Read the following articles to better understand equity and equality as they relate to education. Consider the status of school equity in America and reflect on what measures schools are taking to address inequality.
The (Links to an external site.)Glossary of Education: Equity Definition (Links to an external site.)
https://www.edglossary.org/equity/
Center for Public Education: Equity Symposium (Links to an external site.)
https://web.archive.org/web/20181113024623/http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/Equity%20Symposium_0.pdf
U.S. Department of Education: Equity of Opportunity (Links to an external site.)
https://www.ed.gov/equity
Research a school, either one that you attended growing up, one in your area, or the college or university you currently attend. Visit websites such as greatschools.org (Links to an external site.), https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/index.asp
National Center for Education Statistics: Search for Public Schools (Links to an external site.) (for K-12),
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
College Factual (Links to an external site.),
https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/
National Center for Education Statistics: College Navigator (Links to an external site.),
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
or others to gather information about the demographics at the school. Compile pertinent information regarding equity, racial and ethnic diversity, gender diversity, socioeconomic status, graduation rates, grades, poverty, disability, etc. to get a comprehensive understanding about equity at your selected school. How does this school address issues of equity?
Create an infographic that addresses the major sociological issues related to education equity at your school. This can be done as a powerpoint slide, or using a program of your choice. Include appropriate citations and references in your poster.
(You can choose one issue related to education, such as racial diversity, or you can provide a quick look at multiple issues related to educational equity. Include relevant data about the diversity present in the students and/or staff at your school, how issues related to equity are addressed. Focus on a few pieces of data or information about your school and bring attention to the key points with graphics or other pictures)
*What is an infographic?
The most common definition of Infographic (Links to an external site.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic
describes it simply as a visual representation of information and data. By combining elements of text image, chart, diagram and, more recently, video, an infographic is an effective tool to present data and explain complex issues in a way that can quickly lead to insight and better understanding.
An infographic is:
A data-rich visualization of a story.
A tool to educate and inform.
A way to build brand awareness.
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.
