His fiend-Like Queen” is Malcolm’s View of Lady Macbeth at the End of the Play Essay

Act 1 Scene 5 is the first scene where you see Lady Macbeth. In this scene we are told a lot about Lady Macbeth’s character and her relationship with husband, Macbeth. The scene opens with Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth, which brings our attention to two main points. Firstly, Lady Macbeth is literate, which was very unusual at the time and tells us that she may be a well-educated character. Secondly, it shows us that she is very close to her husband; it wasn’t a common thing to write to your wife from the battlefield because many generals didn’t have the time, but Macbeth has made the time to do this. The content of the letter also shows us a lot; Macbeth tells his wife everything that happened to him in his encounter of the witches, which shows us that he is able to trust his wife. In the letter Macbeth tells his wife that the witches said, ‘Hail King that shalt be!’ When Lady Macbeth reads this her thoughts, just like Macbeth’s, jump straight to murder: ‘that which rather thou dost fear to do/Than wishest should be done.’ Lady Macbeth is determined that Macbeth shall be king and never actually mentions what she will gain from this, ‘Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be/What thou art promised.’ Lady Macbeth appears to know her husband well, ‘†¦yet do I fear thy nature, /It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness.’ This also tells us a lot about Lady Macbeth herself; even after Macbeth has been on the battlefield killing hundreds, most people would see the fact that he could come home and be kind as a great thing, but Lady Macbeth sees this as his weakness. This is thinking very much like the witches ‘foul is fair, and fair is foul.’ Lady Macbeth’s character has many attributes, which may be associated with evil and which is, in turn, part of the witches’ characters. The first of these is the fact that Lady Macbeth is very manipulative: ‘That I may pour my spirits in thine ear.’ She speaks of ‘the Raven’ which is a bird associated with death. When she hears that Duncan will be coming to the castle she immediately thinks that this is the perfect opportunity to kill him, she refers to ‘the fatal entrance of Duncan.’ She calls to the spirits for help: ‘Come you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here†¦. make thick my blood, / Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse†¦. Come to my woman’s breast/And take my milk for gall,’ In this speech she is asking the spirits to take her womanly tendencies away from her so that she is able to kill Duncan without feeling remorse and without those feminine feelings or attributes that may weaken her. In Shakespeare’s time witches were linked with the devil and gave away their femininity when they linked themselves to him, therefore when Lady Macbeth willingly asks for her feminine characteristics to be taken from her own body, she links herself to the supernatural, and therefore the witches. The speech also tells us that Lady Macbeth doesn’t believe that she is normally able to kill someone; she thinks that this is the only way she will be able to do it and is trying to convince herself that she is evil throughout the scene. What is said in this speech is very similar to the one Macbeth makes, when he asks himself to not think about the treason and murder he is committing. This makes another link between Macbeth and his wife when Lady Macbeth says: ‘Come thick night/And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell’. This line shows us a lot, first that it reflects Macbeth’s, ‘Let not light see my black and deep desires’. The fact that she speaks of night links her to the witches, since night is the witches’ element. This line also links her subtly to the main dark themes of the play. Lady Macbeth has a very strong character and is very controlling, which was a characteristic uncommon at the time: ‘†¦and you shall put/This night’s great business into my dispatch.’ She is taking everything into her own hands and seeing all the opportunities she has at that moment, but is failing to see further than that, to the consequences that may come about from her actions. In this scene Lady Macbeth does come across as having an evil nature. She is manipulative and is able to think about killing someone without much second thought, as well as able to link herself to the supernatural and destroy her feminine body in search of a greater power. In scene 6 Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle in Inverness. In this scene the first thing the reader realises once you have read it is the dramatic irony in it; Duncan says ‘ The air / Nimbly and Sweetly recommends itself/Unto our gentle senses’ and is talking about how nice the castle is when he is in fact very unsafe at Macbeth’s castle. This scene is also a very good example of Lady Macbeth’s deceiving abilities; she is ‘sweet-talking’ Duncan and being kind, ‘All our service, /In every point twice done then doubled’ and ‘To make their audit at your Highness’ pleasure’: she is being the perfect hostess. She is almost over doing the acting in the way she is flattering him so much, ‘Still to return your own’. Lady Macbeth is very two faced and hypocritical in this scene ‘We rest your Hermits.’ She is taking up Duncan’s reference to prayer, ‘How you shall bid God ‘ild us for your pains’, and this is hypocritical because of the prayers that she made to the ‘spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts’ about taking away her womanly aspects. Scene 7 opens with Macbeth contemplating the plan to murder Duncan. He comes up with three strong reasons why he shouldn’t kill him: ‘First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, /Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,’ but there is still a present desire to be King. Lady Macbeth then comes into the scene and does not like what Macbeth is saying. She starts by putting him ‘on the back foot’ by answering his questions with more questions: ‘Macbeth: How now? What news? Lady Macbeth: He has almost supped. Why have you left the chamber? Macbeth: Hath he asked for me? Lady Macbeth: Know you not he has?’ This is where Macbeth tries to take charge and tells lady Macbeth ‘[They] will proceed no further in this business’ and he tells her that he is happy, ‘I have bought/ Golden opinions from all sorts of people’. She doesn’t take this into account and starts attacking. She starts by emotionally black mailing him, questioning his love for her, ‘Such I account thy love’, asking that, if he says that he wishes to be King and then take it back, how can she trust that he really does love her when he says it. She then attacks his ego, suggesting he is a coward even after he has come back from killing thousands of people on the battlefield: ‘Wouldst thou have that/Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, /And live a coward in thine own esteem.’ She compares him to the cat, which would never go for the fish, ‘Like the poor cat I’thage?’ She is asking him a rhetorical question, putting the thought into his head that he has the desire but not the guts to seize his dreams. She then attacks his manhood: ‘What beast was’t then? That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And to be more then what you were, you would be so much more the man.’ Then to prove her point further, and show us the length she is forcing herself mentally to convince herself she is truly evil, she presents this horrible image: ‘How tender’tis to love the babe that milks me-I would while it was smiling in my face Have plucked my nipple from it’s boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done.’ After this Lady Macbeth manages to sway Macbeth back to the murder with her certainty: ‘Macbeth: If we should fail? Lady Macbeth: We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we’ll not fail.’ She is almost mocking him with the ‘we fail?’ making him feel small with the suggestion of it. Then she asserts her control over him again with ‘And we’ll not fail.’ She then shows us how she is a practical by explaining her plan to Macbeth; ‘His spongy officers, who shall bar the guilt / Of our great quell?’ This speech really convinces Macbeth to go through with the murder and proves once again that, at this point, Lady Macbeth really does have control over Macbeth. This scene shows that Lady Macbeth has many evil traits; she is manipulative and controlling. She is also a very practical woman with her plan. Act 2 Scene 2 opens up with a short soliloquy from Lady Macbeth and the content of this soliloquy is quite contradictory; whereas in Act 1 where Lady Macbeth comes across as very confident, here she says ‘What hath quenched them hath given me fire’ suggesting that maybe she isn’t a naturally confident person and is trying to be. She comes across as being nervous and jumpy, ‘Hark! Peace! It was the owl that shrieked.’ She lacks confidence in her husband: ‘Th’ attempt and not the deed Confounds us.’ Just from hearing Macbeth say, ‘Who’s there? What ho!’ she jumps to the conclusion they have failed in plan. Next we see a whole new side to Lady Macbeth ‘Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.’ This is proof that maybe Lady Macbeth has a heart and is not the cold heartless person she tries to make herself out to be. This is also an example of her stupidity; she doesn’t make the connection between what she says and what she does. Lady Macbeth isn’t a very understanding woman, another sign that she isn’t very clever: when Macbeth comes in he is traumatized by what he has just done, instead of Lady Macbeth being caring and understanding she gets angry at him, ‘Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there. Go carry them, and smear / The sleepy grooms with blood.’ When Macbeth looks at his bloody hands and says, ‘This is a sorry sight.’ Lady Macbeth replies with ‘A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.’ That is also a sign of her practicality she is trying to get Macbeth to not dwell on his thoughts. Then there is also another sign of nervousness between them both with the short exchanges when they first meet: ‘Macbeth: When? Lady Macbeth: Now. Macbeth: As I descended? Lady Macbeth: Ay.’ Lady Macbeth isn’t very understanding at all of what her husband is going through and tells him, ‘Consider it not so deeply.’ In act 2 scene 3 we see examples of Lady Macbeth’s practicality and ability to act. The scene opens with Macduff and Lennox entering, wishing to see the King and then finding him dead. Lady Macbeth enters and we see how her acting abilities are still strong, with her pretending she has no idea what has happened ‘What’s the business,’ and it comes across that she genuinely doesn’t seem to have an idea about what is going on. There is the irony of Macduff calling her, ‘O gentle lady,’ when earlier we are given these horrible images by her, ‘And dashed the brains out’. She then manages to keep up the charade by coming across as horrified by the death of the King, ‘Woe, alas! / What, in our house?’ Macbeth then enters and starts to give these flowery speeches: ‘The wine of life is drawn,’ and ‘his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature’: when these are compared to the initial reaction of Macduff, ‘O horror, horror, horror!’ they appear to be prepared. Lady Macbeth can see this and sees how this is getting her husband into deeper trouble and she faints, drawing the attention away from her husband, another example of Lady Macbeth’s practicality and affection for her husband, she wishes to protect him. It is also possible that the vivid descriptions her husband has given, ‘His silver skin laced with his golden blood’, has really shown to her what they have done and the shock of this may have caused her to faint. It may have also been due to shock in the change of her husband, before this he was a wreck at the thought of what he had done: ‘I am afraid to think what I have done.’ now he is able to lie with apparent ease, talking about the man he murdered so highly, and the guards he murdered while they were still sleeping. She scared at what her husband has become. By the end of act 2 we have seen cracks in Lady Macbeth’s visage, she is not as strong as she believes she is and she lacks the imagination to see this. In Act 3 Macbeth is now King and Lady Macbeth is the queen. The scene opens with Banquo’s soliloquy, then the full royal court entering and Lady Macbeth greets Banquo with great gusto, ‘ If he had been forgotten, / It had been as a gap in our great feast’. After there has been much chatter between Macbeth and Banquo, Banquo leaves and Macbeth dismisses everyone including his ‘Dearest love’: before he was always with her and needed her opinion on decision and she was very much in control. Is this a suggestion that Macbeth doesn’t feel he needs her guidance now or is he trying to be the man Lady Macbeth tried to suggest he wasn’t? She must being feeling rather insignificant now and most probably hurt that after what they had just done that he could dismiss her like that. Act 3 scene 2 opens with Lady Macbeth asking permission to see her husband, ‘Say to the King, I would attend his leisure / For a few words.’ This is very strange because before Lady Macbeth would never have had to ask to see her husband. Does this mean she has lost the power she had over her husband and isn’t in control like she use to be? We then see that Lady Macbeth isn’t the evil person she made herself out to be; we see she is hurting from what has happened: †Tis safer to be that which we destroy, / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.’ Macbeth then enters and Lady Macbeth forgets about her worries and starts trying to comfort Macbeth, ‘what’s done is done.’ But she isn’t taking her own advice, she is, ‘without content’. Macbeth then talks about his torment and uses this vivid imagery, ‘O full of scorpions is my mind,’ Macbeth then drops hints that something is going to happen, ‘there shall be done / A deed of dreadful note.’ In this same speech Macbeths also uses the imagery of creatures associated with evil and death: ‘The shard-borne beetle’ so we can assume he is talking about the plan to kill Banquo. Lady Macbeth is properly feeling very confused at this point, before Macbeth included her in all the discussions and now she has no idea what he is talking about, ‘What’s to be done?’ So by the end of this scene we have truly seen the soft and ‘feminine’ side to Lady Macbeth: we have also seen the first signs of her coming collapse. We have seen examples of her love for Macbeth by casting aside her own worries to try to look after him. The first key point about Act 3 scene 4 is the notable change in Lady Macbeth’s behaviour. In Act 1 she was very welcoming and talkative with her guests coming across as being a strong character but is this scene she has lost this strong visage, she has to be prompted to welcome her guests, ‘Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time / We will require her welcome.’ After this though we are able to see some of Lady Macbeth’s old characteristics, when Macbeth is distracted with talking to the Murderers, Lady Macbeth notes that he is away too long and reminds him he is holding a dinner, ‘You do not give the cheer,’ an example of her practicality. Soon after Macbeth he rejoins the dinner he mental state deteriorates, when he sees Banquo’s ghost. Lady Macbeth steps in here with her practicality and tries to bring her husband back while passing off his madness as having some sort of fit: ‘My lord is often thus, / And hath been from his youth’ She is finally able to bring him back by attacking his ego again by repeating the line, ‘Are you a man?’ She is then fairly harsh to Macbeth mocking what he said earlier in the play, ‘This is the air-drawn dagger which you said / Led you to Duncan.’ We see her lack of imagination, ‘You look but on a stool.’ She is still unable to understand why Macbeth is suffering. Lady Macbeth is then able to bring Macbeth back to reality, where he starts acting normal but then mentions Banquo again, this sets Macbeth off again as the ghost reappears and he goes mad. Lady Macbeth steps in once again with her practicality and gets rid of the court so she can attend to her husband and before he is able to say to much about the murders, ‘Stand not upon the order of your going. / But go at once.’ When the rest of the court has left, Lady Macbeth changes: her answers become short. At some point she must have realised what Macbeth had been seeing, changing how she was. Is her quietness a response to what Macbeth has become? She believed that this would only take one murder, and now Macbeth has murdered four times. She must be feeling scared, before she was very much in charge and now Macbeth is fully in control and not asking her opinions. There is already the idea of another murder in his head: ‘Strange things I have in head, That will to hand; / Which must be acted ere they may be scanned.’ By the end of this act you can see Lady Macbeth is scared and she has lost the control she had over her husband. She isn’t the strong character she was in Acts 1 and 2 only her practicality is left. Act 5 scene 1 is when Lady Macbeth has finally gone mad. Shakespeare gives little indication of time in the play, but from what we can gather a fair amount of time has passed, and over this time we can tell that he mental state has deteriorated. The scene starts off by telling us that Lady Macbeth has been sleeping walking and going through the routine of writing a letter, then reading it. I believe this refers to the letter she received from Macbeth about the witches; the letter which started the whole affair off. I think that subconsciously she is wishing for everything to go back to that moment so none of this ever happened. She enters sleep walking carrying a candle and the gentlewoman says that Lady Macbeth has, ‘light by her / continually, ’tis her command.’ This is ironic because earlier in the play Lady Macbeth says, ‘pall thee in thy dunnest smoke of hell.’ So after wishing not to see the light she can’t bare to be without it. There is then more irony in this scene, ‘Out damned spot, out I say!’ she is unable to wash the blood from her hands and to Macbeth earlier she says: ‘A little water will clear us of this deed.’ She almost repeats Macbeth’s, ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hands?’: with ‘the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.’ We can see now that she always did understand what her husband was saying, but on a subconscious level: she lacked the imagination to understand when conscious. Earlier in ‘Macbeth’ Lady Macbeth asked: ‘Come thick night / and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,’ and now she says, ‘Hell is Murky.’ It appears that she is now in her own hell and it is terrifying. Throughout the scene there is more imagery of blood, we have Lady Macbeth mocking Macbeth about being upset about killing Duncan, now she is saying: ‘Who would have thought the man has so much blood in him.’ At first she acted as if she was fine and didn’t have a conscience, we now see that everything had built up and has been affecting her: ‘The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean?’ She is even suffering for the murders she had nothing to do with. After reading ‘Macbeth’ and carefully analysing Lady Macbeth’s actions throughout I think we are able to feel some pity for Lady Macbeth. I think she can be blamed partly for the Tragedy of ‘Macbeth’ because she did push her husband to commit the murder, but we do not fully see what her motivation for this was. My view is that she was mainly doing what she thought her husband deserved because it is obvious through the play that she is deeply in love with Macbeth. Also taking into consideration the time the play is set was it not Macbeth’s place to stick with what he originally felt and tell her that they would not murder the King? I think pity grows towards her as the play goes on; as the reader you can see a change in her character, which quite clearly shows us that she never intended for Macbeth to become the’evil tyrant’ he did become. Another reason for her to be pitied is that you can see she is in pain and suffering but she ignores this to try and comfort her husband who is more open about his suffering. This drives Lady Macbeth crazy in the end, and the idea that she died because of her love for her husband is tragic. This is why I think Malcolm’s view of lady Macbeth, ‘His fiend-Like Queen’ is unfair towards her and that it was Macbeth’s place to have put a stop to the murder which eventually led to both of their deaths.

A Murdur Is Announced

A Murder Is Announced A Murder Is Announced is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1950 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6) and the US edition at $2. 50. ] The novel features her detective Miss Marple and is considered a crime novel classic. The book was heavily promoted upon publication in 1950 as being Christie's fiftieth book, although in truth this figure could only be arrived at by counting in both UK and US short story collections.Plot summary A strange notice appears in the morning paper of a perfectly ordinary small English village, Chipping Cleghorn: â€Å"A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p. m. Friends accept this, the only intimation. † This apparently comes as a great surprise to Letitia Blacklock, the owner of Little Paddocks, as she has no idea w hat the notice means; she didn't place it and none of her companions knows more than she. Miss Blacklock decides to take it in her stride and prepares herself to have guests that evening.Naturally, the villagers are intrigued by this notice, and several of them appear on the doorstep with awkward reasons but a definite interest. As the clock strikes 6:30, the lights go out and a door swings open, revealing a man with a blinding torch. In a heavily accented voice, the man demands they â€Å"Stick 'em up! † Most of the guests do so, believing it to be part of a game. The game ends when shots are fired into the room. The door slams shut, and panic takes hold: in short order, it's discovered that the fuses are blown, the gunman has been shot, and Ms.Blacklock's ear is bleeding, apparently from a bullet's near-miss. The most curious thing of all is the gunman: he is recognized by Dora Bunner (an old friend of Letitia's, affectionately known as â€Å"Bunny,† who lives at Lit tle Paddocks as her companion) as Rudi Scherz, the receptionist at a local spa, who had asked Letitia for money just a few short days ago. The police are called in. All clues suggest that the case is merely a strange suicide or accidental death, but Inspector Craddock is uneasy about both possibilities.As luck would have it, Miss Marple is a guest at the very same spa where Rudi Scherz was employed. Craddock is advised to involve her in the case, and the two commence working together. At the spa, it emerges that Rudi has a criminal background, but petty theft and forgery rather than any more serious crime. His girlfriend, a waitress at the spa, however, reveals that he had been paid to appear as the holdup man; he believed it was all â€Å"a silly English joke†, and was clearly not planning on being shot at. With this new knowledge, Craddock returns to Chipping Cleghorn.Miss Marple, not uncoincidentally, is the godmother of the local vicar's wife, and decides to stay with her . The first step is to establish a motive for Scherz's attack on Miss Blacklock. This presents a problem: Letitia has no known enemies. She worked for a successful financier (Randall Goedler) and has done quite well for herself but is not herself wealthy. She does not lead a lavish life and, aside from her house, she has only enough to live on. However, she may shortly come into a great deal of money; Randall Goedler's estate passed to his wife, Belle, when he died.Belle is frail, and is now very near death. When Belle dies, Miss Blacklock inherits everything. If, however, she predeceases Belle, the estate goes to the mysterious â€Å"Pip† and â€Å"Emma†, children of Randall's estranged sister, Sonia. No one knows where these two are, much less what they look like. Inspector Craddock discovers oil on the hinges of a door into the parlour (where the shooting took place) thought to be unused, and Bunny mentions that until quite recently there had been a table placed aga inst the door.Inspector Craddock travels to Scotland to meet Belle; she mentions that Letitia had a beloved sister, Charlotte, who was born with a goiter. Their father, an old-fashioned doctor, tried unsuccessfully to treat Charlotte, but she only withdrew further into herself as her goiter got worse. Their father died shortly before World War II, and Letitia gave up her job with Goedler and took her sister to Switzerland for the necessary surgery to repair the defect. The two sisters waited out the war in the Swiss countryside, but before it was over, Charlotte died very suddenly.Letitia returned to England shortly thereafter. Miss Marple takes tea with Bunny during her shopping trip with Letitia, and Bunny reveals several details about the case: she talks about the recently oiled door she found with the Inspector; she's sure that Patrick Simmons, a young cousin of Letitia's who, with his sister Julia, is also staying at Little Paddocks, is not as he appears; and, most tellingly, s he's absolutely positive there was a different lamp in the room on the night of the murder (the one with the shepherdess and not with the shepherd) than there was now.Their tete-a-tete is interrupted, however, as Letitia arrives, and she and Bunny resume their shopping. That evening, Letitia arranges a birthday party for Bunny, complete with almost everyone who was at the house when Rudy Scherz was kills; and she asks Mitzi to make her special cake, which Patrick has nicknamed â€Å"Delicious Death†. This was while post-war austerity rationing was in effect — butter and eggs were hard to come by even in a rural community, and the chocolate and raisins used in the cake were very difficult to get.A box of chocolates is also a present. Bunny loves chocolate but it gives her a headachek and she can't find the aspirin she bought. She takes some of Letitia's aspirin instead, lies down for a nap – and dies. Miss Marple visits Ms. Blacklock, who mourns Bunny and starts crying. Miss Marple asks to see photo albums which might contain pictures of Sonia Goedler, Pip and Emma's mother, but all photos of Sonia were taken out of the albums recently, although they were in place before the death of Rudi Scherz.Through deduction and re-enactment, Misses Hinchliffe and Murgatroyd (two spinster farmers who were also present at the time of the Scherz murder) figure out that Miss Murgatroyd could see who was in the room as she was standing behind the door when it swung open; she couldn't have seen Rudi as he was on the other side of the opened door, but she could see whose faces were illuminated by the torch beam. The two women conclude that the person who wasn't in the room (and therefore not seen by Miss Murgatroyd) could have sneaked out of the room when the lights went out and come around behind Rudi, and shot at him—and Miss Blacklock.Just as she remembers the one person not in the room, the stationmaster calls to notify them that a dog has just ar rived. As Miss Hinchliffe pulls away in her car, Miss Murgatroyd runs into the driveway, shouting â€Å"She wasn't there! † She is murdered while Miss Hinchliffe is away, and so does not reveal whom she did not see. Miss Hinchliffe returns and meets Miss Marple. They discover Murgatroyd's body, and a distraught Hinchliffe informs Miss Marple of Murgatroyd's cryptic statement. At Little Paddocks, Letitia receives a letter from the real Julia Simmons in Perth.She confronts â€Å"Julia† with the letter, and â€Å"Julia† reveals that she is actually Sonia's daughter, Emma Stamfordis, masquerading as Julia so that she could attempt to gain a portion of the inheritance from Letitia and let the real Julia spend time pursuing an acting career. Julia/Emma insists she is uninvolved in the assassination attempt—she was a crack shot during the French Resistance and would not have missed at that range, even in the dark—nor did she wish to prevent Letitia from i nheriting Randall Goedler's estate.She had intended to ingratiate herself with Letitia and try to obtain a portion of the money, and once the murder took place, had no choice but to continue the masquerade. Phillipa Haymes (a boarder at Little Paddocks and a young widow) sneaks into the kitchen to speak to Julia/Emma, but Julia/Emma sends her away before finding out what Phillipa had to say. That night, the vicar's cat, Tiglath Pileser, knocks over a glass of water onto a frayed electrical cord, which causes the fuses to blow, and the final clue falls into place for Miss Marple.Inspector Craddock gathers everyone at Little Paddocks and launches the final inquest, which is interrupted by Mitzi, Letitia's foreign â€Å"lady-help†, crying out that she saw Letitia commit the murder. The inspector does not believe her, and continues with his questioning. The inspector continues, and quickly insinuates that Edmund Swettenham who, with his widowed mother, was also present at the sho oting, is in fact Pip. However, Phillipa comes forward and confesses that she is in fact Pip; Inspector Craddock then accuses Edmund of wanting to marry a rich wife in Phillipa by murdering Letitia.Edmund denies this and as he does so, a terrified scream is heard from the kitchen. Everyone rushes to the kitchen and discovers Miss Blacklock attempting to drown Mitzi in the sink. Miss Blacklock is arrested by a local constable who has been hiding in the kitchen with Miss Marple, who imitates Dora Bunner's voice to make Ms. Blacklock break down. Miss Marple explains it quite simply: it wasn't Charlotte who died in Switzerland, but Letitia.Charlotte, aware that Letitia was in line to inherit a fortune, posed as Letitia and returned to England; few people knew Charlotte, as she had been a recluse before leaving England, and a slight change in Letitia's appearance could be explained away to casual acquaintances by her time abroad during the war. She only needed to avoid people who knew Le titia well, such as Belle Goedler, and to always cover her throat with strings of pearls or beads to hide the scars from her goiter surgery. Bunny was one of the few people who remembered Charlotte as Charlotte, but by then, Charlotte was so lonely that she allowed her old chool friend to move in. However, Rudi Scherz could have ruined everything: he worked at the Swiss hospital where Charlotte had been treated and could therefore identify Charlotte as herself. This is why Letitia/Charlotte hired him to come to Chipping Cleghorn and â€Å"hold up† a room full of guests: she blew the fuse by pouring water from a vase of flowers onto the frayed cord of a lamp, slipped out the second door, stood behind Rudi, and shot him. She then nicked her ear with a pair of nail scissors and rejoined the others, playing the part of perplexed host.Bunny became the next target because she, too, could reveal too much. Bunny had an eye for detail, but was prone to slip-ups: on several occasions, she referred to Ms. Blacklock as â€Å"Lotty† (short for â€Å"Charlotte†) instead of â€Å"Letty† (short for â€Å"Letitia†), and her conversation with Miss Marple in the cafe proved fatal. Miss Murgatroyd, the final victim, was also killed for guessing too much and for coming to the realization that Letitia/Charlotte was the one person, beside herself, whose face was not illuminated by Rudi Scherz's torch.Mitzi and Edmund had been persuaded by Miss Marple to play parts in tripping Charlotte Blacklock up; Miss Marple's plans were almost brought down when Phillipa admitted to being Pip, but Inspector Craddock thought fast enough to turn around and claim Edmund was after Phillipa's money. In the end, Phillipa/Pip and Julia/Emma inherit the Goedler fortune; Edmund and Phillipa/Pip get married and return to Chipping Cleghorn to live. Characters in â€Å"A Murder is Announced† * Miss Jane Marple * Inspector Dermot Craddock Letitia Blacklock, lady of th e house, in her early/mid 60s * Dora Bunner, her elderly fluttery childhood friend, usually known by her nickname, â€Å"Bunny† * Patrick and Julia Simmons, Miss Blacklock's spoiled and foolish young cousins (who call her Aunt) * Mitzi, Miss Blacklock's foreign housekeeper and cook, a young refugee * Phillipa Haymes, a young widowed paying guest/gardener with a young son at boarding school * Colonel Archie Easterbrook, blustery old colonel just returned from India * Laura Easterbrook, his considerably younger, glamorous wife * Mrs Swettenham, elderly lady who dotes on her son Edmund Swettenham, cynical young writer * Miss Hinchcliffe, efficient lady farmer * Miss Amy Murgatroyd, her pleasant but giggly companion * Belle Goedler, dying widow of Letitia's former wealthy employer * Diane `Bunch? Harmon, wife of the local vicar * Julian Harmon, the vicar * Tiglath Pileser, the vicarage cat * Rudi Scherz, a young man of Swiss extraction, the receptionist at a local spa * Myrna Har ris, girlfriend of the latter, waitress at local spa * Chief Constable George Rydesdale, Craddock's superior

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Strategic Management - Assignment Example n and put into adherence through proper and strategically managing of both resources available to the company, that which that the company already possess and taking advantage of it marketing strategy to achieve its goals and those of its shareholders. This paper focuses on strategic management of an organization, its aim and concepts, principles, key factors affecting it such as external, internal and industrial environments. It also describes strategic formulation. Strategic management is the art of making decisions for an organization or company, taking into consideration the competitive market in which the organization finds itself and other factors affecting it in regards to achieving the organizations goals and objectives with the best interest in creating a profitable environment for both the company and its shareholders (Dess, 2005). Strategic management is all about analyses, making choices and seeing that those choices are implemented. Strategies are meant to give the organization or company a focus, direction in which to channel its efforts as per the environment it finds itself in and define major characteristics of the company’s goals. After this analysis, the management group needs to make appropriate decisions, on how to find their place in the market by making great and applicable marketing strategies as to help them gain and a substantial amount of clients, while attracting more for their goods and services in this market regardless of the external competition they face making sure that their ideas of marketing or goods production are not able to be copied by other competitive partners in the market. This means that the company ought to try do everything differently from their competitors in terms of decision making especially due to the constant market competition that they face as this will help them sustain themselves in the market for long as their ideas cannot be copied (Irene M. Duhaime, 2012). After a choice of decisions has been made,

Roles of regulatory, and accreditation agencies Essay

Roles of regulatory, and accreditation agencies - Essay Example Other than education, they also facilitate social changes among the people they are targeting. The social change ensures that the people are able to live a better lifestyle which ensures and enhances quality health care for themselves and their offsprings hence securing even the future generation. They also team up with the government in providing greater access to quality healthcare through health programs that they initiate and follow up to ensure their success to the people at all levels be it local, national or global (Skolnik, 2012, p. 196). Politics in especially African countries is very influential and enables get together a lot of people. The organizations and agencies use the politicians to gather large crowds of people in the target area especially the grassroots level and they teach them about healthcare. The same politics is in-charge of making legislation and policies and hence by teaming up with them, the agencies are sure to influence them to pass health care policies that will be beneficial to the population. The policies are passed at both the state and national level and their success is adopted and replicated globally. Politics come into play also because people are more likely to listen to political leaders they elected and whom they believe hold the power to assist them and will, therefore, most likely follow to the letter what the politician advice. The politicians are therefore in this case used as lobbyists for the health care agencies (Silviu, 2010, pp. 4-6).

Involvement of the Volkswagen Group in Chinese Market Dissertation

Involvement of the Volkswagen Group in Chinese Market - Dissertation Example Industries such as information and technology, automobile, fast food, manufacturing, information technology enables services, etc have been majorly influenced by the globalisation. The companies today have realised the fact that sustained growth is only possible when the company focuses not only on the national market but also international market. The major industry that has been influenced by globalisation is the automobile industry. Automobile industry today is a global industry with the demand for automobiles increasing like never before. There are various reasons for this increase in the demand for automobiles. One reason is the increase in demand for automobiles in the developing countries and countries like China. Chinese and Indian automobile markets have now become the major attraction to many European and American automobile companies. In response to this global demand and also to sustain the growth, major automobile companies have now been concentrating on the emerging markets such as China and India. This research is aimed at analysing the internationalisation of automobile manufacturers. In order to do so Volkswagen and the Chinese market is taken as an example. Volkswagen’s operations in China have increased rapidly since its first interest in it in the 80’s. This research aims to analyse the involvement of Volkswagen in the Chinese market and how it has affected the sales and in-turn the growth of the company globally. The research analyses the various strategies adopted by Volkswagen and how it has been implemented. It also looks into the result of these strategies on the overall success of the company. Also the Chinese market will be analysed in detail. That is, the reason behind the attractiveness of the Chinese market to the global companies and the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in China. This is a research proposal outlining the aims, objectives, methodology of the research. It addresses the important aspects such as relevance of the researc h, recipients of the research, rationale, etc. Research Aim, Questions and Objectives Research Aim Aim of any research is to find measurable and testable data or information that adds to the existing human knowledge. Any research must have a specific aim that needs to be accomplished at the end. The primary aim of current research is to analyse the involvement of the Volkswagen group in the Chinese market and relate it to the overall internationalisation of Automobile manufacturers in general. A secondary aim of this research is to understand the Chinese market with respect to automobile manufacturers. In order to accomplish the above aims of the research, there is a need to formulate specific research questions and research objectives that address the various aspects of the research topic. Research Question Research question is the most important aspect of a research proposal as it addresses the core of what the researcher intends to do. Research questions are vital not only for th e current research but also for further research as it leads to the formulation of new questions this leads to further investigation and research in the topic (Lester & Lester, 2009). A research question directly indicates if the researcher is on the right track to accomplish the aims of the research. A research question needs to be well formulated keeping the aims of the research. A research question should not be too elaborative or too restrictive. The reason for this is that an elaborative question might not be intriguing as it might turn out to be a explanation rather than a question. On the other hand, if the research question i

Economic versus Non-Economic Issues in Union Environments (Employee Research Paper

Economic versus Non-Economic Issues in Union Environments (Employee Labor and Relations class) Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example 54] between employment and employer – in other words, the aim is to further the negotiation process as opposed to forcing another route for a resolution (e.g. binding arbitration). NON-ECONOMIC ARTICLE: The article in question (see: APPENDIX-A) is non-economic insofar as it is a morals clause. The article in question is established to protect the artists of the production as far as what they are willing and not-willing to perform. For instance, if there was a particular actor who was uncomfortable with performing a scene in the nude, or an actor who felt that there was content in the script that went against their basic value system or perhaps religious belief, this article protects the security of employment for the actor where they uncomfortable with a part or portion of the production or script. Having the right to refuse to perform a part or portion of a staged production, ensures that the employee will not be subjected to any further reprisals for taking a stand on a part icular issue.

Principles of Learning to Play the Piano Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles of Learning to Play the Piano - Essay Example When learning to play the piano, the first thing that is important is to find the right teacher, someone who is calm, patient and willing to help one understand the importance of practice and form. When playing the piano for the first time it is common to make many mistakes and feel as though one is not capable enough or adequate for this activity. Playing the piano can be complex and that is why it is important to find a teacher who is willing to help and has the patience to guide the student through the process of playing the piano. What is also important is that a teacher will be able to show the student how not to learn to play with bad habits. Once these habits become common-place they are difficult to break, this is why it is essential that my teacher showed how to play the piano corrected for the first time. From then on I was playing properly and playing this lovely instrument with ease. I felt confident knowing that I have selected the appropriate instructor and looked forwa rd to learning more. After finding the proper instructor, the next step in learning how to play the piano involves practice and lots of it. Yes, as they say, practice makes perfect and this is very true when it comes to playing the piano. The more one practices the better he or she will become and regular practice is essential when playing the piano. Step by step people will slowly improve and become memorization is so important when playing the piano, it is very important that practice is regular and consistent.  

Time Value of Money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Time Value of Money - Essay Example It is based on the simple premise that â€Å"A penny in hand today is worth more than a penny in hand tomorrow†. This is on the basis of assumption that the money in hand today can be invested in various investment options which will increase the amount. Moreover, there is also an opportunity cost that is associated with the cash that is received later. This is the cost of the best foregone opportunity that could have been taken with the cash available (Econedlink.org, 2011). Cash received later can’t be used for any investment options present at the current time frame. The concept finds significant applications in the area of capital budgeting, lease versus buy decisions, accounts receivable analysis, financing arrangements, mergers and pension funding (Ross et.al., 2007, pg. 60). The concept of time value of money is used in every financial decision. This is done through two types of calculation. One includes calculating the present value of the cash that will be rece ived at a later stage while the other calculates the future value of the cash that is received now. One very important concept related to the time value of money is the Net Present Value (NPV). It is the sum of the present value of all the cash inflows minus the present value of its costs (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2010, pg. 183). Net present finds usage in evaluating if the proposed projects shall be taken or not. If the net present value of the total project cash flows is negative, it should not be taken. The concept of the time value of money also finds application in evaluating the present value of various investment options such as bonds and stocks and identifying the best option to invest. 2. The formula for calculation of future value assuming that compound interest is given is: r is the rate of interest and n is the time period (Bierman & Smidt, 2003, pf. 17). a.) Present Value = $15,000 n = 5 years r = 7% b.) Present Value = $19,500 n = 3 years r = 4% c.) Present Value =$ 29,900 n = 7 years r = 2% d.) Present Value = $14,200 n = 10 years r = 0.9% 3. The formula for the calculation of present value for a given future value assuming application of compound rate of interest is: r is the rate of interest and n is the time period. a.) Future Value = $17,500 r = 4% n = 3 years b.) Future Value = $41,000 r = 5% n = 5 years c.) Future Value = $120,000 r = 12% n = 2 years d.) Future Value = $790,000 r = 1% n = 8 years 4. Let us assuming that we are getting the payment at the beginning of the years. The cash flow timeline looks like: Calculating the present value of the three future payments at the interest rate, r of 4% where, Present Value (Yi) is the present value of the cash received in year i The total present value is Thus the present value of the stream of annual payments is $519,497. 5. Let us assuming that we are getting the payment at the beginning of the years. The same is deposited into a bank account at the same time. The cash flow for the bank account w ill be: 6. Calculating the future value of the three payments at the end of third year at an interest rate of r = 2%, we get where Future Value (Yi) is the future value at the end of three years for the cash deposited in the bank account in year i. The total Future value at the end of three years is Thus, we can see that the amount in the bank account at the end of three years is $374,592 Conclusion We studied the importance of the concept of time value of money and calculated the same for different scenarios. The analysis enables us to

London Borough of Merton Council Essay Example for Free

London Borough of Merton Council Essay The organization that I am researching is the London Borough of Merton Council. This organization is of interest to me as my father works in the building as head of Planning and Public Protection. He will be my main contact point in the Council as he has worked as head of IT Services in his previous Council. The work done in the council I also find interesting. The Council is situated in the South of London in Merton Civic Centre. The Councils IT infrastructure has recently been upgraded as part of Downing Streets E-Government plan. A variety of systems were upgraded and new solutions introduced as part of this. The responsibilities of the council are outlined in this statement taken from the Merton Borough Council Website1: commits the Council to provide clear leadership to the community in partnership with residents, businesses, the voluntary sector and other organizations; support the active involvement of the public in the decision-making process; take decisions efficiently and effectively; identify clearly those responsible for decision making and hold them to account; and improve the delivery of services to the community. The council must provide services for the entire borough of Merton, some 168,470 residents. The Council provides services to the residents and businesses of Merton in four departments: Education, Leisure and Libraries This department is involved in working with schools, libraries and youth to maintain a high level of achievement in the area. It also evaluates the Leisure facilities in the area and relates them to other departments. It also works to ensure equality of opportunity for all through the services it provides, its commitment to inclusion and its contribution to the social and economic regeneration of the borough Environmental Services. The Environmental Services department is the largest in the council and aims to maintain and improve the local environment and economy of the Borough through the delivery of quality services and through regeneration and partnership initiatives. Its services are wide ranging, affecting everyone living in, working in or travelling through the Borough. It is involved in many areas, for example regulation, which includes development control, building control, environmental health and trading standards, highway licensing and parking enforcement, and environmental maintenance which includes refuse collection, street cleaning and highway maintenance. Financial Services The Finance Department provides the Councils Financial Management Framework. It rigorously manages the councils budget to help managers control expenditure in their relative department. The Finance Department also collects all monies from residents and businesses and tries to make these payment methods more accessible using the Internet, Merton Link and the Call Centre facility. The Department also strives to make the financial documents of the council easier to understand and read. Housing and Social Services. The Housing and Social Services department is responsible for the management of housing solutions in the area and Social care for residents. Its responsibilities range from the allocation and management of Council Housing waiting lists to evaluating and inspecting Childcare services in the borough. Merton has recently been examining ways to make access to services easier for all its customers. It has also been looking at improving links with its suppliers, agencies, central government and other organisations it has to work with. The aim is to build services around the needs of the customers, with improved responsiveness and quality. In order to achieve this goal, Merton will make full use of information technology (IT) to deliver services seamlessly and at times to suit the needs of the citizen. Within the next four years customers will be able to access services through the Internet, digital televisions, and mobile phones, as well as walk-in and telephone customer contact centres. This project will be called e-merton, and will run from now to 2005. The e-merton project is designed to provide access to services electronically, and will help Merton meet the Governments target of having all services available electronically by 2005. However, the Council recognises that personal contact will still be necessary to meet the diverse needs of customers. Also, the Council will ensure that nobody is excluded from receiving modern service delivery due to their status, special needs or location. The IT system within the council spans the whole organization and every Council Officer has their own workstation. The workstations are used for E-Mail communication and personal management as well as general typing duties. The Council also owns large industrial drawing scanners for the input of development and architectural drawings for Building Control (Planning) applications. Digital cameras are also used for working in the field and providing evidence for Environmental Services investigations. The area of the council I shall be focusing on in my study is a new Council Benefits and Building controls system recently installed by a St. Albans IT company. The system covers the whole of these areas from paying council tax online to scanning and cataloguing architectural drawings for building plans, covering three departments in the council. I shall be studying the installation of the new system, problems, training etc and the evaluation of the system by users. My contact within the council, my father, will provide extremely good links with IT department administrators and to documents relating to the recent installation and evaluation of the solution.

History of education Essay Example for Free

History of education Essay Muthukumaran Committee Report Tamil Nadu is regarded to be one of India’s star performers in the sector of elementary education. The results of the 2001 Census show that Tamil Nadu has attained third position behind Kerala and Maharashtra both in terms of overall and female literacy. It recorded close to 100 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) at primary and upper primary levels based on 2007 estimates. A major legislative effort for the universalisation of education in line with the constitutional mandate has been the introduction of the Tamil Nadu Compulsory Education Act, 1994. Under this Act it is the duty of the government to provide the necessary infrastructure (schools and teachers) for ensuring universalisation of elementary education. Parents are also liable to be fined if they do not send their wards to school, though this rule is not very strictly enforced as most of the children not going to school come from poor backgrounds. Tamil Nadu’s high enrolment statistics are also the result of the number of welfare schemes that the State government has introduced in the elementary education sector. The large number of missionary and private schools are also playing a role in the spread of education. The government provides textbooks, uniforms and noon meals to the pupils making it a State where the per child spending is much higher than in educationally backward States such as Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and others and is higher than the all-India average. The State is making an endeavor to provide primary schools within a one km radius of human habitations with a population of 300 and above to increase their accessibility. It is also a State that has actually spent most of the funds allocated to it by the Centre under the SSA scheme, in contrast to States like UP, Bihar and Assam that have huge unspent amounts. Tamil Nadu students stood first in the country in mathematics, language and reading comprehension skills according to the national mid-term achievement survey of Class III children commissioned by the NCERT in collaboration with the MHRD and the SCERT and SSA wings of the States recently. But it has come to light that local bodies like corporations and municipalities are not fully utilizing money collected as education tax as a percentage of property tax under the Tamil Nadu Elementary Education Act and this is affecting the quality and quantity of formal education provision at the grassroots level. While the general literacy rate in Tamil Nadu as per 2001 data is 73. 5%, wide disparities exist across districts, gender, and area of residence as well as social grouping. The literacy rate of the SC and ST populations are consistently lower in all the districts. The retention rate within and after the primary school level is also not very impressive and there is a high percentage of repeaters. This is particularly so in the case of the STs and SCs. It is to overcome this discrepancy between education offered in different kinds of schools, between rural and urban schools and to overcome other numerous ills that have crept into the education system—such as arbitrary collection of fees, induction of daily waged, inadequately qualified para teachers, rote learning, examination stress, problems related to the medium of instruction and so on—that the State government constituted the Muthukumaran Committee, which submitted its report in 2007. This committee had the mandate to work out a framework of a uniform pattern of education in Tamil Nadu and to make recommendations for improving its quality. The report of the Committee recommends only one autonomous board, The Tamil Nadu State Secondary School Education Board, instead of the existing four State level boards—Matriculation, Anglo-Indian, Oriental and State Board. Schools coming under this integrated Board would follow a common syllabus ensuring an equitable school education in the State not conferring any undue advantages with regard to admission into higher educational institutions for students completing their school education from one particular Board. Equitable standard education is to be provided by a Common School or Neighbourhood School system, which with uniform syllabi would help to ‘decommercialise’ educational institutions and put an end to many a private management that does not feel sufficiently accountable to society in this crucial sector. The spiraling cost of education starting at the nursery level is cementing caste-class and rural-urban divisions. A common school system using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction would make equal education accessible to all without discrimination. A common school system also means a common examination pattern. The report of the Committee advocates a reasonable teacher-student ratio of not more than 1:30 and doing away with faulty textbooks and a system of rote learning. It emphasizes the promotion of analytical and rational skills that would equip the students to learn by themselves; a testing and evaluation pattern that involves the application of concepts learnt rather than mere reproduction of facts. The school syllabus should not overload students with information but instead kindle their interest in the subject and teach them how to search for more information and conceptualize it. Traditional knowledge should be incorporated and made part of school education. Evaluation should be comprehensive and not just of academic achievements, and that too only marks based. Evaluation should include an assessment of student abilities and performance in academics, the arts, sports and games, values, reading habits, character, conduct and other extra-curricular activities. Schools should not only lay emphasis on academic subjects but also on moral education. Here the Committee suggests that it may be better to have a progress book with entries made from time to time and also periodically sent to the parents so that they may be made aware of their child’s progress. Regular consultation with parents about their wards’ progress and achievements and educational goals is a must. A sheet of paper containing marks obtained in public exams is not enough to understand a student’s development and potential. If the marks obtained in only one exam are going to decide the person’s admission into an institute of higher learning then all stress is on preparing for this exam neglecting other exams and activities. The chance or temptation to indulge in malpractices is also high. Marks obtained in a one-time exam also are no accurate reflection of the student’s actual knowledge and achievement level and potential. Treating exams and marks as more important than life itself has meant the death of many a student. Finally, children belonging to linguistic minorities should be allowed to gain instruction in their respective mother tongue, while all students in standards 5 or 8 ought to have a specific level of knowledge in Tamil and English so that these languages can be used for communication. No student should be dropped and he/she should be allowed to grow in the chosen field of interest and in accordance with their individual capability. A simple pass or fail should certainly not be a deciding factor in a person’s life. While the government has accepted the notion of one board for school education other major recommendations of the Muthukumaran Committee on education reforms are being sidelined by the State government. In fact, some government run schools are changing the medium of instruction to English and not all schools teach Tamil, though this is compulsory as per current State education law. Moreover, schools with an eye on the results in board exams and aiming at future lucrative career possibilities for their students are introducing modern European languages like French (German is waiting to be introduced on a larger scale on the school level) that are supposedly high scoring subjects in comparison to Tamil, which is seen to be difficult even by those whose mother tongue it is. There is almost everywhere an exodus from government run schools to aided or private schools because of the perceived better quality and the lure of an English medium education, which is regarded by parents to be necessary in today’s world. It is to remain viable and not lose out in this competition for students that government run schools are increasingly offering English medium instruction also, although the English medium sections are permitted only on a self-financing basis. The non-acceptance of important recommendations by the Muthukumaran committee is thus in line with the general pro-globalisation trend in the Tamil Nadu economy as a whole. Current education system Why is India still a developing country and what is stopping it from being a developed country? India’s education system as a stumbling block towards its objectives of achieving inclusive growth. India is going to experience a paradox of nearly 90 million people joining the workforce but most of them will lack requiste skills and the mindset for productiveemployment according to a report in DNA. India has about 550 million people under the age of 25 years out of which only 11% are enrolled in tertiary institutions compared to the world average of 23%. . I will be focussing on how the education system’s failure is leading to another social issue of income inequality and hence, suggest certain policies to improve India’s education system and reduce inequality. Problems and drawbacks The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient ingovernment schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention. What the government is not realising right now is that education which is a source of human capital can create wide income inequalities. It will be surprising to see how income inequalities are created within the same group of educated peopleSo if the government does not improve education system particularly in rural areas the rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer. Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in India’s education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality. Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools . Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on education which is inadequate and insufficient. To improve the quality of education , the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education. Most economists feel that the only panacea to the ills of the public schooling system is the voucher scheme. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed to choose a school for their children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of education in government schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools to private schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded. Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used to build infrastructure in schools then the government can realize economies of scale. For example- The centre for civil society is providing vouchers worth Rs 4000 per annum to 308 girls. This means that the total amount of money given as vouchers is Rs 1232000. If the same amount can be used to construct a school and employ high quality teachers who are paid well then a larger section of the society will enjoy the benefit of education. A school can definitely accommodate a minimum of 1000 students. I hope government takes certain appropriate policy measures to improve the education system otherwise inequalities are going to be widespread and India’s basic capabilities will remain stunted. Let us strengthen the case for a stronger education system. Conclusion Certain policy measures need to be taken by the government. The basic thrust of government education spending today must surely be to ensure that all children have access to government schools and to raise the quality of education in those schools. One of the ways in which the problem of poor quality of education can be tackled is through common schooling. This essentially means sharing of resources between private and public schools. Shift system is one of the ways through which common schooling can be achieved. The private school can use the resources during the first half of the day and the government school can use it during the second half. It is important to remember that the quality of education is directly linked to the resources available and it is important for the government to improve resource allocation to bring about qualitative changes in the field of education. Common schooling is one of the ways in which government can use limited resources in an efficient way and thus improve resource allocation.

Disruptive Behavior in Classroom

Disruptive Behavior in Classroom According to Utley (2002), the statistics of violence and discipline problems in public school showed that aggressive and violent behaviors are increasing among children and youth in schools and that school discipline is critical to the prevention of student behavior problems. Leaders of educational organizations are attempting to solve the problems through research and then implementing various solutions. Disruptive behaviors are occurring more frequently in educational facilities. Disruptive behaviors interrupt classroom instruction which in turn has a significant negative impact on all students. Students with behavioral problems may strain even the most competent classroom teacher. More children from troubled homes are bringing well-developed patterns of antisocial behavior to school. Their disruptive, aggressive, and defiant behavior (a) wastes teaching time, (b) disrupts the learning process of other students, and (c) threatens the safety of others (Walker, Ramsey, Gresham, 20 03). Knowing that students perform better in classrooms that are safe, secure, and orderly is one of the most important concepts teachers learn and strive to maintain Need to add references (Christensen, Marchant, Young, 2004; Horner, Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, Todd, 2001; Utley,Kozleski, Smith, Draper, 2002). However, general education classroom teacher surveys routinely identify discipline as one of the topics considered most important or in need of improvement (Witt, VanDerHeyden Gilberston, 2004). A study indicated that general education teachers reported on average, one in five of their students exhibited disruptive behaviors and one in twenty exhibited aggressive behaviors to the point intervention was necessary (Myers Holland, 2000). Those that are significantly at-risk for school failure are children who exhibit behavior problems at an early age. Disruptive behavior is a student-initiated act that ranges from tardiness to violence. It may consist of behavior that is disrespectful, offensive, or threatening and may present itself physically, verbally, or psychologically. It has a negative impact in any learning environment and interferes with the learning activities of the perpetrator and other students. It must be kept in mind that all disruptions, regardless of perceived seriousness, detract from academic learning time. Even small, annoying problems such as tardiness can create a serious problem for educators and fellow students and must be dealt with promptly (DeFrance, 1997). Numerous labels exist when describing types of behavior children exhibit such as violent, aggressive, oppositional, challenging and disruptive. According to Kaiser and Rasminsky (2003), psychologists often define aggression as behavior that is aimed at harming or injuring others. Each of these behaviors, impact the student, teacher and classroom envi ronment. There are numerous reasons for the negative behaviors that more and more students are exhibiting (Greene, 2001). According to Adelman and Taylor (2002), between 12-22 percent of all children in schools suffer from mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. Many of these students do not respond to behavior strategies and expectations that work with the other students. Hardman (2003) stated that for most secondary school teachers, maintaining classroom discipline is a daily concern that can be rewarding and also a source of frustration. On a regular basis, teachers and staff members are affected by the extreme challenges that these students create. These extreme challenges include continuously talking out of turn, inattentiveness, fidgety, acts of defiance, noncompliance, and belligerence (Boynton Boynton, 2005). The Association of School Counselors reports that 18% of students have special needs and require extraordinary interventions and treatments that go beyond the typical resou rces available to the classroom (Dunn Baker, 2002). Although classroom teachers may not be in a position to directly service students with these types of needs, teachers must be well-equipped to meet the needs of all students. A number of factors can influence students classroom behaviors, and teachers have to be prepared with methods and models to manage the classroom successfully to ensure an environment conducive to learning. Educators continue to rely on traditional discipline practices that generally involve punishment, especially for the most challenging behaviors. The assumption is that punishment-based discipline implemented in response to rule violations will deter future occurrences and somehow teach and promote more pro-social skills (Sugai Homer, 2002). The zero tolerance approach to discipline has proven ineffective in reducing problem behavior (Skiba, 2002). Zero tolerance policies began being adopted in reaction to an increase in violence in schools as well as society. Schools are in charge of educating students; however, they are constantly suspending students for minor infractions (Cox, 2009). It was reported in 2008 in USA Today, that tens of thousands of students are suspended each year from Maryland schools for minor infractions under the zero tolerance policy. Nine percent of students were suspended with the higher rate being African Americans, special education and boys. There is increased interest in programs designed to decrease problem behavior and behavioral referrals (Tidewell et al., 2003). The Classroom Management Checklists (appendices A, B, C) provides teachers with descriptions of effective models and methods in which teachers can utilize and monitor in their classroom daily. Although the importance of classroom management is widely recognized in research, its definition is elusive (Marzano, 2003). Marzano (2003) defined classroom management as the following: Classroom management is the confluence of teacher actions in four distinct areas: (1) establishing and enforcing rules and procedures, (2) carrying out disciplinary actions, (3) maintaining effective teacher and student relationships, and (4) maintaining an appropriate mental set for management. Only when effective practices in these four areas are employed and working in concert is a classroom effectively managed. (p.18) One analysis of five decades of research on classroom management reviewed some 228 variables influencing student achievement. Nothing, it found, affected student achievement more than skillful classroom management (NEA Today, 2004). In addition, research has shown us that teachers actions in their classrooms have twice the impact on student achievement as do school policies regarding curriculum, assessment, staff collegiality, and community involvement (Marzano, Marzano, Pickering, 2003). Unfortunately, the implementation of positive and proactive behavioral approaches in our public schools is rare (Snell, 2005). Instead schools often rely on less effective reactive and exclusionary approaches that hinder students educational progress (Christle, Jolivette, Nelson, 2007). END OF INTRODUCTION School discipline has always been perceived as essential for the proper functioning of a public school. Expectations are clear that discipline is necessary for students to learn and that educators are expected to establish and maintain well disciplined schools (Covin, 2007). All stakeholders historically have taken pride in maintaining well disciplined schools. The following highlighted are comes from resource saved as disst Resource 2.8.10 According to Sugai (2007), schools are complex environments where skills, knowledge, and practices of a culture are taught, shaped, encouraged, and transmitted. Educators are challenged to provide effective and explicit instruction that maximizes students knowledge of concepts and skills. In the educational environment, students are challenged to remain focused, responsive, and engaged to benefit from instruction. These goals are enriched and complicated by students with diverse learning styles, unique strengths and weaknesses, and defining cultural influences. Additionally, schools, students, and families must adapt to maximize benefits from the school experience. Nevertheless, there continues to be a growing concern about the number of disruptive behaviors and lack of discipline in the educational facility (Covin, 2007). These disruptive behaviors make it more challenging for educators to accomplish goals. Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, and Feinberg (2005) stated, Many students attending public schools exhibit discipline problems such as disruptive classroom behaviors, vandalism, bullying, and violence. . . Establishing effective discipline practices is critical to ensure academic success and to provide a safe learning environment (p. 183). According to McAdams and Lambie (2003), public schools are facing increasing challenges with regards to the rise in disruptive behaviors amongst children. Curwin and Mendler (1999), includes unclear limits, student boredom, sense of failure and attacks on student dignity, lack of acceptable outlets for feelings and a sense of powerlessness as basic causes of discipline issues. Students at the elementary level are becoming more violent. They are kicking, biting, scratching, and hitting both their classmates and teachers (Toppo, 2003). Many educators are extremely concerned about the danger and disorder in school environments. Unbelievable scenarios of violence in schools have made teachers, administrators, parents, and children aware that violence can happen anywhere in the United States. However, compared to other settings in terms of physically safety, most schools are safe environments (Dwyer, Osher, Hoffman, 2000). Approximately, 3% of teachers and students in urban schools and between 1% and 2% of teachers and students in rural schools are attacked physically or robbed each month (Cotton, 2007). These types of extreme disruptive behaviors in a school setting are an ever-increasing concern (Eber, Sugai, Smith, Scott, 2002). Elementary school principals say theyre seeing more violence and aggression amongst their youngest students, than ever. In Philadelphia, 22 kindergarteners were suspended in the first part of the year (Toppo, 2003). Violence in schools is an urgent problem. In school settings, it is an extension of the violence that occurs among children in communities throughout our Nation. The effects of school violence take a toll on the education of the poor and minorities. On reviewing research on youth violence, some of the risk factors within the school setting were; negative peer influences, low commitment to school, academic failure, and certain school environments/practices, such as undisciplined classes, and lax enforcement of school rules (Rosenberg, 1999). Prior to age 13, children who exhibit violent behaviors are confirmed to be on a path of criminal tendencies and escalating violence throughout childhood (U.S. Surgeon General, 2001, chap.1). It is easier to recognize behaviors, that suggest a child is troubled than to predict that the childs behavior will lead to violence. Theres no single sign or early warning signs that can accurately predict whether a child will be violent or not (Dwyer, Osher, Hoffman, 2000). There are identifiable risk factors in individuals that increase the likelihood for developing problem behavior. Risk factors include poor anger management skills and lack of academic interest (Hunt, Meyers, Davies, Meyers, Grogg, Neel, 2002). Other identifiable risk factors include disruptive classroom behavior, defiance of adults, and poor school readiness (Walker, H., Severson, H., Feil, E., Stiller, B. Golly, A., 1998). According to Porter (2009), some reasons for student discipline problems are boredom, powerlessne ss, unclear limits, lack of acceptable outlets for feelings and attacks on diginity. School violence affects all of society and interferes with the learning process (Taub, 2002). In a Greensboro elementary school, parents are concerned that well-behaved students are having difficult times learning because of the continuous outburst and violent acts in the classroom (Benscoter, 2007). Some students who exhibit aggressive reactions often overreact to even small incidences and have a limited threshold for frustration (McAdams Lambie, 2003). If any of these negative reactions or incidences is repeated over a period of time towards others, it is considered bullying. Bullying behaviors can include physical, verbal, sexual or social ostracism (Boynton Boynton, 2005). Students who exhibit these behaviors are often viewed by educators and parents as unpredictable (McAdams Lambie, 2003). Statistically, children who engage in bullying behavior are more likely to commit crimes as adults (Taub, 2002). There are studies that show that bullies are five times as likely to have serious criminal records by 30 years of age (Boynton Boynton, 2005). If youth violence is not averted, it will be costly to society (Connor, 2002). The longer a child continues to use aggressive behavior, the more difficult it becomes to change his direction (Kaiser Rasminsky, 2003). Although isolated instances of violence (e.g., school shootings) contribute to this perception, people are most concerned with the lack of discipline and control in schools (Rose Gallup, 2005). School administrators, parents, community members and policy makers all recognize that the safety of public schools is of the utmost importance (Barnoski, 2001; Snell, 2005). The Juvenile Offenders and Victims: National Report (Synder Sickmund, 2006) describes continuing concerns with violence in schools; even though, there has been some increase in public school safety. The survey reports that there are less severe forms of school violence that is problematic. In a survey conducted in Washington State, teachers indicated that decreasing disruptive behavior was one of the top three priorities at their schools (Barnoski, 2001). Disruptive behaviors were noted as having a significantly negative effect on students learning ability. Some of those behaviors are considered of low-severity. Those behaviors may include noncompliance, classroom disruptions, teasing, theft bullying. Of these behaviors, bullying is the most prevalent (Whitted Dupper, 2005). According to Bowman (2001), 30% o f students reported being bullied, bullying others, or both, in grades 6-10. According to Snell (2005), 29% of schools reported bullying to be a serious problem. Approximately one third of students reported being involved in fights, being victimized by theft, or vandalized while at school (Synder Sickmund, 2006). These disruptive behaviors negatively affect student learning (Barnoski, 2001). As a result, schools establish policies that try to increase discipline and control, often by adopting get tough practices. When the initial policies prove ineffective, schools often respond by getting tougher. That is, they invest in other security and punitive measures that actually have little impact on student behavior (Skiba Peterson, 2000). As administrators seek ways to address behavior problems in their schools, the norm is to be a reactionary approach rather than a proactive approach (Tidewell, Flannery Lewis-Palmer, 2003). The methods used are often a get tough approach to problem behaviors rather than efforts grounded in experimental research (Muscott, Mann, Benjamin, Gately, 2004; Sugai Homer, 2006). Researchers have found that general approaches to disruptive behaviors are often successful and may actually exacerbate these behaviors (Tidwell, et al.). Common solutions to continuous discipline problems such as suspending and expelling students from school do not solve the problem (Muscott, et al.). As previously mentioned, schools are meant to be places that provide students with a safe, secure, and orderly environment. However, school professionals have recently seen as an increase in violent behaviors that have taken place in a setting that was once considered safe (Metzler, Biglan Rusby, 2001). Although behavior issues in the school setting are not a new problem, there has been a plea for more effective discipline procedures especially in the face of recent school violence (Muscott, et al, 2004.). The reform and accountability of schools has added new demands for restructuring systems of discipline as well as restructuring the school day (Frey, Lingo, Nelson, 2008). According to Metzler, et al (2001), the search for plans and procedures to impact increasing behavior problems is not just an issue of safety but is also associated with other issues including school failure and delinquent behavior. In the need to increase student achievement, many administrators, educators, and counselors are spending much of their time and effort addressing students negative or problem behaviors (George, Harrower, Knoster, 2003). A variety of models and approaches have been used in an attempt to decrease discipline referrals due to the complex problems created by students disruptive behavior. The decrease of problem behaviors allows the students quality of life in other areas to increase (Hendley Lock, 2007). Effective behavioral models have included a variety of strategies structured in multilevel process (Muscott, et al., 2004); however, in the last 25 years, many schools have adopted more punitive approaches to violence prevention in public schools. These include the use of metal detectors, video surveillance, searches and zero-tolerance policies (Van Acker, 2007). All 50 states have enacted zero-tolerance legislation that requires suspension or explosion and provides for no administrator discretion in determining appropriate punishment for certain types of infractions (Yell Rozanski, 2000). In some cases students are referred to law enforcement agencies for infractions. These methods are not effective at preventing or reducing disruptive behavior; however, they are associated with student dropouts (Wald Losen, 2003; Yell Rozanski, 2000). The Federal Government included in its Goals 2000: Educate America Act, that by the year 2000, every school will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning (Marzano, 2003). Teachers have been receiving additional training on how to handle classroom misbehavior (Tuleya, 2002). Having a solid tool (behavior plan) and continuous staff training will be key in averting negative behaviors. Providing these students with the tools to monitor their own feelings may assist in halting some of the explosions before they occur (Smallwood, 2003). According to Gartrell (2004), in appropriate teaching practices, teachers facilitate the development of self-control, social skills, and self-regulation in children by using positive guidance techniques. These activities include modeling and encouraging expected behavior, redirecting children to more acceptable activities, setting clear limits, and intervening to enforce consequences for unacceptable, harmful behavior. In appropriate teaching practices, teachers expectations respect childrens developing capabilities and teachers are patient, realizing that not every minor infraction deserves a response. When dealing with students exhibiting reactive aggressive behavior, adults must be cognizant of the following: relationship building, stimulus control, cognitive restructures, self-control training, and social skill training (McAdams and Lambie, 2003, p. 129) Conroy and Davis (2000) discuss the importance of taking a proactive stance when dealing with inappropriate behaviors. Leadership plays an important role in dealing with students exhibiting explosive behaviors. To increase the likelihood of success, a learning environment has to be created that promotes positive interactions and focuses on teaching the skills necessary to prevent outburst. According to Smallwood (2003), one will significantly increase effectiveness if comprehensive prevention strategies are put in place. An intervention process that emphasizes problem solving, not punishment, and facilitates collaboration between all stakeholders will also increase the likelihood of success. Smallwood (2005) provides the following strategies for averting and/or solving issues. Have teachers introduce expectations at the beginning of the year and regularly incorporate opportunities for learning coping skills into the school day. Give students praise when you see them make a good choice. Model the skills you want the students to learn. Provide teachers and support staff, cafeteria monitors and bus drivers with training. Develop a problem solving team approach with the staff. Designate an office or special place as a time out room for students who need to regain self control. Students should know where the room is and what adult(s) will be there to help them. This is often the counselors office or the administrators office. Build trust with students by being accessible and encouraging. Many teachers turn to the Special Education department because chances are the student will be identified as a Special Needs student and will receive specific services. A specific plan and strategies are developed to help the staff work together for the students benefit (Boynton Boynton, 2005). Prevention and early intervention are key in the process of reducing and ultimately eliminating many of the issues that continually require the attention of the classroom teacher and those that prevent the occurrence of academic and social skills instruction. Early intervention for school violence is favorable because the behaviors are found to increase over time (Stormont, 2002). However, for early intervention to have an impact, we have to provide the at-risk children with environments that both directly teach and actively support adaptive behaviors. Its not the children that we should focus on modifying; it is the environment that needs modification. Effective intervention takes into account child characteristics as well as the characteristics and cultural expectations of the setting in which they live and learn (Hester, Baltodano, Hendrickson, Tonelson, Conroy, Gable, 2004). According to Elliott (2003), many of the school programs geared towards preventing these type behaviors have not been thoroughly evaluated or have been evaluated and found to be ineffective. Less attention has been devoted to assessing social validity of primary prevention efforts such as school-wide positive support plans (Lane, Kalberg, Edwards, 2008). As a result, a review of primary prevention program with a behavioral component was conducted on the elementary level. This review suggested that approximate one-third of the school-wide primary prevention efforts mentioned and reported social validity. Social validity had been assessed using surveys wit h unknown psychometric qualities which makes it unreliable (Lane, Kalberg, Bruhn, Driscoll, Wehby Elliott, 2009). END OF EXAMPLES OF NEGATIVE BEHAVIORS What does the literature indicate as the key elements to include in a successful discipline plan to affect student behavior and achievement? Discipline in the 21st century should be proactive. This type of discipline should not be focused on one punishing behavior. The focus should be prevention of conflicts and disruptions. Students have to be taught responsibility, self-management, problem solving, and decision-making. External control and compliance are not congruent with the 21st century values. Self-control should be the goal of discipline for todays student (McLeod, Fisher Hoover, 2003). According to Hester, et al (2004), to ensure system-wide intervention, changing the structure and culture of the school, the classroom and curriculum of daily instruction in ways that teach, reinforce, and otherwise strengthen appropriate student behavior is necessary. A system-wide change requires that teachers establish nurturing classroom environments that are conducive to learning. The following highlighted are comes from resource saved as disst Resource 2.8.10 In order for schools to achieve effective and explicit instruction that maximizes students knowledge of concepts, skills, and information and ensure students are challenged to remain focused, responsive, and engaged, the following must take place: increase instructional accountability and justification improve the alignment between assessment information and intervention development enhance use of limited resources and time make decisions with accurate and relevant information initiate important instructional decisions earlier and in a more timely manner engage in regular and comprehensive screening for successful and at-risk learners provide effective and relevant support for students who do not respond to core curricula enhance fidelity of instructional implementation (Sugai, 2007). Accomplishing that goal requires integrating social behavioral and academic aspects of group-individual instruction. A successful educational environment is punctuated by clear expectations, high rates of engagement and academic success, high rates of student and teacher praise statements, acknowledgements of appropriate behavior (e.g., verbal and nonverbal positive feedback) and direct systematic instruction that included modeling and role playing activities to replace behavior that disrupts classroom instruction (Hester, et al, 2004). It is evident even in schools, where the most serious offenses have occurred, that there is lack of a proactive plan. A review of information regarding school discipline procedures revealed that of 25 schools, only 2 had a comprehensive and proactive approach to managing student behavior after shooting incidents. The remaining 23 schools had adopted reactive and punitive approaches (Gagnon, Rockwell, Scott, 2008). Schools need something more than a r eactive approach to behavior management (Crone Horner, 2003). The capacity to identify, adopt, and sustain systems that are effective and efficient in meeting the needs of students is what many schools lack. The research showed that, without a successful plan to handle these disruptive behaviors of children, the learning of all children within the environment can be negatively affected. Others affected by these significant disruptive behaviors are school personnel, families and community (Sugai et al., 2000). Thats why its important to have a school-wide, positive, behavior support program. Six thousand schools in 37 states use Positive Behavior Support (PBS) (Danielson, Cobb, Sanchez, Horner, 2007). In Using Staff and Student Time Engaged in Disciplinary Procedures to Evaluate the Impact of School-Wide PBS, Scott Barrett (2004) describe positive behavior support as the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve social change. Walker, Cheney, Stage and Blum (2005) describe PBS as a 3-tiered model for early intervention with students to prevent school failure due to behavioral difficulties. According to George, et al. (2003), the focal point of PBS is problem behavior prevention using a 3-tiered approach that includes primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Tier 1 aims at school-wide prevention by setting behavioral expectations, teaching students and reinforcing expectation. Tier 2 is for those students who did not respond favorably to Tier 1 and are at risk of social and behavioral problems. Tier 3 is for extreme nonresponders who continue to struggle. These students require individual interventions (Gagnon, Rockwell, Scott, 2008). The Office of Special Education Programs (2004) recommends that the PBS team include an administrator, teachers from each grade level, support staff and parents. They are responsible for developing school-wide behavioral expectations and plans for teaching and reinforcing appropriate behavior. The PBS team is also instrumental in problem solving and data-based decision making. The teams critical role is to ensure that the program is being implemented and any new information is being delivered to the staff (Netzel Eber, 2003). PBS professional development will help the staff understand the program; therefore, commitment and support will arise. This professional development should take place before staff begins planning (Luiselli et al., 2005; Metzler et al., 2001; Netzel Eber, 2003; Oswald et al., 2005; Scott, 2001). Brainstorming activities such as setting behavioral expectations and planning teaching and reinforcement activities is an approach that helps engage the staff (Oswald et al., 2005; Scott, 2001; Turnball et al., 2002). To increase the likelihood of the plan being followed, ensure that the PBS action plan is one thats agreeable to the staff. Program implementation can be promoted by reinforcement of staff for helping to implement the action plan (Netzel Eber, 2003). According to Scott (2001), in order to be effective, all school personnel must be committed to the program. The effectiveness of PBS has been the focus of research. Evidence shows that PBS is an effective approach to student behavior in regular public schools (Sugai Horner, 2005). Cohn (2001) believed that PBS is an empirically validated, function-based approach to eliminate challenging behaviors and replace them with prosocial skills. The use of PBS decreases the need for more intrusive or aversive intervention (i.e., punishment or suspension) and can lead to both systematic as well as individualized change. According to Hendley and Lock (2007), when schools properly and effectively implement PBS, students benefit by improved academic achievement and increased appropriate behaviors. Horner, Sugai, and Todd (2001) indicated that office referrals for discipline decrease on average 40-60% when schools implement PBS effectively. Students with behavioral concerns receive increased positive support through behavior interventions that focus on the teaching and reinforcement of appropriate behaviors and social skills development and result in the prevention of behaviors of concern. Numerous studies of office discipline referrals and suspension data indicate that PBS is effective in reducing behavior problems (Kartub et al., 2000; Metzler, Biglan, Rusby, Sprague, 2001; Oswald et al., 2005; Scott, 2001; Turnball et al., 2002). These studies also show that PBS reduces the number of students with repeated behavioral incidences not just those with behavioral problems. Scott and Barrett (2004) studied the impact of reduced disciplinary problems on instructional time and found that following PBS implementation, students experienced many hours of instruction. This is a result of less student time spent in exclusionary punishment and less instructional time was spent on behavioral concerns. Horner et al. (2001) stated that the framework of PBS The following is from resource marked red star dated 1/20/10 pg1 Progress has been made in understanding and developing solutions for disruptive behaviors (Burns, 2002). Teaching experience has been found to be helpful, but not always necessary, when relating to teachers and fostering positive school environments (Smith, Crutchfield, Culbreth, 2001). Recognizing the seriousness of behavior in a classroom is an essential part of teaching. Teacher preparation programs should understand the problems confronting teachers with regard

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Homers Iliad :: Iliad essays

Fate and Destiny in The Iliad The Iliad portrays fate and destiny as supreme and ultimate forces. The Iliad presents the question of who or what is finally responsible for a man's destiny, yet the answers to this question are not quite clear. In many instances, it seems that man has no control over his fate and destiny, but at other points, it seems as if a man's fate lies in the consequences of his actions and decisions. Therefore, The Iliad reveals a man sometimes controls his destiny. In The Iliad the god's fate is controlled much in the same way as a mortal's, except for one major difference, the immortals cannot die and therefore do not have a destiny. Immortal's lives may not be judged because they have not and will not die. The gods are able to manipulate mortal's fate but not their own directly. In Book I, the plague is a result of the upsetting of Apollo. The gods produce situations over trivial things, such as forgetting a sacrifice or, in this case, insulting Chryses. The gods have temper tantrums, and they switch sides quickly and without consideration. One day they protect the Achaeans, the nextt day the Trojans. The gods play favorites with no sense at all of any of the moral or political issues involved in the war. Zeus does what he can, but the others behave as though they were better than all the rest, in more ways than one. They have no compassion for their own kind, and their concern for man is even less. Occasionally, the gods will show c oncern for one of their favorites when he is having a bad time, but it is very rare. This attitude is the result of their own vindictiveness against humanity and man's own tendency to irrational behavior or carelessness in worshipping the gods. But more often than not, men find themselves fighting a force beyond their control. The opening statement of The Iliad contains the phrase "the will of Zeus," and this reflects the Greek's belief that man is in the grip of forces that he cannot control. It is also another way of saying that all things are fated and out of the hands of man. Book XXII shows that the gods control the fates of man: But once they reached the springs for the fourth time,