Latest news with #thrive
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Schools must make classrooms sane again — and ditch ‘restorative justice'
For nearly a decade, New York City placed ideology over evidence in its approach to school discipline. Restorative Justice, imposed for the sake of racial 'equity,' was supposed to strengthen school culture — but instead it removed the boundaries kids need to learn and thrive. That left too many classrooms without clear expectations, consistent follow-through or real consequences, with students told to discuss or meditate on unruly school behavior rather than receiving detention, suspension or loss of privileges. Advertisement My recent Manhattan Institute report shows how NYC spent nearly $100 million on RJ programs in less than a decade — yet classroom disruptions, police interventions and absenteeism only worsened. Eliminating meaningful consequences set school administrators and teachers adrift, forced to react to emergencies instead of preventing them. Structure in a classroom means clear routines, like when to listen or when it's time to work — with posted rules explaining what students should do and what happens when rules are broken, enforced by consistent adult follow-through. Advertisement Clarity and consistency, not abstract ideals, create safe and orderly classrooms. Extensive research confirms this commonsense concept. But with RJ, teachers must manage disruptions through scripted conversations, asking students to reflect on their feelings rather than issuing consequences. They've had to 'build relationships,' not set rules and enforce expectations — so expectations disappeared from our schools. Schools can't function without structure. Every student deserves a safe, orderly classroom, and teachers need tools to achieve this. Advertisement But RJ didn't supplement school discipline; it replaced it, leaving schools without tools to manage behavior. And the students who need structure most are the ones most harmed. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! As the city approaches another mayoral election, voters should be asking: Who's willing to rebuild our schools' structure? Advertisement Who's willing to say that kids need boundaries, not just conversations? Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has endorsed more of the same. 'As mayor,' he told Chalkbeat, 'I will focus on . . . restorative-justice models, which allow our students to remain in schools, learn from mistakes, grow conflict resolution skills and improve academic outcomes.' As the largest school system in the country, NYC sets a tone for the rest of the nation. Today that tone is one of failure and discouragement. Restorative justice has done enough damage. It's time for our schools to reestablish rules, order and accountability. First, we must set clear expectations and consequences across all schools, empowering principals and teachers to intervene when students jeopardize learning or safety — without waiting for central office approval. Teachers need that backup if we want them to give our kids consistency. Teachers also need training in evidence-based behavioral strategies, such as encouraging appropriate behavior, de-escalating disruptions and following through with reliable consequences. Let's redirect funding away from RJ to give teachers those tools. Advertisement Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters To restore public trust, we need regular audits using measurable outcomes — reductions in repeat offenses, fewer emergency calls and increases in uninterrupted instructional time, for example — and to make the results public. Within the city's classrooms, daily structure is a must. Students can't learn in chaotic environments. Classrooms need clear routines, posted behavior expectations and consistent follow-through when rules are broken. Advertisement Finally, we must recognize that Title 1 schools, which serve the city's neediest and most vulnerable children, have been hit hardest by the breakdown of discipline. They should be first in line for training and resources to restore order and protect student learning. The collapse of order in our schools is a nationwide issue, as President Donald Trump recognizes: His April executive order directed the federal Education Department to promote behavior-based discipline measures. The order instructs federal agencies to roll back past guidance discouraging suspensions and reprimands over racial-equity concerns — guidance that spurred the rise of RJ in the city and elsewhere. Advertisement As Trump's order makes clear, imposing consequences isn't about punishment. It's about creating predictable environments in which students understand expectations and know adults will follow through. It's about striking a balance between compassion and clarity, and recognizing that boundaries are a form of care. New Yorkers should make school discipline a priority as they consider their vote for mayor. Advertisement Until the city rebuilds a system where all students can learn in calm, focused classrooms, children who need the most support will continue to receive the least. Restoring disciplinary structure gives every student a better chance to succeed — and New York City should lead the way. Jennifer Weber is the cofounder and co-owner of KIT Educational Consulting.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service Unveils Summer Specials
07/24/2025, Haslet, TX // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // This summer, homeowners in Fort Worth and surrounding areas have a great opportunity to improve the safety, beauty, and health of their properties with the help of Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service. The trusted local company is offering exclusive July tree service specials, available through the end of the month. Homeowners can enjoy 20% off the third tree removal when two are scheduled, along with an additional $375 off any project exceeding $3,000. Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service is known for delivering expert tree care solutions. The team combines skill and experience to help homeowners maintain safe and beautiful properties even during the harsh Texas summer. These limited-time offers make it easier than ever to remove hazardous or unwanted trees and invest in lasting improvements, such as decorative rock work, mulching, and landscape installation that boost curb appeal and property value. Homeowners taking advantage of these summer specials from Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service can also save on River Rock installation, a durable and attractive ground cover ideal for Texas landscapes. Qualifying bulk purchases include complimentary mulch, adding even more value to outdoor upgrades. In addition, the company offers discounts on plant health care treatments designed to strengthen trees against summer heat stress. Every service from Price Right is guided by an ISA-Certified Arborist. This ensures professional expertise and recommendations tailored to each property's unique needs. Serving Fort Worth, Haslet, Keller, Southlake, Grapevine, and surrounding areas, Price Right is fully insured, locally owned, and trusted for delivering high-quality solutions that balance practicality and creativity. Homeowners choose Price Right not only for its competitive pricing and comprehensive range of services, including tree trimming, removals, and full-scale landscape transformations. The team understands the specific challenges of North Texas environments and offers expert strategies that help trees and landscapes thrive in local conditions. Summer in Texas often brings severe storms, prolonged heat, and drought stress that can weaken trees and threaten property safety. Proactive maintenance, such as trimming dead branches, removing failing trees, and applying micronutrient treatments, can prevent costly damage and preserve the health of trees. By booking these services during the July promotion period, homeowners can protect their property and enjoy safer and more beautiful outdoor spaces. With special discounts on tree removal, River Rock installation, and any project over $3,000, these July tree service specials offer a timely opportunity to tackle long-overdue outdoor projects. Price Right Trees also offers personalized plant health care programs to keep trees strong and vibrant year-round. Whether the goal is a cleaner yard, improved tree health, or a more inviting landscape, its team provides customized plans to achieve it. To learn more about Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service and its July specials, visit or contact their office directly. About Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service provides professional tree care, landscaping, and property maintenance services throughout Fort Worth, TX, and surrounding communities. Its experienced and certified team delivers reliable, high-quality results that enhance both property safety and appeal. ### Media Contact Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service 2227 White Ln, Haslet, TX 76052 (817) 675-8565 newsroom: Source published by Submit Press Release >> Price Right Professional Landscaping & Tree Service Unveils Summer Specials
Mint
5 days ago
- Mint
YouTube's AI Slop Is a Win for Alphabet. But What About Us?
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- There's a prevailing wisdom that AI-generated content, or slop as it's colloquially known, should make our skin crawl. AI models tend to generate uncanny faces, mangled hands and fantastical scenarios. Take this YouTube Short video of a baby that finds itself being shimmied up a baggage loader onto a jumbo jet, before donning an aviation headset and flying the plane. It has racked up more than 103 million views. So too have other AI-generated videos which are starting to dominate the platform in much the same way they've proliferated across Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Several of YouTube's most popular channels now feature AI-generated content heavily. I'd originally thought this would be a problem for YouTube as it grappled with what looked like a new form of spam, but the general lack of complaint from advertisers coupled with the gangbusters growth of AI content, and even appreciative comments from viewers, changed my view. It seems the public is happy to gorge on slop, and that's not a problem for Alphabet Inc.'s most valuable asset after Google Search. Quite the opposite. Earlier this month, YouTube — which could surpass The Walt Disney Co. this year as the world's largest media company by revenue — updated its policies to strike a balance between allowing AI-generated videos to flourish on its platform without spamming it. The new rules cut ad revenue from low-effort, repetitive content. Think channels like this one, this one, this one, this one and many more, often run by the same person uploading dozens of videos a day. Their creators might exploit AI tools like Eleven Labs to create a synthetic voice that reads out a script, scraped from Reddit, over a slideshow of stock images. Some of these videos get hundreds of thousands of views. The video platform's overall approach, however, is that AI-generated content is fine, so long as it's original, provides value to viewers and includes some human input. For now, it seems to be measuring that on a case-by-case basis, which is as good an approach as any with new tech. YouTube is also no stranger to fighting spam. Indeed, the policy update seems have put advertisers at ease, even as 92% of creators on the site use generative AI tools, according to the company. Advertisers have a tacit understanding that more AI on YouTube means more content, and more revenue. It helps that the industry has years of experience trying to monitor icky content — from racism to conspiracy theories — shown next to their brands online. They've learned it's a years-long game of Whac-A-Mole. YouTube clearly wants AI content to thrive. Sister company Google has said that later this summer, it will bring its video-generation tool Veo3 to YouTube Shorts, making it even easier to create lifelike AI videos of Storm-Trooper vloggers or biblical characters as influencers. The company says AI will 'unlock creativity' for its creators. PJ Ace (@PJaccetturo) June 2, 2025 But unlocking new forms of profit is more straightforward for Alphabet than it is for creators. Take Ahmet Yiğit, the Istanbul-based creator behind the viral pilot-baby video. Though his channel has racked up hundreds of millions of views, he's only received an estimated $2,600 for his most viral post, with the bulk of his audience coming from countries like India, where ad rates are low. Yiğit says he spends hours on a single scene and juggles a dozen tools, suggesting that even this new generation of AI creators could end up working harder for less, while Alphabet reaps ad revenue from their output. As long as the content machine runs, it doesn't matter whether AI videos are quick and easy or grueling to make — only that they drive views and ads. That's why YouTube is leaning harder into welcoming slop than policing it. While the company does require creators to say if their videos contain AI, the resulting disclaimer is listed in a small-text description that viewers must click through to read, making it tough to spot.(1) That does little to address the growing confusion around what's real and what's synthetic as more YouTubers race to capitalize on AI content. The risk is that as slop floods our feeds and juices YouTube's recommendation algorithms, it'll drown out more thoughtful, human-made work. The earliest big YouTube hits were slices of life like the infamous, 'Charlie Bit My Finger.' What happens when the next wave of viral hits have no bearing on reality, instead offering bizarre, dreamlike sequences of babies dressed as Storm Troopers, or Donald Trump beating up bullies in an alleyway? Perhaps they will both reflect and deepen our sense of disconnection from real life. AI content might turn out to be a boon for YouTube, but it offers an unsettling future for the rest of us. More From Bloomberg Opinion: (1) That probably won't change for some time. Guidelines from the US Federal Trade Commission requires YouTube videos to disclose if they include a paid promotion, but there's no similar legal obligation to disclose content that's AI generated This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of 'Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World.' More stories like this are available on
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Whāriki And PledgeMe Launch Pūtea For Pakihi 2025: Crowdfunding To Uplift Māori Business
Whāriki Māori Business Network has proudly launched Pūtea for Pakihi 2025, a crowdfunding campaign in partnership with crowdfunding platform PledgeMe to support the growth of five innovative pakihi Māori. Unveiled during a special online showcase on 23 July, Pūtea for Pakihi empowers Māori entrepreneurs to raise pūtea from their friends, whānau, customers and fans, helping turn bold ideas into reality through the power of collective support. This kaupapa builds on the success of last year's inaugural showcase, where two pakihi Māori reached their crowdfunding goals: Te Whare Hangahanga raised over $100,000 to support their digital building system that enables communities to create sustainable, affordable, healthy whare. Moka Eco Fibre successfully raised over $6,000 to launch Moka Lash Glue, a natural, homegrown alternative made with ingredients like organic pia harakeke and NZ-sourced keratin. 'With PledgeMe, we're turning belief into backing - helping our Māori businesses to grow in a way that's grounded in community, kaupapa and connection,' says Renee Smith, GM of Whāriki. 'Crowdfunding enables us to move from cheering on the sidelines to actively building the future with our Whāriki whānau.' This year's campaign features five kaupapa-driven businesses: Little People, Big Emotions – Helping to raise emotionally intelligent tamariki, founder Renee is crowdfunding to print in bulk and launch new packaging to reach more whānau nationwide. RIESIN – A stylish, Māori-owned athleisure brand by sisters Mattesin and Marie, made for wāhine by wāhine. Pledges will help grow their collections and kaupapa of uplifting curves, culture and hauora. Te Ao ō Tamaaki Nui – Empowering South Auckland rangatahi through free creative workshops, this kaupapa seeks to fund a permanent creative hub for youth to learn, grow and thrive. Te Hokinga Tuna – Restoring tuna populations and mātauranga Māori through hatcheries and education, Te Hokinga Tuna is fostering kaitiakitanga and intergenerational pride. Tū Māori – Creating safe spaces to reconnect with te ao Māori through art, kai, waiata and tikanga, this kaupapa supports identity, healing and cultural connection. Each pakihi now has just four weeks to reach their crowdfunding goals, and they need our collective support to get there. Whether it's $5, $50 or $500, every pledge makes a difference. 'No amount is too small when we move together,' says Smith. 'This is about investing in our future, backing our people, and helping Māori businesses thrive.'
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Park-to-housing plan closer
A bold proposal to transform an Invercargill park into homes for 40 people is one step closer to becoming reality. Last month, Te Pare Kauika Ltd told the council of its plan to build up to 22 residential buildings at Newfield Park, a 1.8ha site in the city's suburbs. The group said it aimed to create a culturally grounded housing community which supported kaumātua and tangata whaikaha (those living with disability). Newfield Park has been earmarked for partial disposal since 2013, and the presentation led to the council revisiting that at a committee level on Tuesday. Te Pare Kauika Ltd kaitohu/director Janice Lee said her team celebrated every time they made it through another small part of the process. The development, Te Kāwai, would protect and nurture the most vulnerable in the community. "This is about whoever it is working with those vulnerable communities to create sustainable change. "We're just wanting to create the change that is going to support all people to have the support to be able to thrive in the community." The value of the project was that it could be replicated and scaled, changing the way aged care and disability transitions were done. It was commended by councillors at the June meeting, and again on Tuesday. Deputy mayor Tom Campbell said he was enthusiastic about the project while Cr Lesley Soper said revoking the reserve status would be the first step in making the land rateable. The committee's decision to recommend revocation and disposal to the full council did not guarantee the final outcome would be the Te Kāwai proposal, she noted. It started the process of revocation which still needed approval from the Department of Conservation. The Minister of Conservation would ultimately have the final say in whether revocation was allowed. The project would create up to 22 residential buildings, a community hub, communal facilities, off-street parking, secure storage and an administration office. It would house up to 40 residents by way of 10 three-bedroom homes and 12 two-bedroom homes. • LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
