Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

Stories today:   “Judge who sold kids to private prisons sentenced to 28 years”   “Accused of perpetrating a “profound evil,” former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr, has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for illegally accepting money from a juvenile-prison developer while he spent years incarcerating thousands of young people. Prosecutors said Ciavarella sent juveniles to jail as part of a “kids for cash” scheme involving Robert Mericle, builder of the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers. The ex-judge was convicted in February of 12 counts that included racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. In addition to his prison sentence, Ciavarella was ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution”. ( http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/judge-sentenced-to-28-years-in-prison-for-selling-kids-to-private-prisons?news=843116 )   “Education: the Key to the Future for Kids in Juvenile Justice?” ...

 Today’s news list:   1.       “Disproportionate Suspensions for African American Males African American males were suspended at a rate more than six times the rate for white males across the district. In Elementary schools this ratio was closer to nine times higher while in high schools the rate was slightly over double the rate for white males, mostly for defiance reasons”.   ( http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/education/restorative-justice-programs-take-root-in-schools.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 )   2. “BUFFALO, N.Y. — A new discipline policy adopted by the Buffalo school district for next year is being praised by advocates who say it's about time that schools replace out-of-school suspensions for minor offenses with more productive solutions”.   ( http://online.wsj.com/article/AP300bfee11e3544a78829e1cf29c70b76.html )     3. “A fifth...

Those of you who watch network TV might be familiar with NBC’s Law and Order SVU. It follows detectives from the New York City’s sex crimes unit. Yes, there are actually sex crime units; that is how bad rape incidents actually are. Anyway, Wednesday’s episode was obviously inspired by UNC’s rape case; I am glad people are paying attention. I am attaching the link for those of you who want to watch it online: http://www.nbc.com/law-and-order-special-victims-unit/video/girl-dishonored/n35873/ , but keep in mind it is never for the faint of heart. What universities can learn from this is that if they concentrate on keeping students safe, and not worry about the crime statistics, they will grow. If it is known that a campus has an extreme draconian medieval response to rape cases, rapists will think twice. This is just my opinion of course, but either way we need to keep the conversation going on this. Have a good weekend! Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETe...

Everyday brings me more fodder to blog about on this terrible subject. It is currently a never-ending train of episodes: “College Sexual Assault Survivors Form Underground Network To Reform Campus Policies” “Soon after Clark filed the complaint along with others, news stories about it and the broader trend of sexual assaults on college campuses began to gain attention on the Internet. Clark, who graduated from UNC in 2011 and now lives in Oregon, began to receive emails and messages from students all over the country who shared similar experiences they endured at their schools -- and Clark kept notes. Now a visitor to her apartment can see stacks of folders and documents detailing assault victims' cases from Amherst College, Stanford, Penn State, Harvard, Yale and several universities in North Carolina. A map on her wall plots the schools geographically under a banner she's titled "The Bigger Picture" “ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/col...

“All over the world women face discrimination, violence, and many other injustices in all areas of life. Study after study has taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. Apart from being a question of human rights and democracy, no other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal mortality. No other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation. If we do not improve the way we address women's rights and gender equality, we risk condemning millions of women to continued poverty, oppression, and violence”. ( http://www.gearcampaign.org/Facts.shtml ) "No society treats its women as well as its men. That is the conclusion from the United Nations Development Programme, as written in its 1997 Human Development Report [source: UNDP ]. Almost 50 years earlier, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly had adopted the Universal Declarati...

 I read this article in the Huffington Post, and I thought: what the heck, is this for real? “Occidental College Sexual Assault Response Subject of Federal Complaints” “Female Occidental College students, faculty and alumni say in a federal complaint that the Los Angeles school failed to take campus sex crimes seriously by improperly reporting and adjudicating sexual assaults and covering up rapes”. “Even when the school's investigations have found wrongdoing, punishment has been light, the complaint says. One student found responsible for raping a woman was given the punishment of writing a five-page book report, according to the complaint”. “The college has hired Gina M. Smith and Leslie Gomez of Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton to conduct a review of the college's sexual violence policies. Smith recently worked with Amherst College and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill , institutions that faced similar allegations of mishandling sexual misco...

 I have a habit of jumping from subject to subject, but there are so many relevant and important topics out there that need a voice. A subject that I continue to be passionate about is the big issue of sexual assault in the military. I want to share a story that I read in the San Diego Union Tribune that broke my heart to hear, it was titled: “Betrayed, not broken” ( http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/21/tp-betrayed-not-broken/ ). “Amber Ramirez didn’t mention her military service when she arrived last spring at St. Vincent de Paul Village in downtown San Diego, desperate for a roof over her head. ■ Her brief time in the Army — cut short by a sexual assault, going absent without leave and an other-than-honorable discharge — didn’t make her a veteran, she thought. ■ Now she knows otherwise”. “Nearly 3,200 documented sexual assaults in fiscal 2011 involved a service member, according to the Defense Department. In most cases, both victim and perpetrator were service ...

I would like start off by sharing part of an article from IRIN ( humanitarian news and analysis) : “Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains poor, with up to seven million children across the vast country out of school - despite a 2010 government decision to make primary education free”. “DRC is still struggling to overcome the effects of wars that raged between 1996 and 2003, compounded by continuing violence in the east of the country and decades of corruption and poor governance”. “The seven million figure was contained in the preliminary findings – reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - of a study conducted by the DRC government with the UK Department for International Development and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF”. “It said 25 percent of the primary school-aged children and 60 percent of adolescents were not enrolled in classes”. “The free education directive is supposed to cover the whole country except the capital, Kinshasa...

I have mentioned there are banks doing business in the DRC, but good luck trying to open a checking account if you are a local. These banks are located in the nicest parts of downtown Kinshasa; they are nice building with luxurious offices. So the question is what kind of banking are they doing? This is a list of commercial banks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Access Bank - dba - Banque Privée Du Congo (BPC) Afriland First Bank Advans Bank Banque Commerciale du Congo , since 1909 Banque Congolaise Banque Congolaise du Commerce Exterieur Banque Continentale Africaine Banque de Kinshasa Banque du Crédit Agricole (BCA) Banque du Congo Banque Internationale d'Afrique Banque Internationale pour l'Afrique au Congo Barclays Bank BGFIBank DRC [2] Caisse Centrale de Coopération Économique Citibank , since 1971 Crédit Agricole Ecobank [3] Fransabank Procredit Bank Nouvelle Bank Rawbank , (since 2001) Stanbi...

Nine countries border the Democratic Republic of Congo: Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, The Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the DRC), Central African Republic, Angola, Zambia, and Burundi. It is difficult to defend a border like that. Imagine, every time one of those border countries has an internal conflict, it ends up spilling into your country (literally),   imagine that there are violent rogue armies such as the “lord’s resistance army” (from Uganda) that steal children for soldiers, and by the time your army gets there to defend you, the LRA are long gone back across the border. Imagine another country such as Rwanda decides to set up shop in your country, mine your minerals and sell them (Rwanda has no Coltan, they are stealing it from the DRC), on top of that they have their own troops patrolling inside your country! Can you feel the outrage yet? I am just scratching the surface here. Imagine you are a child, who should be happy go lucky an...

Let us look at extent of news (in English) on the Congo today in order of appearance:   1.       Congo conflict hits mountain gorilla tourism http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20130416-congo-war-affects-gorilla-tourism 2.       Charlotte Bobcats power forward Bismack Biyombo of Democratic Republic of Congo (0) dunks the ball against the New York Knicks during an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, North Carolina April 15, ... http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/photos/charlotte-bobcats-power-forward-bismack-biyombo-democratic-republic-photo-012958802.html 3.       Mobile banking sparks a 'minor revolution' in DR Congo workforce http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/14/mobile-banking-sparks-a-minor-revolution-in-dr-congo-workforce/   4.       Inside Congo's Link in the Gold Chain http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323820304578410273270...

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2013/03/07/putting-a-mooc-on-the-resume/

  Have we ever considered what decades of war and fighting can do to an education system? On top of this, imagine the system was not designed well in the first place but by colonists who did not want educated people. Imagine wanting and education, but having to pay your teacher directly because the state does not pay them at all. Imagine being in anatomy class with 300 students and needing a pair of binoculars to see the dissection. I could go on, but you get the point. This is the daily reality for students in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is getting worse.     A 2010 article titled “ Education in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Challenges and tentatives solutions “, touches upon a lot these important points. “ The education in the Democratic Republic Democratic of Congo is among the most sectors affected by the 32 years crisis faced by the country. From the 1960s until the early 2000s, the Congolese public education budget ...

  It has been a rough week in education and I really wish there was more positive news to report, or better still that we had heard from those positive educators who are loving life (there are many). What I will do is share this article on keeping teachers spirits up: “School Leaders: Don't Let Your Teachers Lose Heart”. By Laurie Barnoski “Teachers in 2013 are getting discouraged. Their two goals are difficult enough without trying to incorporate all the newest programs and strategies in education”. “People become high school teachers because they have a passion for young people and a passion for their subject matter. They are willing to try to incorporate a reasonable number of new strategies and programs that will enhance student learning. Think carefully about what and how much you are asking your teachers to do. As administrators, you must encourage your teachers to not lose heart”. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/04/03/27barnoski.h32.html?tk...

  We have some positive stuff to report, or at least someone has attempted to take a negative episode and teach something positive. “Student Filmmaker's Answer to 'Blame the Rape Victim' Ethos: a Positive Video” “A recent case in which two high-school football players in Steubenville, Ohio, were found guilty of raping a teenage girl sparked a contentious debate about whether the girl—who was heavily intoxicated and had passed out—was partially to blame. But Samantha H. Stendal, 19, a University of Oregon film student, decided to tell a different story. A 27-second YouTube video called "A Needed Response," which racked up more than 1.7 million views in one week, is her answer to the Steubenville controversy, Ms. Stendal says, and is designed to promote respect”. http://chronicle.com/article/Student-Filmmaker-Turns-Blame/138193/?cid=oh&utm_source=oh&utm_medium=en Please check out the video link and share this simple but strong me...

This is not bad…I guess:   “ After Protest, Prison Company Won't Sponsor Florida Atlantic Stadium” “Following more than a month of resounding protest from students, faculty and staff, the sponsor and planned namesake for Florida Atlantic University’s new football stadium has withdrawn, FAU announced Tuesday, leaving the university to find a replacement for the private prison company GEO Group (the GEO Group Foundation was the official donor) and the $6 million its founder had pledged toward the project. Protesters had criticized the management and inmate and employee treatment at prisons run by GEO, whose chairman is a Florida Atlantic graduate and former trustee”. ( http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/03/after-protest-prison-company-wont-sponsor-florida-atlantic-stadium ) Sorry it came to this, how ever, getting in bed with a private prison is probably not best for an educational institution.   This title sounds reasonable and t...

  More issues at UNC: “ Chapel Hill Failed to Protect Housekeeper From Harassment, Judge Rules” “An administrative judge in North Carolina ruled last week that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had failed to protect one of its housekeepers from sexual harassment. The employee, Maria Isabel Prudencio-Arias, had filed a whistle-blower claim alleging that the university retaliated against her for accusing her supervisor of harassment. The judge ruled that she had established only part of her whistle-blower claim, but found that the university had “acted arbitrarily and capriciously in applying its policy … in investigating petitioner’s claims of harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and as such, violated petitioner’s due-process rights.” A state panel will review the ruling and make a final decision in the case”. ( http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/jp/chapel-hill-failed-to-protect-housekeeper-from-harassment-judge-rules?cid=at...

Article from inside higher ed titled: “What Were They Thinking?” “At Rochester, the controversy involves the blog of Steven Landsburg, an economics professor who last year attracted attention for defending Rush Limbaugh when Limbaugh called a Georgetown University law student a slut. This time around, Landsburg is writing about rape, and in particular the kind of rape in which the victim is unconscious or unaware that the rape is taking place (as was the case in the Steubenville incident that was recently in court)”. “Carson has been attracting a following in conservative circles and that led him to be asked by Fox News for his views on gay marriage. His answer: "Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn't matter what they are. They don't get to change the definition." The comparison of gay people who want to marry to those who favor bestiality or NAMBLA (which advoc...