by Dr A. Mesut Erzurumluoğlu | Principal Bioinformatician (formerly at Boehringer Ingelheim, University of Cambridge and University of Leicester) & Businessman/Director. Blogging since 2006 – All views mine unless stated otherwise
Department for Education and Skills’ (DfES) report for Children of Ethnic Minority in 2006/07 showed a bleak picture for students of ethnic minorities living in the UK – as they were all performing below the national average. However the picture was even more disturbing for Turks/Kurds because their children were the least performing out of all the groups that had a considerable size in the UK. I am hoping things have gotten better for the Turkish community since then as there have been many steps taken to stop this rot, especially by the Turks themselves. They have opened many supplementary and/or weekend schools all over the UK especially in London and Leicester where there is a considerable amount of Turkish/Kurdish migrants. In one of these weekend schools, called the Horizon supplementary school (located in Leicester), I obtained the Keystage 2 (KS2) and Keystage 3 (KS3) results of nearly 30 students (years 6 to 9) attending their classes and compared them with DfES’s findings. The results were surprising:
Overall, the Horizon school’s pupils had achieved higher in all subjects compared to the national average let alone other ethnic minority groups. The difference is greater in Maths and Science.
These results make it clear that given the opportunity, children of Turkish/Kurdish/Turkish-Cypriot background can perform as good as anyone, if not better. Therefore the Turkish/Kurdish community must carry on supporting the existing supplementary schools; and if possible improve on what they’re doing by opening more schools. This is why I’d recommend all ethnic minorities in the UK to follow the Turks’ example and support their children in achieving their academic potential. Educated children would not only be the source of good for the corresponding ethnic minorities, but also the British society as a whole.
Best wishes!
PS: To add to the comments above, the below newspaper article portrays my views in 2006 (when I had just turned 18). I do not agree entirely with it nowadays; would have worded some things differently… 🙂
‘The Doctor Will Sue You Now’ chapter in Ben Goldacre’s book ‘Bad Science’ available free: click here
Just a reminder that there are many things going on behind the scenes even in the most objective sectors, such as the scientific community; imagine what goes on behind the scenes in World Politics…
Some people corrupt everything (even science) for money (and the power that comes with it)! We – the ‘normal’ people – must not let them have it their way!
The Team: Mesut Erzurumluoglu (Captain), Esat Erzurumluoglu, Tom G. Richardson, Gavin Lunney, Carlos Fonseca & Oliver Lyttleton
(The UBU Turkish Society President) Mesut and Co have won the Christmas 6-a-side Football Tournament organised by the University of Bristol Staff League (at the Bristol Grammar School on the 16th December 2012), winning all three of their knockout matches to claim the cup
Ingiltere’de (ingiliz) arkadaşlarım bana ‘Secret Santa’ (Gizli Noel Baba) adındaki faaliyetlerine katılmamı istediler. Yapılan şey ise bir kagıda adını yazıyorsun ve diger katılan kişilerinde isminin bulundugu bir kutuya atıyorsun. Sonra cekilişte kimin ismi sana cıkarsa, ona gizlice hediye alıyorsun ve o kişi hediyenin kimin tarafından alındıgını bilmiyor (soylemek yasak!). Hediyeler arasında bir ayrım olmasın diye de en baştan kac liralık limit oldugu belirleniyor (mesela 10 sterlin).
Fikir cok guzel ama ruhu yok; insanlara ogretebilecegi cok şey var ama etkisiz. Neden bu isin ‘bizce’ versiyonunu yapmayalım diye duşundum; ve boyle birşeyi kendi aramızda neden mesela ‘Gizli Zeyneller’ olarak yapmayalım? Bu sayede tanışmamıza, birbirimizle hediyeleşmeyi teşvik etmemize ve yaptıgımız iyilikleri gizli tutmamız gerektigini daha iyi anlamamıza vesile olur. Eminim daha cok Zeynel Abidin (r.a.) gibi insanların yetişmesine de vesile olur…
Zeynel-Abidin (r.a.)’la ilgili…
Zeynelabidin (r.a.), Hz. Hüseyin’in (ra) oğlu ve Hz. Ali’nin (ra) torunudur. Fakir ve kimsesizlere yardım konusunda büyük bir gayret gösterirdi. Çok sayıda fakire yardım ettiği halde, ihlas düsturu gereği bunu hiç kimseye fark ettirmezdi. Gece karanlığında sırtında un taşıyarak bunu muhtaçlara yetiştirirdi. Sürekli bu işi yaptığı halde hiç kimse bilemedi. Ancak, vefatından sonra cenazesi yıkanıp sırtındaki nasırlaşmış yerle karşılaşılınca durum öğrenilebildi.
Thanks to the help of many friends and Bristolians, we have now founded the Turkish Society at the University of Bristol. Please visit our website (www.ubu.org.uk/activities/societies/BristolTSoc/) or Facebook (University of Bristol – Turkish Society) group page for our upcoming events and many more!
The below is a Ahdnama (Declaration) from Sultan Mehmed II El Fatih (The Conqueror) in 1463 – I am not a Ottoman or Turkish nationalist but am only sharing it because I like it – seen rarely in history:
(Mehmet – son of Murat Khan, The victorious)
The command of the honorable, sublime Sultan’s sign and shining seal of the conqueror of the world is as follows:
“I, Sultan Mehmet Khan inform the world that the ones who possess this imperial edict, the Bosnian Franciscans, have got into my good graces, so I command:
Let nobody bother or disturb those who are mentioned, nor their churches. Let them dwell in peace in my empire. And let those who have become refugees live and be safe. Let them return and let them settle down their monasteries without fear in all the countries of my empire.
Neither my royal highness, nor my viziers or employees, nor my servants, nor any of the citizens of my empire shall insult or disturb them. Let nobody attack, insult or endanger neither their life or their property or the property of their church. Even if they bring somebody from abroad into my country, they are allowed to do so.
As I have graciously issued this imperial edict, I hereby take my great oath: In the name of the Creator of the earth and heaven (Allah), the one who feeds all creatures, and in the name of the seven Mustafas and our great Messenger (Muhammad PbuH), and in the name of the sword I have, nobody shall do contrary to what has been written, as long as they are obedient and faithful to my command.”
See a similar one – over 700 years before the above – from the Prophet Muhammad (PbuH): Letter to all Christians – again, sharing it as I like the message.
Some good programs and booklets produced by the Open University; which they’re giving away for free. Could also have a look at the programs they produce on BBC at the link:
I went through these three websites below and made a list of the books worth reading… Also audible.co.uk gives a free audible ebook to whoever signs up…
Order of books not important… Also I do not mean these are the only books worth reading (I have not put religious books in here, but knowledge in world religions is a must I think!)…
Ben 12 yaşındayken (2000) ailecek İngiltere'ye taşındık ve ingilizcem neredeyse sıfırdı. Bunu duyan (Karen Holman adında) Sınıf Öğretmenim, kendimi evimde hissedeyim diye tüm arkadaşlarıma Türkçe cümleler dağıtmış. Sınıfa girer-girmez arkadaşlarımın hepsi bana "Hoşgeldin" dediler
An ordinary blog by an ordinary bloke 