Gay marriage - Summaries III

ESL 5301-001 Gay Marriage
Summaries III 

1. Summary - Gay Rights May Come at the Cost of Religious Freedom
 
Anti-discrimination statutes are coming into conflict with laws designed to preserve freedom of conscience, especially in the private sector.

According to Emma Green article in The Atlantic on July 27, 2015 about the cost of gay rights, the decision of EEOC to consider sexual orientation as an inherent sex-based issue makes it illegal for organizations and public service providers to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

According to the author, the Supreme Court decision to make same-sex marriages legal has divided the country into two parties, each having their own discrimination claims, same-sex couples on one side and conservative religious Americans on the other side.

The situation is complicated as giving more rights to either sides will be considered discrimination against the other one and vice versa.

There are efforts to bring the two sides together or at least reduce the gap between them, but it is extremely difficult to predict how to resolve such a situation.

The case also has a political dimension, as both the Democrats and Republicans have opposing views; the Democrats are demanding new legislation to protect same-sex couples; however, the Republicans want to make sure new laws give exceptions on religious basis. (Muhammad)

Green, E. (2015, July 27). Gay Rights May Come at the Cost of Religious Freedom. The Atlantic. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/legal-rights-lgbt-discrimination-religious-freedom-claims/399278/

2. Summary 3

After gay marriage became legalized, the author posted an article with respect to the mutual impact between gay marriage and the healthcare market, which at some point indicates the societal acceptance of same-sex marriage in the United States. According to the article, the Gallup result showed that more than half of Americans supported gay marriage legalization and same-sex couples should share the same rights as others. This increased support attracted the attention from the healthcare market, making more and more brands add LGBTs into their target segment. Moreover, since the mainstream media became increasingly opened to LGBT, its power subconsciously infected the non-LGBTs such as Millennials. In the article, a survey of Pew indicated that Millennials had highest acceptance toward LGBT among any other generations. “The definitions of relationships, parents, and families are changing,” as the author mentioned. He thought that the healthcare market was just a beginning; many other services such as travel and financial services would provide convenience to LGBTs. As what the author believed, brand influence and societal acceptance of LGBTs promoted each other mutually, which would support the evolution of LGBT equality eventually. (Jieying.Wu)

Reference:

Bagnall, A. (2015, August 15). Marketing Healthcare to LGBTs in the Age of Marriage Equality. DTC News. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from:
http://www.dtcperspectives.com/marketing-healthcare-to-lgbts-in-the-age-of-marriage-equality/

3. Summary-Reference #3

An article by Mr. Swift, in gallup.com, dated May 30th 2014, discusses the results of a poll conducted by ‘Gallup’ among Americans regarding the rights of same-sex couples to adopt a child. Interestingly, the results of the poll suggest that 63% of Americans are in favor of adoption by same-sex couples and this number surpasses the percentage of Americans in support of same-sex marriages (53%). The article also describes the opinion of Mr. Gates, a public policy expert in UCLA School of law, regarding the poll results. According to Mr. Gates, the poll results are not unusual as adults in the U.S. are generally supportive of same-sex adoption compared to same-sex marriage. In addition to estimating the overall consensus among the American population regarding the same-sex parenting, the poll categorized the results based on political orientation of the people and also based on age-group of the people. These classifications reveal that major support for the adoption rights were from Democrats (80%) followed by independents (61%) and Republicans (51%). Under the age-group categorization, the results show that the support for the adoption of a child by homosexuals declines with increasing age-group. The highest support was shown by people in the age-group of 18-29 (77%) and the lowest support was observed among people in the age-group 65 + (51%). (Sriramvignesh)

Reference

Swift, A. (2014, May 30th). Most Americans Say Same-Sex Couples Entitled to Adopt.
Gallup.com. Retrieved on September 11, 2015 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/170801/americans-say-sex-couples-entitled-adopt.aspx

4. Summary 03

In the article titled “Christian bakers gotta bake, even for gays”, Emma Green, the managing editor of The Atlantic, clarified some legally interesting points regarding the failure of the cake bakers in Colorado to claim their rights to refuse providing service for same-sex couples. According to the author, for a long time, cake bakers had become “the most formidable legal opponent of gay marriage” (Green, 2015) but they have mostly been unsuccessful. The Colorado Court of Appeals did not accept their argument that cake-baking is a form of art and free speech, and forced the bakers to comply with the state’s public-accommodations law. Green also highlighted the fact that unlike the majority of Southern states, Colorado does not have any law to provide exemptions for religious groups to practice their religions while it does have laws forbidding LGBT discrimination. (Nam)

Reference:

Green, E. (2015, August 13). Christian bakers gotta bake, even for gays. The Atlantic. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/in-colorado-christian-bakers-have-bake-even-for-gays/401249/

5. Summary #3

In this article, the scenario is very clear for many gay couples in these days: First arrives love and then marriage. At this point, gay couples do not have anything different from heterosexual couples. However, for this last, the traditional next step available is to conform a family. At this point the road comes to an end for same-sex couples.

The important legal fact of two months ago occasioned a considerable increase in the list of same-sex couples seeking to adopt a child. According to the author, many couples feel that they are mentally, emotionally and financially prepared to have children. The current political and social environment promotes the discussion about the next step, so gay couples feel that the moment to fight for this next goal is now.

The legal faculty of adopting a child was permitted many times before the approval of same-sex marriage, Though only one person in the couple’ was allowed to assume the rights related with the child. For the Law, the other person is considered an outsider.

This legal fact implies important sentimental consequences, because the parent who is not legal is not allowed to participate in educational decisions or medical consent, or assume several tasks and inherent responsibilities of the parental role. For this reason, the fight today is not related to putting a child inside a gay family, but is related to recognizing the same role as parent inside the family. (Elliot)

Almond, M. (2015, August 16) Adoption rights: The next frontier for gay Alabama couples two months after marriage ruling. Al.com. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/adoption_emerges_as_next_front.html

6. Summary 3

In the recent article by Reuters, the author highlights that the refusal of Kentucky's Clerk, Ms. Davis, to issue marriage licenses to gay couples has become a critical issue in the United States. There are many people who are against the U.S. Supreme Court’s order of issuing licenses to gay couples and who support Ms. Davis because of certain religious beliefs. These supporters argue that all the deputies who provide marriage licenses without her permission should be fired from their jobs. It has been reported that Ms. Davis would return to her job at the same position at which she was working earlier. However, the U.S. District Judge, Mr. Bunning, has ordered Ms. Davis not to interfere with the other deputy clerks issuing marriage licenses, or else she might have to face further consequences. The author mentions at the end of the article that in late June, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 50 states, but at that time also, many of the judges and county clerks were opposing it on the basis of religious grounds. (Harnoor)

Reference

Bittenbender, S. (2015, September 9). Defiant Kentucky clerk's backers: fire aides over gay marriage licenses. Reuters. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/09/us-usa-gaymarriage-kentucky-idUSKCN0R91RC20150909

7. Summary3

Kim Davis walked free Tuesday after five nights in jail. The author quoted Kim Davis as saying, “I just want to give God the glory, His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. Just keep on pressing. Don’t let down. Because he is here.” In Kentucky, there are several county staff workers who have refused to give the marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But only Rowan County's Kim Davis was thrown in jail.

There are nine states that stopped issuing marriage licenses altogether; this becomes the issue of the nation.

The author quoted Probate Judge Nick Williams, In Washington County, which also refused to issue marriage licenses as saying, “I completely disagree with the authority the Supreme Court has, and I'm quite sure they broke several constitutional amendments in that ruling."

In Casey County, the clerk, Casey Davis, also isn't sending any marriage licenses at all; this action is similar to Kim Davis’s before she was jailed. According to the author, Casey Davis said, "I started out with nothing, and I'm surely gonna leave with nothing, so that's not a threat to me." He also told NBC News that he has received phone threats in response to his refusal to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (Songhe)

Reference:

Gutierrez, G. (2015. Sep, 9). Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis isn't Kentucky's only gay marriage holdout. Retrieved on Sep. 10, 2015 from: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/dunkin/140802

8. Summary-3

The article provides a good statistical analysis of opinion on the gay marriages based on different age groups of American people. Based on the article it is interesting to note that, the public opinion has changed dramatically over the past. Statistics show that in the year 1996 68% of Americans were opposing gay marriage, while only 27% were supporting it. In the year 2001, 59% were opposing it and 38% were supporting it. This is a remarkable change in percentage of opinion in a short span of 4 years. In 2008 the percentage of people who are opposing went down to 56% and the support went up to 40%. In the year 2015 the situation totally changed. The percentage of people who are opposing went down to 40% and the percentage of people supporting went up to 60%. So during the span of 20 years the opinion of American people on gay marriage has changed dramatically. According to the author the reason for such drastic change in opinion about same sex marriage is due to the generational change. Most of the young people agree to the concept of same sex marriage compared to the older generation of Americans. To support his argument, the author points out that 73% of the millennial Americans (age group 18-34) support same sex marriage compared to the 27% of older people who oppose it. He also compares the change in opinion of same sex marriages with interracial marriages. Earlier in 1959 only 4% supported interracial marriages but in the year 2003 87% of the Americans supported interracial marriages. The author states that generational change was the main reason for such change in opinion. Author also points out that, for a positive change in opinion of racial and gender equality, it took several generations compared to that of the opinion of same sex marriage. He points out that 70% of 18 year old Americans alone support same sex marriages and support drops gradually with age and it reaches to a low 30% among 90 year age groups. So the younger generation of Americans is greatly influencing the overall statistics. The reason for such change in view of younger generation of Americans is because of the direct involvement of the popular culture, attitude towards religion, and friendship with gay people. (Sankar)

Schulzke, E. ( 2015, June30). Behind the rapid shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage. National Direct News. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from
http://national.deseretnews.com/article/5013/behind-the-rapid-shift-in-public-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage.html

9. Summary 3:

In this article, the deputies at Rowan County clerk’s office started giving both gay and straight couples marriage licenses, on Friday. The Kentucky Attorneys General and counsel for Rowan County have said that: “the marriage licenses are valid.”

Davis met with two Republication Presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee from Arkansas and Ted Cruz from Texas.

Huckabee introduced Davis at an event. She walked in with her attorney and husband. Huckabee said that if volunteers were needed to go to jail, he would. When she met Huckabee, he said to the judge responsible for her sentence that he was not going to spend his future living under people who they can take away people’s freedom and conscience. (Samah)

Hanna, J. & Payne, E. & and Shoichet, C. E. (2015, September 8). Kim Davis released, but judge bars her from withholding marriage licenses. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky/index.html

10. Summary

A survey mentioned by the author said that 26% of Americans under 40 agreed that clergy members and religious institutions should be enforced by law to perform same-sex weddings. According to the author, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., had an opinion about this survey that it was unconstitutional because Americans should have religious liberty. The author said that Pope Francis is backing County clerk Kim Davis; the pope blamed homosexual marriages as “destroying God's plan” in 2013 when he wasn’t yet the pope. A priest, Father Richard Perozich is quoted that the government was evil and Ms. David was fighting with Christ. The author mentioned Father John Trigilio Jr., who wrote that the clerk Ms. David was right because he was a clerk since the constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court had legalized many things wrongly: legalizing abortion in 1973, legalizing slavery in 1875, supporting racial discrimination in 1896; so they were wrong up to now and the clerk should not be imprisoned or fired but should have other choices: resigning, being voted to quit or being in the exception by government; and, her right came from God not the government. He also was quoted as saying that marriage should be agreed by both state and church and the church also showed respect to homosexual people but marriage was disordering; it is opposed to the natural law. (Ariyawat)

Abbott, M.C. (2015, September 7). Catholic bishop troubled by gay marriage survey results; Priests (and pope?) support Kim Davis. renewamerica. Retrieved on September 10, 2015 from
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/150907

Gay marriage - Summaries II

ESL 5301-001
Gay Marriage Summaries II –First drafts

1. Summary and reference – II (ESL 5301-001)

An article in “Republican views” dated April 26th 2014 explains in detail the arguments cited by Republicans for opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage. According to the article, Republicans quoted numerous reasons such as definition of marriage institution as per the Minnesota Supreme Court decision in 1971, conditions of the children reared in same-sex families and additional costs borne by the federal government to entitle same-sex couples with the financial benefits enjoyed by heterosexuals using the money paid by people who don’t believe in gay marriages. In the following texts, we shall discuss about the well-being of the children raised by same-sex couples though the articles discusses in detail all the above reasons. The article hinges on the facts based on a study that showed children to be more stable and successful when they were brought up by heterosexual parents compared to same-sex couples. It further states that the environment provided by biological parents (male-female) is ideal for the growth of a child in comparison with the environment given by two male or two female partners. In addition, the article claims that girls who were raised without fathers were prone to higher sexual activity and teen pregnancy. Similarly, boys who were raised without the care of a father tended to show more criminal behavior. Hence, the article claims that most of the lesbian couples who adopt children or have them in vitro raise them without the care of a father, thus destabilizing the children’s future and also affecting the institution of marriage which defines “marriage to be between a male and female partner for the purpose of procreation and rearing child in a family environment.” The article states that Republicans, based on these reasons, support their conflicting views regarding gay marriages. (Sriramvignesh)

Reference:

Common arguments against gay marriages. (2014, April 26th). Republican Views. Retrieved on September 8, 2015 from http://www.republicanviews.org/common-arguments-against-gay-marriage/

2. Summary #2

In this article, after a brief process Kim Davis was released. In spite of the judge’s prohibiting her to withhold marriage licenses, she was excited. She will come back to her work in Rowan County of Kentucky this week. She will work in the same position and maintain her philosophy in relation to the issuing of licenses, but it is not clear if she will obey the Court's order. According to the words of her attorney, the solution passed for removal of Davis's name from the certificates. "We've asked for a simple solution - get her name and authority off the certificate. The judge could order that," Staver said.

For their part, politicians like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, taking advantage of the situation, think that this kind of resolution puts en danger the conscience and freedom “I want you to know I'm willing to spend the next eight years in jail, but I'm not willing to spend the next years in tyranny under people who think they can take our freedom and conscience away." (Elliot)

Hanna, J. (2015, September 8) Kim Davis released, but judge bars her from withholding marriage licenses. CNN Politics. http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky/

3. Summary 2

In this article, gay marriage has become legal recently, but many problems occurred which are out of government’s expectations. Same-sex adoption is one of the issues. According to the report of the Daily Journal on August 28th, four lesbian couples requested that the federal judge give them permission to adopt children by challenging the law. They indicated that same-sex adoption could also provide a healthy environment to children. More importantly, this decision could save them a lot of troubles such as school registration and other life decisions. Facing this challenge, the District Judge has not considered this request yet as the decision might be harmful to the society. Even though the law remains the same so far, it is interesting that two political parties have different opinions about this story. As what the author has mentioned, the governor of the Democratic Party started to sway his attitude toward same-sex adoption, while the Republican still opposed it. (Jieying Wu)

Reference:

Pettus, E.W. (2015, August 28). Judge is asked to block ban on adoption by gay couples. Daily Journal. Retrieved on September 9, 2015 from:
http://djournal.com/news/judge-asked-block-ban-adoption-gay-couples/

4. Summary 02

According to Rebecca Beitsch in “Despite same-sex marriage ruling, gay adoptions rights uncertain in some states”, the rights to adopt children have not been guaranteed nationwide for same-sex couples in the United States even though their marriages have been made legal by the Supreme Court since last June. Beitsch focused particularly on the changes of adopting policy in the states that used to file against the Supreme Court decision and did not allow same-sex couples to “adopt foster children jointly” (Beitsch, 2015). Most of these states such as Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota now have lifted their ban and facilitate the together adoption process for gay couples; others such as Michigan, Texas, Alabama have been “creating new roadblocks to gay adoption” (Beitsch, 2015), for instance by allowing religious groups to intervene in the adoption process. Mississippi makes itself an exceptional case by outlawing adoption by foster gay parents. To fight for their rights to adopt children, the same-sex couples argue that their unconditional love, not their lifestyle, actually matters to children. (Nam)

Reference:

Beitsch, Rebecca (2015, August 19). Despite same-sex marriage ruling, gay adoption rights uncertain in some states. USA Today. Retrieved on September 8, 2015 from: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/19/despite-same-sex-marriage-ruling-gay-adoption-rights-uncertain-some-states/31992309/

5. Summary and reference 2

In this article, Kim Davis poured down her tears, and after that beamed, as she remained in a cheering swarm after her arrival from prison on Tuesday.

The Kentucky clerk, who was held in contempt of court for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, urged her supporters not to give in. The Kentucky clerk, who might have been held over contempt of court for denying with issue same-sex marriage licenses, urged her supporters not to quit.

The author quoted Ms. Davis as saying, "Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much," she said. "I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. We serve a living God who knows exactly where each and every one of us is at. Just keep on pressing. Don't let down, because he is here. He's worthy.”

The judge who issued a request discharging her Tuesday joined a proviso Davis might not chance to be eager to acknowledge.

The Judge David Bunning sent Kim Davis to jail for five days. He said to her that he might have been fulfilled that her deputies satisfied their commitments if they would provide for marriage licenses for same-sex couples in her nonattendance.

Davis didn’t allow her office to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples if she is still the person in charge because that will contradict her Christian religion, which is against same-sex marriage. A lawyer who works with Davis asked the court to eliminate her name from the certificate because they know that she is loyal to God, people, and her work. (Samah)

Hanna, J., Payne, E. and Shoichet, C. E. (2015, September 8). Kim Davis released, but judge bars her from withholding marriage licenses. Retrieved September 8, 2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky/index.html

6. Summary

In this article, crowds of supporters of Kim Davis, Rowan County Clerk, kept shouting “Thank you, Kim”, praying that she could hear them. Kim Davis spent her third day under detention after refusing to issue marriage license to same sex couples.

Several speakers have condemned the government decision to make same sex marriage legal, and considered Ms. Davis a Christian hero; according to their religious point of view, God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers, and that’s why Ms. Davis’ husband confirmed to the crowds that she will never bow.

Part of the crowd’s rage has been directed towards Judge David Bunning; some people carried large signs that read, "Judge Bunning is an abomination". Religious protesters called for the judge to save himself and ask for forgiveness for his sin.

The imprisonment news has quickly spread through the world and started a strong debate about religious freedom nowadays.

Kim Davis was accused of refusing to issue marriage licenses for two gay couples for two successive months and denying several court orders to do so. The couple finally received their licenses on Friday, and said they spent the next day celebrating their new life together.

After shouting in hot weather for more than an hour, protesters distributed flyers that listed actions they could make to continue their support for Ms. Davis; they asked all Davis supporters across the globe to pray for her and write letters to the judge and Supreme Court. (Muhammad)

'Thank you, Kim': Rally supports jailed Kentucky clerk over marriage licenses. (2015, September 6). Fox News. Retrieved September 6, 2015, from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/06/thank-kim-rally-supports-jailed-kentucky-clerk-over-marriage-licenses/

7. Summary-2

In this article, a report on CNN dated June 30th 2015, narrates the health benefits of same sex marriages in America. The author of the articles points out various scientific examples to prove his argument. An important one is by Dr. William C. Buffie, a physician at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, who did a detailed research on the health benefits of same sex marriages. Dr. William C Buffie from his studies indicates that same sex marriage will make America healthier. Dr. Buffie also states that happy marriages always improve health; however very little research been done to understand the health benefits of same sex marriages. According to him the main reason for very little research is because it is not yet clear about the number of people who identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Based on Dr. Buffie's research, happy homosexual marriages give positive health benefits, which also include better access to health care, longer life spans and lower rate of depression like that of heterosexual married couples. Studies by the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics also support positive health benefits of same sex marriages. Studies show that same sex couples are less prone to depression and anxiety in those states where same sex marriages are legal. Studies by the researchers from University of Minnesota in 2013 also state that in these states where same sex marriages are legal, same sex couples have improved access to employer provided medical care. Studies also show that same sex couples divorce at a much lower rate than that of heterosexual couples. The same sex couple will feel that they are also a part of society and will reduce their mental stress after the recent Supreme Court hearing which recognized same sex marriages as legal. According to Dr. Wendy Walsh, the Supreme Court verdict will boost the mental health, confidence, mood elevation and increases in self esteem of same sex couples. (Sankar)

Smart, B. (2015, June 30). Will same-sex marriages make America Healthier? CNN. Retrieved on September 7, 2015 from
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/29/health/same-sex-marriage-health/

8. Summary2: gay marriage

In this article, along with gay marriage, the adoption of children by same sex parents in the United States is becoming one of the foremost elements or the biggest issue in the country. This article, “Gay adoption is child abuse” mentions two issues that appear from gay adoption by several examples. First, it is a difficult way to want the adopted children to "convert" themselves to the homosexual lifestyle, because there is a deeper homosexual agenda in their mind. Second, the author claims to be against the abuse and harm of our children with gay adoption, because a child will be caught up in a long, miserable, hellish life with the same sex family with alternative lifestyles. The author also pointed out that in the natural world, all kinds of surgery, hormone therapy, and brainwashing can’t really change a person. The best thing is to maintain everything as usual. (Songhe)

Reference:

Dunkin, T. (2014, Aug, 2). Gay adoption is child abuse. Retrieved from: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/dunkin/140802

9. Summary - Mexico Supreme Court Strikes Down Same-Sex Adoption Ban
In this article, Mexico’s Supreme Court stopped banning same-sex couple adoption in the state of Campeche. The presiding Judge said it’s better than children living on the pavement, of which there are up to 100,000. Mexico allowed gay marriages since 2009 and allowed legal couples to adopt children since 2010 in the capital, Mexico City. In a survey in 2013, the Mexican population supported same-sex marriages up to 52 percent while those supporting adoption were only 24 percent. The Roman Catholic Church defies same-sex marriages and their adoptions but still baptizes any children. (Ariyawat)

Tejas, Aditya. (2015, August 12). Mexico Supreme Court Strikes Down Same-Sex Adoption Ban. International Business Times. Retrieved on September 8, 2015 from
http://www.ibtimes.com/mexico-supreme-court-strikes-down-same-sex-adoption-ban-2049533

10. Summary 2

According to a recent news article published in Reuters, around 500 supporters gathered outside the Kentucky jail in support of a county clerk, Kim Davis, who was recently held for refusing to follow the Federal court's recent orders to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. A few instances of supporters have been mentioned who strongly supported the clerk's ideology. This included people who traveled long distances to Kentucky in order to show their support for Davis. However, in Davis's absence, the deputy clerks issued marriage licenses to four gay couples although there were still protests outside the office. Now, her lawyers are planning to appeal against the contempt order of the US District Judge, who has already denied her request for stay earlier. The author highlights the fact that Davis's jailing provides a wider picture of the cultural gap in United States. The judges and clerks not only in Kentucky but in states like Texas, Alabama etc. are also against issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. (Harnoor)

Reference

Bittenbender, S. (2015, September 5). Hundreds gather at jail for Kentucky clerk held in gay marriage dispute. Reuters. Retrieved on September 6, 2015 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/05/us-usa-gaymarriage-kentucky-idUSKCN0R50P820150905

Gay marriage - Summaries (I)

ESL 5301-001 – Gay marriage
Summaries

1. Summary about gay marriages (ESL 5301-001)

An article in USA Today dated 18th July 2015” discusses the outcome of a poll conducted among Americans by AP-gfk, a market research institute, following the landmark ruling of the US Supreme Court authorizing the same-sex marriage. According to the poll, the support for the legalization of same-sex marriage slightly declined following the court order. In addition to the overall consensus among the American population, the poll also covered some of the key issues such as rights of the people with religious beliefs to deny marriage certificate to same-sex couples and rights of the people in wedding related businesses to refuse services to gay couples. It can be seen from the results that the entire American population is evenly split among the issues with almost equal number of people in favor and against the issues. The poll also highlighted that political orientation of the people played a key role in their opinion about the court sentence, with the majority of Democrats supporting same-sex marriage and protection of gay rights. (Sriram)

Polls shows slight dip in gay marriage support since Supreme Court ruling. (2015, July 18th). USA Today. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/18/ap-poll-sharp-divisions-after-high-court-backs-gay-marriage/30341661/.
 
2. Summary

The approval of the law about same-sex marriage is far from relieving the social pressure in relation to gay’s life. In many states this news was received with happiness and soon they be prepared for this new scheme. Other states have had a protagonist role in cases of rejection.

For a couple of Massachusetts the complete process has been happiness. They filled some forms, the clerk reviewed the documents and after paying $10 they only will need to wait four days to receive the license (Lat, 2015). “The process couldn’t have been easier. We thanked our lucky stars that we’re not trying to get married in Hood County, Texas,” said the couple.

Effectively, in states like Texas or Kentucky troubles are far from finishing. The most famous case is related to the County Clerk Kim Davis who, defying the Supreme Court´s decision, rejected five marriage licenses (Tashman, 2015a). Davis is part of a small group of county clerks for whom the divine law is over their responsibilities as public officials. Last week, before of the rejection of the U.S. Supreme Court of the Kentucky decisions, Davis said “I think that’s a travesty to think that just because he don’t see it this way or his opinion is to let same-sex marriage go and it’s all right that us as Christians, we as Christians just don’t have rights anymore? That’s wrong sir. That’s not right” (Tashman, 2015b).

The approved law implies consequences that transcend the states. Churches, for example, could be exposed to legal actions if they refuse to perform gay weddings. A new Bill will be considered during the 2016 session (Gryboski, 2015). The objective is to offer legal protection for any church or ministry who refused to perform a same-sex wedding. Several states have already taken decisions in a way to protect clergy and clerks against the pressure to choose between the law and their moral objections. (Elliot)

Lat, D. (2015, August 18). Should town and county clerks opposed to gay marriage be required to issue marriage licenses to all couples? Above the Law. http://abovethelaw.com/2015/08/should-town-and-county-clerks-opposed-to-gay-marriage-be-required-to-issue-marriage-licenses-to-all-couples/

Tashman, B. (2015a, September 1). Kentucky clerk denies marriage license to gay couple for 5th time, cites 'God's authority'. Right Wing Watch. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kentucky-clerk-denies-marriage-license-gay-couple-5th-time-cites-gods-authority

Tashman, B. (2015b, August 26). Kentucky clerk says he may die fighting gay marriage. Right Wing Watch.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kentucky-clerk-says-he-may-die-fighting-gay-marriage#sthash.AsRB2zpe.dpuf

Gryboski, M. (2015, August 12). Florida may protect religious groups that oppose gay marriage. The Christian Post.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/florida-may-protect-religious-groups-that-oppose-gay-marriage-142690/.
 
3. Summary

According to Emily W. Pettus in the Daily Journal, same-sex couples and two gay rights groups in Jackson, Mississippi, are making legal moves to stop enforcement of a Mississippi law that bans same-sex couples from adopting children.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has clearly expressed his strong opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, although the couples who have filed the case refer to one of his speeches about the importance of having a “mature, two-parent family.” They claim that this could be further fulfilled by allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.

After reversing bans by Florida and Michigan, Mississippi stands as the last state to have such law.

Earlier in 2013, Donna Phillips and Jan Smith, who have filed the case, have got married out of Mississippi as the state used to ban same-sex marriage at that time until the Supreme Court made it legal nationwide in June, 2015.

According to Jan and Donna, the adoption ban law makes their life much more difficult by complicating simple events such as registering their child at a public school.

Also, according to the plaintiffs, the adoption ban law might in fact put the child at risk as it prevents both parents in a couple from participating in taking decisions related to emergency medical needs.

The Democrat former Governor Ronnie Musgrove has expressed his regrets to sign the adoption ban law several years ago. (Muhammad)

Pettus, E. (2015, August 28). Judge is asked to block ban on adoption by gay couples. Daily Journal. Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://djournal.com/news/judge-asked-block-ban-adoption-gay-couples/

4. Summary and reference

In the report of “Defiant Kentucky clerk summoned to federal court over gay marriage refusal”, the author makes a follow up to the story development. As what it mentioned, Davis, a Kentucky clerk, refused to give same-sex couples the marriage licenses last month because of religious reason. As a Christian, Davis regards the decision to support the homosexual marriage as challenging God’s authority. After the news was reported, many of the supporters and critics come to the county clerk’s office to show their voice. However, even under the risk of jail or fines penalties, Davis still stands firmly on her decision. Liberty Counsel is represents Davis, suggesting that other than forcing her to obey the law, there are other ways to get the problems solved. Their recommendations include putting someone else to issue the license or simplifying the license process in terms of online application. (Jieying Wu)

Reference:

Holpuch, Amanda. (2015, September 1). Defiant Kentucky clerk summoned to federal court over gay marriage refusal. The Guardian. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/01/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-supreme-court


5. Summary

On Thursday, the CNN news mentioned that an appellate court ruled against Phillips, who is a Colorado Bakery shop owner. The reason is because Phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He said that he refused to make the cake because of his religion. Unlike the appellate court, Tedesco, Phillips' attorney, told CNN that, ”government has a duty to protect people's freedom to follow their beliefs ‘rather than force them to adopt the government's views.’”

Phillips supported Tedesco’s idea when he said, “the Constitution guarantees me the right to practice my faith, my religion anywhere, anytime. There are no restrictions on it. It also gives me the right to free speech anytime, anywhere. I don't surrender those rights when I open my doors." (Samah)

Reference:

Hanna, J. (2015, August 13). CNN. Retrieved on August 13, 2015 from http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/us/colorado-same-sex-wedding-cake/index.html
 
6. Summary

The state of Mississippi forbade adoption by the same sex couple by the law which came to be effective in 2000. Right now Mississippi is the only state in the US, which forbids adoption by same sex couples even after the legalization of same sex marriage by the Supreme Court on 26 June 2015. As per the article, in the year 2014, 29 percent of the same sex couples in Mississippi are raising children younger than 18 years. This law prohibits recognizing both parents as legal, and allows only one of the parents to be the legal one. If something happens to the legal parent the other parent will not have any kind of legal authority on the kid. The author of this article narrates the problems faced by a same sex couple who adopted a girl in Mississippi, and one of them happened to be in the military. The parent in the military is the legal parent of the little girl, and the other parent has no legal authority over the kid. They are worried because the legal parent might have to go to combat any time, and if something happens, then the other parent will not have any kind of legal right on the kid. This can affect the future of the kid. Now this couple already filed a case to abolish this rule. The author also points out that the legal expert who is handling this case is very confident that she will win the case. She is confident because the Supreme Court has already legalized same sex marriages, and also, a recent ruling by United States District Court states that Mississippi’s rule on banning adoptions by same sex couple is unconstitutional. The author also points out that the former Mississippi governor who signed this rule on banning adoptions by same sex couples 15 years ago based on the religious beliefs now thinks that this rule is not right. He also thinks that a person’s sexual orientation has nothing to do his or her ability to be a good parent. Now many more same sex couples in Mississippi are waiting to go for adoptions and waiting for the final verdict. (Sankar)

Reference

Lewin, T. (2015, August 12). Mississippi Ban on Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples Is Challenged. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/us/mississippi-ban-on-adoptions-same-sex-couples-challenged.html?ref=topics&_r=0
 
7. Summary: gay marriage

More and more people are interested in gay marriage in the world. In this article written by The Associated Press called “Kentucky Clerk Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Gay Marriage Case”, the author told the news that the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked by a Kentucky county clerk for permission to not give marriage licenses to same-sex couples after it legalized gay marriage nationwide. Firstly, to deny giving the gay marriage license is because of the religious reasons. Second, the clerk thought that the couples can get the marriage license through another way, such as drive to a nearby county to get the license. Then, the author indicated that the guys also have the right to get the marriage license in their own county. Thirdly, the author said that the clerk also may be impeached instead of being fired, although she refused to give the marriage license for the couple because this also is her right. (SongHe)

Reference:

The Associated Press. (2015.Aug).Kentucky Clerk Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Gay Marriage Case. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-clerk-asks-supreme-court-intervene-gay-marriage-case-n418056

8. Summary

Mississippi’s law banning adoption of same-sex couples is being sued to be denied by four lesbian couples. The court said that only the plaintiffs, the four couples, would be affected by the preliminary injunction. The couples mentioned in the words of Republican Gov. Phil Bryant that he prefers a “two-parent family” for all children; although on the contrary, Phil Bryant was against same-sex couples’ adoption. Donna Phillips and Jan Smith, the plaintiffs having a daughter who is legally Donna’s child, said how hard it was to provide for a girl without legal adoption. Because they lived in Smith’s house and the girl is Phillips’s daughter, Smith had to make a renting agreement every year to Phillips in order to have the girl be inside the school distinct. (Ariyawat)

Pettus , Emily Wagster. (2015, August 28). Judge is asked to block ban on adoption by gay couples. Djournal. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from
http://djournal.com/news/judge-asked-block-ban-adoption-gay-couples/
 
9. Summary

In the recent news by USA Today, the author mentions that despite gay marriage being made legal, there are still issues relating to gay adoption rights in many states. It has been highlighted that for a gay couples, adopting children from foster care has proved to be difficult in many states. There are some states which have altered their laws and are allowing not only gay marriages but also the adoption of children from foster care; examples being Missouri, Ohio, and North Dakota. The author mentions that on one hand, there are a few states which are waiting for the legislature to make changes in their laws and on the other hand, there are some states which are creating new hurdles to gay adoption due to religious issues. The author also highlights the findings of a recent study which says that living with gay parents does not negatively affect the well-being of a child. Towards the end of the article, she states that gay couples can be easily prioritized and discriminated against during adoption even by the agencies which are required to work with them. (Harnoor)

Reference

Beitsch, R. (2015, August 19). Despite same-sex marriage ruling, gay adoption rights uncertain in some states. USA Today. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/19/despite-same-sex-marriage-ruling-gay-adoption-rights-uncertain-some-states/31992309/

10. Summary 01

In “Kentucky Clerk, a Local Fixture, Suddenly Become a National Symbol” by Alan Blinder and Richard Fausset, the authors point out how Ms. Kim Davis, a normal clerk in Rowan County in northeast Kentucky , has been a well-known figure recently. This woman so far has been living all her life in only one place and devoting herself to the county clerk’s office for decades. Last year, she took the job over from her mother as a Democrat county clerk by defeating John Cox, a Republican. Now, her life has totally changed, after she refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. She described herself as a pious woman, deeply believing in God’s authority and his definition of a marriage, even though she was just religiously awakened four years ago. Ms. Davis has certainly been facing a considerable number of critics and protests, especially from gay marriage advocates. However, some people praised her defiance and called her a hero for saving a losing traditional culture and standing fast for her belief. (Nam)

Reference:

Blinder, Alan and Fausset, Richard (2015, September 1). Kentucky clerk, a local fixture, suddenly becomes a national symbol. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 1, 2015 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/us/kentucky-clerk-a-local-fixture-suddenly-becomes-a-national-symbol.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=us

Model Dissertations

(Elliot)
Title: Axiomatic product development lifecycle,
Author: Bulent Gumus
http://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/22450
 
(Nam) 
Title: Behind the wall of Geneva: Lao politics, American counterinsurgency, and why the U.S lost in Laos, 1961-1965.
Author: Verrone, Richard Burks (Texas Tech University, 2001-12)
http://hdl.handle.net/2346/15459

(Muhammad)
Title: Emotional separation from the morality of the self: Emotional labor as an antecedent of dishonesty
Author: Kelly McCauley  
https://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/58946
 
(Jieying)
Title: Characterizing the ultimate properties of triblock styrene-diene thermoplastic elastomers
Author: Qiumei Zeng  
http://hdl.handle.net/2346/1233

(Samah)
Title: A graduate pedagogy course for mathematics teaching assistants
Author: Jason Froman
http://hdl.handle.net/2346/16837
 
(Sankar)
Title: Chemical and mineralogical analyses of contaminated soils at the Anaconda Smelter Site, Montana
Author: Jian Zhou  
http://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/ETD-TTU-2011-08-1778
 
(Ariyawat)
Title: Mining Association Rules between Sets of Items in Large Databases
Author: Rakesh Agrawal, Tomasz Imielinski , Arun Swami
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/quest/papers/sigmod93.pdf

(Sriramvignesh)
Title: Thermo-mechanical properties of cross-linked epoxy based systems: A molecular simulation study
Author: Ketan Khare  
https://repositories.tdl.org/ttu-ir/handle/2346/58580
 
(Harnoor)
Title: A surrogate model approach to refinery-wide optimization
Author: Dale D. Slabac
http://hdl.handle.net/2346/18330
 
(SongHe)
Title: Changes in gastric sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) activity are associated with differences in thyroid gland sensitivity to perchlorate during metamorphosis
Authors: James Carr, (& Murali, Hu, Goleman, Carr, Smith, Wages)

Teaching Philosophies

                 

ESL 5301-001

Teaching Philosophies

1. Teaching Philosophy

Research has always captivated me in spite of starting with a career in the petroleum industry immediately after my bachelors.  After being a teaching assistant (TA) for two semesters at Texas Tech University, I have realized that the actual joy lies in disseminating the knowledge in addition to gaining it.  Teaching has always been regarded as one of the most successful ways of sharing information. With this in mind, I like to envision myself as a professor sharing my knowledge of physics to the graduate students. In the following paragraphs, I discuss my ideas in terms of qualities required for being an effective mentor and teaching methodologies that I strongly believe will help me (anybody) in becoming a successful professor. 

Regarding the qualities for becoming a good instructor, I would like to stress that teaching is an art. Wealth of knowledge in a particular field doesn’t promote a person as an effective instructor. Good communication skills in addition to proper organization of ideas are the basic skill set that are required in a person to become an effective mentor.  In addition, clarity on the subject along with the inquisitiveness to learn (update) new things will definitely help a person to convey their thoughts effectively.

In terms of methodologies of teaching, I would promote imagining of the concepts before getting into their details. As every one of us is aware of the breakthrough discoveries that happened in science due to Einstein’s thought experiments, I would like to inculcate the same ability in the students as it helps in tapping their out-of-the-box thinking skills which are crucial for revolutionary ideas.

Also, being a strong believer of the idea that nature has answers to all the questions and we as human beings can unravel a lot of mysteries by observing nature, I would strongly urge all the students to understand nature in its minute detail.  Instilling this quality along with developing their out-of-the-box thinking would help in the overall development of the students. As a part of this method, I would promote educational field trips in various forms such as hiking and camping. These outings will not only help in learning about nature but also help in developing a good relationship with the students that are crucial for effective learning.

In addition to the above methods, to encourage interactions and develop sharing of ideas, I would assign group activities involving the entire class. Instead of bombarding the students with a variety of information, I would structure the class in the form of a discussion.  These types of discussions will help in the development of bigger ideas and strengthen the basics of the subject.

To summarize, good communication skill with the ability to organize the ideas coherently along with tapping the analytical skills of the students will absolutely make a person an effective instructor.  (Sriramvignesh)

2. Teaching Philosophy

                  For me, teaching has one simple mission, to help my students become knowledgeable about the topics I teach, and well prepared to use this knowledge in practice.

                  In order to achieve this mission, I usually try to establish a strong relationship with my students, which makes them comfortable to ask questions and freely express their opinions. I also believe in the effective use of visuals and technology, like a nice looking presentation or a YouTube video; this is simply because human brains are better equipped to recall visual memories compared with written ones.

                  I use many real life examples to simplify complex topics and make them easier to understand; I also encourage class participation and discussions, as to me, this is the best way to assess their level of understanding of a certain topic.  

                  I often encourage students to engage themselves with activities and events taking place within their field, this can happen by several means like participating in relevant events and conferences, or writing reviews and providing feedback to news and publications.

                  In addition, I always pay attention to developing presentation skills of my students, as it is one of the most important assets, which they will need in their professional careers as managers and business professionals.

                  Finally, I prefer to reduce or eliminate unnecessary pressure usually associated with exams, and this could be achieved by several techniques like “take home” or “open book” exams. 

                  The above illustrates my teaching philosophy; please feel free to contact me for any clarifications or inquiries. (Muhammad)

3. Teaching Philosophy

                  In my opinion, teaching itself is also a learning process. As a history lecturer in a Vietnamese university for seven years, I recognize that what I have received from my job is as much as what I have given to my students. It is really a long-term, daunting but amazing exploration of myself, my students and my subject.

                  To begin with, being an instructor has been one of the best chances for me to learn about and eventually to improve myself. It seems like a process during which I gradually understand my intimate feelings and the potential powers inside myself as well as figure out the ways to control or take advantage of them.  For example, I clearly realize the importance of self-confidence. If I do not believe in either my knowledge and skills or my personality, how can I dare to stand in front of my students and teach them? I am not trying to build myself beyond my real ability, but at least I should show to my students that I deserve to be their instructor on their knowledge journey.

                  The next thing that I have been doing with my teaching job is to get in touch with my students and respect them. Normally, university students are considered adults; some are older and more experienced than I am. They are actually my companions in the knowledge journey and I highly appreciate their contribution to classes. Therefore, I always encourage them to get involved deeply in class discussions, teamwork, workshops, etc. Also, some forms of regular surveys are designed exclusively for my students to give feedback or comment on my teaching. Sometimes, I am really stunned by their new, fresh perspectives and ideas contributing to my classes. For me, the more students get involved into my class, the more successful my teaching is.

                  While teaching, I also find out the way to make my history subject more interesting and beneficial. Normally, history in terms of a subject is supposed to provide the knowledge of human experiences in the past. A large number of young people, especially in my country, do not like this subject as they find it too boring and useless for their modern life. Taking this view seriously, I step by step have tried to apply something new to my teaching of historical topics. For example, when teaching the Vietnam War, I requested my students to study this war from different perspectives, either from that of Vietnam or from the United States, from bottom-up or from top-down. Also, the students were encouraged to watch as many movies or document films related to the class as possible and were assigned a wide range of readings such as memoirs, diaries, letters and novels.  In addition, during my lectures, I intentionally make a link between the past of the students’ families and the past of a country or history in general as well. For instance, in one of my classes on Modern Vietnamese History, I asked my students to conduct an interview with their parents or relatives who were the live participants or witnesses of the Anti-French Resistance War.  By doing that, learning history seems to be more accessible and more fun to students. At last, they feel themselves a part of it and obviously perceive the connection between past and present.

                  To sum up, I believe that a teaching job is actually a dynamic learning process in which my students and I learn from each other, and together create a vivid life for our subject. We do not only learn history but we also make ourselves a part of the past and gain lessons for being better in present.  (Nam)

4. Teaching Philosophy

                  As an ophthalmologist in a hospital who taught undergraduate students in the ophthalmologic field for more than seven years in China, according with communicating with a huge number of different kinds of characters, my teaching philosophy is strongly linked to my philosophy as a doctor.      

                  For a student in the medical school, the final goal of education is to learn methods and techniques in order to solve questions or problems in everyday life, not just knowledge that is limited from teachers in school. However, it is very competitive to enter good universities, especially in the medical schools in China; most teachers use a cramming teaching method, which is to make students remember as much knowledge as possible in order to get a high score. This method cannot improve the qualification, because the student will not remember anything after the examinations. So interest is the best teacher. If students can study something that they like, they often study much better. Moreover, it is more relaxed and easier for students to study things that they are interested in. So it becomes a big issue, how to raise the student's interest. In my class, I took two steps in order to improve students’ interest and get a good memory. First, imagine that each student has the position as a patient or the patient’s family; they should show their deep concern for the patients and their families. Second, imagine that each student has a position as a doctor; they should get familiar with methods and techniques to solve issues for the patients. All of my students like this role transformation and they will never forget the methods and techniques that benefit them. Thus, it is more important to learn method and techniques than only remember knowledge.

                  It is the teacher’s goal to help the student synthesize the knowledge and apply it in the clinical practicing. It is more difficult when practicing the patient teaching in the hospital, because we must maintain the confidential privacy of the patient, and at the same time we also should let students to know the details of the patient in order to get familiar with the disease. Sometimes patients are also afraid of the new doctors. During their clinical practicing, I help students to make a connection between what they memorize and the clinical picture of a patient. I want students to realize the level of knowledge and use the knowledge in the real patient. At the same time, I give students enough time to think and provide more opportunities for students to talk about their opinions, ask questions, and even query teachers’ views instead of cramming education. That is because they will have a good memory after they think a long time. And this thinking is helpful in the further because there will be different kinds of disease in clinical patients.

                  It is more important for medical school student to be creative and have critical thinking abilities. In the hospital, doctors will face different kinds of patients without any books. It requires doctors to solve the questions by themselves. So the student should be creative and have critical thinking abilities. In China, students get used to the cramming teaching method; they seldom point out teachers’ mistakes or ask any questions in class, because they are afraid of making their teachers embarrassed or they dislike thinking when they are being taught. During my education, I offer the students’ opinions several times in the class; they could let me know which knowledge they didn’t understand and we can also discuss it together, and I think it also is a good way to improve my teaching skills.

                  As a teacher, my teaching philosophy is improving students’ interest, communicating with the students in teaching class, continuing to improve personal teaching skills, and learning advanced knowledge all the time.  (SongHe)

5. Teaching Philosophy

                  Based on our experience as a student it can be relatively easy to understand that there does not exist a unique way to teach. There are several types of classes associated with Mechanical Engineering. Some of those require developing specialized techniques. Others demand the recognizing of process, but most of them imply the development of critical thinking. Classes such as design, stress analysis, material processing or production have an important quantity of theoretical knowledge. However, it can be difficult to internalize effectively the concepts if the lectures are not complemented with practical experiences. In this way, laboratories and workshops are important tools to complement the learning process.

                  Like a teacher or assistant, I need to have tools to demonstrate or apply the theoretical knowledge. I frequently bring instruments, tools, or mechanical specimens to the classroom.  The intention is not only show things, but to create instances to experiment, improve the critical thinking and the reasoning. When is necessary, I use computational laboratories where students can simulate mechanical components by representing of stresses or designs. Computational tools led us to characterize infinites scenarios at low cost. It is the best way to apply the concept “What happens if…”

                  On the other hand, lectures such as production, manufacturing or welding can be very well complemented with activities in workshops. In this way, I am convinced that many concepts are better learned when students have the opportunity to make things. For example, many concepts of welding can be better internalized if the student learns to weld. In the case of a production process, if a student knows how a machine works, he or she can make better decisions related with improvement of the process. Students can develop self confidence when, moreover, they have the theoretical knowledge, and they know how to do the thinking.  (Elliot)

6. Teaching Philosophy

                   Any field has different teaching philosophies and techniques. In the field of mathematics, a large number of people believe that mathematics is very difficult to understand and some of them are not interested in studying this subject. However, if the instructor is talented and tried to use alternative techniques such as teaching by playing games during the class, that would help students to be more likely to be interested in getting new knowledge and to change the idea of the mathematics difficulty. When I was in middle school, I remember that my teacher was playing games with us in order to make the class fun and to help us love mathematics, which she accomplished. Additionally, her talented skills made my classmates and I have the ability to create new things such as a new technique to remember the multiplication table.     

                  The positive experience that I had with my teacher encourages me to be like her. I would like to teach at a middle school because they still need the fundamentals of mathematics.  Their minds are fresh enough to get a lot of information. I also want them to love mathematics and love to study it. My students should leave the classroom feeling successful and proud of themselves. In order to achieve this goal, I will try to use different strategies, which are more effective than the traditional ones, in my opinion. For example, my students will be encouraged to use electronic devices and technology in general. Additionally, I will heavily rely on visual presentations such as Power Point, which will help students to easily remember the given information. I will work with students and be effective in various ways.

                  Mathematics helps our brain think about everything around us.  I want to learn, and then teach how we could use mathematics in real life. So far, I used some of my studying in the real life. I started by utilizing the basic knowledge such as calculating numbers by using algebra. However, there is a lot of knowledge that I have not figured out yet, such as Topology.  

                  I would like to be an inspiration to my students as teachers have been to me in the past.  Also, I want them to achieve their goals. (Samah Qadah)

7. Teaching  Philosophy

                  I am a PhD student in the Chemical Engineering Department at Texas Tech  University and being a graduate student, I have to be a Teaching Assistant (TA) for some  of the professors who teach undergraduate  level  courses. Being a TA in the past two  semesters  has been a great learning experience for me because it made me grow not only as a researcher but also as a teacher.  From the little experience that I have of  teaching undergrad students, I can say that my teaching philosophy is to make the  classroom  environment very interactive, lively and enriching so that  the  students are  eager to attend the class.

                  Most of the students as soon as they enter the class start keeping an eye on their watch wondering when the lecture would get over. This happens because either the teacher is not an effective speaker or the students find the subject too easy or too difficult to understand. This also sometimes happens when the teacher has not prepared the lecture notes quite well, or is not very confident while delivering the lecture, which  makes the student lose  interest or confidence in the course. 

                  When I was given the TA job, the first thing I did was to prepare my lecture notes and go through them at least twice a day before delivering the lecture to the  undergrad class.  It was a class of 99 students, which was a huge number for a person like me who was teaching for the very first time in her life. I made sure that I was audible to the entire class and also my language was very fluent and clear so that the students could understand me with ease. I feel it is very important for a teacher to be a good speaker so that the entire class in listening to him/her with an interest to learn the subject. Also, the body language of the person giving the lecture should be quite appropriate which could clearly reflect that the person is very prepared and knowledgeable.

                  I feel that sometimes in engineering, solving problems on the blackboard isn't enough and doesn't help the students entirely to imagine a 3-D figure. In such a scenario, showing short videos or schematic diagrams is always a good idea to help students understand the concepts better. I showed the students generally 2-3 minute videos at the end of the lecture which made them very curious to learn the subject. 

                  It's always good to keep a lecture interactive by asking questions to the students and giving them a difficult problem to solve at the end of the lecture. It tests how well they have listened to lecture and understood the concepts. I also believe that students learn more when you appreciate them for trying to answer a question even if they have answered it wrong, because this helps in increasing their self confidence and makes them put in even more effort the next time the teacher asks a question. 

                  Overall, my teaching philosophy is that a teacher should be an approachable person for the students from whom they can ask questions without any hesitation. The teachers should make an effort so that  the students find their lectures so  interesting  that they forget to look at their watches to see when the lecture would end. (Harnoor Kaur)

8. Teaching philosophy

       As a teacher in Chemical Engineering who giving lectures to undergraduate students, my teaching philosophy would include three aspects – lecture preparation, teaching quality, and homework assignments.

       In order to make a fluent speech in the classroom, preparing the lecture before the class begins is necessary. According to my experience as a student, if I do not know what is the subject is used for, I will lose the motivation to dig into the books. Rather than getting an ‘A’ in the course, most of people like to put what they have learned into their lives. Therefore, as a teacher, I am responsible to activate the study interests of my students by telling them what contributions they can make to the society after they master the knowledge in terms of multi-media such as PowerPoint and videos. Apart from that, giving the speech logically while pointing out the key points and potential difficulties in the textbook also plays an important role. In Chemical Engineering, our courses are mostly related to equations derivations. In this case, some simple examples are really helpful to understand the concepts, which requires me to stand at the perspective of students’ considerations to prepare for my lecture.

       The next step is the most crucial part, which is giving the lecture in the classroom. I really enjoy having interactions with student other than just putting everything on the board. Doing interaction have two advantages; one is knowing how much my students have understood the lecture, and the other is improving the relationship between me and students. Students’ face expressions and response can tell me whether I should adjust my lecture speed. Talking about the lecture speed, one of my favorite math teachers in China told me that his knowhow of improving the teaching quality is to mix his speech with jokes, and this is also a great interaction. I can understand it is hard for people to get focus for a whole hour; involving humors or sharing life experiences during the class offers a small break for both teacher and students, and this is a win-win strategy.

       Homework is a good way to hone students’ critical thinking skill. I prefer to give homework as open questions or group projects since in this way students will have chances to discuss and learn from each other. Moreover, the ability to make an impressive presentation will be very helpful to their future. In the workplace, teamwork, critical thinking and presentation skills are more practical than test scores, and I am happy to give them advices and help them if they have any trouble.

                  To sum up, my teaching philosophy is to prepare well before the lecture, to do my best to interact with students while giving the lecture, and to train their critical thinking skills in homework. (Jieying Wu)

9. Teaching Philosophy

                  In my concept, teaching is a noble profession by which one can help the students to understand and visualize the scientific concepts in the classroom and also utilize those acquired skills to conduct successful experiments in the laboratory.  In my experience, by creating a positive learning atmosphere in the class room will encourage the students to learn more. I will utilize all available resources to create students interest to learn the subject.  Being an aqueous geochemist, my course will have a lecture and laboratory component.

                  In my experience, a good teacher always makes his class very interesting and lively by interacting with the students. In that way I feel that each student will get a fair chance of asking questions and clarifying their doubts within the class. I will makes myself very approachable to students, so that those who do not like to ask questions in the class, have the choice to clarify their doubts by emails or meeting me in person. I believe that, well prepared and organized lectures are always easy to understand. Hence I will make sure that, I will be always prepared and make my presentations well organized. The power point presentations will be used for presenting the lectures.  I will post the power point presentations online before the lectures. Reading the presentation before the class makes the students prepared for the lecture.

                  In the lab, I like the students working in small groups to complete laboratory assignments.  These groups serve as a conduit for information and discussion.  They are not a substitute for individual knowledge and work. I expect each student is expected to complete his/her own assignments. 

                  I will do the grading based on the performance in the class, homework, exams and the quality of the lab report. The homework will be based on what I teach in the class. The homework assignments are designed to reinforce the concepts presented in the class and prepare the students for exams. Being a student, I am always been punctual in attending the classes and submitting assignments. Which always helped me to develop as a well-organized researcher. So I expect my students to be punctual as well.  During the course, students will get the chance for improvement, if the student is found hard working and punctual. 

                  Finally, I believe that interest in a subject create enthusiasm to learn more and understand the subject well. The main purpose of my teaching is to improve the problem solving skills, critical thinking and also help them to learn how to work in groups.  In my course, students will have an opportunity to learn the fundamental concepts and tools used by working aqueous geochemists. (Sankar)

10 Teaching Philosophy

                  In my personal experience from studying computer engineering at a Thai university, I found some strategies from my favorite lecturers.

                  Firstly, using the white board or writable things is very good. Most courses in engineering are Math, which requires sequential descriptions; that is why most students prefer seeing slow drawing to sudden picturing. They can easily draw the sequence of content along with the teacher drawing into their heads. However, using the white board may cause unrecoverable content, that everything has to be erased from the board after use. Nowadays technology can help. One of my favorite lecturers uses his tablet connected to the projector. He writes on his tablet instead of the white board. He writes page by page and uploads them to his website after class and those materials will not be lost.

                  Secondly, using power point was acceptable. However, it should looks like a movie. Another one of my favorite lecturers touched me using power point but his class was not boring. In his Computer Algorithms class, his presentation slides are composed of animated contents. It shows every sequence of algorithm step by step clearly, like he's drawing on a white board.

                  Lastly, sometimes similes are requirements in teaching. When a teacher sees some confused faces of students, he has to change the form of problems to the others to make them easier. For example, while teaching object oriented programming in JAVA, my lecturer assumed an object of JAVA Class as a character in Japanese manga and assumed the instance methods as the character's special powers. He has become the favorite lecturer for most students in the department. Every subject and every section he teaches was full very quickly.

                  Although I'm not formally a teacher, I used to be an Android Programming tutor to some undergraduate students. I used almost all those philosophies. Then I could feel that my students clearly understand my class. (Ariyawat Chonbodeechalermroong)