Teachers Death Sentence

A DEATH SENTENCE!

By Stephen Wilson

 

     A new Global report by the World Health Organisation and International Labor Organisation has found that a staggering figure of 745,000 people died from from stroke and heart disease due to working long hours in 2016 alone. {The Report was issued in May 2021}

 

 

Working long hours amounting to 55 hours or more significantly increases the likelihood of premature deaths from heart attacks or strokes stated a major report by the W.H.O. and I.L.O! Although those findings might not seem news to many people what makes the findings novel is that it marks the first time such a survey was done on a Global basis. It is therefore an unprecedented study! The study represents an overview and analysis of data collected from 194 countries and 2300 surveys The research found that doing long hours was killing hundreds of thousands of middle aged and older men and women and that the pandemic may have intensified rather than lessened this trend. The study covered the period between 2000 and 2016.

 

The findings are alarming. As many as 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease by working long hours in 2016. There had been a 29% increase in deaths from 2000 to 2016. During the same period the number of deaths from heart diseases rose by 42% and those from strokes, by 19%. Those who work 55 hours or more a week have a 35% higher risk of having a stroke and a 17% higher risk dying from ischemic heart disease compared to people who work a 40 hour week.

 

The report found that most of the vulnerable people tended to be middle-aged or older men and more likely in live in the South East Asia and the Western Pacific region. This area encompasses China, Japan and Australia.

 

Many of the deaths appear to be a culminated effect of working long hours over a long period. What is clear is that many victims are under pressure to overwork by cultural influences where they feel a tortured sense of guilt unless they work long hours. For instance, in Japan they even have a word for dying from overwork called 'Karoshi' while in America or Scotland the ghostly imprint of the Protestant work ethic continues to haunt the workplace. Unless workers do long hours they feel they are committing a cardinal sin. Ruthless employers who impose such harsh work schedules on their employees don't seem to feel such reservations. For them, failing to expand and boost profits represents the ultimate sin. 

The researchers suggest that working long hours leads to declining health because of not only stress at having to meet tight dead lines, but less free time to obtain sufficient sleep, do exercise and adopt a healthy diet. And to cut the stress they can over smoke or drink. As Leonid Perlov, of the Union Teacher, once put it, "If a teacher works not enough hours she can't afford to eat, but if she works long hours she can't find time to eat". 

School teachers are among the most vulnerable professions when it comes to working long hours. One of the reasons for increasing hours during the pandemic has been the increased blurring of boundaries between home and work. Your work stalks you everywhere through your mobile phone. This, and the fact that information technology renders teachers more accessible to parents or headteachers, often means teachers don't have a single day off. Doctor Patrick Roach, a representative of the Scottish Teacher Union, stated that teachers had been under pressure to provide a 24 hour service to pupils over E-Mail. Parents of pupils have often been over demanding by  bombarding teachers with endless requests and demands. Dr. Roach, while emphasizing the importance of parents in education, stresses that 'Contact between parents and schools must be appropriate, proportionate and respectful, both of the fact that teachers need a work/life balance and of teachers' pedagogical knowledge, experience and skills." The Russian school teacher Pavel Astapov recalled how he was bemused to find how a school girl expressed astonishment when she observed him visiting a cinema. It was as if they thought teachers should stay at home or in school checking homework or doing work duties all the time. Doing longer hours in schools has been compounded by the process of optimization, making teachers redundant, low pay forcing teachers to do extra hours and the never ending rise in paperwork not to mention testing.  

 

Unfortunately the response of employers to complaints about doing long hours is often met with indifference or reproach. When teachers complain to some headmasters, they are merely told to 'get on with your job' . It is not even an issue. In Russia Marina Lysenko, a manager who works in public relations, states: "Employers are often indifferent to the hours their employees do. There are also a lot of myths connected to free lance work. People think that doing free lance work is like paradise, but this is not the case. Free lance workers often overwork ... I don't agree with the stereotype of 'the lazy Russian worker'. I know many people in Moscow who work hard. People also say that in warm countries such as Italy and Spain the workers are lazy, but they forget that workers have to take a siesta for biological reasons because the climate is so hot".  However, Lysenko points out that one of the compensations of the impact of the pandemic is that working at home saves her and other employees from wasting so much time travelling from work. It can take some commuters two hours to reach their workplaces in Moscow.

 

What can be done to protect people from the dangers of overwork? All too often someone tells a person to either give up their job or work less ignoring the specific difficulties a person finds him or herself in. This advice seems to blame the victim assuming his working conditions are freely chosen! In many situations it is impossible for employees to give up their job because they would be immediately evicted and rendered homeless! The authors of this report recommend more effective government intervention and regulation of the workplace, more dialogue between employers and employees to discuss a plan of action and for trade unions to take stronger measures to protect their members. In this respect it is worth noting that doing longer hours can damage rather than improve productivity. There is a lot of research in this area and some employers in Denmark even advocate as well as allow a four-day week. The problem with such a proposal is: Would it entail a major wage cut hitting hard the income of workers?

Teachers & Witchcraft

SCHOOL TEACHER TORTURED AND BURNT FOR WITCHCRAFT

Four hundred years later some Scots are fighting for his pardon!

By Stephen Wilson

 

Some teachers have it hard! They can be fired, blacklisted, bullied and assaulted. At times it seems like a thankless job. But spare a thought for the luckless Scottish school teacher, John Fian, who was arrested, tortured and burnt to death on the false accusation of being a witch. Poor Fian had a rope tied around his head and was suspended, had his legs and feet crushed by 'spike boots 'and even had his finger nails pulled out and nails hammered into his fingers. Given this excessive torture is it any wonder Fian confessed to accusations of witchcraft? He felt he had no choice but to sign a confession that he had acted as the Devil's clerk', had dismembered corpses and was part of a group of witches who had attempted to sink two ships sailing from Denmark to Scotland carrying the Scottish King and Queen in 1590.

 

John Fian, a school teacher from Prestopans in Scotland, was just one of a group of 60 people who were rounded up after one woman who was tortured, Geilles Duncan, mentioned his name. The famous North Berwick trials of 1590 began when a powerful ballie depute, David Seaton, became suspicious of one of his servants. He discovered she was not always in bed and mysteriously disappeared during some evenings. In fact, it seems she was a faith healer who may have been called out to aid and relieve the pain of pregnant women with her knowledge of folk medicine. She was doing good rather than harming people. But this wasn't the conclusion of David Seaton. Without even getting official approval, Seaton accused her of witchcraft, had her arrested and tortured her. She eventually confessed to witchcraft claiming that she had made a pact with the devil, and attended meetings of other witches. She confessed to plotting with other witches to sink the King's ships by throwing a bewitched cat into the sea. She named many people who were also implicated in this 'conspiracy'.

Unfortunately, the school teacher John Fian's name came up. Geilles was imprisoned and and interrogated from December 1590 until June 1591. Just before her execution she declared that everything she had said had all been lies. But by then it was too late for her and others like John Fian.

 

John Fian was a school teacher at Prestopans and taught at Tranent. He is alleged to have used many aliases and appears to have been a highly-educated man. A lot of the information about John Fian came from a tabloid newspaper 'News from Scotland'. It almost certainly invented many colorful stories about Fian to boost its circulation. For instance, Fian confessed to having affairs with 32 women. How would a busy teacher find time to meet all those women? Another absurd but amusing story written to titillate readers was that Fian had fallen in love with the sister of one of his pupils. He asked the boy to bring him three hairs from his sister so that he could do a charm over them to make her fall in love with him. The brother told his mother. The mother took three hairs from a calf and told the boy to give Fian this instead. The result was that to Fain's embarrassment, a cow followed him around everywhere.

According to Fian's confession, he met and made a pact with the devil who promised him prosperity for serving him. Fian went into intricate details of how he was involved in using magic to ruin crops, destroy cattle, kill men and sink ships. Like Geillis, Fian was horribly tortured and later claimed he had been forced to sign a confession under duress. Although he momentarily escaped he was quickly recaptured then eventually executed.

 

From 1561 to 1727 an estimated 4000 people were arrested on accusations of witchcraft. Of those accused, as many as 1500 may have been executed. Historians will never be certain the exact number because some of the legal records may have been lost, removed or destroyed. But compared to other European countries Scotland had one of the highest records second only to Germany. Many Scots don't like to be reminded of one of the darkest periods of their history. They'd prefer to forget it. Even a silly and surreal postcard image of Scotland as a beautiful country of bagpipers, kilts and dancers is not so offensive. When tourists visit Edinburgh, they tend to be spellbound by the picturesque castle perched on a dead volcano which looms up. Only later might they learn that 300 accused witches were burnt on the castle hill esplanade.  

 

The reasons for the witch hunting are several. The growth of a new church theology which was intolerant, political intrigue as well as the need to find scapegoats for all kinds of problems. Many allegations of witchcraft arose out of conflicts between neighbors, or the odd behavior of a resident. An old woman who was alone and talked to herself might raise suspicion, or some unpopular person who had a sharp tongue might have made endless enemies. However, it is important to mention that contrary to myth, it was not easy to prosecute someone as a witch. The allegations had to have some witnesses and 'evidence' to back up the cases. Some accused witches were even acquitted. So not all people accused of witchcraft were executed. Some won their cases.

 

Are there any memorials to those who were executed for witchcraft?  There is one intriguing memorial to one witch near Dunning. It is known as the Maggie Walls monument. Every year some one paints the following words 'Maggie Walls, Burnt here, 1657 as a witch.' But who was Maggie Walls? There are no local or national records of such a person being burnt as a witch! This leads historians to speculate that Maggie Walls was a name representing all burnt witches. Yet Jess Smith, a well known Scottish storyteller, is convinced that such a person existed and even offers an explanation in one of her stories. She writes, 'We travellers know from ancestor stories that Maggie was a simple tinker herb woman who never hurt a soul. Folk had got all excited in those older ways with an extreme type of religion, and were burning lots of people who knew only the way of mother earth and not the teaching of the 'good book'. {page 6 of Sooking Berries , Tales of Scottish Travellers. 2008, Edinburgh}

 

What if poor John Fian the school teacher was also a folk healer who never hurt a soul? In fact, in the past few years a pressure group has been formed to campaign for a public apology, pardon and a memorial to all those executed for witchcraft. In Fife, activists such as Sheila Gaul founded an organisation called 'Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland.' Another activist Claire Mitchell stated, "I launched the Witches of Scotland campaign on International Women's Day 2020.The Campaign has three aims:

- to obtain a pardon for those convicted as witches under the Witchcraft Act of 1563, to obtain an apology for all those accused and to obtain a national memorial to remember those killed."

So far the Scottish parliament and authorities have refused to offer a pardon. They don't think it is in the 'public interest' to issue one. Many claim that since it happened 400 years ago it is no longer relevant. It is just history. The activists disagree. They claim that the past is not quite the past. People are being currently scapegoated for the pandemic. And even some cultures believe that witchcraft is behind it. The United Nations recently warned of a significant rise in accusations of witchcraft. In Britain itself, the police have found that as many as 2080 children were at risk of being accused and beaten as 'witches' and blamed for either illnesses, job losses or financial problems. Such children are found among the African and Asian diaspora. In places such as India and Saudi Arabia people have been accused of witchcraft. Saudi Arabia has an anti witch hunt police unit!

 

So the teacher John Fian, and so many other victims, might yet receive a long overdue pardon and apology. Claire Mitchell who is campaigning for such a pardon stated, "I felt real anger that there was no apology to those people and no recognition of the terrible wrongs done to them".

 

I have relied on several sources :

 

Scottish Witches and Wizards, True Accounts, H.M. Fleming, 2001, Goblinhead, Musselburgh,

Scotland.

 

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland, Joyce Millar, 2004. Goblinhead, Musselburgh,Scotland.

 

Sookin Berries,Tales of Scottish Travellers, Jessie Smith,2008, Birlinn, Edinburgh.

Kangaroo Court

Teachers Pension Fund President Demands Apology & Public Shaming

By Jim Vail

CTPF President Jeffery Blackwell

The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund President Jeffery Blackwell showed no mercy in his public shaming of three minority female trustees on the pension board.

Trustees Gervaise Clay, Tina Padilla, and Maria Rodriguez were forced to issue public apologies at the pension board meeting June 17 for alleged disrespectful and hostile actions on the pension board.

Except those apologies at the meeting turned into accusations against the board president for attacking the female trustees because they are minority women who speak out at the meetings.

"This censure was made against three women of color to obstruct trustees from performing their fiduciary responsibility," Tina Padilla told the board.

At this point Blackwell was upset and quickly interjected that his name should not be brought up because the focus should be on the three female trustees who were censured and ordered to issue an apology to the teachers pension board. 

Padilla responded by stating that her name had been slandered but she has refrained from going to the media. She said the fund hired an outside attorney to investigate the allegations against her and the others and the lawyer read her findings to the board which found that the complaints against them had failed to meet the definition of racism, bullying and harassment.

At this point, Blackwell shut off the mic and told Tina Padilla she could no longer speak because her time allotment had ended.

"Tina you're out of order," Blackwell said. "The censure had everything to do with it. I find it disgusting they say they are being singled out because of their race and ethnicity. This has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or gender."   

There are six women on the teachers pension board, five are of color and the three who were censured and forced to apologize for alleged disrespectful and hostile actions are of color and they did not vote for Blackwell to be president of the board. The two women of color who voted for Blackwell are officers - one serves as the recording secretary and the other as the financial secretary.  The one white female trustee Mary Sharon Reilly who serves as the vice president was reprimanded for making a racist statement against another trustee.

But Blackwell showed no mercy when trustee Mary Sharon Reilly questioned why the apologies had to be published in the pension fund's newsletter and sent out to tens of thousands of members. She made a motion to not include the censures and reprimand in the newsletter.  

"I think its unnecessary because it's already published in the minutes, its more permanent than a newsletter," Reilly said. "It happened before in July (almost a year ago), I apologized in writing. It's a bit dramatic to put it in the newsletter. I discussed this with staff who didn't think it was a good idea." 

Trustee Maria Rodriguez, who spoke in favor of the motion, added that a much more egregious act was committed in which a censure was issued by the board that was recorded in the minutes but not sent out to 68,500 people. 

"I am receiving feedback," Rodriguez said. "Why aren't things being resolved internally? Why is the fund airing dirty laundry? It affects everyone."

Trustee Phil Weiss who read out the censures at the last meeting said he was surprised by the motion by Reilly. Blackwell seconded him.

"I'm still confused how this can be done if we already voted to put the censures in the newsletter," Blackwell said. "I kind of thought this period was to abide by the censure and apologize. If it's not, then we're kind of spinning our wheels. I'm questioning the legality if we already voted on it."

The fund's attorney Joe Burns - who all the trustees turn to in moments like these - said the motion for reconsideration was in order, which would mean going back to the original motion of censuring the trustees and make it again and then take out reference to the newsletter. He said it's a multi-step process. 

"You're overriding an earlier motion that passed," Burns said. "It gets rather involved. Do the trustees want this? You should decide what you want to do.  A chair can rule a motion out of order. And a trustee can ask to challenge the ruling of the chair."

Which is exactly what Blackwell immediately did. He ruled the motion out of order. 

"This is kind of, it's like a slap in the face," he said. "It's supposed to be an apology. This requires more time to talk and meet. I don't feel this is right. It's out of order." 

Trustee Reilly said she could not unmute her mic to challenge the ruling of the chair.

And then the apologies came, or rather a rebuke from the alleged guilty trustees who were forced to make apologies that they believed they never should have had to make. 

Trustee Gervaise Clay said after the president made the allegations of disrespectful and hostile behavior against the three women of color, at no time was she interviewed about the allegations. She said she believed the censure was an attempt to quiet her. 

"I will not be silenced," she said.

Blackwell again cut her off and said his name was mentioned again and that the allegations had nothing to do with race, gender or ethnicity.

It should be noted here that his allegations and the motion to censure the three trustees were a result of a witch hunt after Blackwell accused trustees of racism, misogyny, bullying and other vile acts. He called the pension fund "a cabal of evil."

Blackwell said he expected to hear apologies, and instead heard defense statements. Their censure motion that passed at the last board meeting specified that should the trustees not make sincere attempts to rectify their behavior and abide by the punishment, more harsh consequences could result in the future.

Blackwell only allowed 10 minutes for the four trustees to make their apologies before the fund had to break for lunch. He quickly cut off the members' apologies when the three minute timer went off, a similar tactic the Chicago Board of Education uses to enforce the time limit against teachers or community members speaking out against the board. Earlier in the meeting trustee Padilla said, "I feel like a pinata. I'm getting beaten up!"

The last teachers pension board meeting passed the motion that stated:

"Whereas the Board of Trustees censured (the three trustees) for conduct towards Fund employees, and a fellow Trustee that was aggressive, hostile, unprofessional and disrespectful behavior."

It is not clear what exactly were the hostile, disrespectful and unprofessional actions the trustees are accused of. 

A CTPF employee is suing the pension board for retaliation after he called out accounting errors.

The battle between the president of the fund and the three female trustees continues. If one was to keep score, it would be Blackwell 1 and Trustees Clay, Padilla and Rodriguez 1.

Stay tuned for Game 3!

Russian Teachers Union

TEN YEARS OF STRUGGLE

The Union Teacher

                             

By Stephen Wilson 

                             

The independent Union which represents Russian teachers, known as 'Teacher' , has been fighting to defend the rights of school teachers for ten years. It was founded on January 16, 2011, and despite many difficulties, is still going strong to this day. Second City Teachers reviews just a few of the Union's achievements. Its success can never be underestimated.

 

Forget it! It will never happen. Teachers are too afraid, timid and don't understand unions. 

On the eve of their foundation, there was no shortage of critics and cynics who scorned the very idea of founding a genuine independent trade union capable of defending the jobs, pay and struggling to improve the conditions of school teachers in Russia. When some people suggested that it could be done, critics countered with the usual cliches: 'This is Russia so it can't be done' or 'the state will simply suppress it out of existence' and that such people with a vision were 'unrealistic dreamers'. They might answer, 'Come down to earth! 'Well the Union 'Teacher', which was founded in 2011 is still on earth and is not a remote dream but a living reality! Now it is the cynics who look as if they are on Mars. For today the trade union 'Teacher' consists of 47 primary organizations in as many as 18 regions of Russia and according to Vsevolod Lukhovitski has thousands of members. It is unclear exactly how many members are in the Union. A leaflet published by the Union claimed it had as many as 6000 members in 2014 but other sources in the Union state this might be an overestimate. When Second City Teachers spoke to a Moscow organizer, Olga Miryasova, she stated, "I don't think it was 6000. I would say we at least started with 700 members, but I'm not sure about this". When Lukhovitski was pressed for a number two years ago he stated, 'We have thousands of members". I think the most accurate statement would be to say that the numbers don't fall below 1000 and certainly exceed 2000!  

 

Whatever its numerical strength it has certainly made an impressive impact. That it is still going at all represents a tremendous feat. And the Union has won many battles. For instance, they have won cases in the court against unfair dismissals, unfair measures undertaken by the school administration and won financial compensation for teachers who did unpaid work.

Compared to other unions, it is more transparent, accessible and responsive than unions which are not only impotent and ineffective but corrupt. The Chairman of the Union Andrei Demidov declared, 'A real teachers' Union must do everything to make sure that it doesn't turn into form of the vice of 'official unions' - being bureaucratic and detached from the rank and file of it's members, having a closed management and not holding a transparent decision making mechanism'.

 

What are some of the achievements? They have won so many legal cases that lack of space prevents us from pointing to them all. For instance, in Litkurina, which is in the Moscow region, the music teacher Tatyana Yazvinkai won 170,000 rubles compensation after the court found that the school had violated her rights after giving her extra work without concluding a legal agreement. Ludmilla Moshkovo who was fired from school number 1955 was restored to her job, and the court found that the dismissal of Choreographer Larisa Khbuvskaya in Autumn 2018 for allegedly 'violating professional ethics' was unfair! We could go on and on ...

 

Secondly, the union 'Teacher' has managed to win battles defending the pay and improving the conditions of teachers. For instance, the Union won an agreement with the state body Rosobrynagzor that teachers have to take a meal break every four hours without being reprimanded or losing pay. In a School called 'Intellectual', the union managed to conclude a collective agreement which protected 30 staff from 2020 to 2023 and in Saint Petersburg the union has protected teachers from threatened pay cuts when the Committee of Finance sought to cut the extra hours of teachers.

 

The union Teacher has proven again and again that school teachers can win cases in the courts against unfair dismissals and attempts to worsen the conditions of teachers by underpaying or depriving them of work. Thirdly, they have their own on-line newspaper, lawyers and very articulate spokespersons who can explain to teachers what are their legal rights, what they can do in this particular difficult predicament and how they should go about carefully forming a trade union if none exists in their school. I'm impressed by how accessible and down to earth their representatives are and how they are always ready to answer questions or grant an interview. For instance, I obtained a copy of 'How to Defend your Working Rights? Recommendations for Teachers', by V. Lukhovitski and S.Dyachova. {Moscow, 2015] The authors provide detailed and concrete information about how to defend a contract, conclude an agreement with a headmaster and what mistakes to avoid. They even counter every possible objection to forming a union or struggling for your rights. For example, they ask, 'What prevents teachers from calmly pointing out to their employers their illegal measures? There are several opinions.

Firstly, it is uncomfortable for teachers to think about their pay and hours - the position of seeking pay for unpaid work.

Secondly, school, this is our family home, we are one family, and with the main director it is uncomfortable to speak in the language of the law.

Thirdly, to struggle is in vain because it is all the same as we won't achieve anything. The head will always be proven right.

Fourthly, none of our colleagues will support us, and teachers are not capable of any form of solidarity and self organisation'. The authors answer those objections by claiming that until teachers rid themselves of those terrible stereotyped beliefs they will never be able to improve their lot. {page 38}

The authors offer very practical advice about how to go about taking action and even outlining model letters which could be presented to a director and what legal documents are required for initiating a union branch in school. In a word, the union 'Teacher', has an answer for everything. They know what they are about and what is to be done!

 

Unfortunately, even the independence of the union 'Teacher' can not be taken for granted. The leading government party United Russia and officials resent any independent organisations or groups that defend or empower the oppressed. The Union has wisely avoided affiliating to any political organisation or party. To make such a move which compromised their independence would lead to a loss of integrity as well as their hard-won reputation. They might also find themselves being labelled either extremist or conformist. If for example they united with an opposition party they would risk being outlawed. However, in an increasingly repressive atmosphere which Russia finds itself nothing can be taken for granted. The Union 'Teacher' continues to tread very carefully and prudently. But despite some achievements they can never be complacent.

Letter Writing

FORGOTTEN LETTER LEGACY

A kind letter may make a difference!

By Stephen Wilson

 

'You will never know what your little note means to me. I always think that someone cares for me even if my family kicks me out'.

 

'Your note gave me a warm pleasant feeling. Just knowing someone cares means a lot.'

 

'You are the most persistent son of a bitch I've ever encountered so you must really be sincere in your interest in me'.

 

Those were three responses from former patients with mental health problems who had been discharged from hospitals and were deemed a suicide risk. They had, along with many other patients received a kind note or letter from a psychiatrist Doctor Jerry Motto and other staff as part of a research project to test whether sending an encouraging letter to a former patient could make a difference on whether this patient went on to commit suicide. To the surprise of many skeptical psychiatrists sending a kind note or letter expressing sincere concern about the condition of the patient did make a profound difference. Doctor Motto found that the modest act of sending a letter to patients who had previously attempted suicide reduced the rate of recurrence by half. This research was carried out between 1969 to 1974 but the full implications of the findings were never acted upon. It is only in the past recent years that psychiatrists, mental health workers and others have understood how they might have easily saved the lives of at least some patients through as simple a gesture as writing a short caring note to a patient!

 

The idea that writing a kind letter or note might help boost a patient's mental health was inspired by Doctor Motto's wartime experience. He found that his morale and that of other soldiers was boosted by receiving a letter from home. He reasoned that sending caring letters to patients might have the same 

result. It sounded such a simply crude idea that most of his colleagues were cynical! How could a simple note or letter make any difference? It was just a letter! But for Doctor Motto the main point was that the letter made the patient feel more connected, and less isolated proving he had at least one person who cared for him or her. That meant a lot in encouraging a patient to live on. It gave him or her hope! So Doctor Motto divided two groups of discharged patients into a contact group who would receive kind letters and notes, and a control group which did not receive them. Each patient in the contact group would receive four letters a year over the next four years and then in the fifth year. After sending those letters the researchers would contact the recorded lists of deaths from  the California State Department of Health, coroners' records and death certification clinical records to establish the rate of suicide. The result of the research was that after two years of leaving hospital only 1.8% of patients in the contact group had committed suicide compared to 3.52% in the control group. Sending kind letters proved to be a kind of effective suicide prevention influence in at least a significant number of cases. However, the psychiatrists cautioned that those letters should be sent over a long term period and that other forms of care should not be discounted.

 

Of course, it was important to send a short and sweet letter. The letter could not be too intrusive, or render the impression that the psychiatrists just saw the patient as 'mere material' to boost their research. The main point was that the letter had to be 100% sincere in caring for the patient. The letter would go:

 

Dear so and so,

 

It has been some time since you were here at hospital, and we hope things are going well for you. If you wish to drop us a note we would be glad to hear from you.

 

Motto later wrote, 'We were careful to avoid suggesting that we desired any specific information or action from the patient. By doing so we hoped to show that our intention was simply and entirely to let the person know we remained aware of his or her existence and maintained positive feelings towards him or her. One such letter was not expected to have much impact, but we believed the cumulative effect of repeated contacts of this kind might have considerable psychological force.'

 

Why did those kind letters or notes have an impact? It seems evident that many of the patients could be experiencing such isolation where they lack anyone who seems to care for them. They lived in profound isolation. Some of their families were not supportive ,and avoided them. They were stigmatized by their family and others who shunned them out of embarrassment. Just one friendly note of support or encouragement gave them hope to carry on. This note broke through the wall of indifference. I recently received a note from a patient called Jane {not her real name}, who lamented that her relatives no longer kept contact with her and her brother because they are embarrassed by their illness. Jane herself came across two fellow patients who had expressed feelings of wanting to commit suicide. One threatened to jump off the Erskine bridge in Scotland. But she talked and sent them kind notes, letters and cards. And it made a difference! They haven't committed suicide. Letters, in contrast to therapy, can appear less intrusive and intimidating. Many people can express themselves better in a letter than in face to face interaction. Hence a caring letter might be more cathartic and therapeutic. Jane, a 47 year old Scot who had received letters, wrote to me saying, "All those letters have been good therapy and a good help. Back in the 1990's people weren't taken seriously until things reached breaking point and they actually did have a breakdown. I send a handwritten message. I don't mind as it is good practice for my brain. Not many people even possess a pen or use a pen, let alone write letters by pen. How do they manage this? If I couldn't write with a pen there would be a massive void in my life. I think handwritten letters and going to a post office is good for you and it is also exercising your brain. You can say more in a letter than in an hour face to face'. 

Jane raises another issue. Could handwritten notes and letters be better than just an e-mail message or letter? A handwritten letter carries a more personal stamp. What if snail mail turn out to be faster and more effective than even a quick phone call or e-mail in helping patients?  

 

What is distinctly evident is that the sharp problem of suicide continues. According to the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 38,300 deaths from guns in 2019 - of which 23,941 were from suicide. In Scotland, 2 persons kill each other everyday. According to the National Records of Scotland, from 2011 to 2015 the rate of suicide declined. Unfortunately, the rate of suicide has increased from 784 in 2018 to 833 in 2019. The study found a high rate of suicide among males, people of middle age, people who are not married or partnered, those who live in poverty, the homeless and among gypsies and travelling people as well as gay people.

 

Why not undertake small scale projects where responsible people write caring letters to vulnerable patients who have mental health problems? Such a project doesn't require much investment, space or equipment. All it requires is a trip to the post office, some stamps, a pen and an envelope and the will to write! There is a beautiful simplicity in doing such a project which was partly inspired by Doctor Motto's research. We have to turn his research into a living legacy! That is go beyond the academic. And as a grateful Scottish postwoman told Jane "Your are helping us to keep our jobs!"

 

 

For those who are interested they can find 'A Randomized Controlled Trial of Post Crisis Suicide Prevention by Jerome A. Motto and Alan G.Bostrum by clicking into the internet, and the publication 'Our Daily Bread' , Caring Letters, offers a distinctly religious perspective on Motto's work.{15 march,2021, Elisa Morgan, Dublin, and Carnforth.} 

Tulsa

100 Years Ago: The Tulsa Massacre

By The Spark

At 5:08 AM on June 1st, 1921, a loud whistle blew in Tulsa Oklahoma. Thousands of armed white Tulsans, some in military uniform, marched on the city’s Greenwood neighborhood. Greenwood was a prosperous black community. White rioters shot black people in the street, looted their houses and businesses, systematically setting them aflame. Bullets rained down from planes overhead. By the end of the day, 35 city blocks lay in ashes, with as many as 300 black people killed, hundreds more injured and between 5 and 10 thousand left homeless.

Oklahoma had been seen as a refuge for black people. It had been “Indian Territory” until 1906. Many black people found in it an environment freer than much of the rest of the country.

The first black people came to Oklahoma as slaves of Native tribes such as the Cherokee. These tribes were uprooted and forcibly removed from Georgia to “Indian Territory”—what came to be known as the Trail of Tears. When the Civil War ended slavery, the black “freedmen” were accepted into some tribes as equals, or nearly so. Some tribes distributed land to freedmen—“40 Acres and a Mule” was put into practice. Other freedmen worked as sheriffs. Other black people migrated to Indian territory to take advantage of the relative freedom found among the already established black community.

Tulsa became a boomtown early in the 20th century, with the discovery of a gusher of oil. The town mushroomed, creating work and commerce for black workers and businesspeople. Greenwood soon boasted a 60 room hotel, two theaters, a newspaper, doctors, lawyers, and many shopkeepers.

World War One, and the economic boom that came with it, set off the Great Migration of black people out of the South, away from the circumstances that they faced there.

Many black men fought in Europe, returning with both training and a new militancy. They had traveled abroad, fought, risked their lives. They were able to escape some of the suffocating racism they saw in the States. They were determined not to return to the same. Many in the ruling class singled out this militancy as a threat to their order.

Once the war was over, jobs became more scarce, setting workers into competition with one another. With a tightening job market, the ruling class encouraged a widespread attack on the black population. The white working population was encouraged to violently reaffirm white supremacy, and to maintain second class citizenship through racist violence.

World War One created a violently reactionary environment. Members of the IWW, a radical union organization, sought to build a union among the oil field workers. Tulsa business leaders decided to give them a “lesson in patriotism.” They organized the “Knights of Liberty,” the local KKK, who then rounded up 17 IWW members and took them to the edge of Tulsa. There they whipped them bloody, before tarring and feathering them. The Knights were backed by the city’s ruling class—their action gave a glimpse of what was to come.

This period was full of racist violence against black people. In East St. Louis in 1917, white workers attacked and killed dozens of black people. In Chicago in the summer of 1919, white mobs attacked black people all over the South Side for three days. In both East St. Louis and Chicago, racial tensions were brought to a boil after the bosses hired black workers as strikebreakers. White workers attacked black people, instead of their own bosses.

In 1919, in Elaine, Arkansas white mobs hundreds of black sharecroppers who had begun to assert their rights. Later, in 1923, a white mob destroyed the black town of Rosewood, Florida.

In Tulsa, on May 31st, 1921, a black worker was accused of attacking a young white woman during an elevator ride in a downtown office tower. The same story played out over and over—a black man accused of rape or assault on a white woman was at the heart of many of these atrocities. It’s worth noting that after all was said and done, the woman in Tulsa dropped her charges in court.

One of Tulsa’s newspapers called for the black man to be lynched. A group of black people, upon learning of the lynching threat, armed themselves and gathered at the courthouse—some in army uniform. A white lynch mob confronted them. A scuffle broke out, and several, black and white were killed.

That became the signal the KKK was waiting for. Many white people were deputized and given badges, under the pretense of “restoring order.” The mob, which included the police, set upon Greenwood the morning of June 1st. Eldoris McDonichie, 9 years old at the time, remembered her mother saying, “Wake up! The white people are killing the colored folks.” Her family joined others streaming out of town. Eldoris saw men firing down on fleeing black people from planes—planes probably belonging to Sinclair Oil Company.

WD Williams was 16, his family owned a pastry shop and the neighborhood theater. He watched his father arm himself to fend off the mob. But the mob was too large to hold back. Williams witnessed a looter carrying his mother’s fur coat out of his home. Many black people would witness white people wearing their clothing on the street, like trophies, in the following weeks.

In the wake of the destruction, witnesses recounted “cattle trucks, heavily laden with bloody, dead, black bodies.” No one was ever brought to trial for the atrocity. In fact, the massacre was erased from official history for several decades.

100 years later, even President Biden admits to the violence carried out in Greenwood—though it is presented as an isolated incident, motivated by greed and envy.

The violence in Tulsa was not the exception—it was the rule. This society continues to carry racist violence within it. And to use racism to keep black and white people divided against each other. This division in the U.S. working class has held back unity and combativeness for generations, and has kept a rotten social system in place. It continues to keep the working class divided today, exploited by a united ruling class. 

HOD June

Core Wins Executive Board Positions at June HOD

By Jim Vail

Core defeated Members First to win three executive board positions at the June 2 House of Delegates meeting.

Norma Noriega of Stevenson Elementary School, Lori Torres of Monroe Elementary School and Aisha Wade-Bey of Lawndale Community Academy to be functional elementary vice presidents on the Chicago Teachers Union Executive Board.

The top vote getter was Wade-Bey with 157 votes, followed by Torres with 137 votes and Noriega with 132 votes. They easily defeated the three Members First candidates Terri Hehn of John Garvy Elementary School (74 votes), and Viktor Ochoa of Burbank Elementary School and Debbie Yaker of Hanson Park Elementary School, both with 73 votes.

According to the CTU, a total of 243 elementary teacher delegates cast votes. 

This election marked a come back for Core after Members First defeated the ruling CTU party in recent elections, including a teachers pension trustee and five retiree delegates.

President Jesse Sharkey noted that there was a heated discussion on Facebook concerning a proposed resolution to condemn the Israeli attack on Palestine for human rights violations. There have been massive protests throughout the world to condemn the Israel occupation of Palestine. The union decided then to not bring the resolution to the floor because of strong emotions on both sides of the debate.

He said the union had to shut down more comments in the last few weeks over this debate than the entire year. Both Core-led CTU and Members First Facebook pages are monitored and censured for comments they deem disrespectful or in violation of their social media protocol.

"Some of the comments were hate-filled," Sharkey said. "We need to be respectful."

One delegate said the CTU should organize a celebratory party to mark the recent legislative wins, including restoring the union's bargaining rights and the elected school board, which finally passed the senate against the wishes of the Mayor.

Sharkey said that the Chicago Board of Education decision to not allow Aspira High School to move into the Aspira Middle School was significant. He noted that the CTU represents the Aspira charter teachers as well as the teachers at Roosevelt High School who campaigned against the possible move that they claimed would hurt their enrollment. But the CTU is strongly against any expansion of charter schools and Sharkey said it was good that the Board said it was important to protect our neighborhood schools.

"This was unheard of," Sharkey said. "That is not what they were saying 10 years ago."

Sharkey and Vice President Stacy Gates acknowledged that they received long overdue raises that put their salaries within range of an assistant principal at a mid-size elementary school.

One of the scams of charter schools is paying their administrators even more than the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools. 

There will be a June 11 rally for charter schools, some who might go on strike.

The delegates overwhelmingly passed the budget for 2021 - 2022.

Anti-Foreign Ed Law

NEITHER RHYME  NOR  REASON

NEW LAW ON EDUCATION IN RUSSIA PASSED

By Stephen Wilson

 

A new law on Education aimed at curbing 'the negative impact of foreign influence' on Russian Education was passed on the First of June despite massive opposition from Russian academics, educators and scientists indicated by a petition against the law signed by a 1/4 of a million people as well as opposition from 1700 academics.

  

The Law on Education which is designed to control the influence of foreign intervention under the guise of educational activities came into effect on the First of June. It had been previously signed by President Putin in April. The law is primary aimed to strictly control the perceived negative influence of foreign intervention in the informal spheres of education and culture. The aim of the law is to determine who has the right to teach by insisting on special permission from the state as well as a license required before say giving a lecture or holding a workshop. It also means that Russian academics will need to complete much more paperwork if they seek to invite foreign academics to Russia or begin new International projects. This new law has provoked furious criticism and debate in Russia as well as widening fears of a return to the years of repression where Russians were afraid of having anything to do with foreigners.

 

The Law is largely the brainchild of Andrei Ardadevich Klimov who has claimed that such a law is urgently required to combat the pernicious influence of 'totalitarian sects' who would 'cut off the heads of those who argue against them' as well as 'harmful foreign influence' via social networks which have an impact on impressionable school children and students. The stated aim is to limit the control of 'anti Russian propaganda' on the minds of school children and students under the pretext of education. The laws also states that 'The purpose aims to forbid educational activities which incite social, racial, national and religious discord'. The law claims to be aimed at protecting traditional Russian values of the family, religion, view of history and the achievements by Russians in science, technology and culture.

This is not how the opposition sees things. They regard this control as a threat to freedom of speech, discussion and academic freedom.

 

What the law actually means is that no one can give a lecture, talk or organize any cultural and educational activity without special permission from the Ministry of Education and science. What this entails is filling in countless documents and obtaining a license where the applicant has to explain the contents of every talk and lecture. It means that both formal and informal organizations have to think twice before inviting a foreigner to give an innocuous talk or speech about his language or culture. It also entails that a Yoga instructor won't legally be able to give a workshop in a park or at a festival or someone organize master classes in storytelling on the  spurious grounds that this is 'an educational activity'. Even a member of the establishment party of United Russia and a member of the Duma, Natalie Pokloskaya, strongly opposes this new law! She stated, "To regulate absolutely all human activities of contemporary man means to limit his development and movement forward. Access to knowledge and freedom of expression in a discussion is a facet of any modern society ... I consider that people have the right to different opinions." 

Natalie Pokloskaya stated she was implacably against labeling anyone who disagrees with an opinion 'Anti-government', 'a traitor' or 'a foreign agent'. A Doctor of Law Professor Mikhail Fedotov declared that the passing of this law "confirms the quality of law today is of very poor quality. Not only is it poorly drafted and written, but the meaning of words vague and highly ambiguous. It is riddled with poor definitions as well as contradictions." He further stated that, "The intention of this law is simple: to exclude foreign influence on intelligent people. But to do this you would have to fly to the moon: there we don't have any foreign governments. But here we have neighbors. And we are all objectively interested in investors, technology and the achievements in culture which come to us from abroad. Unfortunately, those people who formulated this law prefer to ignore the real demands of countries." He states it is unclear what is meant by the words 'to agitate' and 'make propaganda'.

 

Attempts to limit, curb and in deed, eradicate the influence of foreign culture on Russians is not without precedent. In the 17th Century some Russians complained of how foreigners were encouraging people to smoke tobacco, dance and read dangerous books. The revolt of the Streltsy in 1698 aimed to destroy the German Sloboda where all the foreigners resided in Moscow. Following the Great Patriotic War Stalin launched an anti-Cosmopolitan campaign. A Russian who inadvertently was witnessed speaking to a foreigner in Russia could find himself under arrest and imprisoned. Anyone who has lived in Russia for some time can hardly fail to notice how so many older people feel afraid or awkward about speaking to foreigners. I met one Russian who would whisper to me and insist in meeting me in secluded spaces in 1993 while I worked in Kishinev. I at first thought he was unbalanced until I was informed about how sound his reservations really were. I also met a writer who told me that he had been arrested and detained for going to a Jazz club. Jazz was considered to be 'a bad foreign influence'. I think the vast majority of Russians don't wish to return to those absurd times.

 

Just as this law has been passed the Tretyakovskaya Gallery has been hosting an Art Exhibition which explores the deep links between German and Russian Romantic artists. It is a superb example of Russian and German cooperation. The exhibition is called 'Dreams of Freedom. Romanticism in Russia and Germany'. It is okay to dream of freedom but another thing to practice it ! Well dream on..

 

It is worth reading the following in relation to this law which I acknowledge as sources.

 

Театрал Май 2021 N 5{190} Автор Екатерина Сивцова 'Михаил Федотов

Качества Принимаемых законов сегодня очень Низкое'

 

Совершенно Секретно Апрель 2021 N 04  [463]

Буспросветный Закон Ирина Доронина

Cheating

CHEATING: ESSAY MILLS EPIDEMIC

By Stephen Wilson

 

The purchase of ready written essays for universities and colleges by students remains widespread in Russia, Britain and Australia. At present a bill to outlaw 'Essay Mills' is going through it's second reading in the House of Commons in Britain.

 

 

"Yes I worked for a company that wrote essays for students at universities. It is big business. They have a lot of clients all over Russia. Students pay a fee for authors to write their essays, dissertations or other coursework. I worked as a manager for one month at the company Studservice. I had to deal with students who asked me to pass on new messages to the authors of their assignments who would say, "My teacher told me she was not happy with this part of the assignment and had to change this." I felt sorry for the teachers who were giving advice to students and who did not know that their students were not even writing the essays or doing the essay they had been given. I felt very bad about doing this job so I did not continue the job after one month even though I passed the probation period. I only did this because I badly needed the money. I was paid  28,000 rubles for this job," stated a former manager for the Russian Essay mill company Studservice. 

The ex-manager resigned after discovering that this was not simply an innocuous company of consultants, but a company which provides authors to write the assignments, essays and dissertations for students. The ex-manager, 'Julie', {Not her real name} had a pang of conscience and refused to sign a long-term contract. 

Studservice is just one company which operates in Russia. There exist many such companies not only in Russia, but Britain and Australia. It is no exaggeration or overstatement to claim that this kind of cheating is epidemic in those countries. A survey in August 2018, in Australia, indicated that as many as one out of seven may have paid someone to undertake their assignments. Professor Philip Newton, who has studied this problem, suggests that maybe as many as 31 million students across the globe cheat in this way. A May 2019 Channel Four Fact check in Britain seemed to confirm that a large number of students were using such services. This is why New Zealand took the step of outlawing such 'Essay Mill's' by making it illegal to advertise or provide a 3rd party to assist students to cheat in 2011. Such companies who do this face prosecution. And at present, a bill to outlaw such third companies is already being passed through the British parliament. This is one of the few bills where different politicians agree with each other. The only debate is how to make the bill more effective through amendments. The bill is largely the initiative of the Conservative M.P. Chris Skidmore.

 

The indignation of teachers, students and the wider public is not hard to see. As Professor Michael Draper who supports this legislation states, "Any form of academic misconduct or cheating poses a threat to the academic standards of the United Kingdom, Higher Education and therefore to the reputation of the U.K. Higher Education as a whole and the integrity of qualifications awarded to the vast majority of students who achieve their qualification entirely be legitimate means."

 

In Russia, there is currently no legislation which render the activities of 'Essay Mills' illegal. In fact, companies such as Studservice in their subtle and sophisticated promotion reassure students that they are not doing anything illicit in resorting to their services. The company Studservice is a legally registered company. What is more, they are a highly rated company. The company attempts to justify their activities by claiming that it is only fair that overworked students don't have time to do their essays because they are doing jobs or have pressing family obligations ask for their aid. Some of the companies even deny plagiarism by claiming they only offer advice and model essays which are not meant to be literally handed in to the academic supervisor. The company Studservice, whose head office is in Saint Petersburg, and was founded in 2004, boast of their wide experience. They provide a 24-hour service and claim they can meet urgent deadlines as they have 2700 authors who deal with 300 subjects! The company can charge students for a presentation - 250 rubles and for a masters dissertation - 14,000 rubles. 

"The more difficult the essay, the more expensive the charge," Julie said. "A Math essay tends to cost more than a History essay. Essays on Theology are the cheapest! Yes, it is strange but students of Theology are even paying for this service. Those are people who are working or going to work for the church". 

Studservice promises quality, punctuality, reliability, support and an agreed contract which is perfectly legal. They claim to be an honest and trustworthy company.

 

At my university I recall one student who was in serious trouble for handing in an essay that he had never written. It had been written by a former student. He was caught and given a terrible scolding. I remember seeing how distraught he looked in the canteen telling me, "I'm in great trouble". I felt sorry for him. I wondered how pointless and foolish his risk had been. It had all rebounded. The most common form of plagiarism was to take  a former essay and hand it into the lecturer. The problem was that some of the lecturers had already marked this composition and felt a sense of 'deja  vu.' So they spotted cheating! What alarmed me was to hear some student boasting about how he had cheated at university at the degree award ceremony! It reminded me of some criminals who boasted of how they had got away with so many crimes and were therefore skilled in their 'trade'.

 

When I spoke to some Russian students who claimed to cheat I was a bit taken back. I was once teaching a whole class of school students English. Not a single student thought cheating was wrong. In fact it seemed 'normal' to them because 'everybody else was doing it". What was worse is that some people praised the cheats as clever because they displayed the virtue of 'craftiness'. It was in vain for me to dissuade them from this. I was bemused to meet two young college students approach me before the lesson with a stolen English exam paper asking me to provide them with all the correct answers to those questions. I refused. I told them that teachers don't do this kind of thing and how bad this was. "You could pass this test without cheating'. Why was there a presumption that I would collude in cheating? Are their teachers doing this? Well according to the promotion of Russian Essay Mills they claim to have highly qualified teachers and professors who are authors. It is interesting to note that anyone will find a moral excuse for justifying just about anything. Students will claim that resorting to such services is a necessity because they don't have time, do too much work and that the university apply unfair standards. However, one of the direct effects is that many employers are aware of this cheating and are even refusing to employ students who they believe have bought their diplomas or degrees. Perhaps one of the most damaging results of this kind of fraud is within the Russian medical services. The qualified doctors who have bought their diplomas tend to be highly inept giving a wrong diagnosis and basically not being able to do their job at all. They lack the required experience and knowledge because they did not learn but paid for everything. Such widespread corruption in medical training has ruined the reputation of Russian doctors as well as science. Perhaps it is only a matter of time when Russian politicians will follow New Zealand and Britain in attempting to outlaw such 'Essay Mill' companies.