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- NewsLanguage Magazine25 Jul 2026
‘Speak the New Language of Adaptability’
The 2026 ETS Human Progress Report emphasizes adaptability as the most critical career skill, surpassing traditional job tenure. Multilingual individuals are found to have a distinct advantage in adaptability, based on a survey of over 32,000 workers across 18 countries.
Original abstract
According to the 2026 ETS Human Progress Report, traditional job tenure is no longer a guarantee of security; instead, adaptability has become the single most critical capability for career survival and progress. Multilinguals have an advantage when it comes to adaptability. Educational Testing Service’s survey of over 32,000 workers and individuals across 18 countries presents […] The post ‘Speak the New Language of Adaptability’ appeared first on Language Magazine .
- NewsLanguage Magazine24 Jul 2026
Supports for Struggling Adolescent Readers
Middle and high school teachers face diverse literacy levels, with some students lacking basic phonics and decoding skills. This challenge leads to disengagement and requires targeted support for struggling adolescent readers. The article highlights the need for interventions beyond grade-level text exposure.
Original abstract
Middle and high school teachers often face the challenge of addressing a wide range of literacy levels among their students. While some students are ready to read complex texts independently, others struggle with fundamental skills like phonics and decoding, leading to disengagement and a loss of motivation. At the same time, teachers may be limited […] The post Supports for Struggling Adolescent Readers appeared first on Language Magazine .
- NewsEdSurge24 Jul 2026
Early Childhood Education Teachers Grapple with Screen Time
The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its screen time guidelines for children, focusing on digital devices rather than TV, but early childhood educators found the recommendations too generic for pre-K students. Teachers report that excessive screen time can impair cognitive development and emotional regulation in young children, leading to shorter attention spans and quick-tempered behavior.
Original abstract
<p>When the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its<a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/157/2/e2025075320/206129/Digital-Ecosystems-Children-and-Adolescents-Policy"> <u>guidelines</u></a> around screen time for children and teenagers for the first time in 10 years this past January, many teachers and educators applauded the news. The document focused less on television and more on digital devices. It offered educators, families, pediatricians, and other stakeholders research-backed guidance on using digital devices to support children’s learning, rather than prioritize prolonged engagement. </p><p>However, many of the recommendations were not tailored to specific age groups. Recommendations like “create a family media plan” and “protect sleep” were helpful but offered few concrete steps for pre-K students. </p><p>That left early childhood educators asking what they could do for their young learners.</p><h2>The Risks in Pre-K Through K</h2><p>Unlike the physical world, digital content comes fast, in short bursts, and when kids get used to that, it has negative consequences. “Too much of this screen and things jumping in front of them, it could be damaging overall,” says Latoya Jones, a pre-K through fifth-grade media specialist in Broward County, Florida. “They are developing their cognitive processes, and if we’re teaching them to think in six-second bursts, maybe that’s not what we’re aiming for.”</p><p>When kids interact with devices rather than people, their emotional regulation can suffer, says Kristina Turner, a first-grade teacher at the Paterson, New Jersey, campus of<a href="https://collegeachieve.org/"> <u>College Achieve Public Schools</u></a>, a network of three K-12 charter schools. “A lot of the students, they are quick-tempered because they’re just used to quick things. If something takes too long, their behavior starts to heighten,” she says.</p><p>For the youngest learners in particular, “it is so important that they are learni
- NewsLanguage Magazine22 Jul 2026
Adolescent Literacy Can’t Wait
Only 30% of eighth graders and 35% of twelfth graders read at a proficient level according to the 2024 NAEP Report Card. Laura Stewart, Terrie Noland, and Jeanne Schopf provide practical strategies for improving adolescent literacy in secondary classrooms.
Original abstract
Laura Stewart, Terrie Noland, and Jeanne Schopf offer practical strategies for the secondary classroom The 2024 NAEP Report Card delivered a stark reminder: only 30% of eighth graders and 35% of twelfth graders are reading at a proficient level. These are not abstract statistics. They represent students like the eighth grader who threw a computer […] The post Adolescent Literacy Can’t Wait appeared first on Language Magazine .
- NewsEdSurge22 Jul 2026
We Must Stop Using AI to ‘Level-Down’ Our Students
This article argues that using AI to simplify texts for students, a practice known as text leveling, reduces the richness of literature and prevents students from engaging in effortful thinking. Instead, teachers should scaffold access to complex texts rather than dumbing them down. The author cautions against the temptation of AI shortcuts in education.
Original abstract
<p>No one would remember the line, “Keep being good and special, Ponyboy. Don’t change.” It just doesn’t hit the same as <a href="https://www.sehinton.com/"><u>S.E. Hinton’s</u></a> classic line, “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.” </p><p>Many English teachers, myself included, would consider it an atrocity to diminish this canonical line in literary history to such sterile and lifeless simplicity. Students deserve a better reading experience than that. Yet this is just what happens when teachers decide to level a text down to a student’s “instructional level” rather than scaffolding up their access to a complex text. </p><p>In my own district, just two years ago, educators raved about a new AI tool that helps teachers level text and encouraged the department to spend thousands of dollars on it. When I first heard about it, I admit, I was dazzled. The most time-consuming and work-intensive part of teaching for me has always been differentiating for the small percentage of kids who just don’t get it the first, second, or even third time you teach something. </p><p>This program was going to do it all for me, but the caveat was that it would also do all the thinking for the kids. When we keep kids from actually doing work that requires effortful thinking, they don’t learn anything at all. </p><p>While <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/compass/policymakers-and-state-education-agencies/"><u>many states</u></a> are passing legislation that focuses on the Science of Reading, moving districts away from programs that promote text leveling, many edtech companies are promoting this practice through their newest AI models. In our world of quick and snappy AI solutions, the leveled text shortcut is all too easy to take, but we should not give in to temptation. </p><h2>The History of Text Leveling</h2><p>The practice of teaching students at their “instructional” level has a long, storied history leading back to the founding colonies. If that sort of history interests you, I
- NewsEdSurge22 Jul 2026
What Does AI Cost When We Skip the Work?
This EdSurge podcast episode discusses the enduring value of a college degree and writing skills in the age of AI, featuring guests who argue that the benefits of these experiences—such as personal growth and deep learning—cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence.
Original abstract
<p>Every few months, another headline declares the college degree dead. <strong>This Week with EdSurge</strong> examines what still holds up when artificial intelligence moves fast, through two guests who are both defending something slow against something fast.</p><h2>A Four Year Degree in the Age of AI</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/author/rita-finkel--9b5e61f9-c70d-441e-b13a-0c1a116d3d60"><u>Rita Finkel</u></a>, co-president of the Armory Foundation and director of the Armory College Prep program, argues that a college degree was never just about a technical skill. She says the data tells a different story than the headlines suggest, and that the value of a degree comes from something artificial intelligence cannot replicate.</p><h2>The Fourth Essay</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/author/cobretti-williams"><u>Cobretti Williams</u></a> of the <strong>EdSurge</strong> Voices of Change Fellowship makes a similar case for writing. He talks about the beauty in imperfection, and how a fellow's fourth essay reads nothing like the first, growth that only comes from doing the work yourself.</p><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/podcasts"><u>Listen to the episode</u></a>.</p><h2>Stories Mentioned in This Episode</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2026-05-28-why-college-degrees-matter-in-the-age-of-ai"><u>Why College Degrees Matter in the Age of AI</u></a></p><p>by Rita Finkel</p><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/collections/edsurge-voices-of-change-writing-fellowship"><u>EdSurge Voices of Change Writing Fellowship</u></a></p><p>by EdSurge</p><p><strong>This Week with EdSurge</strong> is a weekly podcast from <strong>EdSurge</strong>. Subscribe to the <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/newsletters"><u>EdSurge newsletters</u></a> for more news and analysis on education and technology.</p><p> </p>
- NewsEdSurge21 Jul 2026
The Language Barrier Is the Real Barrier in Edtech
This article argues that most educational technology platforms are built in English first, creating an invisible barrier for non-English-speaking families who cannot help their children with schoolwork. It highlights how this language gap widens opportunity disparities, particularly as states like California mandate personal finance courses, and calls for bilingual solutions to ensure equitable access.
Original abstract
<p>When I started looking closely at the learning platforms schools ask families to use, I noticed something easy to miss if it doesn’t affect you: almost all of them are built in English first.</p><p>For families who speak Spanish at home, that one fact quietly changes everything. A child might be able to follow along in class, but the parent often can’t — and a parent who can’t understand the material can’t sit beside their kid and help them with it. The language barrier becomes an opportunity barrier. And it’s invisible to the people who never have to think about it.</p><p>For me, the English-first technology trend was never abstract. My own children use the technology I’ve built, and I built it for families like the ones all around me — so that the opportunity to understand money, technology, and how to build something of your own doesn’t depend on which language gets spoken at the dinner table. I’m tired of watching the same families get left a step behind — not because their kids are any less capable but because no one built the on-ramp in a language they could use.</p><p>That language gap is what I set out to close.</p><p>It matters now more than ever because a growing number of states are starting to require students to take a personal finance course to graduate. For example,<a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/personalfinance.asp"> <u>California’s Assembly Bill 2927</u></a> requires students to complete a stand-alone personal finance course to graduate high school starting with the class of 2030-31, with schools required to offer it by 2027-28. But if the lessons exist only in English, many households that need that knowledge are also the ones least able to access and reinforce it at home. A mandate built that way doesn’t close the gap. It can widen it.</p><p>I’ve spent the past three years building a bilingual K-12 learning platform, and the single most important thing I’ve learned is this: there is a world of difference between a product that has been
- NewsEdSurge19 Jul 2026
These Hip-Hop Artists Were Already Teaching
A new partnership between College Unbound and the Hip-Hop Education Center offers a BA in organizational leadership and change for hip-hop educators, recognizing their community-based teaching expertise rather than requiring traditional credentials. The program asks who gets to define expertise in education, aiming to validate alternative pathways into teaching.
Original abstract
<p>For decades, hip-hop artists have been invited into schools as guest speakers, workshop leaders and visiting performers. They’ve mentored young people after school; started nonprofits; taught music production, poetry, history and entrepreneurship; and helped generations of students find their voices.</p><p>Yet many of these artists lack the one credential schools still value most: a bachelor’s degree.</p><p>But what if these artists have been teaching all along?</p><p>A new partnership between <a href="https://collegeunbound.edu/">College Unbound</a> and the <a href="https://www.hiphopeducation.org/">Hip-Hop Education Center</a> aims to answer that question, not by teaching artists how to become educators but by recognizing the expertise they’ve developed through decades of community leadership, cultural work and mentorship.</p><p>The program — a Bachelor of Arts in organizational leadership and change designed specifically for hip-hop educators and cultural leaders — isn’t a separate degree or a simplified version of one. Students complete the same degree requirements as every other College Unbound student. “It’s the same degree,” says College Unbound President Adam Bush. “It’s simply lived differently.”</p><p>The program is about more than hip-hop. It asks a question that reaches far beyond music: Who gets to decide what expertise looks like?</p><h2>A Degree Years in the Making</h2><p>Although the bachelor’s degree officially launched this year, its roots stretch back decades.</p><p>Hip-hop emerged outside traditional institutions, often in response to systems that excluded Black and Brown communities. As hip-hop education gained legitimacy, educators wrestled with a difficult question: How can we preserve the authenticity of the hip-hop culture while creating pathways that allow practitioners to teach at schools and colleges?</p><p>Long before there was a curriculum at College Unbound, there were conversations between Bush, educator and author Sam Seidel, and