by Maria Ermanni | 9 Dec 2022 | Contest winners, Educators' Catalog, Health and Wellness, Realgymnasium Rämibühl Zürich, Student Posts, Technology, Youth Voices
Social media can harm a young person’s mental health. Can youth be taught to use the platforms responsibly and avoid excessive consumption? Teenage girl under pressure to achieve (Ikon Images via AP Images) This article, by high school student Maria Ermanni,...
While there are positive aspects to social media platforms, they can also pose mental health risks. There is the fear of missing out and pressure to become more beautiful, slimmer, cooler and sportier. Student Maria Ermanni of Realgymnasium Rämibühl in Zürich talked to an expert about the positives and negatives of social media for teens and reached the conclusion that while social platforms have become an indispensable part of our daily lives, the responsibility for safe media use lies with the user.
Exercise: Have students write a paragraph that describes their best and worst experience with social media. Then ask them to consider whether they think that there should be limits on what people can post and share on social media, and if yes, what those limits should be. Ultimately, do they think that the benefits of social media outweigh the negative toll it has taken on the mental health of young people?
by Delord Herwane | 6 Dec 2022 | Art, Kepler, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Delord Herwane has drawn pictures since he was a child. “It’s a kind of evasion for me — to be far from worries or when there are some family issues.” A man and a panther, based on the movie “Black Panther” (all artwork by Delord Herwane) This...
by Stella Mapenzauswa | 5 Dec 2022 | Africa, Culture, Educators' Catalog
Outside of Africa, audiences and streaming services generally spurn the thousands of films made in Africa each year. But that could change. A scene from the movie “Vuta N’Kuvute” (Courtesy of Kijiweni Productions) Tanzanian film “Vuta...
Correspondent Stella Mapenzauswa tells us about a romantic movie set in Tanzania during colonial times that could be nominated for an Oscar. That’s a rare feat for a movie made in Africa even though thousands of movies are made each year on the continent and one of the top-grossing films of all time — “Black Panther” — was set in Africa. This article examines that paradox and asks us to consider what movies audiences in the Global North will pay to see, what movies Hollywood chooses to promote and what that means for movie producers and audiences elsewhere in the world.
Exercise: Ask students to write down the last five movies they have watched with the places those movies are set in. Using Google My Maps or a paper world map, have students plot their movies on one map. How many of the places are fictitious or extraterrestrial? Does their collective movie watching reflect diverse locations around the world or are they all watching the same movies set in the same places? Do they think this is because they have chosen to watch these movies or is it a reflection of the choices of movies they are given to select from?
by Thea Lacey | 28 Nov 2022 | News Decoder alumni, News Decoder Updates, School Year Abroad
She loves immersing herself in diverse settings and learning foreign languages. Alexandra Gray epitomizes News Decoder’s global mission. Alexandra Gray in Rome in May 2022. Over two weeks in November, we’re spotlighting some of our talented alumni and...
by Helen Womack | 24 Nov 2022 | Culture, Personal Reflections, Writing
Writing should not tie you up in knots. It is no more formal than speaking. Write as you would speak. Think of writing as speaking on paper. (Courtesy of Lansing Community College Library) Two authors taught me how to write. One was British civil servant Sir Ernest...
