It was mid-December in the early 1970s. Images of the faraway Vietnam War flashed across the screen of a small black-and-white television on a table in his childhood home in Connecticut. Suddenly, the family dog burst from the kitchen in pursuit of their cat and got tangled in the cords, dragging the TV to the floor and smashing it into pieces. That night, instead of tuning in to an episode of “Wild Kingdom,” Mr. Mays’s father reached for a book from the shelf, a yellowed volume of Charles Dickens stories and read the tale aloud.
“I remember my father’s wonderful, detached narrator’s voice and my mother embodying each of the characters in a spooky way,” he recalled. “For a small child, it’s weird to see the woman that you know best transmogrifying into Marley’s Ghost or Bob Cratchit or Ebenezer Scrooge. I was riveted by that.”
What roles do sound and silence play in our lives?
“Sanctuaries of Silence” is a seven-minute 360-video that touches on themes of nature, listening and the power of silence. It profiles Gordon Hempton, an acoustic ecologist, as he travels from noisy city streets to the Hoh Rain Forest in western Washington State in search of quiet. He believes that silence — which he defines as the absence of noise from daily life — is crucial for humans’ well-being, and that it is on the verge of extinction.
Students
1. Watch the short film above. While you watch, you might take notes using our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments.
2. After watching, think about these questions:
• What moments in this film stood out for you? Why?
• Were there any surprises? Anything that challenged what you know — or thought you knew?
• What messages, emotions or ideas will you take away from this film? Why?
• What questions do you still have?
3. An additional challenge: What connections can you make between this film and your own life or experience? Why? Does this film remind you of anything else you’ve read or seen? If so, how and why?
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.
6. To learn more, read “Sanctuaries of Silence.” Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee write:
Listening through a microphone taught Mr. Hempton to take things in with equal value, without judgment. We were struck by this approach, as it offered us the opportunity to be completely present in the landscape. When listening in this way, we were more connected to the space around us. We heard the intricacies of life — the creaking of trees, the cacophony of birdsong. We were attuned to nature in ways we had not experienced.
Our hope with this film is that viewers come away with a new perspective toward sound and the power of silence. The simple act of listening to the natural world can have a profound impact on our relationship to place and on ourselves by rooting us in a presence that we no longer take for granted.
• Read our list of practical teaching ideas, along with responses from students and teachers, for how you can use these documentaries in the classroom.
• Our next Film Club will take place on Thursday, March 28.
Xenia is the Greek concept of hospitality. In the “Odyssey,” it is both a civic responsibility — serving the weary traveler who landed on the shores of one’s front door — and a spiritual duty, for it would always be entirely possible that the weary traveler could end up being a god in disguise.
The Learning Network runs an annual Connections Contest, in which students are invited to link anything they’re studying in school with something in the news. This year, one of the winners, Alex Iyer, a student from San Antonio, linked Homer’s “Odyssey” with the Times piece, “As Rich Nations Close the Door on Refugees, Uganda Welcomes Them” and talked about the role of xenia in both. Here is his essay:
In literature, we learned that in Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey,” Homer uses the tribulations of the hero Odysseus to illustrate the Ancient Grecian custom of xenia. This custom focused on extending hospitality to those who found themselves far from home. As Odysseus navigates the treacherous path back to his own home, he encounters both morally upstanding and malevolent individuals. They range from a charitable princess who offers food and clothing, to an evil Cyclops who attempts to murder the hero and his fellow men. In class, we agreed that Homer employs these contrasting characters to exemplify not only proper, but also poor forms of xenia.
For the people of its time, the “Odyssey” cemented the idea that xenia was fundamental for good character; resulting in hospitality becoming engrained in the fabric of Ancient Grecian society. I saw a parallel to this in a New York Times article called “As Rich Nations Close the Door on Refugees, Uganda Welcomes Them” published on October 28, 2018. Similar to the prevalent custom of xenia in Ancient Greece, Uganda has made hosting refugees a national policy. The country is now occupied by up to 1.25 million refugees, many of whom are fleeing the violent unrest of South Sudan.
The xenia of Homeric times implied a mutually beneficial relationship between host and guest. We see this in Uganda, where villagers share land with South Sudanese refugees. Grateful for this generosity, the refugees gladly help out with farming, carpentry, and even translation. Many Ugandans remember when they themselves had to look to Sudan for sanctuary. During the murderous rampages of Idi Amin and Joseph Kony, the Sudanese provided critical support to Ugandan refugees. These memories are motivating modern-day Ugandans to assist refugees, bringing the world a little closer to what xenia strived for over 2,000 years ago.
Uganda and South Sudan are by no means wealthy utopias. However, xenia was never about the rich blindly giving to the poor. It aspired to foster symbiotic relationships of openness and inclusivity that would endure through time. It’s interesting that a quaint Greek ideal from thousands of years ago would find a practical application in Uganda. When Amos Chandiga was asked why he lent two acres of his own land to refugees, he simply responded “They asked me, and I gave it to them.” He then patted his chest and said “It comes from here, in my heart.” Perhaps this can serve as a lesson to Americans, as we grapple with modernizing our own asylum policies. Teaching us that, whether rich or poor, open borders give way to open hearts.
And since school functions as students’ September-through-June “home,” they might then work with their counselors and student government to develop a welcoming committee, mission statement, and a set of resources that would have them sharing their hospitality to all those who make their way to the shores of the school, whether incoming freshmen, transfer students, parents at an open house, or athletes visiting the school for a sporting event or competition. They may also work to propose programs and extracurricular activities to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds have a welcome place at the school.
5. In 1963, R.J. Reynolds took over the company that made Hawaiian Punch. What were some of the tactics it used to market this product? Give an example and explain how it specifically appealed to children.
6. In 1985, Philip Morris acquired the company that sold Kool-Aid and Tang. What marketing strategies from its cigarette marketing did it apply to its advertising of the drinks?
7. In comparing the ways Big Tobacco companies marketed cigarettes and sugary drinks, what point are the authors of the study trying to make? What evidence from the article supports your response?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
The vaping industry has become the latest subject of scrutiny for youth-directed advertising. In the article “F.D.A. Cracks Down on ‘Juuling’ Among Teenagers” from April 24, 2018, Kate Zernike writes:
Recognizing what it called “the troubling reality” that electronic cigarettes have become “wildly popular with kids,” the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a major crackdown on the vaping industry, particularly on the trendy Juul devices, aimed at curbing sales to young people. …
The agency also demanded that Juul Labs turn over company documents about the marketing and research behind its products, including reports on focus groups and toxicology, to determine whether Juul is intentionally appealing to the youth market despite its statements to the contrary and despite knowing its addictive potential. …
Schools across the country say they were blindsided by the number of students turning up with Juuls last fall. Nicknamed the iPhone of e-cigarettes, Juuls resemble thumb drives, produce little plume, and smell like fruit or other flavorings, making them so concealable that students can vape in class. Students who would never think to smoke a cigarette post videos of themselves doing tricks with vaping devices on social media. Schools, fearing students are becoming addicted to nicotine, are suspending students as young as middle school for vaping. …
Schools and public health advocates contend that the vaping industry is the latest incarnation of Big Tobacco, developing and promoting its products to create new markets for a younger generation. Juul comes in kid-friendly flavors like mango and crème brûlée. The labels on other e-cigarette flavorings resemble popular candy brands like Jolly Rancher and Blow Pops.
Take a look at these advertisements and packaging for vaping products:
This fall, the University of Michigan is partnering with Coursera to launch a new online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Population and Health Sciences. It’s an incredibly accessible opportunity to get a multidisciplinary master’s degree for those who want to create a healthier world through research, education, and practice.
Beyond the advantages in flexibility and affordability offered by the online platform, the University of Michigan MPH gives learners an impressive breadth of specializations to choose from, including population health, program planning and evaluation, health analytics, and genomics and precision health.
The diversity of career paths that you can follow with the online MPH degree reflects the diversity of the on-campus University of Michigan experience. As these stories of current students and recent graduates show, the School of Public Health has a track record of providing a range of opportunities that support the varied pursuits of its student body.
Tianna Morgan, MPH in Health Management and Policy: Tianna always wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, so her work to shape policy to improve population health and advance equity makes public health a “dream career.” She was inspired to go into health policy after interning with Senator Dianne Feinstein and working on the Affordable Care Act, and seeing how social determinants can impact family health through her work in low-income communities. Currently, she is researching ways to reduce firearm injuries and suicides.
Sarah Falvey, MPH in Nutritional Sciences: Sarah is an active duty Air Force officer who has found a link between her academic interests and military career. Growing up in a diverse household with a number of siblings adopted and fostered by her family, she developed an awareness of the nutrition-related disparities different populations face. This environment nurtured an interest in public health. While at Michigan, she found an opportunity to focus her research on eating disorders in the military and the barriers stigmatization can present to diagnosis and treatment of these disorders.
Jessica Yaser, MPH in Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology. In high school and college, Jessica had academic interests in both the hard sciences and social sciences. When she discovered the field of public health, she found a perfect interdisciplinary balance between the two. While at Michigan, she is also working at EpidStat Institute, a scientific consulting company, on a team that includes epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health economists, and exposure scientists who are using science to answer difficult questions about health and disease.
Rishabh Jain, MPH in Epidemiology: Before pursuing his MPH (and delivering a commencement address!) at Michigan, Rishabh worked as a molecular biologist on response teams handling the Ebola and Zika threats. The experience made him realize the impact scientists could have on entire populations, and he believed the University of Michigan would help him find leadership roles in public health through its focus on professional development. He now works as a management consultant at Accenture, a top global consulting and professional services firm.
Michigan MPH graduates hold key positions at non-profit organizations, hospitals, insurance companies, consulting firms, biotech companies, and government organizations – and the University of Michigan’s comprehensive online MPH curriculum will prepare you to become a public health leader in the specialization of your choosing.
You’ll develop skills in data collection and analysis, intervention strategy, and communications methods, as well as valuable experience working on real-world projects alongside today’s leading public health professionals. No matter where your interests lie, this degree will give you the professional skills you need to make a difference in the world.
“Middle-skills” jobs –– those that “require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree” –– continue to go unfilled while aspiring workers lack the training required to move into these jobs.
Online education provides a valuable opportunity to bridge this skills gap, helping workers gain the skills required to pursue entry-level jobs in growing fields like technology, business, healthcare, and data science. As Coursera’s recent Global Skills Index shows, workers who can effectively upskill will be in a competitive position to obtain better paying jobs that employers have a hard time filling.
But how should educational programs be structured to maximize success for learners seeking to obtain the skills and credentials needed for these jobs?
Effective mastery-based instructional design begins by understanding the target audience enrolling in these types of programs and then implementing pedagogical best practices to set these learners up for successful completion of those programs.
Programs that focus on middle-skills training, like the Google IT Support Professional Certificate offered through Coursera, attract learners with less formal educational background and employment experience than traditional Coursera learners. Whereas a majority of Coursera learners already hold either a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, and over half are employed full-time, learners who enroll in professional certificate programs are less likely to have a four-year college degree and are more likely to be looking for work.
This means these non-traditional learners start with less experience in educational settings as they embark upon online programs to acquire new knowledge and skills. Implementing Coursera’s instructional design best practices is particularly important to help these learners succeed in the online environment. This requires providing a well-scaffolded learning path that promotes active learning and makes use of rich visuals and metaphors to help learners develop new mental models.
Scaffold the Learning Path
Scaffolding refers to a structured framework that helps learners work toward mastery. Scaffolding provides assistance to learners to help them build upon what they already know, leveraging that foundation to develop new knowledge and skills through practice.
A well-scaffolded learning path ensures that learning outcomes, assessments, and instructional materials are tightly aligned. The course structure should move learners toward the outcomes by providing ample instruction and practice opportunities as they prepare for graded assessments.
Scaffolding is particularly important for learners in professional certificate programs who may have less educational and work experience. These non-traditional learners not only lack prior knowledge in the subject, but they also have less experience with learning strategies in formal educational settings. Whereas more experienced learners can turn to successful self-learning strategies when they encounter challenging content, non-traditional learners are less likely to come equipped with a similarly well-developed repertoire to navigate around learning barriers. This can result in frustration and, if not resolved through instructional support, dropping out of the course.
Promote Active Learning
Active learning “involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing.” Active learning promotes cognitive activity during and between the watching of video lectures.
One way to promote active learning and scaffold the learning path is to use the in-video questions (IVQs) and low-stakes practice quizzes that are built into the Coursera platform. These tools help learners “build and test mental models, explicitly converting video watching from a passive to an active-learning event.”
Practice opportunities also need to provide immediate actionable feedback to learners. Immediate feedback supports and scaffolds the development of new mental models. Feedback should help learners understand why they get a question wrong and reinforce learning when they get a question correct.
Explain with Visuals and Metaphors
To help inexperienced learners develop the mental models they need to progress in their knowledge and skills, use rich visuals and metaphors when explaining material.
Visuals, especially when linked with vivid metaphors or analogies, help learners conceptualize difficult topics. You don’t need fancy graphics to accomplish this; a simple stock image or hand-drawn sketch can be just as effective.
Barbara Oakley, who teaches the popular course, “Learning How to Learn,” explains that “metaphors and analogies are really helpful when you want to learn something new.” She also demonstrates how visuals can facilitate this process in her video where she takes learners for a walk inside a metaphor.
All of these qualities–a scaffolded learning path that promotes active learning and makes use of visuals and metaphors to explain new topics–contribute to creating an effective mastery-based learning experience. But when it comes to helping non-traditional learners move from no experience to readiness for an entry-level job, getting these instructional elements right is especially critical for success.
Codecademy’s very own Nick Duckwiler (left) and Ryan Tuck from Warby Parker (right) in our office. (📷: Mitch Boyer)
Last month, Codecademy and Warby Parker came together to work on a special Learn SQL from Scratch Capstone Project. It was during this time when I met Ryan Tuck, a Data Engineer at Warby, who played a major part in this partnership. So when he decided to drop by our office for the final QA round, I had to break out my notebook and ask some questions. Enjoy.
Hey Ryan, let’s start off with a question I’ve had for a while — what is a Data Engineer? (Is it similar to a Data Analyst or a Software Engineer?)
At Warby Parker, data engineers are responsible for creating and maintaining the plumbing required to support the data and reporting needs of the business. We use software engineering practices to automate the work of data cleaning, normalizing, and model building so that data is always ready to be consumed by data analysts in every department.
What languages/frameworks do you use at Warby?
On data engineering, we use Python as our general purpose programming language, as do most of the other teams in our Technology department. When it comes to databases, we use PostgreSQL for the majority of our SQL needs, and are beginning to use Amazon Athena and Google BigQuery for some of our larger datasets. We use Looker as our exclusive business intelligence entry point to all of this data.
What are some of the projects you worked on?
I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of of smart people in every department at our company to help them solve their varied data needs, from reconciling financial data with the Accounting team to automating and modeling standardized performance metrics for our team of over 200 customer experience advisors.
As part of a team of five supporting the data needs of a rapidly growing company, I’ve tried where possible to focus on helping our analysts solve their own problems. This includes helping people learn Python and commit to our codebase, guiding the creation of data models in SQL, and encouraging people to submit pull requests to add features in Looker, our BI tool.
Seeing dozens of otherwise “non-technical” colleagues opening up PRs on a daily basis, and consequently being part of the democratization of tech that we value at Warby Parker, is probably the most rewarding “project” I’ve been a part of.
One project finished recently during our first annual “Hackweek” is called Pipes, which allows anyone at the company to easily move large amounts of data from wherever to wherever (Looker, Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, BigQuery, etc) on a regular cadence, or manually through a simple one-line chatbot interface. The adoption has been overwhelmingly positive and we’re looking to grow this sort of tooling out even more.
“We use software engineering practices to automate the work of data cleaning, normalizing, and model building so that data is always ready to be consumed by data analysts in every department.”
What got you into the data field?
I’ve always been drawn to analytical fields like math, and became pretty proficient in Excel during some internships in college. Once I had learned to program and learned more about data science and its applications in artificial intelligence, I knew that anything I could do to immerse myself in the world of data would be a step in the right direction.
Three and a half years ago, I landed a job as a junior software engineer at Warby Parker not fully knowing what I was in for, but am so glad I got the opportunity to help build tools to support an interesting and ever-changing data-driven culture here.
Where did you learn SQL and Python?
I had a background in C++, and was exposed to Python through an Intro to Data Science course. When Warby Parker hired me onto the Data team in 2015, I had never written a SQL query in my life, but picked it up quickly and within a few months started up internal SQL training classes, which I still teach on a monthly basis.
What does your tattoo say?
The ultimate cheatsheet.
This is Bayes’ Theorem, which is an equation that describes how to update probabilities given new evidence. Two summers ago I worked on building a tool to help predict weekly fantasy football performance. Some colleagues suggested a Bayesian approach would be appropriate, since there aren’t really enough data points in an NFL season to be able to use statistical approaches that require larger datasets, and I’d want to regularly update my predictions after each player’s latest performance.
I did a deep dive into understanding the (simple) math underlying Bayes’ Theorem and came out of that experience with a whole new worldview, understanding my entire knowledge of the world as a big and intricate probabilistic model that I was continuously updating with every experience I ever have. It was pretty transformative, and I figured that was worth a tattoo.
What is a concept in SQL/Python that’s essential to your work?
Donald Knuth said, “Premature optimization is the root of all evil.” I’ve generally found this to be true, and try to live by it in my work. For example, I’ll generally prefer to keep a data model simple by rebuilding it for all time on a daily basis using a single SQL query instead of making a more complicated model that requires iteratively adding to a table, keeping track of state, updated timestamps, when something last ran, etc.
A wise man once said, “Duplicating data makes things go fast,” but databases are already impressively fast to begin with, without implementing anything to improve performance. Ultimately, I almost always approach a problem thinking about optimizing for my time over machine time, for readability over performance, and for introducing as little cognitive overhead as is required by the problem at hand. Only once performance issues or readability issues present themselves will some code be worth a rewrite.
Last question! Since you wrote Warby Parker’s internal SQL training courses, I know there gotta be some inner Curriculum Developer in you. Can you teach a SQL concept in 2 minutes?
Sure! Have you ever written a query that yields some result set and you think, “I’d love to query the stuff I just produced like it was a table?” Enter the WITH clause.
Suppose I have a mega query that gives the transaction summaries:
select
transactions.date as transaction_date,
sum(items.price) as total_cost,
count(*) as number_of_items
from
transactions
inner join
customers
on
customers.id = transactions.customer_id
inner join
transaction_items
on
transactions.id = transaction_items.transaction_id
inner join
items
on
items.id = transaction_items.item_id
Using WITH, I can create a temporary table within my query that I can SELECT from and treat it just like a regular old table.
I will put everything from the previous query in a parentheses and use WITH to give it the name transaction_summaries.
Then I’ll apply the date and customer filtering down below for a more readable query, to separate out all the JOIN logic from the actual WHERE filters that I want to apply on that data.
with transaction_summaries as (
select
transactions.date as transaction_date,
sum(items.price) as total_cost,
count(*) as number_of_items
from
transactions
inner join
customers
on
customers.id = transactions.customer_id
inner join
transaction_items
on
transactions.id = transaction_items.transaction_id
inner join
items
on
items.id = transaction_items.item_id
)
select
*
from
transaction_summaries
where
first_name = 'beyonce'
and
transaction_date > '2018–01–01'
order by
total_cost desc
limit
5
If you’re familiar with subqueries, this does a similar thing but makes the SQL far more readable, even if your query isn’t quite as performant as it would have been. This is essentially an implementation of the mantra “Don’t Repeat Yourself” that’s common in the world of programming.
Incredible. And love the SQL styling! 😍
Huge shout out to Ryan and the whole Warby Parker team for making this partnership happen. Special hat tips for behind-the-scenes support from:
Have you ever known someone who has died, whether someone close to you, an acquaintance or even a famous figure? What legacy did the person leave in your life or the world? What made him or her so meaningful or memorable to you?
In “Want to Leave a Legacy? Be a Mentor,” Jane E. Brody writes about how making a positive impact can keep people alive in the memories and lives of others:
Encouraged by a grandfatherly professor at Cornell, in my sophomore year I gave a speech asking my fellow students “when you come to the end of your days, will you be able to write your own epitaph?”
I urged them to focus on establishing meaningful goals and the legacy they may want to leave when their physical lives end. By legacy, I did not mean money, structures or any other tangible object. I meant the positive impact they might have that would help to keep them alive in the memories and lives of others.
Thus, when I read Marc Freedman’s new book, “How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations,” it spoke volumes to me. It reminded me of that dear professor, George Eric Peabody, who was in effect my mentor, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and develop talents I never knew I had.
Professor Peabody, who died in 1967 at age 70, did indeed leave an enviable legacy. As stated in the university’s memorial, he was “an inspiring and challenging teacher in helping thousands of students develop poise, self-confidence and, in his concise words, the ability to ‘stand up — speak up — and shut up.’”
Mr. Freedman, the founder of Encore.org and co-founder of Experience Corps, both dedicated to helping older adults find purpose later in life, calls himself a social entrepreneur. Asked what it takes to be a mentor, he said succinctly, “Showing up and shutting up: Being consistent and listening. You don’t have to be a charismatic superhero. You don’t need an advanced degree. It’s more about the relationship than imparting sage advice. The key is not being interesting. The real key is being interested — being present and paying attention.”
The article continues:
Mr. Freedman’s latest endeavor, now in its second year, is called Generation to Generation, a foundation-supported nationwide project that aims to “build a movement of older people focused on the well-being of future generations.”
The annual increase in life expectancy attests to the importance of this effort. More and more people are living 20 or 30 years beyond traditional retirement age. Do they all want to spend those “golden years” watching TV, playing cards or golf, reading or traveling? Or might some prefer a more productive and meaningful old age, one that could enrich them physically, mentally and socially, and in some cases economically?
“The real fountain of youth is the fountain with youth,” Mr. Freedman said. “It’s spending less time focused on being young and more time focused on being there for the next generation.” As the developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson said nearly 70 years ago, “I am what survives me.”
Students, read the entire article, then tell us:
— What do you think about the premise of this article? Do you agree that leaving a positive impact on the world and others is more memorable than the money, property and other tangible objects one has to one’s name? Why or why not? Can you think of an example of someone’s life that supports your opinion?
— Who has been a mentor to you? What influence have they had in your life, the lives of others or the world?
— When your physical life ends, how do you want to be remembered? What do you hope people will say about you? What kind of lasting impact do you want to have made on the world, whether it’s through your work, accomplishments, relationships or something else?
— What things are you doing or working toward now that are helping to shape the legacy you want to leave?
— The developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson said nearly 70 years ago, “I am what survives me.” What does this mean to you? How might you apply it to your life?
Students 13 and older 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.
4. What kinds of relief and aid efforts are underway? How has the flooding affected these efforts?
5. Why have relief efforts focused on the city of Beira in Mozambique? How did the cyclone affect this port city in particular?
6. Nick Mangwana, a spokesman for the Zimbabwean government, said on Twitter:
This cyclone has come at a very huge human cost. We certainly need a regional approach to these effects of global warming. These problems are transnational.
Do you agree? What connection is there between global warming and tropical storms like Cyclone Idai? How should the nations of the world respond to the disaster in Southern Africa?
Finally, tell us more about what you think:
Another natural disaster, half a world apart from southern Africa, is unfolding in the United States, where record flooding has ravaged Nebraska and other Midwestern states. Officials in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa have declared emergencies or disasters as floodwaters have forced hundreds of people from their homes. In “Like ‘House Arrest’: Flooded Roads and Swamped Bridges Strand Nebraskans,” Mitch Smith writes:
Record floodwaters have ravaged Nebraska, but as they begin to recede, an alarming reality has come into view: Hundreds of miles of highway remain impassable, bridges have been wiped out and routine drives have become treacherous ordeals. In a vast, largely rural state where people rely on two-lane highways and aging bridges to go about daily life, the devastation of basic infrastructure promised to be an expensive and long-term challenge.
“I don’t know how they’re going to get everything fixed that needs to be fixed,” said Ms. Snowdon, who said she had canceled a teaching assignment in a nearby town because it would have required 143 miles of driving. “It’s like a dream and you’re going to wake up and it’s going to be all O.K. But it’s not. This could be a year of traveling.”
For nearly a week, Nebraska and other Midwestern states have been inundated with water as rivers were overwhelmed with rain and melting snow that the frozen ground was unable to absorb. After days of harrowing helicopter rescues, frantic sandbagging and urgent evacuation orders, water levels had dropped in much of Nebraska by Tuesday and the daunting cleanup process was in full swing.
“We deal with flooding all the time,” said Kyle Schneweis, the director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, but “when you talk about 1,500 miles of our system underwater, that’s an entirely different scope and scale.”
Look at this map and answer the following questions: In what ways are the floods in the American Midwest and southern Africa similar? How are they different? What role does geography play in each of these two natural disasters?
When you read or hear news of large-scale suffering and devastation like this, how do you react? Why? Why do you think some disasters get more coverage — and more attention and help from individuals — than others? Do you ever feel a sense of “disaster fatigue”? What do you think ordinary citizens can do to help the victims of these two natural disasters?
This week, Mike Trout, the center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels, is finalizing a contract extension that will be worth about $430 million over the next 10 years — the richest contract in the history of North American sports.
What is your reaction to this record-breaking deal? Do you think any athlete is worth that amount of money? If so, who do you think deserves to get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play? If not, why not?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more about Trout’s $430 million deal.
Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan.
