Bailey White Essays (2320 words) - Mama Makes Up Her Mind, Mama

Bailey White The Remedy: Southern Humor In Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living, Sleeping at the Starlite Motel and Other Adventures on the Way Back Home, and Quite a Year for Plums, author Bailey White offers readers an inviting refuge from our increasingly fast-paced society. Using humor, White transports the reader to the rural South, where the setting, the way of life, and the characters the reader meets contrast strikingly with life in the typical Northern city. Bailey White's South has a warm and hospitable atmosphere, a pleasant alternative to cold, bustling, Northern metropolitan centers. As a cousin of the Whites puts it when she calls from Philadelphia to announce she'll be visiting overnight, I've heard so much about Southern hospitality. Now I will be able to experience it for myself'? (Mama, 48). The language in Bailey White's writings also delights, especially her characters' manner of speaking, which contains many curious Southern expressions. My friends certainly would not say ?persnickety? (Sleeping, 125), ?doodlebugs? (Sleeping, 9), ?junkets? (Mama, 60), describe a club as a ?tough juke joint? (Mama, 3), or say, She sho' ain't gon' ride no ferry here'? (Mama, 62)! Located in South Georgia, in the backwoods, White's characters are allowed to do what they please without judgment from neighboring yuppies glaring down from their balconies. The village is a place where they are kind to one another and indulgent of eccentricities? (Publishers Weekly, 30 March 1998). The result is ?endearing true stories about rural South Georgia? (Publishers Weekly, 1 March 1993) on subjects as quirky as bathtubs and Porsches on porches, backyard camping, and road-kill suppers. After remodeling their bathroom Bailey and Mama find that their bathtub won't fit in it anymore. Instead of installing a shower, they leave the bathtub on the porch. Bailey explains that ?with the midsummer's afternoon breeze blowing through the high pine woods and the fragrance of the lilies, it's a lovely spot for a leisurely bath? (Mama, 25). Joining the bathtub on the porch is a 1958 Model 356 Speedster in original condition, because the driver refused to just park it out behind the garde n with those two tractors and that thing that might have been a lawnmower'? (Mama, 21). When inspired, Mama can (and does) go camping in the wilderness. Bailey, however, doesn't have to worry about her aging mother alone on a trip: their backyard is wilderness enough for camping. ?At night I could see a tiny glow from her fire. And just at dawn, if I went out to the edge of the pasture and listened very carefully I could barely hear her singing ?Meet Me in St. Louis'? (Mama, 38). Mama, whether camping or not, can get fast-food for dinner, Southern-style: road kill. White and Mama have ?feasted not only doves, turkeys, and quail, but robins, squirrels, and, only once, a possum,? but Bailey draws the line at snakes, even when her mom protests But it was still wiggling when I got there...Let's try it just this once. I have a white sauce with dill and mustard'? (Mama, 39). Despite the gourmet sauce, Bailey refuses to eat any animal her mom brings in without documentation--the model and tag number of the car that struck it--to assure her of a recent kill. While chronicling small-town culture, White manages to make me laugh out loud, which is quite a feat for an author. The comical scenes from the small town of Thomasville will not only produce laughter, but a longing to move to such a quaint village. Instead of going into the Instant Care Facility, a modern walk-in medical clinic, one can, as Mama did, take advice from surgeons, I'd say, from the amount of blood and brains on those white coats,'? who were actually butchers on their cigarette break (Mama, 23). The provincial aspects of life in Thomasville are evident in Plums, in the extent of interest and pride community members exhibit when Roger appears in a photograph in the April edition of the Agrisearch magazine. At the Pastime Restaurant the waitresses tape up Roger's picture next to the ?In Case of Choking' poster, Meade makes a mat for his picture out of construction paper left from her schoolteaching days, Hilma

Education systems in the world are diverse and interesting

Education systems in the world are diverse and interesting Check out the most interesting education systems in the world A lot of researches are held all the time and this one concerns education systems of different countries. Various principals were taking into account while making this ranking, so let`s check the results! 11. Japan Japan is the leading country concerning literacy, science and math. In this country students attend elementary school for 6 years, three years of junior high school and three years of high school. During this time they have to decide whether they wish to go to university or no. Going to high school is not obligatory for everyone, still 98% of students attend it. 10. Barbados The Barbados government invests education sphere a lot, most of the schools are funded and run by the state. The level of literacy is one of the highest in the world and it reaches 98%. Primary is from 4 to 11, secondary is from 11 to 18. 9. New Zealand Children at the age of 5 to 19 get primary and secondary education in New Zealand and school is compulsory between 6 and 16. You can find 3 types of secondary schools in New Zealand. They are state schools where study approximately 85% of children, state-integrated – private schools which were integrated into the state but still keep their charter and educate 12%, totally private schools which teach 3% of students. 8. Estonia Estonia is the country which really cares about its education system, it spends around 4% of GPD on education. Education Act stated in 1992 contains the main goals of education. Its education strive to build a personality in each child, they create favorable conditions for the family traditions, nation. Students are aimed to get not only knowledge on sciences but on the general aspects of life which will help each student to be a conscious citizen. 7. Ireland Most secondary schools are funded by state but they are privately owned, there are also state comprehensives and vocational schools. Recent researches state that Ireland`s spending on education has fallen because of the crisis. So there`s a possibility it will suffer in the future. 6. Qatar In 2012 the BBC reported that Qatar, the country rich in oil, was becoming one of the most successful players in the field of education development, they use innovations and changes that are efficient to all students. This country does its best implementing the ideas of the Vision program of 2030 to make own country self-sufficient. All citizens have a right to visit state-funded schools for free, foreign students are to attend private schools. 5. Netherlands Dutch students are considered to be the happiest concerning the research of 2013. They get not much homework to do, they get little pressure and stress. Schools in the Netherlands are divided into faith schools and "neutral" and there also a small number of private schools. 4. Singapore This country gets high scores in the PISA (a Programme for International Student Assessment) testing, which compares knowledge of students from different countries. Unfortunately, the education system is not developed well, as students from the young age are under pressure. 3. Belgium There exist 4 different genres of secondary schools in Belgium, they are general, technical, vocational and art secondary schools. Education is well-funded in Belgium and it holds the priority positions here. A great range of private and state schools is available for children of 4-18 years old. Education is for free or at law cost. 2. Switzerland Lessons in Switzerland are held in different languages depending on the region, German, French and Italian are the most popular. From secondary school students are separated depending on their abilities. Only 5% of students attend private schools. 1. Finland Finland is famous all over the world with its education system. Students here study in the same classes not depending on their abilities and knowledge. This helps to make the gap between the weakest and the strongest to be the smallest in the world. Children here get little homework and they pass only one test at the age of 16.