Why should teachers use technology in their classes?

Why should teachers use technology in

 their classes?

Teacher Hala Arraby observed that her students were more interested in learning English when she used technology. Photo by Yong Xin / Creative Commons

This week, the UK and Israel agreed to work together on a project to train Israeli teachers. We asked Israeli teacher Hala Arraby, who took part in our Routes to Excellence teacher training programme, how it works and why teachers should develop their digital literacy.

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Why should teachers use technology in their classes?

As a young English language teacher, I recognise how important it is to use technology in my classes. My students need to be able to interact in English in a digital world, and they are more likely to be engaged in classes where they use 21st century tools.

I started out with the basics – YouTube and an interactive whiteboard. At first, it was quite tough to integrate technology into the more traditional style of teaching that is common in Israel. It’s typical here for classes to be less interactive, with learners answering closed questions and completing worksheets, and most tasks being assessed through summative tests.

To my surprise, my students’ reactions to using technology were good – they were more interested in learning English than before. For many of them, English is their second foreign language, and not an easy one either.

Teachers need to learn, too

I was approached by my English inspector and asked if I would be interested in becoming an accredited British Council teacher trainer for the Ministry of Education in Israel. I jumped at the opportunity to learn new techniques and develop professionally.

In July, I took part in a training course on how teachers could use technology better. This course is a part of ‘Routes to Excellence’, a teacher training and development programme run by the British Council and the Ministry of Education in Israel. It emphasises teaching before technology. To make the transition from teacher to teacher trainer, I learned how to motivate teachers and students, make more effective observations, give peer feedback and encourage students to communicate.

The British Council uses the latest English language teaching pedagogy, which encourages students to be actively involved in how they learn. They taught us to focus on group work using  interactive online learning tools such as linoit and tricider to encourage ideas and discussion.

One of the most significant parts of the training was getting feedback on our teaching. We were put into pairs and asked to prepare a mini-lesson, which we then delivered to the wider group. We received feedback on this lesson from the British Council trainers and from our peers. This was challenging, but extremely helpful. Observation does not happen nearly enough, and is vital for developing as a teacher and a teacher trainer.

How to train other teachers to be technologically savvy

The training provided me with confidence to become a teacher trainer, and train teachers who have more experience than I do. Of course, it also improved my own classroom teaching. Teaching other teachers how to use technology is not always easy. Not all participating teachers have computers in their houses, making it difficult for them to access the websites and to learn to use online tools effectively. Many teachers in Israel lack experience in learning technology. This course was particularly helpful as it offered a combination of teaching theory and practice, as opposed to other courses that are more theoretical in nature.

Now I train teachers how to use technology in their English lessons. I teach them how to create and work with wikis, blogs, Voki and VoiceThread, which they can use during lessons. We discuss the importance of digital literacy, cyber wellbeing, evaluating websites, mobile learning, using office software and social networking in the classroom.

The approach encourages teachers to reflect before, during and after a lesson on whether they’ve achieved what they wanted to, whether learners are engaged and what needs to change. This is something I try to impress upon all of the teachers who take part in my course.

The teachers that I train say that their students really enjoy surfing the web for specific information, posting grammatically correct passages, checking, commenting and collaborating with each other through online audio and writing tools. Technology and teaching are two parts of one body. They complete each other and ensure that students have the best experience when learning English.

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The Routes to Excellence programme is now supported by a ‘memorandum of understanding’ between the UK and Israel, and will reach most English teachers in Israel – including teachers in the Druze, Bedouin and other Arab communities – and more than a million pupils over five years.

Read more: The benefits of new technology in language learning or how English teachers can use pictures or e-books in the classroom.

کامیابی کا راز: ناکامی سے نمٹنا سیکھیے

سال رواں کے لیے نوبل انعام کے حقدار قرار پانے والے سائنسدانوں میں سے ایک جیمز روتھمین نے کہا ہے کہ کامیابی کا راز اس بات میں پوشیدہ ہے کہ انسان یہ سیکھ لے کہ اسے اپنی ناکامی سے کس طرح نمٹنا ہے۔

جیمز روتھمین

امریکا سے تعلق رکھنے والے جیمز روتھمین کو ان کے ہموطن محقق رینڈی شَیکمین اور جرمن نژاد امریکی ماہر تھوماس زُوڈہوف کے ہمراہ مشترکہ طور پر اس سال کے نوبل انعام برائے طب کا حقدار ٹھہرایا گیا تھا۔ سٹاک ہوم سے ملنے والی رپورٹوں میں خبر ایجنسی ایسوسی ایٹڈ پریس نے بتایا ہے کہ روتھمین نے جمعے کی رات سویڈن کے دارالحکومت میں طلبا اور صحافیوں سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ سائنسی تحقیق کا مطلب تقریباﹰ ہمیشہ ہی یہ ہوتا ہے کہ انسان اپنے خواہش کردہ نتائج حاصل کرنے میں ناکام رہتا ہے۔

2013ء کے نوبل میڈٰیسن انعام کے حقدار تینوں سائنسدان

تاہم اس امریکی سائنسدان نے زور دے کر کہا کہ کسی بھی فرد کے لیے اور کسی بھی کام میں کامیابی کی کنجی یہ ہے کہ انسان یہ سیکھ لے کہ اسے اپنی ناکامی سے کس طرح نمٹنا ہے یا ناکامی کی صورت میں اس کا رویہ کیسا ہونا چاہیے۔

جیمز روتھمین کے مطابق کسی عظیم سائنسدان اور کسی بدقسمت سائنسدان کے درمیان زیادہ فرق نہیں ہوتا۔ انہوں نے کہا، ’’ایک عظیم سائنسدان بھی اپنے کام میں 99 فیصد کوششوں میں ناکام رہتا ہے جبکہ ایک بدقسمت سائنسدان اپنی 99.9 فیصد کوششوں میں ناکام رہتا ہے۔‘‘

اپنے تعلیمی کیریئر کی مثال دیتے ہوئے 63 سالہ روتھمین نے کہا کہ وہ نیورو سائنس کی تعلیم حاصل کرنا چاہتے تھے لیکن ہارورڈ یونیورسٹی نے ان کا نیورو سائنس میں داخلہ مسترد کر دیا تھا۔ اس پر انہوں نے بائیو کیمسٹری میں تعلیم حاصل کرنا شروع کر دی۔ جیمز روتھمین کے بقول، ‘‘اس کا نتیجہ یہ نکلا کہ میں ایک کافی اچھا بائیو کیمیسٹ بن گیا۔‘‘

یہ تینوں سائنسدان آئندہ منگل کے روز سٹاک ہوم میں دیگر بہت سے ماہرین کے ساتھ مل کر ایک شاندار تقریب میں اپنے انعام وصول کریں گے۔ انہیں مشترکہ طور پر 1.2 ملین ڈالر کے برابر رقم بھی انعام کے طور پر دی جائے گی، جس کی وجہ ان کی طرف سے اس بارے میں کی جانے والی تحقیق بنی کہ کلیدی نوعیت کے حامل مختلف مادوں کی خلیوں کے اندر نقل و حمل کس طرح عمل میں آتی ہے۔

جرمن نژاد امریکی ماہر تھوماس زُوڈہوف

امسالہ نوبل میڈیسن پرائز کے حقدار ٹھہرائے جانے والوں میں سے روتھمین کی عمر 63، شَیکمین کی 64 جبکہ زُوڈہوف کی عمر 57 برس ہے۔ ان ماہرین نے سٹاک ہوم میں طلبا اور صحافیوں سے اپنے خطاب میں اپنی اپنی انفرادی زندگی کی کچھ باتیں اور اہم تجربات بھی بیان کیے۔

شَیکمین نے کہا کہ ان کی سائنسی علوم میں دلچسپی لڑکپن میں ہی شروع ہو گئی تھی اور وہ ہائی اسکول کے دنوں میں اپنی کھلونا خوردبین کے ذریعے ایک جوہڑ میں پائے جانے والے کیچڑ کا مطالعہ کیا کرتے تھے۔ اس کے برعکس تھوماس زُوڈہوف نے کہا کہ ہائی اسکول کے دنوں میں ان کی سوچ یہ تھی کہ سائنس ’کافی بور کر دینے والی چیز ہے‘۔

The Task You've Been Putting Off Forever

You have a task that is not getting done.

In fact, it’s been on your to do list for a long time.

Days, months, …even years.

What is your forever task that’s not getting done?

The Task That Never Ever Gets Done

There is a task that has been on your list forever.

You probably don’t even recall when it was first added.

You have been avoiding it, ignoring it, and forever putting it off.

But, there it sits. Continually haunting your todo list.

At some point, it will catch up with you. Or in the case of some goals, you might run out of time to ever do it.

Yet, there it sits.

In plain sight on your todo list. Or maybe hiding out on your Someday-Maybe list.

Are you ever going to do it?

Here are a few reasons why you aren’t getting your forever task done:

• Putting It Off – Someday doesn’t get those tasks done. Set a hard deadline to get those “put off” tasks done.
• Don’t Want to Do It - You may be avoiding the task because you find it unpleasant or even boring. That’s not a valid excuse. You will have to do many things in life that you don’twant to do.
• Forgot About It – If you are forever forgetting a task, then you need to make it visible. Get it on your list. Put it where you can’t miss it. As well, don’t let it hide out on your “Someday” list.
• Ignoring the Consequences – Undone tasks create more work for you. As well, there are always consequences. The costs can be time, money, or missed opportunities.

Get That Forever Task Done

You don’t have to take on all of your “forever” tasks at once.

However, pick one and make plans (or an appointment) to get it done.

Someday isn’t a due date.

Do those forever tasks today.

Nelson Mandela’s Life and Times in Photographs

Nelson Mandela, the civil rights leader who rose from a small village in rural, apartheid-era South Africa to become the country's first black President, died on Thursday at age 95. Mandela's election in 1994 ended three centuries of European domination of indigenous African people of the region.

Mandela, pictured here in 2006, had been released from prison in 1990 after serving 27 years for his attempts to overthrow the white minority government in the 1960s. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and other honors for his leadership of the peaceful transition to democracy in South Africa.

When Mandela arrived at the Cape Town City Hall after his release, a crowd of 50,000 supporters had assembled to hear his first words in public in over a quarter century. "Our struggle has reached a decisive moment," he said, in an event broadcast around the world. "Our march to freedom is irreversible."

The lawyer and anti-apartheid activist had been convicted of treason and sabotage in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent most of his sentence on Robben Island, off Cape Town, doing hard labor. During the 1980s he refused many offers for early release from the government because of the conditions attached.

But on February 2, 1990, South African President F. W. de Klerk reversed the ban on the African National Congress (ANC) and other anti-apartheid organizations, announcing that Mandela would be released. It was the beginning of the opening up of apartheid-era South Africa, in which blacks faced severe discrimination.

In the first national elections in which blacks had the right to vote, the ANC won and Mandela became President. He remained in that office until 1999.

Nelson Mandela was born into a royal family of the Xhosa nation, one of the largest ethnic groups in South Africa. Xhosa young men, such as those in this photograph, undergo a rite of initiation that involves isolation from their families during which they receive instruction by elder men, followed by circumcision, which continues to be practiced in many parts of central and southern Africa. Initiates are thereafter considered to be adult men. Mandela recalled his initiation in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.

South Africa in Flames

In this September 15, 1990, photo, the burning body of a man identified as a Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party supporter is clubbed by followers of the rival African National Congress during factional violence in Soweto, South Africa.

In the run-up to the 1994 elections that brought Nelson Mandela to power, many South Africans were fearful about the rising violence, particularly between rival ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party factions. Aggression and bombings by white supremacists hoping to spark a race war to stave off black majority rule were also a concern.

Mandela campaigned indefatigably, appealing to people to throw their weapons into the sea, and demanding that the last white President, F. W. de Klerk, get tough on recalcitrant officers in the police and security forces.

Against all odds, the party of Nelson Mandela transformed a nation where just 20 years before black South Africans could not vote, and where public amenities like buses, trains, beaches, and restaurants were segregated racially. Following the electoral victory of the ANC, Mandela worked hard to defuse racial tensions by including Inkatha leaders in his Cabinet and reaching out to white right-wing leaders. Political violence simmered down.

Winnie Mandela

Winnie Mandela, wife of Nelson Mandela, raises a clenched fist after appearing at a Johannesburg magistrate's court in December 1986. Mrs. Mandela had been held by police in Soweto the previous day for defying an order banning her presence there.

She became a political leader in her own right during her husband's long stint in prison. But her leadership style and some of her associates made her a controversial figure, especially after a youth staying in her house was beaten to death in mysterious circumstances.

Mandela's Prison Cell

 in B-section in the political prisoners area) on Robben Island, off Cape Town. Conditions were spartan in the tiny cell; the bed was a mat on the floor. For years after he was released, even when he was President of South Africa, Mandela continued to make his own bed each morning, as he did in prison.

The Robben Island prison was where the South African government incarcerated its most high-profile political prisoners. Mail to and from the facility was screened and censored, and only occasional visitors were allowed. Mandela and others used communal lavatories and showers. They spent much of their day at hard labor, including breaking rocks in a lime quarry on the island, where the glare and dust caused damage to Mandela's eyes.

Robben Island's political prisoners organized themselves, negotiating for better conditions with the authorities and establishing their own rules of behavior among themselves. They also shared their education with one another. While in prison, Mandela secretly wrote much of his autobiography, which was smuggled out by released prisoners.

Mandela Released

With much of the world watching on television, Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie walk hand in hand and raise clenched fists upon his release from Victor prison, Cape Town, on Sunday, February 11, 1990.

Mandela Abroad

Nelson Mandela addressed a crowd of about 15,000 from the balcony of Amsterdam's city theater on June 16, 1990. On the left, seen from the back, is his wife Winnie. Then the deputy president of the African National Congress, Mandela was on a 13-nation, six-week Freedom Tour to thank international supporters of the anti-apartheid movement and appeal to the global community to maintain their sanctions against South Africa.

Mandela Visits His Prison Cell

On the fourth anniversary of his release, Nelson Mandela looks out the window of his former cell in Robben Island Prison. He was held as a political prisoner by the apartheid-based government from 1964 to 1990. The cell has been preserved and has become a popular destination for tourists.

South Africa’s First Multiracial National Election

Lines of people wait in the dawn light to vote in the election that resulted in Nelson Mandela's election as President of South Africa. The three-day voting period, April 26-29, 1994, marked the first time that adult South Africans of all races could vote for representatives to the national Parliament and provincial legislatures. The African National Congress won by a landslide, and April 27, Freedom Day, is now a public holiday.

Celebrating Mandela’s Election

South Africans partied through the night when the official results of the April 1994 election were released, after Mandela and other party leaders had spent hours behind closed doors reviewing allegations of fraud and other issues. But there was no doubting the result: More than 60 percent of the votes had been cast for the African National Congress, and Nelson Mandela was the President-elect of a new democratic South Africa.

Mandela in Retirement

In this 2007 photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela reacts as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, waves farewell after a meeting at theNelson Mandela Foundation building in Johannesburg.

Mandela continued to receive heads of state for years after he stepped down as South Africa's first post-apartheid president. In recent years he spent most of his time in seclusion with his family, occasionally appearing in public for a major national event. Mandela started ailing as he entered his nineties and was repeatedly admitted to hospital to treat a recurring lung infection.

6 Ways to Promote Your New Facebook Page

It’s time to get your page in front of people! In other (fancy marketing) words, it’s time to drive traffic to your page, increase engagement, and promote your business.

Remember, people want to connect with you. And sometimes they just need a gentle reminder. Here are six ways to help promote your Facebook Page…

1. Use the network you have

If someone has already joined your email list, they most likely would love to connect with you on Facebook too.

Send out an email to your contact list, inviting people to “Like” your business on Facebook. It’s easy to do with Constant Contact’s email templates.

Once people “Like” you on Facebook, you’ll automatically show up on their newsfeed and can begin engaging with them socially.

2. Help customers find you

Add a Facebook Page Badge to your website or blog. A Facebook badge is an icon you create that links fans from your website to your Facebook Page.

For an official Facebook Badge, log in to your Facebook account and head to:http://www.facebook.com/badges/page.php

3. Share your Facebook Page with friends and family

As of March 2013, there were 1.11 billion monthly active users on Facebook. That’s quite a pool of potential new customers just waiting to connect with your business. Tap into the larger Facebook network through friends and family.

No one wants you to succeed more than they do and they can help by becoming enthusiastic fans. Recommend your business’s Facebook Page to your personal network and watch your fan base grow.

NOTE: You’ll need a personal Facebook profile to do this. See setting up your Facebook profile to find out how.

4. Take your Facebook Page to new social heights

There is a big difference between “social media” and “social media marketing.” Social media marketing enables you to be found and be relevant.

Share a link to your Facebook Page on other social networks. Try sending the link out on Twitter, and adding a link in all the descriptions for your YouTube Videos or Flickr Photos to start.

5. Don’t forget to take it offline too

Promote your Facebook Page on all of your print marketing materials including business cards, menus, flyers, signs, t-shirts — anywhere it can be visible.

The more fans you have, the more your posts, pictures, and videos will reach the people you want to reach.

6. Tell anyone who will listen!

Promote your Facebook Page the next time you speak at a workshop, seminar or conference. Even include an image and link to your page in your slide deck.

Overall, promoting your Facebook Page in small ways like using your existing email list and asking friends for help can have a big impact. Your Facebook Page could be one of the best out there but, if no one knows it exists, it’s not going to do a whole lot of good for your business.

So, start spreading the word!

اپنا فون خود بنا ئیں

گوگل کی نئی پپشکش

آپ میں سے اکثر لوگوں نے کبھی نہ کبھی ’’لیگو بلاکس‘‘ کی مدد سے گھروں کے ماڈل، مختلف اشکال کی دیگر اشیا بنائی ہوں گی۔ بل کہ اس کام میں تو ہر بچّہ دل چسپی لیتا ہے، یہی طریقہ دیکھتے ہوئے بہت سے ماہرِ تعمیرات نے کئی طرح کے گھر اور عمارتیں تیار کی ہیں۔یہ بھی دیکھا گیا ہے کہ لیگو بلاکس سے ایسے ایسے ماڈلز بنائے گئے ہیں، جہیں دیکھ کر حقیقت کا گمان ہوتا ہے، بل کہ یہ خیال کیا جاتا ہے کہ اگر حقیقی زندگی میں بھی تعمیرات اسی طرح ہونے لگیں تو کتنا اچھا ہو۔ بات یہیں ختم نہیں ہوتی، لیگو بلاکس کی تیکنیک اب شاید بہت جلد انفامیشن ٹیکنالوجی کی دنیا میں استعمال ہونے لگے۔جی ہاں! یہ دُرست ہے کیوں کہ حال ہی میں گوگل کے اسمارٹ فونز بنانے والی کمپنی موٹرولا نے ایک نیا پروجیکٹ شروع کرنے کا اعلان کیا ہے، جس کے تحت صارفین اپنے اسمارٹ فون کے پُرزے اپنی پسند سے چُن کر اُنہیں خود جوڑ کر اپنا اینڈرائڈ فون تیار کر سکیں گے۔’’ایرا‘‘ (Ara) نامی اس پروجیکٹ کے تحت صارفین موبائل فون کے سیٹ کا بنیادی ڈھانچہ خرید کر اس میں اپنی مرضی سے کی بورڈ، بیٹری یا دیگر سینسرز لگا سکیں گے۔ بالکل اسی طرح ، جس طرح لیگو بلاکس جوڑ کر کوئی چیز تیار کی جاتی ہے۔ موٹورولا اس پروجیکٹ پر ولندیزی ڈیزائنر ڈیو ہاکنز (Dave Hakkens)کی شراکت سے کام کر رہی ہے۔ ڈیو ہاکنز نے ’’فون بلاکس‘‘ کا تصوّر دیا ہے، جس کے تحت صارفین اپنی مرضی سے پُرزے جوڑ کر سیلولر فون بناسکتے ہیں۔ تاہم، موبائل فون کی صنعت کے ماہرین کے لیے صارفین کی مرضی سے تیار ہونے والے اسمارٹ فون کی اہمیت پر تذبذب کا شکار ہیں۔ڈیو ہاکنز نے موٹورولا کے بلاگ پر ایک تحریری بیان میں کہا ہے کہ وہ ایک سال سے زیادہ عرصے سے اس پروجیکٹ پر کام کر رہے تھے۔ان کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ ہارڈ ویئر کے لیے ایسا کام کرنا چاہتے ہیں جو اینڈرائڈ نے سافٹ ویئر کے لیے کیا، یعنی ’’اوپن سورس ہارڈ ویئر پلیٹ فارم‘‘ (Open Source Hardware Platform) کی فراہمی۔ جب کہ موٹرولا کے ترجمان نیموٹورولا نے بلاگ پر کہا کہ اس کا مقصد صارفین کو یہ فیصلہ کرنے کا اختیار دینا ہے کہ وہ اس فون سے کیا کام لیں، ان کا فون کس طرح دکھائی دے، کس چیز سے بنے، اس کی قیمت کتنی ہو اور وہ اسے کتنا عرصے رکھنا چاہتے ہیں۔ ڈیو ہاکنز کے مطابق، اس پروجیکٹ کے تحت ایک ایسا فریم تیار ہوگا، جس میں موبائل فون کے باقی پرزے فٹ کیے جا سکیں گے جسے موٹرولا نے ’’انڈوسکیلیٹن‘‘ (Endoskeleton)کا نام دیا ہے۔کمپنی کا کہنا ہے کہ اس فریم میں اپلیکیشن پروسیسر سے لے کر ڈسپلے یا کی بورڈ وغیرہ تک کوئی بھی نئی چیز اپنی مرضی سے لگائی جا سکے گی۔ڈیو ہاکنز نے تھنڈر کلیپ نامی ویب سائٹ پر ’’فون بلاکس‘‘ متارف کرائے تو جلد ہی اس کے ساڑھے نو لاکھ افراد نے ان میں اپنی دل چسپی ظاہر کردی۔موٹرولاا کے ترجمان نے مزید کہا کہ انہوں نے اس پروجیکٹ پر گہرا تکنیکی کام کیا ہے اور ڈیو نے ایک کمیونٹی تیار کی ہے۔کیوں کہ یہ اوپن سورس پلیٹ فارم ہے اس لیے موٹرولا بہت جلد دیگر ڈیولپرز کو اس میدان میں دعوت دے گا کہ وہ ایسی کٹ بنانے میں معاونت کریں، جو نئے آئیڈیا کے تحت موبائل فون بنانے کے لیے فراہم کی جاسکیں۔ توقع کی جارہی ہے کہ اس طرح کی ’’موڈیولر ڈیویلپرز کِٹ‘‘ MDK Module Developer's) Kit) اس ماہِ سرما میں صارفین تک پہنچ جائیں گی۔ دوسری جانب ڈیویس مرفی گروپ نامی کنسلٹنٹ کمپنی میں ٹیکنالوجی کے تجزیہ کار کرس گرین نے اس پروجیکٹ کو ’’شعبدہ‘‘ قرار دیا ہے۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ وہ اسے کوئی بڑا کام نہیں سمجھتے۔یہ صارفین کی کسی خاص ڈیمانڈ کو پورا نہیں کرتا، در حقیقت اپنا فون بنانے میں کوئی فائدہ نہیں۔

Why do Pakistani men have a roving eye?

Tackling the roving eye syndrome will require radical change, through education and a shift in values to abolish such behaviour.

What is up with Pakistani males and their need to objectify every female that crosses their path?

I emphasise on the word Pakistani because having lived in the West, I have never come across a culture or society where men have such difficulty lowering their gaze. 

It is something that has to stop!

Not only does it make a woman feel uncomfortable, if not naked, it is an extremely degenerate and distasteful trait in men. Married men, who indulge in it when their wives are sitting right next to them, are particularly loathsome.

It starts the minute I land at Islamabad airport right to when I reach my final destination. Whilst sitting in the car and minding my own business, you have motorcycles roaring past with their passengers peering into the car having seen the silhouette of a woman from the rear window. I honestly feel I have Elephantiasis, a gross enlargement of a limb, or some monumental flaw on my face which is the cause of such unjustifiable attention.

There are some women out there who actually get some sort of an appalling pleasure out of these stares and dress to impress just to fish up more looks.

I, for one, am not one of them at all.

Some unfortunate husbands and brothers keep their women covered from head to toe to prevent these stares but they don’t realise that sometimes even that is futile.

In England or Canada, the most a woman gets is a person looking at you once and then looking away. At most, she’ll get a couple of looks, anything more than that is considered staring and ultimately, very rude.

I know there are many other important things that are on the priority list of what needs to be changed in Pakistan, but this is something that needs to be discussed and alleviated.  If we claim to be a Muslim country with emphasis on men “lowering their gaze” to protect their modesty, then it should be implemented as well.

The question remains on how to go about changing this habit.  Maybe it should be discussed and talked about in the media or in some sort of public forum but the topic itself is perhaps absurd for national TV.

How do you even discuss such ogling or even acknowledge that men have this problem?

Most of the time men are in complete denial!

There has been a song written about this problem by Ali Gul Pir called “Taroo Maroo”, which brings to light this sensitive issue with a dash of humour.

“Aunty bhi taroo ga, uncle bhi taroo ga”

(I will stare at an aunty, I will also stare at an uncle)

The lyrics are particularly funny because it implies that guys like this will gawp at anything and anyone. Although the song is meant to be taken light-heartedly, it doesn’t really tackle the issue head on.

‘Punch em’

Perhaps the solution if for women to be pro-active.

I’ve actually seen some women take matters into their own hands. My own mother, in fact, once punched a man for invading her personal space, only for him to walk straight on without looking back.

On one occasion, a group of us girls were in a marketplace when we noticed a guy staring at us from his tinted car as he drove by. This started annoying us as the same behaviour had occurred a few times before. Next time he returned, I decided to pick up a rather large rock closest to me and started walking towards him whilst looking directly at him. I lifted the rock up and shouted,

 “Do you have a problem?”

This resulted in him speeding away in a panic-stricken state and not returning. It was quite relieving and hilarious at the same time. Only when women start shouting and fighting back will the men realise that it is unacceptable to behave like this.

Women have to take matters into their own hands if they want to feel protected, but when a society is ingrained with this disease, the battle seems fruitless at times.  Many women just stay silent because they don’t want to have the issue spiral out of control.

Tackling the roving eye syndrome will require radical change, through education and a shift in values to abolish such behaviour.

Sadly, I don’t think this problem will be rectified anytime soon. One can only hope that a majority of women will unite together to make a stand against this repulsive habit.

I, for one, am starting to take a stand by teaching my young son that it is extremely rude to stare at anybody.

What will you do?

You can never outperform your self-image

Compiled By: USMAN NAZ

CEO: V.G.S

One of the greatest and perhaps the most life changing lesson I learned was that we truly can’t outperform our self image. I realized that if I was going to be happy, healthy and wealthy, I had to first be able to see myself living the life, then learn to believe I deserved it with passion and expectation that it would materialize exactly as I had envisioned. It was extremely important for me go through this process and not allow my current circumstance – the results I was currently getting to hold me back from creating the new winning self-image that I truly desired.

Unfortunately a lot of people (including me) get stuck here and that’s what I want to talk a little bit about.

We need to really grasp the fact that one of our biggest obstacles in life is our self image.  Your self image can be your biggest supporter or your most difficult challenger. We often don’t see ourselves as we wish we could be. We tend to compare our weaknesses with other people’s strengths – but we do have the power to create our image as we want to be and then become that image.

Decide What you Want.
Decide What You Are Willing to Give up to Get it.
Set Your Mind on It.
Get on With The Work

There’s a great lesson here in H.L. Hunt’s quote, so let’s take a look point by point

“Decide what you want”

• make a decision as to what you really want, not what you think you can get but what you really want this is a very important step.
• try to see yourself living as you want to, doing what you want to, being what you want to be and having what you want, make a decision and go ahead and create a clear picture

Go ahead, take your time and really give some thoughts to this.

“Decide what you are prepared to give up to get it”

• this where we need to learn to let go of that old image
• be willing to give up the old patterns of thinking that created that self-image

Understand

• the past is gone
• that old self-image is giving you the results you have now
• let go of those destructive habits, make room for a new way of being.
• if you want to change your life, you’ve got to change your life
• you’ve got to change the image – your winning self image
• so let go – make room for the new

“Set your mind on it”

This where you have to start to see your new image, feel the emotion that’s attached to your new winning self-image

• get emotionally involved with the new image
• plant that new picture firmly in your mind, over and over again
• understand by doing so – it will manifest
• above all be grateful for the new image, as if you already were the new you!

“Get on with the work”

• take action to move yourself in that new direction
• take the first step
• It’s important to understand that we must step forward with belief and an expectant attitude
• expect what you desire
• act as if you are already the person you desire to be
• act based on that new winning self-image

Maxwell Maltz captures it perfectly here – he said

The self-image is the key to human behavior. Change the self image and you change the personality and the behavior.

I found this really interesting – Eric Hoffer said here

No matter what our achievements might be, we think well of ourselves only in rare moments. We need people to bear witness against our inner judge, who keeps book on our shortcomings and transgressions. We need people to convince us that we are not as bad as we think we are

You see, it is very important to understand that it is our self image that will either power or prevent our success in life – It’s also very important to understand you can never outperform your self-image.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

The 80/20 Rule of Time Management: Stop Wasting Your Time

USMAN NAZ

Small-business owners waste their time on what I call $10 an hour work, like running to get office supplies. Meanwhile, they forgo the activities that earn $1,000 an hour, such as sending the right email to the right person, or negotiating a lucrative contract, or convincing a client to do more business with you.
Entrepreneurs don't realize the same 80/20 principle -- the adage that 20 percent of customers equal 80 percent of sales -- applies to every dimension of business. And that includes time management.
We entrepreneurs are extremely prone to rationalize, "I can do it myself." Then we spend six hours trying to extract a virus from our computer or fix a leaky faucet.
Sure, we may be competent to do that little job. And sure, sometimes you have to do everything when you start out. But now you're doing a $10 or $20 per hour fix-the-faucet job and you're not doing your No. 1 job, which is getting and keeping customers. That job pays $100 to $1000 per hour.
Many a promising business has been killed by those little jobs. When someone says "time management," you probably think of time logs, goal lists, and "Getting Things Done." But getting busy is not what makes you rich.
We're tempted to hire out the toughest jobs, like sales and marketing and public relations. These are extremely high-skill tasks. It's almost impossible to delegate those tasks to someone else. How about hiring someone to do your laundry, or sort through your email?
Five things you should do immediately in order to stop wasting time and start earning the real dinero:



Hire a maid. If you have a significant other, he or she will thank you. It is easy to find someone who knows how to cook. Easy to find people who know how to clean. They will love you for paying them $10 to $13 an hour to do those jobs. Somebody's praying for that job now.
As a go-getter, your core entrepreneurial skills can earn you hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. So there's no reason why you should be scrubbing your own toilets. In fact, I argue that it is your moral obligation to hire someone to do that.
Downton Abbey fans will recall that the aristocratic Crawley family thought it was their duty to have servants and provide them employment. Same goes for business owners. The United States would be back down to 5 percent unemployment if entrepreneurs stopped taking out their own trash.
Just get over yourself and….
Get rid of your $10 an hour stuff. Let's assume you are no longer wasting time vacuuming your own carpets or listening to your own voicemails. You are still hurting yourself if you are obsessed with being "efficient." That is not an 80/20 approach to time. Instead, ask: "What else am I doing that is so menial, it could be cheaply outsourced? What am I doing that I should stop doing altogether?"
Hire a personal assistant. With some effort you can hire a perfectly competent person at $8 to $15 per hour and they'll be happy because it is more interesting work than flipping burgers. I don't care where they are. Virtual is fine. In my case, I hired a friend of a friend, Lorena, whom I heard was looking for work. I started her out changing furnace filters and taking my car to the mechanic. Within six months, she was managing my email box, doing triage to ensure that I only read what really matters. The time she saves me is worth its weight in gold.
Don't feel guilty about relaxing. The most productive people are a little lazy. If there are really only a few hours a day in which you do $1,000-an-hour work, does it really matter if you screw around for the rest of the day? Downtime gives you the mental space you need to think. You can't be a great strategist when you're hustling from morning 'til night. Feed your brain instead, so you're sharp when you're negotiating the next sales contract.
Focus on your most productive time slot. Everybody has a timeslot in their day when they do their finest work. Ernest Hemingway wrote first thing in the morning. Barack Obama is a night owl. (He reportedly even outsources decisions on what to eat and wear.) I do my best work between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. I don't do email before 10 or 11 a.m. I keep that space open. It's reserved for writing or doing really strategic jobs. That's the part of my day when I'm most productive.
Make these changes and you'll hit consistent stretches of $1,000 an hour many days of your week. Then and only then will you reap the true rewards of being an entrepreneur.