Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

Problems with Electronic Communication ·          Too much information, low quality ·          No content to information, lacks meaning ·          Interpretation of information depends on relationships with sender Empowerment ·          Providing freedom for people to do what they want to do (pull)… ·          rather than getting them to do what you      them to do (push). Results of Empowerment ·          Empowered employees are more productive and happier. Empowerment also helps the organization stay flexible and adapt to changes Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

“The term microaggression was used by Columbia professor Derald Sue to refer to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color”; in my opinion as an educator, it can also be gender slights or people trying to establish or maintain superiority. Enter the world of sarcasm. According to Merriam Webster: 1.    a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain 2.   a mode of satirical   wit   depending for its effect on bitter,   caustic , and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual It often gets used, sometimes unconsciously, and we are all guilty of it at some point in our lives; and I use the word guilty on purpose because most people do not like being on the receiving end of sarcasm, especially in the professio...

We often contradict ourselves in life. When I say contradict, I mean we do not always practice what we preach. We contradict ourselves with our kids, with our driving, and even with our professions; and education is no exception and is probably one of the worst offenders. Have you ever found yourself teaching a class, and then all of sudden realized that many of the things you are teaching are not being done by both you and your company? University institutions are full of knowledge and knowledgeable people, but we sometimes take short cuts. Case in point, there are few if any professional training courses for deans, dept heads, and staff in education; most positions are filled by order of seniority, and we all know seniority does not automatically mean you are qualified for the job. Why is that? Professional development is spoken of, but not often understood.  Yes, you can get some CEU credits, go to a conference, and maybe even take an extra course: but are they going ...

Without your employees your organization would not exist, and without their dedication, your organization cannot thrive. Dedication comes with trust. Trust that you have their best interest at heart, trust that you are looking at them as more than a number, and trust that they will be treated with dignity. How do you develop trust? Start by talking with your people, and I do not mean about work, but as one human to another. Find out who they are and what makes them want to get up and work for you daily. Do you have regular one-on-one meetings with your people individually where you talk about performance (good and bad), goals, expectations,  and where they might want to be years from now? Or is that performance evaluation going to be a surprise to them at the end of the year? Do they know where they stand? Do they know you value them beyond just words? What might they say about you if you were not there? How might they evaluate you as a boss? Take care of t...

I am not sure who wrote this article, but it is brilliant, raw, and speaks the truth for so many parts of the world, especially for Congo. Just read it, you will be amazed. Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam The Case for Female Political Empowerment and Leadership in the Democratic Republic of the Congo A brief discussion By Gianmarco Piccolo Re North and south Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 2013  At 4 am in a dismal and dirty pit, seven thousand miles away from the golden lights, the glitz, the glitter, and the black tarred highways of the developed world a ten year old boy is digging dark red earth out of an open pit mine, a massive sore on the once green landscape of this beautiful country.  He is hungry, thirsty, tired and terrified yet he keeps on digging out the valuable red earth and shovels it into the waiting wheelbarrows of the other adolescent miners waiting nearby. He knows that i...

Red Herring: “ something unimportant that is used to stop people from noticing or thinking about something important ” (Merriam-Webster) I expect to see this in today’s politics because debate is no longer followed (cynical I know), but I should not expect this in important life threatening issues and stories. Social media misuse is allowing certain individual to inject their hate into what might have been a very important message. Its misuse is turning seemingly productive conversations into bigoted rants; and that is the entire agenda of these individuals. They simply love to sow chaos and discord. The delete and block buttons are wonderful tools to combat these individuals, I highly suggest you use those rather than try to debate them because remember, they do not believe in debate. Red herring and other fallacies are contributing towards the death of debate, civil discourse, and constructive criticism. Society is giving a pass to those who do this. Do not give ...

“ Holocaust “ comes from the the Greek word   holokauston , itself a translation of the Hebrew   olah , meaning “completely burnt offering to God" How many folks in the U.S can point out the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on a map? Not many that I have met, and those that can are rarely truly cognizant of the truth of what is going on in that country. How many even care? You should and here is why… So much of the violence is attributed to ethnic wars, rebels, or some other buzz term; and all this could not be farther from the truth. The DRC is under attack, it has been invaded it is systematically being raped for its minerals, and violent rape and mutilation is being used as a tool of terror against citizens. Rather than attempt to go into depth about some of the personal stuff I witnessed and the stories from witnesses, I challenge you to watch this one hour piece and hear and see it for yourself. CongoOn The Gilchrist Experience: Prof Yaa-Lengi E...

I have never had to experience dating in the post Facebook world, fortunately for me it did not exist when I got married and I am 100%  OK  with that. Making new friends in the Facebook era is also quite interesting: do you friend them right away, do you wait, do you check out there profile? Inadvertent cyber stalking at its finest. The rules for being social have gone to the darkside it seems; the phone is barely used for phone calls, and there are armies of zombies looking down at their devices while moving through the world and they rarely look up. I have seen near accidents happen all because a nose was buried in a device while walking, and it was not the driver’s fault. Technology can be a useful tool if used correctly, but it can also be highly addictive. I have no clue what the solution is except perhaps we should all be a little more aware of this problem. Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam