Answer

ANSWER

Events that led to Zero Hour

The term “Zero Hour” refers to the 8^th of May 1945 – which was the date when Germany finally surrendered after the Second World War. This phrase was coined by Germans due to the level of destruction that the country had suffered. The phrase “zero hour” denotes a beginning but this was not the case. Germany had existed before. This paper studies the events leading to the Zero Hour, discussing actions taken by Germany which resulted in the plundering of the country.

Germany’s troubles began in 1933 when the country installed Adolf Hitler as its Prime Minister. Hitler was elected through democratic means. Hitler was voted in through the Nazi Party. However, once Hitler was in power he turned to tyrannical rule which was the Nazi agenda. It is important to also examine how World War I shaped the next steps for Germany. When World War I ended on November 11^th 1918, German soldiers were still occupying Luxembourg, Belgium and France. Germany had run out of soldiers and resources to fight the British and was desperate for an armistice. However, most Germans were not fully aware that they had been defeated and in fact celebrated the returning soldiers as victorious.

German commanders such as Erich Ludendorff began to propagate a lie that Germany had indeed won in the battlefield. Ludendorff had initially been among those most desperate for the armistice but he did not want to be held responsible for the country’s defeat. The “stab in the back” myth was spread throughout Germany and many Germans became convinced that the decision-makers back home had betrayed their soldiers. Additionally, by the end of the 1^st World War, Germany was relatively unoccupied by foreign troops which only served to fuel the myth that Germany had not really been defeated.

In January 1943, the then American President Roosevelt met with Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in Morocco and agreed to impose an unconditional surrender on Germany. This was to ensure that Germans would understand the magnitude of their defeat unlike in World War I. Roosevelt and Winston further acquired the support of the Soviet Union so that everyone would know who lost and who won. Additionally, when World War II ended, there was significant foreign presence in the country and all the foreign parties involved did not want to risk retaliation. Germany suffered significant territorial losses dating back to World War I and people were not happy about it.

In 1939, Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Hitler was seeking to reverse the effects of the 1^st World War without risking invasion from all sides. He sided with the Soviet Union while planning to go to war against them later. On 1^st September 1939, Germany attacked Poland from the west and won. Two weeks later, the Soviet attacked Poland from the East. All this was part of the non-aggression pact that Hitler had signed with the Soviet Union’s, Stalin. Poland at that time was allied with Britain and France who consequently declared war on Nazi Germany. It is, therefore, important to note that despite Russia’s claim that they were not in league with Germany, the fact is that the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany entered World War II as allies.

Germany took control over many countries because Hitler wanted to avert some of the shortcomings that had led to their defeat in World War I. German troops plundered through many countries such as Poland and Norway taking control of resources that they lacked in World War I. Germany invaded France in May 1940. Britain and France were well prepared for this invasion which they expected to come in through Belgium, but the German troops went in through the Ardennes forest.

Winston Churchill took over as Britain’s Prime Minister from Neville Chamberlain who led Britain throughout World War II. Unlike Chamberlain, Churchill understood that Nazi Germany was a threat that needed to be vanquished. Churchill wanted victory at all cost and was not willing to compromise with Nazi Germany. France would then fall to Germany at around the same time and Hitler took control of France’s resources. At the same time, Germany became allies with Italy and Japan. These three formed the “axis power” and would have been unbeatable were it not for their lack of collaboration and strategy. Each country focused on their own interests.

The British attacked Berlin which infuriated Hitler who then authorized the Blitz which was a series of German attacks on foreign cities. Germany’s offensive strategy was derailed when Hitler had to divert forces to help Italy fight Greece. In 1941, the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany after Stalin ignored British intelligence. Eventually America, Britain and the Soviet would form an alliance against Nazi Germany. This alliance proved more successful because all the forces collaborated and strategized for the long game. This alliance, however, would collapse after the defeat of Germany.

In 1941 Japan marched south and decided to attack the Pearl Harbor. At least 1,000 American soldiers died but Japan failed to relinquish America’s supply of oil. Hitler then declared war on the United States and paved way for America to attack and defeat Germany while simultaneously attacking Japan. When Nazi Germany marched to the Soviet Union, at least 700,000 German troops were taken hostage because Hitler refused to let them retreat. At least 1 million people died during the 90-day siege of Leningrad which Hitler was determined to take. Stalin wanted to attack France but America and the Soviet Union launched an attack in Africa instead. The Soviet Union liberated Eastern Union in Operation Bagration and then liberate Berlin. Italy’s Benito Mussolini was captured and killed despite Hitler’s attempts to save him. Hitler then decided to commit suicide so that he would not suffer Mussolini’s fate. Hitler married Eva Braun on April 29^th 1945 and the two committed suicide on April 30^th. Once Hitler was dead, the war would soon come to an end.

44.QUESTION

yle Spencer’s ” In college and homeless” also Karl Strikwerd’s ” Community colleges are good for you    

Unit 1: CCCS Essay
CCCS Module Essay Primary Reading:

· Ginia Bellafonte’s “Community College Students Face a Long Road to Graduation”

Secondary Readings:

Kyle Spencer’s “In College and Homeless”
Karl Strikwerda’s “Community Colleges are Good for You”
Overview: Community colleges have come under increased national scrutiny in recent years. While nearly half of the nation’s college freshmen now attend community college, graduation rates at two-year institutions are often lower than at four-year colleges. Despite this, college students are choosing community colleges in high rates and often plan to transfer to four-year institutions after finishing their coursework at a two-year school.

Essential Questions

Why did you decide to attend a community college?
Where would you like to transfer after you complete your work at CCBC?
Do you agree with any of the points made in the Bellafonte’s essay? Why or why not?

Your essay should touch on each of these issues, ultimately creating a thesis (typically found in the first paragraph of your essay) that states why you are attending CCBC and how the reading for this unit has influenced your opinion of community colleges.

Prompt: Ginia Bellafonte’s New York Times article discusses the difficulties of one community college student, Vladimir de Jesus, and his experience at a two-year college in New York. Your essay should include discussion of why students (like de Jesus, yourself, and other community college students) select community colleges, the experiences students have at the community college, and some of the difficulties students face in transferring to four-year institutions from community colleges. Kyle Spencer and Carl Strikwerda’s essays will also provide evidence-based support that can be useful in addressing the issues that face community college students across the U.S.,

This essay should include an argumentative thesis in your first paragraph. Your thesis statement should discuss your decision to attend CCBC and your response to the Bellafonte reading and consideration of the secondary readings.

Audience: Write for an audience that is not familiar with the experiences and challenges of community college students

Length: 3-4 pages (750-1000) words

Requirements:

Use the Essay Structure resource, along with the strategies from the LUMEN Resource modules to guide your essay structure and organization.
Include an original title (not “Unit One Essay” or Bellafonte Essay”)
Use MLA Style to format your essay (see “MLA Format” in LUMEN Resource)
Compose a thesis statement that expresses your opinion about community college as a student and in response to your research and the assigned reading
Use the Bellafonte reading as evidence to support your opinions
Summarize de Jesus’s experience
Discuss your own experience at CCBC
Incorporate additional resources (Spencer, Strikwerda, research from discussion posts, etc.)
Cite all sources using MLA style in-text citations
Include an MLA Style Works Cited page (in addition to 3-4 pages of text)

Assignment
Unit 2: Education Essay
Overview: In this essay, please consider your personal experiences with education as it relates to the larger American educational system. To begin, select one of the following prompts that relates to your experiences and opinions about the American educational system.

Prompt: Compose an essay in response to the essential questions for the module. Consider the assigned readings for the unit, and select at least two that connect with and support your ideas. Conduct research and include evidence from at least two additional sources to support your ideas.

Essential Questions:

To what extent do American education systems and policies address the diversity of today’s students?

What is the importance of having programs and polices related to education encourage “independent learning” and “intellectual curiosity”? Do programs like this currently exist?

Which groups benefit from the current education system and policies? Which groups do not benefit?

Audience: Write for an audience that is not in this class. That means you’ll need to spend some time summarizing key ideas, defining any terms that might be unfamiliar, choosing short quotes from the reading selections to help your reader get a sense of the authors’ arguments.

Length: 3-4 pages (750-1000) words

Requirements:

Use the Essay Structure resource, along with the strategies from the LUMEN Resource modules to guide your essay structure and organization.

Include an original title (not “Unit Two Essay” or “Education Essay”)

Use MLA 8th edition documentation style to format your essay 

Compose a thesis statement that expresses your response to one of the prompt questions

Organize the essay so that each body paragraph is providing support for your thesis (use “Essay Structure” resource and LUMEN modules for guidance)

Integrate at least TWO of the assigned readings as evidence to support your opinions

Research and integrate at least TWO additional sources from the CCBC Database (“Opposing Viewpoints” is a good starting place”

Cite all sources using MLA style in-text citations

Include an MLA style Works Cited page at the end of the essay (not included in 3-4 pages of text)

ANSWER

Why College Students Choose Community Colleges and Challenges Experienced by Students in these Institutions

Recent years have witnessed community colleges being subjected to immense national scrutiny by stakeholders with the field of education. Limited regard for these institutions is even evidenced by the fact that the analysis of the challenges encountered by higher education is often done by focusing solely on universities and four-year colleges (Strikwerda par 1). Nonetheless, more students continue to stream community colleges than other higher institutions of learning (Strikwerda par. 1). In this paper I will argue that even though students in community colleges experience challenges such as financial barriers, early parental role, and basic math requirement, the significance of these colleges cannot be overlooked as they serve as entry points to colleges, reach a more diverse faction of learners than most universities and four-year colleges, and are essential for the attainment of higher education objective of serving or meeting the national interest.

Students in community-colleges continue to experience certain challenges that make their journey to graduation a difficult one. Bellafante mentions financial barrier as one of the challenges that community college learners face. The author states that the lack of finance hinders students from consistently attending classes, as they have to work to meet other responsibilities (Bellafante par. 7). It is also vital to note that the problem of finance also subjects community college students to the problem of homelessness (Spencer par. 12). Community college students also experience the problem of early parenting, which exposes them to long hours of commuting and inconsistent class attendance. For instance, Bellafante refers to de Jesus who had to spend longer hours of commuting as he had to take his daughter to school prior to attending LaGuardia’s campus (par. 22). The basic math requirement is also among the challenges that learners in community colleges face. This math level is higher for these students considering that it is often taken by affluent children in ninth or eighth grade. I agree with Bellafante’s argument considering that I have witnessed many community college learners miss classes or school to work so that they can cater for their learning needs such as transportation, pocket money, and accommodation. Moreover, I have seen many community college students who have kids and have to provide for them while also attending school. I have also heard many students lamenting about basic math, and arguing that it is a major impediment to their academic progress.

Even though students in community colleges experience challenges, many learners continue to enroll in these institutions owing to three benefits associated with them. First, community colleges provide a vital entry point to colleges for many young individuals that can rarely be replicated by four-year institutions. Many young Americans always find joining a university or four-year college intimidating, especially when it entails taking on loans, handling challenging courses within the first semester, and residing away from home (Strikwerda par. 3). Nevertheless, community colleges provide a solution to these challenges in that they provide learners with an opportunity to attend a college close to their homes. Besides, these institutions provide students with the options of undertaking part-time courses and switching easily to fulltime courses from part-time ones (Strikwerda par. 3). For instance, enrolling at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) has provided me with an opportunity to pursue college education and get an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in business. Learners attending community colleges are also subjected to fewer loans than university or four-year college students, as they are still in the process of trying out college (Strikwerda par. 3). These institutions provide students with ample time to select right major prior to taking debts. In states such as California, community colleges possess food pantries that offer groceries and toiletries, as well as school clothes and supplies. The provision of showers for homeless learners by community college campuses is also a requirement of the California law (Spencer par. 18). Furthermore, some of these colleges provider free laundry services, snacks, and dinners to students (Spencer par. 18).

Second, community colleges reach a more diverse group of learners than most universities and four-year colleges. These colleges enroll an enormous number of students from various ethnic backgrounds including Hispanic and black learners, which in turn provides a suitable recruitment ground for four-year colleges that desire their student body to be a reflection of the nation (Strikwerda par. 5). Third, community colleges are essential for the realization of the goal of higher of education of meeting the national interest. College graduates are considered vital for enhancing the competitiveness of the society within an increasingly technological globe and providing professionals or experts in various fields (Strikwerda par. 6). In the absence of partnership between four-year institutions and community colleges, the nation cannot manage to produce the needed number of college graduates (Strikwerda par. 6). As such, there is a significant need to enhance the ease of transitioning or moving from community colleges to four-ear colleges so that many students can earn degrees and contribute to nation building. In relation to this, I intend to join one of the prominent four-year colleges and I believe that robust measures should be established to eliminate barriers to joining universities and four-year colleges so that community students like me can excel in acquiring degrees. Examples of such barriers are lack of financial assistance, poor advising concerning relevant courses at transfer institution, and cultural gap between the community-college learners and the universities and colleges that do not invest in welcoming them (Strikwerda par. 6).  Some of the strategies that can be implemented to address these challenges are open-campus days of visit with immediate acceptance decisions for transfer learners, financial-aid advising tailored to the needs of community-college students, and provision of specially developed “test drive courses” in four-year colleges at prices of community-college (Strikwerda par. 8).  

In conclusion, despite learners from community colleges being vulnerable to challenges related to finances, basic math requirement, and early parenting, these institutions presents several benefits to students, four-year colleges, and the nation including serving as entry points to colleges, contributing to the attainment of the higher goal of education relation to meeting national interest, and providing reach to a diverse group of learners than universities and four-year institutions. Considering the significance of community college, there is a robust need to embrace the measures discussed in this paper so that the ease of transitioning or switching from community colleges to universities or four-year institutions can be enhanced.