The Depiction of Women in Indian Cinema

The Depiction of Women in Indian Cinema Introduction Indian Women have excelled in every field and have engraved their names in many parts of the universe, but there still seems to be a long route ahead before she attains equal status in the minds of Indian men. ‘Most agricultural civilizations downgraded the status and potential of women, at least according to modern Western standards and to the implicit standards of hunting-and-gathering societies. Agricultural civilizations were characteristically patriarchal; that is, they were run by men and based on the assumption that men directed political, economic, and cultural life. Furthermore, as agricultural civilizations developed over time and became more prosperous and more elaborately organized, the status of women deteriorated from its initial level. (http://history-world.org/Civilization,%20women_in_patriarchal_societies.htm) In a well-defined patriarchal society like India, even the cinematic world deems to project women as in factual life. This is a good thing as films have mass appeal and at least some if not all carry out a message to the public and try to create awareness. There is a myth that women are characterized in films to prop up the male role rather than characterize them as the one who keeps the narrative structure sinuous. Women are insinuated in films as bearing the burden of sexual objectification that male roles cannot. Hence, they become the bearer, and not the maker of meaning says Laura Mulvey (Mulvey 834). Most Indian women live a silent life with enormous amount of sacrifices and retain their frustration within themselves for the sake of societal pressure. Women in Indian cinema are born with certain assumptions ranging from cult movies to celluloid blockbusters like Sholay to more recent Fashion that employ themselves as in severe gender issues. They are portrayed either as damsels in distress or demented feminists or simple belly-shaking glam dolls whose sole ambition is to attract the attention of the male gender. In many Indian films it is a common trend to insert ‘item numbers which bear no rational connection to the film in anyways but with an assumption that the film is easily associated. As Bindu Nair(2009:53)says, ‘Sometimes the one song ends up making the film a hit, such as ‘Chamma Chamma from the film China gate. Occasionally, do we see a female being the protagonist of a film than merely being objects of sexual desire. In some cases there appears to be a clash between ‘modern feminism and ‘traditional values. Indian cinema often acts like an emotional register and is very resourceful while reading the characterization of ‘Women. I would like to line up the film Paroma and closely pay attention to the way in which a traditional Hindu wife is deprived of her freedom and is confined by the emotional bonding with the family. It appears to be impossible to gather together a woman character as anything beyond the two incarnates Madonna and Whore. Women in India were not expected to express their feelings or to develop their personalities rather get accustomed to their individual subjugation and succumb to the same. To use a women character in a film is to represent a traditional figure as a symbolic image but many a times it is a mere wishful desire. For the present discussion I have chosen the character Paroma as the centre subject, it being a film directed by a female auteur Aparna Sen. The central character in the film Paroma is a middle class Bengali housewife who is played by Raki Gulzar. This film makes a very strong statement about the perception women have on their own body juxtaposed with a mans perception about her. The word Paroma in the ancient Indo-Aryan language which is Sanskrit means ‘the supreme or ‘the very best. In Hindu religion it is used as a prefix to show admiration or reverence. In this film it takes a very long time to bring out her individuality almost to the second half of the film. The film embarks upon the title credits rolling over a Hindu Goddess Kali symbolizing the bestower of liberation. Goddess Kali is an image of the vengeful mother-goddess. Her name Paroma which roughly translates as ‘the ultimate woman in this film is subsumed by the many relational identities associated with her in the family. She is called by different names in the family such as bhabi (sister-in-law), kaki (aunt), mami (aunt), ma (mother) and bahu (daughter-in-law). This marks the beginning of her identity -the given name Paroma being hidden and lost in the different roles she plays within the family. Paromas mother-in-law, we can say the doyen of the family makes a mention to a group of women that she is alive only because her daughter-in-law (Paroma) takes very good care of her and this establishes the fact that Paroma is indeed of very great importance to the family. There is a point being made when the foreign -returned photographers assistant Sarah, tries to understand if Paroma has an identity of her own and this is made sense to her and explained by the patronizing males in the family. But Rahul Rai initiates her identity when he refuses to cast her as Bhabi or Kaki even though Paroma suggests he addresses her either as Bhabi or kaki as he wished indicating her parameters and hinting that she would be safe within these roles which act as barriers for a woman and prohibiting any trespassers within the boundaries of decorum. It is a custom in many Indian families where the female head has to serve hot food to their family and if this is not done they take up the blame for bei ng a terrible house-wife. A scene where Paromas children return from school screaming â€Å"Ma, ma have you not prepared cold coffee for us?† is quite interesting as one can see the duties of a mother in a close-knit Hindu family and yet her limitations are countless when it comes to doing her own things at leisure. For example, Paroma never finds the time to play the traditional instrument Sitar. Her education had an abrupt end and her interest in sitar and poetry fades out because of her responsibilities as a Hindu house-wife. No one in the family pays much attention to what a woman wants in life. Very rarely do we see members of the family obtain the permission or suggestion from Paroma on what is to be done. This is evident as Paromas husband asks his mother if she has any problem in Paroma modeling for their guest Rahul. As the head of the family Paromas mother-in-law agrees and internally suggests its the least they can do to entertain their valuable guest. The scene that preludes her children returning from school is an interesting one where Rahul tries to stare at Paroma taking miniscule bites into a chili in utmost curiosity as if it was a strange personal act where we as audience see a close up of it from the directors angle. The shot is as though Rahul looks at this act through his camera lens. And interesting thing to note is that this lunch scene has no background score weaved into it. The lunch scene starts with the cooing of the cuckoo birds and there is a dead silence which builds up the moment. Women tend to frame themselves and get a grip on what is generally the acceptable norm by the society and in this case a patriarchal one. The male gaze tends to specify the degree of importance a woman has in the society by means of provoking a female to take more interest in her own self. The camera angles as well as the camera movements used by the cinematographer takes the audience to a new world. When a female character takes up a central part of the screen the camera never prowls at a woman. But when she is performing an action the camera always has a tendency to creep around her body voyeuristically. This all adds up to turning a woman into a spectacle. For example, In Chandni bar directed by Madhur Bhandarkar whose fixation for every movie is ‘real has many scenes set up in a dance bar where women are scanned top to bottom by the men in the bar. The natural contours of the body are made distorted by unnatural ways of dressing to emphasize certain body proportions and for this very reason they are shot from a low angle or a high angle to reveal cleavage. The men in Indian cinema either projected as ‘romantic heroes or the ‘bad guy are indubitably majestic on screen space unlike our female characters that always tend to lead a surrendered life even on screen. As Vrinda Mathur (2009: 66) says, ‘The male characters of Indian cinema, i.e. the heroes(those knights in shining armour) and the villains (those over-energetic sharks) move around the space of the movie like players in a deadly choreographed game of chess with the women characters as sacrificial pawns. It is quite apparent from the beginning that Rahul the photographer has a particular interest in capturing beauty. One can stand by this point from the way he captures Goddess Kali on the day of the religious function which is the opening scene of the film. By this one can confirm that he has interest in aesthetically appealing subjects. Many of his subjects seem to be centered on female oriented issues. We can justify this fact by encompassing his interest to capture the â€Å"Indian house wife†. He proposes to pay peculiar attention to Paroma from the beginning stating that she is a very beautiful traditional Indian woman. As the film grips along, his fascination turns to personal from being a professional admirer of her beauty. In reciprocation to that we see Paroma indulging and getting a sense of sexual undercurrent and falling for the same. She tries to halt the modeling sessions but due to mere persistence from the family she does so to accommodate the guest in every po ssible way. As the modeling sessions go on she is made to realize her radiance and elegance by Rahuls gaze. Although she seems hesitant and apprehensive like for instance she covers her saree over her ankle in the first modeling session. But eventually she tends to react amicably to Rahuls desires. Rahul makes her realize her value and teaches her to see the world from a different perspective. This is symbolically shown when Rahul suggests to Paroma to see her own city from a high angle where one gets a birds eye view of the same. As Anshoo Sharma (2009: 111) rightly says: ‘It is very symbolic when he says -learn to live life dangerously, because it is only when one is ready to experiment and take chances that there is a possibility of gaining something valuable in the process. And in a womans case that ‘something is realization of oneself as a separate entity complete and whole and not a mere extension of the rib of Adam. The films that focus on women protagonists showcase their search for self through their bodies. This is quite outstanding in the film Chandni bar. Mumtaz character played by Tabu the protagonist is forcefully sent by her maternal uncle to be a show girl in a dance bar. Her major source of income was from performing in the dance bar. She would maximum need to groove her body to the music and there would be scores of men willing to shed their money on her for the very own reason voyeuristic desires. This womans body is given the penultimate magnitude in many of the films we see. And in these films the act tends to start with a rebellious nature and the instrument being their body. As Jasbir Jain (2009: 121) has observed, Rebel women are portrayed with ridicule and comedy. Rebelliousness need not always be conclusive or even approved within the narrative structure. At times it may be part of the discourse on modernity and perceived as a potential threat to patriarchy through the values of education/westernization/independence. In a scene from Mirch Masala (1985) the protagonist Smitha Patil directs the tax collector to drink water from the other side of the river. She says: (This side is where human drink and the other side is where the animals drink) This can be an indirect statement made to the tax collector referring him to being a ruthless animal. Although the other women tend to run away at the sight of them approaching Smitha Patil stands still reflecting her character instantly that nothing can demoralize her. Having said much about rebelliousness and insubordination, it sometimes plays the part of a discourse taken towards modernity in a sense that it threatens the patriarchal structure. This can be called to mark the beginning of a revolutionary period that breaks the stereotypical and conventional thoughts of a society. A female protagonist who is shown to be wronged in the society and due to this suffers a great deal in life. In other words, she is said to be victimized who endure the consequences. If one notices it is always the female who bears the brunt of all the misfortunes. Possibly owing this to their beauty and morality they are able to capture the hearts of the men. But this seems to be taken for granted by the men. Now, having discussed about how women are portrayed and the penalties they pay in return are a myriad when it comes to how men are showcased. Although to digress a little from the centre of discussion, it would be interesting to see how men would react if there was a reverse of these situations. But what really happens in this case is that the men do not like to be treated as anything below their dignity even if it was unintentional. As Anshoo Sharma (2009: 114) has rightly said, ‘They vent their anger, shun the women, and make them feel guilty. They are never shown to be in a compromising position -groveling or pleading with their women. From this we can conclude saying there are varying degrees of norms set for men and women in this patriarchal structure. This is otherwise called double standards of the male outlook being more evident. Paromas husband who is away on a business trip to Mumbai tends to sweet talk his secretary to fulfill his desires. What would be interesting to note at this point is that this particular scene goes unnoticed throughout the film. Other than his secretary no one knows the true story and no one would even come to know because the secretary is about to get married. In that case the secretary is not going to reveal this incident hoping to maintain her dignity and not ruin her chances of getting married. In the shot after the secretary leaves, he abuses her and slams the door. There is stark contrast in the way this matter is subdued as compared to what happens to Paroma eventually. One may argue that Paroma also had the freedom to keep up to her appointments with Rahul as her husband was away. Husbands do not necessarily offer the right kind of attention that is needed. Though this is an example of adulterated behavior by Paroma, her husband is not better in this stance. Much later Paroma is being ostracized by the family for the very reason that Rahul sends her a copy of the life magazine where her photograph is explicitly put up with his signature. This entirely shocks the family and creates a massive pandemonium. She is completely isolated from the family and her mother-in-law falls sick. Paromas husband unreasonably blames her for his mother falling ill and simultaneously tells her that he would teach the kids and that he does not want his kids to be taught by a whore. After Rahul has left to Greece her interest in house-hold work lacks interest. A woman, who is so devoted and energetic to the family needs once upon a time, completely does her share of chores listlessly. An observant husband asks her if she is keeping well, distressed reciprocates her absent-minded stupor. After the husband is aware of the photograph he condemns her and makes up his mind to shift to the guest room. In countering that Paroma confronts him and questions him if he has never committed mistakes in his life? And a point blank response No! says it all. One scene shows her husband frantically searching for a pair of cufflinks and scatters the draws and cupboards. Paroma who is silently watching gives a hand once her husband asks her maid to look for it. Paroma picks it up from the right draw and is diffident whether to hand it to him or leave it on the table. We see Paroma in her initial behavior as in early part of the film. Is this saying that she is attempting to get things back to normal? As Shoma A. Chatterji (2002: 76) aptly says, ‘The fact that she knows precisely where things around the house, is a pointer to the desperation a committed housewife like Paroma can be pushed to. It also proves her vulnerability. The irony is that the chores she did with such love and affection can be done with equal efficiency by Kamala, the maid, minus of course, the love and the affection Paroma put into them. Paroma is deemed to be portraying an equal status of a maid in this illustration. However it will be termed as an un-paid servant. Is this the kind of image that women would like to see on screen? Paroma being a strong character should be standing up for herself. Even though her routing was a little unusual to vast majority, this is Paromas point of view. The rupture created between Paroma and her extended family exposes the cruelty of patriarchal insistence and poses a threat to the male dominated society. The image of a mother she carries takes a toll when she puts her relationship before her motherhood. This does not necessarily mean she is insensitive to her childrens feelings. Every human requires a companion and in this case her determinants are surrounded by feelings of pleasure. As Shoma A. Chatterji (2002: 77) says, â€Å"Hinduism and the patriarchy it functions within, insists on placing the mother on a pedestal, which is natural and logical extension of the worship of the Mother Goddess to include the family unit. The pedestal is conveniently used by the patriarchal family to reduce the same mother to silence, absence and marginality, politically constructed to seemingly connote to the woman concerned.† As the narrative progresses, we embark upon something close to a peak. Paroma is disheartened with the way her attempt to reconcile things with family was treated unfavorably that she takes a drastic decision to end her life. She is admitted to a hospital and is diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage where the doctor says her hair needs to be shorn off for the purpose of an x-ray. On hearing this Paromas daughter sobs at her mothers hair being shaven off. One can notice a sense of hesitation from the members of the family as soon as they are informed that the surgery would do Paroma some good. Does this signify their hesitation to her as a person back into the family or just vacillation to the surgery? If it is evident that a surgery will save Paroma from more harm and why would anyone have double thoughts about this. It is clear that the family is in a dilemma to accept Paroma after such an incident and worried if the society would brand them as we know they would. To speak for majority of the families in India societal pressure plays a huge role in any decision the family makes. This is doubled up if the family has many girls in the family. If any decision that is taken has to reflect on the society then where is the question of living life to the fullest. One can understand if there is debate with regard to being responsible but not to the extent where the society rules ones life. This indicates a new beginning to Paroma or an end to all the discomfiture after all. As Mini Nanda (2009: 174) says, ‘Tonsuring of her hair seems to be a process of sloughing off her past, the pain and the humiliation as well as thrusting a widowhood on her. Paroma stays rigid that she will not speak any of her family members. She requests for a diary and a pen and begins to empty her feelings into the book. This self-defining act could also be looked at as a prolongation to the letters she used to write Rahul. She mentions the daily activities that happen in her nursing room. Paromas friend Sheila gets her a paper cutting of a write about Rahul, which Paroma chooses to let go standing near her window. This could be a mark made to erase the smallest trail of her past and to start a new beginning with vigor. Paroma has a conversation with her friend Sheila where she asks Sheila to get her a job as a sales assistant. When her family and the Doctor insist she goes through psychotherapy, she boldly says she has no guilt feeling inside her for her to go through any therapy. We see a fresh air of confidence swing past Paromas character. One can notice the diary writing to have started in the end of the film. Thereby stating the initiative Paroma has taken to express her feeling. Paroma for the first time voices her opinion to her family members about her ideas to work as a sales assistant. Even after each one trying hard to persuade Paroma to go through the therapy, so that her life could flow in the direction as before she stands up for her self. This act is again refreshing from the Paroma earlier on in the film and the rejuvenated Paroma. The climax has us all thinking metamorphic derivations. We see Paroma spill the beans to her shocked family about her new plans of taking up a job. And then her husbands reaction is worth noting at this point as it comes as a shocker to him. He is taken by surprise at Paromas decision and asks what people would think if his wife worked as a sales assistant for a very menial pay. In spite of all the pushing and probing from the family Paroma stands stable no matter what her family brands her as. She pans left to notice the plant sitting by the window sill and the name flashes across her mind ‘Woh Patte! Calendula kaise? Haan Euphobia contenopholia Krishnapallavi!? (Those leaves! Not Calendula! Yes, Euphobia contenopholia) There by telling us that she has definitely come out stronger than before by finding her inner-self and may be more. As Anshoo Sharma (2009: 117) says: ‘In conclusion one can say that like phoenix she rises from her ashes stronger, more capable. It is the rebirth of Durga , the Paroma who has realized her ‘Shakthi but in a new form, a different context. References: Bindoo Nair (2009) ‘The Female bodies and the Male Gaze: Laura Mulvey and Indian Cinema in Jasbir Jain and Sudha Rai (ed.) Films and Feminism, Jaipur, Rawat Publication. Vrinda Mathur (2009) ‘Women in Indian Cinema: Fictional Constructs, in Jasbir Jain and Sudha Rai (ed.) Films and Feminism, Jaipur, Rawat Publication. Anshoo Sharma (2009) ‘Crossing the Boundaries: Woman in search of Self, in Jasbir Jain and Sudha Rai (ed.) Films and Feminism, Jaipur, Rawat Publication. Shoma A. Chatterji (2002) The Cinema of Aparna Sen, Calcutta: Parumitha Publication. Mini Nanda (2009) ‘Symbolism and Space in Aparna Sens Paroma and Deepa Mehtas Fire, in Jasbir Jain and Sudha Rai (ed.) Films and Feminism, Jaipur, Rawat Publication. Mulvey L. (2975) ‘Visual Pleasure and narrative cinema, Screen, 16, 3, Autumn

Existentialism in “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald's fiction presents not only the magic of the Jazz Age but also its immorality, materialism, and degradation of the human spirit. While Fitzgerald was probably not trying to specifically present existentialism in his works, Finkelstein describes Fitzgerald's work as having an existential theme: â€Å"F. Scott Fitzgerald was of this milieu, and at the same time critically detached from it. He expressed its hard-boiled, disillusioned attitude through the deliberate use of alienated imagery† (171).He manages to present the existential theme of alienation along with other existential issues; the characters in his fiction characterize the existential ideas of the absurdity of life, the absolute freedom of choice, and living with the consequence of one's choices. In â€Å"Babylon Revisited,† the freedom of choice leads the characters to exploit wealth and freedom and, eventually, to regret past actions and try to make up for the abuse of this freedom. In â €Å"Babylon Revisited† the reader can see the absurdity of life through the rise, fall and rebuilding of Charlie Wales.He chooses to drink and spend all his money. He loses everything in the stock market crash but attempts to rebuild his life. Charlie is distraught over the tragic loss of his wife but realizes that he must suffer the consequences of his prior actions.Regaining custody of his daughter Honoria serves as a symbol that Charlie has regained control of his life. This paper presents the ideas of existentialism as they apply to â€Å"Babylon Revisited†. The greatest tenet of existentialism in â€Å"Babylon Revisited† is that life is absurd because there is no true meaning.Individuals must create meaning; therefore they are constantly searching for themselves. Charlie Wales was searching for his true meaning and made some choices that led to bad consequences. The ultimate absurdity in this story is that Charlie makes the right decision to turn his life a round, but because he must live with his consequences, he fails to regain custody of his daughter. Although Charlie believes he has moved beyond his previous profligate behavior, his sister-in law does not, and she makes the decision to keep his daughter from him.The most absurd part is that Charlie is better suited now to take care of his daughter but Marion manages to remain in control of the situation. He works hard to build his life back up but one incident (that reflects his past life) turns everything upside down.Charlie Wales made some choices that led to bad consequences. The ultimate absurdity in this story is that even though Charlie has made the right decision to turn his life around, he must live with the consequences of his previous decisions and fails to regain custody of his daughter.The absurdity here deals with the fact that Charlie's experiences run contrary to expectations. If he has indeed changed his life, he should be rewarded for his redemption; unfortunately, he is not. He works hard to build his life back up but one incident (that reflects his past life) turns everything upside down.Although Charlie is now strong, his sister-in-law Marion is not, and she makes the decision to keep his daughter from him. Charlie may be better suited now to take care of his daughter, but Marion manages to remain in control of the situation.Charlie makes the choice to go back to the bar where he had spent much time in the past, and he makes the absurdly innocuous choice to give the bartender the Peters' address, which leads to the incident of Duncan and Lorraine's visit to the Peters' apartment that destroys the entire effort to get his daughter back.The reader, therefore, can never truly know how big of a role Charlie plays in his own downfall. He lives, as we all do, in an absurd world and this absurdity magnifies the impact of even the smallest decision. The existential idea of free will is important in â€Å"Babylon Revisited.† Sartre postulate s a concept of being-in-itself that corresponds to one phenomenal world, and it does not lie within the power of the individual to choose it. Individuals exist by virtue of personal choice. He believes â€Å"there is no universal a priori structure of consciousness, no common human nature, no native set of desires shared by all men that dispose us to project one kind of values to the exclusion of others or to give being-in-itself one kind of meaning rather than another† (Olson 133). Each individual is absolutely free.Charlie Wales exercised his free will prior to Helen's death in a series of wasteful actions that Fitzgerald presents as having a connection to the biblical idea of â€Å"Babylon. † The writings of the â€Å"Fathers of the Church describe Babylon as the ancient center of luxury and wickedness† (Baker 270).Fitzgerald develops the Babylon motif by presenting Charlie's actions as â€Å"catering to vice and waste† (215). Here, Fitzgerald's work c an be seen as assimilating Nietzsche's idea that God is dead and each individual must be the god of himself in a world without a God (Lavine 325).Since the existentialist mentality has as its basis the concept that an individual is free to make choices for the life he or she lives, he or she is absolutely responsible for the world in which he or she lives. The concept of being-in-itself did not cause Charlie to choose this life.If, therefore, he made a bad choice, he cannot hold anyone else responsible. Not until after the stock market crash does Charlie realize the consequences of his actions and feel the guilt of those consequences. He realizes that, like all individuals, he is responsible for everything he does (Toor 157).Charlie is held responsible for his actions in that he loses both his wife and daughter. He cannot reclaim his daughter until he accepts the consequences of his past. Charlie Wales pays the penance for his choice to drink and live the life of Babylon (Eble 42).H e realizes that he must pay the price: It [money] had been given, even the most wildly squandered sum, as an offering to destiny that he might not remember the things most worth remembering, the things that now he would always remember – his child taken from his control, his wife escaped to a grave in Vermont (Fitzgerald 216).For Charlie, the suddenness of the Depression creates a sense of dislocation, a feeling that he is living in two worlds at once. He is committed to the idea of recovery and the new way of life he has created, but he still clings partially to many of the habits he formed during the boom (Way 91).Charlie Wales makes the existential choice to live the â€Å"Babylonian† concept of â€Å"vice and waste. † He now, however, feels the stress of his actions, and he makes the choice to try to reconcile his former failings. The recovery is the important change that Charlie makes.His main purpose is to regain custody of Honoria. Charlie feels as if he has paid the price for his past choices and has sufficiently recovered enough to look after Honoria himself. He tells Marion and Lincoln that he is anxious to have a home and anxious to have Honoria in it.He states that â€Å"things have changed radically† with him (Fitzgerald 220). The memory of Helen drives Charlie to work hard and make himself a better person. He is working to get Honoria not only for his own sake, but for the sake of his dead wife.Fitzgerald is showing the sort of strength in Charlie that the reader does not see in Marion. Charlie has learned to control his drinking. When Marion finds out he had been in a bar before coming to her apartment, she chides him. He responds, â€Å"I take one drink every afternoon and I've had that† (213).He is trying to prove that he can control his drinking habits. He has one drink to enjoy the idea and taste of alcohol but will not allow himself to drink in excess. This is his idea of control, â€Å"I take that drink deliberately so that the idea of alcohol won't get too big in my imagination† (Fitzgerald 221).He knows it will be difficult to persuade Marion to let Honoria go, but he is confident that if he accepts her recriminations patiently and convinces her of his newly acquired steadiness of character, he will ultimately be successful. Another element of Charlie's recovery that Fitzgerald addresses is his renewed relationship with his daughter.Fitzgerald makes it obvious in the beginning of the novel that Honoria was not the first thing on the mind of her parents during their Babylon days. When the barman asks why he is in town and Charlie responds that he is in Paris to see his daughter, the barman replies questioningly, â€Å"Oh-h!You have a little girl? † (211). Someone who knew Charlie fairly well during his drinking days did not even know that he had a daughter. Fitzgerald contrasts this idea of having no relationship with his daughter by showing with tenderness and affect ion the scenes in which Charlie tentatively establishes contact with Honoria.He buys her toys and takes her to the circus, creating once again the atmosphere of love between them. Although he may be buying the love of his daughter, Marion grudgingly admits that Charlie has earned the right to his child (Way 91). Fitzgerald also shows the intense love that the child has for her father.She wants to go with him to Prague and asks when she will get to be with him (217). Charlie has recovered to the point that he wants to be with his child and she wants to be with him. Ultimately, when Marion denies him the child, he again shows strength of character (Way 109).He remains lonely but self-confident, â€Å"He would come back some day; they couldn't make him pay forever† (Fitzgerald 230). Sartre believes that â€Å"there are moments of anguish when life loses its meaning: when the objects that formerly drew our attention fade into oblivion and the desires that had previously guided o ur conduct seem vain or petty† (Olson 131).This creates an ugliness in the world to which people must react. These â€Å"moments of anguish† in â€Å"Babylon Revisited† occur when Charlie's friends manage to show up at the most inopportune times: â€Å"Sudden ghosts out of the past: Duncan Schaeffer, a friend from college.Lorraine Quarries; one of a crowd who had helped them make months into days in the lavish times of three years ago† (Fitzgerald 217). In a foreshadowing of the more crucial intrusion that Duncan and Lorraine will make later in the story, the first encounter with the duo is when they intrude on Charlie's luncheon with Honoria.They invite him to come sit in the bar with them and also invite him to dinner. They cannot accept the change in Charlie. Their intrusion is an unwanted product of Charlie's past, and they are outside forces that affect his life that he cannot control (Cooper 52). Later in the story, Lorraine invites him to dinner, re minding him of their drunken exploits. As a temptress, she has lost her charm for Charlie. He instead goes to meet with the Peters and his daughter (Baker 272). Just as Charlie has regained permission to take his child, the final, and most detrimental, intrusion occurs.Lorraine and Duncan crash the apartment, unmistakably drunk. They loudly and brutishly encourage him to join them for dinner. He tries feverishly to get them out of the apartment, but they are the reminders of his old life that Marion needs to change her mind. Lorraine will not let Charlie forget about his mistakes, â€Å"All right we'll go. But I remember once when you hammered on my door at 4 a. m. I was enough of a sport to give you a drink† (Fitzgerald 227). Charlie knows that he has lost Honoria because of these outside forces that try to make him weaker.Fitzgerald shows that Charlie is stronger because of his life change. Charlie dealt with the encounters by choosing to be strong, â€Å"Somehow an unwelc ome encounter. His old friends liked him because he was functioning, because he was serious; they wanted to see him, because he was stronger than they were now because they wanted to draw a certain sustenance from his strength† (218). This strength has led to Charlie's feeling of isolation. He goes to the Ritz bar in search of Duncan and Lorraine with the idea of finding them and letting them know that they possibly ruined his life.They had done their sorry work and vanished from his life (Baker 273). Existential philosophy includes alienation from the world, from one's fellows, from oneself (Finkelstein), and Charlie suffers this type of alienation. He has lost his family and his life. When he eventually fails to regain custody of Honoria, he questions why life dealt him this hand: â€Å"He wanted his child, and nothing was much good now, beside that fact. He wasn't young any more, with a lot of nice thoughts and dreams to have himself. He was absolutely sure Helen wouldn't have wanted him to be so alone† (Fitzgerald 230).â€Å"Babylon Revisited† opens in the Ritz bar, a symbolic prison for those trapped in Charlie's lifestyle. Charlie spent many nights in the â€Å"prison† of the Ritz bar, when he was in his prime party era. Charlie drinks himself into a sanitarium before he begins to come out of the prison of alcoholism.The story then ends again in the Ritz bar. Charlie has come full circle since the beginning of the story. He found happiness in knowing that he would take Honoria home, and then his past of loneliness finds him. The intrusions lead to his ultimate loneliness again (Griffith 237).He is sitting in the Ritz bar when he finds out that Marion has refused to let Honoria go. He realizes that his loneliness will not end because of the mistakes that he has made: â€Å"Again the memory of those days swept over him like a nightmare†¦ the men who locked their wives out in the snow, because the snow of twenty-nine wasn't real snow.If you didn't want it to be snow, you just paid some money† (229). The prosperity that he once had is now imprisoning him in a life of solitude and loneliness. The sentence that he must pay in this prison is six more months of loneliness before he can try to get custody of Honoria again (Baker 274).LeVot, in his discussion of Fitzgerald's life, notes that this story marks the end of an era. This is the foreclosure of the almost divine privileges Americans had enjoyed before the Depression. â€Å"Charlie Wales feels like a king stripped of his kingdom, his past, his illusions† (256).Ten years after he wrote the story, Fitzgerald stated that the story was his farewell to youth. Just as Fitzgerald is fearful that his own irresponsibility will pass to his daughter, Charlie tries to wipe out the past so it will not affect Honoria. LeVot states, â€Å"A great wave of protectiveness went over him. He thought he knew what to do for her.He believed in character, he wa nted to jump back a whole generation and trust in character again as the eternally valuable element† (256). He wants to revive an earlier virtue, for the sake of Honoria. This revival will help to alleviate the loneliness he feels without his daughter.Fitzgerald felt the loneliness brought about by his addiction to alcohol (LeVot â€Å"Fitzgerald in Paris† 51). Bruccoli states that when Charlie remembers his Paris nights that these were probably Fitzgerald's own memories, â€Å"When Fitzgerald went pub-crawling by himself, it was sometimes hard to terminate his revels† (239).His talent and charm often rescued him from the social morasses he created. Bruccoli shares an incident when Fitzgerald showed up drunk at the Paris Tribune and ripped up copy. He sang and insisted that the other reporters join in. When several friends tried to take him home, he insisted that they tour the bars.He finally passed out, but when they delivered him to his apartment he refused to go in. They eventually had to carry Fitzgerald into to his apartment, kicking and screaming. This account was forgiven, as were most of his other escapades (239).Charlie Wales, unlike Fitzgerald, has not been forgiven and remains separated from his wife and daughter due to alcoholism. He had to work hard to regain his life. The existential absurdity is that he was unable to get custody of Honoria, although he paid the penance for his past sins.Charlie chose to live the life of â€Å"Babylon† and lost everything. After doing everything right to change his life, the outside forces of Duncan and Lorraine ruined his plans to make a home with Honoria. These outside forces are the consequences of the past life that Charlie chose to live.Existentialists not only believe in free will but also living with the consequences of past decisions. Charlie's past decisions led to his ultimate loneliness and alienation. Sartre makes the point that alienation is one of the greatest tenets of ex istentialism.Although Fitzgerald is not an existentialist, his characters in â€Å"Babylon Revisited† are good examples of the ideas of the existentialist movement and how those ideas affect and shape a person's existence.Works Cited Baker, Carlos. â€Å"When the Story Ends, ‘Babylon Revisited. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: New Approaches in Criticism. Madison, Wisconsin: U of Wisconsin P, 1982. 269-277.Bruccoli, Matthew J. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.Finkelstein, Sidney. Existentialism and Alienation in American Literature. New York: International Publishers, 1965.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. â€Å"Babylon Revisited† and Other Stories. New York: Macmillan Scribner Classic, 1988. 210-230.Griffith, Richard R. â€Å"A Note on Fitzgerald's ‘Babylon Revisited. ‘ † American Literature 35 (May 1963): 236-239.Lavine, T. Z. From Socrates to Sartre: the Philosophic Quest. New York: Bantam, 1984.LeVot, Andr e. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Biography. New York: Doubleday, 1983.LeVot, Andre. â€Å"Fitzgerald in Paris. † Fitzgerald/Hemingway Annual 5 (1973): 49-68.Olson, Robert G. A Short Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1967.Toor, David. â€Å"Guilt and Retribution in ‘Babylon Revisited. ‘† Fitzgerald/Hemingway Annual 5 (1973): 155-64.Way, Brian. F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Art of Social Fiction. New York: St. Martin's, 1980.

Promotional Process for the Fire Department Essay

Promotion process is an activity that is conducted in a given frequency in order that individuals in the fire department will qualify for promotion and allow taking of the testing for these individuals. Most of the fire departments require that before an individual is promoted in the rank do an exam. Most of the professional fires fighting departments require professional qualifications like a bachelor’s degree. In order to qualify for a promotional process in the fire department, one may require to have been employed in a good length of time, training and certification to the subjects related to the fire fighting, and educational requirements. Such eligibility is communicated for example prior to the date of the beginning of the promotion process. Usually, the evaluation procedures will also be published and the scores communicated. The written examination and subjective evaluation are administered for a particular rank the promotion process includes administration of the examination and the evaluation, and posting of the scores and determination and posting of the seniority and ascertained merit scores. The passing score is the aggregate score for all the components tested or examined. The score may be announced prior to the date of promotion. The law may stipulate that the components of the written exam reflect the issues related to the duties to be performed in the rank expected for that examination. The appointing authority may appoint agents to administer the examinations, and will test a written exam based on the material which they identify and make available to the potential examinees at least 90 days before administration of the examination. Grading of this written exam is done at the examination site on then examination day after completion of the test in front of observers. If done offsite by an agent, the observers will be expected to observe sealing and shipping and the opening latter upon return from the agency. T6ehre are bases for awarding ascertained merits based on education and training, certification which may be published earlier on. Subjective evaluation may include an oral interview, tactical evaluation, performance evaluation, or other components based on the subjective evaluation of the person. Applicants will be notified of the component prior to application of it. The examinee may be assessed to determine their leadership, communication, interpersonal, incident command and judgment. Significance of Problem This paper will seek to discuss issues related to and answer the following questions related to the issues in the fire departments. †¢ Why is the test generated from an outside party with no fire dept. ties? If the department are fare enough should the agencies still be used and the necessity of it. †¢ Why is the cut-off grade not given until the test is completed? †¢ Why is the passing cut-off grade lower than normal academic requirements? †¢ Is the test politically based or is it set for all to succeed? Studying these issues would help one to know the effects of the tests and their impact. Research on these and related issues would reveal irregularities existing, and look for ways to mend the holes. Source Review Tests for promotion in the fire department involve written and evaluation test. In a writing test for uniform fire department personnel, bonus points are assigned so that a third of the group will receive a minimum of 75%. Except for the position of a fire captain where three quarter of the participants is allowed to achieve this. A passing score for the next evaluation is a 75% mark. A second written test would be conducted if only one or none passes since the requirement for further evaluation except for the only one that passes alone who has the chance to choose when to take the next evaluation. He may also stand with the previous mark or sit for another one. Some of the things that may be tested in an evaluation are cooperation, initiative, personal effectiveness, attitude towards others, use and delegation of authority, organization and planning, persuasive ability, training and utilization of the subordinates, integrity and loyalty on the part of the leadership ability. They may also require knowing the health and physical fitness of an individual which may entail scrutiny of frequency of accidents while at job, physical condition of the individual, sick leave activity, attendance and ability to perform all duties physically. According to Spielman (1996), firefighters were proposed to wait a minimum of five years before qualifying to take promotion examinations, and proposal by the Union Local 2 added that the seniority and education points be awarded in a weighted process which also factors in test scores and in-person interviews. The committee which recommended changes to the Chicago fire department and handed the report to the then, Mayor Darly, called for oral portions in exams to consist a greater percentage of testing knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the job . Irregularities in the tests The fire fighting departments has not been without complains. Cheating in the promotional examinations has been reported in the fire service for example in Boston, MA where cell phones were used by FFs to text answers to their friends; in Baltimore, MD where top scorers had questions from 2001 examinations that were reused and in Chicago, Illinois where FFs cheated on EMT training examination (Bellenger, & Dean). Thus their administration should be carefully checked to make sure that such incidences do not occur. Exams for promotion have also been dogged with issues of discrimination of people with their races. For example, in the 1990 exam, out of the 117 who qualified for promotion, there were only 17 black. In a memo to city officials in the 2000, the Madison Fire fighting Department was accused of being discriminatory and unfair by the city’s affirmative director, Kirbie Mack. The department, according to The Capital Times (Shepard, 2000) had promoted no person of color since 1996, out of a total of 47 people. The fire Chief Amesqua had argued that the reasons people of color had not been promoted to lieutenant position was because a few had applied and that seniority had placed them low on the list for selection. Data however had indicated that such low applications were real and in the then three recent promotional cycles, 14 people of color out of 150 had applied and three had failed to show up for the written exams while five failed it. Only six made it to the final position out of the 100. He latter in January 12, 2001 (Judith, 2001) denied this allegation that his department was discriminatory and unfair, and presented figures to show that the diversity in the department mirrored the larger community: the people of color made 9 % of Dane County’s population and 16 % of employees in the fire department. In the Chicago Fire Department , only less than 5% of the department in 1970s composed of the blacks and the Hispanics and the Justice Department sued the city; the case which was settled by the court orders requiring hiring and promotion of more minorities in the department. The city is said to have responded by stopping to hire for years (Judson Miner-an attorney representing the black fire fighters and the city’s corporation counsel in 1980s). There was a strike that followed and a contract to affirmative action was settled on till 45% were employees in the department. In 2004, according to out of the total of the uniformed department, about 31% represented the minorities. There are whites who have raised issues as being passed over in favor of the minority groups and view it as unfair. Wherever the truth lies, firefighters feel the heat when they go out and do their jobs. Causes and reduction of irregularities Irregularities may occur as a result of delayed time which could allow manipulation of the results to favor some candidates. The cut off grade is delayed so that there will be regulation of the number qualifying. If everybody was to qualify, then there would be a problem in choosing the person to occupy the position. Usually, the examination should be set free of political influence. There have been claims of bias towards some of the races who have been said to be discriminated against. Reduction of irregularities can be achieved by a careful selection of an unbiased agent to administer the test. The process should be as open as possible to avoid bias and arising of complains. If the tests are not conducted in an open way it is difficult to avoid problems and claims. Conclusion/Recommendations There are laws as discussed regarding promotion process in the fire department. Requirements include academic qualifications, work experience and personal abilities to do the job. All these can be proved when one passes examinations that are administered for promotion in the field. These include the written and evaluation tests. Cases that are received of allegations should be addressed a proper means sought to reduce such occurrences. There are issues that have been raised in the past concerning issues of promotion that needs to be addressed and a long lasting solution sought. Promotion process itself ought to be a fair, open and a clean process. The problem underlying could be as a result of the process itself; the delays and issues to do with the agents. The fire department must ensure that current stringent measures are put in place to allow only agents who qualify to standards administer the examinations so as to minimize cases of complains. Since affirmative actions have raised issues, they should be scrutinized and offered at an open way where everybody will understand and know. The process should be kept as open as possible. Reference Baker Bill. Policy 12-1 Promotion system for uniform fire department personnel. 1 March 2000. Fire Department. Retrieved from http://www. cityof. lawton. ok. us/CityCode/Administrative_Policies/Section_12/1. html on 9 October 2008. Bellenger, B. L. and Dean C. R. Cheating on promotional public safety examinations: Strategies for responding to a widespread test scrutiny compromise. Personnel Board of Jefferson County. PDF. Retrieved from www. ipmaac. org/conf/08/bellenger. pdf on 9 October 2008. Fire promotion assessment package. Fire & Police Selection Inc (FPSI). Retrieved from http://www. fpsi. com/fire_promotional. html on 9 October 2008. Jason Shepard. Bias Alleged in fire promotions. (Front). The Capital Times (Madison, WI). November 11, 2001. Judith Davidoff. Amesqua: No bias in promotions. (Local/State). The Capital Times (Madison, WI). January 12, 2001. Spielman Fran. Panel offers Fire Dept. promotion proposals. September 13, 1996. Chicago Times.

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Essay

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a four-part piece of American legislation that ensures students with disabilities will receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that meets their individual needs. From 1975 to 1990, IDEA was known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA (Public Law No. 94-142). This law had a dramatic, yet positive impact on millions of children with disabilities in every state and local community across the country. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide disabled students with the same educational opportunities as those without disabilities. Although the laws governing special education students have changed over the past thirty-six years, very little has changed in school districts’ special education departments. Why is this? What factors must be present at the district level for successful change to occur? Perhaps the a nswer has to do with how district leadership handles change. Unfortunately, many school district leaders are not equipped to lead change. With no special training and faced with making difficult decisions, leaders struggle to implement a sustainable plan that benefits individual students’ needs. To step back and see the big picture takes expert leadership. Review of scholarly literature â€Å"Perhaps no American institution has been reformed more often, with less apparent effect, than schools† (Evans, 2011,Show MoreRelatedIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act930 Words   |  4 PagesIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 went into effect July 01, 2005. IDEA Part C covers children through the age of two, Part B covers children from the age of three to twenty-one. Children with disabilities are guaranteed special education services, and a fair and impartial education regardless of what or severity of their disability, from the time they are born to the time they graduate high school. The families of the children with disabilities cannot be asked to pay for specialRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Essay1666 Words   |  7 PagesThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which originally began as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA), was created to ensure a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities. This policy was implemented in an effort to provide equal access to education for all. Prior to 1975, the needs of children with disabilities were highly overlooked. According to the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Serv ices (2010)Read MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act1711 Words   |  7 Pages The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Meaning of â€Å"Free Appropriate Public Education† for Students with Disabilities is detailed below: Congress passed the IDEA in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities had the opportunity to receive an appropriate education. To qualify for federal funding under the Act, a state must demonstrate that it has a policy in effect that â€Å"assures all handicapped children the right to a free appropriate education.†6 IDEA requires school districtsRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act1535 Words   |  7 PagesTHE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) IDEA is the main law addressing the education of children and adolescents with disabilities. It ensures all individuals with disabilities between the ages of 3−21 the right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. Schools must therefore provide services to meet the particular educational needs arising from a disabling condition that cannot be met in the general educational programRead MoreIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act787 Words   |  4 PagesSebrena Pierce CD 115 Jones 4/1/16 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act The law or act that I chose to do my research paper on was the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. As a student with a disability this act helped out tremendously throughout my educational journey. There are 6.5 million individuals who receive some type of special education services. The IDEA act created a positive stigmatism on individuals with disabilities. IDEA should be able to continue to create a positiveRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act786 Words   |  4 PagesThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is an act introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on October 31, 1989. IDEA was signed into law almost a year later by President George H.W. Bush. The Purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is to give students with disabilities the rights and educational opportunities as children without disabilities. IDEA is separated into four parts: A. General Provisions B. Assistance for education of all children with disabilities C. InfantsRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act2065 Words   |  9 PagesThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA was originally created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities were given the opportunity to receive a free and adequate education. IDEA has been revised and many times since 1975, the most recent being in 2004. IDEA consists of parts A, B, C, and D. Part A outlines the basic foundation, and defines terms used throughout the act. Part B outlines the responsibilities of schools to educate students aged 3-21. The IndividualsRead MoreIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act1688 Words   |  7 Pages INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT IDEA - - - - A law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. http://idea.ed.gov/ IDEA -Was originally enacted by Congress in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriateRead More Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pagesprinciple behind IDEA was to ensure an equal opportunity for all children. In order to affect that idea, we have to find a balance between all children’s needs. In 1975, came the passage of the federal Education of All Handicapped Children Act, now revised as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1990). For handicapped children, the law was long overdue. The designers of IDEA saw themselves as progressive reformers, designing fairer, more responsive schools. The lawmakers were attemptingRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Orders1729 Words   |  7 PagesThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act orders all states to give disabled students a free and appropriate education. Many schools in the United States mains tream disabled students and have succeeded in properly educating them, along with creating a safe environment where they are socially comfortable and accepted. However, there are too many incidents where teachers improperly handle these students and administrators do not give enough money to fund adequate supplies for these students. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Essay The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which originally began as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA), was created to ensure a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities. This policy was implemented in an effort to provide equal access to education for all. Prior to 1975, the needs of children with disabilities were highly overlooked. According to the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (2010), â€Å"U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students from school, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded.† The discrimination and lack of educational rights of children with disabilities was a vast social problem and detrimental to the lives and worth of children with disabilities and their families. The EHA’s name was officially changed to IDEA in 1990, an d throughout the years, there have been many more improvements and amendments made to the policy, the latest amendment being in 2004. Some of the main requirements of the IDEA are for schools to focus on specialized individual educational needs of children, through the use of Individualized Education Programs (IEP), and placing children in a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) when possible where they can be included with non-disabled classmates. The IDEA also requires transition assistance from high school toShow MoreRelatedIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act930 Words   |  4 PagesIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 went into effect July 01, 2005. IDEA Part C covers children through the age of two, Part B covers children from the age of three to twenty-one. Children with disabilities are guaranteed special education services, and a fair and impartial education regardless of what or severity of their disability, from the time they are born to the time they graduate high school. The families of the children with disabilities cannot be asked to pay for specialRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act1711 Words   |  7 Pages The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Meaning of â€Å"Free Appropriate Public Education† for Students with Disabilities is detailed below: Congress passed the IDEA in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities had the opportunity to receive an appropriate education. To qualify for federal funding under the Act, a state must demonstrate that it has a policy in effect that â€Å"assures all handicapped children the right to a free appropriate education.†6 IDEA requires school districtsRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act1535 Words   |  7 PagesTHE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) IDEA is the main law addressing the education of children and adolescents with disabilities. It ensures all individuals with disabilities between the ages of 3−21 the right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. Schools must therefore provide services to meet the particular educational needs arising from a disabling condition that cannot be met in the general educational programRead MoreIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act787 Words   |  4 PagesSebrena Pierce CD 115 Jones 4/1/16 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act The law or act that I chose to do my research paper on was the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. As a student with a disability this act helped out tremendously throughout my educational journey. There are 6.5 million individuals who receive some type of special education services. The IDEA act created a positive stigmatism on individuals with disabilities. IDEA should be able to continue to create a positiveRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act786 Words   |  4 PagesThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is an act introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on October 31, 1989. IDEA was signed into law almost a year later by President George H.W. Bush. The Purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is to give students with disabilities the rights and educational opportunities as children without disabilities. IDEA is separated into four parts: A. General Provisions B. Assistance for education of all children with disabilities C. InfantsRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act2065 Words   |  9 PagesThe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA was originally created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities were given the opportunity to receive a free and adequate education. IDEA has been revised and many times since 1975, the most recent being in 2004. IDEA consists of parts A, B, C, and D. Part A outlines the basic foundation, and defines terms used throughout the act. Part B outlines the responsibilities of schools to educate students aged 3-21. The IndividualsRead MoreIndividuals With Disabilities Education Act1688 Words   |  7 Pages INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT IDEA - - - - A law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. http://idea.ed.gov/ IDEA -Was originally enacted by Congress in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriateRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Essay2262 Words   |  10 Pages The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a four-part piece of American legislation that ensures students with disabilities will receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that meets their individual needs. From 1975 to 1990, IDEA was known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA (Public Law No. 94-142). This law had a dramatic, yet positive impact on millions of childrenRead More Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Essay1626 Words   |  7 Pagesprinciple behind IDEA was to ensure an equal opportunity for all children. In order to affect that idea, we have to find a balance between all children’s needs. In 1975, came the passage of the federal Education of All Handicapped Children Act, now revised as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1990). For handicapped children, the law was long overdue. The designers of IDEA saw the mselves as progressive reformers, designing fairer, more responsive schools. The lawmakers were attemptingRead MoreThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Orders1729 Words   |  7 PagesThe Individuals With Disabilities Education Act orders all states to give disabled students a free and appropriate education. Many schools in the United States mainstream disabled students and have succeeded in properly educating them, along with creating a safe environment where they are socially comfortable and accepted. However, there are too many incidents where teachers improperly handle these students and administrators do not give enough money to fund adequate supplies for these students.