Source 1: Tough course: Possible pay loss leads Detroit teachers to stage sick-out

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1 Source 1: Tough course: Possible pay loss leads Detroit teachers to stage sick-out By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff Word Count 690 Lexile 1070L Teachers rally outside school district headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, May 3, AP/Carlos Osorio 1 DETROIT, Mich. Nearly all of Detroit's public schools were closed Monday, and more than 45,000 students missed classes. The strike happened after half of the district's teachers called in sick to protest the possibility that some of them won't get paid over the summer. That could happen if the struggling district runs out of cash. 2 The latest in a series of sick-outs closed 94 of 97 schools for the day. Following a suggestion by their union, 1,562 teachers stayed home. The move by the Detroit Federation of Teachers, which represents the teachers, came after Detroit Public Schools' transition manager Steven Rhodes said the district would have no money to continue paying teachers this summer without further funding from the state. 3 The state had approved $47.8 million in emergency money in March to keep the 46,000- student school system operating. That amount only pays the district's bills through June 30.

2 4 Detroit Schools also would be unable to fund summer school or special education programs after June 30. The state Legislature is considering a $720 million restructuring plan that would pay off the district's enormous debt. Living Paycheck To Paycheck 5 Some teachers get paid just during the school year. Others get their pay spread out so they have money over the summer. It wasn't immediately clear how many of the district's approximately 3,000 educators chose to have their biweekly pay spread out over 26 weeks. Some say they live paycheck to paycheck and need the money to get through July and August, before the next school year starts. 6 "We have already put the work in," said Kimberly Morrison, 54, a reading and recovery specialist and 20-year district employee. "If I don't get my pay, then somebody else who I owe won't get their pay." 7 Kindergarten teacher Famata Legemah, 54, says it's difficult for her to save enough during the school year to make do over the summer because "there's not a whole lot left over." Union: Teachers Want To Teach 8 Morrison and Legemah were among a few hundred teachers who picketed Monday morning outside the district's administrative offices. 9 "There's a basic agreement in America: When you put in a day's work, you'll receive a day's pay," Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey said. "DPS is breaking that deal. Teachers want to be in the classroom giving children a chance to learn and reach their potential." 10 By refusing to guarantee that the teachers will be paid for their work, Bailey said, "DPS is effectively locking our members out of the classrooms." 11 Teacher strikes are illegal under Michigan law. Sick-outs earlier this year caused tens of thousands of students to miss class.

3 "I'm Not Mad," Parent Says 12 Dejuan Parkman, who has four children in the district, joined the protest. Parkman, 42, was able to get his mother to watch the kids Monday but said he might have to take time off from his catering business if more sick-outs are held. 13 "It's real scary," he said. "What are we going to do if the teachers shut down the schools? I'm not mad at the teachers. You can't pay the teachers their money? That's not right. They have to pay their utilities, pay their mortgages and car notes." 14 Rhodes, the district's state-appointed transition manager and a former bankruptcy judge, also said the teachers "have to be paid for the work that they do," but without more help from the state that might not be possible. He said he understood the frustration and would like to do something about it. 15 "No one can guarantee what the Legislature will do," Rhodes said. "The alternative is so unimaginable." Governor Looks To Lawmakers 16 Republican Governor Rick Snyder on Monday stressed the urgency of the situation. He said he hopes to see action this month and "clearly before the middle of June" by lawmakers. 17 "We need to get something done here," Snyder said. "A legislative solution is the best solution, compared to the alternatives of ending up in court in some fashion." 18 He added that Monday's sick-out was not constructive, especially with the Legislature considering the restructuring plan. 19 "That just probably raises more questions and challenges to legislators," Snyder said. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. AP material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Retrieved from:

4 Source 2: Quietly, Israel provides medical aid to Syrians wounded in civil war By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff Word Count 889 Lexile 1210L Israel Defense Forces Col. Tarif Bader, who has overseen the military's effort to provide medical aid to more than 700 Syrians, points out hot spots where fighting is occurring across the Syrian border. Kate Linthicum/Los Angeles Times/MCT 20 SAFED, Israel The 9-year-old Syrian boy with no legs wheeled himself down a bright hospital corridor. Along the way, he stopped to accept a pain pill from one nurse and a high-five from another. 21 He has been here for a month, ever since a Syrian government warplane flew low over his village and dropped a bomb that blew apart his lower limbs. 22 Both legs had been amputated by an overworked Syrian doctor in an improvised clinic in a cellar. The next day, the boy s grandmother took him to the Golan Heights border half an hour away and asked the Israeli soldiers on the other side for help. 23 As civil war rages in Syria, with an estimated 130,000 people killed and millions displaced after nearly three years of fighting, Israel has been quietly providing aid to some of the wounded. Since the effort was launched by the Israeli army, officials say, more than 700 Syrians have received treatment.

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6 Stream Of Wounded Syrians 24 The endeavor has cost about $17 million so far, officials say, and has been praised as a triumph of humanitarianism over geopolitical concerns. After all, Israel and Syria are bitter foes that have fought three bloody wars. 25 We are saving the lives of our enemies, said Col. Tarif Bader, chief medical officer for the Israel Defense Forces Northern Command. 26 The 9-year-old boy is one of 17 Syrians being treated at Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed, a mountain outpost in northern Israel. Located about 5 miles west of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Safed is roughly 25 miles west of the Syrian war zone. 27 The stream of wounded Syrians has changed the feel in the hospital s wards and especially the lives of its Arabic-speaking staff. 28 A social worker named Fares was in the hospital last February when the first group of Syrian patients arrived. An Arab Christian, he was asked to interpret. Since then, he has worked nearly around the clock as a counselor, interpreter and messenger for the more than 300 Syrian patients who have been treated at the hospital. 29 Fares, who is 36, asked to be identified by only his first name, as he fears the hospital's treatment of Syrians may attract hostility. He was in the emergency room when the 9-year-old, a skinny kid with long eyelashes, was brought in. The boy cried for two days, at times shouting in panic that he didn t have money to pay for the medical treatment. 30 He is doing better now, staff members say, thanks in part to the bond he has forged with Fares. "They Tell Me About Fighting" 31 On a recent afternoon, the pair sat together on the floor of the crowded ward for wounded children. Fares played along as the boy and one of his cousins, who also lost a leg in the bomb attack, threw a red plastic ball repeatedly against his head. The kids hung on him as he talked, grabbing at his big hands.

7 32 Most of those treated here are men. Although the staff doesn t ask about their loyalties, it is assumed that they are rebel fighters in the opposition Free Syrian Army or other rebel groups who can t seek medical treatment in Syrian government hospitals. None of those cared for in Israel have worn Syrian army uniforms. 33 The men are kept together in two rooms guarded by Israeli soldiers. They tell me about fighting, Fares said, and about killing, also. 34 Israel s border with Syria has been mostly quiet since the end of the 1973 war, in which Syria tried unsuccessfully to recover the Golan Heights. This territory had been lost to Israel six years earlier. A United Nations peacekeeping force now patrols in trucks and tanks along a newly built metal fence on the eastern border of the Heights. 35 On the Israeli-controlled side, cows graze in pastures, farmers tend to apple orchards and families drive down well-paved streets lined with modern shopping centers. To the east, Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad battle rebels with the Free Syrian Army and other groups, including some affiliated with al-qaida. Gratitude For The Israelis 36 The Syrian government has control of the only official border crossing into the Heights, at Quneitra; other stretches are held by rebels. 37 Explosions can be heard and clouds of smoke seen from the top of Bental Mountain in the Heights. 38 Israel has condemned Assad for using chemical weapons and has occasionally targeted weapons transfers from the Syrian government to Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political party that Israel went to war against in Otherwise, it has remained on the sidelines except for the medical assistance. 39 The grandmother of the 9-year-old with no legs said she has only gratitude for the Israelis. 40 In a few days, she and her grandson will be driven to the border at the east end of the Golan Heights to be dropped off. He has been fitted with two prosthetic limbs that were donated, via

8 Fares, by a Muslim citizen of Safed. If all goes well, the boy may be able to walk again, though he will probably never play soccer, his favorite sport. 41 When asked what going back will be like, the woman, 63 and dressed in a simple black velvet caftan, threw her hands into the air. She said she didn t know whether the family had a home to return to. Retrieved from: Source 3: Student protesters arrested for giving "Mockingjay" salute to leaders By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff Word Count 564 Lexile 1220L Nachacha Kongudom, 21, raises a three-finger salute outside a cinema where The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is showing, in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 20, Police detained three students Thursday at the opening of the latest "Hunger Games" movie in Thailand, where opponents of May s military coup have adopted the film s three-finger salute as a sign of defiance. AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit 42 Life is imitating art in Thailand, where students protesting against the military have adopted a hand gesture from the Hunger Games movies. Protesters are using the three-finger salute of defiance from the movie to protest a military coup that removed the country's elected leaders.

9 43 The Thai army has banned the three-finger salute. 44 Three students were arrested in the capital city of Bangkok at a movie theater showing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, the latest film based on the trilogy of books by author Suzanne Collins about a rebellion against a dictatorship. The students were the latest accused of using the gesture of rebellion against tyranny from the movies. 45 Military officials took over the government on May 22 and imposed martial law, cutting back civil liberties and banning protests. The military said it was necessary to restore order after months of disruptive political protests. Symbols Of Defiance 46 Since 2013, Thailand had been affected by demonstrations and fighting between opponents and defenders of the previous government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Opponents of the government claimed it was corrupt and should go, while supporters defended the government, saying it was elected democratically and should stay. 47 Gatherings of five or more people have been banned since the military took over in May. Frustrated by not being able to gather and demand a return to a democratic government, young protesters are using symbols of defiance. 48 Some protesters are reading in public George Orwell s 1984, a novel about a fight against a dictatorship. Other protesters are raising the salute against repression borrowed from the movies to protest reality. 49 Premieres of Mockingjay were canceled at two Bangkok movie theaters. Student organizers had bought up hundreds of tickets to give away and gather opponents of the military. A colonel with the Bangkok Metropolitan Police told reporters the three students arrested outside the theater were taken to an army camp for attitude adjustment. 50 The Chinese government has also delayed the release of Mockingjay in the country s theaters until next year, said the magazine Variety. It wasn t clear if that was done because of the movie's popularity with pro-democracy activists. Chinese authorities have been dealing with protesters demanding democratic reforms in Hong Kong for more than a month.

10 Five Other Protesters Arrested 51 In Thailand, five other student protesters were arrested for using the three-finger salute during a speech by the army's leader, Prayuth Chan-Ocha. 52 The Hunger Games gesture is now banned in Thailand, at least in practice, if not in the movies. Prayuth told journalists that the young protesters' use of the hand gesture as a sign of defiance only bothered him for its potential to ruin their future. Prayuth also told reporters that the restrictions of martial law will continue until the time is right to lift them. 53 Human rights advocates have criticized the Thai authorities for trying to stop even symbolic protests. 54 Matilda Bogner, of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said this crackdown is part of a pattern of human rights violations. The effect of these actions is to shut down critics and independent voices, she said. 55 "Life in Thailand is growing more absurd by the day," said a Twitter post by John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. 56 If the military government is afraid of young people imitating a movie, it is a sign that things need to change, wrote Sifton. Retrieved from:

11 Informative Writing Prompt The issue of conformity creates conflict for individuals and for society as a whole. We are continually faced with choices about conformity such as when to embrace, accept, question, or challenge it. Questions about the value of individuality versus conformity persist throughout life. Write an informative essay that explores the relationship between conformity and individuality. Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages; plan your response; write your response; and revise and edit your response. Be sure to use evidence from multiple sources; and avoid overly relying on one source. Your response should be in the form of a multi-paragraph essay.