No school! At first, kids were very excited. But then they became frustrated and bored. Then sad. And now we're all scared that they may never catch up.
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: According to history, tutors have been around for centuries; in ancient Greece, the children of the wealthy were educated individually or in small groups by masters or tutors, and through the ages, nobility has always used tutors.
And while wealthy people have always used tutors, during the last decades more and more students have been able to enjoy the benefits of private tutors (vs. parents tutoring their children) due to the growing number of tutoring companies and free online services. It's a quickly growing "industry" and offers learning systems for a wide variety of subjects and learning challenges. So, that's all great, yes? Well, not necessarily … as Black recently explained to Red,
Often students who need tutors the most are the ones least likely to have access to them, either because of cost and/or internet access. And for those that might suggest that parents step in, the pandemic has shown that not all parents are created equal in terms of being able to tutor their children, whether because of lack of time, lack of knowledge, or just not having the "ability" to teach.
So, as if this "equation" wasn't unbalanced enough, then you have a pandemic which led, unbelievably quickly, to the majority of schools throughout the United States closing. Schools were totally unprepared, and while they tried their best to offer online learning combined with in-classroom instruction, millions of students were rapidly left behind.
Red, being first and foremost a mom, wondered what could be done? Could anything be done? Or would these kids, ultimately, be one of the greatest "casualties" of the COVID-19 pandemic? And when she posed these heartbreaking questions to Black, her sister let her know that there might an unexpected, yet logical, answer to the problem,
While politicians are trying to figure things out, the nonprofit sector is doing what it does best – being creative and nimble. For example, Sal Khan of the Khan Academy recently created Schoolhouse World, which he believes is a scalable blueprint for matching knowledgeable tutors with students in need. Another idea, touted as a Tutoring Marshall Plan, comes from the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University and proposes training recent college graduates to become tutors.
Once Red read (ok, skimmed) the articles, it became obvious to her that although a national network of tutors might be an unusual remedy, the concept of tutoring was ancient. It merely was being updated for today's times.
P.S. – Black knew not to "bore" Red with New Research Shows That Even Lightly Trained Volunteers Drive Academic Gains.
When the news is challenging or life’s stressful, there’s something comforting about Girl Scout cookies. Always has been, which is why we’re rerunning this post from several years ago.
Girl Scouts, though, are about so much more than cookies, as year-round girls learn important life skills, gain confidence, and discover leadership skills. But buying cookies is such a sweet way (sorry, we couldn’t resist) to support the organization. Red’s favorite is the classic shortbread (now known as Trefoils), and Black buys a large assortment and gives them all away.
But hurry! Cookie season ends on March 23.
P.S. - If S’mores and Toast-Yay! are your favorites … make sure you stock up as this is the last year they’ll be available.
Let's play word association. If we say, "Girl Scouts," what's the first word that comes to mind? Ok, what's the second word?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: When Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout meeting – hoping to create an organization that redefined what was possible for girls everywhere – there was no way for her to know the difference it would make in the lives of millions of girls and their communities.
Many people's first (and sometimes only) image of Girl Scouts is as cookie salespeople – either selling door-to-door or at a make-shift table at a grocery or other store (or having their parents hand you an order form). But if you've been a Girl Scout (both of us have) or know someone who has, you know that Girl Scouts are about so much more.
So, as we celebrate the Girls Scouts being around for over 100 years, we should celebrate the years of fun and friendships, and for helping girls learn important qualities such as responsibility, courage, strength, and independence. Qualities that are as important in 2021 as they were in 1912.
And what better way to celebrate than to buy some Girl Scout cookies? Guilt-free as you're helping a good cause.
Today’s turbulent times for Jews may overshadow the celebration of the Jewish New Year, one of the holiest of the Jewish holidays. Yet, ironically, we feel it should strengthen its significance, as the holiday is a time for reflection on the past and hope for the future.
If you think today’s politics are ugly … let’s talk about a man who named himself “dictator for life” of the Roman empire, and is then assassinated by a group of senators, including his best friend. (However, there’s a “pretty” part – Cleopatra was his mistress.) Food trivia and leadership lessons aside, the fact July is named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …
Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.
Which is what got Red to realize, much to her surprise (shock, if truth be told), that even as a straight-A student with a love of history, that when it came to Julius Caesar, a famous historical figure and possibly one of the greatest generals and statesmen of all time, she couldn't tell you dates or battles or anything "historical" associated with him.
Even as a theater major in college, she never read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," although she knew just enough about the play to know that it was where the fortune teller warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Instead, her knowledge of Caesar came from her love of movies.
My first, and probably my most enduring, memory is of a brilliant general who not only commanded armies as he conquered lands far from home but was a great statesman who was also involved with one of the world's most beautiful women. And while he was Julius Caesar and the woman was Cleopatra, to me, they'll always be Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, a movie almost as controversial as the general himself.
And Black? Besides knowing that Caesar Salad was invented by a different Caesar, she appreciates Julius Caesar's leadership skills and way with words,
There is much we can learn about leadership from Julius Caesar, whether on the battlefield, in politics, or in business (start small, take risks, communicate well), including what ultimately led to his death (always consider worst-case scenarios, never get complacent or arrogant). Many of his quotes speak (pun intended) to his powerful way with words, and the ability to not only deliver a message but to inspire (and story tell), with my favorite being, "I came, I saw, I conquered."