Author: Noticias

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South Africa: Equal Education looks to the future in the wake of sexual harassment scandal

Noticias

By: dailymaverick.co.za/04-07-2018

The civic movement Equal Education has begun its third National Congress on the back of recent damaging sexual harassment scandals and allegations of a cover-up. On its opening day, it hosted a panel discussion about creating a safe space for young girls and women.

Equal Education (EE), the civil society organisation which advocates for equal access to quality education and reforms of South Africa’s education system hosted a panel discussion on intersectionality at the opening day of its third National Congress to engage with pupils about creating a safe space for girls and women.

A group of delegates from five provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng) comprised mostly of high school pupils, teachers, parents and education activists, gathered at the Linder Auditorium 0n Wits Education Campus in Parktown on Monday night.

Panellists Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane from Sonke Gender Justice, Simamkele Dlakavu, a #feesmustfall activist, Zandile Motsoeneng, a feminist activist, and Londokuhle Mnguni, a high school volunteer, had a challenging time on stage responding to questions posed by high school pupils.

Ever since the sexual harassment allegations levelled against Equal Education’s co-founder and treasurer Doron Isaacs and other members, the movement has undergone “a lot of self-introspection”, Deputy General secretary, Ntuthuzo Ndzomo told Daily Maverick at the conference.

Isaacs quit following the allegations — but said it was not an admission of guilt — and an inquiry is under way.

According to Ndzomo, since the beginning of the investigations into sexual harassment began, branches have been looking at preventative measures for the future.

Former General Secretary Tshepo Motsepe has also been accused of harassment and an internal investigation is under way. Motsepe resigned and, like Isaacs, he denied the allegations. Also under a cloud was national organiserLuyolo Mazwembe, who was found guilty of sexual harassment in an internal inquiry and was dismissed.

Subsequent accusations were also directed at prominent activist Zackie Achmat, with claims of a cover-up of numerous cases of harassment. Achmat has defended himself against the public attack, and an investigation is also under way.

At the discussion, Motsoeneng said that as a society we had lost the spirit of ubuntu, the idea that another person’s struggle is also your own. This concept was a foundational idea of intersectionality, he said.

“There is no such thing as a single issue struggle, because no one lives single issue lives,” said Motsoeneng, quoting feminist US author Audre Lorde.

A high school student, who identified herself as Dimakatso, asked the panel how society could be taught to create and promote intersectional spaces that are safe for women and people with disabilities.

For Dlakavu, intersectionality meant placing women in positions of power with programmes and policies that would make society prioritise women’s issues with regards to equal pay and ensuring the supply of sanitary pads.

Londokuhle Mnguni, an EE equaliser (post-school volunteer and activist) remarked on how pupils were not informed about what sexual harassment was. For her, the first thing that came to mind was rape, although that is not the full scope of harassment. As pupils, had they been given information and also educated about this — even cat-calling on the street is considered sexual harassment.

“The fact that we could not define sexual harassment meant that we would allow it to happen,” said Mnguni.

Another student commented on how cat-calling for him was something he learnt from his elders back at home when growing up. He was taught that it was a sign that you acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of a woman as she passes by on the street.

Mnguni then replied how uncomfortable women feel when passing a street corner as men stand and stare. Furthermore, she noted how if their advances are rejected they usually hurled insults at women.

“Your teaching (at home) is infringing on the rights of another. Put yourself in the shoes of a woman who gets whistled at, something that is often done to a dog,” said Mnguni.

The discussion became heated when Tato Masilela, a high school pupil remarked how intersectionality could be unfair, especially when an incompetent woman was put in a position of leadership. As an example, he cited Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, who is accused of mismanaging the Sassa grant payment system.

Mokgoroane then replied that the standards placed on black women is not the same as those placed on black men. “Who determines who is competent,” said Mokgoroane, “There are a lot of mediocre black men allowed to do things without being called incompetent.”

Some pupils sat on the fence with regards to allegations of sexual harassment levelled at their mentors and teachers.

Nthabiseng Phuka, a facilitator and recent matriculant, recalled the impact that Tshepo Motsepe, who is currently under investigation for harassment, had had on her since she joined Equal Education.

“He taught me a lot about politics and never used his power on us when he was our facilitator,” said Phuka.

Zanele Magumasholo, a Grade 10 pupil who recently joined EE, said that public perception was such that the issue (of harassment) was with the movement as a whole. She notes that although it was senior leaders involved, these were isolated cases.

“We cannot as yet say that they are guilty, we are still waiting for feedback from the inquiry — it might not be true. There has been nothing concrete yet. If it is true then we will acknowledge it and deal with it,” said Magumasholo.

“People have been asking us questions about how to build from this aftermath,” said Ndzomo, “there are some who think we have something to hide and are distancing themselves because we took time to release a statement on Tshepo Motsepe, whereas we were still consulting all relevant parties.”

The priority, said Ndzomo, wasto make sure that the process was credible and to protect the complainants.

Equal Education has toldDaily Maverickthat they have acquired the assistance of a law firm to assist their inquiries. The law firm has been tasked with drafting terms of reference and approaching lawyers and judges to be potential panelists.

In a statement released last month, EE said that strict sexual harassment policies were in place and that EE had acted swiftly to address “every sexual harassment allegation” before it.

EE has now established three separate processes:

  • One independent panel will look into allegations of sexual harassment levelled against Motshepe. The panel may investigate any other matter that arises as part of the process or refer it to the broader assessment process mentioned below.
  • A second independent panel will investigate sexual harassment allegations against Isaacs.
  • EE’s National Council has also resolved to establish a broader assessment process, which will examine EEs record of dealing with mistreatment in the workplace, as well as EE’s policies, procedures and organisational culture in regard to harassment, and powerdynamics.

*Fuente: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-07-03-equal-education-looks-to-the-future-in-the-wake-of-sexual-harassment-scandal/#.WzwXIyPhC_E

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Our younger pupils also use ICT

Noticias

By:Ana María Losada Antón/observatory.itesm.mx/04-07-2018

There is a wide variety of educational resources that we can explore in the classroom. The most important thing is to have a learning objective according to the cognitive development and maturity of the children, with a constructive use of new technologies.

Despite the growing effort by many teachers to incorporate didactic information technologies into the preschool classroom, their use has been limited to educational computer games and the projection of videos on smart boards.

However, there are other educational resources that we can also explore in the classroom, which do not require an exorbitant budget. For this, a clear learning objective according to the children’s cognitive development and maturity is absolutely necessary. Also, as teachers, we must be aware that we are educating our little digital natives in the appropriate and constructive use of new technologies.

Nowadays, there are multiple educational platforms and teacher blogs, such as Mi aula de infantil and La clase de Miren, as well as social network groups where we can find the good practices of teachers who are experienced in the use of educational technologies, such as tablets, mobile devices, smart boards and robots, and which serve as a model and an inspiration for our own performance. Moreover, these resources confirm that any content can be addressed using a technological tool with an educational objective.

“There are other educational resources that we can also explore in the classroom, which do not require an exorbitant budget.”

In my classroom I try to use a variety of technological tools as an additional resource, never as the only one, to accomplish the learning objectives in different areas. Augmented reality applications such as Quiver or Chromville, for example, help us to work on diverse subject-related aspects and interaction with the environment. Students are amazed to see how their own creations (a human body, a winter landscape or a world map they have just colored) come to life on paper. Apart from being motivating, they facilitate learning by offering a more real approach and providing students with a 3-D view of a globe or the human body.

QR codes are also very useful at this stage to disseminate all types of information related to daily life in the classroom. Some application examples are: indications on our ongoing project, new clues, secrets about our classroom pet, among others. A simple initiative is to include a code on a piece of cardboard for children to take home and, using a phone or tablet, they can reveal to their family the hidden recording of a poem recitation, a dance, a song or a photo album, thus disseminating their own creations and classwork. QR codes can also be allies for working on diverse curricular content. We can use them as word decoders in a reading and writing game, inserting next to the word or phrase a code that will show children an image of what they have read, so they can check for themselves whether or not they got it right.

Preschoolers can also have fun with basic programming and robotics tools in the classroom. As a starting point, using only their own body instead of technological resources, we can introduce students to the concept of programming through a motor skills game that allows them to discover how an action or an order generates a specific movement. In this way, we transform the children into little robots that move over a grid drawn on the floor, by following the instructions their classmates give them through cards with directional arrows. Then we can move on to more complex board games such as Robot Turtles (ages 4 and up) and finally use small robots such as Bee-Boot or Robot Mouse that can easily be found in stores and online.

“I try to use a variety of technological tools as an additional resource, never as the only one, to accomplish the learning objectives in different areas. ”

These tools encourage problem solving, spatial organization and logical thinking, while we work on content such as vocabulary, numbers, counting, or reading cartoons and images.

The experience of integrating this type of tools into the preschool classroom has allowed me to observe, on the one hand, their enormous didactic potential and, on the other, that children feel incredibly comfortable and confident in this area, but with the supervision of the teacher.

Mobile devices form part of our little pupils’ daily lives and are, in many cases, readily available to them. Even though they appear to have mastered them technically, good technical management is not indicative of proper, constructive and responsible use. Our duty is precisely to teach and impress upon them their proper use from an early age, bearing in mind that these devices will be around throughout their lives. Consequently, incorporating technological tools with appropriate teaching methodologies is essential, making them a natural part of daily life at school.

To develop students’ digital literacy, we first need to be aware of our own shortcomings and become, fearlessly and confidently, the first learners.

I would like to invite all teachers to reflect together on how we are using ICT. To do so, we need to be trained and have the capacity to step outside our comfort zone, in order to discover the magic that is generated in the educational experience once the panic zone has been overcome.

About the author

Ana María Losada Antón (ana_loan@hotmail.com) holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and a diploma in preschool education. She teaches at Colegio Público de Toledo, Castilla – La Mancha (Spain) and is also a member of the collaborative group Bricolaje Digital, created to integrate digital tools in schools and reflect on new educational trends.

*Fuente: http://observatory.itesm.mx/edu-bits-2/our-smallest-pupils-also-use-ict

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EEUU: Trump ‘to scrap’ college racial bias policy

Noticias

By: bbc.com/04-07-2018

The Trump administration is set to roll back the Obama-era policies promoting diversity in universities, known as affirmative action, US media report.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked 24 guidance documents on Tuesday, many involving race in schools and affirmative action recommendations.

It comes as Harvard University faces a discrimination lawsuit alleging it limits admissions for Asian-Americans.

In 2016, the US Supreme Court had ruled in favour of affirmative action.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the 2016 opinion, announced his retirement from the top US court last month.

His departure gives President Donald Trump a chance to appoint a justice who more closely matches the administration’s views on taking race into account in college admissions.

The Trump administration is expected to tell schools not to consider race in the admissions process, discontinuing the policy former President Barack Obama adopted to promote more diversity at colleges and high schools.

What does rescinding the policy mean?

Academic affirmative action – known as positive action in the UK- which involves favouring minorities during the admissions process in order to promote campus diversity, has long proved controversial in the US.

The lawsuit against Harvard currently filed by the Students for Fair Admissions alleges that the college holds Asian-American applicants to an unfairly high admissions standard.

The Justice Department is also currently investigating Harvard over racial discrimination allegations.

In April, it called for the public disclosure of the Ivy League college’s admissions practices.

Harvard argues it «does not discriminate against applicants from any group, including Asian-Americans».

Asian-Americans currently make up 22.2% of students admitted to Harvard,according to the university website.

Jeff Sessions
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe US attorney general revoked several affirmative action guidances

Under President Barack Obama, the Departments of Justice and Education issued guidelines for universities to promote diversity on campuses.

«Learning environments comprised of students from diverse backgrounds provide an enhanced educational experience for individual students,» the guidance reads.

«By choosing to create this kind of rich academic environment, educational institutions help students sharpen their critical thinking and analytical skills.»

The guidance features ways to encourage diversity, including granting admission preferences to students from certain schools based on demographics and considering a student’s race «among other factors in its admissions procedures».

The Obama-era policy replaced the Bush-era view that discouraged affirmative action.

The Bush-era guidance had been removed from the government website during the Obama administration, but it has since reappeared.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told the Associated Press she would not debate or discuss the matter of race and college admissions.

«I think this has been a question before the courts and the courts have opined,» Ms DeVos said.

But according to a Pew Research Center study, 71% of Americans surveyed in October 2017 have a positive view of affirmative action.

Gate at Harvard UniversityImage copyrightREUTERS
Image captionHarvard University has one of the lowest admissions rates, accepting less than 6% of applicants

What is affirmative action in US colleges?

Affirmative action, or the idea that disadvantaged groups should receive preferential treatment, first appeared in President John F Kennedy’s 1961 executive order on federal contractor hiring.

It took shape during the height of the civil rights movement, when President Lyndon Johnson signed a similar executive order in 1965 requiring government contractors to take steps to hire more minorities.

Colleges and universities began using those same guidelines in their admissions process, but affirmative action soon prompted intense debate in the decades following, with several cases appearing before the US Supreme Court.

The high court has outlawed using racial quotas, but has allowed colleges and universities to continue considering race in admitting students.

Critics rail against it as «reverse discrimination», but proponents contend it is necessary to ensure diversity in education and employment.

*Fuente: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44703874

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How important is education to girls across the globe?

Noticias

By: thesouthafrican.com/ Mduduzi Mbiza /04-07-2018

Throughout the world, there are many young women in unsafe relationships, some in unhappy marriages, who don’t see a way out.

Women feel trapped

For many of these young girls, leaving is not an option. Why? Because they don’t have the skills and the education to gain them access to work and to be independent.

UNESCO estimates that 130 million girls between the age of 6 and 17 are out of school, adding that 15 million girls of primary school age will never witness a classroom – half of them coming from sub-Saharan Africa.

If we want to understand what educated women can do, we need to go back in time, back to ancient times – a time where we see that men are not the only ones who mattered.

Strong female role models

Going back to the history around the ancient times, you would probably read about the likes of Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. If you fast-forward in time, you would come across the Suffragettes – these were members of women’s organisations which advocated the right for women to vote in public elections.

Who could forget Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was Africa’s first elected female head of state? You would agree that setting aside her political challenges, she crushed the myth that women cannot be leaders and this inspired a lot of women.

The link between education and sexual abuse

We should be very concerned when a young girl in Sierra Leone is more likely to be sexually abused than to attend high school – some of these young girls may never discover their dreams.

In an article titled Girls’ Education, the World Bank stated:

“Child marriage is also a critical challenge. Child brides are much more likely to drop out of school and complete fewer years of education than their peers who marry later. This affects the education and health of their children, as well as their ability to earn a living.

According to a recent report, more than 41,000 girls under the age of 18 marry every day and putting an end to the practice would increase women’s expected educational attainment, and with it, their potential earnings. According to estimates, ending child marriage could generate more than $500 billion in benefits annually each year.”

When young girls are educated, they have control over their future; no older man will try to take advantage of them. Have you ever asked yourself why most child marriages or forced marriages happen in the rural areas? Because many of the families there are in poverty – educating young girls would save these families.

Ensuring that young girls are in school will be working towards gender equality and reducing inequality. Young girls in South Africa are victims of violence and teenage pregnancy, just to name a few – the very same things that keep them away from school, from education. It is thus imperative that when young girls can’t come to school due to these reasons, education can go to them.

Joseph Stalin once said:

“Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and whom it is aimed.”

I certainly believe that South Africa and the rest of the world can use this weapon to save young girls. Education empowers females to take control of their lives and their families, especially in Africa where young girls are already disadvantaged from birth and are faced with daunting situations that are beyond their ability.

*Fuente: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/how-important-is-education-to-girls-across-the-globe/

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How outlawing female genital mutilation in Kenya has driven it underground and led to its medicalization.

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Por: brookings.edu/Damaris Seleina Parsitau/04-07-2018

The fight against female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been fraught with both success and failure, resistance and acceptance. Since Kenya banned the practice in 2011, FGM/C is now increasinglyconducted underground, secretly in homes or in clinics by healthcare providers and workers.

The medicalization of FGM/C—defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as any “situation in which FGM/C is practiced by any healthcare provider whether in public or private, clinic or home or elsewhere”—has received recent media and public attention. Earlier this year, a doctor filed a court case asking the Kenyan government to declare the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011, which outlawed and criminalized FGM/C, unconstitutional. Further, she wanted the Anti-FGM Board, a body created to help eradicate FGM/C and early marriage, also declared unconstitutional.


This trend is evident in both rural and urban Kenya where 15 percent of women and girls have been cut by a medical practitioner. The practice is especially prevalent in Kisii counties in Western Kenya where FGM/C is nearly universal. Drawing on interviews with girls and women who have been cut by health providers, my research shows that parents are increasingly having their girls, some as early as 5 years old, cut by nurses or other healthcare workers either in homes or in health clinics.The doctor, Dr. Tatu Kamau, argues that the dignity of traditional practitioners of female circumcision is disregarded by the law which has failed to stop FGM/C in the country. She claims that FGM/C is still largely practiced in Kenya and is increasing due to medicalization. In Kenya, there is evidence that scrupulous medical personnel collude with parents to circumvent the law by cutting girls in their homes or in their private clinics away from public view.

Moraa (not her real name), an 18-year-old college girl from Nakuru in the Rift Valley, explained to me how her mother, a primary school teacher, brought a nurse to their home during school holidays to cut her at dawn when she was barely 8 years old. Moraa feels resentful and bitter towards her parents, especially her mother for colluding with a nurse to have her cut without her consent, and has considered suing her parents for violating her rights. Moraa’s story is just one of many cases of medicalized cutting.

THE COMMERCIALIZATION AND MEDICALIZATION OF FGM/C

Throughout my larger research on FGM/C and early marriage, I came across many stories of medicalization of FGM/C both in rural and urban areas in Kenya. A nurse I spoke with told me that she carries out the cut for money. “Look,” she said, “when parents call me to perform the cut on their girls, both in urban and rural areas or even in my clinic, I respond because they pay me handsomely. Some even pay for my bus fare and accommodation; I travel widely to cut girls and women. I see no reason why I shouldn’t do this. I have not forced anyone to undergo the cut. I simply provide my services to those who need them.”

Medical professionals who perform cutting services claim that they are fulfilling the demands of communities and that they help enhance women’s values and marriageability in communities that do not want to abandon the practice. They believe that by doing so they respect patients’ cultural rights since some are of a mature legal age.

However, the real reason driving this is its economic value. Medical professionals are cutting girls and women for payment, replacing the traditional cutters in rural villages. Additionally, the commercialization of FGM/C helps parents and guardians to avert the law and authorities. The medicalization of FGM/C not only provides legitimacy to the cut but it continues to put millions of girls at risk from the consequences of the cut. It also continues to perpetuate and give tacit approval of the harmful practice by discouraging changed behavior and attitudes, thereby leading to the normalization of the cut in medical spaces.

While the medicalization of FGM/C is not a new phenomenon, its growing popularity is worrying and points to emerging shifts and tensions in the war to end it—a cat and mouse game between resistant communities and authorities. And while the medicalization of FGM/C went under the radar as authorities and stakeholders focused on traditional cutters in rural villages as well as alternative rites of passage, it is now emerging as a new frontier in the war against the harmful practice. Global, regional, and local focus should now shift away from traditional cutters to medical practitioners.

*Fuente: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2018/06/19/how-outlawing-female-genital-mutilation-in-kenya-has-driven-it-underground-and-led-to-its-medicalization/

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Paraguay será sede de seminario internacional sobre multilingüismo

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América del Sur/Paraguay/03.07.18/Fuente: www.lanacion.com.py.

El encuentro internacional se realizará desde el martes 3 de julio hasta el jueves 5, en el Crowne Plaza Hotel.

El seminario internacional “Empoderamiento de los hablantes de la lengua local, de las comunidades y de las naciones” será desarrollado en Asunción los días 3, 4 y 5 de julio de 2018. La apertura oficial del Seminario, que contará con altas autoridades locales y extranjeras, será el martes 3, a las 10:30, en el Crowne Plaza Hotel de la ciudad de Asunción.

El encuentro internacional tiene como objetivo principal presentar los logros y el potencial de las políticas integrales de idiomas para el desarrollo sostenible y una integración más eficiente en los marcos amplios de políticas y estrategias en los países de América Latina y el Caribe.

Además de promover los derechos humanos y las libertades fundamentales para todos los hablantes de las lenguas, sensibilizar sobre la importancia de la diversidad lingüística para el desarrollo sostenible y ofrecer recomendaciones para las acciones regionales de seguimiento a la promoción de la diversidad lingüística, aprovechando los resultados de la Conferencia Internacional sobre Multilingüismo en el Ciberespacio, organizado en noviembre de 2015 por la UNESCO en San José, Costa Rica.

El seminario está organizado por el gobierno de Paraguay y el sector de Comunicación e Información de la UNESCO, División de Sociedades del Conocimiento, en estrecha colaboración con el Programa Intergubernamental de Información para Todos (IFAP), organizaciones de armonización y documentación de lenguas nacionales y regionales, organizaciones de investigación y educación superior, sociedad civil, en particular organizaciones de pueblos indígenas en Paraguay.

Constituirá un espacio de análisis y discusión, que reúne a ponentes invitados tanto de países de ALC como de otras regiones. Así mismo, integran la lista de invitados los representantes de las organizaciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales responsables de las políticas lingüísticas de la región de América Latina y el Caribe, a expertos, investigadores y representantes de otros países y al personal de la UNESCO.

Fuente de la noticia: https://www.lanacion.com.py/pais/2018/06/29/paraguay-sera-sede-de-seminario-internacional-sobre-multilinguismo/

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República Dominicana: Maestros en su día claman por evaluación de desempeño; destacan avance de la educación en RD

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Centro América/República Dominicana/03.07.18/Fuente: www.cdn.com.do.

Entre las principales preocupaciones se destacó la evaluación de desempeño

Los maestros en la provincia Sánchez Ramírez valoraron   los avances de la educación en el país, sin embargo desacatan algunas debilidades del sistema educativo.

Entre las principales preocupaciones del sector magisterial se destacó la evaluación de desempeño, proceso que aseguran los educadores el ministro de Educación Andrés Navarro maneja con hermetismo.

Contenido relacionado: Presidenta del PAL felicita a los maestros en su día

Sin embargo para otros el avance de la educación dependerá del apoyo familiar y moral de la sociedad

El sector magisterial en Sánchez Ramírez reconoce los esfuerzos y aportes del gobierno dominicano lo que entienden ha dado al traste un avance en la educación del país

Estas declaraciones en torno al tema fueron ofrecidas luego de participar en un acto por el Día del Maestro donde fueron reconocidos varios educadores por su larga trayectoria en el servicio.

Fuente de la noticia: http://www.cdn.com.do/2018/06/30/maestros-dia-claman-evaluacion-desempeno-destacan-avance-la-educacion-rd/

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