Sample on the Great Depression in the USA

Sample on the Great Depression in the USA The Great Depression in the United States Jan 11, 2019 in History Introduction The period that lasted from 1929 to 1939 is considered to be the years of the Great Depression in the United States. Moreover, this global depression is named as a world economic crisis. The depression touched upon not only the US, but also Canada, Germany, Great Britain and France. Thus, it is interesting to find out in what way the depression occurred in two continents. Obviously, this great crisis was caused by some serious reasons. First of all, strong deflation provoked financial unsteadiness, business interruption of many enterprises, credit defaults. As the result, unemployment rates rose tremendously. Industrial production dropped to the level of the beginning of the XX century. There were about 30 million of people out of work in the industrialized countries with developed market economies (Beaudreau, 2014). Nearly a hundred years ago Emerson asked, Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce? As the rule, nobody knows the answer to this question. Besides, economists have not reached a consensus on the causes of the Great Depression. Thus, were there any differences between European and American Depression? Can it be considered a kind of regular process in the world? The Analysis of the Period of the Great Depression To begin with, itis necessary to clarify what exactly the Great Depression meant for American nation. As it was already mentioned, this crisis had a huge impact on peoples lives. During 1929-1939, deteriorated farmers, small traders and the middle class were below the poverty line. From 25 to 90 % of children suffered from malnutrition throughout the country. Nevertheless, one should not forget that this period was not the only one during which the state faced such difficulties. R. Duffers (1932) mentioned in his article that hard times dated back to the years 1837, 1873, 1893, perhaps, 1907 and 1921, and of course 1929. It can, thus, be suggested that the phenomenon of the Great Depression is a kind of a regular process.

Quebrada Jaguay - Terminal Pleistocene Archaeology

Quebrada Jaguay (designated QJ-280 by its excavator) is a multi-component archaeological site, located on an  alluvial terrace within the coastal desert of southern Peru, on the north bank an ephemeral stream near the town of Camanà ¡. At the time of its earliest occupation, it was about 7-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) in from the Peruvian coast and today is about 40 meters (130 feet) above sea level. The site was a fishing community, with a Terminal Pleistocene occupation date between about 13,000 and 11,400 calendar years ago (cal BP), based on a large suite of radiocarbon dates. Terminal Pleistocene sites are known in  Andean chronology as Preceramic Period I). The site is one of about 60 sites which have been found along the coast of Peru in this region, but it is the only one containing the Jaguay Phase occupations, and it is the earliest site in the region found to date (as of 2008, Sandweiss). The closest site with the same date is Quebrada Tacahuay, some 230 km (140 miles) to the south. It, like Quebrada Jaguay, is a seasonally-occupied fishing village: and those sites and many others extending from Alaska to Chile support the Pacific Coast Migration Model for the original colonization of the Americas. Chronology Late Preceramic Period, 4000 cal BP, Manos PhaseHiatus, 4000-8000 cal BPEarly Middle Preceramic Period, 8000-10,600 cal BP, Machas PhaseEarly Preceramic Period, 11,400-13,000 cal BP, Jaguay Phase During the Jaguay phase, the site was a seasonally-occupied coastal base camp for hunter-gatherers and fishermen who targeted mostly drum fish (Sciaenae, corvina or sea bass family), wedge clams (Mesodesma donancium), and freshwater and/or marine crustaceans. The occupations apparently were confined to the late winter/early summer months; the rest of the year, the people are believed to have moved inland and hunted terrestrial animals. Based on the size of the fish, the people were net fishing: the Machas phase occupations contain a few specimens of knotted cordage. The only terrestrial animals recovered from the site were small rodents, which were not likely food for the residents. Houses during the Jaguay phase were rectangular, based on the identification of postholes, and contained hearths; the houses were reconstructed several times in the same location but slightly different positions, evidence for seasonal occupations. Food remains and abundant lithic debitage were also recovered, but there were almost no finished tools. Poorly preserved plant remains were restricted to a few prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) seeds. The vast majority of the raw material for the stone tools (lithics) were local, but Alca obsidian identified by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis had been brought from its Pucuncho basin source in the Andean highlands some 130 km (80 mi) away and 3000 m (9800 ft) higher in elevation. Machas Phase The Machas Phase occupation at the site contains neither prickly pear nor obsidian: and during this period there are many more such villages in the region. The Machas phase occupation included several bottle gourd rind fragments; and a single semi-subterranean house, about 5 m (16 ft) in diameter and built with a foundation of mud and stone. It may have been roofed with wood or other organic material; it had a central hearth. The house depression is filled with a shell midden, and the house was also built on top of another shell midden. Archaeological Discovery Quebrada Jaguay was discovered by Frà ©dà ©ric Engel in 1970, as part of his investigations into the preceramic epoch along the coastline. Engel dated charcoal from one of his test pits, which came back to a remarkable 11,800 cal bp, unheard of at the time: in 1970, any site in the Americas older than 11,200 was considered heresy. Excavations were conducted at the site by Daniel Sandweiss in the 1990s, with a team of Peruvian, Canadian and U.S archaeologists. Sources Sandweiss DH. 2008. Early Fishing Societies in Western South America. In: Silverman H, and Isbell W, editors. The Handbook of South American Archaeology: Springer New York. p 145-156. Sandweiss DH, McInnis H, Burger RL, Cano A, Ojeda B, Paredes R, Sandweiss MdC, and Glascock MD. 1998. Quebrada Jaguay: early South American maritime adaptations. Science 281(5384):1830-1832. Sandweiss DH, and Richardson JBI. 2008. Central Andean Environments. In: Silverman H, and Isbell WH, editors. The Handbook of South American Archaeology: Springer New York. p 93-104. Tanner BR. 2001. Lithic Analysis of Chipped Stone Artifacts Recovered from Quebrada Jaguay, Peru. Electronic Theses and Dissertations: University of Maine.

Standardized Testing The Real Threat to American Schools...

Standardized testing requires student to answer same or similar questions with given answer choices that are often in multiple choice or true or false form. Dating back from 2200 B.C standardized testing is recorded being used in China ,where people applying for government jobs had to take an examination ,testing their knowledge on confucian philosophy and poetry.During the mid-1800s in Industrial Revolution ,soon after child labor laws were enacted taking children out of farms and factories and putting them into schools the use of standardized test was introduced to America in Boston. Standardized testing was being used to compare schools and teaching quality; Boston’s program was soon adopted nation wide. Types of standardized test†¦show more content†¦These forms of test either overestimate students or underestimate them. Often students that test well usually cannot explain how they got the answer they did or why it is right. Meanwhile, standardized tests are unfa ir to the students who are brilliant thinkers,but do not test well. Wrong answers do not always mean an absence of understanding , just like correct answers do not alway indicate understanding. Though multiple choice and true or false format present many problems it is easier to agree on a correct answer of a basic criteria multiple choice question than a on deeper level of thinking, essay question ,therefore making the tests easier and faster to grade.This belief that efficiency is a high priority that effectiveness is leading to a decline in teaching because standardized test do not require an reason behind answers most teachers teach for the sake of testing and sadly, not for the sake of learning. This type of teaching is often referred to as the ‘drill and kill’ method and involves students memorizing isolated information that ‘might’ be on the test. This form of teaching does not allow students to understand the information in a way that they might apply it to other situations other than testing. Those students who are not taught in a ‘drill and kill’ technique and can analyze and make connections are often asked to ‘dumb do wn’ for theShow MoreRelatedThe Dangerous Myth Of Grade Inflation1279 Words   |  6 PagesMyth of Grade Inflation,† Alfie Kohn sets out to determine if grade inflation is indeed fact or fiction. The opening quotes provided by two professors at Harvard University separated by over century has most definitely peaked my interest. It had me questioning whether or not these professors are holding our education system to a â€Å"Harvard† standard or is their actually truth to their statements; that feigned students are indeed submitting â€Å"sham work† (Bergmann, 260). Kohn goes onto indicate that:Read MoreEssay about Standardized Testing Is Inaccurate For Teacher Evaluation2463 Words   |  10 Pagesnations in the world. Over the past ten years, a new push has been made to improve education in America through programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. States across the country are assessing teachers and schools by using standardized test score s. By using standardized test scores, states link high stakes to the results such as grant money, salary, and jobs as incentive to improve the scores for the following year. In Wisconsin and other states, 50% of these evaluations are based solelyRead MoreStrategic Human Resource Management View.Pdf Uploaded Successfully133347 Words   |  534 Pagestest. Additionally, the increased production, its contribution to profitability, and the standard deviation of the contribution, would be variables in the calculations. Finally, other variables might be included in the analysis, such as the cost of testing enough applicants to obtain a sufficient number having scores above the cut-off point.15 Brian Becker and Mark Huselid’s study in a national retailing company provides another example of an application of utility theory. Becker and Huselid’s analysisRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Wo rds   |  1573 PagesThree Ethical Decision Criteria 187 †¢ Improving Creativity in Decision Making 188 Summary and Implications for Managers 190 S A S A S A L L L Self-Assessment Library What Are My Gender Role Perceptions? 166 glOBalization! Chinese Time, North American Time 171 Myth or Science? Creative Decision Making Is a Right-Brain Activity 181 Self-Assessment Library Am I A Deliberate Decision Maker? 183 An Ethical Choice Whose Ethical Standards to Follow? 185 Self-Assessment Library How Creative Am I? 190

With reference to a case study on Brazil, explain what affects rural to urban migration Free Essays

The following essay is based on a case study of Brazil. I will describe and show the problems of rural to urban migration. The two locations we will be studying are the Caatinga and a city called Belo Horizonte, both located in Brazil (see map below). We will write a custom essay sample on With reference to a case study on Brazil, explain what affects rural to urban migration or any similar topic only for you Order Now Rural areas are areas isolated from city centers with very little communication and transport to them. They are very poor areas with little agriculture. Urban areas are city like places where communication, transport and living conditions are acceptable. The Caatinga is one of the most remote areas of Brazil. It is a dry and poor area. It is the largest dry region in South America. The vegetation in this area is very pitiable. Population Pressure happens a lot here. Many people are born and are forced to live in such disgraceful conditions. It is situated in the North-eastern part of Brazil. The Caatinga has serious problems including health and, the most important one, there is a lack of jobs. Another major problem are droughts. Approximately once every ten years, a drought occurs causing large disasters in matters of agriculture and health. Climate also plays a big role in the daily life of the Caatinga inhabitants. The other location we are going to study is Belo Horizonte. It is a town located in the south-eastern part of Brazil. I’m going to concentrate on the surroundings (suburbs) of the town known as the Favelas. These are groups of houses, now changed into neighborhoods where people that migrate from the Caatinga and other rural areas of Brazil move too. Here the houses are mostly wooden shacks or the better ones are made with cement and bricks. Here there is little electricity and water. Living conditions are much better than in the Caatinga. There are more job opportunities for migrated people with no money. People that migrate to these places, in most cases leave the Caatinga with no money at all and will have to live under cardboard boxes until they can afford to build there own shack. You can read also Classifications of Restaurants The most important factor that affects migration are the Push and the Pull factors. Push factors are negative factors. These could include such things as health, education, general living conditions etc. The Pull factors are positive factors. These include things like electricity provided, clean water, better health etc. In this case study, the push factors will be about the rural areas (Caatinga). The pull factors will be about the urban area (Favelas). Migration is affected by these factors. In this study the most important ones are health, climate, job opportunities, education and living conditions. The problems that people face in the Caatinga are very serious. This is why people want to migrate or even are forced to migrate to urban places and Favelas. They do this to try and gain some money and to give better future for their children. Droughts are very common in the Caatinga. When these occur, rivers can dry up and there is no water to drink and to use for agricultural reasons. This brings every time famine, starvation and disease. People can only drink from dirty ponds formed when the last rain had fallen. Illiteracy is another great problem. There are no schools for people to go to. Most of the population cannot read nor write. Children cannot learn how to write and this is why when they migrate, they will have very underprivileged jobs with very little pay. When droughts occur, agricultural land is destroyed along side with all of the crops grown during the year. This brings long periods of time with no one working on the land which means no jobs. With no jobs, people have no money and cannot buy food nor medicines for their family. When the harvesting fails, people can only eat lamb and beans throughout the year until the next harvest is ready. There is no medical care in these areas. Diseases such as Malaria strike young children and elder people causing death rates to increase drastically. This also is connected with transport. Ill and sick people cannot be transported to cities to be taken care of. No food can be imported to the Caatinga. The population of the Caatinga can only live on what they produce, this is called subsistence farming. The climate has also a very important job in the Caatinga and is one of the biggest factors causing migration. All through out the year there is little or no rain at all in some areas of the Caatinga. The temperatures are very high in the summer (reaching over 30à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) and in the winter are very cold (approximately 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½). You can read also Costco Case Study Families in the Caatinga are very large. Some families have up to 15 children and in some cases can reach 20. This is because people want to have more children so that they can be maintained when they reach an older age. Another reason is that diseases can easily kill many children. On average out of 10 children, 5 die of illnesses or starvation. In the Caatinga child labor is also a big concern for the government. Many children are used to farm on the land which isn’t of their property. People from the Caatinga decide to migrate to urban cities like Belo Horizonte. They have to walk for hundreds of kilometers with all of their belongings and no money. When they arrive in the Favelas, they have to set up a new life. The Favelas are situated just outside cities. These are groups of houses built by migrates coming in from the rural part of the country. Here their children can receive an education from proper schools. They learn how to read and write so that in the future they will be able to have a better job. Once they reach an older age, children will have to start working to try and get some money for their numerous family. In a case we saw, the money that the father and her daughter earned was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12 a month, just enough to maintain their big family. They cannot spend any of it on leisure and entertainment. With the money they can buy proper food from markets and are able to feed the whole family. They can also buy medicines and with time, they can improve their household. The birth rate here is also much lower than in the Caatinga. This is because health is much more advanced and people don’t need as many children to maintain them. The death rate is also much lower than in the Caatinga. Medicines to cure diseases are introduced and hospitals are nearby. Electricity and sometime running water in houses is introduced. This is a necessity for many families. The transport and communication is good here. The only problem is that there is no entertainment in these Favelas (no cinema, shops, restaurants etc†¦). The climate here is much better. The temperatures are quite high throughout the year and the rainfall is balanced. In conclusion to my essay, the urban environment is a much better place to live in because of all its pull factors. Urban population is increasing rapidly, 78% of Brazilian population lives in Urban population whilst the other 22% is spread out between rural and Amazonian. I would prefer to live in an urban environment because of all the comforts it can provide compared to the Caatinga. Still people don’t have power over their actions. People living in the Caatinga cannot decide weather to move or not. It is a risk they have to take and only some families can take it. It would be hard to help the population of the Caatinga. Brazil, being in some parts a developed country and in others, not developed at all, would find it difficult to provide the funds to help this population. It would need to build a new transport system, including a railway and more roads. It could also build hospital facilities and refugee camps for homeless people. It should improve agricultural facilities adding irrigating systems and it should bring, using aqueducts, water to remote villages. This could also bring problems because people living in the Caatinga might not want their land to be industrialized. Also the funds to help could be received from the population of urban cities which might disapprove. Rio de Janeiro has tried to improve living conditions of the Favelas by expanding its land and becoming the second largest city in the world. It has built on a flat piece of land tall buildings for rich people to move in. It is a much safer place for people to live in. It is actually become a new city called Barra. Barra is one of the safest cities in South America. It has the largest shopping mall in all of South America. The criminality is very low. By building this city, Rio de Janeiro has stopped growing because people move out to Barra more. Soon Barra will become as large as Rio and suffer the same problems if migration doesn’t stop. How to cite With reference to a case study on Brazil, explain what affects rural to urban migration, Free Case study samples

Pornography -- Sex Or Subordination Essays - Pornography

Pornography -- Sex or Subordination? In the late Seventies, America became shocked and outraged by the rape, mutilation, and murder of over a dozen young, beautiful girls. The man who committed these murders, Ted Bundy, was later apprehended and executed. During his detention in various penitentiaries, he was mentally probed and prodded by psychologist and psychoanalysts hoping to discover the root of his violent actions and sexual frustrations. Many theories arose in attempts to explain the motivational factors behind his murderous escapades. However, the strongest and most feasible of these theories came not from the psychologists, but from the man himself, "as a teenager, my buddies and I would all sneak around and watch porn. As I grew older, I became more and more interested and involved in it, [pornography] became an obsession. I got so involved in it, I wanted to incorporate [porn] into my life, but I couldn't behave like that and maintain the success I had worked so hard for. I generated an alter-ego to fulfill my fantasies under-cover. Pornography was a means of unlocking the evil I had burried inside myself" (Leidholdt 47). Is it possible that pornography is acting as the key to unlocking the evil in more unstable minds? According to Edward Donnerstein, a leading researcher in the pornography field, "the relationship between sexually violent images in the media and subsequent aggression and . . . callous attitudes towards women is much stonger statistically than the relationship between smoking and cancer" (Itzin 22). After considering the increase in rape and molestation, sexual harassment, and other sex crimes over the last few decades, and also the corresponding increase of business in the pornography industry, the link between violence and pornogrpahy needs considerable study and examination. Once the evidence you will encounter in this paper is evaluated and quantified, it will be hard not come away with the realization that habitual use of pornographic material promotes unrealistic and unattainable desires in men that can leac to violent behavior toward women. In order to properly discuss pornography, and be able to link it to violence, we must first come to a basic and agreeable understanding of what the word pornography means. The term pornogrpahy originates from two greek words, porne, which means harlot, and graphein, which means to write (Webster's 286). My belief is that the combination of the two words was originally meant to describe, in literature, the sexual escapades of women deemed to be whores. As time has passed, this definition of pornography has grown to include any and all obscene literature and pictures. At the present date, the term is basically a blanket which covers all types of material such as explicit literature, photography, films, and video tapes with varying degrees of sexual content. For Catherine Itzin's research purposes pornogrpahy has been divided into three categories: The sexually explicit and violent; the sexually explicit and nonviolent, but subordinating and dehumanizing; and the sexually explicit, nonviolent, and nonsubordinating that is based upon mutuality. The sexually explicit and violent is graphic, showing penetration and ejaculation. Also, it shows the violent act toward a woman. The second example shows the graphic sexual act and climax, but not a violent act. This example shows the woman being dressed is a costume or being ?talked down' to in order to reduce her to something not human; such as a body part or just something to have sex with, a body opening or an orifice. Not only does ?erotica' show the entire graphic sexual act, it also depicts an attraction between two people. Her research consistently shows that harmful effects are associated with the first two, but that the third ?erotica', is harmless (22). These three categories basically exist as tools of discerning content. Although sometimes they overlap without a true distinction, as in when the film is graphic in the sexual act and also in violence, but shows the act as being a mutual activity between the people participating. In my view, to further divide pornography, it is possible to break it down into even simpler categories: soft and hard core pornography. Hard core pornography is a combination of the sexually explicit and violent and the sexually explicit and nonviolent, but subordinating and dehumanizing categories, previously discussed. Soft core pornography is thought to be harmless and falls into the category known as ?erotica'; which is the category based on mutuality. In hard core pornogrpahy, commonly rated XXX, you can see graphic depiction's of violent sexual acts usually with a man or group of men, deriving sexual gratification from the degradation of a woman. You can also see women participating in demoralizing sexual behavior among themselves for the gratification of men. In a triple-X movie all physical aspects are shown, such as extreme

June 6 SAT Takers Heres How You Can Retest for Free

June 6 SAT Takers Here's How You Can Retest for Free SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The College Board is going to allow students who were affected by the mistake on the June 6, 2015 administration of the SAT to re-take the test for free in October. Read on for more information and to see what your options are. A Bit of Background: What Happened on June 6th? June 6 was the final SAT testing date for the 2014-2015 school year, and hundreds of thousand of students across the country registered to take the test. On test day, many were surprised to see that instead of the standard 20 minutes allowed for Section 8 or Section 9, their test booklets instructed they should be allowed 25 minutes. The proctors' instructions, however, still stated the time allowance should be 20 minutes. Therefore,some students got the correct amount of time on both sections, others were given 25% extra time, and still more were given something in between,which overall created a very confusing situation for everyone involved. Of the hundreds of thousands registered, almost all students were affected, apart from those taking the SAT with accommodations. (International test takers were not affected.) For a full breakdown of what happened, see our article here. The Aftermath and the Demand for a Retest After the test, students were very concerned about what would happen with their test results. They were worried that their scores would be invalidated,because the test was no longer standardized compared to other administrations of the SAT.Many worried that colleges would not accept their scores as equal to those from other testing dates. In the days following the exam, the College Boardgave a lot of conflicting information to different people.It told some thatthere would be a retest,but told others thatthe affected section of the exam would be thrown out. Two days later, they finally released an offical statement, in which they announced that they would proceed with scoring the exams,with the TWO affected sections removed.They claimed that they would be able to do this and still provide"reliable scores." Understandably, many students were angered by this response - it was obvious that this was decided on because it is theeasiest and cheapest way for the College Board to "fix" the situation, as opposed to the best way for students. It became clear that though the scores could be called "reliable," they would not necessarily be "accurate," especially for certain students. Students began to worry about how the test scores would affect admissions and qualifications for scholarships. Students began demanding anoptional retest for anyone who had been affected by the College Board's error.One student from Long Island has filed a lawsuit against the College Board, saying that scores of a test missing nearly 30% of its content cannot be considered valid. She has demanded unspecified monetary damanges and a re-test for anyone who wanted it. Another student started a change.org petition that quickly attracted over 1,000 supporters demanding another chance to take the test for free. The College Board Listened and Is Now Offering a Retest Late on June 15th, the College Board responded to unhappy students with an offer for a free retest - but maybe not in the way that they were expecting: â€Å"We remain confident in the reliability of scores from the June 6 administration of the SAT and don't want to cause undue anxiety for students by making them believe they need to sit for the test again. However, we have waived the fee for the October SAT administration for students who let us know that their testing experience was negatively affected by the printing error and we will continue to do so, through the September 3 registration deadline for the October administration.† You can see the full text here. Instead of offering students affected by the June 6th test their own makeup date, the College Board is giving free registration for the October test.This is going to mean that the retest will be too late for many students who need it, and it's only a useful offer for those students who were not relying on getting scores this summer. However, it's questionable how much the College Board really wants students to take advantage of the offer, even if they do have the time to get their scores later! For several days this past week, the informational banner with updated informationwas missing from the College Board web site, which meant that students who wanted more information about the retake would have beenunable to find it unless they had the link already.The College Board has now replaced the banner, but many were frustrated by what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to keep the information quiet. Additionally, on the June 6th FAQ page, the information for a retest is at the bottom, and is not emphasized. Many people would not know to look for the updated information. Fortunately for students (and unfortunately for the College Board), their mistake has received enough national attention that the retest is beingpublicized through various outlets, even though the College Board itself is trying to keep it quiet! I Called the College Board -Here Is How to Get the Retest Once again, there is a lot of misinformation going around abouthow to actually get registered for the retest.This is mostly because the College Board employees seem to know very little about it themselves. I called the College Board to nail down the information so that you don't have to. The first attempt... The first time I called them, the customer service rep I spoke to had no idea what I was talking about when I asked the process to be signed up for the retest. She insisted several times that there was not going to be a retest for students - this went on for about ten minutes. Finally, I verbally directed her to the appropriate section on their own web site and read it aloud to her. I was then put on hold for several minutes. Another rep picked up. I asked her what the proper procedure was to register for the retest. She told me (in quite an annoyed fashion) that Idid not need to take the retest. She said that theCollege Board was only dropping ONE section of the test, and that the scores would not be affected because they always drop one section as an "experimental section." As you know if you are at all familiar the SAT, there IS always an experimental section, but it is always one of the middle sections of the test - a 25 minute section. I said this to the rep and asked how it would be possible to swap in the experimental section for one of the final sections. Not only are they different lengths, but the whole point of the experimental section is to test out future questions and some of them may not be appropriate. She told me that the experimental section is always randomly selected out of all the sections, which is not true. I also asked how the other section would be accounted for, and was told thatthey are only going to drop one section. Both of these statements are in direct contrast to what has been said to other people who have called, and what has been said by the College Boarditself on its web site. This goes to show how unreliable the information is that they are giving out. If you call and ask for specific information, and it does not seem right to you, make sure to ask to speak to another person. Though we were 20 minutes in and I knew at this point that the conversation was going nowhere, I persevered and asked what I could do to sign up for the retest. I was told that I could wait to see my grades at the end of this month, and if I'm still unhappy to call back by the end of the month to register. The College Board has since updated its statement to specify that they will be accepting registrations through September 3rd for the October 4th test. Nevertheless, if you do want to take this retest, I recommend signing up sooner rather than later - see below for why. The second attempt... I called back a couple days later and had a totally different experience. As soon as I said that I wanted to register for the free re-take, the customer service rep agreed quickly and opened my account. I went though the security questions, she asked for my preferred test center, and waived the fee. In less than 4 minutes, I was signed up for the retest for free. The Takeaway In conclusion, here is how to sign up: The free retest hasnotautomatically been applied to your account. If you register for the test and pay, it will probably be more difficult to get your money back, so just call and register over the phone.Usually there is a fee for registering over the phone, but they are not charging this for June 6th testers. Call the College Board Customer Service line at 1-866-756-7346. Give yourself time to make this phone call. As you can see from my experiences above, how your conversation will go completely depends on which customer service rep you talk to. If the rep tries to give you a hard time about registering, ask to speak to another rep or a supervisor.Stay calm and say that you were affected by the College Board's mistake on the June 6th test, and you would like to take them up on the offer that is posted on the web site. If they still give you trouble, stay polite but firm: "This is not what the College Board is publicly offering. I was promised a free retest and I am calling to register for this. If the process remains difficult, I will contact press members to let them know that the College Board is not honoring its promise." You do not have to take the test at the same center where you took the June 6th SAT.This is great news for people like me who signed up for the June SAT late and had to travel quite far to take it. Usually when the College Board offers a retest it does have to be at the same center, so this is a big bonus. You will have to do all the things you normally do at registration time - including confirming your name, birth date, and high school. If you don't have any trouble with the rep, the whole process should take about 5 minutes. Afterwards, you will receive aconfirmation email and will be able to sign into your account to print out your admissions ticket. Can I See My Scores First? Yes, you can!The scores from the test you took on June 6th will be available around June 25th. You are welcome to look at your scores and decide if you want to take the test again. The College Board has done this intentionally, because they are hoping that many people will be satisfied with their scores and will decide to not take the test again.Remember, for each person who does decide to do the retest, they are losing out on potential registration money. Even if you sign up for the retest now, your scores will still be delivered on time. Remember, however, that these scoreswill not include sections 8 and 9, and youwill not have the option to see what your score would have been with those sections.So it will be difficult todetermine if you have beenpositively or negatively affected by the shorter test. Since they have now officially said that free registration will be available through September 3, you can feel comfortable waiting to sign up if you want to. But it might be a better idea to not wait.Since the College Board is not offering a separate test date for the retest,there will be many more people than usual signing up for the October test.Therefore, there is a very good chance that testing centers will fill up quite quickly. If you register now, you can always cancel later if you want to, and you do not have to risk potential disappointment at not getting a seat. Should I Take the Retest? For most students, signing up for the retest is a good idea if it's at all possible for your schedule. If you get your scores back and think that you were negatively affected, this is the best way to fix it - for free. And if it turns out that you did better than you were expecting to do, you can always cancel your registration. You will not lose out on any money from the registration costs because it's free. If this was your last chance to take the SAT for one deadline or another, then the retest will not really affect you. Though some schools are taking the "wait and see" approach for this test, it is very likely that most willhonor the results, especially for seniors or those who took the June 6th test on a tight deadline. If you feel that you have been significantly disadvantaged by the College Board's error, and cannot take the retest, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on the lawsuit mentioned above to see how it progresses. If they win, you may be entitled to some compensation. Last Words... If you do decide to retake the test, you should use the experience you have had with this test to help guide your studying. Set aside time this summer for dedicated prep so that you can smash it this fall. What’s Next? Worried that taking the SAT again this fall will be one time too many? Read our guide on how many times you should take the SAT. To prep for the re-test this fall, read our 11 top, must-read guides to prepare yourself for the next test. Learn our expert strategies to improve your SAT Math, SAT Writing, and SAT Reading scores to help push your scores above 600s in any section. Wanta top score on the re-take? Read our guide to getting a perfect SAT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. 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The Good Times are Killing Me

The Good Times are Killing Me If you are looking for a compelling play for a young mixed-race cast, you may want to take a look at The Good Times are Killing Me by Lynda Barry. This play, published in 1993, offers two strong female roles in which teenagers can play teenagers  and a multiplicity of issues to discuss with cast and crew during rehearsals and with audiences in talkbacks. Format This is a two-act play, but it is unusual in that it is comprised of 36 short scenes or vignettes- 26 in Act One and 10 in Act 2. The story is adolescent Edna Arkins’s story. She is the main character and she appears in every scene; she breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the audience before, during, and after interacting with the other characters. Each vignette has a title like RECORD PLAYER NIGHT CLUB or BEST FRIENDS that communicates the essence of the scene. The scenes- some only a half page long, some three pages long- reveal the story of friendship between two adolescent girls- one white and one black- in mid-1960s America. One vignette flows into the next creating a collection of scenes that reveal the difficulties of coming of age in the midst of family heartaches, personal growing pains, and racial prejudices. Cast Size There are roles for 16 females and 8 males. Broken down by race, the play calls for 10 white females and 6 black females, and 3 white males and 5 black males. Doubling in roles is possible, resulting in an overall minimal cast size of 16. Roles Edna Arkins: A white 12-13 year-old girl who lives with her family in a house on a city street that has slowly become integrated Lucy Arkins: Edna’s younger sister Edna’s Parents and Extended Family: Mom, Dad, Uncle Don, Aunt Margaret, Cousin Steve, and Cousin Ellen Bonna Willis: A black 12-13 year-old girl who recently moved into Edna’s neighborhood Bonna’s Parents and Extended Family: Mom, Dad, younger brother Elvin, and Aunt Martha Recurring Minor Roles: Two black teenagers named Earl and Bonita, and Cousin Ellen’s friend Sharon Ensemble: There are multiple scenes that would be enhanced by friends, neighbors, classmates, and other people. There are also several small roles- a teacher, a mother, a pastor, a Girl Scout leader and her daughter. Set and Costumes Most action occurs on the porches, street, yards, and kitchens of Edna’s and Bonita’s houses. Other settings are Edna’s basement, a campsite, a meeting room, a tough neighborhood, a church, and a school hallway. These can easily be suggested with lighting or a few moveable small set pieces. The time period of this play is critical to the story, so the costumes need to be early 1960s American clothing- mostly casual and inexpensive-looking. Music Songs and singing occur throughout this production, providing mood, underscoring emotions and actions, and contextualizing the story in 1960s urban America. Much of the singing occurs with the records that the characters play; some singing is a capella. The script identifies the precise songs and provides lyrics within the text or in an appendix. Content Issues Much of the content and language of this play seems so innocent given the 20-plus years since its opening night and its setting of 50-plus years ago. Even so, it’s worth noting that the play deals with marital infidelity, racial discrimination (One of Edna’s lines mentions the â€Å"No Negro Kids Can Come in Our House Rule.), and the accidental drowning of Bonna’s brother. The language is relatively tame, but the dialogue does include the words   Ã¢â‚¬Å"ass,† â€Å"boodie,† â€Å"pimp,† â€Å"butt,† and the like. There is, however, no profanity. Lynda Barry also published this story as a 144-page novel with Edna as the narrator. If you would like to hear Lynda Barry talk about her life work, please visit Accessing the Imaginary. Here is a video trailer of a high school production of the play.