As daunting as learning a second language may feel—after all, you have to learn grammar, pronunciation, and even some culture among other things to really effectively communicate—the struggle of doing so pays off eventually. Forget bragging about being bilingual or multilingual! Learning a second language comes with a variety of benefits, ranging from having a higher paying job to improving cognitive skills. Acquiring [...]
The Revival At first, brick-and-mortar bookstores thrived amongst readers, but the recent past has shown how various factors, including digitalization, have affected their success. Additionally, giant corporations like Amazon swooped in and became the new villain as drastic discounts and the creation of Kindle e-readers threatened to wipe out printed books and subsequent bookstores entirely.[1] These effects took place before the COVID-19 pandemic, [...]
Social media and the isolation of the pandemic have altered every aspect of reading for the general public. No matter where you look—Youtube, Instagram, TikTok and even X—all have thriving communities of readers who recommend each other books, discuss the newest flashy fiction release, and build their personal libraries. Videos with trope-based recommendations, massive book hauls, and gargantuan reading goals are the norm. [...]
In a nation that is growing increasingly diverse, the call for diverse educators is more important than ever. According to a 2021 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, eighty percent of teachers in American public schools identified as White. Only nine percent identified as Hispanic, six percent as Black, two percent as Asian, and less than one percent as American Indian/Alaska [...]
Introduction When was the last time you rode a bike? For myself, it had been a couple of years since I had, until recently. Every time I left for college, I would look at my bike and think, “You should bring that, you might need it,” and I always would, but I’d rarely use it. But last fall, out of nowhere, my car [...]
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Affirmative Action, and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO): These terms have been popping up in educational and business circles in recent years. All three of these aim to create a more inclusive work environment, but what is the difference between them? DEI describes three crucial values that make an organization more accepting and diverse. It helps businesses meet the [...]
If you’re in the workforce, you’ve probably heard the term “work-life balance” before. Work-life balance refers to the time you spend working versus the time you spend focusing on things outside of work, such as family, friends, and hobbies. While this might seem simple, it can often be challenging to figure out how to balance work with other aspects of life. The positives [...]
Introduction: My 15-minute city experience When I went abroad in the Fall of 2022, I lived for four months in the walkable city of Florence, Italy. Not only was the grocery store a 3-minute walk from my apartment and all of my school buildings within 15 minutes, but I was 5 minutes away from the Duomo and 10 minutes from the Ponte Vecchio, [...]
As governments and educational systems across the United States increasingly ban books within the classroom, educators everywhere, including outside of the United States, are left scratching their heads, trying to find materials within the regulations to teach their students. New books are coming out every day with characters that reflect the entire population. Main characters who are queer, feminist, people of color, individuals [...]
According to a 2015 national survey, 70 percent of college students reported feeling stressed about their finances. Tuition alone has skyrocketed—during the 2019 to 2020 school year, researchers found a 180 percent increase in cost compared to 40 years ago—but this is merely the beginning. College students have a plethora of other expenses as well, such as meal plans, groceries, boarding, rent, travel, [...]