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Word + Quiz: gregarious

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Word + Quiz: gregarious

1. instinctively or temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others

2. (of animals) tending to form a group with others of the same species

3. (of plants) growing in groups that are close together

_________

The word gregarious has appeared in 65 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 29 in “Dusty Baker Hired as Astros’ Manager in Wake of Scandal” by James Wagner:

Hoping to move past one of the biggest scandals in baseball history, the Houston Astros are turning to one of the most accomplished managers on the market: Dusty Baker.

The Astros announced on Wednesday that they had hired Baker, who has 22 years of major league managing experience, to replace A.J. Hinch, who was fired along with General Manager Jeff Luhnow over the sign-stealing scandal deployed by the Astros in 2017 and 2018.

…. Baker has been known much more for his gregarious personality and people skills than his skills as a baseball tactician. But at each of his previous stops, Baker’s teams saw immediate improvement in his first season as manager. A tough task lies ahead with the Astros, who still do not have a general manager.

_________

Unit 5: Argumentative Writing

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Unit 5: Argumentative Writing

Welcome to our fifth writing unit of the school year. Below you will find a detailed description of each element, which you can customize to make your own unit. To learn more, visit our writing curriculum overview.

Right now, the concept of “student voice” is having a moment.

Thanks to the work of people like Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg, the Parkland students and the teenagers in the streets of Hong Kong, the power young people can wield when they stand up for a cause is clear. And the fact that many members of Gen Z, the most ethnically and racially diverse generation the United States has ever seen, will vote for the first time this year, makes those voices even more critical. As the Times video above puts it: “We wanted to know what young Americans think. After all, they’ll get to decide the direction of this country.”

On our site, we’ve been offering teenagers ways to tell the world what they think for over 20 years. Our student writing prompt forums encourage them to weigh in on current events and issues daily, while our Student Editorial Contest has offered an annual outlet since 2014 for formalizing those opinions into evidence-based essays.

Now we’re bringing together all the resources we’ve developed along the way to help students figure out what they want to say, and how to say it effectively.

Here is what this unit offers, but we would love to hear from both teachers and students if there is more we could include. Let us know in the comments, or by writing to LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

How young is too young to use social media?

Should students get mental health days off from school?

Is $1 billion too much money for any one person to have?

These are the kinds of questions we ask every day on our site. In 2017 we published a list of 401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing. This year, we’ve followed it up with 130 more, all drawn from our daily Student Opinion column.

Teachers tell us their students love looking at these lists, both to inspire their own writing and to find links to reliable sources about the issues that intrigue them. In fact, every year we get many contest submissions that grow directly out of these questions. Several, like this one, have even gone on to win.

But even if you’re not participating in our contest, you might use these prompts to invite the kind of casual, low-stakes writing that can help your students build skills — in developing their voices, making claims and backing them up with solid reasoning and evidence.

And, if your students respond to our most recent prompts by posting comments on our site, they can also practice making arguments for an authentic audience of fellow students from around the world. Each week we choose our favorites to honor in our Current Events Conversation column.

Over the years, we’ve published quite a few lesson plans to support our Editorial Contest — so many, in fact, that we finally rounded them all up into one easy list.

In “10 Ways to Teach Argument-Writing With The New York Times,” you’ll find resources for …

  • Exploring the role of a newspaper opinion section

  • Understanding the difference between fact and opinion

  • Analyzing the use of rhetorical strategies like ethos, pathos and logos

  • Working with claims, evidence and counterarguments

  • Helping students discover the issues that matter to them

  • Breaking out of the “echo chamber” when researching hot-button issues

  • Experimenting with visual argument-making

You probably already know that you can find arguments to admire — and “writer’s moves” to emulate — all over the Times Opinion section. But have you thought about using the work of our previous Student Editorial Contest winners as mentor texts too?

Here are ways to use both:

The culmination of this unit? Our Seventh Annual Student Editorial Contest, of course.

This year we have both high school and middle school categories, and you can find all the information you need, plus the entry form, here.

As always, all student work will be read by our staff, volunteers from the Times Opinion section, and/or by educators from around the country. Winners will have their work published on our site and, perhaps, in the print New York Times.

Annotated by the Author: ‘She Helped a Customer in Need. Then U.S. Bank Fired Her.’

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Annotated by the Author: ‘She Helped a Customer in Need. Then U.S. Bank Fired Her.’

To understand how some companies have lost their souls, consider what happened after U.S. Bank stiffed a customer before Christmas.

Nicholas Kristof: One challenge here was how to mix the particular story with the larger picture. The only reason to write about Emily James being fired was to make a larger point about irresponsibility in corporate America, but if I began with that it would seem tendentious and dry. So I decided to start with a quick phrase about the larger picture — how some companies have lost their souls — and then get into the story.

Marc Eugenio had deposited a $1,080 paycheck into his account at U.S. Bank. The bank put a hold on most of the sum, and he spent many hours in a branch office over two days, trying to get access to the money so he could buy presents for his 9-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.

Confirming that the amount was $1,080 was surprisingly difficult. One person told me that it was $1,082. It’s only a $2 difference, but it’s the kind of fact that you have to get right. If you’re not right on the details, you’re not trusted on the big picture.

I could also have spent many hours going through the details of the hold and his interactions with the bank. My first draft went through the play-by-play that explained the hold, the fact that he was then given access to $200, and so on. In my first draft, I spent several paragraphs on this, but then my column was way too long. So I cut these details, figuring that they were not central to the narrative: Distressed customer, employee tries to help, employee is fired.

On Christmas Eve, Eugenio found himself parked at a gas station in Clackamas, Ore., a Portland suburb, both his fuel gauge and his bank balance on empty. A bank employee had told him that money would soon show up in his account — perhaps a ruse to get him out of the branch office. For hours Eugenio then tried his debit card at the gas pump, so he could buy a few gallons and get home to his wife and children.

“Both his fuel gauge and his bank balance on empty”: This nice line came from my editor, Bruce Levine. Writers sometimes distrust editors, but I think of them as my rescuers. If they misunderstand a line, readers surely will as well. And Bruce here gave the sentence a poetic touch.

“I was stranded,” he told me. “I could have walked home, but it would have been five miles in the cold.”

That’s when Eugenio found an angel.

I wondered about using this term, “angel.” I certainly wouldn’t have in a news article, and I worried that it might seem over the top. But in the end I decided that in a single word it conveyed the role she played.

He telephoned the bank’s toll-free number and spoke with Emily James, a senior officer at a call center in Portland. She spent an hour on the phone with Eugenio, trying to get some money released so he could at least get home. She soon realized that he had been misled, and that money wouldn’t reach his account any time soon. Feeling bad for a customer stuck on Christmas Eve, James offered to drive over from her call center and personally hand him $20.

“Feeling bad” was originally a grammatical error: I had written “feeling badly,” which is incorrect, and it slipped by editors. A reader pointed out that it should be “bad,” not “badly,” and we corrected it.

“No, no, no,” Eugenio told her. He couldn’t impose. But she suggested she could use her break, and she received permission from a supervisor to drive 20 minutes to Eugenio. She later recalled that when she arrived, she wished him Merry Christmas and handed him $20 of her own money.

This was a writing challenge. Emily had said that the $20 was hers, while the bank and said that it was the manager’s. It didn’t much matter, but I wanted to be sure to make clear that it wasn’t the bank’s money without getting into the weeds. So I attributed the sentence with the “she later recalled” to signify that this was her version. I thought it would be too much to say something like “$20 of what she says was her own money.” But ideally I would have put the attribution later or made it clearer that this was one account rather than a definitive version.

“Twenty dollars wouldn’t break me,” she explained to me, “and it would enable him to get home to his family.”

How Alexander advanced his IT career with a Professional Certificate

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How Alexander advanced his IT career with a Professional Certificate

My journey with information technology growing up in Sierra Leone

I grew up in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, at a time when computers were a luxury and largely inaccessible. I got lucky when I was eleven and was able to use the computer for the first time when my mother was assigned a work laptop. I had the opportunity to help her enter data into a spreadsheet while she was taking a call, and I became instantly fascinated with the technology.

She was so impressed that she allowed me to continue using the laptop, which none of my older siblings were even allowed to touch. I spent hours working on the computer and took every opportunity to learn about the internet. I became her IT shadow, teaching myself how to use the computer, manage settings, and even install software and operating systems. 

My desire to help people access and use technology made me the de facto “IT expert” in my community. It was especially satisfying to use those skills to help people in a country where the digital divide is still huge, and it is my hope to help broaden access and digital literacy in countries like Sierra Leone.

How I advanced my career with the Google IT Support Professional Certificate

Despite my college degree, passion for computers, and my previous internship role as an Information and Communication Technology Officer, my lack of formal qualifications in IT were limiting my career opportunities. That’s why I started the Google IT Support Professional Certificate on Coursera.

Following the successful completion of my first few courses in this program, I felt confident enough to take up a new challenge: I applied for an information security role at a leading local bank in Sierra Leone. This was the second time I had applied for a job there, and the only thing that had changed since my first application was the addition of courses from the Google IT Support Professional Certificate to my resume. 

This time, I got a call to attend an interview!

Since the job was in information security, most of the interview questions were about concepts like cryptography, authentication, and network security. These were concepts I had just learned in the IT Security: Defense against the digital dark arts course. I did well in the interview and was given the job. 

How I overcame my obstacles and stayed motivated

One major obstacle I faced in completing the Google IT Support Professional Certificate was access to the internet, which is very costly and slow in Sierra Leone. I got around this by using one of Coursera’s coolest features – the ability to download videos. I started watching them on the commute to work and during my free time. 

The instructors in the Google IT Support Professional Certificate program kept me motivated throughout the entire process. They’re all from different cultural and racial backgrounds, and their diversity gave me the confidence that I could learn IT, complete the program, and one day share my own success story. 

My tips for learning on Coursera

1. Download course videos to watch offline: This is especially useful if you have limited access to the internet or limited time. Having your course videos available offline ensures that you never miss a chance to study when you have a break. 

2. Organize topics in course materials according to difficulty: Try to understand the difficulty of course materials and organize them into categories such as familiar topics, easy topics, and hard topics. Categorizing the content in this way helps me plan which videos I can watch while commuting and which ones I need to watch (or rewatch) in a quiet place. 

3. Take practice quizzes and tests as soon as possible: Don’t get into the habit of postponing taking tests and completing assignments. You are more likely to do well in a test when you take it as soon as you complete the lesson, when your retention level is highest. 

4. Participate in discussion forums: Participating in discussion forums is never a waste of time. In addition to helping me learn, taking part in these forums also helped me stay motivated as I shared my story and learned from other students with similar experiences, challenges, successes, and goals. 

5. Practice: Always make time to go over what you have learned. If you can, spend more time in the labs to practice, even after you’ve completed your required tasks.

 

Would You Return a Lost Wallet? (What if It Had Lots of Money in It?)

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Would You Return a Lost Wallet? (What if It Had Lots of Money in It?)

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

Imagine you are walking down the street and you see a wallet. You open it and it has an ID but no money. Would you return it? What if it had $20? What if it had $200 or even $2,000. Would that prompt you to change your decision?

Is it stealing if you keep it? Are you a sucker if you return it?

What factors would influence your decision to keep the wallet or return it? Ethical considerations? The hope of a reward? Would it matter if you liked or didn’t like the face on the ID? What if you were short on money and had been craving a new item to purchase? Would you try to calculate how much you could use the money versus how much you imagine the stranger might miss it?

In “Would You Return This Lost Wallet?” Pam Belluck writes:

It’s obvious: Someone finding a lost wallet is less likely to return it if money is inside, right?

That’s what top economists, as well as regular people, usually predict, given what most of us assume about human nature. But according to a clever new study involving thousands of people in 40 countries, what most of us assume about human nature is wrong.

The three-year study, possibly the largest real-world test of whether people behave honestly when given incentives not to, found they are actually more likely to return lost wallets containing money. And the more money, the better the chances people will return it.

Experts say the study, published Thursday in the journal Science, suggests that policymakers and businesses might better prevent dishonest behaviors like lying on tax returns by using moral carrots instead of punitive sticks.

“It shows that when we make a decision whether to be dishonest or not, it’s not only ‘What can I get out of it versus what’s the punishment, what’s the effort?’” said Nina Mazar, a behavioral scientist at Boston University who was not involved in the study. “It actually matters that people have morals and they like to think of themselves as good human beings.”

For the study, researchers planted 17,303 wallets in 355 cities on every continent except Antarctica. The American segment, conducted in 2015, involved 25 cities including Albuquerque, Chicago, Memphis and New York.

The article continues:

Research assistants walked into post offices, hotels, police stations, banks, museums or similar places, approached someone at the reception desk and said “Hi, I found this on the street around the corner.” They slid the wallet toward the person, saying “Somebody must have lost it. I’m in a hurry and have to go. Can you please take care of it?”

In all but two countries, more people emailed to return wallets containing money than cashless wallets. Only Peru and Mexico bucked that pattern, but those results were too slight to be statistically significant, the researchers said. On average, 40 percent of people given cashless wallets reported them, compared with 51 percent of people given wallets with money.

Researchers were surprised. But then they ran the experiment again in three countries (Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States), adding “big money” wallets containing $94.15. The difference was even starker. Way more people emailed to return the wallets with the larger amount: 72 percent compared with 61 percent of people given wallets containing $13.45 and 46 percent of people given cashless wallets.

Why?

“The evidence suggests that people tend to care about the welfare of others and they have an aversion to seeing themselves as a thief,” said Alain Cohn, a study author and assistant professor of information at the University of Michigan. People given wallets with more money have more to gain from dishonesty, but that also increases “the psychological cost of the dishonest act.”

Christian Zünd, a doctoral student and co-author, said a survey they conducted found that “without money, not reporting a wallet doesn’t feel like stealing. With money, however, it suddenly feels like stealing and it feels even more like stealing when the money in the wallet increases.”

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Would you return a lost wallet you found? Why or why not? What factors would influence your decision? Is keeping a lost wallet stealing?

  • Have you ever found a wallet? Did you return it? Were you tempted to keep it? Why or why not? What factors influenced your decision: the amount of money, the photo of the person on the ID, consideration of the other person? Do you think you made the right decision? After having read the article, would you change your decision?

  • Conversely, have you ever lost a wallet (or something valuable) on the street? If yes, was it returned? How did you feel, whether it was returned or not? How did the experience make you feel about your fellow humans?

  • Are you surprised by the findings of the study? What light does the report shed on human nature? On the whole, do you think people are good, kind, honest and caring? Or do you think most people are greedy, dishonest, selfish, unethical and self-interested?

  • Ms. Belluck writes:

Experts say the study, published Thursday in the journal Science, suggests that policymakers and businesses might better prevent dishonest behaviors like lying on tax returns by using moral carrots instead of punitive sticks.

Do you agree? What other conclusions might be drawn from the study?

Lesson of the Day: ‘Christina Koch Lands on Earth, and Crosses a Threshold for Women in Space’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘Christina Koch Lands on Earth, and Crosses a Threshold for Women in Space’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “Christina Koch Lands on Earth, and Crosses a Threshold for Women in Space”

Last year, the first all-female spacewalk was canceled because NASA didn’t have two spacesuits that fit.

Earlier this month, however, Christina Koch returned to Earth from the International Space Station having completed three all-female spacewalks and setting a record for time in space.

In this lesson, you will learn about Ms. Koch’s record-setting mission and its impact on future spaceflight. In a Going Further activity, you will create a children’s book to celebrate her life.

Do you know the name of the first American female astronaut? How about the first African-American woman to serve in Congress?

Take a few minutes and brainstorm a list of female trailblazers, pioneers and heroes who achieved historic firsts.

Consider celebrated groundbreakers like Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and unsung heroes who might not have received as much attention in history books and popular lore.

Afterward, share and discuss your list with a partner:

  • What do you notice about your lists? Do you have any people in common?

  • How did you learn about these pioneers and their historic firsts? From school, textbooks, popular culture, friends or family?

  • Do you believe these pioneers have received the proper amount of attention — or perhaps in some cases, too much credit?

  • Why do you think it is important to learn about these groundbreaking figures? In particular, how can they inspire young people who learn of their feats?

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. The article begins: “How many astronauts can you name without consulting Google or Wikipedia?” Why do you think Mary Robinette Kowal, the author, chose to start her essay this way? What point was she trying to make? Were you able to name any astronauts?

2. What achievements did Christina Koch accomplish during her recently completed mission in space? Which achievement does the author believe she will be most remembered for? Do you agree?

3. How was the first all-female spacewalk “practically an accident”? What does this reveal about the role of chance in history?

4. Ms. Kowal describes several areas of research conducted by Ms. Koch on the mission. Select the one you think is most significant and describe how it might benefit both the space program and the world.

5. What current restrictions does NASA place on female astronauts? How might Ms. Koch’s successful mission change these?

6. The article ends:

In the future, someone will pass these endurance records. The first woman will walk on the moon, NASA promises. Two or more women will go on the first all-woman launch. Perhaps we’ll see the first all-woman crew on the ISS. But for now, those missions remain mere potentialities. Ms. Koch has earned her place in the history books, and by crossing these thresholds, has opened a door to the future.

And, hopefully, she’s become one more astronaut that you can name.

How important are Ms. Koch’s achievements? What impact will they have on the next generation of astronauts? What place do you think she deserves in history?

Choose one of more of the following activities:

1) Reflect on the importance of historical firsts and the pioneers who achieve them.

  • Why do we remember and laud historical firsts — particularly by women and historically marginalized groups? Are they still important to celebrate in 2020?

  • What types of firsts in history do you generally regard as most significant? Is there one in particular that is most meaningful to you? Why?

  • Do you think a woman will walk on the moon in your lifetime? What historical firsts would you most like to see in your lifetime? Explain why.

2). Create a comic book or children’s book to celebrate the life and achievements of Christina Koch or another female trailblazer.

Imagine you have been asked to help create a comic book or children’s book on an inspiring pioneer. You can choose to celebrate the achievements of the astronaut Christina Koch or another female trailblazer, role model or hero.

Which aspects of their life, story and achievements would you highlight? What aspects do you feel would be most engaging and important for a third grader to learn? What impact would you hope your book could make?

If your time is limited, you might concentrate on creating the cover and first page of your book.

Need more information on Ms. Koch? You can find her biography and pictures and videos from her record-setting mission on the NASA website here.

You can also find free children’s book-making apps here or here and free comic book apps here and here.

Answers to the questions in the warm-up activity: Sally Ride — the first female astronaut; Shirley Chisholm — the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? What do you love or loathe about this holiday? How do you plan to celebrate (if you plan to at all) and with whom will you spend it?

What are some of your most memorable Valentine’s Day moments?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article, which features a variety of Valentine’s Day-themed recipes.

Word + Quiz: ephemera

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Word + Quiz: ephemera

1. something transitory; lasting only for a brief time

2. items that have outlasted their original purpose and have become collectible (plural)

Most things in the shop are not for sale anyway. Mr. Hecht might make an exception for an obsessive collector of, say, thimbles or fountain pens or trench art from World War I, or for a star he recognizes who comes over from Nepenthes: “J. Lo,” said Mr. Hecht, referring to Jennifer Lopez, for example. “Fellow Bronx girl.”

But as he tells tourists daily, this is not an antique store — it is a sewing-machine repair shop.

You could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Along with oil-streaked machines and cabinets of parts, Mr. Hecht — and his parents and grandparents before him — also filled the shop with 19th-century maritime ephemera (anchors, glass buoys and hand-woven hemp fenders), painted signs, neon signs, animal pelts and taxidermy, pinups and framed photos of New Yorkers, once illustrious, perhaps — and more.

What Students Are Saying About Experiencing Racism, Becoming an Adult and Bonding Over Food

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What Students Are Saying About Experiencing Racism, Becoming an Adult and Bonding Over Food

I have experienced a lot of racism. It is also very hard for me because I am light skin and have black and white in me. I sort of feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I can’t fully be white and I can’t fully be black. I have gotten questions like “why is your hair like that?” and I honestly had no answer. When I went to an all-white school I got bullied so much that I wanted to be white but now I am proud of my natural hair and proud to say I am African American.

— Diana Bedden, Upper Merion High School

@Diana Bedden I’m glad you finally realized that you should love where you come from, even if others are putting you down. I can definitely relate to what you’re saying about not belonging. I’m Mexican American but have very pale skin and I frequently travel to Mexico. When I do, I feel like I’m too “American” for the Mexicans and when I’m here I feel like I’m too “Mexican” for the Americans. I hope you can somewhat relate to what I’m saying because I understand how you feel.

— Carla Luna, Glenbard West HS Glen Ellyn, IL

I have not faced racism once in my life. However, I feel for those who have experienced it, such as the students that participated in the survey. I believe that the numbers that were produced from the survey describe our society today: racist.

I see it everywhere I go, and sometimes even I am the culprit of it. I sit with only white people at lunch, I hang out with only white people outside of school, and I play sports dominated by white people. I know that this is bad, and there is really no justification for it. This article has inspired me to become a much more open person, and to try to include people of different backgrounds into my daily life, because not only will I gain more friends, I could also gain people that I never would have thought possible.

— Carter Osborn, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

First off, I am white, yet I live in a town that is majority Asian. One might think that I, due to my skin color, have not experienced racism, yet I have. I have had a multitude of my achievements attributed not to my determination to succeed or my personal skill, but rather to my skin color. For example, I was named captain of my middle school tennis team in 8th grade; I had at least 3 people tell me that my position as captain was solely based on me being white, not due to my hard work and skill. I have been told that my success in school is because I am white and my teachers are white … One time, my English was talking about race, and before I even spoke, I was told by an Asian female peer of mine that I suffer from an “unconscious racial bias.” These events may seem rather trivial, but they are not.

— Robert, West Windsor, NJ

Everybody says to me since you are a white male you will never experience racism or discrimination. Now so far I have not but that does mean it is impossible for me to experience discrimination. I am also Jewish which I have learned comes with its own difficulties and problems too. I feel almost every day I hear in the news there was another attack on Israel or some murder was related to antisemitism. My parents have told me not to tell random people I am volunteering with that I am Jewish because we don’t know who they are or what dangers could come from telling a random person. I hope that one day in the near future that there won’t be racism, antisemitism, or discrimination because we are all human!

— Ryan Altschuler, J.R Masterman School

I feel like making a big deal out of Black History Month is a step in the wrong direction. Before you immediately get mad at me, point your finger, and call me an ignorant, bigoted, conservative white girl— (do you catch the irony?)— just consider how much more intense the rage is about race-differences with things we’ve made up like Black History Month. We have differences that should be acknowledged and sometimes even cherished, but we’re calling things racism/hate speech that really are not racism/hate speech. We’re saying that something no one living today participated in is still an injustice that must be corrected, and that we need to pay reparations to those people who were not alive for these injustices. The past, ugly as it is, is in the past and must be remembered, but we’re achieving nothing by living in those times. In fact, I would say we’re regressing.

— Grace Robertson, Hoggard High School Wilmington, NC

@Grace Robertson Black History month was founded in 1926 by the late historian Carter G. Woodson. Originally dubbed Negro History Week, it was established under the pretense- the knowledge- that White Americans were not doing their job. It was established with the understanding that for 51 months of the year, students learn about white history. The education system was established such that students are made to believe black people have not accomplished anything of merit (save the few greats that are mentioned), students learn nothing of Africa (save the fact that slaves were taken from there), and black students are thus indoctrinated into accepting their subservient status.

— Jacob Jarrett, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Your argument that Black History month is regressive is, quite frankly, offensive. The only harm that comes from Black History month is racist white people having to acknowledge how unsubstantiated their beliefs are or “well-meaning” white folk feeling a bit of white guilt. It’s offensive that you would place your own white guilt over the fates and education of African-American boys and girls around the country, and offensive that you could compare this feeling of guilt to the racism involved in Jim Crow or Slavery. I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but you acknowledging the past and the struggles and lasting effects caused by it is nowhere near as painful as the trauma you wish to ignore. You are not the one suffering the most from racism in the United States right now, and your implication that you feel you are is disappointing. Your argument that the only thing that you can take away from Black History month is the crimes of your past is very offensive. It implies that black history is nothing more than a compilation of suffering. That black history is nothing but suffering. It is ignoring all the beauty of black history. With the struggle comes triumph. With oppression comes advancement. With suffering comes music and art and culture.

— Jacob Jarrett, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

After having a long, respectful, beneficial discussion with my friend Jacob, I’ve changed my mind some. He is a big proponent for Black History Month and black empowerment, and he was actually willing to have a discussion with me in person about it. I must confess that my mind is not completely turned around, but he shows me a perspective I don’t usually see. As he describes Black History Month, it’s a time to educate people (black children especially) about a rich cultural past that isn’t covered very well in schools. Black History Month, as it’s meant to be, would eventually expand into our normal history lessons and way of life, teaching important facts and lessons and empowering people with stories we may not have otherwise heard. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need Black History Month because we would already be learning these things, but until we get there, the little bit we get during Black History Month will have to matter.

— Grace Robertson, Hoggard High School Wilmington, NC

At the end of the day, it’s important that everyone knows they matter, and that they have to make the choice each day of their life to work for the betterment of both themselves and society as a whole. Sometimes that means not putting yourself first, sometimes that means being willing to consider different ideas and points of views. Thank you, Jacob, for being willing to debate with me, listen to me, and then civilly disagree about how to improve our world and expand our vision.

— Grace Robertson, Hoggard High School Wilmington, NC

_________

What’s new on Coursera for Business – January 2020

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What’s new on Coursera for Business – January 2020

By Kyle Clark, Senior Skills Transformation Consultant

2020 is already proving to be an exciting year for skill development on Coursera. Our university and industry partners launched over 60 courses in January – an average of 2 courses per day. Our new courses range in topic from IT automation and feature engineering to visual analytics, privacy in Europe, and blockchain in Portuguese.

Here are our top picks for enterprises from January:

January 2020’s key launches:

Google IT Automation with Python, Google – This new beginner-level, six-course certificate, developed by Google, is designed to provide IT professionals with in-demand skills — including Python, Git, and IT automation — that can help you advance your career. This program builds on your IT foundations to help you take your career to the next level.

Data Processing and Feature Engineering with MATLAB, MathWorks –  This intermediate-level course is useful to anyone who needs to combine data from multiple sources or times and has an interest in modeling. By the end of this course, you will learn how to visualize your data, clean it up and arrange it for analysis, and identify the qualities necessary to answer your questions.

SAS Visual Business Analytics Specialization, SAS – Using SAS Visual Analytics, you will learn to access and manipulate data, analyze data with a variety of interactive reports and graphics, and design and share dashboards to visualize your data. SAS Visual Analytics is a useful skill in a variety of careers, including business analyst, researcher, statistician, or data scientist.

Privacy in Europe, EIT Digital – This course deals with the European legal system to protect privacy. European privacy protection is based upon human rights treaties, both on a European level as well global level such as, e.g. the UN Declaration on Human Rights. This course outlines and deals with these human rights treaties as well as with the specific rules and regulations that govern day to day privacy protection in Europe. 

Cloud Computing Basics (Cloud 101), LearnQuest – Welcome to Cloud Computing Basics (Cloud 101). We will discuss the basics of Cloud computing: what it is, what it supports, and how it is delivered. We will delve into storage services, Cloud economics, levels of managed infrastructure, and Azure services. We will also explore different deployment models of Cloud computing, as well as several hosting scenarios. Last but not least, we will compare some of the cloud platforms and discuss the future of cloud computing.

All Courses

Business


Data

Technology

Other

 

 

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