Students Return to a COVID Constrained School

Now back on school campuses, many students grieve the lost 18 months. Freshmen returned as high school juniors, confronting adulthood. Seventh graders returned as high school freshmen, skipping their tweens. College sophomores returned to confront graduating into life.  The “new normal,” for students is wearing masks all day, teachers simultaneously managing social distancing requirements and…

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SUMMER, A Childhood Internship for Living True

For many of today’s kids, experience is often confined to playdates, organized sports, tutoring sessions, afterschool homework centers, and summer camps—all structured programs where the young rarely risk failure or rejection and are often rewarded no matter their engagement or achievement. As a consequence, the youngest generation are fragile, unpracticed at navigating life when it…

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Mind the Generational Gaps by Playing Games Today

Members of one generation can’t seem to avoid falling into gaps of mis-understanding regarding another generation. Eventully, they hit bottom, stumble around in the darkness of their own ignorance, often manufacturing a conclusion to ease their anxiety, at the cost of understanding the other generation. I’ll offer gaming in the digital versus real world, as…

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Comedy: Online Learning College Tuition Increasing, LA Times

College Tuition Increase = College Value Decrease?

For many higher education institutions, like the University of California (UC), the fiscal losses are growing as the health emergency extends, precipitating the need for a tuition increase. As reported in a December 12 Los Angeles Times article:  Systemwide, UC took a $2.7-billion financial hit between March and October — about 6.5% of its $41.6-billion…

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How to Speak Gen Z

Teenagers throughout the generations have created their own iteration of the English language. Gen X’ers’ “rads”, “gag me with a spoon”s, and “psyche!”s, have given way to Gen Z’ers’ “lit”, “we love that”, and “nunya”. Ya feel me? Well, thankfully, Massachusetts teacher, Mr. James Callahan created a Gen Z dictionary for those of us challenged…

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Students Balk, Lawyers Talk

Currently, students at 25 different universities are suing for fees and tuition refunds. Students’ sentiments can generally be summized in the language of the Cornell students’ lawsuit:  Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique. The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the…

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Grief

Sanika, a freshmen student at UC San Diego, reflects on her truncated first year of college. ——————————————————————————– I just finished doing panic grocery shopping with my dad in the midst of a pandemic in Sacramento.  A week ago, on Monday, I never thought I would even say this sentence. In fact a week ago, I was…

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