Developmental psychologists

Developmental psychologists Many developmental psychologists maintain that, from a very early age, infants relate to people in a special way, and that this indicates they have a deep understanding of other people. In your view, is this position supported by research studies that have investigated infants understanding of the physical and social world? The main purpose of this essay was to assess whether the research evidence supports the statement that infants have a deep understanding of other people. Although the question related to infants in general, the main emphasis was put on the first year of life as it is believed that this is a period when the most significant changes in infants development occur (Super, 1981). Firstly, the writer attempted to define the term â€Å"deep understanding† which has been seen as crucial for this debate. Then, the focus moved to the nature of infants relationships with other people. Afterwards, the research studies were examined that have investigated infants understanding of the physical world. The aim was to check whether children have a knowledge of objects and peoples physical features, and consequently, if they are able to differentiate between them. Finally, the researches which investigated infants understanding of social world were analysed in order to check how rich infants kno wledge of other people is. The debate of whether infants have a rich knowledge has to be preceded with defining what it means to have a deep understanding. In the case of a physical world deep understanding would be an awareness of physical properties and the permanence of objects, as well as knowledge of how certain actions make an effect on the physical world (Spelke, 1991). However, the definition of the deep understanding of people perceived was more complicated. Surely the ability to recognise that people are different to objects is important as it requires a certain level of understanding. Equally important is also the knowledge of what is going on in other peoples minds and the ability to appreciate that ‘people have emotions, intentions, and perspectives (Striano Rochat, 2000:254). Nevertheless, it has been believed that deep understanding must also involve something additional. This extra quality has been acknowledged by Tomasello et al. (2005:676), who argued that: ‘(†¦) deep understanding of other people requires not only an understanding of goals, intentions and perceptions of other persons, but also in addition a motivation to share these things in interaction with others. The psychologists who perceive children as having a rich knowledge share the belief that infants relate to people in a special way and engage with them differently than with objects. They argue that infants are more likely to direct their intentional behaviours towards people rather than objects because they anticipate that people will understand their intentions and respond to their actions. Trevarthen (ED841, Unit 3) explained this phenomenon by arguing that infants have an inborn willingness to participate in social relationships with other people. As Suzanne Zeedyk stated, the everyday intimate in nature interaction with others creates a context in which infants understanding can develop. In her opinion, thanks to being an object of other peoples attention, children come to know themselves and others. However, the perception of infants as active social partners causes some doubts. Even though Trevarthen seems to be right stating that infants are not just marionettes which can be animated by adults, it is possible that their engagement with people may only create an illusion of spontaneity and understanding (Zeedyk, 2006). Indeed, it has been acknowledged that there is no consensus whether young infants actually differentiate between objects and people and what mechanisms underlay their behaviour. To investigate this issue it was necessary to establish what knowledge about the physical world they hold. The chosen staring point was Piagets study on objects permanence. He argued that if an object is covered by a cloth, infants younger than nine months stop reaching for it and do not attempt to lift the cloth, even though they are physically able to perform this action. On this basis, Piaget argued that for infants younger than nine months, objects exist only while it is perceived or acted upon and it is out of an infants mind when it disappears (Hood Willatts, 1995). These findings are believed to be significant for a debate on childrens understanding of the social world. Contrary to earlier mentioned psychologists, Jean Piaget claimed that young infants do not distinguish between people and objects, but rather treated people as the most interesting of objects and that is why they concentrate on them more intensively. Analogously to object permanence, Piaget argued that children younger than nine months cannot have a deep understanding of other people as their do not have knowledge of peoples permanence. They rather acquire this knowledge at a later stage thanks to their cognitive development and experience (ED841, Unit 2; Baillargeon, 1995; Piaget Inhelder, 1966). Although Piagets theory appeared to be convincing, it has been acknowledged that his experiment has been criticised by other researchers who argued that infants failed this task not because they have not developed object permanence but because there are not able to perform coordinated actions. Therefore, it was difficult for them to coordinate lifting the cloth with their memory for the object (Baillargeon, 1995). To check whether infants hold an understanding of object permanence, Piagets findings have been compared with the results of investigations which did not require coordinated action. An example chosen was Baillargeons drawbridge experiment. This habituation study researched infants understanding of ‘the principle that a solid object cannot move through the space occupied by another solid object (Baillargeon, 1995:104). Baillargeon wanted to investigate whether five month old infants would be surprised by visible objects in the form of a screen rotating back and forth at 180 degrees, which moved through the space occupied by a hidden cube. The assumption was that if infants were surprised it meant that they were aware of the existence and physical properties of the hidden object. In contrast to Piagets study, this experiment indicated that very young infants may have a core understanding of object properties and therefore they should also have the knowledge of peoples permanence (Baillargeon, 1995; ED841, Unit 2). On the other hand, some of the researches stated that the habituation methodology may overestimate infants understanding. For instance, as proved by Schilling, results similar to those gained by Piaget may be obtained simply by varying the number of presentations in the drawbridge experiment. Therefore, Schilling argued that Baillargeon failed to prove that infants have a deep understanding of the physical world (ED841, Unit 2). Also, Cohen referred to the drawbridge experiment by stating that infants ‘may be responding to the apparently impossible event, not because it is impossible, but simply because it is familiar (Cohen, 2001:6). So far it seems that children, especially in the first few months of life, have rather poor knowledge of the physical world and consequently they may also have poor knowledge of other people. The radical change was believed to occur at around nine months of life. However, the research evidence presented by Woodward on six month old infants showed that they have expectations directed towards people, which they do not share with inanimate things. Therefore, he argued that infants not only see people as separate to objects, but also recognise that people have certain goals and intentions (Tomasello et al., 2005). The writer is convinced that at the end of the first year of life, infants understand people as animate beings who spontaneously produce behaviour, but there is no agreement whether they understand the mechanism underlying their behaviour or they are just simply able to predict what people would do. For instance, the research on   infants understanding of goal-directed action s, like for example those of Gregley and Csiba, showed that one year old infants perceive the successful actions as goal directed, but it ‘does not necessarily imply that they appreciate the intentions underlying those actions (Brandone Wellman, 2008: 86). It is believed that the ability to understand that other people have mental states is a part of the so-called theory of mind, which is assumed not to develop in children younger than 4 years (Bretherton et al., 1981). There was a series of research investigating the signs of development of the theory of mind in infants. For instance, Reedy (2007) observed the development of deception among infants. Her findings indicated that eight month old infants are able to deceive, even though in theory this skill does not develop until a child acquires theory of mind. Therefore, Reedy argued that because at around eight months children, for example, fake crying or pretend deafness when called by their mother, which indicates that they have a real understanding of other people. However, Reedy has been criticised for overestimating childrens abilities and misinterpreting infants behaviours. For instance, it has been argued that infants are egocentric. Consequently, children may ignore mothers calls because they are concentrated on themselves and things they are doing in that moment (Carlowe, 2008). More probable seems to be the explanation presented by Baron and Cohen, who stated that young infants are unable to understand what is going on in other peoples minds. However, they argue that at around 6-9 months, infants try to seek other peoples focus of attention by following the direction of their eye gaze. This inborn ability, called the eye direction detector, lets infants note where another person is looking. Subsequently, infants become able to distinguish between their own and other peoples reactions to an object, which is a basis for later theory of mind development. However, it is not clear whether infants perceive other persons eye movements as significant and understand that adults are directing their attention towards an object. It is possible that they just follow other peoples eye gaze without paying attention to the object itself (Meltzoff, 2004, ED841, Unit 2). As mentioned before, Tomasello stressed that understanding intentional actions and perceptions of others is not itself sufficient to talk about the deep understanding of infants. In his opinion, it requires shared intentionality which refers ‘to collaborative interactions in which participants share psychological states with one another (Tomasello Carpenter, 2007:121). His longitudinal study on chimpanzees showed that they were similar to human infants in a whole range of socio-cognitive skills, but in contrast to infants, they do not appear to have shared intentionality. Tomasello therefore stated that infants do not only follow other peoples eye gaze but try to share other peoples attention. The motivation to share attention with others emerges at around the first birthday, which supports the belief that this is the time when more advanced cognitive understanding occurs (Tomasello Carpenter, 2007). Meltzoff emphasised that information about objects and peoples shared intentions towards these objects are acquired through imitation. He argued that to imitate, children have to be able to understand the differences between themselves and others. Even though Piaget argued that infants cannot imitate others until they were 8 to 12 months of age, Meltzoffs research on infants early imitation showed that they are not only able to imitate facial expressions of adults but also recognise when adults imitate them which is a sign of deep understanding. However, the critical analysis of his research indicated that children may imitate adults but not be aware of the fact that they are copying emotional expression. Additionally, Meltzoff examined very young infants and there is a possibility that they might just be trained to imitate from birth (Meltzoff Gopnik, 1993). Summarising, it appears that infants prefer people over the objects, but there is no agreement whether it is a sign of an understanding of other peoples thoughts and intentions or rather an inborn ability to engage in social interactions. Some psychologists, like for example Piaget, argued that very young infants have only basic social abilities. Although infants behaviour cannot only be seen as a set of reflexes, psychologists claim that they have a deep understanding of other people would undoubtedly overestimate their abilities. The most appropriate explanation seems to be that infants are born with rather poor knowledge about the physical and social world; however, they have an inborn ability to interact with other people. Through the everyday interaction with others their knowledge and skills can develop, and consequently, infants understanding of the world becomes deeper.

Jade Peony

Belonging When someone is said to be Canadian, it does not just mean being one who lives on this land, or has lived on this land long enough to obtain this citizenship, it means living the Canadian life, it means waking up in the morning wearing a ton of layers and going outside in the freezing cold to do whatever a person needs to do during the day, to be Canadian it also means to belong. Canada is known for the diversity of culture, religion, color, and beliefs, as well as our ability to be able to create a status acceptable to everyone, making Canada, despite our individual diversity and differences, to be united as one. However, what we don’t realize is that Canada has not always been this way; this is the perspective that Wayson Choy expresses through his novel â€Å"The Jade Peony†. His text and word play emphasizes on a world so unknown, yet so important to not only our history, but to our understanding of what our ancestors of our various ethnic origins fought through every day of their lives to create the world in which every day we take for granted. Where he lays his emphasis on our history is not from the point of view of the adult, but through the eyes of the children who, today, are our fathers and grandfathers. Divided into three major chapters, Wayson Choy begins the narration of his history through the eyes of Jook-Laing, a five year old beautiful girl of Chinese origin born in Canada after her family immigrated to Canada. Isolation is slowly starting to become a major theme in the novel, not only created by the Canadian Government, but by her very own family. The Canadian Government in the 1940's, the time period the novel takes place, created harsh laws against immigrants, making it near impossible to live happily: one was never to leave the household, as immigrants must live within the same household even when one becomes married, as well as harsh laws on illness, where, if one were to become sick with any illness- even as innocent as a cold- if the government found out, â€Å"The Vancouver Health Inspection Board†¦ posted on our front door, a sign boldly visible from the street: condemned† (p. 32). However, Jook-Laing's family's old heritage and Chinese beliefs create the deepest isolation as they shun the idea of traditional Canadian society, where Poh-Poh, elder and Jook-Laing's Grandmother, describes this life as â€Å"poison to young China girl-child† (p. 17). Jook-Laing's young and highly dream-filled spirit inspires her to dream of the perfect world- a perfect world she never gives up on as play and her â€Å"movie-star daydreams† (p. 37) have caused her heart to grow and know that, deep, inside, Canada is a better place than China, no matter what Poh-Poh says to her about her heritage. However, despite her strong instinct, conflict arises as person versus person/society is introduced when her powerful instinct and her Grandmother's words â€Å"You not Canada. You never Canada. You China. Always war in China† (p. 37) make her isolated from becoming her own person and trapping her in a world she knows is not true to her heart. As a major authority figure of the household, Poh-Poh is never corrected or disagreed with, causing Jook-Laing to feel alone in her internal battle between what she is told and her faith in Canada. Further, Jook-Laing, along with her other two step-brothers, are strongly looked down upon by their strict, old heritage grandmother, who constantly reminds them of her feelings towards them: â€Å"This useless only-granddaughter wants to be Shirlee Tem-po-lah; the useless Second Grandson wants to be cow-boy-lah. The First Grandson wants to be Charlie Chan. All stupid foolish! † (p. 40). With Poh-Poh's interrogance towards her grandchildren's play, it creates further isolation from the norm of society and themselves, along with isolation from their desire to be a child. Despite her Grandmother beginning to shape the role of the antagonist of the story, Jook-Laing makes a deep connection with an old family friend, Mau-lauh Bak, who not only understands the importance of play, but embraces and cherishes Jook-Laing for her ability to be free in a world so sour towards them. that connects Jook-Laing to the theme of belonging. The second part of the story speaks about Jung-Sum, the kid who was adopted due to the fact that his parents have died from a young age â€Å"I TAKE CARE OF MY SELF’ (p. 2). Jung also starts off in the novel isolation for as he doesn’t want his new family to take care of him. But Jung started to box and that is where he found a sense of belonging. Sek- Lung also fell into the same isolation theme from Canada and as well from his family, he was in belief that Poh-Poh was still coming to visit after she had died, and the whole family did not believe the fact, that’s when Sekky fell into the same pattern of isola tion. But it was Sekky that had the most sense of belonging to Canada towards the end of the book, because Canada is a multicultural community there is all kinds of races that live in this great country, and Sekky was a big hater of the Japanese â€Å"I have to remember they are the enemy† (p. 189) but when he meets Meiying, and she introduces him to Kaz her Japanese boyfriend, he gets to like him. This shows that the world revolves around hate but once you get to know people, a person’s perspective might change. Sekky finally found his belonging in Canada.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 9

Keller reacted instantly and instinctively. She changed. She did it on the leap this time. Rushing the process along, pushing it from behind. She wanted to be entirely a panther by the time she landed on the girl's back. But some things can't be rushed. She felt herself begin to liquefy and flow†¦ formlessness†¦ pleasure†¦ the utter freedom of not being bound to any single physical shape. Then reformation, a stretching of all her cells as they reached to become something different, to unfurl like butterfly wings into a new kind of body. Her jumpsuit misted into the fur that ran along her body, up and down from the stomach in front, straight down from the nape of her neck in back. Her ears surged and then firmed up, thin-skinned, rounded, and twitching already. From the base of her spine, her tail sprang free, its slightly clubbed end whipping eagerly. That was how she landed. She knocked the girl cleanly over, and they both went rolling on the floor. When they stopped, Keller was crouching on the girl's stomach. She didn't want to kill the girl. She needed to find some things out first. What kind of Night Person the girl was, and who'd sent her. The only problem was that now, as she knelt with her hands gripping the girl's arms, staring into dark blue eyes under soft brown- bangs, she couldn't sense anything of the Night World in the girl's life energy. Shapeshifters were the uncontested best at that. They could tell a human from a Night Person nine times out of ten. And this girl wasn't even in the â€Å"maybe† range. She was giving off purely human signals. Not to mention screaming. Her mouth was wide open, and so were her eyes, and so were her pupils. Her skin had gone blue-white like someone about to faint. She looked utterly bewildered and horrified, and she wasn't making a move to fight back. Keller's heart sank. But if the girl was human and harmless, why hadn't she listened when Keller had shouted at her? â€Å"Boss, we have to shut her up.† It was Winnie, yelling above the girl's throaty screams. As usual, Nissa didn't say a word, but she was the one who shut the music room door. By then, Keller had recovered enough to put a hand over the girl's mouth. The screaming stopped. Then she looked at the others. They were staring at her. Wide-eyed. Keller felt like a kitten with its paw in the canary cage. Here she was, sitting on this human girl's midriff, in her half-and-half form. Her ears and tail were a panther's, and she was clothed from her snug boots to her shoulders in fur. It fit her like a black velvet jumpsuit, a sleeveless one that left her arms and neck bare. The hair on her head was still a human's and swirled around her to touch the floor on every side. Her face was human, too, except for the pupils of her eyes, which were narrow ovals, reacting to every change of light and shadow. And her teeth. Her canines had become delicately pointed, giving her just the slightest hint of fangs. She blinked at Galen, not sure what she saw in his expression. He was definitely staring at her, and there was some strong emotion pulling his face taut and making that white line around his mouth. Horror? Disgust? He was a shapeshifter himself-or he would be if he could ever make up his mind. He'd seen her in panther form. Why should he be shocked at this? The answer flashed back at Keller from some deep part of her brain. Only because I'm a monster this way. Panthers are part of nature and can't be blamed for what they do. I'm a savage thing that doesn't manage to be either an animal or a person. And I'm dangerous in this form. Neither half of me is really in control. Someone who's never changed could never understand that. Galen took a step toward her. His jaw was tense, but his gold-green eyes were fixed on hers, and his hand was slightly lifted. Keller wondered if it was the gesture of a hostage negotiator. He opened his mouth to say something. And Iliana came to life, jumping up and running past him and shrieking at Keller all at once. â€Å"What are you doing? That's Jaime! What are you doing to her?† â€Å"You know her?† â€Å"That's Jaime Ashton-Hughes! She's Brett's sister! And she's one of my best friends! And you attacked her! Are you all right?† It was all shrieked at approximately the same decibel level, but on the last sentence, Iliana looked down at Jaime. Keller moved her palm from Jaime's mouth. As it turned out, though, that didn't seem to be necessary. Jaime raised her free hand and began to make swift, fluid gestures at Iliana with it. Keller stared, and then her insides plummeted. She let go of the girl's other arm, and the gestures immediately became two-handed. Oh. Oh†¦ darn. Keller could feel her ears flatten backward. She looked unhappily at Iliana. â€Å"Sign language?† â€Å"She's got a hearing impairment!† Iliana glared at Keller, all the while making gestures back at Jaime. Her motions were awkward and stilted compared to Jaime's, but she clearly had some idea what she was doing. â€Å"I didn't realize.† â€Å"What difference does it make how well she can hear?† Diana yelled. â€Å"She's my friend! She's president of the senior class! She's chair for the Christmas Benefit bazaar! What did she do to you, ask you to buy a teddy bear?† Keller sighed. Her tail was tucked up close to her body, almost between her legs, and her ears were flatter than ever. She climbed off Jaime, who immediately scooted backward and away from her, still talking rapidly with her hands to Diana. â€Å"The difference,† Keller said, â€Å"is that she didn't stop when I told her to. I yelled at her, but†¦ I didn't realize. Look, just tell her I'm sorry, will you?† ‘You tell her! Don't talk about her as if she isn't here. Jaime can lip-read just fine if you bother to face her.† Diana turned to Jaime again. â€Å"I'm sorry. Please don't be mad. This is terrible-and I don't know how to explain. Can you breathe now?† Jaime nodded slowly. Her dark blue eyes slid to Keller, then back to Diana. She spoke in a hushed voice. Although it was flat in tone and some of the sounds were indistinct, it was actually rather pleasant. And the words were perfectly understandable. â€Å"What†¦ is it?† she asked Diana. Meaning Keller. But then, before Diana could answer, Jaime caught herself. She bit her lip, looked at the floor for a moment, then braced herself and looked at Keller again. She was frightened, her body was shrinking, but this time her eyes met Keller's directly. â€Å"What†¦ are you?† Keller opened her mouth and shut it again. A hand closed on her shoulder. It was warm, and it exerted brief pressure for an instant. Then it pulled away, maybe as if revolted because it was resting on fur. â€Å"She's a person,† Galen said, kneeling down beside Jaime. â€Å"She may look a little different right now, but she's as much of a person as you are. And you have to believe that she didn't mean to hurt you. She made a mistake. She thought you were an enemy, and she reacted.† â€Å"An enemy?† There was something about Galen. Jaime had relaxed almost as soon as he got down on her level. Now she was talking to him freely, her hands flying gracefully as she spoke aloud, emphasizing her words. Her face was pretty when it wasn't blue with suffocation, Keller noticed. â€Å"What are you talking about? What kind of enemy? Who are you people? I haven't seen you around school before.† â€Å"She thought-well, she thought you were going to hurt Diana. There are some people who are trying to do that.† Jaime's face changed. â€Å"Hurt Diana? Who? They'd better not even try!† Winnie had been twitching throughout this. Now she muttered, â€Å"Boss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It doesn't matter,† Keller said quietly. â€Å"Nissa's going to have to blank her memory anyway.† It was too bad, in a way, because this girl's reaction to the Night World was one of the most sensible Keller had ever seen. But it couldn't be helped. Keller didn't look at Diana as she spoke; she knew there was going to be an argument. But before it started, she had one final thing to say. â€Å"Jaime?† She moved and got instant attention. â€Å"I'm sorry. Really. I'm sorry I frightened you. And I'm really sorry if I hurt you.† She stood up, not waiting to see if she was forgiven. What difference did it make? What was done was already done, and what was about to happen was inevitable. She didn't expect to be forgiven, and she didn't care. That was what she told herself, anyway. Diana did argue. Keller tried not to let Jaime see much of it, because that would only make her more scared and miserable, and the end really was inescapable. Leaving her memory intact would be dangerous not only for Iliana but for Jaime herself. â€Å"It's death for a human to find out about the Night World,† Keller said flatly. â€Å"And it's worse than death if the dragon and his friends think she's got any information about the Wild Power. You don't want to know what they'll do to try and get it out of her, Iliana. I promise you don't.† And, finally, Iliana gave in, as Keller had known she would have to from the beginning. Nissa moved up behind Jaime like a whisper and a shadow and touched her on the side of her neck. Although witches were the experts at brainwashing, at inserting new ideas and convictions, vampires were the best at wiping the slate clean. They didn't use spells. It was something they were born with, the power to put their victim into a trance and smooth away hours or even days of memoiy. Jaime looked into Nissa's silvery-brown eyes for maybe seventy seconds, and then her own blue eyes shut, and her body went limp. Galen caught her as she feU. â€Å"She'll wake up in a few minutes. It's probably best if we leave her here and get out,† Nissa said. â€Å"Lunch is over, anyway,† Keller said. In the quiet minutes while Jaime was being hypnotized, Keller had finally managed to convince her body that there was no danger. It was only then that she could relax enough to change back. Her ears collapsed, her tail retracted. Her fur misted into jumpsuit and skin. She blinked twice, noticing the difference in brightness as her pupils changed, and the tips of her fangs melted into ordinary teeth. She stood up, shifting her shoulders to get used to the human body again. They were all subdued as they escorted Iliana back to classes. The quietest of all was Keller. She had overreacted, let her animal senses throw her into a panic. It wasn't the first time in her life. The first time in her life had been when she was about three†¦ but better not to think about that. Anyway, it wasn't even the first time in her career as an agent for Circle Daybreak. An agent had to be ready for anything at any moment. Had to have radar running, in front, in back, and on all sides, all the time, and be prepared to react instinctively at the slightest stimulus. If that sometimes caused mistakes-well, it also saved lives. And she wasn't sorry. If she had to do it over, she'd do it again. Better one nice brown-haired girl scared than Iliana hurt. Better, Keller thought with bleak defiance, one nice brown-haired girl killed than Iliana in the hands of the enemy. Iliana represented the future of the entire daylight world. But†¦ Maybe she was getting too old for this kind of job. Or maybe too jumpy. Iliana sat moodily during afternoon classes, like a fairy who'd lost her flower. Keller noticed Winnie and Nissa being extra vigilant-just in case their boss got preoccupied. She flashed them a sarcastic look. â€Å"You waiting for me to slack off?† She poked Nissa in the ribs. â€Å"Don't hold your breath.† They smiled, knowing they'd been thanked. And Galen†¦ Keller didn't want to think about Galen. He sat quietly but intently through each class, and she could tell his senses were expanded. He didn't try to speak to her, didn't even look at her. But Keller noticed that every so often he rubbed his palm against his jeans. And she remembered the way his hand had pulled back from her shoulder. As if he'd touched something hot. Or something repulsive†¦ Keller gritted her teeth and stared at various blackboards with dry and burning eyes. When the last bell finally rang, she made the whole group wait in the chemistry classroom while the school emptied out. Iliana watched and silently steamed as her friends all left without her. Even the teacher packed up and disappeared. â€Å"Can we go now?† â€Å"No.† Keller stood at the second-story window, looking down. All right, so I'm a tyrant, she thought. A nasty, unsympathetic, whip-wielding dictator who jumps on innocent girls and won't let people out of school. I like being that way. Iliana wouldn't argue. She stood rigidly a few feet away, looking out the window herself but refusing to acknowledge Keller's presence. Finally, Keller said, â€Å"All right. Nissa, get the car.† Galen said, â€Å"I'll do it.† The answer to that, of course, was, â€Å"No way.† But Galen was going on. â€Å"It's something useful I can do. I've been standing around all day, wishing I was trained at something. At least driving I can handle. And if anybody comes after me, I can run fast.† The answer to that was still no. But Keller couldn't bring herself to say it, because she couldn't bring herself to face him for a long debate. She was afraid of what she might see in the depths of those gold-green eyes. It would be funny if she'd managed to turn the prince of the shapeshifters off from shapeshifting altogether. Wouldn't it? â€Å"Go on,† she said to Galen, still looking down onto the circular driveway in front of the school. After he had gone, she said to Nissa, â€Å"Follow him.† That was how everyone happened to be where they were in the next few minutes. Keller and Iliana were at the window, staring out at a cool gray sky. Winnie was at the door to the chemistry room, watching the hallway. Galen was a floor beneath them somewhere inside the school, and Nissa was a discreet distance behind him. And standing beside the circular driveway, obviously waiting for a ride, was a girl with familiar brown hair. She was reading a book that didn't look like a textbook. Jaime. It all happened very fast, but there were still distinct stages of warning. Keller was aware of them all. The first thing she noticed was a blue-green car that cruised down the street in front of the high school. It was going slowly, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the driver. She couldn't The car passed on. I should make her get away from the window, Keller thought. This wasn't as obvious a conclusion as it seemed. The Night People weren't in the habit of using sharpshooters to pick off their targets. But it was still probably a good idea. Keller was tiredly opening her mouth to say it when something caught her attention. The blue-green car was back. It was at the exit of the circular driveway, stopped but facing the wrong way, as if it were about to enter. As Keller watched, it revved its engine. Keller felt her hairs prickle. But it didn't make any sense. Why on earth would Night People want to park there and draw attention to themselves? It had to be some human kids acting up. Hiana was frowning. She had stopped tracing patterns in the dust on the windowsill. â€Å"Who's that? I don't know that car.† Alarms. But still†¦ The car roared again and started moving. Coming the wrong way along the driveway. And Jaime, right below them, didn't look up. Diana realized at the same time Keller did. â€Å"Jaime!† She screamed it and pounded the window with one small fist. It didn't do the slightest good, of course. Beside her, Keller stood frozen and furious. The car was picking up speed, heading straight for Jaime. There was nothing to do. Nothing. Keller could never get down there fast enough. It was all going to be over in a second. But it was horrible. That giant metal thing, tons of steel, was going to hit about a hundred and ten pounds of human flesh. â€Å"Jaime!† It was a scream torn from Diana. Below, Jaime finally looked up. But it was too late.

How Christianity and Science Can Go Together Essay

In 2011, the Barna Group completed and published the results of a five-year study on why many teens are turning away from Christian churches. The research showed that one-fourth of these skeptical young adults felt that â€Å"Christianity is anti-science† . This statistic should not be too surprising because Christians are notorious for their steadfast beliefs in Genesis 1 which states that the universe was created by God in just 6 days. Obviously, this tale contradicts countless scientific records and theories, making a life of faith practically unachievable for any science-minded individual. But contrary to popular belief, no one has to choose a side. There is no need to abandon trust in a higher power for scientific evidence or vice versa†¦show more content†¦When one observer might be very dramatic in their testimony, another might be disinterested and unclear in their wording. Of course, both statements would hold the facts of what happened. In this case, the fac t is that there was a car crash and everyone survived. However, the differences would lie in the less significant things such as the amount of blood on the scene or who called 911. This is all part of perception. Each person would have seen the mishap in a different way because of things that had happened to them before. Had both of the reports been identical, the police would have no choice but to bring the eyewitnesses in for questioning. Adults involved in criminal justice are fully aware of the power of perception. They know that there is no such thing as a wrong point of view, and they know that every person has their own. Even indifference is a perception because the observer views the issues as unimportant. â€Å"[I]t is not so much what people see happening around them that is important but rather what they think they see happening,† says Professor Tsikirayi of the University of Zimbabwe. This statement is crucial in understanding why Genesis 1 was written in such a seemingly peculiar manner. Moses was the editor of the book which we now refer to as â€Å"Genesis†. However, Moses did not rewrite anything; he merely arranged the books into chronological order and filled in the gaps with theShow MoreRelatedChristianity : The Flying Spaghetti Monster1361 Words   |  6 Pageswhether as a group or not, have faith in different beliefs. Most of the time, it depends solely on what region of the world they are in. In America, the religion that is predominant is Christianity. What do most people think of when asked about the opposite of Christianity? The answer is well known: Atheism. Christianity is the belief that there is a supreme being, specifically God, and that he is the creator of everything. 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