Do we undervalue our teachers?

On yesterday’s programme, we received a huge response from teachers around the world who felt that they were not paid their worth.

Dr. Charles in Nigeria told us  how teaching did not provide enough money to put food on the table for his family. Zikomo in Malawi also said he was struggling on a teacher’s salary. Class sizes were too high and resources were poor. But Mel on the blog responded that she was fed up with hearing teachers go about their pay, especially when they get such long holidays.

On Air: Are you paid what you’re worth?

Yesterday on the programme we talked about the scandal over MP’s expenses here in the UK.  This commentator thinks that in order to avoid corruption, MPs need to be paid more.  While this blog compares the global benefits given to politicians to those in the UK.   How much are politicians paid in your country? And do they deserve it?

On air: Do you admire British democracy?

Sorry this is late. I’ll expand in a while, but you want to talk about whether the expenses row in Britain (which is a really big deal here and has been running for days) is having an effect on how you view one of the world’s oldest democracies. Should Westminster still be held up an as example to the world of how to run a democracy?

Talking Points: 12 May

Should journalists have the freedom to report anywhere?  Three UK journalists have been kicked out of Sri Lanka for reporting on the plight of civilians in a Tamil refugee camp.  You can read the lead reporter’s account of what happened here.  This got the World Have Your Say team talking yesterday about the rights of journalists to work freely and whether or not governments should control how the media in their country report.

On air: Is the Pope standing up for an oppressed minority in the Middle East?

Pope Benedict began his tour of the Middle East on the weekend by visiting Jordan over and praising the the ‘courage’ of Christians who live there. Christians are in the minority in the Middle East, and from the Copts in Egypt to the Chaldean and Assyrian Christians of Iraq, many have suffered from victimisation and attacks on homes and churches because of their faith. Today we’re going to hear what it’s like to be a Christian in the Middle East.

Talking Points: 11 May

The UN has told of a “bloodbath and total disregard for human life” in Sri Lanka. Three UK journalists were kicked out of the country over the weekend after they reported on the horrors of the refugee camps.   So if a government gets the media on side, have they won the argument? And is it justified to kick the media out when an argument gets too tough?

On air: Do some countries need dictators?

In yesterdays editorial meeting, the WHYS team kicked around some ideas for today’s show. We discussed President Karzai and President Zardari’s meeting in Washington on how to tackle the Taliban. One of the team mentioned her conversation with an Afghan taxi driver who said that his country could never function as smoothly as the UK. “Look at that pedestrian crossing” he said, “people are obeying the rules. That would never happen in Afghanistan.” It got us thinking about whether some countries actually need dictators.

The man who’ll teach you how to end your life

Philip Nitschke is an Australian doctor who believes everyone over 50 years old should have an end of life plan. He doesn’t offer to help you die, but he does believe in providing us all with the know-how to do it ourselves if we want to. (He explains himself in detail in this interview.) He’ll be on Thursday’s show to talk with you, and you can post questions now.

On air: Does banning people do more harm than good?

Michael Savage had no plans to enter the UK he says, but should he want to, he won’t be allowed. Along with radical islamist preachers and a jewish extremist, the American ‘shock jock ‘ has been listed on a ‘banned list’ of sixteen people, just published by the British Home Office. It’s brought instant notoriety and untold publicity a man who was previously virtually unknown to people outside his native America. So does banning people just do more harm than good, by fanning the flames of publicity and making a new audience aware of their views?

Talking Points: 6th May

A US radio DJ says he’s going to sue the British government because they’ve banned him from the UK. He says he’s being compared “with mass murderers who killed Jews on buses”. He also says the Koran is a book of hate but doesn’t think he promotes violence.

In the US there’s even a campaign to keep a Free Speech Tunnel which had graffiti saying Barack Obama should be shot.

Where is the line between free speech versus hate speech? Is better to let people speak but ignore them?