by Helen Womack | 12 Oct 2021 | Europe, Government, Human Rights, Nationalism, Politics
Hungary opened the first cracks in Soviet Communism. Now, the world awaits its elections pitting a right-wing populist leader against a liberal opposition. A street performer in front of a statue commemorating the “Lads of Pest” — youngsters who took up...
by Bernd Debusmann | 30 Sep 2021 | Americas, Culture, Human Rights
In 1958, 4% of Americans approved of marriages between Blacks and whites. Now 94% approve. Data shows increasing racial tolerance in the U.S. Mildred Loving (L), who was married to Richard P Loving (R), challenged Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage, leading...
by Barry Moody | 28 Sep 2021 | Africa, Human Rights, Politics
A civil war in Ethiopia and mounting criticism of Rwanda’s leader are increasingly imperiling U.S. strategy in volatile eastern Africa. Rwandan President Paul Kagame (C-R), Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel (C) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed...
by Leila Roker | 17 Sep 2021 | Contests, Human Rights, Media Literacy, News Decoder Updates
Innovative educators from Bolivia, the U.S. and Nigeria have won awards for teaching why news matters and about threats to journalists. An international jury has singled out educators in Bolivia, the U.S. and Nigeria for innovative teaching about why democratic...
by Alistair Lyon | 16 Aug 2021 | Asia, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Politics, Religion
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan after another failed foreign intervention. Will they ease their hard line? And what lessons can be learned? Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s presidential palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, 15 August 2021 (AP Photo/Zabi...
The reconquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban is a fast-moving story, and the mainstream media is busy keeping us informed of the latest developments. It’s one of those stories that cries out for context, and Alistair Lyon delivers the goods in his tour de force, informed by his years on the ground in the South Asian nation. If those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it, then Lyon’s article might help young readers understand why the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was almost destined to fall short — and help them avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Exercise: Ask your students to compare U.S. involvement in Afghanistan with another foreign entanglement, and to elaborate on similarities and differences between the conflicts.
by Alan Wheatley | 7 Jul 2021 | Economy, Human Rights, Politics, World
The gap between rich and poor in many nations is widening. But stock markets are not the culprit. Here’s what can be done to curb economic inequality. Demonstrators call for a $15 per hour minimum wage in the United States, Washington, DC, 19 May 2021. (AP...
by Nelson Graves | 30 Jun 2021 | Human Rights, La Jolla Country Day School, News Decoder Updates, Youth Voices
Lucy Jaffee interviewed a top expert to get a jump on the mainstream press in a landmark free-speech case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Lucy Jaffee Eight months before the U.S. Supreme Court took up a free-speech case covered by the world’s largest news...
by Stacy Shyaka | 26 May 2021 | Art, Human Rights, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Westover School, Youth Voices
I come from Rwanda, where Black children are not hated for the color of their skin. My photos capture innocence and an age of purity. (All photos by Stacy Shyaka) In my country, Black children are able to hold on to their innocence because they live in a place where...
by Tara Heidger | 25 May 2021 | Educators' Catalog, Environment, Human Rights, Politics, World
Climate change is uprooting more and more people from their homes. But managed sensibly, migration can help nations adapt to global warming. A Rohingya girl at a refugee camp in Kutupalong, Bangladesh (AP Photo/Dar Yasin) Growing numbers of people around the world,...
Migration has been in the headlines in recent years and given a lift to populist politicians who predict that climate migrants will soon be flooding across borders. News Decoder correspondent Tara Heidger examines the data to tell a different story: that most individuals uprooted because of conflict, disasters or climate change remain within their countries, and that migration, managed well, can be a sensible response to climate change.
by Maya Barr | 19 May 2021 | Americas, Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Human Rights, Science, 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.