by Rachel Roth | 4 Aug 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Sport, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Tennis pros can leverage social media to win lucrative endorsements. But they can also be the target of abuse that threatens their mental health. Naomi Osaka reacts after missing a point during a tennis match in Madrid, Spain, 9 May 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)...
Social media platforms, not mainstream outlets, shape how many young people see the world. Naomi Osaka, one of the world’s best and most recognizable tennis players, has skillfully leveraged social media to build a sizable and loyal fan base. When she snubbed the mainstream media at the 2021 French Open, many of her followers glimpsed only a vulnerable young woman, harassed and persecuted by the mainstream media. Rachel Roth of The Hewitt School has provided a more nuanced look at Osaka’s relationship with the press, which has both hounded and enriched her. Roth interviewed former top tennis pro Patrick McEnroe and a Columbia University professor to produce a well-rounded account of Osaka’s rocky rapport with journalists.
Exercise: Ask your students to choose a social media star from entertainment or sport and look at how the image of themselves that they cultivate on social media compares with coverage in mainstream media.
by Aerin Atinsky | 15 Jun 2022 | Culture, Hewitt, Identity, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Drugs, self-harm and sex are its staples. Is the prize-winning U.S. TV show ‘Euphoria’ a threat to impressionable youth? If so, what to do? Cast members of the U.S. TV drama series “Euphoria,” in Los Angeles, California, 4 June 2019 (Photo by...
by Maya Barr and Pénélope Flouret | 27 May 2022 | Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Student Posts, Women's rights, Youth Voices
Catcalling, car honking and indecent exposure are rarely punished, but street harassment can seriously harm a woman’s mental health. Women walk past construction workers in New York on 28 October 2010. Although these men did not harass any of the passersby,...
by Chloe Patricof and Anabella Paige | 5 May 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Fake News, Hewitt, Media Literacy, Podcasts, Student Posts, Youth Voices
The world is awash in misinformation. But can we rein it in without eroding free speech? Our podcast explores this thorny issue facing our societies. News Decoder · Let's Talk About It We are all flooded with misinformation. But what can we do about it? We turned...
Many young people find it difficult to write. They can struggle to convey their thoughts and can get bogged down in convoluted sentences. Our recommendation is to write as though you are explaining an issue to your family over dinner – to keep it simple. That’s one reason a podcast can offer a more natural way to examine an issue, even one as thorny as free speech. In their engaging podcast, Chloe Patricof and Anabella Paige of The Hewitt School speak naturally about a tough topic – misinformation – and turn to the managing editor of a U.S. media company to explore whether government regulation is an answer. Such a conversation can be an alluring way to delve into a knotty issue.
Exercise: Have your students pair up and record a conversation about a polarizing issue in their community, making sure to try to convey the views of all legitimate sides.
by Hanna Rahman | 18 Feb 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Hewitt, Human Rights, Student Posts, Women's rights, Youth Voices
Transgender and queer immigrants can face hardship in detention and when settling in the U.S. Here’s a group that helps LGBTQIA+ migrants. Protesters at a rally jointly organized by the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project in New York on 4 July 2021. (Photo...
Relocating and integrating to a new country is difficult on its own, but individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual are even more vulnerable, particularly in immigrant detention centers. Hanna Rahman, a student at The Hewitt School in New York City, reports on one organization’s work to aid, empower and advocate for LGBTQIA+ detainees and undocumented individuals.
The Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP) provides health, educational, legal and emotional assistance to the LGBTQIA+ migrant community, making sure to involve the community in planning and activities. QDEP’s grassroots model and inclusive strategy inspired Rahman to consider her own perception of how community service is organized.
Exercise: Ask students to compare large aid organizations such as UNICEF or the UN High Commission for Refugees with smaller grassroots organizations like QDEP. How are they similar and how are they different? What do they think is a more effective and equitable approach to humanitarian assistance?
by Nelson Graves | 27 May 2021 | Americas, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, News Decoder Updates, Podcasts, Students in the Spotlight, Youth Voices
In a series of articles and a global webinar, students at the Hewitt School in New York have drawn lessons from COVID-19 that point to a better future. Students from the Hewitt School and the African Leadership Academy during their April webinar on how COVID-19 has...
by Maya Barr | 19 May 2021 | Americas, Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Human Rights, Student Posts, Youth Voices
More people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. than in any other nation. Will the suffering breathe new life into efforts to reform a flawed system? Protesters in support of a single-payer healthcare system, New York City, 24 July 2017 (EPA/JUSTIN LANE) This is the...
The U.S. healthcare system is complicated. But that did not deter Maya Barr of The Hewitt School from examining the system’s shortcomings, which have been exposed during COVID-19. For her research, Barr dug into data from the Census Bureau, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pew Research Center and Johns Hopkins, as well as reports by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Hospital Association. Barr weighs the pros and cons regarding a single-payer system in her balanced, forward-looking report.
by Aerin Atinsky | 17 May 2021 | Americas, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Human Rights, Student Posts, Youth Voices
New York City is fighting COVID-19 and setting an example for revamping America’s criminal justice system by releasing some inmates to hotels. Protesters calling for the early release of inmates from New York jails, New York, 23 April 2020 (EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE)...
by Hanna Rahman | 14 May 2021 | Americas, Eyewitness, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Podcasts, Student Posts, Youth Voices
New York City was hit hard by COVID-19, which exposed health and social inequities. But Dr. Graham Barr says there are useful lessons for the future. News Decoder · What COVID-19 tells us about the U.S. healthcare system This is the third of five articles by students...
by Sadie Dyson | 29 Apr 2021 | Americas, Art, Culture, Economy, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Art and culture are integral to New York’s economy and sense of community. COVID-19 has hit the sector and its people hard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Upper East Side, Manhattan. Circles spaced six feet apart, marking where people were to stand while waiting...
