Uzbek Education Open Minds and Hearts

     This post is a summary of a report published at Worldbank.org at December,07,2011. And was written by Matluba Mukhamedova, communication officer in the World Bank Uzbekistan office. The title is above.

          Jumaeva took her mother`s advice and became a school teacher. After she went back to her small town, where for the last six years she has been principal of Romilton School. Jumaeva has seen a lot of improvement at Romilton School. The school has had an infusion of new materials and resources that are helping teachers improve what they know and how they teach. Together with 1,501 schools, her school has been benefiting from a project of government supported by the World Bank that aims to improve the effectiveness of both teaching and learning.

         It is needed. Many teachers lack the skill to engage students in what they are learning. In addition, classroom equipment is either insufficient or outdated and information technologies was used ineffectively.

        Since Romilton School received its new aids, one student won an olympiad, another won an essay contest, and a third received the governor`s scholarship. Jumaeva explains " we want to create a stimulating environment to encourage students to be masters of their learning. To achieve that, the teachers need to know how to make the lessons more interactive, and apply a student-centered approach to improve learning outcomes."

       Along with new attitudes for teachers, came stronger roles for school boards. Boards comprising parents, neighboring communities, sponsor organizations and teachers can be powerful, specially in knowing what a school needs to improve.

       In 2008. per capita financing was introduced and completely changed school financing. The old system was inequitable and resulted in inefficient and nontransparent spending of public resources. Schools had little budget authority and no incentive to spend wisely, as savings would result in budget cuts the following year. With per capita financing, schools directors were administrators of funds. They and accountants had to estimate budget and staff needs to pass a budget through the regional treasury and manage resources according to the law.

       On a given day, Jumaeva is relentlessly active. Asked whether every day is as hectic, she answered: " Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself."

V. T. XXXI - Teachers` Day

    This post is a tribute to teachers. The main text (Third paragraph) was published at Huffingtonpost.com at May,8 2012 and has the title of :  " Open letter to teachers on teacher appreciation day."  And was written by Antonio Villaraigosa - Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. The others texts, the source is indicated in the end of paragraph. All paragraphs are summaries from original text.

      The day on which teachers`day is celebrated varies from country to country. In the U.S.A. is celebrated during the teacher appreciation week, on the first week of May. Teachers`s day are distinct from World Teachers`s day which is officially on October,5. National Education Association ( NEA ) describes national teachers`day as  " A day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. " NEA is the largest labor union in the U.S.A. representing public schools teachers, universities staffs and others, has 3.2 million members.  ( Wikipedia.org )

      On October,15, 1827. Dom Pedro I issued a decree creating the elementary school in Brazil, descentralizing the system and putting compulsory subjects and rules of teachers` recruitment. But was only in 1947 that happened the first celebration on this date. Becoming a national holiday after 1963. ( Portaldafamilia.org.br )

       There is a japanese proverb that says, " Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher". Almost everyone has a story about a teacher who has touched his or her life. Just like so many politicians, entrepreneurs and surgeons, I am who I am today partly because of a great teacher. After dropping out of school, I found my way back in Herman Katz`s English class. Mr. Katz believed in me even when I did not believe in myself. Teachers devote their lives to giving our children the tools to succeed and inspire them to do it. If teachers challenge them, and encourage them to stand up for their values. Teachers will teach them the importance of constitution, they will show the next Carlos Santana how to strum a guitar, and demostrate the scientific method to the bright student who will cure cancer. The simple truth is that, as a nation, we must invest in a strategy that places value on the contribution that teachers make to our collective future. Teachers attrition rates are far too high, and given that they are the builders of our future, losing even one good teacher is too many. We must continue to expand career and leadership opportunities, that allow teachers to develop their practice, foster a school culture, and empower them to innovate. Moreover, any efforts to brighten our nation`s future must be built upon a deep appreciation for their incredibly important work. On this teacher appreciation day, I would like thank you for your countless hour, your sweat and tears, and your relentless commitment. And I would also like to thank you in advance for inspiring the next generation of amazing teachers.

      Appreciation - recognition of the worth, gratitude.

      Diligent - careful and conscientious.

      Stand up - speak or act in support of.

      Strum - play a guitar by sweeping the thumb up and down.
      Foster - encourage the development of.

      Attrition - gradual wearing down through prolonged attack or pressure.

      Relentless - never stopping or weakening.
      Amazing - astonish, surprise greatly.

  

    

Surveillance Tools: Not Just for Spies Now

    This report was published at Washingtontimes.com at December 5,2011. And was written by Shaun Waterman. This is a summary and the title is above.

    A German company offers surveillance technologies for use against political opponents. In Russia, a company sells equipment to identify a single targeted voice in digital recordings of thousands of phone calls. In China, a company boasts software that can track the security on any hotmail or gmail account.

    Secret tech that just a few years ago were exclusive of spy bureau, are now available to the highest bidders from companies in dozen of countries.

    The private companies offer tech and services that can eavesdrop on cellphone calls, monitor internet activity, tap into fiber-optic cable. The tech can search, filter and index vast quantity of data obtained through all this surveillance.

    "Even if American companies, as they claim, only sell to governments, there is no real regulation of end-users even in the U.S., let alone in China and Russia". Said Christopher Soghoian, an privacy advocate and graduate at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at Indiana University.

    Privacy International, a NGO and the anti-secrecy Wikileaks last week published a database of more than 130 companies worldwide that market surveillance tech. The Privacy International NGO and Wikileaks investigators infiltrated tech conferences and obtained promotional materials based in 25 countries, they included well-established entities in the U.S., Israel, Europe, Brazil, China and Russia.

    Chinese telecom giant ZTE, for instance, market surveillance products in addition to its phone networks, Cisco System Inc., big U.S. tech company also sell surveillance equipment and services.

    After the Arab spring uprisings, protesters in Egypt, Libya and other countries found evidence that deposed dictator had used surveillance tech to spy activists. Syria is using this tech to intercept even secure communication channels such as Skype.

    Campaigners are calling for the law to be tightened. "When it comes to surveillance tech operating within the boundaries of current legislation is insufficient", said Emma Draper from P.I. NGO. "Those are essentially tools of political control to oppressive regimes with impunity can no longer be tolerated", she added.

   

V. T. XXX - Gross Domestic Product ( GDP )

        This post is a summary of a report published at: ECLAC.org at 2 October 2012 with the title of " Latin America and Caribbean growth will fall to 3.2% in 2012, owing to the weak global economy." Where there are the estimates of growth for 2012 in the Latin America countries.The source is from ECLAC on the basis of official figures, these are projections in the variation in GDP for 2011-2012.

        GDP is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country`s economy. As one can imagine, economic growth, what GDP represents, has a large impact on nearly everyone. For example, when  the economy is health, you will see low unemployment and wage increases as businesses demand labor to meet the growing economy. ( investopedia.com ).

       The other list is the ranking of  GDP of the Minas Gerais municipalities, this data is from: IBGE.gov.br and is from 2009, the most recent year available. This list is the first.

 GDP of MG Municipalities          Estimates of GDP growth 2012 for L. A. Countries

1º Belo Horizonte - 44.5 billions                                   Panama   9.5%
2º Betim - 25.2 b                                                          Peru     5.9%
3º Uberlândia - 16.1 b                                                  Chile     5.0%
4º Contagem - 15.4 b                                                   Costa Rica  5.0%
5º Juiz de Fora - 7.4 b                                                  Bolivia    5.0%
6º Uberaba - 6.5 b                                                       Venezuela  5.0%
7º Ipatinga - 5.6 b                                                         Ecuador   4.5%
8º Sete Lagoas - 4.1 b                                                  Colombia   4.5%
9º Montes Claros - 3.8 b                                               Suriname   4.3%
10º Itabira - 3.4 b                                                          Mexico    4.0%
11º Varginha - 3.0 b                                                      Uruguay    3.5%
12º Gov. Valadares - 2.85 b                                          Argentina    2.0%
13º Divinópolis - 2.82 b                                                   Brazil     1.6%
14º Poços de Caldas - 2.8 b                                          Paraguay    -2.0%
15º Pouso Alegre - 2.5 b