. That 75 point drop has put the US behind greatly, and has left todays students with a lot of ground to make up in order to reach other countries test score levels. The cause of this dramatic drop can not been attributed to any one thing. The decline was sudden, sharp, and affected every region and socioeconomic group in the country. Because the 60's and 70's were a time of major changes, nothing that happened in that era can be ruled out. But a few major changes within the educational system have been linked to the decline. &... ...resent increase in learning and test scores, America will be on its way to being a leader in education again. And with a well educated work force, the US economy will continue to grow and prosper. Bibliography Stanley M. Elam, Lowell C. Rose, and Alec M. Gallup, "The 25th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 137-152 William Kristol and Jay P. Lefkowitz, "Our Students, Still at Risk," New York Times, 3 May 1993, p.A-23 Sam Peltzman, "What's Behind the Decline of Public Schools?" USA Today, July 1994, pages 22-24 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, "More than Survival" 1980 copyright by Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA Gerald W Bracey, "The Third Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education" Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 105-117 Jim Fox, "The Wrong Whipping Boy" Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 118-119 What Went Wrong With Americas Schools? Essay -- essays research papers What Went Wrong with America's Schools? Education is the key to any countries economic success. For a country to be economically sound, the business and industry within that country must be financially prosperous. In todays high tech world economy, businesses and industries need well educated employees to prosper. Therefore, the deterioration of a countries educational system should be considered a major economic problem. Between 1965 and 1980, the performance of American students dramatically declined, the educational system fell backwards, and it is affecting todays schools, as well as the future of the US's work force. During that 15 year period, US students' test scores severely dropped in comparison to other industrial countries. After 1980, the dropping scores leveled off, and recently, they have begun in increase. But American students must play catch-up with the rest of the world, and todays public school system is not prepared to facilitate the major leap forward that our educational system needs. Before 1965, America's public school system was producing better educated students with less money and fewer supplies than today. Each class was approximately 40% larger than today's classes, and they functioned with about one-third of the real dollar expenditures of present day schools. They taught with fewer books and less equipment, and did not have any of todays audio-visual material and equipment. Then, between 1965 and 1980, real dollar expenditures per student doubled as teacher to student ratio dropped by one forth. Yet, with more money and fewer students per class, student achievement deteriorated in every available measure. In 15 years, national SAT scores declined by 5 points annually. That 75 point drop has put the US behind greatly, and has left todays students with a lot of ground to make up in order to reach other countries test score levels. The cause of this dramatic drop can not been attributed to any one thing. The decline was sudden, sharp, and affected every region and socioeconomic group in the country. Because the 60's and 70's were a time of major changes, nothing that happened in that era can be ruled out. But a few major changes within the educational system have been linked to the decline. &... ...resent increase in learning and test scores, America will be on its way to being a leader in education again. And with a well educated work force, the US economy will continue to grow and prosper. Bibliography Stanley M. Elam, Lowell C. Rose, and Alec M. Gallup, "The 25th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 137-152 William Kristol and Jay P. Lefkowitz, "Our Students, Still at Risk," New York Times, 3 May 1993, p.A-23 Sam Peltzman, "What's Behind the Decline of Public Schools?" USA Today, July 1994, pages 22-24 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, "More than Survival" 1980 copyright by Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA Gerald W Bracey, "The Third Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education" Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 105-117 Jim Fox, "The Wrong Whipping Boy" Phi Delta Kappan, October 1993, pages 118-119

Resolved: Presidential Signing Statements Threaten to Undermine the Ru

The subject of signing statements has created much debate among the houses of Congress, government officials, and the public alike. These signing statements fall under the categories of constitutional and legislative history signing statements. Constitutional signing statements are those in which the president deems certain provisions of the legislation as unconstitutional, therefore they should not be enforced (Bradley & Posner, 2006). Legislative history signing statements are executive interpretations of ambiguous legislation (Bradley & Posner, 2006). The Constitution very specifically outlines the process of a bill being passed up to the executive level, but the issue of presidential signing statements is not explicitly discussed, therefore it becomes a controversial grey area; specifically when a President uses a signing statement to express partial support and intent to enforce a law. This essay will discuss signing statements and the role that they play in the legislative pr ocess. In addition, the legality of presidential signing statements in respect to the constitution will be argued through the exploration of the origins, past applications, and attempts at limiting such presidential implements. Presidential signing statements are a president’s formal declaration of their interpretation of a bill that is being signed into law, namely the objections to segments of the bill that they have deemed in opposition of the constitution as well as the measures of the bill that will be enforced. (CRS, 2006) They can also convey support or appreciation towards the bill and its contributors (Kelley, 2007) Signing statements tend to occur on significant pieces of legislation and function similarly to presidential vetoes in that th... ...igning statements: Constitutional and institutional implications (Order Code RL33667)Congressional Research Service. Kelley, C. S. (2007). The law: Contextualizing the signing statement. Presidential Studies Quarterly,, 37(4), 737-748. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27552286 Kinkopf, N. (2006). Signing statements and the president's authority to refuse to enforce the law. American Constitution Society for Law and Policy Lee, M. (2008). Reorienting the debate on presidential signing statements: The need for transparency in the president’s constitutional objections, reservations, and assertions of power. Manuscript submitted for publication, School of Law, UCLA, Retrieved from http://www.uclalawreview.org/wordpress/?p=339 Lund, N. (2007). Presidential signing statements in perspective.William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 16(1), 95-111.

Management of Industrial Relations

Industrial relations is seen as the most subtle and complicated crisis of current Industrial society. It Is Impossible for any organization to have harmonious working environment unless and until there Is a heedful relationship and cooperation with labors.Hence, it is vital for all to have appropriate interest in generating fine relations between the two actors known as employers and employees. This essay will elaborate on the controversial issues such as, strike and absenteeism followed by owe these issues affects the actors mainly employer, employee and entire population either directly or indirectly In their daily lives and whether does this Issues have positive or negative Impact on them.To begin with, Industrial relation Is considered to be a diverse field which Is viewed in different perspectives by three distinctive schools where in unitary school, industrial relations see employer-employee relationships essentially harmonious and conflict is seen as the intrusion, Pluralist p erspective accepts expected conflicts and variety of groups will compete with evergreen interests, objectives and aspirations and through Marxist viewpoint there is a perpetual conflict between the two actors because of the unfair distribution of wealth and power between them.All these diverse nature portrayed by each school has some controversial Issues that Is related with Industrial relations thus, affecting everybody either directly or indirectly. Moving on, the controversial issues are mainly the industrial conflicts in an organization and the most popular one is â€Å"strike' which is a strong weapon utilized by labor alliance or trade unions in regards to getting heir certain demands to be fulfilled.Generally, group of workers relinquish the production process and brings up pressure on the employer In order to get their demands accepted. The most obvious effect of strike on employer Is that production schedules are disrupted and production capacity lowers. This â€Å"direct ly† affects the employers, employees and also the state whereby, employees lose out on working days and because of this, production and profit is forgone to the employers and once profitability level is down there is a huge tax loss by state.Hence, this also indirectly† affects the general public whereby, inflation takes place since there is product scarcity as production disturbance Is caused through strike and as a result, the public faces disruption of certain goods and services. Mostly due to strike there can be a severe economic and social effects and costs which can generally affect the actors, states and entire population.This can be supported through an event that had happened in 1959 in Fijian oil Industry where workers strike for higher wages and benefits like; sick leave and 40 hour workweek; â€Å"The strike was held for complete days in which all the gasoline stations were under stoppage since the fuses were gasoline stations the essential transportation se rvices like bus and taxis also went on strike in order to pressure the employers to accept the demands and also to commence the service soon. This affected the general public since they were deprived from transportation services.Later, the striking crowd grew and because of their demands still not being answered, workers threw rocks at the Europeans. This caused social cost since other shops located beside the gasoline stations were also imaged by the rock thrown and since the curfew was established later therefore, innocent people available near the scenic area also got victimized and had to taken to hospital hence causing social cost where they had to seek medical attentions by doctors† (Global Nonviolent Action Database). On the other hand, strike also has positive impacts whereby it can significantly progress the lives of workers together with their families.Benefits may include where the employees might lose their wages for the certain days but they achieve more in regard s to longer terms for example, wrought strike employees bargains an increment of 5% in their wage rate for an year then basically upcoming increases will be supported by larger amounts. Furthermore, absenteeism and attendance are also importance to industrialized society. Largely, absence from work creates extensive range of consequences on the workers, workplace, the industrial operations, and also the stipulation of goods and services to society. T characterizes a form of momentary revoke from the organization by the employees which enforces essential costs on the process of labor management. Absenteeism is due to many reasons such as Job stress, personal attitude or Job satisfaction but at the same time it also affects generally. This stands out to be the alarmingly high cost to management. This is evident when glanced at some foreign countries like Australia where industries â€Å"through absenteeism lost thirty times the number of working days than strike and eventually loosin g approximately $7 billion annually. Similarly, American industries also encountered it where â€Å"approximately $40 billion is lost annually' (Gorilla, MAGMA, course book). Hence, profitability level is at risk and states lose out on tax. Likewise, employees also lose out where due to absenteeism they might get terminated or dismissed from the employment contract that they were under and as a result, they will be left unemployed and largely it will affect their family since they might not be able to gain access to basic food items for their survival in future thus leading them to poverty.Looking at the population, they will be deprived from non-availability of certain goods and services thus, rise in price of products, leads to a drop in purchasing power and generally low income earned by retail shops. However, being left from work for nine basis can be advantageous for individuals and also for the workplace. It approaches to help in reducing the risk of injuries not only to empl oyees but permits a productive workplace, through sick leave employers are able to get rid of workplace stress and other disorders, and also maintains productive workforce.For instance, an employee is ill but is trying not to affect the Job that is being given therefore, that might affect other employees as that illness can be infectious, making the certain employees ill at the same time thus, more sick leaves are being utilized, eventually effecting the production level for a week or so. Categorized in diverse nature which stands out to be occupied with controversial issues which is in a form of conflicts mainly known as strike and absenteeism.These issues do have both negative and positive impacts on the entire population and employer, employee and also the state where they have to pass through economic and social costs. Eventually, to get rid of these issue and to have a healthy workplace policies must be revised and established hence, having a productive workplace and employers benefit the most which at last promotes betterment to state and the population. Bibliography Invalidates. Swarthmore. Deed, (2014).

Differences Between Après vs. Derrière and Avant vs. Devant

Differences Between Aprà ¨s vs. Derrià ¨re and Avant vs. Devant Aprà ¨s and Avant convey a notion of time or space. Aprà ¨s refers to doing something after while Avant refers to doing something before. Je le retrouve aprà ¨s/avant le dà ©jeunerIll meet up with him after/before lunch Aprà ¨s/avant le bois, il y a un cheminAfter/before the wood, there is a path Derriere and Devant convey a notion of precise space. Derrier refers to being behind something, or someone and Devant refers to being in front of something or someone. La petite fille est cachà ©e derrià ¨re larbreThe young girl is hidden behind the tree Pour la photo, comme tu es plus petite, va devant Camille.For the picture, since you are smaller, go in front of Camille.   Derrià ¨re le bois, il y a un cheminBehind the wood, there is a path Aprà ¨s and Derrià ¨re Are Not Interchangeable So, what is the difference between the two sentences aprà ¨s le bois, il y a un chemin and derrià ¨re le bois, il y a un chemin? They both give a piece of space-related information, but one is more precise, just like in English. Same exact logic applies to avant versus devant. Aprà ¨s Que Indicative / Avant Que Subjunctive A common mistake is Aprà ¨s que plus a subjunctive. Its a very common mistake, even among French people, because honestly, the indicative sounds terrible there. Avant que is followed by the subjunctive  because we dont yet know if the action is going to become a reality. With Aprà ¨s que, the action has taken place already: there is no doubt left, hence no need for the subjunctive. Aprà ¨s que subjunctive sounds so bad to a French ear that we will do our best to use a noun instead of a verb after. You can use the same trick with avant que et avoid using a subjunctive. Je dois commencer aprà ¨s quil part. (or aprà ¨s son dà ©part)I must start after he leaves (or after his departure). Je dois commencer avant quil parte (or avant son dà ©part).I must start before he leaves (or before his departure) By the way, even if we use le derrià ¨re in French (although this is extremely polite, just like saying the behind in English), French people use the preposition derrià ¨re without thinking about it at all. Just like in English you use behind without thinking about that part of the anatomy.

buy custom The US Health Care System essay

buy custom The US Health Care System essay When it comes to health matters, everyone becomes attentive. People believe that with good health, one can virtually accomplish anything that they desire. This is the reason to as why health is given all the attention. It is important to have a clear understanding of the meaning of the term health, healthcare and systems that are put in place to facilitate healthcare. From the definitions of health given, one can either be in good health or in unhealthy. Therefore, it is important to know ones health status so that preventive care can be offered immediately. This can only be affected when proper health care system and policies are put in place. Healthcare can then be described as an activity or act geared to maintain health. This could be through the provision of medical services or any other services that aim at maintaining good health. Healthcare is not necessarily provided when a person becomes sick or loses health, but is progressive and should always be provided as a preventive measure. Healthcare system is the organization of people, institutions and various resources, which help in quality service delivery to the intended population. Therefore, it can be said that these are systems put in place to meet healthcare needs of a particular population. There are several systems worldwide and in this case, the main focus of this discussion is on the US Health care system (Kassirer 19). In this paper, we are going to handle the high cost of healthcare in America as a problem in the healthcare system and further look at the research done and suggestions to improve the situation. Significance of Healthcare Systems Healthcare systems are put in place, so that they can meet and satisfy the healthcare needs of people in a geographical area. They have the mandate to deliver healthcare services to the intended group or population and ensure fair contribution of finances. The set up of these systems vary from one country/state to another, though they seem to have similar goals since they are geared towards promoting and maintaining the best quality health care service delivery to the citizens. The systems play a major role and should therefore be maintained and supported if people are to achieve the desired standards in healthcare services delivery. This include proper design and plan of the structures, which include the participation of the government, charities, trade unions, employers, religious groups, and all coordinated bodies to deliver the intended healthcare services to the intended populations (Kassirer 23). Stakeholders in the Healthcare System There are several factors that determine the effectiveness of health care system. These factors include, but not limited to cost, quality, and ease of access, cultures and workforce. It is clear that all these factors affect the stakeholders in the healthcare system. The stakeholders in this field vary from the private sector to the government. The players in the private sector include the insurance companies, device manufacturers, pharmaceuticals and medical practitioners. The government is majorly involved in policy making levels and is responsible for making sure that there is the best quality and affordable service delivery to its citizens with other stakeholders who are involved in the health care system being the physicians (Ventres 43). Physicians play a big role in the whole of the healthcare system, since they are the ones who interact with the patients and policies formulated by the government. Lastly, the main group largely affected by the systems put in place is the patients. The patients are the base and foundation of developing all the systems relating to healthcare. All these stakeholders play unique and major roles in ensuring the need for better healthcare systems within the United States (Ventres 52). Current Healthcare System Situation Currently, all the countries of the world have problems with their healthcare systems and the United States is not an exception, as there are many issues affecting the healthcare system with the US system being declared broken in the year 2000 (Kassirer 27). This has never changed since then, and the situation is becoming worse, since many Americans are not getting the health insurance cover. These problems emanate from the stakeholders in the healthcare system. American healthcare system is riddled with inefficiencies due to a lack of an integrated system that could promote an optimal mix of personal medical care and population health measures(American Associates 1) The Journal further claims that the major innovation of this plan would be to incorporate existing private health insurance plans into a national system that rebalances health care spending between personal and population health services and directs spending to investments with the greatest long-run returns (American Ass ociates 1). If citizens are given a choice of both public and private mix, then it is obvious that this will be a preference to pure government system. Currently there are restrictions where people have to take up insurance covers based on their employers demand and not their own choice of health insurance cover. The major innovation to this plan would be to incorporate existing private health insurance plans into a national system that rebalances health care spending between personal and population health services and directs spending to investments with the greatest long-run returns (American Associates 1). Moreover, the physicians often ave problems in accessing the patients records. Lack of consistency in measuring the quality of healthcare and using the findings in decision making is another problem (Louis 59). One of the significant problems in the healthcare system today in the United States is majorly finance. Healthcare has become very expensive and the prices are skyrocketing every day. It is true that guaranteeing fundamental health care for everyone will be expensive. According to Louis 68, the fees for covering the uninsured would cost an estimated $88.6 billion in todays dollars (68). The current situation of healthcare system indicates that there are many problems that need to be fixed. Other highlighted issues can be handled by change of policies. For the future generation, there is a need to ensure universal coverage for all. This will ensure every American citizen is registered in an essential health plan of their choice. High Cost of Healthcare It is true to say that the United States system of healthcare is quite unique (Shi Leiyu and Douglas 12). In fact, the system is characterized by presence of subsystems, imbalanced access to healthcare services as a result of lacking insurance cover for all, existence many players and absence of central bureau to preside over the system and many other features that affect healthcare delivery in the country (Louis 71). In this study, more focus is put on cost as a factor that affects the health care system. Cost is a wide topic of discussion and the main focus is in ways of reducing the skyrocketing costs, since it is obvious that the cost of healthcare in the United States has shot and is continuing to rise with time. It is said that in the year 2010, the expenditure of health neared $ 2.6 trillion in the United States alone (U.S Healthcare Costs 4). This figure is more than ten times that spent in 1980. This is still expected to grow faster than the national income over the foreseeable future (Stephen, Raymond and Karen 118). It is true that the notion of cost-effectiveness is used in other countries, but the Americans have been unwilling to accept the denial of medical care on that premise (Stephen, Raymond and Karen120). In fact; experts believe that much of the healthcare services being offered in the United States are a tax burden on the states budget expenditure (Rettig 13). Everybody can agree that health issues are sensitive, and all the necessary measures have to be put in place to ensure quality. However, the notion that in an attempt to be cost-effective would result to quality undermine could be misleading and these are some of the reasons why the cost of healthcare in the United States of America has always been on the rise. According to Beeuwkes, Buntin, Haviland, Mc Devitt and Sood, this can be associated with unnecessary pride where the rich and the most influential people, such the political elites and the most successful business people fight to keep the access to health services unreason ably high in the name of quality when the poor are languishing without coverage of health insurance and generally access to proper medicare facilities (45). It is an irony that as the world struggles to attain cost effectiveness in its service delivery to the citizens; this does not apply to the health sector, and especially in the United States (Beeuwkes, Buntin, Haviland, Mc Devitt and Sood 47). The very first step is to embrace the fact that the citizens can still achieve better health services at a cheaper cost, thereby getting the most cost effective services. According to Madeline, most medical treatments lack evidence that they are effective (Madeline 42). The U.S Congress, in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, set aside $1.1 billion to jump-start research on which interventions are not worthwhile (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle and the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston 2). This implies that the cost has been on the rise yet most of the treatment is actually non effective at all. Therefore, confirming the previous belief that high cost does not necessarily mean better and quality delivery of healthcare. Madeline further gives a case study of Texas City and El-Paso which is 800 miles away (Madeline 57). In McAllen, Texas Medicare expenditure hovered around $15000 per person enrolled while in El-Paso, the amount was half as much (U.S Healthcare Costs 4). The major concern is that the two cities are only 800 miles away from each other and thereby the discrepancy is not explained by the figures. Compared to patients in El Paso and nationwide, patients in McAllen got more of pretty much everything more diagnostic testing, more hospital treatment, more surgery, more home care (Atul 1). This observation clearly indicates that a better healthcare system is what delivers quality services and at a cheaper cost as compared to incurring much resource expenditure with little benefits if any. Many studies have demonstrated that NPPs can provide both high-quality and cost-effective medical care, because they show greater personal interest in patients (Shi Leiyu and Douglas 86). Kassirer concludes that the discontent of many physicians is attributable to frustrations in their attempts to deliver ideal health care, restrictions on their personal time, financial incentives that strain their professional principles, and loss of control over their clinical decisions (Kassirer 39). Research has also established that disclosure of physicians financial incentives highlights the tradeoff between the legal and ethical solutions to conflict of interest in professionalism. These studies reveal that in the cost of heealthcare in the US is generally high, but without some valid reasons, and these are some of the challenges that need to be looked into. There is a need to carry out some thorough investigations so that the root causes of the health care problems in the United States can be found out. It is from the investigated findings that some tangible solutions can be reached. Importantly, there is some glimmer of hope, if all the stakeholders and policy makers in the US health care system agree to hold meetings to reach at some amicable solutions. Therefore, some level of change can be achieved. This change can be achieved if all the involved stakeholders in the healthcare sector collaborate and work together (Retting 53). Looking at employers, they can play a big role in working towards a better healthcare provision. Every employer should be focusing on ways of improving the standards of health status of their employees and at the same time promoting the quality and cost of healthcare provision. In efforts to save the common people from the high and rising costs of healthcare, President Barrack Obama and the Congress has paid more concentration to the cost involved. Instead of employers offering core insurance benefits, all residents would select a health plan or physician through a regional insurance exchange. The contribution would be pooled by the NHT into a global budget for health spending (American Associates 1) The fact that about 45 million Americans are uninsured is shocking and these results into patients having to hassle as a result of high rise of premiums (U.S Healthcare Costs 5). It is time American citizens embraced the concept of cost-effectiveness by looking at drugs and technologies from the economic point of view and do comparison to available alternatives. The major concerns should not only be what cost will be incurred, but also the worth of the cost; is it worth? With this in mind, then we can say that it is not necessarily that expensive treatments are always of bad value, since some costly breakthroughs bring about better outcomes, and for this reason worth the investment (Christopher, Murray, Phil and Julio 72). It has been found that in some cases, very expensive tests and surgeries are carried out and at the end of the day, they are found to have been unnecessary, these means that cost has been incurred without returns. This is not just in complex cases involving tests and surgeries, but also in general medical treatment. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), half of medical treatments delivered lack the clear evidence of their work. In June 2009, the part of the National Academy of Sciences and IOM, issued the report that listed one hundred different areas where the popular medical interventions have to be rigorously compared. In the previous case of disparity in cost of healthcare in Texas and El Paso, the main cause of McAllens extreme costs was found to be overuse across-the-board of medicine with the effect that patients end up intoxicated and become worse instead of improving as expected. A study from the Dartmouth Medical School, which suggests that often patients in highly-cost areas get much more expensive treatment of the marginal value, but less quality. The study showed that patients from high-cost areas were they less likely to receive preventive cheap priced services, such as pneumonia and flu vaccines, waited in line to a doctors and emergency room, and were less possibly to receive a primary-care physician. According to Madeline, they get more of the expensive, but not more of help they needed (Madeline 49). The observations pose questions to as whether expensive equals quality. Its high time health matters get serious attention instead of imitating the famous Veblen goods, such as cars and jewelry whose preference increases with increase of their price citing superior status. This is health, and it cannot be compared to any other good in the market, so people ought to know that the cheaper healthcare services become, the better it is for all citizens. Other cases relating to finances include an imperfect market situation, presence of third party insurers who come in as intermediaries linking the aspects of financing and delivery of health care, new and costly medical technology and emphasis on quality enhancement. It has been discovered that the more we get intermediaries in the business, the more expensive the services and goods are to the consumer. However, a policy would be adopted connecting the healthcare providers and people in need of these services directly instead of having to go through a pool of intermediates ending up with unbearable rates to bear (Retting 39). Conclusion It is still possible to tame the rising costs of healthcare and provide the Americans with the best at good rates. It all starts from individuals having the will. The healthcare system is may be described as broken but all is not lost. Everybody wants a relaxed working environment and this extends to those staff in the healthcare department as well. They should be given adequate incentives and a better working environment in order to deliver the best to the patients in general. It is obvious that it is important to ensure everyone has access to affordable healthcare. It is sad that even those who have health insurance are increasingly facing affordability problems in terms of paying for their health care. This is because analysis identifies families and individuals as underinsured, if they are forced to spend at least ten percent of their income on health care from their pockets. As citizens look forward to having a better system, there is some hope that all the stakeholders concerne d will work together towards achieving better terms. Buy custom The US Health Care System essay