Early School Leavers Essay Example for Free

Early School Leavers Essay Why do student dropout of school? Do you know why students drop out of school? Nowadays students usually drop out of school, to get a career. More than before job seekers are looking for people who have finished high school (at least). The fact that students drop out of school is caused for different reasons. There are three main causes why students drop out of school: they cant afford tuition, they prefer to work, and they fail the course. Family problems are one cause. If parents are divorced, no-one may be taking responsibility for the child. If parents are uneducated, there may be little encouragement to do homework or to stay in school. Financial factors are also important. Some students want to work in order to support their families. In contrast, others may have family businesses and not see any benefit in obtaining a high school certificates. Perhaps the main reason why students drop out is for academic reasons. For many students, school is stifling and boring. The curriculum does not challenge them or grab their attention and they are unable to be creative. Others have learning difficulties that need specialist help. New Zealand has the second-worst drop-out rate in the developed world. It shows that 26. 9 per cent of New Zealanders aged 15 to 19 are not in education. More than a quarter of Kiwi teenagers quit school early. Many students fail to complete their basic schooling. This can cause serious problems for the individual, their families and the country. In this opinion, I will examine the reasons why students leave school early, and suggest some possible solutions. I both agree and disagree with the reasons presented here. The paper said one of the main reasons is that students drop out because they PERCEIVE that classes are boring. The truth is that many classes ARE extremely dull, due to poor lesson-planning and unmotivated, apathetic teachers. Demonizing the students’ perception of the classes is nothing more than a tactful yet deceptive approach at the internal shortcomings of the educational bureaucracy. Instead of engaging work and active intellectual discussion/debate, students are forced to jump through the hoops of pointless busy work and futile self-help/self-awareness assignments such as this one. Student disinterest and apathy are products of a stagnant and stifling environment. Dropout rates, I personally believe, would be exponentially lowered if educators took a less bureaucratic approach at student achievement. You can’t have a successful one size fits all plan that will actually end up working. The theories of Dr. Howard Gardner attest to this by outlining the many different ways that people can think. Standards written by left-brain officials cannot work for predominantly right-brain students. For years in this school system my creativity and viewpoints have improve in some classes, but for the most part have been stifled by teachers not willing to either put forth the effort necessary to facilitate such individuality or that are simply opposed to any unorthodox thinking or changes in practice. In an environment where the students are not the â€Å"customers† and when individuality is squelched in the name of following senseless, regimented practices, the students are done a great disservice. I am committed to graduate ONLY because I know that I must do so to get anywhere in life. I am frustrated, dissatisfied, and stifled by MANY of the practices employed in many classes I have this year and have had in the past within the school system. Many who read what I have written here will look down on my views, because they will [see] them as â€Å"rocking the boat,† something that I believe it is safe to say is frowned upon here as a general rule. There is a quote by John Locke that says, â€Å"New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not common. There is such logic in this and the sad thing is that my ideas (in this respect) are neither new nor radical, only despised because they require energetic commitment to be put into practice. It saddens me deeply that the school boasts of a forward-thinking, cutting-edge, technologically-cantered, example-setting school system, when in reality these claims are only partially true. Money is NOT the issue. I am so fed up with the excuse of lack of funding bein g used to excuse time-wasting, needless activities! An engaging, entertaining, worthwhile class can be executed with nothing more than a committed instructor and engaged students . I am not referring to some ideal, yet non-existent classroom setting. My PHYSICS class this year has been absolutely enthralling EVEN THOUGH some of the required, yet frustrating practices have been implemented in her class on a regular basis. At the end of the day, those who come to school with a genuine DESIRE to take something away from the experience do so; and those who have no drive do not do so, REGARDLESSS of the implementation of the practices put into place in hopes of improving student achievement. The problem with these types of measures is that they focus solely on boosting TEST SCORES. THIS IS NOT THE PROPER APPROACH! (Standardized tests are 9 times out of 10 are a very poor representation of student UNDERSTANDING. Simple memorization is not adequate education! I can memorize scores of random information and then ace a test over it, but all that proves is that I have a good memory. Memory is of importance, there is no doubt of this, but equally, it is NOT the main goal. A deep understanding of the material is vastly more instrumental in the students gaining REAL-WORLD understanding. It is no wonder to me why so many graduates/dropouts here go into construction/metalworking, etc. These are the only classes many individuals find worthwhile because they are the few classes offered that provide hands-on experience that guarantee understanding through practice, not simple words. I guarantee you I can read an instructional book on how to do just about ANYTHING, and then write extensively on how to do it, but that writing is no proof whatsoever that I actually understand how to perform said task or that I am physically capable of doing the activity in a real-world setting. I have a lot more that I could say but basically all I’m trying to get across is that the entire focus in this school is wrong and that is one of the main reasons for teenage dropouts here. As can be seen, there is no one solution to the problem of school drop-outs. Educational authorities, parents and schools need to work closely together to find the reason for each student’s decision to leave school, and to try to do as much as possible to encourage them to stay in the system.

The Power of Music Essay -- Music Art

â€Å"Music is the universal language of mankind† (Longfellow, thinkexist.com). When most people think about music they think of it as a subtle art. It is something that most people take for granted in their lives. It is fun to sing along to a song in the car, or to dance along at a party, etc... It is also a background noise in movies, or parties, or a variety of other places. Most people never stop and think about the transformative power that music can have on them. It should be made clear though that music does indeed have a transformative power. When a person is feeling depressed an upbeat song can lift their spirits up. The same is true for the opposite effect as well. If someone is feeling up, a sad and morose song can bring them back down. This is just a small part of the power that music has over our lives though. As the quote points out, music is a universal language. It is something that people of all ages, religions, genders, and ethnicity can understand and enjoy. This is what truly makes music a powerful force in our world. What happens though when authors choose to put this power in their writing, though? What kind of similar messages and questions about music are raised in pieces from The Romantic Period and the Modern Era? While there may not seem like there is much in common from two eras hundreds of years apart, there are indeed some similar themes in the poems and stories from these two time frames. The most prominent of these themes is the theme of change, and how you can achieve it through music. It is not something that can be obtained by merely being around music. It is something that can only happen when you truly listen to the music around you. First, let us listen to the Romantic Period and the pieces w... ...tions. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. . Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. . Wordsworth, William. "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2A. Boston: Longman. 2006. 390-394. Print. Joyce, James. "The Dead." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2C. Boston: Longman. 2006. 2229-2256. Print. Coleridge, Samuel. "Dejection: An Ode." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2A. Boston: Longman. 2006. 606-611. Print. The Power of Music Essay -- Music Art â€Å"Music is the universal language of mankind† (Longfellow, thinkexist.com). When most people think about music they think of it as a subtle art. It is something that most people take for granted in their lives. It is fun to sing along to a song in the car, or to dance along at a party, etc... It is also a background noise in movies, or parties, or a variety of other places. Most people never stop and think about the transformative power that music can have on them. It should be made clear though that music does indeed have a transformative power. When a person is feeling depressed an upbeat song can lift their spirits up. The same is true for the opposite effect as well. If someone is feeling up, a sad and morose song can bring them back down. This is just a small part of the power that music has over our lives though. As the quote points out, music is a universal language. It is something that people of all ages, religions, genders, and ethnicity can understand and enjoy. This is what truly makes music a powerful force in our world. What happens though when authors choose to put this power in their writing, though? What kind of similar messages and questions about music are raised in pieces from The Romantic Period and the Modern Era? While there may not seem like there is much in common from two eras hundreds of years apart, there are indeed some similar themes in the poems and stories from these two time frames. The most prominent of these themes is the theme of change, and how you can achieve it through music. It is not something that can be obtained by merely being around music. It is something that can only happen when you truly listen to the music around you. First, let us listen to the Romantic Period and the pieces w... ...tions. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. . Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. . Wordsworth, William. "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2A. Boston: Longman. 2006. 390-394. Print. Joyce, James. "The Dead." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2C. Boston: Longman. 2006. 2229-2256. Print. Coleridge, Samuel. "Dejection: An Ode." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. By David Damrosch and Kevin Dettmar. Vol. 2A. Boston: Longman. 2006. 606-611. Print.

Judicial Activism Essay

It is perhaps unsurprising that the liberal court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren from 1953 to 1969 invalidated federal, state and local laws at almost twice the rate of the Roberts court. But the more conservative court that followed, led by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger from 1969 to 1986, was even more activist, striking down laws in almost 9 percent of its cases, compared with just over 7 percent in the Warren court and just 4 percent in the Roberts court. The court led by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist from 1986 to 2005 was also more activist than the current one, at 6.4 percent. In a new book, â€Å"Terms of Engagement,† Clark M. Neily III of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian group, calculated that the Supreme Court struck down just 103 of the 15,817 laws enacted by Congress in the half-century ending in 2002. â€Å"It is implausible,† he wrote, â€Å"to suppose the federal government hits the constitutional strike zone 99.5 percent of the time.† Mr. Neily urged the Supreme Court to be more active but rejected the phrase â€Å"judicial activism.† After the Supreme Court argument in the case in the spring of 2012, with things looking grim for the fate of his law, Mr. Obama tried to shift the terms of the discussion back to activism. â€Å"I’d just remind conservative commentators,† he said, â€Å"that for years what we’ve heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint — that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.† Three months after Mr. Obama’s remarks, Chief Justice Roberts broke with his usual conservative allies and voted with the court’s four liberals to uphold the law. In a joint dissent, the four conservatives said the majority was wrong to portray its ruling as â€Å"judicial modesty† when â€Å"it amounts instead to a vast judicial overreaching.† In a recent essay, â€Å"Why We Need More Judicial Activism,† Suzanna Sherry, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, said the Supreme Court had erred more often in sustaining laws than in striking them down. â€Å"Too much of a good thing can be bad,† she wrote, â€Å"and democracy is no exception.† The article’s central claim is based upon political science research showing that the Roberts Court has been more likely to reach â€Å"conservative† decisions than its predecessors. Liptak reports: In its first five years, the Roberts court issued conservative decisions 58 percent of the time. And  in the term ending a year ago, the rate rose to 65 percent, the highest number in any year since at least 1953. The recent shift to the right is modest. And the court’s decisions have hardly been uniformly conservative. The justices have, for instance, limited the use of the death penalty and rejected broad claims of executive power in the government’s efforts to combat terrorism. But scholars who look at overall trends rather than individual decisions say that widely accepted political science data tell an unmistakable story about a notably conservative court. This distinction is important because the data presented by Liptak suggests that the Roberts Court is such a â€Å"conservative minimalist† court. Indeed, it appears to be the most restrained – or least â€Å"activist† (if â€Å"activism† is defined as willingness to overturn federal statutes or prior precedents) – Court since World War II. According to the data presented with the article in this chart, the Warren, Burger and Rehnquist Courts overturned precedents at an average rate of 2.7, 2.8 and 2.4 per term, respectively. The Roberts Court, on the other hand, has only overturned an average of 1.6 precedents per term. The record on striking down laws shows a similar pattern. The Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist Courts struck down an average of 7.9, 12.5, and 8.2 laws per term, whereas the Roberts Court has only invalidated an average of 3 laws per term. Liptak acknowledges this data at the close of his article, but downplays it with his description: â€Å"The Roberts court is finding laws unconstitutional and reversing precedent — two measures of activism — no more often than earlier courts.† So, while the majority of the Roberts Court’s decisions are â€Å"conservative,† the data Liptak summarizes does not appear to have resulted in a more â€Å"conservative† legal regime, as the Roberts Court has done relatively little to change the law (at least thus far) compared to its predecessors. This is important, because it effectively refutes claims that there is anything particularly radical or â€Å"activist† about the Roberts Court, even if one accepts that it is notably â€Å"conservative.† There is no evidence as yet that the Roberts Court is as willing to challenge federal power as the Court was under Burger (National League of Cities v. Usery) or Rehnquist (Lopez, Morrison, Boerne). There are exceptions, such as some of the Court’s Miranda decisions – which have certainly made the law less protective of criminal suspects and defendants – and Citizens United, but these exceptions are balanced by aggressive liberal opinions in areas like executive power and the death penalty. In sum, even if most of the Roberts Court’s decisions are â€Å"conservative† a substantive analysis of the Roberts Court’s decisions does not reveal a significant rightward shift in the law.

Merchant of Venice Essay The True Nature of Venetian...

The idea of mercy is important in The Merchant of Venice because it provides a focus for the contrast between Venetian Christian society and the alien invader, represented by Shylock. Mercy occupies a central position in the trial scene (IV.i.), where the power struggle between aristocratic Venetian society and the threatening force Shylock comes to a climax. My thesis is that the contrast between (and equation of) mercy and revenge in the trial scene reveals the true nature of Venetian society as insecure , hypocritical and vengeful. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Mercy is clearly of greatest importance to the Christians in this text. It is only mentioned in the trial scene by two†¦show more content†¦Shylock demands his bond with no other justification than a lodgd hate, and a certain loathing / I bear Antonio (IV.i.60-61). He tries to justify taking a pound of Antonios flesh by appealing to the Venetians sense of ownership, equating it to their slaves--The pound of flesh which I demand of him / Is dearly bought, tis mine and I will have it (IV.i.99-100). Shylocks use of strange language and images (lines 44-58) makes him appear uncivilized in contrast with the Christians talk of gentleness and mercy. Portias speech on mercy brings in the aspect of power, painting a grandiose picture to tempt Shylock to believe he can share this power by being merciful (and thus accepting Christian values)-- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes, Tis mightiest in the mightiest, it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown. IV.i.183-185 Shylocks reply - My deeds upon my head! I crave the law (IV.i.202) - makes him appear totally without mercy, at least superficially. However, we know that Shylock has little reason to trust Christian Venetian society because he has been abused and reviled by Antonio and others. It seems more likely that by being merciful, he would be accepting their value system and be taking the first step towards assimilation within ChristianShow MoreRelatedZen and the Art of William Shakespeare Essay2389 Words   |  10 PagesZen and the Art of Shakespeare      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like all Buddhism, Zen is a means by which one can achieve Buddha-consciousness, or in effect total-consciousness. Total-consciousness means being aware of the true self and its role in regard to the infinite cosmos of all existence. This awareness allows one insight into or perhaps understanding of the Tao, the essential singularity to which all things belong. Understanding the Tao, for Taoists and Zen Buddhists alike, is the equivalent of Nirvana

Outline and Explain the Ricardian Equivalence Theorem and...

Outline and explain The Ricardian Equivalence Theorem and assess the evidence bearing on it. The Ricardian Equivalence Theorem, developed by David Ricardo and advanced by Robert Barrow in the 19th century, suggests that taking into account the government budget constraint a budget deficit will have no effect on national saving- the sum of private and public saving, in an economy. In this essay I am going to explain the reasoning behind this, assess its likelihood and finally review evidence either supporting or opposing the theorem. In an economy, if government spending exceeds government revenues, borrowing money (for example by issuing government bonds or increasing taxation) can finance the deficit. Ricardian Equivalence states†¦show more content†¦This is taking into account the assumption that family with children are altruisc, and evidence of this varied with Seater 1993 supporting this but Bernheim stating that his findings were conflicting with altruism3. Barrow furthered his claim by questioning the effect of childless families, and argued that ‘childless family’s consumption decisions increase next generation’s burden of taxes for families with children’3 and therefore families with children keep this in mind and leave more to them. A major factor, which is ignored in Ricardian Equivalence, is that of uncertainty. This was brought forward by Feldstein 1988, and argued that if parents were unsure about future streams of income, they would be unable to calculate how much bequest they should leave. Ricardian Equivalence also might fail as taxes tend to be distortionary. People might change their behavior in response to tax changes, for example on wages, where it may in fact lead to some agents working less and consequently reducing output. Evidence for Ricardian Equivalence. In 1992, George Bush tried to avoid a recessionary period in America by altering income taxes. He cut income tax in 1992, only to increase it again the following year in 1993. Ricardian view predicts that consumers should view wealth as being unchanged and thus save their increased disposable incomes in order to be able to meet the

Examples Of Ligeia And The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe is an American Gothic author from the 19th century. It is well known that Edgar Allan Poe was a master of suspense. The word ‘suspense’ is defined by the Oxford Dictionary to be ‘A state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.’ Two of Poe’s works are ‘Ligeia’ and ‘The Fall of the House Usher’. ‘Ligeia’ is the story of an unnamed narrator in love with his wife Lady Ligeia and how he copes with her death. ‘The fall of the House of Usher’ is the story of an unnamed narrator visiting his friend Roderick Usher at his house. Both of them are full of suspense and this is the main topic this essay will be focusing on. This essay will attempt to illustrate how Poe builds suspense in his short stories†¦show more content†¦However, later in the story, the narrator is the one seeing movement and hearing sighs. But as the narrator is an opium addict, the reade r also assumes it is a hallucination. Because these two narrators are unreliable, the reader can’t trust anything to what it is about to happen. However, throughout the stories, Poe is leaving clues to the reader in order to solve the mystery. It is called foreshadowing and this what the second part will be dealing with. As it was said in the first part, Lady Rowena and the narrator in ‘Ligeia’ are seeing inexplicable things but it is considered as hallucinations. However, it is actually clues from the author, in order to prepare the reader to see Ligeia appear. At the beginning of the story, Poe takes the time to do an extensive depiction of Ligeia in order to the reader to be on the lookout for slightest resemblance. These â€Å"hallucinations† are only sharpening the reader’s attention because a small part of him knows something is happening but doesn’t know what and make him read faster to know the end. Poe is also using foreshadowing in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. At the beginning of the story, before the narrator enters the house he says: â€Å"Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn.† The small crack described showsShow MoreRelated Comparing Gothic Romanticism in The Fall of the House of Usher and Ligeia1625 Words   |  7 PagesGothic Romanticism in The Fall of the House of Usher and Ligeia The Gothic style found in the majority of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories is obvious to the average reader. The grotesque, the desolate, the horrible, the mysterious, the ghostly, and, ultimately, the intense fear are all the primary aspects of the stories which are emphasized. But few writers remain uninfluenced from their contemporaries and Poe is no exception. He is clearly a product of his time, which in termsRead MoreExamples Of Gothicism In The Fall Of The House Of Usher744 Words   |  3 Pagesuncomfortable discussing. The two pieces of American literature Ligeia and The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe are great examples of gothic literature. As a Gothic writer, Poe uses specific words and events which exhibit gothicism in these two texts by haunting, usually unspoken, and dark themes which are characteristic to gothicism. The story of Ligeia is a great example of gothicism because of the supernatural themes. For example, â€Å"The room lay in a high turret of the castellated abbeyRead MoreEdgar Allan Poes Use of Gothisism891 Words   |  4 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is a well-known fixture in American literature; whose stories have made sizeable contributions to the Gothic literary element. Many of Poe’s stories contain more than one Gothic element. â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is a prime example of this. In this story Poe presents the themes of death and the accompanying supernatural. Poe often uses his proficiency in Gothic to invoke deep reading. For many, this proficiency causes Poe’s stories to be difficult to fully understand at firstRead More Comparing Gothic Elements in Fall of the House of Usher, Uncle Toms Cabin, Ligeia, and American Sl2650 Words   |  11 PagesComparing Gothic Elements in Fall of the House of Usher, Uncle Toms Cabin, Ligeia, and American Slave Gothic literature has a number of conventions, including evils of horror, present of light and dark, suggestions of the supernatural, and dark and exotic localities such as castles and crumbling mansions (American). Violence in gothic literature never occurs just for the sake of violence; there is always a moral dilemma (Clarke 209). By going the extremes, a gothic author is able to accentuateRead MoreDestructive Transendence: an Intrepretation of Edgar Allan Poe1890 Words   |  8 Pagesspectrum by developing a new genre of writing (detective fiction) as well as motivating modern day writers such as the famous Arthur Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes series. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of Destructive Transcendence in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and â€Å"Ligeia† conveys the idea of the physical world and the spiritual world conflicting on the outskirts of reality to unite as one through the use of insanity, symbolism, imagery, and diction. To begin with, the use of insanity in Poe’s worksRead More The Creation of Art and Life2321 Words   |  10 PagesPoe’s fabulous creations such as Ligeia, The Pit and The Pendulum, and The Fall of The House of Usher. First, it has been well documents that there have been many deaths in Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Each death may have brought out a story from the great writer. The truth may also be that the works of Poe’s involving love and death have aid in some of his loved ones dying. There are several stories that Poe has created before an untimely death. One story happens to be Ligeia, a creation of great love andRead More The Creation of Art and Life2275 Words   |  10 Pageslife and art with Poe’s fabulous creations such as Ligeia, The Pit and The Pendulum, and The Fall of The House of Usher. There have been many deaths in Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Each death may have brought out a story from the great writer. The truth may also be that the works of Poe’s involving love and death have aid in some of his loved ones dying. There are several stories that Poe has created before an untimely death. One story happens to be Ligeia, a creation of great love and passion for a femaleRead MoreResurrected Love: an Analysis of Edgar Allen Poes Ligeia Essay1442 Words   |  6 PagesEdgar Allen Poes short story Ligeia, in a style much like that of The Fall of the House of Usher, has all the makings of a classic, gothic horror tale. It is a story of a love so strong that it overcomes the realms of death. The unnamed narrator is so in love with the Lady Ligeia, as she is with him, that her untimely death soon after their marriage was unable to separate them. Ligeia rejoins the narrator in life through the body of another, Lady Rowena Trevanion of Tremaine. Rowena is the se condRead MoreEssay about Mans Need For Woman in the Works of Edgar Allen Poe2186 Words   |  9 Pagesof love stories is Ligeia.  Ã‚   Lady Ligeia is the narrators first wife.   She is the one, his one true love.   She is infinitely beautiful: the skin rivaling the purest ivory...I regarded the sweet mouth. Here was indeed the triumph of all things heavenly...the eyes...They were, I must believe, far larger than the ordinary eyes of our own race (Selected 27).   She, however, dies of a debilitating disease and the narrator marries Lady Rowena.   Rowena cannot compare with Ligeia, and Ligeias spiritRead MoreAnti-Transcendentalist Themes in Poes The Fall of the House of Usher1651 Words   |  7 Pagesmocked transcendentalist ideals by clearly expressing anti-transcendentalist themes in one of his most well known works, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†. Although this work openly exhibits Poes contempt for transcendentalism as a literary movement, it was nonethe less influenced by – and perhaps even based on – transcendentalist beliefs. Poes â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is considered to be a Dark Romantic text. Dark Romanticism began in the mid-nineteenth century as a negative reaction to the

Health Professionals General Public Exhibit

Question: Describe about the Health Professionals for General Public Exhibit. Answer: Introduction It is often concluded that healthcare workers compared to the general public exhibit much healthier behaviors because they often give advice to their patients, to be precise in areas of cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and weight control. However, from statistics, it is evident that there are no differences between the general public and healthcare professionals when it comes to lifestyle diseases. The increased prevalence of obesity and overweight is considered a world epidemic. In the healthcare system, nurses are tasked with the responsibility of designing health promotional programs to address this epidemic. However, it is so ironical that obese and overweight is prevalent among healthcare workers (Mahmood et al., 2014). Accordingly, health workers often fair badly regarding smoking cessation and undergoing cancer screenings. Analysis of Whether Health Professional Practice What They Preach Mahmood et al. (2014) argue that professionals in the healthcare sector should be healthier than the general public because they have an understanding and knowledge of a wide range of health issues. Besides, their jobs entail promoting a lifestyle that is healthier. Nonetheless, the public acknowledges the fact that the nature of their job is not conducive to lead a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the legacy of binge drinking from medical school is also one of the reasons why health professionals find it difficult to lead a healthy way of life (Terebessy et al., 2016). As evidenced from the introductory paragraph, healthcare professionals do not practice what they preach. Despite the fact that they are supposed to set an example for the public in regards to healthy behaviors and healthy weight, they often fail in doing so. According to (Mahmood et al., 2010), overweight and obesity are prevalent among healthcare professionals just like in the general population. According to a study conducted in the United States, it was concluded that 40% of pediatricians were either obese or overweight (Jimnez-Cruz Bacard-Gascn, 2006). A similar study was carried out among Mexican physicians, and it showed that a larger percentage of physicians, to be precise 74% were either obese or overweight (Perrin, Flower Ammerman, 2005). The burden of overweight and obesity is also prevalent among nurses. Taking an example of Tonga and the United States, the number of nurses suffering from overweight and obese is 39.8% and 82.4% respectively (Zhu, Norman While, 2011). Ap art from being overweight, healthcare professionals are also engaged in smoking and binge drinking. However, their actions are attributable to a wide range of factors including: Too much stress The shortage of healthcare workers results in increased workload and consequently nurse burnout. Chronic stress is often linked to obesity, cancer, and depression. Therefore, healthcare professionals, to be precise nurses need adequate rest to maintain themselves rather than just being concerned with the well-being of patients. According to a survey conducted by Rajan (2014), work-related pressures including shortage in human resources, heavy workloads, and bureaucracy were the leading causes of stress in their life. These factors also affect their mental and physical health as well as their well-being. Other factors that contribute to their increased stress levels include a large number of patients that seek medical attention. As a result, health professionals are compelled to work long hours to meet challenging targets. Healthcare providers take care of patients with different ailments. For this reason, their job is emotional in nature contributing to poor health. Working in shift Lin et al. (2014) define shift work as working outside morning hours including night and evening work as well as rotating schedules. The author also links shift work to various types of cancer, diabetes, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal disease. The mechanisms used to connect health problems with shift work are not clear. However, behavior and lifestyle changes including smoking and diet as well as stress, sleep problems, and changes in circadian rhythm are the reason behind the earlier mentioned health problems. Equally, weight gain among healthcare professionals is attributable to inadequate sleep. Healthcare professionals, to be precise nurses find it difficult to sleep for eight hours given the nature of their job. Shift work also makes it challenging for health professionals to eat healthily and engage in physical activities. Stigma A majority of healthcare professionals cite confidentiality and stigma as the main obstacle towards accessing quality healthcare services. They are greatly concerned about the impact of seeking medical help on their careers. In fact, some believe that that they will be stigmatized if they confess to having a mental illness or an addiction problem. Negative Impacts of Health Professionals Not Practicing What They Preach A doctors lifestyle considerably affects the care given to the patients. Initially, patients accepted doctors recommendations without questioning. However, this trend is breaking down because patients do not readily implement a health advice that does not mirror the lifestyle of the healthcare provider (Mahmood et al., 2014). Health professionals who are involved in heavy drinking, smoking or are obese find it difficult to provide heath advice to patients suffering from the same conditions because they do not practice what they preach. Therefore, their unhealthy lifestyles jeopardize their authority when providing advice on such matters. Healthcare professionals are supposed to be professional, competent, and trustworthy. Whenever a patient visits a doctors room, he/she must feel confident that the physician has addressed his/her health problem as well as listened to him/her. Patients should also be able to discuss their personal concerns, drinking, or eating habits with their doctor. However, a general practitioner lifestyle can hinder their effectiveness in advising patients accordingly. For instance, an obese or overweight doctor might find it challenging to diagnose obese or overweight clients compared to their counterparts. Healthcare professionals with normal body mass index find it easier to discuss with their obese patients about losing weight and being physically active. Based on the above discussions, it is evident that health professionals just like the general public suffer from various illnesses including heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity. This is attributable to the fact that the same environmental and societal factors that contribute to the increased rate of chronic illness among the general public also affects workers in the healthcare sector. As such, it is clear that nobody, whether the general public or healthcare worker is completely immune to issues the triggers unhealthy lifestyle behaviors (Kramer Son, 2016). Even though healthcare professionals have firsthand experience and knowledge with the outcomes of unhealthy lifestyles, they understand that good health and healthy habits are essential in enhancing the well-being of an individual though they are hard to come by (Hernandez, 2016). In addition to being health professionals, they are men and women who are susceptible to the same social and environmental influences as other indiv iduals in the population. Conclusion From research, it is evident that health professionals do not practice what they preach. However, this is attributable to a wide range of factors including work shift, the drinking culture that characterizes medical schools, and stress related to their work. For instance, the nature of their job does not provide them with adequate time to engage in physical activity or eat a healthy diet. Regardless the challenges they encounter in their profession, health professionals must act as role models to the public at large. Focusing on their personal health play an essential role in improving the overall health of the public because they will be triggered to modify their lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight based on their doctors instructions. 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