The Concept Of The Afterlife Religion Essay

The Concept Of The Afterlife Religion Essay Throughout the history of man one of the biggest questions that haunt human existence is the question of the Afterlife. Is there a God? Is there a heaven or a hell? Do we have souls? And what happens to it once it leaves this earth and the physical body? The prospect of the unknown has brought about many different ideas and theories; each religion, culture and era has developed their own notions and set truths in order to explain what will happen once we die. In order to gain some understanding on this subject this paper will exam the four biggest religions; Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism and how they explain the unknown and the divine plane beyond ours. Christianity In the Christian religion they believe in the concept that after physical death the soul maintains consciousness and there is an in-between state between death and the resurrection of the body. Another concept is that until the resurrection, which will happen during the Second Coming or the return of Jesus Christ also known as Judgment day, the spirit sleeps. These two ideas are divided into three main sects; The Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and Protestantism. Although all three of these groups are similar in that they believe that upon death the soul will face judgment for his or her actions while on earth, they each have their different perception of when and how it will happen. These in-between states mentioned above are classified into two planes, Heaven and Hell, within the New Testament. Even though Hades appears in both the New Testament and in the Revelation, to express the concept of hell, the idea of hell does not derive from the place in Greek mythology that is the underworld the place of the dead. This is due to the fact that it is a place that consists of the undead both good and bad. Therefore to better understand hell one talks about Tartarus a place in the underworld even lower than Hades were the wicked go. Hell is described to be a place or state, were souls who have not repented for their sins and/or have rejected Jesus Christ as their savior, suffer eternal damnation. In biblical teachings it is said that the soul passes into hell after God has judged them irredeemable for their actions while on earth. Hades also consist of Elysium, a utopia were those who have lived worthy lives go. This is known as the kingdom of God or Kingdom of heaven, discussed mostly in Revelations in the New Testament. It is considered a place or state that is inherited by the righteous a place of paradise and eternity with god. Although the literalness of heaven is debatable, it is said while on earth, Jesus often preached about the heven as a reward, a final destination, for those who have been virtuous and followed the word of his father. Christians believe that in the end of time Jesus Christ will rise again and all who have died will be resurrected for the Last Judgment. This is when the kingdom of God will be fully established; in Revelation 21 it states that an army of angels will come down from heaven to fight those who oppose God and reestablish Gods eternal reign over all of his creations. It is the final day ware the wicked will be punished and the righteous rewarded. Therefore those who want to be saved must repent for their sins and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ so that they can be with him after Judgment day. The Catholic Church believes that upon death those souls who have been saved do not go straight to heaven but go through a process of purification in purgatory in order to be cleansed before they can be in Gods presence. Souls who have not been saved however go straight to hell to be damned for all eternity. They also believe that those who have not been baptized cannot go to heaven for they commit original sin, but dwell in Limbo, if they have died without moral sin. Waiting for the Day of Judgment when Jesus will come back to earth to bring those souls to heaven. The Orthodox Church believes that both heaven and hell are in the same dimension, and one does not experience either separated from God, hell just like heaven is simply being with God although hell still means living in eternal damnation and suffering. According to the orthodox tradition God loves all human being including the sinners, therefore he does not cut anyone off from himself but instead those who go to hell are t hose who self-exclude themselves from everybody else .The Protestants believe that hell was created by God in order to punish the devil, and his fallen angels. It is believed that after judgment day those souls who did not seek deliverance from God while on earth would be sent to hell to be punished for their sins, which are most people. However unlike Martin Luther who believed that the soul stayed unconscious and slept after death, John Calvin, believed that souls maintain awareness after physical death and went straight to hell upon dying. He based this off of the fact that Protestants believed that because Jesus Christ had already paid for our sins on the cross, there should be nothing stopping ones soul from going straight into heaven or hell. Islam The description for life after death in the Islamic faith comes from the Quran, which states two main concepts for the afterlife or Akhirah, the oneness of God and the unavoidable day of resurrection, the Islamic Day of Judgment. Due to this In Islam human beings experience are broken down into four stages, the first two are mans experience on earth (1. the stage of the womb and 2. The stage of the mortal world). It is in these two stages that man is tested to determine his place in the afterlife. Muslims believe that God holds every human being whether they are Muslim or not accountable for their actions and deed while they live on earth. Therefore it is taught within Islam that the only purpose to life is the preparation for the afterlife and attaining a spot in paradise. In order to do this the Quran teaches that mans has to practice integrity and generosity to others and to devote ones self to Allah, the one and only God. Salvation only comes with the practice of moral and ethica l responsibility while on earth. The last two stages are mans experience once the spirit leaves its earthly body. The stage of the grave, known as Barzakh, is broken down into three events; the first is when the soul leaves the body, the second is the reflection of ones actions and endeavors while alive, and the third is a state of cold sleep where man awaits Judgment day. The final stage, the hereafter or rest of eternity comes after the Day of Judgment, when all human beings have been resurrected and judged in the eyes of God to either spend their eternal lives in Jannah (heaven or paradise) if they were virtuous or Jahannam (hell or spiritual state of suffering) if they were unrighteous or in denial of the truth of Allah. There are two different types of souls that are excluded from these stages and do not have to wait till Judgment day; the first are those who die fighting in Gods name, they are honored by immediately being allowed to rise to paradise by Gods side; and the secon d are those who are the enemy of Islam, they are punished by going straight to the spiritual plane of suffering. However, those who are sent to hell do have the ability to ascend to the spiritual state of heaven once they have been purified by Jahannam unless they are non-muslim or Kafir, then they are punished for eternity. Both Jannah and Jahannam have different levels within their own spiritual plane, each reserved, depending on how one was measure during their time on earth. Buddhism Due to the fact that Buddhism was born out of Hinduism it contains some of the same basic principles for the afterlife, such as rebirth after death (individual passing from one form to another) and karma (accumulated sums of ones good or bad deeds), along with the same end goal to escape the never ending cycle of reincarnation because life is suffering. This escape is only obtainable if one lets go of all their desires they hold on the earth using the Buddhist form of liberation or Nirvana. Nirvana is not a place or a state, but the end of rebirth, directly translated it means extinction, referring to the elimination of all ones desires, allowing one to become free from all earthy attachments. Buddhism diverts from Hindu beliefs on the subject of eternal souls, according to Buddha human beings do not obtain a soul. His doctrine of anatta explains that because individuals experience memories, impulses, traditions, desires and so on, they are deceived into thinking that they have souls because these attachments can be perceived as encompassing an ego. However this is not the case, humans are just a container of emotions and habits that are reused over and over again as the body is reincarnated life after life. Therefore in order to escape from the constant suffering that is existence humans need to purge themselves of their false self, leaving nothing to reincarnate hence being free of the cycle(8). The type of rebirth one may have depends on the how moral ones actions were in his or her previous life. For example if one projected negativity such as hatred or greed, committing physical or emotional harm to those around him or her, that person would be reborn into a lower realm (a.k.a animal, ghost, demon etc.). If one were to promote positive and constructive actions based on love, metta (kindness) and peace they would be reincarnated into a happy realm, becoming a person or arising into a heavenly realm in their next life. In death one need to stay aware of the dying process for as long as possible, because as one passes the thoughts that are experienced impacts either the state they are in after death, or if nirvana is not achieved, their next reincarnation experience. According to Tibetan Buddhism after death, the spirit goes through bardos (a limbo like plane were the individual waits till rebirth), this is made up of three different stages spread over forty-nine days. The first stage is called Chikai Bardo or the bardo of dying which can take from a half a day to four, after death, giving the deceased time to realize they have passed. In that moment of realization the spirit experiences a euphoric awareness of a clear white light. For those who are more spiritually intuitive this awareness last longer and will lead to a higher plane of truth. However for the average person this will not happen and their spirit will descend into a secondary state or clear light. In the second stage, Chonyid Bardo or bardo of Luminous mind. The individual will experience the backlash of the karma they had created during their life, facing vision of both serene and wrathful representations of human feelings. In order to achieve nirvana the spirit has to confront and navigate itself through these personifications free of harm. The third stage is the process of rebirth/reincarnation and it is called Sidpa Bardo or the bardo of rebirth. It is only the truly enlightened spirits that have shed all their earthly desires through nirvana that can skip the process of the three bardos and ascend directly to the dimension of paradise. Hinduism Like Buddhism Hinduism believes in reincarnation, however Hinduism sees the soul (atman) as immortal and eternal while the body is the one that undergoes constant birth and death. A soul goes through the process of reincarnation over and over again until it has fully developed and becomes perfect. Perfection however is not an easy feat, a soul has to enter many bodies live many different lives and have many different experiences. Only after this can a soul finally become part of the divine. For those soles that are never able to make the transformation to perfection, they will only be able to be one with god again through the process of great destruction. Destruction is needed in order to end the cycle of creation, which for Hindus only occurs once the individual spirit separates from the source. After the process of creation has occurred and the soul and true self has separated from the One, it conceals itself and becomes part of an uncivilized form that has both a jiva also known a s a false self, and an ego. Because of the ego the form is cursed with earthly attachments such as desires and urges. The Jiva and ego also suffer from delusions and ignorance, the soul having lost all of its knowledge of truth upon separating from God. For this reason they behave in a self-centered manner displaying characteristics that are both selfish and inconsiderate. It is because of this childish behavior, as though they are the only ones in the universe and are completely different from other beings that the soul suffers as it does. Upon death the jiva and soul survive this time period is seen as both a period of recuperation and learning. Before being reincarnated into another physical body the soul has to go through judgment based on its past lifes Karma. Depending on the morality of their past deeds along with how many other past births they have experienced, the jiva either goes to heaven or hell until they have been rewarded or punished enough for its past life actions. Then taking the knowledge that it has gained from this experience and ready to try again the jiva is prepared to be born again. It is through Karma that the true self slowly awakes within the jiva, because it teaches the jiva that good actions bring about positive results and bad actions pain therefore by making mistakes and learning from them the jiva will overcome its ignorance. This however takes time, therefore throughout the cycle of life the individual jiva experiences a limitless number of births and deaths also known as Samsara. The purpose for this is that each time a jiva is reborn it brings a little bit more knowledge from its time in between physical bodies helping it to gradually realize its unity with God and self. Each physical body it is born into, like in Buddhism, depends on its deeds in its previous life; therefore the jiva may be reincarnated into a lesser life or a higher life. It is not until the jiva has gone through a countless number of rebirths and lifetimes that it can begin to gain some awareness to the truths around it and seek higher forms of happiness. It is this self-awareness that will bring completely detached or want of earthly pleasures and desires that the jiva is in search for, because only then can it be completely liberated (moksha)from the constant cycle of death and birth. The afterlife allows for so many possibilities because no one truly knows what will become of them or their soul once they have passed on. Each of these religions explores different theories and philosophies and has come to their own ideas on the subject, however despite their differences one similar tenant does run through them. They all agree that in the afterlife one will be punished or rewarded based on their actions while on earth. Whether it is by a supreme being such as God while existing in another world (heaven or hell) such as the Christians and Muslims believe or through the correction mechanism like Karma that comes through being reincarnated in which the Buddhist and Hindus believe.

How Education Shapes Life Chances Essay

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. In sociology we have various schools of thoughts or theories and each of these have their own view on the impact of sociology on â€Å"life chances† Functionalist one of the â€Å"theories† of sociology are mainly concerned with the function of education to society and to seek solution to the following questions, â€Å"what is the relevance of education to the social system and â€Å"what are the relationship between education and economic system†. The functionalist believe strongly in value consensus, value consensus is a social contract entered into by members of the society on how best they can leave together. They believe education is aimed to produce social stability, to keep society smooth and to resolve conflict. In the words of a functionalist the individual has to submit to this higher order, which exist outside them and which was there before they were born and will continue after their deaths. That goes to say that the functionalist believes that every human being should succumb to this great order since the society is greater than any individual. Moore and Davis (2006) claimed that education carry’s out three major far-reaching functions which are firstly, socialization, where youths per take in key cultural values such as achievement, individualism, competition, equality of opportunity, social solidarity, democracy and religious morality. â€Å"Emile Durkheim† on the other hand argues that increase in individuality has an optimistic relationship to deviancy and could threaten social solidarity among members of the society and especially the youth who are more prone to these circumstances. But â€Å"Talcott Parsons† an American sociologist believes that the main social significance of education is its capacity to channel a viaduct between the family and broader society by aiding children to drop the particularistic standard of the family and adapt to the universalistic values of the wider society, which is solely grounded on achievement and not attribution, since all students are provided with equal chances. Functionalist Davies and Moore argued further as their second point that â€Å"meritocracy† influences success and failure and this would show the position of all individual level. Highly endowed and skilled persons would take up the most tasking challenges and would be sufficiently compensated. Making some people above or placed high on the social ladder, as every student is handed the same equivalent opportunity to prove their talent they won’t have the feel swindled for any social inequality that would be produced. So no matter your class or gender, race so far you are possess any skill and you are willing and able to strive hard you would succeed in life. Talcott Parsons also believed that education is an instrument for the assigning of roles in the society. Examinations and qualifications are created to show, establish and to make known of students talents to skill and capacities to the career which is best well-matched for them. The school is therefore a tool to assign these positions hence the school is a â€Å"microcosm of macrocosm†. In reference to the functionalist education teaches skill need for industrial society, it might be general skill that everyone requires such as numeracy and literacy or the specific skill needed for particular work. For Marxists the education system is seen as an important part of the superstructure in society. This is along with other institutions such as the media, religion and the family. They also argue that education does not give everybody a fair chance and that it uses the â€Å"alienation of schoolwork†, (the idea that children will do the work if they are rewarding for doing so), to socially control people until they are ready for â€Å"exploitation† in the world of work. Schools are considered to be unfair on working-class children because they are generally middle-class institutions and so middle-class children will generally do better. Marxists also strongly believe that â€Å"the hidden curriculum† is being used too strongly by schools. By teaching pupils to follow instructions (e. g. â€Å"sir† and â€Å"miss† and folding their arms) they are preparing them for the â€Å"exploitation† during work of when being asked to do something and then automatically doing it. This means that workers could be â€Å"used† in the process and then fined out about the capitalist system that we live in the hard way. While Marxists do share many ideas of functionalists e. g.the fact that education prepares us for out acceptance of the values of society they also see how the education system is alienating children. Functionalists, on the other hand, seem unable to see this and believe that the education system can only do well to children by teaching them norms and values. The interactionist theory believes that the teacher is the most significant tool to pupil’s educational achievement. It implies that teaches assess pupils not by ability or intelligence, but by traits that relates to class, gender and ethnicity, such as attitude, appearance and behavior. According to an internationalist the way pupils are influenced by teachers include: labeling-involves two people in an interaction with one have the power to label stick on the other. For example when teacher tag students as â€Å"smart and bright† or as â€Å"troublemakers and lazy† this forms a mirror through which the students skills and performance is viewed, when there is an occurrence of any mishap in the school those labeled as trouble makers would be called first also when the teachers when marking the works of those label bright tend to have pity for them. A This can cause what is known as self-fulfilling prophecy; this signifies a situation whereby an individual student will behave in the way that he or she has been labeled. For instance the bright labeled children would have a high esteem while others would be discouraged and may not prepare properly for school work and some may resolve into cheating and this would result into trouble. Also students might have different teachers and therefore each teacher might have a different labeling for the same child . Peer groups label might have a different label from that of the teachers, for example the teacher label some students as smart and bright but in peer group label they can be labeled as nerd or dweebs and lose respect from peers. Students also label teachers normally in accordance to their strictness or openness, rule enforcement, punishments given and the amount of worked handed to the students by the teachers this would determine which category either good or bad is the label for the teacher. These labels can be negotiated, that is the ‘bright’ child might start misbehaving or the ‘trouble-maker’ might turn , Life chances refer to the opportunities open to individuals to better the quality of life of themselves and their families. Therefore this definition suggest that there are opportunities available for individuals and families to improve their lifestyles, and suggests that this is possible if there is no poverty, and for people to be socially inclusive. The concept was introduced by German sociologist Max Weber. These opportunities refer to length to which an individual gain’s access to resources, such as food, clothing, shelter, health care and our main area of study education. How does education (shape) people’s life chances? The question appears to be seeking an investigation into the relationship between the education a person receives and the opportunities which it provides. The (key) words seem to be education, shape and life chances. shape strikes me as a very definite word, defined in the (merriam-webster dictionary as meaning, form,create, especially. to give a particular form or shape to). For the purposes of this essay I am going to look at education in the sense of learning opportunities provided by the state and concentrate on issues of social class, race and gender. Life chances is a very vague phrase which could be construed as having a variety of different meanings, but in this case I would interpret it to mean opportunities of economic and social (That goes to say that education is an opportunity given to an inidivial to improve his or her life quality). Aside the fact that education might be considered boring, expensive, stressful and time consuming. From a personal view I (believe) that education surely does improve or aids to better one’s life chance, education Serve the ruling class to shape people’s thinking, also to improve the level of people so that from a natural person into a social person, education brought (rise of r technological advancements) , education brings about understanding and this has helped in settlements of many disputes also wars amongst countries, education helps to improve the welfare of the individual and the society, It promotes civilized, progressive, competent and efficient development of the individual and the society and lastly Dissemination of culture, transforming culture, and create a culture, to intellectuals to raise people’s literacy. These and many more is how education has helped. Education also (comes) in, in its relation to the economy.

Morality and Babyhood Essay

Characteristics of babyhood: (From 2 weeks to 2 years) i) Babyhood is the true foundation age. At this time, many behavior patterns, attitudes and emotional expressions are established. It is a critical period in setting the pattern for personal and emotional adjustments. ii) Babyhood is an age of rapid growth and development. Babies grow rapidly both physically and psychologically. Changes are rapid in appearance (height and weight) and capacities. The limbs develop in better proportion to the large head. Intellectual growth and change are parallel to physical growth and change. iii) Ability grows to recognize and respond to people and objects in the environment. The baby is able to understand many things and communicate its needs and wants. iv) The babyhood is an age of decreasing dependency. The baby begins to do things to itself. With decrease of dependency, a rebellion against being treated as baby. A protest takes protest comes in the form of angry outbursts and crying when independence is denied. v) It is an age of high individuality which can be realized in appearance and in patterns of behavior. vi) Babyhood is the beginning of Creativity, sex role and socialization for adjustment in future life. vii) Babyhood is a hazardous period. The physical hazards are illness, accidents, disabilities and death. Psychological hazards are disinterests and negative attitude. Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks During The babyhood Learning to take solid food Learning to walk. Learning to talk. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes. Learning sex differences and sex modesty. Getting ready to read. Learning to distinguish right & wrong and beginning to develop a conscience. Babyhood skills Hand skills – self-feeding , self dressing,and play skills Leg skills-Jumping, climbing stairs, running without falling speech development in babyhood Talking is one of the biggest milestones there is, and the latest research suggests there’s a lot you can do to help your child become a master chatter. Months before my daughter Ella spat out her first official word (â€Å"bath! â€Å"), she was a Chatty Cathy in terms of sheer noise–exercising her pipes by howling for a feeding, squealing at a sock puppet, or babbling â€Å"ba ba ba† at the top of her lungs. And it turns out there’s a reason behind the racket. For babies, it’s a kind of linguistic cross-training–a way they prep for the main event of real speech, otherwise known as one of the coolest milestones ever. The average age at which kids utter a bona fide first word is 12 months, and they’re able to manage two-word â€Å"sentences† by the time they’re 2. But (reality check! ) as any pediatrician will attest, babies hit language milestones at a wide range of ages. A child who seems behind can all of a sudden make a giant leap ahead of her peers, verbally. And a kid who starts talking early may get stuck on the same few words for months before adding more to her repertoire. So no comparing or panicking! Sure, you can hardly wait to hear that first word or â€Å"wuv you. † But like all Big Moments in your baby’s life–sleeping through the night, sitting up, first steps–it will happen when she’s ready. There are, however, proven ways you can nudge language development along, experts say. Check out our stage-by-stage (and completely anxiety-free! ) guide to baby talk for the scoop on what you’ll hear, when to expect it, and how best to keep up your end of the conversation. 1 Month Waaah. Crying may not sound conversational, but it’s your newborn’s primary way to communicate, meaning she uses it for everything from â€Å"I’m tired† and â€Å"I need food† to â€Å"It’s a little too bright in here. † Wailing also primes your baby for genuine language by strengthening the same neural pathways in the brain that are used for speech–and by giving her larynx, the organ in the throat responsible for sound production, a good workout. What to say back: Something that will soothe the fussing and squalling. While a good cry may exercise your baby’s vocal cords, the sooner you can comfort her, the more confident she’ll be that you’re really listening to her–and the more willing she’ll be to keep trying to â€Å"tell† you what she’s feeling. 2 to 5 months Ooh? aah. Those supercute coos are airy sounds that come straight from the larynx–making them easy to say for tiny babies still figuring out how to use their lips and tongues. They’re also fun. â€Å"Kids tend to focus on particular sounds: squeals, vowels, or growls, as we call them,† says D. Kimbrough Oller, Ph. D. , a professor of audiology and speech-language pathology at the University of Memphis. These will help your little one learn to control vocal tone and volume–something she’ll need to form her first word. What to say back: Anything in â€Å"parentese,† that singsongy voice that sounds like it came off a children’s CD–only it’s you repeating â€Å"Hiiiii! † Research shows the high pitch makes your infant really take notice of–and want to imitate–what you say. 5 to 7 months Ah? goo. When your baby begins to add in consonants, it means she’s now able to produce a full repertoire of sounds–a major linguistic milestone. â€Å"It’s harder to produce consonants because they require interaction between the tongue and the lips,† says Roberta Golinkoff, Ph. D. , director of the University of Delaware Infant Language Project in Newark. â€Å"It’s a big deal. † What to say back: Narrate the sights you see on your drive or your daily plans (â€Å"We’re going to the store for some milk, and then Daddy’s taking you to the park! â€Å"). Talking to a non-talker may feel bizarre, but research has found that infants actually understand far more than we realize. In one study, 6-month-olds who heard the word â€Å"mommy† responded by looking at a picture of their mom. 7 to 9 months Ma-ma-ma. Was that a first word? Hmm? Though your baby is probably still simply parroting sounds, once she starts babbling in distinct syllables, her â€Å"conversation† can sound so much like language that it’s hard to tell. Consider this her final dress rehearsal for putting those syllables together in a way that has real meaning. What to say back: Talk about the things around her so she’ll connect objects with words. Just don’t assume â€Å"bo-bo† means â€Å"ball† if she says it while reaching for her shoe. â€Å"Notice where your child is looking before you label an object. It’s very adaptive for babies–and a lot of parents do it naturally,† says Jenny Saffran, Ph. D. , director of the Infant Learning Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 9 to 12 months Nee-nigh. Getting out just the right sounds takes practice, so for now, your baby’s making up combos that indicate real objects–a halfway point between babbling and true speech. She may say â€Å"nee-nigh† for â€Å"bottle,† or â€Å"sho-sho† for â€Å"yogurt,† for example. What to say back: As long as you know what your baby’s trying to say, don’t quibble over correct pronunciation. Swapping in weird names for regular words is normal for new talkers–so your best move is to respond in a way that shows you understand: She says â€Å"banktee,† you produce her blanket. It’s cute to hear (and say) her made-up words, and experts say it’s fine if â€Å"banktee† becomes de rigueur in your household. Eventually, you’ll phase it out for the real thing. 12 to 15 months Dog. Whatever recognizable word your child produces first, it’s bound to be something she’s fascinated by and something she can easily say–which is why the single-syllable â€Å"Da,† â€Å"Ma,† â€Å"ball,† and, yes, â€Å"dog† are fairly common first words. â€Å"Kitten† and â€Å"television†? Not so much. What to say back: â€Å"Hurrah! † Cheering on her speaking attempts will motivate her to master new words. Plus, Golinkoff notes that the rule for babies learning to talk is â€Å"the more language in, the more language out. † So keep chatting! By doing so, you’re supplying the words for interesting objects and emotions. Add that to praising her for using the ones she already knows and you’ll soon have a total motor mouth on your hands. 15 to 18 months Go. After your toddler has spit out that first word, she’ll learn what she needs to do to make others–including different parts of speech, like verbs and adjectives. By 15 months, most kids are able to say 20 or more words, and the lexicon expands as weeks go by. What to say back: Cuddle up with a good story for a no-brainer vocab booster. Perfect at this age: board books filled with short-and-sweet words, like Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz, or Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell. â€Å"Talk about what’s in the pictures, as well,† suggests Julie Masterson, coauthor of Beyond Baby Talk: From Sounds to Sentences, A Parent’s Complete Guide to Language Development. â€Å"It’s fun for kids to hear you say ‘See the dog? It says ‘woof. ‘† 18 to 22 months Da-me-fo-bee. You know your toddler is saying something amazing–if only you could understand it. In their second year, kids become masters of nonsensical speech, producing strings of elegant gibberish that sound like a faux version of adult conversation (often complete with inflection and hand gestures). She’ll also be saying around 30 or so real words-but even those may not be crystal clear. What to say back: Ask questions that get your kid talking. If she says â€Å"boo-bee-lala† while building a block tower, ask â€Å"What do you like about the blocks? † One recent study in the journal Pediatrics showed that back-and-forth conversations between adults and little ones are the best way to improve their verbal skills. 22 to 24 months. More milk. By the time she turns 2, your toddler will likely be able to string two or three words together to make mini-sentences. A favorite to throw into the mix of the dozens of words in her growing vocabulary: â€Å"more. † It’s a sign that your kid is figuring out the ability of language to make things happen. What to say back: Give her what she asks for! (Within reason, of course. ) Being able to tell you what she wants is a major milestone for her, but it’s a happy day for you, too. Just think: fewer meltdowns over misunderstood requests! And by responding, you show her just how powerful and rewarding talking really can be. Prespeech forms of communication Four prespeech forms of communication are there Crying- Hurlock considers it to be the very first piece of human behaviour that has social value. It gradually becomes differentiated as the newborn reaches the third or fourth week of life. Cooing and Babbling-As the baby’s vocal mechanisms develop,he becomes capable of producing explosive sounds which develop into babbling or lallation. Babbling begins during the second or third month of life. Gesturing –This develops and is used by the baby not to supplement,but to substitute for his speech. Emotional expressions- This is most effective forms of preseech. Baby communicates with others by using some gestures and emotional expressions emotional development in babyhood month 1 Makes eye contact Cries for help Responds to parents’ smiles and voices Month 2 Begins to develop a social smile Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when play stops Prefers looking at people rather than objects Studies faces Gurgles and coos in response to sounds around her First begins to express anger Month 3 Starts a â€Å"conversation† by smiling at you and gurgling to get your attention Smiles back when you smile at him. The big smile involves his whole body — hands open wide, arms lift up, legs move Can imitate some movements and facial expressions Month 4 Is intrigued by children. Will turn toward children’s voices in person or on TV Laughs when tickled and when interacting with others Cries if play is disrupted Month 5 Becomes increasingly assertive Can differentiate between family members (parents and siblings) and strangers Likes to play during meals Month 6 May quickly tire of a toy but will never tire of your attention Temperament becomes increasingly apparent. You’ll see whether she tends to be easygoing or easily upset; gentle or active Recognizes his own name Coos for pleasure and cries with displeasure Can make noises like grunts and squeals; clicks his tongue Month 7 Starts to understand the meaning of â€Å"no† Enjoys social interaction Expresses anger more strongly Tries to mimic adult sounds Month 8 Can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar May become shy or anxious with strangers Cries in frustration when he can’t reach a toy or do something he wants to do Month 9 Imitates gestures that other people make Looks at correct picture when an image is named. Smiles and kisses own image in the mirror Likes to play near parent (i. e. , in kitchen while Mom is cooking) May be more sensitive to the presence of other children Month 10 Separation anxiety may begin Self-esteem begins to develop Responds to positive recognition such as clapping Becomes cautious of heights Shows moods such as sad, happy, and angry Month 11 Tries to gain approval and avoid disapproval Can be uncooperative Month 12 May have temper tantrums Can fluctuate between being cooperative and uncooperative Shows a developing sense of humor May cling to parents or one parent in particular Development of understanding. As the babies grow the criteria of understanding increases. It depends largely on two factors : their level of intelligence and their previous experiences. Most important concepts that are related are Space Weight Time Self Sex-role Social Beauty The comic Functions and vertues od play: 1 it aids growth 2 it is a voluntary activity 3 language can be developed through it 4 it offers opportunities for matery of physical self PLAY PATTERNS OF BABYHOOD: sensorimotor play exploratory play imitative play make -believe play games and amusements Moral development in babyhood: Babies have no scale of values and no conscience. They are therefore neither moral nor immoral but nonmoral in the sense that their behavior is not guided by moral standards. Eventually they will learn moral codes from their parents, and later from their teachers and playmates etc. Learning to behave in a morally approved manner is a long, slow process. However, foundations are laid in babyhood and on these foundations children build moral codes which guide their behavior as they grow older. Because of their limited intelligence, babies judge the rightness or wrongness of an act in terms of the pleasures or pain it brings them rather than in terms of its good and harmful effects on others. They therefore perceive an act as wrong only when it has some harmful defect in themselves. They have no sense of guilt because they lack definite standards of right and wrong. They so not feel guilty when they take things that belong to others because they have no concept of personal property rights. Baby is in a stage of moral development which Piaget has called morality by constraint- the first of three stages in development. This stage lasts until the age of seven or eight years and is characterized by automatic obedience to rules without reasoning or judgment.

A Quick Tour of Art Through the Ages

Put on your sensible shoes as we embark on an extremely abbreviated tour of art through the ages. The purpose of this piece is to hit the highlights and provide you with the barest of basics on the different eras in art history. Prehistoric Eras 30,000–10,000 BCE: Paleolithic Period Paleolithic peoples were strictly hunter-gatherers, and life was tough. Humans made a gigantic leap in abstract thinking and began creating art during this time. Subject matter concentrated on two things: food and the necessity to create more humans. 10,000–8000 BCE: Mesolithic Period The ice began retreating and life got a little easier. The Mesolithic period (which lasted longer in northern Europe than it did in the Middle East) saw painting move out of the caves and onto rocks. Painting also became more symbolic and abstract. 8000–3000 BCE: Neolithic Period Fast forward to the Neolithic age, complete with agriculture and domesticated animals. Now that food was more plentiful, people had time to invent useful tools like writing and measuring. The measuring part must have come in handy for the megalith builders. Ethnographic Art It should be noted that Stone Age art continued to flourish around the world for a number of cultures, right up to the present. Ethnographic is a handy term that here means: Not going the way of Western art. Ancient Civilizations 3500–331 BCE: Mesopotamia The land between the rivers saw an amazing number of cultures rise to—and fall from—power. The Sumerians gave us ziggurats, temples, and lots of sculptures of gods. More importantly, they unified natural and formal elements in art. The Akkadians introduced the victory stele, whose carvings forever remind us of their prowess in battle. The Babylonians improved upon the stele, using it to record the first uniform code of law. The Assyrians ran wild with architecture and sculpture, both in relief and in the round. Eventually, it was the Persians who put the whole area—and its art—on the map, as they conquered adjacent lands. 3200–1340 BCE: Egypt Art in ancient Egypt was art for the dead. The Egyptians built tombs, pyramids (elaborate tombs), and the Sphinx (also a tomb) and decorated them with colorful pictures of the gods they believed ruled in the afterlife. 3000–1100 BCE: Aegean Art The Minoan culture, on Crete, and the Mycenaeans in Greece brought us frescos, open and airy architecture, and marble idols. Classical Civilizations 800–323 BCE: Greece The Greeks introduced humanistic education, which is reflected in their art. Ceramics, painting, architecture, and sculpture evolved into elaborate, highly crafted and decorated objects which glorified the greatest creation of all: humans. Sixth–Fifth centuries BCE: The Etruscan Civilization On the Italian peninsula, the Etruscans embraced the Bronze Age in a big way, producing sculptures notable for being stylized, ornamental, and full of implied motion. They were also enthusiastic producers of tombs and sarcophagi, not unlike the Egyptians. 509 BCE–337 CE: Rome As they rose to prominence, the Romans first attempted to wipe out Etruscan art, followed by numerous attacks on Greek art. Borrowing freely from these two conquered cultures, the Romans created their own style, one which increasingly stood for power. Architecture became monumental, sculptures depicted renamed gods, goddesses, and prominent citizens and, in painting, the landscape was introduced and frescos became enormous. First Century–c. 526: Early Christian Art Early Christian art falls into two categories: that of the Period of Persecution (up to the year 323) and that which came after Constantine the Great recognized Christianity: the Period of Recognition. The first is known primarily for the construction of catacombs and portable art that could be hidden. The second period is marked by the active construction of churches, mosaics, and the rise of bookmaking. Sculpture was demoted to works in relief only—anything else would have been deemed graven images. c. 526–1390: Byzantine Art Not an abrupt transition, as the dates imply, the Byzantine style gradually diverged from Early Christian art, just as the Eastern Church grew further apart from the Western. Byzantine art is characterized by being more abstract and symbolic and less concerned with any pretense of depth—or the force of gravity—being apparent in paintings or mosaics. Architecture became quite complicated and domes predominated. 622–1492: Islamic Art To this day, Islamic art is known for being highly decorative. Its motifs translate beautifully from a chalice to a rug to the Alhambra. Islam has prohibitions against idolatry, so we have little pictorial history as a result. 375–750: Migration Art These years were quite chaotic in Europe, as barbarian tribes sought (and sought, and sought) places in which to settle. Frequent wars erupted and constant ethnic relocation was the norm. Art during this period was necessarily small and portable, usually in the form of decorative pins or bracelets. The shining exception to this dark age in art occurred in Ireland, which had the great fortune of escaping invasion. For a time. 750–900: The Carolingian Period Charlemagne built an empire that didnt outlast his bickering and inept grandsons, but the cultural revival the empire spawned proved more durable. Monasteries became small cities where manuscripts were mass-produced. Goldsmithing and the use of precious and semi-precious stones were in vogue. 900–1002: The Ottonian Period The Saxon King Otto I decided he could succeed where Charlemagne failed. This didnt work out either, but Ottonian art, with its heavy Byzantine influences, breathed new life into sculpture, architecture, and metalwork. 1000–1150: Romanesque Art For the first time in history, art is described by a term other than the name of a culture or civilization. Europe was becoming more of a cohesive entity, being held together by Christianity and feudalism. The invention of the barrel vault allowed churches to become cathedrals and sculpture became an integral part of the architecture. Meanwhile, painting continued mainly in illuminated manuscripts. 1140–1600: Gothic Art Gothic was first coined to (derogatorily) describe this eras style of architecture, which chugged on long after sculpture and painting had left its company. The gothic arch allowed great, soaring cathedrals to be built, which were then decorated with the new technology of stained glass. During this period, too, we begin to learn more individual names of painters and sculptors—most of whom seem anxious to put all things Gothic behind them. In fact, beginning around 1200, all sorts of wild artistic innovations started taking place in Italy. 1400–1500: 15th-Century Italian Art This was the Golden Age of Florence. Its most powerful family, the Medici (bankers and benevolent dictators), lavishly spent endless funds for the glory and beautification of their Republic. Artists flocked in for a share of the largesse and built, sculpted, painted, and ultimately began actively questioning rules of art. Art, in turn, became noticeably more individualized. 1495–1527: The High Renaissance All of the recognized masterpieces from the lump term Renaissance were created during these years. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and company made such surpassing masterpieces, in fact, that nearly every artist, forever after, didnt even try to paint in this style. The good news was that, because of these Renaissance Greats, being an artist was now considered acceptable. 1520–1600: Mannerism Here we have another first: an abstract term for an artistic era. Renaissance artists, after the death of Raphael, continued to refine painting and sculpture, but they did not seek a new style of their own. Instead, they created in the technical manner of their predecessors. 1325–1600: The Renaissance in Northern Europe A renaissance did occur elsewhere in Europe, but not in clearly defined steps as in Italy. Countries and kingdoms were busy jockeying for prominence (fighting), and there was that notable break with the Catholic Church. Art took a back seat to these other happenings, and styles moved from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque in sort of a non-cohesive, artist-by-artist basis. 1600–1750: Baroque Art Humanism, the Renaissance, and the Reformation (among other factors) worked together to leave the Middle Ages forever behind, and art became accepted by the masses. Artists of the Baroque period introduced human emotions, passion, and new scientific understanding to their works—many of which retained religious themes, regardless of which Church the artists held dear. 1700–1750: Rococo In what some would deem an ill-advised move, Rococo took Baroque art from feast for the eyes to outright visual gluttony. If art or architecture could be gilded, embellished or otherwise taken over the top, Rococo ferociously added these elements. As a period, it was (mercifully) brief. 1750–1880: Neo-Classicism versus Romanticism Things had loosened up enough, by this era, that two different styles could compete for the same market. Neo-classicism was characterized by faithful study (and copy) of the classics, combined with the use of elements brought to light by the new science of archaeology. Romanticism, on the other hand, defied easy characterization. It was more of an attitude—one made acceptable by the Enlightenment and dawning of social consciousness. Of the two, Romanticism had far more impact on the course of art from this time forward. 1830s–1870: Realism Oblivious to the two movements above, the Realists emerged (first quietly, then quite loudly) with the conviction that history had no meaning and artists shouldnt render anything that they hadnt personally experienced. In an effort to experience things they became involved in social causes and, not surprisingly, often found themselves on the wrong side of authority. Realistic art increasingly detached itself from form and embraced light and color. 1860s–1880: Impressionism Where Realism moved away from form, Impressionism threw form out the window. The Impressionists lived up to their name (which they themselves certainly hadnt coined): Art was an impression, and as such could be rendered wholly through light and color. The world was first outraged by their effrontery, then accepting. With acceptance came the end of Impressionism as a movement. Mission accomplished; art was now free to spread out in any way it chose. The Impressionists changed everything when their art was accepted. From this point on, artists had free rein to experiment. Even if the public loathed the results, it was still art and thus accorded a certain respect. Movements, schools, and styles—in dizzying number—came, went, diverged from one another, and sometimes melded. Theres no way, really, to accord all of these entities even a brief mention here, so we will now cover only a few of the better-known names. 1885–1920: Post-Impressionism This is a handy title for what wasnt a movement but a group of artists (primarily CÃ ©zanne, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Gauguin) who moved past Impressionism and on to other, separate endeavors. They kept the light and color Impressionism brought but tried to put some of the other elements of art—form and line, for example—back in art. 1890–1939: The Fauves and Expressionism The Fauves (wild beasts) were French painters led by Matisse and Rouault. The movement they created, with its wild colors and depictions of primitive objects and people, became known as Expressionism and spread, notably, to Germany. 1905–1939: Cubism and Futurism In France, Picasso and Braque invented Cubism, where organic forms were broken down into a series of geometric shapes. Their invention would prove elemental to the Bauhaus in coming years, as well as inspiring the first modern abstract sculpture. Meanwhile, in Italy, Futurism was formed. What began as a literary movement moved into a style of art that embraced machines and the industrial age. 1922–1939: Surrealism Surrealism was all about uncovering the hidden meaning of dreams and expressing the subconscious. It was no coincidence that Freud had already published his groundbreaking psychoanalytical studies prior to this movements emergence. 1945–Present: Abstract Expressionism World War II (1939–1945) interrupted any new movements in art, but art came back with a vengeance in 1945. Emerging from a world torn apart, Abstract Expressionism discarded everything—including recognizable forms—except self-expression and raw emotion. Late 1950s–Present: Pop and Op Art In reaction against Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art glorified the most mundane aspects of American culture and called them art. It was fun art, though. And in the happening mid-60s, Op (an abbreviated term for optical illusion) Art came on the scene, just in time to mesh nicely with the psychedelic music. 1970s–Present In recent years, art has changed at lightning speed. Weve seen the advent of performance art, conceptual art, digital art, and shock art, to name but a few new offerings. Ideas in art will never stop changing and moving forward. Yet, as we move toward a more global culture, our art will always remind us of our collective and respective pasts.