Friday, July 28, 2017

The rumor and gossip mill has no place in education


Education is one of the most regulated industries in the United States, but I have always said that educators are big gossips, no matter what the level.

People get judged on popularity, seniority, and by whispers. I recently attended what I thought was a professional conversation about teaching, and one of the opening statements was “well I heard …about you”. You heard?!

We are supposed to be objective with our students, use rubrics, have learning goals, etc. How can we truly claim this if we cannot be objective with each other? Do you realize so many performance evaluations in education are based upon how the supervisor is feeling about you at that time, not about your performance for the year?

Unfortunately, we often treat our students this way as well. We judge them based upon student records, but we do not look closely at the records, just the juicy gossip. The teachers lounge in K12 is often full of negative student gossip.

Educators, we must do better if we are going to ever transform education. We are allowing non-educators to run us, because we cannot seem to run ourselves.

So, next time you feel like repeating that rumor, talking that trash, or judging someone on hearsay, let us practice what we teach the students:

·         Is this kind?
·         Is it true?
·         Is it necessary?
Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Private Prisons Trample on American Values: An Educator’s Researched Based Perspective


What is a for profit company? “A business or other organization whose primary goal is making money (a profit), as opposed to a non profit organization which focuses a goal such as helping the community and is concerned with money only as much as necessary to keep the organization operating”

So, if this company is not selling its services or product, it goes out of business. But what if it product is prisoners? That means in order to make money it would need its jails to be full; all the time. Remember, the number one goal of a company is to maximize profits for its owners.

“The Corrections Corporation of America launched the era of private prisons in 1983, when it opened an immigration detention center in an former motel in Houston, Texas. Today the Nashville-based company houses more than 66,000 inmates, making it the country’s second-largest private prison company. In 2015, it reported $1.9 billion in revenue and made more than $221 million in net income—more than $3,300 for each prisoner in its care”.

“CCA and other prison companies have written “occupancy guarantees” into their contracts, requiring states to pay a fee if they cannot provide a certain number of inmates. Winn Correctional Center was guaranteed to be 96 percent full”.

“The two largest for-profit prison companies in the United States – GEO and Corrections Corporation of America – and their associates have funneled more than $10 million to candidates since 1989 and have spent nearly $25 million on lobbying efforts. Meanwhile, these private companies have seen their revenue and market share soar”.

These systems do not only get you while you are inside prison, they get you if you have court fines, hallway house, on probation. Once they have you in their system, they make it very difficult for you to get out, and the average working person will end up paying dearly to get out of the system. Over inflated prices for goods, garnishing your paycheck for the privilege of being forced to stay at halfway house instead of being allowed to go home, fines and more fines.

“The Fines and Fees That Keep Former Prisoners Poor” “States and counties have upped the amounts they charge defendants, saddling those getting out of jail with huge amounts of debt they have little hope of paying off”.
“Increasingly, jurisdictions across the country are assessing hefty court fines and fees, called legal financial obligations (LFOs), on defendants, requiring them to pay thousands of dollars or face more jail time, according to Alexes Harris, the author of A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions for the Poor. Harris talked to one woman who was a victim of domestic violence and spent eight years in the prison system for shooting the father of her son. She’d been assessed $33,000 in LFOs, but 13 years after her conviction, despite minimum monthly payments she made, interest had brought her debt to $72,000”.  

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”

“Amendment VIII Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”

“Half of the world's prison population of about nine million is held in the US, China or Russia”. “Prison rates in the US are the world's highest, at 724 people per 100,000. In Russia, the rate is 581”.
Criminal justice reform in the United States would be one of the greatest things ever for human rights because, it is not enough to have laws of protection, what is needed is equal laws and true equal protection under the law no matter what your social status (or perceived status).


The state of incarceration in the United States, especially with the inclusion of the private prison system, is effrontery to American values, and all those who claim to love freedom, the constitution, and the United States of America, should be outraged.


Dr Flavius A B Akerele III
The ETeam

Some references for your perusal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/06/prisons/html/nn2page1.stm

Monday, July 10, 2017

Are you truly patriotic? An educator’s thoughts…


The 4th of July has just passed. So, the lingering of fireworks, flags, and people shouting “freedom” is still in the air. The 4th of July is a day when people’s patriotism comes out full force, but like Mother’s Day, it soon fades back into the closet until the next year.

Why do you say that? I am glad you asked.

True patriotism does not take a day off, true patriotism is also not just loving “your” version of America but embracing everyone’s America. It means acknowledging the diversities of religion, culture, skin color, etc. It means accepting the fact that the country is far from perfect but you are going to try and make it better.

There are people who struggle on daily basis just trying to make it, so perhaps they might not feel like celebrating. Does this make them less American? Absolutely not! The beauty of the freedom the country is supposed to have means one size does not fit all, but we are all in the same big box.
So as you sing your patriotic songs, wave your flag, have your BBQ, etc., remember that true patriotism means recognizing the faults as well as the freedom. It means that you are embracing everyone’s America.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam