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Messages - Farhana Helal Mehtab

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1
Teaching and Learning / 4 Classic and Timeless Novels About Teachers
« on: August 27, 2018, 11:25:36 AM »

I would like to introduce here the "Classic and Timeless Novels About Teachers" that I read this morning. Simply amazing. After reading the summary, I have understood that all these novels about teachers did not focus exclusively on teaching, but each attributes a teacher as the well founded central character.

They are:

1. To Sir With Love by E.R. Braithwaite

This novel about teachers is set in 1945. The central character is Ricky, a man born in British Guyana, living in London, and barred by racism from the engineering jobs he’s qualified for. He takes the only position he can find, as a teacher in the rough East End. His students are unmotivated, contemptuous of education, barely literate, and determined to drive their black teacher from the classroom.

But Ricky’s a Royal Air Force veteran. And he didn’t survive the Germans to be defeated by a bunch of teenagers. He decides to treat them as adults, allowing them to choose their course of study, while insisting they treat him and each other with respect. Veteran teachers may raise a skeptical eyebrow at the quick success of Ricky’s plan. But for those who simply want a good read, the turnaround story of these tough students is as satisfying as it is entertaining.


2. The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy


Classic Teacher Books

In this memoir, Conroy is “Conrack,” a young teacher on Yamacraw, an isolated fishing island off the coast of South Carolina, who discovers that the local children have been essentially abandoned by the white authorities on the mainland.

The students have been deemed “unteachable.” They can barely read or write, know nothing of life off the island, and live in fear of corporal punishment. But they are also steeped in their rich Geechee culture and have as much to teach as they do to learn.

Conrack becomes determined to open the world to them. He introduces them to classical music, brings in guest speakers, and takes field trips to the mainland. Still relevant today, The Water is Wide is a celebration of resilience—both of a new teacher and of a community struggling against racism and poverty and to maintain a cherished way of life.

3. Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

An idealistic young English teacher just out of college, an overcrowded and underfunded New York City School—what could go wrong?

Kaufman’s funny, touching (and bestselling) novel about teachers is written as a series of inter-office memos, letters, and handouts. We meet the denizens of grim Calvin Coolidge High—young Miss Barrett, her wry colleagues, and the students they teach.

Kaufman’s story hits home with a young teacher’s struggle to adjust. And her portrayal of the conflict between innovating teachers and administrators obsessed with arcane regulations is also poignant. Will they ever get to go up the down stairs?

4. Christy by Catherine Marshall

If you like your fiction historical, with long skirts, horses, buggies, and one-room schoolhouses, this one is for you.

In 1912, idealistic, opinionated Christy leaves her comfortable city home to teach in the Appalachian mountain “hollers” of North Carolina. For Christy, it’s like stepping back in time. The mountain community is prone to feuding, impoverished, mostly illiterate, and superstitious to a fault.

Gradually, Christy comes to understand their pride and to appreciate the Scottish cultural traditions that their isolated existence has preserved.

In this novel about teachers, Christy is a spunky, relatable protagonist. She is dismayed at the high rates of local disease and death, and determined to help. Toss in a love triangle, a gifted student determined to see the world, and a wise mentor, and you’ve got yourself an absorbing summer read.

 source:  Posted by Kate Haas on the page "We are Teachers".
(Kate Haas is a teacher, writer, and former Peace Corps volunteer. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe Magazine, and other venues. She lives in Portland, Ore.)


2
Law / International Woman's Day 2016 on March 8, 2016
« on: March 07, 2016, 03:14:22 PM »
Respected all,
Department of Law, Daffodil International University warmly invites you to a special program on the International Woman's Day 2016  on March 8, 2016 at Banquet Hall, DT-5, at 10:30 AM.

The Chief Guest of this program will be  Dr. Aminul Islam, Professor Emeritus, Daffodil International University and the Guest of Honor will be  Advocate Sanaiyya Ansari, Gender Specialist & Regional Council Member, Asia Pacific Forum on Woman, Law and Development.

The theme of this program is  “Let’s Help Girls Achieve Their Ambitions”.

The theme color of the International Woman's Day is purple.
Female faculty members and female students are advised  to wear the theme color, if possible.


Head, Dept of Law



3
Law / Seminar on Human Rights Day "Women's Rights Are Human Rights"
« on: December 07, 2015, 02:02:46 PM »
Women's Rights Are Human Rights

Every year Department of Law, Daffodil International University celebrates the International Human Rights Day. Following the tradition, the department will celebrate the day on December 10, 2015 in the Banquet Hall, DT 5. This year the theme will be “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights”.  With this event Department will declare the closing of the two weeks Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign which was declared by the Ministry of Education, Government of the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh.  Advocate Hasina Rashid, General Secretary, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Associations (BNWLA) has given her kind consent to be the Guest of Honour.

All the female faculty members and the female students are cordially welcome to attend the program at 3:00 PM at Banquet Hall, DT 5 on December 10, 2015.
Daffodil believes in Women Empowerment. It’s the day of “Women”! 
Let’s enjoy the Human Rights Day program “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” by being a woman.

Dress code: Orange color Saree or Salwar Kamiz.


 
Farhana Helal Mehtab,
Associate Professor & Head
Department of Law, Daffodil International University

4
Law / Feeling for the last working place...
« on: July 14, 2015, 01:56:46 PM »
Just saw a face book status given by the former faculty of Law Department, DIU. At present he is working as a faculty member of Department of Law, Chittagong University. I am really touched by his feeling. Feeling good to share it with the people of Forum

Feeling for the last working place...


I worked in Daffodil International University (DIU) as a 'Senior Lecturer' in the Department of Law for a very short period of 2 months only. But it was an amazing working experience I availed there during the stay. It's the full-fledged digital and one of the best techno-based Universities of the country with distinguishing marks of excellence in terms of teaching-learning environment, online learning feedback system, E-library resources, accredited journals and research opportunities, finely multimedia equipped class rooms, cross-cultural students from home and abroad and what's not!

BUT the best part of working in DIU Law Department as an employee is certainly it's Departmental Head of Law- reverend Farhana Helal Mehtab Ma'am and a very congenial office-environment under her wonderful supervision. She is simply the best- most caring, motherly and inspiring Head of the Department that one employee must always cherish to work under. DIU is like a family and the members always feel the difference. I always miss DIU family.

Now DIU is inviting applications for new faculty members. Interested applicants may grab the opportunity and go for it! You'll definitely explore a new horizon..! Best wishes.
সাঈদ আহসান খালিদ


6
Law / school reunion between a judge and a burglary suspect
« on: July 06, 2015, 12:43:01 PM »
This post is specially for the Daffodil International University Law Alumni (DIULA).

The Judge is an exceptional lady, a truly admirable woman. She remembered him as a nice kid. She did it with an intention that it might help him to change his life, though she knew she could not save him. Holding such a position, she didn't have to mention it in the first place; she did it to give him a hope.  This man will not remain in prison forever and she knows that. Those words will save him. Hope always inspires us.


A Miami-Dade courtroom was the location of an unlikely school reunion between a judge and a burglary suspect


Quote

"While most school reunions are held in hotel ballrooms or local gymnasiums, a recent South Florida get-together occurred, in of all places, a courtroom. As Miami-Dade County Judge Mindy Glazer was presiding over bond court Tuesday, she looked up and noticed a very familiar face standing before her. The suspect in front of the bench was Arthur Booth, a classmate of Glazer's at Nautilus Middle School.

Glazer asked if Booth, who is facing numerous charges including burglary and grand theft, had attended the school.

"Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Booth before beginning to cry.

Glazer said that Booth was the nicest and best kid in school.

"I used to play football with him, all the kids, and look what has happened," Glazer said. "I'm so sorry to see this."

Booth's cousin, Melissa Miller, said he had potential to do great things in his life. She believed that he felt a sense of shame and remorse when he saw Glazer.

"It just brought back memories of how smart he was," Miller said. "He was a scholar, well-rounded athlete, bilingual."

But instead of going to college, Miller said, Booth went on another path of crime and drugs. She said the cycle of incarceration and on-and-off drug use was vicious.

Miller said despite his criminal record, Booth is a good person and a loving father and grandfather.

"I was heartbroken. I mean, it just broke my heart," she said. "We're really trying to find help because there's obviously a need for help."

As Booth continued to cry, Glazer continued to wish him well in turning his life around.

"Good luck to you, sir," Glazer told Booth. "I hope you're able to come out of this OK and just lead a lawful life." "
Unquote

source: http://m.local10.com/news/courtroom-school-reunion-between-judge-suspect/33963678

7
Law / Re: Agony of Teaching and Learning Law in Bangladesh
« on: May 07, 2015, 11:41:38 AM »
I always enjoy the write ups of Rokeya. She writes from the bottom of her heart.

Thanks Ferdousi for sharing this article.

8
Be a Leader / An Amazing Article for the Bold Bosses ……
« on: May 07, 2015, 11:37:44 AM »
An Amazing Article for the Bold Bosses ……

Most of the time my morning starts with reading different motivational write ups. Little strange to listen that I start with different articles, then I read the news paper! Today, I read the write up of Emma Seppala, a research psychologist and the Associate Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. “The Hard Data on Being a Nice Boss” …… being the Head of a Departemnt, I really enjoyed her Article.

I am sharing it in Forum under CDC, “Be a Leader” section, with a hope that if anyone read it out certainly will be benefited. Enjoy the read,


The Hard Data on Being a Nice Boss


There’s an age-old question out there: Is it better to be a “nice” leader to get your staff to like you? Or to be tough as nails to inspire respect and hard work? Despite the recent enthusiasm for wellness initiatives like mindfulness and meditation at the office, and despite the movement toward more horizontal organizational charts, most people still assume the latter is best.

The traditional paradigm just seems safer: be firm and a little distant from your employees. The people who work for you should respect you, but not feel so familiar with you that they might forget who’s in charge. A little dog-eat-dog, tough-it-out, sink-or-swim culture seems to yield time-tested results and keep people hungry and on their toes. After all, if you’re a leader who seems like you care a little too much about your employees, won’t that make you look “soft”? Won’t that mean you will be less respected? That employees will work less hard?

New developments in organizational research are providing some surprising answers to these questions.

“Tough” managers often mistakenly think that putting pressure on employees will increase performance. What it does increase is stress—and research has shown that high levels of stress carry a number of costs to employers and employees alike.

Stress brings high health care and turnover costs. In a study of employees from various organizations, health care expenditures for employees with high levels of stress were 46 percent greater than at similar organizations without high levels of stress. In particular, workplace stress has been linked to coronary heart disease in both retrospective (observing past patterns) and prospective (predicting future patterns) studies. Then there’s the impact on turnover: research shows that workplace stress can lead them to look for a new job, decline a promotion, or leave a job.

Is it any better with “nice” managers? Do their employees fare better — and do kind bosses get ahead?

Contrary to what many believe, Adam Grant’s data shows that nice guys (and gals!) can actually finish first, as long as they use the right strategies that prevent others from taking advantage of them.In fact, other research has shown that acts of altruism actually increase someone’s status within a group.

Harvard Business School’s Amy Cuddy and her research partners have also shown that leaders who project warmth – even before establishing their competence – are more effective than those who lead with their toughness and skill. Why? One reason is trust. Employees feel greater trust with someone who is kind.

And an interesting study shows that when leaders are fair to the members of their team, the team members display more citizenship behavior and are more productive, both individually and as a team. Jonathan Haidt at New York University Stern School of Business shows in his research that when leaders are self-sacrificing, their employees experience being moved and inspired. As a consequence, the employees feel more loyal and committed and are more likely to go out of their way to be helpful and friendly to other employees. Research on “paying it forward” shows that when you work with people who help you, in turn you will be more likely to help others (and not necessarily just those who helped you).

Such a culture can even help mitigate stress. While our brains are attuned to threats (whether the threat is a raging lion or a raging boss), our brain’s stress reactivity is significantly reduced when we observe kind behavior. As brain-imaging studies show, when our social relationships with others feel safe, our brain’s stress response is attenuated. There’s also a physical effect. Whereas a lack of bonding within the workplace has been shown to increase psychological distress, positive social interactions at work have been shown to boost employee health—for example, by lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and by strengthening the immune system. In fact, a study out of the Karolinska Institute conducted on over 3,000 employees found that a leader’s qualities were associated with incidence of heart disease in their employees. A good boss may literally be good for the heart.

In fact, what may come as a surprise to many HR directors, employees prefer happiness to high pay, as Gallup’s 2013 Workplace Poll shows. In turn, happier employees make not only for a more congenial workplace, but also for improved collegiality and customer service. A large healthcare study showed that a kind culture at work not only improved employee well-being and productivity but also improved client health outcomes and satisfaction.

Taken together, this body of research shows that creating a leadership model of trust and mutual cooperation may help create a culture that is happier, in which employees help each other, and (as a consequence) become more productive in the long run. No wonder their nice bosses get promoted.

But what constitutes a compassionate leadership style and workplace exactly? That is a trickier question. Many companies try to offer well-being “perks” such as the ability to work from home or receive extra benefits. A Gallup poll showed that, even when the workplace offered benefits such as flextime and work-from-home opportunities, engagement predicted well-being above and beyond anything else. And most of the research suggests that a compassionate workplace fosters engagement not so much through material goods as through the qualities of the organizations’ leaders, such as a sincere commitment to values and ethics, genuine interpersonal kindness, and self-sacrifice.

What is clear is that we’re going to have to start valuing kindness at work more. One depressing study out of Notre Dame suggests that for men, the more agreeable they are, the lower their pay rate. Because agreeableness does not impact women’s salary, the researchers theorize that when we don’t conform to gender norms, we’re punished. The answer is not for men to be cruel, but for us all to help change the norms. With a little skill, there are ways to be agreeable while not being a pushover or a softy. And then maybe we’ll all be a little bit happier at work.
by Emma Seppälä
link: https://hbr.org/2014/11/the-hard-data-on-being-a-nice-boss

Farhana Helal Mehtab
Head, Dept of Law

9
The above post is my personal feelings for my students. I feel like posting it here for the name of the head "success"! Whoever will read this, please keep my students in your prayer so that they achieve their success in the exam of Bar Council.  I believe,  they will be the Advocates with ethics & values. May Almighty grant my prayer. Ameen.


10
আইন বিভাগের ছাত্রদের বার কাউন্সিলের পরীক্ষা এবং আমার অনুভূতি...

সকাল থেকেই আজ নীরবপুরী অফিসে বসে আছি। আজ থেকে শুরু হয়েছে শিক্ষকদের সেমিস্টার ব্রেক। হেডদের যেহেতু সেমিস্টার ব্রেক নেই, তাই অফিসে বসে আসন্ন সেমিস্টারের প্ল্যান করছি। চা- বিরতিতে একটু খারাপ লেগেছে কেননা হাসান ভাই ও ছুটিতে ... এক কাপ চা খেতে পারলে ভালো হতো। প্রতি সেমিস্টার শেষেই এমন কিছু একাকী সময় কাটাতে হয় কিন্তু কী আশ্চর্য আমার আইনের ছেলেমেয়েগুলোর জন্য যখন কাজ করতে থাকি তখন একাকীত্বটা একেবারেই টের পাই না ... মনে হয় ওরা আমার চারপাশ ঘিরে আছে।

প্রিয় সন্তানেরা আমার,
প্রকৃতার্থে তোমাদের সাফল্যই আমাকে উদীপ্ত করে, তোমাদের ব্যর্থতা আমাকে বেদনার্ত করে। সকল মায়ের অনুভূতি একই রকম। ছোট্ট একটা উদাহরণ দেই... ৪/৫ দিন আগের ঘটনা। একটা ব্যপারে মনটা খুব খারাপ ছিল ... তার কিছুক্ষণ পর তোমাদের প্রিলিমিনারির রেজাল্ট শুনলাম। আশ্চর্য এক অনুভূতি ... মনটা প্রশান্তিতে ভরে গেল। শুকরিয়া জানালাম সৃষ্টিকর্তাকে । একে একে সবার মুখ মনে পড়ল Mahfuz Ur Rahman, Zahidur Rahaman Rajib, Shahriar Hossain. Ahsan Shajib, Nesar Jahid, Sobnom Khandoker, Mohiuddin Apu, Remy Luna ....
আমি ফেসবুক থেকে প্রায় মাস দেড়েক অনুপস্থিত ... একাঊণ্টটা এক্টীভ আর আমি প্যসিভ ... আজ বসে তোমাদের নিয়ে Shahadat এর স্ট্যাটাসটা পড়লাম, ভাল লাগলো। তোমাদের এই পরীক্ষাটির ফর্ম নেয়া থেকে রেজাল্ট পর্যন্ত কী এক দুশ্চিন্তায় ছিলাম তার একমাত্র নীরব সাক্ষী সে। বার কাউন্সিলের বিবিধ নিয়ম প্রয়োগে ল’ গ্রাজুয়েটদের নাম লিস্টে পাঠানো ছিল এক মহাযুদ্ধ! সেই যুদ্ধে জয়ী হয়েই অপেক্ষা করেছিলাম এই দিনটির জন্য। এখন শুরু হল আরেকটি অপেক্ষার প্রহর। আমার এই সন্তানগুলো ফাইনালে উত্তীর্ণ হয়ে যেদিন বলবে, “আমি জিতলে জিতে যায় মা” ... সেই বিশেষ দিনটির অপেক্ষায় আছি ।

তোমাদের সবার জন্য আমার দোয়া আর শুভকামনা ।

Farhana Helal Mehtab
Head, Dept of Law

11
So true. Thanks for pointing the cruel fact.

12
Law / Re: Deprived children in the development centers
« on: April 27, 2015, 01:50:33 PM »
Worth sharing. But Ferdousi, its better to provide the link.

Dr Nahid Ferdousi, classmate & friend (16th Batch, Dept of Law, DU), is a good researcher. She has extensive work on Juvenile Justice System of Bangladesh.

13
আগামী কাল (২৮/০৪/২০১৫) আমাদের সেই বহুল আকাঙ্ক্ষিত নির্বাচন । নির্বাচন প্রাক্কালে দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক পত্রিকায়  প্রকাশিত  লেখার  লিঙ্কটি ফোরামে পোষ্ট করলাম ।

আমরা নারী ও শিশুবান্ধব ঢাকা (ও অন্যান্য) শহর চাই। আমাদের অপরাধী মনে হয় যখন দেখি শিশুদের খেলার মাঠ নেই, ছোটাছুটি করার জন্য ‘ওপেন স্পেস’ নেই, সুস্থ বিনোদনের ব্যবস্থা নেই। ইট-কাঠের দেয়ালের মধ্যে থেকে নানারকম কার্টুন (কার্টুন দেখলে সমস্যা নেই, কিন্তু সারাক্ষণ কার্টুন দেখলে চোখের যেমন ক্ষতি হয়, মানসিক স্বাস্থ্যের জন্যও সেটি ভালো নয়), ‘হরর ফিল্ম’ ও ‘ভায়োলেন্ট মুভি’ দেখে দেখে আমাদের বাচ্চারা বড় হচ্ছে। শিশুদের শারীরিক ও মানসিক স্বাস্থ্যের বিকাশের জন্য তাদের পার্কে নিয়ে যেতে হবে, পানির মধ্যে লুটোপুটি করতে দিতে হবে, সবুজ ঘাসের ওপর বসে সূর্যোদয় ও সূর্যাস্ত দেখাতে হবে, অরণ্যের অন্ধকারে বসে আকাশের চাঁদ ও নক্ষত্র দেখাতে হবে …..

সিটি নির্বাচনঃ নগরগুলো হোক নারী ও শিশুবান্ধব ...

http://www.ittefaq.com.bd/print-edition/drishtikon/2015/04/27/45670.html

Farhana Helal Mehtab
Head, Dept of Law

 

14
Law / Workshop: Spring Semester 2015
« on: April 12, 2015, 01:56:47 PM »
Dear Law Students,
Here is the official banner of the Spring Semester 2015 Workshop on Human Rights. Hope you will be there on time.

Thanks,
Head, Dept of Law


15
Law / Re: On violence during hartal
« on: April 12, 2015, 01:30:22 PM »
On behalf of Dept of Law, I welcome you in our Forum.

Dear Rasel, I appreciate you posts in the forum. Hope to read them in my leisure periods (wish I will get leisure time).

By the way, answering you here, I mean in this post since I saw the hartal violence this morning. No, today was not the hartal day ..... still  we observed the violence on the road in front of our campus. It was 9:00 AM (approximately), I was with batch 12,  law students .... sending them for court visit program. Just few yards away from us some cocktails burst one after another with huge sound! All of a sudden, entire situation just changed. People became so panic! At 9:15 rest of the cocktails were collected by the police force. While stepping into my office room, I was thinking, for some of the people how unsecured  our life is!

May Allah keep us safe. Ameen.

(Readers are requested not to make any political comments here.)

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