Teachers Without Borders

The Education Week Spotlight on Personalized Learning is a collection of articles hand-picked by our editors for their insights on: Using new technologies and teaching approaches to improve learning in middle schoolsCreating individualized education plans for every studentConducting personalized assessment of studentsCombining face-to-face instruction and online learning Developing online credit-recovery courses to motivate underachieving students

The country’s largest teachers’ group on Thursday visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to denounce the escalating investigation of teachers over allegedly lax management of student violence on campus. The visit by the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Association is expected to deepen conflict between the two parties over whether teachers bear sole responsibility for school violence that has been blamed for student suicides.

The investigation will discourage the majority of teachers who fight irregularities and seek peace on campus everyday,” Yang told reporters as he entered the SMPA building. “Every member in the school is responsible for school violence, including the teachers, the students and their parents. The teachers should not be solely blamed for the tragedy. We are here to listen to the police’s explanation.”

Yang’s visit came two days after the police launched two unprecedented investigations into teachers’ alleged neglect of bullied students. The teachers stand accused of ignoring requests from the victims and their parents for protection and not taking proper measures to cease the school violence blamed for the suicides of two middle school students in December.

Teachers in Uganda are striking for a salary increase which will provide them with a living wage Teachers in Uganda earn as little as $96 a month under conditions where inflation is running at 20+%. The teachers – who are members of the union Ugandan National Teachers Association (UNATU) are demanding a 100% rise. Teachers are among the worst paid government employees in the country – yet Yoweri Museveni – President of Uganda since 1986 – says that an increase for teachers is not a priority. Instead the government is prioritising infrastructure which will allow it to become one of the world’s top 50 oil producers.

Teachers have been subjected to harrassment, verbal abuse, arrests and forced apologies at the hands of the security services.

A staggering 5,000 schools were damaged or destroyed by the disaster – but even before that, sanitation in schools was often very poor, putting children at risk of waterborne diseases.

From 2010 and 2011, UNICEF responded with WASH improvements to 198 schools, including new latrines and hand washing stands. With partners, UNICEF has also reached schools with chlorine tabs, posters about cholera prevention and soap.

UNICEF is working with the Haitian government to create at a set of minimum standards for good sanitation and clean water in schools.

NIAMEY, Niger, 6 February 2012 – The effect of food insecurity on children’s health is obvious; children, particularly those under age 5, are vulnerable to life-threatening malnutrition. Less obvious is the devastating impact of the crisis on children’s education. When there is not enough to eat, school can quickly become an afterthought. This is the scenario now facing countless families in the Sahel region of Africa, where a food crisis is looming. Particularly at risk are children in Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad and localized areas of Senegal.

“We have never had so little food,” said Oumou. “Of course, I want to continue going to school, but sometimes I am so hungry and low on energy that I cannot even see the blackboard.”

“Last year was okay, but not this year,” Souleye said. “I eat at school during the day, but it is not enough. Sometimes, I cannot sleep at night because of stomach cramps.”

Thousands of children are too frightened to go to school or suffer depression and even attempt suicide after being targeted by ‘cyber bullies’, according to a study.It found 28 per cent of children aged 11 to 16 had experienced bullying on the internet or via a mobile phone.

Children from an ethnic minority background are more likely to be targeted, with ‘white non-British’ youngsters the most at risk from persistent cyber bullying. The report stated this indicated ‘recent immigrants’ were most at risk.

The survey of 4,600 children was carried out by the charity Beatbullying and the National Association of Head Teachers, and the issue will be highlighted tonight in a BBC1 Panorama programme called Hunting The Internet Bullies.