Children Need Stories!

UNICEF REPORT:

CHILDREN DON'T HEAR ENOUGH STORIES!

By Stephen Wilson

 

MOSCOW  --  A recent UNICEF Study found that approximately 25% of children in developing countries don't hear the traditional bedtime story. In fact , many under five children don't get a preschool education at all! The survey, conducted in as many as

64 developing countries questioned parents whether they had spent time telling

stories, reading , singing , playing or drawing over a three-day period. What they

found was that since many parents were working such long hours for a pittance ;

they had practically little time to do justice to their child's education. The study

identifies long hours and poverty as major factors in retarding early child education.

Time and money constraints mean many parents are forced to concentrate on

feeding rather than playing with their children. Protecting children from hunger or

fatal disease remains the main priority. The constant threats of famine, war and

disease make storytelling sound like a luxury! Doctor Pia Britto, who is chief

of early childhood development at UNICEF claimed: "Time and money constraints

mean that parents are forced to focus on putting food on the table rather than playing

with their children , particularly in challenging circumstances where conflict, violence,

extreme poverty and disease are rife. " Those points are important to grasp. This is

because there prevails a short-sighted and myopic view which blames the parents

of poor people for depriving their children of education through either ignorance or

negligence. However, the report has found that the most decisive factors in determining

a child's growth can be many things beyond a parent's control such as poverty, war, famine

and the never ending long hours of parents just to get by!

The report describes storytelling as crucial for the cognitive, emotional and social

development of children . This finding would come as no great revelation to American

psychologist Susan Engel. In her work : The Stories Children Tell , 1999, W. H. Freedman

and Company , 1999, Engel wrote : 'The stories we tell ourselves , aloud, or silently,

play a vital role in shaping what we feel, think, and know about our lives.' The Russian

psychologist Alexander Luria largely echoed such sentiments.

However, it is not only in developing countries where children don't always hear bedtime stories!

Mairi Koroleva , a Russian linguist who ardently supports the project Storytelling Sessions,

told me: "I came across many of my own students who told me their parents had not

told them a single story once". Anna Kogteva, a teacher of English and also an organiser

of the project believes that storytelling is crucial to early childhood development. In her

sessions, she also combines drawing pictures with storytelling.

The report calls upon governments to offer more meaningful support to parents struggling

by providing better working conditions and time schedules for parents {i.e. More maternity

leave} They believe governments can do more and point to the example of Chile, where

the state project: 'Chile Grows with You ' managed to reach 80% of children with education

and health care. Britto argues that governments should not only ensure the survival of

children but significantly improve the quality of their lives in all facets of life. While fighting

famine, we should not overlook early education!

 

HOD Sept.

HOD Meeting Highlights CTU Accomplishments
By Jim Vail


The Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates last Wednesday was a love fest that focused on CTU accomplishments.

Could it be because they feel the heat of an opposition group forming?

A group called Members First which has a robust facebook book and is comprised of people concerned about the CTU neglecting its members when it comes to fighting vicious principals and enforcing the contract has formed.

According to sources, the CTU leadership caucus CORE talked about this new group and that competition is a good thing (I agree!). Another person said this group is the same as blue lives matter - a racist movement that downplays the Black Lives Matter group focusing on black rights in the face of continued oppressive racism and police brutality.

One question would be why would the CTU back Chuy Garcia for mayor when he advocated hiring more cops - hardly something black people in this city need.

Anyway, I asked the question why is this union giving House Speaker Mike Madigan so much money, so much support, so much endorsements and invited him at the last meeting - when he totally fucked us! He now made vouchers the law of Illinois land. Vouchers is like right to work - there will be less money for the public schools and unions each year as $75 million of state money each year goes to private and religious schools (exactly what Trump and DeVos want on the federal level).

The CTU's close relationship with the democrats is a tricky one. Now the democrats support vouchers - what next? 

So the CTU boasted at the delegates meeting how great it is that a funding bill was passed and nothing about the horrendous voucher component (that was sent out in half-hearted emails about calling your state rep to oppose it - an absurd proposition when they support Madigan).

The house passed a Resolution to Adopt a Timeline for the Constitutional Referendum Process.

The CTU wants to open up and amend the constitution so that charter school teachers are now represented by the CTU.

I'm torn on this one - on the one hand I agree, we need to support our charter brothers and sisters. On the other hand, will this lessen the opposition to charter school growth in the future.

One of the strong points of our union has been the fight against charter schools. CTU VP Jesse Sharkey said there will for the first time be no new charter schools opening up this year.

School delegates are also encouraged to sign up all their members to the union again as it looks like the Supreme Court could rule soon to restrict the rights of public sector unions by eliminating the right to collect agency fees, people who don't sign the union card even though they are a part of the bargaining unit.

The union pointed out when Wisconsin union workers lost their rights in 2011 which stripped  them of both Agency Fee and collective bargaining rights, union membership fell 38% and workers suffered significant economic and other loses. Milwaukee teachers, for example, were forced to take an immediate $10,000 cut in pay and benefits.

CTU mentioned something about having leads to sublease 15,000 square feet of office space at the Merchandise Mart where they left and paid almost $40 million for a new building. While it appears the move could have been a sound financial transaction to own its property and rent out to others, many are concerned about transparency surrounding the CTU Foundation that has the money after selling the Fewkes Tower which bought the new CTU building on Carrol Street.

Russian Historian

RUSSIAN HISTORIAN INTERVIEW

By Stephen Wilson

 

Second City Teacher spoke again to the cultural historian Monica Spivak about

the tense current political situation in Russia, recent Russian events, the protest

against corruption and why she strongly opposes the local government's

huge scale demolition plans. In 2009, Monica 's book 'The Brain has been sent

to this Address' was published which was based on a study of files from the

Moscow Institute of the Brain (It is about how scientists made an intensive study

of the brains and characters of Lenin, Mayakovsky and Andrei Bely, to name but

a few).In this book you learn that Lenin was crazy about mushroom picking and

won the unwanted nickname : 'Mushroom man'.

 

Second City Teacher: "You seem to harbor strong feelings against the local

government's demolition scheme. Why are you opposed to their proposals ?"

 

Monica Spivak: "Why am I against this ? From the fact that I consider that it

is committing a very big crime from a legal point of view. It will lead to the destruction

of Moscow.The local government will not only begin to demolish Krushchevy

apartments but other kinds.The real reasons for this demolition are hidden from

the people. The local government want to acquire money, property and power.

 

Second City Teacher: "How effective do you think the demonstrations against

Demolition are ? "

 

Monica Spivak : "They were quite effective although not as effective as I wanted

them to be. As many as 100,000 people attended one demonstration. It is true

that afterwards it could not stop the demolition going ahead . In this respect the

results of the campaign were not entirely satisfactory. If they had cancelled the law

we would have attained our objective. Nevertheless, the local government was

forced to make small concessions.

Secondly, since local people began to get organised , met, wrote letters ,

and signed petitions, we saved our local community. So at that time we won a

victory in our area. But we did not wholly defend Moscow . The area around

Rechnoy station was destroyed and is empty. I understand that we did not stop

this but I wanted people to show those in power that we don't agree with

their actions. Later, I felt bitter about how the opposition in Russia don't take

up those local issues or unite around them. The opposition is badly split up

in Russia. It seems to me the opposition don't even take up those issues at all.

That there is a lot of division in the opposition is clear from the fact that on the

day of a major demonstration against corruption two rallies took place. Many

people had not even heard that Navalny had changed the location at the last

moment. So while my husband went to one rally, I went to another. If the two

protests {local and national protests against corruption } were combined the opposition

campaign would be more effective.

 

Second City Teacher   "Why do so many Russians support Putin ? Social opinion

polls suggest 80% or more support him !"

 

Monica Spivak   "I don't trust social opinion polls.We don't actually know what

those 80 % of people really think. Many people who are polled don't reveal

their real thoughts on many things. They might even be scared to express

their real opinions. It is interesting to compare Russia with Georgia . I asked

a Georgian how their people relate to people in power . He told me they

scolded their president . Now in a democracy this is a normal reality.Not to

like those in authority seems a normal thing. We see this in Georgia, Armenia

and Ukraine. But with us , it seems as if 80% of Russians support the president.

It is a big puzzle. I consider Russians are afflicted by an illness or virus . The

local people don't pay attention to injustice and just ignore it.

Everyday I watch the news from the Internet and hear how a supporter of

Navalny has been beaten up or a brick thrown through his window.Those

illegal acts are not prosecuted . It is a bad symptom of how rotten things are.

Now the President might not have approved or condoned the murder of

opposition leader Boris Nemstov, but he does not seem to be against it."

 

Second City Teacher:    "Could Stalinist repression return ? "

 

Monica Spivok:   "Yes I think it could happen again. It would not be on such a

huge scale as in Stalin's time - the same number of executions and it will

assume a new form. We should be ready for this ! There are no limits or checks

on Presidential power. The judiciary are not independent and people are afraid.

I recall a few years ago when people were demonstrating and they were not

afraid. There was a lot of dialogue at those rallies.Now the situation is worse.

They are too scared to even wear white ribbons. {A symbol of the opposition to

Putin}."

 

Second City Teacher:    "How do you explain the recent rehabilitation of Ivan

the Terrible ? "

 

Monica Spivak:   "This is happening because the government uses the

past to support the present . Ten years ago it would be unthinkable .Now it is

a different situation.But remember, Peter the Great was also a tyrant and they

condemn him for being a westerner. Yet Ivan the Terrible was also very pro

western and took many ideas from the west. The Russians who support

Ivan the Terrible forget this.

 

Handwriting

HANDWRITING HAS TO GO!

By Stephen Wilson

 

MOSCOW -- I was astonished to hear the news! An Orthodox priest told me he had obtained a pile of letters written to the church he served addressed to myself .This person had last met me twenty years ago. When I looked at the letters a few things surprised me. They were long and the unique handwriting conveyed an exceptional beautiful style rarely encountered. In deed, few people send handwritten letters to each other those days .So I felt I was going back in time to a bygone era. For the beauty of handwriting is now derisively dismissed as 'snail mail'. Why take the trouble if you can send a letter instantly with e-mail? After I replied to those letters my mind got absorbed with the imminent beginning of the new academic year. In a sense, this event is a more profound date than New Year's Day. At least for teachers and school kids.

What caught my attention was the endless proposals to change the teaching process. Schools had to be modernized so many old customs or way of teaching had to go. Of course, teachers are never consulted about whether they approve of those changes or not. Some of those proposals seem banal. For instance , the Minister of Education made a speech calling for the ban of mobile phones from the classroom. Other politicians called for either the Day of Knowledge to be put forward to October. Another proposal is to radically change the geography of the classroom by doing away with traditional desks. However the most controversial proposal which has deeply divided educators is a radical proposal to abandon teaching Russian school children how to hand write. Instead proponents are arguing that all writing should be done via computer. So pupils don't need to worry about how neat or beautiful their handwriting is. Electronic writing is more effective, efficient and rapid. Children have to learn quickly to adapt to the new technology. Anyone arguing against those proposals can be ridiculed as reactionary or conservatives as if they are against 'progress'.

According to a child psychologist Olga Zuyiva, a personal computer has become an integral part of the life of a child. Parents inform her that unless their children learn advanced computer skills they won't be able to cope with life after school. They need to master computer literacy. It is more important than beautifully intricate handwriting.

Sergei Gorbun, a chairman of a Union, argues: "Being able to type with your hands helps you to quickly adapt to an ocean of knowledge . Every adult knows how difficult it is to get a child to sit behind a desk. But with a computer the child works with pleasure This according to experts, motivates as well as strengthens the use of the memory and paying attention."

However, not everyone welcomes this step. They don't subscribe to the view that computers are a magic wand which with a wave creates discipline making a child more developed and intelligent. Firstly, the child becomes more and more like an appendage to a machine. Rather than controlling the machine, the machine controls him.

in addition, very few people draw attention to the bad side effects of using such technology. The eye-sight of the child worsens, his or her spine begins to ache and they get headaches. Using a pencil and pen to write messages does allow you more time to pause, ponder think and rewrite a text." When a child writes, the link between his brain and fingers improves his mental capacity ", argues speech therapist Anastasia Medvedeva. In contrast , when people write automatically, they stop thinking. However, there is something very personal about handwriting which you can't get from an electronic letter. Handwriting remains a unique expression of our identity. Deprive children of the right to master handwriting and you are impeding one important aspect of free self expression.The Russian philosopher Nicholas Fyodorov grasped this point. He claimed that speed writing by typing or shorthand instead of handwriting can depersonalize and even degrade work. Quicker does not mean better. He declared, 'This rapidity deprives all work, not only mechanical but also intellectual work, of artistic attractiveness, turning it into a means of profit without any goal whatever, unless sense pleasure is to be considered a goal.'

Why go to extremes? What if handwriting can be seen as actually assisting computer literacy rather than hindering it? Sending a handwritten letter to a friend is much more moving and touching than a letter sent by e-mail. It indicates the amount of time and effort you go to write and post it off. Abandoning the teaching of handwriting would not be progress but represent regression to an age where technology dictates the rules.