The eNotes Blog Libraries and Kids The Only TrueMagic

Libraries and Kids The Only TrueMagic True Story:   I remember getting my library card more vividly than I recall getting my drivers license.   My best memories of childhood were going to the library with my mom and checking out armfuls of books, which she would read to me for hours on end.   At two, I am told, I would stand on tiptoe at the librarians desk and request   favorites or authors (I didnt know why the lady laughed at me.   I guess most toddlers werent as particular.) I would rather go to the library than the movies, or the park, or anywhere else.   Still true. The libraries I recall were nothing fancy.   Maybe some bulletin boards heralding an upcoming holiday or new books perched half-open, standing on top of shelves. Of course in 197(cough, cough), there were not nearly as many ways for a child to be entertained.   The television had four channels (as God intended):   ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS.   Cartoons were from 7am to 10am, period. No LOL cats, no Youtube. I like to scare my son with th ese tidbits. Today, libraries are competing to keep your child reading and finding some interesting ways to do so, by engaging the imagination.   Here are a few of my favorite new spaces, and some words from others who continue to love libraries: Spain’s Playoffice, a child-centric design firm, created the â€Å"reading net in an attempt to making reading more fun for kids. The reading net stretches across the length of a library room, and kids can play on it in between chapters. As a child, I felt that books were holy objects, to be caressed, rapturously sniffed, and devotedly provided for. I gave my life to them. I still do. I continue to do what I did as a child; dream of books, make books and collect books. Maurice Sendak Washington libraries are taking a new approach to teaching reading by having children read books aloud but instead of reading to other children they are reading to dogs. The theory is that children who are too scared or insecure to read out loud in front of their classmates dont experience those same issues when the children reading aloud have a canine audience â€Å"When I was young, we couldnt afford much. But, my library card was my key to the world.†Ã‚  Ã‚   John Goodman, Actor Mobile libraries are not a new concept but this converted shipping container that can transform to double its size certainly is. Conceived to help support local Dutch schools that lack the funds or space for a library, the BiebBus can pull in, pop up, and let kids participate in a parable or two. The design is also a lot of fun with a transparent floor, cool lights, and huge portals for kids to see out, the BiebBus makes kids excited to grab a book, kick back, and explore the written word. The fun design uses a transparent floor to help light the lower section of the library and let adults keep an eye on the youngsters above. â€Å"As a child, I loved to read books. The library was a window to the world, a pathway to worlds and people far from my neighborhood in Philadelphia.† Ed Bradley, Journalist 60 Minutes Swiss Cottage Childrens Library A library card is the start of a lifelong adventure.†Ã‚   Lilian Jackson Braun Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis, TN (Photo by Urbanart73) Every child needs a safe place to fall a place where he or she can explore things without worrying about failure and judgment. A library is one of those places. In a library you can learn by following your own nose, which is very different from someone telling you what you should learn. Once a kid learns a library is hers, to use as she wants, the world opens up., Ive seen it happen. It happened to me.   Bill Harley, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Camarillo Public Library in Camarillo, CA (Photo by Gbucknor) At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better. Its an enormous force for good. President Barack Obama Central Library in Kansas City, MO (Photo by Kansas City Public Library) I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.   Jorge Luis Borges The Portage Public Library, Michigan Books may well be the only true magic.   Alice Hoffman

USS Maine Explosion and the Spanish-American War

USS Maine Explosion and the Spanish-American War The sinking of USS Maine took place on February 15, 1898, and contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War that April. After years of unrest in Cuba, tensions began to re-escalate in the 1890s. Seeking to calm the American public, which had been calling for intervention, and to protect business interests, President William McKinley ordered the US Navy to dispatch a warship to Havana. Arriving in January 1898, USS Maine sank on February 15 after an explosion tore through the ship. Initial reports concluded that Maine had been sunk by a naval mine. Sparking a wave of outrage across the United States, the loss of the ship helped push the nation towards war. Though a later report in 1911 also concluded that a mine caused the explosion, some began to believe that it was the result of a coal dust fire. A subsequent investigation in 1974 also favored the coal dust theory though its findings have been contested. Background Since the late 1860s, efforts had been underway in Cuba to end Spanish colonial rule. In 1868, the Cubans began a ten-year rebellion against their Spanish overlords. Though it was crushed in 1878, the war had generated widespread support for the Cuban cause in the United States. Seventeen years later, in 1895, the Cubans again rose up in the revolution. To combat this, the Spanish government dispatched General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau to crush the rebels. Arriving in Cuba, Weyler began a brutal campaign against the Cuban people which involved the use of concentration camps in rebellious provinces. This approach led to the death of over 100,000 Cubans and Weyler was promptly nicknamed the Butcher by the American press. Stories of atrocities in Cuban were played up by the yellow press, and the public put increasing pressure on Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley to intervene. Working through diplomatic channels, McKinley was able to defuse the situation and Weyler was recalled to Spain in late 1897. The following January, supporters of Weyler began a series of riots in Havana. Concerned for American citizens and business interests in the area, McKinley elected to send a warship to the city. Arriving in Havana After discussing this course of action with the Spanish and receiving their blessing, McKinley passed his request to the US Navy. To fulfill the presidents orders, the second-class battleship USS Maine was detached from the North Atlantic Squadron at Key West on January 24, 1898. Commissioned in 1895, Maine possessed four 10 guns and was capable of steaming at 17 knots. With a crew of 354, Maine had spent the entirety of its brief career operating along the eastern seaboard. Commanded by Captain Charles Sigsbee, Maine entered Havana harbor on January 25, 1898. USS Maine entering Havana harbor, January 1898. US Department of Defense Anchoring in the center of the harbor, Maine was afforded the usual courtesies by the Spanish authorities. Though the arrival of Maine had a calming effect on the situation in the city, the Spanish remained wary of American intentions. Wishing to prevent a possible incident involving his men, Sigsbee restricted them to the ship and no liberty was given. In the days after Maines arrival, Sigsbee met regularly with the US Consul, Fitzhugh Lee. Discussing the state of affairs on the island, they both recommended that another ship be sent when it was time for Maine to depart. Rear Admiral Charles D. Sigsbee. US Naval History and Heritage Command Loss of Maine At 9:40 on the evening of February 15, the harbor was lit by a massive explosion that ripped through the forward section of Maine as five tons of powder for the ships guns detonated. Destroying the forward third of the ship, Maine sank into the harbor. Immediately, assistance came from the American steamer City of Washington and the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII, with boats circling the burning remains of the battleship to collect the survivors. All told, 252 were killed in the blast, with another eight dying ashore in the days that followed. Investigation Throughout the ordeal, the Spanish showed great compassion for the injured and respect for the dead American sailors. Their behavior led Sigsbee to inform the Navy Department that public opinion should be suspended until further report, as he felt that the Spanish were not involved in the sinking of his ship. To investigate the loss of Maine, the Navy swiftly formed a board of inquiry. Due to the state of the wreck and a lack of expertise, their investigation was not as thorough as subsequent efforts. On March 28, the board announced that the ship had been sunk by a naval mine. The boards finding unleashed a wave of public outrage across the United States and fueled calls for war. While not the cause of the Spanish-American War, shouts of Remember the Maine! served to accelerate the approaching diplomatic impasse over Cuba. On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for permission to intervene in Cuba and ten days later ordered a naval blockade of the island. This final step led to Spain declaring war on April 23, with the United States following suit on the 25th. Aftermath In 1911, a second inquiry was made into the sinking of Maine following a request to remove the wreck from the harbor. Constructing a cofferdam around the ships remains, the salvage effort permitted investigators to probe the wreck. Examining the bottom hull plates around the forward reserve magazine, investigators found that they were bent inward and back. Using this information they again concluded that a mine had been detonated under the ship. While accepted by the Navy, the boards findings were disputed by experts in the field, some of whom put forward a theory that the combustion of coal dust in a bunker adjacent to the magazine had sparked the explosion. Workers preparing to raise the wreck of USS Maine, 1910. US Naval History and Heritage Command The case of USS Maine was reopened in 1974, by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover who believed that modern science might be able to provide an answer to the ships loss. After consulting experts and reexamining the documents from the first two investigations, Rickover and his team concluded that the damage was inconsistent with that caused by a mine. Rickover stated that the most likely cause was a coal dust fire. In the years after Rickovers report, his findings have been disputed and to this day there has been no final answer as to what caused the explosion.

Virgin Galactic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Virgin Galactic - Essay Example Ever since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, it has been every man’s wish to be able to do the same. Space is one of the most mystifying and romantic locations ever and knowing how hard it is to get there has only made it more sought after. But everyone cannot become astronauts. That is why Richard Branson, with his Virgin Group decided it was time common people get the opportunity to set foot into space. And with this noble thought in mind, the Virgin Group created Virgin Galactic – a company that is dedicated to taking ‘space tourists’ to their most sought after tourist spot – space. To do this, Virgin Galactic has modeled its very own spaceships after the history-making SpaceShipOne. Virgin Galactic’s spaceship is called SpaceShipTwo and its mission is to make â€Å"affordable exploration of space by human beings a real possibility†. Market Segmentation: Market Segmentation is the bifurcation of a large group of people into smaller groups that have similar characteristics. The whole point of this exercise is so that an organization may be able to design a marketing mix to fulfill the demands and expectations of the participants in the various sub groups, in a precise manner. The market is usually divided based on geography, demography, consumer behavior and psychography. Geographic Segmentation defines the exact geographic location of residence of the target. It is often divided based on region (continent, country, state, city, etc.), size of metropolitan area based on size of population, population density (urban, suburban, rural, etc.) and climate. Based on these variables, we can define the target audience for Virgin Galactic to be living in urban areas of UK that are densely populated.4 Demographic Segmentation looks at dividing the market based on demographic variables such as age, gender, family size, income, religion, education, social class, etc. Based on these variables, we could say that the target for Virgin Galactic would be high net worth individuals with high incomes, belonging to SEC A+.5 They would be educated and probably come from small families, that is, either bachelors or just married, with no kids. Behavioral Segmentation divides the target based on consumer behavior towards the product or service. It is based on variables such as brand loyalty, user status (i.e. first time user, potential, regular, etc.), readiness to buy, occasions (holidays or other events).6 Based on these variables, the target for Virgin Galactic could be defined as first time users who are most willing to spend money to go into space. They just want to go into space, and aren’t much worried about the money they are spending. Occasions play no role in this. Psychographic Segmentation divides people based on their lifestyles, interests, opinions, values, etc. Based on these variables, we could define the target for Virgin Galactic as people who lead a very frivolous lifestyle, who are willing to spend good money on anything that will make them happy, in this case takes them to space. Their interests would include space, experiencing anything new, especially before their peers. Consumer Profile: Geographic: Region: England City: Birmingham Density: Urban Demographic: Gender: Male Age: 38 years Lifecycle: Married, no children Occu pation: Businessman Education: University graduate Income: GPB 500000 per annum Nationality: British Behavioral: User Status: First time Readiness: Very high Benefits: Going into space, making a dream come true, doing something special before peers and competitors. Occasion: None Psychographic: Social class: A+ - high income, high net worth individual Personality: Fun, ambitious, impulsive, confident, athletic, enthusiastic to experience new things Lifestyle: Tech-savvy, plays a lot of sport, fitness freak, socially active Hobbies: Sport, follows tennis, golf and cricket Mobile Phone: iPhone 5 (Contract) Consumer Behavior Factors Consumer behavior refers to the method in which a consumer selects, purchases and consumes certain products

My personal educational goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My personal educational goals - Essay Example Last year, when I saw my cousin graduating from UMass Amherst and looking at his groomed personality, I decided to get admission in this University. My main educational goal is not only getting the desired degree but also to attain high grades, which will help me to get a good designation in a multinational organization. I want to get a bachelors degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management because it is my passion to work in the hospitality industry and its future scope is improving with the passage of time. World travel and Tourism Council survey reveals that 8% people who are doing job are working in the travel and tourism industry and it is expected that this percentage will grow because this industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the world. Different factors affecting tourism such as social, economic, and environmental are very important to consider when making a decision about suitable career that also offers good quality of life. I feel comfortable and relaxed while selecting this field as my career because there are various opportunities in the hospitality and tourism industry and I can surely pursue my career somewhere in hotels, commercial food services, tourist destination, recreation, sports management, and airlines etc. This is a dynamic and huge industry in which different fields are growing rapidly giving ambitious and hard working students chance to enter in this industry and make their name. I like this industry because it is working in a very high competitive environment and to me there is a lot of charm working in such competitive industry. I want to gain rich knowledge and build skills of customer service and strong business foundation that will help me to become a successful professional in the hospitality and tourism industry. I believe that the students who have graduated in the hospitality and tourism management programs enjoy the combined capabilities of business and life skills with the hi gh

Ultimate Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ultimate Project - Essay Example Civil projects, on the other hand, are concerned with the study of public infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports. In a construction project, members of a group subdivide themselves into design, financial advisors and legal teams. The three groups must work together to achieve results in the construction projects. When a construction project is taken seriously, and all its recommendations followed, it can lead to substantial achievements. A construction project is, therefore, a strong basis in the foundation of building construction. The following sessions were assistive in the course, and they are listed in line with their importance. In the above classifications, session one to eight had greater impacts on the construction project than the others. Introduction to Project Management The main topics, to begin with section four, are co-operation and togetherness. Co-operation entails offering assistance and having the willingness to assist in situations where possible (Taylor 45). When people work together, their productivity is increased. This is due to the belief that there is strength in numbers. Togetherness refers to the act of keeping closeness towards each other (Muller 43). Togetherness entails being united and acting as a group to boost levels of understanding. Some of the most essential aspects of this quality are in unlocking barriers that hinder teamwork. The importance of cooperation and togetherness cannot be underestimated under any circumstance. This session’s topic bears great relevance to the construction project. In a construction project, a lot of concentration is demanded. The group members need to come up with new techniques that are transformative in the construction sector. Members’ need should have a clear mind so as to note minor sensitive issue and discuss them effectively. This requires full concentration and cooperation. In these types of projects, every member’s contribution counts. Introduction to Finan ce In session five, focus and patience are the main topics. Patience refers to a virtue that enables people to wait for something to happen without hesitation. When a group is working on a project, they expect quality results out of the project. An excellent project requires a lot of time since the members have to execute conclusive and elusive research to determine facts. The members need to be patient in order to discover good results. Patience plays a substantial role in determining the success of any activity. Patience must be advocated every time since it carries the secret to success (Taylor 24). In our day-to-day lives, we encounter a lot. Sometimes we are faced with situations that are hard to manage, but we still make the right choices. When a person encounters something that is not clear to them, how they react to it matters a lot. When they analyze the situation, they can find ways of solving the problem (Taylor 4). The same scenario is faced by people who are handling a project. Construction project relates deeply to these virtues. When members are conducting research and trying to come up with meaningful ideas, they are faced with a lot of challenges that might makethem lose their patience. Members have to search deep into books to find hidden information that will assist then in perfecting their projects. Patience and focus, in this case, will give them perseverance. Business Development Business Developm

Effect of Knowledge Sharing on Personal and Cultural Factors

Effect of Knowledge Sharing on Personal and Cultural Factors Theory of Knowledge With reference to two areas of knowledge discuss the way in which shared knowledge can shape personal knowledge. In this essay, we are faced with the question as to how shared knowledge can shape personal knowledge. Can the world be improved every time each individual contributes his own knowledge for the benefit of someone else? Is knowledge sharing the key to success? Initially, I will provide definitions of key-notions for better understanding of the difference between shared knowledge and personal knowledge, which is summarized by what â€Å"I know† and what â€Å"we know†. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, knowledge is defined as â€Å"facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject†[1]. Personal knowledge is not certainly the same as community knowledge. What an individual knows or how an individual makes knowledge and what community knows are different matters. Personal knowledge is the knowledge acquired through observation or personal experiences by an individual[2]. Shared knowledge is the knowledge shared between people who exchange through information, skills, or expertise[3]. These definitions are neither the correct, nor only definitions of these terms. The classic general example would be with a patient that has a problem with his leg, where the surgeon would want to operate, the pharmacist would want to medicate, the physiotherapist would want to exercise the musco-skeletal system, the priest would pray and so on. Each of them would take its own approach based on his background and shared knowledge held by profession. However, knowledge sharing encompasses not only the sharing of â€Å"great things†, but equally the sharing of â€Å"little things† with the intention of improving the way things get done.[4] Natural Sciences and History provide plenty of examples which show unique study of the past and influence the present. To begin with, can we use a scientific method to develop personal knowledge from shared knowledge? Darwin’s famed evolutionary theories in On the Origin of Species, where the notion that all life is related and descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers, all are related. The organism’s genetic code is altered as the genes mutate, of which the beneficial mutations remain because they ensure survival, a process called â€Å"natural selection†. Survival and adaption is determined by natural selection. Darwin’s theory became a theory in crisis in light of the tremendous advances made in molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics over the years. Thus shared knowledge led Darwin to concede that â€Å"if it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down†[5]. DNA testing reveals our genetic make-up and, along with genetics, is a means of helping scientists to establish reasoni ng behind how species have originated from a common ancestor. The Human Genome Project, through its sequencing of the DNA, can help us understand diseases including viruses and appropriate treatment, identification of different forms of cancer, the design of medication and their effects, advances in forensic and applied sciences, biofuels and other energy applications, agriculture, livestock breeding, bioprocessing; risk assessment, bioarcheology, anthropology, evolution. It becomes clear that knowledge is perishable, increasingly short lived and to get most things done you need to share with people to achieve your objectives[6]. On the other hand, for centuries people believed that life was created from elements and not from eggs, seeds or other ways of reproduction. The first to believe in this theory was Aristotle who based his thinking on the studies that Anaximander and Hippolytus had previously made and said that life came spontaneously like mud and earth when exposed to sunlight. The theory of the spontaneity of life continued to be believed for thousands of years after Aristotle until 1877, when Louis Pasteur proved that this theory was wrong. He showed that it was not possible for maggots to appear on meat in a sealed container[7]. Pasteur demonstrated that fermentation occurs through the growth of micro-organisms and the emergent growth of bacteria is due to biogenesis (all life from life). Thus the â€Å"personal knowledge† of difference is changing which then affects the whole group/the shared knowledge. Although truth is an objective requirement for knowledge, belief is a subjective requirement for it. Reason gives us greater certainty than perception or belief. What we often hear is said that science has proved something. â€Å"Every scientist knows that science advances only if knowledge is shared†, said Dr. Walt Warnick[8] . If scientific knowledge is not shared, then research may not be done accurately. It is better if scientists share their opinions and thoughts in order to progress and succeed in finding new aspects in several different fields. Every single scientist has to have the incentive to share, use and improve his judgment, disclose ideas or being open to everything is more correct. Scientific progress needs a background of careful observation and imagination plays an important role in the development of new scientific ideas. Thus, part of Copernicus’ genius was that while he saw what everyone else saw when he looked at the night sky, he came up with a di fferent way of looking at it, although this idea did not catch on when the Greek astronomer Aristarchus had suggested that the earth goes round the sun as early as the third century BC . Hence, the vast majority of our knowledge is neither personal nor individual but it is knowledge shared with the rest of the knowledge of the community. Despite the success of the natural sciences we need to keep in mind that they do not have a monopoly for knowledge. â€Å"History is but the register of human crimes and misfortunes† said Voltaire. History seeks to reconstruct past on the basis of evidence that can be found in the present. History is knowledge and â€Å"those who don’t study the past are condemned to repeat it† (George Santayana). The emerging concept of knowledge democracy addresses the relationships between knowledge production and distribution of knowledge. Although the Athenian democracy was based on open deliberation and voting and recognized this as a distinctive way of gaining knowledge about the world and acting upon that knowledge, it was depended also on the willingness of the citizen participants to accept the implicit assumptions they lived by, and the information on the basis of which they cast their votes. Athenian political culture was based on collective opinion rather than on cer tain knowledge and on the assumption that opinion could be translated on practical reality through democratic political process[9]. Thucydides developed what the world described as historical knowledge and he was supported by the majority of Athenians. Thus the personal knowledge of each Athenian became shared knowledge of all the Athenians and vice versa the shared knowledge of the majority of Athenians became personal knowledge of each one of them. History is not simply concerned with describing the past and explaining it. The study of history is something that can give us good judgment about human affairs. On the other hand, history, as a shared knowledge, is a defence against propaganda. One of the best known examples of the abuse of history is from the Stalinist era in the former Soviet Union and the propaganda within Nazi Germany. Communist propaganda in the Soviet Union was based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology to promote the Communist party. Propaganda was part of education, broadcast by any means possible from schools to cinema, with a goal to build a society on the basis of common ownership of the means of production, where the society would be completely under the control of the state. Propaganda is the art of persuasion and Joseph Goebbels was in charge in Nazi Germany of Hitler. His role was to control and censor information available to the German population that could subject the Nazi party to any hostile or damaging opinions. This meant that the pro-Nazi information broadcast to the public was ever more persuasive in nature. Hitler managed to convince 70 million rational people to engage in horrible atrocities and wage war against the world using his speeches and propaganda[10]. Thus history, which is shared knowledge, is concerned with the past and one obvious problem with trying to know the past is that it no longer exists. History is based on primary sources, but since they are selective interpretation of events they cannot always be taken at face value[11] since memory, emotion, sense perception, reason, faith, belief,language play an important role. In conclusion, what are the implications of this shared knowledge for one’s own individual knowledge? Personal experience, vision and inspiration can contribute to shared knowledge when that personal knowledge is communicated to and accepted by the community as it happened with Copernicus’ or Louis Pasteur’s theories. It could also be argued that the relationship between shared and personal knowledge is bi-directional and inseparable. But, shared knowledge of democracy shaped the personal knowledge of each Athenian. History of one’s own nation might give deeper understanding of one’s own past. Day- to- day work of scientists working within the â€Å"paradigm† has made scientists more aware and more receptive to the evolution of the scientific views, as Thomas Kuhn claimed. However, propaganda during Stalinist or Nazi era show that â€Å"paradigm† shifts are more likely in loose shared knowledge and may cause the total controversy of the world.[12] 1 [1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/knowledge [2] http://thelawdictionary.org/personal-knowledge/ [3] Frost, Alan.Knowledge Sharing. KMT. Retrieved 17 April 2013.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_sharing) [4]  http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/ksculture [5] Political Dissent in Democratic Athens: Intellectual Critics p.35 [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project [7] http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-most-famous-scientific-theories-that-turned-out-to-be-wrong.php [8] http://www.osti.gv/home/ostiblog/knowledge-investment-curve-0 [9] http://web.stanford.edu/group/dispersed_author/docs/ThucydidesCriticism.pdf [10] http://brainblogger.com/2008/11/04/hitlers-guide-to-propaganda-the-psychology-of-coercion/ [11] Theory of Knowledge. Richard van de Lagemaat,p.320 [12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kuhn

Family and Church Essay -- essays research papers

Family and Church: Enduring Institutions I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  General Family Life As a result of myths of white family life, there has been much confusion over the nature of black families. One of the myths of the nineteenth century entails the close- knit white family, which was parallel to that of the European family. Also, as a result of these myths, scholars often ignored the differences of American and European life. For example, women in frontier areas had a much stronger voice in family affairs than most scholars realized, simply because of the shortage of women. Therefore, women exercised a large percentage of authority in the family. In the cities where family was of little importance as an economic unit and the father was often at work, the care of the children was primarily the responsibility of the mother. By 1880, the American family became more democratic. After the second half of the nineteenth century, changes in the nature and functions of the family occurred. For example, changes such as industrialization, improvements in transportation, the weakening of religious bonds, and increased knowledge of birth control, led to more working wives and more premarital sex, downgraded the importance of family. As a result of relaxed divorce laws and a greater emphasis on romantic love, there was an increase in the number of divorces. By the 1970’s, one in every three marriages ended in divorce, the failure rate for new marriages was thirty percent, nine million people were divorced or separated, and twelve million single individuals were heading households with children. There were so many divorces that a large number of whites were practicing serial monogamy, meaning one person having only one spouse at time, but more than one in his or her lifetime. Most often researchers speak of the pathological disorganization of the black family and imply that all black families are matriarchal, meaning the woman is the head of the household. The dangerous part of this myth was popularized by Daniel P. Moyhnihan, who asserted that the pathological weakness of the black family was,† capable of perpetuating itself without the assistance from the white world.† The weakness of the black family may be seen as a direct result of centuries of white oppression of blacks and not as inherent and immutable. The black family grew out of a complex combination o... ... black clergy felt that Afro Americans had a special duty to regenerate the land of their fathers. The African Methodist Episcopal Church established a mission in Haiti in 1827, for instance, to â€Å"aid in making the Haitian nationality and government, strong, powerful, and commanding among the civilized nations of the earth.† VI.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literary Praise for the Black Church Black poets, less critical of black religion than novelists, captured more of the essential spirit of the church than most scholars could. While occasionally complaining about the excessive humility of black Christians, the poets used the rhythm and message of sermons, prayers and services in celebration of God’s love and promise of deliverance. The black minister, portrayed sympathetically, was also a favorite subject of black poets. Like James Weldon Johnson, many of the poets reproduced the cadences and messages of the folk sermon. They portrayed the minister’s beautiful word pictures. Among the best of them was Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 1896 poem, â€Å"An Antebellum Sermon,† which demonstrates the black preacher’s attempt to correlate biblical messages with his flock’s hope of early rewards.