Once again, polls forecasting the outcome of a U.S. election were way off target. Why are pollsters so often wrong? Can polls be made more accurate? A 1947 survey for the Gallup Poll at the University of Iowa library in Iowa City, Iowa, 11 December 2012 (AP Photo/Ryan...
Without a push to protect nature, Earth faces the worst extinction crisis since dinosaurs were wiped out. A summit next year offers a dwindling chance. Birds fly past a smoking factory chimney in Ludwigshafen, Germany, 4 December 2018 (AP Photo/Michael Probst) Among...
Alister’s Doyle tour d’horizon of the state of biodiversity draws on years of study and probes a range of primary sources. His article is a lesson in how to pack a mass of material into a tidy, readable story that eschews jargon. Doyle’s article keeps its sight on the future: the challenges, the stakes and the calendar. This decoder is an invitation to take stock of our countries’ commitments to preserving our planet, and offers numerous entry points for classroom discussion of issues that will define students’ future.
On any day, the stock market can go up or down. But in the long run, a young person cannot afford to ignore the chance to invest in company shares. The effect of compound interest, with an initial investment of $1,000 and 20% annual interest, compounded at various...
Alan Wheatley’s article on stock markets touches on concepts of tremendous long-term importance to young people, such as compounded interest and interest rates. Wheatley has decades of experience covering international finance, and it shows as he connects investing fundamentals with economic growth and the current U.S. political situation. The article finishes with questions that can be taken up in a wide range of classrooms: Who would be better for stock markets — Trump or Biden? If you have $1,000, should you spend or save it? And why is Wall Street near a record high during the coronavirus pandemic? With Wheatley explaining matters, there’s no reason why economics should be “the dismal science”!
A candidate can win the U.S. presidency without winning the most votes. Americans don’t like the Electoral College, but it seems here to stay. Senate pages carry presidential electoral ballots to a joint session of Congress, Washington, DC, 6 January 2017....
To understand our world of today, students need to know where we came from. But history in a vacuum can be a turnoff if it’s not connected to current events. Bernd Debusmann’s decoder offers a historical look at the curious institution of the U.S. Electoral College, while connecting the dots to today’s political events in that country. The article links to documents that open the door to further study and poses three questions at the end that are fodder for classroom discussion.
They are the world’s two most powerful economies, deeply interlocked. But China and the U.S. are increasingly at odds — with vast implications. A Taiwanese Air Force fighter in the foreground flies on the flank of a Chinese bomber as they pass near Taiwan, 10...
The relationship between China and the United States will have a profound impact on the lives of today’s students. In his examination of the bilateral relationship, Jim Wolf reviews the fraught history between China and the West, and looks at the two nations’ current leaders and how their agendas are radically at odds. Wolf eschews the bias that can creep into reporting on China by Western correspondents. This tour d’horizon offers students a starting point for deeper examination of the forces — economic, military, geographic, political — that will shape the world they will inherit.
It’s one of world’s biggest infrastructure projects ever. Here’s how China plans to rebuild the ancient Silk Road — and how it could reshape the globe. Flush with cash from its exports of everything from electronics to furniture to Europe, the...
The world will need a COVID-19 vaccine to end the pandemic without millions of deaths. The race is on, with a half dozen candidates in the lead. From the port city of Tianjin, China, to Oxford’s dreaming spires, a race is on across the globe to create a vaccine...
Despite an isolationist president and a plan to withdraw from Afghanistan, the U.S. has some 200,000 troops scattered around the world. Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves to U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, 28 March 2010 (White House...
Its mission is to protect the world’s health. But the WHO is beholden to its 194 member nations and lacks enforcement powers. By Dylan Carlson-Sirvent The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the World Health Organization (WHO) onto center stage as nations around the...
Most cases of the new coronavirus disease are mild. Those most at risk have underlying health conditions. Why all the fuss then? A microscopic image of the new coronavirus, made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIAID-RML via AP) Why is everyone...