Tag Archive for equality

Why Do Teachers Strike? Don’t They Care?

May 29, 2019 Comments Off on Why Do Teachers Strike? Don’t They Care?

They’re out there with signs in the street rather than in their classrooms. Some people drive by and honk in support; others shout insults about overpaid/under-worked people always demanding more money.

Why is it that teachers strike? According to Rebecca Tarlau, who did extensive research on the subject, there are three main reasons that teachers take this action (and I quote her here):

First is the acceleration of market-based education reforms, including the expansion of charter schools.

Second is networks of teacher activists organizing and transforming their unions to focus on broader social issues.

Third is the framing of teacher union action as part of the struggle for racial justice.

All of these factors come back to one thing–the good of their students and offering them the best education possible.

Read about these factors and what else she discovered at What’s Behind the Teacher Strikes?

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Hawking on Machines and Equality

October 15, 2015 Comments Off on Hawking on Machines and Equality

Will machines make our lives easier and more comfortable in the future?  Maybe it depends on who you are.  In today’s Thursday Thought, Stephen Hawking takes a look into the future.

“If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality.”

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Sock it to Her…Again

December 19, 2014 Comments Off on Sock it to Her…Again

Love soccer and are good enough at it to play in the World Cup?  Go for it, but, if you’re a woman, don’t expect to be paid the bigger bucks the men get.  Comparing women’s tournaments with men’s is “not worth debating” and “nonsense,” according to FIFA’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke.  He doesn’t anticipate any pay equality in the near future, nor does he see a reason for it, even though women’s soccer is becoming more and more popular.

This is yet another area in which gender discrimination rears its ugly head when the same job is being performed by women as it is by men.

Read more about the situation with the World Cup in the Huffington Post article, “FIFA Has No Plans to Give Women Equal World Cup Pay Any Time Soon.”

 

 

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Democracy in Tunisia & the U.S.

March 18, 2014 Comments Off on Democracy in Tunisia & the U.S.

Recently Tunisia passed a truly historic constitution widely heralded as a progressive and monumental document. 

Here’s just some of what these brave elected representatives agreed upon in the face of strong pressure from the more extreme factions of their parties:

  • Guaranteed equality between men and women
  • A constitutional mandate for environmental protection, only the third country in the world to do so
  • A declaration that health care is a human right, with preventative care and treatment for every citizen
  • A democracy with civil laws that respects freedom of religion
  • An established right to due process and protection from torture

 [Unfortunately, the U.S. falls short on some of these goals.  Let’s hope we and Tunisia can truly achieve all of them soon.]

In one stroke, Tunisia’s become more democratic than many Western countries have been for years. 

This is a revolution of democracy and a great victory for human rights — and the more we recognize that, the more Tunisia can shine as an example for the Western and the Arab world!

From http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4238?n=61068103.4ibRdx 

 

 

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