Daily Archives: October 19, 2014

DAVAO CITY Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte toldhuman rights groups here that he would urge theCommission on Human Rights (CHR) toimmediately investigate on the cases of rights violations which included the recent killing of Mandaya father and son in New Bataan, Compostela Valley.

Rights groups together with families and relatives of victims of militarization in the region had a dialogue withDuterteFriday. The mayor also acts aschairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).

Hanimay Suazo, secretary general of Karapatansaid thatmilitarization and righs abuses in the region are happening on an almost daily basis and we trust that MayorDuterte,asthe current chair of RPOC,could helpthe victims.

During the dialogue, variouscases of militarization in the region were sharedby the victims and their families includingthe harassment of paramilitary group Alamara in Kapalong, Davao del Norte last September; forced evacuation of Indigenous Peoples and red-tagging of pablo survivors in Baganga, Davao Oriental, and the killing of Bernardo Clarion, Sr. in barangay Talisay, Mandug, Davao City last Oct 1, 2014.

Duterte said that he would personally visit the areas to get the side of the military and to start the investigation.

He added that he will set another dialogue inviting all concernedparties including the different Infantry Divisions mentioned by the victims.

If only the admin [Aquino administration] pursued the peace process to the CPP-NDFP-NPA, these [human rights violations] will not happen, Duterte said.

Meanwhile, Pastor Sarly Templado of Exodus for Justice and Peace presented to Duterte during the dialoguethe request of support for their peace education campaign to be launched in the city.

Templado explained that this would help in informing the public ofthe peace process between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Templado said that the launching, to be held next month, will invite members of peace advocates and families of human rights victims from different provinces in the region.(davaotoday.com)

Excerpt from:
Probe on rights abuse cases urged

Saturday October 18, 2014 07:37 PM

The Associated Press

(c) 2014, The Washington Post.

Human remains believed to be those of missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham have been found on an abandoned property outside Charlottesville, authorities announced Saturday evening.

Graham, 18, of Alexandria, Virginia, vanished in the early hours of Saturday Sept. 13. She was last seen by witnesses on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall with a man identified by police as Jesse Matthew Jr., 32, of Charlottesville.

Athorities have yet to make a conclusive identification of the remains, but police have notified Graham's family, said Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. Authorities also said Graham's case has become a death investigation.

If the body is that of the sophomore, it marks a grim end to a five-week search for the teen, who apparently became lost after a night out drinking and socializing with friends.

The remains were found by a sheriff's deputy in Albemarle County, Virginia.

"I want to thank everyone who gave up their days, their nights, their weekends," Longo said of the search for Graham. "People who called, wrote and dropped food and good wishes and words of encouragement to the search groups and the detectives who work so hard through this investigation."

"Today would have not been possible without their prayers, their encouragement and their help," the chief said.

See the original post:
Missing student's remains believed to be found, officials say

In the era of big data, it can be easy to forget the importance of the human connection in certain enterprises, including the education of children. School reformers have set up funding programs that are competitive rather than collaborative, and evaluation systems dont pay attention to collaboration and school culture. In the face of all of this, here is a post that talks about the importance of relationships between teachers and between teachers and administrators. After all, these connections are really what hold a school together.

This post was written by Carrie R. Leana, a management professor at the University of Pittsburgh as well as director of the Center for Health and Care Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and Frits K. Pil, a business administrator professor and research scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. This piece is part of The Social Side of Reform Shanker Blog series, which explores the idea that relationships, social capital, and social networks matter in lasting, systemic educational improvement. For more on this series, clickhere. The Shanker Blog is the voice of the Albert Shanker Institute, a nonprofit organization established in 1998 to honor the life and legacy of the late president of the American Federation of Teachers.

By Carrie R. Leana and Frits K. Pil

Most current models of school reform focus on teacher accountability for student performance measured via standardized tests, improved curricula, and what economists label human capital e.g., factors such as teacher experience, subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. But our research over many years in several large school districts suggests that if students are to show real and sustained learning, schools must also foster what sociologists label social capital the value embedded in relations among teachers, and between teachers and school administrators. Social capital is the glue that holds a school together. It complements teacher skill, it enhances teachers individual classroom efforts, and it enables collective commitment to bring about school-wide change.

We are professors at a leading Business School who have conducted research in a broad array of settings, ranging from steel mills and auto plants to insurance offices, banks, and even nursing homes. We examine how formal and informal work practices enhance organizational learning and performance. What we have found over and over again is that, regardless of context, organizational success rarely stems from the latest technology or a few exemplary individuals.

Rather, it is derived from: systematic practices aimed at enhancing trust among employees; information sharing and openness about both problems and opportunities for improvement; and a collective sense of purpose. Over a decade ago, we were asked by a colleague in the School of Education about how our research might be applied to improving public schools. Since then, weve spent a good deal of time trying to answer that question through several large-scale research studies.

One thing we noticed immediately in our work with schools was the intense focus on the individual educator. This is prevalent not just among school reformers but in the larger culture as well, as evidenced in popular movies ranging from To Sir with Love in the 1960s to Waiting for Superman nearly 50 years later. And every self-respecting school district has a version of the Teacher of the Year award, which has now risen to state and even national levels of competition. In recent years, however, we have also witnessed a darker side to accountability, as districts around the country publicly shame teachers who do not fare well on the accountability scorecards.

Accountability models find their roots in the discipline of economics rather than education, and are exemplified in the value-added metrics used to evaluate teacher performance. These metrics assess annual increments in each students learning derived from standardized tests in subject areas like math and reading. These are then aggregated to arrive at a score for each teacher her value added to students learning. Anyone with access to the internet can find teacher rankings based on these scores in many districts across the country.

Needless to say, many teachers, and the unions that represent them, argue that value-added measures of student performance fail to capture the complex factors that go into teaching and learning. At the same time, reliance on such metrics may undermine the collaboration, trust, and information exchange that make up social capital and, in this regard, do far more harm than good.

What is Social Capital?

See more here:
Strauss: The glue that really holds a school together and that reformers ignore