What is Love?

ALCOHOL IS CHEAPER THAN TEXTBOOKS

OPPOSITION TRIAL

By Stephen Wilson 

 

             

"Milton Fedorov, who has not only once come to my institute, correctly stated how he noted that in our country alcohol is cheaper than school textbooks. The government creates all the conditions, so that between responsibility and irresponsibility, Russians choose the second," declared Yegor Zhukov, a prominent blogger and student in the opposition during his trial speech. The 21-year-old student of the Institute of Economics had been first charged with calling for mass disorder, to have the then charges dropped to be replaced with charges of 'extremism'. Zhukov was found guilty, but granted a suspended 3 year sentence and banned for 2 years from using the internet.

              

After hearing of the sentence, and that of other opposition who avoided a jail sentence, his supporters were immensely relieved and deemed it a small victory. But when I asked one solitary middle-aged  protester who takes turns in holding a placard protesting against the imprisonment of demonstrators: " What do you think of the recent verdict in the Zhukov case? I mean it is not the worst result is it? He could have been imprisoned."

              

It is not the worst scenario, but a sentence is still a sentence. It was unfairly imposed for political reasons. " I had noticed her conspicuous presence on Telman square which was replaced by another protester. Thankfully, nobody was disturbing them or arresting them.

 

              

It is perhaps no accident that Yegor Zhukov was targeted by the authorities. The blogger had 170,000 followers as well as 7,000 more following his arrest. But  life for bloggers and journalists will become increasing problematic as a new law passed by the Duma makes it a crime for them to distribute or quote from any foreign media organisation on-line. People who violate this law not only face a hefty fine but 15 days imprisonment for breaking it twice. The law comes into force on February 1st 2020. 

              

The case against Zhukov and many other opposition  figures has a surreal air bordering on the ludicrous. Just reading the long speech of Zhukov is enough to persuade you his views are a far cry from extremism. As he himself states: "I'm not an extremist, both linguistically, and in terms of common sense". A lawyer who is also a student at Moscow State University told me, "There are some things which surprise me about this case and are odd. When the authorities were searching for evidence against Zhukov in his apartment they confiscated his collection of ceramic frogs as 'evidence' against him. Instead of returning them to him they destroyed them. Why they did this I am at a loss to figure out. Did they regard those frogs as some kind of implicit political satire?" 

              

However, it is Zhukov's long speech which is worth noting. His splendid speech succinctly summed up the deep despair of many Russians without a voice. For instance, he pointed to the fact that as many as one out of three children are being brought up by single mothers and out of work or low paid men drowning their sorrows in alcohol, losing their dignity, and the ugly domestic violence where men beat their wives, drink themselves to death or commit suicide. He claimed that the number of male suicides a year were 100,000. Russia has the highest suicide rate in the world.

              

The whole of his speech could have been a sermon preached by an Orthodox Priest rather than Navalny. He took the government to task for failing to uphold the Virtues of Orthodox Christianity because their policies were leading to the destruction of the family and hatred. "The authorities torture people in penal colonies, ignore aid victims, close schools and hospitals. We have become a country which unlearns love. Are we ever taught this? Are such ethics taught in our schools? No."  Perhaps Zhukov overstated the case that love is never taught in schools. It largely depends on the school and the teacher. But Zhukov has a point. Why do many school students feel their teachers don't love them or are angry and bitter all the time? This also applies to non-Russian schools. At my school in Scotland I was warned by people that, "This is not like primary school where the teachers care about the pupils. You have to get used to the fact that teachers don't love their pupils, but are only doing a job."  But how can anyone teach love if they do not what it is? Many people presume to know it but regard it as simply 'an emotional state', 'physical attraction' or 'romantic passion.' They forget about the role of respect, constant care and attention required. But Zhukov's speech should at least alert people to ask, "What is the real voice of the Orthodox church?' Is the role of Orthodoxy to play safe by bolstering the state or should it take up its cross and implacably oppose all forms of evil and injustice? " As one priest told me in an understatement, "It is difficult to identify the true voice of the Orthodox Church!"

              

Zhukov's views have been influenced by the Canadian therapist and philosopher Jordan Peterson whose work, 12 Rules for Life, 2018, is readily available in Russia. Peterson's views stressing personal or individual responsibility, conservative values in regard to the family and opposition to an education which asserts a relative view of good and evil and state indoctrination are alluring to many Russians. But although Peterson's views are conservative it would be a mistake to label them as 'mystical fascism' as some American journalists regard him. An author who states that we are not good at listening attentively to people and we need to master this art in order to better help other people does not sound like a fascist.

              

One thing which Peterson has in common with Zhukov is that he has also been unfairly accused of extremism. Both feel they have been misunderstood. They both want people to ardently listen and love. It is doubtful whether the Russian government is ready to listen to, never mind love, the unwashed masses.

 

Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

PEDAGOGY OF HOPE  

Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed 

            

Bloomsbury Revelations, London, New York, 2014 Edition 

            

"You are not under arrest. You are our guest, only you may not leave your room. "A few moments later, at the hotel, my room was locked from the outside. Not under arrest. Strange terminology.' It is amusing and bewildering anecdotes such as  this, not to mention Paulo Freire's deep reflections and reminiscences which make his work 'Pedagogy of Hope' well worth reading. It is simply a delight to read. A real gem! 

             

Paulo Freire was one of the world's greatest Adult educators and Philosophers who after tireless effort, study and interacting with peasants, fishermen and the disadvantaged, came up with a new way of teaching illiterate people which not only taught them, but sought to empower their lives so they could break free from all forms of oppression. He developed a pedagogy where the pre- existing knowledge as well as the culture of the students had to be fully respected. He supported open-ended dialogue where students were encouraged to question everything. This was to be an issue -related education done in a humane way which genuinely sought to improve the quality of lives of people.

             

Unfortunately, some people either misunderstood Freire or regarded his views as 'subversive', 'undesirable' and 'a dangerous threat to national security.' Despite successfully teaching 300 farmers to read and write in the space of 45 days in 1962, a military coup in 1964 forced Freire to go into exile and begin a long odyssey as a refugee. His work the Pedagogy of the Oppressed was banned in his native Brazil for 15 years.

             

Freire must be one of the most misunderstood and misconstrued philosophers. Some critics accused him of being a Marxist or of seeking to implement an educational program where he imposed his values on students or worse, brainwashed them. In fact, he simply sought to develop an issue -related education which would encourage people to question and challenge the injustice they saw around them. One of my fellow students at Glasgow University told me : "It is clear that Freire has a genuine love and affection for simple people and went out to mix with them and listen to their problems". Zal Juglar, a musician from Argentina who has visited Moscow many times, told me, "Freire's practice of education is the one form of teaching I support. It really offers people a better way of doing education".

                          

If you want to truly grasp Freire's views on education this book is a good place to start. Freire criticized conventional and traditional education systems where the teacher simply filled the passive minds of students with facts, via rote or by depositing knowledge. He described it as 'a banking education' which often crushed the creativity, curiosity and voice of the student. But a teacher has to love and listen to the student. The student has to be allowed to explore and question everything the teacher offered him. But in this respect Freire thought that some Marxists could be elitist as they treated the poor in a condescending and patronizing way by claiming they had a monopoly of knowledge while the poor were 'ignorant' and had 'false consciousness'. A teacher has to learn and become acquainted with the local culture of the poor even if it seems at odd with the teacher's culture. So in one chapter you hear of teachers coming across a peasant who believed a  talisman could protect him from bullets or special leaves which can cure cancer.

             

At one point Freire states in reference to adult educators like Fox in America that, 'There was a great deal of similarity between what they were doing in New York and what I was doing in Brazil". We learn that the German philosopher Enrich Fromm met Freire in Mexico and told him: "This kind of educational practice is a kind of historical-cultural, political psychoanalysis".

             

Freire also understands that while achievement in learning can bring joy it is often difficult and hard for many people. This axiom applies to not only learning literacy, but in studying foreign languages. This is why he challenges current notions that education should become another form of entertainment. He declares: 'There is no room, in the constitution of this needed discipline, for an identification of the act of studying, of learning, of knowing, of teaching, with pure entertainment-learning as a kind of toy or game, without rules or with lax ones.'{page 73} 

             

Freire comes across as having a way of breaking the ice of the students. In one delightful story you hear how he makes them feel less intimated by his education. He organised a quiz where the students would ask him 10 questions, and he in turn, would ask them 10. The competition ended in a draw because both the teacher and students lacked some knowledge the other had. The aim of the competition was to boost the students' confidence persuading them that they had much invaluable knowledge and skills. It is just they didn't often openly value it or those in authority derided their knowledge.  

             

In this work, Freire has a lot to say about how a teacher must approach his job. In one revealing passage you can read:

            

'The more tolerant, the more open and forthright, the more critical, the more curious and humble they become, the more authentically they take up the practice of teaching. In a like perspective - indisputably progressive , like much postmodern, as I understand post modernity, than modern, let alone "modernizing"- to teach is not simple transmission, wrought by and large through a pure description of the concept of the object, to be memorized by students mechanically ... Teaching someone to learn is only valid - from the view-point let me repeat - when educands learn to learn in learning the reason- for, the "why", of the object of content'. {Page 70, chapter 2.}

             

In one chapter an imprisoned teacher tells a visitor what books he should bring his answers: "I don't need Lenin just now, I need the Bible. I need a better understanding of the peasant's mystical universe. Without that understanding how can I communicate with them? "page 97}

             

In this book we also learn about the pain of exile, and Freire's sadness about how the progressive minister of Grenada was assassinated and how America later invaded the island ending the radical hopes of poor Grenadians. It is also interesting to note that Freire's first experience of racism against him was experienced not in Brazil or Chile, but Chicago. 

             

But I like most of all the amusing incidents when the Brazilian Government issued the exiled Freire's family with a special passport which allowed them to travel from Geneva to Zurich. They issued them with a document valid only for travelling within Switzerland rather than the world. 

             

The good thing about Freire is just how open -minded he is. Whereas some Portuguese radicals told him "Does Paulo Freire know how a group of Catholic women have perverted his ideas in the countryside around Coimbra?" he counters that, on the contrary, they were acting very sensibly in the only way they could in such an oppressive situation and were adopting good tactics. Freire comes across as non sectarian, anti authoritarian and sincerely devoted to his vocation as a teacher.

             

This book represents a refreshing and revitalizing read. It is certainly good medicine for those who feel disenchanted.

Is Shakespeare Real?

DID SHAKESPEARE REALLY WRITE HIS PLAYS?

By Stephen Wilson

           

Whenever I give a lesson or talk on Shakespeare in Russia someone without fail asks: "Did Shakespeare actually write those works or someone else?"  I have been asked this question countless times. But I ask those students, "Where did you hear the view that Shakespeare may not have been the author?" Some answer that they heard the view expressed in a conference on English literature, an article in a magazine or television program. Yesterday, my colleague Oksana Chebotareva told me she had also read something about this hypothesis. I feel obliged to at least express my views. 

           

The view that the playwright and poet, William Shakespeare could not have written his works is hardly new. Even in Shakespeare's time some jealous playwrights were accusing him of plagiarizing their works, the most famous being Robert Greene who on his deathbed in 1592 accused Shakespeare of 'plucking our feathers'. From then on many famous writers and authors have gone further in claiming he could not have written those works. For example, Charlie Chaplin did not believe Shakespeare wrote his works as well as numerous others. Academics have even written whole books 'supposing ' to prove that Shakespeare was not the author. However, some of the most ludicrous theories are that Sir Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe wrote his works despite dying in a brawl in 1593 before many of Shakespeare's most famous works were published. But what are the main reasons for believing this hypothesis? 

           

Firstly, they claim that since Shakespeare came from a humble background and lacked a university education, and never worked at court, he could not have written plays about kings and queens in such explicit detail concerning their manners and strict rules of decorum. He simply lacked the know how. Secondly, they claim we know very little about his biography and surely if Shakespeare had been that famous in his time we would have had more evidence of his existence. Thirdly, many people point out that he spelled his name in different ways and seemed to be illiterate. A more balanced viewpoint claims that Shakespeare partly wrote his plays as at that time writing a play for the theater was often a collective effort. He was not the sole author. 

           

What are we to make of those claims? Firstly, lacking a university education hardly disqualifies you from writing a masterpiece of literature. One of Scotland's greatest poets did not go to university yet wrote great works. This claim indicates more about the prejudice of some highly educated people who overestimate the value of a university education. Shakespeare attended a Grammar school which was sufficient to teach him Latin and Greek as well as the art of rhetoric.

           

It is a current myth to suggest we know next to nothing of Shakespeare's life. We do actually know enough to suggest he was in deed the author of at least 37 plays, 154 sonnets and the long poems 'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece' in 1594. His name is printed and mentioned as the sole author of those long poems. And we also have some witnesses who left records suggesting William Shakespeare was in deed the author of his plays. Ironically, one of the 'University wits', Robert Greene wrote a long letter to his three friends castigating William Shakespeare for stealing their glory. Now the former playwright is famous not for his original plays but as serving as concrete evidence that Shakespeare actually existed as a well known playwright. Greene called Shakespeare an "Upstart crow" who "supposes he is as much able to bombast out a blank of verse as the best of you and being an absolute Johannes Factotum is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country." Another witness is the author of Palladis Tamia, Francis Meres who in 1598 mentions Shakespeare more than any other author. He refers to 12 of Shakespeare's plays.

          

When Shakespeare died 14 of his plays were published in Quarto booklets and in1623 two actors, John Heming and Henry Condell published a collected edition of 36 of his plays in one folio volume . There is even the most famous words from a rival actor Ben Jonson who declares "Shakespeare is not only of this age but for all time". There is also an old monument in the local church in Stratford Upon Avon pointing to his fame.

           

It is true that in some English theaters the plays were often the work of a team of actors but by Shakespeare's time a revolution was taking place in the history of drama where individual authorship was rising to prominence. Meticulous linguistic research of Shakespeare's works point to a consistent style and betray the Dialect of Warwickshire. So the overwhelming evidence suggests William Shakespeare existed and was in deed , the author of those plays. Does it matter? An English Actor who runs an English Theater in Moscow as well as teaching Drama, Jonathan Salvey told me, "I have heard this idea that Shakespeare did not write his works. Some people get very passionate when people suggest this.

           

But does it really matter who wrote them? The main point is they are great pieces of literature we can enjoy". Well, it might matter because the main point is not to lose any energy or effort in futile arguments, but in teaching people how to appreciate Shakespeare, perform him and learn how to speak better English. Just by studying Hamlet, a student learns old proverbs and idioms such as 'the Time is out of joint', 'there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt in our philosophy' , 'To thine own self be true' and 'Happy, in that we are not overhappy'.

           

Claiming that Shakespeare stole the glory or the works of another author seems rather mean as well as absurd. Most artists are such vain creatures that it is difficult to imagine them asking someone else to take all the credit for their works! We should at least respect an author who generously granted us a priceless gift to world literature.

HOD December 2019

Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates Ends with Sparks!
By Jim Vail

The LA teachers union endorsed Bernie Sanders. Will CTU?

A quorum was called at the end of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) House of Delegates (HOD) meeting on Wednesday December 5.

A quorum is a tactic to end a union meeting that is usually called when somebody does not want certain resolutions passed or business to continue. 

Quorums were called regularly when the CTU was divided politically as union parities CORE, PACT and the UPC would battle over union issues. 

But it is constitutional and the union has to stop the meeting and take a roll call vote, and if less than 50 percent of the members are present, then the meeting must end.

CTU President Jesse Sharkey said that they were only a couple of delegates short in the vote, but he noted there were other delegates in the building, so he ruled that there was a quorum and the meeting would continue. He asked if anyone wanted to challenge the ruling, but nobody did.

The issue that possibly sparked the unexpected call for a quorum (this delegate can only remember one quorum called in the nine years that CORE has led the CTU) was a vote to endorse five state reps (Aaron Ortiz, Nidia Carranza, Delia Ramirez, Lakesia Collins and Celina Villanueva) and two state senators (Rob Martwick and Robert Peters).

CTU member and former Political Action Committee PAC Chair Froy Jimenez said he should have been endorsed as well for the state senate. 

CTU delegate and executive board member Michelle Gunderson said that the CTU wanted to table and wait til the next meeting to have an endorsement vote for him.

The vote to endorse those candidates then passed.

A resolution to support the striking teachers in Chile also passed.

CTU delegate Frank McDonald demanded an apology from VP Stacy Davis Gates for comparing delegates who wanted to separate PAC union dues from regular CTU dues to former IL Gov. Bruce Rauner paying Janus to attack the unions. President Sharkey said no apology is necessary since unions need to play the political game.

I noted as the delegate from Hammond School that the early childhood teachers are getting hit with too many demands from not only CPS, but also the Dept. of Early Childhood. The teachers say that they had to be observed five times last year - three for REACH and two for the Early Childhood Dept. They also wanted the pre-K teachers to register late students, something the school does. The teachers say they have to use their unpaid time, either preparation time or after school to fulfill the extra demands.

There is an early childhood committee at the CTU to look into these problems.

Several delegates during the question and answer period in the beginning of the meeting asked when CTU members will receive retro pay and veteran pay. Sharkey said they are still waiting to hear from CPS on this. He noted that it took a few months after the 2012 strike to get retro pay. He said after CPS privatized the payroll department, there are less employees working on the these issues and thus the delay.

One Taft High School associate delegate complained that PE teachers are being required to get yet another life guard certification, in addition to the two certificates they already have. Sharkey said the extra hoops CPS is making PE teachers go thru is in response to the tragedy at Kennedy High School when a 14-year-old student drowned in the school's pool in 2017. But he agreed that extra lifeguard certifications will not make it safer. They said these extra regulations will just drive teachers out of teaching.

During the time of remembrance of teachers who passed away, one teacher who just died was about to retire in January. Several died from cancer.

Financial director Kathy Catalano stated that they sold $200,000 worth of CTU merchandise and $600,000 in strike loans were made available to about 1,000 members. Teachers will get $50 reductions in their paychecks to pay back the loans.

They said 92 percent of the teachers voted for the contract (much higher percentage then who voted for the president!) and 80 percent voted yes. 

The officers kept repeating that the teachers have to enforce the new contract.

VP Gates said the Los Angeles teachers union UTLA already endorsed a presidential candidate in the democratic primaries. She did not mention his name - but it was Bernie Sanders. She suggested that delegates poll their fellow members about who they think the union should endorse. She noted that all the democrat candidates mentioned the Chicago teachers strike.

When it comes to filing grievances against contract infringements, the CPS policy is to deny all the grievances, which forces the union to go to arbitration or appeal. It is a costly process in which there are about 1,000 grievances filed per year.

President Sharkey said the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) was upset that the CTU protested the Sterling Bay Lincoln Yards $1.4 billion TIF project because they employ union laborers. The CFL even set up a committee to investigate the teachers union. TIFs are a corrupt practice where the city takes tax monies that should go to the schools and instead subsidize wealthy developments like Lincoln Yards on the North Side, rather than support blighted areas.

The CTU earlier ran into problems with the Chicago police union that was upset the teachers were protesting police brutality. 

The CTU officers said Chicago is one of the only big cities that has a school rating policy called SQRP which focuses almost entirely on student test scores. (Research shows the higher the parents income, the higher the students test scores.) The CTU encouraged its members to fill out the survey on SQRP, but one delegate noted that the survey is skewed toward supporting SQRP. The union said to then just put your comments in the comments box.

CPS has a new portfolio manager (set up to close schools) and a senior data analysis specialist (focus on standardized test scores that is a harmful measure for low-income children).

Sharkey said there are 18 CTU joint committees that are comprised of five CTU members and five CPS members in areas such as early childhood, student discipline, budget, sanctuary schools, diversity, special education, air conditioning and heating, etc. There are also regular CTU committees such as human rights, school finance and taxation, etc. He encouraged members to join the committees.

Sharkey said there are three priorities for the union: 1) Enforce the new contract, 2) The need for a unified voice for education in Chicago - includes organizing the charter schools. Currently 32 of the 130 charter schools are unionized. And 3) How schools are funded in legislature - elected school board.