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What’s Going On in This Picture? | March 01, 2021

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What’s Going On in This Picture? | March 01, 2021

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

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?

Choose your own Adventure Path

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Choose your own Adventure Path

What a week. That’s the way I feel, with a return of an injury on my right hand, the challenges of writing as a result and some alternatives to presenting the information for this blog.

Initially it was going to be 100% video-based, but after hearing from folks who loved the LL product review thru video and equally the number of individuals who wanted screen shots more so, I am hoping that this will be a friendly mix.

For anyone who grew up in the 70s, you will recall the “Choose your own adventure”, great reads with journeys based on what route you choose to go. You never knew where you were going to end up, but it was going to be somewhere and just as adventurous as before.

The adventures varied. Western. Sci-Fi. Future and so on. Each book came with two adventures, and there was an entire series (books).

Today, is your lucky day, because this is the day, in 2021, that you get to choose your own adventure.

Adventure 1 – Pricing Wars – A battle engagement

Adventure 2 – Boost Engagement with online learning and your learning system

Adventure 2

What? You were thinking that this must be linear? That we start with adventure 1? Oh, no no no.

This adventure is 100% video. It is from a webinar presented this past week, but contains extensive information tied to slides, and questions by some attendees. Initially the adventure featured a video captured in the deserts of the old west, but due to technical difficulties – did I mention its the desert- the webinar is the adventure itself.

Or Click this link to view.

Adventure 1 – The Pricing Wars

This fast paced adventure places you, in the midst of learning system vendors battling for the folks to buy their system. Robots have replaced no-one, rather human beings are in control. Do you choose to be the vendor who wants to make a deal or the one, who must win at all costs?

Each path is treacherous, because pricing isn’t magic, so unless Albert Einstein is available (and he’s not), ignore trying to figure out how they calculate and instead focus on the task at hand – understanding what is occuring.

Land mine alert! Nope, sorry, false alarm, it is just a trend.

  • Highest pricing ranges ever. If you believe a global recession and pandemic would reduce pricing, sorry, it is not happening. The numbers on avg (as always there are outliers), are trending upward in such a manner, that it would not be shocking to see Enterprise numbers in the band or 5,000 to 10,000 users (active) on avg, surpass $28-30 (USD) per seat/per year.
  • Two price trends at the Enterprise route – vendors vary on what enterprise really means when it comes to active end-users. Some go with less than 1,000. Others 2,500, but some are now returning the original standard of 5,000 to 10,000. It is in this range, you can get a true assessment of the market pricing trends, since it is a larger user size, and thus calculating price ranges at lower user bases is easier to ascertain.
  • Most popular range (list price) (in USD) ($16 to $22), the second most popular ($25 to $27) – for the 5,000 to 10,000 band. This is for an active user, per year. Thus, if you are in the band range (today, the most popular pricing model), and you have 5,500, your cost will depend on how the vendor bases their band. With band pricing, the vendor says only pay for “active user” but since you purchased 5,500 seats, you are paying for 5,500 seats. If you jump up to 6,000 don’t worry – they won’t turn off the spigot – you are still in the band, and since you are paying in reality for 10,000 users (in this example), go for it.

There are vendors today who are charging over $36 per seat, per year in that band. And no, it is not who you think. One comes on, around $40 per seat. Again, this is per year.

At lower numbers of bands, the pricing is well, astronomical. One vendor surpasses $75 per seat, it appears as a flat rate, so you think, great deal, but uh, divide by your user base and…. If you have a band of 500 to 999 active end users, and the range on avg. is just $4.60 per user/per month – you might be thinking to yourself, this is a great deal. Now take that $4.60 per user/month, and x 12 – that is your actual user cost per seat/year – $55.20 USD.

Lower price bands that appear on vendor’s web sites, tend to show the number as a single digit for up to X users. The avg in the under 500 user seat range is ($56-$60). Thus, if you have 250 end users, and the total cost is only $7 a month, what you are actually paying for one active user/per year is $84

In any battle it is always good to know your competitor’s numbers, but finding out, aha – isn’t so easy, because vendors will negotiate off of list, charge differently depending on country/region in the world, offer toss-ins depending on who is the client, and on the negotiation front, if you are a tough negotiator, you may land an even better deal, than someone who negotiates a little.

However, there are vendors who post their lower numbers on their web sites. Sometimes it is easy to find, other times, it is not – I mean they don’t call it a Jungle for nothing!

Band Option – A

The most common is the band range, and a flat total cost, for that band. Thus, if you have 5,500 active users, you will pay the same total cost as someone who has 8,855 active users. If the band is 5,000 to 7,000 active users, and you have 5,500 active users, you pay the same price as someone who has 7,000 active users. With this band option, the “active user” count isn’t a huge issue, as long as it says in the band.

If the vendor has the band of 5,000 to 7,000 active users, and your user numbers increase but you are still in the band, and they are using Band Option A, don’t worry – you are really paying for the 7,000 seats, so active is up to you! And if you jump into another band, they may offer you a bundle package of seats or just move up to the next band, and modify the pricing, where applicable. Hip! Hip! Hoorah?

Adventure Alert – Alligator ahead!

Uh, oh, Wilford the Gator is on your path, he is looking right at you OR that BBQ sandwich you have in your hand. Don’t worry though, there is another option, Band option B, which could resolve your dilemma.

Band Option B

The vendor still goes band, but in the above scenario of you having 5,500 active users, the cost per seat may differ within that band. Thus, the cost per seat is totally based on the active user base, within that range. For example, at 5,500 the cost per seat might be $30 per seat, but in the upper level of the band, say 7,000 the vendor quotes $25 per seat.

There are only a few vendors who truly count per month and charge per month only the number of active users, but usually they request some money up-front and often will ask for estimates of active end users. Confusing? You bet. And very rare, just like Wilford, who is wearing a red beanie.

Congrats, you selected band option A. Good choice, since the flat rate is pretty simple and it is up to you to figure out what the actual cost really is per seat.

Or maybe you get really lucky and the band is shown as cost per seat, and then it is up to you, to figure out what the total cost for the bundle really is.

Active btw is just a spin, in that a vendor is only going to charge you for active users. One vendor mentions “unlimited” but it is unlimited in the range (band model). Thus, if you have 200,000 employees, and only purchased 10,000 seats, you get unlimited active users at the 10,000 seats you just bought, not for everyone beyond that – which is an additional cost.

Knowing that Band A is the most popular option and it is shown as a flat rate, let’s toss Wilford the BBQ, and make a run for it. Whew, that was close!

List price means exactly that, the list price. You should never pay list price. Let’s play a game. Imagine you stopped by Jen’s Clothing store and wanted to buy a nice armored jacket. Wow, a deal – 85% off list. You think this is a great deal, but what if I told you that the shop never sells it at list, and secondly is still making plenty of money off you.

That is the way to understand the list pricing of vendors in the learning system space. List is what someone would pay if they did absolutely nothing and just signed.

But, you, Adventurer will never do that.

Battle Warning! Full setup ahead

Jumping into the battle- this is where you really are going to see the action. Did you see it? The comet coming towards you, my lord, it is the “Setup Comet”, run for it.

That was a tad to close, especially since the trends around setup are astronomical!

Let’s check our setup trending list

  • Setup ranges from no cost to $95,000 USD and more, depending on if you need configuration – but do not assume that by having the standards of config – white-label, tweak here in the system, change some labels – will place you in the no cost or low cost route as it relates to configuration.
  • The common components you will get in setup (and there are variances with the vendors, but this list tends to be very common) – white-label with base config (simple config), maintenance, support (base level, some vendors give more), administrator training sessions (vILT), updates for the length of your contract, knowledge base or videos/forum
  • Some vendors include SSO as part of your setup package, or a custom domain or integrations/connectors or content, or a combo of items
  • Some vendors will toss in project management hours (nice and vague)
  • One vendor includes creating some content for you (and good quality too), helping you with additional assets and so forth

Setup Range you can live with. At the Enterprise level, assuming you do not need mass configuration (which BTW, the majority of vendors will NOT do), you should anticipate anywhere from “free” to around $25,000 USD. The current trend line though for setup fees is way beyond the ideal. Right now, the range is $35,000 to $50,000 USD – with base configuration or no configuration (beyond white label – which means your logo, and colors).

If you are buying a system with say, 999 or less or even 1,500 or less, you do not need mass configuration. Mass level configuration you typically find in very large enterprise, 25,000 and higher user base. And even then, some vendors won’t budge.

For most people, the base configuration will be more than enough and the setup too. Setup is a one-time cost.

Hold on! No, don’t touch that API Apple! It could be poisionous. Sheesh, uh, have you ever been on an adventure or read a Grimm Brothers book?

APIs ideally should be free, but the trend is back to charging for them – i.e. the vendor charges you to take the APIs you need to integrate into their system. Even if they have an Open REST API which is free, if you have say SAP for example, and need to connect to your learning system, and decide to do it via API, that’s a fee.

The range today is around $4,000 USD per API. Some vendors are going higher. A few go above $10,000 USD per API, with an additional couple charging over 10K per year. API integrations are usually a one-time cost.

Bottom Line

There are vendors who will present, after this post, that they never charge a setup fee and everything is included. Great, what exactly is that? Does it include unlimited training sessions? Support 24×5, 365 a year or 7 to 5 CET? Does it come with custom domains and multi-tenancy? APIs free? What else is included?

Because one of the latest journeys is charging for e-commerce, which is back once again as an add-on fee. It shouldn’t be. If you want customer education or plan to sell training content/content or whatever thru your learning system, you need e-commerce. There are vendors who charge for you to use their system as an extended enterprise (i.e. external to your customers, members, etc.). Which, is sort of like, selecting an adventure, where the next words you read says

“The End”.

E-Learning 24/7

Understanding open source software: A Q&A

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Understanding open source software: A Q&A

We recently started sponsoring open source projects through our newly-launched fund — Codecademy Open Source Sponsorships. This year, we’re committed to spending at least $10,000 toward financing open source software projects that our engineers regularly rely on.

“At Codecademy, we love open source software,” says Josh, a Senior Software Engineer here at Codecademy. “All of us on the engineering team are daily consumers of open source software by virtue of the tech stacks we build and maintain. Many of us also contribute to or even maintain open source projects on our own.”

Open source software is essential to the work of our engineers, but what exactly is it? To find out, we spoke with Josh to learn more about what open source software is, and why it matters.

What is open source software?

Open source software is software with source code that anybody can look at or contribute to.

“Many of the tools we use to develop software are open source,” Josh says. Open source software can range from a few lines of code that help you perform a specific task to full-on frameworks that you can build your code on top of.

Open source tools that Josh likes to work with are Visual Studio Code, TypeScript, C#, ESLint, React, Firefox, and Linux.

The origins of open source

When software was first getting started in the 1950s and 1960s, it was generally released as public domain by its academic authors — even before the internet made sharing it easy. You could say open source software predates the idea of selling software!

The modern concept of open source was kickstarted in the 1980s, with the creation of the GNU Project. A software engineer at MIT launched the project in response to the increasing privatization of software. The goal of the project was to create an operating system that anyone could freely use or modify. It eventually formed part of the Linux operating system.

With the success of Linux in the 1990s, the open source movement started to gain momentum. Companies like Netscape, IBM, and Sun Microsystems released their own open source code and funded open source projects. In the late 1990s, a group of programmers voted to make the term “open source” official.

Since the 2000s and 2010s, platforms like Github and npm have contributed to the rapid growth of open source. “These platforms have made it much easier for newcomers and experienced developers alike to participate in open source communities,” Josh says.

What are some reasons for using open source software?

A lot of software development stays the same between projects, from setting up your development environment, to coordinating servers, to implementing user interface frameworks. “Popular open source projects can take care of all the scaffolding for you, which allows you to focus on just writing the logic specific to your application,” Josh says.

When you need code support, open source communities can be a great place to ask for help. “Popular open source tools often have thriving communities online that answer questions and improve documentation all around,” Josh says.

For example, if you’re just starting out with React, there are several places where you can find code help:

  • React Docs: Open source documentation maintained by the React team and by contributions from the community
  • Stack Overflow: With hundreds of thousands of answers to people’s questions for help and advice on React
  • Reactiflux: A community where people can network and learn

Are there times when you don’t want to use open source?

Very rarely. But there are certain industries where it’s important for all code to be written in-house. That’s because every open source component comes with a license that you agree to when you use the code. Some open source licenses require you to release any modified source code. Without closely tracking these license requirements, companies that use open source code can lose the ability to keep their software closed.

Open source code also requires a certain level of development support. If you find a security vulnerability in your open source code, for example, you might not get it fixed quickly enough if the code maintainer isn’t responsive to requests. Without having the proper development support, it can be challenging to try and fix problems that you encounter in the open source tools that you use.

Where can developers find open source software?

Most programming languages have a registry where anybody can upload packages — or pieces of code — for others to use. “They’re like App Stores for code, except anything is free and you can propose changes any time you’d like,” Josh says.

Some well-known registries are:

Josh shares that you can also find open source projects on GitHub (including their newer registry GitHub Packages), GitLab, and even Twitter. “A lot of developers are active on Twitter. There are a lot of good discussions and new projects that get noticed because of tweeting.”

How do developers at Codecademy use open source?

“Although we have a development team with dozens of engineers actively writing code, the vast majority of software we use is open source,” Josh says.

Let’s take codecademy.com as an example.

When you submit code for a course, a secure container — or virtual computer — is assigned to handle that code on the back end. We set up these on-demand containers with the help of Docker and Kubernetes, which are open source platforms.

On the back end, our systems talk to each other using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). We set up many of our APIs using open source frameworks, like Grape or Rails, and we document how the APIs work together with an open source tool called Swagger.

On the front end, we use an open source language called TypeScript to write the code that runs on your web browser. ESLint helps us automatically detect errors in our code. And open source tools like Babel and Webpack help us bundle — or package — our code so that it works on most browsers, even ones that support only older versions of JavaScript and CSS.

If you happen to land on our 404 page, you’ll find a message that says Codey is lost. You’ll be able to play a game — built on top of the open source game engine Phaser — to help Codey find his way back.

Where can I find open source software created by Codecademy?

See what we’re working on over at our Codecademy Github repositories. There you’ll find:

As part of a commitment to support open source projects, we recently started funding four of the open source projects we use here at Codecademy: Babel, Doorkeeper, Homebrew, and Stylelint.

”We’re hopeful that beyond the act of giving back, the funding we provide can help maintainers continue to push these projects forward — and, by extension, the tech communities around them,” Josh says.

To learn more, check out our Codecademy Open Source Sponsorships post on Medium.

Free March 2021 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

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Free March 2021 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

Free March 2021 Wallpaper

Our free March 2021 wallpaper is here!

I know it is not really Spring yet, but I wanted to bring you something colorful this month since the two last wallpapers were quite muted. Invite flowers to your home or office with March wallpaper that features colorful drawings. It will brighten up your (still cold) days.

As always, our March’s free wallpaper comes with two different mobile phone layouts. They are great to use at once – the simple version for your phone background and the one with a quote for the lock screen.

This month quote

During the Wintertime I really miss all the flowers and green leaves. I think that we can all agree with this month’s quote that flowers bring us hope and positive energy.

Where flowers bloom, so does hope

P.S the square image is also included in the download package below! Feel free to post it on your Instagram.

What font is it?

Free February’s wallpaper features Rockeby Condensed and Blithe. Both fonts are quite old but I like coming back to them from time to time. If you are looking for some new options, make sure to check 8 Best Trendy Fonts – Spring 2021 Edition!

Free Monthly Wallpaper with a quote

Looking for more? Check our previous wallpapers!

In conclusion, the free download includes three desktop options – one with the calendar and one without the calendar and one with a quote. There is also a wallpaper for tablet and two options for the phone. We have also included an Instagram ready square with the weekly quote.

Your voice matters!

If you have your favorite quotes and would like them to appear on the next free wallpaper, make sure to post them in the comments below or send us your ideas via email.

Enjoy!

Colorful Free March Wallpaper featuring hand-drawn flowers

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

Lastly, we would appreciate if you can share this freebie. It is really easy! Just click on the buttons below. It is completely free for you but helps us grow and produce even more content.

Share and help us grow. Thanks!

P.S This post includes affiliate links so by clicking them you are supporting us. Thanks!

What Role Have Mentors Played in Your Life?

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What Role Have Mentors Played in Your Life?

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

Have you ever had a mentor — someone in your life who provided guidance, motivation, emotional support and role modeling?

Do you ever wish you had one, especially now during this time of disruption, social isolation and loneliness?

In “‘I Know I’m Not Alone’: The Importance of Mentors Right Now,” Alix Strauss writes:

Last May, a 17-year-old from Queens lost his father, an essential worker, to Covid-19. For six months, the shy and soft-spoken teenager, whose name is Ansh and whose last name is being withheld for privacy, hardly left the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his mother in Astoria.

“I felt so alone,” Ansh said. “I didn’t feel like anyone was there to support me, and I really needed someone who would.”

In September, he found such a person. His mother, concerned about Ansh’s isolation, had reached out to a mentoring organization, Bigs and Littles NYC, which matched him with Jared Stankowski of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “When I found out he lost his father, and how little focus there was on him and his pain, I realized this was a serious case and I could be helpful,” said Mr. Stankowski, 32, an account manager at Glassdoor.com.

“It’s exhilarating to visit places I’ve never been to,” Ansh said. “I don’t like to leave the apartment, but Jared helped me be more comfortable. He supports me and helps me feel better about my situation.”

Mentoring programs have long helped children — often from disadvantaged backgrounds — who need more engaged, supportive adults in their lives. The pandemic has made the demand for them as strong as ever but has also thrown some curveballs at some of the organizations that specialize in them.

Along with the coronavirus pandemic, the events of the past summer and the Black Lives Matter movement have heightened the need for mentors:

When the Black Lives Matter movement intensified last summer, mentoring provided a crucial connection for both children and adult volunteers, Ms. Guevara said. “When 89 percent of our youth are children of color, they needed someone they could safely process that with who understood them,” she said. Volunteerism increased after George Floyd’s killing by the Minneapolis police last May, she said.

Trinity, 17, a high school senior who is passionate about civil rights, lives with her parents and her 2-year-old sister in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. “I’m blessed to have Arlene,” who is her second mentor, Trinity said. “She’s helped me with remote learning, with my college applications and essay, and to make financial decisions.”

As with Ansh, getting a mentor was her parents’ idea. She and Ms. Thompson text daily and FaceTime twice a week.

“She’s my go-to person,” Trinity said of Ms. Thompson, 28. “I know I’m not alone in this. We’re both women of color, but she gave me a different perspective on what’s happening, and that was really important. Her positivity is so important. It’s so easy to fall down the hill because there’s no change coming.”

Ms. Thompson talked similarly about her relationship with Trinity. “She has an excitement about the future that’s contagious,” she said, calling their connection a sisterhood. “We’re going through this world together in a strong, positive way. She has someone to talk with her, not at her, without judgment.”

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Have you ever had a mentor — an adviser, tutor, coach or role model — who has played an important role in your life? If so, tell us about your experiences together. What impact did your mentor have on your life? Did that person have any of the qualities of Arlene Thompson or Jared Stankowski, the mentors described in the article?

  • Ms. Strauss says that the pandemic has intensified the need and demand for mentors. Who have you turned to for support and guidance during this difficult period? Do you think you would benefit by having a mentor?

  • The article profiles two teenagers, Trinity and Ansh, both 17. Which aspects of their stories resonated most with you and why? Trinity says of her mentor, Ms. Thompson: “She’s my go-to person. I know I’m not alone in this. We’re both women of color, but she gave me a different perspective on what’s happening.” Why do you think it is important to have someone in your life who makes you feel less alone and to help you process the world around you?

  • What qualities do you think make a good mentor or role model? Ms. Thompson said of her relationship with Trinity, “She has someone to talk with her, not at her, without judgment.” Do you think it is important to have an adult in your life who can talk and listen without judgment?

  • Would you ever consider becoming a mentor? What do you imagine would be the rewards of such a role? What qualities do you possess that would make you a good mentor?

About Student Opinion

• Find all of our Student Opinion questions in this column.
• Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it.
• Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

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.

Lesson of the Day: A Rise in Attacks on Asian-Americans

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Lesson of the Day: A Rise in Attacks on Asian-Americans

4. What evidence is there that discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders has grown during the pandemic? Why is it difficult to quantify incidences of harassment many Asian-Americans have experienced?

5. Some of people arrested in attacks against Asian-Americans are Black, bringing complicated racial dynamics to the forefront. According to Lai Wa Wu, the policy and alliance director for the San Francisco-based Chinese Progressive Association, what perpetuates tensions among communities of color? In what ways have these communities also supported one another amid the pandemic and a national reckoning on race?

6. This article includes many ways in which people have tried to address anti-Asian discrimination. Identify at least two ways in which:

  • People have responded on an individual level.

  • People have responded on a community level (for example, in a specific neighborhood, city or state).

  • People have responded on a national level.

Which of these responses do you think might be the most effective in stopping violence, harassment and racism against Asian-Americans? Which, if any, might be the least effective in your opinion? Why?

7. In the video you watched in the warm up, Katherine Oung says, “It seems like since the start of the Coronavirus outbreak, schools have been a petri dish for racism. It’s dangerous to normalize behavior like this for people my age.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? What connections can you make between the racially charged comments you might hear at school and the harassment and violence against Asian-Americans that you read about in the article?

There are many ways you can take action to address anti-Asian racism in your community. Choose one of the options below, depending on how you identify:

If you are Asian or Asian-American, you might first think about your own well-being. Create a tool kit that you can turn to if you experience harassment, discrimination or a hate incident. Here are some ideas for resources you might include in your tool kit:

  • “Whether you’ve been subjected to discrimination or not, simply hearing about the widespread xenophobia can affect your mental health,” writes Brittany Wong in “Self-Care Tips For Asian Americans Dealing With Racism Amid Coronavirus” for HuffPost. How are you caring for your mental health during these stressful times? Read the article and add the self-care strategies you find most helpful, plus some of your own, to your tool kit.

  • Make a list of trusted teachers, administrators, coaches or family members to whom you feel comfortable reporting stereotyping, racially charged language, threats, violence or any other type of discrimination.

  • Include links to organizations that are tracking hate incidents. Reporting helps these groups call for policies and resources that can help address anti-Asian discrimination. Stop AAPI Hate and Asian Americans Advancing Justice are just two where you can share your story.

Then, you might consider the ways you can help your community. The article mentions that some are handing out pamphlets on how to report a hate crime, creating protest art, spreading awareness on social media, fund-raising and organizing volunteer initiatives. Which, if any, of these efforts might benefit your community? What other ideas can you come up with?

If you are not Asian or Asian-American, learn how to be an effective ally. Here are several sources that provide strategies for standing up for the Asian community:

Choose at least one of the strategies mentioned in any of these resources that you can commit to, such as educating yourself on the history of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia, intervening if you witness harassment, amplifying Asian and Asian-American voices on social media or supporting Asian-American businesses. Then, in a short paragraph, make a specific plan for how you will take action and explain why you think this strategy is effective and important.

Additional Teaching and Learning Opportunities

  • Analyze protest art. Look at the images in this article about a new public art series in New York City. What messages do you think the art is trying to communicate? How effective do you think this campaign is? Do you think art can be a form of activism? Why or why not?

  • Read two editorials written by student winners of our editorial contest: “Not American Yet” by Alexander J. Lee, 16, and “This Land Was Made for You and Me” by Nicole Tian, 15. What argument is each of these essays making? How do these articles relate to and build upon what you watched in the warm-up video and read in the featured article? How is it different reading about anti-Asian discrimination from a first-person perspective versus from the third-person perspective you read in the featured article?

  • Make connections to history. Learn more about anti-Asian discrimination in the PBS NewsHour article “The Long History of Racism Against Asian Americans in the U.S.” What connections can you make between history and what is happening today? What lessons can we learn?

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.

Word of the Day: hitherto

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Word of the Day: hitherto

: used in a negative statement to describe a situation that has existed up to this point or up to the present time

_________

The word hitherto has appeared in 21 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Dec. 23 in “European Soccer Learns a New Virtue: Patience” by Rory Smith:

It was vintage Preziosi. This, after all, is what he does: He fires coaches. In the 17 years since he bought Genoa — Italy’s oldest club — he has changed his coach 27 times. He quite often churns through three in a single season. He once fired Alberto Malesani twice in the same campaign. He has fired one coach, Ivan Juric, three times. Italian soccer has a word — mangiallenatore — for owners like him: coach eater.

Preziosi fired another manager this week, dispensing with Rolando Maran, whom he had appointed in August but who had not won a match since September. If all of that felt reassuringly familiar, though, the circumstances were unusual. This year, many of Preziosi’s peers in Europe’s top five leagues have discovered a virtue hitherto rarely associated with owners of soccer clubs: patience.

More than a third of the way through the season, only one other Serie A team, Fiorentina, has fired its coach. In La Liga, only Celta de Vigo has changed managers. In the Premier League, Sam Allardyce had to wait until last week to be parachuted into West Bromwich Albion. His appointment was only the second time a Premier League team had fired a manager in 2020.

Can you correctly use the word hitherto 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 hitherto can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try using multiple Words of the Day in a 50-word story that you submit to our Monthly Vocabulary Challenge.

Dorothy Akende: “Whatever Alison course you choose, the materials are informative.”

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Dorothy Akende: “Whatever Alison course you choose, the materials are informative.”

“My name is Dorothy Akende and I am from Nigeria. I have four years of experience in the community development sector, specifically focused on peace-building and empowering women. I graduated from Nasarawa State University with a degree in Religious Studies. I have a background in telecommunications and am the founder of the House of Hilkiah Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on empowering women and providing formal and informal education and skills acquisition to young people. I am a certified sexual and gender-based violence instructor and am also the Benue State coordinator of Education 4 Justice, a project run by the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime(UNODC).”

How did you learn about Alison?

When coronavirus was declared a global pandemic by the WHO, I was still trying to understand what exactly it was all about. In March 2020, Alison’s Coronavirus: What you need to know course was shared in a WhatsApp group that I am a member of. That’s when I first learned about Alison. I took the course because my team and I were trying to raise awareness of the virus to help flatten the curve in the rural communities we work in.

What was your first course on Alison, and why did you choose it?

Coronavirus: What you need to know was the first course I took on Alison. I choose the course to gain knowledge about the virus, preventive measures and how we can help stop the spread in our community through raising awareness.

How have Alison courses affected your career?

After taking the course on coronavirus, we were able to translate the information into local languages which we then distributed to vulnerable rural communities together with handwash buckets, locally made sanitizers, face masks and soap. Because of this act I was given an honorary mention award and mini-grant of $250 by the Union Bank of Nigeria, as well as a Corona Warrior award by the National Human Welfare Organization in India. This motivated us to continue the work to include more communities in Nigeria.

What’s your favorite way to relax from studying?

I love watching movies or reading romantic novels.

 

Where are you working and what are you studying at the moment?

I am currently running the House of Hilkiah Foundation where we are working towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We just launched a new project, Educate for Greatness, to ensure that every child has the right to education, especially those in rural areas. Right now, I am taking a course on depression and how to identify it, which will help us in providing support to children who are facing mental health challenges.

What’s next for you, in terms of education or work?

Researching the best policies to facilitate involving youths in peace and conflict resolution in Nigeria. 

If you could learn absolutely anything in the world from an Alison course, what would it be?

How to involve young people in peace and mediation processes.

What would you say to someone if they asked you about Alison? Would you recommend it and why?

Alison has some of the best online courses. Their courses are easy to understand and the website is user-friendly. I would definitely recommend it because the courses gives you an in-depth focus on possible careers. Whatever course you choose, the course materials are informative.

March Vocabulary Challenge

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March Vocabulary Challenge

Every school day, we define a new vocabulary word in our Word of the Day column and provide an example of how the word has been used in The New York Times. But you don’t have to be a Times journalist to contextualize a vocabulary word within a piece of writing — students can do it, too.

In our first-ever monthly Vocabulary Challenge, we invite middle and high school students to write a 50-word story using as many of our Words of the Day from the past month as they can.

This is our first time trying this challenge and we admit that it is a bit of an experiment. Post any questions or feedback you have in the comments, or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

Start by getting familiar with the 18 vocabulary words published in February, which are listed below. It may help to read the linked definitions and examples of how the words have been used in The Times.

Then, create a 50-word piece of writing in which you correctly and creatively use as many of the month’s words as possible. Submit your story (or poem, or song) by commenting on this post between March 1 and March 25, then use the “Recommend” tool to vote for two of the best entries from other students.

Here is what we are looking for:

  • It is most important that you use each vocabulary word correctly according to its definition. We will not consider any entries in which a word is used incorrectly, and neither should you when you recommend other students’ comments.

  • Try to use as many vocabulary words as possible, without crossing a line into gibberish or inanity. We provide an example below of how six vocabulary words can be used in a 50-word story.

  • Finally, we are looking for pieces of writing that are creative, original and make sense. Your comment can be fact or fiction, silly or serious; we care most that you learn new vocabulary and have fun.

And here are a few more rules:

  • Your story must be 50 words or fewer.

  • Identify your vocabulary words by writing them in ALL CAPS (see the bottom of this post for an example).

  • Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on March 25 to be considered.

  • It is acceptable to use a word in a different tense or to use the plural of a word that is listed in the singular.

  • However, you cannot change a word’s part of speech. Since the word “hyperbole” is listed as a noun, you cannot substitute the adjective “hyperbolic.” You cannot use the adverb “haplessly” in place of the adjective “hapless.”

  • Students ages 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, can submit by commenting on this post. Please submit only one story per student.

We hope to recognize some of the most impressive submissions here on The Learning Network. Stay tuned.

Your piece of writing should draw from the words below. Each word links to a Word of the Day post with the word’s definition and an example of how it has been used in The New York Times. To find more usage examples, consult the Vocabulary.com online dictionary.

punctilious
tangible
aberration
vernacular
torpor
hapless
modus operandi
stolid
sobriquet
conflate
summarily
resplendent
aficionado
plethora
hyperbole
ambivalent
ambiguous
oasis

Here is an example of what we are looking for. This 49-word story uses six of January’s vocabulary words. Your story should use the Words of the Day posted in February, which are listed above.

When Nina VAUNTED her new Nintendo Switch, Adam DISPARAGED her. “You already have a GLUT of gaming consoles,” he complained, “It BEFUDDLES me that you got another.” Nina tried to retain her SANG-FROID but felt angry anyway. If Adam hadn’t been so CAPTIOUS, she might have let him play.

We look forward to reading your entries.

How Should Parents Support a Student Who Has Fallen Behind in School?

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How Should Parents Support a Student Who Has Fallen Behind in School?

Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.

Try to name as many reasons as you can why a student might fall behind in schoolwork — reasons that are particularly relevant to the challenges of the current school year. Why can it be difficult to pull oneself out of a downward academic spiral or “homework hole”?

What do you think teachers, parents, family members or friends can do to help a struggling student? What would you do if a student who is stressed out about school came to you for advice? What would you suggest? Why?

In “How to Help a Teen Out of a Homework Hole,” the psychologist Lisa Damour writes about the reality many students face: Not only have they fallen behind in school, but they also feel they won’t be able to catch up. The article begins:

Pandemic school is taking its toll on students, especially teens. A recent study, conducted by NBC News and Challenge Success, a nonprofit affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education, found that 50 percent more kids in high school report feeling disengaged from school this year than last. In December, Education Week reported that schools were seeing “dramatic increases in the number of failing or near-failing grades” on report cards.

A major symptom of school disengagement is not turning in homework, a problem that can easily snowball. The further students fall behind, the more overwhelmed they often become and the less likely they are to feel that they can catch up.

Ms. Damour then gives three pieces of advice for parents, though they might equally apply to anyone else who wants to help a struggling student, beginning with a reminder that “empathy will get you further than anger.” She writes:

At this point in the pandemic, finding out that your child has let schoolwork slide may trigger an angry response. Everyone is worn down by the demands of pandemic life and many parents are already operating on their last nerve. Getting mad, however, is likely to cause kids to adopt a defensive or minimizing stance. Instead, try to be compassionate. What students who have fallen behind need most are problem-solving partners who want to understand what they are going through.

If you’re having trouble summoning your empathy, bear in mind that there are many good reasons a student could fall off pace this year. For instance, Ned Johnson, a professional tutor and co-author of the book “The Self-Driven Child,” noted that most teens have very little experience managing email, which is now a main source of information for those in remote or hybrid arrangements. “We know how overwhelmed we as adults are by email. Imagine not being comfortable with it, and then suddenly getting everything — from Zoom links to assignments — that way.”

Some students learning remotely may also have unreliable broadband service; others may miss key information because their attention is split between the teacher on the screen and distractions at home.

“Many adults are having the exact same issues,” said Ellen Braaten, a psychologist and the executive director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. “They are really productive when they can physically be at work, but may find themselves less attentive in the unstructured environment of working from home.”

Even teens who are attending school in person and using familiar systems for tracking assignments may be having a hard time managing their work now. The mental skills that help us stay organized — commonly called executive functioning — are being undermined by psychological stress, which is unusually high among today’s teens.

Next, she recommends working with the student to diagnose the problem:

Finding out that your child is in academic trouble can tempt you to jump to solutions. It’s best, however, to properly diagnose the problem before trying to address it. Liz Katz, assistant head for school partnership at One Schoolhouse, an online supplemental school, suggested looking into the reasons students fall behind at school. Some don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing, others know and aren’t doing it, and still others “are doing their best and just can’t meet expectations.”

As you talk with a teenager about where things have gone off the rails, be kind, curious and collaborative. “This isn’t about you being in trouble or getting off the hook,” you might say. “It’s simply about figuring out what’s going wrong so we can solve the right problem.”

Students who are struggling to keep track of what’s expected of them may need to reach out to their teachers, either for clarification about specific assignments or for general guidance on where and when they should be looking for information about homework. As a parent or caregiver, you can coach them on how to approach their instructors. Start by pointing out that teachers are almost always eager to lend support to students who seek it. You can also offer to give feedback on a draft email to an instructor explaining where the student got lost and what they have already tried.

“For many students, the ability to ask for help is not fully formed,” said Ms. Katz, “or it can feel like an admission that they’ve done something wrong. Normalizing and praising self-advocacy is so important.”

For students who know what they’re supposed to do but aren’t doing it, other approaches make sense. They may be having a hard time sustaining motivation and need support on that front, or they may be swamped with commitments, such as caring for younger siblings, that make it impossible to complete their schoolwork. Here, parents and students will want to work together to make a realistic plan for addressing the biggest priorities in light of these circumstances. This might mean coming to an agreement about where the teen’s energies should be directed or exploring what additional support might be put in place.

Finally, Ms. Damour suggests that people who want to help should “step back and see the big picture.” She concludes the article:

“We all need to be easier on ourselves,” Dr. Braaten said, “and to sort through what students really need to do and what they don’t.” Well-meaning parents might hope to motivate students by emphasizing the importance of high grades, but that can make it harder for kids to recover from a substantial setback.

As students start to work their way back, give some thought to how comprehensive their turnaround needs to be. Do they really need to get equally high grades in every class? Could they instead direct their energy toward getting square with the courses they care about most? Could they work with their teachers to agree upon trimmed-down assignments for partial credit? According to Mr. Johnson, “Lowering expectations, for now, can actually help kids to get back on track.”

Dr. Braaten also noted that much of what students gain from school is not about content, but about learning how to solve problems. Engaging teens in constructive conversations to figure out how they fell behind can be an important lesson unto itself. “Having a 16-year-old who understands, ‘When I’m stressed, this is how I react,’” says Dr. Braaten, “may put us further ahead in the long run.”

In any school year, students learn a great deal beyond academic content. This year, more than most, might be one where students gain a deep understanding of how they respond when feeling overwhelmed and how to ask for help or rebound from setbacks — lessons that they will draw on long after the pandemic is gone.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • What two pieces of advice in the article do you think would be most helpful to a student who is facing academic challenges? Why?

  • In moments when you were stressed about school, did anyone try to help you? If so, were the strategies similar to or different from anything you read in the article? What, if anything, that the person said or did seemed to help you, academically or with regard to your mental health?

  • Consider the three reasons Liz Katz says students fall behind in school. Suppose you were trying to help students whose troubles with school fit neatly into one of the three categories. How would your approach differ from student to student? Explain.

  • Have you ever experienced anything described in the article? For instance, were you encouraged to tell a teacher that you were in need of support, or did you prioritize some of the work you had to accomplish before moving on to other tasks? Based on your experiences, what worked and what didn’t?

  • The article states that stress levels are high among students, but also suggests that this challenging year could give them the skills to effectively deal with setbacks and feeling overwhelmed. What are your thoughts about this? Have you gained more coping and problem-solving skills? Or, has stress gotten to the point where you can’t see it leading to any positive outcomes? Do you and your friends talk about stress, and if you do, what sorts of things do you share?

  • Finally, the psychologist Ellen Braaten is quoted in the article as saying, “We all need to be easier on ourselves.” Respond to this statement. Are there ways you can ease up on the expectations you have for your grades and for life in general? Or does that not seem possible? If not, why not?

About Student Opinion

• Find all of our Student Opinion questions in this column.
• Have an idea for a Student Opinion question? Tell us about it.
• Learn more about how to use our free daily writing prompts for remote learning.

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.

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