So a neighbor of my was recently involved in a hit and run after someone hit him as he was walking across the street.
It was a minor injury sustained, but nonetheless it was a pretty scary moment. Luckily, there are ways to find out who was driving the car. You can now conduct a License Plate Lookup in all 50 states. Fortunately for my neighbor, who lives in California…he managed to find the information online and it was reported to the police all the registration information to bring justice.
Hit and Run Accidents
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Christmas Ideas
So, Christmas is just around the corner so time to start thinking about getting presents for family and friends.
Have you ever considering buying Oil Painting Reproductions? Art House Reproductions is running a 15% discount through the holiday season for all sort of reproduction paintings. They have all the famous artists covered – Picasso, Monet, Dali, Klimt, Renoir, and so many more. They also offer a framing service on all paintings, which takes about 3 weeks for the commission to be completed.
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Romantic art: A Return to Natural Man
Today I doubt you would find many artists who consider themselves closely tied to any current political philosophy or philosophy about the nature of man. Not so in late 18th and early 19th century Europe. The Romantic period of art is discussed frequently, but few know that at its root are the principles of a non-artist, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Romantic art reflected these principles. It was also, however, a form of artist rebellion against the rigid Enlightenment era with its emphasis on rational thought. It was also a reaction to the technique called neoclassicism. Often the Romantic Period is labeled the anti-classicism period. Romantic art dwells on the individual, irrational, imaginative, personal, visionary but rejecting order, harmony, balance and the dominance of reason. The Romantic Period is also characterized as dark, with chaotic subject matter and dwelling on nature ranking higher in the order of the universe than man.
A look at Rousseau’s philosophy sheds light on how his philosophy influenced art. He is known for two major works A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts and the longer work the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. His emphasis was on natural man, man in his ideal state, a state of nature, free of the corrupting influences of civilization. Rousseau argues that it is the progression of arts and sciences that causes the corruption of man’s virtue and morality. Unbridled emotion was celebrated, regardless of its consequences. Man born fresh from God was at his best. Followers rejected materialism and instead searched in nature to find God. They also explored the unseen world of the supernatural, the mysterious. Knowledge gained in those realms was considered trustworthier than man’s rational powers. Romantics like Rousseau yearned to reclaim human freedom. The habits, values, rules and standards imposed by civilization had to be abandoned. Education should be for men according to the romantics; men depended on women only because they desired them. Therefore, women needed to be submissive even though women were believed to be cleverer than men and excelled in matters of practical reason. For men education should not be for the purpose of absorbing information and concepts but rather so men could develop a healthy sense of self-worth and morality. This was needed, the Romantics argued, so that men could work in an imperfect society. The education needed according to Rousseau and other Romantics was one overseen by a tutor with lessons in humility, chastity and honesty.
What made the Romantic Movement so reactionary was its direct contrast to the Industrial Revolution, which was in full swing in the mid to late eighteenth century. Everything about it was in direct contrast to Romantic belief. Rousseau cried out against the movement that took men from the rural farm life and brought them into the corruption of the cities to work. The Romantics believed man could thrive only if he stayed close to nature. They believed that this revolution stifled creativity and passion and left men vulnerable to those who would wield power over them, the early captains of industry. Rousseau described natural man, man in his best environment, as timid, peaceful, mute and not worried about the future.
Certainly not all Romantic artists used this philosophy in the same way in their oil paintings. John Constable, for instance, painted landscapes but he was particularly concerned about clouds and wanted to be more scientific in his paintings by recording atmospheric conditions. Because Romantics believed in individualism, it is no surprise that each artist interpreted the philosophy in his own way. Some artists glorified nature while others explored the darker, more supernatural forces of nature. In any case, the philosophy of Rousseau exerted a great deal of influence on Romantic artists.
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ESL Teaching
Brave New World- Choose Where Your Adventure Will Take You
It is possible for you to have the adventure of a lifetime, be paid for it, and find personal fulfillment. A seminar? A Get-rich-quick Scheme? No, we are talking about a job abroad with a guaranteed income and a great sense of personal reward, teaching English as a Second Language or ESL.
But first it is self-assessment time:
- Have you graduated from college but can’t find a decent job?
- Do you have a job that is financially and personally unfulfilling?
- Do you feel that you are “making a difference” or that you have no clearly defined purpose?
- Do you have the money to travel abroad? If you did travel on your own would your experience be that of a “tourist” or someone immersed in the community?
- What is important to have in your life right now? Marriage? Starting a family? Building wealth and security? Putting down roots? If these are at the top of your list, this might not be the career for you.
- If right now “wealth of experience” in a culture different from yours is at the top of your list then Teaching English as a Second Language may be the career for you. This is a career with a guaranteed income, community support, resources, training and a chance to “make a difference” in the lives of hundreds of people.
- WHY NOW?
- Let’s go back forty or fifty years ago and look at the job market as it was then for a college graduate.
- If you graduated from a four-year college with a decent GPA, regardless of your major, businesses considered you a valuable job applicant. After all, you had proven your dedication and intelligence by completing four years of college.
- If you garnered a job, the premise was the company would train you. Your skill set was only important for certain jobs in science and higher disciplines.
- There was such a demand for good white-collar workers that you might have a choice among businesses’ job offers.
- To entice you to choose one employer over another you would be offered
- 1 The possibility of climbing the job ladder. Your efforts would yield higher income, management opportunities and the experience to take better job offers in the future.
- Your moving costs would all be paid as you moved from city to city “climbing the corporate ladder”
- You would receive generous medical, dental and disability benefits as well as the chance to earn a pension. You would be granted generous vacation time and sick leave.
- Chances are you would not facing paying off college loans. You, your family, scholarships and perhaps the VA program would finance your education.
Underlying your search for a career would be the values embraced by people at that time. Those values were:
- material success is the most important value
- That material success for you and your family was determined by your efforts not by one employer. Your success could propel you up the ladder, and it would all be based on how hard you worked.
- Personal fulfillment was an extra, not the most important element in your life. Even if work felt routine, useless or boring you did it to “get ahead”.
FAST FORWARD FORTY-FIFTY YEARS
*Hundreds of jobs have been eliminated including hundreds of thousands of management jobs. Other jobs have been replaced by technology or shipped abroad.
- Advanced college degrees do not guarantee higher paying jobs unless it is a highly specialized field.
- The accumulation of wealth and material possessions for many people is no longer the highest value.
- Personal fulfillment “making a difference”, personal growth and knowledge of other cultures are now the values at the top of the list for many people.
- Educated people are well aware of the reality of the “global village” and how little they know about what lies beyond national borders.
- That awareness has lead to an interest in experiencing other cultures, of being aware of the needs of people in developing countries. In addition, they are aware of the desires of people in developed and undeveloped countries to know more about the USA and to develop English communication skills to enhance their own careers.
- Today for many people “Wealth of Experience “ ranks higher than “Wealth of accumulation.
- This may be one stage in your lifetime career. Research shows you may have several careers during your lifetime.
- TIME TO START YOUR ADVENTURE
- If wealth of experience in a different culture is at the top of your list, there is no time to waste. Teaching English as a Second Language in the country of your choice is just steps away. Life offers small windows of time in which to act, so begin your research now looking for ESL Jobs.
- Even if you have never taught, you will be trained in teaching methods
- You will be given extensive background and training on the country where you choose to begin your teaching. (You may choose to teach in a different country later.) Not only will you learn the traditions and values of the people but the habits of every-day-lives as well.
- You will be paid for your living expenses as well as a salary.
- Experience teaching in a different country speaks to future employers. It is a testament to your dedication, flexibility and ability to communicate with people from different countries. These days when most businesses are global in their reach, this experience is invaluable.
Why not begin today to find your teaching job abroad. You will find personal fulfillment, “make a difference”, and begin building an international resume. For more information go to……
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