Martin Luther King Day (MLK) is observed each year on the third Monday of January and today marks this holiday observance.

MLK Day proves to be the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service aiming at helping communities and promoting real social changes. The day has become a real occasion for Americans to go volunteering so as to empower their counterparts and help their communities. However, it is always important to recall that MLK Day is above all a holiday that honors the achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King’s life and legacy

Born on January, 15 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and an important civil rights activist. He spent his early life in Atlanta where he attended many different colleges before graduating a doctorate’s degree in Boston University School of Theology. Later, he came back to serve besides his father as co-pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dr King was one of the most-known influential leaders of the sixties civil rights movement. He dedicated all his life to advocating for nonviolent resistance against inequality and racial segregation. Indeed, he always showed a real commitment and devotion towards helping his Black American counterparts through nonviolent actions. His civil rights struggle started in 1955 when he helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott – a campaign intended to end segregation on public transport – and found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. By the 1960s, he was then found to lead a march on Washington. Eventually, his struggle paid off and the civil rights act was promulgated in 1964. In the meantime, he was awarded the Nobel Prize of Peace and in 1965 the voting rights act was enacted. Three years later, on April 4, 1968, he was assassinated in Tennessee.

Observance and celebration of MLK Day

Martin Luther King Day is a public Holiday that is recognized by all 50 states of America, where it is a day off for the overall population. MLK Day was signed by Ronald Reagan and then put into law in 1983; but it was three years later that it became an official holiday. It is both combined with Civil Rights Day, a state holiday mostly celebrated in Arizona and New Hampshire that honors civil rights activists; and Idaho Human Rights Day, observed as a public holiday in the State of Idaho but celebrated by the general population along with Martin Luther King Day. MLK Day is usually celebrated through marches, parades, and speeches but with the critical situation the world is currently facing, this may probably occur differently. People may choose to celebrate and honor it at home with family by spending cheerful moments while empowering one another, given that it has been considered as a community-centered holiday. Indeed, MLK Day is first and foremost a holiday that honors Dr King’s commitment to improving the lives of others; and then encourages people to keep the good work while taking into account the legacy he has left to all American citizens.

Sources: ShareAmerica / AmeriCorps

A 2002 survey “Reading at Risk” conducted by the Census Bureau at the request of the National Endowment for the Arts has already revealed a significant decline in reading among American young people and adults.

The report can be summarized in a single sentence: literary reading in America is not only declining among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among young, according to Dana Gioia, Chairman at National Endowment for the Arts. Throughout the survey, the number of American young adults, who used to read literary or any other kind of book, significantly declined. Namely, less than half of the adult American population now reads literature. In the same way, the percentage of the US adult population reading any books has dropped by seven percent over the past decade. This survey’s results dated back two decades ago, but the rate of reading among American young and adult people keeps fluctuating over time. In 2019, it has even been reported that 72 percent of US adult respondents declared having read a book within the past year, regardless of the format of the book. 65 percent reported that they prefer reading paper version of books. A study by Pew Research Center showed that printed books have continued to be more popular compared to other book formats such as ebooks and audiobooks.

It has been found that the remaining percentage of those who declare to have not read nor finished a book was composed of people with limited incomes or with lower education levels (high school degree and less). According to a Pew Research study, roughly a quarter of American adults do not read books at all. It argues that “non-book reading” among Americans correlated with several demographic characteristics that range from wealth to education level. The study also revealed that “non-book readers” are mostly common among those who do not have access to a library or only those who have never been to. A 2016 survey of Pew found that Hispanic older adults, those living in households earning less than 30,000 dollars and those who have a high school diploma or did not graduate from high school are most likely to report they have never been to a public library. Furthermore, as reading has also been introduced to the digitalization era thanks to the modern technology, some people with lower incomes are less likely to own electronic devices such as smartphones to read digital books. In fact, not affording the access to digital devices still lies as the main reason for the reading gap, which appears to become common within many American households.

Sources: National Endowment for the Arts (extract from the 2020 survey “Reading at Risk”). For full text go to http://www.arts.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf / Pew Research

High school extracurricular activities are an essential part of the American educational system. As a key part of the program of American institutions, those activities instill a sense of pride at school and in the community. At the same time, they teach students lifelong lessons alongside the fundamental lessons or curriculum taught in classroom. One of the most significant and rewarding interscholastic or extracurricular activities in US high school is sport.

Playing sports, in addition to contributing to healthier and longer lives, help high school students get more involved in an activity that delivers a large scope of non-physical benefits. Student athletes appear more likely to be more interactive, manifest stronger peer relationships and develop more self-esteem. Indeed, through engaging in physical activity, they develop a great sense of initiative, persistence and responsibility and tend to avoid any risky behaviors. According to a survey of over 14,000 teens from At Your Own Risk – an organization whose mission is to educate, provide resources and equip the public to act and advocate for safety in work, life, and sport – it is found that those who participated in team sports were less likely to consume drugs, smoke cigarettes and carry weapons. Another survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also confirms that students who participate in high school sports are less likely to engage in activities that could have a negative impact on their health. At the same time, they found that sports participation reduces the chance of obesity or type diabetes, which are mostly due to the lack of physical activity.

Participation in sports is beneficial for American students who search for improving their academic results as high school athletics have always been shown to highly enhance students’ grades. In fact, engaging in youth sports opens doors to high school athletes in search of new opportunities. 15 percent of high school athletes are perceived to be more likely to attend college. Sports have always played an important role in the American society. Similarly, they have essentially served as an everyday social scene and interaction within American colleges and universities. By playing for a college team, excellent athlete students from high school have the chance to be awarded a scholarship so as to pursue an undergraduate degree at the university. However, high school athletes who seek to get scholarships should know first how athletic scholarships and university sport programs truly work. Overall, university sports programs are offered at the intercollegiate (organized competition) and the intramural (club-like, less competitive) levels. Many universities offer sports scholarships at the intercollegiate level to students who are both academically qualified and skilled in a particular sport; this proves that the benefit of sports in US high schools is not only limited to regular physical activities to remain mentally and physically healthier, or to improve the student’s concentration and classroom behavior.

In fact, high school sports for American parents have come to be a real opportunity for their children to join in an activity that is most apparently rewarding both academically, socially, and physically. Moreover, it is important to note that many US schools highly promote and support athletics. Therefore, it is absolutely fair to say that sport remains one of the most popular extracurricular activities among other ones, that many parents still choose for their kids.

Sources: atyourownrisk.org/ CDC

Interesting facts about the origin of the Malagasy language

Did you know 70 percent of the Malagasy words have been apparently shown to originate in Austronesian language family and 30 percent from other language roots?

The formation of the Malagasy language may obviously be thought to have a direct link with the first settlement and the early peopling of Madagascar. However, according to some studies based on linguistic and archeological evidence about the origins of the Malagasy population, Austronesians were not the first settlers of the island. In fact, the Malagasy territory was first occupied by hunter-gatherers migrating from the East African mainland prior to 300 BC. Then, it was reached by Greco-Roman trading ships. Then came the “Malay” after establishing a raiding and trading along the East African coast from the 5th century onwards. The continuing contact of the island of Southeast Asia and the East African coast spurred the Malay settlers to transport mainland African population from the Sabaki-speaking area to Madagascar as an agricultural labor force, between the 5th and 7th centuries (Blench & Walsh, 2009). In addition, it has also been reported that there was a substantial evidence of Islamic and a limited Indian influence on both the Malagasy language and culture. The Indian influence was essentially spread by the vast trading network throughout the Indian Ocean. (Hurles, Matthew E; et al. 2005).These multitudes of settlement evidence highly reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the big Island.

Despite many different cultural and linguistic traces of the Malagasy ancestry and the evidence of lineages, the Malagasy language – the official language spoken throughout Madagascar by the entire population –mainly belongs to the Austronesian family. This has come to be more closely related to Maanyan, a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken in the Southeast Borneo; but it has also a close affinity with the languages of some western regions of Indonesia including Sulawesi, Malaysia, and Sumatra. Malagasy also bears similarities to loanword languages from Malay, Javanese, Balinese, more of the languages of south Sulawesi, and the Minangkabao language of Sumatra.

With its variety of languages combination, Malagasy is unique in some points, unlike other African languages. It would even probably be right to assume that the Malagasy belongs to African language families as it is located near the African continent; but surprisingly, it turns out not to be the case. Nevertheless, in the Malagasy language there appears to be an influence of the Bantu language – a Sub-Saharan African language – most particularly in terms of phonetics.

Later, many other languages such as French, English, and other European languages (Portuguese, Spanish) were introduced into Madagascar and borrowed to form new Malagasy words. The French language which emerged during the colonial period has even become one of the two official languages of Madagascar – Malagasy and French. Some examples of loanwords from the Indonesian language include valy/vady which means namana, eo anila (Nosy Bali); Ehoala, Ankoalabe, Ankoala in Malagasy language which means ranomasina miditra anaty tany (Kuala Lumpur); Atsimo/ atimo that points out the southern side of the compass points (Nosy Timor). Here are other loanword examples: karama from Sanskrit; omby from Bantu; zoma from Arab, boky from English, and latabatra from French.

Sources: Blench R. M., Walsh M. 2009. Faunal names in Malagasy: their etymologies and implications for the prehistory of the East African Coast / Hurles, Matthew E., Sykes, B. C., Jobling, M. A. & Forster, P. 2005 The dual Origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Africa and East Africa: evidence from maternal and paternal lineages / Tambajotra Sangambita 2014 Ahitsio ny diso, Boky I

Human beings are characterized by their eagerness to improve their living conditions at every level. For that reason, they continuously seek for means to fulfill the desire for a better life by acquiring new knowledge and skills through many different teaching and learning methods. A variety of educational options and programs have been set up. Pedagogy - one of the long-standing theories and methods used in educating children - appears at the top of the list. The term “pedagogy” first appeared in the mid to late 1500s in Middle French. Later, “andragogy” emerged, a term that was first coined in the 1800s by Alexander Knapp, a German educator, but popularized in the 1960s by Malcolm Knowles, an American educator well-known for his focus on adult learning. In fact, andragogy is the art and science of teaching adults and refers to the methods or practices used to educate adults.

Malcolm Knowles conceptualized the term by elaborating theories and practices to satisfy adult learners’ needs.  Through his specific theoretical approaches, he identified six andragogical assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners. Here they are:

1. The need to know. In some cases, adults always feel the need to know why they learn something new before undertaking it.  Even though andragogy focuses much more on self-directed learning, it can be cooperative among other adult learners. There are surely facilitators who can help them find the purpose behind their desire to know something and make them aware of their choice before engaging in the learning process.
2. The learners’ self-concept. Adults adopt new attitudes that move them from dependent people into self-directed and more responsible human beings.
3. The role of adult learners’ experiences. Over the span of their lives, as they grow up, adults may accumulate a certain amount of experience that allows them to increase their learning skills. Their life experience is used as a learning resource.
4. Readiness to learn. As people mature, they become task-oriented and want to learn what they need to know, and they feel ready to learn what they can immediately apply to their real-life situations.
5. Orientation to learning. When reaching a certain age, adult learners’ perspective changes as they become increasingly life-centered. Their perspective moves from subject-based centeredness to task and problem-centeredness.  They learn with the purpose of being able to cope with their current problems.
6. Motivation to learn. Adults’ motivation to learn is mostly spurred by internal factors or internal motivators such as the desire for productivity for instance, or just for increasing self-esteem.

Getting to know these six assumptions appear to be highly helpful for teachers who engage in andragogy. At the same time, it will make adult learners successful in their goal achievement.

Source: Knowles M. S., Swanson, R. A., & Holton, E. F. III (2005). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (6^th ed.)

The 19^th century marked the turning point in the history of the United States, as it had grown into a great nation partly thanks to its breakthrough in industrialization. The United States became the strongest in the world in industrial production. With this rise of industrialism, the landscape of the nation changed and millions of immigrants from western and eastern Europe poured into the US in search of better lives. This was made possible when the civil war ended in 1865, entitling New York as the gateway to social freedoms and economic opportunities.  To this very point, the city of New York became home to most American national heritages such as the famous historical and architectural monument “statue of liberty”.  

The history of the statue of liberty

The statue of liberty is one the American national treasures located in New York Harbour, on Liberty Island nearby Ellis Island, the former receiving station for immigrants. The statue, also called “Lady Liberty”, is an iconic figure that was designed to stand as a national symbol. She depicts a universal symbol of freedom, hope and dream and represents the United States itself. Indeed, the end of the civil war, which marked a new era for America, coincided with the construction and design of the statue that both stirred millions of worldwide immigrants’ desire for freedom and opportunities. As the lady liberty stood to gaze over immigrants from Europe arriving at Ellis Island through the early 20^th century, she fed their mind with new vision and hope. To them, the statue of liberty symbolized the American dream. In other respects, the statue was originally conceived as an emblem of the lasting friendship between the peoples of France and the United States. At the same time, it was a sign that represented the search for liberty. The idea of gifting a statue came from a Frenchman named Edouard de Laboulaye.  His ideas came up as an evidence of the close relationship between France and America, but Edouard wished also to commemorate the centennial of the declaration of the American independence. It is the French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi who conceptualized the colossal structure of the statue assisted by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the famed Eiffel Tower of Paris, who designed the statue’s massive structural framework.

The symbols hidden on lady liberty

The statue of liberty also known as “Liberty Enlightenening the world” is far much more than a simple architectural statue. It was perfectly designed with aesthetic and with much symbolism and hidden meanings. The statue was, for instance, modeled after the roman goddess of freedom or Libertas. The lady liberty’s official name “liberty enlightenening the world” was taken from the torch in her raised right hand, which represents the flambeau or the candle-flame that enlightens the path to liberty. Her crown in the form of diadem features her divinity and the seven spikes on it symbolize the sun rays that reflect the seven continents of the Earth. The tablet in lady liberty’s left hand and on which is inscribed with July 4, 1776 in roman numerals is called “tablet of law” and depicts the American Independence and the establishment of the US constitution. These are only few of the symbols that encompass the lady liberty but there are more other design details that symbolize much more.

Sources: HISTORY / statueofliberty.org / National Parc Service (nps.gov)

Due to the critical situation triggered by the current covid-19 pandemic, the number of people who work from home has highly increased. In the United States, the number of remote workers peaked at 42 percent amid the covid-19 crisis, yet only 2.5 percent prior to the crisis. It even appears that work-from-home would turn out to be a permanent option even after the pandemic.

Some employees who are not really accustomed to work from home may probably struggle to remain productive as the work environment does not match their real needs and expectations for the fulfillment of some tasks assigned to them. For some, working from home is so distracting and draining as they are not alone at home; they may deal with unceasing disruptions while working. Therefore, they find themselves less productive in their remote work experience than if they work in an office. From the article “Are employees more productive working from home?” written by Baruch Silvermann, founder and CEO at The Smart Investor, a GetAbstract study revealed that 43 percent of Americans would prefer to work remotely even once the current crisis has ended. Another research outcome from Buffer survey showed that 99 percent of workers would prefer to work remotely at least some of the time, and 40 percent of remote workers explain that the biggest benefit is the flexible schedule.

However, there are some challenges: 22 percent of survey respondents found it difficult to obtain a healthy work-life balance, and 19 percent reported feeling lonely. In some research cases, it is revealed that working from home makes better at some tasks and worse at others, gradually depending on employees’ remote work environment and their adaptation capacity. Indeed, work productivity which goes hand to hand with creativity and performance will definitely decrease when remote worker continuously struggles with a boring assignment and repetitive ordinary distractions while working.

Tips to boost productivity 

To remain highly productive while working from home requires good habits and practices as it is not always an easy choice to engage in a remote work experience. In fact, the ability to successfully work from home is not a prerogative that can be granted to everybody; however, it can be enhanced by following some productive-enhancing remote work tips. Here are a few practical tips proposed by Michael J . Breus, a clinical psychologist and a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, on Psychology Today to boost work productivity: 

• Do avoid using the bedroom as a workspace, bedrooms are meant for sleep and sex as he repeatedly reminds his patients. If workers persist on working in their bedrooms, he suggests creating a workspace – away from bed – to use for work.
• Do set concrete hours for working – and stick to them. time management skills are fundamental in enhancing productivity whether it is in a worker’s or a student’s life. It is always important to create a dedicated work time by avoiding distractions and make sure all tasks get done at the end of the day. 

Sources: Business.com/ Psychology Today

Madagascar is well-known for its various endemic, yet endangered species. Thanks to its unique biodiversity that abounds in exceptional wildlife, it is not uncommon to come across a multitude of endemic species dispersed in all over the Big Island’s regions.

Apart from lemurs and other endemic reptiles, tortoises are among the living treasures that the country has to offer. Madagascar’s tortoises are seen as the most beautiful terrestrial turtles in the world. Due to their rarities, tortoises are mostly object to trafficking and poaching.

The tortoise named Astrochelys radiata, also called star turtle or radiated tortoise, “sokatra” of its Malagasy name is a terrestrial turtle that belongs to testunidae race. Madagascar is home to 13 turtle and tortoise species, including species which are among the rarest in the world. These species include Spider tortoise named Pyxis arachnoids; Flat-tailed Tortoise or Pyxis planicauda;  Madagascar Big-headed Turtle or Erymnochelys madagascariensis;  Radiated Tortoise or Astrochelys radiate;  Ploughshare Tortoise also called Astrochelys yniphora ; Eastern Hinged-Back Tortoise or Kinixys zombensis; Hawksbill Turtle or Eretmochelys imbricata; Leatherback Sea Turtle or Dermochelys coriacea; Green Turtle or Chelonia mydas; Olive Ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea; Loggerhead Sea Turtle, also named Caretta caretta; Yellowbelly Mud Turtle, Pelusios castanoides; and Helmed Turtle or Pelomedusa subrufa.

Many of these endemic turtle species are now critically threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and illicit trade. For instance, the survival of the radiated tortoise and the Hawksbill turtle – a sumptuous marine species with yellow and brown-marbled shell – is in real danger. This sea turtle lives in tropical oceans and is present in the north of Madagascar. In contrast, the radiated tortoise or sokatra, characterized by a dark and dome-shaped carapace, is mostly observed in the south. The “sokatra”, is also perceived as a “Fady” – literally translated “taboo” –in some tribes of Madagascar. In the Mahafaly and Antandroy tribes, for instance, it is forbidden to feed on turtles and shoot them.

Turtles conservation strategies

The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) has been entitled the global leader in preserving Madagascar’s endemic turtles and is currently in charge of 25,000 tortoises. Through their programs “zero turtle extinctions in the 21^st century” which aim to eradicate wildlife trafficking and illicit market of terrestrial turtles, the TSA committed to providing vital service and care to protect the Big Island’s endemic turtle species, especially the radiated tortoises which are at the highest risk of extinction. The Alliance also engages in teaching and raising community’s awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the TSA was concerned with a serious problem in managing the conservation of these endemic species. In this case, the US Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program (DOI-ITAP), agreed to support the TSA with a grant of up to USD 150,000 to care for more than 24,000 rescued tortoises until their safe return to the wild.

Note: Basically, both tortoises and turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines but each one of them belongs to a distinct family classification. The primary distinction between a tortoise and a turtle is the place where they live. Tortoises generally dwell on land while turtles live in the water for most of their lives. However, there are other characteristics which help us spot the difference between a tortoise and a turtle: physical appearance, habitat and distribution, lifespan, diet, and reproduction and birth.

Sources: ONTM / WWF Madagascar/ USAID / World Atlas

What does it really mean to be you? Is that feeling confident with whom you are and with all what you have and what you do? Is that living up to the fullest of your potential and enjoying every single day no matter what may come your way, opportunities or challenges, fulfillment or failure, happiness or adversity? Or is there anything else to describe it well?

It is obviously true that life is constantly changing; however, it appears to most people living on this earth to not accept life as really it is so. Like with what happened when 2020 year began, many lives have been stirred up and turned upside down. Consequently, people lose sight of what they have always so long sought, such as their unceasing search for freedom, identity, fulfillment, hope and more others associated to the quest of the “self”.  It actually seems like all things have been vanishing just in a blink of an eye.  In fact, we are just starting a new year. As last year was characterized by long-suffering hardships and breakdowns, for 2021, what people may probably expect for is that everything will turn back to normal. Indeed, what people really need is a positive life-changing trigger through focusing on the self and continuously seeking to maximize personal growth so as to become the best version of themselves even in times of crisis.

Tony Robbins – an American author, coach, motivational speaker and philanthropist - in his article “How to reach your ideal self” explains that the best approach towards reaching a better version of yourself consists in defining your best self first. That is, learning to listen to your inner voice by paying attention to all of your feelings, emotions, expectations and desires. It is all about having a deep conversation with yourself by pondering on some essential points and answering to some existential questions, which may surely lead you to have an insight on your ideal self. Therefore, you will be able to find ways to maximize your self-improvement and then become this best version of yourself you have overly searched for. Then after reflecting on and identifying yourself, it will be easier for you to take concrete steps to reach the ideal self and get wherever you desire to be. However, it is always important to note that this is a long life-changing process that particularly requires constant self-awareness and discipline. Here are a few guidelines taken from the article of Tony Robbins that can help you define well and remain your best self version at any time:

• Always be willing to get rid of your old identity. Do not let your old past and experience hold you back and prevent you from pursuing the best version or yourself. Always embrace your search of new identity.
• Tame your fears. When you find yourself feeling anxious, identify it and write it down so that you can control your fear, you should first know its source.
• Set reasonable goals and prioritize outcomes. Let your ideal self set goals and do not let your mind be popped up with trivial details or unimportant information that do not correspond to your goal; and when setting goals, make sure these ones are measurable and achievable.
• Amplify your strengths and manage yourself effectively. Along the process of becoming your best version, you always need to focus on your strengths and manage yourself by learning to effectively optimize your time and better organize your life.

Source: The Official Website of Tony Robbins

Time flies. Here we are, 2020 is coming to an end. New Year is just around the corner and making new resolutions is what comes to most people’s mind.

By definition, New Year’s resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year (Cambridge dictionary). In other words, you make a promise for the coming New Year to adjust the future by reflecting on the past. However, there are two kinds of people, those who perfectly plan their future by establishing long goals lists whether they are daily, monthly, or annually, and those who merely content to live day to day without worrying about setting any resolution throughout their life. Some people who decide to no longer plan their year might have repeatedly struggled in achieving the goal they set up when the year began. According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals. Around 80 percent fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions, US clinical psychologist Joseph Luciani explains. Another survey conducted by Franklin Covey, the company that published the famous book “The seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey, shows that 35 percent – or one-third – of those who make New Year’s resolutions break them by the end of January. In fact, there are multiple reasons why resolutions fail, which may vary from how resolutioners fix goals and how they handle them. The way they approach their fixed goals plays a major role in reaching them. Most of the time, people set irrelevant and unrealistic goals or just make resolutions in haste as New Year arrives quickly.

Three Malagasy young people – two men and one woman – share their opinions about New Year’s resolutions. The younger argued that setting resolutions is not really of much importance. He explains that sooner or later, such resolutions established from the very start of a new year will always change by the time and correspondingly, are more likely to break. He also added that resolutioners sometimes fail to appreciate the present time, as they are quite too busy to plan their future life. The other two agree that setting up goals – not any goals though, but relevant, meaningful, and achievable ones – is always of a paramount importance and remains a key part to any successes, more particularly when a new year begins. Indeed, setting resolutions may obviously seem to be a waste of time for some, whereas it means so much for resolution-makers. Whether you do not rely on New Year’s resolutions to survive or you are used to making long lists for your fulfillment, know that using SMART method is always helpful and a must for achieving one’s goal. Set a few Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound goals!

Sources: The New York Times, US news and world report