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American teachers are facing ‘a perfect storm’ of crises amid the coronavirus pandemic

The compounding stresses of the coronavirus pandemic, the sudden transition to remote learning, and the politicization of schools reopening are burning out teachers.

“I was on the verge of leaving,” an art teacher from Connecticut, who teaches kindergarten through fifth grade but did not want to be identified out of fear of professional retaliation, told Yahoo Finance. “The reason why I stayed truthfully was because of my loan payments.”

According to a survey by Horace Mann of 2,490 educators in the U.S. in June, 34% of them are considering leaving the profession due to the financial stress they’re feeling. 

“It’s like a perfect storm happening right now because the federal government hasn’t passed any legislation to give states any money,” Tish Jennings, an associate professor at the University of Virginia who studies how stress affects teachers, told Yahoo Finance. “ And so when they don’t have enough money in the

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American teachers face ‘a perfect storm’ of crises amid the coronavirus pandemic

The compounding stresses of the coronavirus pandemic, the sudden transition to remote learning, and the politicization of schools reopening are burning out teachers.

“I was on the verge of leaving,” an art teacher from Connecticut, who teaches kindergarten through fifth grade but did not want to be identified out of fear of professional retaliation, told Yahoo Finance. “The reason why I stayed truthfully was because of my loan payments.”

According to a survey by Horace Mann of 2,490 educators in the U.S. in June, 34% of them are considering leaving the profession due to the financial stress they’re feeling. 

“It’s like a perfect storm happening right now because the federal government hasn’t passed any legislation to give states any money,” Tish Jennings, an associate professor at the University of Virginia who studies how stress affects teachers, told Yahoo Finance. “ And so when they don’t have enough money in the

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Internet
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Coronavirus forces Sacramento Ballet to cancel season, artistic director laid off

The Sacramento Ballet has canceled its performances for the 2020-21 season and announced its artistic director will be leaving her job, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the local arts community.

The Ballet canceled its upcoming season because of “public health concerns and the widespread economic impact” of COVID-19 on the Sacramento region, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon.

Sacramento Ballet Board Co-President Suzanne Rogers said they had to make difficult decisions to ensure the Ballet’s sustainability.

She said they were deeply saddened to cancel the upcoming season, as arts organizations both in the Sacramento region and nations face “unprecedented pressures and detrimental economic challenges.”

“Because of public-health concerns, we were unable to perform in March and May, and with COVID(-19) continuing to compromise opportunity and close down theaters, we do not have the ability to perform this upcoming fall or winter,” Rogers said in the release.

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Programming
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Meet 5 Dads Who Have Upped Their TikTok Game Amid Coronavirus

With families around the world staying home amid coronavirus, more and more parents are becoming breakout stars on TikTok as the video-sharing app continues to grow in popularity. But while there are, of course, plenty of TikTok moms who deserve recognition — like the mom with the stereotypical Jersey accent who makes the best schmear — today we’re spotlighting some of the dads who have entertained millions of viewers in recent months.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, it seems as though dads can be counted on to keep their kids laughing with stereotypical dad hijinks ranging from dancing to Ariana Grande to impersonating a dinosaur. As one dad who TIME spoke to put it: “I love to make the kids laugh. I’d pretty much do anything to make them laugh. It’s like jet fuel.”

As TikTok has transformed into a hub for activism in recent months, TikTokers have

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How to Make Trump’s Coronavirus Briefings Actually Good

(Bloomberg Opinion) — One of the greatest outrages in the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic has been the way the government has failed to offer the people useful, trustworthy information. That’s still true, even as President Donald Trump has restarted his daily Covid-19 briefings.

While some outlets have praised his more somber tone, the problem with the previous briefings was not a lack of pessimism and gloom.

The problem was that the president offered almost no usable information about the risks Americans faced, what was being done with our tax dollars to fight back, or an honest evaluation of the various efforts on the part of the pharmaceutical industry.

He has another chance now. But first, he should stop hogging the microphone. The new briefings have featured the president standing alone. What we need is not just more of Anthony Fauci, a bright spot from the earlier briefings, but

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Technology
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parents turn to private schooling amid coronavirus

<span>Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

Elyssa Katz, a Santa Monica mother of three, is growing a matchmaking service to connect families with tutors, or “Zutors”, as she calls them – a word she’s in the process of trademarking.

“The role of a Zutor is a tutor, a nanny, and an angel for a parent,” Katz told the Guardian, someone who can take over parental demands, help children with online homework and take them outside when it’s time for “recess”.

Katz’ clients range from the rich and famous, to everyday people who need childcare because they can’t look after their children while they have to work. Katz said she’s gotten calls from parents as far away as the Hamptons.

For a matchmaking fee that can range from $700 to $1,000 (£549 to £785), Katz and her team will interview tutor candidates, run background and reference checks, then match them to the right

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WaHi’s Word Up Book Store Gets Grant To Offset Coronavirus Losses

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The Word Up: Community Bookshop in Washington Heights is getting aid in its battle against the financial hardships that have come along with the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the Humanities New York (HNY) organization, which commits itself to strengthening civil society and the bonds of community, announced that Word Up Books is receiving $2,500 in the form of a grant from the HNY’s CARES program.

Word Up: Community Bookshop is located at 2113 Amsterdam Ave. on the corner of 165th street in Washington Heights.

Word Up can use the funds for the following:

  • Staff salaries and benefits, rent, and utilities.

  • Programmatic Humanities offerings.

  • Costs associated with remote work, virtual programming, and enhanced facility cleaning and sanitation.

On the other hand, Word Up cannot use the grant for construction, expansion, or renovation of a facility.

The Humanities New York CARES program looks to provide grants to nonprofit

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Programming
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This $3 billion online education company is seeing a ‘paradigm shift’ due to coronavirus

As more and more colleges weigh their options for adding online education in the fall, one online ed company is reaping the benefits of the shift away from lecture halls.

Industry leader 2U (TWOU) helps big name universities like Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and dozens of others offer educational programs online and as its CEO explained to Yahoo Finance Tuesday, business is booming.

“Over the last three months, we’ve spoken to more presidents and provosts than we had in our entire 12-year history,” CEO Chip Paucek told Yahoo Finance’s YFi PM. “So this is definitely a paradigm shift moment for online ed without question.”

As Paucek highlights, many colleges had been caught off guard when the coronavirus pandemic first hit back in March. Shifting to online classes for many meant little more than a Zoom video conference with a professor. With 2U’s tech, the company is offering the prospect

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Technology
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John Oliver slams Trump for pushing conspiracy theories about coronavirus

On Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Sunday, Oliver slammed President Trump for pushing baseless conspiracy theories. In the past, Trump has claimed that former president Barack Obama was born in Kenya, Hillary Clinton got millions of illegal votes in the 2016 election, in which she won the popular vote, and he flirted with the conspiracy that the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered. Just last week, Trump retweeted a tweet from former game show host Chuck Woolery claiming that the coronavirus is just a big lie meant to hurt Trump’s chances of re-election. The day after Woolery’s tweet, his son tested positive for COVID-19, and after posting that it is indeed real, Woolery’s Twitter account disappeared. Trump defended retweeting the conspiracy.

“I didn’t make a comment,” Trump told CBS News’s Catherine Herridge. “I did. I reposted a tweet that a lot of people feel. But all I

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Internet
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For college students, taking a gap year might be the best way to outwit coronavirus

Janak Bhakta, 17, from Tustin, had hoped to travel internationally for his gap year, but now he's joining a conservation program this year instead. <span class="copyright">(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)</span>
Janak Bhakta, 17, from Tustin, had hoped to travel internationally for his gap year, but now he’s joining a conservation program this year instead. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Janak Bhakta, a soft-spoken 17-year-old from Tustin, had big plans for 2020. He wanted to spend time away from academics to learn, grow and mature by traveling the world. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck and turned those plans to dust.

“The ideal plan was to travel internationally, but obviously that’s not going to happen,” Bhakta says about his planned gap year. He filled out applications for Outward Bound Costa Rica and NOLS Baja, two leading outdoor and leadership organizations, but both programs were canceled due to travel restrictions and health concerns.

Bhakta was still able to find the perfect fit with the Colorado-based High Mountain Institute, which puts gap-year participants in national parks to assist in local conservation efforts.

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Programming