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Deforestation is when people chop down trees at an extremely fast rate. It's caused by people wanting lumber and other resources for money, and it can make animals lose their habitats and could loosen the soil, creating mudslides.

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What is Deforestation?

Deforestation can be defined as the large-scale removal of trees from forests (or other lands) for the facilitation of human activities. It is a serious environmental concern since it can result in the loss of biodiversity, damage to natural habitats, disturbances in the water cycle, and soil erosion. Deforestation is also a contributor to climate change and global warming.

Table of Content

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Why are Forests Important?

Forests combat climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) and acting as a carbon storehouse.

They are a source of oxygen, food, clean water, and medicine.

They play a vital role in the water cycle - they work to add water to the atmosphere via the process of transpiration.

Forests help mitigate the disastrous effects of floods by acting as a floodwater sink. Therefore, deforestation also increases the vulnerability of the landmass to certain natural calamities.

The large mass of trees in forest areas combats soil erosion by providing mechanical support to the soil.

Forests are home to over 50% of all known species on the planet. They account for over 80% of the land-based biodiversity. Globally, forests are home to approximately 30,00,00,000 human beings.

They are also a source of raw material for many commercially important products such as paper, wood, and fabric.

Approximately 1.6 billion jobs are forest-dependent. Forests also account for approximately 1% of the world's GDP (gross domestic product).

The Data behind Deforestation

Forests cover approximately 31% of the total land surface of the Earth.

Tropical forests harbour over half of all land-based animal and plant species in the world.

Between the years 2000 and 2012, over 568 million acres of forest have been claimed by deforestation.

Approximately 9 million acres of virgin tropical forest were cut down in the year 2018.

The Amazon rainforest, which is the source of 20% of the world's oxygen supply, loses approximately 1.32 acres of its area every minute due to deforestation.

Causes of Deforestation

What are the Human Activities that Cause Deforestation?

The primary anthropogenic activities (human activities) that contribute to deforestation include:

Agriculture - small-scale and large-scale farming

Logging - cutting of trees for use as raw material

Mining and urban expansion - clearing of forest area for the construction of infrastructure.

According to the secretariat of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), agriculture is the root cause of 80% of deforestation. Logging accounts for another 14% and the cutting of trees for use as wood fuel account for 5%. A pie-chart detailing the driving cause of the deforestation of tropical forests between the years 2000 and 2005 is provided below.

Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the most destructive forms of agriculture that results in large-scale deforestation. It involves the burning of a large area of forest land and the subsequent plantation of crops in the same soil (which is now fertilized by the ashes of the burnt trees). Despite the practice being abandoned by several developed countries, it is still followed in some Southeast Asian countries.

What are the Secondary Factors that Contribute to Deforestation?

Illegal logging, which accounts for approximately 80% of all logging activities, involves the harvesting and sale of timber in violation of the law. Corrupt government officials may accept bribes from illegal loggers and offer access to protected forest areas in return. Therefore, corruption can be viewed as an indirect cause of deforestation.

Overpopulation and population growth increase the requirement for several resources such as food and infrastructure. These requirements can, directly or indirectly, result in deforestation. For example, a huge explosion in the population of a city can result in the deforestation of the surrounding area for:

The construction of homes and other buildings.

Agriculture (to meet the increased demand for food).

The construction of roads, dams, and other infrastructure.

Military conflicts among humans can also result in deforestation. For example, the U.S. military made extensive use of Agent Orange (a defoliant that causes the leaves of trees to wither and fall off) during the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975).

Can Deforestation Occur due to Natural Causes?

In some relatively rare cases, the deforestation of forest areas can be traced to natural causes. For example, volcanic eruptions can burn away the forest lands surrounding the volcano. Other examples of natural deforestation include:

Destruction of forests due to hurricanes, floods, and other natural calamities.

Invasion of the forest ecosystem by parasites that destroy trees.

Forest fires are sparked by lightning and other natural phenomena.

It is important to note that natural factors have a very small stake in the overall deforestation of the Earth's land surface (anthropogenic factors account for almost all of it).

How Does Deforestation Affect the Environment?

Increased Carbon Dioxide Levels in the Atmosphere

Forests serve as a carbon sink by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, deforestation is a direct contributor to the greenhouse effect and (consequently) global warming.

Apart from being responsible for allowing gaseous carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere, deforestation also contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions. The CO ₂ emissions caused by deforestation account for approximately 12% of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.

Deforestation and the Water Cycle

Since trees play a vital role in the water cycle, deforestation can contribute to significant disturbances in it.

Trees and plants regulate the moisture content in the atmosphere via the process of transpiration (they absorb groundwater through their roots and release it into the atmosphere from their leaves and flowers).

Also, their roots burrow into the soil and create macropores in it. These macropores allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil, thereby increasing the water-holding capacity of the soil.

Dead plant material (such as leaves and twigs) that fall to the surface of the ground impart several properties to the soil, such as increased water-holding capacity.

Approximately 30% of the world's freshwater supply can be sourced from tropical rainforests.

Deforestation is accompanied by reduced humidity, owing to the absence of transpiring trees. The water content in the soil and the groundwater levels also decline in the cleared land.

It is not uncommon for deforested land to experience extremely arid climates. In fact, deforestation has been linked to desertification and droughts.

Soil Erosion as a Consequence of Deforestation

Trees tend to bind their roots to the soil bedrock, thereby reinforcing the soil. Additionally, the plant litter generated by trees offers protection to the surface of the soil. In the absence of trees (as a consequence of deforestation), the soil becomes vulnerable to erosion.

Deforestation of sloped lands is often accompanied by landslides, which can be explained by the loss of soil adhesion due to the absence of trees. The extent of erosion is amplified by certain natural calamities such as floods (note that the plant litter found on forest surfaces helps reduce the amount of soil washed away).

Since soil erosion is a direct contributor to eutrophication, deforestation can be viewed as a contributor to other environmental concerns.

Effects of Deforestation on Biodiversity

Forests play host to a wide spectrum of wildlife. In fact, tropical rainforests are believed to be the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Deforestation poses a grave threat to this biodiversity. On a local scale, the clearing of forest land can cause a decline in the population of certain species. On a global scale, however, deforestation can result in the extinction of several desirable species.

Approximately 50,000 species (consisting of plants, animals, and insects) are lost every year as a consequence of deforestation. Studies suggest that over 40% of all plant and animal species in the Southeast Asian region will undergo extinction over the course of the 21 st century.

The implications of large-scale biodiversity loss are difficult to predict, but it is highly probable that it would have an adverse effect on the food web. Also, the extinction of one species may play a leading role in the extinction of another via the phenomenon of co-extinction.

Other Effects of Deforestation

How Does Deforestation Affect the Economy?

Deforestation facilitates the generation of raw materials for a wide range of industries. Examples include the agriculture industry, the wood industry, and the construction industry.

However, the overexploitation of wood and timber can have a negative impact on the economy. The short-term economic gains made from deforestation are accompanied by reduced long-term productivity.

For example, overenthusiastic timber harvesting from a forest area may increase the overall output temporarily, but the declining forest area will eventually cause the harvest to decline. The overall forest output is greatly reduced by such practices.

According to some reports, the global GDP may see a 7% decline by the year 2050 due to deforestation and other factors.

Therefore, a sustainable approach to the usage of forest resources is ideal for the economy.

Deforestation and Human Health

Deforestation can, directly or indirectly, provide a channel for the propagation of many infectious diseases. Since deforestation is often accompanied by the loss of indigenous species, it is not uncommon for new species to flourish in deforested lands.

In Malaysia, the geographic shift of the fruit bat population (as a consequence of deforestation) facilitated the transmission of the Nipah virus. Fruit bats, which are known to be vectors of the disease, lost their natural habitat due to deforestation and started feeding in the orchards surrounding habited areas. Through proximity, the Nipah virus spread from fruit bats to pigs, and then to humans.

Increased soil erosion (due to deforestation) can result in the formation of pools of stagnant water. These pools serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which are vectors of several deadly diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Some theories also suggest that deforestation has contributed to the propagation of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

How can Deforestation be Controlled?

Role of Governments and other Administrative Authorities

The following strategies can be implemented by governments to combat deforestation:

Implementation of security measures and strict laws to prevent illegal logging.

Increasing the count and range of forests under government protection.

Carefully planning the construction of infrastructure (roads, dams, etc.) in order to minimize the loss of forest area.

Investing in new technologies in the agricultural industry (such as hydroponics) and helping farmers implement eco-friendly agricultural practices (such as cyclic agriculture).

Optimizing the management of forests by banning inefficient agricultural practices (such as slash-and-burn agriculture).

Facilitating the production and use of wood alternatives to reduce the demand for timber. For example, bamboo can serve as an alternative to wood fuel.

Launching new reforestation campaigns to restore deforested lands.

Investing in forest plantations - forests planted with high yielding trees can offer 5 - 10 times the output (per hectare) of a natural forest.

Role of Individuals

Every human on the planet shares the responsibility of preserving its resources (for other humans, other species, and for future generations). An individual can contribute to the prevention of deforestation by implementing the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) principle in their daily lives.

Reduce - Reducing the amount of paper consumed by using alternatives wherever possible.

Reuse - Avoid use-and-throw products to prevent wastage.

Recycle - Diligently recycle all used wood and paper products.

Individuals can also combat deforestation by spreading awareness about its negative consequences and participating in tree-planting campaigns.

To learn more about deforestation and other important environmental concerns (such as soil pollution), register with BYJU'S and download the mobile application on your smartphone.

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

What are the key causes of deforestation?

One of the leading causes of deforestation is agriculture and cattle grazing. Forest land is frequently cleared and transformed into agricultural land in order to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for food (which can, in turn, be linked to overpopulation). The four commodities that are majorly responsible for tropical deforestation include palm oil, timber, soy, and beef. Generation of grazing land for cattle is another leading cause of deforestation.

What are the environmental effects of deforestation?

One of the most important negative consequences of deforestation is global warming and climate change. Over 20% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions can be sourced from the deforestation of tropical rainforests. Since the roots of trees provide support to the surrounding soil, deforestation also contributes to soil erosion (the removal of trees makes the soil vulnerable to erosion).

How can deforestation affect the water cycle?

Trees are known to absorb groundwater through their roots and subsequently release it into the atmosphere via the process of transpiration. Thus, trees play a vital role in the water cycle by regulating the atmospheric water vapour levels and also by providing a platform for water to enter the atmosphere from below-ground levels.

How can I as an individual help reduce deforestation?

The following practices can be incorporated to reduce the demand for forest products:

Going paperless and using digital media wherever possible (using digital receipts, preferring the use of E-mails instead of letters).

Purchasing only recyclable products and recycling them once used.

Purchasing only certified wood products and supporting the organizations that are fighting deforestation.

Educating other individuals about deforestation and its negative impact on the environment.

How does deforestation affect biodiversity?

Tropical rainforests are known to be the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Since deforestation involves the quelling of these ecosystems, the habitats of many species become endangered. In fact, deforestation also endangers the population of some microbes that work on the recycling of nutrients and the purification of water.

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Deforestation - Causes, effects, Control of Deforestation with Videos and FAQs

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Deforestation can be defined as the large-scale removal of trees from forests (or other lands) for the facilitation of human activities. It is a serious environmental concern since it can result in the loss of biodiversity, damage to natural habitats, disturbances in the water cycle, and soil erosion.

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Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action.

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Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice - whether individual or institutional - is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others.

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this article shows us how lockdown drills help us though it is very rare that an actual emergency happens it is very important that we know how to act if it does.

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As schools re-open across the country, there's one thing that has not gone away: lockdown drills

All of Van Duyn Elementary School in Syracuse, New York, went eerily quiet.

On that cold November afternoon in 2019, there was no sound in the school's hallways except for the echoing of footsteps, going door to door between classrooms. Students and teachers crouched in the corners of the rooms, concealed by darkness. One young girl covered her mouth with her hands to prove she was keeping quiet.

Michael Thompson, assistant director in the Syracuse City School District's Security Department, unlocked one of the doors and peeked into a third-grade classroom where some students huddled behind a teacher's desk.

"Nice work," he said calmly from the doorway. "Stay in place. There will be an announcement."

The school was practicing a lockdown drill, something that New York state mandates all public schools practice at least four times annually. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, the Syracuse City School District gave CNN rare access to attend some of these lockdown drills.

As soon as Thompson and a few other drill organizers completed checking classrooms in Van Duyn Elementary, an announcement across the school's intercom told teachers that they could turn the lights back on in their classrooms. Students could go back to coloring with crayons. Teachers could resume reading storybooks to their classrooms. The drill was over.

Suddenly the chirps of young children and teacher's voices emerged in the hallways again, flowing out of classrooms, as if the silent darkness from moments before had never happened. The intercom announcement suggested teachers debrief and discuss the drill within their classrooms.

With a soft smile on her face and white bow in her hair, fifth-grade student Eva Hill told her teacher the drill was "helpful" in case there was a real emergency in the school. Some students became somber and pensive as their classmates discussed the risk of a "real emergency" -- and one young girl told CNN's Brooke Baldwin that she was nervous.

"When we had the lockdown, I felt like it was real," the girl said. "Because I got nervous."

Baldwin responded, "You got nervous. You know what? That's okay. That's normal."

Are lockdown drills necessary? Hear what kids have to say 5:59

When a lockdown is no longer a "drill" and becomes "real," that can leave lasting negative impacts, according to students who have experienced active shooter situations. The National Association of School Psychologists notes on its website, "Lockdowns can save lives and are considered best practice in crisis response. However, depending on circumstances, some lockdowns may produce anxiety, stress, and traumatic symptoms in some students or staff, as well as loss of instructional time."

Mariah Cooley, who is now a student at Howard University, was at her high school during a lockdown in winter 2018.

Cooley, who attended Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois, had taken part in lockdown drills before. But this time was different, since someone had a gun in the building, she said.

"In those moments I felt so afraid, I started texting my parents to let them know what's going on," Cooley said. "I was on the second floor thinking, 'Can I jump from this window, hide in the closet?' That's a real reality for many teens in America because the government has failed to put policies in place to stop these shootings at our schools."

While the lockdown ended without casualties, the experience had a lasting impact on Cooley, she said. Cooley felt a similar fear watching the lockdown at the Capitol during the insurrection in January and sympathized with lawmakers and their families.

"I hope [lawmakers] realize how much trauma high school Americans and middle school kids go through, not necessarily every single day, but more often than every other nation worldwide," Cooley said.

Across the United States, lockdown drills have become nearly as commonplace in schools as fire drills. While school shootings have been documented as early as 1927, after the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, these drills draw attention each time another tragic school shooting shakes the core of the country.

Following the lockdown drill in Syracuse, a fifth-grade student told Baldwin, "I've been doing this for a lot of years."

Baldwin responded, "You've been doing this a lot of years?"

"Yes," the girl said matter-of-factly.

Meanwhile, one of the student's classmates described the drill as "scary."

"You never know who will be coming through the door or not," he said.

"Even when you know it's a drill? It's still scary?" Baldwin asked.

"Yes," the boy responded.

Baldwin turned to the classroom and asked, "Are you glad you do these lockdown drills?"

The students said, "yes" in unison. When Baldwin asked why, the students responded that the drills keep them safe.

"If done properly, in conjunction with training, the lockdown drills provide us with an opportunity to train our staff and students, to build their personal confidence in their ability to respond in an actual crisis," said Thomas Ristoff, director of the Syracuse City School District's department of public safety in New York.

"Our main objective is to build that 'muscle memory' with our students and staff so that they can respond by rote in a stressful situation, in part due to the repetitive training and drills," he said.

Ristoff and some public safety experts are concerned about how to create safe school environments for students, but there's debate over the best approach.

The question at the heart of this debate is what causes more harm in a student's life: the threat of a school shooting occurring or the constant stress from lockdown drills?

'You run through 70 of them by the time you graduate'

School shootings remain a rare occurrence in general, said Jillian Peterson, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She co-wrote an opinion piece for CNN in 2018 titled, "The usual approach to school security isn't working."

According to FBI data, since 2000, an average of about five students or staff a year have died in active shooter incidents in a school. That's five out of 56 million students in the United States.

The case for and against school lockdown drills 5:55

It is unfathomably sad to imagine even the death of one child, let alone many children, and in such a violent way. It is a universal shock that makes many parents and communities want to see some type of action -- whether that be in the form of gun control, security measures, school psychologists or anti-bullying education.

Those numbers -- along with each time a mass shooting event made headlines in the United States -- have put pressure on law enforcement and school officials to prevent the next massacre, and many have turned to lockdown drills.

A 2019 report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the incidence of school-associated homicides involving multiple victims decreased from July 1994 to June 2009, but then "increased significantly" from July 2009 through the 2017-18 school year. Yet youth homicides associated with schools still accounted for less than 2% of all youth homicides, according to the report.

"We're seeing a slight uptick in other types of mass shootings, but school mass shootings have been pretty consistent over time. What's changed is our response," Peterson said. "What's changed is a (nearly) $3 billion school security industry, that we're spending millions and millions of dollars on things like doors and bulletproof glass."

In 2018, the National School Safety Conference had to triple its exhibition hall size, Sean Burke, president of the School Safety Advocacy Council, said at the time. The number of exhibitors at the conference went up 25% compared to the previous year.

"What's changed is also the fact that we've started running our kids through these lockdown drills, starting at 4 or 5 years old," Peterson said. "In Minnesota, it's five a year, so you run through 70 of them by the time you graduate. And that really, I think, normalizes this and makes it feel like it's a very present problem, when you're rehearsing and preparing for it all the time."

Demographically, mass shootings tend to occur in suburban and rural communities, Peterson said.

"They tend to occur in large public high schools that are predominantly White," she said. "We've analyzed this, it's statistically different than where other types of gun violence happen, which tends to be urban, public high schools that are majority students of color."

Data shows that school shootings also happen in the United States more than other major industrialized nations. A CNN analysis published in 2018 found that, since 2009, the United States had about 57 times as many school shootings as Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy France and the United Kingdom combined.

Fifty-seven percent of US teens reported in 2018 that they were worried a shooting could happen at their school, with one in four being "very worried," according to a Pew Research Center survey.

What happens in a lockdown drill

More than 95% of public schools in the United States had drilled students on a lockdown procedure before the coronavirus pandemic. As schools reopen during the pandemic, they continue to run these drills, although many have been modified for social distancing.

In New York City, for instance, the city's Department of Education website notes that due to the pandemic, "during a drill, students should be instructed to remain in their seats and remain silent instead of moving to the safe corner."

In 2016, New York Senator Robert Ortt proposed a bill that was signed into law requiring a minimum of four mandatory lockdown drills in school districts across the state.

"It's surprising that after the numerous horrific school attacks over the past two decades, sensible legislation such as this hasn't already been adopted," Ortt said in a news release at the time. "This amended law holds the safety of our children to a higher standard. It's vital that we prepare our school districts as best we can in order to respond quickly and efficiently before, during and after an incident. I'm hopeful that with this new requirement in place, it could prevent a bad situation from becoming worse and help save lives."

A State Education Department memo from September that was shared with CNN in February notes in bold print that "When conducting a drill, it should ALWAYS be announced that it is a DRILL and NOT AN EMERGENCY."

The document also says, "While it may be desirable to practice certain actions during a drill, such as law enforcement 'releasing' a classroom from lockdown, it should be done in a way to minimize the likelihood that a student may experience trauma as a result."

Some critics argue that lockdown drills can still traumatize students and more research is needed to determine how effective they are at keeping schools safe.

In July, Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter and Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy announced that the House Appropriations Committee approved $1 million for independent experts to publish a study on the potential mental health effects of active shooter drills in elementary and secondary schools -- an effort that Perlmutter and Murphy spearheaded.

"As states put in place plans to ensure students can safely return to the classroom once this pandemic subsides, we must also give school administrators the tools they need to most effectively conduct active shooter drills," Murphy said in part in the announcement. "This expert study will help us protect students from the physical threat of school shootings without causing lasting psychological trauma in the process."

Also last year, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety, a group working to end gun violence, to publicly condemn active shooter drills in schools. Instead of active shooter drills, the trio recommends a more "comprehensive" approach that doesn't involve students, but rather staff training on lockout procedures and emergency medical procedures and enacting Extreme Risk laws, which don't allow people who demonstrate risk of harming themselves or others to buy a firearm.

Some school security experts, such as Jaclyn Schildkraut, are convinced that lockdown drills can be safe and effective procedures for children -- if done properly.

"I understand the apprehension, but this is really no different than when my parents did nuclear bomb drills back in the '60s," said Schildkraut, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Oswego.

"This is unfortunately a product of the time that we're in, and we have to prepare our kids with these tools to stay safe. Because it's always better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it," she said. "We train students in the Midwest to deal with tornadoes, and we train students in the West to deal with earthquakes. Yet for some reason, we won't do it for a manmade disaster, only for a natural disaster, which seems counterintuitive."

There are ways these drills should not be carried out, Schildkraut said.

"For instance, shooting teachers with pellets, bringing in guns with simulated ammunition so they can hear what guns sound like, crisis actors laying on the floor in pools of fake blood, none of that is necessary," Schildkraut said. In some cases, students and staff are not alerted when a drill is in fact a drill, which also can be harmful, she said.

"You can make the point in a less harmful and traumatizing way," she said. "These extreme examples are giving these exercises a really bad rep."

There is a specific drill protocol that Schildkraut points to as what schools should be doing. But she told CNN that she has since temporarily modified the drills to incorporate social distancing due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Schildkraut is writing a book and has conducted extensive research on lockdown drills in the Syracuse City School District -- including the drill at Van Duyn Elementary School -- which follow the so-called "standard response protocol" for situations where there is an active threat within the school building. That protocol was developed by the "I Love U Guys" Foundation, a nonprofit that offers programs for crisis response and post-crisis support. The foundation's website states that its programs are used in more than 30,000 schools and organizations across the US, Canada and 11 other countries around the world.

The protocol uses the directives of "locks, lights, out of sight," meaning it involves locking classroom doors, turning off lights, staying out of sight and remaining quiet.

When it comes to active shooter situations, "they're typically over in five minutes or less, and so what the door lock does is it creates a barrier between students and the shooter that buys them those necessary minutes," Schildkraut said. "The second thing is putting the lights down or turning the lights off, and that provides an added layer of concealment, so it makes it more difficult for someone to see in the rooms."

Concealment is also the focus of the third step -- remain "out of sight."

"When you're doing drills, you're practicing," Schildkraut said. "You're teaching yourself and you're building those skills to do what you need to do."

Schildkraut, Ristoff and school crisis prevention expert Amanda Nickerson surveyed 10,015 students in sixth grade and above within the Syracuse City School District before and after the students completed the "standard response protocol" lockdown drills and training in 2018 and 2019. The survey results were published in the Journal of School Violence in December 2019.

The results, though limited to that one school district, showed that perceptions of feeling prepared for an emergency were rated higher among the students after the drills compared with before. The results also showed that students were less likely to report feeling safe at school or in various parts of the building after the drills. The researchers conducted a survey in November 2018, about a week after students completed unscheduled lockdown drills. The students completed another drill in March 2019 and were surveyed again in April 2019.

"Though feelings about emergency preparedness may have improved over the course of the project, perceptions of safety in the schools did not. Specifically, students taking the survey at the end of the project were significantly less likely to report feeling safe at school or in various parts of the building," the researchers wrote.

The researchers noted in the study, however, that some outside factors, such as community violence, could help explain why there may have been no improvements in perceptions of safety during that same time period.

"Over the course of the project, three currently enrolled students from the district were killed (outside of the schools) and many were exposed to other episodes of neighborhood violence," the researchers wrote in the study.

"Thus, it is possible that their concerns about their potential for victimization in the community carried over into their perceptions of their safety at school," they wrote, adding that more research is necessary.

Schildkraut said that the students in Syracuse often shared their thoughts or concerns with her as she conducted her research on lockdown drills in their district. She said that some students have asked her whether the lockdown drills could help potential shooters devise a mass attack. Based on her own research, Peterson said that 91% of the time school shooters are current or former students of the school.

"My response to them is always the same: 'We do run that risk, but it's important to make sure that all of you have the skills you need to stay safe if something bad happens, so it's a risk that we feel is important to take,'" Schildkraut said.

"The reality is that even though you're telling the shooter the doors are going to be locked, the lights are going to be off and everybody's going to be out of sight, they're still not going to try to breach that door," she said, "Historically, what we have seen is that they're just coming in vigilante and they're not really worried about this methodical thinking."

'This is not something that I had to do growing up'

Dr. Miriam Knoll, a radiation oncologist, is just one of many parents across the country whose children have participated in lockdown drills.

"I don't think the kids are scared. They see it as a fire drill," Knoll said about her own children in December 2019, who were attending first, fifth and sixth grade at the time in a private Jewish school.

"When the kids described to me what the lockdown drill was, they just said it very matter-of-factly: There's a loudspeaker that goes off, 'This is a lockdown drill. This is a lockdown drill,' and then the kids know to be very quiet," she said. "The teacher locks the door and all the kids very quietly go to the corner and crouch and are quiet until the drill is over."

In 2019, Knoll posted a photo to Twitter of a letter she received from her children's school, stating that the school had a lockdown drill and "everything went exceptionally well." In her tweet, Knoll wrote that the letter was "really hard to read."

"When I saw that email, I thought, 'Wow, I'm so happy that the administration at my kids' school is so on top of things.' And then I thought, 'Oh my goodness, why is this something that we need to be concerned about and worried about?'" Knoll said.

"This is not something that I had to do growing up. We had fire drills and when my parents were growing up during the Cold War, they had drills because of the threat of nuclear war with Russia," she said. "But the fact that it's now the new normal that kids need to be afraid of shootings in schools ... it's just very scary."

Knoll said that she remains "grateful" to her children's school, teachers, and administrators for participating in lockdown drills in an effort to ensure their safety.

"I think that these discussions need to be had more and more in a preventative matter, because ultimately it's a public health issue and it just can't be ignored," she said.

For Hamline criminology professor Peterson -- someone who has published multiple research articles on school shootings - her work around lockdown drills is personal. Her son has participated in some at his grade school.

"I was asking him about his lockdown drills, and he was explaining that you have to sit in the middle of the carpet," Peterson said.

"I said, 'Why do you have to sit in the middle of the carpet,' and he said, 'Because in case bullets fly through the windows.' And he wasn't particularly anxious about that," Peterson said. "It actually broke my heart even more, that that was just part of his childhood, and we were teaching him that that is the world that he lives in."

There has been a consensus among experts that more research on lockdown drills is needed. Outside of Schildkraut's study in Syracuse, very few have analyzed students' perceptions of lockdown drills.

One such study in 2007, published in the journal School Psychology Review, included 74 fourth, fifth and sixth graders in upstate New York. The children were split into two groups; one group completed a lockdown drill, while the other group engaged in another classroom activity not related to lockdown drills.

In that second group, "we actually were teaching the kids how to do origami," said Nickerson, who co-authored the study and is a professor and director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo in New York.

"We then looked at the extent to which kids in both groups were able to know what to do in a lockdown situation," she said.

"We were also very interested in their anxiety levels and their perceptions of school safety. What we found was that students that were taught the drill procedures and then had to do them were able to gain the knowledge, do the actual steps of the drill, and then there were no differences in anxiety and perceptions of school safety between those kids and the kids that did the origami."

Even though the research on lockdown drills and students' perceptions of them remains limited, Melissa Reeves, past president of the National Association of School Psychologists, said that "absolutely you need to be prepared for an active shooter situation, but it doesn't have to be highly sensorial."

Developing sensorial drills, such as those that include the sounds of real gunfire or do not inform students that the simulation is a drill, could negatively impact the mental health of some students, Reeves said.

"When you simulate those kinds of situations, you don't know the trauma histories of your students and your staff members, and that could be a trauma trigger," Reeves said. The lockdown drill that CNN attended in Syracuse did not include such simulations and students were informed that it was in fact a drill.

"We don't light a fire in the hallway to practice fire drills. And when we teach stranger danger, we don't put kids on a street corner and have someone grab them and scare the daylights out of them," she said. "You can walk them through or talk them through what to do without having them live a real life experience that is simulated."

Experts warn what not to do during a lockdown drill

Many security and school safety experts understand the need to prepare for the worst but say there are best practices to follow to minimize the psychological impact of lockdown drills on children and their teachers.

Teachers and students should always be aware of planned lockdown drills, Dr. David Schonfeld, pediatrician at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, told CNN in 2019.

"The use of deception in any of these exercises is inappropriate and unethical," he added.

Lockdowns should also be kept consistent -- the same drill every time -- with teachers offering frequent and calm reassurance, Dr. Steven Schlozman, a psychiatrist and an associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, told CNN in 2019. He recommended discussing the situation in small groups after lockdown procedures.

Schools should also avoid overly realistic scenarios, Schonfeld said. He also urged schools to remember to ask students what makes them feel safe.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in August issued a policy statement outlining the risks of "high-intensity" active shooter drills and providing guidance on how crisis drills can be conducted in a healthy way.

Typical active shooter drills might have students hide in a part of their classroom and keep quiet. More intense variations may stage a shooting, and some may even be conducted without prior warning to students and teachers.

In its policy statement, published in the journal Pediatrics, the AAP advised against "high-intensity" active shooter drills, which may use real weapons, gunfire or makeup for fake gunshot wounds or blood.

Active shooter drills are often planned without the input of experts who can address the needs of young children, children who've experienced trauma and disabled children. Students should only be included in drills that are designed for their benefit, the AAP said, not just for the benefit of faculty.

A greater need for mental health services

Lockdown drills are still happening even during the coronavirus pandemic -- but now they involve social distancing measures. There hasn't been much research into whether closed schools due to the pandemic or virtual learning will have any other effect on schools' strategies or future intentions with lockdown drills.

Watch rare access inside a school lockdown drill 6:20

But Peterson has argued that there should be more focus on preventing school shootings from occurring in the first place.

"We've been doing safety in one way since Columbine happened, and it's not fixing the problem," Peterson said. "The problem's not going away, so I think we have to try other strategies."

Most school shooters tend to have histories of early childhood trauma, Peterson said, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, having a parent who died by suicide or being raised by people with serious or persistent mental illness.

Due to that, she has argued for schools to take different approaches to prevent a school shooting before it happens, such as providing students with more mental health resources and training staff to identify signs of trauma or past traumas.

During the pandemic, however, mental health services provided by schools have been disrupted. One study found in past years, more than a third of youth receiving mental health services in the United States got them in an academic setting. Experts believe that many of these youth are now going without the extra help.

If Peterson could change how drills are performed, she would argue for the adults to be trained and not the students.

"It's not that you don't want to train anybody, and you don't want to rehearse, but there's no reason that the kids -- if there's a potential perpetrator, that's who it is -- so there's no reason that, I think, they need to be going through it," Peterson said.

When it comes to the perceived threat of a school shooting, "we don't know what impact it's going to have yet on this generation, the idea of it's now just normal," she said. "These kids, I'm seeing them come into college now. They're kind of 'Generation Columbine.' They haven't lived in a world where this is not a reality, where this is not something that you practice for on a daily basis, that is ever-present on your mind. Living with that knowledge -- that people might come kill you at school -- I don't know what impact that's going to have. I think we've yet to see it."

Clarification: A School Psychology Review study mentioned in this article originally published in 2007 and published online in 2019.

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Locks, lights, out of sight: How lockdown drills affect America's children

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All of Van Duyn Elementary School in Syracuse, New York, went eerily quiet. On that cold November afternoon in 2019, there was no sound in the school's hallways except for the echoing of footsteps, going door to door between classrooms. Students and teachers crouched in the corners of the rooms, concealed by darkness.

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants.

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Marine litter is often the result of poorly- managed trash on land. If trash is intentionally or accidently littered on the ground, wind or rain can carry it into nearby water ways.

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This website goes into detail about what the flu is, how to treat, and how to avoid getting it.

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Each year, millions of people suffer from seasonal influenza, which is often called the flu. Flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs.

Flu is a mild illness for some people. But for others, including older adults and those with chronic (long-lasting) health conditions, the flu can be very serious and even life-threatening. Getting a flu vaccine every year can help prevent the flu. The vaccine is safe, effective, and available for little to no cost to you.

How serious is the flu?

Most people who get the flu feel better after a few days to two weeks. However, the flu can make you seriously ill. Some people develop other health issues, called complications, because of the flu. Complications can be mild, such as a sinus or ear infection, or more serious, like pneumonia.

Anyone can get sick from the flu, but some people are more likely to have complications. You are more at risk for flu and its complications if you:

Are age 65 or older

Have certain medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease

Have heart disease or have had a stroke

Live in a nursing home or other long-term care facility

Pregnant people and children younger than five years old are also more likely to get very sick from the flu. Flu vaccination is especially important for people in these higher-risk groups. Learn more about people at increased risk for flu and its complications.

Why is the flu more dangerous for older adults?

The flu is more dangerous for older adults for a few reasons. One reason is that the immune system - which helps your body fight infections - weakens as you age. For example, because your body is busy fighting off the flu, you might pick up a secondary infection such as pneumonia. A second reason is that older adults are also more likely to have other health conditions, like diabetes, that increase their risk for complications from the flu.

The good news is the flu vaccine reduces your risk of getting the flu and of getting seriously ill if you do get sick with the flu. Flu vaccination is especially helpful for people with chronic health conditions. For example, it has been linked to lower rates of heart problems (cardiac events) among people with heart disease and fewer hospitalizations among people who have chronic lung disease or diabetes. Learn more about the benefits of flu vaccination.

How does the flu spread?

The flu is contagious, which means it spreads from person to person. It mostly spreads through droplets in the air when people with flu cough, sneeze, or talk. It can spread from up to six feet away. Although it isn't as common, the flu can also spread from surfaces - for example, if you touch something the virus is on and then touch your nose, mouth, or eyes.

It's possible to spread the flu before you feel sick and when you have symptoms. Typically, people with the flu can spread it a day before, and up to a week after feeling sick. Young children and people with weakened immune systems may be able to spread the flu for even longer. If you or someone you know is sick with the flu, take steps to help prevent spreading the disease

Is it the flu, a cold, or COVID-19?

The common cold, flu, and COVID-19 are respiratory illnesses caused by different viruses. They can all cause similar symptoms. If you have symptoms, a health care provider can determine the cause of your illness and help you take steps to feel better.

A cold is often milder than the flu. The flu and COVID-19 have similar symptoms, but COVID-19 spreads more easily and symptoms tend to be more severe. It's also more common to have a change in your sense of smell or taste with COVID-19.

People with the flu can have fever, chills, dry cough, general aches and pains, and a headache. They feel very tired. Sore throat, sneezing, stuffy nose, or stomach problems are less common. What some people call "stomach flu" is not influenza. Learn more about the differences between the flu and a cold and flu and COVID-19.

Recognizing a fever in older adults

Average normal body temperatures in older adults are slightly lower than in younger adults. So when an older adult is sick, their fever temperatures may also be lower. According to the CDC, the following temperatures in older adults may be signs of an infection, such as COVID-19 or the flu:

A single temperature reading higher than 100°F (37.8°C)

Multiple temperature readings above 99°F (37.2°C)

A rise in temperature greater than 2°F (1.1°C) above the person's normal body temperature

If you are concerned that you may have a fever, talk with a health care provider to find out what steps you can take to feel better.

Common symptoms of a cold, the flu, and COVID-19

The chart below shows common symptoms of the three illnesses. Not everyone will have these symptoms. Your symptoms may be more or less severe, or you may only have a few. If you feel sick, stay home and call a health care provider.

How can you prevent the flu?

The most effective way to prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine. It makes it less likely that you will get the flu. It also reduces your chances of being hospitalized or dying if you do get sick with the flu.

In addition to getting your flu vaccine, you can help stop the spread of flu by:

Washing your hands

Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze

Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth

Staying home when you are sick

Avoiding close contact with people who are sick

Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces at home, work, or school

Who should get a flu vaccine and which one should you choose?

You can get the flu at any time of year, but it's most common in the fall and winter. It usually starts to spread in October and peaks between December and February. That's why this time is called the flu season.

It takes at least two weeks for your flu vaccine to start working, so try to get vaccinated by the end of October. However, getting vaccinated after October can still help protect you from the flu. Because older adults may lose protection from a flu vaccine more quickly, try to avoid getting vaccinated too early (before September).

There are flu vaccines designed specifically for older adults. The CDC recommends that people age 65 and older receive a higher-dose flu vaccine or an adjuvanted flu vaccine (one with an additional ingredient called an adjuvant that helps create a stronger immune response). These vaccines are potentially more effective than the standard flu vaccine for people in this age group. Talk with a health care provider or pharmacist about which vaccine is best for you.

Where can you get a flu vaccine?

You can get your flu vaccine at a doctor's office or from your local health department. Many grocery stores, drug stores, and pharmacies also offer flu vaccines. Visit Vaccines.gov to find a location near you.

Why do you need a flu vaccine every year?

You need a flu vaccine every year for two reasons. First, flu viruses change and the flu vaccine is updated each year to target the flu viruses that are anticipated to spread that year. Second, the protection you get from a flu vaccine lessens with time, especially in older adults. Getting your flu vaccine every fall gives you the best protection from that year's flu viruses.

What are the side effects of flu vaccines?

The flu vaccine is safe and cannot give you the flu. Most people have no problems after getting a flu vaccine.

When side effects occur, they are generally mild and go away on their own. The most common side effects are soreness, redness, or swelling at the site where you got the shot. Some people also get a headache, fever, nausea, or muscle aches. These side effects start shortly after getting the vaccine and can last up to two days. They typically do not get in the way of daily activities.

If you have allergies, talk with a health care provider about your options for flu vaccines. Even people with mild egg allergies can safely get most flu vaccines. Egg-free flu vaccines are also available. You should not get vaccinated if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the flu vaccine in the past.

How much does getting a flu vaccine cost?

Most people can get a flu vaccine for little to no out-of-pocket cost. Medicare and most private health insurance plans will cover the cost of your flu vaccine. However, some insurance plans require that you receive your vaccine at a specific location. Check with your insurance company. If you do not have health insurance, contact your local or state health department.

What can you do if you get the flu?

If you get the flu, there are steps you can take to feel better. Act fast! First, talk with a health care provider. The flu and COVID-19 have similar symptoms, so you may need to get tested for an accurate diagnosis. This will also help determine which medications might make you feel better.

There are prescription drugs, called antivirals, that are used to treat people with the flu. If you take them within 48 hours after flu symptoms begin, these drugs can make you feel better more quickly. Antivirals can also help reduce your risk of complications from flu. Antibiotics do not help you recover from the flu. However, they are sometimes prescribed to treat a secondary infection if it is caused by bacteria. Bacteria are a different type of germ than viruses.

If you are sick, rest and drink plenty of fluids like juice and water, but not alcohol. Over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can bring down your fever and might help with the aches and pains.

It is important not to smoke if you are sick with the flu. It is a respiratory illness that can infect your lungs as well as your nasal passages. These same areas are also affected by smoking.

Monitor your symptoms and talk with a health care provider if you start feeling worse. For example, contact your provider right away if you:

Have shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Feel weak, dizzy, or confused

Develop ongoing pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen

Have a fever or cough that goes away and then comes back, which may be a sign of a secondary infection

Experience worsening of other chronic health problems, such as asthma or heart disease

Develop any other symptoms that worry you

For more information about the flu

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

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Each year, millions of people suffer from seasonal influenza, which is often called the flu. Flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. Flu is a mild illness for some people.

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This article talks about what it is like to live inside a prison or county jail. It talks about the day in the life of a prisoner and what they do in a day. It also talks about what it is also like for the prison guards that spend almost their entire day inside the prison.

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Sure, prisons and jails are dangerous places. But everyday life inside isn’t as explosive as TV and movies make it look.

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Social injustice refers to wrongful actions against individuals within society. This occurs when the unequal get treated equally while equals get treated unequally.

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Controversies in Philanthropy: FSSO 119-100 Fall 2021

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Social injustice refers to wrongful actions against individuals within society. This occurs when the unequal get treated equally while equals get treated unequally. Homophobia, ageism, and discrimination are three common social injustice examples.

In an ideal world, all people of different genders, races, origins, and religions would be treated in the same way, in all aspects of life, including, but not limited to, healthcare, education, housing, work, etc. In the past, there have been great efforts and movements to improve conditions for women, African Americans, and the LGBTQ+ community, as listed below:

The History and Events of Social Injustice in America

The Women's Suffrage Movement:

The women's suffrage movement lasted decades and included the fight to gain voting rights among women within the United States.The movement began around the mid 1800s and ended in August 1920 when the ratification of the 19th amendment occurred. Several generations of womansuffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve revolutionary change and guarantee women the right to vote. Other tactics included picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. The movement not just included women, but also women of color and men who believed in the right to vote no matter the gender. The suffrage movement was a time where societal and political changes occurred as a result of the refusal to comply with such discrimination anymore.

Women's Right to Vote
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

The Civil Rights Movement:

TheCivil Rights Movement revolved around the fight for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights within the United States through nonviolent protests. The Civil War had officially abolished slavery, but it didn't end discrimination against Black people as racism and its detrimental effects were still present, especially in the South. By the mid-20th century, Black Americans had had more than enough of prejudice and violence against them. They, along with many white Americans, mobilized and began an unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades. Leaders of the movement included Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X. Accomplishments in social change occurred as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, but two significant outcomes included the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The movement ignited extremely important social changes that went against the years of racist mindsets and behaviors.

"The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most comprehensive civil rights legislation ever enacted by Congress. It contained extensive measures to dismantle Jim Crow segregation and combat racial discrimination."

-Clay Risen and Todd Purdum, Khan Academy

"The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed barriers to black enfranchisement in the South, banning poll taxes, literacy tests, and other measures that effectively prevented African Americans from voting."

- David J. Garrow, Khan Academy

Stonewall:

The Stonewall riots (or Stonewall uprising/rebellion) were a response to a police raid that occurred in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, New York, and took the form of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community. When the police became violent, patrons of the Stonewall along with other lesbian and gay bars, and neighborhood street people fought back. The Stonewall riots induced a time of exponential change in the transformation of the gay liberation movement and the twentieth-century fight for LGBT rights in the United States, with activist groups being formed along with newspapers created to promote rights for gay men and lesbians.

"Borrowing tactics from the civil rights and women's rights movements the struggle for gay liberation was organizing across the country in powerful ways. People began creating organizations and making their voices heard. Progress was happening: Minneapolis had already passed a human rights ordinance that protected LGBT people- yes, it specifically included gender identity in 1975. Then in 1993 Minnesota became the first state in the country to pass a human rights act that included protections for transgender people."
- Jenkins, Andrea. "Power to the People: The Stonewall Revolution." QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, vol. 6, no. 2, Summer 2019, pp. 63-68. EBSCOhost, doi:10.14321/qed.6.2.0063.

Gay Marriage:

A year after the stonewall riots, the first gay pride marches took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the world, and today, LGBTQ+ Pride events are held annually in June in honor of the Stonewall riots. Gay marriage in the U.S. started to be legal in 2004, with legislation passed in Massachusetts, and then was fully legal in 2015 with a supreme court ruling. Through cohort and period effect, America went through a generational change regarding the topic of gay marriage, influencing this critical ruling for the LGBTQ+ community (Hart-Brinson). The court stated:

"The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity." https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf

Kids in Cages:

Overthe years thousands of children have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexican border. The increase has been so much that the CRF emphasizes the vast amount when stating, "Immigration authorities encountered nearly 18,900 unaccompanied minors at or near the U.S.-Mexico border in March 2021, far eclipsing the previous monthly record set in May 2019." U.S. authorities have various ways of responding to these arrivals of migrant children from the many laws over the decades, which have sparked much controversy. The Trump administration,especially during the height of COVID, allowed hundreds of children to live in inhumane conditions at the Border Control. These children are also separated from their families and put into holding cells which is where the phrase "kids in cages" comes from. Overall, the presidential administrations over the decades have reacted cruelly in many cases to the arrival of migrant children in comparison with other countries.

"TheTrump administration also came under fire in 2019 for allowing hundreds of children to languish in squalid conditions in holding cells inside aBorder Patrol station in Clint, Texas, that were designed for 100 adults. The AP reported children had to sleep on the floor, were unable to bathe, and had inadequate food and water. An AP investigation found at the time children were stuck in the Border Patrol station, there were beds available in long-term HHS facilities."

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Controversies in Philanthropy: What Is Social Injustice?

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Social injustice refers to wrongful actions against individuals within society. This occurs when the unequal get treated equally while equals get treated unequally. Homophobia, ageism, and discrimination are three common social injustice examples.

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This website shows you the symptoms, cause and what you can do about Covid.

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Transmission and life-cycle of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19

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https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change#:~:text=Climate%20change%20is%20the%20single,grow%20or%20find%20sufficient%20food.

Climate change is bad for the environment because it heats up the Earth's surface, cause health issues, and even melt the ice caps. This is bad for both humans and other species because if they melt, then the ocean water level rises, which could flood populated areas.

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how does playing sports make you happier.

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how does playing sports make you happier.

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in the arctical it says that execiseing increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid.

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Need Motivation? 4 Unexpected Benefits for Your Happiness

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Exercise isn’t just good for your body, it also helps the brain produce more dopamine. Here’s how it affects your mental health.

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it talks about how fast foods cozies  weight gain and Contributes to digestive problems
and there is a better way to eat fast food healthier

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This article goes over how new development is getting rid of the pandas bamboo. Which is their main food source.

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Native to the mountain forests of southwest China, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world.

Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white. Their thick hair keeps them warm in the cool, wet mountain zones. When on all fours, giant pandas average between 60-100 cm (2-3 ft.) tall at the shoulder and between 1-2 m (4-6 ft.) long. They can weigh between 100-115 kg (220-250 lb.), with males being larger than females.

One of the interesting evolutionary traits of the panda is their protruding wrist bone that acts like a thumb. This helps the pandas hold bamboo while they munch on it with their strong molar teeth. Bamboo makes up nearly the entire diet of the panda. Due to the low nutritional value of bamboo, pandas need to eat 10-20 kg (20-40 lb.) a day. Occasionally pandas will eat other available food, including small rodents, eggs, fish and other flora. Bamboo provides a good amount of water, but pandas need to supplement this with fresh water daily.

When pandas are between 4-8 years of age, they reach maturity and can reproduce. However, female pandas are only able to become pregnant for 2-3 days each spring! In this small window of time, male and female pandas find each other through scents and calls similar to that of goats or sheep. They do not roar like other bears.

Between 95 and 160 days of becoming pregnant, the female panda will give birth. The newborn cub is blind, hairless, and tiny, weighing only 85-140 g (3-5 oz.). Completely helpless, the cub cannot move much on its own for nearly 3 months. In turn, the mother is very protective and careful in tending to her cub during this time.

Conservation Status

With only around 2060 pandas living in the wild, the giant panda is considered vulnerable of extinction by the IUCN Red List. Due to the fact that pandas reproduce so infrequently, it is very difficult for their population to recover from such a low point.

One the main reasons that panda populations have declined is habitat destruction. As the human population in China continues to grow, pandas' habitat gets taken over by development, pushing them into smaller and less livable areas. Habitat destruction also leads to food shortages. Pandas feed on several varieties of bamboo that bloom at different times of the year. If one type of bamboo is destroyed by development, it can leave the pandas with nothing to eat during the time it normally blooms, increasing the risk of starvation.

To combat this issue, the Chinese government has actively worked to restore and protect bamboo habitat, and these measures have shown positive results. State Forestry Administration surveys have concluded that the panda population has increased since the Chinese government's actions, and in 2016, the IUCN upgraded the giant panda's status from Endangered to Vulnerable.

While an increasing panda population is good news for now, it is predicted that climate change will eliminate over 35% of the panda's bamboo habitat in the next 80 years.

What You Can Do to Help

Wildlife reserves have been set up in parts of China to make sure the pandas have a home, and care is taken to make sure they survive in the wild. Researchers continue to study how pandas breed in an effort to increase the population. You can help by donating or adopting a panda through the World Wildlife Fund.

Giant Panda Distribution

Panda Resources

More Panda Stuff from Animal Fact Guide

Blog Posts about the Giant Panda

About the Author

P.A. Smith is a middle school Language Arts teacher. He is also a contributing editor of My House Rabbit.

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Giant Panda Bear Facts | Endangered Animals

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Native to the mountain forests of southwest China, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world. Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white.

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Artifical intelligence is the intelligence show my machines, being invented by Alan Turing during WW2. People everyday use it to shop online, read emails, look at social media, online banking, downtime, navigation and more.

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In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has woven itself into our daily lives in ways we may not even be aware of. It has become so pervasive that many remain unaware of both its impact and our reliance upon it.

From morning to night, going about our everyday routines, AI technology drives much of what we do. When we wake, many of us reach for our mobile phone or laptop to start our day. Doing so has become automatic, and integral to how we function in terms of our decision-making, planning and information-seeking.

Once we've switched on our devices, we instantly plug into AI functionality such as:

face ID and image recognition

social media

Google search

digital voice assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa

online banking

driving aids - route mapping, traffic updates, weather conditions

leisure downtime - such as Netflix and Amazon for films and programmes

AI touches every aspect of our personal and professional online lives today. Global communication and interconnectivity in business is, and continues to be, a hugely important area. Capitalising on artificial intelligence and data science is essential, and its potential growth trajectory is limitless.

Whilst AI is accepted as almost commonplace, what exactly is it and how did it originate?

What is artificial intelligence?

AI is the intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by both animals and humans.

The human brain is the most complex organ, controlling all functions of the body and interpreting information from the outside world. Its neural networks comprise approximately 86 billion neurons, all woven together by an estimated 100 trillion synapses. Even now, neuroscientists are yet to unravel and understand many of its ramifications and capabilities.

The human being is constantly evolving and learning; this mirrors how AI functions at its core. Human intelligence, creativity, knowledge, experience and innovation are the drivers for expansion in current, and future, machine intelligence technologies.

When was artificial intelligence invented?

During the Second World War, work by Alan Turing at Bletchley Park on code-breaking German messages heralded a seminal scientific turning point. His groundbreaking work helped develop some of the basics of computer science.

By the 1950s, Turing posited whether machines could think for themselves. This radical idea, together with the growing implications of machine learning in problem solving, led to many breakthroughs in the field. Research explored the fundamental possibilities of whether machines could be directed and instructed to:

Computer and cognitive scientists, such as Marvin Minsky and John McCarthy, recognised this potential in the 1950s. Their research, which built on Turing's, fuelled exponential growth in this area. Attendees at a 1956 workshop, held at Dartmouth College, USA, laid the foundations for what we now consider the field of AI. Recognised as one of the world's most prestigious academic research universities, many of those present became artificial intelligence leaders and innovators over the coming decades.

In testimony to his groundbreaking research, the Turing Test - in its updated form - is still applied to today's AI research, and is used to gauge the measure of success of AI development and projects.

This infographic detailing the history of AI offers a useful snapshot of these main events.

How does artificial intelligence work?

AI is built upon acquiring vast amounts of data. This data can then be manipulated to determine knowledge, patterns and insights. The aim is to create and build upon all these blocks, applying the results to new and unfamiliar scenarios.

Such technology relies on advanced machine learning algorithms and extremely high-level programming, datasets, databases and computer architecture. The success of specific tasks is, amongst other things, down to computational thinking, software engineering and a focus on problem solving.

Artificial intelligence comes in many forms, ranging from simple tools like chatbots in customer services applications, through to complex machine learning systems for huge business organisations. The field is vast, incorporating technologies such as:

Machine Learning (ML). Using algorithms and statistical models, ML refers to computer systems which are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions. In ML, inferences and analysis are discerned in data patterns, split into three main types: supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning.

Narrow AI. This is integral to modern computer systems, referring to those which have been taught, or have learned, to undertake specific tasks without being explicitly programmed to do so. Examples of narrow AI include: virtual assistants on mobile phones, such as those found on Apple iPhone and Android personal assistants on Google Assistant; and recommendation engines which make suggestions based on search or buying history.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). At times, the worlds of science fiction and reality appear to blur. Hypothetically, AGI - exemplified by the robots in programmes such as Westworld, The Matrix, and Star Trek - has come to represent the ability of intelligent machines which understand and learn any task or process usually undertaken by a human being.

Strong AI. This term is often used interchangeably with AGI. However, some artificial intelligence academics and researchers believe it should apply only once machines achieve sentience or consciousness.

Natural Language Processing (NLP). This is a challenging area of AI within computer science, as it requires enormous amounts of data. Expert systems and data interpretation are required to teach intelligent machines how to understand the way in which humans write and speak. NLP applications are increasingly used, for example, within healthcare and call centre settings.

Deepmind. As major technology organisations seek to capture the machine learning market, they are developing cloud services to tap into sectors such as leisure and recreation. For example, Google's Deepmind has created a computer programme, AlphaGo, to play the board game Go, whereas IBM's Watson is a super-computer which famously took part in a televised Watson and Jeopardy! Challenge. Using NLP, Watson answered questions with identifiable speech recognition and response, causing a stir in public awareness regarding the potential future of AI.

Artificial intelligence career prospects

Automation, data science and the use of AI will only continue to expand. Forecasts for the data analytics industry up to 2023 predict exponential expansion in the big data gathering sector. In The Global Big Data Analytics Forecast to 2023, Frost and Sullivan project growth at 29.7%, worth a staggering $40.6 billion.

As such, there exists much as-yet-untapped potential, with growing career prospects. Many top employers seek professionals with the skills, expertise and knowledge to propel their organisational aims forward. Career pathways may include:

Robotics and self-driving /autonomous cars (such as Waymo, Nissan, Renault)

Healthcare (for instance, multiple applications in genetic sequencing research, treating tumours, and developing tools to speed up diagnoses including Alzheimer's disease)

Academia (leading universities in AI research include MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge)

Retail (AmazonGo shops and other innovative shopping options)

What is certain is that with every technological shift, new jobs and careers will be created to replace those lost.

Gain the qualifications to succeed in the data science and artificial intelligence sector

Are you ready to take your next step towards a challenging, and professionally rewarding, career?

The University of York's online MSc Computer Science with Data Analytics programme will give you the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to succeed in this growing field.

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Artificial intelligence and its impact on everyday life - University of York

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From morning to night, going about our everyday routines, AI technology drives much of what we do.

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Mr. Bush has all but admitted he used cocaine or other illegal drugs prior to the last 15 years. But as governor of Texas he supports tough laws against people who use those drugs peacefully. In his state, thanks to Governor Bush, someone possessing less than a gram of cocaine can be sentenced to prison

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The disease of addiction knows no ethnic, economic, religious or environmental bounds - it can happen to anyone, including American politicians. In fact, addiction and alcoholism are common among high-profile people of all types, who are generally scrutinized more closely and operate under far more duress than the average person. Despite success, wealth and power, many prominent politicians have turned to drugs or alcohol as a stress-management mechanism. Accepting that even world leaders aren't immune to addiction is critical to create a better understanding of this all-too-human condition.

Politicians from many different backgrounds have struggled with addiction or alcoholism, and this isn't just true of obscure backwater state or municipal level politicians - even American presidents have been known to partake a little too much. For instance, President Grant was widely known to be alcoholic and quite possibly lost an Army appointment over this issue. And more than a century later, many people claimed that George W. Bush had essentially professed an affinity for cocaine in his college years. In an article titled Drugs and Politicians, senior fellow at the Future of Freedom Foundation Sheldon Richman said;

"Mr. Bush has all but admitted he used cocaine or other illegal drugs prior to the last 15 years. But as governor of Texas he supports tough laws against people who use those drugs peacefully. In his state, thanks to Governor Bush, someone possessing less than a gram of cocaine can be sentenced to prison." (1)

Mr. Sheldon's argument is one that has sparked considerable debate at all levels of American politics. The inherent risks associated with politicians that become addicted to drugs or alcohol is that - at the very least - they'll make decisions that they would not have made while sober. This undermines the integrity of the US political machine because the public generally expects that its elected officials will be the staunchest supporters of the laws they help to create.

These and similar public debates concerning politicians and drug abuse or alcoholism gave rise to even further controversy in the early 1990's when a number of groups began lobbying to have politicians drug tested in order to hold public office. The practice of testing politicians was put into effect in some locations, but after Georgian candidate for Lieutenant Governor Walker Chandler was drug tested as part of his run for office, he launched an effort to have the practice discontinued. The Supreme Court eventually agreed with him in 1997 and the requirement was struck down. InfoPlease.COM reports on the presiding Justice in the unanimous decision:

"The need revealed, in short, is symbolic, not 'special,' as that term draws meaning from our case law ... where the risk to public safety is substantial and real, blanket suspicion less searches calibrated to the risk may rank as 'reasonable'-for example, searches now routine at airports and at entrances to courts and other official buildings ... But where, as in this case, public safety is not genuinely in jeopardy, the Fourth Amendment precludes the suspicion less search, no matter how conveniently arranged." (2)

In simple language, the benefit provided by testing politicians was so small that the costs and efforts expended to do so could not be justified. However, this has once again been brought up as a related point to modern arguments that all welfare recipients should be tested for drugs. Many experts point to evidence that suggests that welfare recipients are no more likely to use drugs than any other demographic. And because state and federal welfare systems are already overburdened, amassing and expending the resources necessary to test an entire population of people on welfare will likely be called counterintuitive by some.

However, the problem with addiction among politicians isn't isolated to drug use - alcoholism is also a serious problem among American elected officials. According to a humorous but startling article in Indecision Forever titled The 6 Drinkiest Politicians in U.S. History, the author identifies the following politicians as heavy, even problematic drinkers:

Senator Ted Kennedy

Senator Bob Packwood

President Richard Nixon

Senator John Tower

President Grant

Senator Joseph McCarthy (3)

User generated comments on the article make suggestions for such politicians as Charlie Wilson, Tip O'Neil, Hugh Carey, Bill Clinton and others.

Some politicians have even been called out for both drug abuse AND alcohol abuse. George Bush reportedly used cocaine at some point in his early career, and then was forced to admit in 2000 that at one time he had also been convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol. CNN Politics reports:

"Brushes with the law over alcohol have ended more than a few political careers in Washington, while others have survived without much damage. Texas Gov. George W. Bush, who confirmed press reports Thursday that he was arrested for drunken driving in Maine in 1976, isn't the only Republican candidate guilty of "youthful indiscretions." His running mate, former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, was twice arrested for drunken driving in the 1960s when he was in his early 20s." (4)

Drug addiction and alcoholism isn't just happening to politicians. Every day we hear reports of celebrities, powerful sports figures, musicians, business people and even royalty struggling with substance abuse issues. The fact that the American public generally finds these stories to be sensational is a testament to the fact that it teaches us that we're all human. And when it comes to the disease of addiction, anyone can be afflicted under the right circumstances, just as is the case with many clinical diseases.

If you're fighting an addiction, don't do it alone any longer. There are effective treatments available to help you break free from the chains of substance abuse and live a life of meaning. All you need to do is put your Recovery First, and that begins with the simple act of picking up the phone. What are you waiting for? Call us now.

(1) Richman, Sheldon Drugs and Politicians Freedom Daily
(2) InfoPlease.COM Testing Politicians for Drugs
(3) Indecision Forever.COM The 6 Drinkiest Politicians in U.S. History 03/13/2011
(4) CNN Politics Alcohol and Politics often go Hand in Hand 11/03/2000

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Addiction Among Politicians - Recovery First Treatment Center

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The disease of addiction knows no ethnic, economic, religious or environmental bounds - it can happen to anyone, including American politicians. In fact, addiction and alcoholism are common among high-profile people of all types, who are generally scrutinized more closely and operate under far more duress than the average person.

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The screen time limits in Microsoft Safety Family are a great way to balance online habits within your family group. Limits can be as specific as you need them to be- use a different schedule daily or the same one all week.

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Learn how to manage and set device screen time limits on Windows, Xbox, and mobile devices connected through the Microsoft Family Safety app.

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This artical gives a some deails on if coffe or (Caffeine) is good or bad and turns out  peolpe who drink a daily day of 1 to 2 cup of coffe have a less percentage of getting chronic illnesses and more illnesses that go with it . Now the bad side of coffe get less sleep than others but as you read through it you understand that there is more pros than cons.

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Causes of high blood sugar:
* Stress
* Eating too much
* Lack of exercise
* Dehydration

In America we are at risk of high blood sugar because of our diets as a country and how most of us live our lives.

Effects of high blood sugar:
* Severe headaches
* Chest pain
* Dizziness
* Vomiting
* anxiety

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Hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) can affect people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

It can occasionally affect people who don't have diabetes, but usually only people who are seriously ill, such as those who have recently had a stroke or heart attack, or have a severe infection.

Hyperglycaemia shouldn't be confused with hypoglycaemia, which is when a person's blood sugar level drops too low.

This information focuses on hyperglycaemia in people with diabetes.

Is hyperglycaemia serious?

The aim of diabetes treatment is to keep blood sugar levels as near to normal as possible. But if you have diabetes, no matter how careful you are, you're likely to experience hyperglycaemia at some point.

It's important to be able to recognise and treat hyperglycaemia, as it can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.

Occasional mild episodes aren't usually a cause for concern and can be treated quite easily or may return to normal on their own. However, hyperglycaemia can be potentially dangerous if blood sugar levels become very high or stay high for long periods.

Very high blood sugar levels can cause life-threatening complications, such as:

diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) - a condition caused by the body needing to break down fat as a source of energy, which can lead to a diabetic coma; this tends to affect people with type 1 diabetes

hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (HHS) - severe dehydration caused by the body trying to get rid of excess sugar; this tends to affect people with type 2 diabetes

Regularly having high blood sugar levels for long periods of time (over months or years) can result in permanent damage to parts of the body such as the eyes, nerves, kidneys and blood vessels.

If you experience hyperglycaemia regularly, speak to your doctor or diabetes care team. You may need to change your treatment or lifestyle to keep your blood sugar levels within a healthy range.

Symptoms of hyperglycaemia

Symptoms of hyperglycaemia in people with diabetes tend to develop slowly over a few days or weeks. In some cases, there may be no symptoms until the blood sugar level is very high.

Symptoms of hyperglycaemia include:

Symptoms of hyperglycaemia can also be due to undiagnosed diabetes, so see your GP if this applies to you. You can have a test to check for the condition.

What should my blood sugar level be?

When you're first diagnosed with diabetes, your diabetes care team will usually tell you what your blood sugar level is and what you should aim to get it down to.

You may be advised to use a testing device to monitor your blood sugar level regularly at home, or you may have an appointment with a nurse or doctor every few months to see what your level is.

Target blood sugar levels differ for everyone, but generally speaking:

if you monitor yourself at home - a normal target is 4-7mmol/l before eating and under 8.5-9mmol/l two hours after a meal

if you're tested every few months - a normal target is below 48mmol/mol (or 6.5% on the older measurement scale)

What causes high blood sugar?

A variety of things can trigger an increase in blood sugar level in people with diabetes, including:

stress

an illness, such as a cold

eating too much, such as snacking between meals

a lack of exercise

dehydration

missing a dose of your diabetes medication, or taking an incorrect dose

over-treating an episode of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar)

taking certain medicines, such as steroid medication

Occasional episodes of hyperglycaemia can also occur in children and young adults during growth spurts.

Treating hyperglycaemia

If you've been diagnosed with diabetes and you have symptoms of hyperglycaemia, follow the advice your care team has given you to reduce your blood sugar level.

If you're not sure what to do, contact your GP or care team.

You may be advised to:

change your diet - for example, you may be advised to avoid foods that cause your blood sugar levels to rise, such as cakes or sugary drinks

drink plenty of sugar-free fluids - this can help if you're dehydrated

exercise more often - gentle, regular exercise such as walking can often lower your blood sugar level, particularly if it helps you lose weight

if you use insulin, adjust your dose - your care team can give you specific advice about how to do this

You may also be advised to monitor your blood sugar level more closely, or test your blood or urine for substances called ketones (associated with diabetic ketoacidosis).

Until your blood sugar level is back under control, watch out for additional symptoms that could be a sign of a more serious condition (see below).

When to get urgent medical attention

Contact your diabetes care team immediately if you have a high blood sugar level and experience the following symptoms:

feeling or being sick

abdominal (tummy) pain

rapid, deep breathing

signs of dehydration, such as a headache, dry skin and a weak, rapid heartbeat

difficulty staying awake

These symptoms could be a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis or a hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state (see above) and you may need to be looked after in hospital.

How to prevent hyperglycaemia

There are simple ways to reduce your risk of severe or prolonged hyperglycaemia:

Be careful what you eat - be particularly aware of how snacking and eating sugary foods or carbohydrates can affect your blood sugar level.

Stick to your treatment plan - remember to take your insulin or other diabetes medications as recommended by your care team.

Be as active as possible - getting regular exercise can help stop your blood sugar level rising, but you should check with your doctor first if you're taking diabetes medication, as some medicines can lead to hypoglycaemia if you exercise too much

Take extra care when you're ill - your care team can provide you with some "sick day rules" that outline what you can do to keep your blood sugar level under control during an illness.

Monitor your blood sugar level - your care team may suggest using a device to check your level at home, so you can spot an increase early and take steps to stop it.

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Hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) can affect people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as pregnant women with gestational diabetes. It can occasionally affect people who don't have diabetes, but usually only people who are seriously ill, such as those who have recently had a stroke or heart attack, or have a severe infection.

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This article goes into different types of students learn, and different types of ways that teachers teach. It also goes into how the student brain works and the different brain types when it is trying to learn. It also dives deeper into how the way the student learns can affect their memory on the topic that they have learned.

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Joseph Lathan, PhD

Hello, welcome to "An Educator's Guide to Teaching Styles & Learning Styles." Today's discussion topic: How student learning styles affect educators' teaching styles, and vice versa. Here is the syllabus for our key discussion points:

Individual Student Learning Styles

The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Teacher-Centered vs. Student-Centered

Teaching Styles: 5 Approaches to Education

Lifelong Education for Teachers: Impact of an M.Ed.

Follow-up Quiz

Editor's note: The decision to playfully craft this blog post to feel like a classroom lesson is a writing strategy intended to engage the reader for what we hope will be an informative discussion of important educational concepts and practices.
Student Learning Styles

If you are a teacher, you know that no two students are the same and that there is a spectrum of different learning styles. An educator's teaching style, therefore, can greatly impact a student's ability to learn and comprehend. This is why knowledge of different learning styles is essential for teachers.

Does Andrea learn most effectively through images and graphics? She may be a Visual learner.

Does Jeremy seem to grasp the material best by listening to lectures, asking questions and participating in group discussions? He may be an Auditory learner.

Do Max and Emily prefer to gather information by reading, taking notes and writing reports or essays? They may be Reading/Writing learners.

And what about Dylan? She is very hands-on, and seems to enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together - to learn by doing. She may be a Kinesthetic learner.

That's one common breakdown of the spectrum of learning styles, but of course it is not the only one. (One of the first lessons you learn when researching learning styles is that there are many different theories.)

One is the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Harvard educator Howard Gardner (see video), who believed that there are eight distinct "intelligences" that are closely connected to learning. These are:

Visual-Spatial - The ability to conceptualize and manipulate large-scale spatial arrays (e.g. airplane pilot, sailor), or more local forms of space (e.g. architect, chess player).

Bodily-Kinesthetic - The ability to use one's whole body, or parts of the body (like the hands or the mouth), to solve problems or create products (e.g. dancer).

Musical - Sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, meter, tone, melody and timbre. May entail the ability to sing, play musical instruments, and/or compose music (e.g. musical conductor).

Linguistic - Sensitivity to the meaning of words, the order among words and the sound, rhythms, inflections and meter of words (e.g. poet). Sometimes called language intelligence.

Logical-Mathematical - The capacity to conceptualize the logical relations among actions or symbols (e.g. mathematicians, scientists).

Interpersonal - The ability to interact effectively with others. Sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations (e.g. negotiator). Sometimes called social intelligence.

Intrapersonal - Sensitivity to one's own feelings, goals and anxieties, and the capacity to plan and act in light of one's own traits. It is not particular to specific careers; rather, it connects to the ability of every individual to make consequential decisions for oneself. Sometimes called self-intelligence.

Naturalistic - The ability to make consequential distinctions in the world of nature as, for example, between one plant and another, or one cloud formation and another. Sometimes called nature intelligence.

The idea behind multiple intelligence theories is not that people learn in only one way, but that people are stronger in different areas and can demonstrate their knowledge and abilities in different ways. For teachers, being attuned to such distinctions can be helpful in understanding how to best connect with individual students.

A Range of Different Teaching Styles

There are two main buckets that most teaching styles fall into: teacher centered or student centered. Here's a closer look at teacher-centered instruction vs. the student-centered approach:
Teacher-Centered Approach
The teacher-centered approach to education positions the teacher as the expert who is in charge of imparting knowledge to his or her students via lectures or direct instruction. In this approach (sometimes called "sage on the stage"), students are passive actors or "empty vessels," listening and absorbing information.

This teacher-centered style is the traditional approach to teaching, but it's not necessarily the best. And as educators learn more about effective ways to engage learners of every style, the teacher-centered approach is looked upon less fondly than it once was. However, there are also countless examples of students being challenged and transformed by a teacher or professor lecturing about a subject they have spent their entire life exploring.
Student-Centered Approach
The student-centered approach creates more equanimity between the teacher and student, with each playing a role in the learning process. In this approach, the teacher is sometimes referred to as the "guide on the side."

While the teacher still holds authority, he or she is more likely to act as a facilitator, coaching students and assisting them in their learning. This approach champions student choice and facilitates connections among students. A couple of styles within the student-centered approach to teaching are:

Inquiry-Based Style
This student-centered learning style encourages independence, autonomy and hands-on learning, with students leading the way and receiving guidance from their teachers.

Cooperative Style
Cooperative learning is a student-centered approach that focuses on group work and social growth. Much like the inquiry-based style, the cooperative style encourages independence and hands-on learning but puts special importance on peer-to-peer work and community.

: How many teaching styles are there?
: This is sort of a "trick question" because, as you might expect, different educational theorists offer differing ideas about the range, scope, descriptions (and number) of different teaching style s.

Though this may be a case where there are no "right answers," many educational resources break down the different styles of teaching into the following five primary categories:

Lecturer or Authoritative Style
The authoritative teaching style follows the traditional teacher-centered approach, often characterized by lecture sessions or one-way presentations. In this approach (also called the "chalk and talk" style), students are expected to pay attention, absorb the information, take notes and ask questions.

Demonstrator or Coach Style
Often used in math, science and music, the demonstrator style involves more "showing" rather than "telling" with teachers more likely to support the information with examples or experiments, demonstrations or multimedia presentations.

Facilitator or Activity Style
The facilitator/teacher is focused on promoting self-learning and helping students develop critical learning and thinking skills. A student-centered approach, it involves creating learning plans and classes that require students to explore and discover the course content in creative and original ways.

Delegator or Group Style
Well-suited for curriculums that include or emphasize group activities, the delegator style of teaching shifts much of the responsibility for learning onto the students, who are encouraged to work together in projects connected to the lesson themes (think science labs, debates, etc.). In this style, the teacher is an active observer working to guide students in the right direction.
Hybrid or Blended Style

The hybrid approach may integrate elements of the styles discussed above, often blending the teacher's personality and interests with those of the students. While this method is considered inclusive, enabling teachers to tailor their styles to student needs within the subject matter, some educators believe it risks diluting the learning process by placing less emphasis on in-depth study than when following a single, focused approach.

The discussion above is not intended to reduce the organic practice of classroom teaching into neat categories or to pigeonhole educators into being characterized as one "type" of teacher or another - but rather to explore different methodologies to enhance our shared understanding of the teaching experience. What it boils down to is getting to know your students and using your skills and instincts to discover the most effective ways to engage both the individual student and entire classes with your curriculum.

Getting to know each student well enough to effectively teach them is especially challenging for high school and middle school teachers who have different students every hour. What works with one student or group might not work with the next.

That's why it's so important for educators to have both a strong sense of the range of different student learning styles and a firm grasp of the different teaching styles and strategies you can use to be the most effective educator you can be.

Lifelong Education for Teachers: Impact of a Master's Degree

Educators who are motivated to develop a deeper understanding of different teaching styles, learning styles, instructional theory and much more will often pursue a Master of Education degree. Such programs not only present an opportunity to become a better educator, in many school districts obtaining an M.Ed. will also earn teachers a salary increase.

To help expand educational opportunities for busy working teachers, the University of San Diego has developed an innovative, 100% online Master of Education degree program that gives teachers the option of earning their M.Ed. on their own schedule, while interacting with and learning from fellow educators across the country.

The M.Ed. specializations include:
Follow-up quiz:

1. What are some of your most effective teaching strategies?

2. What aspects of education (or specializations) would you like to learn more about?

3. Have you been thinking about taking your mastery of teaching to the next level?

If you answered "Yes" to Question 3, you may want to start a conversation with a USD advisor about how our master's degree program could help you achieve your goals as an educator, and as a lifelong student.

Joseph Lathan, PhD

Get the eBook

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An Educator's Guide to Teaching Styles & Learning Styles

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Joseph Lathan, PhD Hello, welcome to "An Educator's Guide to Teaching Styles & Learning Styles." Today's discussion topic: How student learning styles affect educators' teaching styles, and vice versa. Here is the syllabus for our key discussion points: Individual Student Learning Styles The Theory of Multiple Intelligences Teacher-Centered vs.

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Add a link to your relatively reliable article.

Write a brief summary of your article after you skim over it (2-3 sentences).