Ms. Walter grew up in New York State, where she and Mr. Walter met at a mixer not long after they graduated from high school. She wore a red dress, Mr. Walter recalled, and he saw her from across the room. He took her for pizza after the dance and, he said, pausing to laugh quietly, “the rest is history.”
Friends and family members remembered Ms. Walter — she answered to Pat, Patti or “Hey you” — as a vivacious “people person,” a woman who had a way of making you “feel like you were the most important person in the world whenever you were around her,” as one family member posted on an online memorial guest book.
Out of catastrophe can come opportunity. With the season fundamentally half-canceled by the decision of the major conferences of the Big 10 and the Pac-12 not to play, now is the time to recalibrate the college football industry and confront the issues that players, previously shunted into silence, have brought up because of the repercussions of Covid-19: not just obvious health issues but compensation issues and racial issues and exploitation issues. None of this happens when the status quo of the season ticks on year after year. No one listens.
There are those who think the effort to fix college football is malarkey and sanctimony. It’s just sport. It’s just a game. “Game” implies something fun and benign. College football is a huge industry. The five major conferences bring in at least $4 billion in revenue annually.
Yet those who make the game, play the game, are the game, expose themselves to possible brain injury and crippling arthritis and now the pandemic, don’t receive a dime of revenue…
Leaderless but united by racist ideology that has been supercharged by social media, far-right extremists have built a web of real and online connections that worries officials.
In this lesson, you will read about these connections between white nationalists in the United States and Europe, and you will learn about their responses to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. In a Going Further activity, you will consider how communities and governments should address far-right extremism.
Teachers: A classroom contract can be a useful tool in facilitating a range of difficult discussions; Facing History has a guide for in-person and remote contracting. Additionally, this Teaching Tolerance article from 2019, this explainer on white nationalism by Facing History, and this educator tool kit by the Western States Center can provide helpful background and strategies for engaging in this topic.
Warm Up
Take a moment to consider the following words and phrases: white supremacy, white nationalism and the far right.
What feelings, thoughts or words arise when you hear those words? Have you heard or read these words — or seen ideology connected to them — at school, at home or in the media?
Note: If you are in a classroom, write your responses on sticky notes. You do not need to write in complete sentences and you can share your responses anonymously. Then, post your sticky notes on the white board alongside your classmates’ notes. If you are learning online, you can use sticky notes on Google Slides or annotations on the Zoom whiteboard feature. What do you notice about what your classmates wrote in response to those three terms?
Before reading the featured article, read this excerpt from the Western States Center on the history and definition of white nationalism:
White nationalism is a term that originated among white supremacists in the post-1960s Civil Rights era. While initially used as a euphemism for white supremacy, by the late 1990s, white nationalism emerged as its own distinct ideology with an emphasis on antisemitism and the creation of all-white ethnostates through violence and policies that increase the vulnerability, criminalization and removal of minorities and other targeted communities.
Is this definition similar to how you understood white nationalism? If not, spend some time noting and reacting to any differences before reading the article.
1. The article is divided into three sections: “Meeting online and in person,” “Gaining traction in Germany” and “Differing expectations.” For each section, choose:
One quote that stood out to you
A word or phrase that you found upsetting, confusing or interesting
One question that you had after reading the section
2. How did far-right extremists around the world react to the events on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol? What about intelligence officials in various countries?
3. What are some of the — unfounded — fears and ideologies that unite far-right extremists around the globe? How do they connect, recruit and organize?
4. What do white nationalist groups in the U.S. and around the world think about former President Donald J. Trump and the Trump era?
5. What role do conspiracy theories and disinformation play in connecting far-right movements and ideologies internationally?
6. What do experts on far-right extremism think about the potential of an organized international far-right movement? What do far-right followers think about such potential?
7. Has your understanding of white supremacy, white nationalism and the far right changed after reading the article? If so, how?
Going Further | What Should Happen Now?
Increasingly, white nationalists are recruiting teenagers online, which has led to white nationalist symbolism and rhetoric in schools. Have you ever witnessed racist or anti-Semitic symbols at school, or in memes shared by peers online? How does your school community address these issues? What do you think of their response?
Now, consider the government’s role: How do you think the president, lawmakers and law enforcement officials should address white nationalism and white nationalist violence?
Farhad Manjoo, a Times Opinion columnist, says that even though intelligence officials saw far-right organizing online, they failed to act leading up to the Capitol riot. He believes that lessons should be learned from counterterrorism officials who investigated Islamic terrorism. Some of these ideas include anti-radicalization programs, the federal investigation of hate crimes, shutting down right-wing agitators on mainstream media, and international cooperation to prevent attacks and white nationalist recruitment globally.
In an Op-Ed, Colin P. Clarke, director at an intelligence and security consultancy, argues that lawmakers should declare domestic terrorism a federal crime and pass a bill to rigorously assess the threat of violent white-supremacist groups operating internationally.
However, not all people agree that a counterterrorism model should be used. In a Times Op-Doc, Adama Bah talks about when she was wrongly accused of terrorism as a 16-year-old. Today, when she hears politicians pushing for more laws to stop domestic terrorism, she does not agree. Ms. Bah says:
I want to call these white supremacists who stormed the Capitol terrorists. But calling them terrorists just gives law enforcement and other elected officials the ammunition to call peaceful protesters terrorists. People that look like me, who are brown, Muslim, Black, those are the ones who are going to actually be punished. We don’t need new laws to deal with white terrorists. The laws are there. It’s whether you want to apply it to certain people or not.
What is your reaction to these different positions about government policies to address white nationalism? Do you agree with one of the positions more than the others? Why?
About Lesson of the Day
• Find all our Lessons of the Day in this column. • Teachers, watch our on-demand webinar to learn how to use this feature in your classroom.
The past year has been difficult for many people. The pandemic, the politics, the job loss and the isolation — most Americans have had to find some new coping mechanisms to make it through. Here’s one: erasure poetry.
Creativity can be healing in difficult times, but it’s not always easy to tap into those creative juices. Sometimes you’re just too overwhelmed and exhausted to write or create. In those times, turning to found poetry — a style of poetry in which you write something new using only what you can find in an existing text — can help.
Sometimes when it’s hard to write, that constraint gives you a place to start. It’s a bit like a painter working with a limited palette: You have both a solid foundation from which to begin your poem, and the challenge to create something using only what you have in front of you. And even if you’re having difficulty writing traditionally constructed poetry, the medium of found poetry can let you gain access to a vocabulary you didn’t know you needed.
Among the forms of found poetry is erasure. The writer finds something new to say in an existing text; in this case, an article from The Times. Blackout poetry is a style of erasure that eliminates the words around a poem you’ve found within the text to present both a piece of literature and a stark image of that literature on the same page.
You may be wondering: Am I really writing a poem if I’m using someone else’s work to start? Yes! Writing a good found poem — and in this case, an erasure — requires the poet to intervene on the source text. This means that your poem will say something different thanthe source text. It will be representative of your voice and your narrative.
The rules are fairly simple: In an erasure, you can only use the words that appear in the article you’ve chosen, and you have to use them in the order they appear. How you erase the words around your poem is up to you. Here’s how to do it.
Choose your materials.
How will you erase? Do you want to use Wite-Out? A marker? Glitter? Maybe you’ll try some collage. The erasure in the poem above was done using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen.
Find an article.
You might choose an article that gives you strong feelings — joy, anger or sadness. Or you might choose an article that you can’t relate to at all. Both are great places to start. Once you’ve read the article, you can begin to identify words and phrases that you find interesting or that resonate with you, regardless of the context of the piece. Try to find at least one interesting or strong word that you can build the poem around.
The poem above was written using Marcus Westberg’s article “Crisp, Quiet and Still: A Wintry Swedish Wonderland,” from the Jan. 10 print edition of The Times. It’s important that your voice speaks in your poem, and not that of the original writer — an erasure poem shouldn’t summarize the material it’s created from. It should say something new. So while Mr. Westberg’s article is about pandemic travel in Sweden, the poem is about the elusiveness of new beginnings.
Prepare your draft.
Before you go in with that Sharpie or Wite-Out, you may want to outline the words you intend to keep with a pencil. You can also make a few copies of your article so that you can practice or experiment marking up the page from the original newspaper page you’re using.
Erase!
When you’re ready, erase all of the words other than the ones in your poem using your medium of choice.
End result?
You’ve written a poem. And maybe — just maybe — it helped you feel a little less stressed today. Cite your sources, and then go ahead and share your poem with friends. Maybe you’ll find more erasure poets in your midst, a small clan of sneaky writers with whom to exchange your creations.
The Codecademy Forums are the heart of our community. While many people think the forums are just a place to go when you’re stuck, they’re so much more.
Our forums offer an opportunity to solidify what you’ve learned—ask for feedback, share your expertise and experience, and respond to others’ code questions. In the Codecademy Forums, you can connect and get inspired by your fellow learners.
Here at Codecademy, our community motto is “When one teaches, two learn,” a quote attributed to Robert Heinlein. With over hundreds of daily active members, we’re continuously striving to create a friendly and inclusive culture of peer support. We want you to get the most out of what our community has to offer.
If you’re already learning with us, we’ll show you all the ways the Codecademy Forums can help you stay motivated (and feel less isolated) during your learning journey. And if you’re not yet learning with us, we’re here to show you what Codecademy has to offer beyond just courses.
What you can expect from the Codecademy Forums
Get an introduction into the world of code
We want to make it as easy as possible to get started in the world of code. That’s why we have a lot of beginner-friendly resources to help you get started.
A great place to begin is our Welcome page, which will help you get better oriented with the Forums and how they work.
Receive advice on learning to code
If you’re feeling stuck on a course or project, you can visit the forums to problem-solve your code questions.
You’ll find tons of resources on the languages and technologies that you’re working on. The FAQ page helps you tackle specific course exercises. And the Projects page is where you can share completed projects (Codecademy projects or personal ones), and view others’ completed projects too!
This is a great section to give feedback (i.e. provide a ‘code review’) and see how other learners went about coding a project. There’s usually never one way to code something, so this is agreat area to peek into and to see how your peers coded the same or similar project you are also working on.
You’ll also find tons of peer-to-peer support to help you grasp new coding concepts (like in the example below), or to see how others approach their learning.
The forums are also great for finding motivation during your learning journey. We’re regularly inspired by the stories of our community members, like Ella, who shares her experience learning to code with a 35-Day Coding Challenge.
Learn how to think like a developer
In the Forums, you’ll learn to think like a developer. This means we won’t give you the answers, rather we empower you to find your own answers and provide guidance on the process. That’s because you often won’t find a direct answer to your programming problems or for why your program isn’t running as expected.
That’s why we want to encourage learning the right process for finding the answer.
The Forums provide resources for experimentation and trying out different solutions to a single problem. You’ll also get to see how others solve problems, which might be different from you. This can help expand your programmer’s mindset, and learn ways to approach problems from different angles.
As Pedro, one of our Superusers, says: “This forum is by principle not supposed to be for direct answer giving as much as for forwarding people to relevant information to help them complete a task.”
Give feedback on code help and projects
The Codecademy Forums are a great place to help yourself get unstuck in the beginning. But once you’ve gained some confidence in an area of coding, you can provide feedback or share advice with others looking for help in the Forums.
After all, teaching concepts to others is a great way to learn coding ourselves. And it’s an excellent way to see if you truly understand a subject. That’s why we encourage sharing advice, giving feedback, and sharing your progress to motivate others on their journey.
In fact, our Community Forums are powered by a team of volunteer moderators and superusers. These folks do SO much to help many learners get unstuck daily and to make our Forums a safe space for all to learn.
Join us in the Codecademy Forums
Want to explore what else our community has to offer? Join us in the Codecademy Forums. We can’t wait to see you there!
Grappling with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is hard enough for adults. How do you help children make sense of it? Two articles appearing this weekend in The New York Times for Kids, a section that runs the last Sunday of every month as part of the print newspaper, tackle that challenge. The editor of the section, Amber Williams, who wrote the main article, said it was one of the most difficult pieces she had written for the section. In a lightly edited conversation, she talked about the task.
I understand you sometimes plan these issues pretty far in advance. When did you decide that you needed to include an article on the Capitol riot?
We’re planning more than a month out for each issue. For this one, the lineup was put together before our holiday break in December. The articles were reported, the art was coming in, and some pages for the issue were already designed. Then Jan. 6 happened. At that point, we discussed adding a callout on one page that asked our readers for questions about what had happened, which we would answer in the February issue. At the time, things were just too chaotic. There were too many unknowns in the days directly after the riot, and too much was coming out that was changing how it was viewed.
But once impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump began, we knew we had to rip up the page and figure out how to tell the story, even as things were still changing. I spent Martin Luther King’s Birthday, which was just a few days before the issue went to press, writing the article about the siege on the Capitol. Deb Bishop, our design director, led the art team in figuring out how to visually emphasize the article’s importance. And Alexa Díaz, our social media editor, used our new Instagram account to solicit questions about the impeachment from our followers that we adapted for print as well.
Why was the attack on the Capitol important to include in this issue?
It was big, defining news about our country. The New York Times for Kids mimics the “adult paper,” as we call it. It’s our job to reflect what’s going on in the world and to help our readers understand it. We don’t hide or sugarcoat the news — and most kids are already hearing about major news events from TV or social media or the adults around them — and so we strive to include kids in these conversations by explaining what adults are discussing and may take for granted.
Who are your readers? Our readers span a large age range, from roughly 8 to 14. And we hear from them all the time. It’s great. They’re constantly writing to our Kids inbox and direct messaging our Instagram account to tell us about their experiences and to ask us questions. We visit classrooms (now virtually) nearly every month to talk to fourth graders for our Opinion pages. Our reporters are interviewing kids and teens for articles. And some kids even write for us.
How did you approach this article?
It was definitely one of the most challenging pieces I’ve written, both because there were so many parts of this story that it would have been impossible to untangle them all in 400 words and because there were so many unknowns and large existential questions. After trying many different ways to start the article, I decided to frame it around the concept of a lie, because kids are told from a very early age that they shouldn’t lie and that lies cause harm. It was a simple concept to build on to help explain a complex reality.
How is your piece different from an article about the riot that might appear in the “adult paper”?
You’ll notice at one point that the piece directly addresses readers and acknowledges that they may have felt afraid and that this is understandable. And it goes on to describe why others were and are afraid.
What do you want kids to take away from the article?
An accurate and fair understanding of what happened on Jan. 6 and why the president was impeached. I also want to point out that the Kids section benefits from all of the incredible work of New York Times journalists, who often write for us! Only by following their coverage were we able to explain what had happened with some clarity.
You have recently tackled a number of hard topics, like the coronavirus pandemic, in your pages. Is there a particular way that you try to approach subjects that even adults find upsetting and difficult to process?
We acknowledge that the world can be upsetting, and meet kids with all different experiences in their realities. Kids are sources for most of our articles — they tell us about their experiences with race and racism, or with hunger, or with a parent who is out of work. Our goal is to broaden their worlds and deepen their understanding, but also to meet them where they are. We respect them. They are not hearing about the pandemic for the first time from us — they already know about it. They’re experiencing it. So, we often think of our kid sources as being in conversation with our kid readers: “Here’s how I’ve been spending my school days. What about you?”
Are there any particular experts, like psychologists or teachers, who have provided guidance about how to discuss tough topics with kids?
The kids themselves are our experts. We listen to them first and foremost.
Do you believe that it is possible to make good things happen for yourself simply by thinking about them? Have you ever tried?
If so, you are among the many members of Gen Z who practice manifesting, or “achieving material and psychic rewards through sheer force of mind.”
Do you think that this method of positive thinking is a helpful tool for coping with uncertainty, especially during the coronavirus pandemic? Or do you agree with some critics of the practice, who argue that it is an unrealistic fad embraced by misguided or entitled practitioners?
By the time he was 9, Jerome Lamaar had learned how to seize on his heart’s desire. “I was hoping to get my hands on the Power Ranger Flip Heads,” said Mr. Lamaar, a 35-year-old, Bronx-bred fashion designer. “I never told anyone, but I wanted these toys so bad. I sat in my room holding this scenario in my head of how I would feel when I got them.”
He had, in his New Age-tinctured phrase, “launched his dreams into the universe.” And, as he tells it, the universe heeded his call. “The very next day, my dad got me the Flip Heads,” he said. “That’s when I realized that there was something to this.”
He could not have named it at the time, but Mr. Lamaar says now that he was manifesting — achieving material and psychic rewards through sheer force of mind.
Part magical thinking, part struggle for agency at a time when it is in short supply, the practice he described, an eons-old variant of positive thinking — or at least the term that describes it — has re-entered the mainstream.
Manifesting sits alongside a smattering of belief systems — astrology, tarot, paganism and their metaphysical cousins — being resurrected by a youthful generation in the name of wellness. “For Gen Z in particular, it can be a form of self-soothing,” said Lucie Greene, a writer and trend forecaster in New York. “It’s a way to make sense of things in a moment where nothing makes sense.”
The article continues:
This born-again phenomenon is dismissed in some quarters as little more than a quarantine fad, “like bread baking, tie-dyeing or learning TikTok dances,” as Rebecca Jennings put it in a recent post on Vox. “Shut up I’m manifesting,” she said, “has become one of the defining memes of 2020.”
Its practitioners, in contrast, view it as a coping mechanism, a legitimate alternative that organized religion or psychotherapy may not always provide. The “law of attraction,” a belief that your experiences have a direct correlation to your thoughts, is one aspect of Princess Asata Louden’s spiritual practice. Others include journaling and meditation, which Ms. Louden, a 24-year-old dancer and graduate student at U.C.L.A., likes to perform by candlelight or near an open window.
“I also communicate with my ancestors and spirit guides,” Ms. Louden said, rituals that make her feel “divinely protected and guided.”
“Manifesting has gotten me through all of this pandemic stuff,” said Ms. Louden, who goes by the stage name Sygga. She is not religious but takes on faith “that we have this power to manipulate energy.”
Many of her contemporaries preach a similar gospel of self-realization on YouTube, TikTok and other social platforms. These days the internet teems with their slogans and self-affirmations: “Receiving blessings from the universe like,” or “There’s no competition when you’re manifesting in your own lane.”
The article also explores critiques of manifesting, particularly that its mainstream adoption is grounded in white privilege:
The law of attraction is tainted as well by an undercurrent of racism, one obvious enough to have spawned its own meme, “Maybe you manifested. Maybe it’s white privilege.”
Manifesting “feels entitled and dirty,” Ruth Anne Stearns posted on Medium, going on to assert that its promise of wealth and abundance is grounded in “the real advantage that you live in this white body, in this time and place that you have tremendous resources which most of the world does not have.”
Manifesting carries an implicit rebuke to members of impoverished or disenfranchised communities, said Denise Fournier, a psychotherapist in Miami. Subtle or not, the message is insidious. “It’s ‘Why aren’t you manifesting a trip to Tulum? Why aren’t we seeing you on Instagram. You must not be a good manifester.’ That’s problematic,” she said.
Do you believe in manifesting? Have you ever manifested an outcome for yourself, or tried to? Did it work?
The author notes that manifesting has entered the mainstream alongside practices like astrology and tarot as part of a wellness trend driven by social media. Which of these practices have you encountered, and how do you feel about them? Why do you think these practices are gaining popularity among teenagers online? Why do you think they are making a resurgence now?
Is manifesting realistic? Do you think that manifesting discourages people from doing the hard work necessary to accomplish most goals? Might the process of identifying and reflecting upon your goals be valuable, even if doing so does not guarantee that they will come true?
Do you agree with the author that manifesting is tainted “by an undercurrent of racism”? Do you think that manifesting is a reflection of the white privilege of some of its practitioners? If so, do you think manifesting should be altered, or even abandoned?
If manifesting is not for you, are there other methods of self-reflection and self-care that you enjoy? Do you exercise, journal or engage in meditation or therapy? Religion or spirituality? What role do these practices play in your life?
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, 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.
The dueling crises also provided Mr. Bowman with a powerful talking point accusing Mr. Engel of not spending enough time in the district, which includes the northern Bronx and portions of southern Westchester County, a mix of well-to-do neighborhoods like Riverdale and poorer areas.
Mr. Bowman has repeatedly attacked Mr. Engel’s staying at a home he owns in Maryland during long stretches of the coronavirus virus outbreak, as well as for much of his time in Washington.
“He doesn’t live in our community,” Mr. Bowman said in one online testimonial. “I live in our struggles.”
This argument seems to befuddle Mr. Engel, who said he bought the Maryland home after he was first elected in 1988 and had two small children at the time.
“I work in Washington and he’s going to deny me a place to sleep?” Mr. Engel said, adding, “You can’t stay on the, sleep on the, streets.”
Have you ever heard of or observed manspreading? A New York Times article from 2014 defines the behavior as when men “spread their legs wide, into a sort of V-shaped slouch, effectively occupying two, sometimes even three, seats” in public places, such as a subway, train or bus. Many view it as inconsiderate, others as an assertion of power.
Though public transportation might be less crowded now, during the pandemic some have observed the emergence of a similar behavior: mask-slipping.
Do you ever see people wearing their masks below their noses or strapped to their chins? Do you notice a gender divide in who lets their masks slip? Have you ever done it yourself?
When I saw Bill Clinton’s mask slip below his nose during the inaugural festivities, I figured, well, it could happen to any of us.
But then John Roberts’s mask was not entirely covering his nose at different points.
And even Barack Obama’s mask dipped below the tip of his nose at one point.
A couple months back, then-President Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow was spotted outside the West Wing with his mask down.
I realized it’s not a Democratic thing. Or a Republican thing. Or an inaugural thing.
It’s a male thing. It’s like manspreading, but with masks. Call it manslipping.
Experts continually remind us that to protect ourselves and others against the coronavirus, a mask should cover your face, from the bridge of your nose to under your chin. But too many of us are letting our masks slip.
Women wear masks too, and of course they sometimes slip. But I see a lot more man slippage. I see it not only in news coverage, but in grocery stores and on the street.
It’s not all men, of course. But then, not all men take up two or three subway seats. Something about some men seems to make it difficult to keep that mask where it should be.
Could it be that male noses are just so big that they can’t accommodate masks? Remember the various dubious anatomical explanations for manspreading? That can’t be it, because a lot of doctors are male, and doctors, although they might sit wide on the subway, actually know what viruses do, and they get a chance to see what the coronavirus can do. So their natural tendency to inhale all the available air in any given room is tempered by both the Hippocratic oath and the fear of death, and they don’t let their masks slip.
What do you think of Mr. Gorman’s analysis of mask-slipping? Do you agree that the tendency to let a mask fall below the nose is more common among men? Have you observed that men are more likely to let their masks slip?
How do you feel when you see someone’s mask falling down? Do you see it as a sign of disrespect, an assertion of power or something else? Or does it not bother you? Why?
Mr. Gorman explores possible justifications for mask-slipping among men: bigger noses, the need for more air, the possibility that men are just “slobs.” He argues against each of these reasons. Do you think any of them are actually good reasons for mask-slipping? Why or why not? Are there other factors that you believe contribute to how, and if, people wear masks?
How would you describe your own relationship with masks? Do you always wear one when you are in public places? What do you like and not like about them? Do you ever let your mask slip below your nose? Why or why not?
In 2014, several public transit authorities across the country introduced campaigns to combat manspreading. In New York City, posters in the subway read “Dude … Stop the Spread, Please. It’s a space issue.” In Philadelphia, riders were greeted with this quip: “Dude It’s Rude … Two Seats — Really?” Imagine you are creating a campaign to target mask-slipping in your community. What catchy slogan might you use to grab people’s attention and create change?
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, 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 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations signed hours after his inauguration, President Biden moved swiftly on Jan. 20 to dismantle Trump administration policies his aides said have caused the “greatest damage” to the nation.
Which of the following is NOT one of the many executive orders signed so far by President Biden?
