【推荐2】At times, it might seem like teens want nothing to do with adults. But research from Independent School Health Check (ISHC) shows that the opposite is true. In 2007, we created ISHC, a computer-based survey, to more accurately assess the experience of adolescents in independent schools. The ISHC assesses students’ perceptions (认知), feelings, and behaviors regarding their schools, families, and friends as well as the risk and protective factors that affect their health and well-being. The survey assesses school attitudes and motivation, school pressure, parental supervision, social and emotional connections to adults and peers, substance use, sleep, and diet.

Over the past 11 years, the ISHC has collected data from 80,816 middle and high school students in 102 independent schools; most schools have conducted the survey multiple times. Schools that conduct surveys typically use the data to develop and fine-tune health and wellness programs, to identify areas that need attention, as well as areas of particular strength.

One area of inquiry for the ISHC is a student’s relationship with adults. The survey asks students to rate “the adult(s) who is primarily responsible for caring for them on a daily basis” on behaviors such as “expresses interest in my life,” “expects me to ask if I can go out,” and “supports my efforts in sports, music, or other activities.” The survey also asks students to rate their perceptions of teachers including statements such as “teachers at my school pay attention to my personal needs, not just academic performance,” and “my teachers treat me with respect.”

Over the years, we have been impressed by the high level of engagement that so many parents maintain, and by the extent to which so many students feel that their teachers support their personal needs as well as their academic needs.

Not all parents are supportive, however, nor do all students find encouraging adults in schools—perhaps because they were already wary (谨慎的) about trusting an adult. Nevertheless, when adolescents have an adult to talk with, there is benefit to both the student and to the school.

【推荐3】How to Move an Aquarium(鱼缸)

What happens to the aquarium when it’s time to move it? Careful planning is important to success in giving your fish the best chance of arriving safely in their new environment.

Stop feeding a few days before your move.     1     Because sopping feeding will prevent the fish from over polluting their water during the move. Many fish will create extra waste when stressed. Waste products in the water rob(掠夺) the water of oxygen.

    2     Each bag will need to be sealed(密封). Place the fish in the bags, with each school in its own bag. Each bag should have enough water. If traveling a long distance , you will need to add oxygen into the bags. The quickest way is to open the bags and fill new air in the bags before resealing them.

Prepare a clean styrofoam(泡沫) cooler of a proper size. You will be placing bags of water and fish into the cooler, so make sure that there is enough space for all of your fish.     3     So try to find a cooler with a big enough floor.

Set up your aquarium as soon as possible after arrival. Fill it with new conditioned water and place the bags in the aquarium for about ten minutes to allow the water temperatures to equalize. Then, open the bags, and fill each bag with one cup of water from the aquarium.     4    

Watch the fish carefully in the bags with the combination of old and new water. If they appear to be healthy , net them and place them in the aquarium.     5     Then follow the process above again.

【推荐3】“WHAT CAN I HELP YOU WITH?” says a voice from an iPhone. It’s Siri, and she’s ready to follow your voice commands to search the Internet, text someone, or play a song. Siri is an example of artificial intelligence(AI), or a computer program that can think. The way Siri thinks is very different from how a person thinks. She doesn’t have a brain. Instead, she relies on code in a computer program to understand speech and answer questions. And some questions are still too difficult for her to answer.

However, AI programs like Siri are getting smarter and smarter every year. In 2011, an AI named Watson defeated two human champions on the quiz show Jeopardy! Computer programs can also drive cars, perform science experiments, and produce their own artwork.

Someday, artificial intelligence will most likely surpass human intelligence. Once this happens, computers will think, plan, and act at a level that human beings can’t understand. In his book Superintelligence, Nick Bostrom writes, “As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species would depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.”

If a superintelligence wanted to rule the world, Bostrom argues, it would easily do so. It could also wipe out all humans. Or just ignore us. Whatever it did, we likely wouldn’t have much control. He’s not the only one worrying. In 2015, a group of great scientists, including Stephen Hawking, wrote an open letter that asks anyone researching AI to proceed carefully. AI has the potential to benefit society greatly, but “our AI systems must do what we want them to do.” they write. What do you think? If people create a super intelligent AI, will we be able to control it?

What will happen to us if a superintelligent AI starts making decisions on its own?

【推荐1】Many American education experts say tutoring (辅导) is the best way to help students make up for learning loss during the pandemic. Although many schools have received a lot of government aid, only a small number of students have been getting tutored.

Chalkbeat and the Associated Press surveyed 12 of the nation’s school systems. The schools reported that fewer than 10 percent of students received any kind of tutoring in the fall of last year. A new tutoring group in Chicago served about three percent of students. But less than one percent of students in three big school systems received tutoring.

The low tutoring numbers suggest several problems. Some parents said they did not know tutoring was available or did not think their child needed it. Some school systems have struggled to hire tutors. Other school systems said their small tutoring programs were part of their efforts to meet students’ needs.

Whatever the reason, the result is clear: at an important time for students’ recovery, millions of children have not received the extra help.

“It works, it’s effective, it gets students to improve in their learning and catch up,” said Amie Rapaport, a researcher studying why so many students are not getting intensive tutoring.

Schools trying to increase tutoring face problems, including hiring and planning. Experts say tutoring is most effective when provided three times a week for at least 30 minutes during school hours. Offering after-school or weekend tutoring is simpler, but attendance is often low.

Low family interest has been another problem. Although test scores sharply dropped during the pandemic, many parents do not believe their children experienced learning loss.

In Wake County, North Carolina, the school district began planning a reading tutoring program in November. District officials last month said volunteers are tutoring fewer than 140 students. That is far fewer than the 1,000 students the program was designed to help. Many worry that not enough students are getting the help they need even as programs continue to grow.

【推荐2】It’s that time of the year—graduation. The end of school year is nearly in sight, and it’s an especially big deal if you’re finishing high school or college.

One amazing(令人惊叹的) 16-year-old Florida girl, Grace Bush, graduated from both high school and college this week! She actually got her college diploma(毕业证书) before her high school diploma. How’d she do that?

“Hard work and dedication(专心致志),” she told a local TV news station, “have made me succeed in doing high school and college at the same time.” She started taking college courses when she was just 13. She would often get up at 5:30 a.m. and not finish until after 11 p.m.

Doing both at once is a huge achievement, but it has also helped her family save money. She’s one of the 9 children, all home-schooled until the age of 13. Her father is a math professor while her mother is a part-time history teacher in a high school. Grace Bush has earned her college degree in law, with a near perfect GPA of 3.8 and she hopes to become a lawyer one day, although her parents expect her to teach at university. By the way, she also plays basketball in her college team in her spare time.

【推荐3】A Texas woman says that she took two kittens (小猫) into her home, only to discover that they were not housecats.

Jane Dinscore, her sister and her niece were bitten on the hands while trying to feed them.

“I think they started doing a little bit more research and thinking. These don’t look like standard housecats. Maybe we should call somebody. Thankfully, they did. San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) spokeswoman Lisa Norwood told local TV station KENS 5 on Monday.

But Jane Dinscore has changed her story since the news broke on Monday. Originally, she told the authorities she found the kittens in an alleyway (小巷) in San Antonio. Now she says she received the kittens from her brother, James Dinscore, in rural Atascosa County. However, she maintains that she believed the kittens were pet cats. She says she took the kittens home and called ACS after they began biting her and her relatives. She says she lied at first about their origin in the interest of her brother.

ACS and Texas State Parks and Wildlife are working together to determine if the situation deserves any criminal charges for disturbing wildlife, according to USA Today.

The animals are now under the care of Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation in San Antonio. The group hopes to eventually release the bobcats in a safe area.

In general, wild animals should be left in the wild. If you suspect a problem with a wild animal or believe you have found one that’s sick, injured or abandoned, call a local wildlife center or animal control organization. And if you believe an animal you’ve found is a lost pet, you may take it to an animal shelter or a rescue group.