By JESSE SCACCIA
I came across this interesting article in the archives of Time magazine, circa 1934. The N.E.A conference was in Washington, and one teacher had this to say about how well government listened to the concerns of teachers:
“Our meek attitude and mild resolutions must cease. It is all too clear that we have little recognition as a power,” he said.
Does that sentiment feel familiar?
The article goes on to talk about New Deal money put toward keeping teachers, rebuilding schools, and loans to school districts. In the wake of this, some districts even reported having larger budgets than the year before. The money was especially well spent in West Virginia, where for the first time in its history they gave every child in the State nine months schooling.
But here is where teachers back then and teachers now strike me as different. Check this out:
Nonetheless, convening educators last week resolved on mass demonstrations throughout the land next autumn “to impress the entrenched interests now attacking the schools.” Hopefully they decided to ask the next Congress for half a billion dollars, with no strings of Federal control attached. In this resolution they were going to call attention to $2,000,000,000 Federal appropriations for Army & Navy, but War Veteran Virgil Sturgill of Ashland, Ky. objected and the comparison was struck out.
Sure, teachers are often willing to go on strike to protect their own rights. But at what point to we band together as a profession and take action against what ails our schools? Because if the teachers–the very ones in front of the classrooms–aren’t protecting an educational system that produces able and informed citizens, then we, as a nation, should simply not expect for there to ever be educated and informed citizens.
The important question we must decisively answer before we head to the streets is, What are the entrenched interests that today are attacking our schools? Standardized testing? Unsafe schools? A class-biased funding system that rewards districts based on property taxes rather than on need? A destruction of values and attention spans caused by medias, both new and old? A lack of commitment by parents? Overcrowded classrooms? Insufficient teacher education programs? Teacher pay?
What is the problem here, and what are we going to do to fix it?
How Family responsible for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of ChiId Rights
In several part of the world, child protection laws have been undergoing review, as societies approach to terms with the area of the problem of child abuse, and the need to perk up the capability of public responses to abused and deserted children. Children may be particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation given their dependency on others and their limited ability to protect themselves. Sexual abuse and exploitation can take a range of forms including rape, commercial sexual exploitation and domestic abuse. Sexual exploitation has far-reaching effects for the physical and mental health of a child. It is estimated that one million children (mainly adolescent girls but also a significant number of adolescent boys) enter the multi-billion dollar sex trade each year (Asmita Naik). We must not forget that the children’s are the ultimate goal for development.
Our efforts for a progress in the human condition must start as early as possible begging with the child and mother well before the child is born. So that human right which belongs to an individual as a consequence of being a human can be protected in the changing world. Emphasis must be on the need for children to have security( Parkinson Patrick) and protecting the health and education of today’s children is the first and foremost right of these children but it is also the most basic and wisest of all investment in social and economic development of society ( Proff. Karl- Eric Kuntsson’s).
The above extract is from Mr. Swapneshwar Goutam’s article “How Family responsible for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of ChiId Rights”. You can find and read the complete article at http://www.humanrightsdefence.org.
Yours sincerely,
Tomas
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Dr Tomas Eric Nordlander
Human Rights Defence
As former UFT President Al Shanker said, “When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”
Jamie,
Did you make up that quote or Bill O’Reilly? Or maybe something the two of you cooked up while dual-spooning with some pork ribs?
If that quote is true, man, it is shameful. Not quite as bad as you, Bill, and that pork rib… but pretty bad.
Jesse
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