Political Movement in Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Political Movement in Hong Kong Essay A. Introduction Moral and national education is a school curriculum proposed by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to replace the original civil and moral education which aimed at developing a positive value and attitude of students, building a well quality of moral and national sense.1 In 3rd October 2010, the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang stated in his policy address, the moral and national education will be introduced to the education syllabus of the primary school and secondary school in 2012 and 2013 respectively with the aim of strengthening the national education of students in Hong Kong. However, this curriculum brought to a large controversy among the society of Hong Kong. Organizations like the scholarism, national education parent concern group and the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union, etc. opposed the need of proposing this curriculum for two main reasons, first, that is unnecessary to introduce this subject independently since the syllabus of Chinese history and Liberal studies have overlapped with moral and national education. Second, this curriculum is compulsorily introducing the sense of national patriot to students, education will come down to be the tool of political brain washing to students. Therefore, various social networks organized an anti-national education movement, which resulted in a great ring of the public and the concession of the government. In this movement, social networks play an important role, they facilitate the mobilization of people, bringing awareness of the people so as to enlarge the scale of the movement. In this paper, I will mainly investigate the role of social networks in strengthening and undermining the movement, and also the effort tin bringing participant with different or similar background together. On the other hand, I wll discuss the importance of internet in strengthening and undermining the movement in various aspects. B. Strength of social networks in unfolding the movement There are a few social networks that remarkably helped the development of the anti-national education movement, not only on their own work, but also in attracting the other social networks to join their work and charm the participation. 1. Scholarism The first social network strengthen the movement is scholarism, this  organization is founded by a group of post-90s in 2011, which aimed at opposing the implementation of national education curriculum in Hong Kong. They are the originator of the anti-national education movement and then raise the attention of the people. Early in the 1st July 2011, they have joined the Hong Kong 1 July protest to speak out their request to government to withdraw the implementation of national education in Hong Kong education curriculum. Their voice and popularity then rose with a chain of participation in different movements organized by other social networks, for instance, they have joined the petition demanding the redress the June fourth incident in China, attend the TV programme City Forum, etc. Scholarism tried their best to get the attention of the government and also the public, many other social network have then discover and aware this organizations, nearly 20 social networks, for instanc e, national education parent concern group and the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union then joined together and formed the alliance of opposing national education. The theory mentioned by Della Porta, D. and Diani, M. can be applied to this, people can often become involved in a specific movement or campaign through their previous links, and their participation will forges new links. The alliance then took a great step to unfold the movement by organizing a demonstration with the slogan of â€Å"no brain washing† on the 29th July 2012. 2. National education parent concern group The second social network that remarkably helped to unfold the movement is the national education parent concern group. This organization is founded by Chen Shik Chi, a lecturer of the Hong Kong Chinese University. The aim of this organization is to request the withdrawal of national education from the education curriculum in Hong Kong. Within a month, the number of members of this organization has risen to near 1500. This organization is relatively not a political one, the participants are not political leaders or activists, rather is the parents of the students in Hong Kong, with a specific target concerned group, it is easier for them to attract the members. The organization has joined several social movements related to their opposition in national education. For instance, they are one of the member organizations of the alliance of opposing national education, and helped in the 729 demonstration, later collect signs of people in different  districts for their support of anti-na tional education. As we can see that the organizations that particularly active in the anti-national education movement are neither some traditional political organizations nor some large scale organization with a wide range of membership. Yet they are only freshly established organizations with relatively small base of membership and short history. Why they were success in bringing the anti-national movement that topic-catching is the nature of the organizations and the close contact with other social networks. Internally, the unity between members will be denser and more integrated since the base of membership is small, it will be easier for the members to contact with each other and get all-round information, the scale can prevent the situation that members in the group will easily get ideological distinctions and rivalries, the internal network will then be more fragmented. Secondly, with the same goal of requesting the government to withdraw national education from the curriculum, there are many organizations from different groups joined their movement which then formed the multiple affiliations. Multiple affiliations is meaning the linkages between different organizations. This helped a lot in boosting the unfold ing of the movement, for instance, this can facilitate the personal contact and the development of informal networks which can encourage the individual participation and the mobilization of resources. Leaders of different organizations can contact each other for the sharing of information and the plan of movement, most importantly, they can get a consensus on the representations of the movement, so that will form a stronger force of opposition to their enemies. Not only for the leaders, the members from different groups can cooperate with others, for instance, the elites of groups can work together and decide a better plan for the movement. Moreover, the wider range of membership will also increase the participation of the social movement. The overlapped members, that is the members that belongs to the different groups in the affiliation, takes an essential role in circulation of information which helps a lot since the more the information the group can get, the more they can control the speed of mobilization. C. Limitation of social networks in unfolding the movement Although the small scale of the organization can bring the higher efficiency of decision making, it also has some setbacks. Since the  membership base of the organizations is quite narrow, it is hard for them to expand their group internally. The people who intended to join an organization due to three main reasons, first, they will look at the number of individuals in the organization, especially some political ones. People seems to be attracted by the political leaders in the organization so as to join it, then both Scholarism and the National education parent concern group cannot fulfill this requirement. Second requirement is the amount of previous experiences of collective action which is meaning the effort of the organizations in joining or organizing collective actions. Both social networks again are freshly established two years ago, the experiences in participating in collective actions must be relatively less than the traditional groups like the political parties. As we c an see from the two requirements, it is really hard for the two social networks to expand their scale in terms of structure and membership which are crucial in the development themselves and participation in the movements they organized.

Puritanism, and The Salem Witch Trials :: essays papers

Puritanism, and The Salem Witch Trials Puritanism refers to the movement of reform, which occurred within the Church of England. It began at the time of the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 and ended at the end of the Rump Parliament with the ascension of Charles II to the British throne in 1660. The American Puritans clearly understood that God's word applies to all of life. Their exemplary lives and faith, contrary to popular myths, are a highpoint of Christian thinking. Puritan legal history specifies some of their loyalties and compromises. Today, scholars continue their dispute over the degree to which the Puritan colonists influenced American law, morality, and culture. In the area of law, this image is supplemented by lurid accounts of witch trials and corporal public punishments. The best example of this was during the seventeenth century. The Salem witch trials began in 1692, and lasted less than a year. The first arrests were made on March 1, 1692 and the final hanging day was September 22, 1692. The first noted arrest, was of Tituba, a Carib Indian from Barbados. She was Reverend Samuel Parris' slave. Her role in the witch trials includes the arrest and confession of witchcraft on March 1, 1692. In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris became very ill. When she failed to improve, the village doctor, William Griggs, was called in. After much deliberation, Griggs concluded that the problem was witchcraft. This put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the death of nineteen men and women. In addition to those nineteen people, one man named Giles Corey was crushed to death. Seventeen others died in prison and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. To better understand the events of the Salem witch trials, it is necessary to understand the time period in which the accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics, and rivalry with nearby Salem Town all played a part in the stress. There was also a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of an attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem.

The Yellow Wolf: The Strong and Wise Cheyenne Indian

The Indian Frontier of the American West tells a story of the different Indian tribes and whites from 1846 to 1890. This period of time is very famous in American history. It produced some of the most widely heard of names in the battles between Indians and whites. These names include Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe, Sitting Bull of the Oglala Sioux, Cochise, Geronimo, and Mangas Coloradas, and John Ross of the Cherokee Nation. These names are still very respected among historians and are seen throughout history books used in schools across the nation. These names were involved in many battles with whites in the middle of the nineteenth century. In this book, Robert Utley describes how many different Indian cultures survived between 1846 and 1890. Utley also spent some time in discussing how Americans felt about Indians. This book also talked about how the American government was run, and how they dealt with the different Indian cultures. This book had a couple of interesting stories in it also. The dozens of cultures depicted in this book really made it somewhat interesting to read. One story that I truly liked in the book was that of Yellow Wolf. Yellow Wolf was an extremely strong and wise Cheyenne Indian. He was a man that was known for his leadership in battles with the Utes, Pawnees, Kiowas, and Comanches. Yellow Wolf also played an important role in helping William Bent, also known as â€Å"Little White Man†, as to where to set up his trading post along the river. After Bent had set up his fort, Yellow Wolf traveled there in the summer. He watched as tens of thousands of white men move in and through the Indian country. This made him worry about the future of his people, something no other Cheyenne leader would even consider for years. In discussing his fears with an army officer he talks of how his people and the buffalo are disappearing. He also says that his people will become extinct unless they change and adopt the habits of white people. Yellow Wolf lived for eighteen years amongst the white man. In his final year of his life, Yellow Wolf watched his worst fears come true. Through all of this, he continued to believe that the only hope his people had was if they learned from the white man. On November 29, 1864, a white man from General Stephen Watts Kearney†s army gunned down Yellow Wolf. He was 85 years old. Another part of the book that I truly enjoyed reading was the section on Grant†s Peace Policy. While Grant served as General in Chief of the United State Army a group of Quakers, know as the Friends, urged him to adopt a new peace policy. This policy was to be founded on Christianity and peace, rather than on force of arms. The policy also called for men of religious conviction to be appointed to agency posts. Grant quickly embraced this idea and pretty soon Grant†s Peace Policy was adopted. Grant didn†t hold any strong convictions about Indians, but he did indicate that: â€Å"Those who do not accept this policy will find the new administration ready for a sharp and severe war policy. † Throughout the entire process, Grant remained as open minded as possible about the peace treaty. The policy wasn†t carefully crafted. It actually came together on its own, and as it took shape it began to have direction and definition. One of the strongest forces guiding Grant was Colonel Ely S. Parker. He had betrayed his racial origins and become a fixture in both the white and Indian worlds. He served as chief of the Senecas and Grand Sachem of the Iroquois Confederacy, and as lawyer, engineer, and soldier for the United States. Prior to the election, Grant relied on Parker more than anyone else when it came to Indian matters. Parker made detailed plans of Indian management that Congress supported and he also served on various commissions and conducted numerous investigations. Parker was so involved and was so respected that after Grant was elected he appointed Ely Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The wars that broke out in light of the peace policy really grabbed my attention. As with all peace treaties there usually will be some drawbacks. The point of the policy was to place all Indians on reservations, where they could be kept away from the settlements and travel routes and where they could be civilized. Indians, on the other hand, did not feel this way. Almost every major battle was fought to force Indians back to their reservations, or to force them on to newly created ones. The combination of battles and diminishing support it once had made the Peace Policy all but forgotten. These wars became somewhat of a regular fixture. Whites wanted all Indians to live on reservations and learn to live like white people. Indians refused to adapt to these new rules so they fought for what they believed in. Overall, I found this book to be less than interesting. My family tree dates back to the Cherokee Indian so I was interested in reading about what Indians actually went through. Robert Utley did a very good job with all of the various illustrations and maps. I especially was intrigued as to the many different pictures of Indians as well as the whites. In reading this book, I learned of yet another race that whites attempted to take over or confine to certain areas. Being a minority helps me keep an open mind to what went on in the past as well as what goes on in today†s society. The struggle that Indians endured in the 1800†³s symbolizes the struggle that some Indians still go through today. Although we do not live in a country where people are forced to live in certain areas, there are some American Indians that still live on reservations because they feel society will not accept them. I did not particularly care to read about all of the whites during that period of time, but I would not have gotten a full understanding unless they were included. I would recommend anyone wanting to learn a good deal about the struggle of the Indian people to read this book.

Planning For Instruction From The Course Text - 1252 Words

Assignment #3 – Discussion Paper: Planning for Instruction This paper will discuss Chapter 4: Planning for Instruction from the course text, Teaching Physical Education Today Canadian Perspectives. This chapter discusses important considerations for planning, the process of planning, and provides the criteria to help create an effective lesson plan. Planning is known as the â€Å"instructional process† and involves â€Å"thinking about, researching, organizing, and developing contents for instruction† (Randall Robinson, 2014, p. 48). During the instructional process, an instructor should be able to state their intended objectives. The beginning of the planning process involves outlining what is expected by the end of a program. This means that it†¦show more content†¦The Ministry of Education of Ontario (2015) states the following: The knowledge and skills students acquire in the program will benefit them throughout their lives and enable them to thrive in an ever-changing world by helping them develop physical and health literacy as well as the comprehension, capacity, and commitment they will need to lead healthy, active lives, and promote healthy, active living.† (p. 6) It is important to note that expected outcomes were established with broad outcomes. These outcomes can be advantageous as it allows flexibility for a physical educator. The curriculum set by the provincial government is important as it stresses physical literacy and health literacy. 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