“Tech and the liberal arts have always been at war. Don’t assume Silicon Valley will win.”
learning
The Loneliness of the Junior College Esports Coach
After a year of loss and grief, Madison Marquer signed up to lead a team of gamers at a community college in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Brendan I. Koerner chronicles the journey. By early 2021, Walsh had gathered ample evidence to prove that esports could bring in as many as 20 student-athletes per year and boost the […]
Safety Town
Traffic gardens are miniature street systems through which children — and adults — can learn about road safety. Ilana Bean explores these small-scale utopias through the lens of her mother’s work in traffic safety and road design, and also writes about our relationships to transportation and our urban environment. For the most part, we don’t […]
Against Winning
“What I am qualified to say—what I am saying: what links the evils of the modern Olympics to literary criticism, to literary prizes and to A-to-F classroom grades—is that I’m tired of losing and tired of winning, and that we all lose when we focus so often on prizes, grades, and final scores.”
It’s Been One Year Since Students Started Widespread Distance Learning
“Someday, there again will be high school proms, science fairs in the gym, and nighttime football games packed with students bathed under white lights. But who will be forgotten and left further behind?”
My Child Has a Disability. What Will Her Education Be Like This Year?
“We’re starting the school year with few details about how our fourth grader’s needs will be met.” Millions of disabled students are adjusting to online learning, and the support services that parents have fought for are now at risk.
Learning to Swim Taught Me More Than I Bargained For
In this braided essay, Jazmine Hughes contemplates her resistance to both learning to swim and coming out, and the empowerment each experience offers her when she finally surrenders to them.
Unleashed in Paris
As a semi-professional dog walker in Paris, expat Kate Gavino has found a comfortable way to learn French.