5 Classroom Management Tips To Silence A Noisy Class

By Rob Johnson
(Education Articles)

1. The first thing to remember is that you are the boss.

Self belief is incredibly important in this job. You can’t expect pupils to respond positively to you unless you believe, really believe, that you fully deserve their respect and compliance. The thought that you are the leader in the classroom must be at the forefront of your mind.

If you give any sign at all that you are NOT in FULL CONTROL, children will sense this and exploit your weaknesses. You MUST project strength and the impression that you will not tolerate any disobedience.

All too often a teacher will enter a lesson filled with dread and give out the signal that they are beaten before the lesson even starts. Pupils sense this. If you’ve been having a hard time with a particular group they will come to expect that you will be a walk-over and get into the habit of talking freely with total disregard for your threats.

2. Have definite rules on noise

Once you’ve decided on your rules (preferably with input from the pupils) you need to ensure the pupils are totally clear what those rules are. There must be no ambiguity and therefore no room for argument.

We all know how important consistency is in terms of classroom management but unless you have a clear set of rules to work to in the first place, you can’t consistently apply them.

So, what is your rule on noise?

Mine is simple: If I say there is to be no talking, then there is to be no talking. I will not tolerate being interrupted without taking action. I seldom enforce this rule for longer than a few minutes – just at those key times when I am either explaining something, starting a new task or taking a register etc. - but if I tell a group that I want total silence, then I mean it. And any pupil who ignores this is dealt with straight away.

For example, never let a pupil shout out without reminding them to put up their hand. Never, allow pupils to continue talking at the start of a lesson when you’ve started explaining the objective. Never, let pupils interrupt you without reminding them that it is unacceptable to do so.

If you let them get away with it once, you have effectively trained them to try and get away with it again.

3. Control entry to the classroom

The ideal place to establish control over your pupils is outside the door - before you even let them in the room.You must start the lesson under your terms. And the lesson starts before they enter the room with you having them line up outside the door in an orderly manner.

This is the perfect time to gauge the mood of the group and indeed the individuals in the group. You can easily spot potential problems (unhappy pupils, cases of bullying, arguments etc.) and deal with them rather than letting them go unnoticed and having them escalate into serious disruptions during your lesson.

If the group won’t stand still and quiet don’t let them in the room. They must do EXACTLY as you say before you let them through the door. If they run to a chair bring them back again and make them walk. If you let them get away with anything at this important stage, you will set the tone as being one where they can get away with things. You don’t want that.

4. Have ‘settling work’ ready for them when they enter the room

If you have a group who just won’t settle try presenting them with some of the following ‘settling work’ as soon as they enter the room. But… make sure you add this little twist to ensure the pupils get stuck into it straight away…

On your board have the following written up…

“Complete the work detailed below. You have ten minutes. If you don’t finish it, you will return at break to complete it.”

Obviously you need to adjust individual work targets for less able pupils to make it fair. Once they’ve started you can go round the slow workers very quietly, out of earshot of the others, and tell them where to stop. i.e. give them a work target which requires less writing than the others –

“James, you can stop when you get to the end of this sentence”. (And put a pencil mark where you want them to get up to.)

The great advantage of this strategy is that it gives you a few minutes to get your resources sorted out. I do use this if I want to show a DVD clip and haven’t had time to set the AV equipment up for example.

On each desk you could have a quick topic-related puzzle, a review quiz of last lesson’s work, a cloze exercise or some text copying work. Nothing too difficult – you don’t want to confuse them because they’ll spend ten minutes asking questions instead of settling down. Choose something simple (and preferably light-hearted or fun) that requires no explanation or fuss.

As well as having the instructions written on the board, greet them at the door and say…

“Get started on the simple task on your desk – you have ten minutes to finish it.”

Once they’re in the room you can then add…

“Anyone not finishing this little task will finish it at break – there should be no talking. If you talk you’ll come back at break and do it in silence then.”

If you want them to copy notes from the board (or a book) make sure there isn’t a huge amount of text otherwise you will provoke complaints. You can ‘hide’ extra work by having five or ten lines of text for them to copy and then a note at the end saying “Now answer question 2 on page 46” which could be another five or ten lines of notes.

Comments like…

“It is entirely your choice as to whether or not you get break. If you want break, do the work. If you don’t want break, sit and chat.”

…can be used if they don’t settle straight away.

5. The Right Way To Ask For Silence

You may have been told that an alternative to shouting for silence is to simply wait for rowdy pupils to calm down.

And wait… And wait… And wait…

Teachers have mixed views as to the effectiveness of waiting for silence before continuing with the lesson because in many cases it just doesn’t work.

Some classes will respond positively to this strategy almost straight away but a hard class will test your mettle and try to push you way beyond 5 or 10 minutes.

They’ll enjoy watching your expression turn to desperation and laugh at the fact that your plan isn’t working.

At a time like this you need to bring in sanctions and make them see that their continuous disobedience will not be tolerated.

If you have a strong, commanding voice you can shout for quiet and explain what the sanctions will be if they continue talking. If you can’t be sure that your voice will cut through the noise sufficiently, you can communicate via the board by writing your instructions. Write up your instructions in bold, capital letters. You may need to give them slightly longer time to comply – allowing for the fact that they may not all read your instructions straight away.

This is what to say…

(You may think that these sanctions won’t work with your toughest class but they are phrased in a very specific manner as you’ll soon see. If you rigorously and consistently apply them you will win. Your class will settle. I’ve never known it fail).

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break. By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence. Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

Phrasing your instructions in this way when you want a class to be quiet is very powerful and almost always guarantees success.

Let’s examine why:

Firstly, you are being very fair and giving the pupils a warning…

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break.”

When teachers try to issue a punishment without a warning…

“Right you’ve just lost your break!”

…they are often met with a torrent of abuse…

“No way, that’s not fair – we weren’t doing anything!!!”

I always find that giving pupils a fair warning about an impending sanction takes the sting out of a confrontational situation.

Secondly, you are telling them exactly what they are doing wrong, and exactly how to put it right…

“…you need to be sitting in silence.”

Thirdly, you are giving them a clear time by which you expect full compliance…

“By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence.”

Fourthly, and very importantly, you are telling them exactly what will happen to them if they don’t do as you ask…

“Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

These key features are important if you want pupils to follow your instructions because they leave no room for questions, debates, arguments or confusion. The pupils know exactly what they’re doing wrong, what will happen if they continue and how to correct their behavior so as to evade a sanction.

N.B. I’m fully aware that timetable constraints do not allow teachers to keep pupils back after each and every lesson. For that reason you need to think about the sanctions you will issue. You could for example hit the class hard and tell them that any pupils still talking will receive a letter home but it may be better to start off with a small sanction (such as staying behind after school for 5 minutes) because you can then add to it if and when the behavior continues.

Obesity In Children

MD RASUL BIN HARON

Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used in children as it is less stigmatizing. Classification Body mass index (BMI) is acceptable for determining obesity for children two years of age and older. The normal range for BMI in children vary with age and sex. The Center for Disease Control defines obesity as a BMI greater than the 95th percentile. It has published tables for determining this in children. Effects on health The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological. Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders. Some of the other disorders would include liver disease.

Top 5 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Teacher

By:

 

 



FARIDAH BT MOHAMAD SAAD
Pensyarah
Jabatan Pengajian Melayu
Institut Pendidikan Guru
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur
noniemsaad@yahoo.com

Teaching is truly a noble profession. It is also a very time consuming one, requiring a commitment on your part. Teaching can be very demanding but can also be extremely rewarding. Here are 5 things you should consider before taking up teaching as your chosen career.

1. Time Commitment In order to be an effective teacher, you need to realize that the time you are at work - those 7 1/2 to 8 hours - really must be spent with the kids. This means that creating lesson plans and grading assignments will probably take place on “your own time.” Further, to truly relate to your students you will probably be involved in their activities - attending sporting activities and school plays, sponsoring a club or a class, or going on trips with your students for various reasons.

2. Pay People often make a big deal about teacher pay. It is true that teachers do not make as much money as many other professionals, especially over time. However, each state and district can vary widely on teacher pay. Further, when you look at how much you are being paid, make sure to think of it in terms of the number of months worked.

3. Respect or Lack Thereof Teaching is an odd profession, both revered and pitied at the same time. You will probably find that when you tell others you are a teacher they will in fact offer you their condolences. They might even say they couldn’t do your job. However, don’t be surprised if they then go on to tell you a horror story about their own teachers or their child’s education. It is an odd situation and you should face it with your eyes wide open.

4. Community Expectations Everyone has an opinion of what a teacher should be doing. As a teacher you will have a lot of people pulling you in different directions. The modern teacher wears many hats. They act as educator, coach, activity sponsor, nurse, career advisor, parent, friend, and innovator. Realize that in any one class, you will have students of varying levels and abilities and you will be judged on how well you can reach each student by individualizing their education. This is the challenge of education but at the same time can make it a truly rewarding experience.

5. Emotional Commitment Teaching is not a desk job. It requires you to “put yourself out there” and be on each day. Great teachers emotionally commit to their subject matter and their students. Realize that students seem to feel a sense of “ownership” over their teachers. They assume that you are their for them. They assume that your life revolves around them. It is not uncommon for a student to be surprised to see you behaving normally in everyday society. Further, depending on the size of the town where you will be teaching, you need to understand that you will be running into your students pretty much everywhere you go. Thus, expect somewhat of a lack of anonymity in the community.

Are We Ready For A New Paradigm?

By:

Srividya Sundaram

Education Articles

Every morning we see new developments happening in the field of education. Some researcher talks about the need for sight words, while the other talks about phonics, some advocate the need to promote thinking skills, some stand for memorizing skills and the list goes on and on. These things show that there is good amount of awareness on the need for ‘good’ education. I also think that the people around the globe have started believing in the power of educated mass. While I am glad as an enthusiastic learner, I am left with lots of questions and wonderments. School brochures are filled with attractive lines like Multiple Intelligence enabled classrooms, World class curriculum, Teachers catering to emotional intelligence, activity based classrooms, child centered curriculum, result oriented coaching, etc. Parents get attracted to those captions and admit their children. School managements adopt such kind of frameworks, strategies and techniques with all good intentions but how is it ensured that their classrooms are geared up to meet the respective requirements. Are there are some benchmarks set in those areas by the schools with clear timelines? How do such frameworks, strategies or techniques reflect in the school’s vision and philosophy?  A school is comprised of various stakeholders that include management, parents, teachers and students. Every stakeholder is important and plays a significant role in the development of the child. It doesn’t stop there. It is important that the stakeholders develop themselves as well. More importantly what about the teachers who play a key role in the development of children?

How many school managements think about teacher empowerment? No doubts some schools focus on training teachers. What kind of follow ups are done after the training? How many school managements ensure that the practices brought in as a result of training gets sustained? What measures are taken to do so?  Above all do schools see this as an intellectual investment than a training fund for the staff which has to be spent in some way? While such things could help managements to review and refine their approach, there are also some aspects which the teachers could look into?

Teachers are provided with an opportunity to get themselves empowered with. Do teachers realize the need to get empowered with? Do they see such opportunities as doors that could keep them abreast of the latest developments in their profession than looking at it as extra workload? How many teachers visualize the power of their influence among children?

I believe such kind of questions could help schools and teachers to self- reflect. Such kind of reflections and subsequent realizations could lead to actions which in turn could pave way to a new paradigm in education.

Are we ready for a new paradigm?

Now we've got the internet, why do we need school libraries?

by:

MD RASUL BIN HARON

Thousands of web pages compare the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet instead of a traditional library. No-one disagrees that about the fact that a bank of computers looks very impressive, and gives even the most decrepid of libraries a contemporary patina. However, it is appropriate to consider an analogy with Banjo Patterson’s “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle”. Fancy machinery is no guarantee of success in travelling along the Information Superhighway.

Unfortunately, one of the great ‘urban myths’ in our schools and the wider community is that "everything" is available on the Internet. In a significant number of schools, there have been reductions in library funding, in favour of increasing the number of computers in libraries. Aging reference books are not being replaced, due to the flawed rationale that Internet access has negated the necessity for such print material.

There can be no denial that the Internet can be an incredibly powerful research aid when used by those with an awareness of advanced search techniques. The value of the Internet as a communication tool is beyond dispute. However, it can also be a time-consuming, frustrating, or misleading reference source. The oft-cited advantages of using the Internet for research purposes regularly include:

• The ability to access the very latest information.
• Being able to communicate directly with subject experts by email.
• Twenty-four hour access, 7 days a week, 364 days a year.
• Its interactivity makes it enjoyable to use.

Mubarak is generally supportive of Israel

by:

MD RASUL HARON
mrasulharon@yahoo.com
History Teacher/Translator/Blogger/
Compere

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak; born May 4, 1928) is the fourth and current President of theArab Republic of Egypt. He was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sedat. He is the longest-serving Egyptian ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975. Beginning on January 25, 2011,a popular uprising called for his resignation as president of Egypt. On February 1, 2011, Mubarak announced that he will not seek another term in the upcoming presidential election.



Hosni Mubarak



Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Hosni Mubarak is generally supportive of Israel. As he has been involved intensely in the Arab League, he has supported Arab efforts to achieve a lasting peace in the region. The current position of the League is that which was endorsed at the Beirut-Summit, on 28 March 2002. At the summit the league adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, a Saudi-inspired peace plan for the Arab-Israeli conflict. The initiative offered full normalization of the relations with Israel. In exchange, Israel was demanded to withdraw from all occupied territories, including the Golan Heights, to recognize an independent Palestinian State in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as a "just solution" for the Palestinian refugees. The Peace Initiative was again endorsed at 2007 in the Riyadh Summit. In July 2007, the Arab League sent a mission, consisting of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, to Israel to promote the initiative. The mission was welcomed with reservations by Israel.

On 19 June 2008, Egypt brokered "lull" or pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas went into effect. The term "lull" is a translation of the Arabic term tahdia. According to The New York Times, neither side fully respected the terms of the cease-fire.

The agreement required Hamas to end rocket attacks on Israel and to enforce the lull throughout Gaza. In exchange, Hamas expected the blockade to end, commerce in Gaza to resume, and truck shipments to be restored to 2005 levels, which was between 500 and 600 trucks per day. Israel tied easing of the blockade to a reduction in rocket fire and gradually re-opened supply lines and permitted around 90 daily truck shipments to enter Gaza, up from around 70 per day. Hamas criticized Israel for its continued blockade while Israel accused Hamas of continued weapons smuggling via tunnels to Egypt and pointed to continued rocket attacks.

When conflict again ensued however Egypt's foreign minister, stated that Hamas had brought it upon itself.

In 2009, Mubarak's government banned the Cairo Anti-war Conference, which has criticised his lack of action against Israel.

Democracy



Global Issues

by Anup Shah

Democracy (“rule by the people” when translated from its Greek meaning) is seen as one of the ultimate ideals that modern civilizations strive to create, or preserve. Democracy as a system of governance is supposed to allow extensive representation and inclusiveness of as many people and views as possible to feed into the functioning of a fair and just society. Democratic principles run in line with the ideals of universal freedoms such as the right to free speech.

Importantly, democracy supposedly serves to check unaccountable power and manipulation by the few at the expense of the many, because fundamentally democracy is seen as a form of governance by the people, for the people. This is often implemented through elected representatives, which therefore requires free, transparent, and fair elections, in order to achieve legitimacy.

The ideals of democracy are so appealing to citizens around the world, that many have sacrificed their livelihoods, even their lives, to fight for it. Indeed, our era of “civilization” is characterized as much by war and conflict as it is by peace and democracy. The twentieth century alone has often been called “the century of war.”

In a way, the amount of propaganda and repression some non-democratic states set up against their own people is a testament to the people’s desire for more open and democratic forms of government. That is, the more people are perceived to want it, the more extreme a non-democratic state apparatus has to be to hold on to power.

However, even in established democracies, there are pressures that threaten various democratic foundations. A democratic system’s openness also allows it to attract those with vested interests to use the democratic process as a means to attain power and influence, even if they do not hold democratic principles dear. This may also signal a weakness in the way some democracies are set up. In principle, there may be various ways to address this, but in reality once power is attained by those who are not genuinely support democracy, rarely is it easily given up.

Class Management Techniques

MD RASUL BIN HARON
mrasulharon@yahoo.com
pajatsong@gmail.com
http://www.pajatsong.blogspot.com/
http://www.dapatwang.com/?id=rasul



There are times when the real issue may not be the child but rather in the teaching style of the classroom teacher, that is, having unrealistic expectations, being critical, or being overly demanding. In such instances, help for the teacher can come in the form of classroom management techniques. Classroom management techniques are strategies developed to help handle various problems and conflicts within a classroom. An administrator, psychologist, or any realistic and diplomatic team member who feels comfortable with this type of situation may offer these practical suggestions to the teacher. There are many classroom techniques and modifications that should be tried before taking more serious steps. These include the following:

• Display daily class schedule with times so that the student has a structured idea of the day ahead
• Change seating
• Seat the student with good role models
• Use peer tutors when appropriate
• Limit number of directions
• Simplify complex directions
• Give verbal as well as written directions
• Provide extra work time
• Shorten assignments
• Modify curriculum but change content only as a last resort
• Identify and address preferred learning styles
• Provide manipulative materials
• Provide examples of what is expected
• Use color coding of materials to foster organizational skills
• Develop a homework plan with parental support
• Develop a behavior modification plan, if necessary
• Uses lots of positive reinforcement
• Use technology as an aid

Reading Comprehension Strategies That Work: Anchoring Visualizations

Some kids have trouble with reading comprehension.  There can be many reasons they have difficulty, but one of the main causes of reading comprehension problems is that students do not create vivid images as they read.

I often listen to students read.  Some students have difficulty with word recognition, but many do not.  When your child has little or no difficulty sounding out the words in the passage, but still has comprehension difficulty, the problem may be that he or she is not skillful with visual imagery.  And even if your child does have trouble sounding out words, he may still have difficulty with comprehension as well.

Researchers have noticed that students are not as adept at making pictures in their minds of the material they hear or read as they were years ago.  Perhaps the explosion of visual images all around us has a lot to do with that.  Kids are “fed” visual images from television, movies, magazines, and billboards.  They may not be getting as much practice in generating their own images.

Visualization is used by top athletes and performers as an effective tool for positive outcomes.  Research has shown that athletes who practice their sport only “on the field” do not reach the same levels of success as those who, in addition to practicing “on the field” also practice their sport “in their mind.”

The brain is highly adept at using visual information.  In fact, more brain area is devoted to vision than to any other sense.  The brain is also very good at using spatial information.  These abilities have come down to us through the millennia as a survival mechanism.  We are highly adept visual and spatial thinkers.

The “anchoring visualizations” strategy teaches students to create visual images, and then to “anchor” them to a particular spot in the room.  What’s so amazing about this technique is that students are using two innate abilities, vision and spatial understanding, and the strategy can be used when students are involved in class discussions, lectures, or independent reading to significantly increase students’ visualization ability and reading comprehension. 

Here’s how the “anchoring visualizations” technique works:

As students listen or read, they use their visualization ability to create “pictures” (I call them “mind movies”) of the information.  These images should include rich detail because more vivid images will be remembered better.

The student directs his or her attention to a particular spot in the room, for example, the door, the chalkboard, or a picture on the wall.

The spot has now become a place to anchor the visualizations created while reading or discussing the contents from a story or textbook.  The spot is the visual and spatial storing place associated with the parts of the story that need to be remembered.

To recall an important fact from the story, simply have the student look at the spot that anchors the information. 

Applying the “anchoring visualizations” technique

Since it will be Halloween soon, let’s apply this technique to the story, “Little Red Riding Hood.”  Although this is a story at the elementary level, the technique works for any information, at any level of sophistication.

The story begins as Little Red Riding Hood is asked by her mother to take some food to her grandmother, who loves Little Red Riding Hood so much she has given her a lovely red cape with a hood. 

For this part of the story, a student can choose a place in the room, let’s say the TV set.  While discussing or reading this part of the story, have your child look at the TV set and create a vivid image of a little girl.  Ask questions such as: how old is she, what color is her hair, how long is the cape, does she have her hood up on her head or not, what color are her eyes, what is she going to carry the food in, what shape is the container...etc.  The point of the questions is to teach your child how to create detailed images. 

For the next part of the story, have your child choose another location, such as the table, as you read or discuss the next section of the story and encourage your child to make vivid images by using questions to get the information to come to life.

In our example, this technique was applied to an elementary-level story, particularly because the story of Little Red Riding Hood is well-known.  But as I mentioned, it also works for middle school and high school content. 

I’ve used this approach to teach kids about DNA, the story line in Romeo and Juliet, and other high school level material.  It is an approach that works on any content, for learners of all ages, because it uses the concepts of locations in space combined with visual input, visual imagery, and language, making it a multi-sensory technique.  And multi-sensory techniques work better because they engage more than one part of the brain.

What are the characteristics of “vivid images”?

Use your questioning to help your child create memorable images.  What makes images memorable?  First and foremost—images should stimulate emotion (think of a crying man holding a limp child).  Another necessary quality is that images are unusual (try a blue dog).  Encourage your child to include other aspects of memorable imagery:  color, details and especially for kids of all ages—is the image gross!  Yes, I said gross (think of a snot sandwich).  The gross factor is very powerful for memory!

Intersections of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence: Things to be aware of during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October

by B. Bullard

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month, a time for reflection and for increasing awareness about the high rate of intimate partner and familial violence that occurs in the U.S. and around the world.  As President Obama’s recent presidential proclamation indicates, despite many gains, “domestic violence remains a devastating public health crisis when one in four women will be physically or sexually assaulted by a partner at some point in her lifetime.”  It is also important to consider the many ways that human trafficking intersects with domestic violence.

Domestic violence is commonly considered a “push factor” for human trafficking.  Due to the increased vulnerability caused by an abusive relationship, victims of domestic violence can find themselves isolated and without access to the financial and emotional support needed to leave to a safe situation, which puts them at high risk for exploitation.  Domestic Violence can also be a push factor for those who become traffickers.  According to a recent study, 88% of the traffickers interviewed indicated that they had grown up in homes where domestic violence was present.

Physical abuse is not the only or most common form of abuse used in domestic violence and human trafficking. Typically psychological, emotional and economic abuses are more widespread. The Duluth Model Power and Control Wheel is a tool in the domestic violence field that examines the non-physical types of abuse that can occur in relationships such as economic control, using children, using threats, etc.  At Polaris Project, we have developed a similar tool called the Human Trafficking Power and Control Wheel that shows types of abuse found within various trafficking situations, many of which mirror that used in intimate partner and familial abuse.

Human trafficking and domestic violence can intersect in even more profound ways.   Intimate partners can force their partners into highly exploitative situations.  A partner can also be a human trafficker.  Intimate Partner Trafficking is not a type of trafficking that has been researched, prosecuted or discussed to the extent as other trafficking trends we see – but it does happen.  However, much like intimate partner rape, it is likely that this type of exploitation is highly underreported.   Familial Trafficking is another way that trafficking and domestic violence come into direct contact.  While it is difficult to believe that a mother, father, brother, sister could force a relative to engage in commercial sex or forced labor, this is a trend that we see in forced commercial sex situations as well as domestic servitude.

So this October while we strive to be more aware of domestic violence, we should also be aware of how it can impact our work in the anti-trafficking field and how important it is for all of us to work together to stop these abusive and exploitative crimes from occurring in our communities.

Kuwait Urged to Release Blogger Who Criticized Prime Minister

 





Amnesty International has urged the Kuwaiti authorities to release a blogger who was sentenced to one year in prison this week, on charges relating to an article he wrote on his blog criticizing the country's Prime Minister.

A criminal court in the capital, Kuwait City, sentenced the journalist and lawyer Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem on Monday after he was convicted of criminal defamation in a case filed against him by the Prime Minister, Shaikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah.

The sentence began immediately and Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem is held at Kuwait Central Prison.

The case is believed to be one of six that the government has reportedly filed against the journalist and one of four brought by the Prime Minister in the last year.

"Amnesty International believes that Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem has been convicted and sentenced solely for non-violently exercising his right to freedom of expression and is therefore a prisoner of conscience," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The authorities should release him immediately and unconditionally and, more broadly, cease their apparent attempts to stop him from airing his views on the government and Kuwait's ruling family."

The article which led to Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem's imprisonment was entitled "Nasser XVII" and published on his news blog, Mizan, in 2009. In it, he criticized the Kuwaiti Prime Minister, arguing that he had allowed Iranian intelligence to interfere in Kuwaiti politics.

In another recent case, Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem was arrested on 11 May and charged with harming national interests and undermining the status of Kuwait's Amir or head of state by way of vague statements he was alleged to have made in his blog.

He was released following a court appearance on 28 June. His bail was set at 2,000 Kuwaiti dinars (about US$6,850).

Muhammad 'Abd al-Qader al-Jasem launched his blog, Mizan, in 2005 and has used it as a means to air his opinions and analysis of the Kuwaiti government and the ruling al-Sabah family.

He was previously the editor-in-chief of the Al-Watan Daily newspaper and later the founding editor-in-chief of the Arabic editions of the magazines Newsweek and Foreign Policy.

Protecting Children Being Forced To Beg

BY:
Human Rights

In response to a Human Rights Watch investigation, Senegalese authorities have begun enforcing a law prohibiting anyone from forcing a child to beg. Since we released our report on widespread abuses taking place at Quranic boys’ schools, ten teachers who forced children to beg have been convicted.  

In late 2009 Human Rights Watch researchers documented the system of exploitation in which boys who attend Quranic schools are forced to beg all day, seven days a week on Senegal’s streets to meet quotas for food and money set by their teachers. The teachers, known as marabouts, often live in relative affluence because they keep everything the boys receive from begging. Should the boys fail to meet the quotas, they may be severely beaten by the marabouts. 

Malick L., a 13-year-old boy, showed Human Rights Watch the scars from the beatings he had suffered at the hand of his marabout more than a year before. He recounted his experience, which was typical of many other boys we interviewed.  

“When I could not bring the quota, the marabout beat me,” Malick told us. “Even if I lacked 5 CFA ($0.01), he beat me… he hit me over and over, generally on the back but at times he missed and hit my head.” 

Human Rights Watch conducted almost 300 interviews with current and former Quranic school boys, families who sent their children to Quranic schools, marabouts, Islamic scholars and government and humanitarian officials. We released our findings in April at a press conference in Dakar with an Islamic scholar and a local Senegalese NGO. We used the publicity generated by the press conference to reach out to donor governments and urge them to push the Senegalese government to prosecute abusive marabouts and to set and enforce standards for these schools. 

The next day, during a press conference with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, then Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean echoed our findings, declaring that these abuses amount to a form of “modern slavery.” Her comments ran in major media outlets including the BBC, CBC, and the Guardian, among others.  

The US government quickly took interest in the issue recognizing the abuses we documented as one of the worst forms of child labor. The US government was also interested in the fact that many Quranic school boys are trafficked from Guinea-Bissau, another country highlighted in our report. Having criticized Senegal’s policies on human trafficking for years, the United States was a key ally in our efforts to influence the Senegalese government to protect these boys. Armed with our report, US officials cautioned that the United States would cut off all bilateral aid if the Senegalese government did not enforce its own laws against forced begging and take steps to end the trafficking of the boys. 

Because marabouts hold immense social and political sway in their local communities, the Senegalese government had turned a blind eye to the plight of an estimated 50,000 Quranic school boys, the vast majority of whom are under age 12 and many are as young as four. But now, as a result of the media attention and pressure from the US government that we helped to generate, Senegalese authorities have begun to enforce a law prohibiting anyone from forcing a child to beg. The law has been on the books since 2005 but was never enforced.  

Now, with the newly stringent enforcement of the law, Malick L. and others like him may no longer be forced to beg. As we maintain pressure on the Senegalese government to continue to bring abusive marabouts to justice, we are also pushing it to publish standards on who can open and run Quranic schools, which are currently completely unregulated. We are leading a coalition of Senegalese and international NGOs going forward to ensure that students will no longer be exploited by abusive teachers.

Improve Education Quality



MD RASUL BIN HARON
mrasulharon@yahoo.com



"Are secondary schools making students ready for college?" Why do you think educators criticize findings regarding "secondary schools making students ready for college?" I think the operative word here is "making." Children know that when they're made to do something, there's no value in wanting it for its own purpose. Parents may use threats and intimidation to make their children do something, but teachers are given no such option.

Teachers inspire and excite students to learn by showing them the wonderful ways to becoming self-educated. We show students how to share in an exciting world of scientific inquiry and a free exchange of ideas where teachers lead their classes on topics they are personally passionate about. Teachers lead by example as well-respected valued members of a society that is capable of creative solutions during difficult economic times. In an environment like this, students see the value of college and the degree that will allow them to become part of that respected and valued community. Exciting secondary school educations result in students who are prepared for college and prepared to share and lead in this ever-changing world.

Unfortunately, many Malaysia Public Schools students are not prepared for college or the world beyond because they only know how to take tests. Very few students have been inspired to be self-educated. There is little to be inspired about. Favoured classes like art, music and creative writing are non-existent or limited to the one required class for graduation.

Tips, during and after exams

by
Faridah Mohamad Saad
noniemsaad@yahoo.com
Institut Pendidikan Guru
Kampus Teknik
Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

THE THREE P'S OF SUCCESSFUL STUDYING ARE:

Planning, Preparation and a Positive attitude. Develop a positive attitude towards exams. Anxiety is just a part of the game; do not allow it control you. Face the exams with confidence. Look at exams as a means developed to help you reach your goal. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Do not compare your examination results to your self worth they are two different things. Have faith in yourself and maintain the "I CAN DO IT" attitude.

The year before

• Avoid cramming. Your revision should be completed well before your exams. Concentrate on the important topics, diagrams and formulae.

• Make revision a part of your strategy for success

• Go through the summary and notes you have made while revising

• Make a list of topics you have covered, arrange it in order of priority & follow this in order in your revision too.

• Writing an answer is the best way to revise. Write out likely questions and answer them

• Practice Mathematics one hour every day to overcome the fear and anxiety.

• Set up a study schedule so you can review everything well before the exams. Plan it so that everything can be covered in the time available.

• Practice old question papers. These give you a clear clue as to what examiners generally look for.

• Memorize essential facts and formulas.

• Make up questions that you think could be on the exam day and try to answer them.

• Avoid looking for reasons not to do work

Tip: When you are well prepared you experience less stress

Mock Examinations

The mock examinations allow you to discover:-

• Your weakness in a subject

• How effective your study skills are.

• What are your strengths and weakness when working under pressure?

Day before the Examinations

• Get a goodnight's rest before the exam. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing.

• Find out what kind of exam you are getting ready for (e.g. essay type or objective) and exactly what material will be on the test.

• Organize everything you need.

• Prepare yourself mentally by briefly reviewing the main points in your notes.

On the day of the examination

1. Begin the exam day with a good breakfast.

2. Ensure that you have completed the final revisions

3. Have a few notes to revise from.

4.Get the materials organized.

5.Make sure that you eat sensibly and drink plenty of water.

6.If tense – practice deep breathing

7.Engage in positive self-talk

During the Examination

1. Do not start writing as soon as you get the test

2.Organize the time in the examination, so you do not run out of time before completing the paper.

3.If you panic–Put their pens down and sit back for a few minutes

4.Practice deep breathing and focus on something positive

5.Do not leave the exam hall no matter how bad the anxiety feels, it will surely subside in a short span of time.

6.Go through the questions to make sure you have all the questions sheets.

7.Read the instructions carefully.

8. Hi-light key words like discuss, compare list...

9. Quickly estimate how much time you have to answer the questions

10.Answer easier question first to boost your confidence.

11.Read questions several times to be sure you understand exactly what is being asked.

12.Never rush through questions in a panic. Be calm and pace yourself.

13.Try to leave sometime before the test to review and correct errors.

14.If you run out of time on a certain question, leave some room to it later.

15.Sometimes the test gives away some of the answers.

16.Guess at answers only if there is no penalty for guessing.

17.Be on a look out for words that may provide a clue to the correct answer. Words like "seldom, generally, and tend to" often make a statement true: words like always never, and only are likely to make it false.

18.Before looking at the possible answers to a multiple-choice question, try to form the answer in your mind. Then look at the choices given.

19.Do not change an answer that comes to the mind first unless you are absolutely sure that it is wrong.

20.As far as possible limit your answer to the prescribed number of words. However, do not try to achieve this by counting the words written. Rather, count the number of lines you have written. At the very outset, you must have an idea as to how many words you usually manage to write in one line

After the Examinations

Do not indulge in the post-mortems and comparisons with others. Review what went well in your overall approach, before and during the examination including the way you handled anxiety. Aim to improve upon that in the next examination

In a Nutshell

1. Learn from your past mistakes

2. Be committed

3. Be persistent and consistent

4. Avoid looking for reasons not to do work n Plan your time effectively

Pointers

1. Remember to always encourage yourself for every effort you have made to better your grades.

2. Have faith & believe in yourself that you can achieve whatever you set your mind on.

3. Do not be discouraged by failure, immediately start working on your weak areas

4. Have a positive attitude towards your goal & be responsible for whatever you undertake

5. We become what our attitudes are. So change your attitude

Palestine: a Family's Story

By Rasul

Ramzy Baroud left Gaza when he was a young man.  He departed with mixed emotions, knowing full well he might never see his father or Gaza again.  Once he left, his activities and the nature of the Israeli control of that piece of land made those fears come true.  Since he left, he has become a chronicler of the struggle for a free Palestine and an advocate for a genuine and just solution to the ongoing conflict in his native land.

His most recent addition to the aforementioned chronicle is a beautifully wrought memoir of his family.  Titled My Father Was a Freedom Fighter, the book takes the reader into the life of a man who was driven from his birth village during the ethnic cleansing of parts of Palestine by Israeli Zionist forces  That man was Ramzy Baroud's father, Mohammed Baroud.  Along with his family and much of the rest of his village, the teenage Mohammed eventually found himself in the refugee camp called Nuseirat.  Despite several journeys out of that camp to fight and to trade, he would die there some fifty years later.  Not only would Baroud's father never see the village of his childhood--Beit Daras--again, but the fate of Palestine was more uncertain than it had been ever since the creation of Israel.

I have to be honest.  Whenever I read a description of the travails of the Palestinian people since 1947, my human emotions kick in.  Anger and sorrow are the most common.   The description can be a personal memoir or a reasonably objective piece of journalism.  It could be written by a sympathetic soul, an observer or a member of a group supporting the continued expansion of Israel.  It doesn't matter.  The decades of suffering mirrored by a similar number of years opposing Israeli occupation; the uncaring response of a world seemingly numb to the actualities of Tel Aviv's Orwellian newspeak describing the situation; and the  seeming inevitability of more death and daily suffering always results in the aforementioned emotional responses.

Ramzy Baroud's text operates on several different levels.  Of course, it is an unsparing look at the political Zionist program to carve a homeland out of Palestinian lands for likeminded Jewish people.  It is also a critical history of the relationship between the Palestinians and established Arab nations.  He recalls the brief period of secular Arab nationalism after World War Two led by Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser.  While describing this bit of history, Baroud also relates the story of his father's enlistment into a unit of Nasser's army that defended Gaza.  This moment of his father's pride he describes is one that is both personal and political, like so many moments of a people struggling daily for their independence and against oppression. 

The author's ability to depict these types of moments is what makes this book such a worthwhile read.  Under Baroud's pen, history truly does become the story of a people.  Each individual whose story appears in My Father Was a Freedom Fighter embodies the story of the Palestinians.  The story stretches from the daily battle to feed one's family when there are no fields to harvest because the occupiers have destroyed those fields to meetings with leaders of the Intifada.  Ramzy Baroud tells a very personal tale in these pages underlined by an impeccably researched historical knowledge. 

In addition to depicting the relationship between Arab nations and the Palestinian movement, this text explores the nature of the Palestinian liberation movement itself.  Combining his father's political understanding and historical memory with his own knowledge, Baroud explores the reasons for the Palestine Liberation Organization's fall into seeming irrelevance in Gaza and its replacement by Hamas.  It is a story about organizing at the grassroots and corruption at the top.  It is also a story of one man's hopes in the organization he believed in being dashed.  Finally, it is also the all too familiar tale of a society striving yet failing to overcome the scourge of class, especially when those at the top are offered rewards for leaving their lesser-off brothers and sisters behind.

Perhaps the most emotionally difficult storyline that runs through Baroud's memoir is the story of his parents' love for each other.  Difficult, because it is a story like so many other love stories without hope for a happy ending.  When Ramzy's mother died of cancer at the age of 42, she was given a martyr's funeral.  This wasn't because she was a battlefield fighter or a guerrilla, but because she was a child, mother and sister of Palestine.  She died so young in part because Tel Aviv's brutal occupation refused her the treatment she needed.  Indeed, the incident that may well have exacerbated her illness was one where Israeli soldiers beat her while she pleaded with them not to break her sons' arms.  This practice was a common Israeli Defense Force tactic during the First Intifada.

My Father Was a Freedom Fighter is a perfectly nuanced combination of memoir and history.  Once again, Baroud has put the nature of the Israeli occupation of Palestine in human terms that describe not only the humiliation of the Palestinians as individuals and as a people, but also the struggle against that humiliation and the often brutal repression that accompanies it.

Like Father, Like...Daughter?

Baseball hard-hitter Harmon Killebrew tells a story that hints at the importance of fathers to boys: “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard,” he says on his Web site. “Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’”

Obviously, Killebrew’s father was tuned in to the needs of his sons, an admirable quality that seems only natural in a man. We accept that every boy needs a father as easily as we accept the notion that he needs a dog. But while society is beginning to acknowledge that a father is more crucial than a dog to a boy’s well-being, the question of how important fathers are to the well-being of their daughters has all but been ignored.

A search through online journals on family studies using the terms “fathers” and “daughters” does not prove entirely fruitless, of course. An abundance of material is available, nearly all of it exploring the psychological effects of incest and other dysfunctions. Unfortunately, however, there is very little that would lead anyone to believe that more positive relationships even exist between fathers and daughters, much less that such relationships may also have a profound and vital effect on a woman’s mental health.

This gap has been addressed by only a few researchers, one of whom is Linda Nielsen, professor of adolescent psychology and women’s studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Nielsen has been teaching a “Fathers and Daughters” course there since 1991 and authored its current textbook, Embracing Your Father: How to Create the Relationship You Always Wanted With Your Dad (McGraw Hill, 2004).

“Do you realize how rare incest is between a biological father and daughter?” she asked rhetorically in a recent interview with Vision. “It is extremely rare. When we talk about girls who are victims of incest, that term, to psychologists and sociologists, covers being sexually abused by cousins, uncles, stepfathers, stepbrothers, brothers, half-brothers, men who live with your mother who are not related—that all goes into the category of incest victims. But when you look into the percentage of girls who were sexually abused by their biological fathers, it is very small. What this tells me, just as it told you—is that researchers have the wrong focus when it comes to studying father-daughter relationships.”

This wrong focus may contribute to the misconception that daughters don’t need their fathers after a certain age. “My students tell me that their fathers stopped doing things with them when they became teenagers—like going camping with them alone on the weekends—because it would look weird,” says Nielsen. “Once puberty hits, you aren’t supposed to spend as much time with your daughter. Once she’s a teenager, you’re supposed to back off and let Mom have the main relationship. If that’s the message you’re sent and you’re told that’s what a ‘good father’ does, then that’s what you’re going to do.”

This goes hand-in-hand with another stereotype that harms father-daughter relationships. “We portray fathers more negatively than we portray mothers in media,” says Nielsen. “Dad’s a blockhead when it comes to child raising—especially with his daughter. Mom is considered the expert. These messages discourage fathers from being actively involved.”

According to Nielsen, most men would like to be involved, and she adds, “Fathers do spend more time with their kids than in the past.” But she says some changes still need to occur. Although company work-life balance programs for men and women are becoming increasingly popular in Western nations, “men still spend an average of 15 more hours a week at work and commuting than their employed wives do, and American fathers spend about 70 more hours each year at work than do men in other industrialized countries. Dads still don’t have as much time as moms to be with kids.”

Clearly, as a society we remain unconvinced of how crucial fathers are to their children—particularly to their daughters. But would we be convinced if we read the research?

Vanderbilt University researchers have long known that girls who have supportive, involved fathers enter puberty later than girls whose fathers are distant or absent, and this is not as insignificant to a woman’s quality of life as it may seem. In 2003 researchers at the Cincinnati, Ohio, Children’s Hospital noted a link between early onset of menstruation and adult obesity. But there’s more. When early onset of menstruation was marked by early breast development, there was an associated rise in the risk for breast cancer. The accompanying factors may be complex, but there is certainly more to be explored in the association between good father-daughter relationships and a healthy future for adult females.

Beyond physical health, of course, the right attention from fathers can confer other benefits, as studies continue to demonstrate.

One such study was conducted in the United States and New Zealand in 2003, by Bruce J. Ellis, professor of family studies and human development at the University of Arizona, and several of his colleagues. The researchers listed a variety of the negative outcomes adolescent girls set themselves up for when they have early sexual experiences. “Specifically,” they note, “adolescent childbearing is associated with lower educational and occupational attainment, more mental and physical health problems, inadequate social support networks for parenting, and increased risk of abuse and neglect for children born to teen mothers. Despite these consequences, the United States and New Zealand have the first and second highest rates of teenage pregnancy among Western industrialized countries. . . . Given these costs to adolescents and their children, it is critical to identify life experiences and pathways that place girls at increased risk for early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy.”

After following a combined total of approximately 900 subjects from preschool to late adolescence, the researchers concluded that “father absence was an overriding risk factor for early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy. Conversely, father presence was a major protective factor against early sexual outcomes, even if other factors were present” (emphasis added).

Ellis and his colleagues were not the first to make the association between strong father-daughter relationships and healthy sexual outcomes, of course, nor were they the most recent.

Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, reported similar findings in February 2006. In a study involving 10,000 students between 7th and 12th grade, Regnerus reiterated that girls who had positive relationships with involved fathers waited longer to have their first sexual experience. He added, “Girls who have poor relationships with their dads tend to seek attention from other males at earlier ages and often this will involve a sexual relationship.” This surprising characteristic of strong father-daughter relationships was not duplicated between mothers and daughters.

Nielsen’s own research has been conducted among her college students over a span of more than 15 years, and like other researchers before her, she acknowledges that positive fathering produces well-adjusted, confident and successful daughters who relate well to other men in their lives. Unfortunately, she says, fathers tend to spend less time with their daughters than with their sons, and many do not see anything negative about this. Nielsen also points out that “most of these fathers and daughters do not communicate, share personal things, or get to know one another as well as mothers and daughters.”

One might wonder how she hopes her course for young college women will change this. Shouldn’t she be talking to their dads? What can a young woman do to close the distance if her childhood is behind her, and with it, seemingly, any chance of a good relationship with her father? According to Nielsen, plenty! Unfortunately, many women are held back by the belief that their father should make the first move, or that patterns of communication in their relationship are so entrenched that they cannot be changed. Or perhaps they’ve tried some of the strategies before, without result. Nevertheless, Nielsen assures her students, the strategies she outlines in her class and its textbook will bring about changes. Indeed, the greatest changes may occur in the daughters themselves.

“Let’s say that your pessimistic assumptions turn out to be right,” she offers in her textbook. “No matter how many of my suggestions you try . . . your relationship with your father doesn’t get any better. Yes, you’ll be disappointed, frustrated, and sad—and maybe angry. But these are the same feelings you had before you started. So you really haven’t lost anything. And I seriously doubt that you’re going to regret having tried. Every daughter I know who has reached out and tried again, regardless of the outcome, feels better about herself. It’s as if she has lifted a weight off her shoulders. Like these daughters, you can give yourself the gift of pride and respect that comes from being active instead of passive, from acting like an adult instead of a child.”

Acting like an adult, in Nielsen’s view, includes understanding that daughters may also have contributed to the stereotypes that keep their fathers distant. Daughters may keep things from their fathers under the assumption that their fathers would respond more critically than their mothers. Daughters may assume fathers aren’t as nurturing or intuitive as mothers are, and may avoid going to them for personal advice and comfort.

Mothers may also contribute to the problem through what some researchers call “gatekeeping” behaviors. A 2005 study by the National Council on Family Relations explains that maternal gatekeeping may take a number of forms, any one of which "either encourages or discourages fathers from acting on their paternal identity. . . . One path to changing fathers’ behavior may involve changing the way that mothers look at them. If mothers believe that fathers can and should be capable parents, they are more likely to allow fathers into the lives of their children.”

Nielsen agrees this can be a factor. Her recommendation to her students is “Don’t build a road to Dad through Mom.” Unfortunately, Nielsen’s study of the data collected from her students between 1990 and 2004 revealed that most daughters do go through their mother to reach their father, which has the effect of pushing him away and diminishing their odds of improving their relationship.

So then, does all of the responsibility for good father-daughter relationships fall on daughters? Of course not. Especially while they have young children, fathers carry the bulk of the responsibility for spending as much quality time as realistically possible with their children, whether girls or boys. But as they mature, sons and daughters can contribute to the effort too. Eventually there comes a time when the best way to turn the heart of a father to his daughter is for his daughter to turn her heart to her father.