As schools return to in-person learning, many are experiencing shortages, which means they don’t have enough of something. In a recent New York Times article, the writer Giulia Heyward describes some of them:
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker is activating the National Guard to help with the shortage in bus drivers. In North Carolina, legislators are hoping to ease a cafeteria worker shortage by giving districts federal funding to cover signing bonuses for new hires. And some Missouri districts are wiping away some of the requirements to become a substitute teacher to attract more applicants.
Do any of these problems sound familiar to you? Since coming back to school this fall have you noticed that there aren’t enough substitute teachers, school supplies, bus drivers or other resources?
If you want to learn more about school lunch shortages, read a longer version of this article. Then, answer the questions below:
How did you feel reading the article? Were you surprised by the food shortages that schools are facing? Why or why not?
Have you noticed a lack of supplies or staff at your school? Has there not been a bus driver available to pick you up? Have you missed your usual choices at the cafeteria? Tell us about your experience.
How do you think school shortages are affecting students in your school or others around the country? Many students rely on school lunches as their main, and sometimes only, daily source of food. How might shortages more severely affect students in this situation?
The article reports on several ways schools are trying to fix the food shortage. Which do you think is best and why? Do you have any other ideas for how schools or the community could handle the problem?
What questions do you have about the shortages in your own school or those around the country?
Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
If you’re learning about software development (or pursuing a career as a Software Developer), you’ve probably heard about DevOps — but what is it exactly?
DevOps combines the words “development” and “operations,” and it refers to a collaborative approach to building applications. The goal of DevOps is to produce better, more reliable software products.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at DevOps, why it matters, DevOps career opportunities, and more. Use the table contents below to jump to a specific section.
Who works on DevOps?
DevOps isn’t a programming language or technical concept. It’s a culture and philosophy that takes teams and departments that have traditionally been isolated and enables them to coordinate and collaborate.
For example, development and operations teams have often worked separately. Once a product made it through development and was deployed, it’d be handed off to operations, who would then deal with any issues, updates, and overall support.
This left the operations team at a disadvantage since they weren’t involved with the product’s development. Similarly, this also left the development team without the operations team’s valuable insights and perspectives.
Bringing these teams together allows a better product to be released more quickly, with smaller updates along the way rather than large, jarring updates.
Other teams, like quality engineering and security, can and should also be included in coordination efforts.
How does DevOps work?
DevOps influences the application lifecycle. It typically has four phases, which work in a loop.
Each phase depends on the other phases, and they aren’t role-specific. That means that each person on the team is involved in multiple phases of the lifecycle (or possibly all of them). The four phases are:
Plan: This is when DevOps teams define the features and capabilities of the applications and systems they’re working on. They decide how to track progress and bugs and break the work into small, manageable pieces.
Develop: This is when the coding happens, including writing, testing, reviewing, and integration. The goal is to work rapidly without sacrificing quality and stability. To facilitate development, DevOps teams use productivity tools and automation.
Deliver: Delivery is when the application is moved into a production environment. The DevOps team determines a release schedule and uses automation to move applications from one stage to another.
Operate. This involves maintaining, monitoring, and troubleshooting applications once they go live. Teams work to minimize downtime while also keeping an eye on security and compliance. The goal in the operating phase is to catch any issues before they impact customers and implement solutions. This leads back to the planning phase, and the cycle continues.
DevOps practices
DevOps also incorporates several practices. These include:
Let’s take a closer look at each of these practices.
Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD)
Continuous integration is a software development practice where developers merge their code changes into a central repository, which ensures there aren’t too many branches of an app in development.
Continuous delivery means that changes to an application are automatically tested for bugs and uploaded to a repository where they can be deployed by the operations team.
Microservices
This practice structures an application as a collection of smaller services. These services are easy to maintain, testable, independently deployable, and owned by a small team.
Monitoring and logging
This involves tracking metrics and keeping logs to see how the application performs. This data is analyzed to find the root causes of problems and unexpected changes. Active monitoring allows engineers to be proactive about any issues, which helps minimize downtime.
Communication and collaboration
For DevOps to be successful, everyone involved has to be committed to sharing information. This might be done through chat, project tracking systems, or wikis.
Why is DevOps important?
Technology has transformed our lives. Businesses rely on rolling out reliable applications that satisfy customer needs quickly. Businesses that fall behind risk becoming obsolete. DevOps allows businesses and organizations to:
Be responsive
Develop products quickly
Improve those products
Including automation in DevOps planning frees up developers and engineers to focus on other tasks rather than being bogged down with tedious, manual work.
DevOps is important because it allows organizations to develop better products faster. This saves money and allows more creative freedom for developers and engineers.
What problems does DevOps solve?
DevOps solves problems around latency and productivity in software development. Latency is lag time. When departments are isolated, it takes time to hand projects back and forth between development and operations.
As we explained, traditionally, developers would develop the app and hand it to the operations team to get it ready for release. If there were issues, operations would send the app back to developers and wait for the app to be fixed.
In a DevOps environment, these two teams are coordinated and collaborative, so fixing bugs and other issues is quick and seamless.
What are the benefits of DevOps?
DevOps offers several benefits to organizations:
Speed: DevOps increases the frequency of releases so you can improve your product quickly. The sooner a product is updated, the happier your customers will be.
Adaptability: Technology and consumer expectations are constantly changing. DevOps allows you to pivot easily to incorporate different features and move in different directions without disrupting the entire development process.
Reliability: Having more people involved in the entire process ensures a higher quality product. CI/CD is an important DevOps practice that helps teams roll out changes in a controlled way and avoid configuration drift, which is when configuration deviates over time. All of that results in a more stable, more reliable product.
Improved collaboration. DevOps is a change to the culture of a company, emphasizing accountability and ownership. Teams are expected to collaborate and are given the tools to do so. DevOps teams share responsibilities and workflows, which saves time and reduces inefficiencies.
What are the challenges of DevOps?
While DevOps can help organizations, it also has its challenges. They include:
Implementing expensive tools and platforms
Learning new tools
Updating old infrastructure
Integrating tools across different departments
Reviewing current processes to make them more efficient
Resistance to change
Merging two cultures (development and operations) can be challenging
Moving at a faster pace can make it difficult to maintain security and compliance
All of these issues can be overcome with planning, implementing DevOps over time, seeking input from team members, and dedicating time and resources to security and compliance throughout the DevOps lifecycle.
A closer look at DevOps jobs
Some IT professionals specialize in DevOps. They help implement the tools and platforms involved in DevOps and help organizations shift to DevOps if they haven’t already. These professionals are in high demand.
DevOps positions have a variety of names, but in general, people working in DevOps would either be a DevOps Engineer or a DevOps Manager. DevOps Managers have more responsibility and experience and are expected to manage teams. You’d typically start as a DevOps Engineer and then progress into a management role as you gain experience.
Here are some of the skills required to succeed in a DevOps career:
Knowledge of a wide range of tools used in software development.
A willingness to talk with customers and incorporate their feedback.
An understanding of security best practices.
Due to the complexity of DevOps, it’s not unusual to start your career in another position and develop your expertise in DevOps over time. It might be through learning on the job, taking on additional responsibilities, working toward certifications, or pursuing a degree in DevOps.
DevOps programming languages
DevOps requires proficiency with at least one, but ideally multiple programming languages. Here are some to consider:
Perl. Perl is a programming language developed in 1987. It has a large, active developer community. Perl is considered easier to learn and faster than C and C++. It can also handle sophisticated programming.
Ruby. Ruby is an intuitive, easy-to-learn programming language. It’s open-source, has an active community, and is often implemented with the Ruby on Rails framework.
Python. Python is another popular programming language. It’s a popular choice for a first programming language as it has a large community behind it, excellent documentation, and a wide variety of libraries and packages.
Bash/Shell. The command line and the shell make up a text-based interface that developers use to communicate more effectively with computers. It allows for collaborative programming, enables file navigation, runs programming files, and installs developer tools.
SQL. SQL is a relational data management language. It’s easy to learn, quick, and efficient.
JavaScript. JavaScript is front-end and back-end friendly. It’s one of the core languages for web development, and it’s also used for game development and mobile apps.
C++. C++ is another popular programming language that’s fast and flexible. It’s used in software and game development, virtual reality, robotics, and scientific computing.
Getting started in DevOps
To get started in DevOps, you could pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science or information technology. Or, you can gain the required knowledge and skills on your own.
People working in DevOps are highly experienced. They typically start as Systems Administrators or developers. You can learn the skills needed for one of these career options individually or take a series of courses that’ll equip you with everything you need to know with one of our Career Paths.
One option for getting started is our Front-End Engineer Career Path. Front-End Engineers focus on making websites and applications attractive and user-friendly. In this Career Path, you’ll learn how to use the languages and tools required for modern front-end web development.
Similarly, our Back-End Engineer Career Path focuses on the behind-the-scenes aspects of applications. You’ll start by learning how to program servers and client-side interfaces, then progress to designing databases. The course also covers personalization and security.
Our Full-Stack Engineer Career Path teaches you development from start to finish. This will give you a firm foundation for starting your career and progressing into DevOps.
Our Computer Science Career Path also provides you with a strong foundation. It teaches you the ins and outs of Python, how to problem solve and write clean code, how databases work, and more.
In each of our Career Paths, you’ll use your new knowledge and skills to build projects you can feature in your portfolio. We’ll also help you prepare for interviews, provide a certification you can include in your resume, and more.
After building your skills, your next step is to secure a position in an organization that uses DevOps. This will allow you to gain experience in how DevOps works and pursue opportunities to advance.
You may also want to pursue certifications. For example, AWS, or Amazon Web Services, offers an AWS Certified DevOps Engineer certification for DevOps Engineers with two or more years of experience.
You could also pursue a Kubernetes certification like Certified Kubernetes Administrator or Certified Kubernetes Application Developer. Kubernetes is a popular DevOps tool. Microsoft also offers an Azure DevOps certification.
Almost everyone who uses the internet has heard of a domain name. But what exactly is a domain name, and how do they work? Should you have your own domain name?
No matter which Development Career Path you’re following, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of domain names. In this article (and in the video below), we’ll answer all of your domain name-related questions. Use the table of contents to jump to a specific section.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is a unique string of text that’s used to identify a specific resource on the internet. This could be anything from a website to an email or FTP server.
When you access a website, its domain name is converted to a set of numbers (an IP address) to communicate with the website server to send requests for and receive website content.
Domain names are designed for people
Everything could theoretically be handled using just IP addresses when you want to bring up a web page in your browser. In fact, adding a domain name adds an extra step in that there needs to be a way to convert from a domain name to an IP address (more on that below).
So, why do we use domain names at all?
Imagine that, instead of remembering everyone’s name, you had to remember their phone number or social security number whenever you wanted to talk about them. Or imagine going into an electronics store and finding there are no more brands, device names, or model names. Everything just has a serial number that you have to remember if you want to buy it.
We, humans, are much better at remembering names than we are at remembering strings of digits. That’s why we talk about catchy brand and model names, and that’s why we use domain names instead of IP addresses.
What a domain name isn’t
While you can use a domain name for a website or email account, it’s not the same as a website or email itself. In other words, all websites and email accounts require a domain name, but having a domain name doesn’t automatically mean that you have a website or email account.
What’s in a domain name?
A domain name can be divided into two (or sometimes three) parts, each separated by periods.
Top-level domains
The top-level domain (TLD) is the two- or three-letter section to the right of the dot. In the domain name “Codecademy.com,” “.com” is the TLD. Other common TLDs include:
.edu (for educational institutions)
.org (usually for non-profit organizations)
.gov (for government organizations)
.net
.io
The TLDs above are known as generic TLDs because they can be used by anyone around the world. But there are also country-specific TLDs, such as:
.ca (Canada)
.mx (Mexico)
.de (Germany)
.cn (China)
.jp (Japan)
While people are more or less free to choose other parts of their domain name (if they’re not already in use), TLDs tend to be more restrictive. For example, you must be an accredited post-secondary institution to register a domain with the .edu TLD in the US. And, most countries restrict their TLDs to their own citizens or to businesses registered within their borders.
Second-level domain
The second-level domain (2LD) is what’s to the left of the TLD. In the example of “Codecademy.com,” “Codecademy” is the 2LD.
Third-level domain
Sometimes, a domain name has three parts. That is, three names separated by two dots. Think of British commercial websites, which always end in .co.uk. So, for Google’s UK site, “Google.co.uk,” “.uk” is the TLD, “.co” is the 2LD, and “Google” is the third-level domain (3LD).
A 3LD can also be used to designate a subdomain. For example, if you use Wikipedia in English, then you visit “en.Wikipedia.org.” Here, “.org” is the TLD, “Wikipedia” is the 2LD, and “en” (for English) is the 3LD. Subdomains are often used to distinguish between different services. For example, take Google’s subdomains like docs.google.com or drive.google.com.
The DNS: phonebook of the internet
Now that you understand why we use domain names and the anatomy of a domain name, you might be wondering how to convert a domain name to an IP address. That’s where the Domain Name System (DNS) comes in.
The DNS is a global database of all the registered domain names on the internet. A DNS record will typically include the domain name and an associated IP address. Through the DNS, your browser can translate a domain name in the address bar into an IP address that it can then use to send requests to the web server and receive webpage content.
What’s important to remember is that there’s no single DNS server or even a single physical location for DNS servers. Instead, the DNS comprises a group of different servers located all around the world.
How your browser uses the DNS
To access an online resource and its content, your browser needs to communicate with multiple DNS servers. Lets’ take a look at the process.
Recursive resolvers: the DNS librarian
Let’s go back to the day when you visited Codecademy.com for the very first time. When you typed the domain name into your address bar, your browser had no idea where to go to access our homepage, let alone the webpage of this article. To fix this, the first step is to communicate with a recursive resolver.
Think of a recursive resolver as a librarian whose job is to communicate directly with the other DNS servers and come back to you with the query results. Recursive resolver servers communicate with three other types of DNS servers: root nameservers, TLD nameservers, and authoritative nameservers.
Root DNS nameservers
The highest level of a DNS query involves the root nameservers. Root nameservers contain information about where to find more information about the domain based on its TLD.
In our example of accessing Codecademy.com, a root nameserver would point the recursive resolver to the IP address of another DNS server with more information about websites that end in .com. In other words, the root server won’t know the IP address of a domain, but it’ll know where to go next to find more information.
There are 13 root servers located around the world, and they all contain information on where to find a domain’s IP address based on the domain TLD.
TLD nameservers
The next step is for the recursive resolver to communicate with the TLD nameserver that was specified by the root nameserver. In our case of accessing Codecademy.com, the recursive resolver would communicate with a server that contains information about all websites that end in .com. The TLD nameserver will provide the recursive resolver with an IP address leading to the final part of the query, the authoritative nameserver.
Authoritative DNS nameservers
The final step is for the recursive resolver to communicate with the authoritative DNS nameserver, which contains information specific to the particular domain and is the final holder of the domain’s IP address.
Once the recursive resolver has the IP address information it needs from the authoritative nameserver, it passes the results of the query back to your browser. Using the Codecademy domain IP address, your browser then communicates directly with the Codecademy.com server to load the Codecademy homepage and this very article.
Caching and other shortcuts
Now that you understand how your browser gets an IP address out of a domain name, you may be wondering how long this process takes. With so many back-and-forth queries through the recursive resolver, it can take a few seconds — sometimes more — to load a webpage every time you want to access it. Isn’t there a faster way?
Once you access Codecademy.com or any other website for the first time, the query result is stored locally in your computer’s cache memory. That way, the next time you visit the website on your computer, your browser already knows the IP address associated with its domain. This means it can connect directly with the web server instead of having to start another query with the recursive resolver.
Even if you’re accessing a website for the first time, there’s a chance that the recursive resolver already made a similar query recently. Maybe someone in your neighborhood is also advancing their development career with our courses.
In that case, the recursive resolver will have stored the query results and IP address in its own cache. Instead of going through a whole new DNS query with you, it can then just provide the IP address it got from its last query.
What’s the difference between a domain name and a URL?
As you read this article, you might be looking up at the address bar and wondering whether that’s all part of Codecademy’s domain name. What you’re actually looking at is the uniform resource locator or URL.
The URL contains the domain name (“Codecademy.com”) and two other important pieces of information: the transfer protocol and the path. Note that some browsers, like Google Chrome, no longer display the full URL in the address bar. If you’re using Chrome and can’t see the full URL, right-click the address bar and click “Always Show Full URLs.”
The transfer protocol (the “https://” to the left of the domain name) is the convention used between the computer and the server on the internet (in the case of most web traffic, the very common HTTPS protocol).
The path name contains information about a specific page or file within a website. For example, everything you see in your address bar to the right of “Codecademy.com/” is the URL path.
Just like a file path on your computer, the URL path for this article is unique and allows you to easily access this page later on or share it with your friends on social media.
Domain names versus web hosting
If you want to start your own website, you’ll need to do two big things: register your domain name and find a place to host your website.
A web host provides a place for you to securely store your web content: your home page, photos, articles, and any other files that people see on your website. Whenever someone visits your website, they’re accessing the information on the servers of your web host. Like everything else connected to the internet, your web host’s servers are assigned their own IP addresses.
It’s technically possible for you to host your own website on your own home computer or office server, but that’s becoming less and less common.
When you register your domain, you’re adding your domain name to the DNS so that people know it exists. Whether you use a web host provider or host your own website, you’ll need to register your domain name. Otherwise, there’ll be no way for the public to access your website except by using an IP address.
Think of it like starting a physical business. First, you need to register your business — apply for a business name, make sure that no one else is using your business name, and get a Tax ID number. But, you still need a place to do business, whether you’re designating some space in your home or renting an office.
A web hosting service performs the same function. Even if you decide to change web hosting providers, you still keep your domain name. The only thing that changes is the physical server where your website files are stored.
Should you have your own domain name?
There are many advantages to having your own domain name. Not only are they affordable (which we’ll get into later), but they also provide benefits such as:
A domain name gives you your own corner of the internet
There are many reasons why you might want your own domain name. Maybe you want a place to feature your resume or portfolio. Maybe you’re looking to showcase a complex website you built yourself with languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
No matter what you intend to use it for, having your own domain name allows you to build a web presence that’s entirely about you. There are no social media templates, word count limits, or distracting sidebars competing for readers’ attention.
A domain name elevates you professionally
As you start networking and advancing your career, having your own website with your own domain name says a lot about you professionally. It means that you’re taking your career seriously, not to mention that you have the skills to put together your own website.
While you can always list your GitHub, LinkedIn, and other social media profiles on a business card, think of how it’ll be received. Almost everyone has a social media account, but having your own domain name speaks to your professionalism. Plus, with your own website and domain name, there’s a single place for you to tell your professional story and present your portfolio the way you want to.
Domain name registrars and registries
We’ve gone over what domain names are, how they work, and why you should have one, but how do you actually get your own domain name? If you think of a catchy name for your personal site or business, how do you get it recorded in the DNS so that people can start using your domain name to access your website?
The truth is that having your own domain name is easier than ever before. Registration fees are only $10–$15 a year, and the registration process is quick and simple. And once you have your own domain name, you have immediate access to all the advantages that come with it.
To understand that better, let’s first go over domain name registrars and registries.
Domain name registries
Registries are the organizations that manage the TLDs. For example, there are different registries for .com and .org domains, as well as separate registries for each country-specific domain. Registries keep records of which domains belong to which individuals or organizations at any given time.
The role of a registry is purely limited to record-keeping. When someone wants to buy a domain name, they must work with a registrar.
Domain name registrars
For commercial sales of registered domain names, registries delegate organizations called registrars to handle sales and customer interactions. When you buy a domain name, the registrar tells the registry to update its records and associate you or your company with that particular domain. Registries charge a fee to registrars for each domain registration, but that cost is passed to you via the registrar. So, all of your financial transactions are with the registrar, and it’s the registrar who’s responsible for customer service and support if there’s a problem later on.
Domain name resellers
If you’re looking to register a domain name, you may come across a reseller instead of a registrar. Resellers work on behalf of registrars and make money by receiving a portion of the registration fee.
While most resellers are legitimate, you should remember that resellers rarely offer the same level of customer support as registrars.
There’s also domain squatting (AKA cybersquatting). In short, some people will buy domain names related to various businesses, organizations, and even celebrities in hopes of reselling them later for a profit.
Can you own a domain name?
While you hear a lot about people buying, selling, and owning a domain name, the reality is that the registry owns all of its registered domain names.
When you “buy” a domain, you’re really leasing it or buying the right to reserve a domain name for your use for a certain amount of time — usually not more than 10 years. Still, it’s always possible to keep renewing a domain name, which means that people and companies can effectively control it indefinitely.
Domain name security
Once you’ve acquired your own domain name, always follow good domain safety practices, such as:
Keep your domain name locked
Whenever your domain name is locked, it prevents anyone, including you, from making any changes to the information associated with it. If you do want to make any changes — for example, change the IP address that the domain points to after switching web hosting providers — then you need to unlock your domain name.
The problem is that an unlocked domain name can potentially be transferred to another registrar or third party and picked up by someone else. That’s why it’s important to unlock your domain name only when you absolutely need to.
Use a reputable domain registrar
Using a third-party domain name reseller to save some money can be tempting, but it’s not worth the risk. Many third-party resellers have notoriously poor customer service, and if they go out of business, your domain name could be at risk of being transferred to someone else.
Register domain name variations
Even if your domain name is catchy and easy to remember, typos happen. The last thing you want is for a hiring manager or potential client to get an error message because they missed a letter when typing in your web address.
That’s why you should consider registering domain name variations that redirect people to your website, even if they’ve mistyped something. For example, a lot of people misread or mishear Codecademy as “Code Academy.” But, when they type in CodeAcademy.com, they’re automatically redirected to the correct domain, Codecademy.com.
Similarly, say your domain ends in “.org,” “.edu,” or “.net.” You might want to consider registering the “.com” variant as well to prevent competitors from doing the same.
Getting started with your website
Getting a domain name is an essential part of creating your own website, which you’ll want to do if you want to stand out — especially as a Front-End Developer. If you’re not sure how to start, our course on building websites will have you creating your own website in no time.
It is time to start a spooky season. If you do not have decorations yet, make sure to grab our new free Halloween printable poster. It will remind you that you are full of magic! Use it as table decoration or hang it on the office wall – it will match all types of interiors.
You are Full of Magic free Halloween printable poster!
I like designing posters because I think they are really universal decorations. They are perfect both for a seasonal office accent and the house party knick-knack. This Halloween poster is easy to print and available in three different sizes – A4, A5, and US Letter.
For Personal Use Only.
What types of decorations are your favorites? Above all, do you even decorate your house for seasonal occasions like Halloween? I would love to know that so please let me know in the comments below!
If you are looking for more Halloween Freebies, make sure to check our free printables library
Looking for something specific?
If you have an idea for a printable, let us know in the comments! We are always looking for inspiration. If you decide to print today’s free Halloween printable poster, make sure to share photos of your decorated room with us via Instagram or Twitter.
As the Dixie Fire rages in California, plumes of noxious smoke have turned the air as far afield as Salt Lake City and Denver into some of the dirtiest in the world. Fires across western Canada and the Pacific Northwest last month turned the sun red as far away as New York City.
The smoky haze carries with it a range of health threats from mild eye and throat irritation to serious heart and respiratory issues that pose an especially high risk when compounded with similar symptoms caused by Covid-19. Research published this past week found that weakened immune response caused by exposure to wildfire smoke last summer could be associated with thousands of additional infections and hundreds of deaths from Covid-19.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word noxious in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.
If you want a better idea of how noxious can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
Supply-chain issues are affecting industries across the globe, causing delays, rising costs and shortages of a wide range of goods, including computer chips, bicycle parts, place mats and even food for school lunches.
Which of the following is a contributor to these problems? Choose ALL that apply, then hit “done” when you have made your choice or choices.
Did you have a job this summer? According to The New York Times, it was “the best summer in years” for teenagers to find jobs. Was that your experience? Did you enjoy the work, or were you doing it mainly for the money?
Now that school has started, do you still have a job? What is it like to juggle school and work?
No matter when you’ve worked, if you’ve held a job during high school, what would you say are the positive things about working? The negative?
In an article published in May, “The Luckiest Workers in America? Teenagers,” Jeanna SmialekandDavid McCabe wrote about what made this summer different than others. The article begins:
Roller-coaster operators and lemonade slingers at Kennywood amusement park, a Pittsburgh summer staple, won’t have to buy their own uniforms this year. Those with a high school diploma will also earn $13 as a starting wage — up from $9 last year — and new hires are receiving free season passes for themselves and their families.
The big pop in pay and perks for Kennywood’s seasonal work force, where nearly half of employees are under 18, echoes what is happening around the country as employers scramble to hire waiters, receptionists and other service workers to satisfy surging demand as the economy reopens.
For American teenagers looking for work, this may be the best summer in years.
As companies try to go from hardly staffed to fully staffed practically overnight, teens appear to be winning out more than any demographic group. The share of 16- to 19-year-olds who are working hasn’t been this high since 2008, before the unfolding global financial crisis sent employment plummeting. Roughly 256,000 teens in that age group gained employment in April — counting for the vast majority of newly employed people — a significant change after teenagers suffered sharp job losses at the beginning of the pandemic. Whether the trend can hold up will become clearer when jobs data for May is released on Friday.
It could come with a downside. Some educators warn that jobs could distract from school. And while employment can itself offer learning opportunities, the most recent wave of hiring has been led by white teens, raising concerns that young people from minority groups might miss out on a hot summer labor market.
“A rising tide isn’t lifting all boats,” said Alicia Sasser Modestino, an economist at Northeastern University who studies labor markets for young people. Still, “there could be some really good opportunities for youth that we haven’t seen in a long time — that’s good.”
Students, read the entire article, then tell us:
Can you relate to anything in this article? Did you work this summer? If you’ve worked before, did you find a “pop in pay and perks” this year compared to other years? Was your job this summer satisfying, interesting or fun? Well paid?
This article was written in May. If you are working, or looking for work now, how much of it still seems true in October? Are jobs fairly easy to find? Do you think jobs are easier to find for white teenagers than for teenagers of color?
What do you look for in a job? Even if you’ve never had one, what do you imagine might be deal breakers for you, in terms of wages, work conditions, rules you must follow or anything else?
Have you ever had a memorably good — or memorably bad — job? What was it, and what made it memorable? Did you learn anything valuable from the experience?
According to this article, “Educators have voiced a different concern: That today’s plentiful and prosperous teen jobs might be distracting students from their studies.” Do you agree? If you work while attending high school, how distracting is your job? How do you juggle your responsibilities?
For teens whose wages are necessary to help with household expenses, do you think that school should be more lenient about assignments? What about students who have other obligations outside of academics, such as caring for younger siblings or family members who are ill? How should schools accommodate teenage work schedules, if at all, in your opinion?
What do you wish older people — whether your parents, your teachers or the boss at your job — understood better about teenage workers? What would you tell them if you could?
Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
In southern Mexico, a community of the local Zapotec people has long accepted — and celebrated — gender nonconformity. In this lesson you will learn about muxes — people who are born male but who adopt roles and identities associated with women — in Mexico. Then, you will celebrate a part of your identity, gender or otherwise, that you are proud of.
Warm-Up
The featured article looks at a community in Mexico that embraces people who identify as a third gender. Have you hear of that term before, or other terms that look at gender more expansively? What do you think it might mean?
Before reading the article, take some time to answer these questions privately in your notebook:
When was the first time you felt aware of your gender identity? How old were you? What happened to make you think about your gender identity?
Is gender something that you talk about with your family or friends? Do you have space to think about, and ask questions about, your gender or gender identity in general?
How comfortable do you feel talking about gender in the classroom? What makes you feel that way?
Take a look at “The ABCs of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+” if you would like to learn about different terms used when talking about gender and sexuality.
1. Does the identity and role of muxes in Zapotec culture remind you of anything else you’re familiar with?
2. How does Estrella talk about her experiences as a young child? What is her life like now? What role does she play within her family?
3. The featured article talks about how people in academia — sociologists and anthropologists — are able to trace gender fluidity in different cultures historically. In your experience, how much is gender fluidity or expansiveness understood and accepted within your family, school and larger community?
4. What role did colonization and Christianization have in the acceptance of gender nonconformity in the Indigenous communities of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec?
5. Generally, how do Zapotec mothers and families treat muxe children? What options do muxe children have as they grow up?
6. What is La Vela de las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro? According to the article, what are the emotions Estrella feels as she prepares for, and attends, the event?
Going Further
Part I. Analyze
Choose one photograph from the featured article to look at closely. What do you notice about the photograph? What do you wonder about it?
Now, analyze the photograph with a focus on the use of light. In this lesson plan about analyzing the elements of art, Kristin Farr says this about photography:
Photography can be defined as drawing with light. Photographers often capture high-contrast colors to emphasize parts of an image, and low contrast colors to add dimension, foreground and background.
Look closely at one or two additional photographs and ask yourself these questions from the above lesson plan:
Which photos have high-contrast colors? Which have low-contrast colors, or a mix of both?
What’s the first thing you see? What’s the next thing you notice?
What do you think Núria López Torres, the writer and photographer, wanted to reveal about her subjects?
Part II. Photograph
Reflect on your identity — this could be your gender, race, religion, nationality or sexuality. What is one piece of your identity that you are proud of?
Then, take a photograph (you can use the self-timer on your phone or ask a friend to take a picture) that highlights this part of your identity. Think carefully about the composition of the photograph: How are you positioned? What is around you? How can you play with light and shadows, or high-contrast or low-contrast colors, to create a certain mood or tone?
Additional Teaching and Learning Opportunities
Watch a documentary about muxes. In the past 10 years, several documentaries have been made about people who are muxes. Choose one to watch from National Geographic or VICE. As you watch, you can use our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments. Then, consider these questions: What moments in this film stood out for you? Were there any surprises? What messages, emotions or ideas will you take away from this film?
Learn about gender on social media. Have you seen TikToks or Instagram videos celebrating or teaching about different gender identities? For example, here is a TikTok about gender fluidity that has been viewed over 14,000 times, and another talking about māhū people presently and historically in Hawaii. Where else have you learned about gender identity? What questions do you still have about gender identity?
As you read this second article, in what ways is it similar to, and different from, the featured article? In what ways have the two articles changed your understanding about gender identity? What questions do you still have?
Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here.
When the term “hacker” was created, it described the engineers who developed code for mainframe computers. Now, it means a skilled programmer who attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks by taking advantage of vulnerabilities in the system. Hackers write scripts to penetrate systems, crack passwords, and steal data.
Even though hacking has become a term that most often describes malicious and unethical activities, it doesn’t have to be. A hacker can still use these skills for good.
In this article, we’ll take a look at ethical hacking and show you how you can start your journey to becoming an ethical hacker.
What do ethical hackers do?
Ethical hacking is also known as white hat hacking or penetration testing. It can be an exciting career because ethical hackers spend their workday learning how computer systems work, discovering their vulnerabilities, and breaking into them with no fear of being arrested.
Unlike malicious hackers, who are typically motivated by financial gain, ethical hackers aim to help companies (and society as a whole) keep their data safe. Companies hire ethical hackers to find the vulnerabilities in their systems and update the flawed software so no one else can use the same technique to break in again.
As an ethical hacker, you’ll either be able to break into a system and then fix it or try to break into a system and not be able to. Either result is a win for the ethical hacker and the company because the company’s network is secure in the end.
Find vulnerabilities
Vulnerabilities are flaws or bugs in software that can be taken advantage of to gain unauthorized access to a network or computer system. Common vulnerabilities include:
Outdated software
Misconfigured systems
A lack of data encryption
Some vulnerabilities are easy to test for because the bugs have already been documented. In these cases, all the Penetration Tester has to do is scan the system to see if the bug exists on the system and update the software with a patch to remove the flaw.
Other vulnerabilities may still be unknown, and the Penetration Tester will use scripts and other tools to push the system to the limit and see if any bugs shake loose.
Demonstrate methods used by hackers
Ethical hackers can also take on the role of a teacher. Many companies and employees know little about cybersecurity threats and how their actions can either prevent a threat or help the hacker steal data.
Ethical hackers hold classes on cybersecurity and warn employees of new threats as they’re discovered. Education is especially effective against phishing and other social engineering-type cyberattacks that require the target of the attack to take action to make it possible.
When employees are informed about a potential threat, there’s a greater chance it can be stopped before it infects a system.
Help prevent cyberattacks
Ethical hackers also work with other security team members to create a more secure infrastructure for an enterprise.
Ethical hackers know what kind of threats are out there and can help the team choose the tools and create the security policies that can prevent threats they may not even know about yet. They can also help set up systems for backup and recovery, which can be used in a worst-case scenario.
What are the key principles of ethical hacking?
The line between black hat (or malicious) hacking and white hat (or ethical) hacking can seem blurry. After all, there’s also gray hat hacking, which sits between the two.
As an ethical hacker, here are some principles you should follow:
Obey the law: Hacking is only ethical if you have permission to perform a security assessment of the system you’re hacking.
Know the scope of the project: Stay within the boundaries of the agreement you have with the company. Know exactly what you’re supposed to test and only test those systems.
Report all vulnerabilities: Report any vulnerabilities you find and suggest ways to fix them.
Respect any sensitive data: A Penetration Tester will often test systems that hold sensitive data and will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
What kind of jobs can an ethical hacker get?
Companies of all sizes and industries are concerned about their network security. As long as security breaches still happen and companies still have sensitive data, ethical hackers will be in demand, so the job market looks good for them well into the future.
Some larger enterprises have ethical hackers on staff who run security tests and penetration tests all day long. In other companies, ethical hacking may only be part of the job while you spend most of your time configuring networks and setting up new systems.
An ethical hacker can have many titles. Here are a few of them:
Penetration Tester
Security Analyst
Ethical Hacker
Certified Ethical Hacker
Security Consultant
Security Engineer
Security Architect
Information Security Analyst
Information Security Manager
How to become an ethical hacker
Most ethical hackers, Penetration Testers, and white hat hackers get into ethical hacking because they’re curious about how the internet and information security works. One thing an ethical hacker needs to know is cybersecurity.
Our Introduction to Cybersecurity course will teach you how to identify and protect yourself against common cybersecurity threats. Once you know what type of threats there are, you can use similar techniques to test the security of computer systems and networks. For ethical hacking, you’ll also want to be familiar with networks (wired and wireless) and operating systems (especially Windows and Linux.)
Since an ethical hacker also deals with software vulnerabilities and may need to write scripts to help with the job, you’ll also need to learn a few programming languages. Our Learn Python 3 course will teach you a great language for writing penetration scripts and other tools to help you hack.
Other courses you might consider are Learn the Command Line and Learn Bash Scripting since many ethical hacking tools are run from the command line. Familiarity with vulnerability testing tools like Metasploit and OpenVASis a plus. There are also certifications for ethical hacking, like CEH and OSCP.
But the most important requirement is still curiosity, so stay curious and good luck with your ethical hacking!
