Role of mTOR in Pain

Role of mTOR in Pain Juliette Lanskey Introduction Pain perception protects the human body from damage, yet when the underlying mechanisms are disrupted pain can become a debilitating condition. There are almost 10 million Britains that suffer from pain on a daily basis affecting not only their personal wellbeing and quality of life but also the economy. Back pain is an example of chronic pain and back pain alone costs the NHS around  £5billion per annum and it was reported that 4.9 million days are lost per year to british businesses (http://www.britishpainsociety.org/media_faq.htm). Unfortunately, understanding the mechanisms that go awry leading to pain that is more harmful than beneficial is proving challenging. As a result, there is a deficit in treatments available to control chronic pain despite much research. There is therefore an urgent requirement to understand the mechanisms underlying pain perception in order for the development of therapeutics to reduce the sufferings of humans and the economy. This dissertation shall focus on a potential target, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which recent research has highlighted as playing a significant role in chronic pain. Pain Pathways The processing of painful stimuli by the nervous system is termed nociception. Pain is nociception with additional psychological and emotional inputs. Noxious stimuli cause an action potential to run through a specialised set of neurons termed by Sherrington in 1906 as nociceptors; the pain neurons. Nociceptors have free nerve endings to detect noxious stimuli and can be classified into two main groups taking messages from the periphery to the central nervous system, called Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ and C fibres. Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ fibres are medium-diameter, mylinated neurons and this myelination and wider diameter allows rapid signal conduction. It is the Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ fibres that transmit the first, sharp, localised pain of an injury whilst C fibres which are small-diameter, unmyelinated neurons transmit slow, diffuse, secondary pain 2009CELLULARANDMOLECULAR. Hence Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ fibres are crucial in rapidly signalling an injury whilst the slow, burning pain from C fibres is important for protecti on during the healing period. These primary afferent nociceptors transfer messages from the periphery to the dorsal horn of the spinal chord. The dorsal horn is particularly important for processing and modulating noxious information. The dorsal horn is composed of six rexed laminae with transition zones approximately dividing different cell types. Indeed, nociceptors terminate in particular laminae. The majority of Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¤ fibres terminate densely in lamina I, though some do also terminate in lamina V. C fibres mainly terminate in laminae I and II, although there are also a few C fibre terminations in lamina V. Thus the majority of neurons which terminate in the superficial dorsal horn specifically respond to noxious stimuli while neurons terminating deeper in the dorsal horn tend to respond to innocurous touch (large diameter, rapid conducting Aà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢ fibres transmit such innocuous information CELLULARANDMECHANMECHS2009). It is within the dorsal horn that nociceptors synapse onto central projection neurons which transmit the noxious information up to the brain. The main central pathways run up to the brain via the thalamus or brainstem and terminate in areas such as the periaqueductal grey and the parabrachial nucleus REF. There are also descending pain pathways originating in the periaqueductal grey, rostral ventral medulla and coeruleus which pass signals to the dorsal horn modulating nociception. There are also modulating circuits in the dorsal horn composing of exitatory and inhibitory interneurons contacting further neurons in the spinal cord (Fields2006thesis). Nociceptors have a pseudo-unipolar morphology allowing bidirectional signalling. This means that nociceptors are able to transmit action potentials antidromically from the the central nervous system to the nociceptor terminals (Dubin, 2010). A result of central processing is increased sensitivity of the area at and around a site of tissue damage or inflammation (PUBHUNT). A chemical soup of cytokines and growth factors is released at the site of injury and causes an increase in the sensitivity of a subset of surrounding nociceptors. This means that these nociceptors have a reduced threshold for noxious stimuli (thus will now respond to less intense stimuli than before) and also an increased response to noxious stimuli. This sensitisation of neurons at the site of injury is called primary hyperalgesia. mTOR inhibitors do not affect primary hyperalgesia and thus it is unlikely mTOR is involved, however there is another phenomenon called secondary hyperalgesia which mTOR does seem to be involved in. Secondary hyperalgesia is when a set of neurons not directly at the site of injury but in the surrounding, undamaged area undergo an increase in sensitivity due to central processing (pubhunt). Recent studies have demonstrated t hat the mTOR plays a role in creating this sensitivity. Acute pain is the pain that follows immediately after an injury to protect the body from further damage and aid the process of healing but when pain exists for more than 3 months it is defined as chronic pain (SITETHESISMerskey and Bogduk, 1994; Russo and Brose, 1998). This chronic pain does not protect the body but rather hinders the quality of life. The pathology of chronic pain often consists of decreased pain thresholds and increased response to stimsuli; the nociceptors are more sensitive. Moreover, whilst nociceptors are generally silent, firing action potentials only when stimulated (dubin2010), in chronic pain, there is an increased tendency for spontaneous activity (JULIUSANDBASBAUMTHESIS). Altogether, chronic pain leads to allodynia (pain from a normally non-noxious stimulus), hyperalgesia (heightened sensitivity to noxious stimuli) and spontaneous pain. mtor The mammalian target of rapamycin is a regulator a number of cellular processes including synaptic plasticity, protein synthesis and cellular metabolism (XONCUETALTHESIS). It is a molecule belonging to the kinase family and forms two complexes with raptor; mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). It is when part of these complexes that it administrates its cellular functions though much more is known about mTORC1 and so it is predominantly the role of mTORC1 in pain perception that this dissertation shall focus on. Signalling cascade There is a signalling cascade involving mTOR, the downstream targets of which lead to cellular activities resulting in the organisation of the cytoskeleton, the regulation of metabolism and cell survival (wullschlegerTHESIS). The signalling cascade is initiated by a signal such as a neurotransmitter acting on transmembrane receptors which activate phosphoinosital 3 kinase-AKT pathway. This results in the phosphorylation and thereby the activation of mTOR. Phosphorylated mTOR in turn phosphorylates the 4E-binding protein and in this phosphorylated state the 4E-binding protein is unable to bind and thus inhibit a protein called eIF4E. So when mTOR is activated it has the downstream affect of enabling eIF4E to associate with eIF4G, this is an essential step for initiating translation (TJ PRICE GERANTON). The fact that mTOR plays such a significant role in the regulation of translation is a hint of its importance in pain plasticity. Previously, it was thought by some that translation could only occur in the cell soma. However, others noted both the half-life of axonal proteins and the time it takes for a protein to travel down the length of the axon and concluded that the axoplasmic transport is too slow for protein synthesis only to occur in the cell soma HUNT. Indeed, following the discovery of ribosomes and ‘Golgi outposts’ in dendritic spines it is now believed that local protein synthesis at the sites of dendritic synapses plays a significant role in plasticity (2009REVIEW). Research demonstrates that chronic pain arises as a result of plastic changes that occur during persistent acute pain. During any pain there are noxious signals to the central nervous system enabling the pain to be perceived, if these signals persist it has been shown that this causes and maintains plastic changes that result in chronic pain. Indeed, it has been shown through advanced structural imaging methods that there are large scale alterations in the brain structure of sufferers of chronic pain CHRONICPAINPLASTICITY. There is relatively little research into the possibilities of targeting this pain plasticity to help patients cope with chronic pain in comparison with genetic studies. It is consequentially an exciting new avenue of exploration and the role of mTOR in pain plasticity is of particular interest. EARLIER As mTOR plays such a crucial role in cellular function it is unsurprising that mTOR dysfunction is believe to be involved in a number of maladies. The role of mTOR in cancer, diabetes and neurodegeneration is being explored and a number of mTOR inhibitors have already been tested for treating certain maladies. For example†¦..This has demonstrated that mTOR inhibitors are potential treatment regimes BUT THERE ARE SIDEEFFECTS MTOR THESIS MTOR SIGNALLING MTOR PLASTICITY see 2009reviewnociception and AMPKPG 6 is v good Dealing with pain MTOR AND RESEARCH thesis 2 Pain Pathways and Plasticity 3 The mammalian target of rapamycin 2007 Decreased Nociceptive Sensitization in Mice Lacking the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein: Role of mGluR1/5 and mTOR – mTOR’s role in nociceptive synaptic plasticity through translation regulation; ‘ the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin inhibited formalin- and DHPG-induced nociception’ †¦. mTOR is a major regulator of protein synthesis for it controls the initiation of translation (PUBLISHEDHUNT2009). It is thought that by controlling protein translation it maintains the sensitivity of nociceptors following local injury. Targetting mTOR could reduce the secondary hyperalgesia that occurs from pain and thus help patients cope with pain†¦ 4 The mTOR signalling cascade Unicellular organisms that are sensitive to nutrient availability in their environment control translation via a rapamycin-sensitive translation pathway. This process is controlled by a protein kinase, TOR, which is blocked by rapamycin. Interestingly, neurons appear to have co-opted this evolutionarily conserved mechanism to control activity-dependent local translation. Mammalian TOR, or mTOR, is activated by neurotransmitter receptor signaling cascades and phosphorylates downstream factors that control translation. Hence, mTOR is intricately involved in synaptic plasticity in the CNS, a mechanism that is linked to its role in controlling translation in dendrites (Jaworskiet al., 2006). The major mechanism of mTOR-regulated translation is control of the initiation of cap-dependent translation (depicted in Fig 1) (Gingras et al., 2004). This occurs because one of the major targets of mTOR phosphorylation is the elongation associated factor 4E-BP (Gingraset al., 1999). 4E-BP binds c c ap-binding factor eIF4E and, when it is hypo-phosphorylated, inhibits the formation of the eIF4E/eIF4G elongation complex preventing translation. When 4E-BP is hyper-phosphorylated, 4E-BP dissociates from eIF4E allowing eIF4G binding and the initiation of cap-dependent translation. Recently a small molecule inhibitor of eIF4G binding to eIF4E was discovered (4EGI-1) and this molecule inhibits cap-dependent translation (Moerke et al., 2007). Hence, mTOR is crucial for regulating activity-dependent translation in neurons via its regulation of elongation factors (Bankoet al., 2006; Tanget al., 2002; Tsokaset al., 2007) and the mTOR pathway is amenable to specific pharmacological manipulation. 6 Experiments suggesting inhibiting mTOR could help control pain 2007 Decreased Nociceptive Sensitization in Mice Lacking the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein: Role of mGluR1/5 and mTOR – mTOR’s role in nociceptive synaptic plasticity through translation regulation; ‘ the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin inhibited formalin- and DHPG-induced nociception’ NOT THAT RELEVANT – basically saying that because of mutation translation can’t happen properly†¦meaning mTOR has less control. However there is a subsection with rapamycin injections which does show decreased nociception with rapamycin 2011 – systemic inhibition of mTOR – mTOR regulation of nociceptive sensitivity; ‘ inhibiting the mTORC1 pathway systemically alleviated mechanical hypersensitivity in mouse models’ Good intro relating mTOR to chronic pain Local cutaneous intrathecal administration of rapamycin blocks activation of downstream targets of mTORC1 alleviating mechanical hypersensitivity – 21, 29 3 43 46 62 SHOULD PUT 1 OR 2 LOCAL EXPERIMENTS BEFORE THIS ONE If targeting mTORC1 signaling pathway has a potential thera- peutic application for controlling chronic pain, systemic rather than local administration (as has been used previously [21,29]) requires further investigation. Here we examined the effective- ness of temsirolimus (CCI-779), a clinically used rapamycin ester derivative, given systemically

If I Were George Bush Essay example -- essays research papers

If I Was George Bush   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If I was George Bush I would follow the exact same path he is following right now. His plans for our countries Education and Health Care plan live up to their promises. These plans also benefit the country greatly as a whole. Yet, if I was President Bush, I would make the positive effects of these plans to prove themselves more immediate than they have been. This would urge America to follow my, or Bush’s, plans to make America a better place.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Education Plan the Bush has produced is almost perfect. It contains six key points that I totally agree with. The first part of the plan says that American will provide state grants to recruit and train teachers. The second part of the plan being that America will be recruiting high quality Individuals to become teachers. The third part says that America will be expanding programs to train teachers in specific subject areas. The fourth part suggests that America will implement the Teachers Protection Act. The fifth part says that a new teacher’s tax deduction will be implemented. Lastly, the sixth part of the plan says that America will be providing expanded student loan forgiveness for teachers. All of these goals lead to one key plan. This plan is to put a quality teacher in every room. If this feat can be accomplished, I would follow the exact same plan Bush is following right now. Bush basically has this plan covere...

My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement :: Philosophy of Education Teaching Teachers Essays

My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement Imagine your life without a proper education. Without the proper education you could properly provide for yourself or your family. All students are born with a different nature, however; the reason for their education remains the same. The purpose of education is to provide a foundation for students. Many methods of teaching and methods of discipline are used in the classroom. There are also many areas of curriculum that are important in the elementary level. Education provides the necessary grounds to succeed in our country today. Students’ intelligence levels vary drastically from student to student. However, their dispositions are identical at birth. All children are born with the ability to be a wonderful and loving person. Our society has the power to change the caring dispositions of our children. This is why many of our children live difficult lives; the world has made them mean or evil. This is described as having a relative nature, meaning that a child is constructed and dependent upon person, place, or time. Not all children have the ability to become one of our countries doctors or lawyers, but all of them are born with capability of living a joyful and happy life. The overall purpose of education is to prepare students for challenges that life brings to them. Challenges such as applying for a job, providing for a family, and managing a business. Education is important because it provides a solid background for the child to begin a healthy and happy life. As a teacher I hope to give my students the confidence to continue with their education. I also hope to provide a good educational foundation so that my students are well prepared as they do continue their education. I hope that my students acquire self – confidence. I hope that my students have the drive and the compassion to further their education. I also hope that my children understand that education is necessary in order to live a successful life. There are many ethics that a teacher must follow inside and outside of the classroom.

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life Essay

â€Å"Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence†- Aristotle. Do you agree with Aristotle’s statement? Discuss why/ why not. While happiness in a scientific sense can be explained as the chemicals released throughout our bodies, it still doesn’t tell us fully why these are chemicals are sent and what it means in the overall human experience in scientific terms. From an artistic perspective happiness is the largest component in providing self-worth to one’s self and with its absence we see people delve into the depths of depression losing the motivation and ability to perform tasks and live life to its fullest, and in some extreme cases losing the will to live. On the opposite side of depression there is euphoria and this is where people experience moments in their life that they remember and cherish during times of reflection, it is at these moments when we find the most purpose in our lives especially when we enjoy what we are enjoying so therefore Aristotle’s statement can easily be viewed as correct as this essay will argue for. What does it mean to be happy? It seems that this is another one of those questions that can be argued in multiple ways but for this essay I will take Aristotle’s definition. Happiness, from Aristotle’s definition of a human as a being who recognises his potential to give form to himself (Colebrook 2006, p. 2). A person with depression and the utter lack of happiness views themself as worthless and lose their passion of living, losing much their ability and potential. This fact of people committing suicide when they are overcome with sadness demonstrates that without happiness human beings lose their meaning and passion in life. Without this passion and drive depressed people tend to isolate themselves and do not ‘live’ their lives to its fullest extent. It seems therefore that the purpose of our lives is to find those things that do make us happy, and then doing them. If there’s a certain person in our lives that makes us happy, we need to find a way to spend more time with them. Because if you’re not happy, you need to look at your life and think about why you aren’t feeling that amazing thing you want to be feeling. When a person reflects back on their life in their elder years the memoires they tend to remember are based around the feelings of joy and happiness such as the birth of their children or their first kiss, spending times with friends etc. These  memories are fundamentally the building blocks of their personalities and without these moments of happiness a person would more than likely feel unfulfilled in their lives in reflection. We see this time and again when renowned people who have achieved great accomplishments turn to drugs and seep into mental illness when they are not happy with the direc tion of their life. This then demonstrates that regardless of what you accomplish if you are not enjoying what you are doing you may lose meaning in your life and turn to unhealthy methods so that you can cope with your current life style. Thirdly when people have the available time and resources it is more than likely that they will spend this leisure time doing activities that make them feel happy and give them self-satisfaction. ‘Happiness can also be a by-product of working’ (Andersen, W, 2008) occupation that the person enjoys. It therefore seems that humans will go through burdens so that they may enjoy the activity of their choice. An example of this would be working all week in a occupation you do not enjoy so that you may go on a camping trip with your family, supporting the coming saying that people ‘live for the weekend’ as that is during the time when they are doing activities they enjoy, although these kinds of one off activities do not demonstrate lifelong happiness it must be something ongoing, a more long term activity that can be used as an example could be coaching a junior sport team. This therefore demonstrates if recreational activities are what people are working towards and it is what makes them happy it must then tie in with what they consider meaningful in life and therefore be its purpose. If you can find something that makes you happy, truly happy, then life will be a lot better for you. It can’t be something superficial, or something that only lasts for a day or two. It’s something that affects your entire life. It lasts. It burns inside of you and it doesn’t go out. That is happiness. It is therefore clear that Aristotle’s statement that happiness is the meaning and purpose of life can be argued as correct on multiple basis’s such as those people lacking happiness losing all meaning and purpose as explained in the second paragraph. In addition when people look back on their lives in reflection it is moments of happiness that people are most likely to remember and cherish and not those of turmoil and heartache. Furthermore people will pursue activities they find enjoyment and happiness in when given the opportunity demonstrating that they live for those brief  moments of time. In conclusion it is clear that Aristotle’s stat ement may well be correct but it is entirely dependent on the individual to find what makes them happy. References: Colebrook, C 2006, Narrative Happiness and the meaning of life Andersen, W, 2008, Journal of Christian education, vol 51, No. 2, p1/p17

My Thoughts About “Do You Speak American?”

After watching this video, I asked myself â€Å"Do I speak American? † Absolutely, the answer was no. In the past, I thought American English was only a language which pronounced â€Å"r† heavily. Surprisingly, according to the map of dialect, America can be divided by seven parts. They are Eastern New English, NYC,Philadelphia, The North, The Midland, The South and The West. And different regions of America have different dialects. In terms of the dialect of American English, I have a re-understanding of this language. I find it is interesting, even surprising, and I am more curious about that.The dialects of American English is really interesting. Honestly, when I hear a conversation or a speech, I can hardly recognize the accents without special note, although sometimes I can recognize the obvious accents according to the meaning of the sentence. For example, most young California say [? ] to replace [? ], say â€Å"like† as â€Å"lake†. According to my personal experience, when I traveled to Miami, Florida, I heard that most people in there said â€Å"lift† as â€Å"left†. Moreover, Net English used among young people is another part of interest.For example, â€Å"das kool† equals â€Å"that is cool†, â€Å"lol† means â€Å"laugh out loud†, â€Å"How ya doin hun† is â€Å"how are you doing honey? †, â€Å"g2g† means â€Å"got to go†, etc. Maybe they think typing English in this way is more convenient and fashionable, however, I do not think so. Furthermore, experts recommend that TV series is a good way to recognize and learn dialects since the actors of a program are come from different regions. At last, teenagers prefer to use some new words of phrases to express an common meaning, such as â€Å"bling bling† refers to expensive jewelry.This is popular and sometimes I also use that to express myself. Actually, I am surprised about the dialects of Americ an English in the following aspects. Firstly, in North America, people will laugh at lobsterman’s dialect and make fun with the way they speak. As far as I am concerned, we should respect different languages and cultures. Even though we cannot understand the way of communication, every dialect must has its own value to exist. Moreover, although people dislike some dialects, they can always imitate those dialects they hate. It is unbelievable.In addition, I watched these three DVDs without subtitle. So when I watched the CD2 which introduced the dialects in the mid-land, I found it was difficult for me to understand what people said. However, it is easier to understand what the north and west people said. I think it means that the people of mid-land and south have strong accents. Frankly, there are some points that I do not know before I watching this video. First of all, Philadelphia shakes the American speech more than any other city. Secondly, the Black and the White cannot communicate with each other by using English at the beginning.Thirdly, some people who come from the mid-land consider New Yorker speak bad English, since New Yorker say â€Å"water† as â€Å"[w? :d? ]†. To be honest, as for me, I like the dialect of New York. Fourthly, some pronounciation of dialect are totally different from the original pronounciation. For example, in Ohio and Michigan, â€Å"yins† means â€Å"you†, and in north, â€Å"ayuh† is equal to â€Å"yes†, etc. Finally, looking at magazines to find new words is a job, its purpose is to update the dictionary. To sum up, I don’t think I am speaking American even though I am in New York now.The dialects in United States are diverse. In my opinion, dialect is a component of cultural activities. And some dialects are related to history, some are related to the life style of different region. There are a variety of expressions for dialects. Those include the differences of pron ounciation, the new words for common meaning, net English, etc. Most important, no matter what kind of language we say, we should respect all of them and admit the existence value of them. At last, I think watching different American TV series is a good way for me to improve my American English.

Law in the Modern Times

Dietrich v The Queen Argued that there Is Immunity from conviction unless such a person In provided with counsel at the public expense. Mason C. J. And Brenan J. â€Å"The applicant is entitled to succeed because his trial miscarried by virtue of the judge's failure to stay or adjourn the trial until arrangements were made for counsel to appear the public expenseÃ'›. He was deprived of his right to a fair trial. † â€Å"Indeed, where there is no legal representation, and save in the exceptional case of the skilled litigant, the adversary system, whether or not It remains in theory, in racist breaks down † – Lord Devil.There Is an argued analogy with the united States Constitution, however as It Is based on their Constitution It has no parallel In Australian law. Could create difficulties – egg. Accused could demand counsel of a particular degree, skill or experience. Lack of representation may mean that an accused is unable to receive, or not receive a f ar trial. Brenna J. Whilst dissenting, Brenna acknowledges: â€Å"The entitlement of a person charged with a serious offence to be represented by counsel at public expense would be an important safeguard of fairness in the administration of criminal justice.Argues that our common law is different to other common law countries that have a Bill of Rights. â€Å"In the present case, there is no constitutional or statutory provision which supports the applicant's case. † â€Å"Every right or title must be enforced or administered in some form. † Deane J. â€Å"The entitlement of an accused person to a fair trial according to law Is recognized as the central thesis of the administration of criminal justice. † and right' which subjects innocent men t increased dangers of conviction merely cause of their poverty. However, viewed in the context of the overall trial, impropriety or unfairness could not have infected the verdict in the sense that it could not have advers ely influenced the final verdict which the accused was convicted. † Dawson J. The Trial Judge addressing Jury â€Å"The fact is he unrepresented, and you should make whatever allowances you believe appropriate for that fact. † â€Å"Entitlement to appear by counsel is not the same thing as entitlement to have counsel at the public expense. † â€Å"If he is convicted, an appeal cannot succeed merely because he was at a equidistant in being unrepresented. â€Å"There cannot be a miscarriage of Justice merely because an accused in unrepresented when he has no entitlement to representation. † Dietrich relied on Article 14(3)(d) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: â€Å"To have legal assistance assigned to him, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it. † However Dawson J. Believes that the common law can hold a fair trial with an unrepresented accused. Robinson v The Queen Man ac cused and convicted of murder in JamaicaMinority Judges dissented – found that accused had no defense counsel and a denial of such a right was sufficient to impair the trial. The UN Human Rights Committee responded to the trial of Robinson by stating that â€Å"the absence of counsel constituted an unfair trial. † In the common law country of Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms holds that in serious offences, counsel is essential for a fair trial. Deane J. â€Å"Central of our criminal law†¦ That no person shall be convicted of crime otherwise than after a fair trial according to law. † Gaudier J.A trial is not necessarily unfair because it is less than perfect, but it is unfair if it involves a risk of the accused being improperly convicted. † â€Å"What makes a trial without representation unfair is the possibility that representation might affect the outcome of the case. † Miscarriage of Justice. Mason C. J. â€Å"By reason of the la ck of representation of the accused, the resulting trial is not a fair one, any conviction of the accused must be quashed by an appellate court for the reason that there has been a miscarriage of Justice in that the accused as not been convicted without a fair trial.Where an accused has no representation, proceedings should be adjourned to enable accused to find counsel. Paragraph issue? If the trial proceeds without a defense counsel, and the accused is convicted, the conviction will almost certainly be quashed. The notion that a trial Judge may be able to give helping hand to accused is illusory and bound to cause problems in course of trial. No Judges prepared to fashion a constitutional right to state-funded counsel. Murphy J. Is McGinnis: â€Å"Putting aside an accused to trial in a serious case is barbarous.

Child Hood Essay

Today, childhood is seen as a universal rite of passage. Much of our literature consists of coming of age stories that focus on the journey from innocence to experience. Childhood marks the beginning of our personal narrative. We all have our stories of youth. Some percolate in the haze of memory; others are told and retold over the years. These stories—sad, humorous, painful—shape us. They make us who we are.Inspired by the growing popularity of collecting and recording our stories, students will interview an older family member about a single significant childhood memory, imagine specific details of the story, and then use one or a variety of media text types to present the story to the class. In doing so, students discover intergenerational links through the common universal experience of childhood. Students begin by interviewing a parent (or other older relative) about a childhood memory, collecting enough details to help them recreate the story vividly for an audie nce.In small groups, students share information and project ideas, with a view to re-telling the story through one or a combination of the following: print text (e. g. write a story from the parent’s point of view), visual text (e. g. memory scrapbook), digital text (e. g. Web page, graphic reproduction), audiovisual text (e. g. PowerPoint presentation with music), or oral presentation (e. g. monologue in the voice of the parent). Students should be encouraged to use whatever high- or low-tech tools they are comfortable with.This activity affords students the opportunity to discover and learn about the codes and conventions of their chosen media text type in order to successfully apply them to their own production. By re-creating an older family member’s story for an audience, students participate in the writing of the family history, making it less ephemeral and embedding it in time. Connecting with their parent or grandparent through a particular memory also allows s tudents to view childhood as a universal rite of passage, one that connects successive generations of their family to the family tree of humanity.A follow-up ELA activity could invite students to use their imagination to develop a story of their own, inspired by events from their own childhood: How would they tell the story to their grandchildren? Students could create a class anthology of their stories or their parents’. In Social Sciences, students could interview a parent or older relative about the social/cultural/historical time in which he or she lived as a child and create a poster depicting it