Looking At Different Aspects Of Foster Care Social Work Essay

Looking At Different Aspects Of Foster Care Social Work Essay A kinship care arrangement is an agreement that is commonly made between the parent of the child, the local authority and a close relative such as a grandparent or aunt on a short or long term basis, the kinship carer must be approved by Warwickshire Fostering Panel. Where the child is accommodated by the local authority that is often subject to an Interim Care Order the kinship agreement is reviewed under the Child in Need procedure s (Warwickshire County Council 2009). There is a six week timescale to complete the kinship assessment. The fostering team has the responsibility for completing this within the timescale set out in line with the Fostering Regulations 2002. A Viability Assessment which is Schedule 3 of the fostering regulation 2002 requires that there is a detailed report complete with references be submitted to the Fostering Panel for approval (Warwickshire Fostering Services 2002). As part of this assessment I had to complete a two part Health Safety Checklist Part One during initial visit and Part Two during the actual assessment, which is updated annually as part of the Foster Carer review. I was required to complete the initial 6 week Kinship Assessment on Arthur and Joan to be submitted to Warwickshire Fostering Panel approval, followed by submission to a Finding of Fact meeting in court. Jane is a 6 year old dual heritage female who lived close to Nuneaton centre with mother, Ruth 28 white female unemployed recovering heroin addict and her current partner Jason 35 year old unemployed white male with offending history for violence. The local authority have been involved with Ruth and her child since 2008 the police contacting social services to advise them that Ruths partner had been arrested for having indecent images of children on his computer and serious abuse of babies. Ruth was advised of this but did not appear to recognise the risk he presented to Jane. The courts ordered that Ruth should only have supervised contact due to this. Warwickshire Council convened a child protection conference which concluded that Jane be made subject of a child protection plan. Whilst the investigation into the neglect was ongoing, Jane stayed with her maternal grandfather Arthur and Joan his partner. Arthur is 58 year old football coach and Joan is a 62 year old retired book keeper and they live in a 3 bedroom house close to Ruth. A kinship referral was received by the Fostering Team to complete a viability assess Arthur and Joans ability to meet Janes needs as temporary carers. Jane is still subject of a child protection plan, as well as Looked After Child procedures and is subject of an Interim Care Order made in December 2009. The responsibility for completing the kinship assessment was given to the fostering team that I am on placement with and I was then asked to complete the assessment under supervision. This is the type of assessment that is completed when a child is looked after and placed on a statutory order. Jane is currently experiencing problems at school with bullying because of her skin colour and is in a minority. Jane is being teased because her hair is not the same as other children. I feel that Jane has not recognized that her mother is white and her father black. Arthur has stated that although she is not white she is his granddaughter and he doubts whether Jane even recognises her skin colour as significant. It is important for the Fostering Social Worker to have access to all case files relating to the child when completing the viability assessment so that the assessment demonstrates the level of commitment the grandfather and his partner have and have had to the child (BAAF, 2009). Farmer and Moyers (2005) suggest: Kinship care occupies an uneasy position on the boundary between the public and private spheres of caring and this leads to a situation where some kin carers struggle to care for needy children with low levels of support and financial help. Janes maternal grandfather has shown incredible commitment including being willing to give up his fulltime job to be able to meet Janes needs. This is causing tension in the relationship between Arthur and Joan as this will significantly reduce their income. She has also expressed concerns at not always being able to cope with the high demands of Jane and how this has brought her relationship with Arthur to breaking point at times. When childs behaviour is causing a disruption, kinship carers (as opposed to foster carers) tend to be more willing to persevere with the difficulties faced by the child (Broad and Skinner, 2005, Colton et al, 2008: 38). It is important that when examining Kinship Care that the outcome for the child is measurable, this could be in terms of regular contact with the birth parent with less supervision. Legislation has a propensity towards securing long term placements, children who were placed with their grandparents were the least likely to experience disruption when compared with other family or friends (Hunt et al, 2008). Some placements continued with little monitoring or supervision from the social worker. In other instances social workers had allowed professional standards to fall well below what would have been acceptable to another child. This can cause the child rights to be compromised as they will not receive a service that they are entitled to (Farmer Moyers, 2005). An assessment involves assembling full and accurate facts about a service users circumstances and it is essential during the assessment process that person being assessed is fully engaged with the assessment and as the assessor I am in continuous consultation with my supervisor. The information collected must be recorded in a systematic way to give a clear and accurate understanding of needs and a possible plan of action (Smale Tuson, 1993). The viability assessment must pay close attention to the circumstances around the reason why the kinship arrangement is needed. Arthur and Joan realise that if they do not take on the role of carers then Jane is likely to be placed with unrelated foster carers. The assessment includes the family to look at creating a kinship arrangement that will at best be acceptable to the child, the local authority should consider the childs extended family as an alternative to the mainstream fostering system when completing the assessment. The Childrens Act 1989 directs that where the child is looked after by the local authority the child should be placed with a relative, friend or significant other (www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk accessed 16/01/2011) if this is a viable option. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 directs that relatives must be considered in care proceedings and in line with Public Law Outline which emphasizes the importance of robust judicial case management. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 has led to developments that promote the childs welfare and are likely to increase the use of placements with family members. Over a 15 year period from 1989 to 2005 there has been a gradual increase in the numbers of children in care that are fostered with family and significant others, from 6 per cent to 12 per cent of looked after children in England (Department of Health, 2006; DfES, 2004). If a child is looked after by the Local Authority and is placed with a family member or significant other for a p eriod exceeding 6 weeks then the carer should be approved as a foster carer by the Local Authorities Fostering Panel (Warwickshire Council 2009). The Local Authority must have a clearly defined role in enabling the parent of the child to have some input in the care arrangements of their child in accordance with section 20 of the Childrens Act 1989. Where the local authority places children in kinship care arrangements they also must assess the kinship carer(s) in line with existing legislation that applies to unrelated foster carers therefore have responsibilities to ensure that the kinship carers receive financial support in line with boarding out regulations (Warren-Adamson, 2009). The Munby judgement in 2002 set a precedent that local authorities must treat kinship carers in the same way as non related foster carers. This means that Warwickshire County Council must assess Arthur and Joan as kinship carers even though they may well already be looking after the child at the point the assessment starts. The difficulties I experienced as the Fostering Social Worker completing the assessment was mainly around the support, training and payment of Kinship Carers. The research also found that Kinship Carers are unlikely to challenge parents legally for the kinship of the child because it can have a negative impact on the parents relationship with the Kinship Carers. One of the implications highlighted by the research document was that Kinship Carers are unlikely to go for Special Guardianship Orders due to the reduced payments and support. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) research found that kinship carers may resent the intrusion the assessment process will entail into their lives by statutory services and feel they are being monitored and placed under surveillance (JRF, 2002). The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) found that unsatisfactory placements with family and friend lasted significantly longer than with unrelated carers (Farmer Moyers, 2008). Local Authorities are required under the Childrens Act 1989 to operate a policy of less intrusive intervention when intervening with families. Argent (2009) draws attention to the assumption that social workers from non ethnic backgrounds tend to assume that families from Black Minority and Ethnic groups would rather manage the kinship without outside help or they do not understand the process. Argent highlights that some minority groups have a strong sense of kinship without any legal or statutory intervention. There are four types of kinship care these are determined by the legal status of the child that is being accommodated Fostered with a family or friend; Residence Order; Living with family and friends and a Special guardianship order. The viability assessment I undertook was to assess whether Arthur and Joan were suitable to go on to the next stage of the assessment, the Special Guardianship Order. Special Guardianship Orders were introduced in the Adoption and Children Act 2002 to encourage flexibility with regards to the length of the placement. This order recognizes that long term fostering or adoption might not be an option and that this type of order gives parental responsibility until the child is 18. At present there is not a legal requirement for Warwickshire Council to explore Kinship but the legal framework implies that it is a preferred option to private fostering. A family group conference is called with a view to exploring the potential of a family member becoming a kinsh ip carer (Hunt et al, 2008). The aim of the Viability Assessment is to make certain that Janes needs remain central to the assessment (Hunt et al, 2008). Milner and OByrne (2002) suggest that assessments can be divided into a number of stages: Preparation: I gathered information from case notes and other reports that have previously been written, in consultation with the Janes social worker we agreed on who to interview with regards to people that are a part of the extended family or wider support network and would be in contact with Jane. Preparing for the interview I ensured that I had the essential questions and an explanation of the interview purpose along with timescales for the viability process. Collecting data: I checked on sources of written information for factual accuracy. Weighing the data: I identified gaps, consulted colleagues and began to identify any key facts or themes. Analysing the data: I considered relevant research evidence and theory. Using the data: I analysed the data and formed an opinion as to whether Janes needs would be met by Arthur and Joan. The outcome of the above process was to make a recommendation to the court. Along with the viability assessment was the health and safety of the property that the child will be living in also had to be assessed. . I had to think about how the separate pieces of information interlink and about their impact on the grandfather. It has been suggested it is important to avoid subjectivity and not to dismiss information that does not fit with preconceived assumptions: Taking information for granted and not checking. Getting stuck with one perspective, and failing to recognise alternative explanations. Stereotyping situations and solutions to them. Making assumptions about age, culture, disability or any aspect of a service users life. The way its done here approach fitting service users into the routine response of the agency instead of focusing on the client. Using the assessment process to ration resources or disguising their absence, in other words, assessment becomes resource-led rather than needs-led (Milner and OByrne, 2002). Smale and Tuson (1993) propose three models of assessment: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The questioning model: where the worker is seen as expert and follows a set format of questions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The procedural model: in which the worker gathers information in order to see if agency criteria are met à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The exchange model: in which the service user is seen as expert in his or her own situation and the worker helps to provide resources and seeks to maximise potential. In conclusion, I realise that people change and as a social worker I need to be aware that new information may emerge that causes situations change, so I have to consider the impact it has on the assessment. Although the assessment is often viewed as a separate stage to the intervention, it is also a continuous process and there is a need to constantly re-assess throughout the intervention (Milner and OByrne, 2002). I used a Task Centered Model for completing the Viability Assessment as it was a short term (6 weeks) problem solving approach with a clear beginning, middle and end, and has a specific timeframe to complete the assessesment and submit it to the court. I adopted a Solution Focused approach in my intervention as it worked with Arthur and Joan to help them to look at their strengths and to find their own solutions to challenges they may face. A Solution Focused approach enables people to see better futures, it can be used to focus on the positives whilst also accepting that their strengths which are Arthur and Joans commitment to meeting Janes needs for as long as she needs them and fact that this can be used as a platform for future long term planning. In practice I found it difficult to choose a single model as I realized I would be using all three in this case. Firstly, the Viability Assessment for kinship involved me in the role of expert with a set format of questions, and secondly, I was conscious of the criteria for kinship to enable me to ask appropriate supplementary questions but lastly, I feel that the exchange model reflects the values of anti-oppressive practice in that Arthur is placed in a position of control and so that the process meets his expectations as well as mine as the assessing social worker. However, as social workers operating within a statutory setting we must recognize that there are pressures to conform to questioning or procedural models. To work in an anti-oppressive manner is to incorporate necessary questioning, schedules and scales into an assessment that respects Arthurs expertise in caring for Jane (Smale and Tuson, 1993).

National Buy Nothing Day Essay

​A hard-working, single mother receives her pay-check that to her horror reads a measly $225.30. She doesn’t use the money for her, instead she uses that money to care for her two children, she needs to pay the rent, and the electricity but her kids need food to grow. As she heads to the bank to cash the check she passes the neighborhood local store and no cars are outside and the light are dim. Nothing comes to her mind as to what seems different, she proceeds to head over to the bank, and notices that there is no clerks and no long lines? So many things run through her mind so she parks her beat-down car, that clanks and rattles. As she becomes even more worried there is a bright white paper that reads,† Due to the over-consumption rates, the government has issued a National Buy Nothing Day, we are sorry for any inconviences.† Her world is instantly shut down and she becomes scared as to how she is going to feed her children. This is exactly what I fear wi ll happen if a National Buy Nothing Day is issued, so in my opinion, a National Buy Nothing Day would be a bad idea. ​A National Buy Nothing Day would become a huge inconvenience to many people over the world. Many people in the United States work minimum wage jobs and have a family to care for. 75% of the population works pay check to pay check just to give the basics to their family, and majority of the money is spent on food that they hope will last them the whole month until they are paid again. Sadly, more times than you would like to see parents unhealthy and always tired because they put their children before themselves, and what if the National Buy Nothing Day just so happened to fall on pay day. The heartbreak that would radiate from the couple, and the worry that rushes through their mind as to how they are going to feed their kids tonight and when t hey are going to be able to come back and cash that paycheck? Now that the parents view is shown, imagine the reaction of the kids that come home and see that there is no food on the table and the have to be told from their parents tha t they have to go to sleep hungry tonight. That’s heartbreaking for anybody, and everybody. ​Along with an inconvenience to many Americans, a National Buy Nothing Day would hurt the life of a teenager, very significantly. Teenagers  are the main percentage of individuals that add to the rate of over-consumption. Even though they are the big spenders in this era, they often rely on the â€Å"quick stops† to help them proceed with their school day. 8 out of 10 teenagers have a car in high school and with having a car comes a huge cash flow. Many teens can barely wake up in time to go to school and this often leads to them not eating, and scientists have proven that this can greatly affect their performance with anything they do in the day. So they make a quick stop at either McDonalds, or in New Mexico Blakes Lotaburger for a quick burrito, so they can eat something to fuel their bodies for the day. High school athletes rely on eating more than anyone, because they need that fuel to burn off, either at their zero-hour basketball practices or their afternoon football practice. So, the Buy Nothing Day would send these athletes hungry to school and the only thing they will eat is their lunch, and with starting school at 7:00 and not even eating until 12:00, that’s a 5 hour long span of lacking concentration in class. ​Medication is more times than others bought on a daily for many individuals with medical problems and the vast majority of this is children. 30% of individuals die annually because of lack to medications that can save them, and 10% of them are children. Thats almost half the percentage! Children are more venerable to illnesses and harsh sickness than adults due to the fact that their bodies are still developing. What if on the National Buy Nothing Day that one child that has for instance, epilepsy, runs out his precious medication that prevents seizures. At any moment in the day he could experience pain in their head and in a blink of an eye, they are having a seizure. On the daily, 2/3 children die a day from seizures and helpful medication prevents this from ever happening. How must it feel for a mother to know that you can’t go and buy your child medication because the government just shut down all stores for a day that may open the eyes to consumers? Anxiety that p asses through mother knowing their child is at any time vulnerable to a life-taking illness. ​Of course, many feel differently. One argument cited by many others is that a National Buy Nothing Day would open the over spending ways of many Americans. Yes, maybe this all we need to open our eyes but would just like other events that were supposed to â€Å"help† us, more times than others we just go back to our old ways. Like for instance, in the time of The Great Dust Bowl, Farmers were  plowing heir fields non-stop and destroying the once fertile land. Then once the Dust Bowl came wiping out anything that was in it’s way, Farmers soon realized that their ways were in desperate need of reform, but what happened again? Farmers were back to their old ways and doing what they just did before. It’s the mind of the American people that determine everything we do. Now should it be the government’s job to show us our wrongs? Why no! We can say were going to change but do we ever really do? For a national objective to work, everyone has to consent to it. ​Although a National Buy Not hing would open the eyes of many consumers everywhere, it can greatly impact others in different ways. Like the mother who can’t find a way to feed her beautiful, small bundles of joy, or the teenager that can’t buy his breakfast for the day, more negatives aspects come out of this than the good.

Biography of Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Man

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452–May 2, 1519) was an artist, humanist, scientist, philosopher, inventor, and naturalist during the Italian Renaissance. His genius, says his biographer Walter Isaacson, was his ability to marry observation with imagination and to apply that imagination to intellect and its universal nature. Fast Facts: Leonardo da Vinci Known For: Renaissance-era painter, inventor, naturalist, philosopher, and writerBorn: April 15, 1452 in Vinci in Tuscany, ItalyParents: Piero da Vinci and Caterina LippiDied:  May 2, 1519 in Cloux, FranceEducation: Formal training limited to abacus school in commercial math, an apprenticeship at the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio; otherwise self-taught Early Life Leonardo da Vinci was born in the village of Vinci in Tuscany, Italy, on April 15, 1452, the only child of Piero da Vinci, a notary and eventually chancellor of Florence, and Caterina Lippi, an unmarried peasant girl. He is properly known as Leonardo rather than da Vinci, although that is a common form of his name today. Da Vinci means from Vinci and most people of the day who required a last name were given it based on their place of residence. Leonardo was illegitimate, which, according to biographer Isaacson, may well have assisted his skill and education. He was not required to go to formal school, and he passed his youth in experimentation and exploration, keeping careful notes in a series of journals that have survived. Piero was a well-to-do man, descended from at least two generations of important notaries, and he settled in the town of Florence. He married Albierra, the daughter of another notary, within eight months of Leonardos birth. Leonardo was raised in the da Vinci family home by his grandfather Antonio and his wife, along with Francesco, Pieros youngest brother only 15 years older than his nephew, Leonardo himself. Florence (1467–1482) In 1464, Albierra died in childbirth—she had no other children, and Piero brought Leonardo to live with him in Florence. There, Leonardo was exposed to the architecture and writings of the artists Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472); and it was there that his father got him an apprenticeship to the artist and engineer Andrea del Verrocchio. Verrocchios workshop was part art studio and part art shop, and Leonardo was exposed to a rigorous training program that included painting, sculpture, pottery, and metalworking. He learned the beauty of geometry and the mathematical harmony that art can leverage. He also learned chiarroscuro and developed the sfumato technique for which he would become famous. When his apprenticeship ended in 1472, Leonardo registered in the Florentine painters confraternity, the Compagnia di San Luca. Many of the works he did in Verocchios workshop were often completed by several of the students and/or the teacher, and it is clear that by the end of his tenure, Leonardo had surpassed his master. Verocchios workshop was sponsored by the duke of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici  (1469–1492), also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Some of the works painted by Leonardo in his 20s include the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi, and the portrait of Ginevra di Benci. Milan (1482–1499) When Leonardo turned 30, he was sent by Lorenzo on a diplomatic mission to bring a lute in the shape of a horses head that he himself had crafted to be given to Ludovico Sforza, the powerful duke of Milan. With him was Atalante Migliorotti (1466–1532), the first of his long-term companions who acted as a friend, assistant, secretary, and romantic partner. When Leonardo arrived in Milan, he sent a letter to Ludovico, a letter that was more or less a job application, laying out in detail the type of job he envisioned being useful to the duke: military and civil engineering. Instead, Leonardo ended up an impresario, producing elaborate pageants for the royal court such as the Masque of the Planets. He designed scenery and costumes and developed fantastic mechanical elements for the plays that would fly, descend, or animate for the audience. In this role, he was part court jester: he sang and played the lute, told stories and fables, played pranks. His friends described him as gentle and entertaining, handsome, precise, and generous, a valued and beloved companion. The Genius in the Notebook It was also during this period that Leonardo began keeping regular notebooks. More than 7,200 single pages exist today, estimated to be one-quarter of his total output. They are filled with expressions of sheer genius: flights of fancy, precognitive sketches of impossible technologies (scuba gear, flying machines, helicopters); careful, analytical anatomical studies of dissections he performed on humans and animals; and visual puns. In his notebooks and his canvases, he played with shadow and light, perspective, motion, and color. His drawings of humans at the time are fascinating: an old warrior with a nutcracker nose and an enormous chin; grotesquely old men and women; and a thin, muscular, curly-haired androgynous figure, the opposite avatar of the old warrior who would provide centuries of delight and speculation for art historians. Of course, he painted while he was in Milan: portraits included several of Ludovicos mistresses, The Lady with the Ermine and La Belle Ferronnià ¨re, and religious works such as Virgin of the Rocks and the astonishing Last Supper. He also made the famous drawing Vitruvian Man, the best of numerous attempts of the day to illustrate what the Roman architect Vitrivius (c. 80–15 BCE) meant when he said the layout of a temple should reflect the proportions of a human body. Leonardo ditched most of Vitrivius measurements and calculated his own ideal of perfection. In 1489, Leonardo finally earned the job he had wanted in 1482: he received an official court appointment, complete with rooms (albeit not at Ludovicos castle). His first commission was to make an immense sculpture of the duke of Milans father Francesco sitting on a horse. He made the model of clay and worked for years planning the casting, but never completed the bronze sculpture. In July 1490, he met the second companion of his life, Gian Giacomo Caprotti  da Oreno, known as Salai (1480–1524). By 1499, the duke of Milan was running out of money and no longer consistently paying Leonardo, and when Louis XII of France (1462–1515) invaded Milan, Ludovico fled the city. Leonardo stayed in Milan briefly—the French knew him and protected his studio from the mobs—but when he heard rumors that Ludovico was planning to return, he fled home to Florence. Italy and France (1500–1519) When Leonardo returned to Florence, he found the city still shaken from the after-effects of the brief and bloody rule of Savonarola (1452–1498), who in 1497 had led the Bonfire of the Vanities—the priest and his followers collected and burned thousands of objects such as artworks, books, cosmetics, dresses, mirrors, and musical instruments as forms of evil temptations. In 1498, Savonarola was hanged and burned in the public square. Leonardo was a different man when he returned: he dressed like a dandy, spending almost as much on clothing as he did on books. His first patron was the notorious military ruler Cesare Borgia (1475–1507), who conquered Florence in 1502: Borgia gave Leonardo a passport to travel wherever he needed, as his personal engineer and innovator. The job only lasted about eight months, but during that time Leonardo built a bridge supporting a garrison of troops out of a pile of lumber and nothing more. He also perfected the art of maps, drawing villages as they would be seen from the air, accurate, detailed birds-eye views of cities measured with a compass. He also established a friendship with Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527), who would base his classic The Prince on Borgia. By 1503, though, Borgia was running amok, requiring mass executions in the towns he occupied. At first, Leonardo seemed oblivious, but when Machiavelli left, so did Leonardo: back to Florence. In Florence, Leonardo and Machiavelli worked on an astonishing project: they planted to divert the Arno river from Pisa to Florence. The project got started, but the engineer changed the specs and it was a spectacular failure. Leonardo and Machiavelli also worked on a way to drain the Piombino Marshes: the movement and force of water was a fascination for Leonardo throughout his life, but the marsh project was also not completed. Michelangelo Artistically, Florence had a huge drawback: Leonardo had acquired a nemesis, Michelangelo. Twenty years younger, Michelangelo was a pious Christian convulsed by agony over his nature. The two artists communication devolved into a bitter feud. The two men were each commissioned to do battle scenes: hung in separate galleries, the paintings were depictions of frenzied faces, monstrous armor, and mad horses. Isaacson suggests that the upshot of the war of the battle scene was useful to both artists because they were now both luminaries, rather than interchangeable parts. From 1506–1516, Leonardo wandered back and forth between Rome and Milan; another one of his patrons was the Medici Pope Leo X (1475–1521). In 1506, Leonardo adopted Francesco Melzi, the 14-year-old son of a friend and civil engineer, as his heir. Between 1510 and 1511, Leonardo worked with anatomy professor Marcantonio della Torre, whose students dissected humans while Leonardo made 240 meticulous drawings and wrote 13,000 words of description—and probably more, but those are what survived. The professor died of the plague, ending the project before it could be published. And of course, he painted. His masterpieces during this period in his life include the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda); The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, and a series of images of Salai as St. John the Baptist and Bacchus. Death In 1516, Francis I of France commissioned Leonardo for another astounding, impossible task: design a town and palace complex for the royal court at Romorantin. Francis, arguably one of the best patrons Leonardo ever had, gave him the Chateau de Cloux (now the Clos Luce). Leonardo was by now an old man, but he was still productive—he made 16 drawings over the next three years, even if the city project was not completed—but he was visibly ill and had likely suffered a stroke. He died on May 2, 1519, at the Chateau. Sources Clark, Kenneth and Martin Kemp. Leonardo da Vinci: Revised Edition. London, Penguin Books, 1989.Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Simon Schuster, 2017.  Farago, Claire. Biography and Early Art Criticism of Leonardo da Vinci. New York: Garland Publishing, 1999.Nicholl, Charles. Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind. London, Penguin Books, 2005. Biography of Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Man Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452–May 2, 1519) was an artist, humanist, scientist, philosopher, inventor, and naturalist during the Italian Renaissance. His genius, says his biographer Walter Isaacson, was his ability to marry observation with imagination and to apply that imagination to intellect and its universal nature. Fast Facts: Leonardo da Vinci Known For: Renaissance-era painter, inventor, naturalist, philosopher, and writerBorn: April 15, 1452 in Vinci in Tuscany, ItalyParents: Piero da Vinci and Caterina LippiDied:  May 2, 1519 in Cloux, FranceEducation: Formal training limited to abacus school in commercial math, an apprenticeship at the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio; otherwise self-taught Early Life Leonardo da Vinci was born in the village of Vinci in Tuscany, Italy, on April 15, 1452, the only child of Piero da Vinci, a notary and eventually chancellor of Florence, and Caterina Lippi, an unmarried peasant girl. He is properly known as Leonardo rather than da Vinci, although that is a common form of his name today. Da Vinci means from Vinci and most people of the day who required a last name were given it based on their place of residence. Leonardo was illegitimate, which, according to biographer Isaacson, may well have assisted his skill and education. He was not required to go to formal school, and he passed his youth in experimentation and exploration, keeping careful notes in a series of journals that have survived. Piero was a well-to-do man, descended from at least two generations of important notaries, and he settled in the town of Florence. He married Albierra, the daughter of another notary, within eight months of Leonardos birth. Leonardo was raised in the da Vinci family home by his grandfather Antonio and his wife, along with Francesco, Pieros youngest brother only 15 years older than his nephew, Leonardo himself. Florence (1467–1482) In 1464, Albierra died in childbirth—she had no other children, and Piero brought Leonardo to live with him in Florence. There, Leonardo was exposed to the architecture and writings of the artists Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472); and it was there that his father got him an apprenticeship to the artist and engineer Andrea del Verrocchio. Verrocchios workshop was part art studio and part art shop, and Leonardo was exposed to a rigorous training program that included painting, sculpture, pottery, and metalworking. He learned the beauty of geometry and the mathematical harmony that art can leverage. He also learned chiarroscuro and developed the sfumato technique for which he would become famous. When his apprenticeship ended in 1472, Leonardo registered in the Florentine painters confraternity, the Compagnia di San Luca. Many of the works he did in Verocchios workshop were often completed by several of the students and/or the teacher, and it is clear that by the end of his tenure, Leonardo had surpassed his master. Verocchios workshop was sponsored by the duke of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici  (1469–1492), also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Some of the works painted by Leonardo in his 20s include the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi, and the portrait of Ginevra di Benci. Milan (1482–1499) When Leonardo turned 30, he was sent by Lorenzo on a diplomatic mission to bring a lute in the shape of a horses head that he himself had crafted to be given to Ludovico Sforza, the powerful duke of Milan. With him was Atalante Migliorotti (1466–1532), the first of his long-term companions who acted as a friend, assistant, secretary, and romantic partner. When Leonardo arrived in Milan, he sent a letter to Ludovico, a letter that was more or less a job application, laying out in detail the type of job he envisioned being useful to the duke: military and civil engineering. Instead, Leonardo ended up an impresario, producing elaborate pageants for the royal court such as the Masque of the Planets. He designed scenery and costumes and developed fantastic mechanical elements for the plays that would fly, descend, or animate for the audience. In this role, he was part court jester: he sang and played the lute, told stories and fables, played pranks. His friends described him as gentle and entertaining, handsome, precise, and generous, a valued and beloved companion. The Genius in the Notebook It was also during this period that Leonardo began keeping regular notebooks. More than 7,200 single pages exist today, estimated to be one-quarter of his total output. They are filled with expressions of sheer genius: flights of fancy, precognitive sketches of impossible technologies (scuba gear, flying machines, helicopters); careful, analytical anatomical studies of dissections he performed on humans and animals; and visual puns. In his notebooks and his canvases, he played with shadow and light, perspective, motion, and color. His drawings of humans at the time are fascinating: an old warrior with a nutcracker nose and an enormous chin; grotesquely old men and women; and a thin, muscular, curly-haired androgynous figure, the opposite avatar of the old warrior who would provide centuries of delight and speculation for art historians. Of course, he painted while he was in Milan: portraits included several of Ludovicos mistresses, The Lady with the Ermine and La Belle Ferronnià ¨re, and religious works such as Virgin of the Rocks and the astonishing Last Supper. He also made the famous drawing Vitruvian Man, the best of numerous attempts of the day to illustrate what the Roman architect Vitrivius (c. 80–15 BCE) meant when he said the layout of a temple should reflect the proportions of a human body. Leonardo ditched most of Vitrivius measurements and calculated his own ideal of perfection. In 1489, Leonardo finally earned the job he had wanted in 1482: he received an official court appointment, complete with rooms (albeit not at Ludovicos castle). His first commission was to make an immense sculpture of the duke of Milans father Francesco sitting on a horse. He made the model of clay and worked for years planning the casting, but never completed the bronze sculpture. In July 1490, he met the second companion of his life, Gian Giacomo Caprotti  da Oreno, known as Salai (1480–1524). By 1499, the duke of Milan was running out of money and no longer consistently paying Leonardo, and when Louis XII of France (1462–1515) invaded Milan, Ludovico fled the city. Leonardo stayed in Milan briefly—the French knew him and protected his studio from the mobs—but when he heard rumors that Ludovico was planning to return, he fled home to Florence. Italy and France (1500–1519) When Leonardo returned to Florence, he found the city still shaken from the after-effects of the brief and bloody rule of Savonarola (1452–1498), who in 1497 had led the Bonfire of the Vanities—the priest and his followers collected and burned thousands of objects such as artworks, books, cosmetics, dresses, mirrors, and musical instruments as forms of evil temptations. In 1498, Savonarola was hanged and burned in the public square. Leonardo was a different man when he returned: he dressed like a dandy, spending almost as much on clothing as he did on books. His first patron was the notorious military ruler Cesare Borgia (1475–1507), who conquered Florence in 1502: Borgia gave Leonardo a passport to travel wherever he needed, as his personal engineer and innovator. The job only lasted about eight months, but during that time Leonardo built a bridge supporting a garrison of troops out of a pile of lumber and nothing more. He also perfected the art of maps, drawing villages as they would be seen from the air, accurate, detailed birds-eye views of cities measured with a compass. He also established a friendship with Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527), who would base his classic The Prince on Borgia. By 1503, though, Borgia was running amok, requiring mass executions in the towns he occupied. At first, Leonardo seemed oblivious, but when Machiavelli left, so did Leonardo: back to Florence. In Florence, Leonardo and Machiavelli worked on an astonishing project: they planted to divert the Arno river from Pisa to Florence. The project got started, but the engineer changed the specs and it was a spectacular failure. Leonardo and Machiavelli also worked on a way to drain the Piombino Marshes: the movement and force of water was a fascination for Leonardo throughout his life, but the marsh project was also not completed. Michelangelo Artistically, Florence had a huge drawback: Leonardo had acquired a nemesis, Michelangelo. Twenty years younger, Michelangelo was a pious Christian convulsed by agony over his nature. The two artists communication devolved into a bitter feud. The two men were each commissioned to do battle scenes: hung in separate galleries, the paintings were depictions of frenzied faces, monstrous armor, and mad horses. Isaacson suggests that the upshot of the war of the battle scene was useful to both artists because they were now both luminaries, rather than interchangeable parts. From 1506–1516, Leonardo wandered back and forth between Rome and Milan; another one of his patrons was the Medici Pope Leo X (1475–1521). In 1506, Leonardo adopted Francesco Melzi, the 14-year-old son of a friend and civil engineer, as his heir. Between 1510 and 1511, Leonardo worked with anatomy professor Marcantonio della Torre, whose students dissected humans while Leonardo made 240 meticulous drawings and wrote 13,000 words of description—and probably more, but those are what survived. The professor died of the plague, ending the project before it could be published. And of course, he painted. His masterpieces during this period in his life include the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda); The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, and a series of images of Salai as St. John the Baptist and Bacchus. Death In 1516, Francis I of France commissioned Leonardo for another astounding, impossible task: design a town and palace complex for the royal court at Romorantin. Francis, arguably one of the best patrons Leonardo ever had, gave him the Chateau de Cloux (now the Clos Luce). Leonardo was by now an old man, but he was still productive—he made 16 drawings over the next three years, even if the city project was not completed—but he was visibly ill and had likely suffered a stroke. He died on May 2, 1519, at the Chateau. Sources Clark, Kenneth and Martin Kemp. Leonardo da Vinci: Revised Edition. London, Penguin Books, 1989.Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo Da Vinci. New York: Simon Schuster, 2017.  Farago, Claire. Biography and Early Art Criticism of Leonardo da Vinci. New York: Garland Publishing, 1999.Nicholl, Charles. Leonardo da Vinci: Flights of the Mind. London, Penguin Books, 2005.

Essay about A Look Inside Forgiveness - 1056 Words

Everyone has the control within them to forgive or not to forgive someone. Forgiveness comes down to taking responsibility for the choices we make and doing what we believe is right. By forgiving others, authority of our own lives can be regained by letting go of the conflicting objects from the past and moving into a more significant direction. The world today is full of conflict and people are being hurt every day. Conflict is seen today in politics, between countries, and between your average everyday people. Conflicts such as those listed above are often shaping the atmosphere we live in and shaping the person we are today. We can see that forgiveness is a place to start when trying to resolve conflicts, but not everyone will†¦show more content†¦It is instead a lesson to be taken in and learned from the past by looking ahead without holding in the pain. In the case that an agreement cannot be met, there will instead be an opportunity to learn from the past. In the Sunfl ower, Simon Wiesenthal was one of the many Jews working in a concentration camp of the Holocaust (Wiesenthal 3). Wiesenthal was one of fifty men chosen to work at a hospital for Nazi soldiers when the work at the concentration camp was done (Wiesenthal 11). As the Jews marched to the Nazi hospital they came across a cemetery of dead soldiers (Wiesenthal 14). Wiesenthal envied each of the soldiers, as every one of them was connected to the earth by a sunflower on top of their gravestones (Wiesenthal 14). He states, â€Å"For me there would be no sunflower. I would be buried in a mass grave, where corpses would be piled on top of me† (Wiesenthal 14). As Wiesenthal sat inside the hospital and listened to the dying Nazi man, he found the man soon asking for forgiveness for the sins he had committed against the Jews (Wiesenthal 54). Wiesenthal did not grant forgiveness to the dying Nazi man as he felt he could not speak for every Jew that had been tortured or even killed (Wiesenth al 98). Many people often get caught up in the desire to be forgiven that they forget to think about who can grant forgiveness before approaching them. In the instance that Wiesenthal did not forgive the manShow MoreRelatedWhat Is It Forgive Someone?1196 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is it to forgive someone? Is it possible to even do that on a deep emotional level, which is where it must be realized to do any lasting good. Most approaches to forgiveness are confrontational in nature, requiring an almost inhuman will and god-like consciousness to accomplish. More importantly, are there emotional/psychological benefits gained from forgiving, or are we doomed to resurrect the situation, adding feelings of anger or humiliation, especially when the person, institution, or eventRead MoreIntervention Studies on Forgiveness Journal Article 1 Essay example1190 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Intervention Studies on Forgiveness Daulphinia Glover Liberty University Summary In the journal article titled â€Å"Intervention Studies on Forgiveness† by Thomas W. Baskin and Robert D. Enright is a meta-analysis study on interventions that are conducted to determine if the interventions that are being utilized are effective when it comes to forgiveness. In the early case studies it was â€Å"suggested that forgiveness might be helpful for people who have experienced deepRead MoreFences Play Analysis1517 Words   |  7 Pagesstarts with the two-characters conversation, Troy and Bono, it was Friday night, payday, the night of drinking and having fun. Instead of having fun, these two guys were talking about their family, their problems, work pressure. Rose’s character of forgiveness helps to demonstrate that a family is bonded by love and understanding is important aspect for the strong relationship among family members. The main protagonist of this play is Rose, wife of Troy, mother of Cory, Lyons, and Raynell. She is forty-threeRead MoreWe can Forgive but We Cant Forget1635 Words   |  6 Pagesdifficult time becomes one from which we have grown wiser. Forgiveness is an internal process that takes time and efforts to develop; it does not happen spontaneously. By letting go, we give up our roles as victims; it is a promise to stop torturing ourselves and to fully move on. If you wait to forget before you forgive, you will live a life full of misery and frustration. Forgiveness is a defense mechanism that protects us both from inside evil that eats us internally (such as anger and hatred) andRead More The Smoke Signals Forgiveness Essay1461 Words   |  6 PagesThe Smoke Signals Forgiveness Smoke Signals, written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre, begins on July 4, 1976 on the Coeur d’ Alene Reservation. Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), drunk while celebrating the independence, lit off a firework and set the Builds-the-Fire residence on fire, killing the parents of Thomas Builds-the Fire. Many people were already asleep in the house when the fire started, so no one saw Arnold’s mistake, which he kept a secret from the whole reservation. BothRead MoreReflection About Community757 Words   |  4 Pagestopic of community is one that comes up often and is greatly valued. And because of that it is a topic that has stirred up a lot of thoughts for myself about what makes a community good, and what makes a community MAGNIFICENT. The sunday school kid inside me eagerly raises her hand and shouts out â€Å"Jesus!† But why? What about Jesus or God make a community move from good to magnificent? And why does not every christian community feel magnifi cent? In a parallel time period to these questions about communityRead MoreMethods of Evangelism762 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"(1Corinthians 15:3-4). Then asked if you would like to receive God’s forgiveness, how wonderful it is to know that even though we were sinners God is given us a pardon through His mercy and grace. This simple yet complete method through its various bible scriptures clarifies to the unbeliever an almost step by step illustration of His sin, what was done to restore him through and Jesus dying for man sins, and most importantly God’s forgiveness. Evangelistic Method # 2 Servant Evangelism was something thatRead MoreThe Spiritual Disciplines Of God1209 Words   |  5 Pagesevery night before bedtime like I used to, and I did not. I will continue to practice this discipline as I’m hoping to get back to where I used to be when I would read the Bible. The third spiritual discipline that I practiced was forgiveness. I believe that forgiveness happens to be the hardest of all of the disciplines. I struggled with this discipline. Growing all I ever wanted was a relationship with my father. What girl does not? It was not until I was eighteen or nineteen when we started conversingRead MoreDeath, Pain, And Hope By Denis Johnson1570 Words   |  7 Pageswas†, the narrator states (p. 8). Worse, when he finds the driver stuck in the front seat and barely conscious, the narrator does nothing but stop in front of the victim’s body to check how broken he is. It sounds ridiculous and makes the narrator look incredibly selfish. However, what is underneath the narrator is more complicated than he has presented. He witnesses all the tragedy of a family: the man’s death, the woman’s desperation, and the fatherless baby. He does not take actions to help doesRead MoreAnalysis Of Carol Dwecks Mindset998 Words   |  4 PagesOver the years I’ve gained comments from loved ones and friends in regards to being too easy to forgive or I don’t forgive at all. What I know is that I need to consider being forgiving to an extent where I know someone else doesn’t deserve my forgiveness. I’m not always the person to step forward in the face of a challenge. My anxiety derives from my thought process of thinking that I can’t solve the desired situation. My leadership skills only happen in a rarity but that needs to change if I want