América del Norte

Page 563 of 1658
1 … 561 562 563 564 565 … 1.658

Se desploma a la mitad la matrícula normalista en 15 años

Laura Poy Solano

Por: Laura Poy Solano. 

 

En 15 años la matrícula de alumnos de escuelas normales públicas y privadas se redujo de 200 mil 931 a 108 mil 555; es decir, 92 mil 376 estudiantes menos entre el ciclo 2000-2001 y 2015-2016. En ese lapso las instituciones formadoras de maestros han enfrentado por lo menos ocho cambios de programas, acciones y estrategias para su fortalecimiento, pese a lo cual persiste una disminución en el número de jóvenes que buscan ser profesores de preescolar, primaria y secundaria.

Luis Bello Estrada, profesor-investigador de la Benemérita Escuela Normal Veracruzana Enrique C. Rébsamen, destacó que el fenómeno no sólo es resultado de la implementación de una reforma educativa que vulneró profundamente los derechos laborales de los maestros y eliminó prácticamente cualquier posibilidad de tener una plaza de base, sino también como efecto del desapego de la sociedad en la valoración de la profesión.

Privilegian remuneraciones

En esta casa de estudios veracruzana, indicó, la demanda de ingreso cayó de 3 mil 300 concursantes a mil 100 en el ciclo escolar pasado, lo que implica que se redujo a un tercio el número de aspirantes a la carrera de educador, lo que también refleja una transformación en la sociedad, porque ha dejado de ser valioso el trabajo filosófico, ético y formativo que aportaba un profesor, ahora lo que interesa más, no sólo a los jóvenes, sino a sus familias, es que tengan elevados ingresos económicos

En el estudio La educación normal en México. Elementos para su análisis, elaborado por el Instituto Nacional para la Evaluación de la Educación (INEE), destaca que desde 1984 cuando la formación inicial de educadores se elevó al nivel de licenciatura, el número de estudiantes pasó de 122 mil 866 a 200 mil 931 en el ciclo escolar 2000-2001, pero, la matrícula cayó a 132 mil 205 alumnos en el periodo 2013-2014 y se redujo más de 30 mil estudiantes para el lapso 2015 a 2016, cuando entró en vigor la reforma educativa y se permitió que cualquier egresado universitario pudiera concursar por una plaza de maestro frente a grupo.

Debilitan procesos en la formación de educadores

Advierte que las acciones de restructuración que se han aplicado a las normales en realidad han debilitado procesos sustantivos, pues se detectó la reducción de años de formación en ciertas licenciaturas; cambios de planes de estudio y de titulación que requieren ajuste en los perfiles de sus plantas docentes, a lo que se suma que persiste una fuerte centralización que impide la toma de decisiones expedita, el manejo y obtención de recursos y la atención a necesidades específicas de forma ágil.

En entrevista con La Jornada, Bello Estrada consideró que abrir la carrera docente a todo universitario, sin importar qué tipo de formación recibió, fue un golpe muy duro al normalismo, porque el mensaje fue que no sirve estudiar en una normal si cualquier título universitario me da la posibilidad de ser maestros, e incluso, tener otros ingresos con distintas actividades profesionales.

Por lo que respecta al financiamiento, el INEE reportó que de 466 normales 272 son públicas y 194 privadas.

Destaca que de 2016 a 2018 se destinaron 2 mil millones de pesos sin reglas de operación o marco regulatorio como parte de la Estrategia Nacional de Transformación y Fortalecimiento de la Educación Normal, pese a lo cual no se observa una mejora frente a los desafíos estructurales en estas casas de estudio claves del sistema educativo.

Fuente del artículo: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2019/02/18/sociedad/031n1soc#

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Adolescents are being cheated by sex education

Maggie MacDonnell

By: Maggy McDonel.

 

Most people who went to school in the United States are all too familiar with abstinence-only sex education. Since fifth grade, this ineffective approach to sex education has been shoved down our throats, and it all begins when they teach girls about periods and boys about erections, yet refuse to share the same information with the opposite sex.

Bill Clinton passed the Welfare Reform Act in 1996, which allocated $50 million to sex education classes that focused on abstinence-only education. These programs aim to teach students that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy or STIs, tiptoeing around the blatantly obvious fact that some teenagers will likely experiment with sex.

Despite lackluster results, these programs continued to gain popularity. In 2006, George W. Bush budgeted $206 million for abstinence-based programming, meaning that schools teaching other forms received little to no federal funding for sex education classes, according to the American Medical Association.

These programs have proven to have the opposite effect that one might expect. The U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STIs in the developed world, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Public Library of Science. The study also found that there is a positive correlation between abstinence-only education and teen pregnancy — and that doesn’t even begin to explore the world of private religious schools.

So, why has nothing changed? Why does government funding still promote programs that are working negatively for U.S. children? Perhaps it’s because the U.S. hasn’t separated itself from its puritanical roots as much as we’d like to believe. Honest talk about sex isn’t part of the American lexicon. America has a deep obsession with porn and movies about sex — practically anything that simulates the real thing. It’s great to see two hot actors having sex, but when it comes down to having an honest conversation with your child or significant other, it’s suddenly too awkward.

As a society, we have become so separated from the realities of sex that it seems easier to ignore it altogether. Many parents would rather pretend that sex only happens between two married adults — missionary position only, with the lights turned off — than talk to their children about sex or have teachers talk to their children about sex. The harm caused by this widely-held delusion is insurmountable.

Only 13 states in the U.S. require sex education to be medically accurate, and only 25 require it at all. 19 include some information about contraceptives, and five schools are on the books as having a negative focus on sexual-orientation education.

How can we consider ourselves an advanced society when our sex education stems from the Middle Ages? Church and state aren’t as separated as we might like to think they are. The deep-rooted tendrils of the church still permeate throughout American culture.

So this year, when you’re having a sexy Valentine’s Day, think about the sex education — or lack thereof — you got throughout your school career. It’s time for a real solution. It’s time to ditch abstinence-only education.

Source of the article: http://www.newsrecord.org/opinion/opinion-adolescents-are-being-cheated-by-sex-education/article_3ae58316-2f9f-11e9-abd6-d3e17c3b2523.html

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

The Denver teachers strike is over. They won.

Alexia Fernández Campbell

By: Alexia Fernández Campbell.

Denver teachers snagged $23 million in pay raises during a three-day strike.

Denver’s teachers may soon be returning to school.

More than 2,000 educators, who have been on strike since Monday, said they reached a tentative deal Thursday with the local school district.

Details are not yet available, but the deal includes an average 11.7 percent pay raise and annual cost of living increases, according to the school district and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, a labor union representing more than 5,000 educators in Denver public schools. It will also include raises for school support staff. Bus drivers and cafeteria workers may also get a raise, but that’s not part of the official agreement with the teachers union.

It also addresses the teachers’ biggest concern: the need to overhaul the merit-pay system, which relies heavily on annual bonuses that fluctuate from year to year. The new system will place more emphasis on education and training when considering promotions, while keeping some bonuses in place.

Where will they find the $23 million to pay for this? The district agreed to cut back on administrative costs, and will eliminate about 150 positions in the school’s central office. Five-figure bonuses for senior school administrators will also come to an end.

The pact was reached after an all-night negotiation marathon between the union and school administrators. Henry Roman, president of the union, described it as a “historic” deal. “No longer will our students see their education disrupted because their teachers cannot afford to stay in their classrooms,” Roman said in a statement Monday morning.

Teachers did make some concessions, but the deal represents a remarkable win for Denver’s teachers, who have been picketing and rallying in the streets for the past two days, while school administrators struggled to keep classes on schedule. It’s also a sign of the overwhelming momentum teachers have on their side from months of widespread teacher strikes across the country over school funding cuts and low teacher pay.

Arbitrary bonuses and low pay

Teachers were most upset about Denver’s incentive pay system, which started more than a decade ago. The district pays bonuses based on teacher performance, and to encourage teachers to work in high-poverty schools.

But the union says the bonuses vary too much from year to year, creating financial instability for educators and their families. They also say it’s unclear how the district measures good performance and determines bonuses.

Instead, teachers wanted the district to lower bonuses and increase their base salaries, and to give them salaries based on education and training, like most school districts do.

Colorado teachers are among the lowest-paid in the country, earning an average of $46,155 in 2016 — ranking Colorado 46th in average teacher pay, according to the National Education Association. The state also spends about $2,500 less per student each year than the national average. The new deal would boost starting pay for teachers by 7 percent, but the average pay raise for all educators, nurses, and counselors will be 11.7 percent.

Embedded video

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association voted to authorize a strike in January with support from 93 percent of its members. At the time, the two sides were about $8 million apart in reaching an agreement.

After authorizing a strike, the school district fought back. Officials asked Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to intervene, a legal move that delayed the strike as the state government weighed its options. But last week, the governor declined to take part in the dispute, which could have further delayed a strike by up to 180 days.

That wasn’t the first attempt to keep teachers from going on strike, though. Far from it.

Republican lawmakers tried to make striking illegal

In April, two Republican state legislators tried to shut down a potential teachers strike in Colorado with the threat of jail time.

The bill, introduced in the state Senate, prohibited districts from supporting a teachers strike and required schools to dock a teacher’s pay for each day they participate in a walkout. The teachers could also have faced up to six months in jail and a $500 daily fine if they violated a court order to stop striking.

The bill was a reaction to the teacher strikes sweeping red and purple states, including Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, and Kentucky. Thousands of teachers in Colorado had joined the grassroots movement, holding rallies at the state capitol to demand a pay raise and more funding.

The bill failed. The strike happened — and it worked. Now, it looks like Denver teachers are going back to class.

IN THIS STORYSTREAM

Teachers strike in Arizona, West Virginia and Oklahoma

VIEW ALL 33 STORIES

NEXT UP IN POLITICS & POLICY

Source of the article: https://www.vox.com/2019/2/14/18224848/denver-teachers-strike-over-deal

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

In 2018, Labor Strikes Had the Largest Increase of the Last Three Decades. Here’s Why

Brittany Shoot

By: Britanny Shoot. 

If it seemed like a lot of workers went on strike in 2018, well, it wasn’t your imagination. There were at least 20 major work stoppages in the United States involving 485,000 workers, which is the highest increase in striking workers since 1986. Of the groups that walked out, a staggering 90% were from education, healthcare, and social assistance workers such as those in childcare, according to work stoppage data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, between 2009 and 2018, those groups otherwise accounted for just half of work stoppages.

It’s an interesting moment for industrial actions to be on the rise again, with renewed focus on the 1919 general strike in Seattle on its centennial. (During the 1919 strike, 65,000 union workers walked off the job for six days, paralyzing the Pacific Northwest city.) But unlike previous eras, when workers on strike tended to come from sectors such as manufacturing, the 2018 surge in walkout was led by educators demanding better pay and benefits, as well as smaller class sizes and more funding.

One reason for all the walkouts? Salaries for educators and childcare workers have stagnated or even declined due to inflation. In some regions, those strikes were also the first in a generation. For example, around 33,000 West Virginia teachers and school services workers went on strike in February 2018, the first time they’d done so in the Mountain State since 1990. Tens of thousands of teachers in other states followed suit, including Arizona, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. And among the many costs of education strikes is that school districts basically bleed money when student attendance plummets.

Already in 2019, the costs of strikes have started to mount. The teachers strike in Los Angeles ended in January, and the Los Angeles Unified School District told CNN low attendance cost the district tens of millions of dollars. And nationwide, there’s little sign of a teacher strike slowdown. On Thursday, after three days on strike, teachers in Denver reached a tentative agreement. Educators in Oakland, Calif. also recently voted to authorize a strike if teachers can’t reach an agreement with the district on class size and pay.

Teacher strikes may cost money, but Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta told theWall Street Journal that strikes are a sign of a healthy labor market. After all, if workers feel empowered to demand better pay and protections, “that reflects their confidence that they have options and opportunities,” he explained.

It remains to be seen whether that type of bargaining power will stop another federal government shutdown. With another possible closure still feared, a union representing flight attendants has mentioned the potential need for a demonstration, anda a possible general strike. It’s hard to imagine the national cost, in dollars and in other quantifiable measures, such an action might entail, given that the last shutdown, which lasted a record 35 days, cost the country $11 billion, at least $3 billion of which is unrecoverable.

Source of the article: http://fortune.com/2019/02/14/strike-teacher-salary-pay-general-strike-union-labor-walkout/

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Why teacher strikes show no signs of slowing down

Alex Caputo-Pearl

By: Alex Caputo-Pearl.

More American workers — 533,000 — were involved in strikes or work stoppages last year than at any point since 1986, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The driving force behind this remarkable development: educators who are finally fed up with years of cutbacks and government indifference to public education. The two largest labor actions of 2018 were statewide teacher strikes in Arizona (involving 81,000 teachers and staff) and Oklahoma. “Statewide major work stoppages in educational services also occurred in West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado, and North Carolina,” the Labor Department noted.

In 2019, teachers will continue standing up for public education. Last month, 33,000 educators in Los Angeles picketed, and thousands of parents and students rallied in support. On Monday, Denver teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years.

The Angeles teachers succeeded in winning a new contract that, in addition to a 6 percent pay increase, brings reductions in class size; more nurses, counselors and librarians; and less standardized testing. The contract also includes a mayoral and district endorsement of a state school funding measure called Schools and Communities First; a district call for a moratorium on charters; a reduction of searches that criminalize students; and an immigrant defense fund.

The Los Angeles teachers strike, the first in 30 years, was one of the most stirring events I’ve witnessed in my long experience with public education. I grew up attending Prince George’s County public schools in the 1970s and 1980s, then joined Teach for America in its first year, 1990, and moved to Los Angeles. I taught for 22 years in South Los Angeles and helped start an organization with parents and students called Coalition for Educational Justice. In 2014, I was elected president of United Teachers Los Angeles, or UTLA.

I was proud to lead the organization that is finally setting Los Angeles schools on a better pathway after years of battling forces arrayed against public education in California, as they are across much of the country.

California is the fifth-largest economy in the world, yet in measures of states’ per-pupil spending, Education Week ranked California 46th in the nation for 2017, and the California Budget and Policy Center pegged it at 41st in 2015-2016. California also permits the unregulated growth of privately run charter schools, undermining neighborhood public schools.

The over 98 percent participation in the strike by Los Angeles teachers, and strong support from parents, reinforced three basic premises: People will fight for reinvestment in public neighborhood schools and against privatization. Unions and parents will work together for the benefit of students. And strikes work.

Another teacher strike may come soon in Oakland, Calif., and mass teacher protests are planned in the state capitals of Maryland and Texas. These labor actions are essentially demands for reinvestment after decades of deliberate underfunding of public schools.

In the 1990s and 2000s, pushed by conservative think tanks and the corporatization of the Democratic Party, a bipartisan consensus seemed to emerge in Congress and many statehouses. The emphasis regarding public neighborhood schools shifted from providing adequate funding to de facto privatization through vouchers and the charter industry. Federal efforts stalled in fully funding Title I (a 1965 provision directing federal help for schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families) and the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Many states also cut education spending. Privately run schools with less accountability would now receive public money, further draining public schools of already scarce resources.

Because of ideology and economic philosophy, the current Republican Party leadership will not lead on reinvestment in neighborhood public schools. For the Democratic Party, it is time for leaders to choose a side. Several potential Democratic presidential candidates expressed support for the Los Angeles teachers strike, but few offered ways to adequately fund public schools. The preliminary budget of California’s new Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, increased spending for K-12 and community college by $2.8 billion, for a total of $80.7 billion, but that is not enough after years of austerity in a state with more than 6 million public-school students.

Parents and students supported the teachers in the Los Angeles strike because they wanted to win on matters such as class size. But they also supported the strike because it articulated some basic truths: Students aren’t getting what they need. In the richest country in the world, the issue is not a lack of money but a lack of political will. If neither political party is capable of leading on reinvestment, teachers and parents and students will continue taking to the streets to defend the essential civic institution of public education.

Source of the article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-teacher-strikes-show-no-signs-of-slowing-down/2019/02/11/5b8a6d80-2e18-11e9-8ad3-9a5b113ecd3c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5a3c8a468298

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Cortometraje:¿Qué significa hacer algo #ComoNiña?

Reseñas

Por: Always Latinoamérica.

En Always damos inicio a una batalla épica para mostrar que hacer las cosas #ComoNiña es algo impresionante. Usar #ComoNiña como insulto es un golpe a la confianza de cualquier adolescente. Conoce más aquí: http://goo.gl/W5Pyxe Queremos asegurarnos que las niñas de todo el mundo mantengan su confianza a lo largo de la pubertad y toda su vida. «»En mi trabajo como documentalista, he sido testigo de la crisis de confianza en las niñas y los efectos negativos de los estereotipos de primera mano»», dijo Lauren Greenfield, directora de cine y directora del video #ComoNiña. «»Cuando se utilizan las palabras ‘como una niña’ para simbolizar algo malo, es profundamente descalificador. Estoy orgullosa de asociarme con Always para destacar como esta simple frase puede tener un impacto significativo y duradero en las niñas y las mujeres. Estoy muy emocionada de ser parte del movimiento para redefinir ‘como una niña’ en una afirmación positiva»». Así que dinos … ¿qué haces #ComoNiña? Durante los últimos 30 años, Always ha ayudado a las niñas a nivel mundial, entregando educación sobre la pubertad a millones de niñas adolescentes

Fuente de la reseña: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s82iF2ew-yk

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Aprende.org, herramienta para la transformación social

Reseñas

Por: Unionguanajuato.

Aprende.org fue reconocida por la iniciativa Case for Change, como un herramienta para la transformación social

Aprende.org es herramienta educativa diseñada por la Fundación Carlos Slim, para la inclusión digital.

Esta plataforma promueve temas en materia de capacitación, educación, cultura y salud, a través de iniciativas como: Capacítate para elempleo, Maestro Innovador, PruébaT, Khan Academy en español, Académica, Coursera, Udacity, MIT y ClikiSalud.

Aprende.org se divide en tres grandes apartados:

Educación y Cultura. Ofrece cursos en distintas categorías como ¿qué es aprender?, educación inicial, básica y media, educación superior, maestro innovador, historia, atrévete a saber, arte, habilidades digitales, entre otras.

Capacítate para el empleo. Ofrece cursos de administración y finanzas, alimentos, energía, construcción, agropecuario, salud, turismo, tecnología y también diplomados, incluso cuenta con un apartado de bolsa de trabajo.

Salud. En esta área podrás encontrar propuestas para el cuidado de la salud en el trabajo, en la escuela, programas para controlar la diabetes, cómo cuidar la salud después de un sismo, entre otros.

Actualmente, la plataforma ya se encuentra en diversos países de Sudamérica como República Dominicana y Panamá, donde el objetivo principal es impulsar la conectividad, contenidos educativos y culturales de calidad para todas las personas.

La información disponible y de acceso gratuito puede ser consultada desde cualquier computadora, smartphone o tableta.

En 2018 Aprende.org fue reconocida por la iniciativa Case for Change, como un herramienta para la transformación social de acceso gratuito a la educación y capacitación.

Fuente de la reseña: http://www.unionguanajuato.mx/articulo/2019/02/14/educacion/aprendeorg-herramienta-para-la-transformacion-social

 

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »
Page 563 of 1658
1 … 561 562 563 564 565 … 1.658