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One Last Adventure

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One Last Adventure

When the outdoors enthusiast Isabella de la Houssaye was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, she decided she would go on one last adventure with each of her five children. The image above shows the journey she took with her 19-year-old daughter — a climb to the top of Aconcagua, the highest summit outside the Himalayas.

If you thought you were going to die soon, how would you spend your remaining time? What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you spend your days with? Why?

What wisdom or important lessons would you try to impart on your loved ones before you went?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related story to learn more about Ms. de la Houssaye’s final trek.

Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan.

How Much Do You Speak Up in School?

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How Much Do You Speak Up in School?

Are you the kind of student who speaks often in class, and feels confident when you do? Or are you quiet, hoping not to be called on — perhaps someone who would rather write than speak aloud? Or, are you somewhere in the middle, speaking up in classes and during activities that you like, and staying quiet otherwise?

In general, how do you feel about your level of participation at school? Have you changed over the years?

In “Breaking My Own Silence,” part of a series of essays on the question “What is Power?”, the novelist Min Jin Lee reflects on how she came to learn that “power is the confidence to speak for yourself.” Her essay begins:

It makes sense that I’m a writer, which allows me to draft, hesitate, then rewrite many times before I say anything that I can live with for good.

In 1976, my mother, father and two sisters and I immigrated to the United States. I was 7. We moved from Seoul to New York, and Dad enrolled my sisters and me at P.S. 102 in Elmhurst, Queens. None of us girls knew how to speak English.

Even back in Seoul, I was a quiet child who fidgeted and had attention issues. I found school and friendships difficult, and it got worse when I moved to a new country.

The first few weeks in America were tough. There was one other Korean girl in the class. Like me, she had small eyes. Unlike me, she knew English and had friends. She wanted me to stay away …

She continues:

At Junior High School 73 in Maspeth, N.Y., I had a wonderful teacher named Mr. Sosis, who taught law, and he selected me as a classroom monitor. He allowed his monitors to eat lunch in his classroom, and I don’t know if he knew this, but he rescued me from the terror of the middle school lunchroom and from the reality that I did not know how to act around children my age.

I had other fine teachers there, and I started to talk a little more. I did production work for the school play, and when an actor dropped out, I was given her role because I’d already memorized all the lines. For my law class, I did a mock trial, and I was not awful.

I got into the Bronx High School of Science, where my older sister went, and I made up my mind that I had to learn how to talk well.

As a child immigrant, I had read straight through Lois Lenski, Maud Hart Lovelace, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume then through Dickens, Hemingway, Austen, Sinclair Lewis and Dostoyevsky — books recommended by good-hearted librarians and teachers.

In Western books, heroes spoke well and could handle any social situation, not just through action, but also through argument. In Korea, a girl was virtuous if she sacrificed for her family or nation, but in the West, a girl was worthy if she had pluck and if she could speak up even when afraid. As a kid, I’d watched Koreans criticizing a man for being all talk and no work. In America, a man was considered stupid or weak if he couldn’t stand up for himself.

Both things were true: I didn’t want to talk, and I didn’t want anyone to think I was stupid.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

— Can you relate to anything in this essay? Have you ever felt the way Ms. Lee did? If you haven’t, do you know others who have?

— When are you most confident speaking up in school? When are you the least? Are you different at home or with your friends than you are in the classroom, in terms of speaking your mind, asking questions or participating in activities? If so, what do you think accounts for that difference?

— Ms. Lee notes the different standards around “talk” in America and in Korea. Do you come from a culture that prizes different things than those that seem to be prized in the school you attend? How so?

— How do you speak up for yourself, and how did you learn to do that? This essay describes many steps Ms. Lee took to begin to learn how to speak up. She also describes teachers and others who helped her along the way. What are the key events in your life story that have helped you learn to claim your voice — whether through speaking, writing, artistic expression or in any other way?

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.

Word + Quiz: pallid

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onlinefreecourse
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Word + Quiz: pallid

1. abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress

2. (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble

3. lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness

_________

The word pallid has appeared in 20 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 12 in “The Meaning of the Moon, From the Incas to the Space Race” by Andrew Dickson:

In an upstairs gallery, a technician was carefully unwrapping an exhibit lent by the University of Copenhagen: A chunk of lunar meteorite, not much larger than a baseball, which detached from the moon’s orbit and fell to earth some time in the last few million years.

… Strikingly, too, the meteorite had an intensity that made the art works elsewhere in the room seem wan and pallid. An alien and unsettling object, literally otherworldly, it captured something that many human representations fail to. Even in an art gallery, the real moon somehow stole the show.

_________

Do You Hold Grudges?

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Do You Hold Grudges?

What is your oldest or most cherished grudge?

If you’re like the people that Tim Herrera, the author of a recent Smarter Living article, talked to, you’ll have “shockingly specific, intimate detail” about this grudge, whether it’s something that happened in school or at home, with a friend, classmate, teammate, teacher, boss or relative. As he writes, “Nothing is too small or petty when it comes to grudges.”

But in “Let Go of Your Grudges. They’re Doing You No Good.” he argues that holding them could actually be doing you damage:

One of my favorite answers I’ve gotten to this question came from a friend whose grudge stretched back to second grade. A classmate — he still remembered her full name and could describe her in detail — was unkind about a new pair of Coke-bottle glasses he had started wearing. Her insult wasn’t particularly vicious, but he’d been quietly seething ever since. Childhood!

Even this very publication has taken a pro-grudge stance, calling them “petty Tamagotchis in our emotional pocket.” The HBO show “Big Little Lies” perhaps put it best, when Reese Witherspoon’s character, Madeline Mackenzie, matter-of-factly noted: “I love my grudges. I tend to them like little pets.”

But what does holding onto grudges really get us, aside from amusing anecdotes at parties (and pitch-perfect quips delivered by Ms. Witherspoon)? And what could we gain from giving them up?

I posed this question on Twitter last week, asking if people had ever given up on a grudge and, if so, how that made them feel. The responses were delightfully all over the place.

… But my favorite response was the most introspective one I got: “I felt very, very mature. I admitted that my feelings were valid for my situation at the time, but allowed myself to reshape my thinking/attitude based on my personal growth experiences since then. Physically, I felt lighter, but that sounds cliché haha.”

Yes, it does sound cliché, but it’s also a feeling that is backed by the science and research of forgiveness. Really.

A 2006 study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology as part of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, suggested that “skills-based forgiveness training may prove effective in reducing anger as a coping style, reducing perceived stress and physical health symptoms, and thereby may help reduce” the stress we put on our immune and cardiovascular systems. Further, a study published this year found that carrying anger into old age is associated with higher levels of inflammation and chronic illness. Another study from this year found that anger reduces our ability to see things from other people’s perspective.

“Holding onto a grudge really is an ineffective strategy for dealing with a life situation that you haven’t been able to master. That’s the reality of it,” said Dr. Frederic Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project.

— What grudges do you hold? Is Mr. Herrera right that you remember them in very specific detail, and are still seething about them weeks, months or even years later?

— Do you enjoy holding these grudges in some way, perhaps tending to them “ like little pets”? Or, do they “own” you and affect your happiness and peace of mind?

— What do you think of the advice from Dr. Frederic Luskin, founder of the Stanford Forgiveness Project? Does any of it resonate with you? Would you like to forgive and move on from your grudge?

— If you need a little more help, take the related “Should I Hold a Grudge?” quiz. What did you learn?

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.

Learning With: ‘Chinese Railroad Workers Were Almost Written Out of History. Now They’re Getting Their Due.’

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onlinefreecourse
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Learning With: ‘Chinese Railroad Workers Were Almost Written Out of History. Now They’re Getting Their Due.’

Before reading the article:

The first Transcontinental Railroad, completed in 1869, joined two railroads to connect the east and west coasts of the United States for the first time. It was a feat of engineering that meant that a dangerous journey that once took months could now be completed in a week.

As you will read in this article, one scholar calls the feat “every bit as consequential as the digital revolution that binds the world” today.

Why might that be true? Even if you don’t know much about the history of the Transcontinental Railroad, how can you imagine this railroad might have impacted the United States and the world at the time?

Now, read the article, “Chinese Railroad Workers Were Almost Written Out of History. Now They’re Getting Their Due,” and answer the following questions:

1. What happened on May 10, 1869, in Promontory, Utah?

2. Who were “invisible at the ceremony, and in its retelling for many years afterward,” and why? What famous quote from the 100th anniversary illustrates this? How?

3. How did the 150th anniversary celebrate “a more complete picture of the monumental feat”? What other groups were part of the diverse work force that was instrumental in building the railroad?

4. Who are the historians who have renewed the focus on the contributions of the Chinese workers, and what have they drawn on for their research?

5. The last four paragraphs of this article concern Stanford University and its founder. What complications do they reveal in terms of the legacy of the man and the institution?

6. What can you learn from the images included in this piece? Which ones are most interesting to you? Why?

Finally, tell us more about what you think:

What other events in the past do you think have been written about incompletely because official histories have often left out the contributions, or points of view, of key stakeholders?

Gender Expectations

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onlinefreecourse
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Gender Expectations

A recent article headlined “Girls Enter the Boys’ World of Flipping” features teen girls who are claiming their place inside an emerging online community of extreme athletes who flip, freerun and defy expectations in a sport dominated by boys.

Do you ever find gender expectations or norms confining? How? In what ways, if any, have you ever challenged those expectations? What has that been like for you?

Tell us in the comments, then read a related article to find more information and see more images like the one above.

Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan.

Word + Quiz: logorrhea

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onlinefreecourse
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Word + Quiz: logorrhea

: pathologically excessive (and often incoherent) talking

_________

The word logorrhea has appeared in one article on NYTimes.com in the past year, on Jan. 13 in the Opinion essay “Run, Joe, Run” by David Leonhardt:

Let me repeat: My argument is not that Biden will be the best candidate. I don’t agree with his reported view that he alone among the Democrats can beat Trump. And he has real weaknesses, like the logorrhea that afflicts many longtime senators. I once attended a White House session during which I wasn’t sure if he would ever stop talking. If he runs, I hope he is smart and humble enough to insist on honest criticism from his advisers.

_________

Weekly News Quiz for Students: Abortion Ban, SAT, Jeff Koons

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Weekly News Quiz for Students: Abortion Ban, SAT, Jeff Koons

Note: This is our last Weekly News Quiz for Students for the 2018-19 school year. See you next year!

Above is an image related to one of the news stories we followed this past week. Do you know what it shows? At the bottom of this quiz, you’ll find the answer.

Have you been paying attention to the news recently? See how many of these 10 questions you can get right.

Learning With: ‘The School Photo Industry Is a Master Class in Drama’

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Learning With: ‘The School Photo Industry Is a Master Class in Drama’

3. How does Mr. Wunder train photographers in his franchise? Which of the tips and advice — from dealing with lice to getting the proper head tilt — do you think is most fascinating, creative or effective?

4. What does the author mean when he writes that Mr. Wunder is a “salesman first, and a photographer second?” What are the opportunities and challenges for the photographer in the $1.6 billion school photo industry? Include three examples of market forces cited in the article.

5. How do photo companies like Stomping Ground Photo offer a new approach to school photos? How are they distancing themselves from Mr. Wunder’s approach?

6. The article concludes:

“The real reward comes when you got up on that real crisp autumn morning, and you drove across town, and you set up the equipment and you get greeted by the lunch ladies and sometimes they bring you a biscuit out of the oven,” Mr. Wunder said. “And then you see this entourage of little bodies with big smiles and little bow ties and they’re looking up to you like, ‘The picture man is here.’”

He was still in a reflective mood a few minutes later at the hotel bar, whiskey in hand. When floods and fires strike family homes, his photos are the treasures first spirited out, he said. And then, at least once a year, a car crash means the portrait he took of a schoolchild is her last. Mr. Wunder always rush-orders and frames a 16-by-20-inch photo for the funeral.

The fiercely competitive mask had slipped. Mr. Wunder sat up straighter and took a sip of his drink.

What are the emotional rewards for Mr. Wunder? Why do you think he has continued in the school photo industry despite the challenges and hardships of four decades of work?

Finally, tell us more about what you think:

— What is most interesting, surprising or eye-opening in this “behind-the-scenes” look at the school photo industry? Had you ever thought much about the men, women and companies behind your annual school photos? How does this change your view of picture day?

— Mr. Wunder likens Lifetouch to the “dark side,” and the writer of the article calls him a leader of the “resistance.” Do you think he will succeed in his battle against Lifetouch? Would you ever want to be a school portrait photographer? Would you want to be part of Mr. Wunder’s resistance?

— The article illustrates many of the challenges small businesses face in competing with big companies and corporations. What life lessons for running your own small business can you draw from the article? Do you think Mr. Wunder’s story is an inspiring or a cautionary tale? Use at least three examples from the article as evidence to support your view.

— What are your experiences of picture day? Do you and your peers look forward to class photo day? Do you and your family usually purchase copies of the photos? Do you have a favorite or most embarrassing school photo?

— To get a subject’s Mona Lisa look, Mr. Wunder recommends saying “cheeseburger” for young children, “money” for teenagers and “weekend” for adults. What word do you think works best, based on your own experience?

— Are class pictures even needed in the age of selfies? Make a case for why schools should keep or eliminate picture day. Include at least one recommendation for how your school can improve the class photos for you and your peers.

Types of Corporations and the Rise of the Tax Accountant

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Types of Corporations and the Rise of the Tax Accountant

Tax accountants are increasingly relied upon for organizational strategy as technology helps them step away from data entry

The accounting field is changing quickly. As you can read in our article about the future of accounting, accounting “grunt work” and data entry are on the decline. Accountants today need to be ready with a new set of skills compared to accountants of the past.

The role of a tax accountant, for example, is undergoing a fundamental shift in focus due to the rise of cloud computing and the ability to process massive amounts of data with less effort. These technological advancements are helping distinguish the role of the tax accountant as a lead business strategist within an organization.

“Tax accounting will continue to shift more toward an advisory role in a business, says Michael Donohoe, an associate professor of accounting in the online MS in accounting program (iMSA) and PwC Faculty Fellow at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business, “Data entry work will likely become more of a thing of the past with clients entering data themselves through a cloud-based service. We’ll also see tax accounting and data analytics merge in a way that allow accountants to focus more on planning, efficiency, and organizational structure.”

Donohoe is a leading expert on tax accounting strategy, including how competition affects firms’ decision to become an S-corp vs. a C-corp (for example). With their time freeing up thanks to from more automated processes, tax accountants can spend their time considering strategies associated with answers to questions like these.

Donohoe and fellow colleagues have pioneered research on how competition from tax-advantaged firms influences the behavior of tax-disadvantaged firms, specifically when it comes to organizational form choice. This research is important to the fundamentals of a firm’s strategy. With their time freeing up thanks to automated processes, tax accountants can spend their time considering the strategies associated with these types of issues.

Donohoe posits that tax accountants can and should be more focused on advising organizational-level strategy, like helping advise on organizational form choice. If you plan on becoming an accountant, CPA, or leading a business — or you already are doing one of these things — Michael’s research on organizational form is well worth your time.

It’s part of the reason that continued learning is important in the field of accounting. Degrees like the online masters in accounting (iMSA) are important for professionals to consider. Below, we’ve included the answers to some basic questions you might have, particularly if you haven’t heard Professor Donohoe discuss the topic:

Should your firm be an Scorporation or a C-corporation?

Before making a decision like this, it is important to understand the basics. What’s the difference between an S-corp and a C-corp?

What is an S-Corporation?

S-corps are pass-through tax entities. They file an informational federal return (Form 1120S), but no income tax is paid at the entity level. The profits and losses of the business instead “pass-through” the business and are reported on the owners’ personal tax returns. Any tax due is paid at the individual level by the owners.

What is a C-Corporation?

C-corps are separately taxable entities. They file a corporate tax return (Form 1120) and pay taxes at the corporate level. They also face the possibility of double taxation if corporate income is distributed to business owners as dividends (which are considered personal income). Tax on corporate income is paid first at the corporate level and again at the individual level on dividends.

What should you consider as an accountant deciding organizational form?

Donohoe has plenty of thoughts on this, but he is informed by his research on how competition affects the entity’s choices within an industry. As a tax accountant or business leader, this is another way of getting into the mind of your competitors to understand their current or future behavior.

Donohoe has clear, simple advice for anyone deciding on whether their firm should be an S Corp or a C Corp.

“Tax is not the only thing that matters in organizational form. When I talk to my students in the online masters in accounting program, we talk about tax factors — sure — but we also spend a lot of time discussing non-tax factors related to this decision. Things like a future IPO can dramatically change the approach a business should take regarding organizational form choice.”

These are the sorts of topics that are important for today’s tax accounting classes. Tax accountants, and accountancy in general, will continue to become important strategic advisors within business organizations. Organizational form is just one example of this foray into strategic decision making for accountants. So long, data entry!

 

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