Some highly processed plant-based milks can also have a negative impact on the environment. Most ingredients used in plant milks are associated with a lower carbon footprint than those in dairy milk.
But many, especially nuts and coconuts, pose their own environmental problems. Almonds are typically grown in areas suffering from water scarcity, and increased demand for them is depleting the water supply in those communities. Rising demand for coconut is leading to increased cultivation and the potential for deforestation and the loss of biodiversity.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word scarcity 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 scarcity 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.
This lesson is a part of our Accessible Activities feature, which aims to welcome a wider variety of learners to our site and to The Times in general. Learn more and tell us what you think here.
Here are two expressions that also appear in the article: “go for it” and “slowly but steadily.” Do you know what either of these mean? Can you use them in a sentence?
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article below, or as a PDF, and then answer the following questions:
1. What negative associations do people have about tattoos in Japan? How do these affect people who have tattoos?
2. How are some of the negative associations changing?
3. What role has social media played in these changing norms?
4. What is your reaction to the perspective on tattoos by Rion Sanada, the high schooler quoted at the end of the article?
Going Further
What is your reaction to the article? Did it change any of your beliefs about tattoos? What was surprising or interesting about it?
Now check out a fuller version of this article, titled “Discreetly, the Young in Japan Chip Away at a Taboo on Tattoos.” What story do the photographs in it tell? Based on what you just read, what three photographs do you believe are the most essential to telling this story? Why?
Finally, tell a story of your own through images. First, find three photos on your camera roll that are related in some way. Maybe they all feature your dog, a sport you play, a place you like to hang out, or a friend or family member. Put them in an order that, like the photos in the interactive you clicked through, explain something or tell a little story. Finally, write short captions for each that tell that story. Don’t forget to share your creation with others to see what they think!
Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here.
1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions:
2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)
3. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.
Each Monday, our collaborator, Visual Thinking Strategies, will facilitate a discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking to responses to help students’ understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.
4. On Thursday afternoons, we will reveal at the bottom of this post more information about the photo. How does reading the caption and learning its back story help you see the image differently?
The Reveal
We’ll post more information here on Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned!
Students 13 and older in the United States and the 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.
Great choice! Python is a powerful, versatile programming language used for everything from web development to data science and machine learning. It’s also easy to read, so it’s well-suited for new and experienced programmers alike. Plus, Python skills are in high demand, so adding it to your tech stack can open the door to many job opportunities.
But there’s a lot to learn. Online courses — particularly interactive ones like our Learn Python 3 course — will help you build many of the skills you’ll need throughout your career. But it’s not uncommon to supplement your education if you want to master the language.
“To truly understand a field, you need to get input from multiple places,” says Codecademy Data Science Domain Manager Michelle McSweeney. “Sometimes books can add theoretical depth, sometimes they introduce more practical applications, but they always serve to help you enter into a culture of coding in addition to the practice.”
Ahead, Michelle shares five Python coding books that’ll help take you from Python newbie to Python expert.
If you’re completely new to programming
If you’re starting from scratch, Michelle recommends Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Scienceby John Zelle. “It’s such a good foundation,” she says. “It provides a classic introduction to programmatic thinking via Python.”
Python Programming explores the fundamentals of computer science, programming, design, and problem-solving in a way that’s easy to understand. You’ll also learn how to write simple Python programs, and it’ll help you develop your ability to think like a programmer.
If you want to learn about real-world use cases
Learn Python 3 the Hard Wayby Zed Shaw is helpful for those who want to dive deeper into Python programming. “It’s an excellent resource,” Michelle says. “It’s a learn-by-example book and really helpful for getting some immediate practice to supplement your learning on Codecademy.”
Learn Python 3the Hard Way shows you how to install Python on your computer and covers concepts like lists, loops, and data structures. It offers 52 practical exercises to help build your coding skills, and you’ll also learn more about Python’s applications in web development and game development.
If you want a comprehensive introduction to Python
If you want a better understanding of Python’s advanced features, check out Learning Pythonby Mark Lutz. “It’s a TOME,” Michelle says. “The thorough approach is right for some, but not for everyone.”
Learning Python teaches you how to use the latest versions of Python, and you’ll also navigate object types, code packages, exception-handling models, and development tools like decorators and metaclasses as you learn how to write organized and efficient code. It’s also a great introduction to object-oriented programming.
If you want to automate tasks
Automate the Boring Stuff with Pythonis a good choice if you’re just starting out, but it’s also a handy resource that can help you throughout your career. “It’s immediately useful and satisfying,” Michelle says. “It offers such quick recipes that you don’t have to do the thinking, it’ll just remind you how to do something.”
If you find yourself constantly dealing with repetitive tasks, Automate the Boring Stuff with Python could be right for you. You’ll learn how to create Python programs to automate file management, Excel spreadsheet updates, email reminders, text notifications, and downloading content from the internet.
Not only will you learn about the fundamental concepts of machine learning and different types of machine learning algorithms, but you’ll also learn how to use Python and tools like scikit-learn to build machine learning applications. If you’re making your way through our Data Scientist career path, this book is the perfect supplement.
Learn more about Python
Each of the books above will teach you more about Python and help build your skills as a programmer, but nothing expedites learning like hands-on practice. Check out our Python courses to learn more about the language.
If you got offered a job in tech, first of all — congrats! Your hard work is paying off. As you prepare to negotiate your salary and read the fine print of your offer letter, you might come across a benefit in your compensation package that you’re not familiar with: employee stock options.
Lots of companies will give employees “stock options,” or the right to purchase a number of shares of the company’s stock at a set price over a specific period of time. While stock options aren’t exclusive to tech companies, it’s a pretty common benefit at startups.
Equity compensation and stock options are a way for employees to have direct ownership in the company or “some skin in the game,” explains Danny Roberts, Senior Technical Recruiter at Codecademy. And since stock options typically vest over a period of time, it’s also a way to incentivize folks to stay at a company long term.
First things first: Stock options aren’t as straightforward as earning a salary or getting handed “free money.” You can expect your employer to give you a stock options agreement with all the terms laid out, and maybe even host informational sessions that illustrate some common scenarios. But you might still have questions about what all of this could mean for you.
Every company is different, and every employee’s financial situation is different, so it’s impossible to give one-size-fits all guidance. However, here are five things that will help you better understand this part of your compensation package, and hopefully guide your follow-up questions for a recruiter or financial advisor who can speak to your specific scenario.
What even is stock?
If stonks aren’t really your thing, it’s easy to get confused by the concept of equity packages and stock options. To review, a stock is a unit representing a fraction of ownership of a company. Stocks are mainly bought and sold on the stock exchange (like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq); and in some cases, they can also be sold privately.
Whether you work for a publicly-traded company or a private one affects your stock options. When a company “goes public,” it means that it undertakes its initial public offering, aka “IPO,” by selling shares of stock to the public. Anyone can look up the stock prices of public companies (take a look at Meta, Apple, and Amazon’s stock quotes for context).
The value of an individual stock at any given time can fluctuate depending upon the stock market. When employees are given stock options, they’re offered at a fixed price that doesn’t change even as a company grows and gets more valuable.
Private companies that don’t trade shares on the public market yet, but want to offer stock options to employees, have to go through a formal appraisal process called a 409A valuation to determine the “fair market value” of a startup company’s common stock. The valuation can depend on lots of factors, like the company’s assets or cash flow, and companies do this annually (or sooner, if there’s a major event like a merger or financing).
A lot is hypothetical
The value of a stock is contingent upon so many other variables that are out of your control as an individual. “The main thing that people want to understand when they’re given an equity package and an offer is: What is the value of this?” Danny says. The truth is, at private or pre-IPO companies, it’s tricky to answer that question because it’s all hypothetical.
For example, say you’re considering a job at an early-stage pre-IPO startup, and your compensation package includes a number of stock grants. Technically, the value of the stock is all based on the 409A valuation, and you can’t trade it on the stock market yet.
In a sense, purchasing or exercising stock options involves betting on the future of the company. There’s a chance that there could be “an amazing upside” to buying stock, Danny says. If the company goes public and the stock becomes very valuable, that could result in a profit and windfall for stock owners. “But never think about equity as guaranteed,” he adds.
They’re time sensitive
Time is an important factor when it comes to stock options. Typically, employees have to work at a company for a set period of time before they’re allowed to exercise their right to purchase stocks. Stocks usually vest over a 4-year period with a 25%-year cliff, meaning each year you’re at the company, you can exercise 25% of the number of stock options you were granted.
Another common scenario: Your company gives you “restricted stock units” or RSUs, which are yours as soon as you vest, but don’t technically have a tangible value until a future date. (If the company is public, then the RSUs you’re granted each month do have a tangible value.) In order to reap the benefits, you’d have to stay at the company until the vesting period ends.
And should you decide to leave the company, there’s usually a 90-day window that you have to exercise your stock options.
There are tax implications
Keep in mind that whatever you decide to do with your stock options will impact your taxes. Make sure you know what type of stock that your employer offers so you know how it’ll be taxed: “Non-qualified stock options” get taxed as part of your annual income, whereas “incentive stock options” can get taxed at a different (in some cases lower) rate when you sell the stock.
Consider your personal risk profile
There’s a lot to take in here, and these are just some starting points for many more questions. So it’s wise to consult a professional financial advisor if you’re not sure what to do. What you do with your stock options is very personal, and boils down to how much risk you’re willing to assume. Someone who’s highly risk-averse might prioritize a higher salary with fewer stock options because it’s guaranteed money in the bank.
So what you can see here is that when working memory demands are low (easy problems), people respond pretty fast and don’t make a lot of errors, regardless of anxiety. But when they need to use more of their working memory on the hard problems (High WM demand), anxiety starts to get in the way. That’s why you see such a big difference between the individuals with high math anxiety (HMA) and low math anxiety (LMA) in the control condition on the hard problems. In the expressive writing condition (called “EW” here, but it’s really not gross at all!), those with low math anxiety perform pretty much the same as in the control, but the individuals with high anxiety perform much better, and, statistically speaking, they look the same as those with low anxiety!
Why Does Expressive Writing Work?
Why does this work? Well, we don’t know exactly. There are a few possibilities (and all of these may actually play a role here).
1) Expressive writing may allow individuals to better organize and understand their emotions, leading to more effective coping mechanisms.
2) Expressive writing may free up working memory by allowing the individual to psychologically distance themselves from the source of stress.
3) Expressive writing may serve as a type of distributed cognition, allowing the individual to stop monitoring, knowing that they can pick that stress back up later (sort of like writing your grocery list on a piece of paper so you don’t have to keep it in mind… until you lose the paper).
A Word of Caution
It should be noted that this is only one study on a specific population (college students) in one domain (math). If these variables changed, it might affect how much expressive writing is needed in order to get these same effects. Still, given that this is a relatively easy intervention that takes little prep and little time, it might be worth trying to see if students who are struggling with various types of performance-related anxiety might benefit. If you do try this technique, let us know how it works for you or your students!
What do you think this image is saying? How does it relate to or comment on society or current events? Can you relate to it personally? What is your opinion of its message?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related Opinion essay to learn more.
Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.
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.
Thanks to dramatic museum displays, many of us can imagine a Triceratops wielding its horns and sprawling neck frill to ward off a hungry Tyrannosaurus rex. But some scientists believe that Triceratopses used their deadly headgear against each other, too. Like dueling elk brandishing their antlers, Triceratopses may have interlocked their horns to woo mates or vanquish rivals.
While scientists have long speculated about such behavior, conclusive evidence of these clashes has proved elusive. But in a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, a team of Italian scientists describe what they believe is a gaping scar from one of these ancient battles on the neck frill of a high-profile Triceratops known as “Big John.”
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word vanquish 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 vanquish 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.
Professional free divers are a daring lot. The best of them can hold their breath for over 10 minutes at the surface, and plunge to depths of well over 300 feet on one breath. When they aren’t competing, they dive for fun, sometimes in extreme settings or alongside wildlife. Instagram is speckled with images of divers swimming with humpback and sperm whales, crocodiles and even great white sharks.
More often than not, those are one-off encounters or expeditions. But when Grosmaire is home in Tikehau, where he has lived for five years, he swims with tiger sharks at least once a week.
Each Wednesday we shine a spotlight on five student activities that support a broad range of learners. In this week’s roundup of accessible activities, we invite students to learn about careers in their community, reflect on their relationship with their inner critic, watch a film about the history of immigration between Mexico and the United States, read a winning essay from our STEM Writing Contest and react to the racist massacre in Buffalo.
Note: To learn more about this new weekly feature, read our introductory post. Please share your thoughts in the comments section or by emailing us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.
1. Learn about life as a dog walker.
In thisLesson of the Day students will learn about the daily routine and responsibilities of a dog walker in Brooklyn, New York. They will reflect on their own experiences with work and then interview a community member about their job.
2. Share how they deal with their inner critic.
This Student Opinion prompt asks students to think about that little voice in their head that creates self-doubt or criticism. They will read an illustrated story about the inner critic and share if, and how, they relate to it. Students can discuss their answers in a class discussion, write a short essay or share their reflections in the comments section.
3. Watch a film about the history of immigration to the U.S. from Mexico.
In this Film Club students watch a film that traces the history of the U.S.-Mexico border from 1848 to today. Students will learn how the border between the two countries became so political and divisive and share what they can learn from this history.
4. Read an entry from our STEM Student Writing Contest.
Our 3rd Annual STEM Writing Contest features writing from students around the world who — in 500 words or less — explain an issue or question in science, technology, engineering, math or health. Invite students to read one of the winning essays and then react to it: What did they learn? What does the essay make them want to research or study?
5. React to the racist massacre in Buffalo, N.Y.
This Student Opinion offers a space for students to share their thoughts and feelings about what happened in Buffalo on May 14 when a white teenage gunman opened fire at a supermarket, methodically shooting and killing 10 people and injuring three more, almost all of them Black. Before responding, they should read — individually or as a class — the featured article that details what is known about the shooting.
