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Having spent a week with my lovely grandsons and listening to them, it occurred to me that physical punishment might be an issue for them.

What is the alternative to corporal punishment in child rearing?

Whilst many of us need to instil discipline in our children, we should refuse to use physical punishment. Sanderson Beck does give some alternatives in his literature.

If disciplining is necessary in child-rearing, but we wish to avoid the harmful effects of corporal punishment, what are our alternatives? By refusing to use physical punishment, perhaps we can refine and develop those other techniques which may prove more beneficial and enduring than the easy and quick brutality. Punishment does not have to be physical; it can be social, emotional, or mental. One form of punishment is the administering of an aversive stimulus contingent upon disapproved behavior The other is the removal of a reward or positive reinforcer (Skinner, 1938). The undesirable consequences of punishment are primarily psychological, so it appears likely that non-physical psychological methods may also have negative effects psychologically. However, to avoid using any form of punishment whatsoever is probably too idealistic and impractical. The psychological methods are not as obvious in modeling. Also they are usually stimulating cognitively, and may stimulate the child to develop the mind just as much physical exercise builds muscles. The danger is that negative associations and complexes could result. This is why it is so important that the punishment not only be consistent in how and for what it is applied, but also that it be logical and clearly explained to the child before it is ever instituted and with each occurrence. Even though the child may feel the parent is wrong; if one is consistent, at least the child knows the situation and can learn to understand the psychology of the parent.

Using reasoning to accompany punishment when it is deemed necessary brings up the method of teaching and communicating as an alternative method. This is the ideal method of long-term control of behavior, because it develops the conscience, cognitive skill, and self-discipline. Wouldn’t it be the utopia if everyone took responsibility for their own actions and did not inflict on others? I believe that educators ought to use those methods that teach individual responsibility. Research shows that the development of conscience is related to parental warmth and the use of reasoning as a technique of discipline (Bandura & Walters, 1951; Baumrind, 1967; Sears, 1961). When the child has developed self-control and one’s conscience to the extent that one will no longer do what one knows is wrong even when one knows one won’t be punished, then we could say one’s character education has been successful.

I have taken the time to listen and read on President Elect Obama on his first interview after his election on CBS last night with Steve Kroft. I have extracted some of the issues that I found important: The economy, the financial system; closure of Guantanamo , the use of torture; national security; and finally to free himself from ideology and get best workable solutions where they are available.

Mr. Obama: I think it’s a top priority. I think that we have to restore a sense of trust, transparency, openness in our financial system. And keep in mind that the deregulation process, it wasn’t just one party. I think there’s a lot of blame to spread around.

But, hopefully, everybody’s learned their lesson. And the answer is not heavy-handed regulations that crush the entrepreneurial spirit and risk taking of American capitalism. That’s what’s made our economy great. But it is to restore a sense of balance.

His first legislative goal will be to get Congress to pass an economic stimulus package that he hopes will create jobs and put money in the pockets of ordinary citizens, construction programs to shore up the nation’s creaky infrastructure, a tax cut for the middle class and his first initiatives on health care. But some things he can do with the stroke of a pen.

Mr. Obama: Yes. I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture. And I’m gonna make sure that we don’t torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America’s moral stature in the world.

Mr. Obama: Well, I’ve said during the campaign, and I’ve stuck to this commitment, that as soon as I take office, I will call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops. Particularly in light of the problems that we’re having in Afghanistan, which has continued to worsen. We’ve got to shore up those efforts.

Kroft: Where does capturing or killing Osama bin Laden fall?

Mr. Obama: I think it is a top priority for us to stamp out al Qaeda once and for all. And I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out al Qaeda. He is not just a symbol, he’s also the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against US targets.

Mr. Obama: Two points I’d make on this. Number one, although there are some parallels to the problems that we’re seeing now and what we say back in the ’30s, no period is exactly the same. For us to simply recreate what existed back in the ’30s in the 21st century, I think would be missing the boat. We’ve gotta come up with solutions that are true to our times and true to this moment. And that’s gonna be our job. I think the basic principle that government has a role to play in kick starting an economy that has ground to a halt is sound.

I think our basic principle that this is a free market system and that that has worked for us, that it creates innovation and risk taking, I think that’s a principle that we’ve gotta hold to as well. But what I don’t wanna do is get bottled up in a lot of ideology and is this conservative or liberal. My interest is finding something that works.

And whether it’s coming from FDR or it’s coming from Ronald Reagan, if the idea is right for the times then we’re gonna apply it. And

Miriam Makeba today passed away in Italy. Who does not know her or at least heard of this great Lady of Africa who fought for years for the freedom of her country through her voice?

She discovered that her South African passport was revoked when she tried to return there in 1960 for her mother’s funeral. In 1963, after testifying against Apartheid before the United Nations, her South African citizenship and her right to return to the country were revoked. She has had nine passports, and was granted honorary citizenship of ten countries.

Nelson Mandela persuaded her to return to South Africa in 1990. In the fall of 1991, she made a guest appearance in an episode of The Cosby Show, entitled “Olivia Comes Out Of The Closet”. In 1992 she starred in the film Sarafina!, about the 1976 Soweto youth uprisings, as the title character’s mother, “Angelina.” She also took part in the 2002 documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony where she and others recalled the days of Apartheid.

The world, particularly the world of music should mourn the loss of a great artist and salute the life of a great African who spent her time and energy for great causes.

I took much pleasure in reading more about Barack OBAMA. It is believe that the formative years of a child mould the adult. Moncef Guitoni, an imminent scholar specialist of Parenthood and emotional intelligence taught me that much can be learned from the early childhood (0-6 years)of a person. I note from the documents available from the net, that Barack went through several break ups: first divorce of his parents, when he was only two years; then the challenge of living in a new environment in Indonesia, break up in culture, language and environment; and later yet another uprooting to continue the schooling in Hawaii, away from her mother in the lap of her grandmother. Does he carry the traumas of these breakdowns or have these dramatic changes honed his ability to sustain external environmental ruptures and overcome them? Does he speak Indonesian or does he understand the language?

Seeing the achievements of the later years, he surely has benefited from the wide variety of different experiences and culture. He has definitely a view of the world more enrich that most Americans possess. He himself wrote: Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: “The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect — became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear.”

I always have great respect to persons who have taken the task of putting to ink their life history. He did it. This demonstrates amongst other qualities, the ability to think orderly and in a structure and to write and communicate excellently.

Childhood through high school

Born in 1961. Throughout his early years, Obama was known at home and at school as “Barry.” Obama’s parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father received a Masters degree in Economics from Harvard University, then returned to Kenya, where he became a finance minister before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. His mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro’s home country of Indonesia in 1967. Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.

Before his time in Indonesia, he first attended St. Francis Assisi Catholic school for almost three years. When his family moved to a new neighbourhood, Menteng, he attended the secular, government-run SDN Menteng 1 school for his fourth year. Obama’s stepfather was “not religious”, and “never went to prayer services except for big communal events”, according to Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. When Obama was in third grade he wrote an essay saying that he wanted to become president. His teacher later told the Chicago Tribune that she was not sure what country he wanted to become president of but that he said that his reason for becoming president was that he wanted to make everybody happy.

Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979. Obama’s mother, Ann, died of ovarian cancer and uterine cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.

In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother’s middle class family. His knowledge about his African father, who returned once for a brief visit in 1971, came mainly through family stories and photographs. Of his early childhood, Obama writes: “That my father looked nothing like the people around me — that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk — barely registered in my mind.” The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He wrote that he used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years to “push questions of who I was out of my mind”.^[ Obama has said that it was a seriously misguided mistake. At the Saddleback Civil Presidential Forum Barack Obama identified his high-school drug use as his greatest moral failure. Obama has stated he has not used any illegal drugs since he was a teenager.

Some of his fellow students at Punahou School later told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that Obama was mature for his age as a high school student and that he sometimes attended parties and other events in order to associate with African American college students and military service people.

Kreole as an option to improve the effectiveness of our education system in Mauritius?

Have you read the article of Jimmy Harmon on L’Express of the 4^th November. Do you think the proposal is feasible?

Not being an expert in education, I support the idea of using the mother tongue, the easiest communication vehicle to access further learning. The underlying principle would be: to learn from ‘known to unknown’. Indeed, I rather watch and enjoy Louis de Funes or Benny Hill in the original version. True! Reading R. Tagore in Bengali must have an enhanced flavour as much as hearing ‘zistoire ti jean in Creole’. I for one can express my sentiments better and easier in Creole despite the practice and use of English all through his education years.

The political issues and the unspoken battle of ‘protecting one’s turf’ , be it for the teachers and the education establishment who have to adjust their deliverables, be it for the politicians -whose main outcome is more towards gaining mileage to be re-elected-, be it the parents of the various social-strata who fear changes, have to be trashed out.

What is your opinion?

Amazing! Yesterday I received a mail from Jacki Marshall , a sweet lady, who I met 10 years ago on a Nile cruise. I recalled that we had a wonderful cruise in the company of Jacki and her friends. She sent a mass mail to show her support to Barack Obama for today’s poll.

When I inquired that she was doing, she replied that she was involved in micro finance in Kenya. That immediately aroused my curiosity. How could she living in the US, North Carolina, possibly be dealing in micro credit in Kenya? She thus opened a new avenue to me thru H3O. Wow! this is a living example of the Grameen Bank principle you could participate.

How it works:

Lenders choose an individual business, group, or village project in a developing country to support using the h3o web site and paypal. The loan can be as little as $25. Our Micro Finance Institute partners (MFI’s) upload entrepreneur businesses and village projects to our web site that need funding. They are real clients who need help.

Most loans are funded between 6-9 months (agricultural loans 9-12 months).

Throughout the loan period the loan officer sends a short e-mail journal update to the web site every 3-4 months. As the loan gets paid back EACH lender has the choice to take back the funds or “recycle” the money back to another individual, group or village project. Micro credit success repayment rates are high. (e.g. Grameen 95%)

What is different about this philanthropic model is that your original loan money can be continually impacting a working poor family of your choice. For example: A single $100 loan amount can be recycled 10 times in five years, which means 10 families have been lifted out of poverty with a single, initial $100 loan amount.

h3o partners with credible, registered, accountable MFI’s with transparent financial records whose mission is empowerment of the working poor.

Our MFI’s and NGO’s (Non Government Organizations) in developing countries choose which CBO’s (Community Based Organizations) to lend to. The CBO’s are mature women’s groups with strong self governance and a proven track record of debt repayment and have been meeting for a minimum of one year.

Each CBO that has access to h3o funding receives ongoing business and life skills training from our partner MFI in developing countries, to better ensure success and debt repayment.

Our MFI partner distributes and collects the loan and manages, and in some cases manages savings accounts for clients.

h3o loans are given without collateral. They are based on dignity and trust. The CBO group itself acts as guarantors to one another securing loan repayment and future loans. If one defaults, the group is responsible for any defaults. Failure to pay the loan limits any further loans to the individual and the group. This “in house” peer pressure is one of the main reasons micro credit has such a successful loan repayment rate of 95 %.(Grameen Bank) All are stakeholders in each other’s success.

What is the common thread between Demi Moore, Madonna and Britney spears?

This was a question asked on Radio Canada TV news yesterday.

My family is of Italian origin (parents are first-generation American). Babies in my family have been wearing a red string on their arm or pinned to their sweater or carrier for as long as I can remember to ward off the evil eye or “Mal Oche.” Is there a connection to Madonna and other celebrities who follow Kabbalah and wear a red string?

For celebrities like Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Madonna-and even Madonna’s daughter Lourdes-it has become fashionable to wear a “Kabbalah” bracelet made out of braided red string to protect them from “the unfriendly stare and unkind glances,” as the Kabbalah Centre (where the string sells for $26 a length) puts it. Surprisingly, though, this tradition is not explicitly from Kabbalah. Many Mediterranean cultures wear red to ward off the evil eye. There are biblical traditions associated with a red string as well. Wrapping a red string around the tomb of the matriarch Rachel is supposed to protect women in childbirth. Since Rachel is associated with the Shekhinah (in Kabbalah, the divine presence), there are also some kabbalistic overtones. One nonsupernatural explanation of the string’s power is that it reminds the wearer to bear himself or herself with humility, so as not to attract envy.

This practice is not far with what I knew in Mauritius. I recall in my childhood that some babies wore a red thread too to ward off the bad spirit. Sometimes in the older days a red chilli or a red ribbon was attached to new objects for the same reason.

Last night lying in bed I could not sleep as we had the summer time on board. I was ahead one hour of my usual bed time. So to occupy my mind pending the coming of ‘Mr. Sandman to bring me a dream’, I was thinking of the tunes and songs of my childhood. Who were my songs Idols? Who was the singer I loved most in my teens and can still remember the songs of?

There were so many of them: Cliff Richard, Elvis Priestley, The Beatles, Dean Martin, Adamo, Louis Mariano, Tino Rossi , Tom Jones and many others. We were music lovers in the family, ever since I was in the cradle, my father used to play the gramophone for me. From the old manual turntables, HMV (His master Voice) phonograph running 78 RPM records to the greater fidelity 45 RPM vinyl records and long play 33 RPM records, I enjoyed a great variety. I recall very vividly the first 45 RPM unbreakable record  at home  played on the electric ‘Garrard’ turntable: the title was ‘Are you mine’. Father himself a great music lover had an impressive collection of 78 RPM records.

It took me a while to select and conclude who was my first teenage song idol. I finally decided that it was Paul Anka. Paul Mustapha Abdi Anka, (Arabic: بول مصطفى عبدي أنكا) (born 30 July 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor of Lebanese origin. He came from a Christian Maronite family back ground. As many Lebanese, he fluently speaks Arabic, English and French.

Paul Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hits songs like “Diana,” “Lonely Boy,” and “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” He went on to write such well known music as the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Tom Jones‘ biggest hit “She’s A Lady,” and the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra‘s signature song “My Way.”

He is still very much active professionally at age 67 and recently remarried.

The favourite’s songs of my teenage days were:

· “Diana” (1957)· “Crazy Love” (1958) · “You Are My Destiny” (1958)· “Lonely Boy” (1959)· “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (1959) · “Puppy Love” (1960) . Those are indeed my favourite bathroom singing tunes.

Elle est partie vers le Père céleste, elle laisse en héritage une organisation ASMAE– qui veut dire ECOUTE- qui continue à Å“uvrer pour les pauvres et affligées.

Qui était Sœur Emmanuelle ?

Elle partage ses années d’enfance et de jeunesse entre Paris, Londres et Bruxelles, lesquelles sont marquées par la mort de son père, noyé sous ses yeux sur la côte d’Ostende lorsqu’elle a 6 ans. C’est à 20 ans que Madeleine Cinquin décide de rentrer au couvent malgré l’opposition de sa mère. A 23 ans, après des études de sciences philosophiques et religieuses, elle prononce ses vÅ“ux de religieuse dans la congrégation Notre-Dame de Sion et devient SÅ“ur Emmanuelle.

Sœur Emmanuelle enseigne les lettres au Lycée Notre-Dame de Sion à Istanbul en Turquie et ensuite en Tunisie. Tout au long de ces années, elle ressent le désir de se mettre au service des exclus. Elle sensibilise ses élèves, de condition aisée, aux difficultés des populations démunies de leur pays. Elle enseigne à Alexandrie et s’attache beaucoup à l’Égypte.

Le gros de son travail commença à sa retraite. A l’âge de 63, En 1971, elle décide de partager la vie des plus pauvres, les chiffonniers du Caire, en Égypte. Guidée par ses valeurs : la foi en l’Homme, le Respect de l’autre et la Justice, elle parvient à s’intégrer dans leur communauté.

En travaillant en collaboration avec les chiffonniers, elle contribue à améliorer leurs conditions de vie. Ses priorités vont à la santé et à l’éducation des enfants. En quelques années, des dispensaires, des écoles et des jardins d’enfants sont construits.

Elle rencontre en 1976 Sarah Ayoub Ghattas (sÅ“ur Sarah), alors jeune et dynamique supérieure d’un couvent copte orthodoxe, francophone, issue d’une famille de la bourgeoisie qui la rejoint et devient l’âme de la communauté. Grâce à sÅ“ur Sarah, « la maison étant tenue », sÅ“ur Emmanuelle peut parcourir le monde pour récolter des fonds grâce à ses dons d’oratrice et sa personnalité chaleureuse.

Pour la soutenir dans ses actions, elle fonde sa propre association, en 1980 : ASMAE – Association SÅ“ur Emmanuelle. Pragmatique, elle veut professionnaliser ses actions et assurer sa relève. Sous son impulsion, l’association développe ses actions dans d’autres pays.

En 1993, à la demande de ses supérieures, SÅ“ur Emmanuelle quitte définitivement l’Égypte et rejoint sa communauté en France. Elle continue de se battre pour plus de solidarité. Elle écrit des livres (Chiffonnière avec les chiffonniers, Richesse de la pauvreté, Vivre, à quoi ça sert ?), rencontre des jeunes dans les lycées et les écoles, s’occupe également de l’association Les Amis de Paola à fréjus en aide aux SDF et donne des conférences aux côtés de son association pour sensibiliser le public à l’engagement solidaire.

Parallèlement, SÅ“ur Emmanuelle continue à donner « un souffle » à son association. Elle lui transmet ses principes d’actions qui sont chaque jour mis en pratique sur le terrain. « éduquer un homme c’est éduquer un individu, éduquer une femme, c’est éduquer un peuple ».

En 1995, avec Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, elle est à l’origine de l’orientation de la campagne présidentielle de Jacques Chirac sur le thème de la fracture et de l’exclusion sociale^[2].

Le 1^er janvier 2002, SÅ“ur Emmanuelle est promue par Jacques Chirac au grade de commandeur de la Légion d’honneur avant d’être élévée, par Nicolas Sarkozy, le 31 janvier 2008 grand officier de la Légion d’honneur.

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE

Paris, le 20 octobre 2008

Sœur Emmanuelle s’est éteinte le 20 octobre 2008 dans sa 100eme année.

Durant toute sa vie, notre fondatrice a puisé son inlassable énergie dans sa foi en Dieu et comme elle l’affirmait aussi, dans sa foi en l’Homme.

Son combat contre la misère et l’exclusion l’a menée à vivre avec les plus pauvres pour les aider à se « mettre debout », en privilégiant l’éducation des enfants.

En même temps, elle n’a eu de cesse d’interpeller tous ceux qu’elle rencontrait pour les inciter à s’engager en faveur des plus faibles.

Son parler vrai et les valeurs de respect, confiance, justice qu’elle défendait lui ont valu d’être unanimement appréciée. Jusqu’au bout et malgré son âge, Sœur Emmanuelle est demeurée « un souffle » vivant pour tous ceux qui poursuivent et développent ses actions.

Conformément à sa volonté, ses obsèques auront lieu dans la plus stricte intimité. Une messe à sa mémoire sera célébrée prochainement à Paris.

Sa disparition laisse un vide immense dans nos cœurs mais la force de son message continuera de nous aider à être fidèle à sa devise : « Vivre c’est agir, Yalla !».

Etres entourés et supportés par ses cousins est vraiment un bonheur inouï! C’est ce que j’ai vécu ce dernier week-end. Déjà le samedi, c’était le soir du diner de la famille YIPTONG. Soirée mensuelle de la grande famille qui réunit les oncles, tantes cousins et cousines et petits cousins et cousines, tous descendants de l’ancêtre YIPTONG ou mariés à un descendants. La solidarité familiale a pris une dimension particulière car j’avais passé ce samedi soir à prendre connaissance de l’anecdote malheureuse qui s’est abattu sur un cousin. Beaucoup d’entre nous, en entendant le récit, se sont sentis concerné par l’incident, accablé par les effets néfastes, et ont offert leur service et assistance pour alléger le fardeau du cousin.

Sur une note plus heureuse, par contre j’ai vécu une autre solidarité familiale plus festive : Le soixantième anniversaire de Gerard. Gerard lui-même est issu une famille de 2 enfants mais il en a 4 filles. Organiser une fête pour toute la journée pour 120 personnes requière du travail et de la main-d’œuvre. Il a été gâté par la générosité et supports des ses cousins et cousines pour réussir un anniversaire mémorable. L’équipe organisatrice a imaginé un rallye jalonné des questions et de visites aux différents endroits ou Gerard a vécu, a été à l’école et y à travailler. Cela a ainsi permit aux participants du rallye de vivre le passé de Gerard tout en s’amusant. Je salue le grand travail de recherche qu’il a fallut pour rendre l’exercice intéressant, ludique et instructif. Le soir venu, les 120 invités étaient conviés à un diner et spectacle dans les jardins de sa maison. Les discours, témoignages, et souhaits étaient tous déclinés avec professionnalisme dans une organisation sans faille. L’équipe a su tirer partie des talents des cousins réunis pour rendre la fête agréable, amusante et super !

Cousins…voila quoi ca sert ! Avec des familles de plus et plus moins nombreuses, vive les cousins !