fbpx
Home Blog Page 1353

Winterscapes

0
Winterscapes

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

The onset of winter may usher in cold, ice, and adversity, but it also brings a dramatic change in scenery: snow-filled skies, skeletal trees, powder-covered hills, prismatic icicles and much more.

How do you feel about winter landscapes? Do you believe some places are more beautiful or serene this time of year? Where are you favorite places to go after a snowfall?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to see more photos of striking winter scenes.


About Picture Prompts

• Find all our Picture Prompts in this column.
• Have an idea for a Picture Prompt? Tell us about it.
• Teachers, discover more ways to teach with our Picture Prompts and learn 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.

Word + Quiz: perspicacious

0
Word + Quiz: perspicacious

1. mentally acute or penetratingly discerning

2. acutely insightful and wise

_________

The word perspicacious has appeared in six articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 5 in the book review “Recreational Adrenaline: Three Sizzling New Thrillers” by Sarah Lyall:

This debut novel is a cerebral box of delights that begins when Julia Hart, a publisher, travels to an unnamed Mediterranean island to visit Grant McAllister, who vanished decades earlier after producing a single volume of mystery stories. Her firm wants to republish the book, “The White Murders,” a collection of seven fiendish murder mysteries that each reflects a different approach to the genre. (They are all gems. One turns out to be a diabolically plotted homage to Agatha Christie’s classic “And Then There Were None.”)

From the cat-and-mouse present-day discussions that alternate chapters with the original short stories, we discover that Julia is an unusually perspicacious detective as well as a sharp-eyed editor. She starts to pick up subtle narrative inconsistencies in the stories — mixed-up words, chronological anomalies, out-of-place details. A creepiness sets in; no one is who he (or she, maybe) seems. Why is Grant so vague about his past? What does Julia really want?

_________

What’s Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 25, 2021

0
What’s Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 25, 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?

Do You Talk to Your Family About the Cost of College?

0
Do You Talk to Your Family About the Cost of College?

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

Do you plan to go to college? Do you have a sense of how much one year of college might cost? If not, take a moment to look up the cost of tuition, room and board and various fees for a college that interests you.

Have you seen older siblings, other relatives or friends go through the college application process? Are you a high school senior somewhere in the middle of the process? What do you know about applying for and seeking out aid to pay for your education?

Do you and your parents or guardians ever talk about how to pay for college and whether they might be able to help you cover the cost? Do you think parents and their children should have honest conversations about the cost of college?

In “High School Grades Could Be Worth $100,000. Time to Tell Your Child?” Ron Lieber advises parents to have the kinds of conversations that would enable students to answer the questions above about financing their college educations. The article begins:

Financial aid is no longer just about what you earn and what you have. It’s also about your children and what they do — and that means that good grades can be worth a whole lot of money.

In the past quarter-century, an ever-growing number of schools — both public and private — have begun using aid as a weapon to try to increase their institutional prestige. In many cases, it is bait for students who can raise the school’s profile in the eyes of the rankings overlords at places like U.S. News & World Report. In others, it’s become so rampant that discounts are necessary just to keep heads in the beds and pay the light bill.

It goes by the name merit aid, and it’s not the same as the more limited academic scholarships of a generation ago. Now, admissions officers often report to bosses with the words “enrollment management” in their titles, and they can spread the money around much more broadly.

“Aid” is a bit of a misnomer, albeit one that we seem to be stuck with. It’s not a scholarship as much as it is a coupon in many cases, one whose value may depend on applicants’ traits ranging from their ZIP code (which can signal affluence) to how quickly they open an email invitation.

But the merit part — actual academic and leadership prowess — can also matter plenty. That means that grades aren’t just a factor in getting into a first-choice school, but also in what you might pay for a residential undergraduate education.

The result is an elaborate parallel financial aid system that can totally upend the psychology of picking a college.

And because nearly all but the most selective schools now use merit aid at least a little, list prices are increasingly irrelevant for most families. Classrooms at public institutions like the Universities of Delaware or South Carolina and private ones like Occidental College in Los Angeles or Syracuse in New York State have become more like airplane cabins, where people often pay many different amounts via extensive menus of possible prices.

Over several years on the road talking to scores of college presidents, faculty members, enrollment deans and families about what we all should be willing to pay for college, I’ve learned how much of a head trip the merit aid system has become.

And just like drugs, you should talk to your kid about it before someone else does.

Mr. Lieber suggests how and when parents and their children should start talking about paying for college:

If you haven’t been talking about money all along, a basic conversation may be in order first, to prepare teenagers to take it all in. Roughly how much money have you saved for college, if any, and how much do you make? You would need to put this on financial aid forms, in any event.

Then, this: What are you willing to pay for college, and where? This is, alas, just as complex of a topic as the pricing system itself. Be ready to explain why you intend to limit it to a certain amount of money (if any) or particular types of schools (ditto).

Now, about the timing. It seems only fair that teenagers ought to know the rules of engagement at the beginning of the game. After all, many teens would be furious if you held this information back because you thought that they couldn’t handle the truth.

So one possibility is this: Have a brief but deliberate merit aid conversation two months into the summer after eighth grade.

It does not have to be an extended chat if a child seems reasonably motivated already. You might simply explain that grades don’t just count for admission these days — good ones can make many expensive schools more affordable. That way, rising high school freshmen can begin to consider what sort of marks they’ll need to achieve and other extracurricular goals they might want to set.

Wait any longer than the start of high school, and the vicious math of grade point averages may not allow them to catch up if they are aiming for merit aid at more selective institutions. And grades and curricular choices — unlike ZIP codes or other demographic information — are something that is mostly within a teenager’s control.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Do you agree with Mr. Lieber that the summer before ninth grade is the right time to start a family conversation about paying for college? Why or why not? Have you started to talk about this topic at home? If yes, what have the conversations been like?

  • The article quotes Ashley Darcy-Mahoney on the topic of being honest with children: “Most teenagers want to be treated like adults. And treating them that way, in giving them information about adulthood and adult decisions, is also what they want.” Respond to this quotation. Do you feel ready to know what role, if any, your family will play in financing your college education? What, if anything, do you think Ms. Darcy-Mahoney isn’t taking into consideration here?

  • How much stress do you feel about academics? Does the idea that merit aid is determined in part by your grades and test scores affect your motivation to do well in school? What, if anything, do you see yourself doing differently as a result of reading this article? Explain.

  • What’s one thing you learned about merit aid and the cost of college? What’s one thing that frustrated you when you read this article? What’s one question you now have about the college application process?


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.

Monitoring the Weather at the Edge of the World

0
Monitoring the Weather at the Edge of the World

It all started with a single sentence in a blog post about Iceland: “A farmer is looking for support at a weather station and sheep farm.”

It was 2012, and, after studying photography in the industrial German city of Dortmund, I was ready for a change. I’d long planned on visiting Iceland, and when I read about the secluded farm, everything came together. I replied to the post, landed the job, sold most of my things and booked my flight.

Marsibil Erlendsdottir, the farmer and weather station attendant, picked me up at the small airport in Egilsstadir, near Iceland’s easternmost edge.

The drive to the weather station took nearly two hours — through snow-covered mountain passes, alongside waterfalls, past reindeer and empty summer houses. As we neared our destination, the road grew narrow and rough. Finally, we arrived at the end of an isolated fjord, where a small yellow lighthouse appeared in the distance.

“Welcome to the end of the world,” Ms. Erlendsdottir said, laughing.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office runs 71 manned weather stations around the country, 57 of which report the precipitation, snow depth and ground cover once per day. Ms. Erlendsdottir, who goes by Billa, oversees one of the 14 stations that also report on cloud cover, weather conditions and other meteorological phenomena.

Every three hours, day and night, no matter the weather, Billa checks the readings on the weather instruments at her station and relays them — temperatures, air pressure, wind conditions, and others — to the office in Reykjavik.

Her reports, along with those from the rest of the country, are published online and broadcast over the radio. For farmers who rely on the forecasts, the information Billa provides can help dictate their daily work. For fishermen on the high seas, the information can be the difference between life and death.

There has been a weather station in this area since 1938, and it has always been operated by real people. (Given the region’s harsh conditions, automation wouldn’t be possible, Billa says.)

The region is incredibly remote. In the coldest months of the year, the farm is only accessible by boat and, when storms hit, can be cut off from the outside world for days on end.

Billa grew up at the weather station with her brother and five sisters. She married one of the local fishermen and had a family of her own, raising two children — one of whom, her son, was born on a boat on the way to the hospital.

Billa’s husband died in recent years, leaving her to run the weather station and the farm on her own. Billa could easily have left the place, but she decided to stay.

“It never gets boring here,” she said.

I initially worked with Billa for 10 months. Having grown up on a farm in Poland, I found much of the work familiar: caring for the sheep, helping to train the Border collies, repairing fences, gathering hay.

Billa doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. It took more than a year before she was comfortable enough for me to take her portrait.

In the meantime, I began documenting her life and work, following the rhythm of her days — and of the weather reports.

Like Billa, I enjoy spending time off the grid, and so I kept returning to the farm, where there is no cellphone reception. In total I’ve spent around two and a half years there.

The area becomes especially inaccessible in the winter months, when the daylight lasts for only a few hours and the lighthouse’s constantly spinning beam cuts through the darkness.

For months on end, the farm is blanketed by snow, and sounds are muted — except the sound of the surrounding sea. In winter, the crushing waves become progressively wilder, the wind ever stronger, the weather conditions less predictable.

But even in the harshest snowstorm, Billa leaves her house to care for the animals and check the instrument shelter.

Every season brings its own tasks. In spring, when the sheep give birth, the animals need to be monitored 24 hours a day. In summer, the hay for the winter months has to be collected. And during the autumn, the sheep are carried down from the mountains.

In addition to all the farm work, Billa also maintains the lighthouse, which was built in 1908. Her store cupboard must always be well stocked, given that the nearest supermarket is 50 miles away.

In the winter, it takes an hour by boat to get to the nearest shops. A mail boat comes once every two weeks, but only when the weather conditions allow it.

The circumstances here are immensely demanding, but living in harmony with nature provides Billa with a sense of inner peace. She can’t sit still and spends as much time as possible outside.

A few years ago, Billa’s daughter, Adalheidur, who goes by Heida, finished her studies in Reykjavik and moved back to the farm to accompany and help her mother.

“If I ever moved away, my mother would definitely stay here on her own,” Heida said.

“Here,” she added, “she feels free.”

Word + Quiz: testator

0
Word + Quiz: testator

: a person who has made a last will and testament

_________

The word testator has appeared in three articles on NYTimes.com in the past six years, including on May 21, 2019, in “Did Aretha Franklin Leave Her Will Under the Couch Cushion?” by Ben Sisario and Steve Friess:

When Aretha Franklin died last year, her family said that she had left no will. But, as it turns out, she may have left a few of them.

In a court filing on Monday, the personal representative of Ms. Franklin’s estate disclosed that three handwritten documents had been discovered just weeks ago at Ms. Franklin’s home — one in a spiral notebook under her sofa cushions, the others in a locked cabinet — and asked a Michigan probate judge to decide whether any of them are valid wills.

…. Kenneth J. Abdo, an entertainment lawyer in Minneapolis, said the documents appeared to show Ms. Franklin’s intentions, and might satisfy a Michigan law that stipulates the following conditions for a “holographic,” or handwritten will: that it need only be dated and signed, and that “the document’s material portions” must be “in the testator’s handwriting.”

_________

How Worried Should We Be About Screen Time During the Pandemic?

0
How Worried Should We Be About Screen Time During the Pandemic?

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

The coronavirus pandemic ended the screen time debate: Screens won. We all now find ourselves on our screens for school, for work and for connecting with family and friends during this time of social distancing and increased isolation.

But should we be worried about this excessive screen use right now? Or should we finally get over it and embrace the benefits of our digital devices?

In “Children’s Screen Time Has Soared in the Pandemic, Alarming Parents and Researchers,” Matt Richtel writes:

The day after New Year’s, John Reichert of Boulder, Colo., had a heated argument with his 14-year-old son, James. “I’ve failed you as a father,” he told the boy despairingly.

During the long months of lockdowns and shuttered schools, Mr. Reichert, like many parents, overlooked the vastly increasing time that his son was spending on video games and social media. Now, James, who used to focus his free time on mountain biking and playing basketball, devotes nearly all of his leisure hours — about 40 a week — to Xbox and his phone. During their argument, he pleaded with his father not to restrict access, calling his phone his “whole life.”

“That was the tipping point. His whole life?” said Mr. Reichert, a technical administrator in the local sheriff’s office. “I’m not losing my son to this.”

Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, parents across the country — and the world — are watching their children slide down an increasingly slippery path into an all-consuming digital life. When the outbreak hit, many parents relaxed restrictions on screens as a stopgap way to keep frustrated, restless children entertained and engaged. But, often, remaining limits have vaporized as computers, tablets and phones became the centerpiece of school and social life, and weeks of stay-at-home rules bled into nearly a year.

“There will be a period of epic withdrawal,” said Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, an addiction expert and a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama on drug policy. It will, he said, require young people to “sustain attention in normal interactions without getting a reward hit every few seconds.”

Scientists say that children’s brains, well through adolescence, are considered “plastic,” meaning they can adapt and shift to changing circumstances. That could help younger people again find satisfaction in an offline world but it becomes harder the longer they immerse in rapid-fire digital stimulation.

Dr. Jenny Radesky, a pediatrician who studies children’s use of mobile technology at the University of Michigan, said she did countless media interviews early in the pandemic, telling parents not to feel guilty about allowing more screen time, given the stark challenges of lockdowns. Now, she said, she’d have given different advice if she had known how long children would end up stuck at home.

“I probably would have encouraged families to turn off Wi-Fi except during school hours so kids don’t feel tempted every moment, night and day,” she said, adding, “The longer they’ve been doing a habituated behavior, the harder it’s going to be to break the habit.”

Reactions to the article from Times readers varied greatly. Margaret from Boulder wrote:

This article is my life. We were having problems even before the pandemic, but now it’s awful. We have some rules — on school days they can’t use their iPads until schoolwork is done — but there’s unfortunately a lot they can do on their school Chromebooks that isn’t school-related. When we sit down to dinner they have to put away all the screens for the night, so they beg me to serve dinner later and later. They have NO other interests.

While Rea from New Jersey commented:

Puhleeze. Devices have been my kids’ only way to socialize during this pandemic. Far from endangering them or causing them trouble, “screen time” has saved my kids’ sanity. They play with their friends from morning to night. They’ve actually *strengthened* relationships. What could be more wholesome than that?

And Sam from Boston said:

I’m 15 and I know that for many teens and kids all they want to do is go outside and play with their friends but they can’t. I admit to spending an excess time on my phone during the pandemic but I would give it all up to go play basketball with my friends or have a sleepover etc.

Students, read the entire article and some of the comments, then tell us:

  • Have you increased your screen time during the pandemic? How many hours would you say you spend each day and each week on screens? What screen-based activities do you spend the most time engaging in?

  • The article says that James, 14, used to focus his free time on mountain biking and playing basketball but now devotes nearly all of his leisure hours to Xbox and his phone. Does that ring true for you in any way? Have you found that you are spending less time on other hobbies and activities because you are on your screen so much?

  • According to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, increased online use is “associated with anxiety, depression, obesity and aggression” and “addiction to the medium itself.” From your own experiences, what effect does extensive screen time have on you and your peers? Have you observed any of the negative effects described by Dr. Christakis?

  • One parent, Jesse Tayler, said his own concerns about the heavy technology use were being offset by some optimism that his children were becoming able digital natives: “These are the tools of their lives. Everything they will do, they will do through one of these electronic devices, socialization included.” Do you agree? What do you see as the upsides of all the increased screen time during the pandemic?

  • Mr. Richtel writes that many parents have relaxed their rules on their children’s screen use during the long months of lockdowns and shuttered schools. Does this resonate with your own experiences? What rules or restrictions do your parents have regarding screen and digital technology use? Do you think they are fair? What advice would you give parents about setting rules and limitations for their children’s screen use during the pandemic?

  • Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, said that after the pandemic “there will be a period of epic withdrawal.” When the pandemic is gone, how hard will it be to disconnect from your screens and go back to your normal school and social life?


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: ‘13,000 School Districts, 13,000 Approaches to Teaching During Covid’

0
Lesson of the Day: ‘13,000 School Districts, 13,000 Approaches to Teaching During Covid’

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

Featured Article: “13,000 School Districts, 13,000 Approaches to Teaching During Covid” by Kate Taylor

In a series called “Schools in the Pandemic: A Report Card,” The New York Times closely examined seven school districts across the country in an attempt to see how public schools are navigating the pandemic. The featured article is the introduction to that series.

In this lesson, you will learn about what going to public school looks like right now and how it is affecting students. Then you will share your experiences about learning during the Covid-19 crisis and have a chance to read more about one of the seven districts The Times covered.

Note: The featured article, and all seven related articles, are available in English and Spanish.

How well is your school district handling teaching and learning during the coronavirus pandemic?

Create a report card that assesses your school or district’s Covid-19 response. What grade would you give it why?

If you are in a classroom context, share your grades and reasoning with a small group and discuss what you notice and wonder. How similar are your scores? What criteria appear to be most important to you based on your explanations? Is it how much students are learning? Their mental health status? The school’s safety protocols? Equity across different groups?

If you want to change your grade after discussing with your classmates, do that now and explain why you changed your mind.

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. Kate Taylor writes that what it means to go to public school in the United States during a pandemic “looks so different in different parts of the country.” What evidence does she use to support that statement?

2. Ms. Taylor lists some figures about students and schools that are not being officially tracked. Which of those data points is most interesting to you? Why do you wish we had more information about that particular figure?

3. Ms. Taylor writes, “The disruption of education, like so much else about the pandemic, has not affected everyone equally.” Choose one example from the article that illustrates this point.

4. What resources and services — beyond education — do some students rely on in school? How has the pandemic made it harder for students to access those resources?

5. What do we know about how the pandemic has affected young people’s mental health?

6. According to education experts, what are some of the conditions under which schools can open safely? What does, or what would, make you feel safe going to school?

7. What are some expectations about what might happen to schools in the next several months through the 2021-22 school year? What do you predict will happen?

Option 1: Tell us about your school’s Covid-19 response.

Imagine The New York Times has contacted you to find out more about what’s going on in your school or district for its “Schools in the Pandemic” series. What would you want The Times to know about your experience?

You can report on anything you want, but if you need ideas, you might consider some of the following questions:

  • What type of learning is your school or district using during the pandemic? In-person? Remote? A hybrid? Something else? Do you agree with the decision your district has made about in-person or virtual learning? Why or why not?

  • What is helping you to learn this year? What is making learning harder?

  • Have there been cases of Covid-19 in your school or in your community? How has your school responded? How does the response make you feel about the safety of attending school in person?

  • Do you think students are succeeding — and struggling — equally in your school? Or has this year been harder or easier for certain groups of students?

  • If you are attending school in person, what safety measures are students and staff members expected to take? Does everyone respect these rules?

  • Who is making decisions about Covid responses in your school district? Are students, parents, teachers, administrators and district officials all in agreement?

  • What is one change you would like to see at your school when it comes to teaching and learning during this time?

Write a paragraph that highlights what you think are the most important points about your school or district’s handling of the pandemic.

Another option? Use these same questions to interview a classmate about his or her learning experience and summarize the main ideas. How similar or different are your experiences to one another? Why do you think that is? What can you learn by talking to other students about what it’s like for them to go to school right now?

Option 2: Research other school districts around the country.

The featured article was the introductory piece to a longer series about schools during the coronavirus pandemic. Choose one other article from the series to read:

Los Angeles: Teachers and students struggle with “no human contact.”

Cherokee County, Ga.: Schools vowed to stay open, until staffing ran out.

Edison, N.J.: The pandemic has brought a new teaching style.

Washington, D.C.: Teachers are going in search of missing students.

Providence, R.I.: Unlike in many cities, most children are in classrooms.

Wausau, Wis.: Parents revolted after the board voted to keep schools closed.

Lubbock County, Texas: What a tiny district did to keep students from failing.

After reading, answer these questions:

  • What are three struggles the district is facing?

  • What are two solutions or strategies that the district has put in place to try to support students and the staff?

  • What is one quotation that you found particularly meaningful?

  • What is one connection you can make between the district featured in the article and your own district?


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.

Persigue tus Sueños

0
Persigue tus Sueños

Author : Miguel Martinez
Degree : Bachelors
Major : Industrial Engineering
Country : Argentina
Language : Spanish

View Author Profile
Visit Atlantic International University

The post Persigue tus Sueños first appeared on Atlantic International University.

Penn Engineering launches new Introduction to Programming with Python and Java Specialization

0
Penn Engineering launches new Introduction to Programming with Python and Java Specialization

Penn Engineering Online Learning has just launched a new Specialization called Introduction to Programming with Python and Java. This Specialization moves quickly; it starts out by teaching basic concepts in Python and ramps up to more complex subjects such as object-oriented programming and data structures in Java. By the time learners complete this series of four courses, they will be able to write fully-functional programs in both Python and Java, two of the most well-known and frequently used programming languages in the world today.

Introduction to Programming with Python and Java is for students and professionals who have minimal or no prior programming exposure. It’s for motivated learners who have experience with rigorous coursework, and are looking to gain a competitive edge in advancing their career. It’s for folks who are thinking about applying to the University of Pennsylvania’s popular Online Master of Computer and Information Technology degree (MCIT Online) and want to sample some of the lecture videos and content from the first course in the program. The Specialization certificate will be viewed favorably by the admissions committee so be sure to mention it in your application. If admitted, MCIT Online students can get reimbursed for the Specialization.

Hear more about the course here.

Why should you consider taking Introduction to Programming with Python and Java? “Programming will be a transformational force in nearly every industry in the foreseeable future,” says course instructor Brandon Krakowsky, Lecturer for Penn Engineering. “With this Specialization, anyone with determination can quickly get up to speed.” Learners will encounter in-depth coding demonstrations, hands-on coding exercises and assignments with real-world applications.

The four courses in the series are:

Get started today!