What is FERPA and what impact does it have on education?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
FERPA: Protecting Student Privacy in Education
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law enacted in 1974 that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA grants parents and eligible students certain rights regarding the access and disclosure of these records. This essay will explore the key provisions of FERPA and discuss its impact on education.
FERPA provides parents with the right to access and control their child’s educational records until the child reaches the age of 18 or attends an institution of higher education. Once students reach the age of 18 or begin attending post-secondary education, these rights transfer to the student themselves. This ensures that parents or eligible students have the ability to review and request changes to inaccurate or misleading information in their educational records.
One of the primary impacts of FERPA on education is the protection of student privacy. Under FERPA, educational institutions are prohibited from disclosing personally identifiable information (PII) from a student’s education records without obtaining written consent from the student or parent. This means that schools must obtain permission before releasing any sensitive information to third parties, including grades, disciplinary records, and personal details.
FERPA also establishes limitations on the sharing of student records within educational institutions. Schools are required to have policies and procedures in place to protect the security of student records and ensure that only authorized individuals have access to them. Additionally, FERPA allows students to control the disclosure of their directory information, which includes items such as name, address, and phone number.
Furthermore, FERPA has had a significant impact on the use of student data for research and statistical purposes. While FERPA allows for the disclosure of de-identified data that cannot be used to personally identify students, it sets strict guidelines to safeguard student privacy. Researchers must adhere to specific protocols and obtain appropriate approvals before accessing and using student data for research purposes.
In recent years, with the advancement of technology and the increasing use of electronic systems in education, FERPA has become even more relevant. Educational institutions are now required to take additional measures to protect electronic student records from unauthorized access or breaches.
In conclusion, FERPA plays a crucial role in safeguarding student privacy in education. By granting parents and eligible students certain rights regarding access and control over educational records, FERPA ensures that sensitive information remains confidential. This law has had a significant impact on education by establishing guidelines for the security and privacy of student records, regulating the sharing of information within educational institutions, and protecting student data used for research purposes. FERPA’s influence on education continues to be paramount in an era where data privacy and protection are of increasing concern.
