Education

Page 55 of 144
1 … 53 54 55 56 57 … 144

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 »

Academics back UK schools’ climate change strikes

Matthew Taylor

By: Matthew Taylor.

 

More than 200 academics have voiced their support for this week’s school climate strikes, in which thousands of young people are expected to take to the streets in towns and cities across the UK.

The academics, including almost 100 professors, say the “tragic and desperate facts” of the unfolding climate breakdown – and the lack of meaningful action by politicians – leave young people with little option but to take matters into their own hands.

In a letter to the Guardian, they write: “[Those taking part in the strike] have every right to be angry about the future that we shall bequeath to them, if proportionate and urgent action is not taken.”

The UK day of action is part of a movement that started in August when Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, held a solo protest outside Sweden’s parliament. Globally, up to 70,000 schoolchildren each week are taking part in 270 towns and cities.

Individual demonstrations have already been held in the UK, but Friday’s coordinated day of action is expected to see the biggest protests by students and young people in the UK since the student strikes of 2010 over tuition fees.

There has been some criticism of the strikes by climate change deniers and politicians who claim the strike amounts to little more than truanting.

Earlier this month a Belgian environment minister was forced to resign after falsely claiming the country’s intelligence services held evidence that the tens of thousands of children skipping school were being directed by unnamed powers.

But the strike has been backed by one of the UK’s leading teaching unionsand the academics say the young people who are prepared to organise and take part in the strike are setting an example that others should follow.

“We are inspired that our children, spurred on by the noble actions of Greta Thunberg and many other striking students all around the world, are making their voices heard.”

The letter highlights the growing signs of climate breakdown, from the latest UN report that warns there are 12 years to avoid the worst impacts of global warming, to record-breaking droughts and heatwaves, warming oceans and melting ice sheets.

The academics added: “It is with these tragic and desperate events in mind that we offer our full support to the students, some of whom may well aspire to be the academics of the future, who bravely plan to strike on 15 February to demand that the UK government takes climate action.”

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/13/academics-back-uk-schools-climate-change-strikes

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 »

South Africa Education To Adapt To Digital Revolution

Noticias

Africa/ Zambia/ 18.02.2019/ Source: techfinancials.co.za.

South Africa’s education system is to go through a radical overhaul in order to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Under the Framework for Skills for a Changing World, which will be rolled out over the next six years, educators and learners are being trained to respond to emerging technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Several new technology subjects and specialisations will be introduced, including technical mathematics and technical sciences, maritime sciences, aviation studies, mining sciences and aquaponics.

To expand participation in technical streams, President Cyril Ramaphosa said several ordinary public schools will be transformed into technical high schools.

The President made these announcements at his second State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday.

In addition to this, government will provide every school child in South Africa with digital workbooks and textbooks on a tablet device.

Already, 90% of textbooks in high enrolment subjects across all grades and all workbooks have been digitised.

“We will start with those schools that have been historically most disadvantaged and are located in the poorest communities, including multigrade, multiphase, farm and rural schools,” the President said.

ECD centres to fall under Basic Education

Government’s plan will also cut across Early Childhood Development (ECD).

With over 700 000 children accessing ECD in the last financial year, President Ramaphosa announced that the responsibility for ECD centres will migrate from Social Development to Basic Education.

Another critical priority will be improving reading comprehension in the first years of school by expanding the availability of early reading resources across the foundation phase of schooling.

“This is essential in equipping children to succeed in education, in work and in life – and it is possibly the single most important factor in overcoming poverty, unemployment and inequality,” the President said.

The department’s early grade reading studies have demonstrated the impact that a dedicated package of reading resources, expert reading coaches and lesson plans can have on reading outcomes.

Expanding access to higher education

Turning to government’s commitment to the right of access to higher education for the poor, the President said free higher education for qualifying first-year students will continue to be rolled out.

The scheme is being phased in over a five-year period until all undergraduate students who qualify in terms of the criteria can benefit.

Another key focus area for government will be stabilising the business processes of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme so it is properly capacitated to carry out its critical role in supporting eligible students.

“We call on student representatives and university authorities to work together to find solutions to the challenges that students are facing,” the President said, citing the latest clashes at the Durban University of Technology.

Students have been protesting that institutions of higher learning should allow those with historic debt to register along with the improvement of specific residences, and for allowances to be paid.

The protest saw students locking horns with the private security hired by the institution.

Twenty-year-old Mlungisi Madonsela was caught in the crossfire and died in hospital after succumbing to his wounds.

The President called on law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate the incident.

“We are concerned about developments on some campuses this week, especially reports of violence and intimidation,” the President said before extending condolences to Madonsela’s family

 

Source of the notice: https://techfinancials.co.za/2019/02/08/south-africa-education-to-adapt-to-digital-revolution/

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »

Creating a model for girls’ education in Ghana

Dyvia Alamdi

By: Divya Amladi. 

Schools tailored to girls’ needs in northern Ghana are removing barriers, encouraging girls to become independent thinkers, and motivating them to pursue higher education.

The average girl in Ghana only receives four years of education. Early marriage, pregnancy, poverty, and sexual harassment are all obstacles that force girls to drop out of school before the end of junior high.

At Oxfam, we know educating girls is critical to improving their lives. Each additional year of primary school a girl attends increases her future wages by 10 to 20 percent. Educated girls also are likely to marry later and have fewer children, and their children are also more likely to thrive.

With that in mind, we partnered with Ghana Education Service, the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district, and local communities to build a junior high school in the northern province of Sawla to tackle barriers preventing girls from finishing their educations. We aimed to demonstrate that safe, girl-friendly schools would empower girls and motivate them to stay in school—and maybe even pursue higher education.

That school became a model for girls’ success in Ghana.

Laying the groundwork

The first Girls Model Junior High School opened in Sawla in 2008, targeting girls from the poorest families. All 28 enrolled girls passed their final exams, and 24 went on to attend senior high school. In 2013, a sister school was established in the Kpandai district. By March 2018—a decade after the project began—there were 44 schools in districts across northern Ghana. They are all financed and administered by local authorities.

“It makes me feel more confident in myself when there are no boys around,» says Haddisah Ibrahim, 15, a student at Savelugu Girls Model Junior High School. Photo: Lotte Ærsøe/Oxfam IBIS

Haddisah Ibrahim, 15, learned about the Savelugu Girls Model Junior High School when a teacher came to her village. “He told us about the new school that was opening—that it was a good place where we could learn a lot. I wanted to go, and my father agreed.”

She’s now a student and likes that her school is girls-only. “It makes me feel more confident in myself when there are no boys around,” she says. “We don’t have to put up with all the noise the boys at my old school used to make.”

Her father can’t always afford to pay for her schoolbooks, but Haddisah isn’t discouraged. She borrows books from her classmates when she needs to. Hadissa is committed to finishing school and becoming a doctor. “One day I will return to this area and help treat the sick people in my home town,” she says.

A different style of teaching

Tackling endemic problems requires innovative solutions, so the schools have taken a novel approach to pedagogy. Teaching is based on learner-centered methodologies, a concept that has previously not applied very often by teachers in this part of Ghana, who lacked the know-how to implement it. Discussions and group work are core elements. The girls form study groups in the evenings. Parents are invited to support the girls’ education through school management committees.

Computers are integrated into lessons, and teachers are trained to encourage the girls to participate actively in the classroom, and even to challenge teachers with individual points of view. These schools go beyond the national curriculum to address sexual health and life skills.

Gladys Asare Akosu is a teacher at Savelugu Girls Model School. “Traditionally, girls’ education is not considered important in this part of Ghana. Many people believe that a girl should just get married as early as possible—they don’t see much sense in wasting time and money on the girls going to school,” she says. “That’s extremely unfair.”

For her, teaching here is different from what she’s used to. There are fewer students in each class, which makes it easier to focus on each child’s needs.

“As teachers, we do a lot to involve the students instead of just lecturing. We encourage them to participate in discussions,” she says. “Some of the girls were very shy in the beginning, but now they raise their hands and take part in the discussions. It is amazing to witness such a change in a young girl.”

Akosu knows adolescence is a fragile time for girls. Teenage pregnancies and child marriages are far too common in this part of Ghana, and consequently many girls drop out before they graduate high school. Compounding that is the fact that many of her students come from poor families and live far away.

Parental support is integral to the schools’ success. If a girl misses more than a day or two of school, the headmistress gets in touch with the family. Akosu says it’s not uncommon for educators to go on home visits to prevent girls from dropping out.

“I really enjoy being part of the change that we are making here,” she says. “Hopefully our work will help eradicate the old prejudices toward girls’ education. These girls just have so much to offer.”

Shafaw Mohammed, 15, pictured with her mother Zinatu Alhassan, says her favorite subject is English. «I dream of becoming a journalist when I finish my studies.» Photo: Lotte Ærsøe/Oxfam IBIS

Increasing the chance for success

Ninety-five percent of the girls registered at the Girls Model Junior High Schools have graduated, and the majority are continuing their education. In the schools’ surrounding communities, girls constitute just 10% of the children who graduate from junior high school.

In total, more than 1,642 girls are now enrolled at the model schools, and the goal is to continue scaling up.

”The Girls Model School is a baby for us in Savelugu,” says Municipal Chief Executive Hajia Adishetu Seidu. “When we educate girls, we break the cycle of poverty. Women take care of their families, they share everything they earn, and they make sure that their own children also go to school.”

Source of the article: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/creating-a-model-for-girls-education-in-ghana/

Comparte este contenido:
Leer más »
Page 55 of 144
1 … 53 54 55 56 57 … 144