Monday, July 27, 2020

Space Robots II Attack of the Paradigm Shifts

Space Robots II Attack of the Paradigm Shifts UROPs. Youve heard about them before, but heres a refresher. At MIT, we have lots of professors doing research. We have lots of undergrads who would love the opportunity to do research and learn about their field. And we have the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program doing all the magic in-between dealing with proposals, funding, and listings. (Though listings are far from the only opportunities available if youre interested in a professors research, just go ask about it and see if they have space for someone. Thats how I got my first UROP!) The experience is incredibly valuable. A few years ago, back when I was Course 7 (thats Biology, for all you havent-learned-MITese folks), I UROPd in a really amazing and informative lab working on the genetics of regeneration. Slicing up regenerating organisms with a certain gene turned off to see that they grew heads at every new cut was a real whoaaaaa what? moment :) But though fascinating, I somehow felt like I was missing something biology, in its pure form, didnt seem like it was quite for me. When I started my next set of classes in the fall, I realized that I was heading in the wrong direction. But how can this be? This is an unallowable paradigm shift! Im a biologist, I was always going to be a biologist! Biology was like the best class in high school! This… is unimaginable, what else would I be?? I got through the rest of term. Sometime over IAP, I started hanging out in the SIPB office (MITs computing club). And then I did something very strange. I did a thing that I had believed all my life was supposed to be a thing only incredibly boring people. I wrote a program. def Hiya(): print pony Yes, it failed to work, because I didnt put quotes around pony and thus let Python know that it was a string and not a variable. With a quick question to a nearby SIPB member, this was fixed. And pony was printed to my screen. In a reckless, rash, and intuitive leap-of-faith, I filed to change my major. Electrical engineering and computer science. Course 6-2. I registered for, among other things, 6.01 (intro to EECS). I decided to see where this went. Fast forward. Piper is pretty happy with her life, including her major. Piper is looking more into applying her EECS skills (especially the EE side) to biological problems she still, after all, loves biology. Piper is looking for a summer UROP in bioEECS when… Space Robots It wasnt bioEECS but it was an awesome summer gig. If I was chosen to be part of the team, I would get to code satellites on the International Space Station! How cool is that?! Just a summer gig. A really cool summer gig. That was all. At the end of the summer, thats still what it was, in my mind. It was a really cool project that I was proud to have worked on, nothing more. (But aero/astro is cool… no harm in taking a class as an elective, right? Talking about plane crashes is just fun! But no, I have no aero/astro bug, of course not!) And then came the email in the fall another awesome project with the Space Systems Laboratory. I had, in fact, worked a little on this one over the summer, in my spare work time. It was another satellite project, designed to help protect other satellites by knocking harmful particles out of the Van Allen Radiation Belt HOW COOL WAS THAT?! I was in. (But its just an IAP gig.) ((Thatll Ill be continuing into the spring.)) (((And beyond?))) Oops. (No, this isnt about another change of major. The nice thing about being in a major that is both interesting in itself and widely applicable… you can kind of take it anywhere your interests go. This is a very good deal for me ^_^) And thats when I realized that the paradigms I had for my life, they were shifting again.   Not quite as dramatically as when I went from biology to EECS, but a nonetheless unpredictable ride that I find myself in the middle of yet again.   I have no idea what I will become, I dont know where things will lead me!   Ten years from now, what will I be doing?   Zapping bacteria with my EE skills?   Tinkering with ground code for another satellite?   insert your suggestion here?   I just have no idea theres to much exciting and wonderful in the world, and I havent got it all planned out right now.   Not anymore. But there are certainties in my life, and they are these: I have such excellent ways to figure out the rest of my life and I plan to use them :)

Friday, May 22, 2020

Google Redefining Corporate Culture - 1580 Words

Google: Redefining Corporate Culture As years pass by and generation after generation of Americans age, each generation can look back to their time in this world and identify examples of true greatness, greatness that has left an indelible mark on their memory of days past. Whether that mark is made by a person, like Thomas Edison, an event like the Cuban Missile Crisis, or a moment in time like the celebration of a millennia’s end as another begins, each mark becomes an icon representing that generation’s impact on the world at large. In rare instances, however, will a generation look back on their time and identify a company as not just an iconic example of corporate success, but an example of a company that exemplifies that greatness of a generation. Although history has yet to be written, Google has ushered in a new way life for its employees, a new standard for corporate culture, and an organizational design that eliminates the term, â€Å"work† from its lexicon as it stands ready to become an icon for this generation (Airey, 2013). A Star is Born From its humble beginnings in 1998, Google set out to provide a simple, yet effective service for bringing the unlimited potential of the internet to average users trying desperately to make sense of the billions of pages information across the World Wide Web. In fact, Google’s founders initially had little interest in forming the corporation, but as the burgeoning search engine took shape, and the cost of continuing itsShow MoreRelatedGoogle s Organizational Environment At Google Essay874 Words   |  4 PagesGoogle is a global corporate search engine, known for internet-related services, various advertisings, and products. Students of Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1997. The fundamental driving force that shapes this company’s organizational environment at Google is, the innovative influence on the way society thinks, works and behaves. As well as the impact it provides on education, technical generations, and global businesses wi thin the virtual world. Google CompanyRead MoreCase Study Product Innovation at Bank of America2981 Words   |  12 Pagesrequirements. This article describes how Bank of America fosters a culture of innovation. Pivotal to an innovative culture is the direct engagement of clients in the innovation process. We highlight some of the ways that Bank of America achieves this. But ï ¬ rst we’ll look at the role of innovation process in building brand loyalty. N Build Brand Equity Through Progressive Transformation Change can occur by redeï ¬ ning a problem or redeï ¬ ning a solution. According to Robert Sternberg, a leading creativityRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Apple Inc3655 Words   |  15 Pagesmarket strategy of offering low-cost products especially android phones. According to analysts, the trend of falling prices might continue for the next few years probably until 2017. Apple urges consumers to think differently about their products by redefining the customer’s buying experience. Upon visiting an Apple store, one would almost think that they designed the store not to actually sell company products but to create a clubhouse for Apple enthusiasts. They create a feeling of belongingness theRead MoreIkea Organizational Development Paper:1877 Words   |  8 Pagesachieved this position by redefining the roles and interactions between the firm and its customers. Founded in 1943 by a poor Swedish farmer named Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA is now one of the largest furniture retailers in the world. From its inception, Kamprad wanted to create cheap, quality furniture that everyone could afford. This formula led to IKEA’s early success in Sweden and has carried over until today. IKEAs positive HR policies have supported a strong and nurturing culture that promotes diversityRead MoreManaging Innovation2575 Words   |  11 Pagesthe very few major drivers of gaining competitive advantage and increasing market share. The survival and the sustainability of the organizations very much depend on how much innovation they can adopt. The Role of Innovation in Organizations: Corporate success in current globalized economy is fundamentally depends on the concept of innovation. It is also recognized that in this rapid changing business world no business entity can survive without adopting innovation in any form. Maintaining marketRead MoreWhy Communication Is Necessary For Successful Management Of Educational Research2432 Words   |  10 PagesThe communication process is very important throughout the project because it keeps informed the ones involve in it, but also keeps in touch with those across the organization. Ironically, it is also regarded as one of the most neglected part of corporate operations (Toney Powers, 1997 P.33) There are many reasons why communication is necessary for the successful management of changes in a project. These include ensuring an increased understanding of the project to eliminate waste and to motivateRead MoreTesla Motors Strategic Analysis4456 Words   |  18 Pagesproducts with very high-quality materials, making it rival many top-tier luxury brands such as Mercedes Benz and BMW. Rare Tesla’s unique retailing and distribution is a first for the industry. The only means of acquiring a Tesla are through the corporate-owned retail locations in malls and stores. By not mass-producing the vehicles, each Tesla is customized by the future owner. Inimitable Other automobile companies with gas-powered vehicles rely on third-party oil and gas retailers (i.e. ExonRead MoreStrategy of Mobile Phone Industry5915 Words   |  24 Pagesmobile phone industry - a comparative analysis of Apple, Sony, Xiaomi 1 1 Introduction In today’s business world, the mobile phone technology is dominated with smartphones. The mobile phone industry markets are nearing saturation that needs a redefining future to be successful. The growth for mobile hardware gets stagnated and the trends are going towards software services where the industries are expecting high growth revenues. Therefore the mobile phone industries are going towards these newRead MoreApple Inc. Essay example6592 Words   |  27 Pages Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 2 The strategies, corporate structure culture of the firm ......................................................................... 3 Analysis of the industry in which the firm operates ................................................................................. 4 Computers ......................................................................Read MoreSharing Economy10348 Words   |  42 Pages............................................................... 23 EMBRACING THE SHARING ECONOMY: NEW CHALLENGES AHEAD......................................................................................... 25 Start-ups agility vs corporation culture ............................................................................................................................... 25 Transition frameworks for the sharing economy ....................................................................

Saturday, May 9, 2020

The Beginning Of The River Valley Civilizations - 1999 Words

â€Å"Around 5000 BCE, things slowly began to change. For the first time, humans started to settle down in one place.† As people began to switch from hunter-gathering and moving from one place to the next in search of food, to farming and depending on agriculture in order to survive, early ancient river valley civilizations began to emerge. With the emergence of these civilizations came political, environmental, religious, social, economic, technological and architecture developments that resulted in the significance in each. These early river valley civilizations are what set the stage for not only modern day but helped with the development of another. Among the several early civilizations stood, Mesopotamia, established between the Tigris†¦show more content†¦As the government evolved, kings were granted absolute power with a throne that was hereditary. When society began to become more military based, things like heavy taxes were imposed and mass deportation of con quered people occurred. This hold on society called for a caste system to exist. This system was composed of nobility (people like kings and priest), free citizens (a combination of a modern middle and lower class; including people like merchants, craftsmen, those in trade, and hunters), and slaves (prisoners of war). People of Mesopotamia, otherwise known as Sumerians, thought very highly of their religious figures, including priests. Following their polytheistic religion, they worshipped several gods and felt as though pyramid temples connected the Heaven and Earth. In addition, people believed in divine order, meaning everything that occurred was preplanned. Those other than these priest, nobility and kings depended on agriculture in order to make a living; this is because the economy was based upon a bartering system, which is where people exchange goods and services in return for other goods or services. Sumerians were known for their trading of goods such as copper, tin and ti mber for things like fish, woolen textiles, metal goods, as well as crops. The Sumerians achieved many technological advances, one in

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Darkness at Noon Free Essays

The author shares his experienced tales to grasp the concentration to the preconceived ideas and wrong conclusions of people like people believe that if someone is blind, he could not even hear, speak and hardest part he or she cannot work. The author has got very challenging education and employment despite these difficulties related to their backgrounds and the perception created by the society. The author in his story takes a simple format of telling the society about their society’s wrong conclusion about the disable people. We will write a custom essay sample on Darkness at Noon or any similar topic only for you Order Now But as other stories have some lessons, so this it has, the best lesson that delivers from this is the light of hope that author has in his heart, mind and soul. In this part, the author is very polite and kind and gives message to others that these hardships will not underestimate his hopes and courage. A fable for Tomorrow In the essay â€Å"A Fable for Tomorrow†, Rachel Carson Illustrates a small town in America that was once beautiful but then became devastated by exploitation of its resources. Carson states â€Å"this town does not actually exist, but it might easily have a thousand counterparts in America and elsewhere in the world. Carson is one of the pivotal people in the environmental movement of the 1 sass who emphasized that the art was a place to be respected, not destroyed by human greed and activities. This Is the thesis of her essay. The author uses very poetic language to describe the natural beauty of this small American town. She describes the farmland, the roadsides, the forest, and the rivers. Her language creates feelings of nostalgia and an appreciation for the natural world. The town feels like anyplace in the country that someone has visited or lived-the writing Is very personable to the reader. Carson Illustrates a place where all life seemed to live In harmony with Its surroundings. The second half of the essay has a very different tone and feeling about it. Suddenly, a mood of darkness creates a curtain around the town, masking the reader from the once natural beauty that was described before. Carson begins to illustrate how the town became devastated by the loss of its inhabitants to sudden sickness and disease. The farms suffered a loss of crops and animals, all the fish began to die In One of Carbon’s main mandates was to warn people against the use of harmful pesticides and the effects of pollution on the environment. The devastation in this essay alludes to the use of pesticides and the pollution that they caused in this small town in America. The deaths within the human, plant, and animal worlds in this small town are not an uncommon situation in many parts of America and the world. Although not all places experience the same amount of devastation as described in this essay, many small towns have been greatly affected by the harmful use of pesticides on their crops. This essay is a very powerful response to human irresponsibility within the environment. How to cite Darkness at Noon, Papers

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Weird Chinese Foods

The Chinese eat certain types of foods that seem strange and offensive to many people, as they are forbidden by their religion or cultural practices. Some of these foods include boiled dogs, grilled crocodiles, fried snakes, guinea pig brains, stewed frogs and roasted lizards.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Weird Chinese Foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These foods are consumed for a number of reasons best known to them. Some of the Chinese argue that these strange foods cure the infertility in men, increases sexual libido, and cure fatigue and fever. The Chinese diet also stresses emphasis on taking tea before every meal. However, these peculiar diets are not only served in expensive hotels but also in domestic homes (Liu, 118). Their eating dates back to traditional days in the country’s history. Therefore, this essay will try to explain the strangeness or weirdness of the Chinese foods. The Chine se eat certain weird body parts such as the chicken’s heart and liver. Most of these body parts are often eaten during memorable occasions. They consider these weird body parts as tasty thus only preserved for the old and visitors. This eating culture dates back from the days of Buddha, when tea was associated with alertness thus allowing a moment for meditation (Liu Pham, 80). The Chinese cuisine has various categories of tea, for instance, the red tea, which is dark red in color especially when ready for drinking. It symbolizes calmness and a sense of womanliness. In addition to the red tea, they also drink green tea, which is associated with wisdom and knowledge. Another strange Chinese diet is fish, often taken to the sea for sacrificial activities at the beginning of the year, before it is consumed (Roberts, 29). The Chinese eat fish with its face facing upwards. Before eating the lower side, they remove the skeleton and the delicacy rolled on the other side. In additio n, every moment they eat fish, the remains are kept for use, in preparing the next meal. All these are to show the constancy of fish. The remains, which include skeletons or water used to clean the fish should not be dumped into the sea due to the accorded respect aquatic living thing. Apart from fish, the Chinese are also known for eating snakes. They believe eating snakes enhances or elevates the libido of men. Men further drink snake soup in order to raise their fertility. In the Chinese diet, snake meals are divided into dissimilar kinds; there are snakeskin, grilled fillets of snakes and snake spring rolls.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Chinese also believe that eating snakes cures certain types of sicknesses. However, in order to act as a cure, the snake must be prepared using ginger and drunk after some time. One can also decide to immerse the snake in wine and tak e two cupfuls of the wine every day (Hopkins, 64). They believe that such practices lead to proper circulation of blood and prevent unnecessary body wetness. The Chinese also eat frogs to help curb alcoholism in their society. Green frogs are dipped into a drink or meal, meant for an alcoholic individual. The Chinese have a number of frog meals, which include frog soup, omelet made of frog legs, stewed frog legs and fried frog legs. Apart from domestic homes, most frog meals are served in hotels for visitors and served only after tea. The Chinese are also known to eat crocodile meat for a number of reasons. They believe that stewed crocodile increases the sexual potency of men, improves lost appetite and boosts body health. They also believe that eating crocodile meat cures asthma and puts hair loss at bay. Same as to other foods, the crocodile meal is divided into a number of categories, which include roasted crocodile foot and crocodile soup (Liu Pham, 80). The Chinese also have a deep faith in drinks made from penises of various animals, including those of human beings. That is why they drink human urine especially in the morning in the belief that it will offer them divine guidance. They also eat dog meals, which include fried dogs, stewed dogs and grilled dogs so that they obtain protein. In addition, eating dog’s canines mixed with fried rice is a common delicacy both at home and in hotels. The Chinese also believe that eating dog meat warms their blood by treating malaria, liver ailment and jaundice. Finally, drinking wine prepared from dog meat in China is believed to cure fatigue of the body and improves the fertility of men (Hopkins, 64). The other favorite diets of the Chinese people find bizarre are geckoes and lizards. Geckoes are prepared into powerful alcoholic drinks by immersing them into a bottle of whisky or a bowl of fried rice. It is then kept somewhere for a year before the drink can be consumed. Alternatively, dehydrated geckos a re powerful delicacies known to be served only in expensive restaurants. There are also pounded and dried geckos combined with hot water sold in several herbal shops for treating various illnesses. In china, consuming about three live geckoes a day is believed to boost male fertility (Buksh, 37). Cooked geckoes come in many forms i.e. roasted gecko, grilled gecko, fried gecko mixed with fried rice and gecko stew. Apart from expensive hotels, some of these gecko meals can also be served at home front.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Weird Chinese Foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other fascinating Chinese cuisine is eating of private parts that are used mostly in adding aroma to whisky and wine. They also believe eating of animal genitalia boosts one’s sexual drive and other human sicknesses. It also raises the standing of a man among his male pals (Roberts, 29) The Chinese is also known to eat se a cucumbers, jellyfish and sea anemones especially if boiled, smoked or dried for their tastiness. These seafoods are mostly served in costly restaurants. However, apart from seafoods, the Chinese diet also contains weird insects. These include locusts, grasshoppers, moles, palm worms and water beetles. Locust stew and fried grasshoppers are mixed with fried rice for both their delicacies and the belief they increase sexual libido in men. This brings us to maggots. The Chinese prefer to eat washed and dehydrated maggots in order to solve various body illnesses as well as for delicacy reasons. They also eat boiled earthworms, since it cures body fever. However, their cuisine cannot go without a delicacy of grilled rats or fried bats. These are eaten mostly for their rich proteins especially in domestic homes. Aside from rats, the Chinese also consume cats, and it comes in many forms; for example, in the form of fried cat legs, cat soup and roasted cats, served with fried rice. Howeve r, grilled cats are served with whisky. A hearty cat meal is believed to increase the sexual drive of men. Other strange Chinese diets include eating toxic fish for healing effects (Hopkins, 64). We can, therefore, say that Chinese cuisine is among the strangest in the world from drinking human urine in the belief it can cure diseases, to eating animal private parts in order to raise male libido. They have various reasons for consuming these weird foods. For instance, the affinity for meat like dog meat, cat meat or even crocodile meat helps in adding proteins in the body. In addition, using various kinds of foods such as boiled dog meat or stewed crocodile, as a cure for various illnesses, is a cost-cutting measure that saves money. Traditional beliefs that soup and other parts of animals can treat sicknesses are a positive step in the right direction that should be blended with modern cures (Buksh, 37). Works Cited Buksh, Jacqueline. Longevity Chinese herbal medicine. Cambridge, LDN: Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers, 2006. Print.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hopkins, Jerry. Extreme Cuisine. London, LDN. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005. Print. Liu, Jen Pham, Sherisse. Frommer’s Beijing. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley Sons Publishers, 2010. Print. Liu, Junru. Chinese Food. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Roberts, Denys. Another disaster: Hong Kong Sketches. London, LDN: Radcliffe Press, 2006. Print. This essay on Weird Chinese Foods was written and submitted by user Bria Warner to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Wrong Dreams of The Characters in Death of a Salesman essays

Wrong Dreams of The Characters in Death of a Salesman essays Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman contains many flaws in its characters. The main flaw is that the characters have wrong dreams. The wrong dreams affected some of the characters lives in bad ways. The two main characters that have wrong dreams are Willy and Biff. By both of them having wrong dreams it leads them nowhere and it causes them both to have an unsatisfying life. Willy is the character with the most wrong dreams. One of his wrong dreams is that he wants his son, Biff, to fulfill his own dream of becoming a successful business man. This might have happened if he would not have caught his dad cheating on his wife with another woman (pp.38-39). We see that Biff was affected by that incident when Bernard says to Willy Well, just that when he came back-Ill never forget this, it always mystifies me... (p.94). Another one of his wrong dreams is that he thinks hell be like Dave Singleman, a very good and popular salesman. Willy wanted to be like him because at his funeral there was so many people their including all of his buyers (p.81). This was a wrong dream for Willy because it was too late for him to achieve that and he could never be as good of a salesman or as popular as Dave Singleman because now he is too old and it is hard for him to travel, which makes it harder for him to be well known. The other character with a wrong dream is Biff. Biffs wrong dream was his dream of living up to his fathers expectations of him being a successful businessman. This was the wrong dream for him because he knew he could never live up to his fathers expectations. Biff knew he could never live of to those expectations because he still has not found him self and he is not satisfied by any job. This dream would also never happen because of Biff finding out that Willy was cheating on his wife. ...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

The Future of Early Education Importance of Preschool

The Future of Early Education Importance of Preschool Did you know that  Forbes.com reports that the Department of Education has awarded almost $250 million in an effort to ensure that development of early education programs, preschool, continue to best serve children from low- and moderate-income families? This is one example of the Presidents long-standing plan to offer free, universal pre-school for these families. However, President Trumps latest budget for 2019 education appears to be reducing funding   for schools. As we know, in President Obamas 2013 State of the Union address he unveiled his plan for universal Pre-K or pre-kindergarten education for four-year-olds. His plan would guarantee kids whose household income is at or below 200% of the poverty line a free pre-K education with local schools and local partners, and their teachers would have the same training as K-12 teachers. In addition, the programs would offer many of the benefits of private school pre-kindergarten programs, including small class sizes, high adult-to-child ratios, and assessment of the programs provided. The program would also expand the number of full-day kindergarten programs available. Unease in Regards to the Future of Early Childhood Education However, despite these advancements, there is unease as a result of the new leadership of our nation coming; many people are unsure about the future of early childhood programs. Betsy DeVos has been chosen by President Donald Trump to take on the role of Education Secretary, and her position on pre-school funding is not clear; the same can be said for the President. As a result, there are some who are uncomfortable with the uncertainty, and the latest budget developments are not alieviating fears.   Why Pre-Kindergarten is So Important While many private schools offer high-quality pre-kindergarten programs and full-day kindergartens, providing enriching educational opportunities for children under age 6, many children who attend public schools, particularly children living in poverty, do not have access to these programs. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 28% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program in the 2011-2012 school year, which represents an increase over the 14% of four-year-olds who did so in 2002. Yet, pre-kindergarten programs are critical to children’s long-term success, and experts at NIEER have documented that children who have been enrolled in high-quality pre-kindergarten programs enter kindergarten with better vocabularies and more advanced pre-reading and math skills than children who don’t have access to these programs. Kids enrolled in pre-k programs aren’t just learning how to recognize letters and numbers; they are also learning critical social skills and the importance of working independently in the classroom. Through high-quality pre-k programs, they develop the confidence to take on more advanced classroom work. Many children struggle with social skills and behavioral problems in kindergarten, and many children are even kicked out of kindergarten. Pre-kindergarten programs are essential in teaching kids the social skills they need for later grades, not just the academic skills. Pre-K Benefits Last a Lifetime The benefits of pre-kindergarten education last well beyond kindergarten. According to research conducted by NIEER, there are amazing long-term economic benefits from early childhood education for children in poverty. For example, life-time earnings of some children increase by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the economics benefits of these programs outweigh the costs by a factor of up to 16 (in some programs). In addition, such programs show that participants have lower crime rates and decreased rates of welfare dependence as adults, so the benefits of early childhood education can last a lifetime. According to the White House Fact Sheet on Obama’s educational plan, children from low-income families are less likely to have access to pre-kindergarten programs, and middle-class families also struggle to afford private pre-school programs, yet these programs are critical to children’s long-term school success. Children from low-income families who are not reading at grade level by third grade are six times less likely to graduate from high school. According to the Fact Sheet from the White House, only 60% of American children have access to full-day kindergarten programs, yet these programs are also essential to teaching children skills critical skills for later academic success. Pre-kindergarten programs are a promising way to reduce adult poverty in this country and to provide the essential skills workers need as adults. Working with at-risk children in the primary or middle school years may be too late, and while private schools offer high-quality pre-school and early education programs, research studies have documented the need to expand these programs to state-funded programs across the country. Article updated by Stacy Jagodowski