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Ireland Reaching Out – Connecting people overseas and across time

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Ireland Reaching Out – Connecting people overseas and across time

Ireland Reaching Out (IrelandXO) is a non-profit organisation that has been helping people of Irish descent to reconnect with their ancestors’ place of origin since 2010. The organisation is founded on a vast network of local volunteers, representing the 32 counties, who have a wealth of knowledge with regard to local records and who provide local genealogical expertise. Ireland Reaching Out is delighted to launch its first course with Alison, Introduction to Irish Genealogy.

 

Tell us a little about the ideas behind Ireland Reaching Out.

Genealogy is one of the top hobbies in the world and Irish genealogy in particular is very popular as more than 70 million people worldwide are estimated to have Irish ancestry. Ireland Reaching Out has built up a robust reputation for helping people navigate the vast amount of family history information online and in doing so has developed a large body of expert advice for those interested in finding out more about their Irish ancestry. 

How did you come across Alison, and why did you choose to publish with Alison?

Ireland Reaching Out have relied on Alison to upskill and train staff members in various Microsoft products, such as Excel. Alison is such an intuitive platform, and has such a wide variety of topics, we felt that it was the perfect platform for sharing our genealogy knowledge with a wider audience, and also providing a repository of guidance for our established members, should they feel the need to brush up on their family history skills.

What is the benefit of working with Alison?

Alison allows you to build a course with the content you have already developed, rather than have to create new content specifically for the purposes of online learning. Working with Alison also brings awareness of our IrelandXO.com platform to a wider audience, as well as providing our content for free, which is in keeping with our non-profit and volunteer-led policy of helping as many people as possible to reconnect with their Irish place of origin. 

What advice do you have for prospective publishers on Alison?

Do a few Alison courses first. Each is unique and you may find a style that fits your particular type of content, which you can then learn from.

 

What advice do you have for Alison’s learners?

Focus on the individual topics and not the whole course. Each journey starts with a single step so enjoy the process and celebrate every new piece of knowledge and how it enables you to go further.

Tell us a bit about your new course, Introduction to Irish Genealogy.

Our content has been developed hand-in-hand with some of the top genealogy practitioners in Ireland. The course is designed to introduce key concepts and also to teach research strategies, so you can not only understand what to do but become hands on while you are completing the course. Ireland Reaching Out will assume that our learners know little or nothing about Irish family history, which is why we explain key concepts such as ‘parish’ and ‘townland’, which can often be overlooked by other genealogical learning sources. Not only does this course teach you the fundamentals about Irish family history, it also enables you to create and share profiles of your ancestors online, as well as providing you with a completely free forum for asking questions of the IrelandXO community.

Why was providing the course for free through Alison so important?

The more people who are skilled in researching their Irish family history, the more people within the diaspora can reconnect with their place of origin in Ireland and the community living there today.

Publisher Profile

What’s Going On in This Picture? | Dec. 7, 2020

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What’s Going On in This Picture? | Dec. 7, 2020

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?

Film Club: ‘A Concerto Is a Conversation’

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Film Club: ‘A Concerto Is a Conversation’

All right. It’s a real pleasure to welcome Kris Bowers, our composer, who has written a concerto, “For a Younger Self.” Welcome. [APPLAUSE] Can I ask a question? All right, Granddaddy. Can you tell me, just what is a concerto? So it’s basically this piece that has a soloist and an ensemble, an orchestra. The two are having a conversation. And so sometimes that conversation can be this person speaking, and now this person speaking. Sometimes the conversation — It’s a question. — is at the same time. Yeah. And it really depends on how the composer wants to, or how I want to frame that conversation. Did you ever picture yourself doing what you’re doing now? Huh. [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] I’m very aware of the fact that I’m a Black composer, and lately actually I’ve been wondering whether or not I’m supposed to be in the spaces that I’m in, or supposed to have gotten to the point that I’ve gotten to. Well, I can tell you one thing. Never think that you’re not supposed to be there. Cause you wouldn’t be there if you wasn’t supposed to be there. It goes back to slavery. [MUSIC PLAYING] My grandfather, who I found out has cancer a little while ago, I wanted to spend some more time with him and talk to him about his life, about our family, ask him as much as I can before he passes. [BELL RINGING] Granddaddy. Mm-hm? Need a bit of help with this. Do what? Getting this seamed out for the show. OK. Don’t step on the pedals. Push it right in the corner. OK. Wow. OK. We’re going to make it real handsome here. You’re going to be ready to go. Thank you, sir. Growing up in the South was quite a thing for me. Bascom, Florida, as far back as I can remember, I think the plantation was the Bowers plantation. All 13 of you all grew up in that house? Mm-hm. Wow. How all of us stayed in two rooms, I don’t know. We would start on the porch singing. And there were people, I don’t know how they could hear it that far, would come drive in the front yard and listen to us sing at night. People in that area was, the Blacks were Bowers, and the whites was Beavers. Beavers had the grocery store. But when Dad would walk in the store, this kid about my size, small kid — How old were you about this point? Like how old? I probably was 6 or 7 years old. Oh, wow. And he would go up to my dad and say, what could I get for you, boy? That stuck with me forever. Why are you calling my dad a boy? And Daddy would answer him, sir, yes sir, no sir. But it was something that stayed with me because I knew then when I got of age I was going to leave there. I didn’t want no parts of the farm. I didn’t want no parts of that part of the country. I just wanted to leave. Wherever I could get a ride to, that’s where I was headed to. [MUSIC PLAYING] What was that process like, hitchhiking as a Black man in America in the 1940s? I had to be crazy. Now, the first place I remember being is in Detroit. A man picked me up. He was saying that he could get me a job and a place to stay and all this. I asked him, does it snow there? And he said yes. And that was the end of that, because I didn’t want to be any place that was cold. But I hitchhiked from there to Denver, Colorado. And I was in this Greyhound bus station, cause they had two counters, white and Black. So I could get something to eat. And I heard somebody say, Los Angeles, California. I said, that’s where I want to go. Never heard of Los Angeles before. I had $27 or $28. I didn’t know how I was going to make it, but I knew I was going to make it. So I said well, I’m going to pretend to be an employment agency and call around to get a job. Wow. I got the telephone book, started at the A’s. A Cleaners. And I don’t think I made more than five calls, and the phone rang, and it was the A Cleaners, and they said they needed a presser. I got all the information. I said, OK, I’ll send someone right out. And that was me. [LAUGHING] That’s where I met your grandmother. [MUSIC PLAYING] How old were you when you bought the cleaners? I was 20. Wow. So within two years I had gone from homeless to I was in business. [MUSIC PLAYING] But I never could get a loan. And I owned the place. I said, something wrong with this picture. I told them I come in for the loan, and he said no, I don’t have anything. And I left later, and picked up an application, and I mailed it in. A few days later, I got a call, your loan is approved. I said, it’s the color of my skin. I said in the South they tell you. In Los Angeles they show you. From then on we started buying property, I would get things at the cleaner, everything, but nobody ever saw me. Everything was done by mail. People are constantly throwing up things to stop you in life. But you’ve got to know you cannot stop me. [MUSIC PLAYING] My name is Kristopher Bowers, and I want to play “Shining Star in Atlantic City.” My parents decided before I was born they wanted me to play piano. Literally, I think it’s called like “Piano Sampler No. 5” that they used to put on my mom’s stomach every day. Actually, one of the first pieces of music I ever wrote was on this piano. And I remember, you know, just playing around here all the time. But we were up at a restaurant one, I believe it was a Sunday. At Marie Callendar’s? Marie Callendar’s. They had a piano in there, and I asked the guy could you play it. And they said yes. I carried you over there, and you were playing it, and I was proud of you. [LAUGHING] [MUSIC PLAYING] There aren’t that many opportunities for young kids of color to showcase their talents or to interact with other kids of color playing music and doing those things, and you talking about being my manager, essentially, from the very beginning. If I didn’t have that, I probably wouldn’t have been as confident pursuing music. I remember — where were you in school at that I was up there? What, in New York? At Juilliard? Juilliard? Wherever it was, you enjoyed it. So that’s all I was thinking. If you enjoyed making a living at it. I knew that, boy. And the winner is Kris Bowers. “Green Book.” [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] What do you think your biggest challenge is today? My biggest challenge today, being honest, is my health. It’s just trying to stay healthy. That would be my challenge today. [MUSIC PLAYING] I’ve got a few more years to go, but I’m almost to the top. [LAUGHING] Ten more years, I’ll be at the top. [LAUGHING] So now I just keep trying to do the best I can. Yeah. And enjoy seeing my children and grandchildren being successful. That’s glory in itself. It’s just something that I hope I had a little something to do with it. [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] (SINGING) Then sings my soul, my savior, my God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art. You did it! You did it! You did it! [LAUGHING] See, it surprised you. [LAUGHING]

Teenagers in The Times: November 2020

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Teenagers in The Times: November 2020

Here is the November edition of Teenagers in The Times, a roundup of the news and feature stories about young people that have recently appeared across sections of NYTimes.com. We publish a new edition on the first Thursday of each month.

For ideas about how to use Teenagers in The Times with your students, please see our lesson plan and special activity sheet, both of which can be used with this or any other edition.

_________

Education

_________

Civics, Politics, Economics and Business

Students Vote and Work the Polls, Despite the Pandemic

Students are fighting for voting access and helping at the polls, despite the difficulties of the pandemic.

What Happens to Some L.G.B.T.Q. Teens When Their Parents Reject Them

Over a third of young people in foster care in New York City identify as L.G.B.T.Q. and are struggling to find the support they need, according to a new survey.

‘Stand by Her’: In China, a Movement Hands Out Free Sanitary Pads in Schools

Students and teachers are placing pads outside bathrooms as part of a grass-roots campaign to fight period poverty and to remove the stigma surrounding menstruation.

Nice to Meet You, Mom. Now Let’s Go Into Quarantine.

For members of the world’s largest diaspora of adoptees, returning to the country of their birth was a rite of passage — until the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. Some found a way to make the trip anyway.

Greta Thunberg Hears Your Excuses. She Is Not Impressed.

“If you fully understand the science, then you know what you as an individual have to do. You know then that you have a responsibility.”

Honestie Hodges, Whose Handcuffing Changed Police Policy, Is Dead at 14

Honestie’s handcuffing by the police in Grand Rapids, Mich., caused a national uproar and led to a new law enforcement policy on dealing with youths. Honestie died of Covid-19.

What Students Are Saying About Teachers’ Politics, Memorable Scents and Text Messages

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What Students Are Saying About Teachers’ Politics, Memorable Scents and Text Messages

School is a place to teach and learn new education skills or topics, it’s not a place for politics. Especially in middle school or elementary school kids are very vulnerable and believe everything they see or hear especially if it’s said by someone they’re supposed to trust. Teachers should be able to teach what each side supports and what they stand for, as long they are not biased towards a side.

— Ethan, Glenbard West High School

While some kids might agree with their politics, others who don’t could get offended and this would hurt their learning environment. Furthermore, even if they do not get offended, it is not the teacher’s job to directly influence a student’s political views. They can only give facts and information. If this was allowed then there would be many arguments against students and teachers since many people are very passionate about their political beliefs and this of course would waste class time and create drama. This is the complete opposite of an effective working environment which is not what we need.

— Ivan Doll Block 1, Hoggard Highschool, wilmington NC

Although freedom of speech is extremely important, it’s evident it gets muted when we attend school, at least for students and teachers should be treated with the same regard. Many teachers bring their opinion into their classrooms and that’s not new or avoidable but it’s wrong … When opinion is being brought in it stirs the pot and doesn’t allow for much mental freedom. When looking at the bigger picture, is it worth distracting students or staff from the scheduled day at school for a problematic debate on something they will never agree on? This is a distraction and I’ve yet to see why it is so important to walk around with political speech on your clothing. After all, hate, and inappropriate speech is banned from most school due to it being problematic and a distraction so why wouldn’t political speech be in the same category if it has a similar result?

— Maddie F, Farmington High School

I think that we all have the right to express our own beliefs no matter what you believe in so long as it isn’t hateful. But I also believe in the statement “If even one kid said ‘I am afraid of that symbol,’ isn’t that enough?” that we saw in the article … I just feel that these things are topics that would make us the students uncomfortable if we were to hear a teacher talking about.

— Adam M, IPoly High

Educationally speaking, professors should never push their beliefs onto students since their role is to guide and not influence; nonetheless, that doesn’t mean they must never reveal their political views. My opinion is stained by my hypocrisy, as I would find it acceptable for a teacher to wear a BLM shirt but not an ALM one since, from my perspective, it only serves to spread hate. However, what I stated was my opinion, and different people find different things harmful.

— Maria Bivar, American School of Recife, Brazil

Schools should promote unity, friendship, and love towards all. Teachers are shaping the future of America and that should reflect the goals of the United States Constitution, a plan of unity. That being said, any propaganda that promotes love and equality: such as a black lives matter shirt, or an LGBTQAI+ flag should be allowed. Anything with any and all connotation towards hatred or supremacy over another group needs to be forbidden.

— Tatum Anderson, Maury High School

Human rights are not political, no matter how many people think they are. For example, women’s rights, gay rights, black rights, and the rights of any other person of a minority (since majority rights are never infringed or have been fought for). My math teacher, Mr. Slotnick has a gay pride flag and a BLM poster in his room. He is not advocating for a specific political party or idea, although one party may have more united approval for one party over the other). Agreeing or disagreeing with minority rights does not mean you disagree politically, it just means you discriminate against minorities. However, some ideas (flags, messages, etc.) have become a topic for political speech. The American flag with the blue line in the middle used to not be political, but it is now used as a counter-protest to Black Lives Matter. Both support groups individually are not political, but when pitched against each other do create political tension and controversy.

— Marco Pacheco, Miami Country Day School, FL

What I wish I knew when I first started coding

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What I wish I knew when I first started coding

If you’re new to learning to code, it may feel overwhelming. Luckily, you don’t have to go it alone. You can learn from experienced individuals that have been in your shoes.

In this article, we hear from Stephanie, a software engineer with over 10 years of programming experience. Stephanie shares some of her experiences and the things she wishes she knew when she was first starting out. We hope these five lessons help you find success on your learning journey!

1. The programming process is personal

There are all sorts of different reasons for learning to code, and your journey will depend on your own set of goals. For example, although it eventually led to a career, Stephanie started her learning journey because she wanted to learn how to change her profile on a virtual pet website.

Maybe you’re seeking a career in web development, maybe you want to learn skills to help you excel in your current job — or maybe you just want to learn for fun. Once you know where you’re headed, you can figure out where to start. It’s like any journey you take. When you have a destination, you can search for a route to get there, and backtrack to learn what the first step is. You can start anywhere: a course, a book, or even a bunch of Google searches.

When beginning learning to code, you start to understand what you don’t know yet. Now you’re in a position to fill in those knowledge gaps by guiding your own learning in whatever process works for you.

Stephanie’s learning journey started with a Google search of templates to use for her profile. She then realized she didn’t understand a lot of terminology in those templates. In order to customize her own profile, she began to learn aspects of web design.

2. Go all in on your strengths

To learn the concepts in coding, your best bet is to understand how you best learn. Then you can make sure that you’re learning in the most effective way possible. You might be a visual learner, meaning you’ll need to convert concepts into something tangible. You can associate a concept with an image and draw things out on a blank piece of paper or a whiteboard.

Stephanie began with learning Java. To learn about the concept of classes (which determine how an object is defined and can be used to create instances), she drew out some illustrations on a whiteboard. From there, she began to understand the concepts a little more clearly, and was able to remember the difference between classes and instances much better.

You might prefer to learn by listening to someone talk about the concepts, or you might like to write things down to cement them into your memory. Take some time to reflect on how you best learn, and make sure you’re using that method when learning to program. It’s going to make the process way easier for you.

3. Learn to love debugging

As Stephanie points out, there really is no such thing as perfect code. Some of us will aim to get things exactly right the first time. But that’s just not realistic. And worse than that, trying to aim for perfection can prevent us from taking the first steps in learning to code. It’s a process and mistakes are a normal part of learning and improving.

Let’s just say we have a complicated relationship with bugs. They indicate things we need to fix, but they are also opportunities to learn. The most important thing is to know why and what your code is doing behind the scenes. Any bugs or syntax errors can be found and corrected with a simple Google search most of the time.

When you first start coding, if you get a lot of bugs, don’t fret! It’s completely normal, and it does not mean you aren’t a good programmer. Sometimes you’ll have syntax errors, but don’t let that take away from learning the concepts behind coding. It happens to the best of us, and we all have good days and bad with respect to the number of bugs we encounter.

4. Know when to take breaks

This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually necessary to let your brain rest in order to solve problems as a programmer. The progress you make on your code isn’t always proportional to the time you put into your program or debugging, especially if you’ve been staring at the same issue on the screen for hours at a time.

When you’re stuck on the same two lines of code, remind yourself to take a break and let your mind have a rest for a few minutes. After returning to the computer, the answer might be a lot more obvious. For more, check out our list of tips for what to do when you’re stuck on a coding problem.

5. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Finally, take control of your own learning. That requires asking for help when you don’t know something. That might sound logical to you, but for some learners it can be really uncomfortable asking for help.

Stephanie shares a story of how she felt when she started taking courses in programming. To her, it felt like all of her peers had more experience and would think she wasn’t as smart as them if she said something wrong. So rather than asking a question in the moment she was confused, she told herself she’d just Google it later.

What she didn’t know then was that she missed out on great conversations with other programmers by staying quiet and not asking her questions. When she eventually started talking to her classmates about what was being taught, she realized that not only was she solidifying her own understanding, but she was helping other people do the same.

Don’t be shy to reach out to the programming community at any point in time to learn new things, ask questions, and build relationships with your peers. Every programmer has felt like a beginner at some point, so don’t let that hold you back. Looking for a place to start? Head over to the Codecademy Forums to learn from other learners that have been in your shoes — and share your own experience to help fellow community members!

Fishing by Lantern on an Island in Kenya

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Fishing by Lantern on an Island in Kenya

As the sun sets over the waters of Kenya’s Lake Victoria, the soft sound of the lapping waves is drowned out by the hum of motors. Squinting, I can see them on the horizon, the tiny boats splitting the oranges and blues of the twilight sky.

At first only one or two appear, but soon the few become many, a fleet spreading out over the water, appearing to chase the horizon. The vast expanse of the lake, the largest in Africa, appears to swallow the boats as darkness descends. But I know their destination and goal: the fishing grounds and the silver cyprinid — known as omena in Luo, the local language in this part of Kenya — that stir in the night under the wind-whipped waters.

Omena are a type of baitfish, less than two inches long, and these fishermen work the night shift to catch them under a blanket of stars. But as the boats settle into place for the night, the stars are outshone by the lanterns the fishermen float on the waters to attract the fish to their nets.

On Mfangano, a Kenyan island in Lake Victoria where many of the fishermen live, the collection lanterns on the water is known as the City. Hundreds of lights shimmer and meld into a sparkling succession of glowing orbs. The casual observer would see a town, or a highway in the distance. And it’s not until you’re among them, propelled by a fishing boat, that the true nature, and purpose, of these lanterns is revealed.

I’m riding with two local fishermen, brothers named Mike and Robinson Okeyo. They’ve been targeting omena for five years, but the practice of fishing by lantern extends as long as anyone on the island can remember. In the past, most have used paraffin lanterns, but many are now switching to the use of portable (and rechargeable) lights powered by small solar panels.

Looking at the City from the lakeshore, it’s easy to tell the difference between the two types of lights. Paraffin lanterns glow orange, in stark contrast to the metallic blue emitted by the rechargeable lights.

But it’s not the type of light on the lake that’s causing a problem. Instead, it’s the sheer volume: The number of fishermen continues to grow.

I first heard of the tradition of fishing by lantern while working as a consultant for nongovernmental organizations in Kisumu, Kenya. While Kisumu is also on the shore of Lake Victoria, it takes a three-hour drive and a ferry ride to reach Mfangano Island.

To me, the long trip in a cramped matatu — a common form of local transport where 12 people often pack into a nine-person van — was worth it. The idea of fishermen casting lamps into the water as the sky turns from orange to blue was too much to resist. But the reality of the situation on the lake is far less peaceful than my imagination conjured.

Robinson Okeyo estimates that there are now more than 400 boats fishing for omena every night. While in the past many fishermen lived and worked on Mfangano Island, more and more are coming from the surrounding towns on the shore of the lake.

The draw of the omena is obvious. Despite the high numbers of fishermen, it’s still a much easier fish to catch when compared to Nile perch or tilapia, which have been chronically overfished despite restrictions on the size of fishing nets. “It’s the only reliable fish, because it’s so easy to catch,” Mike Okeyo tells me. And to emphasize the point he adds, “Tilapia and Nile perch take too much sweat to catch.”

The ease of catching omena might be relative, though, as the fishermen have to spend the entire night on small boats, with crews of up to five people. The nights are long, and clothes get wet despite the homemade waterproof jackets the fishermen wear. No catch is guaranteed. Competition has increased so much that at times violence has erupted on the lake — which, in a worst-case scenario, has resulted in drownings.

In other cases, Kenyan fishermen have found trouble with Ugandan authorities, as the border between Uganda and Kenya lies less than a mile off the tip of the westernmost point on Mfangano Island. The penalty for crossing the unmarked border on the water can be huge, levied as fines or the confiscation of equipment.

But, at the end of each night, crews of omena fishermen haul in their lanterns and head to shore, where the price of omena is higher than it has been in the past. Fishermen typically sell to two types of customers: locals who dry the fish and sell to consumers, or companies that use the fish in the creation of animal feed.

Regardless of the customer, the wages earned help almost everyone in the community. “The fishing industry has positively impacted the lives of the fishermen and people of Mfangano Island,” Robinson Okeyo explained. “Several youths are investing in the business, which in return is creating employment opportunities.”

Fishing, he said, also supports other ancillary businesses: shops, restaurants, boat builders and outboard mechanics.

As I watch the fishermen sell their catch in the morning light, I’m struck by the difference in size of each individual omena in comparison to the hands of the locals that use them to feed their families. So many people — in this case entire communities — rely on the ecological balance of a minuscule fish. The situation is delicate. But as I remember my view from the water, watching the lanterns glow across the horizon, I can’t help but feel that this unsteady balance between people and their ecosystem remains a beautiful dance.

Word + Quiz: arrant

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Word + Quiz: arrant

: without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers

_________

The word arrant has appeared in two articles on NYTimes.com in the past two years, including on December 3, 2019 in “Brian Doyle Noticed the Little Things. His Book Reminds Us We Should Too” by Margaret Renkl:

If you are in love with language, here is how you will read Brian Doyle’s posthumous collection of essays: by underlining sentences and double-underlining other sentences; by sometimes shading in the space between the two sets of lines so as to create a kind of D.I.Y. bolded font; by marking whole astonishing paragraphs with a squiggly line in the margin, and by highlighting many of those squiggle-marked sections with a star to identify the best of the astonishing lines therein; by circling particularly original or apt phrases, like “this blistering perfect terrible world” and “the chalky exhausted shiver of my soul” and “the most arrant glib foolish nonsense and frippery”; and, finally, by dog-earing whole pages, and then whole essays, because there is not enough ink in the world to do justice to such annotations, slim as this book is and so full of white space, too.

_________

Does Reality TV Deserve Its Bad Rap?

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Does Reality TV Deserve Its Bad Rap?

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

Do you watch any reality television shows? If so, what are your favorites? What do you like about them?

Do you think of reality television as a time-waster, or a guilty pleasure? Or do you think that TV snobs are the ones missing out?

In “11 Reality Shows to Watch With Your Older Kids,” Noel Murray recommends several entertaining, even substantive, reality shows for teenagers to watch with their families:

The reality TV genre often gets dismissed as irredeemably trashy and filled with fame-starved men and women who’ll stab each other in the back to get more time on camera. But that’s not always the case. Many reality series are more like a cross between a documentary and a game show, featuring a diverse assortment of ordinary people who demonstrate their wits, skills and simple human decency as they compete to win a lot money. And some, like the recent Netflix hit “Floor Is Lava,” are just good, goofy fun, ideal for all ages.

The 11 shows below are exciting, funny, moving and educational — and exactly the kind of television that parents should be watching with their kids.

The article continues with Mr. Murray’s recommendations:

‘The Great British Baking Show’
There’s a reason this internationally popular cook-off is considered the nicest show on television. In addition to making some eye-catching cakes, pies and breads, the amateur bakers are all friendly and supportive rather than ruthless. By casting people who represent a variety of ages, ethnicities and religious backgrounds, “The Great British Baking Show” producers are presenting an encouragingly utopian vision of Britain in the 21st century, depicting an eclectic and inviting nation where people appreciate each other for both their differences and for what they have in common.

‘Nailed It!’
Maybe the funniest reality series, “Nailed It!” functions like a parody of “The Great British Baking Show,” replacing skilled home cooks with more ordinary, bumbling bakers. Tasked to replicate impossibly intricate and beautifully decorated confections — under ridiculously tight deadlines, with weird impediments to overcome — these lovable schmoes do their best to produce something that looks and tastes at least passable. Host Nicole Byer brings just the right note of cheery whimsy to a series that allows the audience to laugh at the contestants’ foibles while also encouraging us to admire their pluck.

‘Project Runway: Junior’
Most Little League versions of reality competitions are way too simplified and cutesy; but “Project Runway: Junior” contains nearly everything that made the original a hit, from the fiendish design challenges to the shrewd judging. The big difference is that these teenage designers treat their time together more like a fun and congenial summer camp than like a must-win struggle to become fashion’s next big thing. This is a “Project Runway” with a refreshing feel-good vibe, populated by some arty high school outsiders who boost each other’s self-esteem as they make amazing clothes.

‘Survivor’
It’s only right to end with the granddaddy of American reality TV competitions, which has been on the air for 40 seasons stretched across 20 years. It’s as fascinating in 2020 as it was in 2000 to watch a group of strangers test their physical limits on a remote beach while also forging alliances and secretly strategizing. As with so many other shows on this list, “Survivor” is packed with teachable moments, offering lessons about game theory, trust and the foundations of society itself.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Mr. Murray writes that “the reality TV genre often gets dismissed as irredeemably trashy.” Do you agree with this judgment? Why do you think that some television shows are labeled “highbrow” or intellectual, while others are considered “lowbrow” or trashy? Is this distinction valuable? How do you think art and culture are used to signal social status or class?

  • What worthwhile reality shows would you add to Mr. Murray’s list? Who are some of your favorite contestants, hosts or guest stars you’ve encountered on reality TV and why?

  • Mr. Murray describes two of the shows he mentions as “depicting an eclectic and inviting nation where people appreciate each other for both their differences and for what they have in common” and “offering lessons about game theory, trust and the foundations of society itself.” What messages have you gotten from reality television? What lessons have you learned from your favorite shows?

  • What would you change about reality television? Do you think the genre promotes dangerous stereotypes or underrepresents people of color? How do you think these issues should be addressed?

  • In 2015, we asked students which reality shows they would want to join as a guest star or contestant. Which shows would you want to enter? Why?

About Student Opinion

• Find all 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 “Front-Row Seat” to the Birth of a Comet’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘A “Front-Row Seat” to the Birth of a Comet’

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

Featured Article: “A ‘Front-Row Seat’ to the Birth of a Comet” by Robin George Andrews

Space is so vast and expansive that generally scientists see only slivers of it at any given moment, which makes the identification of an object named LD2 all the more significant. Right now, astronomers are watching that icy proto-world transform into a hyperactive comet that will head toward the inner solar system in the coming decades.

In this lesson, you will learn about the formation of comets and what makes the discovery of the LD2 comet significant. Then you will participate in a citizen science project to look closely at and identify objects in space.

What do you know about how comets form?

Create a K/W/L Chart with three columns: What I Know, What I Want to Know and What I Learned. In the first column, write down everything you know about comets. Then watch the two-minute video below. As you watch, add any additional information to the “What I Learned” column.

After watching the video, add any questions you have about comets in the “What I Want to Know” column of your chart.

As you read the featured article, you will continue to learn about comets. You can add what you are learning to the “What I Learned” column.

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. The article begins, “As Douglas Adams once said: Space is big. Really big.” Why do you think Robin George Andrews, the writer, chose to start the article in this way? How does that sentence set up some of the surprises and excitement about the discoveries in the article?

2. What is LD2 and how did astronomers identify it? What are some of the things that are unique and special about this object?

3. What are the two ways that Centaurs move in space? What happens if they become hyperactive comets?

4. What do astronomers hope to discover by observing LD2 as it makes its 43-year-long transition?

5. What was LD2 millions of years ago? How was it first identified in 2019?

6. How were scientists able to study the hazy cloud called a coma of LD2 and draw a conclusion about where it is in its journey into the warmer region around our sun? Why is this discovery exciting for astronomers?

The discovery of LD2 depended on astronomers looking very closely at the sky and identifying something unusual. For this activity, try your hand at identifying space objects by participating in the citizen science project Catalina Outer Solar System Survey. Here’s a summary:

For over twenty years the Catalina Sky Survey has been collecting images of the sky night after night. Hidden deep in these images are exotic and primordial solar-system worlds yet to be discovered: Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs).

By looking at images of the same patch of sky over several months, the motion of distant TNOs can be detected. However, computers often make false detections, and this is where you come in! The detected motion needs to be confirmed, and the human eye is supremely adapted to just this task. This project seeks volunteers to review animated images to make the final determination of whether an object is a real TNO or not. Are you ready to discover new distant, icy worlds?

After you’ve completed the tutorial and tried your luck at identifying Trans-Neptunian Objects, take a few minutes to reflect on your experience:

  • What did you notice and wonder as you viewed the images? What is one new thing you learned?

  • What was it like to participate in this project? Did you find it interesting or challenging to identify objects? Why or why not?

  • Why might research like this, and that done by the scientists you read about in the article, be important? What can we learn from studying space?

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.

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