I used to believe courtesy(礼貌) was a thing of the past. Very seldom have I encountered a courteous human being in this modem era of the so called Generation X.

    Recently, I had to change my thinking, when I came face to face with just such a human being. I had gone to a happening coffee place, with two of my grown up daughters. The place was crowded with the usual loud crowd and we had to climb a sleep flight of stairs in order to find an empty table. After enjoying coffee and snacks, we were at the steep descent down the stairs, where the narrow space made climbing down only possible in a single file, with hardly any space for another person to either climb up or come down.

    Just as I was in the middle of my descent, a gentleman entered the main entrance of the restaurant which right in front of the staircase. I was sure I would be pushed roughly by this man who will want to go up in a hurry. I kept coming down as fast as I could, holding on to the banister (栏杆), instead of my advanced years. My agile daughters were already down, looking up at me worriedly, hoping I would reach them before the stranger strange started up the stairs, knowing I was a nervous sort.

    Nearly reaching them, I noticed the man still standing near the door. I reached my daughters and passed the stranger at the entrance door which he kept holding open. I looked back thinking he was still at the door, deciding whether to go in or find another less crowded place. I saw him going up the stairs, two at a time. I told my daughters about it and all three of us felt had that we did not even thank the courteous gentleman who was actually holding the door open for us ladies to pass through before going up.

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    Parents who help their children with homework may actually be bringing down their school grades. Other forms of parental involvement, including volunteering at school and observing a child's class, also fail to help, according to the most recent study on the topic.

    The findings challenge a key principle of modern parenting where schools expect them to act as partners in their children's education. Previous generations concentrated on getting children to school on time, fed, dressed and ready to learn.

    Keith Robinson, the author of the study, said, "I really don't know if the public is ready for this but there are some ways parents can be involved in their kids' education that leads to declines in their academic performance. One of the things that was consistently negative was their parents' help with homework." Robinson suggested that may be because parents themselves struggle to understand the tasks."They may either not remember the material their kids are studying now, or in some cases never learnt it themselves, but they're still offering advice."

    Robinson assessed parental involvement performance and found one of the most damaging things a parent could do was to punish their children for poor marks. In general, about 20% of parental involvement was positive, about 45% negative and the rest statistically insignificant.

    Common sense suggests it was a good thing for parents to get involved because "children with good academic success do have involved parents", admitted Robinson. But he argued that this did not prove parental involvement was the root cause of that success. "A big surprise was that Asian-American parents whose kids are doing so well in school hardly involved. They took a more reasonable approach, conveying to their children how success at school could improve their lives."

    Regardless of how far we'd like to believe gender(性别) equality in the workplace has come, there's still a yawning gap between male and female leaders in the professional world. A 2018 statistic shows that women nowadays hold just 5.8 percent of CEOs positions at S&P 500 companies, according to Catalyst.

    While it's not a huge shock that women are somewhat underrepresented in leadership positions, what is surprising though, is the fact that females may actually be better suited to lead in almost every area, at least according to new findings from the BI Norwegian Business School.

    In their research，Professor yvind L. Martinsen and Professor Lars Glas surveyed (调查)2,900 managers with a special focus on personality types. The results were clear: Women scored higher than men in four of the five major leadership-centric categories.

    While some people believe that men inherently make better leaders — probably because they picture a leader with a commanding voice, which is more typical of men than women — this piece of research suggests that women are better at methodical management and goal-setting, openness, sociability and supportiveness, as well as ability to communicate clearly.

    There was one area in which men scored higher than women, though, and that was on emotional stability and ability to face job-related pressure and stress. The results suggest that women are more sensitive to the effects of high-pressure or highly emotional situations.

    Obviously，it's important to consider individual(个人的) differences. Anyone, regardless of gender, may be an inspiring leader and a competent boss. But next time you're hiring for a management position, you just might want to give the resumes(简历) from female candidates a harder look.

    I have just arrived in a country where I don't know the language, where I have no family roots and where I find myself all alone. It may sound frightening. But let me tell you a little secret: it is not.

    When you travel abroad by yourself for whatever reason—exchange program, internship, volunteering, or simply as a tourist—a new and fascinating world will open up for you. A world you would have never been able to see if you had just stayed at home.

    People from a different country are not aliens. They are simply people like you who happened to be born in another region. They have pretty much the same wishes and worries as people from your own country.

    I know that you see a lot of news on TV saying terrible things people do all the time. Your family may have spent a great deal of time telling you not to trust strangers. However, when you travel alone you will realize that people are just as good as you. Everyone is just leading their lives, working, studying and having a good time with their friends. Most people will be happy to help you and get to know you.

    Maybe in the past when you would need months to travel from one place to another, traveling could be expensive. Nowadays, the world is just so connected that it is perfectly possible to find cheap flights, accommodation for all budgets and cheap and quality food.

    You will get lost, but it's fine! I can't even count how many times I didn't know where I was going or how to find the right direction. Everything looks great on Google maps, but sometimes your phone will die or your data will end. Just calm down. Go to a store or stop someone in the street and ask! Or simply walk around and be curious.

    DESIGN-A-LOGO CONTEST

    We need a logo that will be the perfect sign of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design a perfect logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. A well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know:

    Logo Requirements

    Your design mustn't have copied anyone else's.

    Your design must include no more than two colors.

    The words “Wellsville Skate Park” must appear in the logo.

    The logo should be presented on 8×11 paper in every shape.

    Submission(提交) Details

    Your name and address must appear on the back of the logo design.

    You need to include a one-page written explanation of the design.

    Deadline

    Mails will be accepted between July 10 and August 15.

    Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatepark. com on August 20.

    Prizes

    First Prize: a digital camera

    Second Prize: a one-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park

    Honorable Mention: a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo

    MAIL DESIGNS TO:

    Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest

    Riverside Recreation Center

    1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA 23226

    We're often reminded of the importance of preserving the planet as we see it for future generations—and children at St Oswald's Primary School in Chester certainly agree.

    Nine-year-old Isobel Kelleher from the school's Hummingbirds class thinks adults need to take note. “Sometimes they can be busy and I don't think they think they can make a difference，but if everyone does a little bit it all adds up，” she tells HuffPost UK.“ We started looking at plastic pollution in our oceans and the things like plastic bags and broken down pieces of plastic that are polluting them.” she says.“ Fish can eat the plastic and they can die，or we might even eat the fish ourselves.”

    Mr Timms，Isobel's teacher，has been spearheading a new project at the school which lets children loose creatively to raise awareness of the need to be more environmentally friendly. The entire Hummingbirds class，which is made up of 9 and 10-year-old pupils，has been busy writing poems and creating online video adverts to warn adults about the serious situation of our oceans and wildlife.

    Mr Timms thinks children have an important role to play in teaching us how to take care of the things around us. We sometimes overlook how much we can really learn from children.” he says.“ It has been really hard to believe having parents come in saying that their children have been asking them to stop using plastic，and to recycle more，and even stopping them using plastic straws.”

    Mr Timms is proud of his Hummingbirds class.“ The message that they would like to send to the world is simple stopping this isn't someone else's job，and it won't be OK if we just leave it.”