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Word of the Day: predicament

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Word of the Day: predicament

The word predicament has appeared in 175 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 6 in “Asked to Delete References to Racism From Her Book, an Author Refused” by Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris:

It was the most personal story that Maggie Tokuda-Hall had ever written: the tale of how her grandparents met and fell in love at an incarceration camp in Idaho that held Japanese Americans during World War II.

The book, called “Love in the Library,” is aimed at 6- to 9-year-olds. Published last year by a small children’s publisher, Candlewick Press, it drew glowing reviews, but sales were modest. So Tokuda-Hall was thrilled when Scholastic, a publishing giant that distributes books and resources in 90 percent of schools, said last month it wanted to license her book for use in classrooms.

When Tokuda-Hall read the details of the offer, she felt deflated — then outraged. Scholastic wanted her to delete references to racism in America from her author’s note, in which she addresses readers directly. The decision was wrenching, Tokuda-Hall said, but she turned Scholastic down and went public, describing her predicament in a blog post and a Twitter post that drew more than five million views.

Can you correctly use the word predicament in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how predicament can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

How Did This Pasta End Up in the Woods? Students Share Their Theories.

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How Did This Pasta End Up in the Woods? Students Share Their Theories.

My first instinct was that this time around a Big Anthony from New Jersey had made off with Strega Nona’s pasta pot.

On second thought, I think gluten free activists are at work here. I think the growing group of active local anti-gluten advocates who know that gluten makes people sluggish, overweight, bloated, achy and unhealthy decided to rescue the masses from gluten. They robbed the local store of all the pasta! Being the responsible activists they are, they couldn’t dump the boxes of pasta in an irresponsible way. They removed the pasta from the original packaging and dumped what they believed to be biodegradable material near the creek. They carefully broke down the cardboard packaging the pasta came in and placed it in their recycling bins. You may easily be able to find them if you ask the recycle workers to give law enforcement the heads up when they spot stacks of pasta boxes in someone’s recycling pick up this week! They just want the population of New Jersey to be energetic, so maybe we should cut them a break.

— Luca, Julia Reynolds Masterman School

It was a regular night on May 26, precisely 2:03 when John Leezerman groggily put some microwave pasta into his fridge. John was known to suffer from sleepwalking, but recently he had dove into a new hobby: sleep eating. Now, on this particular night, John had put Chef Boyardee fettuccine into the microwave. But, this microwave was no ordinary microwave. The day before, it had been “accidentally” exchanged with the perfectly normal microwave he was supposed to purchase. Boy, was the Health Department of Food and Agriculture MAD! This microwave had been a secret government project, and it was supposed to enlarge things. John woke up to find him surrounded with hundreds of pounds of Chef Boyardee fettuccine. It just so happened that John lived in New Jersey. So he went with a team of 100 burly men to carry the pasta down to the creek. But the men swore an oath of secrecy, so you won’t get anything out of them! The only way to uncover John Leezerman is to confront him at his house in the town of East Brunswick, New Jersey. The city officials were extremely bitter at him for dumping all that pasta, which was also harassing the environment. Police and SWAT came to his house and arrested him. He went to court and the judge declared him guilty. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison and cleaning up all the pasta. And that, my friends, is the story of how all that pasta got in to the creek at Old Bridge, New Jersey.

— Bohan, Texas

It was a hot, dusty afternoon in the old pasta factory. The weather was scorching hot and inside the building was not any less merciful. An employee, while profusely sweating and panting, was throwing a stack of papers into the recycling bin. Unfortunately, another employee had misplaced their pair of glasses near the recycling bin on a desk earlier that day, which also happened to be perfectly lined up with the boiling sunlight through the large window. A few minutes later, the papers in the recycling bin started to catch on fire, from the combination of the glasses and the summer sun. The smoke detector went off soon after, and the sprinkler system had sprayed hundreds of tons of water into the factory. Even more unfortunately, the pasta factory was still in the process of making pasta, and all of the brand new spaghetti noodles were drenched with the water from the sprinklers. The CEO, seeing that all of the spaghetti was ruined, ordered the employees to dump the hundreds of pounds of wet, soggy pasta near the creek, where they usually dumped their ruined pasta.

— Estella, Daniel Wright Junior High School

I stared, mouth agape in shock at the delivery truck driver standing in the doorway of my front door. “I’m sorry sir, but there must be some sort of mistake. I didn’t — I wouldn’t order 500 pounds of pasta.” I was beyond confused, but the clipboard with the sheet for me to sign had my address and everything on it. I didn’t think anyone would just randomly order that much pasta unless it had been for some big event. “Oh! That was me, I ordered it!” My 5 year old son yelled, rushing into the room. Now it all made sense, but there was no way I could afford paying for it or even knew what to do with all the pasta. “Again, sir, I’m sorry, but is there any way you could maybe take it back?” I was hesitant as I asked, seeing the annoyed look on his face. I wonder how often this happened. “ No, but I’ll figure something out.” He didn’t say much as he walked away, no doubt having his day ruined. “Hey! Mom. that’s my pasta! What’s he gonna do with my pasta!?” To be honest his question got me wondering the same thing … what was that delivery guy gonna do with all that pasta?

— Caitlin, Saint Peter High School

What is Semantic HTML & Why Is It Important for Accessibility?

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What is Semantic HTML & Why Is It Important for Accessibility?

HTML, the markup language used to structure web content, can come in two forms: semantic or non-semantic. 

Both forms are used interchangeably in web pages today, and while HTML began as a non-semantic (only) language, as the web evolved, writing HTML semantically has become the practical standard. This is because semantic HTML is great for accessibility, SEO, and overall readability, as you’ll see below.

Why is semantic HTML important?

We primarily use code snippets, called elements, when marking up with HTML. An HTML element typically consists of a start and end tag, although sometimes only one tag is used (like for the element). The .html file for this page contains paragraph elements, and paragraph tags surround the text of this very paragraph. It looks like this:

text

, where

is the start tag and

is the end tag. 

Some HTML elements are used to group certain parts of HTML code together, like the commonly used

element. But

is non-semantic, so to specify certain

elements, web developers have to add an id attribute to identify and style that element. Still, the id attribute doesn’t always fix the semantic problem for web pages. 

Enter: semantic HTML. Examples of semantic elements are

3 Tips for Writing Effective Alt Text For Your Website — & Why It Matters

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3 Tips for Writing Effective Alt Text For Your Website — & Why It Matters

A good website puts the user first and provides everything they need to have a great experience. This includes users with physical or cognitive disabilities.

Unfortunately, people often forget about accessibility features while they’re building a website. But accessibility, which involves designing for people with physical or mental impairments, is a pillar of web development. In the U.S., accessibility is mandated by law (plus it’s the right thing to do) and there are even careers centered around digital accessibility.

Using alt text is an easy way to make your websites and digital content more accessible. So, in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, here’s a quick breakdown of how (and why) you should use it.

What is alt text?

Alternative text (aka alt text, alt tags, or alt descriptions) describes digital images with details and context that help paint a picture for the user. It’s implemented using HTML’s tag attribute, so you can also find and edit it in the source code. Here’s an example of what alt text describing a photo of a brown bear looks like in some HTML code:





 

   My First Web Page!

 

 

A brown bear

 

Alt text is especially helpful for people with visual impairments that may use screen readers or braille displays to navigate websites, because it reads a description aloud or renders one in braille that clarifies what the image is meant to convey. But alt descriptions also come in handy for users with older devices or slower connections, because they enables users to read content without loading images.

Alt text helps ensure accessibility (and inclusivity) and helps provide a better user experience. Another bonus? Having alternative text helps make your digital content more indexable on search engines. Search crawlers use it to better understand the content of your images and how they fit into the context of your web page. By including alt text, you also open the door to more organic traffic by making your images indexable for Google Images searches.

How do you write good alt text?

Many content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress or Wix allow you to write alternative text for images that you add to a website. And if you’re coding a website from scratch, you can add it to your web page’s HTML. (Check out our free course Learn HTML to learn how.)

You can also add alt text to the pictures and gifs you share on some social media sites, like Twitter and Instagram. Alternative descriptions paint pictures for the user, but good alt text is characterized by two things: detail and context.

Add relevant info

The first step to writing good alt text is to describe the scene depicted in your image. Think about what you would say if you were describing the picture to someone who cannot see it.

A person with headphones sitting at a desk with a water bottle, iPhone, monitor, and keyboard, in a dimly lit room.

Take the image above. A simple alt description could look something like this:

A person sitting at a computer.

This alt text is functional, but could be better. Let’s try adding some detail.

A person with headphones sitting at a desk with a water bottle, iPhone, monitor, and keyboard, in a dimly lit room.

Paints a better picture, doesn’t it? In some cases, you’ll want to go even further. For example, say you post an image of a famous painting. Instead of just describing it in the alt description, you could provide its title, medium, artist, and any other relevant context.

The image’s location on a web page also plays a role in context. For example, if you’re adding an image to the body of a blog post, you might want to add keywords relevant to the subject matter. Since this blog post is about a coding topic, we might use the following for the image above:

A programmer sitting at a desk with headphones on learning about the basics of Machine Learning on Codecademy.

Then, the alt text in the markup of your website would look something like this:





A programmer sitting at a desk with headphones on learning about the basics of Machine Learning on Codecademy.

 

Keep it short & sweet

You should provide enough information in your alternative text for your user to understand what they need to know, but you’ll also want to be mindful of character limits. Screen readers will cut off alt descriptions after somewhere between 125 and 140 words, and you don’t want to leave your users hanging.

But there are also more complex images, like charts and infographics, that need more details than can be provided in a few words. In these cases, you can link to a longer description posted elsewhere on the site right from your alt text.

Be selective

We know you want to make your website as accessible as possible, but not every single image requires an alternative description. You should leave alt tags empty for decorative and functional images, which include things like calls to action (CTAs) or pictures meant to illustrate in-text examples.

The illustration at the top of this blog, for example, is a decorative image, so it doesn’t need alt text. You also want to avoid providing any information that’s parroted in the accompanying text. If you need help figuring out whether or not you should alt text, W3C provides this decision tree to help you choose.

Learn more about accessibility

Adding alt text to your digital content is a great start, but there’s a lot more you can do to make your websites accessible for all users. Check out our free course Learn CSS: Accessibility to learn more about designing for people with physical or cognitive impairments. You can also learn more about accessibility on W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative and AccessibilityChecker.org.

GUEST POST: How and Why Teachers Should Use Graphic Organizers in the Classroom

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GUEST POST: How and Why Teachers Should Use Graphic Organizers in the Classroom

After the lecture, students studied the display they were given (outline, text, etc.) for 15 minutes. They were told that there would be three tests:

  1. A test on facts. Question example: What is the size of the Brahmaputra basin?

  2. A test to check relationships based on categories. Question example: Which rivers merge with other rivers?

  3. A test to check “global relationships”. Question example: What is the connection between perennial rivers and their sources?

The students were tested immediately after the 15-minute period. They were tested again one week later and given the material to study again. Then they were tested one more time in the next phase. All tests in all the phases were the same.

What did the researchers find?

Outlines were found to be better than simple or extracted text, but the matrix was found to be the best.

It helped students to learn facts as well as relationships, while the texts did not.

The researchers also asked students to rate:

  • how easy they found their display to study

  • whether they felt they had enough time to study

  • how well-prepared they felt and

  • whether they would use the display in the future.

The matrix was rated positively on all counts.

The authors gave three reasons:

Signaling

Signaling makes it easy to find a specific piece of information. For example, if you want to know the source of the Godavari or the flow of the Indus, you can find it faster and more easily in a matrix as compared to a simple text.

Extraction

All the different displays conveyed the same information, but the matrix and the outline used fewer words. They kept (extracted) what was most important and left out the rest.

Localisation

Localisation means showing connected items near one another. For example, the matrix above shows the lengths of all the rivers in a single row. In a text, you would find the lengths of the rivers in different locations.

The simple text organized information based on the topic (Indus, Godavari, etc.) but the matrix organized it on the basis of topic and category.

Here’s a matrix with information on some common pets (inspired by the wildcat matrix in the study):

Navigating the Tech Layoffs: What It Means for You and How to Survive

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Navigating the Tech Layoffs: What It Means for You and How to Survive

Receiving a pink slip and being told that you have been laid off is nothing short of scary, jarring, discouraging, at times unexpected, destabilising, and a whirlwind of other emotions. The recent dramatic turn in layoffs in the tech field signal trying times, an economic downturn, and scrambling by affected individuals, those still in the field, and the industry at large. We know that whether this is your first time experiencing being laid off, or you’ve unfortunately been through this before, it’s a difficult and confusing time. Read on to learn how you navigate the tech layoffs, what it means for you, and how to survive them.

The big tech layoff

Big multinational corporations like Twitter, Google, Lyft, Meta, and many tech startups have been announcing tech layoffs because of economic pressures. The impact of the job cuts is still reverberating across industries and will be felt for some time still. It affects individuals, teams, and company culture and morale and can crush the psychological safety of those who haven’t been let go. Tech layoffs are devastating and rattling job security for many people. Who is next? What do I do? Where can I go? How long before the company shuts its doors? These and many other questions are on everybody’s lips.

What the tech layoff means for you

The advantage that you as a tech worker have over other sectors Is that you are likely more educated than most workers and your skills are still in high demand.

Granted, the current spike in tech layoffs may suggest otherwise, but according to Forbes, there are still jobs in tech. the thing to note here, however, is that some of these jobs can be found beyond the tech industry. Tech is an area of expertise needed across different industries. This means that non-tech organisations can hire you, a skilled specialist in the field to come in and transform their company to become more flexible.

Forbes adds that because many tech personnel has college or university degrees, the unemployment rate is below the average – that is – you have an advantage over those with a general educational background.

What this means for you is that it’s not the end of your career. It’s just the end of this chapter and new doors can open for you. You have what it takes to make it through this testing and trying season.

How to survive the tech layoff

If you’re already out, feel like your job is next on the chopping block, or just uncertain about your career in tech, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that you have in your arsenal, skills, qualifications, and experience that can’t be taken away from you. Here’s some helpful advice to help you survive.

  1.     Give yourself time to grieve

Losing a job and being forced to undergo a sudden change is a shock to the system. Give yourself some bit to stop, feel, breathe, and process your loss. This is a crucial step in helping you plan because you can’t fully welcome the new while you’re still holding on to the old.

  1.     Know your numbers

These numbers have to do with your finances. Take time to assess your financial standings. Check your insurance policies, find out what your benefits are, draw up a budget, and look at where you may need to make some cuts to help get you through until you receive your new paycheck. If you know your numbers and what you’re working with, you’re better able to plan accordingly.

  1.     Update your resume

Unfortunately, sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself won’t result in a job falling in your lap. As much as you’re taking time to grieve, also use this time to be useful. If you’ve been out of the market for years, now is a great time to freshen up your resume and consider upskilling or reskilling in one or two core areas. This will look good to recruiters when you get called into interviews.

  1.     Find a recruiter and start job hunting

An extended gap in your resume doesn’t always elicit confidence in hiring managers. While this can be explained and understood by those working specifically in the tech field, it may be difficult for those not in the tech sector. Send out your resume to companies and consider contacting tech-specific recruiters to help you find a new position.

  1.     Consider working as a freelancer and contract jobs

Working for an established organisation does have its benefits but so can being your own boss. This could be a good time for you to try your hand at working as a freelancer or taking contract jobs while waiting for the perfect permanent one to come along. This can also serve as a catalyst to perhaps make that career leap into new territory and try out something new.

  1.     Expand your network

Stay connected.  The temptation to isolate because of shame, and insecurity. But the danger in that is you lose out on valuable time to make contacts but now is as good a time as any to expand your network. If you don’t know where to start, get in touch with your colleagues who may know a company that’s hiring, and get more active on LinkedIn and other professional sites. Talk to people and keep yourself in the loop with everything that’s happening in your field.

Getting laid off is a stressful time with feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and your world destabilising. Be intentional about your way forward. Lean on your support network. Ask for help. Assess your mental health and check how you’re coping with the stress and changes. Be kind to yourself.

As you pause and reflect on your current situation, remember that being laid off is not a reflection of your worth, value, or abilities. In the words of Epictetus, “It’s not the events themselves that define us, but rather how we choose to respond to them.” You will survive and thrive once again.

How Well Do You Sleep at Night?

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How Well Do You Sleep at Night?

Do you sleep well at night? Or do you often toss and turn awake in bed, unable to settle into deep sleep? Do you usually wake up in the morning feeling well-rested, or do you find yourself tired and sleepy throughout the day?

In “How to Help a Teen Who Can’t Sleep,” Catherine Pearson shares advice from experts in adolescent sleep and advises parents how small changes in habits can make a big difference:

With packed schedules, school days that kick off at 8 a.m. and the lure of screens, it’s little wonder that many adolescents in the United States don’t get enough sleep.

National estimates suggest about six in 10 middle schoolers get less than the recommended nine to 12 hours of sleep a night, while about seven in 10 high schoolers clock less than the recommended eight to 10 hours. And more than one in five adolescents grapple with insomnia, characterized by problems falling asleep, staying asleep or getting sufficient quality sleep (or some combination thereof).

“There are two basic things that happen” when teens hit puberty, said Dr. Judith Owens, the director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital. “The first is that there’s a shift in their natural circadian rhythms, so their natural fall asleep time and wake time shift later — by up to a couple of hours. The second thing that happens is their sleep drive slows.” So not only do adolescents want to stay up later, but their bodies are actually capable of doing so, she explained.

Despite these biological shifts, experts stress that sleep loss is not a normal or natural part of adolescence, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said that insufficient sleep is one of the most pressing health risks in adolescents, pointing to consequences like impaired mood and attention and diminished impulse control.

Ms. Pearson explores the science of adolescent sleep and how to help teenagers who are struggling with it. Here are suggestions that she describes in more detail in the piece:

  • Change one poor sleep habit.

  • Consider a harm reduction approach to screens.

  • Be mindful of melatonin.

  • Encourage “strategic napping,” but be wary of the weekend catch-up.

  • Help your teen ruminate less.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

  • How well do you sleep? Do you regularly get the recommended nine to 12 hours a night, if you are a middle schooler, or the recommended eight to 10 hours, if you are a high schooler?

  • On average, how long does it take you to fall asleep? When you are in bed awake, what do you think about? Are there any strategies that you have used that have helped you to fall asleep more easily?

  • What have you noticed about how sleep or lack of sleep affects you — mentally, physically and emotionally?

  • Were you surprised to learn that more than one in five adolescents grapple with insomnia, (problems with falling asleep, staying asleep or getting sleep of sufficient quality, or some combination thereof)? Have you ever suffered from insomnia? If so, how big a problem is insufficient sleep in your life?

  • What do you think of the article’s recommendations on improving sleep habits for teenagers? Which strategy do you think would be most relevant or effective for you? Dr. Malhotra cautions, “Targeting everything at once isn’t ideal.” Do you agree? If you could change one poor sleep habit in your life, what would it be and why?

  • What advice would you give others who might be struggling with their sleep?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Vocabulary in Context: TikTok Influencing

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Vocabulary in Context: TikTok Influencing

Ms. Aaron lists an email for brand inquiries on her TikTok profile and a link to her page on Linktree, a site that gathers her commercial affiliations into one place as a way to signal her as a tastemaker. Among the links is her Poshmark page, where she resells her clothing.

“It’s more generally accepted among people my age to speak to the camera and give product recommendations and that sort of thing,” Ms. Aaron said.

Graduation Caps

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Graduation Caps

Are you graduating from high school this year? If so, will you be participating in the long tradition of decorating your graduation cap? What are you planning to include on it, and what do those things mean to you?

If you’re not quite to graduation yet, do you think you will decorate a mortarboard someday? What would you put on it? What images, words, sayings or symbols could sum up the most important parts of your school career?

Tell us the story behind your design in the comments. Then read the related article to learn more about the cap pictured.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

Word of the Day: untoward

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Word of the Day: untoward

The word untoward has appeared in 21 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 22 in “Manhattan College Plans a Basketball Revival. But First, Some Chaos” by Billy Witz:

Those greetings hinted at what surely bubbled beneath the surface for Masiello, who was fired by Manhattan on Oct. 25, less than two weeks before the start of his 12th season as the Jaspers’ head coach. He joined the staff of Pitino, his lifelong basketball guru, at Iona almost immediately.

… As volatile as the coaching profession can be, the timing of Masiello’s dismissal was stunning. October is not the firing season. On the rare occasion a coach is fired on the cusp of a new season, it’s often for something untoward — Jim Harrick getting dumped by U.C.L.A. for lying to his boss or Pitino being booted at Louisville in the wake of an F.B.I. corruption sting.

Can you correctly use the word untoward in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how untoward can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

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