COVID-19 has hit businesses and tourism hard. But when New York said it would close a famous ice rink, Serena Sabet fought back — and won. This is the first of five articles by students at The Hewitt School in New York City about how COVID-19 has affected that city...
Ping-pong players paved the way for a thaw in relations between China and the U.S. in the early 1970s. I witnessed this pivotal moment in history. Flanked by Chinese border officials, Glen Cowan, a member of the U.S. ping-pong team, waves to newsmen at Lowu, China,...
News Decoder’s correspondents have covered many of the biggest international stories of the past half-century, offering our students an unparalleled historical perspective on complex global events. Jonathan Sharp has tapped his rich professional adventures time and again for News Decoder, producing yarns about covering the Vietnam War and showing U.S. actress Shirley MacLaine around Beijing. In his latest article, Sharp recounts witnessing a pivotal moment in China-U.S. relations in 1971, when a team of U.S. ping-pong players visited China, paving the way to a thaw in relations between the two nations. Sharp skillfully mixes personal anecdotes with an impartial look at history to transport students born more than a generation after the “transformative moment” back in time.
Exercise: Ask each of your students to speak to at least one parent to identify a moment in their youth when they witnessed an important event. After interviewing the parent, the student should write an article mixing the parent’s viewpoint in the first person with third-person background and explanation.
Lockdowns under COVID-19 have kept many people away from gyms. But some are working out more. Is at-home exercise here to stay? Children exercise from the rooftop of their building during lockdown in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 17 May 2020. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) You’d be...
Russia mounted a cloak-and-dagger operation to hide doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Now it faces a possible ban from next summer’s Games. A fan waves the Russian flag over the Olympic rings in Sochi, Russia, 18 February 2014 (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) It is...
Through his extraordinary talent, perseverance and dignity, baseball great Jackie Robinson helped open major league baseball to black men. First baseman Jackie Robinson (right) flanked by fellow Dodgers teammates. (AP Photo/Harry Harris) During the opening episode of...
Afghanistan is an unlikely home for the sport of cricket. But its national team has proudly clawed its way to the game’s upper echelons. Afghanistan’s captain Gulbadin Naib celebrates during a Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh, Southampton, England, 24...
By Veronica Allan Caster Semenya will have to take hormone-reducing drugs if she wants to continue her stellar international track career. The South African sprinter, a double Olympic champion in the 800 meters, lost her case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport...
Soon, even breakdancing may be an Olympic sport. My reflections on how the inclusiveness of sport may help to counter rising populism. A member of Japanese team ‘The Flooriorz’ competes in a breakdancing match during the ‘Battle of the Year World Finale 2017’ in...
Ireland’s rugby team has a history of persevering through conflict. As Brexit reopens old wounds, rugby unites players and fans across borders. Ireland’s Devin Toner is held aloft during the most recent rugby game between Ireland and England, Dublin, Ireland, 2...
Cricket-star-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan says he wants to lift up the poor in Pakistan. But his renegade political drive faces economic headwinds. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at a campaign rally in Karachi, Pakistan, 22 July 2018 (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)...