【推荐1】Strategies to Bring Diversity into the Classroom

As we teach children to prepare for college or the workplace, teachers must address the possibility of living and working in a diverse country. Diversity in the classroom teaches children to appreciate different perspectives (观点), which is a skill they will use for the rest of their lives.    1    , because they are not sure what diversity in the classroom even looks like. Here are a few strategies to start diversifying your classroom.

1. Include diverse learning and teaching material.    2    . Expose children to material which represents multiple viewpoints and perspectives. Your materials should include different nationalities, races, languages, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds and current affairs.

2.    3    . There is always more than one opinion on how to solve a problem. Encouraging your students to discover different solutions allows everyone’s voice to be heard and respected. This can increase participation and teach children to work together even if they have a different opinion or support a different perspective.

3. Get to know your students. This is a strategy that many feel they have mastered, but getting to know your students is more than just knowing their name. Know where your students come from, their socio-economic status, culture, and issues that are important to the students and their families.    4    , but when you know your students you are more able to promote diversity.

4. Connect with parents and the community. Schools are an important part of the community and should reflect and celebrate the diversity within the community. Listening and acting upon parents questions and concerns is the first step.    5    , and this will enable people from different backgrounds to inspire your students for their future goals.

【推荐1】In every Summer Olympics since 1952, with two exceptions, the host country has won not only more golds but also more medals than it did in the previous summer games.

Japan, who hosted this year’s games, won far more medals than it got from the previous Summer Olympics in Rio in 2016. Brazil more than doubled its golds in 2016. In the 2008 games in Beijing, China harvested 37 more than it took home in 2004. Only Finland, in 1952, and the United States, in 1996, saw their medal counts drop at home.

Why?

The biggest plus to competing at home is the positive energy from a supportive crowd, according to athletes. Briana Scurry, a former goal keeper for the US women’s national soccer team, said playing in the US during the 1996 Summer Olympics helped her team beat China to win gold that year. “We had 76,000 people at the final in Athens, Georgia, all cheering for us, while China had a much smaller cheering audience,” she said.

Another factor(因素)that can hurt athletes from other countries is travel. International competitions often require long flights across multiple time zones, which can impact(影响)their sleep. Foreign athletes may also be unaccustomed to the food and training equipment available at the competition. Even the weather may throw off a competitor used to a different climate.

The host countries have additional benefits to help their athletes succeed. Competitors from host countries have to meet lower qualification(资格)standards than their foreign competitors. That may contribute to the phenomenon of host countries sending much bigger teams to their Olympics than the previous summer games when they competed abroad.

Japan got yet another benefit this year thanks to a new policy adopted by the International Olympic Committee(IOC)in 2016, which allows the host countries to add several new sporting events to their games. It meant that baseball, softball, karate, skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing-all popular sports in Japan-were Olympic events in                                               Tokyo. And Japanese athletes have already medaled in four of the five sports.

【推荐2】Here are some activities you might be interested in.

Watermedia Showcase

Prize: $2,500 first prize, $1,250 second prize

Entry Fee: $35 per entry

Requirements: Open to international artists 18 years of age and older

The Watermedia Showcase awards original art created primarily with water-based media on a surface created for water media. Judged by the editors of Watercolor Artist, all winners and honorable mentions will have their works featured in the magazine.

Jackson’s Painting Prize

Prize: £6,000 first prize

Entry Fee: £5 per entry

Requirements: Open to international artists of all ages

Jackson’s Painting Prize was created to reward excellence in two-dimensional (维度的) works of fine art. Both painting and drawing media are accepted and in addition to the main prize, there are also awards for best watercolor, and people’s choice.

The Lumen Prize for Digital Art

Prize: $4,000 first prize, with a $13,500 total prize fund

Entry Fee: $40 for two works ($ 32 for two works if submitted prior to March 24)

Requirements: Open to artists worldwide

This digital art competition is organized by Lumen Art Projects Ltd, a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to providing new opportunities for digital artists around the world. The contest guidelines are relatively loose — the only requirement is that the submitted artworks must somehow engage with technology.

Animago Award

Prize: £3,000 cash prize for Best Young Production

Entry Fee: Free

Requirements: Open to artists worldwide

For over 20 years the Animago Award competition has spotlighted talent in the fields of 3D animation (动画) and stills, visual effects, visualization, and design. Organized by the German magazine Digital Production, all winners are announced at the annual Animago conference in Munich, Germany.