Split (1)

train · 2.6M rows

text stringlengths 9 72.5k
Students can apply to be associates or summer interns. Associates, about 90 this year, are counseled through the graduate school process by telephone, fax machines, and e-mail. All services are free, and students have access to the program's consortium of universities, which recruit institute students and waive application fees.
Last month, 29 college juniors and seniors attended an intensive, four- week summer workshop at Andover to prepare them for graduate studies. From the moment students stepped on campus, they were put through an intellectual wringer, reading essays by Paolo Freire, John Dewey, and bell hooks.
Students delve into challenging topics, such as postmodernism, race, feminism, deconstruction, sexuality, and postcolonialism. They are exposed to essays on pedagogy and lead class discussions.
While forcing students to think critically, the program—which some call "a boot camp for graduate school"—also introduces them to the vocabulary of graduate studies.
"They're learning to see themselves as thinkers and intellectuals," said Tiffany M. Gill, a doctoral student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., who is an institute faculty member and 1995 graduate of the program.
During one class, 14 students debated a Harvard Educational Review essay titled "Charter Schools as a Postmodern Paradox: Rethinking Social Stratification in an Age of Deregulated School Choice."
The well-worn, vintage wooden desks creaked loudly as students shifted in their seats. Dressed comfortably in chunky sandals, flip-flops, and sneakers, they touted the benefits of charter schools, while bemoaning the impact they may have on public schools. The vocal and heated discussion continued well after class was dismissed.
"I love controversy," said Kelechi Ajunwa, 21, a senior at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "We're really passionate about what we talk about."
Mr. Ajunwa, who wants to be a high school social studies teacher in his hometown of New York City, said it was gratifying to meet other dedicated and focused students.
"It's nice to know that you're not a freak," he said. "There are people like me."
To Ramon Suarez, a senior at the College of New Jersey, in Ewing, the institute is ahead of its time. With America's growing diversity, he said, it's clear that students will need teachers who understand the Latino perspective.
"The future of America is going to have my skin color," he said, rubbing his arm. "It's time to recognize that."
Beyond the mechanics of filling out a graduate school application, getting familiar with graduate-level lingo, and helping students secure financial support, perhaps the institute's greatest strength is reassuring students that teaching is a fulfilling profession.
"To me, only a fool would go into teaching," admitted Kamissa Barry, an institute faculty member, describing his earlier view. "The lack of respect, the bad publicity. ... I didn't have to subject myself to that."
It was Kelly Wise who changed Mr. Barry's mind, halting his plans to study political science or economics at Cambridge University.
Now, Mr. Barry, who was an institute associate in 1990, calls becoming a teacher the "best decision I ever made." His mere presence as an English teacher for the past nine years at the public Boston Latin School has forced students and parents to confront racial stereotypes and biases, he said.
At Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, René I. Villicaña heard his own students discuss the importance of having teachers of color.
"They said, 'Some of the white teachers just don't understand,'" Mr. Villicaña, a 1996 graduate of the institute's summer program, said. "They were right. Some things are just not understood."
Minority teachers end up being role models not just for children of color, but all children, said Shelton M. Shepherd, a 1996 institute associate. Mr. Shepherd taught math at Burlington High School in Vermont, where he said he was one of only three black male educators in the 4,500-student district and a finalist for that state's teacher of the year award.
"Me being inside the classroom, they see someone different than what's portrayed in the movies and on television," Mr. Shepherd said. "I want to share a sense of awareness with them."
While Mr. Wise said some universities were "doubtful that IRT students would be competitive" in the early years of the program, those concerns appear to have disappeared.
Many participating universities note that their best students hail from the institute. One college recruiter called the program's recruitment fair in July a "can't miss" event. All institute graduates are accepted to at least one graduate program, and up to 94 percent receive full scholarships.
"It's the premier program for recruiting excellent minority graduate students," said A.G. Rud Jr., the interim head of the department of educational studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Still, Mr. Rud said, because the program is small, it's not going to "solve the larger societal problem" of an inadequate supply of minority teachers. Instead, he hopes the institute will become a national model.
By 2010, the institute predicts, at least 1,400 of its graduates will be working in education. About 45 percent of its graduates are seeking careers in elementary and secondary education, while the remaining 55 percent are working on doctoral degrees, intending to teach at universities.
"We're creating a cadre of people who will encourage kids to go on to education," Mr. Wise said.
Institute students wear their finest suits and dresses for the recruiters' fair at the end of the program's third week.
Before they entered a hall filled with inquisitive recruiters, colorful banners, and informational videos, the 29 students paused to have their pictures taken with the man they call "The Don" or "The Godfather." As the camera flashes went off, Mr. Wise beamed, gathering his "kids" around him on the steps outside McKeen Hall.
"I know this sounds corny, but he's the most passionate and sincere person I ever met," said Clemente A. White, the director of the institute's faculty and a professor of languages and literature at the University of Rhode Island. "I think he saw a need and he did something."
"Minority-Serving Colleges Call for Teacher-Training Help," Oct. 4, 2000.
"Competition Is Fierce for Minority Teachers," from our special report Quality Counts 2000: Who Should Teach, January 2000.
The Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers outlines its intern and associate programs.
"A Guide to Today's Recruitment Challenges," from the organization Recruiting New Teachers Inc., emphasizes diversity-recuitment efforts.
"Today's Challenge for Educators: Attracting Minority Teachers" is an October 2000 news article from UC Santa Cruz Currents about a presentation by June A. Gordon, author of a book called The Color of Teaching.
The National Education Association publishes a directory of strategies for recruiting and retaining of minority teachers. (See left-hand margin for table of contents).
The Florida Fund for Minority Teachers awards college scholarships to qualifying minority students who wish to teach in Florida public schools. View its scholar profile.
Similarly, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission operates the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program.
Under the watch of a cheese-making family team, this 12-room agroturisme is a wonderful adults-only hilltop retreat overlooking Menorca's north coast. On-site yoga, brilliant breakfasts, a lovely pool and an excellent organic-fuelled restaurant add to the appeal.
Planted on a secluded, view-laden hilltop three miles (5 km) north of Ferreries in central Menorca, Son Vives has a spectacular setting. The agroturisme (simple farmhouse hotel) feels blissfully removed from everywhere else, but it's only two miles (3 km) north of the Me-1 (Menorca's major road), admittedly up a very steep concrete track.
Countryside panoramas sweep all the way down to the north coast and the Cavalleria lighthouse on the island's northernmost tip. You can hike or cycle to ravishing north-coast beaches in about four miles, but by car the closest sands are a 15-minute drive away at Cala Galdana and Cala Mitjana on the south coast. Ciutadella, Mahón and the airport are a 30-minute drive.
This whitewashed, typically Menorcan finca is very much a working farm, producing delicious cheeses, growing its own vegetables and breeding Menorcan horses, which you'll spot roaming around the countryside. It's also a stylishly and cosily refurbished hotel with a low-key vibe and pared-back, contemporary rooms with a just hint of Scandi-cool in the main building.
It's an incredibly peaceful spot, though don't expect fancy luxury. Twirls of vines and fuchsia-toned clusters of bougainvillea are draped across blinding-white or exposed-stone walls, and views sprawl all around. Ecofriendly initiatives include solar power and organic gardens.
A small, welcoming team keeps things ticking over, offering all the Menorca advice you could want, and facilities are pleasingly extensive for an agroturisme. The relaxing pool area lets the gorgeous mountain and coast views shine, and is great for lazing away the afternoon with a book. Yoga classes (€35/£31) happen three times weekly, horse riding is available and bikes can be rented. The quality restaurant will definitely tempt you to dine in, and there's a self-service honesty bar and coffee stand.
The 12 rooms feel particularly modern and fashionable for a rural hideaway of this kind, decorated in fresh whites and calming neutral tones that prettily complement rustic touches such as beamed ceilings and patches of open stone. Bathrooms are sparklingly contemporary, with glassed-in showers, in-room sinks, natural toiletries, professional hairdryers and bath robes (on request).
All rooms come with chunky wooden beds and vases of fresh flowers and, except for the one Standard room, have private terraces looking out across Menorca's rolling countryside and/or distant coastline.
The intimate guests-only restaurant draws on homegrown ingredients freshly plucked from the hotel's organic vegetable and herb gardens. Elegant home-cooked Menorcan meals are served on an uncluttered terrace – a particularly romantic spot for dinner under the stars.
Set menus (€38/£34) include a fish, meat or paella main, while the vegetarian option (€27/£24) might feature homemade tortilla (Spanish omelette) and crunchy salads. It's all washed down with local wines, and there's also a special caldereta de llagosta (Menorcan lobster stew) menu (€80/£72).
The impressive, varied breakfast buffet runs from homemade cakes, chopped fruit and platters of cold meats to Son Vives' own cheeses, plus eggs expertly cooked up to order. If you're heading out for the day, staff will happily rustle up a picnic (€8/£7 to €12/£11).
Double rooms from €105 (£94) in low season; and from €200 (£178) in high. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi. The hotel is closed for two months in winter, usually January and February.
One adapted room is available.
Camí de Sant Patrici, km 4'5 Ferrerias (Menorca), 07750, Illes Balears, Spain.
The legal aid cuts resulted in an 84% reduction in the number of civil (non-criminal) publicy funded cases. Image: Tom Elkins. All rights reserved.
After a nine-month delay the Ministry of Justice has now published its post-implementation review of the legal aid cuts that came into force in 2013.
To address the chaos that these cuts have caused in our justice system, the government needs to take decisive and dramatic action. Despite some welcome recommendations, the review falls very short. Although the Lord Chancellor acknowledges in the foreword that "the ability of individuals to resolve their legal issues is vital for a just society" the remainder of the review fails to address the reality that, since the cuts, most people simply cannot afford to seek justice.
The cuts, introduced in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), have resulted in an almost £1bn reduction in legal aid spending. Legal aid is now unavailable for most types of cases. Many thousands are being denied support, causing untold suffering and having knock on effects elsewhere. We've reported on how the cuts have created unnecessary homelessness and, in combination with the 'hostile environment', have resulted in the Windrush scandal. The impact on families and children going through the court system is enormous.
The MoJ review focuses on whether or not LASPO has succeeded in meeting its own objectives, namely “delivering significant savings… by focusing legal aid on the highest priority cases”. But as anonymous blogger and barrister, the Secret Barrister points out, the “Ministry of Justice obsession with restricting legal aid to ‘those who need it most’ (defined so narrowly as to exclude the very people it was intended to help), as opposed to simply those who need it, flies in the face of the original purpose of legal aid."
Thanks to extensive input into the review from some of the heroic organisations who continue to fight, against all odds, to help vulnerable people access justice, the MoJ was unable to ignore some of the most important issues affecting our justice system since LASPO. Some of these so-called ‘wider themes’ (which should have been the ‘central themes’) address the everyday problems that people experience when seeking legal advice.
For example, even when an individual's situation is within the scope of legal aid funding, people often find they are unable to pass the financial eligibility rules. The threshold has always been difficult to meet but LASPO made it harder. Some of those living below the poverty line can’t pass the test and people have been forced to sell their homes to pay the legal fees.
openJustice recently spoke to Mary-Ellen, a severely disabled woman who needed to challenge punitive cuts to her care. She could not pass the financial eligibility test because she owns equity in her home. In response to such criticisms, the government has committed to a “comprehensive review” of legal aid eligibility by summer 2020. The people being affected by these unfair rules can’t wait that long.
There are large regions of the country, particularly in rural areas which, since LASPO, simply don’t have any housing or immigration legal aid lawyers left at all. These ‘advice deserts’ mean that even people who are theoretically entitled to legal aid are physically unable to access the advice and support they need.
The MoJ refused to commit to paying legal aid lawyers a reasonable wage. Instead it merely stated “there are clearly areas where we need to look further at remuneration”. As a result, invaluable expertise and experience will continue to be lost as a whole generation of lawyers shift to other areas of work. As the Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon MP told openJustice, "within 10 years we might actually see the virtual extinction" of legal aid lawyers.
In its review the MoJ did make some welcome recommendations. These include abolishing the rule that people seeking to bring a case in debt, discrimination or special educational needs must first go through a mandatory telephone ‘gateway’ before they can be referred for face-to-face advice (it had previously been revealed that not one discrimination case had been referred to a lawyer via the gateway in an entire year). They have also committed to expand the scope of legal aid in some very limited family law cases. Although not insignificant, these changes are, as Richard Burgon points out, “tinkering at the edges”.
Finally, the MoJ committed to a cash investment of £8m to pilot an early advice scheme and invest in supporting people who, since the cuts, are forced to represent themselves in court. This is a fraction of the almost £1bn that has been cut and will not result in the overhaul that our justice system needs.
openJustice has been campaigning on the issue of legal aid. We heard from Eleanor, a victim of the Windrush scandal, who was left in limbo for two years when some legal advice would have resolved her problem quickly. We also heard from Nicholas who had to fight the two biggest battles of his life without the help of legal aid – by selling his home and taking out a large loan. And we heard from Ian who, upon being dismissed from his job, suffered mental health problems from the stress of having to represent himself in court.
None of the people we spoke to had originally expected that they would need a lawyer. But we never know when a crisis might suddenly hit us. And in this time of great political change and uncertainty, the potential for personal crisis and the need for legal support will only increase. Barrister Sarah Langford describes the law as “human justice, designed and enforced”. But without fair and equal access to justice, the law cannot always be enforced. Individual rights are rendered meaningless and democracy is undermined.
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Brazilian court ordered the seizure of Olympic Broadcasting Services’ equipment and vehicles after prosecutors accused the broadcast arm of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of breaching labour laws during the Games in Rio de Janeiro, a court spokesperson said by phone on Monday.
The ruling by Judge Marcia Leite Nery on Saturday was enforced after the Paralympic Games closing ceremony on Sunday night to avoid interfering with the event’s broadcast, court papers showed.
Prosecutors said Olympic Broadcasting Services broke labour laws by making employees work irregular hours and for more than 10 hours a day during the Aug. 5-21 Olympic Games and Paralympics on Sept. 7-18.
The company was created by the IOC in 2001 to serve as the broadcaster for all summer and winter Olympic Games.
The IOC, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Penny Abeywardena is the director of the Clinton Global Initiative’s Girls and Women program, and so has seen the development of social from a niche focus of nonprofits to something fully embraced by corporations and governments. And not only are they investing in it, but they’re being shaped by the developments of social entrepreneurs more than ever in the past.
Spend time in the communities and with the people you’re trying to impact.
Improve on your existing innovations. Address failures and be willing to change your objective and goals.
Focus on girls and women. Shift the conversation from focusing on girls and women as the beneficiaries of social innovation to girls and women as the drivers of social innovation.
The new mayor of a city in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca was killed shortly after being sworn in Tuesday, the state's governor confirmed.
Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, the new mayor of the small city Tlaxiaco, had just been sworn in and was on his way to a meeting at city hall when gunmen opened fire, fatally injuring him and wounding four others, The Associated Press reported.
Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat condemned the killing in a tweet, and said a suspect was already in custody.
Former AMP chief executive, Craig Dunn, has been appointed to the Telstra Board as non-executive director.
Dunn brings more than 20 years of experience in financial services and strategic business advice for government and major companies.
Telstra chairman, Catherine Livingstone, said Dunn was particularly recognised for his business performance and financial technology expertise across Asia. She said these were major considerations for Telstra’s strategic directions and his contributions would be welcomed.
Dunn will stand for election by shareholders at Telstra’s annual general meeting in October 2016.
Currently, Dunn is also a director with Westpac, chairman of independent not-for-profit financial technology hub, Stone and Chalka, and chairman of the Australian Government Fintech Advisory Group.
He also sits on the external advisory panel for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and he is a board member of the NSW Government Financial Services Knowledge Hub.
In the past, he advised the Federal Government throughout the Financial System Inquiry in 2014 and the Consumer and Financial Literacy Taskforce.
Most recently, Dunn was AMP chief executive and managing director from 2008 to 2013. During this time he guided the company through the global financial crisis, initiated joint ventures with Asia and led a merger with AXA.
Prior to his 13-year stint with AMP, Dunn worked at Colonial Mutual Group from 1991 to 2000. He also held audit and consulting roles with KPMG from 1985 to 1991 in Australia, Europe and Indonesia.
How can Aussie partners successfully expand into Asia?
Yellow Parador and pale green Cavili make a change to supermarket courgettes.
Courgettes, one of the prettiest of vegetables, are not to everyone’s taste. And even if they are, you can get heartily sick of them.
Two plants are quite enough to supply an average household.
I recommend Cavili (pale green with a creamy flesh), which is parthenocarpic – it has the ability to set fruit without pollination.
It manages to perform even when weather conditions are dull and chilly – more often than not in north east England.
However, this year I’m giving Tuscany a try, a traditional dark green variety. Parador, with golden skin, also performs well.
People are often stuck with what to do with courgettes – you can only put up with so many fritters – and life is too short to stuff them, or their flowers.
Sweet peas need encouragement to climb in the right direction.
Make sure you pick them young and tender, about six inches long.
However, courgettes, like carrots and beetroot, make excellent, moist cakes.
It’s my advice to tell no one what’s in a recipe. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.
Sowing time: April-May under glass in a heated propagator, one seed sown sideways in a 3” pot. Grow on under glass in cooler conditions, before hardening off after the last frosts and planting outside.
Planting distance: 90cm (3ft) apart.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.