DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in college admissions—what students should know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that affirmative action admission policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. The decision means universities can no longer consider race in addition to other factors when admitting students, ending 40-plus years of affirmative action policies intended to achieve greater racial diversity at top-tier colleges. In response to the Court's decision, students, alumni and educators have spoken up about the need for more work to make universities more accessible to students who come from historically disadvantaged communities. Colleges and universities have been preparing for what an end to race-conscious admissions could mean for their admissions processes, beginning with students applying to schools this fall. Here's how the college admissions process could change in the coming months and years.

Persons: Becky Pringle, Pringle Organizations: Harvard University, University of North, National Education Association, Fair, Harvard, UNC, NEA, of Education, Department, Justice Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Teachers in England to strike for two more days in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Teachers in England will strike on July 5 and July 7, the National Education Union (NEU) said on Saturday, staging further industrial action over a pay and funding dispute with the government. The new dates announced by Britain's largest education union come on top of at least six days of walk-outs by teachers in England from February to May. Teachers rejected a government pay offer for an average rise of 4.5% plus a 1,000 pound one-off payment in April. While teachers in Wales and Scotland have settled their dispute, the NEU said Britain's Education Minister Gillian Keegan was not doing enough to stop further industrial action in England. Workers in healthcare, transport, the civil service and other sectors have gone on strike over the past year across Britain in pay disputes as inflation reached 40-year-highs.

Persons: Gillian Keegan, Sarah Young, Andrew Heavens Organizations: National Education Union, Britain's, Teachers, Education, Workers, Thomson Locations: England, Wales, Scotland, Britain

☆ A Black Girl Won the 1908 Spelling Bee. Her Family Is Searching for Her Medal.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before a crowd of thousands in Cleveland on June 29, 1908, Marie C. Bolden, 14, defied the odds and won what is believed to be the first national spelling bee competition. She was the only Black participant. Children on teams from Pittsburgh and Erie, Pa. — who had initially refused to compete against Ms. Bolden — shook her hand when she won. “I did not enter the spelling contest for personal glory,” Ms. Bolden, the daughter of a mail carrier, told a reporter from The New York Times as she stepped from the stage. “But to try to help bring honor to my teacher and my school.”

Persons: Marie C, Bolden, Cleveland, —, Bolden —, “, ” Ms, ” Organizations: National Education, The New York Times Locations: Cleveland, New Orleans, Northern, Pittsburgh, Erie, Pa

☆ Do No Harm, a group of 'medical professionals' fighting 'woke healthcare,' is behind many anti-trans laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The AP analyzed 130 bills across 40 states, finding common language attributable to a group called Do No Harm. Do No Harm is one of several right-wing organizations advocating against trans inclusion in healthcare. Do No Harm is much newer, launching last year in an effort to shield "patients and physicians from woke healthcare." "We know that woke medical education and research are already impacting healthcare providers, and now federal and state policymakers are forcing woke policies into medicine," Kristina Rasmussen, executive director of Do No Harm, said in an April 2022 press release. Several other medical groups have joined calls to stop anti-trans policies from taking hold across the nation — like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Education Association, to name a few.

☆ A new law in Florida forces teachers who want to be in unions to pay dues through mail-in checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Being in a teacher's union in Florida just got harder. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill into law Tuesday that will require teachers who want to be in unions to mail in written checks every month. The system would replace the current arrangement, widely used in unions across the US, in which teacher union dues get automatically deducted from their paychecks. The change will make it harder for unions to exist and pile red tape onto teachers, Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book said in a statement. On average, roughly 60% of teachers in Florida are paying dues toward their unions, shows a Florida Senate analysis.

☆ A new law in Florida forces teachers to pay union dues through mail-in checks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Being in a teacher's union in Florida just got harder. The system would replace the current arrangement, widely used in unions across the US, in which teacher union dues get automatically deducted from their paychecks. On average, roughly 60% of teachers in Florida are paying dues toward their unions, shows a Florida Senate analysis. The signings represent a win for DeSantis, who has battled teacher's unions since the COVID pandemic and first proposed the change to union dues in December 2022. Florida comes in at 48th in the nation for average teacher salaries, according to the National Education Association, the state's largest teacher's union.

☆ Defeat for many culture war 'extremists' who tried to take control of school boards and lost to liberal, union-backed candidates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But many right-wing candidates lost their school board elections in Illinois and Wisconsin. A group of conservative candidates in Barrington, a northwest suburb of Chicago, endorsed by 1776 PAC, Moms For America Action, and Awake Illinois, also lost their race for the school board, Politico reports. JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, said, "Fortunately, the voters saw through the hidden extremists who were running for school board." In the Wisconsin school board elections, which took place earlier this month, Politico reports that GOP-backed candidates in the city of Wauwatosa largely lost to candidates backed by teaching unions. Kim Anderson, executive director of the National Education Association labor union, told Politico that, "Where culture war issues were being waged by some school board candidates, those issues fell flat with voters."

☆ Goldman says shares of this education technology leader have 20% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shares of education technology company PowerSchool could see upside as the company focuses on cross-selling its large suite of products and expanding internationally, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Gabriela Borges upgraded the education technology stock to buy from neutral. Her $24 price target implies the stock will rally 20% from where it closed on Monday. The company saw net revenue retention hit 108% during the pandemic as schools pushed to improve the online learning experience. The company could drive vendor consolidation in the international educational technology market, which she said is current fragmented.

☆ Teachers in England reject pay offer, announce further strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Teachers in England have overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer from the British government aimed at ending a series of disruptive strikes, their trade union said on Monday, announcing two further days of walkouts. The National Education Union, Britain's largest education union, said 98% of teachers who voted in the ballot followed its advice to reject the offer of a one-off payment this year of 1,000 pounds and an average pay rise of 4.5% in the next financial year. The union said teachers would take two further days of strike action, on April 27 and May 2. Teachers in Wales have ended their strike action after voting to accept a pay offer comprising an additional 3% pay award for 2022/23 alongside a 1.5% one-off payment, and a government-funded 5% rise for the following year. Scotland's largest teaching union has also accepted a pay deal to end long-running strikes, which it said would amount to a 14.6% increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024.

☆ Los Angeles education strike cancels school for 420,000 students
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Alan Devall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Los Angeles school workers protest in front of LAUSD headquarters during the first day of a walkout over contract negotiations that closes the country’s second largest school system in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, March 21 (Reuters) - Some 30,000 education workers backed by the teachers' union walked off the job for a three-day strike in Los Angeles on Tuesday, canceling school for nearly half a million students in the second-largest school district in the United States. Thousands of protesters gathered for a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, vowing to continue their pickets for another two days under the banner, "United for L.A. The service workers are backed by the 35,000 members of the teachers' union United Teachers Los Angeles, which refused to cross their picket line. Dozens of meal and safe-place sites were opened across the city on Tuesday, with school district employees and volunteers distributing more than 124,000 meals, the district said.

☆ Americans Encounter Hurdles to Studying in China Even as Covid Restrictions Ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The number of American citizens studying in China in the 2020-21 academic year was down 97% from two years prior. HONG KONG—Strict pandemic restrictions helped push the number of American university students in China to its lowest level in more than two decades—382 students in the 2020-21 academic year. Now, with China reopening its borders, the question is whether they will come back. During that academic year, the most recent for which data is available, the number of American citizens studying in China was down 97% from roughly 12,000 in 2018-19, and even further below the peak of nearly 15,000 a decade ago, according to data from the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education, a New York-based nonprofit.

☆ UK govt, teaching unions to start 'intensive' talks to end strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - The British government and teaching unions agreed on Friday to begin "intensive" talks to end strikes by hundreds of thousands of teachers in England who say they are overburdened and underpaid. The government and teaching unions said the National Education Union (NEU) — the largest striking union — would maintain a "period of calm" for two weeks in which no fresh strikes would be announced. "The Education Secretary and all unions will meet (on Friday), beginning intensive talks, which will continue over the weekend," the government and the unions said in a joint statement, adding that they hoped to reach "a successful conclusion". Teachers staged their latest strikes across England this week, coinciding with the government's annual budget. Scotland's largest teaching union has also accepted a pay deal to end long-running strikes, which it said would amount to a 14.6% increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024.

☆ South African court orders striking healthcare workers to end walkout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) march during a strike over wage disputes, at the Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus outside Johannesburg, South Africa, March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - The South African Labour Appeal Court on Monday ordered striking state healthcare workers to end a week-long walkout that has affected services in some of the country's major hospitals, the health department said. National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) members went on strike last week after wage talks with the government failed. The labour relations act prohibits essential workers from engaging in strike action which is detrimental to healthcare services with a risk of loss of life, he told a press briefing. The South African military said it had deployed medics to help in the affected hospitals at the request of the health department.

☆ Some schools are switching to the 4-day workweek to bring in and keep teachers, but education officials say it's not a 'magic pill' to fix the educator shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Korie Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Right now, the climate across the country with educators is that they are exhausted and they are tired," Gabe Dannenbring, a middle-school-science teacher and popular TikToker, told Insider. His studies include deep dives on how the four-day schedule impacts student success, and he is considering future studies on how this schedule change can help curb educator burnout. As of 2020, about 550 districts nationwide have adopted a four-day schedule, according to the National Conference of State Legislature. Heather Luke Drozlek teaches in a small private school in Indiana, which is on a four-day school week. "I can see the benefits, but I can also see that it could cause systemic issues," Tell Williams, a preschool teacher and social-media influencer, told Insider.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness is about to have its day at the Supreme Court. Here's everything you need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Supreme Court will hear two challenges to Biden's student-debt-relief plan on Tuesday. But the Biden administration has defended its legal authority and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the plan. Prominent figures in the legal and political worlds have weighed in on the two high-profile Supreme Court cases in dozens of briefs filed to the Supreme Court. More than 170 Republican members of Congress have argued against Biden's relief, along with 17 Republican-led states, the US Chamber of Commerce, and over a dozen conservative-leaning advocacy groups. Millions of student-loan borrowers' financial futures hang in the balance.

☆ Britain hit by biggest strike in more than a decade with schools shut and rail networks disrupted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Such widespread strike action has not taken place since a dispute over public sector pay in 2011, when more than a million workers are estimated to have taken industrial action. watch nowDemands vary by union but include inflation-beating pay rises, including to redress historic real-terms pay falls; pensions reform; and no cuts in redundancy terms. Postal workers have also been on strike, and firefighters have voted for future strike action. Average pay excluding bonuses rose by 2.7% in the public sector between August and October, as inflation rose above 10%. That compared with a 6.9% pay increase in the private sector, according to national statistics.

☆ Britain hit by biggest day of strikes in a decade as pay disputes escalate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The bill would require basic service levels to be maintained in the fire, ambulance and rail sectors in the event of walkouts. Strikes will affect around 23,400 schools, about 85%, in England and Wales, with many closed fully or partially. According to the union, pay for experienced teachers has declined by 23% since 2010 once inflation is taken into account. In a sign that industrial unrest could escalate further, UK firefighters have voted to strike for the first time since 2003. The Fire Brigades Union has given the government until February 9 to make an improved pay offer.

☆ Factbox: Britain on strike: Which workers are walking out on Feb. 1 and Feb. 6?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Healthcare workers are also taking coordinated action on Feb. 6 for the first time, in what is set to be the biggest day of action in Britain's state-funded National Health Service. TEACHERSTeachers from the National Education Union in England and Wales will take the first of several days of strike action, impacting 23,400 schools. GOVERNMENT STAFFMore than 100,000 workers from the PCS union in government departments and public bodies will take part in a one-day strike. The GMB said more than 10,000 ambulance workers in England and Wales, including paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers, will strike on Feb. 6, Feb. 20, March 6 and March 20. Unite said ambulance workers in England would walk out on Feb. 6, Feb. 17, Feb. 20, Feb. 22, Mar.

☆ Studying abroad can cost over $16,000 per semester—here's how students plan to pay for it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As a result, many students are turning to other options to pay for studying abroad — if they're available. The cost of studying abroad may be one of the biggest deciding factors in who gets to go. Black students made up just 4% of students who studied abroad in the 2020-21 school year. While the share of non-white students studying abroad increased by 10 percentage points between the 2010-11 and the 2020-21 academic years, white students still make up 68% of students studying abroad, according to the Institute for International Education. While white students and Black students take out loans at similar rates — 40% of white students use loans to pay for college compared with 50% of Black students, according to Education Data Initiative — Black students often have a harder time paying back their loans.

The National Education Union (NEU), which is organising the teachers' strikes, has asked for an above-inflation pay award funded fully by the government, so that schools can also cover other costs, from stationery to textbooks. With inflation reaching double digits last year, teachers have seen a 23% real-terms pay cut since 2010, the union says. Heighington, who teaches music, said more than a third of experienced full-time teachers and teaching staff had left his school last year. Educators say schools having to pay teachers' salaries from their own pocket has left classrooms starved of money for textbooks, IT upgrades and school trips. Reports say teachers at the elite Winchester College in southern England, where Sunak attended school and was a head boy, are among those striking on Wednesday.

SYDNEY, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australia is preparing for the arrival of thousands of Chinese students, the education minister said on Monday, days after China's education ministry warned students enrolled overseas that online learning would no longer be recognised. Tens of thousands remain offshore after pandemic restrictions and strained diplomatic relations led many to return home. Phil Honeywood, chief executive officer at International Education Association of Australia, an advocacy body for international education in Australia, said there were currently about 40,000 Chinese students still offshore. "We anticipate a lot of Chinese students will be scrambling as we speak to get on flights to Australia. The move by China's Ministry of Education has been met with anger from Chinese students.

During the pandemic, 300,000 public school teachers and staff left the profession, The Wall Street Journal reports. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Low annual fee for investment accounts; crypto trust investments available Check mark icon A check mark. Tax-loss harvesting Check mark icon A check mark. Mobile app and investing and retirement tools Check mark icon A check mark.

☆ France hit by nationwide strike as unions fight Macron’s plan to raise retirement age
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

French workers would have to work longer before receiving a pension under the new rules — with the nominal retirement age rising from 62 to 64. Many French workers expressed mixed feeling about the government’s plan and pointed to the complexity of the pension system. For those who do not fulfil that condition, like many women who interrupted their career to raise their children or those who studied for a long time and started working late, the retirement age would remain unchanged at 67. Those who started to work early, under the age of 20, and workers with major health issues would be allowed early retirement. Protracted strikes met Macron’s last effort to raise the retirement age in 2019.

☆ Strikes in Britain set to intensify as teacher ballot results due
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( William James | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Rail workers that are members of the ASLEF union stand at a picket line outside Euston station while on strike, in London, Britain, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Strikes disrupting swathes of the British economy look likely to intensify this week, with teachers ready to announce industrial action, according to the Sunday Times, and nurses warning their strikes could double in size next month. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government, which sets pay levels in the publicly-funded health and education services, is already dealing with strikes in rail and other industries as wages increases fall behind rapidly rising prices. Last week, a strike ballot by a different teachers' union fell short of the required turnout threshold. Transport minister Mark Harper told Sky News on Sunday that any decision to strike by teachers would be regrettable.

☆ Israel’s Netanyahu says he has formed new government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

JERUSALEM — Designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Wednesday that he has successfully formed a new coalition, setting the stage for him to return to power as head of the most right-wing Israeli government ever. Netanyahu made the announcement in a phone call to President Isaac Herzog moments before a midnight deadline. His Likud Party released a brief video clip of the smiling Netanyahu and a recording of the conversation. Nonetheless, Netanyahu said he intends to complete the process “as soon as possible next week” A date for its swearing-in wasn’t immediately announced. Likud lawmakers have been competing for a shrinking collection of assignments after Netanyahu gave away many plumb jobs to his governing partners.

Search resuls for: "National Education"

25 mentions found