Weekly Features (updated every Monday)
Newspaper NIE Home Page | Video of the Week | Headline Geography | Front Page Talking Points | Use the News | Last Week in the News
This Week in History Cartoons for the Classroom | Special Report | Pulse of the Planet
Words in the News | The Green Room: Conservation for the Classroom | NASA's Night Sky Network
This Week in History Cartoons for the Classroom | Special Report | Pulse of the Planet
Words in the News | The Green Room: Conservation for the Classroom | NASA's Night Sky Network
Common Core State Standard
L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
02/14/2022
Companies banned from blocking public harassment lawsuits
With an overwhelming vote in the House and unanimous Senate vote, Congress last week passed a bill which prevents companies from enacting so-called "forced arbitration clauses" in employment contracts, which can allow companies to prevent employees from going public with sexual harassment claims. One senator called the act "one of the most significant workplace reforms in the last 50 years." Under the act, employees can choose between private arbitration or public courts to pursue their cases.■Class discussion: Do employees have the right to a day in court to publicly air claims of sexual harassment? What about other claims against employers – like racial and sexual discrimination or health and safety claims? Companies often require arbitration of many consumer and employee complaints. Should those requirements also be banned? Does arbitration save money that would just go to lawyers in lawsuits? Who pays the arbitrators? Do you think arbitrators are likely to favor the party that pays them? Why or why not?