by Nina Bugajska | 2 Jun 2022 | Economy, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Immigrants around the world often face discrimination. But they can help drive economic growth and in my country are among the best educated. Protesters in Zurich demonstrate against an initiative that would limit the number of migrant workers in Switzerland, 9...
Many students have strong convictions about issues, so strong that their perspective can be clouded. So we encourage students to base their reporting on solid data and authoritative sources. In her story about immigrants in Switzerland, Nina Bugajska of Realgymnasium Rämibühl in Zurich cites a global polling company, a German data specialist, the Swiss federal statistics office and a Swiss consulting company, and she interviews a university professor, giving her a solid foundation for her look into the important role that immigrants play in Switzerland’s economy. Immigration is a topic that is easily manipulated by political demagogues, making Bugajska’s story a valuable contribution to clear thinking.
Exercise: Ask your students to choose a controversial topic and then find authoritative data, relevant to the issue, that is collected by official authorities, academics or private companies. They should then summarize what the data says about the issue.
by Maya Barr and Pénélope Flouret | 27 May 2022 | Health and Wellness, Hewitt, Student Posts, Women, 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 | Contest winners, Educators' Catalog, Hewitt, Journalism, 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 This story won second prize in News Decoder’s 12th Storytelling...
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 Octavian-Anton Ghisa | 14 Apr 2022 | Contest winners, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Student Posts, Transylvania College, Ukraine, Youth Voices
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent millions of refugees into neighboring nations. I live in Romania, where the war has stirred compassion and fear. A Ukrainian refugee on a bus at the Romanian-Ukrainian border in Siret, Romania, 8 March 2022 (AP Photo/Andreea...
War in Europe has awakened an entire generation in the West to the horrible realities of armed conflict. Octavian-Anton Ghisa lives in Romania, which borders Ukraine, and so he naturally takes a keen interest in the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have poured over the border since Russia invaded Ukraine. Ghisa, a student at Transylvania College, combines that interest with a knack for listening to others and produces a piece that captures a powerful mix of emotions: “fear, stress, compassion, panic and even ambivalence.” Listening carefully is a skill that does not come naturally to many young people but which underpins any solid reporting.
Exercise: Ask each student to interview a parent about a difficult moment in their youth and to write a short article based on quotes from the interview.
by Joseph Katusabe | 7 Apr 2022 | African Leadership Academy, Human Rights, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
I’m a staunch Catholic. But I object when the Church rejects gays. Everyone should be celebrated regardless of their sexuality. Two gay women stand in front of a statue of Mary at a convent in Luedinghausen, Germany, 24 January 2022. (Guido Kirchner/dpa via AP)...
by Kamuskay Kamara | 5 Apr 2022 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Contest winners, Education, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
I have always wondered why my Mom gave me a merciless beating over a piece of meat. But that meal changed my life for the better. The author with his mother and elder sister Isata in 2009 This story won second prize in News Decoder’s 11th Storytelling Contest....
by Nela Piwonska | 31 Mar 2022 | Educators' Catalog, Europe, Human Rights, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich, Student Posts, Ukraine, Youth Voices
More Ukrainians have fled to Poland than any other country. Like so many Poles, my relatives are doing what they can to help. Displaced Ukrainians on a Poland-bound train bid farewell in Lviv, western Ukraine, 22 March 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Here’s how...
The best journalists are good listeners. They hear the words of those worth listening to, and they offer the best quotes to their audience to give voice to the protagonists of the story. Many young writers have difficulty hearing and passing along those quotes. But Nela Piwonska of Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zurich is an exception to the rule and proves it with captivating quotes from relatives in Poland who are on the front lines of Europe’s latest refugee crisis. Against a heartbreaking backdrop of families fleeing war, Piwonska manages to offer an uplifting final quote: “The only positive change in my life is the realisation of how much good is left in people.”
Exercise: Divide your students into teams of two and have them interview each other and then write stories that are based primarily on quotes.
by Varlee S Fofana | 29 Mar 2022 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Education, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
We studied together ahead of exams. What I learned about friendship and adversity at study camp in West Africa will serve me for life. At study camp in 2019 in Kpelleh Town Community, Jacob Town, Painesville, Liberia. From left to right, Teddy Jallah, Varlee Fofana,...
by Theodor M. A. Davidoff | 24 Mar 2022 | Europe, Personal Reflections, Politics, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich, Student Posts, Youth Voices
My grandmother has spent her entire life in Georgia. The Soviet Union was not all bad, she said, but Georgia’s dawning independence was beautiful. My grandfather and grandmother, Ellen Bagdasarian Davidova, getting married in 1967 “My name is Ellen Davidova,...
by Lucy Beckenbauer | 21 Mar 2022 | Health and Wellness, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Cutting, burning, hitting oneself are all forms of self-harm. It’s important to grasp why young people do it and for schools to help them manage stress. (Image courtesy of the University of Oxford) If you’re a high school student in a class of 20 pupils,...
