New York Times
September 4, 2013
This news outlet covers a wide range of stories of a national basis. It reaches out to adults and young adults who are interested in keeping up with what is happening in the world. There are political, arts, science, and business sections to interest a broad spectrum of people who have different interests. This media outlet appealed to me. I like to keep up to date with news as much as I can and I enjoyed reading these different stories.
The top story was titled, “Many Dreams, but So Far Little Consensus, for a Revitalized Detroit” by Monica Davey. As many know, Detroit declared bankruptcy, but no one knows what should be done to rebuild the city. Some have pondered if the vacant neighborhoods should be turned into parks, if they should shift the economy from manufacturing automobiles to a technology based economy, and even if they should redirect who they want to move back there. Although there is no one solution to this problem, if they find the right balance, they should one day be able to bring Detroit back. If they economy is shifted toward a technological field, maybe it would be best for the city if they attracted a younger population that had experience and training for that industry. Even though the situation looks bad for Detroit, a blessing in disguise is that they can start over, rebuild it to exactly how they would like to live. Some people think it could never happen but many are hopeful that their economy will one day boom again. A financial advisor was hired to oversee the whole city’s finances and to make decisions on where money should be cut and what to do with it instead. The majority of Detroit’s population had left but hopefully if they are able to reshape the economy, many will return and also attract new residents. Residents are hopeful that they will one day be able to bring Detroit back to a booming economy of whatever type, and that they can return to life as they knew it before. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/us/dreams-but-little-consensus-for-a-new-detroit.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Another interesting story was titled, “Sharks and Nature Cooperate for Solo Cuba-to-Florida Swim” by Lizette Alvarez. A 64-year-old woman named Diana Nyad worked for 35 years of her life to be the first person to make the 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida without any type of assistance. Not even a shark cage. It took her almost 53 hours, two days and two nights, to complete this journey through extremely dangerous waters, but she finally achieved this goal of hers on her fifth attempt. The first few times she had to stop because of an asthma attack, jellyfish stings, weather conditions, and the effects the salt water did on her body. After each failed attempt she recruited more and more specialized members in multiple different fields to her team to help her succeed. When Nyad finally arrived on the coast of Key West, Florida, she said, “I have three messages. One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.” Because of each failed attempt and with the help of her team, she knew exactly what type of equipment and nutrition she needed along the way. The weather that weekend made it the perfect time for Nyad to attempt this swim. There were no swarms of sharks, only one storm which only lasted for a little under 90 minutes, hardly any jellyfish, and the current aided her by carrying her along. Although she was prepared to challenge any one of these factors, the weather made it much more bearable to finish her goal. Nyad is extremely happy that she was able to conquer this dream of hers, especially since it made her the first person to ever do it. She looked back at her previously failed attempts and was glad she never gave up on her fairy tale. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/sports/nyad-completes-cuba-to-florida-swim.html?_r=0
A third interesting story was titled, “Field-Testing the Math Apps” by Lisa Guernsey. Boston public television station took some of their designers and developers to a classroom at Little Sprouts child care center in Lawrence, Massachusetts bringing with them plenty of iPads for each of the children to use. The developers that were sent are part of a program that is trying to make math fun and enjoyable to learn through the use of apps for a tablet. This program is called Next Generation Preschool Math which is financed by a grant from the National Science Foundation. They have found that may preschool age children enjoy playing on iPhones, iPads, and other tablet devices so they are trying to bring that into the classroom to promote a more enjoyable learning environment for the next generation of students. The first year of the project was just to make sure the children had fun with the devices and learn how to use them. One game, for example, was called the waffle game. In this game students just had to cut the waffle into sections to teach them fractions. After a year the students showed real progress in learning fractions and other concepts with using the device because it allowed them multiple ways to learn. They are hoping that with the increase in educational games offered by iTunes, most of them free, school can bring iPads or other tablets into the classroom to offer a different way of learning that the students feel comfortable with. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/science/field-testing-the-math-apps.html?_r=0