Junior Boarding Middle School Options

Junior Boarding Middle School Options As parents consider options for their childrens middle school education, especially if there is a need to switch schools, a junior boarding school may not always be the first thought. However, these specialized schools can offer students things that students wont find in a typical middle school setting. Find out if a junior boarding school is right for your child by learning what two schools have to say about this unique learning and living opportunity for middle school students.   What are the benefits of a junior boarding school? When I reached out to Eaglebrook School, a junior boarding and day school for boys in grades 6-8, they shared with me that  junior boarding schools work to build strong foundational skills in students, such as organization, self-advocacy, critical thinking, and healthy living. Eaglebrook:  A junior boarding school also improves a student’s independence at a young age while exposing them to diversity and potential adversity in a safe, nurturing environment. Students have a broad range of activities and opportunities right on campus and are constantly encouraged to try new things. Junior boarding school can also help to improve relationships among families. Parents are taken out of the role as the primary disciplinarian, homework helper, and chauffeur and instead get to be the chief supporter, cheerleader, and advocate for their child. There are no more nightly fights about homework! Every student at Eaglebrook is given an advisor, who works in concert with each student and their family. The advisor is the point person for each student and his family.   How do you know if a junior boarding school is right for your child? Eaglebrook noted that one very important aspect of deciding if a junior boarding school is a good fit  is to simply visit, noting that families who believe that any of the benefits that were addressed in the previous question ring true, then its time to schedule one. I also connected with Indian Mountain School, a co-ed boarding and day school in Connecticut, told me that the willingness of the child to attend a junior boarding school is an important component of deciding if a junior boarding school is right for your child.   Indian Mountain:  There are many indicators of a good fit for junior boarding, but the first is a  willingness on the part of the child. Many  students have sleep-away camp experience, so they understand what it feels like to be away from home for significant stretches of time and are excited about the chance to learn and live in a diverse community with peers from all over the world. They welcome the chance to grow in a challenging but supportive classroom setting where​ ​class sizes are small and the curriculum has depth and breadth beyond many of their local options. Some families are also attracted to the ability to have all of the students’ activities (arts, sports, music, drama, etc) all in one place, and thus the opportunity to expand their horizons without limitations on time, transportation, and family schedules.    Are students developmentally ready for boarding school at such a young age? Indian Mountain:  Many are, but not all. In the admissions process, we work with families to determine if junior boarding school is the right fit for their child. For students that are ready, the transition is typically an easy one and they are immersed in community life within the first few weeks of school. Eaglebrook:  The structure, consistency, and support of a Junior Boarding School program meet  the developmental needs of children in middle school.  A Junior Boarding School is by definition a safe place where children are allowed to grow and learn at a pace that works for them. What is daily life at a junior boarding school like? Indian Mountain:  Every JB school is slightly different, but I assume a similarity is that we are all highly structured. The day begins when a faculty member wakes the students up in the dorm and supervises them through â€Å"check out† before heading to breakfast. Boarding students and faculty eat breakfast together before starting the academic day at roughly 8 am. The academic day ends at roughly 3:15. From there, students go to their sports practices, which generally end around 5 pm. Day students depart at 5 and then our boarding students have one hour of free time in their dormitories with a faculty member until dinner at 6 pm. Following dinner, students have study-hall. After study-hall, students typically spend time in their dormitories or go to the gym, weight room, or yoga classes. Faculty members supervise quiet time at the end of the evening and â€Å"lights out† happens between 9:00-10:00 depending on the age of the student.   Ã‚   Eaglebrook:  A day in the life at a Junior Boarding School can be fun and challenging. You get to live with 40 boys your own age, play sports, take art classes, act, and sing with students from around the world who share common interests with you. Home Nights every two weeks are nights to spend with your advisor, their family, and your fellow group members (about 8 of you) doing a fun activity and eating dinner together. On a day-to-day basis, you are faced with important choices: Should you go play pickup soccer with your friends on a Saturday afternoon or should you go to the library and finish your research? Did you ask your teacher for extra help at the end of class? If no, then you can do that at dinner and get in a math review before lights out. There might be a movie showing in the gym on Friday night or a camping trip you need to sign up for. Did you have that meeting with your advisor and your roommate to talk about the argument you two had the other day? Don’t forg et to leave your phone in the tech cart in your dorm when you go to class. There is a lot going on at Eaglebrook on any given day. And the students, with guidance, have a lot of room to make choices and figure things out.   Other than dorm experiences, what do Junior Boarding Schools offer that day schools don’t? Eaglebrook:  At a Junior Boarding School you have a â€Å"class day† that never ends and teachers who never â€Å"clock out† because everything, from a sit-down meal in the dining hall to an evening dorm meeting where you get assigned your dorm job for that week has learning value. You can rely on the community at a Junior Boarding School to look out for you while you spread your wings. Teachers see your value beyond the grade you got on your history paper or your math test. As we say in our mission, â€Å"In a warm, caring, structured atmosphere boys learn more than they ever thought possible, discover inner resources, develop self-confidence, and have fun along the way.† And there is a lot of fun to be had.  Weekends at Eaglebrook are designed to give students a break from the class day while holding them to a structure that forces them to not veg out in their rooms for 48 hours. There is time to relax, but there is also time to go skiing, go canoeing, head to the mall, go watch a college sports game at a nearby school, do some community service, and eat a delicious brunch. Built-in study halls allow you to get your school work done, too. Indian Mountain: Junior boarding  schools offer the opportunity to get to know teachers in an expanded supportive role, a vibrant community life and friendships with students and dorm-mates from all over the world, and access to multiple activities, teams and programs all in one place.   What are the challenges that students at Junior Boarding School face, and how does the school help? Indian Mountain:  There is no generalized challenge that students at JBS face. Just like all schools (boarding and day), some students are still learning how to learn effectively. To support these students, we build in time for students to work with their teachers for extra help. We also have a learning skills departments and tutors on staff who can be available for one-on-one work with students, if necessary. Some students struggle with homesickness, but generally, this only lasts for a few weeks at the beginning of the year. Just like at all schools, we also have some students who need emotional support for all kinds of reasons. Since we are a boarding school, we offer support from two full-time counselors on site. They also work with groups of students to support them in a relationship with their peers and classmates and through challenging moments for students in early adolescence.   Eaglebrook:  Students live, go to class, play sports, participate in activities, and eat meals with their peers. While this can provide a fabulous opportunity for them to form lifelong friendships, it can also be difficult. Teachers and advisors are constantly monitoring relationships and social situations to make sure that each child has a safe, healthy, and fun place to live and work. If a student is having academic difficulty, the advisor works with that student and his teachers to develop a plan to get help, do extra work, and correct the situation before it gets too dire. Students do get homesick, and advisors work with families on how best to alleviate those feelings. That plan is probably different for each individual situation, which is fine. Something we try to do at Eaglebrook is meet every student where he is. Individual attention to each boy is paramount. Where do Junior Boarding School graduates go to high school? Eaglebrook:  Most simply, they move on to their next phase of schooling. For the vast majority of our students, this means a private secondary school. Our placement office, which assists each ninth grader and his family with the application process, makes sure that the next school is the right fit for that individual. No matter where they move on to after their time on the Hill, they will have the skills and the network of people at Eaglebrook to support them. Indian Mountain:  Most of our students will matriculate to independent schools all over the United States, primarily as boarding students but we do have students that pursue the excellent local day options. A few of our students will return home to local public schools and occasionally graduates matriculate to independent day schools in New York City. We have a secondary school advisor who helps eighth and ninth grade students with the entire application process from compiling a school list to writing essays to submitting materials. We typically have approximately 40 or more boarding secondary schools on our campus every fall to meet with our students and inform them about their options.   How does JBS prepare you for high school and college? Indian Mountain:  Our schools help students develop the self-confidence to take ownership of their learning experiences. Because of the supportive relationships they have with their teachers (some of whom may be their coaches, advisors and/or dorm parents), students are adept at asking for help and speaking up for themselves. They learn the benefit of being self-advocates at an earlier age and develop leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills so they are ready to take full advantage of opportunities ahead in high school and beyond. Our students also develop independence alongside the presence of committed faculty, take intellectual risks in a nurturing environment, and learn about the importance of embracing community, all the while being kids and having fun.

Writing an annotated bibliography of books. On the topic sex education Research Paper

Writing an annotated bibliography of books. On the topic sex education - Research Paper Example The books aims at creating awareness of marriage as well as advising the couple. The information was gathered from people’s personal experience. The flow of the book is excellent, but it is extremely complicated to get certain information from the book since there are no subheadings. The books also lack the emerging issues since it was authored a while ago. This book evaluates the values in sex education. The book argues that it is difficult to put into action any aspect of sex education if the values are not adhered to. The information of the book relied upon some young people who were involved in sex education. The information and topics are well arranged for easy reference. This book addresses the issue of the same sex relationships and their impact on students. The investigation was conducted in schools where there were students living with people who are gays or lesbians. The book is well organized, and all information is well documented. The book is current and covers a lot of relevant information in my study. The books look into the impact of sex education on social inequality especially gender inequality. The author has researched on school students and how they interact. The author highlight that sex education has a big role I promoting social and sexual injustice. The topics in this book are well arranged making it easy to retrieve information. The book is updated and covers most recent developments in the

The development of the Chinese money market and its critical issues Essay

The development of the Chinese money market and its critical issues for future development - Essay Example Considering the recent developments in the money market in China, it can be said that varieties of market transaction have improved, the transaction scale has expanded and the market membership has also widened (Neftci and MÃ ©nager-Xu, 2007). However, in relation to other countries of the world, development of the Chinese money market requires further restructuring. There are various components in the money market of China, namely the interbank market that conducts the lending and borrowing; repurchase market; and securities market. The operation of the money market is extremely crucial for financial sector reforms, operation of the commercial banks and smooth functioning of the monetary policy of the central bank. Nevertheless, bureaucratic controls on the interest rates of deposits and loans are still dominant, which renders the impact on other financial markets less powerful due to changes in the interest rates. It is also crucial for appropriate functioning of the fiscal policy (Neftci and MÃ ©nager-Xu, 2007). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the development of various sub-segments of the Chinese money markets in the latest decade as well as to highlight crucial market issues. Some recommendations are also provided that can guide the course of future development of the money market with relevance to the policy implication. Effective functioning of the monetary policy is dependent on creation of a vibrant money market. The money market forms a medium, where the central bank of an economy comes in contact with the entire financial system as well as determines the cost and availability of credit required by the financial institutions for proper functioning. As the Chinese economy is undergoing a number of reforms with the passage of time, number of members in the money markets is also rising. The once concentrated money markets have now expanded to include not only state-owned commercial banks and joint stock commercial banks, but also the local

Principles and Practices of Management Behaviour

Principles and Practices of Management Behaviour An autocratic manager makes decisions without the consultation of others workers, rather serving as a dictator type in communicating orders because they like to be in control of situations. This style of management guides to work getting done on time because there are less people implicate in the decision making process. The problem with this style is that the staffs are going to eventually lost motivation to work. Paternalistic is a leadership style which is quite dictatorial, decisions are taken in the best interests of the workers. This style is known as consultative management. This process can take a bit longer as there are more voices to be heard. The other side of this style of management and leadership is that workers may feel that you do not value their opinion or are too rigid if after all of the feedback is received you go off and make the decision in your own without incorporating of their feedback. Democratic leadership implicates running a business on the basis on the majority of decisions. A democratic manager is willing to share work with the staff by relegate it to get the job done. Staffs love this type of management style in business because they feel involved and part of the process. In democratic style the job performance is probably to be better than in an autocratic setting. This style has close links with McGregors theory X and Y. All this styles have advantages and disadvantages such as: Autocratic styles advantages: quick decision making, effective when employing many low skilled workers; disadvantages: no two-way communication Paternalistic styles advantages: more two-way communication so motivating, workers feel their social needs are being met; disadvantages: slow down decision making, still quite a dictatorial style. Democratic style advantages: useful when complex decisions are required that needs specialist skills; disadvantages: mistakes or errors can be made if workers are not skilled enough. According to Chemers M.(1997) in his book An integrative theory of leadership, Leadership has been described as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common emerged. Leadership is composing a group of people to achieve common goals. Leadership is important because help to maximise efficiently an organisation and also help the organisation to achieve the goals. Leadership characteristics are: Proactive vs. reactive (a leader is always thinking three steps ahead). Flexible/Adaptable (a good leader will adapt to new surrounding and situations, doing his/her best to adjust). A good communicator Respectful (treating others with respect will ultimately earn respect). Quiet confidence Enthusiastic (when a leader is motivated and excited about the cause people will be more inclined to follow). Open-minded (a leader work to consider all options when making decisions). Resourceful (a leader must to create access to information). Rewarding (an exceptional leader will recognize the efforts of others and reinforce those actions). Well educated (knowledge is power). Open to change (a leader will take into account all points of view and will be willing to change a policy, program, cultural tradition). Interested in feedback (view feedback as a gift to improve) Evaluative (evaluation of events and programs is essential for n organisations to improve or progress). A strong team Theory X and Y was write by Douglas McGregors Theory X leaders believe that: People should be controlled and directed and punished, if necessary, to put them in a real effort at work the workers want to avoid responsibility and has little ambition most of the workers dislike work Theory Y leaders believe that: working is as natural as play or rest for the average workers workers seek responsibility most of employees have creativity and imagination which may be helpful for organisations to achieve their goals The Hertzberg hygiene factors are: supervision, company policy, relationship with supervisor, relationship with peers, and relationship with subordinates, personal life working conditions, status, and security. Evaluate communication processes in selected businesses Communication is the activity of transfer information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behaviour. Communication is transmitting of information from one person to another. The importance of effective communication is immense in the world of business and in personal life. The communication process begins with the sender and ends with the receiver. The perfect guide toward achieving effective communication is the process of communication Most of us spend about 75 per cent of our hours awake communicating our knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to others people. Verbal communication refers to the use of sounds and language to relay a message. Effective verbal communication is dependent on number of factors and cannot be fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal communication, listening skills and clarification. Non-verbal communication includes facial expression, eye contact, tone of voice, body posture and motions, positioning within groups. It may also include the way we wear our clothes or the silence we keep. Porters division of non-verbal communication: Physical (this is the personal type of communication); Aesthetic (this is the type of communication that takes place through creative expressions); Signs (this is the mechanical type of communication); Symbolic (type of communication that makes use of religious, status); Static features of non-verbal communication Distance Orientation (side to side, face to face) Posture (standing, seating, legs crossed) Physical contact (touching, holding and shaking hands) Dynamic features of non-verbal communication: Facial expressions (smile, raised eyebrow) Gestures (hand movement) Looking (eye contact) Communication styles: rational, emotive and intuitive Rational communication focuses on objective information data, encourages listening carefully to the ideas and focuses on facts and information, this communication is less comfortable with feeling discussions, in this types of communication prefers to take turns when talking, and there is less variation in tone or gestures. Emotive communication focuses on feelings and tends to be more people oriented and passionate, wide variation in tone and gesture, this type of communication can be interrupt while others are speaking, the same there are feelings in voice and regardless of volume, the decisions are announced in terms of how they will affect people. Intuitive communication is focuses on knowing that comes from experience, decisions are announced without justification, increased experience can lead to more rapid decision making. Communication styles change, depending on the situation and our goals and each of the communication style is used at some point in our lives. We can define top-down communication such as a method of issuing commands or orders within a business using a hierarchical structure. Top-down communication affords a companys managerial structure to control the information and protect that each employment level has necessary information to get done the tasks. The disadvantage of this communication is the risk of orders getting lost in translation; this can cause trouble in a companys project development. We can define bottom up communication such as trebuie sa caut informatie Formal communication is used in professional setting, in this types of communication slang is not use, pronounce of words is correctly. In informal communication we can use slang, can be used short version of words, this type of communication is used with friends and family. Analyse organisational culture and change in selected businesses Organisational culture mains the personality of the organisation, the way the things are done .Organisational culture refers to the fundamental values, beliefs and codes of practice that make a business. Culture according to Schein is A pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group learns as it solves problems. Culture organisation have an important role, the organisation that have strong cultures are capable of increasing revenue, profitability and shareholder value. The same organisation with strong culture finds it easy to change and adapt to market demands. Organisational culture is a focus on culture and process with specific encouragement of collaboration between leaders and members. It is a focus on the human and social side of the origination. Culture has three levels: The artefacts (behaviour of group members) Espoused values (how deal with issues and problems) Basic underlying assumptions Types of organisational culture are: power culture, role culture, task culture and person culture. Power culture depends on central force and a beam of influence from the central figure throughout the organisation, small entrepreneurial organisations. Role culture bureaucracy and works by logic and rationality, role is more important than individual, position is the main source of power. exemple tb sa caut Task culture job and project oriented organisation Personal culture, the individual is in the central focus, when a group of people decide that it is in their own interests to band together. For organisations that manage change effectively, change itself becomes the driving force that leads to future success and growth (Hamlin, Keep and Mullins and Christy,2011). Change is an inevitable and constant feature, an organisation can perform effectively only through interactions with the broader external environmental of which it is part. Factors that influence change in culture are such as: Economic conditions Government interventions Political interests Development in technology Globalisation Other forces of change could be: Demand for high quality goods Customer service Workforce changing nature The main pressure of change is from external forces. Planned change represents an international attempt to improve of the organisation. The objectives of change are: Improving the ability of the organisation Modifying the behavioural patterns of members of the organisationsa mai caut informative sau sa ma uit la handouts Organisational structure is a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, directed and controlled. The structure defines tasks and responsibilities. Structure is important to any kind of organisation. The objectives of structure are: the economic and efficient performance, monitoring the activities, flexibility in order to respond to future demands. There are three types of organisational structure: Tall hierarchical( large organisation tend to have this type of structure, a tall structure have many different levels of employees all reporting at the top to team leaders and then up to operational management, also have a wide chain of command with narrow set of control. Disadvantage of this type of organisational structure can often lead to slower communication channels and decision-making. Flat hierarchical (is an organisational structure that has fewer layers of management and wider spans of control, this types of structure of organisation gives workers more responsibility for decision-making, and the also we have more motivated workforce. Advantage of this structure is that the business to change rapidly to respond to the market.) Matrix (is the combination of the flat structure with tall structure for the business in order to meet its goals. Matrix structure often is used for specific project). Change management is the set of tools, skills and the processes for managing the people leading to achieve the goals of organisation. LO2 Be able to review own potential as a prospective manager 2.1 Assess own management skills performance For managers to be effective, they must have good management skills. The management skills will ensure that he/she can effectively direct, guide, and delegate. The management skills pyramid: Level 1-this level is basic management skills and includes planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Level 2-build on training and couching, motivational, and employee involvement skills. Level 3-are more complex, developing management career and provides opportunities to advance. Most important management skills are: Project management skills (ability to plan, organize, budget and manage the resources); Time management skills (control of most valuable resource, delegate tasks in minimal time, creating schedules for day/week/month, allocating time according to the task at hand); Conflict management skills (skills to resolve the issue, negotiating and mediating); Self-management skills (ability to make decisions as needed, goals setting, prioritize, self-evaluation, self-motivation, positive attitude); Team management skills (delegate to your team, motivate your team, develop your team, communicate with team); Stress management skills (monitoring performance and behaviour, incorporating effective time management to prevent stress, motivation); People management skills (listening, be motivating and inspiring, handle conflict situations, ask questions that are insightful); Office management skills (storage data, monitor and evaluate the work process, accounting and marketing, budget development); Change management skills (talking to people, being real, be passionate, monitoring progress, critical thinking); The guide line for an effective CV is: Personal details: name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, nationality Personal statement, a two-three sentence overview with exceptional qualities and future plans Key skills and abilities Work experience with reverse chronological order(date, organisation name, responsibilities, achievements) Education with reverse chronological order( date, institution, achievements) Hobbies and interests

Motivelessness :: Violence Personal Narrative Papers

Motivelessness The city of Tucson is quite literally surrounded on all sides by exquisitely rugged natural beauty. To the north lie the Santa Catalina mountains, home of Mt. Lemmon and the southernmost ski resort in the continental US. To the east are the Rincons, after which many local Tucson businesses are named. To the west are the Tucson mountains, from which one can on a clear day (clear days abound) see California. To the south are the Santa Ritas and eventually the mysterious Mexican Madres. Some people like the utter suburbanness of the place, or the weather; but, if you ask Tucsonians why they decided to relocate in Tucson of all places from New York or LA or Mexico City, they'll tell you that they love the Tucson sunsets. The quality of Tucson that the sunset epitomizes, attracts hippies and cowboys and big city folk alike to my home town. The sun rises over Salsa Verde to the Rincons and ever so slowly eases down like prickly pear jelly among the Tucson mountains in the late afternoon. I f you make the hike up to Gate's Pass, there's nothing but sunset and desert for a million miles to Hollywood. Either I was talking about the sunset, or it was sunset, because I definitely remember the sun, when I was walking and talking with my hippie friend Adam outside Agua Caliente park three years ago. I also remember that I was wearing baggy green corduroy pants and a black t-shirt with the picture of a South American tree frog perched on it (we were nature-lovers), and that Adam wore a sandlewood beaded necklace. The clothes we were wearing would later become critically important after the six teenagers who attacked us claimed to the police that the attack had been gang-related and retaliatory. I wasn't hurt at all. Frankly, my assault had more the character of a badly choreographed TV rumble than the military precision one finds in big city violent crime. Adam was slightly worse off than I was, probably because his attacker was the older and more emotionally unbalanced leader of the group, Raymond G. Harder, who was armed with what later turned out to be a metal pipe stuck in a wooden door handle. Ultimately, Ray was the only one of the group that Adam and I would send to juvie with the signing of a pen, thanks to the provisions of the Arizona Victims of Violent Crime Act.

Management and Negotiating Conflict Style Essay

1. Hastings had a reputation of being hard headed, and not being able to take criticism. He used the autocratic style to push for his ways of doing things. They said he would sometimes embarrass employees, and roll his eyes at them. And when they had an idea he might call their ideas â€Å"dumb ideas†. He was so bad at this he actually established the nickname â€Å"Animal†. Hastings was young when he developed Pure Software, after establishing it he realized he didn’t like the man he had become or the business he had created. He sold Pure for $750 million and changed his ways when he moved on to his new company Netflix. At Netflix Hastings was a new man; he changed his use of communications in sending and receiving messages in many ways. At Netflix, Hastings was much more kind and open to new ideas. He changed his way of talking to employees and you can tell by the rise in stock and Hastings being named Businessperson of the year in 2010. 2. He changed his use of feedback by listening to his employees and thier ideas, and when he didn’t understand he would say, â€Å" help me understand your idea, tell me why this will work.† Instead of just rolling his eyes and acting high and mighty like he did and his previous company Pure. 3. Hastings coaching style at Pure was poor; he wanted to change that when he created Netflix. He defiantly improved his coaching guidelines in the following ways; He started giving praise and recognition, not criticizing, and giving specific and descriptive feedback. 4. I feel Hastings used two different styles one at Pure and one at Netflix. I feel the style he used at Pure was more of a Forcing Conflict style. When I read the case I got the impression that Hastings didn’t care what his Pure employees thought about him it was more of a I win you Lose attitude which is what the Forcing Conflict Style is all about. With Netflix on the other hand I feel like he went for more of the Negotiating Conflict Style the more I win some, you win some. He cared more about his employees and how they felt. That is just my opinion but I guess if I had to pick just one style he used in both of them I would pick the Forcing Conflict Style because Hastings still ran a tight ship and at the end of the day he was always going to end up a winner. 5. The Conflict  management style used by Netflix was Collaborating Conflict Style. It is the best solution agreeable to all parties. Joining forces with Epix was a good deal for both of them. That’s why I feel the Collaborating Approach was the style used. 6. I am currently a Netflix user; I have been for many years. They are getting better and better every year. I really have no complaints, they have every show that I like to watch, and it is always very quick for me. I think the price is fair, and they let you watch it on every device you own. I as a customer have absolutely no complaints. 7. I think the Group Level of Analysis was used. This level focuses on the relationship between the leaders and the collective group of followers. They focus on how a leader contributes to group effectiveness. Hastings used the Management paradigm by being concerned with stability, and finding out the best way to get the job done. He was able to lead through others, and create favorable conditions for success. He was a very successful leader too; there is no good manager that is not a good leader as well.

Biography of Marian Anderson, American Singer

Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897–April 8, 1993) was an American singer known for her solo performances of lieder, opera, and American spirituals. Her vocal range was almost three octaves, from low D to high C, which allowed her to express a broad range of feelings and moods appropriate to the various songs in her repertoire. The first black artist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, Anderson broke numerous color barriers over the course of her career. Fast Facts: Marian Anderson Known For: Anderson was an African-American singer and one of the most popular concert performers of the 20th century.Born: February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaParents: John Berkley Anderson and Annie Delilah RuckerDied: April 8, 1993 in Portland, OregonSpouse: Orpheus Fisher (m. 1943–1986) Early Life Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia on February 27, 1897. She demonstrated a talent for singing at a very young age. At 8 years old, she was paid 50 cents for a recital.  Marian’s mother was a member of a Methodist church, but the family was involved in music at Union Baptist Church, where her father was a member and an officer. At Union Baptist Church, young Marian sang first in the junior choir and later in the senior choir.  The congregation nicknamed her the â€Å"baby contralto,† though she sometimes sang soprano or tenor. She saved money from doing chores around the neighborhood to buy a violin and later a piano. She and her sisters taught themselves how to play. Marian’s father died in 1910, either of work injuries or a brain tumor.  The family moved in with Marian’s paternal grandparents. Marian’s mother did laundry to support the family and later worked as a cleaning woman in a department store.  After Marian graduated from grammar school, Anderson’s mother became seriously ill with the flu and Marian took some time off from school to raise money through her singing to help support the family. After high school, Marian was accepted into Yale University, but she did not have the funds to attend. In 1921, however, she received a music scholarship from the National Association of Negro Musicians.  She had been in Chicago in 1919 at the first meeting of the organization. The church members collected funds to hire Giuseppe Boghetti as a voice teacher for Anderson for a year; after that, he donated his services. Under his coaching, she performed at Witherspoon Hall in Philadelphia.  He remained her tutor and, later, her advisor, until his death. Early Music Career Anderson toured with Billy King, an African-American pianist who also served as her manager, at schools and churches. In 1924, Anderson made her first recordings with the Victor Talking Machine Company.  She gave a recital in New York’s Town Hall in 1924 to a mostly white audience and considered quitting her musical career when the reviews were poor.  But a desire to help support her mother brought her back to the stage. Boghetti urged Anderson to enter a national contest sponsored by the New York Philharmonic.  She placed first among 300 contestants, which led to a concert in 1925 at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City where she sang with the New York Philharmonic. The reviews this time were more enthusiastic. Anderson went to London in 1928. There, she made her European debut at Wigmore Hall on September 16, 1930. She also studied with teachers who helped her expand her musical capacities.  In 1930, Anderson performed in Chicago at a concert sponsored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, which had made her an honorary member.  After the concert, representatives from the Julius Rosewald Fund contacted her and offered her a scholarship to study in Germany. There, she studied with Michael Raucheisen and Kurt Johnen. Success in Europe In 1933 and 1934, Anderson toured Scandinavia, performing 30 concerts funded in part by the Rosenwald Fund.  She performed for the kings of Sweden and Denmark. She was enthusiastically received;  Jean Sibelius invited her to meet with him and dedicated â€Å"Solitude† to her. Coming off her success in Scandinavia, Anderson made her Paris debut in May 1934. She followed France with a tour in Europe, including England, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Soviet Union, and Latvia.  In 1935, she won the Prix de Chant in Paris. Return to America Sol Hurok, an American impresario, took over management of her career in 1935, and he was a more aggressive manager than her previous American manager had been.  Hurok organized a tour of the United States. Her first concert was a return to Town Hall in New York City.  She hid a broken foot and cast well, and critics raved about her performance.  Howard Taubman, a critic for The New York Times (and later a ghostwriter of her autobiography), wrote, â€Å"Let it be said from the outset, Marian Anderson has returned to her native land one of the great singers of our time.† Anderson was invited to sing at the White House by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936—she was the first black artist to perform there—and he invited her back to the White House to sing for a visit by King George and Queen Elizabeth. 1939 Lincoln Memorial Concert 1939 was the year of a highly publicized incident with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).  Sol Hurok attempted to engage the DAR’s Constitution Hall for an Easter Sunday concert in Washington, D.C., with Howard University sponsorship, which would have had an integrated audience.  The DAR refused the use of the building, citing their segregation policy.  Hurok went public with the snub, and thousands of DAR members resigned from the organization, including, quite publicly, Eleanor Roosevelt. Black leaders in Washington organized to protest the DAR’s action and to find a new place to hold the concert.  The Washington School Board also refused to host a concert with Anderson, and the protest expanded to include the School Board.  Leaders of Howard University and the NAACP, with the support of Eleanor Roosevelt, arranged with the Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes for a free outdoor concert on the National Mall.  Anderson accepted the offer. On April 9, 1939, Easter Sunday, 1939, Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. An interracial crowd of 75,000 heard her sing in person.  Millions of others heard her as well because the concert was broadcast on the radio.  She opened with â€Å"My Country ‘Tis of Thee.† The program also included â€Å"Ave Maria† by Schubert, â€Å"America,† â€Å"Gospel Train,† and â€Å"My Soul Is Anchored in the Lord.† Some see this incident and the concert as the opening of the civil rights movement.  Though she did not choose political activism, Anderson became a symbol of the struggle for civil rights. The War Years In 1941, Franz Rupp became Anderson’s pianist.  They toured together across the United States and South America and began recording with RCA.  Anderson had made several recordings for HMV in the late 1920s and 1930s, but this arrangement with RCA led to many more records.  As with her concerts, the recordings included German lieder and spirituals. In 1943, Anderson married Orpheus King Fisher, an architect. They had known each other in high school when she stayed at his family’s home after a benefit concert in Wilmington, Delaware; he had later married and had a son.  The couple moved to a farm in Connecticut, which they called Marianna Farms. King designed them a home with a music studio. Doctors discovered a cyst on Andersons esophagus in 1948, and she submitted to an operation to remove it. While the cyst threatened to damage her voice, the operation also endangered her voice.  For two months she was not allowed to speak and there were fears that she might have suffered permanent damage.  But she recovered and her voice was not affected by the procedure. Opera Debut Earlier in her career, Anderson had refused several invitations to perform in operas, noting that she did not have opera training.  In 1954, however, when she was invited to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York by Met manager Rudolf Bing, she accepted the role of Ulrica in Verdi’s A Masked Ball, debuting on January 7, 1955. This role was the first time in the Met’s history that a black singer—American or otherwise—had performed with the opera.  In her first performance, Anderson received a 10-minute ovation when she first appeared and ovations after each aria. The moment was considered momentous enough at the time to warrant a front-page New York Times story. Later Accomplishments In 1956, Anderson published her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morning. She worked with former New York Times critic Howard Taubman, who converted her tapes into the final book. Anderson continued to tour. She was part of presidential inaugurations for both Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. In 1963, she sang from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial again as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom—the occasion of the â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. Retirement Anderson retired from concert tours in 1965.  Her farewell tour included 50 American cities.  Her final concert was on Easter Sunday at Carnegie Hall. After her retirement, she lectured and sometimes narrated recordings, including the â€Å"Lincoln Portrait† by Aaron Copeland. Andersons husband died in 1986. She lived on her Connecticut farm until 1992, when her health began to fail. She moved to Portland, Oregon, to live with her nephew James DePreist, the music director of the Oregon Symphony. Death After a series of strokes, Anderson died of heart failure in Portland in 1993, at the age of 96.  Her ashes were interred in Philadelphia in her mother’s grave at Eden Cemetery. Legacy Anderson is widely considered one of the greatest American singers of the 20th century. In 1963, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom; she later received the Congressional Gold Medal and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. A documentary film about her 1939 Lincoln Memorial performance was added to the National Film Registry in 2001. Sources Anderson, Marian. My Lord, What a Morning: an Autobiography. University of Illinois Press, 2002.Keiler, Allan. Marian Anderson: a Singers Journey. University of Illinois Press, 2002.Vehanen, Kosti, and George J. Barnett. Marian Anderson, a Portrait. Greenwood Press, 1970.