All posts tagged: teachers

Teachers in Liverpool strike over plans to consolidate nearly 230 schools into Catholic multi academy trusts – Humanists UK

Teachers in Liverpool strike over plans to consolidate nearly 230 schools into Catholic multi academy trusts – Humanists UK

Published by Sam Flores

Teachers at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School in Liverpool are striking over plans to transfer the school into St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, amid a wider programme to move 217 schools across the Archdiocese of Liverpool into three Catholic academy trusts. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) are beginning strike action on Friday 11 September. The union says staff were not meaningfully consulted over the proposed academisation. St Anthony’s is currently a voluntary aided Catholic school maintained by Liverpool City Council. Its proposed conversion forms part of the Archdiocese’s A Family in Christ: Our Future Together strategy, which will see 217 Catholic schools move into three trusts. Humanists UK warned in May that the expansion risked entrenching religious control over state-funded education, particularly in areas including admissions, staffing, governance, religious education, and collective worship. It is now seeking further information from the Archdiocese of Liverpool about whether individual schools can choose not to take part in its academisation programme. Humanists UK’s Policy and Campaigns Manager, Lewis Young, commented: ‘We previously warned …

Attackers kill police officer, kidnap teachers in Cameroon’s northwest | Politics News

Attackers kill police officer, kidnap teachers in Cameroon’s northwest | Politics News

Published by Sam Flores

An armed group attacks a teacher training centre in the town of Wum, according to the Northwest Region’s governor. Published On 9 Sep 20269 Sep 2026 Security forces in Cameroon are searching for attackers who killed a police officer and kidnapped five teachers during a raid on a teacher training centre in the country’s Northwest Region, according to the governor. Adolphe Lele Lafrique, the regional governor, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that a group of armed individuals “infiltrated” a teacher training centre in the town of Wum, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Bamenda city, on Tuesday morning. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list A police officer on the scene tried to intervene and stop the attackers. “The armed individuals unleashed a hail of bullets on him, killing him instantly, and took five teachers with them to an unknown location,” Lafrique said. The Northwest Region is one of two English-speaking regions in Cameroon where separatist groups have been fighting government forces for about 10 years. According to local reports, separatist …

Jerusalem Christian protest pushes Israel to allow Palestinian teachers to return

Jerusalem Christian protest pushes Israel to allow Palestinian teachers to return

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Nearly 10,000 students in Jerusalem’s Christian schools started the academic year a day late after the schools closed Tuesday (Sept. 1) to protest Israel’s refusal to renew entry permits for more than 70 Palestinian teachers and staff from the West Bank. The Christian schools announced the closure Aug. 31, saying the permit denials had come “suddenly and without notice,” leaving them unable to prepare for the 2026–2027 school year. The 15 schools serve students from Jerusalem’s Christian communities and include institutions that have operated for hundreds of years. “These schools are an important part of the Jerusalem Mosaic, especially for the Christian communities,” said Hagop Djernazian, a Jerusalem Armenian community activist. “They give a safe home for many children and for their students. They keep the traditions of the local communities alive.” In response to the protest, Israeli authorities relented Tuesday, announcing that the permits would be approved and the staff allowed to enter. The permits are currently confirmed only through the end of the calendar year, leaving the schools uncertain whether their …

They look like religious teachers. But they’re AI — and millions are listening

They look like religious teachers. But they’re AI — and millions are listening

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — As Saahera Ashraf scrolled through Instagram, she stopped on an elderly East Asian monk in a saffron robe. Yang Mun sat before the camera with a shaved head and a gentle expression, offering his followers a lesson on forgiveness. They needed to forgive four groups of people, he told them: their parents, former partners, people who had hurt them and, finally, themselves. Ashraf listened. Hundreds of videos like it were posted on Mun’s page, offering advice about relationships, anxiety, eating habits and quieting an overactive mind, often from a softly lit temple or beside statues of the Buddha. To Ashraf, 32, who lives in Toronto, Mun looked like what he claimed to be: an elderly teacher passing along lessons learned over a lifetime. “I have a couple of his posts saved,” she said. Mun has more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram, where his videos draw millions of views and comments from people thanking him for his advice. His website describes him as a teacher of traditional Eastern wisdom. But the monk does …

Teachers of note | Radio Times

Teachers of note | Radio Times

Published by Daniella Wilson

Aled Jones presents on Classic FM 10.00am Monday to Friday; Myleene Klass presents Calm Classics 10.00pm Saturday and Friday. Add them to your collection It was one of the most memorable ad campaigns of the 1990s. In it a roll call of celebrities including John Cleese, Bob Hoskins, Joanna Lumley, Professor Stephen Hawking, Sir David Attenborough and Prime Minister Tony Blair stared into the camera and gave the name of a teacher fondly remembered by their famous and successful former pupils. The 1997 advert was called “No-One Forgets a Good Teacher” and was part of a £10 million recruitment drive for the Teacher Training Agency. It instantly resonated with millions of people who began casting their minds back to the teacher who had influenced or changed their own life for ever. It also struck a chord with radio station Classic FM, which went on to launch the Music Teacher of the Year Awards in 1999. It has been running the initiative ever since, now in partnership with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of …

Herd of elephants attack minibus full of teachers in 90-minute rampage

Herd of elephants attack minibus full of teachers in 90-minute rampage

Published by Sam Flores

A herd of elephants went on a 90-minute rampage and attacked a van full of school teachers. The large animals targeted a minibus full of teachers causing panic among the passengers during the lengthy attack. The incident took place near Lal Pul on National Highway 534, in Kotdwar, northern India’s Uttarakhand, in the early morning hours of August 17. The frightened teachers abandoned the vehicle and ran to safety, with no injuries having been reported. Source link

A third of UK yoga teachers at risk of injury payouts due to lack of insurance cover, new study reveals

A third of UK yoga teachers at risk of injury payouts due to lack of insurance cover, new study reveals

Published by Daniella Wilson

Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sport Get our free Inside Sport newsletter Get our free Inside Sport newsletter A significant number of yoga instructors across the UK are operating without adequate insurance coverage, leaving them vulnerable to potential claims and highlighting a critical gap in professional practice. New research from Insure4Sport reveals that a third of practicing yoga teachers lack a personal policy to cover their teaching activities. The survey, which polled 100 UK yoga teachers, found that 15 per cent have no insurance whatsoever. A further 17 per cent rely solely on their employer’s or studio’s policy, which often does not extend to freelance instructors, while 1 per cent admitted they were unsure of their coverage status. This means a substantial one-third of the profession is without dedicated protection. Alarmingly, almost four in 10 (39 per cent) confessed to having taught a class without any cover at some point in their career. These findings carry serious implications not only for individual teachers but also …

White paint, trees or air con? What parents and teachers can do to cool UK’s overheating schools | Schools

White paint, trees or air con? What parents and teachers can do to cool UK’s overheating schools | Schools

Published by Jenni Sidey

This summer, repeated heatwaves drove classroom temperatures to unbearable levels, leaving pupils and teachers scrambling to cope and forcing thousands of schools to close. School WhatsApp groups have lit up as parents, teachers and governors try to work out what can be done. Experts agree that in the medium term governments and local authorities must act to ensure all schools are equipped to withstand the new realities of a climate destabilised by the continued burning of fossil fuels. But in the meantime, what steps can parents and teachers take to keep pupils safe as the UK’s summers heat up? What should parents and schools do first? The first step for parents is to raise the problem constructively with the school rather than assuming nothing is being done. Headteachers are already juggling many issues and are under huge financial pressures, so approaching the conversation collaboratively is essential. If there are a few parents with the same concerns, forming a small group linked to the existing parent-teacher association can help demonstrate that this is a wider problem …

A New York High School Is Getting an AI-Powered Robot Assistant. Parents and Teachers Have Concerns

A New York High School Is Getting an AI-Powered Robot Assistant. Parents and Teachers Have Concerns

Published by skeptic

Some New York students and teachers will be returning to classrooms outfitted with an uncanny-looking — and potentially unwelcome — AI-powered assistant come September. The Salamanca City Central School District, located roughly 60 miles south of Buffalo, signed a $57,590 contract (PDF) with robotics startup Realbotix to introduce AI tools and a humanoid robot into select technology classes in Salamanca City Central High School. The humanoid robot, named Sally (pictured above), is one of Realbotix’s M-series models. It’s designed to mimic a human appearance, with silicone skin and a wide range of facial movements, though it’s limited to a stationary sitting position. The Realbotix press release says that the robot “uses natural conversation, facial expressions and real-time interaction” to encourage student participation. Students will be assigned personalized ID numbers to interact with the robot, which will reportedly remember and respond to their learning data and previous questions. In addition to the robotic teaching assistant Sally, Realbotix is integrating its Optio AI model into the school district to serve as an at-home tutor for round-the-clock homework …

State needs higher standards for teachers and stronger evaluations

State needs higher standards for teachers and stronger evaluations

Published by Sam Flores

To the editor: I also hope that strong leadership in education can help the children of California (“California kids still struggle in our schools. Will this change help?,” July 13). As a retired teacher with 42 years of experience, this is what I’d like to see: High standards for colleges that teach education. It is no secret that a teacher or administrator can earn credits at “colleges” that are basically “pay-and-pass” institutions. This can and does result in a Stanford-educated teacher being told by a poorly educated principal that “reading to kids is a waste of time.” High standards for teachers. Strive for a fully credentialed teacher in every classroom. Stop issuing “emergency” credentials every time there is a teacher shortage. Teacher involvement. Intelligent people want to be empowered on the job. Structure school governance so that teachers have a strong role in decision-making. Strive for valid and reliable evaluations of schools and teachers. Schools can definitely be evaluated, but it can’t be done with a cheap test given to all. Consider effective evaluations such …