The Unsolved Case of the Zodiac Killer

The Unsolved Case of the Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who stalked parts of Northern California from December 1968 through October 1969. Through a series of cryptic letters he sent to the press and others, he disclosed his motivation for the killings, offered clues to future murder plots, and adopted the nickname Zodiac. He took responsibility for murdering as many as 37 people, but police investigators have only confirmed five deaths and seven total attacks.   December 20, 1968   Betty Lou Jensen, 16, and David Arthur Faraday, 17, were parked at a secluded spot located on Lake Herman Road on the eastern side Vallejo, California. Witnesses noticed the young couple huddled together in the front seat of Faradays Rambler station wagon between around 10:15 and 11:00 p.m. Nothing about the couple seemed unusual to bystanders. But by 11:15 the scene had taken a tragic turn. The couple was discovered lying on the ground outside their bullet-riddled car. Betty Lou was found several feet from the car, dead from five gunshot wounds in the back. David was found closeby. He had been shot at close range in the head  but was still breathing. He died  en route to the hospital. Clues Detectives had few clues, aside from the fact that there was an earlier confrontation in the same area. Bill Crow and his girlfriend were parked in the same place as Faraday and Jensen just 45 minutes earlier. Crow told police that someone driving a white Chevy drove past them, stopped, and backed up. For unknown reasons, Crow sped away in the opposite direction. The Chevy turned around and followed the couple, but was unable to keep up after Crow made a sharp right turn at an intersection. Two hunters also reported seeing a white Chevy parked at a gravel turn-around on Lake Herman Road. They approached the car but did not see the driver inside. July 4, 1969   Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin, 22, and Michael Renault Mageau, 19, were parked at the Blue Rock Springs Golf Course in Benicia around midnight. The golf course was four miles from where Jensen and Faraday were gunned down. A car pulled up behind the couples car, blocking them from driving away. A man, who Mageau believed was a police officer, got out of his car holding a bright flashlight that obscured his face. As the stranger approached the drivers side of the car he immediately began shooting at the couple, firing five nine-millimeter rounds into the car. Both Ferrin and Mageau were shot. The shooter turned to leave  but came back after hearing shouts coming from Michael. He fired four more times. One bullet hit Michael and two struck Darlene. The shooter then got into his car and drove away. Within minutes after the attack, three teens came across the couple and hurried to get help. When authorities arrived both Ferrin and Mageau were still alive, but Ferrin died before reaching the hospital. Clues Michael Mageau survived the attack and was able to give a description of the shooter to authorities. He described the attacker as a short, heavyset white man, about 5 8 and around 195 pounds. The Call At 12:40 a.m. an anonymous male caller contacted the Vallejo Police Department and reported the double murder. During the call, he also said he was responsible for the Jensen and Faraday murders. Police traced the call and found it was made from a phone booth located just blocks from the police department and less than a mile from Darlene Ferrins home. The caller told police: I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a nine-millimeter Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Good-bye The Zodiac Letters On Friday, August 1, 1969, the first known Zodiac letters were received by three newspapers. The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle,  and Vallejo Times-Herald each received an almost identical letter written by a person who took credit for the attacks on the four teens. He also gave details about the murders and included one-third of a mysterious cipher in each letter. The self-proclaimed killer demanded that the three letters be published on the front page of each newspaper by that Friday afternoon or he would go on a rampage and randomly kill a dozen people over the weekend. The letters were signed with a crossed-circle symbol. The letters were published and efforts to untangle the messages in the ciphers began by authorities and citizens. August 4, 1969 Police investigators stated publicly that they had doubts as to the authenticity of the letters in an attempt to get the killer to contact them again. The plan worked. On August 4th, another letter arrived at the San Francisco Examiner. The letter began with the words that have since haunted many involved in the case: Dear Editor This is the Zodiac speaking... It was the first time the killer used the name Zodiac. In the letter, the Zodiac included information which proved he was present during the murders and a message that his identity was hidden inside the ciphers. August 8, 1969 A high school teacher and his wife cracked the 408-symbol cipher. The last 18 letters could not be decoded. The message read: I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR MY AFTERLIFE EBEORIETEMETHHPITI. The fact that the code did not contain the killers identity was a disappointment to the police, however, some believe the letters can be rearranged (and three more letters added) to spell Robert Emmet the Hippie. September 27, 1969   College students, Cecelia Ann Shepard, 22, and Bryan Calvin Hartnell, 20, were picnicking on a peninsula at Lake Berryessa near Napa, Ca. A man carrying a semi-automatic pistol and wearing a hooded costume approached the couple. He told them that he was an escaped convict from a Montana prison where he killed a guard and stole a car and that he wanted money and their car to drive to Mexico. The couple was cooperating fully with his demands, offering him money and the car keys and the three talked for  a while. He instructed Shepard to hog-tie Bartnell with precut pieces of a clothesline that he supplied. He then tied up Shepard and told the couple, Im going to have to stab you  people, and took out a long double-edged knife and stabbed Hartnell six times and Shepard ten times. He left the couple for dead and walked casually back to Hartnells car where he drew a crossed-circle symbol in black magic marker on the side of the car and the dates of the attacks in Vallejo. A  fisherman  discovered the couple and called the police. Both victims were still alive, but it took over an hour for medical help to arrive. Shepard died two days later after lapsing into a coma. Hartnell survived and gave police a detailed account of the events as well as a description of the attacker. The Call At 7:40 p.m. an anonymous caller contacted the Napa County Police Department. He spoke to officer David Slaight in what was described as a low, monotone voice. He told Slaight: I want to report a murder - no, a double murder. They are two miles north of park headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia... and ended the call with, Im the one who did it. As in the Vallejo case, the call was traced to a phone booth just a few blocks from the police department. October 11, 1969   San Francisco cab driver Paul Stine, 29, picked up a passenger in Union Square and drove to the wealthy area of Cherry Street and Nob Hill. It was there that the passenger shot Stine in the temple, killing him, then removed his wallet, car keys and carefully tore off a large portion of his shirt. Three youngsters witnessed the event from a second-floor window across from the parked taxi. They contacted the police and described the  shooter  as a  white male, 25 to 30 years old, stocky build and a crew cut. An intensive manhunt was immediately launched, but somehow there was a mistake made as to the killers race and the police were searching for a black male. How this mistake was made was never reported and no one was ever apprehended for the  crime. It was later determined that police drove by a large white male fitting the original description just blocks from the shooting, but because of his  race, the police did not consider him a suspect. October 14, 1969 The Chronicle received another letter from the Zodiac. A piece of Stines  blood-soaked  shirt was enclosed and the author referred to the Stine murder, saying the police failed to catch him because they did not search the area properly. He then pointed to his next intended victims, school children. October 22, 1969 A caller identifying himself as the Zodiac contacted the Oakland Police Department and demanded on-air time on the Jim Dunbar television talk show with F. Lee Bailey or Melvin Belli, both famous defense lawyers. Belli appeared on the show and a call from someone saying they were the Zodiac came in while the show was being televised. He said his real name was Sam and asked that Belli meet him in Daly City. Belli agreed but the caller never showed. It was later determined that the call was a hoax and the imposter was a  mental patient  at the Napa State Hospital. November 1969 On November 8 and 9, the Chronicle received two Zodiac letters. The first one was a 340-character cipher. The second letter was seven pages long and included another piece of Stines shirt. In the letter, he claimed the police had stopped and talked with him three minutes after he shot Stine. He also drew a schematic of what he referred to as his death machine which was made to blow up large objects such as buses. December 20, 1969 Melvin Belli received a Christmas card at his home which included another piece of Stines shirt. In the card the Zodiac claimed he wanted help from Belli, ending with: Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer. Attempts from Belli to get the Zodiac to contact him again were made, but nothing ever happened. Some speculate that the card was written during a moment of clarity, while others believe it was another attention-getting hoax on the part of the Zodiac. March 22, 1970 On the evening of March 22, 1970, Kathleen Johns, who was eight-months pregnant, was on her way to meet her mother. She had her ten-month-old daughter in the back seat of the car. While on Highway 132 in San Joaquin County, west of Modesto, Johns pulled over after a driver pulled up alongside her and indicated that something was wrong with her car. The driver pulled over and told Johns that her wheel was wobbling. He said he would tighten the wheel bolts, but instead loosened them, then returned to his car and drove off. When Johns pulled away her tire fell off. The man in the car was not far ahead and backed up and offered Johns a ride to a gas station. She agreed  but became frightened when he failed to stop  at several  gas stations. The ride took over three hours of what Johns described as, silent aimless driving around. She was able to escape with her child when the driver stopped at an intersection. Johns fled across a field and hid until she saw the man drive away. She received help from a passerby and was taken to the local police department in Paterson. While at the station she saw a  wanted poster  with a composite sketch of the Zodiac and identified the person as the man who kidnapped her. Her car was later found gutted and burned. Throughout the years, Johns account of the nights events has changed from her original statement, leading some to question her story.   This was the last time anyone ever reported seeing the Zodiac. April 20, 1970 The Zodiac sent a letter to the Chronicle which included a 13-character cipher, a diagram of a bomb he planned to use to blow up a school bus, and a statement that he was not responsible for the February 18, 1970, bombing of a police station in San Francisco. He ended the letter with a score  [Zodiac Symbol]10, SFPD0. Authorities interpreted the number ten as a body count.   April 28, 1970 A card was sent to the Chronicle with the words,  I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my BLAST  along with the cross-circle symbol. On the back of the card, the writer threatened to use his bus bomb if the Chronicle failed to publish the April 20 letter he sent detailing his plans to blow up a school bus. He also requested that people begin wearing Zodiac buttons. June 26, 1970 A letter received  at  the Chronicle contained another 32-letter cipher. The author said he was upset that he had not seen people wearing Zodiac buttons. He took credit for another shooting  but gave no specifics. Investigators suspected it was the shooting death of Sgt. Richard Radetich a week earlier. Also included was a Phillips 66 map of the Bay area. A clock-like face was drawn around Mount Diablo with a zero at the top, the number three on the right side, six on the bottom and a nine of the left side.  Next  to the zero, he wrote,  is to be set to Mag.N. The map and the cipher were supposed to give the location of a bomb he buried that was set to go off the following fall. This letter was signed  [Zodiac Symbol]12. SFPD0. July 24, 1970 In this letter, also sent to the Chronicle, the Zodiac took credit for abducting Kathleen Jones four months earlier and described burning the car, a fact that only one local paper, the Modesto Bee, had printed. July 26, 1970 In this next letter, the Zodiac included his own twisted version of the song  Ive Got a Little List  from Gilbert Sullivans musical, The Mikado. In it, he described how he planned to collect and torture his slaves. Also drawn on the letter was a giant crossed-circle, a score notation of  13, SFPD  and the words, PS. The Mount Diablo Code concerns Radians # inches along the radians. In 1981, Zodiac researcher Gareth Penn figured out that when placing a radian angle over the map, it pointed to two locations where Zodiac attacks took place. October 5, 1970 Three months had passed without any further communication from the Zodiac. Then, a card written with cut-out letters from magazines and newspapers was sent to the Chronicle. The card bore 13 holes and indicated that there had been another Zodiac victim and that he considered himself crackproof. Originally considered as a hoax, certain letter configurations and the phrase crackproof later reappeared in confirmed Zodiac letters, adding new authenticity to this one. October 27, 1970 Paul Avery, the key reporter in the Zodiac case for the Chronicle, received a Halloween card which included a threat on Averys life. The letter was posted in its entirety on the front page of the Chronicle and days later Avery received another letter urging him to investigate the similarities between the known Zodiac murders and the murder of college student Cheri Jo Bates years earlier. A Step Back In Time - October 30, 1966   On October 30, 1966, Cheri Jo Bates, 18, was studying at the Riverside City College library annex until the library closed at 9 p.m. Investigators suspect that her Volkswagen parked outside the library was tampered with prior to her leaving the library. The distributor coil and the condenser had been pulled out and the middle wire of the distributor was disconnected. Police believe that when she tried to start the car the person who disabled it approached her and offered his help. Somehow he lured her into a secluded dark driveway which sat between two empty houses, where police believe the two sat for about an hour and a half. The man later attacked Bates, beating her, slashing at her face and cutting her a total of 11 times, seven of which nearly decapitated her. Clues found at the scene included a size 10 heel-print, a Timex watch with a torn seven-inch wristband displaying the time 12:23, fingerprints and a palm print, skin tissue underneath the victims fingernails and hair and blood in her hands. On November 29, 1966, two identical letters were sent to the Riverside Police and the Riverside Press-Enterprise by someone claiming to be responsible for killing Bates. The letters included a poem titled  The  Cofession[sic] which offered details of the murder that only the police and the killer knew about. The letters also included a warning that she was not the first or the last of his victims. Many interpreted the tone of the letter as very similar to that of the Zodiac letters mailed after the Vallejo murders. In December 1966 a custodian at the Riverside City College discovered a poem carved into the underside of a folding desk. The poem, titled  Sick of living/unwilling to die  had a tone similar to that of the Zodiac as well as handwriting which looked like some found in the Zodiacs letters. Some believe the author, who signed the poem with the initials rh was describing the murder of Bates. Other theorize that the letter was written by a student who had unsuccessfully tried to kill themselves. However, Sherwood Morrill, one of Californias top Questioned Documents examiners, was of the opinion that the true author of the poem was the Zodiac. Six months after the murder of Bates three nearly identical letters were received by the Riverside Press, the Riverside police  and  Cheri Jo Bates father. The letters all contained more postage than was necessary and two of the letters were signed with a symbol which looked like the letter Z next to the number three. The Zodiac letters sent in the 1970s all contained excessive postage, symbol-type signatures and the threat that more murders would follow. The two letters received by the newspaper and the police read: BATES HADTO DIETHERE WILLBE MORE Bates murder was never solved. The Riverside Police Department maintains that a local man was the key suspect, not the Zodiac, although the letters sent may have been written by him. March 17, 1971 A letter was sent to the Los Angeles Times because, as the writer put it,  they dont bury me on the back pages. In the letter, the Zodiac gave the police credit for making the Bates connection, but added that the police were still only finding the  easy ones  and that there were plenty more  out there.  The letter included the score,  SFPD-0 [Zodiac Symbol]-17. This was the only letter ever sent to the Los Angeles Times and the only one postmarked outside of San Francisco. March 22, 1971 Chronicle reporter Paul Avery received a postcard thought to be from the Zodiac in which he took credit for the case of a missing nurse, Donna Lass, from the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Lass was never seen again after treating her last patient at 1:40 a.m. on September 6, 1970. The following day her uniform and shoes, marked with dirt, were discovered in a paper bag in her office. Two calls were made, one to her employer and one to her landlord, by an unidentified caller who said Lass had a family emergency and had left town. The postcard that Avery received included a collage made up of lettering cut from newspapers and magazines and contained a picture of an ad of the condominium complex known as Forest Pines. The words,  Sierra Club, Sought Victim 12, peek through the pines, pass Lake Tahoe areas, round in the snow,  hinted at the location of where Lass body could be found. A search in the area turned up only a pair of sunglasses. Some believe the postcard was a forgery, perhaps the attempt of the real killer to make the authorities believe Lass was a Zodiac victim. However certain similarities such as the misspelling of Paul Averys name (Averly) and the use of a hole-punch had both become traits found in letters known to be from the Zodiac. Although it did not appear that  kidnapping  was a pattern of the Zodiac, but rather spontaneous random murders, if in fact, he was responsible for Johns abduction then possibly Donna Lass could also be a victim of the Zodiac. The  mystery  surrounding the case of Donna Lass was never solved, nor was her body ever located. The Pines postcard was the last communication received from the Zodiac for three years. In 1974 he resurfaced although this time he dropped his opening line,  This is the Zodiac speaking  and the cross-circle symbol signature from the letters. January 29, 1974 The Zodiac sent the Chronicle a letter describing the movie  The Exorcist  as  the best saterical comidy that I have ever seen.  It also included a part of a verse from The Mikado, a hieroglyph-type drawing and a threat that the letter had to be published or he would  do something nasty.  His signature score changed to read  Me-37 SFPD-0. May 8, 1974 The Chronicle received a letter from a concerned citizen complaining about the movie  Badlands  and asking the paper to stop advertising it. Although the Zodiac did not identify himself as the author of the letter, some felt the similarities of the tone and handwriting was unmistakably that of the Zodiac. July 8, 1974 A complaint letter regarding the conservative Chronicle columnist, Marco Spinelli who used the pen name, Count Marco was received at the newspaper and ended the letter with: Since the Count can write anonymously, so can I signed the Red Phantom (red with rage). Some believe the Zodiac sent the letter, others do not. Doubting that the letters were really authored by the Zodiac, police detective David Toschi sent them to the FBI Laboratory who responded that the letters were probably prepared by the writer of the Zodiac letters. No other communication was received from the Zodiac for another four years. April 24, 1978 A letter was sent to the Chronicle and given to reporter Duffy Jennings, Paul Averys replacement after he went to work at the San Francisco Examiner. Duffy contacted Detective David Toschi, who had worked on the Zodiac case since the Stine murder and was the only remaining San Francisco Police Department (SFDP) investigator working the case. Toschi turned the letters over to John Shimoda of the U.S. Postal Service crime laboratory to verify if the letters were authored by the Zodiac instead of giving them to the chief examiner for the Questioned Documents Division of the SFPD. Why he made that decision is unknown, however, Shimoda did verify that the letter was authored by the Zodiac. Four experts three months later declared the letter a hoax. At that time Toschi was in the middle of a political battle and looking at possibly replacing the current chief of police. For all of those who adored Toschi, many just wanted him to go away. When it became known that the letters were a hoax, many pointed the finger at Toschi, believing he had forged the letter. The suspicions about Toschi  forging  the Zodiac letter was based on an earlier incident involving columnist Armistead Maupin, who was writing a series for the Chronicle called,  Tales of the City.  He received a lot of fan mail for the series and in an effort to verify that the letters were legitimate he became suspicious that Toschi had written some of them under fake names. Maupin made the decision to do nothing about it at the time, but when the forged Zodiac letter surfaced, Maupin thought it was possible Toschi was responsible and reported the fake fan letters and his suspicions to Toschis superiors. Toschi eventually admitted to writing the fan letters, but always denied the implications that he forged the Zodiac letter and insisted the rumors were politically motivated. The Toschi incident is just one example of the many bizarre twists the Zodiac investigation has taken over the years. More than 2,500 suspects have been investigated without anyone ever being charged. Detectives continue to receive telephone calls weekly with tips, theories​,  and speculation. The  case  remains open in some jurisdictions, but the San Francisco Police Department has designated it  unsolved  and inactive.

Finance assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Finance - Assignment Example These Advisory services provide the clients to grow. A Financer: as a financer it provides their clients i.e. the local, state and national governments to finance and expand the infrastructure. It also works for the clients to transact, support, manage, innovate and invest (The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS), 2015). The profit on the investments is known as the rate of return, it can be of two types. Firstly are the Dividends that paid to the shareholders out of the profits of the organization in the form of returns of the investments made by the shareholders. The dividend rate is announced by the Board of Directors of the organization. Secondly, the return is in the form of Capital Gain/Loss. Mostly, the capital gain is reinvested by the shareholders to get new shares of the company. The total return can be calculated by adding the Dividends and the Capital Gain. Where Rs denotes the rate of return from investment in the company’s shares, DY denotes the dividend yield that provides investors the idea about the actual percentage of returns paid out to the shareholders in the form of dividends, and CG is the capital gain that shareholders can achieve from their holding in the company’s shares. The dividend yield can be calculated using the following formula. Where, D1 is the dividend expected in period 1 that is determined by applying an estimated growth rate of dividends to the dividend paid in period 0, P0 refers to the price of the company’s shares in period 0 and P1 is the stock price in period 1. It helps in measuring the risk of change in the value of the company’s stock in relation to the change in the value of the market index. It is mainly used to compare the risk of one stock with other stocks. The measure can help investors make their investment decisions based on their risk assessment and acceptance of risk. The value of beta equal to 1 represents that

Dollars and Dreams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dollars and Dreams - Essay Example There are still others that see it as a land of waste and consumerism where the abundance is so overflowing that there is not enough space to hold all that is produced and thrown away. The truth that it is a place of hardship where people work hard to barely survive is rarely the worldwide perception of the American Dream. The film Dollars and Dreams: West Africans in New York (2007) is a documentary that discusses the experience and phenomenon of immigration from West Africa to the United States. The documentary film makers explore the truth of life in New York for those who have migrated from West Africa into what they thought would be an easier and more successful life. Through a narrative that includes successful, surviving, and struggling immigrants from West Africa, the film creates an alternative perspective on the experience of living in New York and in the United States. The producers of the film were Jeremy Rocklin an Abdel Kader Ouedarogo with Jeremy Rocklin directing and it is distributed by Documentary Educational Resources. One of the first statements made in the film is by Chika Onyeani who is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of The African Sun Times is that there is a perception that in America money grows on trees. CEO of Cape Aloe Ferox Worldwide, Arthur Smith, states in the film that the dollar is almighty and that they think it is easy in America and Zain Abdullah of Temple University reveals that the first surprising thing that immigrants from West Africa experience is that there is poverty in America and that it is not as easy to find riches in the land of opportunity. The concept of opportunity becomes more real in the sense that while there may be opportunity, one has to search and find it (Rocklin & Ouedarogo, 2007). Zain Abdullah continues to discuss the culture of immigrants as they live a life of deception where they struggle by working two or three jobs, but then present their experiences to those back home as fulfilling the expect ations that they had when they left their home to travel to the new land. The deception is based on the perceptions that are promoted in West Africa that there is nothing but riches in the United States and to go to America and struggle would be perceived as a failure. Abdullah states that it is like going into a gold mine and coming out with nothing to show for the effort (Rocklin & Ouedarogo, 2007). Kaira-Murdock (2008) writes that the reason that Jeremy Rocklin an Abdel Kader Ouedarogo decided to create this documentary was to create a more realistic view of New York for West Africans before they made the decision to migrate from their homeland and seek their fortunes. The realities of New York and the rate of poverty, even among the working poor, is something that is not considered when making the decision to move. The film is visually unsettling as the garbage in the street and the unattended urban setting is contrasted to the affluent speakers who discuss the realities of movi ng to New York, even though the majority of the initial speakers have clearly found their own success in this country. The real problem with immigration from other nations is that the image of America is based upon Hollywood idealism that is shown in films. Racism based on blackness is rare in West Africa so the experience of being oppressed comes as a surprise for many of the people who move to New York. Kaira-Murdock (2

The public education system in the U.S. Essay Example for Free

The public education system in the U.S. Essay In US the government mainly provides Public education. However the funding and control do not come from federal government and it differs from state to state and the control and funding can come from federal, State and local bodies. In addition school boards determine the curricula, teaching and other educational policies and it differs from state to state. In US public education competes with private education and the private education system in most cases is superior in educational quality in terms of curricula and in terms of student’s academic performance, teaching quality, extra curricula activities in elementary and secondary level. As well the cost per student is less in private educational institutions than public education in elementary and in secondary level. In addition in Higher education the cost is very high and the private Universities have more elitist status than the Public Universities in general and not accessible to most student groups. In addition there are charter schools, which are parochial in nature in secondary and in elementary level, and they are also superior in terms of educational quality in general compared to public schools. In addition in some state it has home schooling system but not in all states. In addition in US the age of entry in to the school system and exist from the school system differs and the grading system also varies from state to state and the standardized test and educational standards are mostly administered by the State government. Page: 2 US Public Education system Performance statistics compared to other advanced Industrial Countries In an article â€Å"Education in United States† in the WIKIPEDIA The Free Encyclopedia the following statistics have been documented. 1) United Nations assigned an Education Index of 99. 9 to United States ranking it number 1 in the world. 2) 76. 6 million students enrolled as per K16 study and 72% aged 12 to 17 were judged academically on track. Of these 5. 2 million attending private schools. 3) Among the adult population over 85% completed High school and 27% received bachelor degree or higher. 4) Literacy rate of 98% of the population over age 15, while ranking below average in mathematics and Science understanding. 5) A recent study showed that A slightly higher proportion of American adults qualify as Scientifically literate than European and Japanese adults. In addition the participation in continuing education is high for United States. Page: 3 These statistics shows that the American Public education system perform in some measures well and not in others particularly in mathematics and science education Compared to other advanced industrial countries. As Science and mathematics is crucial for future technical potential of US compared to other advanced countries and in a age of rapid development in Science and technology and if US lacks behind other advanced industrialized countries it may loose its competitive edge in this crucial field and hamper Its economic and social development in the future and also tackle the environmental issues facing the globe in the 21st century. As well the above statistics shows a sustancial proportion of students aged 12 to 17 are not academically on track and they may become unemployable or unemployed due to lack of skills and may become burden to society as whole and also for a source of social instability in US and also can produce an underclass. There fore based on the statistics above even though overall the US public education system is performing well it has serious weaknesses compared to other advanced industrial countries. The US Public education system in terms of its performance in meeting in developing appropriate skills for the majority of the students as well as maintaining a high standard Of science skills and update practical skills which is used in real world and its speed of change in its structure and curriculum and funding as well as teaching strategies based on the above statistics. In addition it must be flexibility to adept to special needs of student Page: 4 groups and disadvantage created by segregation policies in education, as the Public education system is the product of American social development. and provide access to education to these groups, as they are sustancial proportion of American society . As mentioned above the US public education system curriculum is diverse and has differing quality in different districts and also differs from one state to the next. The quality of curriculum is fundamental factor in the determination of what is taught is class, who is teaching, resources used, options given to students, assessment methods, who controls the curriculum and for who’s benefit. If the curriculum in quality differs then it will create more differences than if the curriculum is to some degree centralized in some European countries than in America and Public education in these countries has to follow basic curriculum in all states and provinces but adept to local conditions depending on the student profile, parents and teachers with some guidance and principles enunciated by a central educational authority. The educational reform must take in to consideration the educational structural factors of the degree of decentralization and centralization in to account if it wants to resolve and improve the performance of US Public education system. This is important as mentioned above the US Public educational system is very decentralized and has a parochial structure and allow too much differences in curriculum and in different quality and it is certainly will affect the quality of education in some schools in the Public education system. Page: 5 Segregation and inequality and the US Public education system In American Educational history segregation has produced disadvantage for the minority groups to suffer in terms of access to education particularly to quality education for a very long time. This has produced social and economic disparity compared to majority white population. Even now some minority student groups suffer from access to quality education and they tend to be mostly in the Public education system in the worst performing public schools and academically poor performers compared to the white student population. US Public Education system must address this disadvantage adequately and the current US Public education system structurally do not address this access and inequality adequately and there fore fails to raise the performance of these students academically and to provide opportunities to develop their full potential and there fore they become socially and economically a burden to American society and also a drain in resources in welfare terms. In US Public Schools where there are minority students particularly from disadvantage students the federal, state and local government must have guidelines and mandates to fund adequate resources for counseling services, remedial classes, appropriate welfare Referral services and also provides welfare services in housing, welfare services to parents to cover cost of education and other expenses so that they are physically healthy and mentally happy to develop their skills in the education system. Page: 6 US Public education system and Private Education system In US Public education system has to compete with private education system. As well some schools are parochial and also independent of government. The private schools are better resourced and also provide quality curriculum in general although there are exceptions. A considerable amount of student population is enrolled n private schools eventhogh majority of elementary and secondary schools students attend US public schools with different curriculum and in different quality determined by the school boards of different districts. As well the cost of education per student private schools is less than the US public education and it can also point to waste of resources because of too much bureaucracy compared to private schools. In addition the private schools give more carrier opportunities to teachers than the Public schools. As well in private schools the student to teacher ratio is small compared to US public school system. This may be a factor contributing to better quality of education in private schools compared to US Public education system. This shows to some extent the US public education has problems in its quality of education system and reform is necessary in curriculum development process and administration. Control, teacher qualification and carrier prospects, teacher performance measures and salary structure and ways to reduce class size in US public schools. This is vital to improve the performance of Us Public education system compared to private Page: 7 schools and also raise the standard of Science and mathematics education in US public education system. US Public Higher education system and US Private Higher Education system In US the public education system has pubic Universities and colleges as well community colleges. The public higher education competes with the private higher education system. The Private Universities have more elitist status compared to public Universities in general. As well the entrance requirements differ from one University to the next n the public university system and elitist universities have stringent requirements than other universities in the public as well as private university system. As well the private Universities quality of research and quality of education is better compared to public universities in general but there are exceptions. In addition because of segregation policies in the past the accesses ability to public higher education by minority student groups exist even the participation in higher education has increased by these groups in recent times. In addition the cost education in private and in public Universities are high in US, which is not affordable by many student groups even by the loan grant scheme by federal and private financial institutions. Page: 8 As discussed above in it is certain the US Higher education in the public sector must enhance its profile compared to the private universities and reform of public US higher education is necessary and the US public education system quality is questionable and has considerable weaknesses to be resolved to raise its higher education standard compared to private universities and compared to Universities of advanced industrialized countries. Creationism and evolution in Science education In US in the Public education system there is debate over creationism to be taught in Science education. There is considerable disagreement on this issue among religious groups, teachers of science, parents of well educated and other. This issue of teaching creationism in Public schools is a controversial issue in US and it must be resolved more than adequately by federal, state and local government authorities. If not resolved will affect the quality of education particularly the Science education and further disadvantage US students in Science skills compared to students from advanced industrialized countries and Japan or Korea. There fore the US public education system must resolve its social, religious and cultural issues in education and its impact on the quality of science education as in US religion plays a considerable role in education. The excessive religious influences must be curbed Page: 9 more than adequately by legal or other means to improve the quality of education particularly the science education in the US public education system. Degree of standardization in US Education system compared to other advanced industrialized countries In most advanced industrialized countries particularly in Europe the public education is comparatively centralized in terms of specifying curriculum, teaching standards, hours of schooling, assessment methods and testing and ensure uniformity in curriculum and options to be allowed and consistently revised to reflect changes in skill requirements in economy, student preferences and teacher and other educational professional inputs to improve the quality and efficiency of the school system. In contrast the US public education system is far more decentralized in control of curriculum, teaching and other issues. The excessive decentralized US public education systems structure may be a factor, which may have contributed to poor performance in science and mathematics understanding compared to other students from advanced industrialized countries. The issue of standardization and degree of centralization must be considered by the US Public education system as in science and mathematics in European countries the superior performance may be attributable to the standardization and the uniformity of curriculum and quality in all schools and the centralized control to some extent by the central educational authority and revised consistently if circumstances change in skill Page: 10 requirements and other factors such as input from teachers and teacher unions, parents and educational professionals and from input from business and religious community and student groups. In this respect US public education system must consider the degree of decentralization and its negative impact on the quality of education to improve structural impediments to enhance the quality of education. Contemporary issues in US Public Education system Curriculum issues The contemporary issues in US Educational system are Curriculum issues, funding, and Charter schools, control and competitiveness. The curriculum issues stems from the fact that there exists a variety of curriculum and in different quality. There are arguments over the standardization of curriculum and the degree of curriculum standardization because of the current existence of varying curriculum in different districts and in different states. In addition there is also arguments regarding English language teaching, evolution in Science education and the role of sex education. In US most citizens are divided in these issues and they are hotly debated. Some religious groups prefer teaching creationism in Science but some educated groups disagree teaching creationism. In addition there is also no consensus regarding sex education in the curriculum and in US most citizens are divided on sex education. As well there is debate over which subjects receive most focus Page: 11 with astronomy and geography not taught enough in schools. As discussed above the curriculum issues are complex in US and there exists no consensus and there fore it is very difficult to resolve these issues. However if these issues are not resolved adequately and not reformed will affect the quality of the education system, as the quality of the curriculum will determine to some extent the quality of the Public education system. Funding issues In addition the funding of Public education differs from one state to the next and differs in different districts. However State governments or local governments fund the school system. The cost per student in Public education is higher compared to the private elementary and secondary schools. In addition in funding property taxes are used to fund the public schooling system and it is controversial in US. In Higher education the cost is not affordable by many student groups and they pay their fees by loans from federal government or from private loans from financial institutions. Charter school issues There are charter schools in US based on the promise to create less bureaucratic schools which vest management in the hands of community members, parents, teachers and Page: 12 students. Recent studies indicate that the charter schools do not out perform the Public schools. However the federal government No Child Left Behind Act 2001 which extent the oversight of state schools and the power to withdraw funding from poorly performing schools and gives parents the choice to remove students from such schools. Control issues Mainly State governments exercise the control of education. However there exist many variations of the control structure. That is in some states the local bodies such as school boards have the power to control education than in others. In other wards the US Public education system is highly decentralized control structure compared to other advanced western countries. As well there are private schools which are parochial and not controlled by government and highly independent. Competitiveness issues The national Results in international comparisons indicate that the US education system is below average. As well in OECD programme for International Student Assessment 2003 indicate 15 year-old ranked 24 out of 38 in mathematics, 19 out of 38 in Science, 12 out of 38 in reading, and 26 out of 38 in problem solving. In addition many reputable has expressed concerns of the quality of US education system. For example Bill Gates has Page: 13 famously mentioned that the American High School system is obsolete. As discussed above the US Public education system has considerable issues to be resolved if it wants to improve its educational quality in elementary, and secondary level. In my view assessing the Public education system there must be some centralization or standardization is necessary as the US Pubic education system is very decentralized and produces different quality among public schools and some private schools are parochial in nature and some students groups may left behind in such system of education because of accessibility and affordability by many student groups. This structural problems of control and funding as well as curriculum issues must be resolved more than adequately to improve the quality of the education system and also to raise the competitiveness of US Public education system to the standards of advanced western countries and countries like Japan and Korea. In addition it also must set national standards for Teacher education and must radically revise the teaching practices and involve schools with the external business environment to raise the academic, social and problem-solving skills in a rapidly changing world to improve the issues of competitiveness of the US Education system. The curriculum to some degree must be centralized to become uniform to sole extent because there exist different curricula in different districts and the quality differs. As curricula is an important variable which affects educational quality outcome differing quality affects the overall quality of education in US Public education. However the curriculum must also have some flexibility addressing specific local educational issues Page: 14 and must have options as well have flexibility in the timing and the attending to schools and school hours and not strictly have strict timing of schooling. Science education must be more practical rather than school teaching and students must experience how the science works in the outside world and try to solve practical science problems in the real world and must continually update skills and experience as the changes in science field is rapid. That is the Science curriculum and teaching practices and assessment must be radically overhauled. This is also applicable to mathematics education to raise the mathematics education quality and standard in US public education system. In addition in US in Science education the teaching of creationism in science must be resolved more than adequate to improve the quality of Science education and stress the importance of evolution theory in Science compared to creationism which do not have sustancial scientific evidence to be taught in Science classes in US public education system. In summary the US Public education system have considerable issues which affects the quality of US Public education system’s quality and as discussed above it must resolve these issues more than adequately and must continually reform the structure of US Public education system to have a comparable quality with advanced countries and to satisfy the needs of a rapidly changing world. Page: 15 In addition there are problems arising from segregation and in equality in education and disadvantage in the US public education system which if not addressed adequately may produce a high proportion of students do not have the adequate skills or fall behind other students and they may become unemployable and cause social problems and may also cause social instability in the future. That is if access ability is not addressed in the US education system and remedial action is taken in time it may contribute to a significant minority student groups failing to meet the skills necessary to survive in the rapidly changing world of work. In US public education home schooling is an important factor at least in some states and these states must consider the negative impacts of home schooling and provide adequate safe guards to ensure the quality of home schooling and monitor progress continually to upgrade and to reconsider home schooling if they produce poor educational outcomes. As discussed above it is certain that the US public education has several issues affecting its quality in a negative manner. It must reform the public education system in funding, the role of charter schools, role of home schools, degree of decentralzation and control and curriculum issues, hours of education and flexibility, teaching methods, teacher quality issues, standardized tests, regulation of private school system particularly in parochial private school system, cost of higher education and access by minority student groups, role of business in education to improve its quality of public education system in US. Bibliography Burke, F. G. ( 1990). Public Education: Who’s in Charge?.Praeger. Retrieved march 25, 2007 from http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=23097272 Daly, J. Future Schools. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved March, 25, 2007, from http://www. edutopia. org/magazine/ed1article. php? id=Art_1750issue=feb_07 Education in the United States. (n. d. ). Retrieved March 25, 2007, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States Hardway, R. M. ( 1995). America Goes to School: Law, Reform and Crisis in Public Education. Praeger, Retrieved March, 25, 2007, from http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=15121217

Bilingual Education in Public Schools Essay -- Bilingual Language Educ

Bilingual Education in Public Schools For the past thirty years in the State of California, bilingual education has been undertaken by all the public schools of the state. Under such system, children of non-American ethnic have had a special treatment in their early academic career. Children of minority groups have been thought various subjects in their native tongues. Such subjects are Math, History and some Science classes. The bilingual program presented the student a scholastic curriculum that simultaneously instructed students all the required classes while teaching them the English language. For such method, bilingual teachers were the focal point for the success of individual students of any class level. Prior to Proposition 227, California’s programs for immigrant students included English as a Second Language, in which students were taught the English language for part of the day, and bilingual education, in which students took classes taught in their native tongues until their English improved. The bilingual educational system was legally first introduced by Governor R. Reagan in 1967. Reagan as Governor of California signed a bill eliminating the state’s English-only instructional mandate and allowing bilingual education. Proposition 227, that has reformed the thirty year old bill, has taken affect on June 2, 1998. The proposition introduces a new way of teaching the English language to immigrant children. Such proposition is also called â€Å"English for the Children† or simply the Unz initiative after its author and chief financial backer, Ron K. Unz, a Silicon Valley millionaire and conservative Republican who has no children or background in education and has never set foot in a bilingual education class. â€Å"The Unz initiative calls for one year of courses taught in English, with an emphasis on learning the language; a system that many fear is a return to a past when children were sometimes punished for speaking Spanish, but that others say is a return to sanity† stated Don Terry in his article Bilingual Education Facing Toughest Test. In addition, one of the more controversial points of he plan involves a waiver system whereby parents who prefer â€Å"native-language† inst ruction for their children can request that the children be removed from the English-immersion classes. The request will be granted if they can find parents of twenty of more chil... ...achers thought I spoke Spanish. I found the English language somewhat easy to learn, moreover, I have to thank many of the English-speaking friends that I made back then to teach me the slang and spent time with me outside school. Mathematics and Economics were easy for me, I can say with confidence that I had one of the highest grades in comparison to my English-speaking classmates. The main problems that I had were the communication skills, both writing and speaking English proved to be the greatest challenge for me during that year. My need to communicate with others drove my incentive to master the language, within the first two years; many of my friends were surprised how well my English was. Despite the foreign accent, they had all agreed that my English was very efficient. As an overall, I appreciate the year spent in High School learning the language, I believe that all new immigrant student should attend such classes. They have made a very positive impact in my life. In conclusion, I believe that all races should master the English language as quick as possible, for it is the essence of social integration that can lead to one success or failure of the â€Å"American Dream†.

A Funeral Eulogy for a Roman Wife

The primary source is a funeral eulogy written in the 1st century B.C. by the husband of a woman who had just passed away. The eulogy is intended to praise the character and actions of the wife in front of those that had gathered at her funeral, who would most likely be people belonging to the same upper class of Roman society. The eulogy both reveals the type of person Turia was when she was alive and provides insight into the standard behavior expected of women by men, particularly among men and women that were wealthy. Perhaps there existed different expectations of poor women since they did not perform the same duties. Though, there are certainly some basic standards that all women were held to as revealed by the primary source. While Turia's qualities certainly match those possessed by other women of that time, some of her actions break from tradition entirely. Since the eulogy is written by the husband, someone who would have been one of the closest people to Turia, the document can certainly be believed, to an extent. There may have been some slight exaggerations seeing as how the woman had just passed away and the purpose of the eulogy was to highlight her admirable qualities. Turia, the Roman wife, is described as possessing the virtues of â€Å"loyalty, obedience†¦reasonableness†¦religion without superstition†¦[and] modesty of appearance† (LT 30). The virtue â€Å"religion without superstition† in particular may perhaps be praising her knowledge and understanding since she is able to differentiate between what is real and what is not. These virtues she possessed are a testament to her great character, however they are not unlike the virtues held by other women at the time. The husband states she shares many other similar commendable qualities â€Å"with all married women who care for their good name† (LT 34), thus implying that she is like any other wealthy Roman wife who cares a great deal about maintaining a good reputation and standing in society. The husband twice states that Turia's sister is just as worthy of praise as she is and that they are â€Å"equal† (LT 43), which further emphasizes the point that the traits Turia possessed were not unique, but rather the standard among elite women. The husband does, however, state that she is different in that she has faced difficult and rare circumstances that have allowed her to showcase her praiseworthy qualities. Such circumstances include having to fight against those who claimed her father's will was invalid. Turia had a â€Å"firm resolution† that aided her in ultimately resolving the issue in a way that favored her and thus allowing her to fulfill â€Å"[her] duty to [her] father, [her] devotion to [her] sister, and [her] faithfulness† towards her husband (LT 25-26). I believe this to be her most commendable quality. Clearly, the woman cared a great deal about family. Turia did not leave her parents' murder â€Å"unavenged† and was determined to carry out her father's last wishes by upholding his will (LT 5). She cared for her mother-in-law just as she would her own parents and also secured good marriages for her female relations through dowries in what her husband called â€Å"a spirit of generous family affection† (LT 42). Turia's devotion to family can be further shown by her distress at not being able to give birth. She was even willing for her husband to marry another so that he could have a child. She was entirely selfless and dutiful all throughout her life and it is clearly shown by her actions. The information revealed through the eulogy about Turia both coincides and differs from traditional views. Turia was devoted to protecting her family in any way she could, which concurs with the view of women being caretakers. However, Turia's way of taking care of her family breaks with the norm in that she did not simply stay at home and act after the damage had been done. For example, when a man named Milo and his troops attempted to seize the home of Turia and her husband, she â€Å"beat them back successfully† (LT 11a). The fact that Turia was entirely willing to divorce her husband so that he could have an heir coincides with the traditional idea of marriage being for sole purpose of lineage. However, both Turia and her husband break tradition by choosing to stay together despite the fact that they had no children. Their marriage, as stated by the husband, is also rare in that it lasted for 40 years and only ended because of death, not divorce (LT 27). Turia had a great character and that is undoubtedly shown by the deeds she performed and by the great amount of praise that her husband has towards her. She is both a leading example of an elite Roman woman and an exception to the norms of that time.

How Do Sunless Tanning Products Work

You want that golden glow, but dont want the skin cancer of a real tan or the fleeting color of a bronzer. The solution is to use a sunless tanning product. But, how does sunless tanning work? Sunless tanning or self-tanning products have been around in some form or other since the invention of cosmetics. In 1960, Coppertone introduced its first sunless tanning product - QT ® or Quick Tanning Lotion. This lotion produced an overall orange effect. Todays sunless tanning products produce much more realistic results. Tanning pills, sunless tanning or self-tanning lotions and sprays, and cosmetic bronzers are available to impart a subtle bronze glow or a deep, dark tan. Bronzers yield immediate results, although some sunless tanning products require 45 minutes to an hour before taking effect. Although sunless tanning products can yield a golden glow, they do not protect the skin from the ultraviolet radiation in the suns rays the way melanin in a real tan does, so users of sunless tanning products need to apply sunscreen before venturing out in the sun. Sunless Tanning on the Outside BronzersCosmetic bronzers produce immediate effects that can be easily removed with soap and water. Bronzers are available as powders, creams, and lotions. These sunless tanning products are essentially a form of make-up since the tint only lasts until it is washed off.Sunless Tanning Lotions and SpraysPerhaps the most effective sunless tanning products are lotions and sprays containing dihydroxyacetone (DHA) as the active ingredient. DHA is a colorless sugar that interacts with the dead cells located in the upper layer of the epidermis. As the sugar interacts with the dead skin cells, a color change occurs. This change usually lasts about five to seven days from the initial application. Sunless Tanning from the Inside Tanning PillsTanning pills typically contain the pigment canthaxanthin. Although the FDA has approved the use of canthaxanthin as a color additive in food, it has not approved its use as a tanning agent. Much larger quantities of canthaxanthin than the amount used as a food coloring must be ingested to change skin color. After canthaxanthin is consumed, it is deposited throughout the body, including in the skin, which turns an orange-brown color, and also the internal organs (liver, brain, etc.). Canthaxanthin-based tanning pills have been linked to dangerous side effects, including hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) and canthaxanthin retinopathy (formation of yellow deposits in the retina of the eye).Tanning AcceleratorsMost tanning accelerators are lotions or pills that contain the amino acid tyrosine. Makers of these products believe that the tyrosine stimulates and increases melanin formation, thereby accelerating the natural tanning process. However, more scientific data is n eeded to determine the validity of these claims and to assess the safety of using large amounts of tyrosine. Why Do Tans Fade? Skin takes a lot of wear and tear, so it naturally regenerates itself. Every 35-45 days the outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, is completely replaced. Since skin pigment is found in this upper layer, any natural or added pigment will be sloughed away in about one months time. This is why natural tans fade and why many self-tanning products recommend you re-apply the product every few days to maintain your tan. Sunless Tanning Key Takeaways Sunless tanning changes to skin tone without exposure to the ultraviolet radiation from the sun or a tanning bed light.Lotions and sprays usually contain dihydroxyacetone or DHA which reacts with dead skin cells and changes their color.Tanning pills usually contain canthaxanthin, which turns skin and internal organs orange-brown when the pigment is deposited in cells.Tanning accelerators contain the amino acid tyrosine which may stimulate melanin production.Some sunless tanning products are safe, but there are potentially dangerous side effects from taking tanning pills. Sources Benamar N, Laplante AF, Lahjomri F, Leblanc RM (Oct 2004). Modulated photoacoustic spectroscopy study of artificial tanning on human skin induced by dihydroxyacetone. Physiological Measurement. 25 (5): 1199–210. doi:10.1088/0967-3334/25/5/010Jung K, Seifert M, Herrling T, Fuchs J (May 2008). UV-generated free radicals (FR) in skin: their prevention by sunscreens and their induction by self-tanning agents. Spectrochimica Acta. Part A, Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 69 (5): 1423–8. doi:10.1016/j.saa.2007.09.029Namiki, Mitsuo; Hayashi, Tateki (1983). A New Mechanism of the Maillard Reaction Involving Sugar Fragmentation and Free Radical Formation.  The Maillard Reaction in Foods and Nutrition. ACS Symposium Series.  215. pp.  21–46.