News about equality and equity by Maarit Miettinen

Unicef survey: Young people feel that bullying, discrimination and inadequate mental health services impact their well-being

tiialumilaakso — 2021-09-02 10:20:54 UTC

Yle News cited Unicef article on young people's well-being (aged 13 to 18) in Finland. I highlight one very important aspect here.

For Yle, 15 year-old Saara Katainen tells that one big problem is that adults handle poorly the situations where young people feel different:

"In the school being different is something that is kept quiet. It is not talked about enough and one easily has this feeling do I even belong here" , says Saara Katainen.

Also cited from the article: "Many feel that teachers and other adults do not understand how diverse kids and young are and that they do not have enough knowledge of various backgrounds the youth come from. Nearly 40 percent of the respondents have experienced fear for discrimination or bullying. "

Original article by Unicef with a link to survey (in Finnish) https://www.unicef.fi/tiedotus/uutisarkisto/2021/unicefin-kysely-lahes-joka-kolmas-nuori-kokee-ettei-hyvasta-tulevaisuudesta-ole-helppo-unelmoida/

My own thoughts on this:
I bet many teachers believe it would be insensitive to talk about backgrounds, while actually the kids would really seem to want that! So this survey and these kids' voices are really precious. It is so sad to realize that by not talking about these things, the kids grow up to believe different is bad, when it actually is the spice of life! Acknowledging the differences we can also access the huge variety of individual strengths and skills and knowledge the pupils/students have.

Shared by Tiia

Towrds more equity and equality in teaching bullying must be minimised and tackled more seriously and strictly at schools.

irisassaf88 — 2021-09-06 08:00:03 UTC

I an article publish by Yle news agency on September the 25 of 2020, according to Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL), one fifth of students in Finnish schools were found out seeking approval from other student by bulling others, a survey revealed. Sixth of the surveyed 14000 students reported that they we bullied. Only one quarter of them recieved help and support by school staff. The MLL Program Manager Jenni Helenius commented that teachers and administrators at schools should pay more attention to bullying situations and provide aid for those who need it. Besides, teachers must raise awarenesss among students to seek help when bullied. (Yle, 2020)
As a teacher who have been teaching in Finnish schools for two years and a half, I have noticed that bullying is quite common. Besides, I have noticed that some teachers deal mildly with it. For example, one of my students said that she is bullied by her best friend who when finding another school friend, she becomes aggressive to my student and says words like, "you smell bad, or your mouth stinks." A third-grade student told me that her classmate is black; other classmates point at the Africanclassmate and shout the word "poop". The third-grader student said that she defended her African classmate, but mentioned nothing about the classroom teacher's role. An Iraqi, fourth-grader student shared with me a stroy that few of her Finnish classmates were telling and immigrant classmate to go back to his country. The Iraqi student felt mad and told the teacher about the incident; the teacher did nothing, but said "Sano anteeks.".
In my classrooms of Arabic as a Heritage language, bullying takes place. For my part, I instantly stop the lesson; I inquire more information of why the tension has risen. Then I explain to my students why it is not proper to do or say what have been sone or said. Silence of teachers, according to me, should not continue. The slightest bullying action must be highlighted. From schools can graduate generations of students who lack social intelligence and empathy. Our future world does not only need masses of smart people in mathematics, science, history or literature, but it urgently needs people who can sympethise and empethise whith the others, especially the ones who are different.

Resources:
Yle, September 2020. Youth survey: Bullying may bring street cred. Accessed on September 6th, 2021: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/youth_survey_bullying_may_bring_street_cred/11563887

Academics: Outdated structures, discrimination behind migrant students' poor performance in Finland

2021-09-15 09:20:03 UTC

This news highlights outdated education structure and racist attitude towards migrant students as the main reasons of their poor performance in schools. International student assessment PISA results of 2012 and 2015 also indicate that migrant background affects learning outcomes in Finland more than in many other countries. Assistant sociology prof. of Turku university states that Finland's approach to early education and teaching Finnish to migrant- background children as second language(S2) is responsible for the phenomena. Aisha, who has migrant background, has shared her personal experience about learning Finnish language in upper secondary school. She says that she has attended classes for both Finnish as native language and as second language. According to her, teacher was the same but there was a remarkable difference in terms of learning goals and learning activities planned for students. It is reported that difficulties with Finnish language are misinterpreted as learning difficulties. In addition to this outdated education structure, migrant-background students have also experienced racism and discrimination in the class. One of the students shared that they were kept back after school to re-do the tests under teacher's supervision because the teacher did not believe in the outcomes and thought to have cheated answers. Migrant-background students still remembered the comments their teachers or student counsellors passed to them intentionally or unintentionally. Many students with immigrant background are directed to vocational studies that is why Finland has the largest gap between university education of ethnic Finns and immigrant-background students.
I think Finland needs to restructure the education. Finnish education system needs to know how to respond to immigrant's special needs. It is important not only to train the teachers according to the new demands but teachers with different backgrounds should be recruited to bridge the gaps in education system of Finland.
link to news:
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/academics_outdated_structures_discrimination_behind_migrant_students_poor_performance_in_finland/11434180

Shared by: Bushra

Women and equal representation in municipal board level roles

2021-09-20 20:14:37 UTC

This is a news snippet from YLE online from 10/9/21. https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12094849
It talks about gender issues and women representation in public boards at senior level.It informs how in three relatively small municipals the chairs' leading the municipals were women . It continues to inform that women have 40% of municipal representation seats throughout Finland.
It relates the good news of these three leading women to overall significant negative trend on women having board executive level roles in municipal boards.
It was not a huge headline as such but it reminded me that though women and gender equality is good in Finland. Women rights and gender issues need continuous work to maintain the status quo and further work need to happen to increase and level up opportunities with men.You cannot take the foot off the pedal so to speak. Also it highlights that sometimes you have to skim deeper into the statistics to get a true account what is really occurring and why.

https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12094849

hh173_1 — 2021-09-20 20:26:29 UTC

Women roles in municipal boards
This snippet from 10/9/21 YLE brings women and equality to forefront. It mentions how well women are represented in municipal seats across the country approx 40% of seats are taken by women. The extract snippet of information is concerned of the downward trend on senior board level roles for women in municipals.It speaks about significant downward trend of representation for women in municipals.
This reminds me how quickly balance and equality can shift.It also reminds me of how meaningful it is to have women at senior roles in all aspects of public life.

https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12094849

hh173_1 — 2021-09-22 06:32:24 UTC

This interesting snippet of news highlights women's participation in municipal political life. It highlights that in these 4 municipal towns in Finland women are leading the executive council.This is great news for women equality .It continues to share news 40% of councillors are women. The other story that runs through is the decline in women leaders at board and executive level. This is an interesting story as it highlights equality can be appear fully present with 40% representation active councillors . Actually the shared power with other gender groups is crucial. The decisions are made in executive meetings and if there is no women it does not reflect the society and important contributions are not been made to decision-making. I feel also it highlights you can not take foot off the pedal so to speak when you are evaluating equality even in Finland.

hh173_1 — 2021-09-22 07:35:05 UTC

Switzerland to legalize same-sex marriage

2021-09-29 13:02:07 UTC

64 percent of Swiss voters have voted to legalize same-sex marriage in Switzerland. The new law was passed in Swiss parliament already in December 2020, but opponents of same-sex marriage gathered enough votes to force a referendum on the matter.

Same-sex couples have been able to register their partnership since 2007 in Switzerland. Switzerland is one of the last countries in Western Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Some food for thought:
Whenever there is discussion on different minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+, immigrants, or such, people often forget that the people in question have to read/hear/see other people opposing to their rights to be equal on the news, tv, newspapers etc. when matters regarding them are brought up. Imagine having to experience how other people do not consider you worth the same rights that they themselves have.

Article shared by Mariia

Women less likely to win major research awards

2021-10-07 12:46:45 UTC

I picked this piece from Nature that explores how women are less likely to win major research awards. The gender gap in higher ed, concerning number of full professorships, papers, citations and grants has been discussed more widely in the higher education community.
In the article, the point is made that the reason for this gap is not the quality of work, but an implicit bias in a system that undervalues women and minority groups and gives preferential treatmen to white men.

Article shared by Sarah

Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary For Educational Equity

2021-10-16 08:48:27 UTC

This excerpted text article highlights the importance of authentic connections among educators, students, and community in all for the success of a school. According to this text, these connections are essential in pursuing equity, addressing opportunity gaps, and supporting students. When authentic connection is in precariously short supply, it reinforces deficiencies that push children further behind their learning progress.

Although this article focuses only on the underrepresentation of diverse teachers and school leaders faced in the US based on their cultural backgrounds, this observation applies to a broader range of diversity unaddressed worldwide. The texts mentions that research supports a positive impact and effect on students and the larger school community from diverse educators who can empath and connect with them.

What I can take from this excerpt is the awakening and open dialogue based on the needs of the students. As a concluding reflection, the students need to feel they own their learning processes. They need to feel the support from educators who connect with them and facilitate that means to succeed. It can be that the educator shares the same cultural background, sexual orientation, beliefs, or not. The assumption to disaggregate groups of students that match in their diversity does not appeal to me. Instead, the need for more diverse educators who empathize and connect with diverse students do. Classes are becoming more diverse over time, and it is healthy to embrace diversity. The most important is that educators feel motivated to train and reflect on their own beliefs for adapting and guiding students to this path.

Excerpt share by Ana.
Resource: Giving compass, Oct 14, 2021. Why Diverse Educator Pipelines Are Necessary For Educational Equity. Accessed on 16.10.2021.
https://givingcompass.org/article/why-diverse-educator-pipelines-are-necessary-for-educational-equity/

Lockdown & Distance Learning Likely Increase Social Class Achievement Gap

2021-10-25 16:40:58 UTC

This article discusses the ways in which the lockdown and distance learning caused by the recent pandemic has effected economic, structural, digital and cultural divides amongst young learners. All of these aspects have therefore resulted in a huge impact on students' (and parents') psychological functioning in a way that amplifies inequalities.

I agree with the article in its' findings and just wonder the ways in which we can effectively fill in this gap in the years following the pandemic.

-Sierra Gentleman

Iltalehti: Helsinki University offered jobs to students based on 'Finnish-sounding' surnames

qinpaiwei — 2021-10-25 19:58:26 UTC

This YLE article reports a discriminatory employment practice by a Finish university. 4 students were informed that they had been chosen to fill the vacancy (about the possibility of providing lessons on Islam at a primary school) based on their "Finnish-sounding" surnames. The Dean of the Faulty has admitted this mistake and the investigation is on-going.

My reflection:
This news points out a potential discrimination based on names. Sometimes, names can reveal gender and ethnical information. For example, people could easily guess my ethnical background is a Chinese (from mainland) according to my surname "Qin". Another example, "Alice" might be a female, while "Alex" might be a male. However, it is superficial to portray a person depending on his/her name, not to mention making employment decisions. The similar discrimination also happens in academia, e.g. research publications.

Shared by Paiwei Qin

Is equal opportunity in Finland a myth?

leifbacklund — 2021-10-31 13:22:19 UTC

In this article, they discuss about securing the well-being of children is a key element of what is called the Nordic Model. Programs like subsidized daycare, tuition-free college education and generous educational support are supposed to eliminate social class differences based on social class. In a recent study, mainly focusing on Denmark, reveals that the children of less well-educated parents are likely to be far less well educated than their middle-class peers. College-educated parents have learned how to stimulate their toddlers’ learning. They set examples for their kids and nudge them in the direction of higher education. There are promising strategies to lessen the inequalities for low-income and immigrant students, and they will dig deeper in future columns. They recognize that Finland’s generous, universally available provision of social services will not eliminate inequality in many important life outcomes.

Shared by Leif

News articles on Equity and Equality: Bhavani Ramamoorthi

consult_bhavani — 2021-11-05 14:13:54 UTC

Focused on promoting equality, reducing bullying and improving the educational experiences of LGBT children and young people, Scotland has introduced subjects across age groups That will now includes LGBT history and related topics. In order to implement this, there is a website where school staff, parents, carers, children and young people can access information to support LGBT children and young people, a basic awareness course for staff and a teaching tool-kit to support the endeavor.

New focus on equity in North Carolina schools( U.S)

consult_bhavani — 2021-11-05 14:15:08 UTC

An eye-opening honest article on the existence of racial discrimination in schools in North Carolina (U.S). The article throws light on how students were given differential treatment for suspensions based on their racial background and how this affected the grades. Under the leadership of both a new superintendent and a deputy superintendent, the district is aiming to develop more equitable practices and to craft more restorative policies

UK primary school asks boys to wear skirts to 'promote equality': Bhavani Ramamoorthi

consult_bhavani — 2021-11-05 14:16:37 UTC

Children as young as three were encouraged to wear skirts to school to give out a message that clothes do not have gender and as an experience of free expression. They received a lot of support and criticism for this act and people had mixed views of how equality must be taught and expressed in a school environment. The parents largely supported the move and appreciated the act by the school.

Equity and Equality in schools and news about it! - Bhavani Ramamoorthi

consult_bhavani — 2021-11-05 14:24:33 UTC

Here is a short summary of three articles related to this topic!

snobis1 — 2021-11-05 14:42:33 UTC

COVID-19 and equality

Because of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns, many worried then that this might negatively impact

educational outcomes. As a result, OECD( Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)

made a recommendation for fast and extensive adoption of Online teaching/education.

Results of online teaching have improved equality variously.First. It has provided more access to learning for students. Many IT resources became available to both teachers and students. Students are no longer bound by time or space. Secondly, it creates better conversation and ideas in the classroom because it exposes students to ideas that are different from theirs, therefore, improving cooperation, team building, and other soft skills necessary in the future. Thirdly, it provides better teaching. Some or repetitive tasks can be done online which helps the student to gain expertise on certain problematic areas in their study that they might be too shy or embarrassed about. You can make mistakes as many times on such online lessons Furthermore, It puts students at the driver's seat of their learning. It gives flexibility and allows students to balance personal life and that of education. Other benefits include connecting the developing world and the development of human capital.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, women find it hard to return to the office- Shekhar Acharya

shekharacharya — 2021-11-24 16:24:24 UTC

As an increasing number of organisations are asking employees to return to office, companies that are unable to provide flexible working options to their female staff are finding it difficult to retain women.

According to data put together for ET by the Avtar Group, four out of every 10 women surveyed by the diversity and inclusion consulting firm reported child care as a challenge when returning to office for a 9 am to 5 pm work setup.

Several women, especially mothers with yo ..

Majority of employees want to work for a company that values diversity, equity and inclusion, survey shows- Shekhar Acharya

shekharacharya — 2021-11-24 16:32:01 UTC

Why equality and equality are essential in today's education?

2021-12-22 22:53:13 UTC

Are equity and equality the same or different?
Equity means fairness and it comes when every student gets the same opportunities and resources. It is also implies getting same funding, same quality, same facilities and same standers for for all schools.
Whereas equality is sameness which means that each student gets the kinds of opportunities and resources they need depending on their particular situation. So that both of them are essential in to day's education

Hadj Hamadouche

ab5403 — 2022-01-22 12:48:49 UTC

Making room for girls:

Developing countries are making progress in improving girls' education, but only slowly and inconsistently.IN THIS week's print edition we look at an important issue in development economics: how to reduce the gap between the number of girls and boys being educated in poor countries.
Economists see reducing sexual inequality in education as a vital part of promoting development. The failure to educate girls limits economic growth in the developing world by wasting human capital. As a result, the UN set itself the target of eliminating gender disparity in education at all levels by 2015, as one of its Millennium Development Goals.
Although places like China, Bangladesh and Indonesia look likely to achieve the target, Africa, in particular, will not. For every 100 boys in secondary school on the continent in 2010, there were only 82 girls. The most common response is to channel more money to girls’ education.

Should Scotland have women-only rail carriages?

yuedong3_1 — 2022-02-26 10:40:13 UTC

This article brings discussion if Scotland should have women-only rail carriages. Many women have expressed that they feel too scared to travel on public transport "because of men's behaviour". Sexual harassment is an issue in the first place. It also pointed out that many countries, including Mexico, Japan and India, have provided women-only rail carriages. Some academics believe this move will not remove the issues for women from the root, it would nomalise asssults on women.

-Article shared by Yue Dong

2022-04-05 13:28:29 UTC

Inequality

Seminal events during the pandemic – such as the protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020 and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color – have brought the issues of systemic racism and injustice to the forefront of the public’s consciousness.

For some health care providers, the moment also has presented an opportunity to leverage the national conversation into new efforts to examine how existing policies and practices in medicine may be perpetuating racial health inequities.

“We’re at a pivotal time,” says Dr. Nichola Davis, chief population health officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, New York City’s public hospital and health care system. “People’s ears are open and they are willing to hear and have these courageous conversations that they maybe weren’t able to have in 2019.”

At issue are clinical algorithms that factor in race when assessing a patient’s risk for a host of health conditions, ranging from death in connection with heart surgery to urinary tract infections in children. Critics of such calculations contend they may result in patients of color receiving less access to and poorer quality of care than their white counterparts, fueling long-standing racial health disparities.

“Race was never necessary or needed” in these algorithms, says Dr. Milda Saunders, an ethicist and health equity researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. “I think a lot of times when we’re measuring race we’re measuring racism, both structural and interpersonal racism.”

More

HEALTHIEST COMMUNITIES HEALTH NEWS
Erasing Race in Medicine
The pandemic's spotlight on inequity offers fuel for efforts to remove race as a factor in clinical equations.
Steven Ross JohnsonFeb. 3, 2022

Tucker: The key difference between 'equality' and 'equity'

2022-04-05 13:30:13 UTC

We're in reporter mode tonight here with some key stats on your government. Here they are: 42 days into the administration and still no solo press conference from Joe Biden. That is the longest stretch of silence from any new President in at least a century.

So by refusing to speak directly to the media, Joe Biden is attacking our most cherished democratic norms. Even CNN is complaining about it. And we would echo those complaints if we really cared. But honestly, we're just as happy that Joe Biden remains in seclusion.

Imagine a full press conference from Joe Biden, an endless hour of blank spots and mumbling and his wife interjecting with the right answer. How depressing would that be?

It is one thing to know your country is being led by a guy in cognitive decline. It's another thing to see it and we don't want to see it. And what will reporters ask anyway?

We got a taste the other day when one shouted this as Biden shuffled by: "What did you learn from your classified briefing on border security?" That was the question, Joe Biden's answer, "A lot." That was it.

Now do you believe him? Did Joe Biden really learn a lot now or at any time in the past five years? Come on. As we said, the whole thing is too sad to watch, so we're not going to.

Instead we're happy to listen to Joe Biden's flaks. They hold the press conferences now.

In the last month, Joe Biden's mouthpieces have had to explain why he bombed Syria, why he blocked the passage of a $15.00 minimum wage, why Dr. Seuss is racist, and then in their spare time, Joe Biden's scribes produce an awful lot of presidential proclamations.

They're heavy on the proclamations in Washington these days, a lot of proclaiming. One of Joe Biden's very first was entitled "An Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government," end quote.

This was the document that introduced the administration's new Equity Plan, which is going to -- and we're quoting, "Eliminate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups." It's quite a mouthful. But what does it mean? Has anyone asked what it means? Or did everyone in Washington just graduated from Yale and intuitively understand sloppy, meaningless words like this. Possible.

But the rest of us might still like to know what a systemic barrier is and how Joe Biden plans to eliminate it. That's easy, with equity, of course. But that raises a whole new question, what exactly is equity? And how is it different from equality? Equality being the central principle this country was founded on.

Well, the first thing to know about equality is that it is designed to challenge power. Equity, by contrast, is designed to protect power. Equity is what the British monarchy had. Equality is what the American colonists wanted.

Equality is what allowed Andrew Jackson to rise from a childhood of bitter poverty in the Carolina woods where he was born in 1867, and make it all the way to the White House.

Andrew Jackson was tough, smart and energetic. He lived a remarkable life and America rewarded him for it. That's equality. People like that, rising to the top.

Equity is the opposite. Equity is what allowed Kamala Harris, the privileged child of two PhDs, to stay privileged, and in the end to become one of the most powerful people on the planet, despite having achieved nothing impressive or worthwhile over the span of 56 years.

So, Andrew Jackson and Kamala Harris, both Democrats, one child of equality; the other the child of equity. That's the difference in a nutshell.

So to recap, equality challenges power; equity protects power. That principle has never been on starker display than in the case of the teachers unions, which is some of the most powerful institutions in America. Naturally, you are using the term equity to justify their own prerogatives as they hurt the weak, in this case, school children and their increasingly desperate parents.

Last night, we told you what the President of the Los Angeles Teachers Union, an equity promoter called, Cecily Myart-Cruz.

For months, parents whose kids use public education in Los Angeles have been begging Cecily Myart-Cruz to reopen the schools, and why wouldn't they?

How has Cecily Myart-Cruz responded? Well, by demanding those parents shut up immediately. Those parents, she explained, have the wrong skin color. Therefore, unlike entitled unionized teachers who can never be fired, those parents have privilege.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILY MYART-CRUZ, PRESIDENT, UNITED TEACHERS LOS ANGELES: Some voices are being allowed to speak louder than others. We have to call out the privilege behind the largely white, wealthy parents driving the push for a rushed return.

Their experience of this pandemic is not our students' families' experiences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Calling out the privileged, says the lady who can literally never be fired from her job no matter how she acts including like that. Never mind the hundred percent increase in suicides among school-aged children, Cecily Myart-Cruz is not interested in that.

She is interested in equity, which means she is interested in protecting her own unearned privilege by attacking the people below her.

What do the parents and children being attacked think of this? Well, Cecily Myart-Cruz wouldn't think to ask them because she doesn't care.

So yesterday, FOX Los Angeles reporter, Bill Melugin, stepped up and asked them himself, and here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost like minority families want the school to open more than anybody else, and the reason why I say that is because education for us, for our culture, is a stairway out of poverty.

So every day that our children is not in school, that's just a day closer to poverty for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Lamar Freeman coaches, a youth football team called the LA Rampage. He told Bill Melugin that every parent he spoke to wants his or her kids back in class. Now, these parents are not racists, they just want their kids educated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMAR FREEMAN, YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM COACH: Most of our kids before the pandemic, we had 80 percent honor roll rate. Now, since the distance learning Zoom precedent, it dropped to about maybe 20 percent, like most of my A's and B's kids are getting B's and C's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So purely because the most privileged government workers in the United States won't have to work, an entire generation of children is being destroyed. That's equity, the strong hurting the weak and calling it justice.

Everyone who thinks about this for just a moment knows that it's true and that's why you never hear equity debated or even defined. They won't define the term because they can't defend its definition.

Instead, they bully the population into silence. Cecily Myart-Cruz and the teachers unions are doing that right now.

Jorge Ventura of "The Daily Caller" has obtained a recent e-mail sent by someone who identifies himself as Albert Lowe, an employee at the Los Angeles Teachers Union.

Now, there is an Albert Lowe, who works at the union. We called him tonight, though he didn't pick up to confirm that he sent the e-mail in question.

This e-mail was addressed to a mother who has publicly called a couple of times for reopening schools in Los Angeles, and the e-mail from the union apparently demands to know what race she is, quote, "I'm working on a research project on who speaks on union issues in the 'Los Angeles Times' and coding for race and class," it begins, "You were quoted twice in the last eight months in the paper. Could you tell me how you racially self- identify or point me to a citation on your identity," end quote.

Now, what could possibly be the point of this? Seriously? Why is a parent or a child's skin color relevant in any way to what is supposed to be a medical question, whether the public schools reopen? Well, there's of course, there's only one point to this. It is racial intimidation.

We saw you complained, tell us your race.

How is that not a violation of our civil rights laws? Of course, it'll never be prosecuted or even criticized by anyone in power, because the teachers union is doing it, and they're doing it in the name of equity.

The hunt for white supremacy justifies all including injuring children and scaring their parents into silence. It's not just happening in schools. We're seeing this everywhere in our society right now.

Zaid Jilani is one of the few people brave enough to note it. He writes for "The Spectator" and is also on the Board of Advisors of a new organization called the Foundation against Intolerance and Racism. And boy, do we need that. We're happy to have him on tonight.

Zaid Jilani, only thank you so much for coming on. You must have noticed, and of course, I know you've written about it extensively, that virtually every debate of significance over things that actually matter, will the schools reopen? How do we respond to COVID? What does our economy look like?

All of them immediately, at the direction of those in power, go to race, why is that?

ZAID JILANI, "THE SPECTATOR": Right, Tucker. Well, I think it's important to be sensitive to the fact that race does sometimes correlate with other factors, like the quality of your health, your exposure to pollution, public safety, your income.

The problem is, why are they using a middleman to correlate for that instead of just going directly to that? Why not directly address the needs of those who are poor, of those who are sick, of those who are not well off or those who have public safety problems.

The reason why is because it's often used as a tactic or a tool of elites to flatten the universe, right, to pretend that everybody who is of a certain skin color or have the exact same social status and they have to be deferred to.

Let me give you an example. I think your viewers should pay very close attention to what's happening in Alabama right now. There's an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. This is a very poor place, about a third of the population is in poverty that's trying to unionize.

Jeff Bezos spent the last year telling us how much he cares about Black Lives Matter. He brands his entire website that way. He donated a bunch of money that way, yet his company is doing everything they can to crush that union.

These are -- this is a workforce that's 85 percent black, right? But he is not talking about poor people's lives matters. He is not talking about working class people's lives that matter, right? He wants to talk about race, because he wants to distract from the fact that there are rich people of every single race out there. Right?

His greatest fear is the same fear of, let's say, old time George Wallace and Lester Maddox, that poor white people, poor black people, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans recognize that, yes, there are differences between them. They have different cultures, they have different histories, and sometimes different challenges. But they're also all poor, and they have more in common with each other, certainly than they do with Jeff Bezos.

CARLSON: That is such a wise point. Why does no one say this out loud? And why don't you ever hear people raise their hand on behalf of poor people?

I'm not a poor person. I'm just noticing this. So there's no self-interest involved. But like, why doesn't anybody say the poor are being oppressed. It's always in racial terms.

They don't actually want to help the poor, I'm starting to conclude.

JILANI: Well, look, there was a really interesting study that came out a few years ago that showed me that something like half of the top editors and reporters at "The New York Times" come from a small batch of elite colleges, right?

These people, I think, often see themselves as victims through, you know, their gender, through their racial status. But they have very little interaction or engagement with I think, working class people, with poor people, with the people who are dying in massive homicide spikes last year, which is why crime is rarely ever talked about, even though it's a huge concern if you poll poor people of every race, particularly black and Latino, but I think of every race.

I mean, we see a sort of a structural tilt in our country, towards an upper class elite, which increasingly as the country becomes racially diverse, is a racially diverse elite, but it doesn't necessarily help the poor person in Bessemer, Alabama to be talking about the symbolism of Dr. Seuss.

Or to be talking about, you know, diversity and equity inclusion when you're not talking about redistributing actual power, which in this case, could be in the form of getting those people in Bessemer, Alabama a union that actually gives them wages that they can spend in their community and improve their lives.

And unfortunately, I think elites have played on a very proud tradition of civil rights to divide people, rather than for them to actually address each other's common humanity, which is the actual way that you address racism, not only racism, but also economic inequality and deprivation and sort of the larger issues that we're all facing as a people.

CARLSON: Well, the traditional civil rights they refer to is based on the goal of equality, and the goal of equity is entirely different and they -- I don't think they've told us that clearly enough.

Zaid Jilani, I appreciate it, and good luck with your new effort. Thanks.

JILANI: Thank you.

CARLSON: Well, in the name of equity, schools all over this country just celebrated Black History Month. At one school, a student dared to praise the work of Candace Owens in a presentation. That didn't go over well at all. That student joins us to tell us what happened and what it means, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Julia Saville is a high school student in Virginia. Last month, her School, St. Margaret's in Tappahannock, Virginia asked her to choose someone to honor for Black History Month. Julia Saville made the mistake of assuming she could pick a black person who wasn't on the list of approved black people, so she picked Candace Owens who she likes.

That's when a school-wide e-mail circulated calling Candace Owens -- wait for it -- a racist.

Julia Saville joins us now to explain what happened. Julia, I really appreciate your coming on. It must be weird to be doing this. You're brave, too. Tell us what happened at your school.

JULIA SAVILLE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Thank you for having me on tonight, Mr. Carlson.

So I picked Candace Owens to present for a Black Trailblazer that I admired, and I stated why I admired her and I admired her hard work within the black community. And I received an e-mail that morning of my presentation that it was disrespectful of me to highlight her as a Black Trailblazer, and she stated how she believed Candace was racist, and she has done absolutely nothing for the black community.

CARLSON: So, I'm sorry to laugh. So presumably you picked Candace Owens, not, I don't know what your politics are not just because you agree with her, but she is demonstrably strong and independent minded. She says what she thinks.

This isn't -- she is kind of the person that we teach our daughters to be. Did this teacher explain how Candace Owens was racist?

SAVILLE: No, it was the student who said that Candace was racist, and that's all she said in the e-mail that she was racist and she had done nothing for the black community. She never went in detail to explain why.

CARLSON: Yes, I bet she didn't. So how did the school itself -- how did the administration respond to this?

SAVILLE: So the Dean of Students arranged a Zoom meeting with me and the student who had addressed this in an e-mail and she apologized personally to me.

Me and my family requested that she apologize in the same format that she attacked me through e-mail, which they did not want to do.

CARLSON: They, being the school didn't want to do that?

SAVILLE: Yes, sir.

CARLSON: Why?

SAVILLE: I'm not sure. I guess, they just thought an apology wasn't nice to be addressed to the group that she sent the e-mail to.

CARLSON: What lesson have you learned for this? I mean, Candace Owens, Black History Month, she's obviously black. She is well-known. She is playing a role in American culture. I can see why you thought she would be allowed.

Now, that you have been through this experience, what have you concluded? What have you learned?

SAVILLE: I think I've learned that experiences like this cannot make me be silenced and other conservatives be silenced, and back down just because administration or other students will attack you and call you racist.

So I think it was just the biggest lesson to me was to not be silenced and not back down and just to keep sharing my opinion and being vocal about what I believe.

CARLSON: I think I'm -- I'm glad for you that you had this experience, because you've learned the best lesson of all, which is that nothing matters if you're not strong enough to say it out loud.

Julia, I appreciate your coming on tonight. Thank you.

SAVILLE: Thank you.

CARLSON: So Democrats won everything in November really in January, but they control the entire Federal government now. The last thing they want to do is have another real election, so to forestall that possibility, they are trying to add millions of new voters to the rolls, who they believe will be loyal to them.

Now they want 16-year-olds to vote. Heard anything more cynical this week? Probably not. Newt Gingrich is here to assess the whole picture. What are they doing and why?

Plus, unlike you, illegal immigrants are allowed to travel everywhere in this country. Nobody is worried about them spreading COVID, some apparently are. Johnny Burtka though is being shut down in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The State doesn't like his politics. He joins us in a moment to say what happened to him. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The first thing Joe Biden did when he was sworn in was to promise unity, and that's something that almost every American, no matter who you voted for, really wanted. Let's bring the country back together.

The question is, did Joe Biden mean it? Did he know what he was saying? Well, look at what he has done, and it answers the question very clearly.

In his first two months in office, Joe Biden has pushed a series of policies that polls show are both unpopular and deeply divisive. In fact, maybe the most divisive policies any President could push.

Like if you sat down and thought, what probably is the most divisive thing you would -- force girl sports teams take biological men? You would hand out money to farmers based on their skin color? You will completely open our southern border and change the composition of the United States without taking a vote on it.

Today, Democrats pushed another policy that no sane person wants. It's hard to believe, but a majority of House Democrats voted to lower the voting age to 16. Do you have a 16-year-old? Should they be voting?

The measure ultimately failed, thank God, but the fact they raised it and voted for the majority tells you a lot. One Republican Congressman from Texas, Pat Fallon pointed out the Democrats don't want 16 or 17-year-olds charged as adults when they commit murder, but they are fine with letting them vote.

Can't have guns, but they can choose the President. What?

Newt Gingrich is the former Speaker of the House. He is a very smart man and we thought we'd invite him on tonight and ask him: what is going on here? Why did Biden pick the most divisive policies upfront?

Mr. Speaker, thanks for coming on tonight. What do you think we're watching here? What's going on?

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, it occurred to me that Biden had lived through two Democratic disasters. When Clinton was elected, two years later, they lost 54 seats, and we became a majority for the first time in 40 years. When Obama was elected, two years later, they lost 63 seats.

And I think what they've done is a very calculating, and I think, cynical ploy, which is they have given up on keeping the House. What they are doing is ramming through everything they can get done before they lose in 2022.

So this is kind of a sprint to radicalism, even though it's going to cost - - you look at these votes in the House, you've got 30, 40, 50 members who are not going to be able to go home and defend them. They're not going to be able to explain it.

And I think that the Biden-Harris model is we're going to lose the House anyway, we might as well grab everything we can while we've got the power, and it's astonishing.

Just take the $1.9 trillion political pork bill, which is not a COVID bill, only nine percent of it is COVID. The other 91 percent is just political pork. That bill has more radicalism in it than the eight years of Clinton and the eight years of Obama combined. Just that one bill. And you're going to see wave after wave. I describe it as a flood tide radicalism.

CARLSON: I've got to wonder though and your analysis makes total sense and you -- I mean, you know, you ran the house so you know how it works, but I just wondered the motive behind the things that they want.

You said they want to get the stuff they want upfront, it makes total sense. But all the things that they want hurt the country in measurable ways.

We're energy independent, they want us not to be. They want to totally destroy our control over the border. They're letting foreign nationals roam the country unimpeded with COVID. Like, why would you want those things?

GINGRICH: Yes, I mean, I just did a tweet this afternoon, saying if there's a problem with COVID in Texas, it's not Governor Abbott, it is Biden's illegals. And we just had to call them, these are Biden's illegals coming in the country. No public health check.

Many of them back in the 1880s, we had public health checks if you came to America.

CARLSON: Oh, yes.

GINGRICH: But, Tucker, I really admire your show. I really think you're remarkably trenchant in your insights. But I just want to offer you a thought. They don't want to protect your America. They want to create an alternative America.

It is an America of racial deep inequality and an anti-white, and by the way, anti-Asian basis. It's an America in which transgender dominates Christianity and Judaism.

It's an America in which they want to actually pass a bill to create a permanent machine, just like California, Chicago, and New York, and that's not --

So when you and I talk about why would they do this for America? It's because they really want a radically different country. And they realize -- they just proved it with Dr. Seuss, they really despise America.

CARLSON: Man, that's not democracy as we've defined it, at all, and I appreciate your analysis. Speaker Gingrich, thank you.

GINGRICH: Thank you.

CARLSON: So tens of thousands of small businesses, not Amazon, not Apple, but small businesses, the ones working right in the margin are still closed because of coronavirus lockdowns.

Meanwhile, as we just alluded to, the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals here illegally who are infected with the coronavirus to travel wherever they want.

The numbers are hard to track, but FOX News's Griff Jenkins is reporting that at least 108 coronavirus positive migrants in Texas have been allowed to hop on buses bound for the interior of the United States, which is insane and getting almost no coverage.

Joe Biden's top flak was asked today about all of this. She admitted that the White House was just issuing guidance, which everyone is ignoring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: While their cases are being adjudicated, testing for COVID-19 is done at the State and local level.

Our guidance, regardless of status is testing positive for COVID-19 or experiencing COVID-like symptoms is to isolate, continue to social distance, and wear a mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that's what's happening with foreign nationals breaking our laws by being here. That's how they're being tricked. Yes, right, whatever you want. We don't need to be too tough on you.

But what about you? An American citizen who pay taxes and obey the law. Johnny Burtka is an American who pays taxes and obeys law. He's not here illegally.

He is the President and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The Virginia Department of Health just shut down his conference this week. Why'd they do that? They don't like his politics. He joins us to explain. Johnny, thanks for coming on. Tell us what happened to you.

JOHNNY BURTKA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTERCOLLEGIATE STUDIES INSTITUTE: Yes, thanks, Tucker.

So this week, 72 hours before our Annual Collegiate Network Student Journalism Conference, which brings together some of the smartest, most courageous young reporters from campuses like Stanford University, University of Chicago and Hillsdale College for a weekend of educational formation and career development, we received news from our hotel that the local Department of Health in Alexandria, Virginia, in response to an anonymous health complaint, someone called allegedly expressing concerns about the safety of the attendees at our conference.

In response to that complaint, an eager and willing bureaucrat, complied and reclassified ISI's Educational Program as a social event and all social events in the State of Virginia are limited to only 10 people, effectively canceling our student journalism conference this weekend.

CARLSON: In what kind of country A, do we punish people on the basis of anonymous complaints? East Germany, anyone? And B, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with actual medical guidance, because aren't there other conferences going on the same weekend in the Commonwealth of Virginia?

BURTKA: Tucker, there have been conferences week in and week out in Northern Virginia and throughout the State of Virginia and we were willing and eager to comply with all of the local and State COVID Health Guidelines, but that didn't seem to be enough.

This had nothing to do with public health. What it had to do with is there was someone who clearly did not want this event to happen. They didn't want our young and courageous student journalists interacting with some of the editors of the most major conservative publications in the country. So they went out of our way to get us cancelled.

But we refuse to let our student journalists be canceled, and we're working to find another city. I won't say where, but another city and another valley that welcomes free speech, that welcomes freedom of assembly, and welcomes civil discourse across a variety of perspectives.

So I'm hoping that our problem will be resolved by the end of the week. But America has a much bigger problem with cancel culture, and if we don't address it now, and if we don't bring together people from across the political spectrum to say enough is enough, we're going to destroy this country.

CARLSON: Yes, that's for sure. Thank heaven, there are still free states. Federalism really is our last resort, thank heaven, so I hope you find your way to one.

Johnny, great to see you tonight.

BURTKA: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: Well, last night, we told you that they're going after Dr. Seuss, not because he was a racist, but because he wasn't, because he believed in what Martin Luther King believed -- a colorblind society.

Now one of the main voices driving the propaganda and shutting down honest conversation in this country, the Southern Poverty Law Center is out right admitting this. We will tell you what they said, next.

Plus, we have another example of woke-washing for you tonight courtesy of the men and womxn -- W-O-M-X-N. I am not clear what that means, maybe it is women. Anyway, they are Bain & Company. Mark Steyn is here to assess all of this, our rapidly changing nation under his lens. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: Behold hold the multilayered complexity of Mr. Jeff Bezos. Bezos isn't simply the CEO of amazon.com, the world's largest retailer, not simply the owner of "The Washington Post," our capitalist hometown newspaper, not simply depending on that he is the richest man in the world who seeks control over every part of your life. No, he's more than that.

If you ask Jeff Bezos, he will tell you that he is really a kind of secular Pope, he sets our moral standards.

Jeff Bezos tells us what behavior is acceptable, and he punishes anyone who steps out of line. And that's why when professional activists would like a book banned, and let's pause here to consider -- have good people ever banned books? No, they haven't.

But they're being banned now, and they're being banned because they are racist or transphobic or insufficiently deferential to Tony Fauci. And when they are banned, it's Jeff Bezos who does the banning because he's the world's largest bookseller.

Over the past few years, Jeff Bezos has given these activists exactly what they wanted. We've talked to several authors who have been affected by censorship.

In the process of censoring these authors, Jeff Bezos has set a new standard for anyone who wants to sell products in amazon.com. If you're accused of something, then you're guilty of it. There's no trial. It's not adjudicated.

If some person accuses you of a crime, Jeff Bezos says you're guilty. If a mob calls you a racist on Twitter, then you're a racist. It's that simple.

So why are we telling you all this? Because we've got some sad news to share with you tonight.

We mentioned at the top of the show, we want to give you some more detail. Jeff Bezos is a racist, it turns out. How do we know this? Because one of Jeff Bezos's employees, he is a manager at Amazon called Charlotte Newman has just filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

Newman, who is a Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services says that Amazon underpaid her for years, gave her jobs she was overqualified for. She also says that a male supervisor used racist language around her.

Specifically, the manager allegedly said that Newman was aggressive and too direct, and quote, "just scary."

Now, is that racist? We don't know. We don't set the standards. Jeff Bezos sets the standards.

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, now that Jeff Bezos has been accused of racism we can know for a fact that Jeff Bezos is in fact a racist. A dangerous bigot who in the name of equity must be silenced for our collective safety. And if Jeff Bezos is a racist, think this through, class, then so is his personal media outlet/dream journal, "The Washington Post."

Ponder this. We have a white nationalist newspaper operating freely in Washington, D.C. This poison, this filth is being directly into the computers and the iPhones of members of Congress.

How long can this continue?

Well, last night we told you that people calling Dr. Seuss a racist aren't doing it because he was, they know he wasn't. Dr. Seuss devoted basically his whole life to combating racism.

They're doing it because Dr. Seuss believed in equality. Equality. They don't want equality anymore. They hate it. They want equity.

Now one of the groups leading this charge against Dr. Seuss and this show and every other person who tries to speak the truth, tries to say things that bring the country together, to encourage others to judge each other on who they are, and what tribe they're from, the group that is pushing so much of this garbage, the Southern Poverty Law Center, has explained why they're doing it.

This is a direct quote from an essay from the SPLC. Quote: "This message of acceptance [in the book the "Sneetches," one of the most beautiful stories ever written about the universal brotherhood of man] does not, acknowledge structural power imbalances. Instead of encouraging young readers to take action against injustice, the story promotes a race neutral approach."

Oh, so a race neutral approach in which we recognize that we're all human beings, we're all equal in the most fundamental sense. That's not allowed anymore.

Colorblindness is immoral. Racism is demanded. So they want you to think that Dr. Seuss is evil, so you won't notice that people didn't always have diseased brains in this country. There were once clear thinking liberals.

Here's another example. This week, Bain & Company, this is a management consulting company. What have they done for the management of American companies? Have they made this a better country? They don't want to have that conversation.

So instead, they send tweets like this and we'll try to read it verbatim, "Womxn's" the word is W-O-M-X-N-apostrophe-S, presumably, it's some kind of stand-in for women in which women aren't included.

"Womxn's History Month is a time of reflection, celebration, and deep consideration for how we can continue to improve as a workplace that empowers all womxns to thrive, personally and professionally. We are amplifying womxns' voices to educate our communities through the month."

They provided no actual example of womxns. They didn't explain what one was. But by sending that tweet, maybe they got you to pause from considering what they do for a living for just a moment.

Mark Steyn has thought a lot about this. He's one of the smartest people on television. Tonight, he joins us to assess woke-washing and what it is.

Mark, it is great to see you. Womxns. Have you celebrated their inclusion and their equity?

MARK STEYN, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: Well as my distinguished compatriot, Shania Twain used to sing, "Man, I feel like a womxn." I would -- I don't think there are many in my part of the world, unfortunately.

You know, you explained the whole Dr. Seuss thing so well last night, Tucker. And basically the appeal of that kind of mid-century ideological liberalism. You know, I don't particularly like Dr. Seuss and you can argue that that kind of ideological -- idealistic liberalism; man, we're all the same. I can sing a rainbow, "I'd like to buy the world" of Coke that mid- 20th Century liberalism is actually quite appealing as sappy and sentimental as they are.

CARLSON: Yes, I agree.

STEYN: So it has to be destroyed. The way you change the way people think, so that they are seriously going around thinking, well, we used to have men and women, but now we got men and womxn and we've got trans-womxn, and we've got cis-womxn, and there'll be another kind of womxn along any moment.

The way -- the only way you can do that is to absolutely destroy the past. So that people just live bobbing around in the flotsam and jetsam of a hyper present tense, so that even people from the day before yesterday like Dr. Seuss, or even more recently, the poor old woman, Eve Ensler, who wrote "The Vagina Monologues," which was a play you had to do at American campuses two decades ago and now cannot be performed, because it's transphobic.

So she had to write in scenes in which women with things other than the titular body part in "The Vagina Monologues" were included in it.

That's the thing. If you were a principled liberal, you'd think to yourself, what's the point? Because it is necessary to destroy not just the long ago past, but as I said the day before yesterday, because only when people are unmoored, and living in a hyper present tense, are they right for the crazy social engineering by which they can be seriously persuaded to go around thinking that the female sex are called womxn.

CARLSON: I mean, it's just -- I hadn't heard that about "The Vagina Monologues," but it just tells you everything. I mean, remember when liberals used to say, you know, the right is attacking women's bodies?

STEYN: Right, right.

CARLSON: I think most normal people, men and women, like women's bodies, you know, right?

STEYN: No, yes --

CARLSON: But, they are literally attacking women's bodies. I mean, saying that you can't describe a woman's body anymore.

STEYN: No, no, and all of that stuff. Keep your rosaries off my ovaries. Now, it's how dare you suggest that having ovaries is anything to do with being a woman. You know? I mean, that's the point. You're actually -- it's very important, this, because they're actually detonating, blowing up the key pillars of any functioning society.

CARLSON: That's right.

STEYN: And in the rubble, they can remake us in the most basic sense, including -- you know, on the right we just -- where we get all excited about a corporate tax cut, and on the left they are abolishing biological sex. That's not an equal contest.

CARLSON: This is a war on nature, which is the only thing that endures. The only thing we learn from is nature and they hate it because it's in their way. It proves they're not God. It's really shocking.

Mark Steyn, I appreciate your coming on and your wisdom as always.

STEYN: No, my pleasure, Tucker. Thanks a lot.

CARLSON: Thank you. Well, Texas has just lifted its mask mandate and reopened. Other states are still under strict lockdowns and small businesses are struggling. Very few are doing much to help. We're going to talk to one man who is doing a lot to help -- help those businesses. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: The Barstool Fund started by Dave Portnoy has raised an awful lot of money, tens of millions of dollars for small businesses who have been abandoned by their government.

Portnoy's latest call was the owner of Ramsey Corner Cafe in Ramsey, New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE PORTNOY, FOUNDER, BARSTOOL SPORTS: It's happening.

JOHN SIDERIS, OWNER, RAMSEY CORNER CAFE: Oh my God. I can't believe this dude. You can't be serious.

PORTNOY: Yes. Your persistence paid off.

SIDERIS: Dude, come on, bro. You just saved my life here. I mean, thank you so much, bro. You're -- I don't even know what to say right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: It's a heartening thing to watch and he is not doing it alone. Jeff Bartos is a partner of Portnoy's. He's a businessman in Pennsylvania. He's the cofounder of the Pennsylvania 30-Day Fund.

He is overseeing the disbursement of about $3.5 million dollars to more than a thousand businesses, obviously save jobs, every time.

He joins us tonight. Jeff, thanks so much for coming. I just cannot get enough of this because the headline is, everyone else abandons some of the most vulnerable in our society, small business owners and people like you step up. What's it been like? Are you shocked, you had to do it? How long will it continue?

JEFF BARTOS, COFOUNDER, PENNSYLVANIA 30-DAY FUND: Tucker, thank you so much. We started this work 10 months ago, if you can believe it. I mean, in that time, as you mentioned, we've raised $3.3 million, and helped over a thousand small business owners across all of Pennsylvania, keep the lights on and save thousands and thousands of jobs.

And to your point, I've spoken to 500 or more of these small business owners and they're amazing people, as you would expect.

And you see it in Dave's calls, and we do those calls as well. And they love their communities, they love their employees. They're worried about making sure that they can provide for everyone.

And they're also furious. They don't want anything from the government. The only thing they want is to be open. And so when they look --- when we talk to them, they say, you know, every step that the government has taken, whether it's a state government or the Federal government over the past year, has favored giant companies over small companies, and all they're asking for is a level playing field.

And I think we have to ask ourselves, and I love the work that you are doing and what Dave is doing to cover all this. Who are we as a society when this pandemic is over, if all that's left are giant companies?

And so Dave's work, our work, this collective work, and thank you so much for highlighting it, we are determined to make sure that these small businesses survive across Pennsylvania and across the United States.

CARLSON: Who are we if all we're left with is the big companies? I think that is such a smart and deep point. I just keep thinking as I talk to you and Portnoy, it's like, why has it fallen to you? I don't think you're a billionaire. Where are the billionaires? Sincere question. Why aren't they doing this?

BARTOS: It's a great question. I mean, I am heartened every day. As soon as I leave here, I'm heading to Altoona and Blair County. I don't know if you've ever been to Altoona, Pennsylvania.

CARLSON: I have.

BARTOS: But the business community there, Tucker, it's unbelievable. They have rallied to help the small businesses in their community. That community alone has raised $300,000.00 and helped the hundreds of small businesses just in Blair County as part of our statewide effort.

And it is -- it's amazing, and you know, it's interesting, to your point about unity. This is what unity is. This is what unity is. The business community coming together because politicians have failed us.

The elected officials that we rely on have crushed small businesses and in effect, have crushed our communities.

CARLSON: And in some places, and with the help of leaders like you, those communities are rallying and saving their own people, and I just think it's so inspiring and I probably should do a lot more segments like this, but I'm grateful you came on tonight.

Jeff Bartos, thank you, from Pennsylvania.

BARTOS: Thank you for having us. I'll come back anytime Take care.

CARLSON: Thanks a million.

Well, we are out of time tonight. Unfortunately, we could go on forever. But we're going to wait until tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. and every weeknight.

The show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.

It is still a great country, no matter what they tell you. You have no reason to feel guilty for being an American, no matter what they claim and you don't have to obey.

With that, have a great evening.

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Suomessa äidit ovat uupuneempia kuin heikomman tasa-arvon maissa

2022-04-11 10:30:35 UTC

Helsingin sanomat reports of a study published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology that reveals "a surprising paradox" of mothers in Finland suffering more from burnout than mothers in countries with less gender equality.
Matilda Sorkkila from the Department of Psychology at Jyväskylä University thinks that there are several possible explanations for high rates of burnout among Finnish mothers.
One being feeling a“double pressure” from the wanting to participate in working life and advance in one's career equally with the fathers but also bearing most of the responsibility for the home and children.
The other being the unfullfilled expectations of equality in the home. When experiencing a greater sense of equality outside the hom, the experience of inequality in the home may be greater and the contrast more noticable than in countries with less gender equality. Also, according to researchers, In Finland, the expectations concerning motherhood are often very high, and even unrealistic.

My thoughts: I agree that in Finland the majority of the responsibilities in the home are still performed by the mothers. There is a trend of more involved fathers, but still the reality in many households is the mother putting in another workday when she gets home from her job. There are attempts to "force" the fathers to take out a greater share of the family leaves than before, but I don't feel like "forcing" the fathers to stay home with the children is the answer. I think every family should be allowed to choose what is right for them. I think equality is more about having the possibility to choose, than about everything being divided 50/50.
-Pauliina Terho

Equality and equity challenges in South Africa

2022-05-07 09:41:22 UTC

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/south-africa-broken-and-unequal-education-perpetuating-poverty-and-inequality/

Broken and unequal education perpetuating poverty and inequality

2022-05-07 12:24:13 UTC

Unless a government jumps on board to address equality and equity in education in any country, things will continually go from bad to worse. Jacques Mahne

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/02/south-africa-broken-and-unequal-education-perpetuating-poverty-and-inequality/

“Ordinary Sámi should be at the centre of work and should be respected”, says the commissioner Miina Seurujärvi and announced her resignation from the Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on Monday 9th May

2022-05-10 19:28:28 UTC

According to the article the intention of the commission was to identify and assess historical and current discrimination against the Sámi people, including the Finnish state's integration policies and violations of rights of the Sámi. In Seurujärvi’s opinion the commission (launched 6 months ago) is not able to carry out the monumental task it has been assigned. She also noted that the commission should be suspended and that since it is a process for the Sámi, they “must also take a stand on what they want and how to proceed”.

I agree with the comments from our PM Marin at the press conference in October: it is vital to look very transparently, how the Sámi have been treated in Finland and what kind of treatment they are still facing. I also agree with her saying that it is possible to truly find solutions for the future, only if we understand what the Sámi have experienced.

Shared by: Nina

Resources:
Yle News, May 2022, Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner steps down, cites lack of resources. Accessed on 10th May 2022:
https://yle.fi/news/3-12438780

Yle News, October 2021, Finland appoints Sámi reconciliation commission to investigate indigenous injustices. Accessed on 10th May 2022:
https://yle.fi/news/3-12167765

Equity And Equality in Schools.

2023-02-03 03:57:37 UTC

The idea of equity and equality is often used interchangeably and sometimes misused. These terms have been used to refer to what is fair in regards to:
-The type of schools students should attend.
-How students should be treated.
-How resources should be shared.
- The types of teaching/learning techniques.
-The curriculum and foundation of education.
- Technology, its effects and how it relates to education.
A basic understanding of equality in schools is that all schools should offer common education to each learner. this will foresee that all students have equal chances in life.
On the other hand, in education equity all learners should be able to access the basic art of reading, writing and simple arithmetic skills required to attain the objectives set in the provided curriculum. This measures the educational success by the outcome and not by the resources poured into it (Ainscow2020).
Basically, equality refers to sameness while equity refers to fairness. Although at first glance these two explanations bring about the idea of fairness, a lot of revolts come up when it comes to policy making.
Getting the difference between equity and equality is important as major policy makers make use of the terms equal and equitable. An example includes the Americans Every Student Succeeds Act(ESSA). ESSA suggests that the law upholds equity by critically protecting America's disadvantaged and needy students and it is committed to equal opportunities for all the students. The main purpose of ESSA is to provide all students with significant opportunity to receive a fair equitable and high quality education to close the achievement gaps.
Although an equity approach is sensitive towards different students, the orientations leads to problems surrounding the definitions of what is good successful and progressive. Simple answers to these concerns might arise as achievements on tests and graduation points. However, to reach to the equity target policies such as, No Child Left Behind Act(NCLB) were put in place to create a narrow curriculum which focuses on other non-tested skills like music, arts, social studies and athletics. (Ling2019). The difference between equity and equality can come out more vividly through the use of an example;
Equality contains both international and public schools having same government support in terms of resources like books and other learning aids as well as finances to support the learning process. Equity, on the other hand, entails more efforts by the government in terms of these resources to public schools than to the international schools, where the parents pay enough fees to facilitate learning.
Inequality in education slows economic growth. Students who don’t receive the educational resources needed are not able to perform very well hence end up not getting to their desired jobs or career paths. This creates a cycle of structural inequality that affects the society.
Importance of equity and equality in education:
I. Creating opportunities for underprivileged and the claimed undeserving - racial/ethnic minority students, students whose parents have no/low education background, students with learning disabilities, among others. All students get an equal chance to succeed regardless of their starting points.
For educators, this means taking into consideration each student`s situation and understanding that not all of them will react the same way to specific given topics/situations. (Artiles2019)
II. Creating an overall economic growth by preparing students to become contributors to the society, which is achieved by contributing resources towards the general public development.
III. Providing positive impacts in the society by reducing crime rates and increasing value in goods.
IV. Improving the performance of learning institutions.
V. Closing or minimizing the achievement and success gap, by making all students equal in terms of the equal chances and resources presented.
VI. Giving everyone the opportunity to learn what best suits them.
VII. Equality is necessary in ensuring that all students are at least getting the same basics for attention, resources and opportunities. Educators have had to mostly pay attention to equity when students have come from different backgrounds and were not given equal chances at a young age(Heckman 2011,2008)

Some of the measures that teachers can put in place to ensure education equity include:
I. Addressing systemic issues through becoming more aware of issues that affect categories; such as poverty, ethnicity and gender. Teachers can circumvent the effects these situations have on education. (Heifetz2009)
II. Addressing the role of leadership and administration. School leadership and administration should be part of the systemic issues and focus on the awareness of how the issues affect students. (Cochran2020)
III. Identifying and getting rid of the barriers in education and regular reassessment of a student’s performance.
IV. Addressing the role of technology in education. Technology is a major aspect in education yet some do not have access to reliable internet nor the required gadgets.
V. Attract, support and retain high quality teachers and ensuring effective teaching/learning methodologies are incorporated.
VI. Prioritize on involving the parents and the external community in the learning process.

Reference Artiles,A.J.Revisioningequity research: Disability identification disparities as a case i point. Educ. Res. 2019, 48, 325–335. Kafela, B.K. The Equity and Social Justice Education: Critical Questions for Improving Educational Opportunities and Outcomes for Black Students; ASCD: Alexandria, VA, USA, 2021. Vanet, A.S. Equity Centered, Trauma Informed Education; W.W. Norton: New York NY USA, 2021. Cochran-Smith,M. Teacher education for justice and equity. Action Teach. Educ. 2020, 42, 49–59. Ling, T.; Nasri, N.M. A systematic review:Issues on equity in education. Creat. Educ. 2019, 10, 3163–3174. Schön, D.A.; Rein, M. Frame Reflection: Toward the Resolution of Impossible Policy Controversies; Basic Books: New York, NY, USA, 1994. Figure A1. Sunburst Report of Coded Data in NVivo 12 Plus.

Increasing need for support and the realisation of equality and equity in education

2023-04-10 19:16:44 UTC

According to FINEEC'S new themed publication, the competence of pupils in basic education is even across Finland. However, there is still room for improvement in the guidance provided to learners and the adequacy of support measures at all levels of education.

The Finnish Education evaluation centre (FINEEC) has completed a publication on
the equality and equity of education. The publication deals with differentiation of competence, equality of opportunities and accessibility and inclusion in education mainly on the basis of evaluation data provided by FINEEC in the past few years. FINEEC also gives recommendations for rectifying shortcomings.

Source. Helsingin Times, 8.12.2021

Change begins with You and Me.

2023-08-12 12:59:48 UTC

This article by the United Nations describes how racial discrimination remains to be among the top most form of inequality. Awareness, education and exposure has greatly helped in the reduction of racism, which has reduced the numbe of victims. However, it is still a challenge experienced by most people, thus the need for this report to be distributed and read world wide. Racial discrimination leads to talented individuals not being able to achieve their goals or show case what they have to offer. Some people lose interest along the way due to lack of support and equality.
It is my strong conviction that, as a teacher, I carry the responsibility of spreading awareness of the same. At the same time, teachers in some parts of the world may not be able to effectivel this goal.

Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

2023-08-14 07:41:07 UTC

Hockey is not a popular sport in Iran, so the idea a women hockey team seems unlikely. They had to pay for trips and tournaments themselves in order to participate internationally in their sport. They have been impressive in their achievements, and continue to inspire girls and women in Iran to take up sports and play professionally.

Iranian Women's Hockey Team defies the odds

2023-08-14 07:52:24 UTC

Hockey is not a popular sport in Iran, so a women's hockey team seems unlikely. This team had continued to be impressive in their achievements. They have paid for international trips and tournaments by themselves. They continue to inspire girls and women in Iran to take up sports and play professionally.
(Judith Yabal, Teacher Education Programme).

More research needed on ethnic equality in Finnish higher education

2023-08-17 06:33:00 UTC

News picked and summary written by Katrin Dahlberg:
In Finland, the focus tends to be on gender equality, and thus more research is needed on ethnic equality and diversity, especially within higher education institutions. These institutions are becoming more international all the time, so more attention should be paid to non-discrimination and ethnic equality. Higher education institutions need more information about these issues and tools for tackling them. In a report, recently published by the Ministry of Education and Culture, researchers have developed a strategy for this, which includes e.g. mandatory training for managers and recruiting staff.

Racist actions shake the Finnish government

2023-08-17 10:09:47 UTC

Racism is perhaps the most severe form of inequality in the society.

In Finland media have been filled with news about prior racist writings by the Finns Partys’ finance minister Riikka Purra as well as minister for economic affairs Ville Rydman. This, after minister Vilhelm Junnila was forced to resign because of his call for mass abortions of African women to tackle the climate crisis.

The writings and participation in fascist and neo Nazi events of acting ministers of the Finns Party, are shaking the newly elected government.

Prime minister Petteri Orpo has received a lot of criticism for not putting the ministers in his government in order.

The probably most liberal party in the government, the Swedish peoples party (with only 5% of the votes in the Parliament election earlier this year) is having ongoing internal discussion, whether the party can act in the same government as the Finns Party because of major differences in fundamental values.

The opposition parties of course see their opportunity to severely criticize the government and this will probably lead to a vote of confidence for the government when the parliamentary term starts in the beginning of September.

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https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/11/racism-and-violence-finlands-government-plagued-by-new-scandal-on-eve-of-biden-visit

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/23981-greens-virta-accuses-finns-party-of-distorting-in-racism-discussion.html

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Tomas Björkroth

Without investment, gender equality will take nearly 300 years: UN report

2023-08-28 05:52:53 UTC

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126171
The article shows how much needs to be done still to achieve gender equality. Gender equality has been discussed for many years, and yet the achievements are not promising. I also think, people should be made aware more about the topic. Since other global disasters occurred (pandemic, wars), the focus on these issues has declined. The article discusses a study which reports that gender inequalities are worsening. Global challenges are contributing to the decline. Poverty among women and girls is increasing again. The war in Ukraine is leading to increased food insecurity among women and girls. During the pandemic women lost income, the job market declined. Education for girls would promote gender equality. According to the report, each additional year of education would improve the women´s salary by 20 %. It is highly important to provide support, cooperation and investment in fighting discrimination are essential. According to the report, it would take up to 286 years to achieve the same legal protection as men have, and to dismiss laws that promote discrimination. To get rid of young girls being married by 2030, the effort/progress would have to be 17 times faster.

Irina Heikkinen

https://padlet.com/julinjohanna/oma-tunnettu-padlet-98qznmibrzrzft1l

2023-09-02 15:17:20 UTC

https://padlet.com/julinjohanna/oma-tunnettu-padlet-98qznmibrzrzft1l

2023-09-02 15:17:49 UTC

2023-09-02 15:40:23 UTC

2023-09-02 15:45:07 UTC

News

2023-09-02 16:02:47 UTC

French authorities ban abayas in schools and universities. This is yet another of many restrictions concern clothing of muslims

2023-09-04 13:45:23 UTC

Government wants to tie unemployment benefits to language skills

2023-09-09 17:50:24 UTC

Not exactly discrimination in the title but its discrimination in action.

EQUALITY NOWA special project in conjunction with The March

2023-09-19 12:22:34 UTC

The "EQUALITY NOW" special project, in collaboration with "The March" virtual reality experience, explores the state of equality in the United States today and aim to provide fresh perspectives on contemporary issues related to equality.

While significant progress has been made since 1963, the fight for equality continues. Income inequality in the U.S. has reached a 50-year high, and disparities persist in education, housing, voting rights, and even access to clean water. The project sheds light on these challenges and highlights the ongoing efforts of activists and leaders to address them.

In essence, "EQUALITY NOW" reminds us that the journey towards true equality is far from over and emphasizes the importance of continued advocacy and resilience in the pursuit of a more just and equitable society.

https://time.com/equality/

Education for all

2023-09-25 18:17:12 UTC

Integrating out of school children into basic education.

2023-09-26 11:58:25 UTC

The article discusses the case of Alina Narciso, a Mexican police officer who was initially sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing her abusive boyfriend in self-defense. Her case led to significant changes in the Mexican criminal justice system, resulting in the "Alina Law," which mandates that judges and prosecutors consider gender and abuse history in self-defense cases. The story highlights the systemic gender biases in Mexico's legal system and the need for comprehensive reform to ensure gender equity and equality.
Story appeared in AlJazeera

She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law....Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

2023-09-26 12:00:46 UTC

She awoke to a gun in her face. What happened next would change Mexican law...Reviewed by Rauha Salam-Salmaoui

2023-09-26 12:08:15 UTC

Johnson - The most Anti-Equality speaker in the US history

2023-10-30 20:11:24 UTC

A sensational article on New House speaker was published in the nbc news today sending shivering reactions from LGBTQ community.

LGBTQ+ community worried about being erased from the society after Mike Johnson was elected as the speaker of the house.

Johnson has been opposing the same sex marriage, gay sex, and transgender health care for children.

Johnson argued in favor of allowing states to criminalize same-sex consensual sex. The brief argues that sex between men should be banned because it is more likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases than sex between men and women and therefore poses “a distinct public health problem.”

Moreover he sued the city of New Orleans in 2003 on behalf of the group over a local law that gave health care benefits to the partners of gay city workers.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/mike-johnson-house-speaker-lgbtq-views-scrutiny-rcna122317

LeilaSundstrom — 2023-10-31 21:28:20 UTC

Girls Education

2023-12-09 09:18:52 UTC

In my opinion, we should be living in a world where we can just be normal with gender and see everyone having the same rights, the article is just a glimpse of a town in Pakistan but this is not about the country this is about the mindset.

Comprehensive sexuality education is the key to a better tomorrow

2023-12-18 16:42:08 UTC

This article stresses the importance of CSE (comprehensive sexuality education) for adolescents, which is to prevent HIV transmissions, decrease the unwanted pregnancies rate and advance gender-equality. Lack of CSE programmes prevents young people making healthy choices about their bodies and causes discrimination.

Furthermore, misinformation campaigns are hindering the government support for CSE. The article offers insight into equipping young people with crucial knowledge and skills to make informed decisions, which could in the future lead to gender equality.

Even though most of the regions of the world have made improvements and implementation of CSE, there is an immediate need to raise the rates. In addition, every government worldwide has pledged to attain the Sustainable Development Goals concerning Gender Equality, Education, and Health by 2030, which doesn’t seem likely given the current rate of progress.

In the end, the article calls for action, urging governments to take appropriate measures to ensure the goals are reached in the shortest possible time.

Shared by: Maja Lind

Source: Al Jazeera, April 2023, Comprehensive sexuality education is the key to a better tomorrow. Accessed on: 18^th December 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/4/28/comprehensive-sexuality-education-is-the-key-to-a-better-tomorrow

Germany legalizes cannabis

2024-02-24 14:17:26 UTC

Mithilesh Prakash

Germany has legalized cannabis and has ensured equality when it comes to the consumption of cannabis for recreational use. I bring up this topic because EU states each have their own interpretation of equality and accessibility. For instance, the Netherlands has long been one of the prominent places in the EU where cannabis has a legal framework for public consumption.

With the new law, Germany aims to regulate the cannabis market and prevent issues related to the black market, such as the exploitation of customers, the sale of inferior products, and territorial gang operations. Germany stands to benefit from this new law and will be seen as a liberal state by prospective immigrants.

Many questions have been raised around this law, such as its public implications and influence on society. However, the same can be argued for alcohol, which is scientifically more detrimental and is quite cheap in Germany compared to other EU states.

All in all, any frontier that opens and relaxes bias from the public is a good thing.

2024-02-24 15:14:26 UTC

In a very interesting survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Finnish people expressed their opinion/concerns related to Muslims being their countrymen/family member, or a neighbour. The percentage also places Finland on 2nd place after Italy who thinks Islam is not compatible with Western values.

The long road to gender equality in Nepal

2024-02-25 14:27:11 UTC

Nepal has made progress in gender equality; however, there is still a long way to go. The government of Nepal is working to implement policies on gender equality in all areas, such as the right to education, safe reproduction, ancestorial wealth, and the right against exploitation.

- Binita Thapa

Equity in class

frehman1 — 2024-05-18 11:36:42 UTC

Neda Mulji Published February 27, 2023 0

NAME-CALLING, jokes targeted towards particular ethnicities, demeaning struggling kids by calling them ‘slow learners’ are all examples of rampant micro aggressions that are regarded as harmless jokes. Our education system is ‘not for the faint-hearted’ as a friend carelessly remarked, as if being able to tolerate dismissive comments is somehow a benchmark of courage in our society. Anyone deemed to be too sensitive to such remarks is not thick-skinned enough — sensitivity is a sign of weakness rather than emotional intelligence.

With International Women’s Day approaching, with its ‘embracing equity’ theme, one wonders where we can begin to scratch the surface of deeply embedded structural biases. Early childhood care and education would be a good place to start, except that the divide starts right there with teachers being more ‘tolerant’ of misdemeanours by boys and prone to letting them overstep boundaries easily. Girls, on the other hand, are expected to be compliant.

When we consider embracing equity, we may want to look at helping children think about it as an urgent need and perhaps draw up a school charter of concrete ways students can work towards it. A pledge by each child to change a little something, be it a perspective or a behavioural pattern, may be a good start towards teaching them to take ownership of their beliefs and actions. It may also be a chance to unlearn a few things.

When we talk of equity, rampant ageism comes to mind. Unlike other cultures, we are heavily biased towards those with experience. While experience is indeed a great teacher, it cannot be followed blindly in a world that is increasingly demanding new ways of working and being. When the young present opportunities for experimentation, experience must submit to innovation. We often fall back on ‘this has always worked for us’ as the rationale to avoid exploring new pathways. In school life, this has meant holding on to assessing students’ learning based on age-old expectations. The truth is, experience sometimes is a regressive teacher.

Economic disparity marginalises children.

If we are to think about equity in classrooms, all students deserve the same level of support, respect and care from their teachers, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic background or ability. Life lessons are learnt and mindsets are shaped in the formative years spent in classrooms, and teachers have more power than they imagine. Much of that power lies in the language used in classrooms. It can encourage or demotivate within seconds. It is not only the struggling students that are subjected to scathing remarks. Very often, the brighter ones — the eager beavers that always have their hand raised — are told ‘don’t act too smart’ (but why not?).

Economic disparity is another factor that marginalises children whose sense of belonging is compromised by their social background. In a country where a ‘big man’ is synonymous with ‘wealthy’, curriculum design would have to look at narratives in texts that often depict economic privilege as the only marker of success. Addressing inappropriate remarks about students’ backgrounds is one way teachers can ensure a culture of respect for all.

Another avenue to consider is giving a voice to students who hesitate to speak up. Encouraging personal responses, validating feelings and addressing difficulties gently should be prioritised over the race for grades. Equitable classroom practices have a direct bearing on academic performance across all school levels.

Whilst establishing behavioural expectations, many teachers overlook the need for diversity in opinion and the benefit of celebrating individual differences. Embracing equity begins with a decision to cultivate a just, inclusive and accepting environment for all children. Anyone, anywhere can take the initiative in small and significant ways. It doesn’t require resources but it needs a strong focus on change and a willingness to work consciously and consistently towards it — as early as kindergarten, when children begin to notice differences in hair and skin colour, physical abilities and emotional reactions.

Real-life examples from nature — fruit and trees — with their similarities and differences might be a good place to start. Interestingly, within the same school, there might be vast differences in classroom culture and very often that has to do with the strategic priorities of a teacher who has chosen to model equity and consciously maintained an equitable classroom. A reflective teacher would think about how gender neutral her comments are, how often everyone gets to participate in discussions and activities and how well the students interact with each other.

The writer is senior manager, professional development at Oxford University Press Pakistan, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.
neda.mulji@gmail.com
Twitter: @nedamulji

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2023

2024-08-06 12:25:11 UTC

2024-08-06 12:25:56 UTC

2024-08-06 12:26:20 UTC

Ensuring equality in education during lockdown

2024-09-01 02:10:02 UTC

This articles addresses some pressing inequality issue in education during the Covid 19 period. It offers possible recommendations to support teachers, policy makers and parents to minimize the effect of the lockdown on social class-based learning inequality, but ensuring equal education access to social class levels of all students.

Inadequate mental health services and climate change (Equality issue)

2024-09-01 02:33:49 UTC

Darko Baafi

This post elucidates an inadequate mental health access and issue of the climate change during the Covid period have increased bullying and other forms of discriminations in Finland among the youth.

This unequal access to these services has weakened the metal state and wellbeing among the youth, especially, those in Finland.

This worrying development has made the youth to have no hope for the future.

Equality and equity ways in dealing with issues of bullying

2024-09-01 03:07:24 UTC

Darko Baafi writes

This articles raises serious concerns about the negative impacts of bulling in schools, especially in the classroom and the role of teachers in minimizing the effect of this social canker on students' learning, performance and success.

The post further discusses some testimonies from some section of teachers and how they pay attention to issues of bulling in their classroom and beyond to enhance learning outcomes of students.

Some teachers say they apply equal access measures (Equality) in dealing with bulling issues in their class by pausing while teaching to address issues of bullying in their classroom. While others also raise awareness of bullying by providing support for those affected victims bullied (Equity) to enhance their social and mental wellbeing.

Equity in same six marriage

2024-09-01 03:20:49 UTC

Darko Baafi writes

This article points out that in Switzerland same sex marriages has legalized since 2007. Same sex couples can officially register their partners but some of their rights have been restricted.

Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day

2024-09-16 17:37:15 UTC

_{Helsinki Times wrote an article on 11 March 2024}_{regarding a}_{demonstration against racism}_{taking place}_{in Helsinki}_{, which was scheduled to take place on 21 March 2024.}

_{What is remarkable about the article is that it emphasises that the initiator,}_{Eugene Ufoka}_{, is trying to initiate social dialogue on discrimination and racism in order to normalise understanding of actions for diversity in society throughout Finland. In his view, racism should... ‘should not be a taboo subject, but a subject that people can discuss in their schools, workplaces and at the dinner table.’ He emphasises the need to recognise and confront racism, seeing this as the first step in changing attitudes in society and making Finland a better place for all its inhabitants.}

_{The protest march in Helsinki is intended as a response to the harmful effects of racism on society as a whole, which are increasingly visible in many current domestic and foreign studies in European countries. According to the article, racist thinking can foster mistrust among the inhabitants of a society and thus tear apart the social fabric.}

_{The aim of future protest marches should not only be to repeatedly put a finger on the social wound of discrimination and racism, but also to celebrate the progress and diversity of Finnish society and to encourage people to create a safe and inclusive space for all.}_#FightRacism

Finland unites for anti-racism March on UN International Day

2024-09-16 17:43:19 UTC

Helsinki Times wrote an article on 11 March 2024 regarding a demonstration against racism taking place in Helsinki, which was scheduled to take place on 21 March 2024.

What is remarkable about the article is that it emphasises that the initiator, Eugene Ufoka, is trying to initiate social dialogue on discrimination and racism in order to normalise understanding of actions for diversity in society throughout Finland. In his view, racism should... ‘should not be a taboo subject, but a subject that people can discuss in their schools, workplaces and at the dinner table.’ He emphasises the need to recognise and confront racism, seeing this as the first step in changing attitudes in society and making Finland a better place for all its inhabitants.

The protest march in Helsinki is intended as a response to the harmful effects of racism on society as a whole, which are increasingly visible in many current domestic and foreign studies in European countries. According to the article, racist thinking can foster mistrust among the inhabitants of a society and thus tear apart the social fabric.

The aim of future protest marches should not only be to repeatedly put a finger on the social wound of discrimination and racism, but also to celebrate the progress and diversity of Finnish society and to encourage people to create a safe and inclusive space for all. #FightRacism

by Sönke Kröger

Equity, inclusion and the transformation of higher education

2024-09-19 14:23:25 UTC

In an article published 31st October 2023 on UNESCO’s webpage (https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equity-inclusion-and-transformation-higher-education), Libing Wang opines that the need for increased attention on matters of equity in higher education institutions in Asia pacific. The converging disruptive factors post-pandemic era such as the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest, conflicts, climate change and natural disasters have augmented the importance of equity and inclusion. The higher education institutions should advance equity, inclusion and fair representation of diverse students irrespective of social, economic, ethnic, gender, physical and mental characteristics. While each countries have the imperative role of establishing the for identifying and categorizing disadvantaged students (physical and mental disabilities) within the society, well-defined policies, streamlined strategies, effective incentives and appropriate support services and resource allocation is needed. Another category of disadvantaged students, family income. Students from low-income households often face obstacles in pursuing higher education. This challenge is particularly pronounced in countries with high tuition fees and limited financial support. In Finland though the local students do not pay any tuition fee, but the international students pay. Even without paying tuition fee, studies have shown that students from low-income households tend to take long period in the HEI before graduation.

The other disadvantaged group highlighted in the article are non-local students, migrant students, international students, refugees, displaced person and varying religious affiliations, equitable access to higher education opportunities should be extended to all these students. The HEI in addition to mapping the groups, should also monitoring their inclusion status, conducting gap analyses and implementing effective solutions. Several solutions proposed include, financial support, a robust student affairs management system to give assistance to students fronting varied challenges, including academic, social, physical and mental support and importantly to integrate the academic support and mental health services to foster the comprehensive development of the students. particularly those encountering challenging circumstances.

As access and quality in higher education systems worldwide continue to improve, the objective of equity and inclusion should be a central focus to shape the future transformation of higher education.

JoelS

MTV: Finland declines to join Ukraine equality alliance due to Finns Party minister's anti-LGBT stance

2024-09-24 17:43:11 UTC

^{Ville Tavio the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade breaks away from the gender-equality alliance (the EU, the US, and the UK) for the rebuilding of Ukraine. As the first nation in Europe and only the third nation in the world granting women the right to vote, the move by Ville Tavio was greeted with an astonishment. Mr. Tavio is known for his reluctant stance towards gender and sexual minorities. Unfortately, women's cause got hit as well. PM Petteri Orpo transfers the responsibilty solely to Mr. Tavio, yet the PM does say that Mr. Tavio's decision is in line with the overall Government Program and there is no conflict because the made decision. Hence, no action is required. The opposition did attack both Mr. Tavio and PM on this issue.}

Finland emphasises economic equality and rights of women in conflict zones at the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

2024-09-24 18:56:09 UTC

^{Finland was represented at the CWS session by a delegation headed by Minister}^{Sanni Grahn-Laasonen}^{(responsible for gender equality issues) was heading Finnish delegation at the CWS (UN Commission on the Status of Women) event in New York on March 11-22, 2024. The of the event was "Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective". emphasising the interdependence between economic equality and the rights of women and girls. The Minister shared the concern over sexual and gender-based violence in conflict zones. According to the Minister Finland stands tall for a decisive action to promote gender equality world wide.}

^{Together with Italy and Qatar Finland hosted a side event in the honor of Afghan women and girls where a panel discussed the situation in Afghanistan with regards to poverty and how it impacts women and girls of Afghanistan. Still how women and grisl are being treated after all the efforts taken globally is mind boggling. Makes one wonder will it ever be changed, and if yes, how long will it take. How many generations will it take that female gender is at par with the male gender.}

Social Equity

2024-09-24 19:15:09 UTC

^{A fresh and somewhat unorthodox approach and source to social equity from Neogames Finland, the hub of Finnish game industry. Neogames Finland: "In the local game industry, social equity themes are best represented by the actions of local industry organizations advocating for equality, inclusion, good working conditions, and human rights. The industry has its own self-regulation tool for determining age ratings for games."}

^{Neogames Finland has created Code of Contact for the Finnish gaming industry addressing equality and equity issues, a Task Force to implement and manage Code of Conduct, including PEGI (Pan-European Game Information System) ruling. Well known brand in gaming, Rovio, has launched a Playbook for Inclusive Game Development and Marketing already in 2003. It seems that Finnish game industry has been a trailblazer yet again (Ref. Women's right to vote 1906)}

Equality and equity in teaching and guidance From S M MUTTAQUIM REZA

2024-10-06 07:52:15 UTC

S M MUTTAQUIM REZA

The Finnish Club of Helsinki voted against accepting women's membership. The former chairman was pleased with the result.

2024-10-09 07:15:25 UTC

News by Helsingin Sanomat (3.10.24) about a Helsinki Finnish Club, that only accepts the men as members. The club arranged a questionee for its members, if the women should be accepted as member as well.

The majority of the members of the Helsinki Finnish Club wanted the association to remain a men's club. Many members would have liked to make the famous men's club in Helsinki open to women. The club voted to change the rules for women's membership. 69.6 percent of those who voted supported the change, but 75 percent would have been required for the rule change.

Ex-chairman of the club is happy with the result and stated: "If there were a lot of female members, I don't know where to put them all."

Lets bear in mind, that here are also clubs that accept only female members. E.g. The Finnish Women’s Association Unioni.

By the law associations have the right to choose their rules, and people have the right to disagree. Equality before the law has therefore been realized.

So is this equal or not equal?

"You destroy the programme": Multilingual families slam Helsinki's bilingual education overhaul

2024-10-28 19:46:39 UTC

Posted by Khaing Khaing Kyi.

Today I found the news concerning equality and equity. It is Yle News on May 31, 2024, reported by Zena Iovino in the education section. The article is about "The City of Helsinki's plans to abolish first-grade entrance exams for bilingual education in Spanish-Finnish programme, and in the future, pupils are selected through a lottery". Spanish-speaking families are not happy with the city's proposal to change admission criteria. Entrance exams filter that only kids with a high level of Spanish get in, and those just starting to learn have little chance. Families are worried about the ones whose language is not Spanish entering the program. One parent said that it was discriminatory against native Spanish speakers. "The main reason is to increase the educational equality of all children in Helsinki," Deputy Mayor of Education Johanna Laisaari (SDP) told Yle News via email. She added, "The goal of the reform is also to harmonise the equality between all bilingual groups so that in the future everyone applies for them in the same way."

From my point of view, I agree with the City's plan because every child has the right to study what they are interested in, and Spanish-speaking children are not privileged.

Sigh of relief for Ghana's (not-so) new gender equality law

2024-10-30 06:07:49 UTC

Opoku Adusei

A call to boycott men is now spreading in social media

2024-11-10 12:33:42 UTC

The article discusses the "4B movement," which is a social media trend encouraging women to boycott men including four key rules: no dating, no heterosexual sex, no marriage, and no children. This movement became attractive after Donald Trump's election as the president of the USA, which brought misogyny issues to the forefront. The movement is primarily discussed on TikTok, where women share experiences or decisions to separate from their partners as a protest.

According to Professor Tuija Saresma from the University of Eastern Finland, the 4B movement reflects women’s frustration and desire for bodily autonomy. It challenges "gender populism," where gender roles are manipulated for political purposes. Some women hope the movement will change societal expectations of women, and men supporting the movement claim it highlights women's loss of autonomy following Trump's election.

The 4B movement originated in South Korea in response to mistreatment of women and invasive acts like unauthorized filming. It became a way for women to push back against male control. Saresma believes the movement could influence current perspectives on women's rights and she suggests that political action through democracy may be more effective for lasting change.

Minna Eriksen

Summary of the article

2024-12-07 12:43:51 UTC

Muhammad Kashif Mehmood(AG1350)

This article looks at the academic problems that immigrant-background students experience within Finnish schools, pointing to structural and social issues that explain poor outcomes. Students are behind because they don't participate early, their school starts later than local peers, the school day is short, and support for native language is low. Finnish is taught as a second language, stigmatizing them and providing less rigorous instruction. Teachers and counselors also practice bias in discouraging students from pursuing ambitious academic or career goals. In addition, migrant-background students have been concentrated in vocational tracks and are underrepresented in higher education. Finland has one of the largest gaps in the number of tertiary-educated ethnic Finns and migrants in the OECD. The internalization of racism internalizes doubt in themselves, decreasing their self-esteem that further affects performance at school. The education system heavily depends on parental support, which becomes quite hard for immigrant families that are not used to the system or language. This is perpetuated by the lack of trained teachers and adequate support for immigrant needs. The article recommends reforms, including better teacher training, diverse educator recruitment, and support systems tailored for migrant students.

"Equality and Equity in teaching and guidance". Report gotten from news on how bullying can be minimize and tackle in schools.

2025-01-21 21:13:50 UTC

Student name :Charlotte Julius Mbulle

learning from the terms involve in this course, i will like to define what equality and equity means or stands for. "Equality simply put means everyone is treated the same way regardless of needs or other individual differences. whereas "Equity means everyone is provided with what they needs to succeed.

Furthermore, "Equality means giving everyone the same pair of shoes while "Equity means giving everyone a pair of shoes that fits.

Bullying in schools has been a common cause for concern in schools nowadays and can be minimize and handled by teachers and parents.

From the article ,we see two different aspect in which some teachers applied the use of equality and equity in their classroom in order to curb bullying in classroom and school as a whole.

Some teachers said once they noticed bullying in their classroom by their student, they applied equal measures(Equality)by cutting short their teaching lesson so as to addressed issues while other teachers handled issues relating to bullying in their classroom by showing concerned, support and awareness to those who are been bullied(Equity).

As a teacher or an educator we can handle bullying in our classroom my by bringing inn counsellors who can teach about mental health related issues and some strategies to stop behaviors that has to do with bullying, some of which are,

1-Creating opportunities for connection

2-Teaching kindness and empathy

3-Identifying gateway behaviors(Eye rolling, laughing cruelly /encouraging others laugh).

18 years on, Nepal insurgency victims are in continued hardships, new study says

2025-02-10 16:36:10 UTC

Education, healthcare, and social support remain out of reach for those affected by the Maoist conflict, ICJ survey finds.

Mon, Feb 10, 2025

9.01°C Kathmandu

Air Quality in Kathmandu: 173

National

18 years on, Nepal insurgency victims are in continued hardships, new study says

Education, healthcare, and social support remain out of reach for those affected by the Maoist conflict, ICJ survey finds.

Published at : January 31, 2025

Updated at : January 31, 2025 07:54

Kathmandu

In 2019, Bablu Lama, an insurgency-era torture victim from Kavrepalachok, applied at the district’s Education Unit for free education for his child. The unit asked him to produce evidence that he was a conflict victim to qualify for the benefit.

He received an identity card from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and submitted it to the education unit. But the unit denied his application, saying only children of enforced disappearances are eligible for such opportunity.

“Since then, I have never sought any kind of state support. I have no hope for any support from the state now,” said Lama at an event on Thursday. “I have completely lost faith in the state.”

Like Lama, thousands of victims from the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency, who have been seeking some kind of state support, have remained neglected even 18 years after the peace process commenced.

A study by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Nepal unveiled on Thursday shows most of the insurgency era victims from the state and then insurgents are living tough lives as successive governments have paid little attention towards their social, economic and cultural rights. Though some of such rights are enshrined in the constitution as fundamental rights, they remain unimplemented.

The study conducted in five districts suggests those recruited as child soldiers by the Maoists were deprived of education because they had left their schools to join the insurgency. They had already crossed school going age by the time the Maoist joined the peace process. “It is not possible for them to get good jobs because of the lack of education. As a result they are unable to provide good education to their children,” according to the report. “Different generations have been trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.”

During the verification by the United Nations Mission in Nepal, a total of 2,973 were listed as minors.

Scores of children during the insurgency were deprived of education as their schools were bombarded while several of them were abducted. Similarly, the children of parent(s) who were killed or forcibly disappeared during the insurgency were compelled to quit their education in the lack of funds for their fee or the incidents had traumatised them, according to the report. And there was no government support which still continues.

“Most of the victims sought support in education followed by health service, employment opportunities, residence, social protection and protection of cultural rights,” said Karuna Parajuli, a legal advisor to the ICJ who was involved in the study.

Scores of the victims, who got different types of health complications due to torture, bullets, sexual violence and mental torture, are still waiting for their treatment. “The situation of victims of torture and sexual violence remains the worst,” according to the report.

As claimed by the ICJ, health screening conducted by National Association of Conflict Rape Victims among the victims of insurgency era victims of sexual violence had shown than most of them had developed serious health complications. Among 127 of 300 women victims were diagnosed with serious complications. An overwhelming 70 percent of the 127 have one or multiple reproductive health-related complications. As per the medical report, after the second round of checkups, 11 percent have had their uterus removed, while 6.22 percent need immediate surgery to remove the uterus.

With no serious government effort, the association has shouldered the responsibility for the health checkup.

Putting her views during the report launch, Mandira Sharma, senior international legal advisor to the ICJ, said lack of respect to people’s social, economic and cultural rights had fuelled the decade long insurgency. “Continuous reluctance towards ensuring these rights can ignite yet another conflict,” she said. “The three tiers of governments must develop an overarching policy to address the needs of the conflict victims.”

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2025/01/31/18-years-on-nepal-insurgency-victims-are-in-continued-hardships-new-study-says?fbclid=IwY2xjawIXBKxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZK0or5DftHrIlZrLsBWIB-2nH6Wh0rULCY9ZUtnOJaCF0m7qSg6N-8jIQ_aem_PRySUW9WuM08rxIQjK8g4g

My opinion : There is a huge gap between a privileged school attending children group and an unprivileged school attending children group. Some struggle to attend school and pay fees while others struggle to progress in their studies. There are a minority of children who travel by tuin(a manual wooden bucket to cross rivers and is considered perilous means of transportation) to go to school while others have an easy access and well-facilitated school environment. Can we imagine the sense of equity and equality in these two different groups of school children?

I moved to Finland believing it was a progressive dream. It hasn’t turned out that way. (Mike Watson’s article on Finland) Life in Finland under a rightwing government.

2025-02-16 16:50:02 UTC

Here, I am trying to bring up an interesting piece of news. A foreigner came to Finland with big dreams and hopes of building a successful future. However, due to new laws, government policies on foreigners, and the challenges he faces, his dream is not unfolding like others. This may be his personal opinion, but it reflects the struggles of many foreigners in Finland who aspire to achieve great things

Hiding your sexual identity in the 1990s

2025-03-07 07:37:57 UTC

This is an interesting talk (52 min) about sexual identities and representations in Finland in the 1990s. The interviewee, Kari Silvola, has just defended his doctoral thesis on the topic and now works as a postdoctoral researchers with related issues. In this talk, Silvola tells about his experiences in modeling business some decades ago, where he - as a gay man - has been welcomed but only as performing himself in heterosexual imagery. I think that the personal touch both in this talk and in news articles related to the same study, makes the topic both understandable and very touching. What was 'normal' some decades ago, does not fit our current society anymore. Similar comparisons are now made for example in discussion related to the novel 'comedy' show by Petteri Summanen (see more about the latter here: https://www.hs.fi/taide/art-2000011031744.html).

Posted by Marjukka Laiho

Gender Division and the Strive for Equality

2025-03-07 07:46:38 UTC

This is a news article about how men see violence against women as something earned and justified. The article also tells about the gender gap still deeply present in the current Finnish society in the attitude level. Similar divisions were lately addressed in a news articles about diffences of wages from similar professions (https://yle.fi/a/74-20110973). Both these stories thell that even the heterosexual gender equality is not yet reached in Finland. Thus, a lot of work is need to tackle issues like preventing violence against women, mainstreaming gender equality principles, and balancing wages and also employee benefits like employer costs related to parenthood. Luckily we have many NGOs engaged in this work.

This was posted by Marjukka Laiho

2025-04-28 14:24:03 UTC

Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

2025-06-27 15:59:38 UTC

'Equality' and 'Equity' Are Different. But in Thriving Schools, They Coexist (Opinion)

Title: Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

This article highlights the important difference between equality and equity in schools. Equality means giving all students the same resources, while equity means giving each student what they need to succeed. Several educators share their experiences and explain that equity is not about giving more to some and less to others, but about removing barriers and supporting students based on their individual situations. For example, treating all students “the same” is not always fair if their starting points are very different.

The article also gives practical advice for teachers, such as: getting to know students, acknowledging biases, and involving families in learning. These actions help create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. In conclusion, true fairness in education comes when equity and equality work together, ensuring every student has a real opportunity to succeed.

Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

2025-06-27 16:02:27 UTC

Title: Understanding the Difference Between Equality and Equity in Education

This article highlights the important difference between equality and equity in schools. Equality means giving all students the same resources, while equity means giving each student what they need to succeed. Several educators share their experiences and explain that equity is not about giving more to some and less to others, but about removing barriers and supporting students based on their individual situations. For example, treating all students “the same” is not always fair if their starting points are very different.

Fozia Bhutto

Three Positive Efforts Towards Equity in Education from Around the Globe - Elgundi

2025-07-07 09:08:30 UTC

1. “Geo‑Education Zones” and “micro‑campuses” are reshaping global higher education by enabling regional and remote access to quality programs. This promotes educational equity by making it more accessible without needing to relocate physically. Micro campuses have increased enrolment in underserved regions by ~18% since 2020. https://firdoshkhan.in/international-higher-education-in-2025/

2. Delhi University’s single-girl-child quota reserves additional postgrad seats for girls who are the only daughter in a family to improve gender balance, as they may not have family support. This is an expansion of its earlier undergrad policy that admitted 764 such students in 23–24. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/du-extends-single-girl-child-quota-to-pg-courses-from-2025/articleshow/121784113.cms

3. UNESCO encourages virtual and blended mobility, scholarship access for students from the Global South, and easier credit systems to foster international equity. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equity-should-be-heart-international-higher-education

Elina Valtonen's legs were blurred in Iranian television

2025-10-01 14:25:22 UTC

This news is referring to two articles, the Original articles were written by Greta Virranniemi on 28.09.2025, (the original can be found here: https://yle.fi/a/74-20185424) and another article written by Anni Kavander on the 30.09.2025 (the original can be found here: https://yle.fi/a/74-20185914)

Both Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen's and Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard were wearing clothing that reviealed their leggs when they were meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York in connection with the UN General Assembly in September. Even if it is a cultural habit in Iran, the women were not meeting the Iranian Foreign Minister in a muslim country this time, and they were both surpriced over being treated in a way as if they had been wearing the wrong kind of outfit, or that their body parts were seen as “too much” for the Iranian television viewers.

This fact has since been commented by many news channels, for example Iranian feminist activist and journalist Masih Alinejad, among others, writes about the blurring on the messaging service X. Valtonen's comment on the matter has been published in the Coalition Party's Instagram update. In Finland, Helsingin Sanomat previously reported on the matter, to which the Foreign Minister had also made the comment that:

- I do not change my dress depending on who I am meeting. I have a policy that, for example, I do not attend events that require covering the face or hair.

Valtonen also commented to Helsingin Sanomat that she considers Iranian television's actions a "sad" indication of the status of women in the country.

Since this incident happened, Finns are publishing pictures of themselves with bare leggs on social media to support equality. The campaign is spreading under the hashtag #Mylegstoo, and was reportedly started by Helsinki City Councilor Seida Sohrabi (Congress), who published a picture of herself in a dress that revealed her legs. She is a Finnish Kurd. She says:

– My greetings to the Islamist governments, for whom women's legs and equality are too much, Sohrabi writes in her publication.

Camilla Groth

Milano Cortina 2026: the Winter Olympic Games for a future of equity and inclusion

2026-01-06 23:36:31 UTC

The upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are being designed as a model for equity and inclusion, with a strong focus on equal opportunities and representation across sport. The Games will feature a record level of gender balance, including nearly 47 % of athlete quota places allocated to women and more women’s and mixed events than ever before at a Winter Olympics, reflecting progress toward gender equality on the field of play.

In addition to gender equity, the organisers aim to promote inclusion and accessibility through programmes and design principles that make venues, services and experiences welcoming and usable for people of all abilities. Efforts include educational initiatives that engage young people on equality in sport and wider community impact goals to leave a lasting legacy beyond the Games themselves.

Overall, Milano Cortina 2026 positions the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games not just as a sporting event, but as a platform to advance equity, inclusion and social change in sport and society.