by Nelson Graves | 1 Sep 2022 | Educators' Catalog, History, Politics, World
Alternately revered and vilified, Mikhail Gorbachev shaped history as the last Soviet leader. Our correspondents recall his impact and legacy. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev waves during a military parade marking the anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, Red...
At a time of sharp division between the West and Russia, News Decoder remembers an era when another intractable divide was bridged. At the height of the Cold War, two adversaries, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, forged an agreement to reduce nuclear arms. Alternately revered and vilified, Gorbachev shaped history as the last Soviet leader and the one whose decisions helped lift the Iron Curtain. To mark Gorbachev’s death, News Decoder correspondents who covered the collapse of the Soviet Union examine how the former Soviet leader’s legacy has evolved over time.
Exercise: Gorbachev left an ambiguous legacy. He is heralded in much of the West but viewed less favorably in Russia. Can your student’s identify other historical or contemporary figures who are viewed in a contradictory way? What’s at the root of such contradictory perspectives?
by Susanne Courtney | 31 Aug 2022 | Africa, Culture, Educators' Catalog
COVID-19 has given media firms in Africa a chance to create TV shows that teach science to children and challenge outdated gender norms. (Photo courtesy of N*Gen) COVID-19 lockdowns put the brakes on learning for children across Africa and around the world. It also...
COVID-19 has kept many students around the world at home, setting back their intellectual development despite efforts to pivot to virtual learning. In Africa, creators using media to educate youth have taken advantage of the situation and a widespread lack of Wi-Fi to create TV shows that teach children about science and sexual health while challenging gender stereotypes. Correspondent Susanne Courtney has spoken to experts in science and entertainment to explore a silver lining in the otherwise dire pandemic.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify a positive outcome in their community stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. It could be a business that took advantage of the situation to pivot or increase sales, or new investments in hitherto neglected areas.
by Stella Mapenzauswa | 11 Aug 2022 | Africa, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Politics
One out of three young Africans is unemployed, and the youth population will double by 2050. How can Africa create jobs for the young and avoid unrest? A man holds a poster marking South Africa’s Youth Day holiday in Soweto, South Africa, 16 June 2020. (AP...
Marshaling official reports and authoritative data, correspondent Stella Mapenzauswa lifts the lid on one of Africa’s biggest challenges – youth unemployment. On a continent as large and diverse as Africa, it can be perilous to generalize across borders, but Mapenzauswa puts her finger on a problem that threatens numerous governments and societies there. Not satisfied with merely identifying the problem, the experienced journalist from southern Africa glimpses a solution in “hustling” – young Africans using whatever skills they have to earn money as entrepreneurs. Some of the best journalism identifies both problems and solutions.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify a critical problem facing their local community, assessing its economic and social impact, and then to list possible solutions and the attendant costs.
by Bryson Hull | 9 Aug 2022 | Decoders, Educators' Catalog, Europe, Politics, Ukraine, World
A conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is heating up as the war in Ukraine prompts geopolitical realignments, with implications for outside powers including the West and Russia. Azerbaijani soldiers carry portraits of soldiers killed during fighting over...
“It is easy to pay little attention or to even ignore regional conflicts, but they can hold the key to understanding larger political currents in the world.” Correspondent Bryson Hull’s words remind us of why a simmering conflict in the Caucuses between Armenia and Azerbaijan has potential implications for all of us. News Decoder is premised on the notion that young people know a great deal, through headlines on their screens, about what is happening in the world but, because they are young, can have difficulty connecting the dots and understanding why far-away events matter to them. Hull offers a clear explanation of why fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh appears periodically in those headlines, and then disappears, only to reappear some day, like so many other intractable conflicts in distant places.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify a regional conflict that became a proxy for armed competition involving stronger powers.
by Rachel Roth | 4 Aug 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Sports, 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 Sarah Edmonds | 27 Jul 2022 | Decoders, Economy, Educators' Catalog
Inflation is one of the biggest worries for Gen Z and Millennials. Here’s why you need to care about rising interest rates — and what you can do. A tip box is filled with dollar bills, New York, 3 April 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) For the first time in more...
On the same day the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 0.75%, News Decoder correspondent Sarah Edmonds delivered a decoder breaking down an economic issue that has an impact on us all, especially young people. Using engaging and informative language, Edmonds walks the reader through the history of interest rates, how we got to the position we’re in now and what options lie ahead. In a time when nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials live paycheck to paycheck, this decoder provides concise advice for smart financial planning.
Exercise: Ask students to look up the average cost of a house and the average interest rate in the year they were born. How does that compare to today’s averages?
by Feizal Samath | 15 Jul 2022 | Asia, Economy, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Personal Reflections, Politics
My family can barely make ends meet amid runaway inflation and shortages of foodstuffs. No wonder Sri Lanka has kicked out a corrupt ruling clan. Protesters take over the office of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, demanding he resign, Colombo, Sri...
News Decoder correspondent Feizal Samath provides an on-the-ground glimpse of life in Sri Lanka following months of inflation, essential shortages and protests that led to the ouster of the president and the ruling clan. Samath gives context to a situation that many outside of the region ignored until images of protestors storming the presidential palace flooded the media. By painting a picture of his own challenges in procuring fuel and everyday foods, Samath puts readers in the shoes of those whose lives have been disrupted by turmoil.
Exercise: Ask students to imagine a part of the world different from their own and write a first-person narrative of what life looks like for a teenager there. How do the political and economic realities impact their family, their schools or their daily routines?
by Susan Ruel | 13 Jul 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Journalism, Media Literacy, Personal Reflections
Marie Colvin started as a journalist writing for a New York trade union. She ended up a war correspondent who changed people’s lives. Medical staff examine Marie Colvin in Colombo’s eye hospital in Sri Lanka, 17 April 2001. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) A...
Susan Ruel reflects on the life and career of Marie Colvin, an accomplished foreign correspondent killed in Syria in 2012. Colvin reported on major conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, believing someone has to go there and see what is happening. “She always told the stories of the ordinary men and women who bore the consequences of the power struggles and wars waged by political leaders,” Committee to Protect Journalists Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. With more journalists murdered or missing this year than in nearly all of 2021, the rights of journalists in war zones cannot be taken for granted.
Exercise: Ask students to discuss how media coverage of war and conflict zones has evolved and what they think accounts for the increased threat against journalists.
by Maggie Fox | 5 Jul 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Science
Most nations have rolled back steps to contain COVID-19. But the virus continues to kill. Many experts are frustrated governments are not doing more. Immunization, conceptual illustration (Photo by: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via AP Images) Airlines have stopped requiring...
COVID fatigue is worldwide even though the virus continues to spread. In many places, restrictions have been lifted for masks, travel and testing. Vaccination targets remain largely out of reach. Since the onset of the pandemic, health experts and governments have been at odds about the best approach to beat the virus. Our inability to curb the spread of the virus begs broader questions, including whether we are up to the task of combating climate warming. How could we have better balanced health and the economy, collective responsibility and individual rights to overcome COVID sooner?
Exercise: Ask students to debate the role of government versus individual responsibility in combating global crises such as COVID and climate change.
by Jeffrey Mo | 20 Jun 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Ukraine, University of Toronto Journalism Fellows
Dmytro Shelukhin is a Ukrainian working for a UK investment bank. But like many émigrés, he is finding meaning helping his home nation fight Russia. Dmytro Shelukhin on the way to Ukraine with war materiel (photo courtesy of Dmytro Shelukhin) For the past eight years,...
Like many big global news stories, the war in Ukraine has released a tsunami of ink, making it difficult for journalists to find a fresh angle. Jeffrey Mo, a fellow at the University of Toronto, manages to break new ground with a simple story about a Ukrainian émigré who sends war matériel to armed forces in his embattled home country. Mo lets Dmytro Shelukhin, a Ukrainian working for a UK investment bank, be the protagonist of the story, which discreetly underscores both the high stakes involved in the conflict and the depth of Ukrainian defiance.
Exercise: Ask your students to identify an issue dominating the news around the world – such as climate change or human rights – and to find a local angle. Then they should interview someone directly involved in the local matter and write a story capturing that person’s experiences and thoughts.
