Personal Goals Essay Example for Free

Personal Goals Essay Setting goals should not be just for school assignments but should be part of one’s everyday life. Developing goals gives people something to strive toward and allows an individual to keep going forward in life. Without goals, it is very easy to give up when things get rough. According to Bishop, Carter and Kravitis (2011), â€Å"Setting goals involves defining what an individual is aiming for in both long-term and short-term time frames. Long-term goals are broader objective an individual wants to achieve over a long period, perhaps a year or more. Short-term goals are smaller steps that move an individual toward a long-term goal, making it manageable and achievable, piece by piece (p. 98). Smart Goals is a tool that helps to focus and create effective goals. Smart Goals is an acronym that consists of five steps: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time frame (Carter, Bishop, Kravits, 2011). Examples of using these acronyms for writing this paper are Specific – by receiving a B grade in every nursing class, Measurable – by completing each class for a step closer to receiving a degree, Attainable – by commitment and many hours of study, Relevant – achieving a B grade is not unrealistic with commitment and determination; the goal is to think positive and know that I can achieve anything, and Time frame – every five weeks completing a class. The following are the specifics of my personal and professional short and long-term goals along with the challenges in achieving them. Short-Term Personal Goals One of my short-term personal goals is to control my overspending. Most of my overspending is a result of depression, hence the compulsive purchases. The way I deal with depression is to go out and buy things. It makes me feel good for the moment but when I get the bill I become depressed and stressed. I believe in dealing with this issue will allow me a sense of peace. Since, I started back to school, there is no better time to start on this goal because attending school and studying is a tremendous distraction that will take up a majority of my time. My boyfriend manages his money very well and pays off all his credit cards every month and has no debt. I decided that I will have him help manage all my credit cards and bills to achieve my goal. The next step will be to cut up my credit cards and keep one for an emergency. Another strategy I am going to use, the days go out with my friends I will make them aware of my goal and solicit their help to keep me on track. When I am about to buy something, I will have them remind me about my goal of getting out of credit card debt. My milestone for this goal is one week to get the above strategies in effect. Long-Term Personal Goals One of my long-term personal goals is to pay-off all my credit cards. The first thing I need to do is to create a picture of how much debt and recurring bills I have in a month. This involves adding up all my credit card debt to see how much I owe, adding the monthly minimum payments, and adding up all my monthly recurring expenses: i.e. car loan, car insurance (divided by six), gas Family Fitness fees, ATT bill, and groceries. The next step is to add up all my income in a month. From here I can subtract the minimum amount due on all my credit cards and recurring bills from my income with an outcome of my maximum monthly income. With this result, I will decide how much more I want to contribute to paying down my highest interest rate credit card first, putting some away in my savings account for unexpected emergencies, and some for a little pleasure. The next step is to decide a realistic milestone to achieve this goal. I am giving myself one and a half years, my expected graduation date, so I have a clean slate to start paying off my school loan. To keep myself on track to my target date, I am starting an expense log that will allow me to monitor exactly where my money is going. By doing this I should be able to adjust my numbers to meet my goal. Another way to achieve this goal is by staying in school believe it or not. If I am in school and studying a majority of my time, I will have less time to go out and spend money. By doing and implementing all the above, I will be on my way to being debt free by the time I graduate. Short-Term Professional Goal One of my short-term professional goals is to complete the HCS/301 class with at least a B grade. My milestone achievement date is set for two weeks. To reach this goal I am taking several courses of action. The first is to manage my time. Managing my time will be challenging to say the least. I will be juggling my time between work, school, keeping up my home and spending a little time with my longtime boyfriend and dog. Oh wait, I forgot to list time to sleep. To do this, I will write down how many hours of work and commuting time I do each week (average 56 hours), time for boyfriend, dog, and home management (17 hours), and. time for school (39 hours). With my learning challenges, 39 hours per week is enough time for school. Another course of action is to form a study/support group. This group will help in discussions on schoolwork, to reinforce the in class material, and to discover different ways of doing and thinking regarding school assignments. A third way to achieve this goal is to take advantage of all the resources available at University of Phoenix. This would include using the university library, disability services, technical services, and taking workshops just to name a few. By consuming all these resources, I am sure it will reduce the amount of time and stress it takes me to complete each assignment. Long-Term Professional Goals One of my long-term professional goals is to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Working as a Registered Nurse (RN), I have experienced many roadblocks in obtaining another job and have fought going back to school for the past year. I finally have come to the realization that to make myself more employable in today’s job market that a RN with a BSN degree has a distinct advantage over a candidate with only an AA degree. According to Williams (n.d., p. 1), a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and reported by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, â€Å"surgical patients treated by greater percentage of nurses holding Bachelor’s Degrees had a survival advantage† over those patients who did not have nurses with BSN. It was also reported that there has been a 10% increase in nurses with BSN degrees, and this increase in BSN-prepared RNs has decreased the risk of patient death by approximately five percent.† a BSN will give me more credibility, put me in a position of higher demand, increase my opportunities, and in a position to obtain higher pay. I have already started toward this goal by enrolling at University of in their BSN program will take one and a half years to complete the curriculum. As mention previously, I plan to succeed academically by continuing with my study/support groups, staying organized, continuing using resources at University of Phoenix, and completing each course in a the curriculum with at least a B grade. Challenges Everyone will face challenges and roadblocks throughout their lifetime. What sets up apart is how deal with them. If one allows it, challenges can stop us from achieving our goals. The major challenge I am facing at this time starting University of Phoenix is my negative thinking. I do not want to go back to school but have to out of necessity to keep my job. My negative thinking is due to my learning disabilities some of which are a lack of skills in reading and writing that seem to be a requirement in obtaining a BSN degree. Adding all these challenges together greatly contributes to my lack of confidence. A good support group at school and home is easing my negativity. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper was about personal and professional short and long-term goals. With each one, I discussed strategies on low to achieve each goal and the expected milestone for each. Reaching each milestone is empowering, to know that we are one step closer to achieving the next goal (Morisano, 2008). From researching on the subject of goals, when settling on goals, one should have positive outcome expectations regarding their ability to actually achieve these goals or they are unlikely to be highly motivated in following through with goal-relevant behavior (Williams, n.d., para 1). The importance of setting goals is that it gives me something I to have. When a goal is achieved, it gives me a little self- satisfaction and more confidence that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to if I have a clear vision of what I want. References Bishop, J., Carter, C., Kravits, S.L. (2011). Keys to Effective Learning. Study Skills and Habits for Success (6th ed.). Morisano, D. (2008). Personal goal setting in university students: Effects on academic achievement, executive functioning, personality, and mood. McGill University (Canada)). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 235. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/762858991?accountid=35812. (762858991). Williams, M. (n.d.). Is a BSN important? Nurses Speak Out. Retrieved from http://www.workingnurse.com/articles/Is-a-BSN-Important-Nurses-Speak-Out

Essay on Love vs. Society in Pride and Prejudice -- Pride Prejudice Es

Love vs. Society in Pride and Prejudice    Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice explores the English social standards during the early 1800's. It shows the emphasis on marriage, or, namely, whom you marry. This story consists of three marriages. The first is socially based, the second is based on mutual admiration between two people, and the third represents one man's love and fight for a woman. This novel shows how marriage and love can arrest or improve social status and how love overcomes adversity. The first marriage is that of the youngest Bennet, Miss Lydia. She is imprudent and spontaneous. On a trip to the home of her aunt and uncle, she elopes with Mr. Wickham, a militia man. Mr. Wickham has no intention of marrying her. This is a tragic social step. It is thought that the real motive for this elopement is not of love. To this Mrs. Gardiner then says, "It is really too great a violation of decency, honor, and interest, for him to be guilty of it" (Austen 375). Only a few chapters later, Mr. Wickham is persuaded financially to marry Miss Bennet. Neither has any way of supporting the intemperate lives they live. These two extravagant young people do not, however, end happily. Mr. Bennet refuses to see his daughter after her marriage. Despite the financial help occasionally given by Jane Bingley and Elizabeth Darcy, they are rarely invited to see their family, as they often overstay their welcome. In the final chapter it is said, ". . . His affections for her soon sunk into i ndifference; hers lasted a little longer"(Austen 520). This marriage based entirely on an attraction between a good-looking, charming man and an impetuous, stupid girl of sixteen resulted in a poor social appearance and exclusion from many close f... ... society will be improved, but when love is found for society, society will fail the lovers. Works Cited Auerbach, Nina. "Waiting Together: Pride and Prejudice." Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: Norton and Co., 1993. pp. 336-348. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. 1813. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: Norton and Co., 1993. Harding, D. W. "Regulated Hatred: An Aspect in the Work of Jane Austen." Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: Norton and Co., 1993. pp. 291-295. Johnson, Claudia L. "Pride and Prejudice and the Pursuit of Happiness." Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: Norton and Co., 1993. pp. 367-376. Mudrick, Marvin."Irony as Discovery in Pride and Prejudice." Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: Norton and Co., 1993. pp. 295-303.

Learning Contract template Essay

We have provided this template to help you to build up and structure your learning contract. You will find an introduction to the learning contract in Activity 1.6 of the Study Guide and you will find detailed guidance in the Learning Contract Guidance. This will have been sent to you as a printed booklet and is also available on the Study Resources section of the Module web-site. For each of the five sections of this template there is a corresponding section in the Learning Contract Guidance (from page 10 onwards). You should work through and make notes on each section of the Learning Contract Guidance, to help you to develop your ideas, before you start to complete the relevant section of this template. We suggest you keep your initial notes and reflections on the activities in these sections of the Learning Contract Guidance in your Learning Journal; these will help you to develop your thinking about your learning contract and to decide what you want to write in each section. You can, of course, change the text you have written in this template document as often as you like. This is an important point because you are likely to find that your thinking changes as you work through the activities in the Learning Contract Guidance and that you will want to revise the content several times. For this reason, we suggest you to start drafting your learning contract well before week 10 when you will submit it as eTMA02. You may of course prefer not to use this template or to use it as a starting point and then to amend it – and this is fine. You are not confined to using exactly the structure we have suggested here, as long as you clearly cover each of the five elements. If you do use this template, you will find indicative word limits in each section which will help to give you a sense of how much you need to write – but you are free to alter these as long as you remain within the overall limit set out for eTma02 (1,600 words) . You will, of course, need to delete the instructions which are given in italics in each section before you submit it. This will leave you with the headings (in bold) and your own content. Template Section 1: Possible Learning Topics Read pages 10- 13 of the Learning Contract Guidance from the heading Section 1: Possible Learning Topics to the end of the section headed Pulling together your thoughts about Section 1. Make notes in your Learning Journal of your thoughts about the questions and illustrative cases in this section. When you are ready write here your thoughts about the topics you would like to study to make improvements in your performance at work. You will study these in the work-based learning inquiries which you will carry out from week 11 of this module. Remember that you are strongly advised to make one of your topics time management and to choose at least one of your topics from those covered in the Topic Guides (you will find further guidance on this in Activity 1.6 of the Study Guide). If you are a BUXS130 student one of your topics must be Customer care in the public sector. You should have two topics plus one reserve (in case either of the first two proves too difficult to study in practice). Explain briefly why you want to learn about these topics and why you want to make the changes to your working practices that you have identified. Suggested word count: approximately 200 words Section 2: You and Your Learning Context: Read pages 13-17 of the Learning Contract Guidance from the heading Section 2: You and Your Learning Context to the end of the section headed Pulling together your thoughts about Section 2. Make notes in your Learning Journal of your thoughts about the questions and illustrative cases in this section. When you are ready, use the notes you have made to write a short summary of how your learning experiences and work environment have influenced the choice of topics which you identified for your work-based learning inquiries in Section 1, and the way you will learn about each of them. Remember that your learning context includes your work environment and you will need to bear in mind how much freedom you will have to make changes to the way you carry out your work, as this will obviously influence the way you will be able to manage your learning. Suggested word count: approximately 200 words Section 3: Your Learning Objectives: Read pages 18-21 of the Learning Contract Guidance from the heading Section 3: Your Learning Objectives to the end of the section headed Pulling together your thoughts about Section 3. Make notes in your Learning Journal of your thoughts about the questions and activities in this section. When you are ready, use the notes you have made to help you to draw up one learning objective for each topic area that you identified for your work-based learning inquiries in Section 1 above. Remember to try to make each objective SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aspirational, Realistic, and Timely/Time-bound) as explained on pages 18-19 of the Learning Contract Guidance. You should also explain briefly why you have chosen each objective – this includes why you think the learning in each objective is important and how your work practice might be improved as a result. Remember to include your reserve objective (although you can comment on this more briefly than the other objectives). If you are a BUXS130 student, remember that one of your objectives must relate to Customer care in the public sector. Suggested word count: approximately 350 words Section 4: Learning Strategy and Resources: Read pages 21 -30 of the Learning Contract Guidance from the heading Section 4: Learning Strategy and Resources to the end of the section headed Pulling together your thoughts about Section 4. Make notes in your Learning Journal of your thoughts about the questions activities and illustrative cases in this section. When you are ready, use the notes you have made to help you to develop a plan for each of your learning objectives (again, you can do this more briefly for your reserve objective than for the first two). For each objective you should show: what steps you will take to carry out your work-based learning inquiry. This should include a plan of action which shows what you will be doing in each week from week 12 of this module. You may find it helpful to include some interim targets and/or a ‘table’ format to outline your strategy. an overview of the resources which are available to you and which you expect to use in carrying out your work-based learning inquiry. These might include Topic Guides, other online or printed articles and books, your mentor, your line managers and your colleagues. You should indicate your reasoning in selecting these resources and how you will choose, access, and make use of them. Where you identify people as a resource you should say what specific help will you seek from each of them, Suggested word count: approximately 500 words Section 5: Demonstrating Your Learning: Read pages 30 -40 of the Learning Contract Guidance from the heading Section 5: Demonstrating your learning to the end of the section headed Pulling together your thoughts about Section 5. Make notes of your thoughts about the questions, activities and illustrative case in this section in your Learning Journal. When you are ready, use the notes you have made to help you to explain how you will demonstrate your learning in relation to the objective you have decided on for each of your work-based learning inquiries. In each case you should explain: how you will show what you have learned about the topic which is the focus of your work-based learning inquiry (and which you identified in section 1 of your learning contract). how you will know whether you have achieved the objective you set for each work-based learning inquiry (and which you identified in section 3 of your learning contract). You should be able to identify measurable evidence or indicators for each objective. You should also be able to identify sources of evidence which will indicate that you are making progress at interim stages as well as evidence of achievement at the end of your work-based learning inquiry. As in previous section you should deal only briefly with your third objective. Suggested word count: approximately 350 words

Technology And Its Impact On Education - 904 Words

â€Å"Technology may empower, but to what end will that power be used?† said Levine in I Surf, Therefore I Am (224). The empowerment of technology simply comes down to the way it is used. More recently; however, the Internet has become some sort of replacement in the way students learn today. With the use of the Internet and little to no interaction with physical books, people can become uneducated rather easily. In today’s society, most everyone has access to the Internet; however, it is the way we use it that helps determine our success. Technology has advanced immensely throughout the past decade and will continue to do so. With these advancements taking place, educational programs are cutting down on books and upgrading their technology. By doing this, students are practically given a device with all of their favorite social media accounts right at their fingertips, which causes them to get distracted and not take advantage of their education. Education is important; I believe that is something the majority of humanity can agree on. According to Levine, now that school systems are getting more technologically advanced, the students have begun to surf the Internet; therefore, not reading or doing their work (223). Personally, I did not have this problem. I actually enjoyed reading and doing the work. However, several of my classmates did not feel the same way. In face, when we had group projects I would typically work on them by myself. Reason being, my classmates would gearShow MoreRelatedImpact of Technology on Ed ucation1146 Words   |  5 Pages------------------------------------------------- Positive Impact of Technology on Education Technology plays a very important role in the field of education, especially in this 21st century. In fact, computer technology has become easier for teachers to transfer knowledge and for students to obtain it. The use of technology has made the process of teaching and learning more convenient. Talking in a positive sense, the impact of technology on education has been extraordinary. Using Internet and computersRead MoreThe Impact Of Technology On Education802 Words   |  4 Pages The use of technology expanding broadly in different aspects of our lives and technology plays a significant role in modern society. The technology used globally and it impacts our lives daily for instant: government, businesses, schools, workplace, environment, and household. The technological evolution led humanity from the dark ages to enlightenment and agriculture to industrial. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of technology means â€Å"the practical application of knowledgeRe ad MoreImpact Of Technology On Education829 Words   |  4 PagesImpact of Technology on Education The way we teach students in the modern classroom has massively changed throughout the years. One major changing factor is the development and use of technology. Before, classrooms were filled with paper, pencils, crayons, and all things needed to be completely hands on with our education. Now, most classrooms have replaced these things with tablets and laptops and smart boards that students get to spend all day staring at. Technology has the potentialRead MoreThe Impact Of Technology In Education1533 Words   |  7 Pagesof constructivism appear on the fringes of education, there is a polarizing argument about what place technology has in schools. Students are coming to school with computers in the form of phones, tablets, or laptops in their pockets and backpacks. Some schools are leading the charge with BYOD (bring your own device) or BYOT (bring your own technology) initiatives. However, there are still districts, schools, and teachers who will not allow technology i nto their classrooms. Many schools and teachersRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education985 Words   |  4 Pagesthis decade, technology has significant influence in many areas of society especially for improving education, language acquisition, support learning, and it is a great way to access to information. In fact, nowadays students depend on their machine such as computers, laptops, mobile phone to study in the classroom or outside the class. In addition, they use the internet to communicate with teachers and to help them do research for information they need to do homework. Although, technology is a substantialRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education2762 Words   |  12 Pages Technology advancement has really provided new platforms for various disciplines leading to great improvements in the education process. Furthermore, education has been thoroughly lightened as a result of technology being applied to education. Actually, technology can be thought of as the application the scientific knowledge and approaches for the different purposes and in this case, education approaches like learning and teaching. In almost two decade technological approaches have been done andRead MoreThe Impact of Technology on Education4413 Words   |  18 Pagesï » ¿The Impact of Technology on Education 16 Introduction Higher education is undergoing a radical shift from localized, teacher-centered, face-to-face courses to student-centered online and hybrid courses offered by global universities. The traditional delivery of education is being supplemented and replaced by digital education models. The proliferation of information on the Web, the proliferation of instructional systems vendors, and the burden on faculty to design hybrid courses threaten theRead MoreThe Impact Of Technology On Education And Education Essay1317 Words   |  6 Pages Education has evolved tremendously over the past centuries. From one room school houses, segregated schools, to public and private schools, forms of education and how we receive it are always changing. In the past decade, technology has become a large part of education and schooling. Views on types of schooling and education are changing rapidly. Videos and articles can be found all over the Internet on basically any subject you can think of. Much of todayâ €™s schooling is done through online classesRead MoreTechnology And Its Impact On Education1134 Words   |  5 Pagesfact that United States of America’s education program is a far stretch from futuristic in most districts; application of technology has undoubtedly showed itself to be a critical factor in most high performing schools. Technology not only improves the learning environment to better fit the student, but also offers previously inaccessible learning material to students. If seen as an investment by the schools for the benefit of the students, private technology assigned to each student would betterRead MoreImpact Of Technology On Education1404 Words   |  6 PagesWith the great advances in technology, one can accomplish many great feats, be it Virtual Reality, a backpack desktop computer and even smart watches. However, technology has influenced many other parts of our world including education. How has technology influenced education? How do the pupils re ceive an education? How does technology play a viable role in this process? I will specifically be focusing on how education in South Africa is affected by technology. Technology has played a valuable role