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What is bullying? In these research paper we are going to discuss a very difficult topic which is bullying. We will go in depth and we will analyze what causes bullying, what is bullying, types of bullying and much more. Bullying has been a controversial topic for many years now and its seems it will never stop. There is different types of way that people can get bullying that’s why it’s more complex to stop it now. Anyway I hope you enjoy this research paper and you learn something new. Let’s begin What is bullying? “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose”.

Types of Bullying

There are three types of bullying and these are the types:

• Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things.
• Verbal bullying includes: Teasing Name-calling Inappropriate sexual comments Taunting Threatening to cause harm

Social bullying sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes: Leaving someone out on purpose Telling other children not to be friends with someone Spreading rumors about someone Embarrassing someone in public

Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes: Hitting/kicking/pinching Spitting Tripping/pushing Taking or breaking someone’s things Making mean or rude hand gestures What are the causes of bullying? There are eight causes that cause bullying and we probably don’t know about these are the causes: Feeling Powerless in Their Own Lives Bullying a way people claim a sort of power in their lives by victimizing another. That person might have old shoes, be too short, too smart, too dumb, too feminine. The reason doesn’t really matter. Someone Else is Bullying Them

In many cases, bullying begets bullying. A person may feel bullied by their parents, their boss, or an older sibling. Getting bullied by any of these people who are in an assumed position of authority may tempt some to claim authority for themselves through bullying. When bullying slips through the net and isn’t sorted out we allow another generation of bullies to be created. Research shows that those who have experienced bullying are twice as likely to go on to bully others.

When a person picks on someone for always being the first to raise their hand in class, or getting the best grade on tests and ruining the curve, or even picking up many of the promotions at work, the bully is probably jealous or frustrated with the person they are bullying.

In some cases a person may bully because there is an aspect of a person’s personality that they don’t understand or don’t agree with. They may also have a prejudice against a person’s race, religion, or sexual orientation, and in many instances they may even think that targeting a person whom they see as exuding wrong behavior as a good thing. This lack of empathy may be learned at home, if the bully’s parent’s voice racist attitudes, for example, the bully could pick up this behavior. Also some people have psychological issues that reduce their ability to empathize with others.

Some bullies would never think of themselves as bullies. They think that all they are doing is teasing a bit, and may even be trying to communicate or even befriend the person they are bullying. These social issues lead them to have trouble communicating in a healthy way and instead turn to insults or even physical violence as a way of communicating.

The family situation of bullies can often be a contributory factor. Lack of emotional support, authoritarian parenting, divorces, domestic violence and poor parental communication are all potential factors in the lives of bullies. According to Dr. Nerissa Bauer, an expert on the topic: Behavior Gets Rewarded Most people don’t do this intentionally. However, the perpetrator is inadvertently rewarded anytime victims give up their lunch money or belongings. They also get rewarded by gaining popularity, attention or power. These unintentional rewards reinforce bullying behavior and encourage the perpetrator to keep pushing others around.

When people get frustrated and angry, they can usually stop themselves from doing things that will hurt others. When kids don’t have the ability to regulate their emotions, small annoyances can provoke them and cause them to severely overreact. For example, a child may be innocently walking down the hall and accidentally bump into a bully. Even though the child apologizes, the bully may lose his temper and slam the victim into the wall.

Brief History of Bullying

Bullies have always been a part of any group development, from the earliest civilizations, and in religions, militaries, schools, neighborhood cliques, teams, families, and companies. The workplace bullying phenomenon, as we know it today, first entered the public consciousness on the heels of the workplace sexual harassment issue in the early 1980s. During that decade, Swedish psychologist Heinz Leymann was among the first to conceptualize and analyze the act of workplace bullying. In the early 1990s, British journalist Andrea Adams popularized the term “workplace bullying” through a series of BBC radio documentaries. In the United States, bullying first became a major issue in the public sector, with some schools and government agencies taking an avid interest in safeguarding against it. Later, this interest spilled over into private sector workplaces. During the early to mid-1990s, more American researchers began studying the problem of psychologically abusive behaviors at work and the harm they create. Another driver of interest in the private sector was the growing concern about the costs of workplace bullying to a company’s bottom line. Today, workplace bullying incidents are four times more common in all U.S. organizations than sexual harassment episodes, and the related costs to businesses are also four times higher. In behavioral studies, bullying is now often closely linked to suicide and violence. The seriousness of the problem warrants that employers implement a sensible duty of care program in response.

How to Stop Bullying at School:

1. You can be someone who stops bullying before it even starts. How cool is that! Here are some ways to beat bullying at your school.

2. Stand up for people who are bullied Bullies often want an audience and approval. Let bullies know that you do not think being mean is cool.

3. Take an anti-bullying pledge. Print out our pledge to stand up against bullying. Share it with your friends, and let people know what you believe.

4. Take action. See if you can start an anti-bullying club or prevention program at your school.

5. Talk to other kids. Try to learn more about where bullying happens at your school. Talk about what might help. See if you and some friends can go together to talk to an adult at school.

6. Talk to your teachers or principal. Let adults at school know that you care about this topic. Ask the school to host an assembly on bullying. Ask for an anonymous survey to learn how many kids are being bullied.

7. Talk to your parents or guardians. Your parents or guardians can ask your school to focus more on bullying. We have information for adults on the bullying page in our section for parents and caregivers.

8. Speak (and write) up! Write a blog, school newspaper article, or tweets to tackle bullying.

9. Get creative. How about starting a poster-making or rap-writing contest? Check out more cool ideas, plus

In conclusion we can fully understand what to do when we get bullying and that we should never keep it to our self. The easiest way to stop bullying is to talk to the principal of the school or your parents.

There are some students in every class whom we call ‘weak students’, ‘low performers’, ‘poor performers’, ‘low achievers’ or ‘underachievers’. Most of these students are trapped in the vicious cycle of underperforming which leads to lack of motivation and further disengagement and disinterest from school and its curriculum. It is extremely crucial for teachers to identify these students and turn them into achievers.

There might be a number of factors responsible for the poor performance of students. Some of them may include poor economic conditions, lack of motivation, sleeplessness, poor concentration, personal problems, poor faculty, poor class engagement etc. It is the duty of the teacher to improve the standard of performance of the student and turn him into an achiever by identifying his pain points and working upon them. Some of the strategies that teachers can adapt to train these students are:

1. Focusing on ability as well as motivation

It is crucial to understand that performance is the result of both ability and motivation. If either one of them is lacking in an individual, his performance is likely to deteriorate. It is important to instill in the child, the importance of being learned so that he is sufficiently motivated to work hard. Lectures must be invigorating enough to instill a hunger of knowledge in the student. The student must be positively motivated and to do that, teachers can set themselves as an example. They can preach to the students that their knowledge will be used in the betterment of the society.

2. Driving engagement in all the ways possible

The days when teachers could simply dictate notes to students for hours at a stretch are gone. Today, the students grow in a highly flexible and dynamic environment where they need continuous engagement at all levels: emotional, physical and intellectual. Teachers can strike a chord with students by giving them something they can relate to. For this, they can use multimedia that depicts real-life instances like music groups, cartoon movies etc. For intellectual engagement, they can resort to demonstrations and quizzes rather than boring classroom lectures. Imparting information at a cracking speed is essential to drift students away from boring patches.

3. Better structuring

The course agenda and the timetable should be set in a manner that keeps boredom at a bay. It is important to keep the course moving at a brisk pace. It is also crucial to keep the lectures short and crisp. Prolonging lectures to more than 2 hours can cause boredom and disinterest among the students. Switching between lecture hours and other activities can help to build student attention and grasping power.

Using more props and live tutoring material can also keep the engagement levels high. Besides academic teaching, behavior and character formation are also an important part of learning. It is important to keep activities like role-playing and gaming to test and build upon these parameters as well. These should be an essential part of the curriculum and not separate from it. As the competition is becoming more intense, it is now imperative to identify underachievers and work upon their holistic development before it is too late.

Works Cited

1. Gupta, P. (2021). Teaching low achievers. Journal of Education and Practice, 12(5), 1-6.
2. Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.
3. Kaur, P. (2017). Strategies to improve academic performance of students–A review of literature. International Journal of Research in Management & Social Science, 5(5), 35-41.
4. Kumar, V., & Mani, M. (2020). An empirical study on factors affecting academic performance of students in higher education. Studies in Indian Place Names, 40(73), 756-765.
5. McCombs, B. L. (2020). The learner-centered paradigm of instruction. In Learner-Centered Instruction (pp. 11-40). Springer, Cham.
6. Ministry of Education. (2019). Guidelines for identifying and supporting students with learning difficulties in Singapore schools. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.sg/docs/default-source/document/education/special-education/files/guidelines-for-identifying-and-supporting-students-with-learning-difficulties-in-singapore-schools.pdf
7. Mousa, R., & Al-Batran, S. (2020). Strategies for improving student academic performance in higher education. Education Sciences, 10(3), 69.
8. National Education Association. (2016). NEA report: Strategies to support students with learning disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/67770.htm
9. Smith, J. K. (2017). Differentiated instruction: A research basis. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement.
10. UNESCO. (2020). A guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sites/default/files/2020-08/unesco-a-guide-for-ensuring-inclusion-and-equity-in-education.pdf

It is common to face failure along with growth. In fact, failure is considered as the stepping stone to success. People usually end up reaching this wrong conclusion that failure is something which only students in schools or colleges face. But the fact is that there is failure in life also and that is not based on the tests or exams like what they write in the schools. In fact, this thought of failure only happens in school can also be considered as the persons failure in his thoughts.

There are many reasons why students fail in their examinations or tests. Such failures usually lead the students dropping out from colleges and giving up on their educational life. If the reasons for why the student has failed is not analysed and taken care of then this can gradually end up having high illiteracy rates.

Reasons why students fail in education

A few reasons why students fail in their education are:

• One of the basic reasons why students fail in their education should be considered as their inability to judge things fast and cope up with their studies. In a classroom full of students there are students with different abilities and talents. Few may catch up things easily whereas for the rest few they may require time understand what is happening and how to get through them. The teacher must be aware of the students’ abilities and must be able to guide them on the exact track. If the student finds it difficult in coping up on time they might ultimately end up giving up and this can lead them in dropping out. But, with good support and guide from teachers, parents and others around the student can definitely succeed in their goal. Teachers who usually go for education degree will know how to bring students on track. This is why the demand for online education degrees is increasing.
• Another reason can be due the lack of confidence they possess. Students with lack of confidence can never succeed in their lives. To reach your goals or reach any high position in life you must be confident. Students must be supported and given confidence throughout their difficult times. Students who have the tendency to quite soon should always have someone to encourage them. Parents can be the best people to encourage a kid and then comes the teachers. The first thing what they have to do is to teach the student that they cannot achieve anything in a blink of an eye. They’ll need their own time to understand things and solve them especially when they are learning new skills. Let them make sure that they start with little steps rather than giving a direct entry to complex methods. And let them also make sure that they are on time with their work.
• Students having the fear to even start up with the work are also very common and this one of the major reasons why students fail. Even before they start up with the task they are scared of starting it or how to continue it. This ultimately leads them to give up even before they start their work. They unnecessarily think of how they can finish their work on time or what will happen if they do some mistake. All these thoughts of fear can result in not only being failures in exams or given tasks but also their life. Students who are intelligent and are well in studies, find difficulty in passing their examination due to their unnecessary fear and lack of confidence.

Why students require counselling?

Students require counselling to be on the right track. All the reasons mentioned above for a student to fail in their education can be over looked only through counselling. Students can open up and speak out their issues without any fear. This can give them some relief from the problems they go through. They can also find solutions for the problems they go through.

Counselling will students know where exactly they have gone wrong and this can help them rectify their mistakes. Continuous counselling in schools and colleges helps the student stay confident and fight for their goal without giving up. Students can build their confidence level and can keep away their fear by undergoing continuous sessions of counselling.

Counselling will be more effective if done by the parents or the teacher. As students are more comfortable around people they know well. There are many people who do study psychology and then start their career as teachers. For others who have passion to do psychology they look for the best online counselling colleges to get a degree in counselling.

Students require motivation to come up in life. Motivation can help students build courage so that they can take initiative in taking up responsibilities so that they can develop their leadership qualities. Counsellors motivate students and help them build courage.

In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” Harry set out to Africa with his wife in an attempt to recapture his former literary motivation; in “the good time of his life” he had been happy in Africa. His will to write has softened with the comfort and luxury afforded him by Helen, his wife's, affluence. After having spent years “with different people and more money, with the best of the same places, and some new ones,” he reached a state of artistic stagnation from which he has been unable to extricate himself (59). He came to Africa to be for a time without luxury, and with “the minimum of comfort”, to recreate something of the sensation of his old life before the money (60). A parallel is made between affluence and an idiosyncratic kind of non-bodily death: the death of creativity, initiative, and meaningful experience. Harry has been dying in this way for years, and, ironically, only as his physical death closes in is his aesthetic sensibility resurrected. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” death of the physical body does not preclude the continuance of other, more esoteric modes of being; through the resurgence of his art, Harry is able to achieve another life, one that continues even after the death of his physical body.

Harry's former life of colorful, deeply felt experiences is in direct contrast to the life he began once he allied himself with the rich. “The rich were dull and . . . they were repetitious,” Harry says. Even if he were to live, he would not write about Helen or “about any of them.” They were not the “special glamorous race” they were thought to be (72). The money acted as armour, Harry says: "Your damned money was my armour. My Swift and my Armour” (58). The money protects him from the difficulties of the world, as armour might, yet it also cuts him off from the life-blood of the artist: meaningful experience. Thus, the money has, metaphorically, provided for the slow dying of his artistic spirit by allowing his life to become too safe, too predictable, too sheltered. Harry no longer feels things deeply; he admits he never has loved Helen. However, he remains trapped in a circle of those who either “drank too much” or “played too much backgammon ” (72). Such are the lives of the rich: composed of repetitious, dull excess; excess to fill the lack left by dearth of true experiences. Henry feels this lack and, in his reflections, dying in Africa, he resents the turn his life had taken in the last years: the aesthetic, the literary, no longer holding a a meaningful place in his life.

In Africa, without the comforts and distractions of wealth, Harry felt he could “get back into training.” He needed a place to “work the fat off his soul,” fat that had accumulated over years of an sedentary, complacent life, divorced from the realm of the aesthetic. While on safari, Harry says the “illusion” of a returning strength to write was felt, but the real strength of will does not truly come until his leg's infection becomes serious and Harry must face the fact that he will soon die.

Harry begins to write again. In segments of italicized text, divorced from the frame narrative of Harry and Helen in African, Harry mentally writes those things which he wishes he could put to paper.

So now it was all over, he thought. So now he would never have a chance to finish it. (54)

It is significant that Hemingway pairs these two sentences. Henry regrets that, because of the imposition of death, he will not be able to write these stories – “to finish it”; however, it is his coming to terms with impending death that freed him from his complacency and his rationalizations and has given him the will to write again. Before death closed in, his only intentions of writing were “illusions”, as Harry puts it. Now the end is almost tangible, he knows it is all over, and is compelled to write, to finish.

Death breathes new life into Harry in this way. These italicized sections are not only melancholy reminiscences of his life in the world, but they are its coda as well. He has failed to publish a textual monument that would preserve permanently his life and the knowledge he gained throughout it, however he did all that he was able: mentally construct said monument, thus codifying his worldly life. And in codifying his worldly life, the rebirth of Harry's aesthetic self is affirmed.

Hemingway subverts conventional ideas of life and death with “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” Two types of life – and thus, of death – overlap in the story: physical and aesthetic. In the first part of Harry's life, his physical and aesthetic lives were interwoven, each thriving because of the other, symbiotically. However, with affluence and its trappings the two separated and thus began Harry's slow aesthetic death. He ceased writing because he stopped deeply feeling things. This second phase of life, one divorced from the experience of the aesthetic almost entirely, was one devoid of ambition, initiative, or happiness: an empty, meaningless life. However, his physical dying – the end of this second phase – brings new perspective. Harry mentally prepares himself for bodily death by writing – though only in his mind – those things he had saved so long to write about, logically concluding his worldly, bodily life, and in the process, giving birth again to his aesthetic self. Though Harry does die physically in the end of the story, his aesthetic self continues; divorced from Harry's physical body, it moves to a realm separate from the physical.

Kilimanjaro looms in the distance and Harry knows this is the place to which he travels; it is “as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably pure in the sun” (76). Harry's “aesthetic body” moves to a new world, one white and pure, elevated with respect to the plains. Harry has achieved a new vision of immortality, one located in art. Harry's transcending this world is an allegorical illustration of what any artist is capable of: immortality through the art's continued appreciation and evaluation. Harry, though unable to access this more traditional route of exhibiting (or publishing) art for the world to engage with, nevertheless achieves a kind of aesthetic immortality via a separate, more idiosyncratic route. Hemingway, in portraying Harry's struggle and ultimate success, illustrates the romantic notion of the artist's autonomy and art's transcendent possibilities: through creation, one might realize something beyond oneself, and after death aesthetic consciousness can live on through the artist's work.

"Everyman" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" are without doubt two of the best-known works of medieval English literature. The stories demonstrate the epitome of the Christian themes of salvation, mortality, and truth that resonate throughout the genre. In this light, Death and the Green Knight both perform the same allegorical duties, though they exhibit drastically different personalities.

Clearly, the two characters would not be hard to discern between to a casual observer. The Green Knight is simply not bound by the formalities of civilization; instead, he is ever rude and arrogant. He is first introduced entering Arthur's hall: "There hurtles in at the door an unknown rider" (136). The Green Knight doesn't knock, nor does he ask permission to enter---no, he "hurtles" into the fine, formal hall on his horse, arrogantly challenging the king and his court: "But if you be so bold as all men believe, / You will graciously grant the game that I ask by right" (272-4). After boasting of his powerful weapons and skill, the Knight asserts that it is his right to fight and demand proof of the king's power. The Green Knight is apparently afraid of no one, and he wants everybody to know.

On the other hand, Death takes an entirely different approach to dealing with civilization (in this case, Everyman). While the Knight boasts of his power, Death takes a more passive stance as a courteous, humble servant2E For instance, when God summons Death, Death replies, "Almighty God, I am here at your will, / Your commandment to fulfill" (64-5). Throughout the text, Death truly exhibits signs of a loyal servant. Though he states that he fears no man, Death humbly accepts and acknowledges his great power over all men as simply a gift of God:

I am Death that [fears no man],

For every man I 'rest, and no man spareth

For it is God's commandment

That all to me should be obedient (115-15)

Hence, Death is as unpretentious as the Knight is proud.

Furthermore, Death and the Knight differ in their dependence and relevance to the material world. The Green Knight is obviously wealthy. The narrator purposely elaborates on the exquisite nature of the Knight's dress: "Of furs cut and fitted---the fabric was noble . . . and gold spurs under [his calves] . . . and footgear well-fashioned" (151-60). The storyteller continues to detail the physical appearance of the rich knight, placing much emphasis on the clothing that would have astonished even King Arthur's court. Later, the reader discovers that the Green Knight is even wealthier than supposed when the Knight reveals that he is none other than the Lord Bercilak de Hautdesert. The Knight is thus the quintessence of nobility and worldly riches in Gawain's time.

In yet another sharp contrast, Death shuns all of the earthly possessions that the Knight is so involved with. In accord with one of the major ideas in "Everyman," Death makes clear that goods are immaterial to him:

I set [nothing] by gold, silver, nor riches,

Nor by pope, emperor, king, duke, nor princes,

For, and I would receive gifts great,

All the world I might get (125-28).

Death does not only denounce material possessions; he rejects both the secular and non-secular positions of power valued by most mortals, such as the barony of the Green Knight. Therefore, Death is completely unattached to the ways of man, whereas the Knight is absorbed with typical human ideals.

Death and the Green Knight undeniably have major personality disparities2E However, if one examines both characters on a deeper level, he or she will realize that both are driven by the same intrinsic ideals. Subtle references to honor and justice resound continually through each characters' mannerisms. For instance, the Green Knight's sole concern is to ensure that Gawain keeps his word. In Part One of the story, he exclaims:

"Sir Gawain, forget not to go as agreed,

And cease not to seek till me, sir, you find,

As you promised in the presence of these proud knights.

To the Green Chapel come . . .

. . . or else be counted a recreant knight" (448-56).

The Knight emphasizes the importance of Sir Gawain keeping his word, reminding Gawain that he would be a "recreant knight"; in other words, he would be an infamous coward, the worst bane of knighthood. When Gawain finally reaches the Green Chapel, the Knight will make certain that justice is carried out by fulfilling his part of the contract (perhaps an allusion to the Biblical covenant), whether he personally desires to hurt Gawain or not. The Knight must submit to the absolute truth of justice, understanding it as an unalterable aspect of life.

Likewise, Death also abides by the rigorous moral code of justice and honor. He tells Everyman in response to his bribe offer, "[If I wanted] all the world I might get. / But my custom is clean contrary" (128-30). In his role as the server of justice, Death is merely a means towards an end---he has no say in the matters themselves. This idea is concomitant with the usual idea of justice as fair and morally right. Consequently, Death becomes akin to a court of law, which is neither biased nor able to change the rules. Another example occurs in lines 144-45, when Death explains, "And in the world each living creature / for Adam's sin must die of nature." Finally, the concept of justice as it relates to humanity itself is expressed explicitly: death (unpersonified) is basically just a consequence of Adam's sin---sin that permitted justice to rule the world.

Once the motive of justice as the link between the two characters is established, the reader can ultimately discover the essence of these medieval personalities - mortality. Both represent mankind's own transience; the Green Knight is just not as explicitly symbolic as Death. Upon close examination, nonetheless, the Knight materializes as a test, even a major threat, to Gawain and humanity in general. Upon approaching the Green Chapel, he realizes that he will die, uttering snippets to himself such as "to take my life (2194)" and "forfeit my life may be (2210)." Still, he journeys on to face the inevitable hardship that faces him. However, in sudden revelation, the Knight finds that he is not to die yet; he was merely being tested and judged by the lord to determine if he was honorable. Like Everyman, Gawain finds that the test he must go through is not necessarily evil in itself, as long as he has girded himself well with the tools of salvation. Death comes only as a messenger of God's moral and infallible impartiality.

The death penalty is the act of executing somebody as discipline for particular wrongdoing after an appropriate lawful preliminary. It is a definitive discipline. There is no harsher discipline than the death itself. Supportive and counter considerations against the 'moral part' of capital punishment have been debated for a long time. There are many individuals who advocate that individuals who commit crimes like merciless murder, rape ought to be executed by capital punishment, as much as there are individuals who are against death penalty and defend that individuals who commit serious crimes ought to be treated with proper training rather than being executed. Most of these opinions boil down to one decision: “Does the Death Penalty guide people to good morals?” Although those who advocate the necessity of the death penalty consider the positive effects of the execution the convicts to lead positive effects on others in fact, they do not realize it leads to morally negative effects for individuals.

Death Penalty is not a punishment, death is the end itself. The death penalty has been a vital component of civilization since early times. It has been used by leaders since ancient times to maintain order. Although it is not known exactly when it was first used, it was first implemented in writing by a Hammurabi, a Babylonian king who ruled from 1792 BC to 1750 BC under the Hammurabi laws which is one of the oldest and best preserved written laws in the history. The main idea of these laws is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Right now, 104 countries – just over half in the world – have formally abolished the death penalty, according to the latest figures, produced by Amnesty International at the end of 2016. In prior times, capital punishment was utilized for an assortment of reasons that today would appear to be uncouth. Some societies utilized the death penalty for infringement, an assortment of sexual wrongdoings, enchantment, and murder. Today, execution is utilized fundamentally for homicide, conspiracy, treason, and adultery. Around the world generally, five different methods of execution are prescribed: Lethal Injection, Electrocution, Lethal Gas, Firing Squad, and Hanging.

Advocates of the death penalty claim that frightening individuals with the dread of execution diminish bad behavior rate and guides individuals to great ethics. While the dread of 'death' sounds a hindrance at first, it will end up being an ordinary thing when it transforms into the norm. Realizing they are going to bite the dust when they get captured, criminals feel that they have nothing else to lose. Despite what might be expected, it may lead people who have accomplished the halting point to go extensively further, before the end, to do substantially more bad behaviors.

The murder rate in non-death penalty states has remained consistently lower than the rate in states with the death penalty, and the gap has grown since 1990.

The height of the bars indicates the crime of murder. As can be seen, the rates of murder in the provinces without execution are extensively lower than in those who are. The statistics in the table are proof that the dread of execution does not positively affect individuals, both in the short distance and long distance, and may even have negative effects. One conflict for the death penalty is that it is a strong obstruction to murder and different awful bad behaviors. Without a doubt, evidence demonstrates the inverse. Consequently, there is no need for Capital Punishment to guide people to good morals. If people who killed people were killed by law, it would be a bad example in people.

Another argument is that prisoners acknowledge how important life is in jail and maintain a distance from wrongdoings that can prompt execution. Advocates assert that witnessing a prisoner’s execution can cause other prisoners to question their life. However, in some cases, it cannot be said that this situation has always been positive. For instance, Robertson, who was a prisoner in Florida, claimed to have killed his cellmate in order to be executed. He says: 'Finally, I got mad and said 'I'm going to go ahead and kill somebody.' It was premeditated. I wanted to get on death row.' For the prisoners, life in prison is embarrassing and it means nothing but the destruction of what they want in life. To be executed for the person who lives in such an environment is praised and respected by other prisoners. The special rights granted to the inmates who are about to be executed, and the chance to be freed from the pressure by execution, encourage prisoners to commit a crime to get on death row. Furthermore, to think that the punishment for the prisoners they deserved is death affects them psychologically and makes them inextricable rather than curable. Prisoners may be faced with losing their own individuality while living with fear of being executed. Prisoners living their last days do not care about the psychology of other prisoners because they have nothing to lose. They can encourage them to be executed, believing death is a good thing. In such cases, prisoners living inside tend to be persuaded by other prisoners.

According to advocates of execution, there should be retribution for heavy crimes, a source of relief for the victim or victim's relatives thus; the state can pay the debt to society for the sake of victim. The state is no different from the killer when it decides on a death sentence for the sake of the victim. The death of criminals does not bring back the lives of the victims. It leads to the transformation of individuals in society into even more wild individuals. It is ordinary that the families of the victims want the killer to die when the first suffering event occurs. Death of the victim does not heal the suffering of relatives of the victims. On the contrary, it leaves deep wounds that cannot be closed. Sometimes when the relatives of the victims realize that the people they have lost will not come back, they think that the murderer who was executed for the sake of revenge can reintegrate into society and use this regret in a good way. For instance When Missouri executed Jeff Ferguson in 2014 for the rape and murder of Kelli Hall, the Hall family, her father said, 'Believed the myth that Ferguson’s execution would close our emotional wounds.' At the time of Ferguson's execution, Jim Hall told reporters 'It's over, thank God.' But, he now says, it wasn't. In an op-ed in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Mr. Hall writes that his family has 'come to deeply regret Ferguson's execution'.

To conclude this persuasive essay, the most important task of a state is to treat a criminal, to ensure that he is remorseful and to be reinstated to society. To pay a person's punishment not by execution, but by compensate his mistakes is the most effective method for both society and individuals. Working in the fields determined by the state, economic contribution to society, transferring the regret to other prisoners by dragging people to the right path is more effective way than execution. 

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a work that has been interpreted many different ways over the last few decades. As the main character Willy Loman's mental health unravels, the audience has a hard time figuring out if this classic is a tragedy or just a man with psychological issues and a possible identity crisis. Death of a Salesman is a tragedy, but unlike others audiences have seen or read about before but ultimately, Willy meets all the criteria for what a tragedy is. Willy's personal psychological issues create a serious flaw in him as a main character, along with social pressures brought on by outside sources and moral weakness within Willy. The unhappy ending is foreshadowed but none the less, is a tragedy.

The first issue that contributes to Death of A Salesman being a tragedy is the issue of social pressures that Willy undergoes by seeing how successful his brother Ben has been, seeing the world around him industrialize, as well as Bernard pressuring him about how Biff has to do well in school in order to succeed. Its portrayed that Willy wants to achieve the American dream, but in reality he is just falling under the pressures that society has set in place during that time period. The world around Willy was beginning to really industrialize, which would understandable put insecurity and pressure on a man with a family during that time who wasn't really progressing in his career. Willy even goes as far as blaming the growing population for ruining the country. Claiming that, “Population is getting out of control. The competition is maddening,” (Miller 12). Which seemingly Willy is making up an excuse to as why he hasn't achieved success in his life due to many people attempting to reach the same goal. Another social pressure includes Willy's brother Ben who found success in Alaska. Willy repeatedly mentions how he should have went, “If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different,” (Miller 35). Showing how he regrets not accomplishing the American dream how Ben did.

Bernard attempting to help Biff out in school by reminding him to study also adds social pressure for Willy because he wants Biff to be successful, but plays it off and jokes about how Bernard won't amount to nothing just by doing good in school because he isn't well liked. He repeatedly dismisses Bernard by saying “Don't be a pest!” and calling him anemic to his sons (Miller 25). Willy does this because he doesn't want to be reminded of how his son Biff is failing in something in his life. Even when his wife attempts to speak up for their son and agree with Bernard, Willy freaks out and exclaims, “There’s nothing the matter with him! You want him to be a worm like Bernard? He’s got spirit, personality,” (Miller 31).

Another issue which helps in identifying this play as a tragedy would be the main character Willy's moral weakness, which is his dream of success for himself and his family. This is a weakness because he is not achieving success and is not the great salesman as he see's and portrays himself as. When talking to Happy, he claims “'I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own,” (Miller 24). He goes to his boss and asks for a different position in his company, but gets fired because his irrationality shows and the truth comes out about his few career accomplishments. He keeps telling his boss he just needs a certain amount of money to keep his household secured but as the conversation intensifies, the amount Willy requests gets lower and lower. Which exemplifies how desperate Willy is to succeed at the financial goals he dreams about. Howard tries to explain to Willy isn't and hasn't been doing much for the company most of his career, “I don’t want you to represent us. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time now” (Miller). Bringing the reality of Willys delusion to the surface.

As Willy's weakness for success continues to shine through throughout the play, Willy repeatedly tries to push his financial dreams off on Biff and live through him vicariously. In the beginning of the first act, Willy talks down about his son Biff to his wife Linda. Calling Biff lazy and that, “Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace,” (Miller 11). As he paints his son as a failure, he then goes on to admit he knows his son is not lazy; but that someone like him who is attractive and likeable, should be able to achieve the American dream. Which also happens to be the same thing Willy has worked for in his own life in attempts to achieve but failed.

The final issue that makes Death of a Salesman a tragedy would be the tragic flaw that Willy has of being in-denial and delusional. Willy's mental state is a huge downfall because it makes him believe Biff (and himself) are able to become successful and rich just for being attractive and liked by many people. Willy being not being able to come to terms with reality ironically pushes people away even his own son, although he is supposed to be well-liked. When he is contemplating his suicide he even goes as far as telling himself (who he imagines as talking to Ben) that, “Ben, that funeral will be massive! They’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire! All the old timers with the strange license plates,” (Miller 41). As he is talking, Willy is trying to convince no one but himself that all of his 'friends' will come from all parts of the United States. As he continues to go on he says, “I am known! Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey — I am known, Ben, and he’ll see it with his eyes once and for all. He’ll see what I am, Ben” (Miller 41). In his delusional state as he plans life for his family after he is gone, he is still worried about people viewing him as a great successful salesman. He talks down to and about Biff because Biff knows reality from fantasy unlike his father. Biff tries forcing Willy into reality by explaining, “I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it,” (Miller 43). With the harsh reality of the fact he isn't going to amount to anything and neither will his son, Willy is still a bit in denial and mentally unstable, so he decides death and the insurance money his family will receive, is the ultimate solution.

It's understandable how some would presume that this work is not a tragedy because Willy Loman is just a regular guy who had some psychological issues. In most tragedies, there is a King or a huge hero who has a unfortunate downfall but Death of A Salesman captures tragedy in a different light then most people are used to because it portrays a tragedy of the everyday man. If an important figure is not involved when unfortunate situations happen doesn't make things more or less of a tragedy.

In the end this was a tragedy that could really happen to any person. Willy being so caught up on being successful and trying to provide more than what he could give to his family was ultimately what was slowly killing him inside while driving him mad, and ironically also the reason he took his own life. Willy responded to his broken dreams by admiring how after Ben died, his kids received insurance money and decided to finally provide financial happiness for his family in the same way. The tragic flaw in Willy, along with the social pressure and moral weakness he had, makes this play a tragedy.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Death penalty: cruel and unusual punishment (essay)
3. Conclusion

Introduction

The increasing lack of general support network in criminal’s lives today has created within them an emptiness which an increasing percentage look to fill with destructive behavior. This behavior manifests itself in a variety of ways but some common ones that have directly impacted society today are drugs and alcohol, depression, anxiety, suicide and school shootings. All of these behaviors result in significant unrest in our communities, schools, homes and personal lives. Ultimately, this leads to decreased levels of happiness and satisfaction in life which creates even greater levels of emptiness. This is a vicious cycle which eventually can lead to something as serious as the death penalty. ProCon.org writes, “since 1977, more than 1,480 people have been executed in the United States due to capital punishment”. The death penalty should not be allowed. Throughout history, as it has proven to be inhumane, expensive, and dangerous. It is important to eliminate the hypocrisy of killing a killer. To define whether death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment this essay explores complex issues and promote understanding on this crucial topic.

Death penalty: cruel and unusual punishment (essay)

One tragic way young people seek to cope with the void in their lives is through suicide and school shootings. Colorado is unfortunately no stranger to both of these and both have shaped our way of thinking. It is home to Columbine, STEM, and Arapahoe high schools. Not to mention one of the most devastating shootings that the state has had, “A gunman who killed a dozen people inside an Aurora movie theater in July 2012” (Berman). These institutions have unfortunately been center stage to some of the most disturbing shootings. It is hard to understand how people can commit such heinous acts but one contributor is undoubtedly the lack of belonging and the feeling of being alienated by their community.

The death penalty is nothing new to the United States. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 2,639 prisoners are currently facing execution in the United States while being on death row. Capital punishment has evolved from executing one who steals vegetables in the 1700’s to executing another who murders dozens of people in the 2010’s. The idea of killing as a form of consequence for one’s crimes goes back centuries. Back then, hanging was the first choice of execution, but worse methods like beating, burning, and breaking on a wheel were also used. However, in 1790, the bill of rights and the eighth amendment states that no cruel or unusual punishment would be inflicted on the United States citizens. Once 1924 struck, another form of punishment was introduced, the gas chamber. During the great depression in the 1930’s, the U.S. entered it’s most popular time for capital punishment, killing almost 170 people every year. On December 7th, 1982, lethal injection was first used and soon was chosen to be the first choice of execution. Support for the death penalty was at an all time high at 80 percent in 1994, and since then it has declined. In the start of the 2010’s, the argument was brought up after a man named Troy Davis was executed and millions thought he was innocent. 16 states abolished the death penalty all together. Although, because of many different belifs, the death penalty will always remain a very controversial topic.

In the state of Colorado, death row is located in the state penitentiary. There are currently three people awaiting execution. “Nathan Dunlap was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, other charges, and was sentenced to death in the electric chair on May 17, 1996. A judge initially set an execution date for him in August 2013, but Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a temporary reprieve that would postpone Dunlap's execution date.” (Ingold). Quincy Snowdon who is a writer for the Sentinel Magazine said, “Robert Ray was found guilty of assaulting and attempting to murder in 2007 and was first sentanced to 108 years in prison”. A friend of Robert Ray, Sir Mario Owens, shot and killed multiple people minutes after Ray attempted murder but was not caught. Three years later, for helping Owens get away, Ray was sentenced to death. According to state records, Owens was also sentenced to death for participating in the crimes in 2008. “All of the men currently sentenced to death in Colorado attended Overland High School in the Cherry Creek School District” (Snowdon).

In the state of Colorado, capital punishment is a very controversial topic and is currently being argued on if the death penalty should be allowed or not. “Some crimes are so heinous and inherently wrong that they demand strict penalties, up to and including life sentences or even death.” (Muhlhausen) If the death penalty is abolished, it will be a waste of time. Trials will continue for years and we will have to keep paying for their room in prison too. As time goes on and crimes get worse, jails will be overpopulated to the point where criminals will be allowed to leave before their sentence has been met and will definitely put communities at risk. The death penalty will also punish people for what they have done and we wont have to put them on suicide watch.

In order to execute someone, the California Commission states “the death penalty costs on average $137 million per year, and a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration costs on average, $11.5 million.” This statistic proves how much cheaper it is to keep them in prison for life. Spending money on capital punishment can lead to low, if any, resources put to use for crime prevention, treatment for mental health, rehabilitation, and education. It can also drive away law enforcement, emergency services, libraries, schools, health, and construction. If the state doesnt abolish the death penalty, it will put many things at risk and will hurt our economy in the end.

Although there are many reasons to abolish the death penalty, a huge one is the backlash of the media. The media will take the truth and switch it around just enough to keep not only their reputation in tact but also to keep the story believable. Once race has been entered into the media, especially with the death penalty, things will end very badly. Not to mention how big the movement, “Black Lives Matter” is. “People of color are far more likely to be executed than white people, especially if the victim is white” (ALCU). That statement is wrong. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 516 people of color and 998 people of other races have been executed since the year 1976. The media will be very quick to hop on the most trending topic and if that means race, then they will go to the ends of the earth to tag along.

Another very important argument is the amount of innocent people being executed. The ALCU writes, “Innocent people are too often sentenced to death. Since 1973, over 156 people have been released from death rows in 26 states because of innocence.” To carry on, for every nine people forced to death in this country, one person has been proven innocent after they were Executed. Going into the U.S. Bill of Rights, the eighth amendment states, “No cruel or unusual punishment should be inflicted on any United States citizen.” We as a country are not abiding by that at all and the death penalty is getting in the way of us killing a completely innocent human being.

The United States Department of Justice Archives states, “according to a report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, funded in part by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) National Institute of Justice (NIJ), 16.9 percent of the adults in a sample of local jails had a serious mental illness. That’s three to six times the rate of the general population. And while the serious mental illness rate was 14 percent for men, it was 31 percent for women.“ Between the years 2000 to 2014, 4,508 prisioners committed suicide. 47% of the suicides were by prisioners being held for offenses that were non-violent. For the thousands of suicides in prision, nine days was the average time served in jail. Andrew Crawford, a writer for The Washington Post wrote, “An inmate awaiting trial is nearly five times as likely to kill himself or herself than someone on the outside. Most jails don’t even conduct reviews after suicides.” These statistics show how incarceration in the United States, can put so much pressure on one person which leads them to commit suicide. Whether they are on death row or not.

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Conclusion

Not only is this topic very controversial, it is of great significance to remember how inhumane execution is. First, the electric chair had an awful history of setting people on fire, so that was the end of that method. The view of a hanging body at the end of a rope was soon disgusting to the eye, even though certain states still allow it to this day. A gas chamber, the number one method in the state of California for years, showed intense pain as criminals couldn’t breath and within minutes, suffered heart attacks. Eventually it was forgotten by the state when a federal judge stated, “this is no place in civil society.” Lighting people on fire, was also destroyed because of the awful torture. Lethal injection seems safe and reliable, but Austin Sarat, a professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College reports, “over 120 years, 8,776 people were executed and 276 of those executions (3.15%) went wrong in some way. Lethal injection had the highest rate of botched executions.” Lethal injection proved to be the most humane method, but is very risky and still distasteful. “With each devel­op­ment in the tech­nol­o­gy of exe­cu­tion, the same promis­es have been made, that each new tech­nol­o­gy was safe, reli­able, effec­tive and humane. Those claims have not gen­er­al­ly been ful­filled.” (Austin Sarat). There is no right or wrong argument for the death penalty, as it still remains a very controversial topic. The debate will live on for as long as we have prisoners on death row. The debate will never end. There is no best way to execute someone and it holds absurdity and inhumanity. It would make no sense in the end if civilians in our country keep comitting crimes at the highest level that holds concequences consisting of capital punishment, because it’s a vicious cycle of murder. No government should be allowed to hold the power of life and death over people.

Today many people have heard of suicide, where one will take their own life when things get to hard to handle and they feel like there is no other way to cope. Not many people today have heard of assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is when a physician will help assist a patient with suicide by prescribing lethal doses of drugs or supplying the drugs for the patient. To discuss the topic of death with dignity, this essay explores the complex ethical and moral issues surrounding assisted suicide and provides a platform for discussing this topic in a thoughtful and respectful way.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian played a big role in the Assisted Suicide. He was a physician who lived in Michigan who helped his patients kill themselves. He helped assist more than 130 people from 1990-1998. He even helped his parents with assisting them in their death. He has served 8 years in prison for second-degree murder for administering the lethal injection rather than helping the patient do it themselves. At the age of 83, on June 3, 2011 he had died under the Death with Dignity Act. They say he died peacefully listening to his favorite composer. He had passed away in the intensive care unit where he was suffering from pneumonia and kidney problems. He had later developed pulmonary thrombosis.

Assisted suicide is legal in 5 states which includes Oregon, Montana, Washington, Vermont, and California. Anyone living in these states that are over the age of 18 and are terminally ill and mentally competent are able to have an assisted suicide. The first state to allow the Death with Dignity Act was Oregon on October 27, 1997. In 2014, a total of 155 terminally-ill adults from Oregon received a prescription under the Death with Dignity Act. Out of the 155 patients, 105 of them ingested the medications to die peacefully. Since the law passed in 1998, a total of 1,327 patients have received the prescription, and 859 ingested it and died.About 1 in 3 people who receive these medications under the Death with Dignity Act decide not to use the medications.

Most people who choose to die under the Death with Dignity Act tend to be well educated and have excellent health care, good insurance, access to hospice, and financial, emotional, and physical support. Most people who choose this route have cancer or ALS. They will typically choose to die at home and are enrolled in hospice care. Research shows that 2 out of 3 people are age 65 and older while the median age is 72.

In 2014, Brittany Maynard, who was 29 with terminal brain cancer who lived Portland, Oregon chose the Death with Dignity Act. On New Year’s Day after months of chronic headaches, she learned she had brain cancer. She had been married for a little over a year and had been trying for a family. After learning about her diagnosis she learned she had 6 months to live. She did research on how radiation would be and she found out that she would have first-degree burns on her scalp, and she would lose all her hair. With her tumor being so large radiation wouldn’t do much for her. She had considered passing away at home with hospice but she didn’t want her family to witness such a tragic thing. She had the medication for weeks, she wanted people to know that she is not suicidal but she is dying and she wants to die on her own terms. With her having this decision to decide on when she dies has given her a peace of mind during this stressful time. She wanted to be able to make it to October 26 to celebrate her husband’s death and planned to pass shortly after.

In my opinion I believe that more states should allow this law. Many people when they are terminally ill would rather die peacefully then to have a short amount of time suffering and their families seeing them in this emotional struggle. For me, I wouldn’t want my family to see me suffering. I would rather me be able to pass peacefully then to suffer longer than I need to.

Recently, based on the written report of Romero, Senate President Vicente Sotto III filed Senate Bill No. 2026 or lowering the age of criminal responsibility from twelve to nine years old because of the alarming rise in the number of crime which involves juveniles. The law seek to amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which exempts children aged 15 and below from criminal liability.

Sotto believes that this law will help innocent children being abused by the criminals because the criminal organization takes advantage of the republic act by using minors to commit crimes, there are some serious cases shows that children fifteen and below beating each other to death, dragging an old man out of public utility vehicle to steal his purse, and taking the earnings of the jeepney driver, become runner of couriers of drug syndicates because they would not be held as criminal liable under the law and they will just be released back to the society and many of them will end up as repeat offenders.

The measure of the proposed law seeks to amend section 6, 20, 20-A, 20-B and 22 of the Republic act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act as amended so that a child under the age 18 but above the age of 9 at the time of the commission can be held criminally liable and subjected to appropriate proceedings unless it can be proven that he acted without discernment, in which case he will be exempt from criminal liability and subjected to appropriate intervention program.

If enacted, the bill will provide an intervention program for the children who commit crimes. They will be committed to a rehabilitation center or child-caring institutions. Moreover, If the crime committed by the child offender is punishable by imprisonment of 6 years or less (reclusion temporal), or reclusion perpetua if punishable by imprisonment of more than 6 years, the bill will penalize children for the commission of crimes.

The above reading highlighted the meaning and purpose of the Senate Bill No. 2026 or the Lowering of the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility amending the Republic Act 9344. It was stated there that the bill wants to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility due to the criminal acts committed by young offenders. Senator Sotto, who proposed the law, believed that it is the best way to stop juvenile delinquency.

Stages of Human Development. Every human being undergoes a process called psychological development. Toledo, defines psychological development as the development of individuals’ cognitive, emotional, intellectual, and also social capabilities and working through life expectancy, from infancy to seniority. It also a subject matter of discipline known as development psychology.

Bhutia et. al., cited three stages of psychological development, the infancy, childhood, adolescents. Infancy is a period between birth and acquisition of language. It is where the infant’s development takes place since it is the earliest stage of human development. Newborn are outfitted with an inclination for certain visual examples such as human face, specific sounds like human voice. By a couple of months they can already distinguish their mother through sight.

Second is the childhood stage. This stage is known to be the second significant stage in human development. It is usually from one to two years of age until the child reach adolescence at age of 12 or 13. At this stage the child will face enormous strides and compensation and utilization of language. The child expresses his first word by 13- 14 months and by 18th the child already has vocabulary words of at least 50 words, and they starts to use three word conversations.

The third and the most complex stage is adolescence or also known as puberty stage. Emotionally the adolescence is the point at which individual figures out how to control and direct sex and start to build up very own sexual role and relationship.

Similar to that, are the four stages of human development by Jean Piaget cited by Ansorge. Piaget’s stages of development are part of the theory about the phase of the normal intellectual development, from infancy to adulthood. The four stages are the following: Sensorimotor, birth through ages 18-24 months. Preoperational, toddlerhood (18 to 24 months) through early childhood (7 years old). Concrete operational, ages 7-11 years old. Formal operational, adolescence through adulthood.

Firstly, the sensorimotor stage. According to Piaget, infants at this early stage only aware of what is the right in front of them. They focus on what they see, what they are doing and physical interactions with their immediate environment. Infant shakes their hands, throw things and put objects in their mouth and learning something through trial and error it is because they don’t yet know how tings react, they are only experimenting. After the infant starts crawling, standing and walking, their increased physical mobility leads to more cognitive development.

Secondly, is the preoperational stage (toddler, or 7 years old). During this stage, the language that they use becomes more mature. Young children are able to think symbolically. They also develop memory and imagination, in which it allows them to understand the difference between past and future. But they cannot yet grasp more complex concepts, such as cause and effects and comparison. Their ability to think is based on intuition and not completely logical.

Next to preoperational stage is the concrete operational stage, the elementary or the preadolescent age (7-11 years old). A child at this stage begins to show logical and concrete reasoning. They begin to realize that their thoughts and feelings are unique and not be shared with others. They become less focus on themselves. But at this stage, most of the children cannot think abstractly or hypothetically.

Lastly, is the formal operational stage. It is usually at the age of 11 and above. During this stage children are able to use symbols related to abstracts concept, such as algebra and science. They can now come up with theories and able to think things in a systematic ways and also considering possibilities and can ponder abstract relationships and concepts such as justice.

Moreover, in the study conducted by Laycraft, found out that the mood and characteristics of an adolescent changes as his age change. In the early adolescents (10-13 years old), the children is changeable, have opposing emotions, shifting moods, indecision and doubt and often influenced by their peers. In the middle adolescents’ stage (14-16 years old), children during this stage have well-developed emotional system but the cognitive system still developing. Their mental structure is still in the chaotic state. And lastly the late adolescent stage (18-21 years old), individual can integrate potentially opposing attributes into higher-order abstractions. At this stage individual can already sustain and fulfill social responsibility.

The reading and literature presented above was the stages of human development and adolescent’s psychological development, wherein the article cited by Bhutia et. al., there are three stages of psychological development from infancy to adulthood. It is also explained the step by step psychological development by Jean Piaget from sensorimotor stage up to formal operational stage. Besides, according to Ansorge when a child reach the formal operational stage he is able to decide on his own because he is able to think creatively and critically. On the other hand in the study of Laycraft, she emphasize that the development of a child changes over time from early adolescent to late adolescent.

Perceptions on Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility

The current issue on crime especially to young offenders in the Philippines has taken the government to create many ways and solutions to resolve this. One of these is the proposed Senate Bill No. 2026, the bill that seeks to lower minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15-9 years old.

Moreover, Senate President Sotto III proposes the bill lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility when acting with discernment, like most of the countries worldwide. Senator Sotto stated that, “Even during the time of President Manuel Quezon, nine years old is already the age of criminal responsibility when acting with discernment, is it okay for thirteen years old to kill or rape someone? Tell that to the parents of the victim”. The Duterte administration promised to punish and hunt down the criminals in his war on drugs campaign. Suddenly upon the ongoing campaign he noticed that there are numbers of children who were involved in a various crimes linked to drugs. Drug syndicates used children as drug runners because they are not punishable by the law. Due to increasing rate of child offenders, President Rodrigo Duterte wants the law to be passed; he pointed out that “Children must be taught to understand responsibility”.

In addition, many other politicians who support this amendment, they justify it parallelizing with other countries that have a low criminal age. Several federal states in America operate on the common law age of 7. The United Kingdom and Indonesia prosecute criminally from the age of 8 while Australia states and territories lower the minimum criminal age to10 years old. The age of the criminal responsibility is the age at which a child is considered by law to understood that there were wrong and can face criminal charges. Some say it is the act and the gravity not the age of the perpetrator.

Similar to that, in the study of Lumintao and Butalid they found out that the bill was beneficial for child offenders. The respondents of their study believed that it is a vehicle to promote peace, enhance public safety; this could prevent children from committing crimes as well as prevent children with previous case of crime from reoffending. And this could alleviate poverty in the country. Besides they believed that the child in conflict with the law should be imprisoned because they doing criminal actions and it is good for the parents so that they will take care of their children and become a responsible parent.

On the other hand, UNICEF, social workers psychologists, human rights advocates and other lawmakers to name a few, strongly oppose to the lowering of minimum age of criminal responsibility. Senator Risa Hontiveros is one of the few lawmakers who opposed to the reform. She insists that punitive measures are not the best way to keep away children from crime. The senator proposes the implementation of the existing law properly; Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006 where it focuses on the rehabilitation and special treatment for delinquent minors.

Similarly, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian stated that, lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility was not the most effective solution to curb the criminality, the focus should be rehabilitating the child in conflict with the law; the children must be in schools not in jails. Even Senator Sonny Anggara finds that the nine years old children are too young to face criminal liability. “The nine years old child do not belong in jail”, Anggara said. Also, Senator Nancy Binay strongly opposed the approved bill in the house, she said “As a mother of a nine years old twin I know that, at that age they are still unable to differentiate between right or wrong.

Correspondingly, according to the study conducted by Leny Morano and colleagues, in Naga City the parents disagree with lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility as they believe that our country is not yet prepared in terms of implementation, infrastructure and management. They believe that it can increase the crime rate in our society if not implemented properly. And for them, the government should allocate more budgets for the overall implementation. If the child in conflict with the law is detained, they will be exposed to serious illegal activities, in which it can encourage them to be rebellious and defiant.

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To conclude, the above readings and literature stressed out the different perceptions on Senate Bill No. 2026 that seeks to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The issue on this crisis is very debatable. Clearly, both sides expressed their reasons for taking their respective stance.