Saturday, November 20, 2010

Should schools pay poor kids to do well? - Pagar jovens para bons resultados escolares?


“Paying  kids to do well in school gets low marks from many experts.But hiring them as paid mentors or to assist in local research projects — essentially giving them a school-based, part-time job so they can help out their families — is worth exploring, they say.“Paying for grades, it’s something that just sounds like a bribe,” said Jeff Kugler, executive director of the Centre for Urban Schooling at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.“I think that if it’s part of a project or process they’re involved in with the school, or if they’re mentoring another kid in the building, that’s work, and people do that for money anyway.”
Chris Spence, director of education for the Toronto District School Board, recently floated the idea of giving needy kids cash for doing well in school.He’s created an anti-poverty task force to look at a variety of options to help at-risk youth. Spence has also suggested paying parents for things like getting a library card. But the success of such programs has been limited. In New York, a three-year pilot that gave parents money to take their children to the dentist or paid children for good attendance — up to $50 a month — saw no improvements in grades or attendance. High school students who were already doing well did better on standardized tests and earned more credits, but those who were falling behind saw no gains. Philip Oreopoulos, a University of Toronto economics professor currently teaching at Harvard University, conducted research on incentives for post-secondary students at a Canadian university.
One group was offered a scholarship worth anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 if they earned certain grades; another group received academic support, course review sessions and mentoring; another group received both, and the final group, none.
“The results were coming from the women,” he said. “The men did not respond to any of the initiatives.” More at: http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/article/892697--should-schools-pay-poor-kids-to-do-well

Kristin Rushowy
EDUCATION REPORTER
Parentalcentral.ca


Devem as escolas pagar aos estudantes despriviligiados?

Pagar crianças pobres para se esforçarem e terem boas notas é uma ideia que não tem recebido apoio dos especialistas na área do ensino.

Porem, contratar estudantes como mentores que serão pagos para ajudarem outros alunos em projectos de pesquisa – dando-lhes essencialmente um programa escolar baseado num trabalho em part-time para que com o dinheiro ganho possam ajudar as suas famílias - é uma ideia que vale a pena explorar
           
 "Compensar os jovens para que tenham boas notas incentivando o empenho na qualidade e nas suas capacidades, é subornar um individuo ", defende a propósito Jeff Kugler, diretor-executivo do Centro Urbano de Escolaridade no Instituto de Estudos em Educação da Universidade de Toronto.
"Acho que se houver um programa misto que seja parte de um projecto ou no qual os estudantes estejam envolvidas com a escola, ou onde eles desempenhem algum trabalho tutório ajudando outra criança concordo e é um trabalho, que as  pessoas já fazem por dinheiro. "

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

BUILDING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES with the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

An informative seminar to learn about how to access exciting business opportunities with the To­ronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games will take place in Toronto in partnership with FPCBP.
“Meet the decision-makers of the Pan/Parapan American Games. Discover how the Pan/Parapan Games work. Learn about the Pan Am Village.
The 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games is an extraordinary sports celebration that is expected to attract 10,000 athletes and officials from 42 countries and 250,000 tourists. The Games will generate more than 15,000 jobs, bring improved and new sports facilities to the region and leave an important sport, culture and economic legacy.
The keynote Speaker, Mr. Ian Troop, CEO for the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games will highlight the Pan Am Games’ vision for the Games as a catalyst for business opportunities. Mr. Troop will be joined by Antonio de Santiago, Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Ontario and Paul Saunders, President, MERX Networks Inc. (MERX is Canada’s leading electronic tendering service).
The Games will bring significant opportunities for a wide range of businesses within Toronto and the GTA in­cluding: Construction, Media & Communications, Restaurants & Catering, Advertising, Travel, Real Estate, Land­scaping, Florists, Transportation, as well as many other services and products.
The speakers will provide valuable information and outline business opportunities leading up to and during the Pan Am Games as well as information on the procurement process for the Games and other opportunities.
For more information, visit the Toronto 2015 website: http://www.toronto2015.org/

Sunday, November 7, 2010

FOOD for your eyes and palate - Comida para os olhos e boca!

Food is love! Food is friendship. Food is heritage. Food is life and a wonderful way to enjoy family, friends. It also gives us time to relax and enjoy privacy in our kitchens - away from the constraints of the world - enhanced by a nice glass of wine.




Food is often a sensual ingredient in our lives. I enjoy cooking and love to get into traditional recipes and give them a twist of my own. Here are 2 pics of my very own red been soup with kale, squash, patato and some pork.
Enjoy!!! 

 

Kids celebrate soccer with families

Portuguese cultural clubs are eager to tract young members. Many mistakes were done by not giving youth and women  place in the decision making process.

The results  now: young people don't come to the clubs and associations.



But it seems that the trend is changing. Lots of young people at Futebol Clube do Porto in Toronto yesterday for the celebration os another anniversary.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

"illegaly blonde" a young luso-canadian journey

Imagine being an immigrant parent who worked hard to give the best to their kids and one day is informed by authorities that she or he has to abandon the country they came to in search for a new life to give their kids.

Imagine a teen being told that he or she has to follow their immigrant parents and begin a new life in a place that says nothing to them, taken from friends and school.

This is a reality we are all well aware of. Stories of kids and weeping parents making headlines in the media.
Nelsa Roberto, a luso-canadian writer from Toronto took the challenge to tell the story of a young girl whose family is deported to Portugal.

"illegaly blonde" is a journey every luso-canadian kid and family should acknowledge, because..."
Sometimes discovering your roots is about more than watching your real hair colour grow in ? When seventeen-year-old Lucy do Amaral comes home with bleached blonde hair she expects a major lecture and another grounding from her strict Portuguese parents. What she doesn't expect is the shocking news that her family are illegal aliens who've just been told they're being deported in less than a week. Lucy's furious at being forced to leave her boyfriend and miss prom to go live in some backwater village in a country she knows nothing about. But as Lucy discovers, intentions and reality are sometimes worlds apart -- or an ocean away..."

"illegaly blonde" published by Winnipeg Free Press is available Online. Stay tunned. More on the book and its author soon!