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A hackathon is a commonly thrown-around term, but very few people outside of tech actually know what it means. While you may be fascinated by the term or like to roll it over your tongue severally, understanding what it implies is quite better! 

Cast your mind back to your high school days when you were probably that student who would be found gulping cup after cup of dark coffee as you stayed up all night to prepare for a test. Super-impose that memory with a picture of a room filled with coders, programmers and other creatives who are engaging in this behavior day-in, day-out over a particular period of time, to come up with innovative, original models and prototypes around a particular subject or project.  This whole concept is referred to as a Hackathon, and it is routinely utilized by tech organizations and is now evolving beyond tech and infiltrating other sectors. 

The origin of the term hackathon is the word “marathon” which refers to a really long, hard task, with the “hack” prefix added to signify that it is being modified for the tech industry, where coding is literally life.  During a hackathon, programmers work at an intense rate, trying to complete the given tasks with as little sleep as possible. While a typical hackathon takes 24-48 hours, some could extend for as long as a week. The preparatory process for the hackathon involves informing participants about the programming language, the operating system to be utilized and other important variables to ensure smooth operation during the hackathon. 

Currently, hackathons have become widespread, with increasingly bigger communities being built around them. At a good number of hackathons, expect to be graced by professional development sessions, good networking prospects and the chance to see amazing, veteran guest speakers.  Hackathons, which originated from the open-source community, are also diverse, with some meant for academic purposes and others targeted towards financial or social purposes. In particular, many businesses take advantage of hackathons to develop their products at cheap prices. 

Usually, the less time there is for a hackathon to be completed, the higher the stress levels participants are placed under. With many of these participants receiving little to no sleep, they often take short naps at the venue of the hackathon- in their sleeping bags. It is also not surprising that several stimulants are taken in an effort to stay alert and sharp for these long periods. There is rarely enough time for proper savory meals, and participants often resort to snacks and practical foods that take little time to consume. 

This is a method through which students who have failed an in-person class can remediate by taking the class’s online equivalent, so they stay on track for graduation. It was launched approximately a decade back. Online credit recovery is now widely used, with several school districts recording higher rates of graduation and corporations vying to sell their online courses to districts all over the country.  

One issue plaguing credit recovery is the fact that the quality of courses is not the same across the board. Many times, it doesn’t feature intense material and is often considered by critics to be poorer alternatives to regular in-person classes. Because schools want to witness soaring graduation rates, the weakest students in a class (those who more often than not require more explanation of materials & concepts by their instructors) are given these online courses and asked to interact with them on their own, in front of computer screens. 

An alarming review published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Georgia discovered that a meager 10% of students who pass their online credit recovery classes were able to show sufficient aptitude in related areas on standardized tests organized by the state. Hence, while credit recovery has proven to increase graduation rates, its effect on students’ career readiness and their overall learning process is particularly questionable. 

The review of credit recovery isn’t all bad: when they are competency-based, and students have to demonstrate a crucial understanding of the relevant subject matter before they can move to the next level, these programs are helpful. It is logical that since these programs are hinged on mastery as opposed to simply completing the course, they are an excellent method of delivering credit recovery programs.

This term refers to a student-based model of training, whereby the specific strengths of a student are recognized and cultivated to ensure the students accomplish great things and have a valid sense of belonging in the world.  This model of learning, referred to as culturally responsive pedagogy, has three main facets, namely: personal, institutional, and instructional facets. 

The institutional facet of culturally responsive pedagogy stresses the fact that we need to work on the cultural issues surrounding how schools are organized, school guidelines—inclusive of the way resources are apportioned, as well as civic responsibilities of the communities. On the other hand, the personal facet of culturally responsive pedagogy lays emphasis on and aims to improve the way teachers understand the concept of cultural responsiveness.  Lastly, the instructional facet of this concept focuses on the issues involved with the direct execution of cultural responsiveness to students in classrooms.  

Since most teachers have middle-class European-American upbringing, it is notably difficult for them to simply ignore their own cultural prejudices and become sympathetic to their students’ lived experiences. This is the biggest challenge affecting cultural responsiveness amongst educators.   To tackle this barrier, we can divide the necessary steps for culturally responsive teaching into three: reconnecting with one’s culture, getting proper education on the foreign cultures, and learning about the cultures of students. 

Prior to pursuing knowledge about the varied cultures of students being taught, teachers need to carry out introspective investigations about their own background, legacy, and possible biases (ethnic or cultural).  While being born and living in Europe/America might imbibe the wrong perception of not having a culture in people, it is a faulty premise. 

The truth, however, is that European-American culture routinely overshadows basic societal and attitudinal characteristics and makes those living in the culture oblivious to the lived experiences of other cultures. Another somewhat related, wrong thought process imbibed by several teachers is that “they don’t see race.” This is very wrong because many teachers already inflate their concept of familiarity with other cultures, and this then makes them culturally insensitive when faced with students from diverse backgrounds in the classrooms. 

Thankfully, since cultural prejudices are learned (and not innate), they can also be done away with through intense learning and willingness to acknowledge the loopholes in one’s thought process.  However, the major requirement for letting go of prior biases is the desire to walk through this stressful process of critical self-evaluation so as to realize what has to be overhauled for culturally responsive teaching to be carried out.  

One major method of carrying out this process is to write down the thoughts a teacher has about his/her heritage, background, relational styles and reflect on how his/her lived experiences may be different from that of someone who grew up under starkly different circumstances. At the end of this reflective process, there must be a light bulb moment, where the educator come to a realization- by themselves, of the crucial matters of bias and racism. 

As well, the teacher who would achieve appropriate cultural responsiveness must be able to ruminate on the uncertainties, stereotypes, and prejudices they exhibit when they meet individuals who aren’t similar to them culturally. As soon as this reflection period is completed and the educator realizes that on an objective scale, their own cultures aren’t superior to those of others, they can then truly unravel the beauty present in others’ cultures and embrace what it means to live like their students might have lived. 

In most traditional learning settings, minoritized students are often forced to alter their comportment and conduct to fit into regular European-American standard views; otherwise, they stand the risk of being tagged as difficult & unteachable – further boxed into stereotypes that are harmful to their own academic growth.  The culturally responsive classroom, on the other hand, is primed to place the responsibility of adaptability on the educator, who then learns about, and adjusts to the students’ cultural minutiae. 

Initially, it seems really hard to incorporate lessons learned about ethnic diversity and how it impacts attitudes and conduct in the classroom without becoming trapped by either stereotyping or overgeneralization. Nonetheless, they can be avoided. To do so, the instructor would have to do the hard work of thoroughly analyzing the students’ cultural norms. This sets the tone for a truly culturally responsive classroom, where different cultural ideologies can be expressed optimistically.   

To achieve this, however, every student’s cultural background must be viewed as unique since the individual’s culture consists of the totality of all domains of influence, inclusive of past history, sexual characteristics, religious conviction, age, family background, traditions, and educational status. If stereotyping would be evaded, then an instructor has to consider students’ cultures individually, as opposed to seeing a student in the light of being a group member.  Indeed, it seems challenging to accomplish this, but there are several methods to achieve this task. 

For example, when skillfully utilized, classroom tests and take-home tasks can be really useful in providing an important way of engaging with a student’s cultural heritage. In particular, writing tasks are essential in entering students’ worlds, and understanding their life’s patterns and histories. An instructor can smartly engage with a student’s cultural heritage by assigning tasks to students where they have to conduct interviews with family members, write about learning activities occurring at home, or writing about cherished family traditions.  

To take the knowledge gathering process a step further, parents of these students can be approached to request valuable personal information. Additionally, neighborhood districts where the students live can be visited to gain a grasp on the crucial challenges faced by these students and the degree of social support available to them. 

In summary, culturally responsive classrooms are really important in ensuring the effectiveness of instructors in class and in enabling them to connect deeply with their students. This way, students enjoy their K-12 experiences.  

Through restorative justice, lawbreakers are restored into society by ensuring reconciliation with victims of their offense or with the society at large. Usually, it is a helpful method of keeping kids in the school system and away from the criminal justice system. However, restorative justice doesn’t only have to be a classroom” occurrence. 

For instance, community outreach events that bring youths together, teaching them the importance of peace-making and conflict resolution, will typically improve their overall outlook and approach to life. We must realize the impact which several of these community outreaches have had on communities- helping destroy the cycle of poverty, viciousness, and repeated wrong down, which might have negatively affected these families over several generations. 

A typical example of a body that employs the approach of restorative justice is the Community Organizing and Family Issues Peace Center, which is located in the northern area of Chicago, and is targeted at young people in their formative years. The home base of this organization is a public institution- the Wells Community Academy High School.  Via this initiative, parent facilitators are involved in helping students build strong conflict resolution skills. 

For students to be able to participate in this initiative, they can either be referred by teachers on the basis of attitudinal issues or at-risk status; or send individual requests to be part of the group. The benefit of this initiative is the reduction in suspension & expulsion rates as well as an elimination of the need for students to be removed by law enforcement agents.  Amazingly, when this initiative was analyzed by Roosevelt University, it was discovered that student participants were more likely to achieve academic success and show higher school attendance rates. 

Because the principle of restorative justice involves a hands-on approach whereby students are directly taught practical conflict resolution skills, instead of simply taking the students out of the situation, students who work through this program, are better equipped with the life skills that make them very productive, peaceable members of the community. As such, schools are encouraged to work hand-in-hand with these community groups to establish programs similar to the Peace Center, so as to ensure students remain in the classroom- and have stronger coping mechanisms for proper integration into society. 

This is a well-respected position earned by faculty members who have been beyond excellent in the delivery of their services. This position enables them to remain in their given position without any risk of losing the position at the institution; after demonstration of brilliance in their roles of teaching & research.  The tenure status has its benefits and risks, which are expatiated upon below:

Pro: Tenure Safeguards Academic Independence

When the topic of tenure is discussed, the budget required to keep staff on tenure is what is often emphasized. However, one salient factor that must never be overlooked is the fact that it provides significant academic independence and freedom for university staff. When a significant portion of college and university staff are not considered to be qualified for the tenure track, then it impacts negatively on staff’s desires to go the extra mile in delivering their duties and their freedom of expression. Alongside this lack of freedom is a perception that they aren’t free to educate students in the most advantageous ways.  

In the absence of security in the institution via tenure or even a multi-year contract, teaching staff feel they are walking on eggshells as any perceived mistake might be met with dismissal. Hence, they work all year round to keep students happy, regardless of whether this is the best course of action or not. Yet, they remain on the job market, consistently contributing to research and publishing papers- as required of them, with no hope of tenure track in sight.

Another important role of the tenure track is to shield teaching staff who are doing good work from the harmful side effects of brutal politics. It is commonplace for election cycles to result in the tweaking of local, state, and national policies, and those not on tenure track can sadly become victims of a political war they aren’t even engaged in. 

Con: Tenure Impacts Negatively on Novel Research

While the hope of tenure reminds upcoming teachers and researchers to play their parts excellently, it also hurts them because those in the current tenure system might not be willing to embrace these new researchers. Since older professors on the tenure track mostly remain there till either retirement or death—whichever comes first—it blocks the opportunity for younger researchers with more innovative ideas to fill that space.

In addition, tenure requires the splitting of time between teaching and research, forcing excellent researchers out of the lab and into classrooms while simultaneously making good teachers languish in the laboratory, as the system is also very much fixated on research income.

This is an awesome year of growth and development! Over this 1st year, the kid’s weight will approximately triple, growing about 10 inches. They will learn to lift their head and chest, roll over, sit up, creep, crawl, stand, and explore their environment with their hands, feet, and mouth. Grasping skills develop as they discover their toes and learns to reach for objects and people. During this 1st year, they will grow from being fed to eating soft foods and holding a bottle independently!

They recognize the human voice’s sound from birth and soon learn to distinguish caregivers, family members, and other familiar adults. As their hearing and vision improve, they may become apprehensive of unfamiliar people. With patience and time, they can grow to trust and bond with new caregivers.

During this year, they learn to return a smile and communicate with the people in their world.

The infant’s 1st communication means expressing the most basic needs, including hunger and discomfort. As the year progresses, they can express more complex and ideas. Verbal communication moves from cooing and gurgling to back and forth “baby talk” exchanges to the emergence of 1st words. Non-verbal communication will include waving, blowing kisses, and even sign language. They understand many words long before speaking, and their receptive language will outweigh their expressive language for years to come. In addition, even babies are responsive to tone, facial expressions, and body language.

Cognitive growth happens at a rapid rate during this year. Infants respond to light and sound and can visually track a moving object. As the year progresses, the baby learns to look for an object that falls out of sight and move to reach the desired toy. They may drop objects on purpose, and they may enjoy “peek-a-boo” games. They constantly observe and explore their world and learn best when there is plenty to see and do. Towards the end of this year, the kid engages in a tremendous variety of activities.

Responding to kids from birth to 1 year

Younger infants thrive on being held as much as possible. Close human contact during these 1st months is golden.

Hold young infants in a manner that enables them to see their world.

Share positive, physical touch by hugging, holding, and patting baby’s back via physical games, such as bouncing and clapping.

Create the smallest group size, with as many adults as possible.

Give consistent caregivers to enable the kid to feel secure and form trusting relationships with adults.

Provide babies with lots of room to crawl and explore. Don’t leave babies in swings or seats.

Sing, chat and smile with babies throughout the day. Talk to them regarding what they see, feel, and do; even if they can’t talk yet, your words will stimulate language development.

Respond to the infant’s attempts to communicate. Imitate their sounds, and engage in talkative/babbling play.

Provide various materials that allow the baby to safely experience a variety of texture, transparency, weight, color, and sound. For instance, provide rattles made of wood and plastic, rattles of various colors and sizes, and rattles that clatter, jingle, and chime.

Develop a baby-safe space. All items in the space should be safe for small hands and mouths, and the furniture should be sturdy enough to allow the baby to pull up and stand without injury.

Develop outdoor experiences. Even young infants can enjoy stretching out on a blanket on a beautiful day!

Remember that every kid develops differently, in their own time.

By the 1st birthday, a strong and meaningful bond has developed between the kid and trusted adults, especially caregivers. Tears are not uncommon when a favorite caregiver is out of sight! Caregivers take time to get used to; the kid may be shy or anxious at 1st.

An observer of the world around them, the 1-year-old begins imitating adults and older kids when playing. Telephones, pots and pans, and other props have become popular for play. They are also busily building self-help skills. While they are still very dependent on adults, they’ll appreciate the time and freedom to try new skills on their own, such as brushing their hair, finger-feeding, and drinking from a cup.

The kid is curious about everything and experiments with cause and effect. They engage in repetitive behaviors, such as dropping a spoon from the high chair tray repeatedly or filling and dumping containers of toys. These actions, and tests of caregiver responses and actions, are a natural part of learning.

1-year-old kids have mastered the art of traveling around the room, though they do so in various ways. Many kids scoot on their bellies, some crawl, and some begin to walk. Most kids can pull themselves up to stand while holding on to solid objects. The 1-year-old has no concept of physical boundaries and may crawl into shelves and under chairs or attempt to climb. As motor skills and coordination develop, they will begin to stack several blocks, scribble with a crayon, clap hands, and pick up small objects using a pincer grasp.

The fundamentals for language are coming into place. Throughout this year, kids become more and more attentive to adult speech. Sounds are used to secure the attention and express meaning, and 1st words are spoken. Next, exclamations such as “uh-oh!” and favorite animal sounds follow! The kid also becomes adept at communicating with gestures, such as pointing, waving “bye-bye,” and shaking their head to say “no.” The introduction of sign language can create additional opportunities for successful communication by the 1-year-old kid.

Responding to 1-year-olds

Provide copies of favorite items, such as balls and toy telephones.

Offer different objects and materials to explore. Look for items that safely allow kids to experience different textures, materials, sizes, and weights.

Include open-ended materials, and enable inventive play. A block can become a telephone, or a bucket may become a drum! Seek the kid’s perspective: what are they seeing, doing, and learning as they play?

Organize toys materials and toys to facilitate play. A toy box of random pieces does not encourage meaningful play!

Provide lots of non-breakable mirrors. Consider mirrors at several heights on the wall, on the backs of shelves, and even on the floor.

Encourage cause-and-effect experiments by providing containers to fill and dump, tubes to roll balls through, and scarves for playing “peek-a-boo” with favorite toys!

Allow lots of time for meals and routines. Rather than rushing, provide time for kids to dabble and play in the water when washing hands, explore various foods and feed themselves at meals, and attempt self-help skills, such as putting on socks and shoes.

Diapering times and other 1-on-1 routines are a chore! Use this time to chat and sing with kids.

Describe what the kid is seeing, hearing, feeling, and doing. Acknowledge the kid when they do something all by themselves or discovers something new!

Acknowledge the kid’s attempts to communicate, and provide new words for things the kid is interested in.

The 2-year-old is slowly but surely developing an awareness of other kids. Although they remain primarily “me”-centered, they have learned classmates’ names and may even recognize other kids’ caregivers and siblings. They may begin to show more enthusiasm for playing around other kids as they observe their play carefully before replicating their actions and sounds themselves. Complex skills such as negotiating/turn-taking have not developed yet, so common scuffles over toys and space.

Pretend is popular. Dolls emerge as favorite toys, along with trucks and toy animals. Simple games are enjoyed repeatedly, and the 2-year-old kid enjoys dabbling with paint, scribbling with crayons, and kneading play dough. Art activities are process-oriented; kids enjoy the materials’ colors, textures, and effects with little or no thought of creating a final product. Fine motor skills and problem-solving skills are growing daily, and the kid may focus on tasks such as screwing/unscrewing jar lids, scooping and pouring sand or water and stacking small blocks. Sorting via shapes, colors, and other attributes often emerge during this year.

By age 2, kids have mastered walking. The twos are perhaps the most active age, and kids enjoy running, climbing, simple ball play, digging, hopping, and tumbling. Rocking and ride-on toys without pedals are popular, as large toys can be pushed and pulled. Small tricycles with pedals frustrate many young 2-year-olds, but the skill is often mastered as the year progresses.

This is an age of independence! The 2-year-old may refuse help and insist on trying things alone; “no” is often a favorite word. They may be self-reliant to the point of defiance at times, but they thrive when they can return to the arms of a nurturing adult when they are tired, frustrated, or in need of reassurance.

Language skills have grown by leaps and bounds through this year. The kid’s vocabulary increases from around 50 words to hundreds of words, and simple phrases and sentences are often used. Pronouns appear in a speech during this year. Receptive language skills are growing, too. The 2-year-old understands and follows simple instructions and comprehends the meaning of many more words than they use.

Responding to 2-year-olds

Give safe, acceptable outlets for active play, indoors and out. Look for ways to allow kids to challenge themselves as they build gross motor skills.

Provide plenty of copies of popular toys, and offer kids safe places to play with favorite toys. Teacher and parent strategies such as careful supervision and redirection allow kids to feel that they can play safely near other kids.

Build on kids’ awareness of kids and adults by creating a photo book of familiar faces.

Give props to encourage dramatic play. Include blankets and bottles for dolls, food bowls for stuffed animals, and toy animals and vehicles to enhance block play. Allow kids to take the lead as you join in their pretend play.

Give materials that encourage fine motor skills and sorting/matching skills. Consider offering “real-life” materials, such as a basket of various socks to match and fold or a set of appealing containers with lids to open and close. Seek materials that allow kids to experience variety, including size, shape, texture, weight, transparency, and composition.

Allow carefully supervised exploration with sand, water, and non-toxic art materials.

Facilitate kids’ budding awareness of the natural world with non-toxic classroom plants, an aquarium, and/or a window bird feeder.

Encourage kids’ language acquisition by providing new words throughout the day!

3 is a social age! The 3-year-old becomes more and more involved in play with other kids. They are often openly affectionate to kids and adults alike and may delight in acts of kindness, such as collecting flowers for the teacher or drawing a picture for a special friend. They still have trouble understanding the point of view of others, though, so conflicts related to turn-taking and leadership roles are common. The 3-year-old also struggles to understand the difference between accidental and “on-purpose” events; their feelings may be deeply hurt if a classmate hurts them unintentionally. It is not uncommon to hear a 3-year-old yell at a stray toy for “making their” trip!

3-year-olds thrive on routine and may become panicked if things don’t happen in the usual way. They experience a wide spectrum of intense emotions and can swing from 1 emotion to another quickly. They live very much “in the now” – the wants, needs, and events of the moment govern their actions, and they may not be able to focus on benefits and consequences down the road.

Strong bonds favorite toys have developed, and the 3- year-old is usually an “expert” on their favorite topics. Pretend play continues to be a favorite activity. Popular themes include mothers or fathers and babies and “puppies and kitties.” The 3-year-old thrives on repetition, often repeating the same games day after day, asking you to read their favorite storybook repeatedly, and drawing stacks of similar pictures. Puzzles, matching games, and pegboards are often popular. They beam with pride after mastering a challenging task!

Physical strength and coordination continue to grow. The 3-year-old can be a risk-taker whose confidence exceeds their competence. Close supervision is essential for ensuring safe active play. Throwing and kicking balls, pedaling tricycles, climbing, and sliding are favorite playground pastimes. Small motor skills are growing, too. When using crayons, scribbles often give way to very deliberate marks, such as lines and circles. Soon, self-portraits and other drawings emerge.

The 3-year-old is eager to talk about a wide range of topics and is often full of questions. 5 and 6-word sentences are common during the middle and end of this year, and they continue to master the basic rules of grammar.

Favorite books include repetitive text, and the kid joins in with enthusiasm during favorite parts. They often enjoy paging through familiar books, retelling the story aloud. They also tell their own unique stories, beginning with simple single sentence stories and progressing to longer, more complicated tales – “and then… and then… and then…”!

Responding to 3-year-olds

Provide support as kids begin working and playing with 1 another. They will need your guidance throughout this year and can learn much as you role model social behavior.

Validate the feelings of the emotional 3, and remember that events that seem small to you may be monumental to them! Celebrate their accomplishments, and help them seek solutions to problems.

Provide a variety of materials to encourage sorting and classifying. The 3-year-old enjoys exploring natural materials, such as seashells and stones.

Develop a library of favorite books, and share them often with people or small groups of kids. Seek books with a repetitive storyline, and encourage the kid to join in telling the story.

Play-dough and clay are popular with 3-year-olds, as are finger paint and tempera paint. Encourage open-ended, process-oriented use of these materials.

Provide an array of fine motor materials, such as puzzles, lacing and linking activities, and simple building toys. Sort and organize materials to help kids be successful, and consider rotating materials to maintain interest.

Create warm rituals for daily tasks such as putting away toys, washing hands, and preparing for naps. Songs and games support smooth transitions while accommodating the 3-year-old’s desire for familiar routines.

Take time to listen to the 3-year-old’s stories and to talk with them about their favorite topics. Build sequencing and recollection skills as you discuss events from the recent past, such as a cooking project from earlier in the day.

Kids develop stronger interests and are often interested in the same topic for hours, days, or weeks. Consider allowing kids’ questions, ideas, and topics of play to guide classroom planning. For example, kids who race to the playground fence in anticipation of the weekly arrival of the trash truck may delight in sharing books about big vehicles, playing with toy trucks during block play, and having a chance to see community helper vehicles “up close and personal” through a field trip or special guest.