Antigone vs Creon Essay

Antigone vs Creon Essay Antigone vs Creon Essay Kaylie Christy Mrs. Yoshiyama English 2; Period 1 30 October 2013 Loyalty or Morals: Which is More Important? Being a big part of a kingdom or being part of family forces one to have responsibilities and duties that are needed to be fulfilled. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Antigone, Antigone has the responsibility of being loyal to her brother, Polyneices. However, Creon has the responsibility of being loyal to the people of Thebes. Therefore, both Antigone and Creon have been loyal to whom they have wanted to be loyal to; this is why both are equally correct. Antigone and Creon were equally loyal. Antigone was loyal to her family and the law of the Gods while Creon was loyal to his people and his word: â€Å"And now you can prove what you are: A true sister, or a traitor to your family†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Prologue). Antigone wasn’t afraid of the danger of Creon’s law, because being a loyal sister was more important to her than death. Antigone didn’t want her brother to be dishonored by Creon and his law for some grudge he may have against Polyneices. However, Creon was just as loyal as Antigone: â€Å"But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State,-he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead,† (Scene 1). Creon states that he will only be loyal to those who are loyal and respect him. As the King of Thebes, Creon has to be loyal to his people, because he has to gain their trust as a new king; it is only fair that his people be loyal to him. Creon and Antigone b oth had too much pride in what their choice was. Antigone had a very strong opinion about the consequence of breaking Creon’s law. Antigone states, â€Å"this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me. It is the dead Not the living, who make the longest demands: we die for ever...† (Prologue). Antigone explains to Ismene that they should bury Polyneices and forget about Creon’s law, because they will eventually going to end up dying anyways so why not take a risk and bury their brother so he isn’t disrespected in front of the kingdom. However, Creon has pride for his decision in not burying Polyneices. He explains to his people that â€Å"Polyneices, who broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city and the shrines of his fathers’ gods, whose one idea was to spill the blood of his blood and sell his own people into slavery†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that he is doing the best for his people by dishonoring Polyneices (Scene 1). He was not going to change the law for anybody, because he was so proud by his decision and thought he was doing the best for his kingdom. At the same time, Creon and Antigone both did things that were wrong. Antigone doesn’t have many reasons why she is wrong, but there are some reasons. Antigone broke the law to bury her brother. As a princess, she has to set an example for her kingdom, which she isn’t doing by breaking the law of the king. Even though the king is her uncle, she should still have enough respect for him and her kingdom to set a good example and follow the law. Antigone states, â€Å"Creon has sworn that no one shall bury him, no one shall mourn for him,† which proves that she knew about Creon’s law before burying her brother (Prologue). Creon also didn’t have many reasons why he was

The Prevalence of School Violence

The Prevalence of School Violence As teachers, parents, and students prepare for school each day, we hope that fears of school violence is not their major concern. Sadly, violence of one sort or another is part of many schools today. In a study of the class of 2000, CBS News found that, while 96 percent of students felt safe in school, 53 percent said that a shooting was possible in their school. 22 percent of students knew classmates who regularly carried weapons to campus. Are student perceptions accurate? How common is school violence? Are children safe at school? How can parents and teachers ensure safety for everyone? Rates of School Violence According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there was an average of 47 violent deaths at schools from the 1992/1993 school year through 2015/2016. Thats over a thousand deaths in under 25 years. The following information comes from the NCES commissioned a survey of Principals in 1,234 regular public elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the 1996/1997 school year. The good news is that 43 percent of public schools reported no crime, and 90 percent reported no serious violent crimes. Still they found violence and crime to be far too common in the school setting. 57 percent of public elementary and secondary school principals stated that one or more incidents of crime or violence were reported to the police.10 percent of all public schools had one or more serious violent crimes (murder, rape, sexual battery, suicide, physical attack or fight with a weapon, or robbery).The most reported crime was physical attacks or fights without a weapon.Most of the serious violent crimes occurred in middle and high schools.A greater percentage of violent crimes occurred in city schools and in large schools with over 1000 students. When asked about their personal experiences, a quarter of students surveyed in 1999s Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher reported having been a victim of a violent crime in or around the school. Scarier still, one in eight students had at some time carried a weapon to school. These statistics indicated increases from the previous 1993 survey. Even so, teachers, students, and law enforcement officials all revealed that their overall perceptions were that violence was decreasing. How do we address this complacency and make our schools safer in fact as well as in feeling? Combating School Violence School violence is everyones problem to solve. The community, administrators, teachers, parents, and students must come together and make schools safe. What forms of prevention and punishment are schools relying on? Some schools have a low security system in place, meaning that they have no guards or metal detectors, but they do control access to school buildings. Others rely on moderate security, which means either employing a full-time guard with no metal detectors or controlled access to the buildings, or a part-time guard with controlled access to the buildings. Still others have stringent security which means they have a full-time guard, use metal detectors, and control who has access to the campus. Almost no schools have no security measures at all. One correlation is that the schools with the highest security are the ones that have the highest instances of crime. But what about the other schools? Neither Columbine, Sandy Hook, or Stoneman-Douglas were considered high risk schools. Schools across the country have instituted violence prevention programs and zero tolerance policies. One step schools take to increase security levels is issuing name badges which must be worn at all times. This may not stop students from causing violence, but it allows teachers and administrators have to more easily identify the students who cause disruptions. Furthermore, badges could prevent outsiders from invading a campus. What Can Parents Do? They can pay attention to subtle and overt changes in their children. Many times there are warning signs well in advance of violence. They can watch for these and report them to guidance counselors. Some examples include: Sudden lack of interestObsessions with violent or hateful games or videosDepression and mood swingsWriting that shows despair and isolationLack of anger management skillsTalking about death or bringing weapons to schoolViolence towards animals What Can Teachers Do? Worries about school violence should not hamper the job educators must perform. Remain aware of the possibility that violence could erupt anywhere. Strive to work together to create a safe academic environment. Teachers are in a tough situation, because if they step in physically to address violence or fights, they may themselves be targeted by defensive or abusive students or parents. Still, teachers are often in the best position to prevent classroom violence. Similar to parents, watch for the above warnings signsTalk to parents about concerns they might haveRemember to keep the lines of communication open with students and parentsBring concerns to guidance counselors and administrationBe consistent in enforcing classroom and school policiesCreate a prejudice-free classroom policy from the first day, and enforce itTeach anger management skills as the need arisesModel healthy behavior and responsesCreate a plan to handle emergency situations with your students What Can Students Do? Look out for and take care of each otherRespect others and their feelingsRefuse to succumb to negative peer pressure, especially when violence is involvedReport any knowledge of weapons on campusTell your teachers about suspicious behaviors of other studentsWalk away from confrontations Resources and Further Reading Binns, Katherine, and Dana Markow. â€Å"The Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher, 1999: Violence in Americas Public Schools- Five Years Later.† Institute of Education Sciences, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 30 Apr. 1999.Center for the Study and Prevention of ViolenceNational Center for Education StatisticsNational Crime Prevention CouncilNational School Safety CenterOffice of Safe and Healthy StudentsSafe Supportive Learning