Joan of Arc :: biographies bio biography

Jeanne d'Arc, commonly known as Joan of Arc , is the national heroine of France. Born in 1412 she was raised as a religious French peasant in Domrà ©my, in eastern France. Joan of Arc is famed for her input in several victories during the Hundred Years War, which actually lasted 116 years, and the coronation of King Charles VII. At the young age of twelve years old Joan first encountered the heavenly "voices" sent by Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret. The "voices" told her to drive out the English and help the Dauphin, soon to be Charles VII of France, to Reims to his coronation. Joan convinced Robert de Baudricourt that she was sent by god to save France. Baudricourt was skeptical, but her persistence gradually made an impression on him. On 17 February she announced a great defeat which had befallen the French arms outside Orlà ©ans (the Battle of the Herrings). As this statement was officially confirmed a few days later, her cause gained ground. At the battle of Orleans in May 1429, Joan led the troops to a miraculous victory over the English. She continued fighting the enemy in other locations along the Loire. Fear of troops under her leadership was so formidable that when she approached Lord Talbot's army at Patay, most of the English troops and Commander Sir John Fastolfe fled the battlefield. Fastolfe was later stripped of his Order of the Garter for this act of cowardice. Although Lord Talbot stood his ground, he lost the battle and was captured along with a hundred English noblemen and lost 1800 of his soldiers. Charles VII was crowned king of France on July 17, 1429 in Reims Cathedral. At the coronation, Joan was given a place of honor next to the king. One year later she was captured by the Burgundians while defending Compiegne near Paris and was sold to the English. The English handed her over to the ecclesiastical court at Rouen led by Pierre Cauchon to be tried for witchcraft and heresy. Much was made of her wearing male clothing. She was told that for a woman to wear men's clothing was a crime against God. Her determination to continue wearing it (because her voices hadn't yet told

Are the Filipinos Ready for K to12? Essay

â€Å"We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford to pay up to fourteen years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least 12 years for our public school children to give them an even chance at succeeding.† – President Benigno S. Aquino III This is part of President Benigno â€Å"NoyNoy† Aquino III’s Educational Reform Program. The P-Noy Administration firmly believes that adding more years to Basic Education in the Philippines could help solve the problem of unemployment, keep up with global standards, and help Filipino students to have more time to choose the career that best suit their skills. But, are Filipinos ready for it? The enhanced K-12 Education Plan is said to add one more year on both primary and secondary levels excluding kindergarten. The program is proposed to start in school year 2012-2013 for Grade 1 and first year high school students with the target of full implementation by SY 2018-2019. K-12 has been met with criticism from youth and student groups, teachers, parents and the academic community. The DepEd, for its part, appears determined to enact the program with its proposed budget catering mostly to preparing the grounds for its eventual implementation. Critics, however, counteract that the education crisis needs to be addressed more fundamentally and adding more school years would only worsen our condition. As a teacher, I am completely aware of the government’s (through the DepEd) desire to uplift the quality of education here in the Philippines. Each year, the need for highly competitive graduates continues to grow as the demand for high paying jobs spread across the globe. With this proposed K-12 education program, there is a probability that it might help us realize that. Though there are other concerns in the education sector that need more immediate response and attention of the government, we couldn’t defy the fact that we are lagging behind other countries that were once, like us, groping for progress and improvement. Extending the number of years in school will not directly affect nor influence the quality of education because it would only mean adding more budget for more teachers, classrooms, etc. But, we’re aiming for quality and not quantity, right? I believe that introducing something new might make a difference of what we are at present. If we have enough resources, then, why not? We should welcome every opportunity that will assure our place in this rapid changing world. What the youth and country really needs is the improvement and establishment of an education system that will provide the needs of the Filipino youth and the society in general. And this K-12 proposal could be the answer to our problem. Unless we open our minds into these changes, all efforts will remain in vain. And neither 10 nor 12 years would make much of difference.

To Kill a Mockingbird Vocabulary and Key Terms