Teachers - qualified or not?

It was interesting listening to the debate on the TV news programmes yesterday about whether teachers even need to be qualified, particularly on Question Time. Actually it would be more exact to say it was depressing! Of course there are some people who are more natural teachers than others and of course there is always a place for the expert to enhance teaching and learning, particularly in certain areas such as music - sometimes an expert is also a natural teacher and can impart their specific skills and knowledge very well. However, this argument in favour of unqualified teachers appears to be based on a few random successes in the 174 Free Schools (that model adopted from Sweden just at the point the Swedes had decided it really wasn't working), not on the outcomes in 21,000 other state schools. In the debate on Question Time it became clear that, as usual all the panellists were basing their arguments around their own experience and the focus was almost entirely on Secondary education and the 'end game' of passing exams and getting to University. I was reminded of Sir Ken Robinson's first talk on TED when he says how everyone feels they know all about education because, after all, they have been to school themselves! Only Owen Jones mentioned at one point '5 year olds' when he rightly argued that success or failure in school (certainly on the terms being discussed)was more about starting points and socio-economic factors ... nobody else, notably not Liz Truss, Minister for Children, picked up on his points. It would be so refreshing and exciting to hear some politicians and journalists talking intelligently about the vital early years and about the highly qualified and specifically qualified teachers young children, particularly those growing up in socially deprived environments really need. I would refer anyone not convinced to the HighScope research, the findings of James Heckman (economist) and a number of recent reports across countries. Reports from OECD show that those countries most successful in terms of education and children's wellbeing emphasise the early years and the qualifications of those charged with the education and care of the very young.

Cheap Cell Phones

Cheap cell phones have hit the market at a time when the buying power of the people has been limited due to the effects of recession. This has led to more and more people buying these low priced cell phones as affording cell phones from manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung is not possible. This has led to widespread demand in the market for these cheap cell phones. The demand is so much that the current dealers are not able to meet the demand. However, there is another reason for the rise in demand for these types of cell phones. The reason is that these cell phones offer much more features than those offered by phones manufactured by multinationals. This means that for the same amount of money you could get a phone that has more features and is more stylish than other phones. This can be illustrated by the fact that for a hundred dollars you could get a Chinese wholesale cell phones having a built in camera, a flash, a music player, a touch screen, WiFi support, GPS whereas for the same amount of money you only get a base level model from Nokia. This has led to an enormous jump in the demand for cheap cell phones.
This is where one should think of starting a Chinese phone wholesale business and making a large profit from this enormously large industry. The idea of becoming a wholesaler of China cell phones is profitable because the demand for these phones is on the rise. Also on large consignments and big orders the manufacturers of these phones provide incentives to the dealers in the form of discounts which can further lead to increase in profit. Another reason that is favourable for wholesalers of these phones is that the companies manufacturing these phones favour youngsters and quickly adapt and redesign their products to their needs and since youngsters make a large percentage of cell phone buyers in the world the demand for these kinds of cell phones is not going to die in the future.

Petition to UN

Today Tessa Jowell and Ivan Lewis launched a petition which aims to take to the campaign to support the youngest children to the next level. With your support they hope that the UN will ensure a commitment to early childhood development is at the heart of the new post-2015 development framework. I hope that you will be able to sign the petition and share with your friends and networks. Only with broad support will we be able to ensure that every child, no matter where they live in the world, will have the best start in life. Go to http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/un-secretary-general-ban-ki-moon-and-un-member-states-put-early-childhood-development-at-the-heart-of-the-new-post-2015-development-framework-with-targets-that-promise-all-children-care-support-and-services-which-work-together-for-the-best-start-in-l