News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
Mentoring is Critical in Challenging Times
What is one of the most powerful tools to prevent teens from taking a troubled path, skipping school or dropping out? Experts agree – it’s mentoring. Oprah Winfrey credits her teacher/mentor for helping her overcome a troubled childhood and putting her on a path to success.

January is National Mentoring Month, and a reminder of how important mentoring is for young people. Studies show that when teens are mentored 59 percent earn better grades, 52 percent are less likely to skip school and 27 percent are less likely to begin using alcohol. Youth with mentors have better attitudes about school, increased social-emotional development and improved self-esteem.
What Does Sizzle Look Like?
Think about the sounds when you’re cooking. The tick, tick of the gas burner…the sizzle when your steak hits the hot pan…the bubbling pops of boiling liquid or the beeping timer for a proper cook time. But, when you are hearing impaired, how do you compensate for these kitchen nuances most people don’t even think about it?

For Ashley M., 17, it’s just one more challenge that she bravely faces every day. Due to a severe and long-lasting illness as a young child, she lost most of her hearing, some of her sight and she has frequent seizures. But that doesn’t slow her down – not even in her CTE Culinary Arts classes. “Ashley is a super star,” says teacher Chef Shanel Burnias. 
New Year’s Resolutions for Educators
Educators and parents of all backgrounds are worried about learning losses suffered by their students during the pandemic. It has become clear that teachers can’t effectively serve 120+ high school students a day doing remote learning by trying to replicate the classroom experience through Zoom.

Dr. Caprice Young, our national superintendent, offers New Year’s resolutions to guide education reform for a system that best serves students:
 
1.     Make this a year of grace. Students who didn’t learn the material this year should neither be passed nor failed. In college, when students get sick mid-semester or cannot finish their work for a variety of reasons, they are given a grade of “incomplete” and allowed a year to make up the work. Pushing students forward with academic gaps does them no favors.