Education: Interesting Stories from The New York Times

When a Feminist Pledges a Sorority
College women are embracing — and rethinking — the Greek life experience. And not just on the campuses you’d expect: in the Ivy League.

Commencement: For Graduates, One Word: Plastics
Robes made from recycled plastic bottles are the latest trend in green commencement.

Testing: The New SAT: A Survey
A reading from students on the first administration of the test.

traditions: Latex Expressions
Artistry in body paint at Brandeis.

Supplies: Textbook Highs/Lows
Books may cost more, but student spending is down.

A Brighter Job Market, for Some
Career specialists and economists are upbeat about prospects for this year’s graduates. But not all job seekers have reason to be optimistic.

Job Hunting in the Digital Age
Robots may be scanning your résumé for keywords, but that doesn’t mean you have to think like one.

strategy: Study Abroad’s Seven Deadly Sins
How to live in a foreign country and learn very little.

Ed Talk: Passion, Grit, Success
Questions for Angela Duckworth about the power of resilience.

Room and Board: Airbnb Becomes Dormbnb
Colleges are fine tuning their housing contracts to explicitly mention Airbnb. Here’s why.

WEllness: Power Napping on Campus
Sleeping pods and nooks help students get some rest. But is a nap enough?

Economic View: Why Talented Black and Hispanic Students Can Go Undiscovered
Relying on teachers and parents to identify candidates for gifted programs appears to discriminate against minority and poor children.

The Learning Network: Film Club | ‘An Education’
In this short documentary, three American siblings move with their parents to Moscow. How will these children handle the challenges of attending a new school in a foreign country where they don’t speak the language?

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | tepid
This word has appeared in 239 New York Times articles in the past year.

The Learning Network: News Q’s | Illuminating the Effects of Light Pollution
How do you think artificial lights affect plant and animal life on Earth?

Taking the Politics Out of American History (and Out of A.P.)
Perceived by conservatives as too progressive, Advanced Placement in United States history took a right turn and ended up in the middle.

The Learning Network: Student Question | What Marketing Slogan Would You Use for Your Town or City?
What makes your community a worthwhile place to live or visit?

The Learning Network: What’s Going On in This Poem? Exploring Poetry Through Open-Ended Questions
We invite you to join us on April 14 when we will conduct a live “What’s Going On in This Poem?” discussion using the same three questions we use for images in our popular Monday feature.

Video Shows Texas School Officer Body-Slamming 12-Year-Old Student
The officer was put on leave after a cellphone video showed him throwing the girl face first to the sidewalk to intervene in a confrontation at a San Antonio middle school.

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | summation
This word has appeared in 56 New York Times articles in the past year.

The Learning Network: News Q’s | Indonesia’s Orangutans Suffer as Fires Rage and Businesses Grow
Why are farmers burning the rain forest in Indonesia?

The Learning Network: Student Question | What Makes You Happy?
Have you figured out the things in life that truly make you happy?

Education Life: Career Coaching for the Playdate Generation
An industry has blossomed to help students choose majors, land internships and jobs, and figure out who they are. For today’s students, turning to experts seems only natural.

Group Says Politics Are Stalling New York City’s Inquiry of Yeshivas
Critics who say the schools don’t provide an adequate secular education accused the de Blasio administration of dragging its feet to retain support of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The Learning Network: Text to Text | ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ and ‘On the Reservation and Off, Schools See a Changing Tide’
In this lesson, we compare Arnold Spirit Jr.’s challenging journey with the similar, real-life choices other Native American students have faced in attending schools “off the rez.”

Students Say Free Speech Is Alive, With One Big Exception
Most college students thought their freedom of speech was secure, a survey found. But there was a divide along racial lines.

The Learning Network: News Q’s | Rejected by Colleges, SAT and ACT Try High Schools
Do you think states should use the SAT or the ACT as a way of measuring how well schools are performing?

Education Life: Why Upperclassmen Pay More (They May Get Less)
After freshman year, students can lose institutional merit aid for any number of reasons — some justified, some not.

The Learning Network: Student Question | Do We Need to Teach Boys and Men to Be More Emotionally Honest?
Are the lives of men and boys limited because society teaches them they can’t show any strong emotion but anger? Do “bro codes” that govern how boys act keep them from being their true selves?

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | impalpable
This word has appeared in two New York Times articles in the past year.

Law School Renamed for Antonin Scalia, Again. Blame Acronym.
George Mason University’s first attempt yielded an unflattering combination of letters.

Big Question on New York State Tests: How Many Will Opt Out?
After changes were made to the exams, education officials and activists were waiting on Tuesday to see how many students would sit them out.

New Jersey University Was Fake, but Visa Fraud Arrests Are Real
Federal officials set up the University of Northern New Jersey, which had no real classes, to ensnare brokers who recruited foreigners in order to obtain student visas.

ACT and SAT Find a Profitable Market as Common Core Tests
Both testing companies have pushed into the market for federally required tests in public schools, offering them even to students who do not plan to go to college.

The Learning Network: Weekly News Quiz | March 29-April 4, 2016
Have you been following the news? Take our quiz to see what you know and to learn more, and look for a new edition each Tuesday morning.

The Learning Network: News Q’s | Drones Marshaled to Drop Lifesaving Supplies Over Rwandan Terrain
Why are drones particularly useful for delivering blood and emergency medicine?

Will You Sprint, Stroll or Stumble Into a Career?
The long launch into adulthood has gotten even longer. Why are so many new graduates wandering or straggling after college?

The Learning Network: Student Question | Do Female Athletes Get Short Shrift?
How can female athletes get the respect they deserve in society?

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | recurrent
This word has appeared in 105 New York Times articles in the past year.

Columbia Students Protest a Henry Moore Sculpture
A student op-ed piece says that the work, to be put in front of Butler Library, looks like “a poorly formed pterodactyl” and doesn’t fit in with the campus.

The Learning Network: News Q’s | Hearing the Music of Vanishing Languages
How are today’s composers finding inspiration in vanishing languages from around the world?

Notebook: Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest
With so much research showing that young males suffer beneath the gravity of conventional masculinity, why isn’t there more help for them on campus?

Health Scare at Malibu School Sets Off Media War
A debate over window caulking with the toxic chemical compounds has divided a California school district and parents like Cindy Crawford.

The Learning Network: Student Question | Where Do You Think You Will Live When You Are an Adult?
What are the benefits and drawbacks of living in the same place your whole life?

The Learning Network: What’s Going On in This Picture? | April 4, 2016
On Mondays, we publish a Times photo without a caption, headline or other information about its origins. Join the conversation by commenting on what you see and why. A live discussion is offered that day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern.

The Learning Network: E.L.L. Practice + Prompt | Presidential Debates
In this post, English Language learners investigate presidential candidates and the words and phrases they frequently use, then write about what interests them about the candidates.

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | monotony
This word has appeared in 47 New York Times articles in the past year.

The Learning Network: Word of the Day + Quiz | heedless
This word has appeared in 26 New York Times articles in the past year.

The Learning Network: Student Question | What Do You Know About Your Family’s History?
Do you have any old family photos? Do they reveal anything interesting or surprising about your family?

The Learning Network: News Q’s | April Fools’ Day
What Internet April Fools’ pranks have you fallen for?

The Saturday Profile: A Palestinian Teacher’s Methods Earn the Attention of More Than Her Class
Hanan Hroub, who recently won a $1 million global education prize, developed her play-therapy approach to help her own children cope with the trauma of violence.