1. Paddling in a US context is not, as it would be in a UK context, something that many people are anticipating with pleasure this coming sunny weekend (23°C today here in Cambridge) https://hechingerreport.org/state-sanctioned-violence-inside-one-of-the-thousands-of-schools-that-still-paddles-students/

Here’s an article with a bit more detail, such as: “the Board of Education in Pickens County, Alabama, recommends that schools use a ‘wooden paddle approximately 24 inches in length, 3 inches wide and ½ inch thick’ that does not have holes, cracks, splinters, tape, or other foreign material”. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/

2. Stacks of webinar recordings in the National Geographic Learning archive https://webinars.eltngl.com/

Try Tania Pattison on Four Things Reflective Readers Do https://webinars.eltngl.com/24-februaryfive-things-reflective-readers-do/ (Four things or five things? Make up your mind, NGL!)

or Chia Suan Chong on Helping our Students Develop Mediation Skills https://webinars.eltngl.com/elementor-6470/

3. This FutureLearn course is running again and was popular last time round, Exploring English: Food and Culture https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/exploring-english-food-and-culture

Fish and chips, yes, but chicken tikka masala as well. Tutors on the course for the next two weeks.

4. Here’s an accessible, short, and unsurprisingly downbeat video by the OECD Chief Economist on the global economic outlook: https://youtu.be/wQG1XnKyrxk

5. And, finally, here’s undoubtedly hyper but nonetheless entertaining Feli from Germany with her cross-cultural observations https://youtu.be/fJvBIGK8LzU

Please note, though, that you do not need to buy one of her beer mugs for sixty dollars: they’re on https://www.amazon.de for €5 apiece!