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NO MORE STANDARDIZED TESTS PLS

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March 1999 | Volume 56 | Number 6
Using Standards and Assessments Pages 8-15

W. James Popham

A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests.

Standardized aptitude tests predict how well students are likely to perform in some subsequent educational setting. The most common examples are the SAT-I and the ACT both of which attempt to forecast how well high school students will perform in college.

But standardized achievement-test scores are what citizens and school board members rely on when they evaluate a school's effectiveness. Nationally, five such tests are in use: California Achievement Tests, Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and Stanford Achievement Tests.

A Standardized Test's Assessment Mission

The folks who create standardized achievement tests are terrifically talented. What they are trying to do is to create assessment tools that permit someone to make a valid inference about the knowledge and/or skills that a given student possesses in a particular content area. More precisely, that inference is to be norm-referenced so that a student's relative knowledge and/or skills can be compared with those possessed by a national sample of students of the same age or grade level.

Such relative inferences about a student's status with respect to the mastery of knowledge and/or skills in a particular subject area can be quite informative to parents and educators. For example, think about the parents who discover that their 4th grade child is performing really well in language arts (94th percentile) and mathematics (89th percentile), but rather poorly in science (39th percentile) and social studies (26th percentile). Such information, because it illuminates a child's strengths and weaknesses, can be helpful not only in dealing with their child's teacher, but also in determining at-home assistance. Similarly, if teachers know how their students compare with other students nationwide, they can use this information to devise appropriate classroom instruction.

But there's an enormous amount of knowledge and/or skills that children at any grade level are likely to know. The substantial size of the content domain that a standardized achievement test is supposed to represent poses genuine difficulties for the developers of such tests. If a test actually covered all the knowledge and skills in the domain, it would be far too long.

So standardized achievement tests often need to accomplish their measurement mission with a much smaller collection of test items than might otherwise be employed if testing time were not an issue. The way out of this assessment bind is for standardized achievement tests to sample the knowledge and/or skills in the content domain. Frequently, such tests try to do their assessment job with only 40 to 50 items in a subject field-sometimes fewer.

Accurate Differentiation As a Deity

The task for those developing standardized achievement tests is to create an assessment instrument that, with a handful of items, yields valid norm-referenced interpretations of a student's status regarding a substantial chunk of content. Items that do the best job of discriminating among students are those answered correctly by roughly half the students. Devlopers avoid items that are answered correctly by too many or by too few students.

As a consequence of carefully sampling content and concentrating on items that discriminate optimally among students, these test creators have produced assessment tools that do a great job of providing relative comparisons of a student's content mastery with that of students nationwide. Assuming that the national norm group is genuinely representative of the nation at large, then educators and parents can make useful inferences about students.

One of the most useful of those inferences typically deals with students' relative strengths and weaknesses across subject areas, such as when parents find that their daughter sparkles in mathematics but sinks in science. It's also possible to identify students' relative strengths and weaknesses within a given subject area if there are enough test items to do so. For instance, if a 45-item standardized test in mathematics allocates 15 items to basic computation, 15 items to geometry, and 15 items to algebra, it might be possible to get a rough idea of a student's relative strengths and weaknesses in those three realms of mathematics. More often than not, however, these tests contain too few items to allow meaningful within-subject comparisons of students' strengths and weaknesses.

A second kind of useful inference that can be based on standardized achievement tests involves a student's growth over time in different subject areas. For example, let's say that a child is given a standardized achievement test every third year. We see that the child's percentile performances in most subjects are relatively similar at each testing, but that the child's percentiles in mathematics appear to drop dramatically at each subsequent testing. That's useful information.

Unfortunately, both parents and educators often ascribe far too much precision and accuracy to students' scores on standardized achievement tests. Several factors might cause scores to flop about. Merely because these test scores are reported in numbers (sometimes even with decimals!) should not incline anyone to attribute unwarranted precision to them. Standardized achievement test scores should be regarded as rough approximations of a student's status with respect to the content domain represented by the test.

To sum up, standardized achievement tests do a wonderful job of supplying the evidence needed to make norm-referenced interpretations of students' knowledge and/or skills in relationship to those of students nationally. The educational usefulness of those interpretations is considerable. Given the size of the content domains to be represented and the limited number of items that the test developers have at their disposal, standardized achievement tests are really quite remarkable. They do what they are supposed to do.

But standardized achievement tests should not be used to evaluate the quality of education. That's not what they are supposed to do.

Measuring Temperature with a Tablespoon

For several important reasons, standardized achievement tests should not be used to judge the quality of education. The overarching reason that students' scores on these tests do not provide an accurate index of educational effectiveness is that any inference about educational quality made on the basis of students' standardized achievement test performances is apt to be invalid.

Employing standardized achievement tests to ascertain educational quality is like measuring temperature with a tablespoon. Tablespoons have a different measurement mission than indicating how hot or cold something is. Standardized achievement tests have a different measurement mission than indicating how good or bad a school is. Standardized achievement tests should be used to make the comparative interpretations that they were intended to provide. They should not be used to judge educational quality. Let's look at three significant reasons that it is thoroughly invalid to base inferences about the caliber of education on standardized achievement test scores.

Testing-Teaching Mismatches

The companies that create and sell standardized achievement tests are all owned by large corporations. Like all for-profit businesses, these corporations attempt to produce revenue for their shareholders.

Recognizing the substantial pressure to sell standardized achievement tests, those who market such tests encounter a difficult dilemma that arises from the considerable curricular diversity in the United States. Because different states often choose somewhat different educational objectives (or, to be fashionable, different content standards), the need exists to build standardized achievement tests that are properly aligned with educators' meaningfully different curricular preferences. The problem becomes even more exacerbated in states where different counties or school districts can exercise more localized curricular decision making.

At a very general level, the goals that educators pursue in different settings are reasonably similar. For instance, you can be sure that all schools will give attention to language arts, mathematics, and so on. But that's at a general level. At the level where it really makes a difference to instruction-in the classroom-there are significant differences in the educational objectives being sought. And that presents a problem to those who must sell standardized achievement tests.

In view of the nation's substantial curricular diversity, test developers are obliged to create a series of one-size-fits-all assessments. But, as most of us know from attempting to wear one-size-fits-all garments, sometimes one size really can't fit all.

The designers of these tests do the best job they can in selecting test items that are likely to measure all of a content area's knowledge and skills that the nation's educators regard as important. But the test developers can't really pull it off. Thus, standardized achievement tests will always contain many items that are not aligned with what's emphasized instructionally in a particular setting.

To illustrate the seriousness of the mismatch that can occur between what's taught locally and what's tested through standardized achievement tests, educators ought to know about an important study at Michigan State University reported in 1983 by Freeman and his colleagues. These researchers selected five nationally standardized achievement tests in mathematics and studied their content for grades 4-6. Then, operating on the very reasonable assumption that what goes on instructionally in classrooms is often influenced by what's contained in the texbooks that children use, they also studied four widely used textbooks for grades 4-6.

Employing rigorous review procedures, the researchers identified the items in the standardized achievement test that had not received meaningful instructional attention in the textbooks. They concluded that between 50 and 80 percent of what was measured on the tests was not suitably addressed in the textbooks. As the Michigan State researchers put it, "The proportion of topics presented on a standardized test that received more than cursory treatment in each textbook was never higher than 50 percent" (p. 509).

Well, if the content of standardized tests is not satisfactorily addressed in widely used textbooks, isn't it likely that in a particular educational setting, topics will be covered on the test that aren't addressed instructionally in that setting? Unfortunately, because most educators are not genuinely familiar with the ingredients of standardized achievement tests, they often assume that if a standardized achievement test asserts that it is assessing "children's reading comprehension capabilities," then it's likely that the test meshes with the way reading is being taught locally. More often than not, the assumed match between what's tested and what's taught is not warranted.

If you spend much time with the descriptive materials presented in the manuals accompanying standardized achievement tests, you'll find that the descriptors for what's tested are often fairly general. Those descriptors need to be general to make the tests acceptable to a nation of educators whose curricular preferences vary. But such general descriptions of what's tested often permit assumptions of teaching-testing alignments that are way off the mark. And such mismatches, recognized or not, will often lead to spurious conclusions about the effectiveness of education in a given setting if students' scores on standardized achievement tests are used as the indicator of educational effectiveness. And that's the first reason that standardized achievement tests should not be used to determine the effectiveness of a state, a district, a school, or a teacher. There's almost certain to be a significant mismatch between what's taught and what's tested.

A Psychometric Tendency to Eliminate Important Test Items

A second reason that standardized achievement tests should not be used to evaluate educational quality arises directly from the requirement that these tests permit meaningful comparisons among students from only a small collection of items.

A test item that does the best job in spreading out students' total-test scores is a test item that's answered correctly by about half the students. Items that are answered correctly by 40 to 60 percent of the students do a solid job in spreading out the total scores of test-takers.

Items that are answered correctly by very large numbers of students, in contrast, do not make a suitable contribution to spreading out students' test scores. A test item answered correctly by 90 percent of the test-takers is, from the perspective of a test's efficiency in providing comparative interpretations, being answered correctly by too many students.

Test items answered correctly by 80 percent or more of the test takers, therefore, usually don't make it past the final cut when a standardized achievement test is first developed, and such items will most likely be jettisoned when the test is revised. As a result, the vast majority of the items on standardized achievement tests are "middle difficulty" items.

As a consequence of the quest for score variance in a standardized achievement test, items on which students perform well are often excluded. However, items on which students perform well often cover the content that, because of its importance, teachers stress. Thus, the better the job that teachers do in teaching important knowledge and/or skills, the less likely it is that there will be items on a standardized achievement test measuring such knowledge and/or skills. To evaluate teachers' instructional effectiveness by using assessment tools that deliberately avoid important content is fundamentally foolish.

Confounded Causation

The third reason that students' performances on these tests should not be used to evaluate educational quality is the most compelling. Because student performances on standardized achievement tests are heavily influenced by three causative factors, only one of which is linked to instructional quality, asserting that low or high test scores are caused by the quality of instruction is illogical.

To understand this confounded-causation problem clearly, let's look at the kinds of test items that appear on standardized achievement tests. Remember, students' test scores are based on how well students do on the test's items. To get a really solid idea of what's in standardized tests, you need to grub around with the items themselves.

The three illustrative items presented here are mildly massaged versions of actual test items in current standardized achievement tests. I've modified the items' content slightly, without altering the essence of what the items are trying to measure.

The problem of confounded causation involves three factors that contribute to students' scores on standardized achievement tests: (1) what's taught in school, (2) a student's native intellectual ability, and (3) a student's out-of-school learning.

What's taught in school. Some of the items in standardized achievement tests measure the knowledge or skills that students learn in school. In certain subject areas, such as mathematics, children learn in school most of what they know about a subject. Few parents spend much time teaching their children about the intricacies of algebra or how to prove a theorem.

So, if you look over the items in any standardized achievement test, you'll find a fair number similar to the mathematics item presented in Figure 1, which is a mildly modified version of an item appearing in a standardized achievement test intended for 3rd grade children.

This mathematics item would help teachers arrive at a valid inference about 3rd graders' abilities to choose number sentences that coincide with verbal representations of subtraction problems. Or, along with other similar items dealing with addition, multiplication, and division, this item would contribute to a valid inference about a student's ability to choose appropriate number sentences for a variety of basic computation problems presented in verbal form.

If the items in standardized achievement tests measured only what actually had been taught in school, I wouldn't be so negative about using these tests to determine educational quality. As you'll soon see, however, other kinds of items are hiding in standardized achievement tests.

A student's native intellectual ability. I wish I believed that all children were born with identical intellectual abilities, but I don't. Some kids were luckier at gene-pool time. Some children, from birth, will find it easier to mess around with mathematics than will others. Some kids, from birth, will have an easier time with verbal matters than will others. If children came into the world having inherited identical intellectual abilities, teachers' pedagogical problems would be far more simple.

Recent thinking among many leading educators suggests that there are various forms of intelligence, not just one (Gardner, 1994). A child who is born with less aptitude for dealing with quantitative or verbal tasks, therefore, might possess greater "interpersonal" or "intrapersonal" intelligence, but these latter abilities are not tested by these tests. For the kinds of items that are most commonly found on standardized achievement tests, children differ in their innate abilities to respond correctly. And some items on standardized achievement tests are aimed directly at measuring such intellectual ability.

Consider, for example, the item in Figure 2. This item attempts to measure a child's ability "to figure out" what the right answer is. I don't think that the item measures what's taught in school. The item measures what students come to school with, not what they learn there.

Figure 2. A 6th Grade Standardized Achievement Test Item in Social Studies

leave lights on even if they are not needed.

wash small loads instead of large loads in a clothes-washing machine.

write on both sides of a piece of paper.

place used newspapers in the garbage.

In Figure 2's social studies item for 6th graders, look carefully at the four answer options. Read each option and see if it might be correct. A "smart" student, I contend, can figure out that choices A, B, and D really would not "conserve resources" all that well; hence choice C is the winning option. Brighter kids will have a better time with this item than their less bright classmates.

But why, you might be thinking, do developers of standardized tests include such items on their tests? The answer is all too simple. These sorts of items, because they tap innate intellectual skills that are not readily modifiable in school, do a wonderful job in spreading out test-takers' scores. The quest for score variance, coupled with the limitation of having few items to use in assessing students, makes such items appealing to those who construct standardized achievement tests.

But items that primarily measure differences in students' in-born intellectual abilities obviously do not contribute to valid inferences about "how well children have been taught." Would we like all children to do well on such "native-smarts" items? Of course we would. But to use such items to arrive at a judgment about educational effectiveness is simply unsound.

Out-of-school learning. The most troubling items on standardized achievement tests assess what students have learned outside of school. Unfortunately, you'll find more of these items on standardized achievement tests than you'd suspect. If children come from advantaged families and stimulus-rich environments, then they are more apt to succeed on items in standardized achievement test items than will other children whose environments don't mesh as well with what the tests measure. The item in Figure 3 makes clear what's actually being assessed by a number of items on standardized achievement tests.

This 6th grade science item first tells students what an attribute of a fruit is (namely, that it contains seeds). Then the student must identify what "is not a fruit" by selecting the option without seeds. As any child who has encountered celery knows, celery is a seed-free plant. The right answer, then, for those who have coped with celery's strings but never its seeds, is clearly choice D.

But what if when you were a youngster, your folks didn't have the money to buy celery at the store? What if your circumstances simply did not give you the chance to have meaningful interactions with celery stalks by the time you hit the 6th grade? How well do you think you'd do in correctly answering the item in Figure 3? And how well would you do if you didn't know that pumpkins were seed-carrying spheres? Clearly, if children know about pumpkins and celery, they'll do better on this item than will those children who know only about apples and oranges. That's how children's socioeconomic status gets mixed up with children's performances on standardized achievement tests. The higher your family's socioeconomic status is, the more likely you are to do well on a number of the test items you'll encounter in a such a test.

Suppose you're a principal of a school in which most students come from genuinely low socioeconomic situations. How are your students likely to perform on standardized achievement tests if a substantial number of the test's items really measure the stimulus-richness of your students' backgrounds? That's right, your students are not likely to earn very high scores. Does that mean your school's teachers are doing a poor instructional job? Of course not.

Conversely, let's imagine you're a principal in an affluent school whose students tend to have upper-class, well-educated parents. Each spring, your students' scores on standardized achievement tests are dazzlingly high. Does this mean your school's teachers are doing a super instructional job? Of course not.

One of the chief reasons that children's socioeconomic status is so highly correlated with standardized test scores is that many items on standardized achievement tests really focus on assessing knowledge and/or skills learned outside of school-knowledge and/or skills more likely to be learned in some socioeconomic settings than in others.

Again, you might ask why on earth would standardized achievement test developers place such items on their tests? As usual, the answer is consistent with the dominant measurement mission of those tests, namely, to spread out students' test scores so that accurate and fine-grained norm-referenced interpretations can be made. Because there is substantial variation in children's socioeconomic situations, items that reflect such variations are efficient in producing among-student variations in test scores.

You've just considered three important factors that can influence students' scores on standardized achievement tests. One of these factors was directly linked to educational quality. But two factors weren't.

What's an Educator to Do?

I've described a situation that, from the perspective of an educator, looks pretty bleak. What, if anything, can be done? I suggest a three-pronged attack on the problem. First, I think that you need to learn more about the viscera of standardized achievement tests. Second, I think that you need to carry out an effective educational campaign so that your educational colleagues, parents of children in school, and educational policymakers understand what the evaluative shortcomings of standardized achievement tests really are. Finally, I think that you need to arrange a more appropriate form of assessment-based evidence.

Learning about standardized achievement tests. Far too many educators haven't really studied the items on standardized achievement tests since the time that they were, as students, obliged to respond to those items. But the inferences made on the basis of students' test performances rest on nothing more than an aggregated sum of students' item-by-item responses. What educators need to do is to spend some quality time with standardized achievement tests-scrutinizing the test's items one at a time to see what they are really measuring.

Spreading the word. Most educators, and almost all parents and school board members, think that schools should be rated on the basis of their students' scores on standardized achievement tests. Those people need to be educated. It is the responsibility of all educators to do that educating.

If you do try to explain to the public, to parents, or to policymakers why standardized test scores will probably provide a misleading picture of educational quality, be sure to indicate that you're not running away from the need to be held accountable. No, you must be willing to identify other, more credible evidence of student achievement.

Coming up with other evidence. If you're going to argue against standardized achievement tests as a source of educational evidence for determining school quality, and you still are willing to be held educationally accountable, then you'll need to ante up some other form of evidence to show the world that you really are doing a good educational job.

I recommend that you attempt to assess students' mastery of genuinely significant cognitive skills, such as their ability to write effective compositions, their ability to use lessons from history to make cogent analyses of current problems, and their ability to solve high-level mathematical problems.

If the skills selected measure really important cognitive outcomes, are seen by parents and policymakers to be genuinely significant, and can be addressed instructionally by competent teachers, then the assembly of a set of pre-test-to-post-test evidence showing substantial student growth in such skills can be truly persuasive.

What teachers need are assessment instruments that measure worthwhile skills or significant bodies of knowledge. Then teachers need to show the world that they can instruct children so that those children make striking pre-instruction to post-instruction progress.

The fundamental point is this: If educators accept the position that standardized achievement test scores should not be used to measure the quality of schooling, then they must provide other, credible evidence that can be used to ascertain the quality of schooling. Carefully collected, nonpartisan evidence regarding teachers' pre-test-to-post-test promotion of undeniably important skills or knowledge just might do the trick.

Right Task, Wrong Tools

Educators should definitely be held accountable. The teaching of a nation's children is too important to be left unmonitored. But to evaluate educational quality by using the wrong assessment instruments is a subversion of good sense. Although educators need to produce valid evidence regarding their effectiveness, standardized achievement tests are the wrong tools for the task.

References

Freeman, D. J., Kuhs, T. M., Porter, A. C., Floden, R. E., Schmidt, W. H., & Schwille, J. R. (1983). Do textbooks and tests define a natural curriculum in elementary school mathematics? Elementary School Journal, 83(5), 501-513.

Gardner, H. (1994). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. Teacher's College Record, 95(4), 576-583.

Author's note: A longer version of this article will appear in the final chapter of W. James Popham's book Modern Educational Measurement: Practical Guidelines for Educational Leaders, 3rd ed., (forthcoming); Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

W. James Popham is a UCLA Emeritus Professor. He may be reached at IOX Assessment Associates, 5301 Beethoven St., Ste. 190, Los Angeles, CA 90066 (e-mail: wpopham@ucla.edu).

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Why Standardized Tests Don't Measure Educational Quality

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March 1999 | Volume 56 | Number 6 Using Standards and Assessments Pages 8-15 W. James Popham A standardized test is any examination that's administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. There are two major kinds of standardized tests: aptitude tests and achievement tests.

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🍒 More fruit and veg options for those of us on restrictive diets? I do it for myself but a lot of my friends have health issues and have to bring their own lunches because the school doesn’t offer anything.

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Honestly I feel like a lot of our field trips are pointless. Like yeah going to disneyworld and six flags is fun but it just seems like a waste. I’d rather go on field trips where we learn something.

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School Trip Ideas in Texas I Educational Field Trips I Fun School Trips

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Fun and educational day and overnight class trips in Texas to museums, zoos, historic sites, recreational activities and other Texas attractions with trip lesson plans.

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Wish we could sub internships for classes like in college

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It was the end of my sophomore year of high school. I needed a summer job, but I didn't want to work as a fast food cook, retail sales clerk, lawn mower, or nanny. What other jobs out there are available to high school students? None, I thought.

It turns out there's a whole world of high school jobs out there, only by another name: internships. Like many of you, I thought internships were only for college students seeking to get a foot in the door of their career field. And I thought you needed experience to get them.

But the point of internships is to gain experience, and an employer's main concern is your drive and potential. I didn't expect much when I walked into my local newspaper's office building with the phrase "I have an interest in writing" on my lips, but before I knew it, I was being ushered into the head editor's office. He offered me a paid summer position as part of a program subsidized by the state's newspaper association-and he hadn't even seen my writing. He didn't care about my lack of training. What mattered was that I'd taken initiative.

Now, I know I don't have experience with any other profession, but if a declining industry like the newspaper business found room for me in their budget, I'm betting there's an internship waiting around near you, too. You just need to seek them out. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let's talk about why you should jump on the chance for an internship like it's free food.

Why you should get a high school internship

Discover what you want to do with your life. I would probably still be stuck taking online career-matching quizzes if it weren't for my internship. I always thought being a journalist would be boring. I ended up adoring it.

Learn about the pros from the pros. Your high school guidance counselor can only tell you so much about being an accountant, simply because they aren't one. That's why career direction from coworkers at your internship is invaluable.

Boost your résumé. You earned experience in your major before college?! I can't think of better résumé eye candy.

Earn the respect of adults. I can't tell you how many times people mistook me for a college student. Working as an intern in a professional setting not only requires you to speak, act, and dress professionally but also encourages adults to treat you the same way.

And, of course, gain experience. Need I say more? (Okay, how about getting the experience you need to snag even more prestigious internships as a college student? You'll be two steps ahead of your peers-and that much better prepared for "real-world" jobs.)

So, now you're dying to get in on a high school internship. Awesome! It's time to get down to work impressing those potential employers. Some businesses may have applications for their high school internships, but if you're venturing into uncharted waters, here's some advice I've gathered from my experience in the internship world.

Tips on how to land an internship

Take initiative. My employer told me one of the main reasons they hired me was because I sought out the position entirely on my own. There was no ad in the paper or a "We're hiring" sign in the window. I just went out on a limb and asked.

Bring a copy of your résumé. This is simple but sometimes overlooked. Résumés make you look prepared and allow the employer to view your qualifications instantly.

Go months early. You're on the college students' playing field now. Competition is steep. Don't wait until the last minute.

Be prepared for anything. I expected to spend most of my time filing papers or making copies-and I wound up a reporter. But for you, it could go the other way. Be open to different possibilities.

Be willing to go unpaid. Some businesses would love to have you work for them but simply can't afford you. Decide how important a paid position is to you before you ask about an internship.

One last tip: internships are awesome, but don't give up completely on regular part-time jobs and volunteering. I still work as a janitor on the weekends, because it gives me some extra cash and I'm learning the value of hard work. And you can still learn a ton from your volunteer gig with your church, town library, or local food pantry. Don't limit yourself to jobs you want (or think you want) to make a career of.

Note: Did you know you could win a $10,000 scholarship for college or grad school just by registering on CollegeXpress? This is one of the quickest, easiest scholarships you'll ever apply for. Register Now "

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How and Why You Should Find a High School Internship

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It turns out there's a whole world of high school jobs out there, only by another name: internships. A high school senior explains why you need them and how to get them. Find the perfect college and scholarships to pay for it. Join CollegeXpress-it's fast, easy, and FREE!

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Can we PLESE learn how to apply for student loans or do taxes??

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How To Do Your Back Income Taxes - TurboTax Tax Tips & Videos

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Many taxpayers fail to file a return even when required to do so. Your obligation to file these returns never goes away, but catching up may be easier than you think.

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I wish we could take more interesting science classes. I’d die if we had an oceanography class!!

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Question:

Why is oceanography important?

Oceanography:

Oceanography is the scientific study of the ocean. It is related to marine biology. However, oceanographers do not just study ocean life, but other areas, as well.

Answer and Explanation:

There are an infinite number of reasons why oceanography is important, but almost all of them relate to the fact that the oceans are essential for life on Earth. The Earth is 70% covered by ocean water and these waters account for 97% of all water on the planet. As of March 2018, scientists estimate that we have only explored about 5% of the ocean and that more than 90% of all ocean life has yet to be classified.

With those statistics in mind, the oceans hold more secrets than not and provide a tremendous opportunity for learning. Not only do oceanographers study the connections between ocean environments and those on land, but are searching out information that can benefit humans. Understanding ocean systems carries economic importance as we gain information about resources we can use (fish, oil and gas, elements and chemical compounds) and make scientific discoveries that can advance medicine.

The study of the oceans also is important for environmental reasons. The oceans control much of the world's climates; studying the relationship between oceans and the climate allows scientists to better predict weather patterns and potentially-catastrophic storms. Oceanographers also play a huge role in our understanding of climate change and global warming. Changes in the seas are the first domino of climate change and studying how our behaviors as humans affect the oceans may give us the answers to solving pollution and global warming issues.

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why is oceanography important?  | study.com

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Why is oceanography important? | Study.com

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Why is oceanography important? Oceanography is the scientific study of the ocean. It is related to marine biology. However, oceanographers do not just study ocean life, but other areas, as well. There are an infinite number of reasons why oceanography is important, but almost all of them relate to the fact that the oceans are essential for life on Earth.

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Our books are literally falling apart and the teachers aren’t paid enough to replace them we need some state funding ASAP

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I have really bad test anxiety but the teachers don’t care. I do and talk to them but none of the teachers take it seriously and think I just want attention or something.

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What Is Test Anxiety (And How It Affects Students) | Oxford Learning

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Test anxiety has a big impact on your child’s school performance. Learn more about what test anxiety is and what signs to watch for in your child.

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It would be better if school hours weren’t so late so students could work if they needed to

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a lot of teachers think they’re slick picking favorites but I been knew

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A lucky few students-those cute, smart, and well-behaved ones-are accustomed to big smiles and open body language from their teacher. For others, though, it's a half-hearted greeting and barely a glance.

Some students are afforded the privilege of helping out in the classroom before school or during recess, but others are rarely invited.

Some call-outs are answered without a second thought. Yes, Lily, of course you can sharpen your pencil. While others get an entire different reaction. Anthony, how many times do I have to tell you? We raise our hand in this classroom!

Some students are encouraged to go on and on about the time the family beagle had puppies. Wow, what a great story! Others are cut off at the knees. We don't have time for stories, Jocelyn. I asked if there were any questions.

Favoritism is an insidious snake that wriggles unnoticed under your classroom door, poisoning morale from the inside out. Left unchecked, it will slither into every area of classroom management.

If asked, few teachers would admit, even to themselves, that they play favorites. Although plain as day for students to see, favoritism is often hidden from the teacher beneath a veil of justifications. I don't play favorites. I just let those with good behavior know I appreciate them.

Make no mistake. Many, many teachers play favorites.

Maybe you do too.

No teacher wants to confront the possibility that he or she favors some students over others. It's never easy to take a hard look at yourself and be honest with your heart's intent.

But self-examination is crucial, because favoritism is not only bad for classroom management, it's worse for your students.

Here's why:
It creates a class system.
When you play favorites, you give rise to a class system-where certain students are socially grouped and labeled as special or entitled or somehow better than others. This causes hurt, confusion, and fist-shaking unfairness. It discourages teamwork and creates friction and jealousy among students. At its worst, it brings about bullying behavior.
It causes resentment.
Students are often underestimated. They may be short, gangly, or self-absorbed, but they're real people with real feelings, and they're more observant than given credit for. If you play favorites-affording special privileges or attention for some and not others-every student will know it. And they'll simmer with resentment because of it.
It weakens self-confidence.
To see certain students given a level of attention you know is never reserved for you can be a blow to your self-confidence-particularly if you have a shy personality. Yes, kids are resilient, and we've all experienced hard lessons that make us better people. But favoritism can be especially hurtful, making students less trusting, less inclined to participate, and less willing to take healthy social chances.
It further alienates difficult students.
Some teachers have a quid pro quo relationship with their students. In other words, if you're well behaved and likeable, you get my favorable attention. If you're a behavior problem, however, or if you get on my nerves, you get eye rolls, sarcasm, and indifference. This is a highly manipulative and surprisingly common form of classroom management that reinforces outcast, rebel-like, and unruly behavior.
It creates an unhappy classroom.
It's obvious to students when a teacher plays favorites. In most circumstances the only one unaware of it is the teacher herself. The resulting resentments, dislike, and distrust create an unhappy classroom-which is the death knell of classroom management. For if your students are unhappy, if they don't like being in your classroom, you're going to struggle with near-constant misbehavior.
It undermines your influence.
Playing favorites will undermine your efforts to increase your likeability, build rapport with students, and acquire behavior-changing leverage. To create a dream classroom, to create the teaching experience you really want, you must continually work toward a trusting and influential relationship with your students. Playing favorites makes this an impossibility.
A Notable Difference
It's inevitable that you will connect with some students better or quicker than others. And there is nothing wrong with appreciating or admiring particular students-some will be more approachable, more willing to help, or more trustworthy with special projects.

But that doesn't mean you'll give them more time and attention than others or reward them based on their likeability, personality, or appearance. Doing so is flat-out favoritism-clear to anyone paying attention-and it's wrong.
How To Avoid Playing Favorites
Avoiding even the perception of playing favorites isn't complicated.

Follow your classroom management plan, regardless of who breaks your rules. Don't yell, scold, berate, or take misbehavior personally. Be the same consistently pleasant teacher day in and day out.

Make every student a target of your heartfelt smile and kindness. Choose to see the best in each of them, despite how difficult at times that may be.

And when deciding who should go first or who should help out in your classroom...

Pull names out of a hat.

If you haven't done so already, please join us. It's free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.

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Why Playing Favorites Is Bad For Classroom Management - Smart Classroom Management

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A lucky few students-those cute, smart, and well-behaved ones-are accustomed to big smiles and open body language from their teacher. For others, though, it's a half-hearted greeting and barely a glance. Some students are afforded the privilege of helping out in the classroom before school or during recess, but others are rarely invited.

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Our course catalogue is a joke we barely have any staff as it is but I wish my school had better tech options for electives.

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Honestly I wish we could have recess again. I know we can take a PE class but that’s graded like I just wanna go climb around on some monkey bars for 20 minutes between two classes is that so much to ask.

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Abstract

Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child's school day at risk. Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical education-not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child's development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.

The Benefits of Recess for the Whole Child

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines recess as "regularly scheduled periods within the elementary school day for unstructured physical activity and play." The literature examining the global benefits of recess for a child's cognitive, emotional, physical, and social well-being has recently been reviewed. Yet, recent surveys and studies have indicated a trend toward reducing recess to accommodate additional time for academic subjects in addition to its withdrawal for punitive or behavioral reasons. - Furthermore, the period allotted to recess decreases as the child ages and is less abundant among children of lower socioeconomic status and in the urban setting.,

Just as physical education and physical fitness have well-recognized benefits for personal and academic performance, recess offers its own, unique benefits. Recess represents an essential, planned respite from rigorous cognitive tasks. It affords a time to rest, play, imagine, think, move, and socialize. - After recess, for children or after a corresponding break time for adolescents, students are more attentive and better able to perform cognitively. - In addition, recess helps young children to develop social skills that are otherwise not acquired in the more structured classroom environment.,,

Cognitive/Academic Benefits

Children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understanding through interactive, manipulative experiences. This type of exploratory experience is a feature of play in an unstructured social environment., Optimal cognitive processing in a child necessitates a period of interruption after a period of concentrated instruction., The benefits of these interruptions are best served by unstructured breaks rather than by merely shifting from 1 cognitive task to another to diminish stresses and distractions that interfere with cognitive processing.,,, Several studies demonstrated that recess, whether performed indoors or outdoors, made children more attentive and more productive in the classroom. -,,, This finding was true even though, in many cases, the students spent much of their recess time socializing. In fact, a student's ability to refocus cognitively was shown to be stimulated more by the break from the classroom than by the mode of activity that occurred during that break; any type of activity at recess benefited cognitive performance afterward. Although specified time afforded for recess diminishes with age, the benefits of periodic breaks in the academic day to optimize cognitive processing applies equally to adolescents and to younger children.

Social and Emotional Benefits

Recess promotes social and emotional learning and development for children by offering them a time to engage in peer interactions in which they practice and role play essential social skills.,,,, This type of activity, under adult supervision, extends teaching in the classroom to augment the school's social climate. Through play at recess, children learn valuable communication skills, including negotiation, cooperation, sharing, and problem solving as well as coping skills, such as perseverance and self-control. -,,, These skills become fundamental, lifelong personal tools. Recess offers a child a necessary, socially structured means for managing stress. By adapting and adjusting to the complex school environment, children augment and extend their cognitive development in the classroom.,

Physical Benefits

There is a wealth of literature published on the need for and benefit of physical activity and fitness, not only for a child's physical well-being but also for academic and social maturation.,,- Although not all children play vigorously at recess, it does provide the opportunity for children to be active in the mode of their choosing and to practice movement and motor skills. Importantly, recess affords young children free activity for the sheer joy of it. Even minor movement during recess counterbalances sedentary time at school and at home and helps the child achieve the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day, a standard strongly supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy, which can help lower risk of obesity.,,-

Safety and Supervision

A child's safety during recess is a concern for many parents, teachers, and administrators. Some schools even have chosen to ban games or activities deemed unsafe and, in some cases, to discontinue recess altogether in light of the many issues connected with child safety., Although schools should ban games and activities that are unsafe, they should not discontinue recess altogether just because of concerns connected with child safety. There are measures schools can take to address these concerns and protect children while still preserving play during recess.,,,,,, Compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Playground Safety Handbook ( http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/325.pdf) will help to ensure proper maintenance of playground equipment that meets all of the following applicable federal guidelines:

Provision of adequate safe spaces and facilities.

Maintenance of developmentally appropriate equipment with regular inspections.

Establishment and enforcement of safety rules.

Implementation of recess curriculum in physical education classes to teach games, rules, and conflict resolution.

Establishment of a school-wide, clear policy to prevent bullying or aggressive behavior.

Provision of adequate supervision by qualified adults who can intervene in the event a child's physical or emotional safety is in jeopardy.

Some playgrounds in areas with a high risk of violence may require additional protective measures to ensure the safety of children.

The Emerging Issue of Structured Recess

Structured recess is a recess based on structured play, during which games and physical activities are taught and led by a trained adult (teachers, school staff, or volunteers). Proponents for structured recess note that children often need help in developing games and require suggestions and encouragement to participate in physical activities. Recently, policy makers and funding organizations have called for more opportunities for daily activity as a means to address childhood obesity. These statements have strengthened the argument to maintain or reinstate recess as an integral component of the school day.,,, Although this new dimension to the recess debate has increased attention on its role, it also has created tension. Some have promoted recess time as a solution for increasing children's physical activity and combating obesity. If recess assumes such a role, then, like physical education, it will need to be planned and directed to ensure that all children are participating in moderately vigorous physical activity.,,,,, Pediatric health care providers, parents, and school officials should be cognizant, however, that in designing a structured recess, they will sacrifice the notion of recess as an unstructured but supervised break that belongs to the child; that is, a time for the child to make a personal choice between sedentary, physical, creative, or social options.,-,,-,,,, However, there are many cited benefits of structured recess to consider, including:

Older elementary children may benefit from game instruction and encouragement for total class inclusion.

Children can be coached to develop interpersonal skills for appropriate conflict resolution.

More children can actively participate in regular activity, irrespective of skill level.

Anecdotally, teachers have reported improved behavior and attention in the classroom after vigorous structured recess.

To be effective, structured recess requires that school personnel (or volunteers) receive adequate training so that they are able to address and encourage the diverse needs of all students., One aspect of supervision should be to facilitate social relationships among children by encouraging inclusiveness in games. A problem arises when the structured activities of recess are promoted as a replacement for the child's physical education requirement. The replacement of physical education by recess threatens students' instruction in and acquisition of new motor skills, exploration of sports and rules, and a concept of lifelong physical fitness.,,

There are ways to encourage a physically active recess without necessarily adding structured, planned, adult-led games, such as offering attractive, safe playground equipment to stimulate free play; establishing games/boundaries painted on the playground; or instructing children in games, such as four square or hopscotch.,, These types of activities can range from fully structured (with the adult directing and requiring participation) to partly unstructured (with adults providing supervision and initial instruction) to fully unstructured (supervision and social guidance). In structured, partly structured, or unstructured environments, activity levels vary widely on the basis of school policy, equipment provided, encouragement, age group, gender, and race.,,,, Consequently, the potential benefits of mandatory participation of all children in a purely structured recess must be weighed against the potential social and emotional trade-off of limiting acquisition of important developmental skills. Whichever style is chosen, recess should be viewed as a supplement to motor skill acquisition in physical education class.,,,,

Duration and Timing of Recess

In the United States, the duration and timing of recess periods vary by age, grade, school district, and sometimes by building., The majority of elementary schools that offer lunch-time recess do so after the students eat lunch.,,- Many school wellness councils have adopted the "Recess Before Lunch" concept which stems from studies that examined food waste by students in relation to the timing of their recess. - When students have recess before lunch, more time is taken for lunch and less food is wasted. In addition, teachers and researchers noted an improvement in the student behavior at meal time, which carried into the classroom in the afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Agriculture support the concept of scheduling recess before lunch as part of a school's wellness policy.,

Peer-reviewed research has examined the timing and type of activity during recess and chronicled the many benefits of recess for children, without establishing an optimal required duration.,,,,,, There is consensus about the need for regularly scheduled recess based on national guidelines, even though the length of the recess period has not been firmly established. In schools, the length specified for recess ranges widely, from 20 to 60 minutes per day., In other countries, such as Japan, primary school-aged children have a 10- to 15-minute break every hour, and this is thought to reflect the fact that attention spans begin to wane after 40 to 50 minutes of intense instruction. On the basis of this premise, to maximize cognitive benefits, recess should be scheduled at regular intervals, providing children sufficient time to regain their focus before instruction continues.

Conclusions

School attendance represents a unique opportunity to address nutrition and physical fitness. Each day, 55 million US students attend school, which constitutes nearly one-half of their wakeful hours. In light of rising rates of overweight and obesity, schools have come under increased scrutiny. Within the school environment, there are competing calls for stricter standards and greater academic achievement as well as calls for schools to provide greater opportunities for nonsedentary daily activity. Even with ample evidence of a whole-child benefit from recess, significant external pressures, such as standardized cognitive testing mandated by educational reforms, have led some to view recess as time that would be better spent on academics. Time previously dedicated to daily activity in school, such as physical education and recess, is being reallocated to make way for additional academic instruction.

Ironically, minimizing or eliminating recess may be counterproductive to academic achievement, as a growing body of evidence suggests that recess promotes not only physical health and social development but also cognitive performance., Although recess and physical education both promote activity and a healthy lifestyle, it is only supervised but unstructured recess that offers children the opportunity to actually play creatively. In this sense, then, pediatricians' support of recess is an extension of the AAP's policy statement supporting free play as a fundamental component of a child's normal growth and development. On the basis of an abundance of scientific studies, withholding recess for punitive or academic reasons would seem to be counterproductive to the intended outcomes and may have unintended consequences in relation to a child's acquisition of important life skills.

Lead Authors

Robert Murray, MD

Catherine Ramstetter, PhD

Council on School Health Executive Committee, 2011-2012

Cynthia Devore, MD, Chairperson

Mandy Allison, MD, MSPH

Richard Ancona, MD

Stephen Barnett, MD

Robert Gunther, MD, MPH

Breena Welch Holmes, MD

Jeffrey Lamont, MD

Mark Minier, MD

Jeffery Okamoto, MD

Lani Wheeler, MD

Thomas Young, MD

Former Executive Committee Member

Robert Murray, MD, Immediate Past Chairperson

Consultant

Catherine Ramstetter, PhD

Liaisons

Mary Vernon-Smiley, MD, MPH - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health

Linda Grant, MD, MPH - American School Health Association

Veda Johnson, MD - National Assembly on School-Based Health Care

Carolyn Duff, RN, MS, NCSN - National Association of School Nurses

Former Liaison

Linda Davis-Alldritt, RN, MA, PHN - National Association of School Nurses

Staff

Madra Guinn-Jones, MPH

Footnotes

This document is copyrighted and is property of the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors. All authors have filed conflict of interest statements with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Pediatrics has neither solicited nor accepted any commercial involvement in the development of the content of this publication.

All policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

View Abstract

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Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child's school day at risk.

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no required pe

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Who’s out here tryna make us choose only spanish or french for a foreign language. I wanna learn Chinese!!! French feels useless compared to Chinese in business!!!!!!

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Acquiring Chinese in this day and age promises dramatic results.

The real question is, why shouldn't you learn Chinese?

Yeah, yeah, people are always hating on it for how hard it supposedly is.

But the truth is, of all the things you can do with your spare time, learning Mandarin Chinese is one of the absolute best investments you can make.

Whether you're looking for a new academic pursuit, new career skills or a new perspective on life, there are few activities likely to have the same huge payoff.

But don't just take my word for it-read on and discover why you really should be dropping everything and learning Chinese!

​1. Ignore the Haters: Chinese Isn't as Hard as You Think

One of the most common reactions people have when you suggest they learn Chinese is to complain that it's incredibly difficult. Luckily for Chinese learners, this is completely wrong.

While there are probably easier languages to learn than Chinese, it is by no means the most difficult, and far from the insurmountable object many make it out to be!

Why do people think Chinese is so difficult?

For a number of reasons, Chinese has developed a misconceived reputation for difficulty. Among the most common reasons is the alien nature of its writing system.

Unlike most languages, which use phonetic writing, Chinese is composed of pictograms and semi-phonetic ideograms.

The good news is this is probablythe hardest thing about Chinese, and it's very obvious. People often assume all other elements of the language are equally difficult, when this is not at all the case.

Chinese may look difficult, but compare it to a language like Finnish, which doesn't appear too intimidating until you discover it is one of the most grammatically complex languages on Earth!

Chinese has no tenses, no cases, no genders and simple grammar

When it comes to the issue of grammatical complexity, Chinese is really one of the easiest languages there is to learn.

Unlike most European languages, it does not feature complicated constructs like cases and genders.

It also treats tenses in a very simplistic way.

Furthermore, unlike other East Asian languages such as Korean and Japanese, the language is free from complicated honorific grammar.

When you consider how long learners of other languages focus on verb conjugation and genders, you will begin to understand that this is an area where Chinese learners can rapidly outpace learners of other languages.

Even the difficulty of characters and tones is exaggerated

A final point to be made here about Mandarin Chinese is that even the difficulty of its hardest parts-characters and tones -is exaggerated.

People will often dismiss Chinese by saying things like "Won't I have to learn 10,000 random pictures?" or "Doesn't every word have 10 meanings?"

The truth is that characters are not random pictures, but a reasonably organized system of radicals and phonetic elements that isn't too hard to understand. In addition, a learner really only needs to know 2000-3000 characters to have a reasonable degree of fluency.

With respect to tones, while important, they are not necessarily critical to understanding. In actual fact, Chinese people tend to use context more than tone to understand what you are talking about in any given sentence.

2. There Are Better Ways to Learn Chinese Than Ever

Computer-assisted learning is making learning Chinese easy and fun

Chinese learning in the past was a laborious process involving huge dictionaries, endless character lists and poorly recorded tapes. Luckily, there are now much better ways for you to learn Chinese.

Digital computer-assisted learning techniques have exploded in popularity in the last decade or so, providing learners with great dictionary programs like Pleco and brilliant character-learning programs such as Memrise and Anki.

Media-assisted learning techniques are also a huge help when it comes to learning Chinese, and for this you can check out FluentU. FluentU is an online immersion platform that takes real-world videos-like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks-and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

All of this makes attaining Chinese proficiency faster and easier than ever before.

Digital communications are making handwritten characters less important

Another way in which technology is making Chinese an easier language to learn is the way typing is supplanting character writing in China. A number of popular character input methods are used throughout China on mobile devices and computers, and they have grown to become the primary way that Chinese texts are created.

What this means is that you really only need to be able to recognize a Chinese character, in order to type it, rather than learning how to physically draw it through rote memorization.

3. Chinese Will Open Up a World of Opportunity for You

Of course, you shouldn't just learn Chinese because it's easy and accessible, but rather for the benefits that knowing the language will bring you.

Indeed, at this point in time, Mandarin Chinese is hands-down the best language to learn in order to get a head start in life.

China's economy is booming

The main driver of the language's attractiveness is China's booming economy and its status as a rising global superpower. Over the last 35 years, China has transformed itself from an impoverished third world country to become what is arguably the largest global economy.

During this same period, China has opened itself up to the world, encouraging foreign investment and economic cooperation. As such, there is a huge demand for people who can bridge the gap between this new growing China and the wider world.

Chinese skills are rare, and can make you an attractive hire

Of course, to be this sort of bridge, there is one skill you must have: fluent Mandarin Chinese. Due to the lack of people in the Western business world who can speak both Chinese and English, there's a huge demand for these skills, and this can of course mean very lucrative wages.

Through learning Chinese, you can transform yourself from a low value employee into somebody who is critical to the success of a project in China, thereby making yourself a very attractive hire.

4. You Can Communicate with More Than a Billion People in Chinese

China has a huge non-English-speaking population

Aside from the obvious economic and job-seeking benefits of knowing Chinese, there are plenty of other benefits to opening yourself up to communicate with all of those who call China home. While English is widely spoken in many other countries of the world such as India, Nigeria and those of the European Union, this is not the case in China.

Most students learn English in school, but few can speak it to any useful level. Only through speaking Chinese can someone really experience everything that China and its millennia-old civilization has to offer.

The Chinese diaspora is almost everywhere, and eager to help you learn

In connection with this last point, another great reason why you should learn Chinese is that China has a huge diaspora found in almost every country in the world. This presents learners with a readily available pool of people with whom to practice their language skills without even leaving their country.

Furthermore, this community is often very eager to help you learn Chinese, and through engaging with them, you have the ability to make whole new groups of friends!

Gain access to a whole new world of Chinese online spaces

While much of the world shares a common online space, this is not the case for China. Due to government restrictions and the ever-present language barrier, China's internet sites are effectively inaccessible to outsiders. The Chinese internet is full of its own unique multimedia, memes and other content virtually unknown to the rest of the world.

A good example of this is Chinese video-sharing sites Youku and Tudou, which effectively function as Chinese versions of YouTube. The key to accessing these spaces is Chinese fluency, yet another reward for learning the language.

The future will likely be Chinese, so get ahead of the curve!

Chinese is not as hard as you might think, and in fact technology is making it much easier. In addition, knowing Mandarin Chinese opens a learner up to vastly improved job opportunities and enables them to function as a bridge between an emerging China and the outside world.

The future of the world will likely be shaped by the billion-strong population of China, and it is indeed a hugely useful move to learn to speak to these people and understand their culture.

So don't hesitate-drop everything and start learning Chinese today!

And One More Thing...

If you're excited to start learning Chinese, then you'll love FluentU.

FluentU lets you learn real Chinese from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks. It naturally eases you into learning Chinese language. Native Chinese content comes within reach, and you'll learn Chinese as it's spoken in real life.

FluentU has a wide range of contemporary videos-like dramas, TV shows, commercials and music videos. In fact, below you'll even see the song "Let It Go" from the hit movie "Frozen":

FluentU brings these native Chinese videos within reach via interactive captions. You can tap on any word to instantly look it up. All words have carefully written definitions and examples that will help you understand how a word is used. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.

FluentU's Learn Mode turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.

The best part is that FluentU always keeps track of your vocabulary. It suggests content and examples based on the words you're learning. You have a 100% personalized experience.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes store.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Chinese with real-world videos.
Experience Chinese immersion online!

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4 Reasons Why Learning Chinese Is the Smartest Move You'll Ever Make

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Acquiring Chinese in this day and age promises dramatic results.The real question is, why shouldn't you learn Chinese?Yeah, yeah, people are always hating on it for how hard it supposedly is.But the truth is, of all the things you can do with your spare time, learning Mandarin Chinese is

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All the admins care about is football. Football and the drill team. That’s where all the money goes. The school is literally falling apart but the football team and drill team don’t have to do any fundraising bc the school pays for them to go on trips and stuff...where’s that kind of support for the art programs? Or for other sports?

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Where have the arts in education gone? Over the past several years, we've all seen the trend of schools cutting the arts from their curriculum. Music, art, theater-gone for so many.

There's no doubt that the arts are fun for kids. Diving into those finger paints and making a beautiful picture to hang on the fridge is awesome. Acting in a play is exhilarating. But the arts also help kids develop on many fundamental levels.

Here are the top ten ways that the arts help kids learn and develop important characteristics they will need as adults:

1. Creativity. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the arts allow kids to express themselves better than math or science. As the Washington Post says: In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in six different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.

2. Improved Academic Performance. The arts don't just develop a child's creativity-the skills they learn because of them spill over into academic achievement. PBS says, "A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate."

3. Motor Skills. This applies mostly to younger kids who do art or play an instrument. Simple things like holding a paintbrush and scribbling with a crayon are an important element to developing a child's fine motor skills. According to the National Institutes of Health, developmental milestones around age three should include drawing a circle and beginning to use safety scissors. Around age four, children may be able to draw a square and begin cutting straight lines with scissors.

4. Confidence. While mastering a subject certainly builds a student's confidence, there is something special about participating in the arts. Getting up on a stage and singing gives kids a chance to step outside their comfort zone. As they improve and see their own progress, their self-confidence will continue to grow.

5. Visual Learning. Especially for young kids, drawing, painting, and sculpting in art class help develop visual-spatial skills. Dr. Kerry Freedman, Head of Art and Design Education at Northern Illinois University says, Children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it.

6. Decision Making. The arts strengthen problem solving and critical thinking skills. How do I express this feeling through my dance? How should I play this character? Learning how to make choices and decisions will certainly carry over into their education and other parts of life-as this is certainly a valuable skill in adulthood.

7. Perseverance. I know from personal experience that the arts can be challenging. When I was trying to learn and master the clarinet, there were many times when I became so frustrated that I wanted to quit. But I didn't. After practicing hard, I learned that hard work and perseverance pay off. This mindset will certainly matter as they grow-especially during their career where they will likely be asked to continually develop new skills and work through difficult projects.

8. Focus. As you persevere through painting or singing or learning a part in a play, focus is imperative. And certainly focus is vital for studying and learning in class as well as doing a job later in life.

9. Collaboration. Many of the arts such as band, choir, and theater require kids to work together. They must share responsibility and compromise to achieve their common goal. Kids learn that their contribution to the group is integral to its success-even if they don't have the solo or lead role.

10. Accountability. Just like collaboration, kids in the arts learn that they are accountable for their contributions to the group. If they drop the ball or mess up, they realize that it's important to take responsibility for what they did. Mistakes are a part of life, and learning to accept them, fix them, and move on will serve kids well as they grow older.

Is your student looking to become more involved in the arts? Not only do K12 online public schools offer their students art and music courses, K12 has individual art classes for purchase. For more information on K12 and our programs that encourage student involvement in the arts, you can contact our enrollment team at 877.895.1754 or request to receive more information online.

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10 Reasons Why Arts in Education Is so Important for Kids - Learning Liftoff

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Where have the arts in education gone? Over the past several years, we've all seen the trend of schools cutting the arts from their curriculum. Music, art, theater-gone for so many. There's no doubt that the arts are fun for kids. Diving into those finger paints and making a beautiful picture to hang on the fridge is awesome.

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I hate the sexist AP at my school would stop commenting on how girls in yoga pants are sexually temptresses to the guys and give us write ups.

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School dress-code controversies have been trending on the web in recent months, fanning a controversy over whether schools are enforcing the rules in ways that discriminate against girls.

In one of the latest episodes, a viral video initially meant to instruct students on the dress-code policy at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, drew intense criticism last month for depicting only girls as rule violators. In St. Louis, Oakville High School's principal is captured on video apologizing to parents after telling female students they should not show off their bodies for fear of "distracting" male classmates. And a Roman Catholic school in New Orleans came into the internet spotlight when a 6th grader was forced to leave the classroom, in tears, for having braided hair extensions, which were against the school's hair policy.

Schools with strict dress codes often claim that such regulations prevent in-class distractions, create a workplace-like environment, reduce pressures based on socioeconomic status, and deter gang activity. However, in an age of #MeToo and easy internet access, controversy is increasingly cropping up over whether excluding students from the classroom for violating dress codes is worthwhile, and whether such rules are disproportionately enforced against girls, and especially those of color.

The website Change.org now says it's hosting more than 400 open petitions against individual school dress codes. The majority have been created by students, and many of the petitions' titles assert that their schools' dress codes are sexist or unfairly enforced.

"These rules aren't neutral: many target girls, and especially black girls, by regulating skirt length and headwraps," a report on school dress codes in the District of Columbia that was compiled by the National Women's Law Center states. "And the rules aren't applied equally, either. Students report that black girls, and especially curvier students, are disproportionately targeted."

Lost learning time

Nationwide, 53 percent of public schools enforced a strict dress code during the 2015-16 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But, data on who's being punished for dress-code violations and how the penalties are being meted out are harder to come by. The study by the NWLC takes a rare quantifiable look at the issue.

Released in April, it examines the experiences of 21 black girls who attend or attended 12 District of Columbia schools, including charter schools, and analyzes districtwide student-discipline data.

In the one-on-one interviews, all of the girls reported experiencing or witnessing dress-code enforcement in their schools. Common punishments for those violations included missing class time or facing suspension, as a result of hair, makeup, or clothing styles that were deemed inappropriate. Since the report's release, two of the schools have made changes to their dress policies.

"[Dress codes] sit at that intersection where they impact girls differently; they impact black girls differently," said Nia Evans, the NWLC's manager of campaign and digital strategies and education. "And when you add discipline to it, it's really a disaster."

The concern is that students who may already be struggling academically fall farther behind in class when they miss too much time serving suspensions, changing clothes, or waiting while administrators measure their skirt lengths. Nationwide, African-American girls are 5.5 times more likely than their white counterparts to be suspended from school, but it's not clear what proportion of those punishments stem from dress-code issues.

Adrienne Dixson, a professor of education policy, organization, and leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, believes dress codes can prevent self-expression among students. Additionally, girls of color, who are more likely to wear styles such as braids, hair extensions, and Afros, are more likely to be disciplined, as the Louisiana 6th grader was.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, dress codes are legal as long as they do not "treat boys and girls differently, force students to conform to sex stereotypes, or censor particular viewpoints." (This includes protection for transgender, non-binary gender, or any other students who may choose to dress in nontraditional ways.)

In some cases, the protests from students and parents are making an impact.

Victoria Schantz was a senior last year when the Women's Empowerment Club at Indian Trail High School in Kenosha, Wisc., decided to take on the district's dress code.

Schantz, who posted about the protest on the ACLU's website, readily joined in, remembering feeling objectified by her teachers after having been pulled out of class for her clothing, given temporary clothes, and sent home to change on multiple occasions. One day, after being sent home twice-once for wearing a shirt deemed inappropriate and a second time for wearing leggings and a baggy shirt-the school called her mother to tell her that Schantz would have to spend the rest of the day completing her classwork alone in the office.

After reviewing 3,000 petition signatures and discussing the issue at six board meetings and two working sessions, the board agreed with Schantz's club and created a more lenient dress code, which will be implemented this year. Changes include allowing students to wear yoga pants and leggings.

Schools' responses

Like the Kenosha district, many of the schools that have found themselves in the internet spotlight so far this year have issued apologies or scaled back their dress-code policies.

Marcus High School's principal admitted that the video, which was an alternative for the annual fashion show that informs students of appropriate attire, "absolutely missed the mark" by featuring only girls. Oakville High School's principal apologized to parents at an open house for her comments about girls distracting boys, promising that she will issue a similar apology to students during the school day; however, an official public statement had not been released as of press time.

Following a lawsuit brought against Christ the King Parish School by the Louisiana 6th grader's family, the policy prohibiting hair extensions has been rescinded.

While some schools have responded to dress-code controversies with a more lenient dress code or by switching to uniforms, others, such as Alameda High School in California and Evanston Township High School in Illinois, decided instead to reform their codes completely.

The new dress code in Evanston begins by stating that it "supports equitable educational access" and "does not reinforce stereotypes." The code outlines that students cannot wear clothes that depict hate speech, illegal items, or profanity; clothes that reveal undergarments (aside from visible straps or waistbands); and accessories that could be considered dangerous.

Essentially, students must wear a shirt, pants, dress, or skirt, and shoes, all of which do not pose a threat to another student or staff member. Everything else is fair game.

"We wanted students to know that your body is your body, and we want you to feel proud and comfortable in your own skin," said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon, who helped reform the dress code.

The new dress code was implemented this past school year and, according to Witherspoon, the school has not received any negative feedback.

"The school did not fall apart, education kept going on, and students did not become more disrespectful," Witherspoon said. "We have students of all different races, body shapes, gender expressions, and backgrounds, and the great thing is that they now are able to express themselves."

Social media posts raise equity questions about dress codes

A flurry of social media posts raise equity questions about schools' enforcement of dress codes:

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Do School Dress Codes Discriminate Against Girls?

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School dress-code controversies have been trending on the web in recent months, fanning a controversy over whether schools are enforcing the rules in ways that discriminate against girls. In one of the latest episodes, a viral video initially meant to instruct students on the dress-code policy at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, drew intense criticism last month for depicting only girls as rule violators.

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Wish we could discuss more current events in our history classes because a lot of people are ignorant to a lot of social issues going on right now. That’s why a lot of students go to college and don’t know what to do because it’s a whole different world.

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Why bother teaching current events? The research indicates that a regular dose of current events has a multitude of benefits! Included: Activity ideas and Internet resources for teaching current events!
Editor's note: This story includes many activity ideas for teachers who teach "current events." If you're looking for additional ideas, be sure to check out the Education World Lesson Planning story, Twenty-five ideas for using current events across the curriculum.

"All I know is what I read in newspapers."

Indeed, TV news and the Internet aside, those famous words spoken by humorist Will Rogers ring truer today than ever. Rogers wouldn't recognize the newspaper of the 1990s, when this article was originally written - or of 2016. The variety of news offered; the abundance of photos; the text peppered with charts, graphs, and maps, in print and online. Today more than ever, the newspaper is a source for all one needs to know.

And, more than ever, teachers recognize the usefulness and importance of "using the news" -- and of developing students who have good newsreading skills and an awareness of current events. Among the benefits students often cite, "current events" programs

cover a wide range of subjects and connect to all areas of the curriculum.

build language, vocabulary, reading comprehension, critical thinking, problem solving, oral expression, and listening skills.

develop informed citizens and lifelong newsreaders. Studying current events helps students understand the importance of people, events, and issues in the news; it stimulates students to explore and learn more about the news, and to pay attention to the news they see and hear outside of school.

provide a "writing model." Students can learn by imitating the clear, concise style of news writing.

help teachers teach media literacy skills, as important today as any of the three Rs.

can open up communications between students and parents. Students are often eager to emulate their parents' newsreading behaviors, and talking about the news is one way for parents to engage students in adult conversation.

offer ideal opportunities for cooperative-group instruction, classroom discussions and debates, purposeful follow-up writing, and much more.

Indeed, the newspaper has been regarded as a useful tool for teaching students about current events for more than 200 years! The Portland Eastern Herald recorded on June 8, 1795, that

"Much has been said and written on the utility of newspapers; but one principal advantage which might be derived from these publications has been neglected; we mean that of reading them in schools."

Research supports the use of current events

For children to become competent lifelong learners, they must learn how to use nonfiction materials to expand their knowledge base, solve problems, and make decisions.

That point was made by Edward F. DeRoche, dean of the School of Education at the University of San Diego in his book The Newspaper: A Reference for Teachers and Librarians (ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1991).

A large body of research supports the use of newspapers and current events as teaching tools, says DeRoche. Among the research he sites:

Students who use newspapers tend to score higher on standardized achievement tests -- particularly in reading, math, and social studies -- than those who don't use them.

Newspapers help teach students to be effective readers.

Newspapers can help develop and improve student vocabulary, word recognition skills, and comprehension.

Newspapers are effective tools for teaching many math concepts, particularly fractions, decimals, currency, and averages.

In surveys, students overwhelmingly support the use of newspapers in the classroom and have a positive attitude toward reading newspapers.

Newpapers increase awareness of and interest in current events.

Students who read newspapers in school tend to continue reading them when they become adults.

Students who study news or watch TV news in school are more interested in current events than those who do not, according to a large body of research cited in a 1997 report ( Student Interest in National News and Its Relation to School Courses) from the National Center for Education Statistics. Studies indicate that elementary and high school students are not intrinsically interested in current events, least of all in foreign news and U.S. politics. But evidence suggests that including current events in the school curriculum can increase interest. In a recent survey, 135 inner-city schoolteachers who used a program designed to incorporate current events into lesson plans said the program was effective in increasing student interest in current events. Another study of 798 students in grades 9 to 12 showed that students who study news or watch TV news in school "are more likely to engage in news-seeking behavior outside of school."

The NCES study also reported results of the 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES), which revealed that students who take classes that require them to pay attention to government, politics, or national issues report increased interest in those issues outside of school. About two-thirds of students in grades 6 to 12 reported in the survey that they had taken such a course in one of the last two years; about half of the students surveyed had taken such a course in both of the last two years. Overall, 65 percent of students who took at least one course during the last two years reported their interest in politics and national issues increase "some" or "a good deal" as a result. Among students who had taken such a course in both of the last two years, 71 percent responded that their interest had increased.

In another NHES measure, students who reported taking a course that generated at least some increase in interest in politics or national issues also reported outside news-seeking behaviors. They were more likely than others to discuss the news or watch or listen to the national news with parents.

Active, participatory current events!

"Teaching about world, national, state, and local happenings needs to involve active, participative learning rather than passive learning," says Thomas N. Turner, professor of education at the University of Tennessee. "This means a lot of hands-on, multisensory activities rather than activities in which the teacher or one student reports while everyone else pretends to listen."

In "Riding the Rapids of Current Events" ( The Social Studies, May/June 1995), Turner suggests activities such as mock trials and using student-created questionnaires as ways to make current events learning more active. Thomas also suggests activities for comparing different news sources' treatments of the same news story and an activity that involves students in mapping developing news stories as they unfold.

"Students also love to go before the camera, and videotaping simulated reports of dramatic past and current news events often sparks their interest," adds Turner. "The students can role play news events or pantomime them while a reporter reads the event for the audience. Planning and creating the script or story board for these dramatic pieces can be a cooperative learning activity."

Another idea Turner suggest in his article in The Social Studies is one called a People Scavenge.

"In a People Scavenge, the students go around the class and find out what their peers know and have experienced," says Thomas. "The ground rule is that they can use the same individual for no more than two (or three) items but must collect the initials of someone for every question."

People scavenges can be superficial (see sample questions below) or they can have real depth and plunge into issues and opinions, adds Thomas.

Among the 20 items students seek in Thomas's "Newshound People Scavenge" are students who can initial the following statements:

Can name two TV anchor persons.

Watched the news on TV last night.

Can name three countries that were in the news last week.

Knows something about a natural disaster that was in the news in the last two years.

Can name at least three different sections of the newspaper.

Can name the governor and the mayor.

Can name at least two different jobs on a newspaper.

Can name two national news magazines.

Listened to the news on radio in the last day.

Can name three American cities that were in the national news last week.

Can name the leaders of three countries other than the United States.

Know what the five Ws of news reporting are.

This scavenger hunt might be a fun activity to do at the start of the school year. Record results, such as how long it took and how many questions could be answered. Then, at the end of a semester or school year during which you've emphasized current events in the classroom, repeat the scavenger hunt and compare results. Has your students' "news knowledge" improved as a result of your emphasis on current events?

Comparing media treatments

Today, students have a wide variety of information options -- including television, radio, the Internet, and print sources such as newspapers and magazines. One way to show students the differences between those media is to select a topic and compare how it is handled by each of them. That suggestion was made in Cruise the News, a lesson plan developed by educators responsible for the Newpapers in Education (NIE) program at The Detroit News.

Most Newspaper in Education programs are a great source for newspaper-related activities. Among the simple activities provided on The Detroit News Web site are the following from teacher Gloria Melnikoff from the Kelso (Washington) School District. Melnikoff frequently uses newspapers in her classroom to teach a variety of subjects. Modify these activities to suit your grade level and academic needs, she notes.

Distribute newspapers to the entire class. Have each student choose a partner and give them a set period of time, perhaps 15 minutes or so, to read anything they want in the paper. When the time is up, have each student tell what they've read with their partner.

Choose, as a group, one story from the newspaper. Read the story together. Find the main idea of the story. Write it down. Find four details in the story. Write them down. Be ready to explain the story to the class.

Direct your students to the classified section and have them read the employment section. Then have them choose a job they would like. Ask them to write a "commercial" about themselves telling the employer why they should be hired.

Choose a page at random from the paper and have your class use it to construct the week's spelling word list.

Have younger students find and cut out pictures to show these shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, circle, cone, hexagon, and pentagon.

Ask students to find the weather page. What was the temperature in New York City yesterday? What is the local weather forecast?

Tell your students they have $1,000 to spend. Tell them to use ads from the paper to determine how they will spend it on clothing, food, and housing.

Related resources
Additional "current events" Internet resources
Teaching current events via newspapers, magazines, and TV
A thorough list of resources for teaching current events.

The Professional Cartoonists' Index: Teacher's guide
"The largest collection of newspaper editorial cartoons on the Web," this site offers a guide and lesson plans that include games to encourage students to discuss current events and to explore and interpret the symbolism in cartoons.

Televison series companion materials
Support materials for PBS Learningmedia.

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education WorldÂ® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright Â© 2010, 2016 Education World

Originally published 08/03/1998
Last updated 04/03/2016

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Why teach current events? | Education World

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Why bother teaching current events? The research indicates that a regular dose of current events has a multitude of benefits! Included: Activity ideas and Internet resources for teaching current events! Editor's note: This story includes many activity ideas for teachers who teach "current events."

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Coding should be a required class when we were younger cause that’s an important skill to have and it’s easier the earlier you learn it

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Most people these days still see computer coding or programming as a highly technical or even nerdy activity that is only attractive to a minority of the population. In reality, coding is getting to be a newer type of literacy. It is a skill that is useful in everyday life, especially in today's highly digital world. For most people, having at least a basic level of skill at programming will make it easier to use a smartphone, link devices, and manage files across multiple platforms. Consider all of these benefits of supporting learning programming at a young age; by helping your kids learn some computer programming, you can even learn along with them.

1. Educational Benefits

The elementary schools use computers for testing and other activities, but it is a rare school curriculum that includes any computer programming. In the Year of Code, many schools across the world started including a computer programming skills segment to the school day. This type of education helps kids to learn the basic inner workings of computers. Kids can feel successful at getting a computer to do what they tell it to do. This foundation can set kids up for a lifetime of successful use and management of the technology in their everyday lives.

2. Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is the ability to communicate your thoughts in a structured and logical way. This type of thought process is like the step by step instructions that are coded into a computer. It is also the process of thinking up and then solving problems in a methodical way that could be replicated by a machine. Software engineers, computer programmers, and logistics specialists use this method of thinking to solve problems. Computational thinking is a combination of advanced mathematics, algorithm development and logic. The development of computational thinking involves considering a problem and breaking it down into single-action steps. Each of these steps is handled in the most efficient way possible. There is also an element of abstraction in computational thinking, which allows your child to move from a specific solution to a specific problem and generalize it to other situations. The result is a paradigm shift in thinking about how the world works.

3. Creativity, Thinking Fluidity

Children have creative and fluid minds that allow them to think in a more "out of the box" way. The nearly endless ways of coding and solving problems can inspire kids to grow. You can show your child that coding is a type of storytelling. There is a logical beginning, progression, and ending to the story and the program. These skills can set kids up for success in written and oral communications in school and thankfully the introduction of IT basics in primary schools is rightly becoming widespread.

4. Job Opportunities

The current generation of children will need to be literate in technology in order to be competitive in the future job market. Not knowing how to code will be comparable to not knowing how to read. Most jobs require the knowledge of basic IT skills, while even retail and fast food jobs require the use of technology and computers. Coding specialists are well-paid and highly sought-after on the current market, and opportunities for these skilled employees will expand in the future.

The Learning Process, Possibilities, And Results Of The Benefits

Just like learning how to ride a bike, learning how to code is easier when you are young. Even four year old children can learn the basic concepts of computing. Learning how to code is getting easier and more interesting as there are more and more new types of software and updated instructional methods that keep kids interested and excited about computer programming. There are also online resources to help kids learn how to code, even for free, such as the popular Codecademy. Kids will not have to spend hours studying the specifics of coding. Instead, they can use games and apps to help teach them the basics of computer coding.

These benefits of learning programming at a young age helps kids to gain advantages in thinking, processing and communicating. These skills will later help kids to be innovative, which will translate into nearly any profession. From physicians to musicians, being able to program and develop computer apps and software can translate into success.

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4 Benefits Of Learning Programming At A Young Age

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In today's digital world, coding is becoming a newer type of literacy! Check out ways children can benefit from learning to program early on.

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The homework and workload of regular classes kills me. By the time I get home (7-8 cause im in plays) I haven’t eaten yet and I have 3-4 hours of homework. I’m lucky to be in bed by midnight.

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Insufficient Sleep among High School Students Associated with a Variety of Health-Risk Behaviors

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According to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 70 percent of teens are not getting the recommended hours of sleep. This lack of sleep is associated with a variety of risky behaviors such as physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, fighting, and sexual promiscuity.

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I'm at a school right now where the administrators only give dress code detentions to the girls and I absolutely hate it

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Base curriculum and classroom structure off of modern research. No grades, no tests, and no homework except for higher level math.

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Get rid of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and islamophobia in the classroom.

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my 👏🏾 health 👏🏾 should 👏🏾 be 👏🏾 more 👏🏾 important 👏🏾 than 👏🏾 attending 👏🏾 class 👏🏾 stop 👏🏾 making 👏🏾 kids 👏🏾 come 👏🏾 to 👏🏾 school 👏🏾 while 👏🏾 sick

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Dallas County officials think they have figured out what illness has caused approximately 1,400 absences at Richardson High School in the last seven days; the common and highly contagious norovirus.

Officials with Dallas County Health and Human Services made the announcement Tuesday that preliminary laboratory results supported previous suspicions that the illnesses were caused by the same bug that sickened 600 on a recent Caribbean cruise out of New Jersey and prompted the early return of a second vessel out of Galveston.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Norovirus is a very contagious virus. You can get norovirus from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes your stomach or intestines or both to get inflamed (acute gastroenteritis). This leads you to have stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea and to throw up."

Norovirus typically resolves itself after 1-3 days.

The source of the outbreak at the school has not been revealed.

On Monday, the RISD released attendance data that significantly changed previously released numbers by the district. Tim Clark, with the RISD, said the change in figures were due to the district being able to remove students that were originally only missing specific class periods, but were able to otherwise remain in school. Additionally, the district was able to specify how many students were sent home early due to GI illness currently plaguing the school.

School officials said 214 students were absent Tuesday and 23 of those were sent home due to the GI illness. On Monday, the district reported 239 students were absent and 48 of those were sent home due to the illness.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 96 students were absent, a figure that Clark said was a "typical number" of absences. By Thursday, Jan. 30, the number of absences jumped to 282 students, including 70 students that were sent home from school with the GI illness. The peak of the illness appears to be on Friday, Jan. 31, when 602 students were absent, including 107 who were sent home with the illness.

Clark said the school has approximately 2,550 students enrolled and that last Friday 25 percent of the school population was ill.
Cleaning to Continue After Norovirus Diagnosis

Before determining the illnesses were caused by norovirus, Richardson High School administrators said the mystery illness wasn't the flu and that it wasn't coming from the cafeteria food. While officials worked to identify what was behind the illness, the district was working hard to disinfect surfaces throughout the campus.

"The deep cleans began last Thursday, so every evening from Thursday through last evening, the school has been deep cleaned," Clark said on Monday. "We use antiviral cleaners effective against a wide range of pathogens."

Clark said the district has added additional custodians and cleaning crews and is disinfecting every surface. Clark said the cleaners "will go the extra mile and make sure they're hitting every surface the person can touch."

With numbers of absences falling since last week, the district is hoping for continued progress.

"We are headed in the right direction, so we are guardedly optimistic," Clark said.
#RHSPlague is No Laughing Matter
Students started up a Twitter hashtag about the mysterious virus, called "#RHSPlague," and are trying to make light of the situation with jokes like, "More Plague = Better Parking."

But for school administrators and affected students, it's no laughing matter. Hundreds of students were violently ill over the weekend - symptoms included vomiting, dehydration and exhaustion.

"It is scary, it really is, for that many kids to get sick at one time," said Demetrius Price, who had to pick up his freshman son from the nurse's office at lunchtime Friday.

Price said the nurse's office was "overrun" with hundreds of sick students.

"My son had a cold a few weeks ago, during that cold snap. But nothing serious. This right here was so different," Price said. "It put him on the couch. His energy was low. His appetite was gone. He kept feeling like he had to throw up. I don't know what it is. I was worried he was going to get real dehydrated."

More than 675 students, about a quarter of the school's total student population of 2,500, missed class Friday along with 28 staff members.

"It was just really weird. It was like a ghost town," said high school senior Jenny Watson.
NBC 5's Kendra Lyn, Jeff Smith and Greg Janda contributed to this report.

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Richardson School Illness Believed to be Norovirus

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Dallas County officials think they have figured out what illness has caused approximately 1,400 absences at Richardson High School in the last seven days; the common and highly contagious norovirus.

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hate that you cant voice an opinion in class if it'll piss off your teacher lmao

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First Person

During these summer months away from the classroom, we teachers are readying ourselves to embrace our next opportunity to make a difference. We're attending workshops and writing curriculum (and of course binge-watching Netflix).

The beauty of teaching is that each year we get another chance to do things better, to get things right. So each year we eagerly prepare our classrooms and our lesson plans to ensure that they're better than the previous year.

We post rules, hang a "welcome" greeting on the door, write a neatly color-coded agenda on the board-and we're ready. When the greatly anticipated first day of school arrives, we stand by our doors smiling and greeting students as they enter the classroom.

That's when it starts to happen. In these moments, as students mingle and shyly interact with one another, we the teachers begin to make the very crucial observations that will affect our perceptions, and thus inform our expectations, of each student that school year.

Research has shown that before teachers even have a conversation with a student, they have already formulated a number of opinions based on that student's race, appearance, and other factors -and begun to form a certain set of expectations. How is this possible, why does it happen, and what does this mean for our teaching?

Underestimating Students' Potential

Regardless of how much we may like to think of ourselves as progressive educators, the reality is that our subconscious is at work. We, too, are studying the every move of our students: their dress, their personal grooming, their hair style, their use of language, and their mannerisms. Admitting it may be uncomfortable, but almost all of us have looked at a student at one time or another and thought, solely based on their appearance, "That kid is going to be someone," or "that kid is going to make my life miserable," or "that kid should pick up his pants; that's so disrespectful."

These subconscious thoughts and feelings are known as implicit biases. Whether our perceptions are positive or negative, they have an impact; they determine expectations, and these expectations dictate how we teach. Studies show that teacher expectations are closely linked to student achievement and success.

In my 15 years of teaching, I have been flooded with implicit biases; after all, that is not something we can control. We can, however, control how we deal with and respond to our biases. Our implicit biases, then, should only be a source of shame if we choose to ignore them.

One time when I struggled with implicit bias has especially stuck with me. I first met Anthony in mid-October of last year. He walked into my classroom three minutes late wearing an oversized shirt, slicked-back longish hair, and baggy jeans that hung well below the waist, revealing his underpants if not for his shirt. I greeted Anthony, feigned a smile, and asked what class he had been in last year.

Inwardly, I only half-listened to his response as the other part of me was already making assumptions: He must be behind, he'll never catch up, he's probably a troublemaker. Anthony had not even taken a seat in my classroom, yet already I had assigned him a set of not-so-high expectations simply because of his tardiness and his appearance.

But after a lesson on figurative language, he began to rap complex and beautiful lyrics in English and Spanish as he picked up his backpack and began walking out of my classroom. I asked about the artist, and he smiled proudly and responded that the lyrics were his own. Then he quickly added, "I surprised you, didn't I?"

He was right; he did surprise me. I had let my implicit biases go unchecked. Fortunately, Anthony reminded me to check myself. That single interaction was an indication that I had clearly underestimated his intelligence, potential, and his own academic expectations.

Ignoring Bias Furthers Inequity

Not all kids are as confident or as vocal as Anthony; actually, most students will not call you out. Most students will instead internalize your low or lowered expectations and your lack of confidence in them or their academic ability. Over time, this internalization results in low academic performance and apathy. More often than not, if we raise expectations, students will rise to the occasion; the opposite is true as well.

I was wrong about Anthony. He wasn't behind, and he was no troublemaker. He made daily contributions to the class, and his creativity fueled that of his peers while it inspired me. I was fortunate enough in Anthony's case to minimize the damage, but how many other times have I unwittingly allowed my implicit biases to inform my teaching and my relationships with students?

These biases are ever-present, and as such they require constant monitoring. Ignoring our implicit biases guarantees that we further impoverish the already poor or marginalized student. As educators, we must be mindful of not just how we teach students, but how we approach them, how we talk to them, and how we convey our academic expectations for each of them.

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Why Teachers Must Fight Their Own Implicit Biases

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First Person During these summer months away from the classroom, we teachers are readying ourselves to embrace our next opportunity to make a difference. We're attending workshops and writing curriculum (and of course binge-watching Netflix). The beauty of teaching is that each year we get another chance to do things better, to get things right.

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i wish we didn't have to do lectures the entire time cause they make me fall asleep

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University lectures are ineffective for learning, analysis finds

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After nearly a thousand years, it might be time for universities to rethink how professors convey wisdom and information to their students, Science magazine reports. A meta-analysis of 225 studies published in PNAS found that the age-old practice of students snoozing while a professor speaks from a lecturn is far less effective than other, more active forms of learning for university students.

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I really wish we had better food because I can't concentrate on an empty stomach. And personally if there's nothing good to eat I just wont eat at all. Also the prices for the food are crazy! It's like $5 for a salad and 75 cents for pizza so...obviously most of us are gonna eat pizza even if its not the healthiest or I want salad. Like maybe could we get a sandwich bar or rice bowls?

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Why Students Hate School Lunches (Published 2015)

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Kids are turning their noses up at — and filling trash cans with — unappetizing fare.

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I wish teachers would focus on the actual flaws in their teaching. Like they'll literally be terrible at actually teaching the class but think that "flexible seating" makes them the most woke teacher in the history of existence.

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One thing I would love to change about my school is I wish my students could use their phones more. Obviously, not at every moment in class, but if they're going to have a phone on them for the rest of their life, why bother telling them to put their phones away? They should be allowed to look up the answers.

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Ensuring it stays academic

Many teachers have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to phones out during class, since they assume-most of the time correctly-that their students are using them to text friends or update their various social media sites. But there's a simple way to ensure that students use devices for educational purposes: change the classroom dynamic from lecturing at the front of the room to having no traditional front of the classroom at all. During class, Halla roams around the room helping students with their work, all the while overseeing everything to make sure that they're staying on task.

"It's harder to do the negative behaviors when the phones are out and the teacher is walking around," he says.

Use smartphones to stay organized and assess learning

A great app for keeping students on top of their work is Remind101, where students voluntarily sign up to receive a text reminder when they have an upcoming assignment due. Not only does it help students better organize their assignments, but it's also engaging parents. Halla says many parents sign up for the app to keep track of their children's homework.

"I was stunned by how many more kids started doing the homework," he says. "I just thought they didn't want to do the work, but it was more that they were unorganized and had forgotten to do it."

Aside from the education-friendly apps now available, Halla has found online resources that can help support classroom productivity and be easily accessed via smartphone.

Halla recommends polleverywhere.com to test students' knowledge of their subject material before an upcoming test. Teachers can set up a question or questions based on what the students are currently learning in class, and then provide them with a text number. Students see the question with several potential answers-usually an A, B, C, D, or E template-and then they'll text in the answer. As the students' answers are compiled, the site creates a graph showing their responses. Polleverywhere.com also costs nothing to use for a survey of 40 or fewer participants.

"It's a good way to see how the students are comprehending the material," Halla says. "For example, if a lot of students are picking option C and B is really the answer, then I can go back and review the material again."

Apps for the social sciences

Halla recommends a number of apps that are perfect for teaching social science courses. There's World Wiki, an app that provides demographic information for almost 250 countries around the world; iAmerica, an app with information about each U.S. President and the history of the White House; U.S. Constitution, so students can have easy access to one of the most important American documents; and many others that are designed to provide students with further classroom support.

Halla has created a list of some of the most useful apps he's found for the classroom, which is available on his blog. While not all apps are available on Android devices, the large majority of them can be accessed on iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Also, before implementing smartphones or iPads into your own classroom, find out which apps are approved for classroom use in your district; and, if you find one you like that isn't on the approved list, consult with your school and district administrators before proceeding

Let fun foster productivity

As a final tip, Halla suggests being open to letting students have some fun with their devices. He was surprised to discover that his students are quieter and more focused on their assignments when they are allowed to listen to their music during individual classwork-provided they use headphones and the music is not too loud to distract their classmates.

"It's amazing," he says. "The noise level in the classroom goes down, and the work amount goes up when you let them listen to their music."

Halla asks students to only use sites that streams music. That way, they can stay focused on their work without the distracting need to find a new song every few minutes.

And when it comes time to get back to classroom instruction, Halla simply has the students remove their earbuds, put down their phones, and focus on what he's teaching. After all, not all learning can be done digitally-but Halla says that teachers have to adapt to the changing times and find a way to successfully incorporate these devices into their own classrooms.

"I've always been that type of person who likes to adapt and change as time goes on," says Halla. "Otherwise, I wouldn't still be teaching this many years down the road."

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Using Smartphones in the Classroom | NEA

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Many teachers have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to phones out during class, since they assume-most of the time correctly-that their students are using them to text friends or update their various social media sites.

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I would change that my teachers make fun of me for reading manga in class

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Manga is good for your brain. Yep. You've read that right. In fact, reading manga may give you an advantage over those, like me, who grew up reading only traditional books. Manga benefits those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) too.

The medium requires a different set of skills than reading traditional books. Not to say traditional books are bad for your mind. It's just that manga challenges the brain in different ways. Even Western comics like Batman and Superman don't benefit your mind as manga does. Manga relies on images more for story telling then Western comics do. They have more images and fewer words (Rozema, 2015). The media has several layers of reading: images, words, Japanese onomatopoeia, and its own visual language. This combination means "...even proficient readers of English-who are not experienced with this level of multi-modality and have been socialized into more traditional, nonhypertext, storylines-may find manga, as we do, to be a challenging read (Schwartz, 2006)."

I've covered Japanese visual language and Japanese onomatopoeia. They combine to create a unique interplay between Japanese and Western cultures. Manga also has different identities and contexts that result from Japanese culture. All of which the reader needs to decipher. The immediacy of images, and the secondary nature of words, means readers can't rely on explanations as with traditional books. It's easier for books to explain a cultural context than an image which just shows that context and leaves it to the readers to understand it. But that gap is what makes manga good for our minds.

Because English lacks the same number of onomatopoeia as Japanese, many manga translations leave the original Japanese intact. Over time, readers learn to decipher these fonts and words and associate them with certain types of actions. This is multimodal thinking can work without needing to look up a translation or transliteration. Although this can help. Multimodal thinking happens without our awareness. It comes from an accumulation of experiences with manga. That is part of the reason why regular manga readers don't struggle with reading the book "backward" and reading pages right to left, left to right, and horizontally across two pages. As readers get involved with the story, they learn to read the rhythm of the images and follow them along with the text without much thought behind it. Learning happens without awareness.

Manga's nonlinear storytelling requires readers to remember dozens of subplots and characters. Many deal with different viewpoints, such as gender swapping stories, along with coming-of-age stories and genres like Boy's Love. "Thus, it is possible that manga story lines not only afford readers a nonlinear, rich imaginative read of the world but also tap into an array of complexities in human experiences toward which young adults seem to feel great affinity (Schwartz, 2006)." Manga reading skills transfer to other multimodal media that require reading images and words together. It encourages multidimensional thinking.

Anime and Autism

The multimodal nature of manga may be why it helps those with ASD. While there isn't a single usual case of ASD, there are 2 board diagnostic criteria (Rozema, 2015):

deficits in social communication

restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities

Manga falls under the second criteria. Its focus on images and its visual language may appeal to teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and many autistic people are better at processing images than words (Rozema, 2015).

Manga's visual language focuses on emotion. The manga face follows a general template-pointed chin, small nose, small mouth, large eyes-which is distinctly manga. The face is designed for emotional exaggeration, leaving hair, accessories, and details to separate one character from the next. Many with autism struggle with reading expressions, but manga faces exaggerate and simplify expressions, making them easier to read. The fact manga faces always look like manga faces allows teens with ASD to recognize them. Then the simple design feature that identifies each character helps those teens draw distinctions among those faces (Rozema, 2015). Think: Naruto's cheek whiskers.

Manga also provides an ocean of information to dive into. There are hundreds of stories with a vast array of characters to learn. Dragonball has more than 500 chapters of characters, settings, and storylines to learn. Manga is meant to be disposable, printed on cheap paper as it is and rapidly produced. Yet, this creates depth through its sheer quantity. And most of it follows an established visual language, which allows readers to easily slip from world to world without having to relearn anything other than the rules for that story world. This helps those with ASD enjoy a wide array of stories. Many with ASD enjoy learning and memorizing a vast body of information surrounding their interest (Rozema, 2015).

Beyond the learning benefits, manga provides a shared interest that allows people to socialize easier. Because of this, manga provides a sanctuary for those who have high-functioning ASD. Manga attracts those who aren't inclined toward verbal language so social awkwardness is fairly common and accepted.

Multimodal skills-the ability to decipher images and words and cultural contexts-help people succeed. Globalization with its cross-cultural interaction allows people with multimodal skills to thrive because they can better reason through language and cultural barriers. These skills also allow people to better navigate the glut of information that surrounds us. They can process image information faster and with more flexibility which is important with how the Internet pervades most aspects of work and life. Manga reading makes your mind more flexible because of how it encourages you to read right to left, left to right, images, Japanese onomatopoeia, Japanese cultural details, and more. This allows you to be more open to different cultures too.

Don't sell manga reading short. Its reliance on images for narration benefits you as images and videos increasingly take over the written word's dominance. Of course, there will always be a place for words and prose. Everyone should learn both skill sets.
References
Rozema, Robert (2015) Manga and the Autistic Mind. English Journal. 105 (1) 60-68.

Schwartz, Adam & Rubinstein-Avila, Eliane (2006) Understanding the Manga Hype: Uncovering the Multimodality of Comic-Book Literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 50 (1) 40-49.

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Manga and Your Mind: Manga, Autism, and the Benefits of Reading

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Manga is good for your brain. Yep. You've read that right. In fact, reading manga may give you an advantage over those, like me, who grew up reading only traditional books. Manga benefits those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) too. The medium requires a different set of skills than reading traditional books.

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These teachers out here playin favorites I can’t relate 🤷🏿‍♂️

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these rude ass office ladies always give my momma a hard time when she comes in to ask questions about my education at the school. One lady even called my mom ghetto smh.

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School would be better if everyone wasn’t constantly trying to pet my seizure alert service dog and get him off task. Wish students were better educated on disabilities as well.

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Teaching Kids At School About My Service Dog

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it’s a real shame so many of our textbooks are outdated and really biased. So, that’s the main thing I’d change.

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Students at Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Ariz., learn from 25-year-old biology textbooks. Credit Credit Frank Eager

Broken laptops, books held together with duct tape, an art teacher who makes watercolors by soaking old markers.

Teacher protests have spread rapidly from West Virginia to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona in recent months. We invited America's public school educators to show us the conditions that a decade of budget cuts has wrought in their schools.

We heard from 4,200 teachers. Here is a selection of the submissions, condensed and edited for clarity.

Image

Salary: $43,000 for 20 years of experience

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $500+

I have 148 students this year. The district skipped textbook adoption for the high school English department, leaving us with 10-year-old class sets, and we do not have enough for students to take them home. Our students deserve better. Our nation deserves better.

As I near retirement age, I realize I will retire at the poverty level. The antiquated myth of the noble, yet poor, teacher must go. I am passionate about my subject and my students. I am not passionate about living paycheck to paycheck.

Jose Coca uses these textbooks daily in his Tempe, Ariz., middle school. Credit Jose Coca

Salary: $46,000 with 12 years of experience

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $1,000

The building smells old and dank. There are holes in the ceiling, skylights don't work, the walls need to be painted, I still use a chalk board, but - more important - my students need new desks and computers.

I can't speak for other school districts, but mine - in Tempe - can't get new social studies books for students. Young teachers spend more out of their own pockets because they don't have supplies stockpiled.

My pay is not keeping up with inflation. I have co-workers leaving midyear, or not renewing their contracts, and I work with a lot of older teachers that have maybe five more years in them. I also work with some who retire and return as workers for a private staffing company.

Salary: $40,900

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $1,000

I had six laptops for 42 fifth-grade students (in one classroom) with many broken keys and chargers. My students were supposed to use these to prepare for their state test, which required typing multiple paragraph responses. I crowdfunded to get 10 Chromebooks with all the keys on the keyboard, so they could learn to type on a machine that works.

Salary: $94,000 for 20 years of experience

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $1,000

I work in a high school in a suburb north of Detroit. We have about 1,650 students, roughly 25 percent of whom are English Language Learners (students new to our country who don't speak English well or at all).

After two years with no budget at all, this year I was given a little more than $500 for our library. I was able to purchase about 30 books. I am lucky, since our elementary and middle school libraries received no budget at all for the fourth straight year.

Salary: $47,000 with three years of experience

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $300

My public school is full of dedicated educators and students, but the building dates to 1938 and has barely been renovated. The level of dilapidation is something we've all become desensitized to. When I went out to take pictures, I realized how little I notice it on a day-to-day basis.

Salary: $48,000

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $1,200

My third-grade students are in a mobile classroom that is basically a trailer. That's 25 students in a classroom the size of a hotel room. All of the bathrooms are still in the main building, so my 8- and 9-year-olds have to walk outside unattended unless we stop class to take group bathroom breaks.

Teachers are being made out to be lazy, incompetent and greedy, but school board members, district administrators and superintendents make the most money, while the rest of us are fighting for their crumbs.

I've been ready to strike for over a year.

Salary: $53,000 with 13 years of experience

Annual out-of-pocket expenses: $1,400

In Kentucky, we tried everything - calling, emailing, visiting our own legislators, visiting other people's legislators with political ambitions for higher office, generating so many calls that the 1-800 line was constantly busy for the first time in my recollection.

It was only when legislators faced 10,000 teachers and state workers inside and outside the State Capitol building that they had the fear of God instilled in them. Without our loud, angry presence, the Kentucky budget would have been a disaster for public schools.

I work at Westport Teenage Parent Program (TAPP), an alternative high school in Louisville for pregnant girls and teen moms, part of a network of programs that faced losing $477,000 with the latest cuts.

We have so little money to begin with that the printer I use came through donations from DonorsChoose.org. I buy my students lined paper, pencils, colored paper, markers, crayons, construction paper, you name it.

I'm no different than millions of teachers nationwide.
We want to hear your questions and thoughts on this issue. Please join the conversation in the comments section.
A note to readers who are not subscribers: This article from the Reader Center does not count toward your monthly free article limit.

Correction:

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the base salary of teachers in North Las Vegas, Nev. While Kelsey Pavelka left the district in June 2017, having earned roughly $33,000 for the academic year, the current base salary for teachers in North Las Vegas is $40,900.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Leaky Roofs, Broken Laptops, Mobile Classrooms: Snapshots From Public Schools. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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25-Year-Old Textbooks and Holes in the Ceiling: Inside America's Public Schools

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Students at Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Ariz., learn from 25-year-old biology textbooks. Credit Credit Frank Eager Broken laptops, books held together with duct tape, an art teacher who makes watercolors by soaking old markers. Teacher protests have spread rapidly from West Virginia to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona in recent months.

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why we gotta get up so early for school every other school starts at like 9 yet we up here starting class at 7:30 what tomfoolery is this

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Our school counselor is actually the worst someone needs to fire here asap. I had to go there bc I was having a panic attack and it sounded like she was reading off of a script. No empathy whatsoever. Like great that you have a psych degree but don’t take jobs you’re not cut out for.

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Are you a school counselor or thinking of becoming one? What are the most important attributes an effective school counselor should have? This week, in honor of National School Counseling Week (February 7 though 11), Education World asked school counselors to reflect on what makes them effective. We are pleased to share their thoughtful and illuminating -- and often heartwarming -- responses.
National School Counseling Week -- February 7 through 11 -- is a time to celebrate the unique contributions that school counselors make to their school communities. The week also affords school counselors an opportunity to feature their on-going efforts and to highlight their visions for their schools. As school counselors take stock of their visions and accomplishments this week, Education World wondered

What attributes do effective school counselors have?

To learn the answer to that question, we enlisted the help of Barbara Muller-Ackerman, chairwoman of the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) public relations committee. She asked leaders in the counseling field to share their thoughts with Education World. The answers were as diverse as the counselors themselves, but one common theme came through -- counselors care deeply about their work and the students and schools they serve.

FIRST AND FOREMOST

Most elementary school teachers know Margaret Wise Brown's The Important Book. Teachers recognize the book as a great tool for honing students' observation skills. When one teacher at Kreeger Elementary School in Fowlerville, Michigan, recently challenged kids to create their own Important Books, one student wrote a page dedicated to her school counselor. Counselor Judy Standley shared with Education World the heart-tugging sentiment that the student wrote:

"The important thing about our counselor is that she listens. I do know that lots of other people listen, but she listens the most. She does B.A.B.E.S. and lots of other things. She tells stories with important morals. She listens to you and tells no one. She is an important counselor. But the important thing about Mrs. Standley is that SHE LISTENS!!"

In the Important Book attributes of school counselors, listening ability is right there at the top of the list! It was the most common -- and perhaps least surprising -- response we received. The insight that counselors shared about that choice tells us even more!

Last year, Shaftsburg (Michigan) Elementary School counselor Teresa Severy met a new fourth grader for the first time. The bright and resilient little girl's life had been colored by the horrors of neglect, substance abuse, and family incarcerations. "I met her as I do all my new students, and she shared much of what was in her heart," said Severy. Then, one morning, Severy found on her desk a box -- clearly wrapped by a young person -- and a card, addressed in the beautiful awkward cursive of a child.

"The box contained a wind chime for my office, to add special music to my day," Severy related. "The card touched my heart. It read

Thank you for being a special person who really cares to listen and hear me. I wish you a very happy Mother's Day. Your friend...

"I wept when I read her words. Her mom was incarcerated, and [the child] was living with another family. One never knows that what we say or do can be significant in the life of a child."

The gift and the note were reminders of the importance of listening, of the importance of being "on top of my game when I work with children," Severy told Education World.

Larry Steele thinks often about the importance of listening too. "Many times, I get only one chance to work with a situation, crisis, student, or family," said Steele, Southern California area director for the California School Counselors Association. "I need to be right on the button the first time out of the gate, so listening skills are essential."

"Our children might not always say out loud what they are feeling, and school counselors need the ability to listen -- to words, body language, unspoken words, and attitudes," added Carol Turner. She is a counselor at Center Street Middle School in Birmingham, Alabama. "School counselors can effectively help students by really listening to them whether they are talking or not."

LISTENING'S CLOSE COMPANION

Listening and empathy go hand in hand as the two most frequent responses to the question we posed to school counselors. "The ability to experience as one's own the feelings of others" is key, said Deborah Bilzing, a school counseling consultant in Wisconsin.

"The ability to understand why others do what they do and think the way they do takes precedence over all other characteristics," agreed Robert B. Cormany, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Counselor Association. "Unless one has that quality of understanding, skill in technique is useless and knowledge is less than meaningless."

Helen A. Hatridge, past president of the Missouri School Counselor Association, goes along with that. "Without the ability to understand what the student is experiencing, a counselor cannot truly do an effective job. Empathy leads to good listening and a better ability to help the client come up with solutions. It also helps the student feel more comfortable and willing to open up to a counselor."

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING IS KEY

Key to the success of any school counselor is the person's ability to build trusting relationships with students and other members of the school community. That should be a prerequisite for anyone who is going to serve as a student advocate, said Beckie Meyer, an assistant professor in the school counseling department at Millersville (Pennsylvania) University.

Meyer reflected recently for Education World on her 23 years as a teacher and an elementary school counselor. "Student referrals to the counselor have greatly increased from teachers, parents, and the students themselves in recent years," said Meyer. "A counselor simply must be approachable, inviting, trustworthy and, yes, just plain fun at times. Students must want to seek out that person when in need."

"Most counseling cannot begin until that initial 'ice' is broken," concluded Meyer. "Once people feel trust, comfort, and acceptance, the possibilities for getting the work of counseling done are greatly enhanced."

"Our students need to sense that they have professional caregivers among the adults that they can turn to [and that the counselor] will be there for them in non-judgmental fashion," added Julie A. Kruk. She is a counselor at Bay Port High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "This accepting nature is enmeshed in our reputation, which builds student by student and is shared by word of mouth and experiences with others. Students can tell if we are warm and inviting and whether or not they can entrust us with their stories. I feel that this trait is the singular skill that counselors need to build their practice around. We can then do the good work that we have been trained to deliver."

Andrea Meyer, a counselor at Milbank (South Dakota) Middle School and no relation to Beckie Meyer, agreed. "You have to be able to develop rapport and you must be genuine! You have to understand the kid culture -- not try to be a part of it but know what the students are interested in, what's important to them. If you don't have a caring relationship of trust and understanding, nothing else is going to happen with children or adults. The old saw -- Kids don't care how much you know until they know how much you care -- still rings true today!"

COUNSELORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

When Kim Haloway thought about our question, many characteristics raced through her mind -- empathy, honesty, ethics, sensitivity, accountability. "But if I don't think I will really make a difference -- if I don't believe in myself and in the student's ability to succeed, to overcome all odds -- then all those qualities are diminished."

The belief that we can make a difference has got to be the most important attribute of an effective school counselor, concluded Haloway, a counselor in the Marana (Arizona) Unified School District.

Jackie M. Allen, a counselor at Blacow Elementary School in Fremont, California, and past-president the ASCA, came to the same conclusion. "Commitment to the belief that counseling makes a difference in student lives and futures must be a foundational belief held sacred by that counselor -- a belief that will guide his or her relationships, responses, actions, program development, and counseling practice. Without that commitment to the process of change, a school counselor will not be able to effectively serve as a catalyst in student lives and a significant change agent in the educational community."

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

Flexibility is another key to success in the school-counseling field. "Time is not yours" in counseling, Rich Downs, a school counseling consultant for the Florida Department of Education, told Education World. "When your expertise is needed to deal with a problem, you must make yourself available to assist others. Although your daily schedule has just been [interrupted] by someone else's need, you must be supportive and place your needs and concerns second. An effective school counselor must make the individuals of our attention believe that, at that particular point in time, they are the most important person in the world."

"You just never know what is going to come up next," agreed Linda Lueckenhoff, a counselor at Palmyra (Missouri) Elementary School and president-elect of the Missouri School Counselor Association. "You might finish presenting a classroom lesson on friendship, and on the way back to your office, the school secretary gives you a message to return a call from a concerned parent. But before you have a chance to pick up the phone, the school nurse steps in to discuss concerns about a student who might have been physically abused. While you are talking with the nurse, the superintendent calls to invite you to a meeting on developing a district crisis response plan...."

"A rigid person just couldn't survive very well in this type of setting!" added Lueckenhoff. "You must be able to switch gears and think fast."

KNOW YOURSELF -- AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

Each semester, Zark VanZandt gives students in his School Counseling and Services class at the University of Southern Maine an assignment he calls Beyond Mediocrity. "In that assignment, I ask students to create a personal mission statement in which they identify the ten most significant competencies they must possess to be an effective school counselor and how they personally plan to stay committed to professional excellence," he told Education World.

Students' responses to the assignment often impress VanZandt, and this semester was no exception. One response that stands out came from a student whose number one competency was

To possess self-knowledge: This is a crucial competency that includes a deep understanding of my own paradigms, my biases, my strengths and weaknesses, and my theoretical perspective on counseling. For me to create a career that is beyond mediocrity, I must first look inward. The vision that will lead me to effectiveness, my mission statement, is both personal and professional. It would feel false to separate the two, for I don't change my inner being depending on the circumstance.

"You cannot be an effective counselor if you are not physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy," added Crystal Asche, a counselor at Wahpeton (North Dakota) Middle School. "Many times we are so busy taking care of others that we forget about taking care of ourselves. We then not only fail ourselves but [also lack] the energy to take care of our clients."

"I think that the most important characteristic for me is balance -- balance between professional and personal life, between giving and renewing, between helping and empowering." Tom Wiggins, president of the New York School Counselor Association, told Education World. "I have seen too many school counselors lose their effectiveness because they have lost their balance. They may still be effective at creating relationships, but they lose some of their effective edge either because they can't say no when they need to or because their own unattended-to needs surface. I regularly attend to my own needs so that I feel balanced between giving and receiving."

MORE COUNSELOR COMMENTSMORE COUNSELOR TRAITS

Good listening skills. Empathy. The ability to build strong relationships. Flexibility. Self-knowledge. A strong belief in the ability to make a difference. Those are some of the attributes of an effective school counselor. There are many others. School counselors shared with Education World some of the other characteristics that a good school counselor might possess. Following are four more:

On Laughter and Humor
With all of the tragic issues our youth must deal with, it is important for them to have someone they can turn to who will support them and also help them to find ways in which to laugh. The healing power of laughter and humor (not malicious) helps to give hope and healing. Humor also assists in building resiliency in children.

Julie Dillehay, school counselor
Crossroads Middle School
Meridian, Idaho

On the Ability to Advocate
The school counselor needs to be able to advocate on behalf of the students and the counseling program. The counselor also needs to be able to teach others to advocate for themselves and for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

Jo Hayslip, professor emerita
Plymouth (New Hampshire) State College

On Humility
The best help we can give is to be a person who knows that we have our own personal issues to address, works on them as best we can, and makes it possible for others to work on theirs too. As a school counselor, I am a fellow traveler who has the awesome privilege to walk with someone else on his or her journey. My job is to be a role model for someone who does not have all the answers but who is not afraid to look in the very dark places to find them.

Suzan Nolan, elementary counselor
Rapid City (South Dakota) School System

On Smiling
After 30 years of counseling, I think the most important attribute is a consistent, every day smile. I notice how students respond to my smile. Although many might not think of it as a skill in the traditional sense, it is very important.

Ned W. Toms
Tri Village Local School District
New Madison, Ohio

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Finally, we asked ASCA president Janice Gallagher to respond to our question, and she did.

"I believe a school counselor must be able to see and understand the multifaceted potential of children. Counseling children is like working with an array of different gems and stones. Some are perfect as they are. Others need a little polish to shine, and still others need to be examined for preparation before they are shaped to be most beautiful and functional. One may be most lovely alone, another may be best as part of a small grouping or arrangement, and others need to be surrounded by a crowd. Each is different, each is beautiful in its own right and, most important, each has value."

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education WorldÂ® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright Â© 2005 Education World

RELATED ARTICLES FROM EDUCATION WORLD

Updated 1/31/2005

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School Counselors Reflective On What Makes Them Effective | Education World

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Are you a school counselor or thinking of becoming one? What are the most important attributes an effective school counselor should have? This week, in honor of National School Counseling Week (February 7 though 11), Education World asked school counselors to reflect on what makes them effective.

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Good luck on your project! If I could change anything I’d change the politics that go in at schools. As an educator, things seem to be more about who knows who, or who is sucking up to who. Shouldn’t these jobs be about who is best qualified for these positions? Anyhow, thanks and good luck!

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Annoyed that our school only cares about going to college. Bih some of us can’t afford that shit!!! And some of ya don’t wanna go to college. I just wanna get to the grind and work and make something of myself I don’t wanna wait 4 years to start grind time.

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What are the most important skills that students need to prepare for the 21st Century workforce? More importantly, how can educators help kids gain these competencies?

EducationWorld went straight to the experts to gather some best practices. Our panel included:

Heather M. Beaven, CEO of The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida's Graduates
Sean Marder, Associate Marketing Manager of CRCC Asia Ltd.
Andrew Rothstein, Chief Academic Officer of the National Academy Foundation
Karen Collias, an educational consultant who specializes in STEM curriculum

Here is the advice they shared:

1. Encourage Teamwork
One of the biggest things that students today need to succeed at work is the ability to work as a team. They need to understand how to communicate, compromise and share credit so that they can be a valuable contributing member to projects. This can be taught in school by encouraging teamwork on some projects and assignments.

"Working in silos is counterproductive for adulthood. Nearly all jobs now are a team effort. Employers want people who understand how to manage a project, how to deliver a product on time and on budget, and how to work in teams with little or no oversight. Schools undermine that when they teach that working with your neighbor is cheating," said Beaven.

2. Be Future-Focused
In many ways, real life begins at graduation for students -- they begin to put their knowledge into use and manage their own finances and life plans. So schools should focus not just on whether students have learned material, but where it will take students later. Will they be a financial, career and personal success because of what they learned? And when students ask, "Will I ever even use this in real life?" have an answer -- and an example of why they will.

"Right now our schools measure knowledge gain from one year to the next. Conversely, students (even really good ones) come to school as a means to an end. It is a stepping stone to their life goals. We need to bring those two values together. In fact, schools will never realize the full power of their influence on the economic health of our nation until they start measuring post-graduation success," explained Beaven.

3. Teach Complex Thinking Skills
In the workplace, it's not just about getting to the right end, but getting there by the best path. This is something that can be reinforced in high school by giving students context for decision-making and solving problems.

"[Jobs in the modern workplace] require innovation, creativity, and the ability to look at a task and not only see the outcome, but also imagine different ways to achieve it. This is why I really like international affairs, politics and even complex math," said Marder, who is a recent graduate.

4. Prep for College and Career
Although college is extremely important to many careers, it's not for everyone or every career. For that reason, schools need to offer courses that will prepare students for wherever they are going in life -- and that means offering both college and career preparation. Further, kids need life skills like civics knowledge and the ability to balance a checkbook.

"There needs to be a range of educational options for students because of the great diversity in both the population and the workplace. Career academies and more traditional vocational education have a big role to play in preparing the next generation of workers," said Rothstein.

5. Round Out the Curriculum
There is no one magic solution that will prepare students today for tomorrow's workforce, but giving them a well-rounded education including arts; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); history and communications courses can help.

"STEM is integral to solving practical problems, but STEM alone is not enough. Music and the arts encourage creativity and innovation while underlining self-discipline and providing individual insights into science and math. History informs us of the struggles and successes of past innovators. Communication helps us ask questions, customize our learning, and spark our passions," said Collias.

Related resource

Tomorrow's Workforce: What Students Need
Project-Based Learning for the 21st Century
What Is That Thing? A Lesson on Group Dynamics
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Seminar Instructional Style Builds 21st Century Skills

Article by Sarah W. Caron, EducationWorld Social Media Editor
Education World®
Copyright © 2011 Education World

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Five Ways to Better Prepare Students for Careers

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What are the most important skills that students need to prepare for the 21st Century workforce? More importantly, how can educators help kids gain these competencies? EducationWorld went straight to the experts to gather some best practices. Our panel included: Heather M.

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Sex Ed is a joke at my school. Like stop only promoting abstinence when you know kids are already doing might as well make sure they’re safe and not gonna get an sti or get pregnant.

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Youth Need to Know the Risks of All Sex Types

What do teenagers do when they haven't been given accurate information about sexual risks?

They often have other kinds of sex. For example, youth may have oral sex or anal sex instead of vaginal intercourse because they think it's less risky.

In particular, many teenagers don't see oral sex as incompatible with abstinence, even though oral sex can transmit STIs.

Abstinence-only education sometimes encourages students to abstain from sex without ever telling them what sex is.

In contrast, when comprehensive sex education is taught in schools, it helps teens make informed decisions about different kinds of sexual behaviors they might want to partake in.

Sex ed class is also a place where young people can start to learn about what a healthy sex life can look like.

Topics like sexual health check-ups, having open communication with partners, masturbation, and sexual and gender identity are key topics for teens to learn about.

Teens also need to be taught what to do if they have a sexual experience that is harmful, negative, or unintended. For example, it's crucial that teens who are sexually active know:

When-and where-to get tested and treated for STIs

What their options are for an unplanned pregnancy, including the use of Plan B, how to access safe abortion providers, and who to talk to about prenatal care, adoption, childbirth, and parenting

What to do if they are sexually assaulted or raped, including the medical and legal actions they need to take for their safety

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What do teenagers do when they haven't been given accurate information about sexual risks? They often have other kinds of sex. For example, youth may have oral sex or anal sex instead of vaginal intercourse because they think it's less risky.