The Learning Years of Medieval Childhood

The physical manifestations of biological puberty are difficult to ignore, and it is hard to believe that such obvious indications as the onset of menses in girls or the growth of facial hair in boys were not acknowledged as part of a transition into another phase of life. If nothing else, the bodily changes of adolescence made it clear that childhood would soon be over. Medival Adolescence and Adulthood It has been argued that adolescence was not recognized by medieval society as a stage of life separate from adulthood, but this is not at all a certainty. To be sure, teenagers were known to take on some of the work of full-fledged adults. But at the same time, such privileges as inheritance and land ownership were withheld in some cultures until the age of 21. This disparity between rights and responsibilities will be familiar to those who remember a time when the U.S. voting age was 21 and the military draft age was 18. If a child was to leave home before reaching full maturity, the teen years were the most likely time for him to do so. But this did not mean he was on his own. The move from the parents household was almost always into another household, where the adolescent would be under the supervision of an adult who fed and clothed the teenager and to whose discipline the teen was subject. Even as youths left their families behind and took on increasingly more difficult tasks, there was still a social structure to keep them protected and, to some extent, under control. The teen years were also the time to concentrate more intensely on learning in preparation for adulthood. Not all adolescents had schooling options, and serious scholarship could last a lifetime, but in some ways, education was the archetypal experience of adolescence. Schooling Formal education was unusual in the Middle Ages, although by the fifteenth century there were schooling options to prepare a child for his future. Some cities such as London had schools that children of both genders  attended during the day. Here they learned to read and write, a skill that became a prerequisite for acceptance as an apprentice in many Guilds. A small percentage of peasant children managed to attend school in order to learn how to read and write and understand basic math; this usually took place at a monastery. For this education, their parents had to pay the lord a fine and usually promise that the child would not take ecclesiastical orders.  When they grew up, these students would use what theyd learned to keep village or court records, or even to manage the lords estate. Noble girls, and on occasion boys,  were sometimes sent to live in nunneries in order to receive basic schooling. Nuns would teach them to read (and possibly to write) and make sure they knew their prayers. Girls were very likely taught spinning and needlework and other domestic skills to prepare them for marriage. Occasionally such students would become nuns themselves. If a child was to become a serious scholar, his path usually lay in the monastic life, an option that was rarely open to or sought by the average townsman or peasant. Only those boys with the most notable acumen were chosen from these ranks; they were then raised by the monks, where their lives could be peaceful and fulfilling or frustrating and restrictive, depending on the situation and their temperaments. Children at monasteries were most often younger sons of noble families, who were known to give their children to the church in the early Middle Ages. This practice was outlawed by the Church as early as the seventh century (at the Council of Toledo) but was still known to take place on occasion in the centuries that followed. Monasteries and cathedrals eventually began to maintain schools for students who were destined for secular life. For younger students, instruction began with the skills of reading and writing and moved on to the Trivium of the Seven Liberal Arts: grammar, rhetoric, and logic. As they grew older, they studied the Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Younger students were subject to the corporal discipline of their instructors, but by the time they entered University, such measures were rare. Advanced schooling was almost exclusively the province of males, but some females were able to acquire an admirable education nonetheless. The story of Heloise, who took private lessons from Peter Abelard, is a memorable exception; and the youth of both genders at the court of twelfth-century Poitou undoubtedly could read well enough to enjoy and debate the new literature of Courtly Love. However, in the later Middle Ages nunneries suffered a drop in literacy,  reducing available options for a quality learning experience. Higher education for females depended largely on individual circumstances. In the twelfth century, cathedral schools evolved into universities. Students and masters banded together into guilds to protect their rights and further their educational opportunities. Embarking on a course of study with a university was a step toward adulthood, but it was a path that began in adolescence. University One might argue that once a student reached university level he could be considered an adult; and, since this is one of the instances in which a young person might be living on his own, there is certainly logic behind the assertion. However, university students were notorious for making merry and making trouble. Both official university restrictions and unofficial social guidelines kept the students in a subordinate position, not only to their teachers but to senior students. In the eyes of society, it would appear that students were not yet completely considered adults. Its also important to remember that, although there were age specifications as well as experience requirements to become a teacher, no age qualifications governed a students entry into a university. It was a young mans ability as a scholar that determined if he was ready to pursue higher education. Therefore, we have no hard-and-fast age group to consider; students were  usually  still teenagers when they entered university, and legally not yet in full possession of their rights. A student beginning his studies was known as a  bajan,  and in many  cases,  he underwent a rite of passage called the jocund advent upon his arrival at university. The nature of this ordeal varied according to place and time, but it usually involved feasting and rituals similar to the hazing of modern fraternities. After a year at  school,  the  bajan  could be purged of his lowly status by expounding a passage and debating it with his fellow students. If he made his argument successfully, he would be washed clean and led through the town on an ass. Possibly due to their monastic origins, students were tonsured (the tops of their heads were shaved) and wore clothing similar to that of the monk: a  cope  and cassock or a closed-over long-sleeved tunic and overtunic. Their diet could be fairly erratic if they were on their own and with limited funds; they had to purchase what was inexpensive from the shops of the city. Early universities had no provisions for housing, and young men had to live with friends or relatives or otherwise fend for themselves. Before long colleges were set up to aid the less affluent students, the first being the College of the Eighteen in Paris.  In return for a small allowance and a bed at the Hospice of the Blessed Mary, students were asked to offer prayers and take turns carrying the cross and holy water before the bodies of deceased patients. Some residents proved to be insolent and even violent, disrupting the studies of serious students and breaking in when they stayed out after hours. Thus, the Hospice began to restrict its hospitality to students who behaved more pleasantly, and it required them to pass weekly examinations to prove their work was meeting expectations.  The residency  was limited to a year, with the possibility of a years renewal at the discretion of the foundationers. Institutions such as the College of the Eighteen evolved into endowed residences for students, among them Merton at Oxford and Peterhouse at Cambridge. In time, these colleges began to acquire manuscripts and scientific instruments for their students and offer regular salaries to teachers in a concerted effort to prepare candidates in their quests for a degree. By the end of the fifteenth century, few students lived outside colleges. Students attended lectures regularly. In the early days of universities, lectures were held in a hired hall, a church, or the masters home, but soon buildings were constructed for the express purpose of teaching. When not at lectures a student would read significant works, write about them, and expound on them to fellow scholars and teachers. All this was in preparation for the day when he would write a thesis and expound on it to the doctors of the university in return for a degree. The subjects studied included theology, law (both canon and common), and medicine. The University of Paris was foremost in theological studies, Bologna was renowned for its law school, and Salernos medical school was unsurpassed. In the 13th and 14th centuries  numerous universities  sprang up throughout Europe and England, and some students were not content to limit their studies to only one school. Earlier scholars such as  John of Salisbury  and  Gerbert of Aurillac  had traveled far and wide to glean their education; now students were following in their footsteps (sometimes literally). Many of these were serious in motive and driven by a thirst for knowledge. Others, known as  Goliards, were more lighthearted in nature—poets seeking adventure and love. All this may present a picture of students thronging the cities and highways of medieval Europe, but in  reality,  scholarly studies at such a level were unusual. By and large, if a teenager were to undergo any form of structured education, it was more likely to be as an apprentice. Apprenticeship With few exceptions, apprenticeship began in the teens and lasted from seven to ten years. Though it wasnt unheard of for sons to be apprenticed to their own fathers, it was fairly uncommon.  Sons of master craftsmen were by Guild law automatically accepted into the Guild; yet many still took the apprenticeship route, with someone other than their fathers, for the experience and training it offered. Apprentices in larger towns and cities were supplied from outlying villages in substantial numbers,  supplementing labor forces that dwindled from diseases such as the plague and other factors of city living. Apprenticeship also took place in village businesses, where a teenager might learn milling or felting cloth. Apprenticeship was not limited to males. While there were fewer girls than boys taken in as apprentices, girls were trained in a wide variety of trades. They were more likely to be trained by the masters wife, who often knew nearly as much about the trade as her husband (and sometimes more). Although such trades as that of seamstress were more common for females, girls were not limited to learning skills they could take into a marriage, and once they married many continued plying their trades. Youngsters rarely had any choice in which craft they would learn, or with what particular master they would work; the destiny of an apprentice was usually determined by the connections his family had. For example, a young man whose father had a haberdasher for a friend might be apprenticed to that haberdasher, or perhaps to another haberdasher in the same guild. The connection might be through a godparent or neighbor instead of a blood relative. Affluent families had more affluent connections, and a wealthy Londoners son was more likely than a country boy to find himself learning the goldsmith trade. Apprenticeships were formally arranged with contracts and sponsors. Guilds required that bonds of surety be posted to guarantee that apprentices fulfilled expectations; if they did not, the sponsor was liable for the fee. In addition, sponsors or the candidates themselves would sometimes pay the master a fee to take on the apprentice. This would help the master cover the expenses of caring for the apprentice over the next several years. The relationship between master and apprentice was as significant as that between parent and offspring. Apprentices lived in their masters house or shop; they usually ate with the masters family, often wore clothes provided by the master, and were subject to the masters discipline. Living in such close proximity, the apprentice could and often did form close emotional bonds with this foster family, and might even marry the bosss daughter. Whether or not they married into the family, apprentices were often remembered in their masters wills. There were also cases of abuse, which might end up in court; though apprentices were usually the victims, at times they took extreme advantage of their benefactors, stealing from them and even engaging in violent confrontations. Apprentices sometimes ran away, and the sponsor would have to pay the master the surety fee to make up for the time, money and effort that had gone into training the runaway. The apprentices were there to learn and the primary purpose the master had taken them into his home was to teach them; so learning all the skills associated with the craft was what occupied most of their time. Some masters might take advantage of the free labor, and assign menial tasks to the young worker and teach him the secrets of the craft only slowly, but this was not all that common. An affluent craftsmaster would have servants to perform the unskilled tasks he needed to be done in the shop; and, the sooner he taught his apprentice the skills of the trade, the sooner his apprentice could help him properly in the business. It was the last hidden mysteries of the trade that might take some time to acquire. Apprenticeship was an extension of the adolescent  years  and could take up almost a quarter of the average medieval lifespan. At the end of his training, the apprentice was ready to go out on his own as a journeyman. Yet he was still likely to remain with his master as an employee. Sources Hanawalt, Barbara,  Growing Up in Medieval London  (Oxford University Press, 1993).Hanawalt, Barbara,  The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England  (Oxford University Press, 1986).Power, Eileen,  Medieval Women  (Cambridge University Press, 1995).Rowling, Marjorie, Life in Medieval Times  (Berkley Publishing Group, 1979).

Cultural Diversity At Washington Elementary School

For my 5th EDUC Lab, I had to go to a local elementary school and take a walk around its neighborhood. I was told to observe cultural diversity, types of homes surrounding the school, and answer a variety of questions regarding the kinds of students that attend the school. I was originally a bit baffled by the kinds of questions on the sheet like are there any apartment buildings near by? or where do the children get food? I thought to myself Why do these things matter to a school? And then as I was going through my walk, I realized that these factors determine the kids of resources the children have to receive a quality education, and these factors also influence the kinds of resources the school has to give the children. I never knew such minute details could have such a heavy impact on education. I decided to visit Washington Elementary School in Pocatello. I chose to tour this school s neighborhood because it was close to my own home, and I have no relations with this elementary school whatsoever. This school was set directly in the middle of a neighborhood, so I believe the majority of students that attend this elementary school, also live in the neighborhood. The houses varied from being very nice and well kept homes to a little more run down, but the majority of the neighborhood looked like a typical middle class neighborhood. There were a few apartment complexes within the neighborhood and there were a lot of for rent signs outside of houses. There were a fewShow MoreRelatedA Letter From District Administrator1569 Words   |  7 PagesA Letter from District Administrator Greetings Parents, Staff, Students, and Community Members, Hazelwood School District is committed to providing an equitable education to our diverse learners with culturally responsive instruction. 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My Beautiful Polotsk Essay Example For Students

My Beautiful Polotsk Essay There are many beautiful cities and towns in the world. I would like to visit some of them, to see with my own eyes what I have read or heard about. But there is no place like home. I love my native town and that’s why I want to tell you about it. The Polotsk land! It is a land of old legends and people’s traditions, blue lakes and fast rivers, the captivating Lakeland of Belarus. This land was populated presumably in the VII-V centuries B. C. At that period the Indo-European tribes, called the â€Å"Balts† by the archaeologists, lived in the Dvina- river basin. In the process of great people’s remigration, the Slavs came there from the Central Europe on the borderline of the VI and VII centuries A. D. , and the Slavonic spontaneity triumphed due to supplanting and assimilation of the Balts. The Slavonic tribe Krivichy settled down in the vast territories, in particular in the Dvina-river side, their tribal alliance played the paramount role in formation of the Belarusian State system. The centre of the said alliance was Polotsk. The princes, who represented local dynasties governed there as early as the V century A. D. Polotsk sprang up on the Western Dvina offshoot of the world great mercantile marine route â€Å"from the Varangians to the Greeks† that favorably linked the lands of Polotsk and the Baltic, Scandinavian, Gothic shores and the Black Sea basin states, as well as with a distant Arabic Caliphate. The destiny of Polotsk was to be the European road crossing, the meeting point of the western and the eastern civilizations, the junction of historical and cultural traditions, where the mutual influence of the Russian, Baltic, Polish, Hebraic and Belarusian constituents was obviously felt over the centuries, being the factor that predestined the unique cultural and spiritual milieu. The foundation date of Polotsk, the most ancient city of Belarus and all Eastern Slavs, is eventually considered the date or its first mentioning in the ancient Slavonic Chronicle â€Å"The Narratives about Temporal Ages† nearly in 862, in relation to town assignation implemented by the legendary prince Rurikh to his warrior vassals. Among the assigned towns Polotsk was mentioned as well. The Chronicle reminds that the Krivichy Slavs settled on the river Polota and assumed the name Polotchane. The river Polota gave the name to the city. The annals mention the town Polotesk, Poltesk, or – according Scandinavian sagas – Pallteskiuborg, Plateskia. Initially, the settlement founded by the Balts was located on the hills close to the river Polota, 800 m from the place where the Polota fell into the Western Dvina; the site of ancient settlement covered less than 1 hectare, and the entire non-fortified town occupied about 6 hectares. In the last quarter of the X century the prince Rogvolod, who was independent of Kiev and Novgorod, governed the town of Polotsk. He was the first prince of Polotsk, mentioned in the chronicles, whose personal significance was stressed with the following chronicle words: â€Å"He held the lands of Polotsk and ruled them†. By the time, Polotsk had grown into the centre of the Principality – the first state in the Belarusian lands where an independent dynasty of Polotsk princes had been governing for two and a half centuries. In the times of Rogvolod, the Principality of Polotsk was quite strong, and became the cradle of the Belarusian state system, culture and spirituality, the original historical motherland of the Belarusians. The Chronicle also reminded the events that occurred approximately in 980. The Svyatoslaviches – the princes Yaropolk of Kiev and Vladimir or Novgorod, being at enmity with each other for the throne of Kiev, were searching for backing or the Polotsk prince Rogvolod, both of them asked in marriage his beautiful daughter Rogneda. Rogvolod preferred to avoid interference in that dissension. Rogneda favoured the match-makers of Yaropolk and rejected Vladimir’s proposal notifying proudly: â€Å"I don’t want to take bondman’s shoes off, and those of Yaropolk I do†, that sounded like outrage for the prince Vladimir who was of the mixed blood. In response to negative reply of Rogvolod and Rogneda, all the Northern Russia, having anticipated such events, broke out against Polotsk. Vladimir with the huge host attacked Polotsk, burned and sacked it. Rogvolod, his wife and their two sons were killed; Rogneda, Rogvolod’s recalcitrant daughter, was forced to become the wife of Vladimir. The latter with his host occupied the Grand-Prince throne of Kiev; Rogneda became one of his wives. She was not able to forgive Vladimir for his perpetration against her and her family, and had the courage to murderous assault, but her intent failed. Vladimir, who was furious, exiled Rogneda and their son Isyaslav to their ancestral lands where he had built the town Isyaslav (Zaslavl). Isyaslav initiated the revival of the Polotsk. Isyaslav’s son Bryachislav, who was governing in Polotsk in the second half of the XI century, was able to reinforce his power and to oppose vigorously to Kiev. The Principality of Polotsk restored its independence. After the town near the Polota-river had been destroyed by the prince Vladimir of Novgorod, construction of the citadel started in a new place. Such new site turned to be more advantageous from the defence angle, as it was the place where the Polota fell into the Western Dvina. The highland of more than 9 hectares area was entirely closed with water, later it was called the High Castle. The citadel had been under construction for several centuries, and it had been an administrative and political centre till the XVII century. The citadel was reinforced with wooden walls, towers, surrounded by water. The wooden fortifications have not lasted out hitherto; stone ones have never existed in Polotsk. The town continued its developing into a large commercial centre of the Krivichy Slavs on the Western Dvina. The mercantile shipping routes â€Å"from the Varangians to the Greeks† contributed to its development. The Polotsk residents ruled over the vast length of this route, and since the XIII century Polotsk has become a part of a commercial Hanse-Union and the main partner of Hanse in the basin of the Western Dvina till the XVII century, being involved in active commerce with Riga and German cities. The Principality of Polotsk entered into its golden age in the XI century under the illustrious prince Vseslav Bryachislavich, called â€Å"the Wizard† by people. He ascended the throne at fifteen, and was governing for 57 long years. He went down in history as famous eastern-Slavonic political figure, became of the heroes of an Old Slavonic literary work â€Å"The Word of Igor’s Regiment†. Many years were spent by Vseslav in order to win independence of the Principality of Polotsk from Kiev. In the second half of the XI century the lands of Polotsk reached the Bay of Riga, and Minsk was an outpost on the south border of the Principality. In the IX-X and particularly in the XI-XII centuries the Principality of Polotsk became the mighty and strong state structure in the territory of Central and North-East Belarus. It initiated formatted of the Belarusian State system, unity of its political, economical and ethnic structure. That remote age gave birth to pre-image of the Belarusians as a nation that became aware of its political and cultural significance. Under the prince Vseslav the Wizard, the majestic Sophia Cathedral was constructed in the Upper Castle of the Principality’s capital-city. The Greek word â€Å"Sophia† means â€Å"wisdom, mastery†. Our ancestors interpreted that meaning much deeper: as a mighty human community, manifestation of unity of all population of the Principality. At the end of the X century The Christianity reached the lands of Polotsk from Byzantium; together with a new faith also the cross vaulting dome design of temples was adopted. The cathedrals were built by the craftsmen from Polotsk and Byzantium, who used plinthos – flat bricks, and rough rubbles. The brickwork and masonry technique was a classical Byzantine â€Å"dipped course†, when every second course was hidden – â€Å"deepened† into the wall and rubbed with cemianka – lime mortar with admixture of grounded plinthos. Such technique became traditional for Polotsk architecture in the XI and XII centuries. The Cathedral was mighty in dimensions: 26. 4 m width, 31. 5 m length, and 31 m height. It had five, and later seven tops (according to different sources of data). Its interior was decorated with frescos in the second half of the XI century. Erection of such a mighty Cathedral in Polotsk was not a sign of orientation toward the powerful neighbors but rather a gesture of confrontation, rivalry and parity with Kiev and Novgorod. In ancient times, the Sophia Cathedral represented not only a religious centre – it was the place for reception of the ambassadors, signing commercial agreements, declaration of war and peace, raising the princes to the throne, safe keeping of the princes` jewellery, and depositing the library founded by the prince Isyaslav. Today one will hardly recognize the Cathedral built in the XI century. It was destroyed, burnt, reconstructed more than once. The gravest demolition dated back to the North war, when the cathedral was converted into the gunpowder and military uniform depot by the order of the Russian Tsar Peter I. In 1710 the powder exploded, and the Cathedral was heavily damaged. Its reconstruction from 1738 till 1750 was guided by Florian Grebnitsky, the Uniate archbishop; the Cathedral was reconstructed according to Vilensky or late Belarusian Baroque taste. This taste originated from Italy and became widely spread in the territory of the great Lithuanian Duchy. Baroque, if translated from Italian, means â€Å"luxuriant, ornate, gorgeous, irregular†. The creators of the Cathedral of the XVIII century were the brilliant representatives who worked wonders: Yan Krishtoph Glaubits, the architect of Vilna, and B. Kosinsky from Warsaw, the Master of â€Å"Arts in construction and plasterwork†. The Sophia was a Uniate cathedral for 243 years. Exactly there, in the sanctuary of the Uniates, the ecclesiastical synod signed the deed of Union liquidation on the 12th February 1839. The Uniates have treated the vestiges of the Christian sanctuary with great care and inserted them organically into a new temple, that reigns proudly over the city being its visiting card even today. Nowadays a Museum of Architecture of the XI-XVIII centuries and a concert hall of organ and chamber classical music are functioning in the Sophia Cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral impresses with its Baroque and Rococo decoration, rich gild ornamentation. Full Metal Jacket EssayBy that time Polotsk and its outskirts have become so depopulated that the peasants from Mogilev province were required for completion of the fortification construction. The witnesses recorded a disastrous ravage: there was a desert land at 50 km from the town. Polotsk experienced certain ascents in the course of time, but the town had never recovered its former reputation, resplendence and eminence. The noble life-work of Francisk Skoryna was kept on by our another renowned compatriot – Simeon of Polotsk (Samuel Petrovsky-Sitnyanovich). He went down in history as a Belarusian and Russian author, playwright, enlightener and philosopher. By the ideology, he was an advocate of unification of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and the greater part of his life was spent by him in Orthodox Moscow. He founded a secular printing-house in the Kremlin, printed the ABC book, and wrote poetry. The man of Baroque epoch, he arranged the verses lines as geometrical figures: a star, cross, rhombus and heart-shape. In Moscow he elaborated his project of the first higher education establishment in Russia, stood at the cradle of the Russian theatre for which he wrote plays, was a tutor of children of the tsar’s family. His poetic translations â€Å"The Psalters†, edition of â€Å"Vertograd Multiflorous† – a peculiar encyclopedia in history, geography and zoology brought fame to him. Feverish activity of Simeon of Polotsk fell at the second half of the XVII century. Having got his education at Kiev-Mogilyanskaya Collegium, at the University of Vilna, he lived and worked as a teacher at a congregation school under the Epiphany Monastery. The Monastery, founded in the XVI century, was a centre of the Orthodox congregation of Polotsk that served as a manifest of opposition of the Belarusians to Catholicism influence. The congregation activities had rather national and patriotic than religious nature. The congregation carried out the elucidative mission, opened schools, theatres, a publishing house, printed literary and publicist works. When Polotsk formed a part of Rzeczpospolita in the XVI century, the representatives of various Catholic Orders started construction of Roman-Catholic churches and monasteries in there. The monks of the Jesuit order drew Polotsk into the field of their activities. Neither fire no sword and inquisition were used by Jesuits for the Pope’s chair consolidation: they created the foremost education system in Europe for those times, opened the chemist’s shops, hospitals. They established the Jesuit Collegium in Polotsk, erected the Saint Roman-Catholic Church in the centre of the town and consecrated it in 1745. That Roman-Catholic Church, built according to baroque taste combined with rococo components under direct influence of the North Italian traditions, formed the oriented line of the central square. The Church interior was embellished with stucco moulding and unique icons of the Italian painter Salvatore Rosa (Rosatti). Simon Chekhovich, the Belarusian painter participated in the arrangement of the chancel. The organ by Dominico Casparani was installed in the Church; the bells and the chiming clock by Gustav Mundi were fixed on the church towers. The Jesuit Collegium dates back to the 1581. At that time it looked like a united architectural ensemble. The Jesuit Academy, established on the Collegium basis and assigned the rights of a university, has been functioning since 1812. The most famous professors worked within the precincts of that educational establishment, such as: Matthew Kazimir Sorbevsky, the Latin scholar, poet and philosopher; Kazimir Koyalovich, the public speaker; Martin Pochobut Adlenitsky, the person of encyclopaedic knowledge; Sigizmund Lauksmin, the rhetoric teacher; Andrey Zhebrovsky, Professor of architecture; Maxim Voicekhovsky, the author of the manual of Greek. In the last quarter of the XVIII century, after interdict of the Jesuit order in Europe, Jesuits from all over the world poured there. Polotsk has become the capital of the Jesus community for the period of 40 years. The town experienced another upturn, changed into an intellectual capital of Europe. The Russian government treated the Academy as a powerful centre of clerical opposition. Therefore, the Academy was closed down by the order of the Russian tsar Alexander I, Jesuits were expelled from the country, and the Academy building devolved on the higher piarum school, which was also closed down in 1830. The property was sacked barbarously. The destiny of the Saint Stephan Roman-Catholic Church was dramatic. It was re-consecrated to the Orthodox Nicholas Cathedral, which also suffered vandalism of the authorities. It was closed together with the Sophia Cathedral in 1921, and in 1964 it was destroyed. Its exterior form is known owing to Napoleon Orda’s drawing, and from photos. The Collegium buildings of the Academy were converted into military school that had existed for 83 years starting since 1835. More than 3 thousand of graduates – the future officers of the tsar’s army, got their education there. Among them there were: Andrey Potebnya, one of the leaders of the revolt in Poland; Roman Kondratenko, the defender of Port-Arthur; Dmitry Kaygorodov, the naturalist from Polotsk; Joseph Stabrovsky, the historian and archaeologist; Basil and Mikhail the Semevskys, the Russian historians; Oleg – the son of the grand prince Konstantin Konstantinovich; Alexander Stepanov, the author of the historical novel Port-Arthur; and many others. At the very beginning if the XXI century, the history of those buildings found its unexpected continuation in a new capacity: the State University of Polotsk has started working there. One of the premises gave shelter to the Art Gallery where works of fine arts, graphics, sculpture, arts and crafts represent perfectly the artistic life of the ancient town. The icons of Sophia Cathedral dated back to the XVIII century are the pearls of the artistic and spiritual heritage. The first division of Rzeczpospolita, lead to separation of Polotsk into two parts: the centre of the town passed to Russia, and the area near the Dvina-river remained a part of Poland for a certain time. When the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte declared war on Russia, both the French and Russian hosts went through the lands of Polotsk. The town was occupied by the French marshal Oudino on the 14th July 1812. Not far from Polotsk the retreating Russian hosts went into action against the French invaders attacking in the direction of Petersburg; the general Jacob Kulnev became famous and perished as a hero in that action. That battle near Polotsk close to Klyastitsy village was the first outstanding victory of the Russian hosts in the campaign of 1812. In October the raging battles for Polotsk started. The battle on the bridge across the Polota was especially fierce. The eyewitnesses described that in the morning of the 7th October the bridge was completely covered with blood. Since then, for almost 200 years, it has been called the Red bridge. In 1975 a new bridge was constructed, its design reminds of those events. The first Russian revolution of 1905 and the October revolution in 1917 greatly influenced the life of Polotsk dwellers. In 1917 the Soviet power was established in Polotsk. The Great Patriotic War left the deepest traces in the history of the town: 96% of it was destroyed, every third citizen of Polotsk perished. The town over the Dvina was occupied by the Hitler troops on the 16th July 1941. The nazi organized three concentration camps in that small town, where 150 thousand of people among the Polotsk dwellers, war-prisoners and people of other regions perished during the three severe years of occupation. Polotsk was liberated by the troops of the 1st Baltic Front. The Guardsmen commanded by Alexander Grigoriev displayed valour from the first days of liberating battles. They crossed a wooden bridge under a hurricane of fire of the enemy, reached the centre of the town and captured a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dvina. The soldiers perished having ensured river-crossing by considerable liberation forces. The memorial designed by Lev Oganov, the sculptor from Novopolotsk, was erected at the place where the events have occurred. Polotsk was liberated on the 4th July 1944. â€Å"Lifeless, uninhabited† the journalists wrote at that time. The town was rebuilt within a short post-war period: the fact that Polotsk was the capital of the region during ten post war years contributed to its quicker rebuilding. Polotsk today is a district centre subordinated to the Vitebsk region authorities. Enterprises of chemical, metalworking, food, meat and diary industries are functioning there. The products of the enterprises of Polotsk such as agricultural machines and equipment for livestock breeding and fodder plants, engines, glass fiber cloth, ski poles and fishing rods, furniture, ready-made garments, cultural and household articles – are well known far beyond the bounds of Belarus. The town has changed beyond recognition for the recent ten years. The National History and Culture Reserve of Polotsk is functioning there: over 10 its museums occupy a fitting place in the cultural life of the town. The ancient Polotsk has restored the traditions of its theatre. There is a University and four technical schools in the town. The rebuilding of the Protection of the Holy Blessed Virgin Church (blown up in 1963) was a remarkable event in the spiritual life of the Polotsk-dwellers. The churches of other confessions were built there: the Roman-Catholic Church consecrated to saint Andrey Bobolya, the Old Belief Church of the Blessed Virgin Assumption, the Temple of Saint Paraskeva of Polotsk belonging to the Greco-Latin community, three Protestant churches are functioning in Polotsk. Each confession has left its traces in the history and culture of Polotsk. The catholic churches and monasteries once were of importance for formation of the urban aspect. But today they are recalled as a lost heritage. The region of Polotsk has retained the profound strata of national culture, enriched over centuries with the traditions of the nearest neighbours. The lands of Polotsk have been called the cradle of the Dvina-side literature. The custodians of fame and spiritual strength of this land are the contemporary pen-masters: Iryna Dorofeichuk, Lera Som, Herman Kirillov, Nadezhda Solodkaya, Zmitrok Kunitsky, Nadezhda Ermak, Victor Leonenya, Pavel Nizkovsky, the creative group of the Free Literati Union headed by Ales Arkush, the poets of â€Å"Polotsk Branch† Literati Union.

School Violence Essays - Misconduct, Behavior, Human Behavior, Crime

School Violence Violence in schools is a great concern in our society. The concern is heightened by the abundance of media coverage on a number of recent school shootings. With all of the news clips, sound bites, and Internet coverage swirling around in our heads, one might conclude that children are more violent today, than they were in recent years. But, school violence is not a new issue for the nineties; School violence has been around since the1950's, but then it was more an issue of juvenile delinquency than violent behavior. The difference between the two generations is that today student conflicts are more likely to be solved with the use of weapons. The fact is a gun is much more intimidating than a fist. There is nothing scarier than arriving at school afraid of what may happen next. Many students are faced with this problem everyday. Children should feel safe when they walk into school. Many people use violence as an expression to release feelings of anger or frustration. They think there are no answers to their problems and turn to violence to express their out of control emotions. Others use manipulation as a way to control others or get something they want. Violence is a learned behavior. Like all learned behaviors, it can be changed. This isn't easy, though. Since there is no single cause of violence, there is no one simple solution. The best you can do is learn to recognize the warning signs of violence and to get help when you see them in your friends or yourself. Teachers tend to believe that school violence is a result of sociological factors such as: lack of parental supervision, lack of family involvement and exposure to violence in the mass media. These factors could be traced to high divorce rates, both parents working and high availability of mass media, e.g. television, Internet, ect. Students who live in fear of violence, witness violent acts, or become victims of violence suffer an array of short-term and long-term consequences emotionally and physically. They have been found to be at greater risk for low school performance, absenteeism, truancy, school dropout and delinquency. In fact, research has shown that juveniles who are victimized, or who repeatedly witness violence, and do not receive immediate support in understanding and dealing with it are at higher risk of using violence as a means of dealing with their own conflicts; thus repeating the cycle of violence. Schools are not doing enough to protect students and other school personnel. Curing social ills could take a long time, so I propose a high security approach to the problem. The community may find this expensive and students find it oppressive, but how many more people have to die? I propose the following strategy: Police officers in every school; Metal detectors at each doorway; Some type of dress code-banning ?big clothes? where weapons can be hidden; Hall monitors- hallways, doorways, restrooms and cafeteria's; Train certain school personnel in weapon usage. Allow them to carry and store weapons on campus. If students knew someone else on campus had a gun to protect students, they may think twice about bringing one to school. This may sound severe, but this is a direct approach to the problem. Additional discipline is needed in order to stop school violence. We need more discipline in the family, in school, and even in public. We need to educate children that their actions do have consequences. As our country's morals keep declining and the murder rate continues to rise in schools, we will still be blaming our problems on anything but ourselves.