1 . When high school students spend time memorizing and reciting a poem, they develop confidence by engaging deeply with language. Here are my five Cs — things I’ve observed from several years of teaching students through Poetry Out Loud, from selecting a poem to performing at the state competition.

    1     This is the first step of the exercise. Students learn how to search for poems, and they have complete discretion over the poem they will perform. Students often gravitate to poems that fit their reading level and also match a personal interest or philosophy, which is great. But there are also lots of unexpected mismatches that end up stretching students’ skills in ways a teacher could not work out.

Concrete learning task. Learning just one poem well gives students a finite and concentrated experience with language. And every student can learn one poem. I’ve seen students with all manner of challenges get up and do something they thought was impossible,     2    

Continuing learning. Students learn a poem that will likely stay with them for years, if not forever. Poems contain mysteries and complexities that reveal themselves slowly — and sometimes even suddenly — over time.     3    

Confidence.     4     All students need to be able to speak effectively in front of others. Performing a poem is a bit like acting. Students learn elements of physical presence, voice, speed, volume, and tone without having to present their own work, which is more frightening for most students.

Challenging memory and recall. Students are not asked to memorize much anymore, yet many of them take pleasure in the act of repetition and remembering.     5     For English language learners, many autistic students, and other exceptional learners, reciting poetry is an especially powerful way to understand language and build confidence. For our kids who need small victories, mastering one poem is a welcome relief.

3 . Scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made: 8.3 billion tons. Looked at another way, that’s as heavy as 25, 000 Empire State Buildings or one billion elephants. And incredibly, almost all of it has been made in the last 65 years.

______ Much plastic is in the form of packaging which is used just once and then thrown away. According to a major new study from the University of California, 9% of this is recycled, 12% is completely burnt and 79% goes to landfill. And because most plastic is not easily disposed of, once it’s in the ground, it stays there.

It’s a situation that has led the paper’s lead author, ecologist Dr. Roland Geyer, to say that we are “rapidly heading towards ‘Planet Plastic’”. The team behind this report also estimate that eight million tons of plastic waste are escaping into the sea every year. This has caused concern that plastic is entering the food chain, through fish and other sea life which swallow the smaller fragments.

Of course, the reason why there’s so much plastic around is that it’s an amazingly useful material. It’s durable and adaptable, and is used for everything from yoghurt pots to spaceships. But it’s exactly this quality that makes it a problem. The only way to destroy plastic is to heat or burn it — although this has the side effect of harmful emissions.

So what’s the alternative, other than using less plastic? Oceanographer Dr. Erik van Sebille from Utrecht University says we’re facing a “tsunami” of plastic waste, and that the global waste industry needs to “get its act together”.

Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist from Plymouth University, says it’s poor design that’s at fault. He says that if products are currently designed “with recyclability in mind”, they could be recycled around 20 times over.

4 . Chinese food is well received by the world. Who doesn’t long for a favorite Chinese dish? But there is one interesting concept concerning Chinese food which is almost unheard of in the West, and which is becoming increasingly ignored by the youth of the East — the ancient custom of “tonic (滋补) food”.

Tonic food is food which is consumed to improve one’s well-being or avoid sickness. For instance, it was once the custom for new mothers to eat a sesame oil (麻油) hot pot every day for the first month after giving birth. It was believed that this dish would benefit the muscles, reduce pain, improve circulation, stimulate sweating, and warm the body. Some foods, such as goat meat and spinach, are seen as “hot”, while others, such as Chinese cabbage and radishes, are seen as “cold”. One should be careful not to eat too much of either “hot” or “cold” food. However, how much “hot” or “cold” food one should eat depends on the time of the year, how the food is prepared and what it is prepared with, and the individual’s health.

The custom of employing tonic food for a healthier life also influences the catering industry. Chinese herbal medicines, such as wolfberry (枸杞), can be found on many a restaurant menu, either added to fruit tea or as a beneficial addition to a dish. These herbs attract customers, such as overworked office staff, in need of a modest pick-me-up.

So, whether you need to boost your strength with a large helping of chicken soup, or increase your mental powers with a serving of fish soup, you may find that this ancient Chinese custom could be just the tonic you were looking for.