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How to Plan Your Job Search

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How to Plan Your Job Search

The goal of this resource is to help you take control of your job search timeline and provide you with strategies for advancing your job search process. It will be most useful for people who need to find a job within a certain timeframe and who want to be as effective as possible at every stage of the process. 

This plan will help you design your timeline, set your expectations, monitor your progress, and make adjustments, as necessary, to improve your outcomes. To make the most of these recommendations, plan to put them into action once you have your resume completed and are ready to start actively applying for opportunities. 

The first step in planning your job search timeline is understanding the main factors that influence how it plays out. These factors are: 

1) the time it will take you to apply to the right job (the company that ultimately hires you)

2) the time between the application and the offer. 

For example, if you estimate that it will take you four weeks to apply for the right job and another three weeks between the application and the offer, you should plan to receive a job offer in seven weeks. 

We’ll begin by discussing how to develop estimates for your job search so you can plan your own timeline accordingly. 

The time it will take to apply to the right job

How long it takes you to apply to the company that you eventually work for depends on how many total roles you need to apply for, and the frequency of your applications. For example, if you determine that you’ll need to apply to 50 roles, you can do this in ten weeks at a rate of five applications per week, or in two weeks at a rate of 25 applications per week. 

It is important to estimate how many total roles you will need to apply for, as this will help you determine how many applications you’ll need to submit every week to reach your goals. To make this estimate, try to determine what you expect the following numbers to be, then bring these numbers together for a total number of applications you should plan to submit:

  • Application-to-first interview success ratio
  • First interview to second interview success ratio
  • Success rate of any additional interview rounds (as applicable)
  • Last interview-to-offer ratio

Here is an example:

If you presume a 20% chance of getting a first interview, a 25% chance of passing the first and second interview rounds, and a 25% chance of getting a job offer after the second interview, then you need to plan on submitting 80 applications to get a job offer.

These are metrics that you can influence. The quality of your application materials will impact how frequently you are invited to a first interview, and your interviewing skills will help you get from one round to the next. 

The time between the application and the offer 

In almost all cases, you will need to apply for the job and complete a series of interviews before receiving an offer. The amount of time that passes between the application and the job offer will depend on how many rounds of interviews there are, and how much time passes between each step. It is important to understand that this timeline is mostly in the control of the employer. Once you submit an application, they will invite you to interview based on their scheduling. For most roles, this process can take between two and four weeks. This can vary by industry, company, and role.

At this point in developing your plan, you should have a clear idea of how long you expect your job search to take. As you progress in your search, we recommend that you record and monitor the accuracy of your initial assumptions about your timeline. This will help you determine whether you are on track to receive your job offer under the timeline you first established, and where in the process you might be able to optimize your performance. Assumptions to track should include:

  • Application-to-interview success ratio
  • Success rate of each round of interviews (e.g., how many first interviews led to second interviews)
  • Number of interview rounds for each company

Tip: It is always a good idea to track details of your job search activities. You’ll gain insight into your success metrics and stay on top of important job search information that might otherwise get lost as your activities progress. You can use a tracker like this one to track your networking activities, application materials, action items, and notes from conversations. 

Next, we’ll discuss how you can improve the efficiency of your job search activities at different points in the process.

There are a number of steps you can take to increase the number of interview opportunities you receive.

Apply to more jobs

Most people will be invited to interviews somewhere between 5% and 50% of the time. This means that you will need to submit between four and twenty applications to be invited to a single first-round interview. The more applications you submit, the more interview invitations you’ll receive.

Use the recommendations below to ensure that you are earning as many opportunities as possible:

  • Make sure you are monitoring major job aggregators (engines pulling jobs from multiple sites) such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter. You can set up alerts to receive new postings by email.
  • Separately track postings on LinkedIn jobs, as they might not be captured by aggregators. 
  • Identify companies that you’d be interested in working for based on their geographic location or other parameters. Check their career pages directly once or twice a week for new opportunities that might not appear on aggregators.
  • Make sure you include remote jobs in your search and consider adding other locations if relocation is an option for you.
  • Monitor local job referral and networking groups on Facebook and other online communities where recruiters and hiring managers share opportunities not posted elsewhere.
  • Send an email to people in your network, letting them know about your job search and asking them to share relevant opportunities with you. Make it easy for them to help you by explaining what type of role you are looking for and including your resume. 

Optimize your applications

In addition to increasing the number of applications you submit, you can improve the efficacy of each application by optimizing your resume and getting referrals.

First off, make sure your resume follows all the best practices outlined in the Coursera Resume Guide. 

Next, get feedback on your resume from other people. Recommendations from professionals in your target field are best, but others with experience in hiring can also help. Keep in mind that people might have different preferences, so don’t feel that you need to incorporate every word of feedback you receive. Instead, collect input from multiple people and look for advice that is consistent and makes sense to you. Your goal is to create a resume that is captivating to as many employers as possible! 

Finally, ask for referrals. Referrals are generally the best way to turn more of your applications into interviews. Most companies review employee referrals ahead of other applicants, so, at the very least, a referral increases the chances of your application being properly considered. In addition, employees referring you might be able to provide additional information on the role or the status of your application. 

  • Before applying for a role, check LinkedIn to see if you, or someone you know, might have a connection at the company. Ask for a referral or an introduction.
  • Create a list of companies where you know people. Go through each company’s careers page to see if there are relevant open roles for which you can request a referral.
  • Make sure that everyone you know is aware of your job search, so they can send opportunities your way. Reach out to people directly, post on social media, and mention it in conversations. Remember that opportunities can come from unexpected places such as your barber, book club, church, and more.

Tip: Some companies offer referral bonuses to their employees, so even a stranger might be open to referring you if you are a qualified candidate. Be creative when seeking out referrals, and don’t hesitate to ask.

The next milestone is getting from one interview round to the next. Companies generally interview multiple candidates at every stage, so it’s to be expected that you won’t always advance to the next round. The good news is that you can increase your interview success rate by using the strategies outlined below.

First, to increase your chances of getting to the next round, make sure that your resume accurately describes you. Generally, the first round of interviews is a conversation with the recruiter or the hiring manager, with the purpose of confirming that their impression of you from your resume is accurate, and that you meet all the basic requirements for the role. Be careful about over-optimizing your resume—you may be disqualified as a candidate if the impression you make during your interview clashes with expectations set by your resume. If you’re unsure about the effect of your resume, ask for feedback from people you have recently worked with, since they know you best.

Next, make sure to brush up on your interviewing skills using Coursera’s Interview Preparation Guide.

Finally, after you’ve done all the preparation you can on your own, you should get external feedback on your interviewing skills. You can do that by scheduling a mock interview—an emulation of a job interview used for training purposes. Your local job center or networking organizations might offer mock interview sessions. Alternatively, you can ask someone you know to conduct a mock interview with you. Ideally, it should be someone familiar with the role you are pursuing, or someone with experience in interviewing. 

Here are a few tips for an effective mock interview:

  • Bring your resume and a job description that your interviewer can reference.
  • Prepare at least 5-10 questions that you would like to practice answering. Encourage your interviewer to ask additional questions that you didn’t prepare for.
  • Stay in character when answering questions, and try to reply exactly how you would reply to a real interviewer.
  • Ask for feedback. Come to this exercise with a growth mindset and help your partner by asking specific questions.

If you’ve followed the strategies laid out in this guide, you should know how to develop a timeline for your job search, monitor your progress, and troubleshoot your applications and interviews to improve your outcomes. 

We encourage you to take the time to record your job search activities—starting with your first application—even if you are not actively trying to establish and maintain a particular timeline. Every application and interview experience is a learning opportunity. Plus, your goals might change over time, and information about your previous applications and interviews will help you analyze your past performance, set realistic expectations for future searches.

Knowing what to expect, and having visibility into what’s actually happening in your job search, is key to being in control of your employment, and landing the job!

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Building skills through online learning: 4 data-driven best practices

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Building skills through online learning: 4 data-driven best practices
Young woman having video call on laptop computer at home

By: Alexandra Urban, Senior Teaching & Learning Specialist, Coursera

Teaching and learning online can feel daunting, especially at first. With the pandemic forcing millions of instructors and students abruptly into remote schooling, many have questioned the quality of online learning and its effectiveness — especially those new to the online setting. This new landscape inspired those of us at Coursera to explore what drives the most successful online courses and why. Drawing on the satisfaction, skill development, and career outcomes of over 200 million course enrollments, the Drivers of Quality in Online Learning report showcases the power of online learning and provides actionable, data-driven insights for how instructors and learners can optimize their digital learning experience.

With eight years of data, we’ve found that, when done well, online learning can be extremely effective at helping students acquire and master new skills — including many that are in high demand in the current job market. In fact, 73% of our online learners report a positive career outcome within six months of completing a course. The percentages are more than 80% for those studying business, data science, information technology, and computer science.

Skill-focused learning has never been more important. In recent years, employers have struggled to find qualified workers for critical roles, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the skills gap, according to a recent article in The New York Times.

No matter the subject area, there are specific techniques instructors can use to dramatically improve student engagement, satisfaction, and career outcomes. Here are four of the most effective ways we’ve found to build job-ready skills through online learning:

1.     Define specific learning objectives to help learners connect the content with their career goals.

You can drive career outcomes by defining specific and actionable objectives for each module and the whole course. For example, instead of “Learn basic Python,” a more helpful description would tell students that by the end of the course, they’ll be able to explain a “for-loop” and implement one to simplify their own code.

On the Coursera platform, students can see the concrete skills they’ll be learning in the “Key Concepts” section at the beginning of each week. When you make the learning objectives clear and provide examples of how that skill is used in an industry setting, your students get excited to dive into the content. Courses with specific objectives outlined for each week have a statistically significant increase in the rate of career outcomes.

Your learning objectives should shape every aspect of the course design. When creating a course, start with learning objectives and work backward. Where do you want your students to be at the end of their learning journey? Define those specific learning objectives, and then ask, “How are we going to assess if they’ve actually gained those skills?” Decide what projects will help students master those skills and how they can practice along the way. Finally, outline the instructional materials that will introduce key topics, provide concrete examples, and help students apply the skills to their own career aspirations.

2.     Test students’ knowledge to keep motivation and engagement high.

When students take frequent assessments as part of an online course, they’re more likely to complete the course — and also more likely to achieve a career outcome. Because some universities rely heavily on end-of-term exams, students often receive very little feedback until the end of the semester. As a result, they don’t have an accurate sense of how well they’re doing or the concepts they need to review again. Instead, help students master new skills and identify gaps in their understanding by providing multiple checkpoints throughout your course. These checkpoints should include a mix of graded and practice assessments.

Consider beginning your course with a longer module to scaffold learners into the content, and then test their understanding early and often. Feedback could come from peer-review assignments or automated feedback on quizzes. At Coursera, we’ve developed option-level feedback: depending on how a student answers a question, the system prompts them to review a specific piece of content, or — if they answered correctly — it reinforces the concept by reminding them why their response was correct. Including option-level feedback on quiz questions is a rare method for significantly increasing both satisfaction and completion rates for online learners.

In this way, an online course can provide scaffolding that builds up the learner’s mastery over time. Low-stakes or no-stakes assessments are an important part of that process. Ask students to take a practice assessment after watching videos, engaging with readings, or participating in a simulation to see if there are still gaps in their knowledge, and then direct them back to what they need to review. Including in-video questions and hands-on practice, each produces a 10% increase in average skill development for those who complete the course.

Online education, if done well, can be highly effective because students have the flexibility to set their own pace and access the amount of practice they need, which varies from one student to the next. Having more practice not only leads to higher scores on graded assessments but also helps keep students’ motivation high — they’re more likely to complete courses that offer more practice assessments.

3.     Use hands-on projects, including peer review and programming assignments, to drive higher skill development.

Instructors can help their students connect skill-based learning objectives to career goals by providing industry examples and authentic, hands-on projects. Applied projects foster higher skill development by engaging students in the creation and evaluation forms of learning. In fact, including programming assignments in technical courses on Coursera increases average student skill development by 30%.

For example, in a data science course, instead of using a contrived dataset, you should use real data from an open-source organization or partner with a company that can provide relevant data for the project. In a business course, you could design a project centered on a real case study or ask students to apply the core skills to their own work contexts.

Have students put their new skills into action with reflection and peer reviews. Not every student feels comfortable asking a question in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. But in an online setting, students can write a question in a forum, respond to a discussion prompt, or learn from a peer’s work.

For example, in the Applications of Everyday Leadership course created by the University of Illinois, discussion prompts and peer review assignments guide learners to reflect on key concepts and evaluate new business situations. In Google’s Technical Support Fundamentals course, students apply what they’ve just learned about creating effective technical documentation by writing their own and then reviewing their peers’ work.

Students gain the most from giving and receiving peer reviews when they have a strong rubric that includes quantitative and qualitative feedback. Peer review and programming assignments lead to a higher likelihood of career outcomes by helping learners jump from theoretical concepts to real-world applications.

4.     Break the content into bite-size chunks.

For higher engagement and larger skill gains, our data show that the optimal course length is 4 to 6 weeks, with about 4-6 hours of total learner engagement time per week. Avoid making students wade through a 90-minute lecture to find one specific concept by instead providing small chunks of video content with clear titles. Videos in the 3- to 9-minute range are ideal for continued engagement and satisfaction. In fact, by keeping lectures under 10 minutes in length, instructors can increase their course completion rate by 16%. This structure also makes it easy for learners to find and review specific concepts as needed.

The first module should be longer than average, to ground students in the subject matter. We recommend including the most videos in the first module and gradually transitioning into more project work, with most of the time in the final week spent on hands-on assignments. Students are more likely to complete a course when the total amount of learner engagement time per week stays relatively stable, but how you use that time should vary from week to week.

For example, the first course of the University of Michigan’s Applied Data Science with Python Specialization has more videos at the beginning to introduce students to key terms, definitions, and topics that will be used throughout the course. The instructor uses screen sharing to show his code and provides practice Jupyter notebooks, so students can follow along and run the same programs the instructor talks about in the videos. The first week has a light-weight assignment just to get students going, but by the end, they are building complicated data analysis programs on their own.

As universities everywhere build resilient teaching models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you should feel confident that you can deliver a high-quality educational experience by following these best practices. Even more importantly, your students can expect a strong return on their investment, in the form of in-demand, job-ready skills.

For more data-driven insights on how to increase engagement, satisfaction, and skill development in your own courses, read the full Drivers of Quality in Online Learning report.

 

Pronab Nandi: “Continuous learning is my hobby and I enjoy it very much.”

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Pronab Nandi: “Continuous learning is my hobby and I enjoy it very much.”

“My name is Pronab Nandi. I am a textile professional with more than fifteen years of industrial experience. I have a post graduate degree in business analytics and a bachelor in Technology in Textile Engineering. I have done more than 20 online diploma courses with Alison and more than 500 online certificate courses with a variety of different learning platforms.”

 

How did you learn about Alison?

I came to know about Alison through LinkedIn.

 

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

ISO 14001: 2015. I choose this course because I am an environment lover.

What’s your favourite way to relax from studying?

Continuous learning is my hobby and I enjoy it very much.

 

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

I will continue to work in retail industry and to enrich my knowledge from time to time.

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

Diploma in Sustainable Business

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

It’s a very nice platform for learning. The content is good and the platform is user-friendly.

Polly Austin: “I’ve completed a lot of education in life to get to where I am now.”

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onlinefreecourse
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Polly Austin: “I’ve completed a lot of education in life to get to where I am now.”

“My name is Polly Austin. I’m an African-American woman with four kids. I’ve completed a lot of education in life to get towhere I am now.”

How did you learn about Alison?

I learned about Alison through searching on Google.

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

I think it was a Law course but my God I am totally unsure. Law is one of my favorite subjects to study.

 

What’s your favourite way to relax from studying?

Going for a brisk walk.

Where are you working now?

I’m working at the Positive Health Alliance.

 

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

I’m continuing to learn and look for work in higher-paying jobs.

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

How to increase the speed of completion in my classes, lol.

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

I would tell them it’s a great school. It’s something you would love to do if you were an at-home-mom or have to work throughout the day. Then Alison is the place for you.

Spooky Freebie Full Of Zombies – Halloween Printable Poster

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onlinefreecourse
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Spooky Freebie Full Of Zombies – Halloween Printable Poster

Halloween Printable Poster - Danger Zombie Quarantine

This year, I decided to refresh one of our oldest Halloween printable poster – Danger Zombie Quarantine. Looking at the current pandemic crisis, I’m more scared when I hear quarantine then when I think about zombies. Since most of us will probably stay at home, this printable poster is a perfect option for some seasonal decorations.

Halloween Printable Poster

Posters are the universal option for a quick house makeover. When I was renting a flat and did not have space for fancy decorations, I loved to get myself a few posters now and then get a more seasonal look in the living room. I encourage you to try that too if you do not have a lot of space! Our Halloween Printable Poster is easy to print and available in three different sizes – A4, A5, and US Letter.

For Personal Use Only.

What types of decorations are your favorites? Above all, do you even decorate your house for seasonal occasions like Halloween? I would love to know that so please let me know in the comments below!

If you are looking for more Halloween Freebies, make sure to check our free printables library

Looking for something specific?

If you have an idea for printable, let us know in the comments! We are always looking for inspiration. If you decide to print today’s Halloween printable poster, make sure to share photos of your decorated room with us via Instagram or Twitter.

Sitting and Standing

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Sitting and Standing

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

What message do you think this image is trying to convey? How does it relate to or comment on society or current events? Can you relate to it personally? What is your opinion of its message?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to see what it is about.

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: patina

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onlinefreecourse
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Word + Quiz: patina

1. a fine coating of oxide on the surface of a metal

2. the distinctive surface of something that has age or character

_________

The word patina has appeared in 58 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 14 in “The Hidden History Baked Into a Cooking Pot” by Katherine Kornei:

Last month in the journal Scientific Reports, a team of archaeologists and organic chemists described how they had spent a year cooking a variety of meals in clay pots and then investigating the organic residues left behind. No one got a hearty meal out of this lab work, but the researchers found that some residues traced just the last round of ingredients, while others reflected the long-term cooking history of each pot. By documenting the results of these experiments, the team hopes to help scientists reconstruct ancient culinary practices.

… One way of getting at food preferences and practices over time is to look at what’s left behind after a meal. As they are used, cooking vessels naturally build up organic residues such as charred bits, thin coatings known as patinas, and absorbed fats. The sponges and dishwashers we use today tend to eradicate these leftovers, but they are often found in and on cooking implements unearthed at archaeological sites.

_________

Teenagers in The Times: September 2020

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Teenagers in The Times: September 2020

Here is the September 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

A Police Officer Shot a 13-Year-Old With Autism in Salt Lake City

The authorities said the officer shot the boy while responding to a call about a “violent psych issue.” The teenager, Linden Cameron, was fleeing and did not have a weapon, his mother said.

Young Women Take a Frontline Role in Thailand’s Protests

Women, many of them students, are speaking out against a patriarchy that controls the military, the monarchy and the Buddhist monkhood, Thailand’s most powerful institutions.

Outcry in Hong Kong After Police Tackle 12-Year-Old Girl

Children’s rights groups started a petition demanding a public apology from the police force and an investigation over the girl’s treatment.

Futures in Peril: The Rise of Child Labor in the Pandemic

With schools closed and families desperate for income, millions of children are being forced into work that is often dangerous, arduous and illegal.

As Covid-19 Closes Schools, the World’s Children Go to Work

Former students are taking illegal and often dangerous jobs in India and other developing countries, potentially rolling back years of progress in social mobility and public health.

With More Black Women, U.S. Open Shows Serena and Venus Legacy

“It’s amazing to see so many girls that look like me playing in the tournament and the main draw,” said Hailey Baptiste, 18, who received a U.S. Open wild card.

A Deep U.S. Open Run Becomes a Pitch For College Tennis

For years, college tennis was seen as a dead end for aspiring pros. Jennifer Brady, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open, is the latest player to show it does not have to be.

College Football’s Worst Fear in the Pandemic: The Death of a Player

Jamain Stephens was known as a big man on campus. His death raised questions about how his university is handling the coronavirus and prompted athletes to think about their own risks.

A Girl Wanted to Try Out for Boys’ Tennis. Ginsburg Helped Make It Happen.

In the early 1970s, a law professor named Ruth Bader Ginsburg took on a case that paved the way for a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey to play on a boys’ high school team.

With Kids in Sports Bubbles, These Parents Are Desperate for a Way In

Many parents are used to following their pro-athlete offspring from game to game. With the pandemic keeping them out of stadiums, some are getting creative.

‘H Is for Happiness’ Review: Using Fuss to Fight Off a Funk

The cuteness and cheer of this film is offset by a refreshingly direct take on depression and despair.

I Was Bullied for Being Arab. Nine Inch Nails Threw Me a Lifeline.

As a teenage girl paralyzed with fear, one of the darkest albums of the 1990s, “The Downward Spiral,” gave me the guts to rebel against my tormentors.

What It Means to Be the ‘Token’ Black Kid in a Rich, White World

In “Greyboy,” Cole Brown recounts the lives of privileged outsiders, himself among them.

A Teenage Producer With a TikTok Hit Brings New Zealand to the World

Jawsh 685’s “Savage Love” became a global pop smash. Next up: graduating from high school and, hopefully, getting on a plane.

Kenny Ortega, Teen Whisperer

With the new Netflix series “Julie and the Phantoms,” the man behind “High School Musical” hopes to create another generation of young stars. How does he do it? By seeing teenagers for who they are.

Review: ‘We Are Who We Are’ Captures Not-So-Innocents Abroad

Luca Guadagnino’s HBO series is a heady teen drama of hormones and self-discovery on a U.S. Army base in Italy.

What Students Are Saying About Democracy, Caring For Plants and “Flights to Nowhere”

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What Students Are Saying About Democracy, Caring For Plants and “Flights to Nowhere”

Democracy is the freedom of choice. It is the freedom of change, and a key to be utilized to mold a brighter future. I see our democracy our ability to hold an opinion, popular or not. It is the skin that protects our vocal cords, and the microphone that keeps our voices from being drowned out. It secures our vote and allows us to use that vote to speak out against injustice. The most important part of our democracy is the respect it secures for our human rights, but in the end it is an opportunity, and that opportunity can be ignored. If we do not take the initiative to nurture and cultivate our democracy it will grow weak. Even a tool as powerful as democracy is worthless when left unused.

— Aldon Aquarian, Cass High School, GA

The biggest threat to democracy is not being open to listening and hearing out someone, regardless of whether you want to agree or disagree with them. I feel that the nuances of many issues are lost in this way, as people are too quick to judge those different from them. Having healthy and open discussions with each other is the key to keeping our democracy alive. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy having conversations with people whose ideologies and opinions greatly differ from mine as I gain perspective and understanding

— Lucy Wu, Valley Stream North High School

A few years ago I became passionate about the Israel Palestine conflict. I wanted to do anything I could to help so I began the search for an activism group that was seeking to help those most hurt by the conflict, the Palestinian peoples. I found a group called Kids for Peace and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Washington, DC. I had two weeks there where we would meet with professors, religious members, and people who came from both sides of the issue. They were all able to help us form our strategy to convince Senators why they should support our emergency relief bill for residents in the conflict area. We spent days in congress lobbying to dozens for Representatives and Senators trying to convince them to help those we thought needed it the most. A few months after the trip we heard the news that $50 million in aid had been approved. It was extremely rewarding for me to know that something that I took part in would go on to help so many people who didn’t have a voice of their own.

— Summit Sularz, Burlington, VT

Mr. Lewis echoes Martin Luther King’s sentiment about having a moral obligation to speak up and act when we see injustice. I agree with this idea, as tolerating injustice leads to a passive society that is willing to make minimal reforms to flaws in its political system. Many ordinary people have been speaking out against injustices. Currently, attention is being drawn to the racism in the United States justice system … I participated in direct action against anti-black racism through protests, monetary contributions to organizations, and introspection into my own racial biases. However, becoming an anti-racist is a lifelong process, and I will have to continue to make efforts throughout my entire life.

— Karina Johnston, Glenbard West HS

My generation has turned to their platforms to inform about topics including racial justice, climate change, COVID updates, economic issues, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the Trump administration … Although social media is a great informative tool, the real work — the work of Dr. King and John Lewis and the strengthening of democracy — takes place in one’s house, community, school, place of worship, workplace, and, most importantly, at the polls and in the legislative process. For underage people, there are various ways to contribute: become a poll worker, help the campaigning process, advocate for policies in local government, engage in voter education, encourage older peers to vote, research candidates, volunteer to help register people to vote, etc. For those over 18, they can and should use their vote. This is how we rise to the challenges. This is how we strengthen our democracy.

— Caitlin Balón, South Burlington, Vermont

I believe that my generation is doing its part to maintain democracy in the United States. Since the Black Lives Matter movement took off to the levels it did in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, people in my grade have been voicing their opinions on the things that need to be changed in our society on a daily basis. They have been using platforms like Instagram and Facebook to voice their opinions on the ongoing injustice in our country. Even though they still do not have the right to vote yet, they still have voiced their opinions through social media — the exact thing that civil rights icon John Lewis called on our generation to do. Lewis said that he knew he wanted to fight for change from the young age of fifteen, which is about the age that people in Gen Z are right now. Democracy, by definition, is allowing the people to have a say in social issues, and people voicing their opinions on social issues is the perfect example of democracy, as the great leader John Lewis did before his recent death.

— Sam Casas, Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, IL

I believe that our generation has risen up to the challenges that Mr. Lewis described in his essay. Especially in the past few months, all around the country our generation has taken part in and organized protests against police brutality and the social injustices we see in our country today. Our generation is using social media, which the past generations did not have as much access too, to make sure that our voices are heard and accounted for. Senator Lewis was strongly against violence and I believe our generation is doing a good job of peacefully protesting for change. With the 2020 election approaching this November, our generation is pushing everyone who is eligible to vote to do so, doing their part to strengthen the democracy and let their voices be heard. Our generation still has a lot of work to be done: however, I believe Generation Z is on the right track.

— Jack Hasselbach, Burlington, VT

Film Club: ‘Tears Teacher’

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Film Club: ‘Tears Teacher’

4. 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.)

5. 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.

As an urban anthropologist, Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman felt a duty to record her experiences in lockdown. After all, this was a once-in-a-century global pandemic. And so, for the past 49 nights or so, she has noted her mood at the end of the day.

Mostly, her moods have been fairly positive. But then, last Sunday, her local farmer’s market was sold out of cut flowers — which she had wanted to brighten up her home. “It was the stupidest thing. I almost lost it there on the street,” she said. Ms. Johnston-Zimmerman, an adjunct professor at Drexel University, made it home, “but then I was baking bread, and I just completely broke down. I was like, I feel so dumb for breaking down over flowers.”

Of course, it wasn’t about the flowers. It was about everything happening in her life — and in all our lives.

There may be real benefits to the occasional sob. Furthermore, some experts say it’s OK to occasionally self-soothe with an ice cream sundae, or decompress on a gossipy Zoom call with your college besties, or indulge in a ferocious howl at the moon if that’s what feels right. If you’ve been looking for permission to sit down and have a good cry, here it is: You have our blessing to absolutely lose it. Here are some “let it all go” options to choose from.

Cry if you want to

“Crying can be very cathartic because when you cry, you are taking deep breaths,” said Lisa Feldman Barrett, professor of psychology at Northeastern University and author of “How Emotions Are Made.” She added that those big gulps between sobs most likely increase activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to calm us down.

And just let those tears keep flowing. “Crying for longer time periods is related to the release of some neurochemicals that can make you feel better, like endogenous opioids,” she said.

• Read our list of practical teaching ideas, along with responses from students and teachers, for how you can use these documentaries in the classroom.

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