To Get Rich Is Glorious!

Tom Watkins –

Advisor, Michigan-China Innovation Center

As of last month, Zhong Shanshan, founder of the popular Chinese bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, has overtaken Alibaba founder Jack Ma to become the country’s wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg News Service.

With earnings of $58.7 bn (US), Mr. Zhong now ranks 17th overall on Bloomberg’s list of the world’s top 500 richest people. He also owns the controlling stake in Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, a pharma firm that partnered with two research universities to develop a candidate vaccine to fight Covid-19.

The Potential of Wealth

In our world today, wealth brings power along with the potential to change the world.

This was certainly true of the Chinese Communist Party. Deng Xiaoping, following his predecessor, Mao Tse Tung, pulled China back from the twin disasters of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward, opening China to the world.

No stranger to revolution himself – he was, after all, with Mao every step of the way during China’s Long March and revolutionary struggle for China in the 1930s – when it was his turn, he unleashed his own revolution of change and progress for China. Deng was nothing if not tenacious and persistent. Yet, the central element in Deng’s approach throughout his life was pragmatism and finding a way to accomplish results. He was also no stranger to adversity. It is said that Deng was knocked down and exiled 3 times by Mao only to rise and contribute again and again.

After Chairman Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, Deng gradually came to power and orchestrated China’s rise through a series of drastic market economy reforms which earned him the reputation as the “Architect of Modern China”. His reforms are credited with “opening to the world” and more importantly, to foreign direct investment, lowering and eliminating other trade barriers that catapulted China forward.

Perhaps one of China’s most amazing and significant accomplishments is the quest for and success in combating extreme poverty and hunger. It is estimated that up to 800 million people have escaped abject poverty and moved into the Chinese middle class due to Deng’s reforms. Chinese people living in poverty dropped from 88 percent in 1981 to 6 percent in 2017.

Imagine moving twice the population of the U.S. from extreme poverty to a decent standard of living in less than 50 years. This is perhaps not only China’s but one of the world’s greatest success stories. Deng’s reforms made China fertile ground within which to shed Mao’s straight jacket of past ideological constraints.

China in Transition

I recall walking in a market in Shaoshan, Hunan (Mao’s hometown) in the early 2000s when a woman speaking Mandarin frantically grabbed my arm and motioned me to follow her. We weaved through the market and down various alleyways, finally arriving at the excited woman’s stall. She flipped through a catalog, jabbing her finger at the pages. I broke into laughter realizing she was an Amway distributor, attempting to hawk her “American Way” products in the birthplace of the Mao – founder of the Chinese Communist Party.

Change and Progress 

Deng proclaimed, “To get rich is glorious” and people took him at his word. He remains revered in China today as an architect of the Chinese economic miracle. Deng Xiaoping’s thought – and theory behind “socialism with Chinese characteristics” – is captured in his quote, It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.” 

Deng’s actions, prophetic to China’s 21st-century economic turnaround, catapulted China into global superpower status economically, militarily, and politically, putting into play something both remarkable and universally acknowledged: China’s true revolution is in regaining its wealth and power, lost to the West centuries before.

Deng’s words came flooding back to me as I reflect on just how far China has come since its century of humiliation in 1849. From my mother telling me in the 1960s to “eat my vegetables, children in China are starving,” to China’s producing more billionaires than India and the USA combined. China’s meteoric rise has been extraordinary with the expectation that the world’s largest Communist country is now poised to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy.

Now What?

Having wealth provides choices that few, if any, of China’s new billionaires ever dreamed of. Like China itself and China’s Communist Party leaders under current Chairman Xi Jinping, they will have some consequential decisions to make about how they will invest in China’s wealth.

President Xi seems to want China to reclaim its mantle of being a top superpower, the regaining wealth and world power it lost centuries before. China has invested in eliminating poverty, building its infrastructure (air and seaports, rail, roads, bridges), education, and technology, especially 5G bandwidth. Artificial intelligence and big data support its domestic industries as well as its military and internal domestic security. Budgets are statements of priorities and the world can see where China is headed as it invests the globalization gains it has accumulated.

China’s Billionaires  

Today, Zhong Shanshan stands as China’s richest person. His controlling stake in Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise caused his overall wealth jump nearly $20bn earlier this year. Clearly, his wealth could expand tenfold should they be successful in producing a COVID-19 vaccine. A vaccine used solely in China has a potential for 1.4 billion customers.

According to the Hurun Report’s Global Rich List 2020, China now has 799 billionaires. Where will these new super rich invest their fortunes going forward? Many are investing in their own children sending them to the finest international prep schools and Ivy League Universities according to the South China Morning Post.

Yes, to get rich is glorious. To spend that wealth to provide opportunities for children and others is a noble pursuit. Yet, more can and should be done.

China would be wise to build on the goodwill younger people in America have towards China. According to a recent Pew survey, younger people in the United States often have more positive views of all foreign countries and institutions than their elders. Millennials (32%) see China in a more positive light than do Gen Xers (23%) or Boomers (21%).

Given the tensions today between China and the U.S., and with an increasing number of other Western nations, a good use of the Chinese billionaires’ wealth would be to work with their Western counterparts in building student-to-student learning opportunities at the middle and high school levels. Lay a foundation of mutual understanding and knowledge that may keep the peace and create economic, social, cultural, scientific, and educational connections. This could be the bond that will help solve the most vexing problems in the world.

I laid out one such idea on these pages previously. I can think of no better way to invest the fortunes gained than in our shared humanity and a nation’s youth. Young people make up a small percentage of our respective populations—but they are 100% of our collective future.

To get rich is glorious.

To help change the world as Deng Xiaoping did by investing in youth? Now that would be priceless.

Source: To Get Rich Is Glorious! – Tom Watkins – CHINA US Focus

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Revealed: chaining, beatings and torture inside Sudan’s Islamic schools

Two-year BBC News Arabic investigation uncovers horrific conditions, with boys as young as five facing violence and sexual abuse

 Inside the khalwa in Sudan run by Sheikh Hussein, who died earlier this year.
Inside the khalwa in Sudan run by Sheikh Hussein, who died earlier this year. Photograph: Jess Kelly/BBC News Arabic
Fateh Al-Rahman Al-Hamdani

An April evening in the suburbs of Khartoum. After months of undercover work, I had learned to time my visits to khalwas, Sudan’s Islamic schools, to coincide with evening prayers. I entered while the sheikhs (teachers) and 50-odd boys dressed in their white djellabas were busy praying. As they knelt, I heard the clanking of chains on the boys’ shackled legs. I sat down behind them and started filming, secretly.

I began investigating after allegations emerged of abuse inside some of these schools: children kept in chains, beaten and sexually abused. Khalwas have existed in Sudan for centuries. There are more than 30,000 of them across the country where children are taught to memorise the Qur’an. They are run by sheikhs who usually provide food, drink and shelter, free of charge. As a result, poor families often send their children to khalwas instead of public schools.

I had been working as a journalist in Sudan for five years, but this was the first time an assignment really felt personal. I was taught at a khalwa: a place where I would try to get through each day without being beaten.

The complex to the right is the al-Khulafaa al-Rashideen school where two students, Mohamed Nader and Ismail, were severely beaten.

The complex to the right is the al-Khulafaa al-Rashideen school where two students, Mohamed Nader and Ismail, were severely beaten. Photograph: BBC News Arabic

In 2018, I began what would become a two-year investigation with BBC News Arabic and take me to 23 khalwas across Sudan. Before proper undercover equipment from the BBC arrived, I taped my phone inside a notebook, to secretly film.

Despite having gone to a khalwa myself, I was shocked by what I found. I saw children – some as young as five – beaten and shackled like animals. One boy with deep, raw wounds around his ankles told me: “We can be in groups of six or seven all chained together, and they [the sheikhs] make us run around in circles. Whenever one of us falls over we have to get up again because they keep whipping us … They say that this is good for us.”

One of the worst experiences I had was in 2018 at Ahmed Hanafy, a well-respected khalwa in Darfur. In a study room, under a hot corrugated iron roof, a small boy was held down and whipped more than 30 times by a teacher. The only sound in the room was the lashing of the whip and the boy’s anguished cries. I wanted to grab the whip and hit the sheikh, but I knew I couldn’t. When I later contacted the school, the sheikh confirmed they do beat children but denied this incident ever took place.

Another disturbing case was that of two 14-year-old boys, Mohamed Nader and Ismail. When I visited them in hospital they were lying on their stomachs, unconscious, their backs stripped of flesh. They were beaten and tortured so badly they nearly died.

“They kept them in a room for five days without food or water,” Mohamed Nader’s father, Nader, told me.

Chains worn by pupils
Chains worn by pupils at al-Khulafaa al-Rashideen. Photograph: Jess Kelly/BBC News Arabic

“They rubbed tar all over their bodies. [Mohamed Nader] has been so badly beaten you can even see his spine.”

Source: Revealed: chaining, beatings and torture inside Sudan’s Islamic schools | Global development | The Guardian

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More Hong Kong teachers in firing line, as education minister reveals ‘relatively serious’ cases being processed after one is banned for life

  • Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung says no decision has been made yet in ‘one or two cases’
  • Yeung will not disclose why the teachers are under investigation before their cases are concluded but hints that political issues are not involved
Kevin Yeung heads off after taking part in a radio programme on Saturday. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Kevin Yeung heads off after taking part in a radio programme on Saturday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong’s education minister has revealed his bureau is processing other “relatively serious” complaints against teachers after it banned one accused of spreading separatism in the classroom for life.

But Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Saturday said they had yet to make up their minds on the outstanding “one or two” cases, and whether they would also lead to lifelong deregistration.

The Education Bureau earlier this week said it had deregistered a teacher at Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong and banned him from setting foot on any campus in the city.

“Whether the teachers will face deregistration depends on what their responses are,” Yeung told a radio programme.

Yeung said he would not disclose why the teachers were under investigation before their cases were concluded, although he hinted that political issues might not be involved.

Source: More Hong Kong teachers in firing line, as education minister reveals ‘relatively serious’ cases being processed after one is banned for life | South China Morning Post

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Alarm over choice of new leader for Xinjiang University

A new non-Uyghur head of the top university in China’s troubled northwest Xinjiang province, home to China’s Uyghur Muslim Turkic minority, is seen as an erosion of autonomy for the region, greater central government control and a possible downgrading of Uyghur academics’ prospects.

Chinese state media reported late last month that Yao Qiang had been appointed president of Xinjiang University, the region’s top institution in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the first president of the university from China’s Han majority since the 1950s after decades of Uyghur leadership of universities in the region

Yao, previously a professor at prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, had been serving as Xinjiang University’s vice-president since March 2019, with the position of university president remaining unfilled since 2018 after purges and detention of many Uyghur academics, including former Xinjiang University president Tashpolat Tiyip, a prominent Uyghur academic.

The crackdown in Xinjiang has been presented by Beijing as a bid to control Islamic extremism and terrorism within China. Academics and rights groups outside China have presented strong evidence of mass internments of Uyghurs since 2017 in which the Chinese government calls ‘vocational training’ centres.

Henryk Szadziewski of the United States-based Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) said Yao’s appointment came as a surprise, as a Uyghur head of the institution “is one of the benchmarks of the autonomy system” in the Xinjiang region.

“Under this system in much of the region it is usual to have a non-Han in an executive position and for the party secretaries to be Han, so this [change] is quite unprecedented,” he said.

Szadziewski told University World News the appointment also had a symbolic impact on higher education in Xinjiang beyond the institution’s own faculty and staff.

“Xinjiang University has wider impact beyond the campus, so it would be taken as quite a strong signal of the central government intervention into life in Xinjiang, a message of Beijing’s rule over non-Han peoples in the region.”

“It is most certainly significant. We’ve seen quite sustained pressure on Uyghur intellectuals and also beyond, artists and so on,” he said.

Abduweli Ayup, a linguist who ran Uyghur language schools in Kashgar in Xinjiang, said the head of the university was also an important leadership role in the region. “Xinjiang University is the core of academia in Xinjiang. Past university presidents are also top Uyghur scholars. But it is also an important political figure in Xinjiang.”

Naming a Han head at a time when so many prominent Uyghur academics are in detention, including some party loyalists among Uyghur academics, is a rejection of autonomy for the region.

“With so many Uyghur academics arrested, it means the Chinese government wants to monitor Uyghurs very strictly and implement their policy in a brutal way. There is no room for them to consider what local people think. They will do whatever they want,” Ayup said.

Erosion of Uyghur language teaching

Szadziewski said erosion of Uyghur language teaching had begun a decade ago with all classes at Xinjiang University and other universities in Xinjiang conducted in Chinese.

“This new appointment confirms the changes that have already happened so, over the years, there’s been a process of Sinification, moving towards teaching classes in Mandarin Chinese and installing patriotic education classes, to the point where the ability of the faculty to research subject matter reinforcing the distinctive Uyghur culture is under duress and many top scholars have disappeared.”

UHRP released a report last year that found hundreds of Uyghur academics and students, among them some two dozen scholars from Xinjiang University alone, have been interned in re-education camps since 2017.

Rachel Harris, professor of ethnomusicology at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London who has worked with several Uyghur academics detained since 2017 said the appointment of a Han university president “is a very clear message to the Uyghur people that they no longer have an autonomous region and their culture is no longer valued”.

She noted that almost no information has filtered out on the fate of prominent academics, for example, Rahile Dawut, a leading expert on Uyghur folklore and traditions at Xinjiang University, whose work had previously been sponsored by the Chinese state. Dawut left Urumqi for Beijing in December 2017 and has not been heard from since.

Tashpolat Tiyip was Xinjiang University’s president from 2010, but his whereabouts is unknown since he was detained in 2017 while travelling to a conference in Germany. He was reportedly sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being convicted in camera on charges of separatism, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights which has called on the Chinese authorities to make public Tiyip’s current place of detention.

China has denied that Tiyip was secretly tried and sentenced to death saying last December that Tiyip was “suspected of corruption and bribery” and that the case was still ongoing. No new information has emerged since then.

More arrested than released

Ayup, who is now head of Uyghur Hjelp (Uyghur Help) in Norway, which documents Uyghur detainees and archives their testimonies, told University World News nothing is known about Tiyip or detained Kashgar University president Erkin Omer.

But the detention of Uyghur scholars continues; “it is very hard to get news out [of Xinjiang] but we are seeing some new names of those arrested.” These include Oblez Irhun, a historian based in Beijing where he was working in a publishing house, who was arrested this year.

Even though some have been released after three years in detention camps, “more have been arrested than released,” Ayup said, pointing to prominent Uyghur academic Gheyret Abdurahman, of the Academy of Social Sciences of Xinjiang, released this year.

“Most of those released were very old or sick,” said Ayup. A prominent academic, former professor at Xinjiang University, Abdukerim Rahman, passed away less than a year after release. Azat Sultan, former president of Xinjiang Normal University, was released and believed to be seriously ill, although exact dates of the release are unknown. Deaths are not reported officially, in part to prevent public mourning of prominent Uyghurs.

A number of doctors and academics from Xinjiang’s medical universities have been released since December 2019, including at least one released last month.

“We can conclude they were released because the government needs them. There is a shortage of doctors because of the detention of so many doctors and academics, so they were released after a two- to three-year period of indoctrination,” Ayup said, adding it could also be related to the outbreak of coronavirus in China and the need for medical personnel.

But Ayup also noted a new phase reported by those released from detention. “Scholars who have been in concentration camps for indoctrination are now being sentenced. Some cases are now coming to court,” including cases in the coming days, though in most cases charges are not made public.

Xinjiang University has been operating without a president in Tiyip’s absence, until the current appointment.

“The only difference over the past three years is that it’s been under a very tight political grip,” Harris noted. “This new appointment seems to have set the seal on this change of direction that, very clearly, there is no space for Uyghur academics who have a pride in their own culture. There is no room for them to be employed or to have positions of leadership.”

The central government is pushing to make things look normal, Szadziewski said.

“It wouldn’t be surprising if the fact that universities are up and running and going by the normal academic calendar is one of the ways to portray this,” he said, adding that it is unclear how many non-Han students are enrolling and what they are studying. Source: Alarm over choice of new leader for Xinjiang University

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Everything you Need to Know about Online Degrees

In reason years, there has been a definite rise of students pursuing their degrees online. With the ability to learn from a laptop from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, it is understandable why. Learning from the comfort of your computer screen can be appealing, but there is much to consider. Without a campus or physical classroom, the traditional student experience is vastly altered when it comes to online learning, so here is everything you need to know about getting a degree from a university online.

Better Access for Students

This is arguably one of the best parts of online education. This access is provided for students who may have been unable to move to their desired courses’ location or fit the university’s schedule. Every student deserves the opportunity to pursue the subject they want to, and online degrees give them that chance. For working students or students with families, the accessibility comes from the fact that they can integrate their studies into their everyday lives, no matter how busy they are. This is one of the main reasons students will be choosing an online degree, which should be celebrated.

There is Plenty of Communication

When thinking of online studies, it is understandable to picture a student sat alone at their computer with minimal interaction with those studying. While it is true that in-person meetings are reduced (although not always absent altogether), there is a definite sense of community when it comes to online degrees. In this age of technology, there are plenty of options online to communicate with other students and professors. The courses also generally involve one to one meetings with professors and instant messaging rooms between students to talk about their subjects and help each other. Group projects are also not omitted from online degrees; they would simply be organized on a group messaging system rather than in person. Universities tend to have their own online managing system, meaning no student is every alone in their studies.

They Include Vocational Courses

It is a myth that online degrees are not reserved for pure academic courses. There are plenty of students learning management, nursing, and more from their homes. There are plenty that specialize in employment areas like nursing, where you can find RN to MSN program and more. Plenty of students find their ways into the workplace just as well online as they do in a traditional university environment. With online, there are still many options for placements, so online students do receive just as much work experience.

They are Not Easy Degrees

Another myth about online degrees is that they are easier than traditional courses. This is simply not the case. The questions on the online courses, much like in ordinary universities, cannot be found on google – they take critical thought and original ideas to complete. The accomplishment of receiving an online degree is equal to one from a traditional university, and many employees also see it that way.

Time Management is Essential

What students have to learn when studying their degree online is the ability to manage their time wisely. This skill either comes naturally or with experience. When studying in a normal university, students would be given a definite schedule that they must adhere to. With online study, however, it is up to the students to keep up with their workload and not fall behind, which is a great responsibility. The outcome of this is that those who study online will have attained more responsibility with their time.

Connections Require Effort

Aside from the education, friendships made, and work experience acquired, there is one important part of a university that requires communication: connections. To find the right job after completing their studies, students need to have met enough people. The statement that it is who you know is true, and students of online study may feel they might suffer from not making as many connections as they will not see their professors and peers daily. This is partly true, but it does not mean that connections are unattainable, just that they will require more effort to obtain. As an online student, making connections will mean scheduling meetings with the tutor often, being active in the student group chats, and even having a face messaging system to talk to peers.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to online study – some true, some not – but it is the case that online degrees are worthy of thinking about.

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3 common misconceptions about tinnitus

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a very common health condition and it’s been reported in people of all ages. It’s described as a ringing in the ears, but tinnitus can also sound like roaring, hissing, clicking, and buzzing. If you’re a victim of tinnitus, you know that it can cause distress. The annoying sounds come and go, but they’re there all the time. At times, you feel isolated, which can lead to depression. Patients showcase different reactions, which explains why certain misconceptions have emerged about the condition. It’s paramount to understand the facts because you’ll be in a better position to deal with the issue. In what follows, we’ll present the three most common misconceptions regarding tinnitus.

#1 Tinnitus is a disease

People wrongly assume that tinnitus is a disease when, in reality, it’s a symptom of an underlying health condition. More often than not, tinnitus is caused by a disease that impacts the inner ear, such as inner ear hair cell damage. What happens is that the frail hairs in the inner ear start to move due to the action of sound waves and trigger an electrical signal to the brain, which interprets it as a sound. Keep in mind that various illnesses can cause tinnitus. Less common causes include but aren’t limited to head and neck trauma, Meniere’s disease, and stress and anxiety. Almost everyone can experience ringing in the ears.

#2 There’s nothing you can do about tinnitus

In spite of the fact that tinnitus is a complex condition, it’s treatable. So, you don’t have to live with it. Schedule an appointment with your doctor and see what can be done in your case. For instance, tinnitus retraining therapy leverages sound therapy and direct counselling to make the condition more manageable. Other proven ways of decreasing the distressing sounds are ear protection, relaxation techniques, Zen tones, and tinnitus counseling. There is no cure for tinnitus, regrettably. The treatment options help reduce the perceived intensity of the sounds, not to mention their omnipresence.

#3 Only people with hearing loss will experience tinnitus

It’s commonly believed that only people suffering from hearing loss can experience tinnitus. The fact is that only 30 percent of people affected by hearing loss experience a ringing in the ears. It’s possible to get tinnitus without having hearing loss. As mentioned earlier, the health condition can affect virtually anyone, making it impossible to live a normal life. The quality of life decreases significantly. For some, it’s not possible to enjoy good health and wellbeing. Others find it difficult to concentrate and maintain focus. If you’re a tinnitus sufferer, seek medical attention right away. Most importantly, avoid anything that can make your tinnitus worse, such as listening to loud music.

To sum up, misconceptions arise when we rely on hearsay instead of factual evidence. Getting a good understanding about the truth surrounding tinnitus will empower you to make better decisions in terms of treatment. False information is circulating around, which is why you need to be careful and not trust just any source.

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10 Ways Educators Are Making Waves This Year

sea waves

With converting their lesson plans for both in-person and online learning, you wouldn’t think teachers have time to go from ordinary to extraordinary. However, you’d be mistaken. Excellence in education is something instructors take seriously. 

Here are ten ways educators are making waves this year. Let’s take a few moments to celebrate their impressive achievements. 

1. Winning Dedicated Teacher Awards 

Dedication — what is it? According to the dictionary, it’s the act of remaining committed to a cause or purpose. In the educational world, it means putting student learning and welfare first. 

All around the world, educators embrace this ideal. Ahmed Saya from the Cordova School in Pakistan received the Dedicated Teacher Award for 2019. He began his career way back in grade-9 to finance his studies. He quickly realized that teaching is not a profession, but rather, a passion that comes from within. 

2. Innovating New Techniques 

Innovators challenge the limits of what’s possible and encourage others to create bold solutions. Such educators invite their students to take risks while collaborating with their fellow learners. 

Past grand prize winners of the Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Awards include Susan Barkdoll of California and Kristina Glass of Louisiana. Winners receive a $1,500 honorarium and a year’s subscription to The Henry Ford’s educational products and select merchandise.

3. Getting Global 

What could your favorite teacher do with $1,000,000? They could probably open a school in many areas. The Global Teacher Prize is presented annually to an exceptional teacher who made an outstanding contribution to the profession. 

This year, they have narrowed the selection down to ten finalists. One of these is Carlos Mazzone, who teaches computer science in areas of high unemployment and also published several bestselling books on programming. He and his colleagues continue to carve pathways out of poverty for those they teach. 

4. Making the Hall of Fame 

The hall of fame isn’t only for baseball players. Pearson is a big name in the educational world, and they sponsor the National Teaching Awards in conjunction with the Teaching Awards Trust. 

Their mission is to raise the teaching profession’s profile and highlight the positive impact instructors and administrators have in our society. They celebrate exceptional educators for challenging students to learn and forming liaisons with parents and local leaders to create a more vibrant community. 

5. Earning Teacher of the Year 

You might have heard of the teacher of the year awards. The Washington Post established their version of this coveted prize to recognize educators who exemplify excellence in their profession. They don’t stop at the classroom — they recognize principals, too. 

Finalists encourage creative and quality instruction and contribute in a substantive way to improving education in the Washington, D.C., area. The winners of this year’s contest will be announced in April of 2021. 

6. Inspiring Future Leaders

The Sanford Teaching Awards seek to reward inspirational teaching based upon set criteria. Teachers in any pre-K through grade-12 school in the United States may apply — it doesn’t matter if they teach in a public, private or charter school. 

They seek educators who continually expand on current instructional practices to support student engagement and reflect on what works and what doesn’t. They emphasize professional development and strive to continue to learn and grow to expand their art. 

7. Biting the Big Apple 

Teachers in New York City faced multiple challenges this past year. Unfortunately, the roller coaster ride hasn’t stopped yet, with new restrictions looming in some areas. 

However, exceptional educators always get the job done. Teachers like Laura Blau continue encouraging their students to engage in critical thinking and creating artwork. Many of her student’s creations now grace the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Capitol. 

8. Helping Higher Education 

K-12 teachers do a lot, but they don’t complete the educational portrait. Higher education instructors also go above and beyond to elevate the student experience, and the University of North Carolina system strives to recognize their efforts. 

Past winners include Ameena Batada, an instructor at UNC Asheville. She teaches public health and uses a combination of first-person inquiry and classroom community collaborative efforts to inspire students to see existing problems in a new light. She considers her students and herself to share a learning journey. 

9. Embracing Excellence

What does excellence in teaching look like? To Professor Michael Young, recipient of the John W. Rowe Excellence in Teaching Award, it entails setting high standards coupled with a sense of humor to ease stress. 

Young uses a guided-discovery approach to introduce new content, then uses discussion and questioning to deepen their knowledge. He challenges them to look at subjects from fresh perspectives and tailor materials to each learner’s stage. 

10. Varying Their Diets 

Apples have long stood as a symbol of the teaching profession, and the Golden Apple Awards strive to reward teachers who often go unrecognized in their efforts to build more educated communities. The award for educators goes back to 1986, and founders Mike and Patricia Koldyke recently began recognizing outstanding administrators, too. 

Teachers win through nomination — if you know of an exceptional educator, you can suggest them through the website. Eligible teachers work in Pre-K through grade-3 in a public or private school in Illinois. 

Educators Are Making Waves in These 10 Ways

Educators are making waves in these ten ways in 2020 and beyond. If you know an exceptional teacher, consider nominating them for one of the above rewards. 

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World Economic Forum Heralds ‘Great Reset’ of Global Economy and Society

The coronavirus crisis is an opportunity for a “new kind of capitalism” according to World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab.

AP Photo/Michel Euler
AP Photo/Michel Euler

The coronavirus crisis presents an opportunity for a “new kind of capitalism” and “great reset” of global economies, politics, and societies, according to World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab.

In an article published Monday by the WEF, an impatient Schwab claims neo-liberalism is dead and with it traditional notions of economic capitalism.

In their place is a set of “Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics” the WEF says enables the world to progress under one set of overarching rules as drawn up by it, with “social  justice” a key component of this brave new world.

This restructure of the way we do business is the new model for the “great reset” Schwab argues, adding he foresees the coronavirus crisis as too good an opportunity not to “re-evaluate sacred cows of the pre-pandemic system.”

He outlines his argument by pointing to just how serious the epidemic has been to the way we live now: Schwab writes:

No event since World War II’s end has had as profound a global impact as COVID-19. The pandemic has triggered a public health and economic crisis on a scale unseen in generations and has exacerbated systemic problems such as inequality and great-power posturing.

The only acceptable response to such a crisis is to pursue a “Great Reset” of our economies, politics, and societies. Indeed, this is a moment to re-evaluate the sacred cows of the pre-pandemic system, but also to defend certain long-held values. The task we face is to preserve the accomplishments of the past 75 years in a more sustainable form.

Schwab believes that if the Chinese coronavirus crisis has shown us anything, it is “that governments, businesses, or civil-society groups acting alone cannot meet systemic global challenges.”

In their stead, the WEF says the world should adopt more socialistic policies, such as wealth taxes, additional regulations and massive Green New Deal-like government programs.

We need to break down the siloes that keep these domains separate, he says, and start to build institutional platforms for public-private cooperation.

Put simply, Schwab believes the time to “re-consider capitalism” has arrived. He adds:

The Great Reset should seek to lend a voice to those who have been left behind, so that everyone who is willing to “co-shape” the future can do so. The reset that we need is not a revolution or a shift to some new ideology… Some of the pillars of the global system will need to be replaced, and others repaired or strengthened. To achieve shared progress, prosperity, and health requires nothing more – or less.

Ulitmately Schwab says the trade, taxation, and competition rules that reflect decades of neoliberal influence are over.

The world stands at the precipice of change and the WEF sees itself in the forefront of that rebuild of capitalism which it envisages means companies “contribute to social welfare and the common good” at the expense of shareholders and investors.

More will be outlined next year at the 2021 WEF global summit in Switzerland.

Source: World Economic Forum Heralds ‘Great Reset’ of Global Economy and Society

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Are Hong Kong’s teachers radicalising youth? Ex-leader and lawmaker clash over accusation

  • CY Leung says elements of the profession are polluting young minds and pushing them into extreme politics
  • Lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen counters, saying radicalism is being fuelled by government’s contempt for the public, police conduct
Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying has defended his naming on Facebook of 18 teachers charged with protest-related offences. Photo: Nora Tam
Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying has defended his naming on Facebook of 18 teachers charged with protest-related offences. Photo: Nora Tam
A war of words erupted on Sunday between former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and a lawmaker representing teachers after the ex-leader accused elements of the profession of radicalising the city’s youth.
Leung also defended his controversial naming and shaming on Facebook of 18 teachers charged over last year’s anti-government protests, a move critics likened to Cultural Revolution-era persecution.

Lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen, of the Professional Teachers’ Union, which has a 100,000-strong membership, accused Leung of hypocrisy for ignoring the government’s role in driving young people to radicalism.

“We have to admit that there must be something wrong with Hong Kong’s education,” said Leung, who is now vice-chairman of Beijing’s advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

“Where do the arrested young people learn this from? Who are their ‘close contacts’? I believe a fair portion of them are teachers and they are the black sheep.”

The privacy commissioner said it had received 17 complaints about Leung’s disclosure on his Facebook page of the personal details of teachers charged in relation to the protests.

But the former leader denied he had breached privacy laws, insisting he simply collated the information from existing media reports.

Citing a British example, Leung said the country’s Teaching Regulation Agency routinely published the names of teachers under investigation. He argued parents had the right to know the identity of these teachers so they could protect their children.

Source: Are Hong Kong’s teachers radicalising youth? Ex-leader and lawmaker clash over accusation | South China Morning Post

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Anonymous Message On The Worldwide Fight Against Child Trafficking

Anonymous is searching everywhere for these predators, whether they are Hollywood, the halls of Congress, or your neighborhood.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is anonymous-1024x577-1024x577-1024x577-1024x577-1.jpg

By Anonymous

Greetings citizens of the world. This is a message from anonymous, regarding the fight against child trafficking worldwide.

In the past few years, the issue of child trafficking has finally started to receive the attention that it deserves, but unfortunately, this problem has also been politicized in a way that makes this issue seem more abstract and far away than it actually is. In many online circles, this discussion has devolved into a guessing game about which celebrity might be an abuser behind closed doors, with speculation being shared as if it is fact.

Indeed, the past few years have shown us that Hollywood is a cesspool of predatory behavior and that the rich and famous can often get away with horrific abuses because they are seemingly above the law. The case of Jeffrey Epstein shows us that there are many world leaders, even princes, who view pedophilia as some sort of hobby. These stories have shocked the collective conscience in a way, and sparked outrage against what many see as an “elite cabal” of abusive pedophiles, but it isn’t that simple. Epstein’s criminal network was certainly an example of an elite pedophile cabal, but his operation was only one small piece of the puzzle, a microcosm of a cultural problem that our species has been ignoring for generations.

Let’s not forget that your child is far more likely to be abused by someone they know, such as a family member or friend, or maybe even a pastor, teacher, or other authority figure. Sadly, the people that we trust with our children, are the most likely to commit abuse, and these types of situations are what represent the overwhelming majority of cases.

The rampant abuse that takes place in the Catholic Church has been public knowledge for a long time, but now as the perpetrators are finally being held accountable in courts outside of the church, we are beginning to learn how deep their criminal activity went. Earlier this year, a former high-ranking Catholic Cardinal was exposed as a pedophile and child trafficker, who pimped out unwilling children to other clergymen from his New Jersey beach house. Former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, is said to have managed a “sex cabal” in the 1980s, in which alter boys were groomed to be abused by pedophile priests. He is not alone either, this type of behavior is widespread in any environment where people have enough power to receive protection from the legal system and access to young and vulnerable children.

There are many trusted political institutions that facilitate child trafficking as well, like foster homes and immigration agencies. In 2018, it was revealed that nearly 1,500 immigrant children were lost in government arranged foster homes. Some of the children are still unaccounted for, but those that were found were kept in horrible conditions. In many of these cases, children were sent to homes with pedophiles where they were sexually assaulted, and in other cases, they were held as slaves. Dozens of children from this group, some as young as 14, were sold as slaves to Trillium Farms egg factories in Ohio, where they were subjected to constant abuse and forced to work with no pay.

Child charities should also not be ignored in the fight against child trafficking, as many of these organizations are highly suspect, and have already been exposed for their corruption. Last year, Peter John Dalglish, former United Nations adviser and founder of the Street Kids International charity, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for abusing children. Two young children, ages 12 and 14, were “rescued” from the home in Nepal where he was staying at the time of his arrest. The United Nations, in general, has a very bad track record with keeping children safe in their overseas missions, and at times it seems that their mission is actually to abuse and terrorize these children.

A report from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), indicated that “peacekeepers” working in Haiti were guilty of raping Haitian women at an alarming rate. The report also indicated that a large number of the victims were underage.

According to the report, there were 231 people in Haiti who claimed they were sexually violated by UN peacekeepers, and were forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for food and supplies that were intended as relief packages. Last year, the New York Times reported that UN forces have “fathered” hundreds of children in Haiti, and many of the mothers were extremely young and left to fend for themselves.

Former United Nations official Andrew MacLeod has estimated that the organization has employed at least 3,300 pedophiles that they know of, and suggested that at least 60,000 cases of sexual assault have been perpetrated by staff members of the United Nations over the past decade.

“There are tens of thousands of aid workers around the world with pedophile tendencies, but if you wear a Unicef T-shirt nobody will ask what you’re up to,” he said.

Some of the world’s largest multinational corporations such as DynCorp and Halliburton were exposed as major players in the global human trafficking market. These companies did not work alone, but cooperated with each other through various subsidiaries and had the luxury of government protection.

When suspicion was brought upon these companies it was swept under the rug by government officials. Even high-ranking members of the establishment such as Donald Rumsfeld were implicit in covering up this scandal. On March 11th, 2005, he was questioned by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and he admitted on the record that the allegations did have credibility, but he pushed the blame off onto a few “rogue” employees.

If the goal is to end child trafficking, then we need to look deeper than a few celebrities or politicians that we have disagreements with. We need to look at many of the institutions that we put our faith and trust in, and even the family members, friends, and community leaders that we look up to. Anonymous is searching everywhere for these predators, whether they are Hollywood, the halls of Congress, or your neighborhood.

We are Anonymous!

We are Legion!

We do not forgive!

We do not forget!

Expect us.

Source: Anewspost.com

Source: Anonymous Message On The Worldwide Fight Against Child Trafficking – Activist Post

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