by Tira Shubart | 21 Dec 2020 | Climate change, Discovery, Environment, Health and Wellness, Space, Technology
It’s hundreds of miles above Earth. But the International Space Station is a scientific laboratory that is bringing myriad benefits to humans far below. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins conducts biomedical research to help understand the aging and weakening of heart...
by Jasmine Li | 1 Dec 2020 | China, Discovery, Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Identity, Student Posts, United States, Westover School, Youth Voices
COVID-19 left me in limbo in the United States, full of fear and anger. Then I returned home to China to face criticism before reuniting with my family. An empty John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (All photos by Jasmine Li) So this is where I am going...
The coronavirus pandemic has put strains on students, their families, schools, entire communities. But Jasmine Li, a Chinese student at Westover School in the United States, provides a first-person account of the special difficulties facing foreign nationals caught in limbo as COVID-19 triggered global travel restrictions. Li cannot return to her temporary home at school, and when she finally makes it home to China, she discovers some compatriots consider her a traitor and urge her to leave. Adolescence can be a difficult period of self-discovery, but Li’s painful experiences are the product of a globalized world that, in normal circumstances, offers extraordinary opportunities but which, during a pandemic, sees forgotten borders re-emerge. Ask each student to describe their most difficult moment during the pandemic. How do their experiences compare?
by Varlee S Fofana | 10 Nov 2020 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Contest winners, Discovery, Educators' Catalog, Identity, Personal Reflections, Refugees, Student Posts, Youth Voices
My family fled civil war in Liberia to a refugee camp in Guinea in West Africa. I learned the power of resilience and the value of diversity. The author, in white next to the woman on the right, at the Kouankan refugee camp in Guinea This story won first prize in News...
News Decoder’s goal is to create a global community, and Varlee Fofana has added his unique voice to the conversation with an essay about growing up in a refugee camp in Guinea. Not many News Decoder students have had to flee civil war as Fofana did, yet many play football, as the author did to connect with other refugee children. Gathering wood, plowing farmland or selling kerosene might not be common chores for most News Decoder students, but they, too, face challenges. Ask your class to read Fofana’s story and then, in up to 600 words, describe a personal experience that shaped their life and character. Encourage them to follow Fofana’s example by using simple words and an unassuming tone to draw readers into their world.
by Susanne Courtney | 15 Oct 2020 | Africa, Health and Wellness, Technology, World
A Canadian tech firm and foundation have teamed up with an NGO in Rwanda to offer a chatbot that answers young people’s questions about sex. Screenshots of a smartphone with the IrindeBot chatbot (photo courtesy of Rival Technologies Inc) Talking about sex is...
by Oliver Onillon | 9 Sep 2020 | Health and Wellness, Sport, Youth Voices
Lockdowns under COVID-19 have kept many people away from gyms. But some are working out more. Is at-home exercise here to stay? Children exercise from the rooftop of their building during lockdown in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 17 May 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) You’d be...
by Leela Rosaz Shariyf | 14 Jul 2020 | Health and Wellness, Miss Porter's School, Technology, Youth Voices
U.S. teenagers are increasingly depressed and spending more and more time on smartphones. But technology, used wisely, can make us smarter, safer and happier. A young man on his smartphone, Munich, Germany, 9 December 2014 (Tobias Hase / picture-alliance / dpa / AP...
by Angela Gu | 4 Jun 2020 | Art, Health and Wellness
We were students seeking solace from COVID-19. Then, with a burst of artistic creativity, an online ‘zine’ was born. “Breathing Space,” by Marianne Labrie “Breathing Space,” by Marianne Labrie “Breathing Space,” by Marianne Labrie During the...
by Savannah Jenkins | 2 Apr 2020 | Discovery, Eyewitness, Personal Reflections, Podcasts
COVID-19 has forced billions of people into lockdown. Two survivors of earlier crises tell how solidarity and patience are antidotes to fear. Patients receive blood transfusions in Karachi, Pakistan, 1 April 2020. A lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has created...
by Stuart Grudgings | 23 Mar 2020 | Climate change, Environment, Globalization, Health and Wellness, Nationalism, Technology
The coronavirus has turned life upside down for billions of people around the world. It’s bound to have a lasting impact once the pandemic subsides. Hikers maintain distance at Vista View Point, Los Angeles, 20 March 2020. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) The...
by News Decoder | 19 Mar 2020 | Discovery, Eyewitness, Health and Wellness
COVID-19 is forcing us to adapt to rapidly evolving circumstances. Two News-Decoder correspondents recount their challenges. People stand in designated areas in an elevator as a social distancing effort, Surabaya, Indonesia, 19 March 2020 (AP Photo/Trisnadi) Two of...