YOU DECIDE: Should Video Games Be Used to Teach History?
It’s no surprise that teenagers like video games. But can they actually use gaming to learn? One gaming company, Ubisoft, has long used historical backdrops for its Assassin’s Creed series. Now, however, they’ve taken the link between gaming and history a step further. Assassin’s Creed: Origins is set in Ptolemaic Egypt. When played in “Discovery […]
YOU DECIDE: Safety-First Playgrounds?
When your parents were growing up, it’s likely that when they went to the playground, they played on asphalt, jungle gyms, merry-go-rounds, high monkey bars, and tall metal slides. But the playgrounds of that generation look very different than the playgrounds of today. In the past 20 or 30 years, there has been a movement […]
YOU DECIDE: Guaranteed Basic Income
The city of Stockton, California is trying a new program to help out some of its poorest residents. It’s called Guaranteed Basic Income, or GBI. Stockton will be the first U.S. city to try it. Here’s how it works: a few dozen of the poorest households in Stockton will receive a check for $500 each […]
YOU DECIDE: Space Mission to the Moon
In December, President Trump announced his administration’s plans to send American astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972. The directive, called Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1), was signed on the 45th anniversary of Apollo 17’s landing on the moon on December 13, 1972. In his speech, Trump said that the goal […]
YOU DECIDE: The NFL Anthem Protests
Should NFL Players Be Allowed to Protest the National Anthem? Last August, Colin Kaepernick–then a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers–remained seated during the national anthem performance that precedes each National Football League game. Later in the season, Kaepernick began to kneel silently during the anthem. When asked about his actions, Kaepernick explained that he […]
YOU DECIDE: Mastery Learning
By now, most schools around the country are back in session after summer break. Are you feeling excited or are you worried about the school year to come? What if you didn’t have to worry about grades and could learn all of the material at your own pace? How would that change your feelings about education? […]
YOU DECIDE: Cell Phone Towers at Schools
Turns out, bake sales just aren’t cutting it anymore. As many school districts around the country face budget and funding cuts, many are struggling to make ends meet. In a lot of places, this means looking for alternative sources of revenue generation. Recently, some districts have made deals with telecom companies, allowing them to build […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
You Decide! Is the 100 Days Metric Useful? For decades, it has become tradition to measure a new president’s effectiveness at governing by his or her first 100 days in office. This practice began with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, during his first 100 days, managed to sign 76 bills into law, declare (and then […]
Should Your Hometown Host the Olympics?
Every four years, the Olympic Games bring the attention of the world to a single city. In 2016, that city was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hosting the Olympics is considered a great honor, and “candidate” cities must go through an intense multi-stage evaluation process lasting two years in order to become eligible. However, with each […]
California County Fights Trump's Order
On January 25, President Trump issued a statement that cities and counties refusing to comply with his controversial immigration order would be denied federal funding. There are roughly 400 such “sanctuary cities” around the country, all of which have repeatedly refused to question or detain immigrants in compliance with Trump’s immigration policy. Now, Santa Clara […]