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The purpose of this study is to analyse the attitude of four teachers to leadership in the classroom. The main research questions asked were:
The method used is the qualitative method and interviews, which is my empirical material, I relate to different theories and previous research of leadership.
The curriculum for the compulsory school system, the pre-school class and the leisure-time centre, Lpo 94, says a lot about how both the school and the teacher must pursue a democratic activity; the teacher must have a democratic leadership in the classroom (Lpo 94, s. 5). At school, the pupils should be met with respect, they should feel safe and be motivated to learn. They must constantly develop and have lots of opportunities to experience the joy of making progress (Lpo 94, s. 7).
A teacher's leadership is all about control and leading students to the goals that are set up and that pupils should achieve. Knowledge and development are the most important factors in school and therefore it is important to find out what different leadership styles that are most successful.
The purpose of the study is to examine how feedback on written texts is given at secondary school level in the subject of English, and what effects the different feedback methods provide. The purpose is also to investigate what level of student texts the teacher mainly focuses on when providing feedback: the task level, the metacognitive level, the process level or the personal level. The essay is based on interviews, observations and content analysis of teachers' comments. The result showed that the motivations behind the methods, as well as the methods themselves, were similar between institutions and educators. The preferred method of communicating the feedback was to do it in writing, rather than orally. Finally, the results displayed that teachers combine giving feedback at a task-level, a process level, a metacognitive level, and a personal level.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of the preschool teachers, working with the preschool bus, regarding challenges and children's interactions in different learning environments offered by mobile preschool.
The metod used in this study is the qualitative semi-structured interviews with four preschool teachers. The theoretical ground used to perform the analyse in the study is represented by socio-cultural perspective and hermeneutic research effort.
The study shows that the interaction between children is the same in all environments but that the interaction between children and the environment might be different depending on the development and intrests of the preschool children. The survey shows that this interaction between children and the environment begins before the bus week and that the starting point in the interaction can be expressed by intrest, bus destinations and preschool topic.
The survey shows that one challenge might be that the preschool children need to be able to adapt to more environments than they are used to. The survey even shows that such challenge can be even greater if there are children with special needs in the group. The preschool bus can be also a challenge in bad weather days since the children have to share space and material.
The essay aims to highlight the newly arrived immigrant students' experience of social integration and social security in the Swedish school system, which is important for their further language and learning development. This essay aims to see it from the student's perspective. The main question in this essay is: What factors seem to matter the most for the newly arrived immigrant students in their language and learning skills, and what does the students themselves think about the issue? The study is based on a qualitative research method in the form of interviews and observations conducted in a multicultural school for a period of two weeks. Three newly-arrived students are in this essay being observed while they are attending between two different classrooms: the so-called preparation classroom and the ordinary classroom. This essay aims to highlight a newly arrived student's development from a socio-cultural perspective. The results show that the newly arrived students felt more emotionally secure while attending the preparation classrooms, and while attending the ordinary classrooms they felt more inadequate.
This thesis is based upon the assumption that in Swedish school today it is a wide gap regarding the information flow when pupils are switching school. This was one of the reasons Skolverket published a report clearly stating that this is the case. The purpose of this thesis is to examine and describe how teachers are working in a teacher team at transitions to see and understand what their work may mean individually, in a group and to the school as an organisation. The questions at issue is to see how the teachers cooperate during transitions and how they notice students in need of extra support and students level of knowledge during transitions. The two last questions at issue is first to see how teachers approach parent's expectations on the school and the teachers, secondly it is to examine what implications their work will have on the school. The examined group is a teacher team in an independent school working in grade seven. The school has the grades six to nine. The result was achieved through two qualitative interviews and six qualitative questionnaires in order to describe the informants experience as good as possible. The analysis is based upon two concepts: organisational learning and reflection as a collective process and how these concepts are dependant on the other. The main points of the analysis show how important the teacher team's work is to both the individual and the organisation's competence and learning development. It also shows how it helps the pupils to get a smooth transition even though the lack of information teachers has to deal with when the new pupils arrive.
The purpose of this paper is to juxtapose the theories of learning that are reflected in student's perspectives of the learning log with that of the pedagogical intentions of the curriculum in order to examine the discrepancy between the experienced and the intentional learning objectives. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section is a literature survey on theories related to the learning log and the curriculum. The second part is constituted by three semi-structured group interviews concerning student´s views on the learning log. An effort is then made to fit the student´s perspective into a theoretical framework to allow comparison with the pedagogical motives contained in the curriculum and its underlying ideas. The interviews indicate that the learning log is used mainly as a means to facilitate individualistic work forms, which is an ill fit with perspective on learning presented within the curriculum. The study is concluded with suggestions for actions that would narrow this gap and free the unused learning potential of the learning log.
This study presents a critical discourse-inspired analysis of written rules in Swedish primary schools, with the purpose to identify an image of an "ideal student". Swedish schools form local rules and regulations, where each pricipal is responsible for content and form. Therefore, an attempt is here made to find and discuss varations in the rules from different schools. The empirical findings are analysed with help of a theoretical framework based on Michel Foucault's power theory, Norman Fairclough's critical discourse analysis and Zygmynt Bauman's views of ethics, morality and identity.
The findings portray an ideal student who is kind, friendly and helpful to others. Some additional described "good" behaviors, such as appropiate language and honesty, are here suggested to have cultural and traditional connotations. Variations in descriptions of preferred traits and practices are found in rules from different schools. With inspiration from Foucault and Bauman it is here argued that this can challenge the formation of school norms and student's values.
Based on these findings and reflections, I suggest that school rules should represent essential educational and practical requirements and be communicated and formatted with clear purpose and possibilities for understanding and implementation.
The purpose of this essay is to highlight the conceptions that exist in school towards homosexuality. My overall essay questions are: What rules does the school have to apply concerning homosexuality? What approach do the professors have towards young lesbian women and kind of support is offered to the group? In order to answer these questions I interviewed a professor and a young lesbian female. One of the surveys that has been made, as a normative order, about heterosexuality in the last decade is known as queer theory.
One of the theories that in surveys investigates homosexuality as a normative order is known as "queer theory" and it is the one I decided to use in this essay.
Inspired by feminist research, gay and lesbian studies and the poststructuralist theory, the queertheory focuses on some peoples way of organizing sexuality is privileged, sanctioned and is perceived as normal, while others are seen as deviant, abnormal and therefore unwelcome. The method chosen for this essay is qualitative with focus on interviews and life stories. The result indicates that there is no specific plan based on the schools fundamental values concerning how homosexuality should be included in teaching.
The purpose of this study is to see how educators and municipalities interpret the term of pedagogical documentation. My question was; how do the educators and the responsible at municipalities interprets pedagogical documentation? What is meaningful to document?
What do you think is the foundation if you can work with pedagogical documentation?
To find out the answers to my questions, I based my study on theory from different teachers and researchers in education and then interviews and questionnaires.
The results show that the concept of pedagogical documentation can be interpreted differently. The Pedagogue´s child perspective controls whether you can make use of pedagogical documentation.
Preschool teachers use pedagogical documentation through observation of different methods that can be ex camera, observation templates, etc. and it will make children's learning visible but it is also making the educator's learning visible and it contributes to development and change. By reflecting on documentation it gives you opportunities to see things you would not see yourself.
The purpose of the use of pedagogical documentation can be for various reasons it may be that you want to see how a child thinks, child development, even to change the environment at the preschool. The curriculum Lpfö98 raise educational documentation in the preface, it says that the activity is made visible but also that it provides a basis to ensure the quality.
The concept of pedagogical documentation is taken from the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which worked with the working tool in more than 30 years and the aim is to make visible children's learning but children view is essential if you can work and understand the concept of pedagogical documentation.
The aim of this essay is to analyse young peoples view and thoughts about women. I have studied how young people "create women" in an opinion poll about love relations and relationships.
The survey has been answered by high school student in a suburb in Stockholm. My main question is: What conceptions of the women are presented in love relationships and relationships in general?
To analyse the data, I have used a qualitative method which means that I have tried to understand and interpret their answers. The study consists of two surveys, one about love relationships and the other about empathy. The outcome of the study is presented as different women characters such as the shy women, the affectionate and the rescuing women, the bimbo and the object. The study shows that women and men are indeed a part of the construction of women.
The study shows a pattern of words and actions that the young people connect to the female. It also shows that it is more accepted and expected for girls to write about feelings and pain. Young people seem to define themselves in a connection to the opposite by comparing
themselves to the opposite sex. For example a woman who shows her feelings serves a purpose, the action is done in a way to be confirmed of the people around her, that she is a woman. Both boys and girls are a part of constructing women. They perform a pattern of
actions that clearly shows the existents of norms; the effect of repeated actions is gender. It means that young people 'look for' actions that confirms there gender.
The keywords in this study are young people, women, gender, love relationships/relationships.
Finally I would like to thank my tutor Ana Graviz and the research group who has given support and help during the study and at the time of writing. And a big thanks to those who made this study possible, the class that participated in the study and their teacher.
The aim of this study was to investigate, illuminate and discuss teacher's and multilingual student's view on the connection between their mother tongue and their learning of other languages. This qualitative study is based on interviews with eight students in the 8th grade and two language-teachers from the same school, as well as ethnographic observations during English and Swedish lessons. With the help of some relevant theories, the empirical study is compared, analyzed and interpreted. The results show that the theories and informant's view on the connection between the mother tongue and other languages are similar, which is that the mother tongue must be fully established before a new language can be taken in.
My science- and experience based essay depicts the communicative difficulties I perceive with a special parent couple at my preschool. My questions are: What kind of relationship can I have with the parents based on my duty ethics, utility ethics and virtue ethics? How can the power between me and the parents be described from a power perspective? How can my practical knowledge help me deal with parents who are late? In the essay I present my interpretation of two self-experienced situations that I illustrate in two different stories. The problems are also from a more general perspective regarding the communication between home and preschool. The study will help me learn more about what communication is and what new challenges that may arise when home and preschool meet. Furthermore, my reflection will help me to get an overview from a power-related perspective and what is in the preschool curriculum about cooperation between parents and preschool. How can I see the problem from the parents´ perspective and take their position? What makes me react the way I do? What makes parents act the way they do? The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of communication between parents and educators in preschool and then see what the consequences will be for the child when the communication fails. I intend to also shed the light on the power relationship that exists between educators and parents. To get further, I need to reflect on my actions based on several different perceptions and with this create a deeper insight into the whole dilemma. From different ethical perspectives, I will help to see my dilemma. I will also highlight the significance and influence of Aristotle´s three forms of knowledge for my practice. I believe that education, learning and care are important components that we preschool educators should relate to.
The conclusion I see is that the steering documents are important to me as an educator and just as important is the cooperation with all parents at the preschool. Relationship competence is important to have when we educators at preschool have to work with it every day, through all our "meetings" with educators, children and parents. That relational competence requires that I as an educator have intuition and am extremely responsive to how I should act there and then.
Many pupils today have difficulties in the form of ADHD. This is something that interests us and thus wanted to study how these pupils are treated and whether there is a description depending on the gender. The previous research that we have taken note of highlights important parts of our work that are relevant. Gender and relational perspective are our central starting points and permeates the entire study. We have used observations as the main method and supplemented with interview method. The result shows that pupils with ADHD are treated differently school and the leisure center depending on their gender.
A phenomenological interview study on preschool teachers approach to children´s conflicts
Our intention was to study six preschool teachers approach to child conflicts in preschool and the strategies they use to deal with conflicts. The aim of the study is to provide knowledge about how the values of the preschool teachers express themselves in the educational environment and how they relate to children's conflicts. The following two inquiries are examined in this study:
This study follows a quantitative method with a phenomenological research approach. It is based on material from interviews with six different preschool teachers who work in the preschool and preschool class. The theoretical starting point for the study is Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, which proceeds from children learning by social interactions.
The result shows that preschool teachers use different strategies depending on the nature of the conflict. It furthermore shows that all preschool teachers perceive children as competent and they emphasise the importance of letting the children be a part of the conflict management. Their experience is that the environment plays a determinant part in children's interactions. All preschool teachers had a view of children with the purpose of always acting in their best interests. All pointed out the important part the presence of a pedagogue has to get the conflict management to work.
The purpose of this paper is to find more understanding for pupils in compensatory educational situations and get an idea about how they place themselves in the social hierarchy. In my study I have interviewed four pupils with different experiences from school with the common denominator of being placed in a special class during some hours of the week. The purpose of this placement is to get them to achieve better results in various subjects depending on their grade but this also means a social separation from friends in the ordinary class and this doesn't correspond well with the democratic idea of "one school for all".
What I found was that these pupils categorize themselves different from each other and while two of the pupils find themselves very included in the school's social network the remaining two had problems functioning satisfactory in a social matter according to their own liking. The feeling of exclusion though can not be connected to their participation in the special class but rather to their earlier social experiences.
Our language bear traces of who we are and of the culture we live in. As human beings we create language in interaction with other people and with our society. Media and commercials are other factories that strongly influence our everyday life as well as our language. With this study we would like to illuminate how our surroundings influence our language. We focus on the language of young people and their use of symbols, phrases and expressions when they reflect on relations. To do this we made a survey study comprising two school classes, with pupils of 15 – 16 years old. The subject of the survey is love and love relations. We also did a group interview with seven of the pupils. The result shows that the young people, in this study, use signs and symbols more or less consciously. The result also shows that the media surroundings make impact in the language of young people. We can also gather how significant it is that relations between pupils and teachers are confidently.
On July 1, 2010, the Swedish Armed Forces made the biggest organizational change in over 100 years when the mandatory military service (conscription) was deactivated and replaced with an all-volunteer force. With this, a whole new profession was introduced in Sweden, the employed soldier. It has now been a decade since the soldiers and their squad leaders were introduced as a professional category and since 2016 the group leader is also officially a part of the Armed Forces leadership hierarchy together with the officers. The purpose of the study has been to study how the squad leaders, in terms of their new professional role, view leadership and how they experience the leadership of their closest officers and how it affects their leadership and job satisfaction.
The study was conducted with an interview method with six squad leaders that work in the same military unit in the Armed Forces. Their experiences and views on leadership have been compared with the leadership model of Gerry Larsson (2006) (which is the same as the officers are educated in) and the theory of destructive leadership by Maria Fors-Brandebo, Sofia Nilsson and Gerry Larsson (2018).
The results of this study show that the squad leader, for the most part, have the same view of leadership and desire the same qualities and competencies as in Larsson's leadership model but with the exception that they rated the trait humbleness highly in good leadership. Humbleness is a new trait not found in any of the theories. The study also shows that the squad leaders have to adapt their own leadership both consciously and unconsciously to their officer's leadership in order to keep the job satisfaction and motivation high for their soldiers. The study also shows that squad leader's trust in the officer and their work motivation is highly influenced by the officer's leadership.
This dissertation examines how creativity can be of benefit for the school. It discusses if there is a need or demand for it and how the present situation is in Swedish schools. Defining creativity accurately is difficult but it is relevant to look at the environments that use creativity. There is a vast amount of literature that uses creativity and it varies to some extent. Creativity originates from meetings and combinations, both within and outside of the individual. The essay will show psychologists and pedagogs view on encouragement for creativity and it will especially study the art subjects in relation to the other ones in order to se what gains collaborations between them may bring . More thorough collaborations may be a good cross disciplinary structure in "projektarbete" (cross-cultural communication) which stimulates creativity in both education and within the school. Just as creativity is found in various environments the school benefits from studying the parts of society that uses creativity, to see what the expectations may be on the students in the future.
The text is about behaviour and appearance of boys and girls in the classroom in a gender perspective. How are the boys and girls placed in the classroom, and does this affect them in any way? How boys and girls are called on to speak. Is the teacher fare in the allocation of speech? There are a lot of differences between the genders, boys and girls are placed in a special way. In the two schools that I have done the research in shows that boys and girls are placed girl-boy-girl-boy so the boys can get more done during the class with the girls placed next to them. How and in what way they get the attention and the direction to talk is also a situation where they get treated differently. The boys often got to speak before the girls if there were waving there hands heavily for example and sometimes got to speak even if a girl already where speaking. The boys spoke whenever they felt like, even if it wasn't there turn. This study is written to help teachers and for others to get a good look of the classroom in gender perspective.
Keywords: gender differences, gender, classroom
I uppsatsen redovisas vårt examensarbete inom den kompletterande lärarutbildningen vid Södertörns högskola. Syftet med detta arbete är att göra en teoretisk studie med praktiska inslag för att få en klarare bild av vad dyskalkyli är och hur vi som lärare skall hantera elever med detta specialpedagogiska problem.
Arbetet är en komparativ litteraturstudie där vi utgått från material kopplat till dyskalkyli och matematiksvårigheter samt en kvalitativ studie i form av intervjuer med tre specialpedagoger vid olika skolor för att få en inblick i hur arbetet med matematiksvårigheter bedrivs.
Vår slutsats är att dyskalkyli är svårt att begripa och att det är svårt att avgöra när en elev har dyskalkyli och inte allmänna matematiksvårigheter. Trots detta är det viktigt att ställa en diagnos för att eleven skall kunna få rätt hjälp. Vi kan även konstatera att det finns kopplingar mellan dyskalkyli och dyslexi.
This thesis aims to examine how teachers who teach the Swedish subject, uses film in their education. The survey was given to 30 of these teachers in Nykoping, half which are working in junior high schools, and half which are working in high schools. One important
condition to this works implementation, is the existence of the widen text concept that points to that all media is a concept that can be read and analysed. This is the attitude that The National Agency for Education aims at in different govern documents. The National Agency for education also request teachers to give the students tools to the media literacy that the society demands. To be able to interpret and analyse film is part of this media literacy. This papers result is that the majority of the selected group are showing film in their teaching, however not more than once or twice per year. The premier reason to why they are showing film is to complement their literature education and to create a foundation for discussion.
The purpose of this study has been to explore the expectations of the primary school on the activities of the pre-school. In order to limit the study I have chosen to compare the expectations found in two different schools. In the first case, the pre-school is integrated with the after-school centre and grade one to three (primary school), into the same building. In the other case, the pre-school share localities with the after-school centre in a separate building, with its own yard, within the primary school area. Since the purpose is rather comprehensive, it has been divided into sub-themes with separate set of questions. The sub-themes chosen are in themselves factors, which I believe to be of importance for the main purpose. I have used a qualitative method, why the answer may not be generalised, but give us a deeper understanding of the main question in my research, I have interviewed teachers and pre-school teachers as well as used curriculums and existing research, in order to shed light on the main question from different scientific perspectives. The result of this study shows, that the integration of the pre-school within the primary school, may be of great importance for cooperation and communication. The primary school's expectations, however, seems to be more the result of the teacher's and preschool teacher's interpretations of the curriculums.
Studies show that the performance of Swedish students in the subject of mathematics is to be considered somewhat average. The government has therefore decided to assist with extended project funding to schools on a local level in order to improve these results.
Schools will, unlike before, practice teaching suited for the individual needs of students based on their previous experiences, knowledge level, language comprehension and their environment. This is also clearly stated in the Swedish school curriculum.
My survey shows how three teachers in primary school actually work towards individualized teaching of mathematics and what methods they prefer. This survey also answered what these teachers considered to be the obstacles and opportunities with individualized teaching methods. The difference in approach of how to practice this has also been documented.
The survey, based on interviews and class observations, have been analyzed and compared to previous research and theories in the field of teaching practices. The conclusion of the survey is that all teachers have a different opinion and approach on how to practice individualized teaching methods. The difference in interpretation of the concept is clear. The biggest obstacle is said to be lack of resources in the terms of work material and staff.
There are shortcomings when it comes to recent studies by a Roma perspective on Roma culture and traditions. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the Roma present themselves in eight articles with an emphasis on culture, language and identity. The questions are as follows:
First, how the Roma articles manufactures the Roma culture and what do these articles say about culture, identity and language from a Roma perspective? Second, how can the Roma preserve and develop their culture and be a part of Swedish society in accordance with Articles?
Some of the findings are that the Roma language, Roma clothing and Roma music is part of the Roma culture. Similarly, social codes and traditions such as International Roma Day, which is a Romani celebration. Family dinners and celebrations such as weddings, funerals and other occasions is something that strengthens the Community and the identity of the Roma.
Modern Romani Chib today is a multifaceted language where there are multiple words for the same concept. Romani Chib has been developed in countries where it is spoken and had influences from the majority languages and thus has developed different varieties of the language. The result also shows a need for the Roma to organize. Moreover, the school's importance to Roma identity in which Roma classes are considered creating security within a cultural community, which in turn facilitates learning. In conclusion, the results also show that the mutual use of an intercultural perspective, the Roma minority and the majority could come closer together.
Denna uppsats har undersökt genus- och jämställdhetsfrågorna på lärarutbildningarna i Sverige med betoning på Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm och Södertörns högskola. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om lärarutbildningarna är utformade så att könsrollerna reproduceras och befästs, eller om lärarutbildningarna är aktiva aktörer som försöker bryta de snäva roller som könen är hänvisade till idag. Syftet är också att diskutera vilka konsekvenser lärarutbildningen och dess hantering av genus- och jämställdhetsfrågor kan bli på grundskolan.
Metoden är kvalitativ och materialet baseras mycket på sekundära källor bortsett från två intervjuer. Resultatet visade att lärarutbildares uppfattningar styr innehållet och arbetssättet mer än utbildningsplaner och kursplaner. Både på lärarutbildningarna, men också på grundskolan, är det enskilda eldsjälar som undervisar i dessa frågor. Detta trots att examensordningen och läroplanen för det obligatoriska skolväsendet 1994 explicit uttrycker vikten av att alla lärare ska undervisa och erhålla kunskaper inom detta ämnesområde.
"Fem tysta minuter" (five minutes of silence) is a scientific essay about methods to create order during mealtimes in school. The essay mainly focuses on the afternoon snacks that are an every day part of the "fritidshem" (after-school centre) work. The essay is based on two different stories that combined presents mealtime situations where the pedagogical choices have been hard to make and were there are no clear options that would benefit all the participants. We have researched whether "fem tysta minuter" is a good method to achieve a pedagogical and harmonic mealtime. In the presented stories we are both faced with a situation where our experience and intuition tells us another choice of action would be preferred but we are restricted by the rules of the collegium. From this, we have reflected on how one as a professional educator can act when your inner didactics collides with the working group. We also view this from a child perspective where the dilemma is that both children with the need for a calmer and more quiet environment and children who can't stay quiet and constantly fails to do so must be satisfied.
Our approach has been to consider a child and adult perspective in relation to the consequences of a democratic and an authoritative leadership. We have reached the conclusion that the tools and conditions we as lone professional pedagogues have, are not enough to create the pedagogical arena during mealtime that are recommended for instance by the Swedish food agency and the Swedish National Agency for Education. A broader pedagogical discussion concerning mealtimes in school(s) is needed.
The purpose of this study is to get an insight in the practice of student led parent-teacher conferences. The purpose is also to reproduce an extensive picture of this practice. Our study takes off from the following questions at issue:
• What distinguishes the students' role as the "leader of the conversation" in a student ledparent-teacher conference and how does the student handle this role?
• What distinguishes the parents' role in a student led parent-teacher conference and howdoes the parents' handle this role?
• How are discussions about problems handled?
The method we have used is to listen and transcribe parts of our material, which contains recorded student led parent-teacher conferences, which we have found interesting and relevant to this study. The model for the analysis that we have used is fallanalys. Our model for the analysis and apply analysis to theory, is Conversation Analysis.
Our result shows that the student rarely is allowed to completely act as the leader of the conversation without parents and/or teachers intruding, which sometimes leads to the student defending his or her leadership role. It also occurs that the student gets its role as the leader of the conversation established and re-established by the teacher. The role as the leader of theconversation is sometimes very much connected to a manuscript where the student takes on the role of a speaker and recites out loud. In some cases, our result shows that the student abdicates from his or her leadership role in the conversation. Our result also shows that the parents' task of formulating goals and writing them down, as mandated by the student, contains a certain amount of insecurity. We have found that the teacher sometimes take over this assignment from the parents. Writing, as a part of the parents' new role, is often in focus during the conversations. Some parents also wish, or partly wish, to have the teacher attending throughout the conference. The parents' ascribe to interpret the written word, which in some cases lead to misunderstanding. Some parents still consider themselves to represent the home and act "legal representative" for the child, even though it is conceivable that this should be absent as part of a student lead parent-teacher conference.Even though all students have the right to at positive conversation does our result show that talk about problems and criticism appears frequently. We have in our material not even once found indications on that a åtgärdssamtal will and should be established.
Med denna uppsats ville jag få en djupare förståelse för de faktorer som påverkar elevernas lust och motivation för att läsa matematik. Undersökningar har visat att många elever anser att ämnet matematik är tråkigt. Det finns många faktorer som påverkar motivation och intresset bland annat lärarens sätt att undervisa, familjens situation, klasskamraternas uppfattningar och attityder, innehållet i ämnet, mm.
Resultatet av undersökningen visade att framför allt var det innehållet i ämnet som väckte intresse hos eleverna. Eleverna ville se direkta kopplingar mellan det som de läste i skolan och det som skede i vardagslivet. Det var flera elever som ville ha mer utmanande uppgifter och mindre repetition i matematikboken.
The purpose of this bachelor thesis Leisure-time pedagogues physical positioning on the school playground from a gender perspective is to examine the interaction between the leisure-time pedagogues and pupils during school break activities and how their physical positions on the school playground, and the pedagogues' gender, reduces or amplifies the current gender stereotypes. Previous research has indicated that the school's pedagogues play a significant part in the development of the pupils' identity. Pedagogues' approach, treatment, interaction and expectations towards pupils', along with the school playground's layout, are of importance. This thesis uses gender theory based upon various feminist perspectives. These present relevant concepts such as gender order, feminism, "genderfication" and gender equality. The empirical data has been collected through three observations and three computer-aided interviews. The result has proven that the gender of the pedagogue plays a certain part in the interaction with the pupils. Popular sports such as football and basketball are preferred by boys and male pedagogues while softer activities without competitive elements are preferred by girls and some boys. Our interpretation is that there is some reinforcement of stereotypical gender patterns during the school break activities. We see a correlation between how pedagogues work at our observed schools and what other researchers have presented in their studies.
The aim of the study is to examine how pre-school educators relate to the work on children's integrity and how educators describe their didactic work on the integrity of children in pre-school. The purpose of the study is to get a better understanding of how educators teach children integrity in pre-school.
Through interviews with educators who work actively with the children in preschool, it showed how the educators described their work with children's integrity. The result showed that the educators work to teach children the integrity but in different ways. Educators are aware that children need to learn integrity but the knowledge about how to teach the children integrity is not there yet.
With good communication and interaction with the children, educators can show the children how to show respect towards themselves and each other and how to be a good friend in pre-school.
With this study, the idea is to contribute knowledge and awareness about how teachers in pre-school can work with children´s integrity and for the children to learn to respect their body and other bodies.
The purpose of my scientific essay is to examine the identity creating processes that goes on amongst pupils as well as pedagogues in leisure time centers. This seen from a gender perspective. The questions in this essay revolves around me as a role model in the leisure time center and how I use the binary gender categories in my line of work. Moreover, how can I present a safe environment for my pupils to try out their identity from a gender perspective. I analyze my questions seen through a leisure time center pedagogue ́s everyday worksituation under the influence of a workplace jargon. A jargon that seems to be enhancing the polatity between the binary gender categories. The theories I use in my essay to reflect upon my questions is Kants philosophy about freedom and the categorical imperative, Lenz Taguchis description of feministic poststructuralistic theory and Butlers theory on sex and gender as socially and cultural constructed. Through my scientific essay I have reflected upon my role as a role model in a way that takes me through an identity creating process of my own in my profession as a leisure time center pedagogue. And by takinga glance on my own actions it has created a bigger understanding of what has formed my own identity as a pedagogue from a gender perspective. This hopefully will increase my ability to present a safe environment for my future pupils in their identity creating processes in the leisure time center in a gender perspective.
The subject of this thesis is the pedagogic game in education. The researchers have created and developed a pedagogic game called "Nordic tour", and tested the game in two schools in
Haninge and Sollentuna. The result of the test, the game and a discussion of the pedagogic game and how they can be used in education is presented in this thesis.
The purpose of this investigation is to shed a light upon the pedagogues perception concerning individual work method in children group where children require different types of support. The study has two inquiries, how does pedagogues rationalize when it comes to individual based operations and how do pedagogues work to meet the needs of children i reality. The study's theoretical frame of reference consists of the socio-cultural and relational perspective. The result of this study shows the importance of six different factors for adaptation of an operation to meet the children's need. Planning and mapping, working in groups, retrofitting of the physical and social environment for the children with special needs, the weight of a good relationship, communication as the key to adaptation of the operation to meet the needs of the children.
The final results show that the pedagogues perception of a individual based approach as a good method to work from in kindergarten/preschool operations. The result shows that pedagogues believe that children's diverseness as a contributing factor for learning and developing new knowledge.
Background: Pupils' responsibilities are presented in the curriculum Lgr11 as a given thing. There has been some research in the field of pupil responsibility, but research covering school grades 1-3 could not be found. The study investigates theories of responsibility, pupil responsibility, power and pupil influence.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out the teachers' views on pupil responsibility. The study will answer two questions; firstly what is the interviewed teachers' view on the concept of pupil responsibility in primary schools (grade 1-3)? Secondly what do the interviewed teachers' see as responsible behavior and what do the teachers expect from pupils', regarding pupil responsibility in primary school (grade 1-3)?
Method: In order to investigate this, five structured qualitative interviews were made, with five teachers from primary schools. The study is based on these five teachers' views, which means that the study can not give an overall view of pupil responsibility.
Result and conclusions: The study shows that these teachers have similar views on the concept of pupil responsibility. Pupil responsibility involves responsibility for their studies and to be disciplined, for themselves and the collective. Teachers expect responsible behavior, keeping in mind the age and the mental level the pupils are at.
Free play in pre-school has been a widely discussed topic, and researchers have come to different conclusions about the role of the educator in free play. This essay is based on a self-perceived dilemma about free play. The main focus is whether children's free play should be free from adults and whether or not educators control free play. The dilemma occurs when a colleague points out that adults should not participate in children's play. The aim with this essay is to investigate and explore the presence of adults in the free play and in what way educators influence the free play. The research questions also consider children's experiences of play and how one can perceive the role of the educator in free play. The method has been to write a scientific essay by reasoning, reflecting and exploring the concept of "free play" with the help of theories, research and literature that highlights free play. In conclusion, there is no right or wrong about the presence of adults in the free play. Children need to both be completely free of adults to experiment on their own and time to play with an adult who can balance and enrich the game. The disadvantage is that the play without adults can result in certain children deciding at the expense of other children and with adults present, the development can be hampered, and the game can be controlled.
Mother tongue in preschool
This study seeks to create an understanding of how preschool educators can participate in promoting and encouraging children's mother tongue in their activities to strengthen the children's identity. It explores the ways in which educators actively promote the children's mother tongue in their work approach and how they perceive the importance of cooperation between preschool and home regarding the children's mother tongue.
The study investigates using the case study method, specifically conducted through qualitative interviews and observations. Survey sampled was of two preschools where two educators of varying job positions and length of work experience which have been interviewed and observed. The study analyzes from a sociocultural perspective, which takes into account how learning takes place through interactions among individuals and the social and cultural factors surrounding them.
Based on the reported results of the interviews and observations, it appears that the educators are positively related to mother tongue in preschool and use mother tongue support in the activities in a deliberate way to promote the child's identity. There were spontaneous situations in which mother tongue was included in the activity, and there were situations where the educators deliberately used mother tongue to clarify concepts that the children do not understand in swedish. In instances where the identity expresses characteristics of children's mother tongue, the educators sees that these register on the child's posture and facial expressions. The educators note that children feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership when they claim competence to express "my language", indicating self-awareness of their individuality and unique language. The educators use conversations and planned singing and reading lessons in different mother tongue as part of the daily activities and tools such as digital learning tablets, the computer and the smart board facilitate mother tongue support in preschool activities. Educators believe that, through the various available tools in preschool, cooperation with parents, and the educators' multilingual abilities are contributory factors of great importance, that support mother tongue development and encourages a multilingual environment in preschool.
The aim of this paper is to outline the disposition and results of a short-time pilot study (Backman, 2009) of pupils' ability to express ethical arguments and of the role of pictures in ethical argumentation. There were 18 pupils, in the ages 7-8 years, that participated in the study, which was carried out in a school in the northern part of Sweden. In this paper, we begin by giving a short description of some relevant statements in the Swedish national curriculum and put this in relation to some previous research on philosophical inquiry with children. Then we continue by describing some of the project's influences from philosophical practice and theoretical groundwork. After this, some methodological concerns and ethical considerations are referred. Finally, some results of the study are described and shortly discussed.
The purpose of this study is to gain additional knowledge and a greater understanding of pupils experiences of joining a special teaching group. The study focuses on pupils with special needs and the ambition has been to get a student perspective of how they perceive their education with special support. In addition, the study is concerned with how pupils perceive their special support and whether this has any relevance to their learning, development and future goals.
This study is based on Urie Bronfenbrenners theory The ecology of human development. The theoretical perspective highlights the interaction between the pupils and the school environment, which is important for development and learning. The study is based on a qualitative research method in the form of interviews. Ten pupils from two different municipalities have been interviewed.
The results show that pupils are positive to the special form of teaching in smaller groups and consider their present situation better than their earlier experience of regular curriculum in large classes. In the special education groups the pupils are able to acquire the knowledge and skills they need in order to achieve their future goals.


text:
Thunder breaches the peace. Treason to the treaty between the see-saw offspring children of Wind –Gasp and Sigh– once gently tumbling, so playful and free and easily deceived.
It is seven o'clock. Sunset blushes the lush mountain side innocent pink, perhaps the hue of a piglet, perhaps the freshness of a June rosebud, perhaps the raw warm exposure of a bashful virgin.
Leaves litter the moist ground and their sweep is suspended in the storm, drops of rain like a robin's eggs press their venious face into the soil unil the rich soil and vibrant green blend into one: the sea of earth.
Eager gusts of cloud's breath whistle through bare boned branches, frail and frigid, shivering under coats of moss in the unexpected cold summer night.
Neon stars freckle a navy haze , so true to blue it strikes the eye as theatrical curtains closing upon day to change scenes -seamlessly- to a wondrous, omniscient nightfall.
And where am I.
Outer space procreating a world sedated so even a planet is lethargic in defiance of anti gravity and no it doesn't make sense but fuck you, am i supposed to? hot like the handle of a door way in the way of a fire exit way out in the middle of no where and your hair burns down to the root room the tip where it touches the air borne danger of the dark and the ranger though called is a stranger and will not has not cannot make it because he's raping a teenager behind the dumpster that his wife threw their recyclables in earlier that week.
Loopy as a nightmare.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pennsylvania's 2010 Census Results Mean a Congressperson Will Be Gone, But Which One?
The Census Bureau announced last month that the nation's population on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538 up from 281.4 million a decade ago. Every 10 years, the bureau releases population figures that are used to distribute the 435 seats in the U.S. House. Fast-growing states pick up seats at other states' expense. This year, those loser states included Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Despite a 3.4 percent increase in population over the last 10 years, Pennsylvania's growth is significantly behind the national population growth of 9.7 percent. The population of the state climbed to 12,702,379, an increase of 421,000 residents since the 2000 census.
Why Pennsylvania's Population Growth is Slow
So why is Pennsylvania growing so slow compared to the rest of the nation, and especially states that gained seats, like Texas and Arizona?
Kevin Shivers, executive director of the Pennsylvania branch of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), said the census is evidence states with pro-business environments tend to gain population.
"There are a number of states that have seen out-migration of citizens over the years. It's because people go where the jobs are," said Mr. Shivers. Mr. Shivers pointed to Pennsylvania's 9.99 percent corporate income tax - the highest such tax in the nation - as a major factor in the equation.
Southern and Western states, which gained population and congressional representation in the newest census, generally have lower tax rates than Northeastern and Midwestern states, which are experiencing slower growth. For instance, Texas uses a corporation tax called a franchise tax, which is 1% or less. No wonder businesses are moving to Texas.
Pennsylvania has a relatively low personal income tax rate at a flat 3.07%, but the state's 9.99 percent corporate tax is the highest in the country. From this tax paradox, one should conclude that Pennsylvania is a good place to be as a worker, but it is a bad place to be if you're an employer. Unfortunately for Pennsylvania, you need employers to have employees.
So unless Pennsylvania can reverse this unfriendly business climate, expect another seat loss for the 2020 Census.
The Effect of Lost Seat.
So what effect will this census have on a "loser" state, like mine—Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania will lose political influence in Congress over the next decade, as job losses in the region contributed to slower population growth, according to government data released last week.
Pennsylvania will see its representation fall to 18, compared with 19 this past decade. Pennsylvania's House delegation will be reduced for the ninth consecutive reapportionment.
The state had 36 seats a century ago. Yes, Pennsylvania now has half of the representation in the House as it once maintained. That means there are less voices in Washington to speak on Pennsylvania's behalf.
Besides a loss in congressional representation, federal funding for many programs is tied to census data. Therefore, a relative loss of population can reduce a state's funding levels. Among the programs affected are Medicaid, federal highway aid, low-income housing programs, and special education funding.
Because other states have seen their population grow significantly in recent years, Pennsylvania stands to receive a smaller slice of the federal funding pie.
Such an impact can be seen with another state that lost a congressional seat—Michigan. According to one source, their loss will cost all of its state's citizens.
Dec. 20, Detroit News: "It comes to about $10,000 per counted resident over a 10-year period," said Curt Weiss, spokesman for the state Department of Management, Budget and Technology, which oversees the state's budget and led its campaign to get more residents responding to the census.
"Schools, roads and just about any other state function you can think of get help from the federal government, and it's all based on population. It's a matter of getting our fair share."
With that said, it makes you wonder why some people are so apathetic about filling out their Census forms with so much at stake. Heck, I know some people that outright refused to give any information to the Census workers. Perhaps these people would rather just sign away $10,000 in lieu of being "hassled" by Census employees.
Okay… Which Congressperson Will Be Out of a Job?
Following each decennial census, the House of Representative's districts are redrawn to make them roughly equal in population - although each state gets at least one seat regardless of the population. The House now comprises 435 districts. Not surprisingly, redrawing districts usually triggers contentious partisan wrangling if new lines help or hurt either party.
In the coming months, politicians in Harrisburg will meet to determine how to redraw the state into new congressional districts with one fewer seat — down to 18. The process often uses a process called gerrymandering that helps a political party. In my opinion, gerrymandering typifies politics at its worst with the political equivalent of insider trading. With the Republicans taking control of the state Legislature and governorship next year, it would be a Democratic seat that will be cut.
There will be seven Democrats serving Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. They include: Bob Brady (District 1), Chaka Fattah (District 2), Jason Altmire (District 4), Mark Critz (District 12), Allyson Schwartz (District 13), Michael Doyle (District 14), and Tim Holden (District 17).
One of these Democrats will no longer have a district, forcing them to campaign against another Representative.
The Philadelphia area Representatives could be in danger.
The three congressional districts that cover the city "could be redrawn to move more of Philadelphia" into U.S. Reps. Bob Brady's and Chaka Fattah's districts "and move more Republicans into" the district represented by Rep. Allyson Schwartz, who represents parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia, said Randall Miller, a political historian at St. Joseph's University. That would make it harder for Schwartz to win re-election.
Or, it is possible Schwartz's district could be eliminated altogether, he said. "In our area, she's the most vulnerable," he contended.
Others argue that 12th District should be eliminated. Rep. Mark Critz, who won a special election in May to fill the seat vacated by the late Rep. John Murtha, holds this district.
G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College, also pointed to Critz's seat as the possible loser.
"He's the newest Democrat in the area of the state where the population loss tends to be the greatest," Madonna said.
Population estimates issued over the past decade indicate the state's western region has lost population, while southeastern areas - Chester County in particular - have experienced gains. That suggests the new congressional district map may consolidate two western districts.
Others, however, contend that Tim Holden of the 17th District, who faced a major challenge last Census, may be the target of a lost district.
Jim Burn, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, said it wouldn't surprise him if Holden's district would face redistricting.
Holden or Critz are the most likely targets, said Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.
So, whether you are a politician, an employee, an employer, use federal aid programs like Medicaid or Medicare, or drive on federally funded roads, Census matters.
I guess that includes just about everybody in Pennsylvania.
Contact Erik Uliasz at email@example.com


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Zoya, the chain of luxury diamond boutiques from the House of Tata, has earned the reputation of creating jewellery designs that go beyond the realms of the ordinary. The diamond jewellery collections that come out from their midst seem like bespoke pieces of art, ready to charm its wearer and the onlookers alike. Their latest line of jewellery designs takes inspiration from one of the basic elements of life, fire.
The Fire Collection by Zoya is a brilliant tribute to the power that dwells in a spark, whose flame can light up the darkest corners of the universe, and whose fury has forged some of the most spectacular treasures the world has ever seen. The collection is a brilliant combination of jewellery designs, embellished with fiery sapphires, radiant gold and exquisite diamonds.
Taking the dainty candle as an inspiration, the set of earrings and neckpiece made of sapphires and diamonds is one such creation that will leave a lady wanting more. The pendant, a string of yellow and orange sapphires which come cascading down, with a generous sprinkling of white diamonds, has a contemporary panache. The sapphire and diamond jewellery combination uniquely blends the charisma of both the precious metals.
The hansli, a traditional ornament that has been worn by Indian women since a very long time, has been re-interpreted in the Fire collection. The hansli made of pure gold is intricately embellished with brown enamel fire patterns and white polki bands. Another breathtaking creation, a traditional gold hansli with partaj designs on it, has been retouched with white diamonds and a central polki that takes the shape of fiery flames.
The Fire collection has some of the most spectacular earrings. Each pair takes inspiration from the same element of fire, yet evokes a different story each time. The traditional diya is given a stunning new form in an intricate halo of solid gold as a golden blaze with a heart of polki and white diamonds burn brightly within.
The changing hues in a burning flame are brilliantly captured in the beautiful pair made of yellow and orange sapphires. If you are looking for a truly uncommon pair, the earring which is reminiscent of the form of a candle melting against the force of a flame will be a perfect choice.
The Fire collection showcases an eclectic collection of rings for the ladies. A perfect tribute to the magnificence of the sun, the finger ring featuring white polki surrounded by pave set diamonds over a burst of gold and black enamel can be worn at cocktail evenings. The dazzling glow of the frenzied flames inspires to give birth to the gorgeous gold ring, with a generous display of sapphires and citrine.
With each collection, Zoya stretches the limits of imagination to new heights. By mixing traditional designs with contemporary sensibility, Zoya clearly carves out a niche for itself.


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Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has been named the best central bank governor in the Asia Pacific region for promoting socially and environmentally responsible financing without compromising on macroeconomic stability.
The Banker, a UK-based magazine owned by the Financial Times Group, announced the winners of the Central Bank Governor of the Year, Asia-Pacific for 2015 on Monday.
The Banker's award recognises the officials who have best managed to stimulate growth and stabilise their economies.
Rahman's work exemplifies how central banks can play essential roles in providing capital for environmentally- and socially-aware development without compromising on growth or macroeconomic stability, the magazine said. Rahman, now in his second term as governor, dedicated the award to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the known and unknown martyrs of the Liberation War.
"Bangladesh maintained over 6 percent GDP growth and financial stability amid the global financial crisis, which put many countries in trouble. The affected countries now want to learn from Bangladesh how it managed the economy," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Ever since assuming office as the 10th central bank governor in 2009, Rahman has been spearheading initiatives to ingrain socially and environmentally responsible financing ethos, with multi-pronged facilitation and policy support for inclusive, green financing.
The approach has contributed notably in upholding domestic demand-led growth and stability, with faster poverty decline sustained by employment and income in small and medium enterprises, stable downward inflation, and external sector viability.
Rahman's inclusive, green financing initiatives have earned him a few other recent accolades and awards, like the Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque from India, Gusi International Peace Prize from the Philippines, WHO anti-tobacco award, and membership of an elite small global United Nations Environment Programme advisory panel on designing a sustainable global financial system.
The Gusi Peace Prize foundation termed Rahman as the Poor Man's Economist in the award citation.
The new award from The Banker is a strong affirmation of the 63-year-old's positive vision driven proactive innovative approach in central banking.
Rahman said he would now focus on his unfinished agenda before his retirement. "I want to give bank accounts to every citizen of Bangladesh."
Rahman won an award titled 'Regulator with Human Face' from the University of Dhaka in recognition to his outstanding contribution to bring un-banked people in the banking sector.
Four years ago, he took an initiative to provide bank accounts at only Tk 10 as deposit to farmers who were shunned by the banking sector. Now more than 10 million farmers have bank accounts.
Rahman said he would also work to bring more funds from banks' corporate social responsibility to the education sector so no poor child has to discontinue studies because of a lack of money.
"I will also convince them so banks introduce more and more scholarships for the meritorious students."
Rahman said he would also continue to promote green financing in the textiles sector and stand by exporters affected by political violence.
He also pushed loans for agriculture and small and medium enterprises.
In 2009, when he took helm of the central bank, there was not even one single taka given as agriculture loans by the private and foreign banks.
The same was also true for the small and medium enterprises sector, where promises were aplenty but nothing of note came through. Now, half of the farm loans are disbursed by private and foreign banks and a third of all loans are going to SMEs.
His passion for SMEs earned him the nickname 'SME Governor'.
Due to banks' serious involvement in agriculture and SMEs, domestic demand has gone up significantly, helping the country avoid the onslaught of global financial crisis.
Under his leadership, Bangladesh Bank has introduced the digital payment system, automated clearing house and mobile financial services. On average, around Tk 263 crore is transacted a day through mobile banking services.


text:
Creations by Avril Korman
I always did have an unusual fondness for Ringo Starr songs. This one has been done for a while though I couldn't show anyone until it had arrived at its' destination. To be honest the stand took me longer than the egg itself, and needed to be ripped apart six times before I worked out how to put it together for good. This one was intended as a Christmas commission but the stand underwent a bit of scope creep by adding the seahorse. The interior is teal and blue, the holes are ringed in pearl white and the octopus is red and orange.
It's now safely ensconced in its new home.
I know I've been quiet for an unusually long time. I got buried under commissions and orders (still am, actually) , I got sick twice over the holidays, and this winter has seen an incredible increase in migraine activity that kept me down more days than I was up. Im starting to dig myself out from under the backlog now, so I am trying to get back into making sure I update here more often. I also need to switch the instagram feed to my eggrotech account rather than my personal one. I'll get there.
In any case, this piece is done. It's not as lavender as it appears here (it's a neutral grey. I'll show you.) but I needed a very bright light to show that the interior is purple. This is roughly choker length to short necklace length. Proper chokers are hard without an exact measurement and it's rather it be a little too loose than too tight, obviously.
Here's an image showing the color in natural light and scale.
It's a quail egg, so it's about the size of a large acorn or a small walnut.
It's all boxed and ready to go to its new home, and should go out Monday. I also have another piece done, which was also a commission, but I have to edit the images first. Should be ready by tomorrow. I am STILL working on that Borderlands 2 egg (which is just very complicated, though Im on the last bit now.)
Hope everyone has had a great new year so far! More soon.
I don't want to backtrack to how we got here. Because we know how we got here and I'll be honest. my patience is pretty limited right now. But since Tuesday there's been a marked rise in hate crimes across a broad spectrum of targets, much the same as there was after the Brexit vote.
At some point after the Brexit vote, a woman named Allison had an idea to wear a safety pin (since they were ubiquitous and inexpensive) to be a visual symbol of literal safety for people likely to be targeted by hate crimes. Though the idea went viral, it was not without fair criticism. It's also imperfect, because safety pins are… ubiquitous and inexpensive. But it got people talking some,. and far more importantly, listening some.
Since Tuesday the idea has crossed over the Atlantic to the US and has gone viral here too for reasons that no one needs explained to them unless they've been living in a biodome or something without contact from the outside world (in which case you wouldn't be reading this.) Which brings me to my being in the shower.
It occurred to me, as I was standing there trying and once again failing to get the feeling of being trapped in a house with a pathological narcissist off my skin, that one of the problems with the safety pin thing is that it's a meaningless gesture unless there's some other thing behind it. Some other help besides pinning a pin to your jacket, especially if you're the kind of person who tries to avoid conflict when it happens (Don't look at me, I've never been that person, but a lot of people are.) It then occurred to me… wait a minute. No one raises charity money the way I do, what am I STANDING HERE UNDER THIS WATER FOR? I quickly finished up and went straight to my sketchbook.
See, I have an unlimited source of quail eggs. I use them to make skull egglaces.
I began drawing very quickly. What if I used them to create necklaces that incorporated the pins, customized of course because that's how I roll,. and then donated a chunk of the proceeds to charities designed to help the people who have been targeted? People get jewelry with the pins on, charities make money, and people talk some and listen some.
Here's the quick sketch I drew, though this is just an idea, there's infinite ways to do this:
It doesn't have to be a heart carved in, it could be basically anything. It doesn't have to be that pin number or placement. It could even have the pin dangling from or attached to the egg itself.it can be any color or bead combinations. Any and all variations are possible on this. And so too are the list of charities, from things to help immigrants, to charities to help GLBT kids, trans* charities, NARAL and Planned Parenthood, and so on.
Normally, I sell skull egglaces this size for $50+ $10 shipping (extras like, special beads or whatever are a little extra. ) Just so we're ALL giving, I'll leave the price the same, and send 20% of the proceeds to charity. I have a HUGE list graciously provided to me by my friends, but if you have one in particular that YOU like, just tell me which one it is. Long as they take online donations, we're good. You can use the skull egglace order form (just choose a quail egg and explain that it's a safety pin egg in the comments — I'll get back to you and we'll customize your design. When we're ready, I'll throw an order up to the etsy store so you get the benefits of their buyer protection program, and I will cheerfully show you proof of the donation to your charity of choice.
Only one thing, though. Only do this if you're going to not only wear it, but actually speak up on behalf of people who need your help AND if you're going to listen to them too, so they can tell you how best you can help them. This thing only gets you some jewelry and a small charity donation. It's not magic, and it's not a panacea. You have to do the rest, and it's a hard and important job. K? We good on that?
Im a little snowed under right now working on 2 commissions and getting ready for the world's tiniest craft show in December, but I promise to make these as much of a priority as I can. As always, lead time for egglaces is *about* a week, depending on complexity.
Stay safe, everyone.
So this month I have two things to do.: 1. Make some eggs for the world's tiniest craft show in December (Im already regretting agreeing to do this.) 2. a commission for an egg based on Borderlands 2, a game that to the surprise of precisely no one reading this, I know less than nothing about.
2. This thing is going to take me forever to paint. It's out of the bleach now, but I have a lot of painting ahead of me I'll post some photos after it's dyed since right now it just doesn't look like it makes much sense.
Meantime, please go buy stuff! The etsy store is right here.https://www.etsy.com/shop/eggrotech?ref=hdr_shop_menu . Id really appreciate it.
I have done a lot of charity work over the years. I mean, a lot. I've helped raise money for charities large and small all over the world. All different kinds. While I'm happy to do all of that, and will continue to do so, every so often people have asked me what *my* favorite charities are. Me, personally.
The answer is always, 100% of the time, animal charities.
So a close friend suggested I create a way to incorporate that into my eggs. So I have. Basically, I can carve any animal print onto an egg, and then you can choose any options you like. I can even paint it to resemble the colors of your own pet. 20% of all proceeds will go to animal/wildlife charities, and I will happily provide proof of donation. Do you have an animal charity you'd prefer your donation to go to? Tell me, and I'll give it to them. Anywhere in the world, as long as they take online donations. Not sure? I'll find one.
The only real rule is that the only carving on the egg will be the paw. (this allows me to carve them quickly.) I can make them into ornaments for an extra $10, if you want something to hang on a tree. I can even make it into an egglace. Just fill out an order with whatever you want here.
Together, we can give a little bit more to help the animals we love so much.
Sometimes you have to let things be what they are.
I was still thinking about how to work with the flaws in things after I finished that last egg. For about six weeks Ive had a carved egg blank here, that had broken during carving. Not enough to toss it, but in a way that would be easily fixable. I'd had it in a cup on a shelf, while I considered what to do with it. But after the last egg, I finally realized that I wanted to use the break in the design to create a bud vase.
I was pretty excited by the idea, and could see the entire finished piece in my head. Unfortunately, my head was also full of a combination of cold and allergy medicine. To put it bluntly, I was high as a kite.
About five minutes after I took this photo, I dropped a tube of MonoAqua glue on top of the egg, shattering it into a zillion pieces and killing my bud vase idea.
The original pattern was a basic pattern #3, so I made a new one. This second one didn't break under carving though, so the original idea I had for the bud vase wasn't going to work, and it didn't seem like a good idea to deliberately break the egg just to create the same effect — the beauty of it was in its accidental nature.
That said, I really liked the sculpting I had done on the first one. I decided to just sculpt and see what it turned into. The resulting piece is The Flower of Possibility.
The thing is, I don't know what it is. Is it a beautiful flower? An alien life form? A triffid? I don't know. Right now, it's a possibility, and it can be anything you imagine it should be. Maybe it's just a visual metaphor for an idea that hasn't quite formed yet; an object to remind you that the power of possibility is strong in everyone's life, and you get to direct that possibility into being. It's a beautiful mystery that you get to solve.
This is a jumbo egg, and both the interior and exterior have a gradient pattern that goes from deepest red black to metallic gold on the top. The holes are lined in a bright leaf green and the base is a mixture of greens and autumn orange, with black and black cherry red. It doesn't need a separate stand- it will sit up just like it is on its own.
It's available for $125. Not a bad price for a wonder of infinite possibility. You can grab it from the Etsy Store.
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."
― Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking
Some eggs have more of a story than others. Sometimes they seem to be trying to teach life lessons. So it is with this one.
I spend a lot of time trying to get my eggs to come out perfectly. Let's face it most of us try to do that in most aspects of our lives. Sometimes it's possible, sometimes it's crucial (like in surgery or something) and sometimes, it's just never going to happen – and that last part is very often true of art or design, or architecture or any creative thing. It's even more true when it comes to anything involving humans and how they look or react and behave.
This egg started out pretty normally. It's a double spiral basic pattern, that I had intended in doing in red and white, with a gold interior. Nothing too fancy. I figured someone might want to make an ornament out of it or something. But I must have over acidified the dye (this happens once in a while) and as a result, I was having real problems getting paint to adhere to the exterior. Parts of it would stick, and parts would just flake off. I tried coating it over and over again, but no matter how many times I tried to fix it, there were just sections of the exterior where paint was simply not willing to stick.
So I decided to work around the problem. I have some 22K gold leaf (real gold) here, and instead just used that to fill in all the areas to which paint would not adhere.
Things got even stranger when I realized that the shell was so thin, that at some point while I was working on it (I was on a lot of medication, since I've been sick) that I must have broken a small piece near the bottom. This also sometimes happens and usually I restore the break flawlessly – you can't see it when it's done (I have a degree in this,. so.) though I call it out when listing them because that's only fair.
I considered tossing the whole thing, because I was sick and cranky and just over it. I let it sit and was looking at Instagram, where I ran across whatever photo @skelotim had up at that moment (he's seriously my favorite thing on instagram. No lie.). I had a WWTD (what would Tim do) moment, and realized, he'd suggest embracing the flaws, because he's all about that. So I went back to work.
I did repair the flaw, but it is still visible if you're looking for it. This was a conscious decision, and here's the flaw:
If you look closely on the left side of that circled area you can see that it's ever so slightly raised. The truth is when it's in the stand you don't see it at all, but if you're holding the egg in your hand you can see it if you rotate it against the light at the right angle. As I said, it was a conscious decision- by that point I was all about working with, rather than against, the flaws in the piece.
There's an old tradition in Japanese ceramics called Kintsugi. Philosophically (and practically), it's really quite beautiful. Instead of restoring something to hide that the damage ever occurred, it highlights the problem areas using metallic powders mixed with lacquer as a binder and shows off the flaws as part of the beauty of the object. Do an image search, it's really nice.
I'm not Japanese, and this is not a ceramic object (though from an operative standpoint it's pretty similar), but I think this is sort of in the same spirit. Once I decided to stop fighting the flaws and just highlight them it all came together really quickly.
This is a jumbo egg. The interior is gold (non-metallic) and the exterior is red with 22K gold leaf (real gold, as I said.) The holes are accented in pearl white.
Originally I was going to let this one go for $100 but because of the flaw I've knocked it down to $60. I can also leaf the stand if you want for an extra $15. I've put it up on the etsy store.
Here;s the egg from all angles, as usual.:
I am still getting over being sick, but should be more or less okay by Friday. Go buy things.


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|Tale of the Tape
|Matches played: 22
|Matches started: 21
|Goals: 1
|Assists: 0
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#17. Perry Kitchen
Pos: D | D.C. United | Age: 19
Little would Kitchen have imagined that he'd be manning the right back spot for D.C. United when they drafted him with the No. 3 overall selection in the 2011 SuperDraft. A central defender and holding midfielder prior to going pro, he has showcased every bit of the skill and personality that made him a prized talent in the SuperDraft. He has quietly become a fixture of DC's starting lineup, only missing time for USA Under-20 World Cup qualifying. It remains to be seen if manager Ben Olsen will decide to move the steely 19-year-old to his more natural position next season.
What the TDs and coaches say: ""Solid player. He's gotten better as the season has gone on and he sees teams for the second time. Shown good mentality and that he's not afraid. Earlier this year he scored an own goal that hurt his team and came right back and played well the next week … Right back has been a good spot for him because he has more time on the ball … Sitting midfielder is perhaps a better spot because of his passing and his ability to read the game … Good leadership abilities, and at 20 there's a lot of time left for him … Competitive. He doesn't get rattled too much and he doesn't back down from a challenge. I think he's good with the ball and with his age he's only going to get better.""


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This may have to extend into the fall. I've had such a great time with smaller paintings this summer. It began with the commission of "Connectivity" shown below. There has also been the start of the "Wonder of birds" series, one of which is in the Onimatopoetic show at MIX Ypsilanti for the month of September. A group of 18″ square figure portraits have developed. So many in fact, that I've sworn not to begin any new ones until I finish some up. The studio is becoming littered with little figures.
I had hoped to move toward landscapes and take some with us on our weekly hikes. That just hasn't turned out to be the case. Both my current visual interests this season and my partner's bad knee have played a part in that. It hasn't kept me from working though, and enjoying the result. More images to come.


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New Yorker Bagels Conquered New York; Now It Has Its Sights on the Rest of the Country
Since its humble beginnings in 1981 as a small storefront in Astoria, Queens, New Yorker Bagels has grown into the universe's largest baker of fresh, crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside Sesame, Poppy, Cinnamon Raisin, and Pumpernickel bagels, among other popular varieties.
Stephanos Evangelinos, president and COO, and his crew already produce one out of every two bagels consumed daily in the greater New York area. Now, as Stephanos and his masterful digital strategist Rob Kenney tell our bagel-loving host Dean Rotbart, New Yorker Bagels is expanding its distribution nationwide, offering fresh next-day delivery direct to consumers everywhere.
The story of how New Yorker Bagels overcame the incredible odds and obstacles, and how it now plans to spread its bagels nationwide, is one worth chewing on, right now, along with your favorite hot morning beverage and, of course, a healthy schmear of cream cheese.
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Posted: September 25, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 32 minutes 46 seconds


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- Home »
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Grand Metropolitan Park Garage
Wooden toy garages have been popular with children for generations and our new Grand Metropolitan Park Garage is certain to be one of the most popular. Richly painted in vibrant colours of blue, red and yellow the Metropolitan Garage has many features and accessories.
The 3 storey garage features a helipad with helicopter, a working lift so that your cars can access the different parking levels, a fire hydrant, petrol pumps and 5 differently coloured wooden cars with rotating wheels.
Size: 60cm x 40cm x 46cm
Age: 3 Years +
Standard delivery (UK mainland)
Orders usually arrive within 72 hours but please allow up to 7 working days (Monday through Friday are delivery days) - £3.95
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Express delivery to UK mainland addresses - £7.99
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Harry Reid of Nevada has secured a special deal protecting his state against the costs of expanding Medicaid under one of the major health care bills moving through Congress.
WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has secured a special deal protecting his state against the costs of expanding Medicaid under one of the major health care bills moving through Congress.
Mr. Reid, a Democrat, complained about the impact on Nevada when the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, unveiled his bill on Sept. 16.
Now Mr. Baucus has modified the bill to spare Nevada and three other states, and Mr. Reid, who faces a potentially difficult race for re-election next year, is taking credit for getting a "major increase" in federal money for his state.
The Senate bill, like a companion measure in the House, would expand Medicaid to cover childless adults, parents and other people with incomes less than 133 percent of the poverty level, or $29,327 for a family of four. The federal government would pay most of the new costs — anywhere from 77 percent to 95 percent, with a higher share in poorer states, in the first five years.
Under Mr. Baucus's original proposal, the federal government would have paid 87 percent of the new costs in Nevada. Under the modified version, the federal government would pay 100 percent of the new costs for the first five years. Severe financial problems have prompted Nevada and other states to cut spending and furlough workers, and some states have even considered releasing prison inmates to save money.
There is no guarantee that the provision will be retained as the legislation moves through Congress. Many other lawmakers are trying to influence its particulars to favor their states, but few have the power of the majority leader to get their way.
Mr. Baucus revised his bill to give extra help to certain "high-need states." The states were not named in the bill. But only four states meet the criteria: Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Rhode Island.
The changes came at the expense of other states, including California, Florida and Illinois, which would see significant increases in state Medicaid spending under the new formula.
The Finance Committee resumes work on the legislation Tuesday, with some of the biggest fights still to come.
Many states worry that the expansion of Medicaid could saddle them with long-term financial obligations.
Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia, the senior Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said Mr. Reid "appeared to be playing politics to favor Nevada over other states."
"Senator Reid should know that this legislation is not only bad for Nevada, but it is bad for the rest of the United States," Mr. Deal said.
James P. Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid, brushed aside the criticism.
"Senator Reid makes no apologies for fighting for federal money for his constituents," Mr. Manley said. "Under Republican governors, Nevada has consistently underfunded programs such as Medicaid."
Mr. Baucus said other provisions of the bill would help all states — for example, by reducing what they spend on prescription drugs for Medicaid recipients and on the Children's Health Insurance Program.
About 220,000 people are on Medicaid in Nevada, and Charles Duarte, the state Medicaid director, said Monday that enrollment could double under the legislation being considered by Congress.
Many parents and childless adults would qualify for Medicaid for the first time, Mr. Duarte said. And many people who are eligible but not enrolled would sign up for Medicaid because, under the legislation, they could be required to pay financial penalties if they did not have insurance.
The Finance Committee has rejected several Republican amendments that would have blocked the expansion of Medicaid if it was found to impose additional costs on states.
"We have got to protect the states from the impact of one more federal mandate at a time when states are in dire circumstances financially," said Senator Michael D. Crapo, Republican of Idaho.
But Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, said states must share the cost of covering the uninsured.
"We are going to have a real hard time dealing with this problem," Mr. Conrad said, "if it is all supposed to be on the federal government, which has record deficits and record debt, and if the states just expect the federal government to write a check for 100 percent of everything."
All the major health care bills moving through Congress would expand Medicaid, adding perhaps 11 million people to the rolls, the Congressional Budget Office says.
The Democratic staff of the Finance Committee estimates that, under existing law, state spending on Medicaid will total $1.7 trillion from 2013 to 2019. That figure could increase by $33 billion under Mr. Baucus's bill. But when the new costs are combined with savings elsewhere in the bill, Democrats say, state spending would increase by only $22 billion, or 1.3 percent, over the levels now projected.
A few states, like Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland and Virginia, could see increases of 4 percent or more, according to the data.
Maine and Vermont have led the way in expanding Medicaid. But Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine, said that after talking with the governors of those states, she had concerns about the burdens that would be placed on states under the bill.


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By GRAHAM HICKS
Dave Mowat has been ATB Financial's CEO and President since 2007. Retiring in June, Mowat is unarguably Alberta's best-known and most visible CEO.
Mowat is that rarest of beasts: A well-liked, amiable, even humble corporate and community leader, yet likely the most dynamic CEO that ATB, a venerable government-owned financial institution, has ever seen.
ATB Financial's marketing department took advantage of Mowat's media-friendly personality. His smiling mug advertised ATB's services in newspapers, billboards, TV and all over social media.
Who can forget Dave smiling at the camera, pointing his finger and saying "Who banks on Alberta's future? We Do!"
Most of ATB Financial's excellent long-term performance (from $20.3 billion in assets in 2007 to $49.6 billion in 2018, from 600,000 to 750,000 customers, currently 5,000 employees) is credited to Mowat's vision, an unshakable belief that the bottom line is driven by great customer service from a staff fully and utterly committed to clearly articulated company values.
Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Right.
Every company president I have ever interviewed says the same things! Meanwhile, a few floors down, staff would be laid off before Christmas so management could qualify for year-end performance bonuses!
But, having reported on Mowat and ATB Financial for the past 10 years and talked to hundreds of ATB employees, I am convinced.
It takes a great CEO who never sleeps to creates a REAL customer-centric culture.
Under Mowat's watch, ATB Financial went loudly and proudly over-board on its staff and customer focus.
Walk into any ATB branch and you'll see the ATB 94-word "story" (not mission statement) plastered on its walls, within a shape resembling Alberta.
"We can transform banking," it reads in part. "We carry the outrageous belief that banking can change people's lives for the better … By doing things other banks wouldn't do … steadfastly genuine in our pursuit of Albertans' greater good … By using banking to create happiness … because good things happen when happiness becomes your purpose."
Mowat walked the walk and talked the talk.
In 2012, ATB underwent a massive banking systems overhaul, a $150-million project that went on for months and months and months.
The work was not going well. Customers were frustrated.
Mowat posted signs at all the branches. Don't take it out on our staff, call me. The displayed phone number was for a special "hotline" on his desk. Mowat personally answered every one of thousands of calls. To this day, he answers every email he receives from customers and staff. It's not his executive assistant or secretary, or an automated e-mail reply. It's Mowat himself at the keyboard.
He's equally famous for 'management by walking around', randomly visiting employees within Edmonton's ATB Tower, or dropping in to chat with staff and customers at ATB's Alberta-wide 172 branches and 135 agencies — just to see how everybody's doing.
The persona may be folksy, but Mowat has been relentless in his drive to instill customer-oriented attitudes in ATB from top to bottom.
He leads "culture day" for new employees. After three months, if new staff are not a fit, they are given a farewell package – "only about 12 out of thousand," says former ATB Financial Chief People Officer Lorne Rubis, who now holds the title of ATB "Chief Evangelist".
ATB puts huge stock in an internal recognition system. All staff are encouraged – especially executives – to recognize employee initiatives. "A long-time customer was in his 80s, in failing health and couldn't take care of his calves," relates Rubis. "Two ATB staffers from his branch went to his farm, rounded up, tagged and castrated the calves for him. It's about emphasizing our corporate culture, being a bank that creates happiness for people."
Does all this rah-rah stuff make a difference to the bottom line?
Absolutely, says Rubis. "Major survey companies measure company engagement, trust, internal morale. Over the long term, companies with consistently high scores are, without exception, America's most profitable companies."
From those surveys, Mowat has one of the highest CEO approval rates (from employees) in North America. In 2017, a Globe & Mail survey ranked ATB Financial as the second-best place to work in Canada.
Of course there have been hiccups along the way, especially as ATB weathered the global financial crisis of 2008/09 and the provincial recession of 2015/16. Despite the obsession with "people first", there have been a few rounds of minor staff lay-offs.
But did Dave Mowat transform ATB Financial into a modern, people/customer-centric bank with a growing customer base and huge approval ratings?
Did he inspire staff, and all of us in Alberta, with his leadership both within ATB and in the community?
Did he make his company the best-known, most market-savvy financial institution in Alberta?
Yes he did!
ATB Financial's 10 staff "commandments"
ATB #1 Deliver WOW to customers and each other every chance you get
ATB #2 Continuously seek ways to make banking work FOR people
ATB #3 Think YES first
ATB #4 Be personally and fiercely accountable
ATB #5 Find a way to get things done
ATB #6 Be confident and humble
ATB #7 Trust and expect the same from others
ATB #8 Do the right thing
ATB #9 Think big and make it happen
ATB #10 Have fun every day


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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – October 27, 2016 – Truck Hero, Inc. ("Truck Hero" or the "Company") announced the acquisition of Rugged Liner®, effective Wednesday, October 19th. Rugged Liner® is a leading manufacturer and distributor of quality aftermarket and OEM truck accessories including pickup truck bed and trailer bed liners, bed covers, wheel well liners, and bed mats. Since they opened their doors in 1995 in Owosso, MI, Rugged Liner has grown to two facilities totaling 450,000 square feet, and 140 employees. They have been recognized for their export efforts, currently shipping into more than 70 countries.
This transaction marks Truck Hero's eleventh acquisition since its formation in 2007 and is well aligned with the Company's growth strategy of continuing to acquire businesses within the vehicle accessory market that further diversify its product portfolio into other attractive, high-growth segments.
About Truck Hero, Inc.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, Truck Hero has focused on providing consumers a full range of truck bed covers and other truck and Jeep® accessories with market leading functionality,
engineering, quality, and design. The breadth of Truck Hero's product offering addresses
virtually every consumer price point in both the hard and soft truck bed cover categories. Truck Hero's industry leading family of brands includes Extang, TruXedo, BedRug, UnderCover, Advantage, Retrax, BAK, A.R.E., N-FAB, Husky Liner and two online retailers: AutoCustoms and Real Truck. All of the companies in the Truck Hero family are recognized as premier brands in the U.S. light duty truck aftermarket and leaders in product innovation. For more information, please visit our website at truckhero.com.