world record for the most homework

• Countries Who Spend the Most Time Doing Homework

Homework is an important aspect of the education system and is often dreaded by the majority of students all over the world. Although many teachers and educational scholars believe homework improves education performance, many critics and students disagree and believe there is no correlation between homework and improving test scores.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organization. With headquarters in Paris, the organization was formed for the purpose of stimulating global trade and economic progress among member states. In 2009, the OECD conducted a detailed study to establish the number of hours allocated for doing homework by students around the world and conducted the research in 38 member countries. The test subjects for the study were 15 year old high school students in countries that used PISA exams in their education systems. The results showed that in Shanghai, China the students had the highest number of hours of homework with 13.8 hours per week. Russia followed, where students had an average of 9.7 hours of homework per week. Finland had the least amount of homework hours with 2.8 hours per week, followed closely by South Korea with 2.9 hours. Among all the countries tested, the average homework time was 4.9 hours per week.

Interpretation of the data

Although students from Finland spent the least amount of hours on their homework per week, they performed relatively well on tests which discredits the notion of correlation between the number of hours spent on homework with exam performance. Shanghai teenagers who spent the highest number of hours doing their homework also produced excellent performances in the school tests, while students from some regions such as Macao, Japan, and Singapore increased the score by 17 points per additional hour of homework. The data showed a close relation between the economic backgrounds of students and the number of hours they invested in their homework. Students from affluent backgrounds spent fewer hours doing homework when compared to their less privileged counterparts, most likely due to access to private tutors and homeschooling. In some countries such as Singapore, students from wealthy families invested more time doing their homework than less privileged students and received better results in exams.

Decline in number of hours

Subsequent studies conducted by the OECD in 2012 showed a decrease in the average number hours per week spent by students. Slovakia displayed a drop of four hours per week while Russia declined three hours per week. A few countries including the United States showed no change. The dramatic decline of hours spent doing homework has been attributed to teenager’s increased use of the internet and social media platforms.

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The Countries Where Kids Do The Most Homework

Does your kid complain about endless hours of homework? If you live in Italy , those complaints could reach fever-pitch! According to research conducted by the OECD, 15-year old children in Italy have to contend with nearly 9 hours of homework per week - more than anywhere else in the world. Irish children have the second highest after-school workload - just over 7 hours each week. In the United States , about 6.1 hours of a 15-year old's week are sacrificed for the sake of homework. In Asia, children have very little to complain about. Japanese students have to deal with 3.8 hours of homework per week on average while in South Korea, it's just 2.9 hours.

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Study: Homework Matters More in Certain Countries

Homework is reinforcing the achievement gap between the rich and the poor, say authors of a new study.

Homework Matters, Depending on Your Country

For years, researchers have been trying to figure out just how important homework is to student achievement. Back in 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development looked at homework hours around the world and found that there wasn’t much of a connection between how much homework students of a particular country do and how well their students score on tests.

Some top achieving countries, like Singapore, assign their students lots of homework. But Finland, for example, succeeds without much homework. On average, Finnish students do only about three hours of homework a week, yet in 2012 they scored sixth highest in the world in reading and 12th highest in math on the OECD’s international test, known as PISA or Programme for International Student Assessment.

But now, five years after the earlier homework study, OECD researchers have drilled down deeper into homework patterns, and they’re finding that homework does play an important role in student achievement within each country . Specifically, they found that homework hours vary by socioeconomic status. Higher income 15-year-olds tend to do more homework than lower income 15-year-olds in almost all of the 38 countries studied by the OECD*. Furthermore, the kids who are doing more homework also tend to get higher test scores. So the authors conclude that homework is reinforcing the achievement gap between the rich and the poor.

Chart created by Jill Barshay | Hechinger Report; data from OECD

It’s not just that poor kids are more likely to skip their homework, or don’t have a quiet place at home to complete it. It’s also the case that schools serving poor kids often don’t assign as much homework as schools for the rich, especially private schools, explained Francesca Borgonovi, one of the authors of the study, titled “ Does Homework Perpetuate Inequities in Education? ”

“When you look within countries at students who are learning in the same educational system and they do more homework, then those students do much better,” said Borgonovi. “There is an advantage for putting extra hours in homework.”

A stark example of this rich-poor homework gap is in Singapore. Students in the top quarter of the socio-economic spectrum spend about 11 hours on homework a week, 3 hours more than low-income students in the bottom quarter of the socio-economic spectrum. Each extra hour of homework was associated with 18 more points on the PISA math exam. So three hours adds up to more than 50 points. That’s huge. To put that in perspective, if you added 50 points to the average U.S. math score, we’d be a top 10 nation instead of number 36.

A key factor is what Borgonovi said about “learning in the same educational system.” Some school systems are designed to rely on homework, perhaps using independent study as a substitute for what could otherwise be learned in school. “If you are prepared to change the system, that’s great,” said Borgonovi. “But until you do so, if the system is based on homework, then you should do more of it.”

Students in Shanghai, a region in China that now leads the world in PISA test scores, do a whopping 14 hours of homework a week, on average. Wealthier students there do 16 hours. Poorer students do just under 11 hours. Interestingly, however, there was no association between the extra homework hours that the wealthier Shanghai kids put in and their PISA test scores. Perhaps that’s because there are diminishing marginal returns to homework after 11 hours of it!

Indeed, most countries around the world have been reducing the amount of homework assigned. Back in 2003, the average time spent on homework worldwide was about six hours a week. In 2012 that shrank to about five hours.

But the United States has been bucking this trend. The typical 15-year-old here does six hours a week, virtually unchanged from a decade ago and possibly rising. Wealthier students typically do eight hours of homework a week, about three hours more than low income students. But unlike in most countries, where more homework is associated with higher PISA test scores, that’s not the case here.

“For the United States, we don’t have homework reinforcing inequality,” Borgonovi said.

Another team of researchers, Ozkan Eren and Daniel J. Henderson, found mixed results for how effective homework is in the United States, in a 2011 study, “ Are we wasting our children’s time by giving them more homework? “ published in the Economics of Education Review. For math, there were huge benefits for the 25,000 eighth graders they studied. But not for English, science or history. And the math boost was much stronger for white students than for blacks. In other words, when a typical black student did more homework, his math test scores didn’t go up as much.

That’s perhaps a clue that even if you could magically get low-income children in other countries to do as much homework as their high-income peers, as the OECD researchers are suggesting, you might not raise their PISA test scores very much.

Indeed, Borgonovi isn’t really advocating for more homework. She says that high quality teachers and instruction are much more important to student outcomes than homework is. To be sure, some amount of homework is good, Borgonovi said, to teach kids how to plan ahead, set goals and work independently. But more than four hours of homework a week, she said, isn’t very beneficial.

“It would be better to redesign the system to have less homework,” said Borgonovi. “But that is hard to do.”

* The OECD looked at socio-economic status and not income exclusively. So the child of a university professor, for example, might still be in the high income category even if his parents don’t make very much money.

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Students in these countries spend the most time doing homework

Teens in Shanghai spend 14 hours a week on homework, while students in Finland spend only three. And although there  are some educational theorists who argue for  reducing or abolishing homework, more homework seems to be helping students with test scores.

That’s according to a new report on  data the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development collected from countries  and regions that participate in a standardized test  to measure academic achievement for 15-year-olds, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

(It should be noted that while Shanghai scored highest on the 2012 PISA mathematics test, Shanghai is not representative of all of mainland China, and the city received criticism for only testing a subset of 15-year-olds to skew scores higher.)

While there are likely many other factors that contribute to student success, homework assigned can be an indicator of PISA test scores for individuals and individual schools, the report notes. In the individual schools in some regions—Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, and Singapore—that earned the highest math scores  (pdf, pg. 5) in 2012, students saw an increase of 17 score points or more per extra hour of homework.

The report also notes, however, that while individuals may benefit from homework, a school system’s overall performance relies more on other factors, such as instructional quality and how schools are organized.

On average, teachers assign 15-year-olds around world about five hours of homework each week. But those average hours don’t necessarily tell the whole story. Across countries, students spending less time on homework aren’t necessarily studying less—in South Korea, for example, 15-year-olds spend about three hours on homework a week, but they spend an additional 1.4 hours per week with a personal tutor, and 3.6 hours in after-school classes , well above the OECD average for both, according to the OECD survey.

Within countries, the amount of time students spend on homework varies based on family income: Economically advantaged students spend an average of 1.6 hours more on homework per week than economically disadvantaged students. This might be because wealthier students are likely have the resources for a quiet place to study at home, and may get more encouragement and emphasis on their studies from parents, writes Marilyn Achiron , editor for OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills.

It should also be noted that this list only includes countries that take the PISA exam, which mostly consists of OECD member countries, and it also includes countries that are  OECD partners with “enhanced engagement,”  such as parts of China and Russia.

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Where Teens Have the Most Homework

An international ranking, from 14 hours a week in China to three in Finland

Teens in Shanghai spend 14 hours a week on homework, while students in Finland spend only three. And although there are some educational theorists who argue for reducing or abolishing homework, more homework seems to be helping students with test scores.

That’s according to a new report on data the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development collected from countries and regions that participate in a standardized test to measure academic achievement for 15-year-olds, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Hours of Homework Assigned Weekly to 15-Year-Olds

(It should be noted that while Shanghai scored highest on the 2012 PISA mathematics test, Shanghai is not representative of all of mainland China, and the city received criticism for only testing a subset of 15-year-olds to skew scores higher.)

While there are likely many other factors that contribute to student success, homework assigned can be an indicator of PISA test scores for individuals and individual schools, the report notes. In the individual schools in some regions—Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, and Singapore—that earned the highest math scores   in 2012, students saw an increase of 17 points or more per extra hour of homework.

The report also notes, however, that while individuals may benefit from homework, a school system’s overall performance relies more on other factors, such as instructional quality and how schools are organized.

On average, teachers assign 15-year-olds around the world about five hours of homework each week. But those average hours don’t necessarily tell the whole story. Across countries, students spending less time on homework aren’t necessarily studying less—in South Korea, for example, 15-year-olds spend about three hours on homework a week, but they spend an additional 1.4 hours per week with a personal tutor, and 3.6 hours in after-school classes , well above the OECD average for both, according to the OECD survey.

Within countries, the amount of time students spend on homework varies based on family income: Economically advantaged students spend an average of 1.6 hours more on homework per week than economically disadvantaged students. This might be because wealthier students are likely to have the resources for a quiet place to study at home, and may get more encouragement and emphasis on their studies from parents, writes Marilyn Achiron , editor for OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills.

It should also be noted that this list only includes countries that take the PISA exam, which mostly consists of OECD member countries, and it also includes countries that are OECD partners with “enhanced engagement,” such as parts of China and Russia.

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Teach.com / Resources

Homework Around the World

January 12, 2017 

The verdict is in, and when it comes to homework, it appears that less is more. Research shows that several of the countries scoring top in the world for education, surprisingly dole out the least amount of homework to their students.

South Korea leads the world in education, and on average, students receive less than 3 hours of homework per week.

On the other hand, the United States leads the charge with the most money spent on education per student and students receive a significantly greater amount of homework, but clocks in at number 17 in the world for education. So, why the disparity?

Let’s take a look at this infographic to see how homework and different types of education systems factor into academic rankings around the world.

Interactive visualization requires JavaScript

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to do homework: 15 expert tips and tricks.

Coursework/GPA

Everyone struggles with homework sometimes, but if getting your homework done has become a chronic issue for you, then you may need a little extra help. That’s why we’ve written this article all about how to do homework. Once you’re finished reading it, you’ll know how to do homework (and have tons of new ways to motivate yourself to do homework)!

We’ve broken this article down into a few major sections. You’ll find:

• A diagnostic test to help you figure out why you’re struggling with homework
• A discussion of the four major homework problems students face, along with expert tips for addressing them
• A bonus section with tips for how to do homework fast

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepared to tackle whatever homework assignments your teachers throw at you .

So let’s get started!

How to Do Homework: Figure Out Your Struggles 

Sometimes it feels like everything is standing between you and getting your homework done. But the truth is, most people only have one or two major roadblocks that are keeping them from getting their homework done well and on time. 

The best way to figure out how to get motivated to do homework starts with pinpointing the issues that are affecting your ability to get your assignments done. That’s why we’ve developed a short quiz to help you identify the areas where you’re struggling. 

Take the quiz below and record your answers on your phone or on a scrap piece of paper. Keep in mind there are no wrong answers! 

1. You’ve just been assigned an essay in your English class that’s due at the end of the week. What’s the first thing you do?

A. Keep it in mind, even though you won’t start it until the day before it’s due  B. Open up your planner. You’ve got to figure out when you’ll write your paper since you have band practice, a speech tournament, and your little sister’s dance recital this week, too.  C. Groan out loud. Another essay? You could barely get yourself to write the last one!  D. Start thinking about your essay topic, which makes you think about your art project that’s due the same day, which reminds you that your favorite artist might have just posted to Instagram...so you better check your feed right now. 

2. Your mom asked you to pick up your room before she gets home from work. You’ve just gotten home from school. You decide you’ll tackle your chores: 

A. Five minutes before your mom walks through the front door. As long as it gets done, who cares when you start?  B. As soon as you get home from your shift at the local grocery store.  C. After you give yourself a 15-minute pep talk about how you need to get to work.  D. You won’t get it done. Between texts from your friends, trying to watch your favorite Netflix show, and playing with your dog, you just lost track of time! 

3. You’ve signed up to wash dogs at the Humane Society to help earn money for your senior class trip. You: 

A. Show up ten minutes late. You put off leaving your house until the last minute, then got stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to the shelter.  B. Have to call and cancel at the last minute. You forgot you’d already agreed to babysit your cousin and bake cupcakes for tomorrow’s bake sale.  C. Actually arrive fifteen minutes early with extra brushes and bandanas you picked up at the store. You’re passionate about animals, so you’re excited to help out! D. Show up on time, but only get three dogs washed. You couldn’t help it: you just kept getting distracted by how cute they were!

4. You have an hour of downtime, so you decide you’re going to watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show. You: 

A. Scroll through your social media feeds for twenty minutes before hitting play, which means you’re not able to finish the whole episode. Ugh! You really wanted to see who was sent home!  B. Watch fifteen minutes until you remember you’re supposed to pick up your sister from band practice before heading to your part-time job. No GBBO for you!  C. You finish one episode, then decide to watch another even though you’ve got SAT studying to do. It’s just more fun to watch people make scones.  D. Start the episode, but only catch bits and pieces of it because you’re reading Twitter, cleaning out your backpack, and eating a snack at the same time.

5. Your teacher asks you to stay after class because you’ve missed turning in two homework assignments in a row. When she asks you what’s wrong, you say: 

A. You planned to do your assignments during lunch, but you ran out of time. You decided it would be better to turn in nothing at all than submit unfinished work.  B. You really wanted to get the assignments done, but between your extracurriculars, family commitments, and your part-time job, your homework fell through the cracks.  C. You have a hard time psyching yourself to tackle the assignments. You just can’t seem to find the motivation to work on them once you get home.  D. You tried to do them, but you had a hard time focusing. By the time you realized you hadn’t gotten anything done, it was already time to turn them in. 

Like we said earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to this quiz (though your results will be better if you answered as honestly as possible). Here’s how your answers break down: 

• If your answers were mostly As, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is procrastination. 
• If your answers were mostly Bs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is time management. 
• If your answers were mostly Cs, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is motivation. 
• If your answers were mostly Ds, then your biggest struggle with doing homework is getting distracted. 

Now that you’ve identified why you’re having a hard time getting your homework done, we can help you figure out how to fix it! Scroll down to find your core problem area to learn more about how you can start to address it. 

And one more thing: you’re really struggling with homework, it’s a good idea to read through every section below. You may find some additional tips that will help make homework less intimidating. 

How to Do Homework When You’re a Procrastinator  

Merriam Webster defines “procrastinate” as “to put off intentionally and habitually.” In other words, procrastination is when you choose to do something at the last minute on a regular basis. If you’ve ever found yourself pulling an all-nighter, trying to finish an assignment between periods, or sprinting to turn in a paper minutes before a deadline, you’ve experienced the effects of procrastination. 

If you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re in good company. In fact, one study found that 70% to 95% of undergraduate students procrastinate when it comes to doing their homework. Unfortunately, procrastination can negatively impact your grades. Researchers have found that procrastination can lower your grade on an assignment by as much as five points ...which might not sound serious until you realize that can mean the difference between a B- and a C+. 

Procrastination can also negatively affect your health by increasing your stress levels , which can lead to other health conditions like insomnia, a weakened immune system, and even heart conditions. Getting a handle on procrastination can not only improve your grades, it can make you feel better, too! 

The big thing to understand about procrastination is that it’s not the result of laziness. Laziness is defined as being “disinclined to activity or exertion.” In other words, being lazy is all about doing nothing. But a s this Psychology Today article explains , procrastinators don’t put things off because they don’t want to work. Instead, procrastinators tend to postpone tasks they don’t want to do in favor of tasks that they perceive as either more important or more fun. Put another way, procrastinators want to do things...as long as it’s not their homework! 

3 Tips f or Conquering Procrastination 

Because putting off doing homework is a common problem, there are lots of good tactics for addressing procrastination. Keep reading for our three expert tips that will get your homework habits back on track in no time. 

#1: Create a Reward System

Like we mentioned earlier, procrastination happens when you prioritize other activities over getting your homework done. Many times, this happens because homework...well, just isn’t enjoyable. But you can add some fun back into the process by rewarding yourself for getting your work done. 

Here’s what we mean: let’s say you decide that every time you get your homework done before the day it’s due, you’ll give yourself a point. For every five points you earn, you’ll treat yourself to your favorite dessert: a chocolate cupcake! Now you have an extra (delicious!) incentive to motivate you to leave procrastination in the dust. 

If you’re not into cupcakes, don’t worry. Your reward can be anything that motivates you . Maybe it’s hanging out with your best friend or an extra ten minutes of video game time. As long as you’re choosing something that makes homework worth doing, you’ll be successful. 

#2: Have a Homework Accountability Partner 

If you’re having trouble getting yourself to start your homework ahead of time, it may be a good idea to call in reinforcements . Find a friend or classmate you can trust and explain to them that you’re trying to change your homework habits. Ask them if they’d be willing to text you to make sure you’re doing your homework and check in with you once a week to see if you’re meeting your anti-procrastination goals. 

Sharing your goals can make them feel more real, and an accountability partner can help hold you responsible for your decisions. For example, let’s say you’re tempted to put off your science lab write-up until the morning before it’s due. But you know that your accountability partner is going to text you about it tomorrow...and you don’t want to fess up that you haven’t started your assignment. A homework accountability partner can give you the extra support and incentive you need to keep your homework habits on track. 

#3: Create Your Own Due Dates 

If you’re a life-long procrastinator, you might find that changing the habit is harder than you expected. In that case, you might try using procrastination to your advantage! If you just can’t seem to stop doing your work at the last minute, try setting your own due dates for assignments that range from a day to a week before the assignment is actually due. 

Here’s what we mean. Let’s say you have a math worksheet that’s been assigned on Tuesday and is due on Friday. In your planner, you can write down the due date as Thursday instead. You may still put off your homework assignment until the last minute...but in this case, the “last minute” is a day before the assignment’s real due date . This little hack can trick your procrastination-addicted brain into planning ahead! 

If you feel like Kevin Hart in this meme, then our tips for doing homework when you're busy are for you. 

How to Do Homework When You’re too Busy

If you’re aiming to go to a top-tier college , you’re going to have a full plate. Because college admissions is getting more competitive, it’s important that you’re maintaining your grades , studying hard for your standardized tests , and participating in extracurriculars so your application stands out. A packed schedule can get even more hectic once you add family obligations or a part-time job to the mix. 

If you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions at once, you’re not alone. Recent research has found that stress—and more severe stress-related conditions like anxiety and depression— are a major problem for high school students . In fact, one study from the American Psychological Association found that during the school year, students’ stress levels are higher than those of the adults around them. 

For students, homework is a major contributor to their overall stress levels . Many high schoolers have multiple hours of homework every night , and figuring out how to fit it into an already-packed schedule can seem impossible. 

3 Tips for Fitting Homework Into Your Busy Schedule

While it might feel like you have literally no time left in your schedule, there are still ways to make sure you’re able to get your homework done and meet your other commitments. Here are our expert homework tips for even the busiest of students. 

#1: Make a Prioritized To-Do List 

You probably already have a to-do list to keep yourself on track. The next step is to prioritize the items on your to-do list so you can see what items need your attention right away. 

Here’s how it works: at the beginning of each day, sit down and make a list of all the items you need to get done before you go to bed. This includes your homework, but it should also take into account any practices, chores, events, or job shifts you may have. Once you get everything listed out, it’s time to prioritize them using the labels A, B, and C. Here’s what those labels mean:

• A Tasks : tasks that have to get done—like showing up at work or turning in an assignment—get an A. 
• B Tasks : these are tasks that you would like to get done by the end of the day but aren’t as time sensitive. For example, studying for a test you have next week could be a B-level task. It’s still important, but it doesn’t have to be done right away.
• C Tasks: these are tasks that aren’t very important and/or have no real consequences if you don’t get them done immediately. For instance, if you’re hoping to clean out your closet but it’s not an assigned chore from your parents, you could label that to-do item with a C.

Prioritizing your to-do list helps you visualize which items need your immediate attention, and which items you can leave for later. A prioritized to-do list ensures that you’re spending your time efficiently and effectively, which helps you make room in your schedule for homework. So even though you might really want to start making decorations for Homecoming (a B task), you’ll know that finishing your reading log (an A task) is more important. 

#2: Use a Planner With Time Labels

Your planner is probably packed with notes, events, and assignments already. (And if you’re not using a planner, it’s time to start!) But planners can do more for you than just remind you when an assignment is due. If you’re using a planner with time labels, it can help you visualize how you need to spend your day.

A planner with time labels breaks your day down into chunks, and you assign tasks to each chunk of time. For example, you can make a note of your class schedule with assignments, block out time to study, and make sure you know when you need to be at practice. Once you know which tasks take priority, you can add them to any empty spaces in your day. 

Planning out how you spend your time not only helps you use it wisely, it can help you feel less overwhelmed, too . We’re big fans of planners that include a task list ( like this one ) or have room for notes ( like this one ). 

#3: Set Reminders on Your Phone 

If you need a little extra nudge to make sure you’re getting your homework done on time, it’s a good idea to set some reminders on your phone. You don’t need a fancy app, either. You can use your alarm app to have it go off at specific times throughout the day to remind you to do your homework. This works especially well if you have a set homework time scheduled. So if you’ve decided you’re doing homework at 6:00 pm, you can set an alarm to remind you to bust out your books and get to work. 

If you use your phone as your planner, you may have the option to add alerts, emails, or notifications to scheduled events . Many calendar apps, including the one that comes with your phone, have built-in reminders that you can customize to meet your needs. So if you block off time to do your homework from 4:30 to 6:00 pm, you can set a reminder that will pop up on your phone when it’s time to get started. 

This dog isn't judging your lack of motivation...but your teacher might. Keep reading for tips to help you motivate yourself to do your homework.

How to Do Homework When You’re Unmotivated 

At first glance, it may seem like procrastination and being unmotivated are the same thing. After all, both of these issues usually result in you putting off your homework until the very last minute. 

But there’s one key difference: many procrastinators are working, they’re just prioritizing work differently. They know they’re going to start their homework...they’re just going to do it later. 

Conversely, people who are unmotivated to do homework just can’t find the willpower to tackle their assignments. Procrastinators know they’ll at least attempt the homework at the last minute, whereas people who are unmotivated struggle with convincing themselves to do it at a ll. For procrastinators, the stress comes from the inevitable time crunch. For unmotivated people, the stress comes from trying to convince themselves to do something they don’t want to do in the first place. 

Here are some common reasons students are unmotivated in doing homework : 

• Assignments are too easy, too hard, or seemingly pointless 
• Students aren’t interested in (or passionate about) the subject matter
• Students are intimidated by the work and/or feels like they don’t understand the assignment 
• Homework isn’t fun, and students would rather spend their time on things that they enjoy 

To sum it up: people who lack motivation to do their homework are more likely to not do it at all, or to spend more time worrying about doing their homework than...well, actually doing it.

3 Tips for How to Get Motivated to Do Homework

The key to getting homework done when you’re unmotivated is to figure out what does motivate you, then apply those things to homework. It sounds tricky...but it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it! Here are our three expert tips for motivating yourself to do your homework. 

#1: Use Incremental Incentives

When you’re not motivated, it’s important to give yourself small rewards to stay focused on finishing the task at hand. The trick is to keep the incentives small and to reward yourself often. For example, maybe you’re reading a good book in your free time. For every ten minutes you spend on your homework, you get to read five pages of your book. Like we mentioned earlier, make sure you’re choosing a reward that works for you! 

So why does this technique work? Using small rewards more often allows you to experience small wins for getting your work done. Every time you make it to one of your tiny reward points, you get to celebrate your success, which gives your brain a boost of dopamine . Dopamine helps you stay motivated and also creates a feeling of satisfaction when you complete your homework !  

#2: Form a Homework Group 

If you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it’s okay to turn to others for support. Creating a homework group can help with this. Bring together a group of your friends or classmates, and pick one time a week where you meet and work on homework together. You don’t have to be in the same class, or even taking the same subjects— the goal is to encourage one another to start (and finish!) your assignments. 

Another added benefit of a homework group is that you can help one another if you’re struggling to understand the material covered in your classes. This is especially helpful if your lack of motivation comes from being intimidated by your assignments. Asking your friends for help may feel less scary than talking to your teacher...and once you get a handle on the material, your homework may become less frightening, too. 

#3: Change Up Your Environment 

If you find that you’re totally unmotivated, it may help if you find a new place to do your homework. For example, if you’ve been struggling to get your homework done at home, try spending an extra hour in the library after school instead. The change of scenery can limit your distractions and give you the energy you need to get your work done. 

If you’re stuck doing homework at home, you can still use this tip. For instance, maybe you’ve always done your homework sitting on your bed. Try relocating somewhere else, like your kitchen table, for a few weeks. You may find that setting up a new “homework spot” in your house gives you a motivational lift and helps you get your work done. 

Social media can be a huge problem when it comes to doing homework. We have advice for helping you unplug and regain focus.

How to Do Homework When You’re Easily Distracted

We live in an always-on world, and there are tons of things clamoring for our attention. From friends and family to pop culture and social media, it seems like there’s always something (or someone!) distracting us from the things we need to do.

The 24/7 world we live in has affected our ability to focus on tasks for prolonged periods of time. Research has shown that over the past decade, an average person’s attention span has gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds . And when we do lose focus, i t takes people a long time to get back on task . One study found that it can take as long as 23 minutes to get back to work once we’ve been distracte d. No wonder it can take hours to get your homework done! 

3 Tips to Improve Your Focus

If you have a hard time focusing when you’re doing your homework, it’s a good idea to try and eliminate as many distractions as possible. Here are three expert tips for blocking out the noise so you can focus on getting your homework done. 

#1: Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Pick a place where you’ll do your homework every day, and make it as distraction-free as possible. Try to find a location where there won’t be tons of noise, and limit your access to screens while you’re doing your homework. Put together a focus-oriented playlist (or choose one on your favorite streaming service), and put your headphones on while you work. 

You may find that other people, like your friends and family, are your biggest distraction. If that’s the case, try setting up some homework boundaries. Let them know when you’ll be working on homework every day, and ask them if they’ll help you keep a quiet environment. They’ll be happy to lend a hand! 

#2: Limit Your Access to Technology 

We know, we know...this tip isn’t fun, but it does work. For homework that doesn’t require a computer, like handouts or worksheets, it’s best to put all your technology away . Turn off your television, put your phone and laptop in your backpack, and silence notifications on any wearable tech you may be sporting. If you listen to music while you work, that’s fine...but make sure you have a playlist set up so you’re not shuffling through songs once you get started on your homework. 

If your homework requires your laptop or tablet, it can be harder to limit your access to distractions. But it’s not impossible! T here are apps you can download that will block certain websites while you’re working so that you’re not tempted to scroll through Twitter or check your Facebook feed. Silence notifications and text messages on your computer, and don’t open your email account unless you absolutely have to. And if you don’t need access to the internet to complete your assignments, turn off your WiFi. Cutting out the online chatter is a great way to make sure you’re getting your homework done. 

#3: Set a Timer (the Pomodoro Technique)

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique ? It’s a productivity hack that uses a timer to help you focus!

Here’s how it works: first, set a timer for 25 minutes. This is going to be your work time. During this 25 minutes, all you can do is work on whatever homework assignment you have in front of you. No email, no text messaging, no phone calls—just homework. When that timer goes off, you get to take a 5 minute break. Every time you go through one of these cycles, it’s called a “pomodoro.” For every four pomodoros you complete, you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The pomodoro technique works through a combination of boundary setting and rewards. First, it gives you a finite amount of time to focus, so you know that you only have to work really hard for 25 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you’re rewarded with a short break where you can do whatever you want. Additionally, tracking how many pomodoros you complete can help you see how long you’re really working on your homework. (Once you start using our focus tips, you may find it doesn’t take as long as you thought!)

Two Bonus Tips for How to Do Homework Fast

Even if you’re doing everything right, there will be times when you just need to get your homework done as fast as possible. (Why do teachers always have projects due in the same week? The world may never know.)

The problem with speeding through homework is that it’s easy to make mistakes. While turning in an assignment is always better than not submitting anything at all, you want to make sure that you’re not compromising quality for speed. Simply put, the goal is to get your homework done quickly and still make a good grade on the assignment! 

Here are our two bonus tips for getting a decent grade on your homework assignments , even when you’re in a time crunch. 

#1: Do the Easy Parts First 

This is especially true if you’re working on a handout with multiple questions. Before you start working on the assignment, read through all the questions and problems. As you do, make a mark beside the questions you think are “easy” to answer . 

Once you’ve finished going through the whole assignment, you can answer these questions first. Getting the easy questions out of the way as quickly as possible lets you spend more time on the trickier portions of your homework, which will maximize your assignment grade. 

(Quick note: this is also a good strategy to use on timed assignments and tests, like the SAT and the ACT !) 

#2: Pay Attention in Class 

Homework gets a lot easier when you’re actively learning the material. Teachers aren’t giving you homework because they’re mean or trying to ruin your weekend... it’s because they want you to really understand the course material. Homework is designed to reinforce what you’re already learning in class so you’ll be ready to tackle harder concepts later.

When you pay attention in class, ask questions, and take good notes, you’re absorbing the information you’ll need to succeed on your homework assignments. (You’re stuck in class anyway, so you might as well make the most of it!) Not only will paying attention in class make your homework less confusing, it will also help it go much faster, too.

What’s Next?

If you’re looking to improve your productivity beyond homework, a good place to begin is with time management. After all, we only have so much time in a day...so it’s important to get the most out of it! To get you started, check out this list of the 12 best time management techniques that you can start using today.

You may have read this article because homework struggles have been affecting your GPA. Now that you’re on the path to homework success, it’s time to start being proactive about raising your grades. This article teaches you everything you need to know about raising your GPA so you can

Now you know how to get motivated to do homework...but what about your study habits? Studying is just as critical to getting good grades, and ultimately getting into a good college . We can teach you how to study bette r in high school. (We’ve also got tons of resources to help you study for your ACT and SAT exams , too!)

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Where Canada Ranks On The World Homework Scale

If you think your kid has a lot of homework, think again. In 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted a study and found that schools in Shanghai, China gave kids the most homework in the world. On average, their students spent 14 hours per week on homework.

This is significant considering Canadian and American kids only spent about six hours per week on after-school assignments, while kids in other countries, such as Finland and Korea, reportedly spent less than three .

To get their findings, researchers looked at 15-year-olds from 38 countries. Besides China, Russia also topped the list of countries that gave the most homework, with their students spending about 10 hours per week on extra work. Italy, Ireland, Poland and Spain also gave their students over seven hours of at-home assignments per week.

So does more homework equal smarter kids? Not necessarily. Korea and Finland give their students the least amount of homework per week and their education systems are the top in the world.

In 2014, South Korea’s education system ranked at number one , while Finland ranked at number five. This year, Finland was also named number one in literacy , despite its “ more play, less work ” attitude towards education.

Additionally, some studies have shown that too much homework can be harmful to kids . Specifically, in 2014, 56 per cent of U.S. students cited homework as their number one cause of stress . This triggered a number of other negative effects in kids as well.

“We found a clear connection between the students' stress and physical impacts -- migraines, ulcers and other stomach problems, sleep deprivation and exhaustion, and weight loss,” Denise Pope, a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education, told CNN in regards to the study.

Despite these findings, the debate over whether homework is good or bad is ongoing among parents. Watch the video above to hear more.

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11 Creative Ways to Use GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS’ Titles to Teach Math

You can COUNT on these to work wonders!

Download the FREE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2017 Teacher’s Guide to get STEM-friendly math, science and language arts activities and Common Core connections for grades 2 to 5.

Hands down, kids think one of the most fascinating books out there is the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Annual Book. The 2017 edition is packed with more than 4,000 records and photos, including hard-to-believe facts like the smallest owl, the elf owl, is just 4 to 5 inches tall, and fun facts like the most people riding a surfboard at one time is 66! With so many fun numbers, there are many connections to math, so we’ve gathered some of our favorite ideas for using the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Annual Book in your math lessons. You can find many of these lessons as well as science and language arts lessons in the FREE downloadable Teacher’s Guide.

1. Compare and Contrast

This is an important concept for students to learn throughout elementary school. Depending on age and grade level, you can make it as simple or complex as you want. Have students pull together comparisons between different records, including youngest/oldest, slowest/fastest, shortest/longest, etc. After they compare and contrast, have them do a little math to calculate the difference between the two. What it teaches: Comparing and contrasting.

2. Learn About GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Collections

You can find many world records about collections. Did you know the largest collection of toothpaste tubes is 2,037? Also, the largest gathering of people dressed as dogs is 439. Now, study classroom collections and have students do a count analysis. How many pencils are in the classroom? How many students are wearing blue? You can have each student or pairs of students do a count of a separate thing. Then figure out the percentages for each one. You can even do pie charts if you’re feeling ambitious. What it teaches: Surveys, calculating percentages, pie charts.

3. Make an Animal Bar Chart

You can find all sorts of amazing facts about animals, and learning about size is one of the best. For instance, the smallest dog living is only 3.8 inches tall while the tallest is 44 inches. Students can either focus on a specific group of animals or it can be more general. What it teaches: Creating graphs and charts.

4. Find Your Own Record to Go After

It’s a lot of fun finding your own record to set. Put your students into teams, and have them research and then choose a record they’d like to break. Have them calculate what it would take to break if they beat it by 10 or 20 percent. What it teaches: Percentages and making calculations.

5. Study Human Anomalies

In pairs, have your students measure their body parts to see how they stack up next to the big (or not-so-big) record-breakers. Some of the things they could compare include: tallest teenage boy, shortest man ever, largest feet ever, longest nose, largest hands and widest mouth . What it teaches: Understanding measurements, applying measuring skills.

6. Use Sports to Understand Place Value

With sports records, the tiniest one-tenth of a second can make a big difference! Have students collect records about a specific sport and use these to understand place value in the classroom. It’s fascinating when you start looking at how the differences can be so small. What it teaches: Place value.

7. Round Up Group Records

There are some cool (and downright unbelievable) examples of group records out there. For instance, the largest number of people dressed as Superman is 867. Students can look up these funny facts, and then round up to the nearest tenth or hundredth. What it teaches: Rounding up.

8. Write Your Own Word Problems

Human speed, animal speed, car speeds—these are all good facts to find and compare. Have students write word problems based on records centered around speed. They can calculate how long it would take to get places (New York City to Miami, for instance) based on a specific example. What it teaches: Critical thinking, understanding word problems.

9. Calculate Calories

You can find dozens of records related to food and eating. Did you know the most hamburgers eaten in three minutes is 12? Have students look up these interesting facts and then calculate how many calories were consumed! What it teaches: Understanding calories, making calculations.

10. Have a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Day Challenge

Did you know November 17, 2016, is GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Day? On this day, all over the world, millions of people take part in the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS philosophy of record-breaking. During your challenge day, you can have your students research math-themed records. They can discover the largest math class (3,611) or the largest online math competition (more than 1.2 million participants). Then take a cue from some of the math records like fastest time to complete long-standing math problems, and put together some of your own classroom challenges. Create stations throughout your room with multiplication, division, subtraction and basic addition. Have students challenge and time one another, keeping track of how many problems they can get to in a minute. To add to the fun, have them predict how many they think they’ll be able to answer. Then let them compare their predictions to the actual results so it’s more of a personal challenge rather than a competition among students. What it teaches: Calculations, understanding time management, predictions.

11. Make a Math Problem From a Record

Let students go through and pick their favorite facts—don’t put any limitations on them. After they find it, have them write an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division question in order to get the right answer. For example: What’s the largest number of eggs someone has crushed on their head in one minute? The answer is 2 x 71. What it teaches: Multiplication, division, subtraction, addition.

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World Records to break while you are at home that are easy to try

Want to be a record breaker from the comfort of your living room? Then try and break these.

Everyone wants to feel special, but there’s a way you can prove it. Simply break a world record.

Easy to say, hard to achieve? Well, there are actually plenty of world records you can break from home.

World records aren’t just for Olympic-level athletes. Thousands of these records are stored over at the Guinness World Records vault.

If you can think of something that can be timed or counted, there’s a good chance there’s a world record attached to it. Just a few of our favourite examples include the most pegs attached to someone’s face (not one we want to try ourselves) and the highest number of T-shirts donned in 60 seconds.

There are world records for video games, eating pizza and flying a paper plane, all stored in the giant Guinness World Records database.

The mere mention of that name may make some of you a bit misty-eyed for Record Breakers. It was a show broadcast in the UK from 1972 to 2001, in which people tried to break world records under the supervision of Guinness World Records adjudicators.

But Guinness never stopped. You can see the latest collection of Guinness World Records in its 2024 almanac (see below) or hunt for records to break from home on its website.

Below you’ll find some of our favourite world records we think you could have a crack at breaking from home. If you have suggestions you think we should add, fire them over in the suggestions box at the bottom of this article. Good luck!

World Records to break at home

1 . Most socks put on one foot in 30 seconds

Can you put 28 socks on one foot in just 30 seconds? You can! Wow, well then do 29 and you will be a record breaker. Pavol Durdik from Slovakia currently holds the record for this, with the only rule being that you have to put them on one at a time. That’s right, there are no rules for them being clean so you can raid your laundry basket for this one.

2 . Tallest toilet paper tower in 30 seconds

We know you have been stocking up on the toilet paper, so why not put those (currently) unused rolls to good use and try and win the record for the tallest toilet paper tower? The current holder, Silvio Sabba (a name that crops up a lot in world record lists) managed 28 rolls. The only rule is that you must only touch one roll at a time.

3 . Most selfies taken in under 3 minutes

One of the most recent records on the list, Indian actor Akshay Kumar took 184 selfies in under three minutes as promo for his new movie, Selfiee, but if you were doing this from the comfort of your home would you be able to take even more? You tell us. Just make sure you have a decent selfie stick to get the best angles.

4 . Most Smarties eaten in 60 seconds blindfolded using chopsticks

You can use Smarties or M&Ms, we're not fussy with this one, but we actually reckon that this one is easy to beat. Eating 20 Smarties in one minute is simple… What’s that? You need to use a blindfold and chopstick? Well that changes things somewhat. You also can only pick up one Smartie or M&M at a time.

5 . Fastest time to arrange the alphabet from a can of alphabet spaghetti

Cody Jones is the current alphabet spaghetti champion - which is a brilliant record to hold. The record to beat is a cool 3 minutes 21 seconds to find all of the letters of the alphabet in a can of alphabet spaghetti. That sounds like a lot of time but, trust us, you’ll be turning the air blue trying to find the elusive V.

6 . Fastest time to assemble Mr. Potato Head

If you have a Mr Potato Head lying around (everyone should, to be honest) then you can try and break the record of the fastest time ever to assemble him. The rule is very Radiohead, in that everything must be in the right place. To win the record, you’ll have to beat Samet Durmaz from Turkey who managed it in an unbelievable 6.62 seconds.

7 . Most football touches in 30 seconds

If keepyuppy in the garden is keeping you sane right now, then this is the record attempt for you. In 30 seconds you need to do as many football touches as you can. The current winning totals have been made by Parker Kuklinski (252 football touches) from the USA, and Chloe Hegland from Canada (163 football touches) respectively. The one rule is that the ball must be kept in the air.

8 . Fastest time to eat a 12-inch pizza using a knife and fork

If you normally eat a pizza with a fork then we officially aren’t friends. But we will let you off if you attempt to break this record. Kelvin Medina from the Philippines is the current record holder, he managed to eat 12 inches of pizza, with a fork, in a mere 23.62 seconds. That’s pretty damn fast. The rule is that you have to have swallowed it as well.

9 . Most Clothes Pegs Clipped to the Face in 60 seconds

Don’t blame us if this leaves your face rawer than your scrubbed hands after doing this one. We are just putting it out there that if you did manage to clip 52 clothes pegs on your face then you would beat Silvio Sabba’s current world record of 51. This record has stood for eight years now. Surely it’s time for us all to get our pegs out and try and break it?

10 . Fastest time to unravel toilet paper with one hand

Don’t have enough toilet paper rolls to attempt the toilet paper tower? This one only requires a single roll. And a whole lot of manual dexterity, because you need to unravel it with a single hand. This one has been held by a Serbian chap called Dalibor Jablanovic, who also holds the record for the most spoons balanced on his face (31). He managed to unravel a toilet roll in just 9.8 seconds, back in 2013.

11 . Most push ups with claps in 60 seconds

This record is currently held by a Brit. Stephen Buttler from the UK has managed a whopping 90 push-ups with hand claps in one minute. 90. That’s a phenomenal achievement. We can only assume that he has the upper body strength of a three year old when you try and take cake out of their hands. Impressive stuff but we’re sure you can beat it.

12 . Longest flight of a rubber band

In 1999 Leo Clouser of the USA sent a rubber band flying over 30m in a school gym in Wyoming. No special tools were used here, just the rubber bands and hands. Of course, this one does require a large space most of us don’t have access to at home. The record was set indoors, meaning Clouser did not have to worry about any negative, or positive, effects of additional wind resistance. Still, we’re tempted to try this one down at the local park.

13 . Fastest Mario Kart 8 lap record

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch has sold well over 50 million copies. Is it any wonder there's a stack of records related to this game? Back in 2017 US racer Jimmy Strawa completed Mario Circuit at 200cc, in just 1 minute 13.9 seconds. Give it a go. Pro tip: he used Dry Bowser to set this record. Want to try a different track? You'll find a stack of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe records over at the Guinness website , including the infamous Rainbow Road.

14 . Largest bubble gum bubble

How hard can blowing a great big bubble gum bubble be? You might feel your confidence drain away when you hear the record breaking bubble’s diameter was more than three times the width of the average person’s head at 50.8cm. This record had been held by American Chad Fell ever since 2004. You’d better start exercising those jaw muscles. Chad’s pro tip is to use three pieces of Hubba Bubba, apparently.

15 . Most baked beans eaten with a cocktail stick in 60 seconds

OK, we're going to need a lot of tins of beans and some nice and sharp cocktail sticks. Surely UK folks can't let this one stand? The record for the most number of beans is currently held by David Rush, who set the standard in Boise, Idaho back in 2018. He managed 68 in a minute, and in the same session he also set the records for three minutes (178 beans). At around one a second, we reckon we could challenge that with a bit of practice and luck. What do you think?

16 . Most spoons balanced on face

You might need to invest in an additional set of cutlery for this one. The record for the highest number of spoons balanced on a person’s face is 31, set by Dalibor Jablanovic in 2013. Judging by his own image, it looks like you need to make good use of your eye sockets with this one. And you can have more of the things sticking out of your ears.

17 . Fastest time to type the alphabet backwards on a mobile phone

Many of us may think we're super fast at typing on our phones these days, but are you faster than Xia Yan from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China ? In November 2020 he broke the record for the fastest time to type the alphabet backwards on a touchscreen mobile phone at 4 seconds precisely. That one is going to take some practice, we recommend getting one of the latest smartphones to break this record as it'll be the most reponsive.

18 . Longest time with an object balanced on your nose

Get you namaste on and charge your chakras because this one is going to require some serious zen. Spain’s Christian Roberto López Rodriguez managed to keep an object on his nose for two hours 42 minutes. What object? A broom. He also holds the record for balancing a pool cue on one finger, doing so for four hours 32 minutes. That’s some test of patience, folks.

19 . Most T-shirts put on in 60 seconds

If you feel the cold, you have probably managed to complete this record without even knowing it. But, if you want to do it officially, then you have beat Ted Hastings’ record of wearing 260 at once. You can use any size, short or long-sleeved, t-shirts for this one - and you can get a friend to help pull them down. But only one at a time please (t-shirts, not friends).

For more record-breaking ideas, head to the Official Guinness Book of Records site where it has a page dedicated to World Records you can do at home .

We have had a lot of people ask just how they get their home records recorded by The Guinness Book of Records. The best way to do it is head to the official website and take a look at their online records. It's here that you should be able to submit remotely, if you think that you have broken any of the records listed below. Good luck!

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World's Top EdTech Companies of 2024

How TIME and Statista Determined the Top EdTech Companies of 2024

The pandemic may no longer have the same grip that it used to on the way that we go about our daily lives—workers have returned to offices and students are back in the classroom. But a new global ranking by TIME and Statista of the 250 top EdTech companies suggests that online learning is here to stay.

Nine of the top 15 most successful EdTech companies in the world are focused on providing online learning. The rankings are based on a formula evaluating financial strength and industry impact. 

Eruditus, the top EdTech company in the global rankings, reported a revenue of close to $400 million for the financial year ending in June 2023, up 75% over the prior year. The EdTech platform offers online courses from more than 80 universities around the world, including business schools at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Cambridge, and MIT. Eruditus says it has so far educated more than 500,000 people across 80 countries.

Eruditus was incorporated in Singapore but made news this year for reportedly shifting its headquarters to India. “It is a fact that the Indian stock markets are far more attractive than the global peers," co-founder and CEO Ashwin Damera told Indian news-outlet Min t in January.

The U.S. dominates the list, making up more than one-third of the slots. China trails behind with 10% and the U.K. has just over 6%. Two companies from Brazil also made it into the top 10: Afya runs medical schools and offers online classes in various health fields; Vitru Education provides online and on-campus classes in Brazil to, the company reports, more than 900,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Brazil’s EdTech market has been growing rapidly for years. The country has struggled with education. In Brazil, just 57% of adults aged 25 to 64 have completed upper secondary education, much lower than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country average of 79%, putting it nearly last among the 41 countries studied by the OECD for educational attainment. And the OECD's 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked Brazil 40 of 41 countries studied for students’ skills in reading, math, and sciences. The private sector has capitalized on the opportunity to offer online learning.

“Students that are older, that have worked for a bit, have some kind of education qualification but are upgrading so they can get a better job, they value convenience and affordability,” says Jitin Sethi, managing director at LEK Consulting, focused on education in the Americas. “That creates a unique opportunity to innovate.”

In addition to highlighting 250 top EdTech companies, Statista and TIME also published a Rising Stars ranking to spotlight organizations that had the highest revenue growth rates over the last three years, of companies that submitted applications. Scaler Academy, an online learning platform based in India that teaches coding, system design, and career development skills, topped that list. — Sanya Mansoor

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Kami Rita Sherpa & Lhakpa Sherpa: Most times to climb Everest

Mount Everest in the Himalayas is our planet's  highest mountain , and for many it epitomizes the greatest challenge Earth has to offer... Climbing it is the crowning achievement of many a mountaineer's life - but for two Nepalis who grew up in the shadow of Sagarmāthā, once just wasn't enough...

Words: Rob Dimery

The prospect of reaching the top of the world’s highest mountain has enticed thousands of people on to its slopes. Indeed, this iconic natural landmark, soaring to 8,848 m (29,029 ft) above sea level, was the very first record to appear in the inaugural edition of the Guinness World Records book, published in 1955. It's worth stressing that there is a key distinction to be made between the highest and tallest mountains , however; the tallest mountain  (most of which lies under the sea) is the 10,205-m (33,480-ft) Mauna Kea in Hawaii, USA (see graphic below).

Climbing Everest is as much a test of mental strength and endurance as of physical stamina. How much more demanding, therefore, must it be to return and climb it again? And again. And again… Two who know better than most are Kami Rita Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa, who respectively hold the male and female record for most ascents of Everest .

Kami Rita Sherpa

When Kami Rita Sherpa (NPL), aka "Thapke", topped this prodigious peak on 21 May 2019, it was his 24th summit – the most ascents of Everest by any individual overall. Even more remarkably, he’d made his 23rd climb just six days earlier. And he sees no reason to stop now. In fact, he’s confident that he can keep climbing for another decade or so (he turns 50 this year). 

Kami Rita’s inspiration was his father. In 1950, when Nepal opened its borders to climbers from abroad, he became one of the earliest professional guides for expeditions to the area, although his climbing days were curtailed in 1992 after he suffered severe frostbite. That same year, according to his elder brother, Lakpa, Kami Rita became a cook’s assistant at Everest’s base camp, though reportedly he had been hauling gear there as a porter since the age of 12. In 1994, he made his first successful ascent of the mountain.

However, Kami Rita is proof that even the most talented of record-setters don't necessarily get it all their own way from the beginning. "I made my first expedition in 1992, but I did not get the chance to reach the summit because I was just a beginner. It all went as planned, but the sad part was I did not summit on the first attempt. I felt really proud when I made my first summit and returned back to the base [two years later]. It was a happy moment for me as it proved that I was strong and fit enough to do the hard work."

After decades of failed attempts, the first ascent of Everest was made on 29 May 1953, by Edmund Hilary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (IND/Tibet); the latter hailed from the same region as Kami Rita’s family. Since then, according to the Himalayan Database, nearly 6,000 people have followed in their footsteps. With the help of experienced guides, it’s become possible for increasing numbers of us to climb this iconic peak, which is located within the lofty Himalayan range on the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. A total of 354 climbers did so on 23 May 2019, the most ascents of Everest in one day .

Kami Rita now works as a guide for Seven Summit Treks, helping international clients to achieve their dream of standing on top of the highest peak in the world. Often, a Sherpa will prepare the route that organised expeditions will take, attaching ropes and placing ladders across crevasses, as well as cooking for the groups and carrying supplies (including oxygen bottles). Kami Rita and Lakpa Rita (who is himself a 17-ascent veteran of Everest) come from a village called Thame in the Khumbu region of Nepal, down the valley from Everest. Most of the men from the village work as guides or porters for climbing expeditions. 

Commercial expeditions on the Himalayan peaks generate much-needed funds for the Sherpa population: climbers may pay up to $90,000 (£70,000) per ascent and benefits the Nepalese economy to the tune of around $4 m (£3 m) per year. “An experienced climbing guide makes as much as $12,000 [£9,400] during [a] 45-day Everest climbing window,” Kami Rita explains. 

A sobering reminder of the attendant dangers came on 18 Apr 2014 - what Kami Rita describes as his "worst Everest ascent" to date - when a sudden avalanche near the mountain’s base camp killed 16 Sherpa guides, the most deaths on Everest in one day . Kami Rita and Lapka Rita were among the first on the scene and helped to dig the bodies out of the rubble. 

To Kami Rita every mountain houses a goddess. During the months of preparation he puts into each climb, he takes time to pray and asks forgiveness in advance, for placing his feet upon her. “No matter how strong you are, how good you prepare,” he insists, “you have to be blessed by God to reach the top.” 

Asked what others think of his heady achievements and knowing the most prolific Everest climber of all time, he told us: "My family and friends are really proud as I am able to help my country by spreading Nepal's name with huge pride."

Lhakpa Sherpa

Since her first summit on 18 May 2000, Lhakpa Sherpa (NPL) has achieved the most ascents of Everest (female) – nine – most recently on 16 May 2018. Climbing is in her blood. She’d grown up living within sight of Everest, and began portering as a 15-year-old, carrying heavy gear between camps in the Himalayas. Twelve years later, she summitted the peak for the first time.

Recent studies have shown that during the 6,000 years that Sherpas have resided on the Himalayan high plateau, their genetic make-up has evolved to allow them to function in the thin atmosphere found at altitudes of 4,000 m (13,100 ft) or higher. Above 8,000 m (26,200 ft), deteriorating oxygen levels can cause dizziness, headaches, breathing problems and hallucinations. It’s little wonder this part of the climb is known as the “death zone”. 

Lhakpa’s expeditions usually set off to attempt this perilous stretch at around 10 p.m., hoping to summit around seven hours later; the descent is safer to navigate by daylight. On reaching the peak, they stay there only for 20 minutes or so before beginning the 12-hour trek back to base camp. 

Severe instances of such so-called “mountain sickness” are rare among Sherpas, though. Recent studies reveal that the cells within their muscles are more efficient at converting oxygen into energy than those of people who live at lower altitudes. The discovery opens up exciting possibilities for medical research to help those suffering from illnesses that reduce oxygen levels in body tissue, such as cancer and heart disease. 

Lhakpa Sherpa’s debut ascent of Everest in 2000 made her the first Nepalese woman to return after topping the mountain, but seven years beforehand, on 22 Apr 1993, another female climber from Nepal had reached its peak too. Tragically, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa died during the descent, the victim of the unforgiving weather conditions on the peak. But in summitting Everest, she became an inspirational figure. Incredibly, since that first ascent by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, no Nepalese woman had scaled the mountain. Junko Tabei from Japan was the first woman to climb Everest , back in 1973.  

Chhurim Sherpa was only a child when news broke of Pasang Lhamu’s achievement, but the reports madfe a huge impact on her. “I didn’t think a woman was capable of getting there,” she admitted, years later. In 2011, Chhurim became the first woman to climb Everest twice in one season , with ascents on 12 May and 19 May that year. (Why are there so many attempts to climb the mountain in May? The weather is generally at its mildest and most temperate then, providing the optimum conditions for a successful summit.) 

She had to overcome other, invisible obstacles too. To Sherpas, Everest (known as Sagarmāthā to Nepalese, and Chomolungma to Tibetans) is a deity and some of her fellow citizens thought that it was inappropriate for Chhurim, as a woman, even to attempt to climb it. 

Like Chhurim, Lhakpa has struggled to find sponsors for her climbs. Hailing from the Markalu region of north-eastern Nepal, she’s lived in West Hartford, Connecticut, USA, for eight years, working at local stores, doing the dishes and taking out the trash, saving hard towards the next climb. The work can be demanding, and keeps her on her feet all day, but Lhakpa embraces it: without funding for gym workouts, her day job acts as her training. Plus, it allows her to fulfil her role as a mother at home. She set up her own expedition company, Cloudscape Climbing, in 2019, for climbers seeking to scale Nepal’s mountain peaks, and hopes that this may help her generate funds for her own future expeditions.

And in common Chhurim too, Lhakpa believes that she can act as an inspiration to other women who are so often patronized or marginalized in a male-dominated society. That’s something she remembers all too well from her homeland; when she was young, girls weren’t even sent to school. “In Nepal, man is first and woman is second… I said ‘No. Men can learn women things and women can learn men things.’” 

But increased demand from foreign expeditions exacerbates competition and puts more pressure on the Sherpas. And unfortunately, the importance of respecting Everest is something that too few Western climbers seem to appreciate. Mountaineers inevitably leave behind mounds of garbage – from abandoned climbing gear to food tins, bottles and human waste – in their wake. 

In an effort to restore some of Everest’s pristine splendour, volunteer groups have been carrying out mass clean-ups on the mountain for years now. Distressingly, the bodies of many of those who have perished on its slopes remain where they fell; they too need to be removed, which is in itself a dangerous task that requires the combined efforts of around five Sherpas. The largest clear-up on Everest in 2019 saw the removal of 10,386 kg (22,897 lb) of garbage from previous climbs. 

For, Lhakpa Sherpa – a single mother of three who has undergone great personal suffering in her life – climbing Everest is a healing process. She speaks of feeling an almost tangible connection with it, and her sensitivity towards it is remarkable: she postponed her climb in 2019 because her father had recently passed away and she didn’t want to take her sadness on to the slopes of Everest (“It would not be safe”); likewise, she believes that to show fear on a climb is dangerous (“If you’re scared, your fear scares the mountain”).

Her respect for Everest, and keen awareness of its dangers, is always uppermost in her mind. That’s why, at the start of every ascent, she whispers “Please don’t kill me” into the wind, explaining to the mountain that she has come there for a good reason. Perhaps the mountain has listened and understood: every one of her climbs of this iconic peak has been successful. 

Kami Rita Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa appear in  Guinness World Records 2021 , out now in shops and on Amazon.

The US and China talk past each other on most issues, but at least they’re still talking

BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his just-concluded latest visit to China with a stop at a Beijing record store where he bought albums by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei in a symbolic nod to cross-cultural exchanges and understanding he had been promoting for three days.

Music, he said at the Li-Pi shop on his way to the airport late Friday, “is the best connector, regardless of geography.”

Yet Swift’s “Midnights” and Dou Wei’s “Black Dream” could just as easily represent the seemingly intractable divisions in the deeply troubled relationship between the world’s two largest economies that both sides publicly and privately blame on the other.

Blinken and his Chinese interlocutors, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, all referred to these rifts even as they extolled the virtues of keeping communication channels open to manage these differences and avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.

Blinken went out of his way to champion the importance of U.S.-China exchanges at all levels. In Shanghai , he ate at a famous soup dumpling restaurant, attended a Chinese basketball playoff game and visited with American and Chinese students at the New York University branch. In his official meetings with Chinese leaders in Beijing, he spoke repeatedly of improvements in ties over the past year.

But he also stressed that the U.S. has serious and growing concerns with China’s policies and practices on the local, regional and global stages. And, he said, the U.S. would not back down. “America will always defend our core interests and values,” he said.

On several occasions, he slammed Chinese overproduction of electric vehicles that threatened to have detrimental effects on U.S. and European automakers and complained that China was not doing enough to stop the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.

At one point he warned bluntly that if China does not end support for Russia ’s defense industrial sector, something the Biden administration says has allowed Russia to step up its attacks on Ukraine and threaten European security, the U.S. would act to stop it. “I made clear that if China does not address this problem, we will,” Blinken told reporters after meeting with Xi.

Chinese officials were similarly direct, saying that while relations have generally improved since a low point last year over the shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon, they remained fraught.

“The two countries should help each other succeed rather than hurt each other, seek common ground and reserve differences rather than engage in vicious competition, and honor words with actions rather than say one thing but do the opposite,” Xi told Blinken in a not-so-veiled accusation of U.S. hypocrisy.

Wang, the foreign minister, said China is fed up with what it considers to be U.S. meddling in human rights , Taiwan and the South China Sea and efforts to restrict its trade and relations with other countries. “Negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building and the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions,” he said. He urged the U.S. “not to step on China’s red lines on China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests.”

Or, as Yang Tao, the director general of North American and Oceania affairs at the Foreign Ministry, put it, according to the official Xinhua News Agency: “If the United States always regards China as its main rival, China-US relations will continuously face troubles and many problems.”

Still, Blinken pressed engagement on all levels. He announced a new agreement to hold talks with China on the threats posed by artificial intelligence but lamented a dearth of American students studying in China – fewer than 900 now, compared to more than 290,000 Chinese in the U.S. He said both sides wanted to increase that number.

“We have an interest in this, because if our future leaders – whether it’s in government, whether it’s in business, civil society, climate, tech, and other fields – if they’re going to be able to collaborate, if they want to be able to solve big problems, if they’re going to be able to work through our differences, they’ll need to know and understand each other’s language, culture, history,” he said. But he added a caveat the Chinese were likely to see as a barb.

“What I told my PRC counterparts on this visit is if they want to attract more Americans here to China, particularly students, the best way to do that is to create the conditions that allow learning to flourish anywhere – a free and open discussion of ideas, access to a wide range of information, ease of travel, confidence in the safety, security, and privacy of the participants,” Blinken said.

Those are issues that neither Taylor Swift nor Dou Wei can overcome.

Taylor Swift Makes Spotify History as ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Becomes First Album to Surpass 200 Million Streams in a Single Day

By Steven J. Horowitz

Steven J. Horowitz

Senior Music Writer

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Taylor Swift has made Spotify history with her new release “The Tortured Poets Department,” becoming the first album to exceed 200 million streams in a single day, Variety can exclusively reveal.

The feat comes less than 24 hours after its release, signaling that the numbers could stretch even higher once the final figures are tallied. Swift now has the top three most streamed albums in a single day, with previous records held by “Midnights” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”

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“Poets” was initially intended as a 16-track album, featuring guest appearances from Post Malone and Florence + the Machine. She didn’t release any singles in advance of the album, and little was known beyond what she teased in the lead-up to drop day. But two hours after it hit streaming services, Swift revealed that she had a trick up her sleeve , dropping an additional 15 songs to make the entire project cap out at 31 cuts.

“I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs,” she wrote on Instagram. “And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”

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Record numbers in the US are homeless. Can cities fine them for sleeping in parks and on sidewalks?

A challenge brought by Grants Pass, a small rural city in southern Oregon, is the most significant case in decades before the U.S. Supreme Court about homelessness. The case could upend how cities interact with people living in the streets. (AP Video by Claire Rush, Manuel Valdes)

FILE - A woman gathers possessions to take before a homeless encampment was cleaned up in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2023. The Supreme Court will hear its most significant case on homelessness in decades Monday, April 22, 2024, as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live. The justices will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based federal appeals court that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

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FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, March 7, 2024. The Supreme Court will hear its most significant case on homelessness in decades Monday, April 22, as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live. The justices will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based federal appeals court that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The most significant case in decades on homelessness has reached the Supreme Court as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live.

The justices on Monday will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based appeals court that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.

A political cross section of officials in the West and California, home to nearly one-third of the nation’s homeless population, argue those decisions have restricted them from “common sense” measures intended to keep homeless encampments from taking over public parks and sidewalks.

Advocacy groups say the decisions provide essential legal protections, especially with an increasing number of people forced to sleep outdoors as the cost of housing soars.

The case before the Supreme Court comes from Grants Pass, a small city nestled in the mountains of southern Oregon, where rents are rising and there is just one overnight shelter for adults. As a growing number of tents clustered its parks, the city banned camping and set $295 fines for people sleeping there.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely blocked the camping ban under its finding that it is unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping outside when there is not adequate shelter space. Grants Pass appealed to the Supreme Court , arguing the ruling left it few good options.

“It really has made it impossible for cities to address growing encampments, and they’re unsafe, unhealthy and problematic for everyone, especially those who are experiencing homelessness,” said lawyer Theane Evangelis, who is representing Grants Pass.

The city is also challenging a 2018 decision, known as Martin v. Boise, that first barred camping bans when shelter space is lacking. It was issued by the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit and applies to the nine Western states in its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court declined to take up a different challenge to the ruling in 2019, before the solidification of its current conservative majority.

FILE - A woman gathers possessions to take before a homeless encampment was cleaned up in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

If the decision is overturned, advocates say it would make it easier for cities deal with homelessness by arresting and fining people rather than helping them get shelter and housing.

“In Grants Pass and across America, homelessness has grown because more and more hardworking people struggle to pay rent, not because we lack ways to punish people sleeping outside,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director for the National Homeless Law Center. Local laws prohibiting sleeping in public spaces have increased at least 50% since 2006, he said.

The case comes after homelessness in the United States grew by 12%, to its highest reported level as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more people, according to federal data. Four in 10 people experiencing homelessness sleep outside, a federal report found.

More than 650,000 people are estimated to be homeless, the most since the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey in 2007. People of color, LGBTQ+ people and seniors are disproportionately affected, advocates said.

Two of four states with the country’s largest homeless populations, Washington and California, are in the West. Officials in cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco say they do not want to punish people simply because they are forced to sleep outside, but that cities need the power to keep growing encampments in check.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

“I never want to criminalize homelessness, but I want to be able to encourage people to accept services and shelter,” said Thien Ho, the district attorney in Sacramento, California, where homelessness has risen sharply in recent years.

San Francisco says it has been blocked from enforcing camping regulations because the city does not have enough shelter space for its full homeless population, something it estimates would cost $1.5 billion to provide.

“These encampments frequently block sidewalks, prevent employees from cleaning public thoroughfares, and create health and safety risks for both the unhoused and the public at large,” lawyers for the city wrote. City workers have also encountered knives, drug dealing and belligerent people at encampments, they said.

Several cities and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the high court to keep some legal protections in place while reining in “overreach” by lower courts. The Martin v. Boise ruling allows cities to regulate and “sweep” encampments, but not enforce total bans in communities without enough beds in shelters.

The Justice Department also backed the idea that people shouldn’t be punished for sleeping outside when they have no where else to go, but said the Grants Pass ruling should be tossed out because 9th Circuit went awry by not defining what it means to be “involuntarily homeless.”

Evangelis, the lawyer for Grants Pass, argues that the Biden administration’s position would not solve the problem for the Oregon city. “It would be impossible for cities to really address the homelessness crisis,” she said.

Public encampments are not good places for people to live, said Ed Johnson, who represents people living outside in Grants Pass as director of litigation at the Oregon Law Center. But enforcement of camping bans often makes homelessness worse by requiring people to spend money on fines rather than housing or creating an arrest record that makes it harder to get an apartment. Public officials should focus instead on addressing shortages of affordable housing so people have places to live, he said.

“It’s frustrating when people who have all the power throw up their hands and say, ‘there’s nothing we can do,’” he sad. “People have to go somewhere.”

The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June.

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New York Today

353 ballet dancers set a record.

Youth America Grand Prix, a student ballet scholarship group, wanted to make its mark by having the most ballet dancers on pointe at the same time.

By James Barron

Good morning. Happy to be back after vacation. Today we’ll look at how 353 ballet dancers spent a minute breaking a record that had stood for five years. We’ll also get details on the arrests of pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University.

Larissa Saveliev was working the phone like a commander redeploying troops. She wanted a platoon’s worth of young, able-bodied people sent to where she was, pronto.

She was calling for ballet dancers, not soldiers.

Saveliev, the founder of Youth America Grand Prix, which she describes as the world’s largest student ballet scholarship organization, had organized a stunt: capturing the record for the most ballet dancers on pointe at the same time. She needed at least 307 to beat the mark set in 2019.

But only about 290 dancers had shown up.

So Saveliev put out calls while the dancers on hand, some as young as 8, lined up in a ballroom-size space at the Plaza Hotel and waited. A sea of tutus rippled and fluttered as they practiced pliés or put their arms over their heads and moved into what is known as the fifth position.

Some talked about appearing in “The Nutcracker,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Swan Lake,” or hoping to. Some talked about the reason they were there, which was to be recognized by Guinness World Records for the “most dancers ‘en pointe’ simultaneously.” Bianca Vezzali, 12, from San Diego, called it “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Under Guinness’s rules, once enough dancers were there, they would have to stay on pointe for 60 seconds. Bianca was not worried. “One minute isn’t that hard,” she said. “I’m so used to doing it for longer.” Kendall Morgan, 13, from Los Angeles, said it took practice and strength to stay on pointe “and make it look good.” But like Bianca, she said she was ready. “This is something we’ve worked on since we were little,” she said.

The record they were trying to break was set in 2019 on the morning television program “Live with Kelly and Ryan.” One of the hosts, Kelly Ripa, took part after saying it was the first time she had danced on pointe in 33 years. She lasted the minute.

This time around, the rules were the same. Tina Shi, the adjudicator sent by Guinness, was clear that everyone had to stay on pointe for a full minute: “If they drop, they will be disqualified.” Ashley Bouder, a principal dancer of the New York City Ballet , was on hand as an expert, as required by Guinness, to confirm that the dancers were on pointe correctly.

Saveliev, who danced with the Bolshoi Ballet until she defected in 1993, timed the stunt to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Youth America Grand Prix and the final rounds of auditions that it holds each year. She started Youth America Grand Prix after moving to New Jersey and realizing there was a need to connect dancers of diverse backgrounds with ballet schools. Youth America Grand Prix has since awarded more than $5 million in scholarships.

Before long, young dancers who responded to Saveliev’s calls began arriving from Lincoln Center, where they had been rehearsing for an appearance at a gala for Saveliev’s group.

But it still looked like a squeaker as far as smashing the record was concerned, so others were recruited. Among them was Lola Abigail Koch , a former Bolshoi dancer who said she stopped performing in 2010 and now teaches at the Joffrey Ballet School. She also runs the nonprofit Ballet Support Foundation .

“It’s still in my DNA,” she said, strapping on ballet shoes.

Would they make it to 307?

Katya Orohovsky, a dance teacher from Hattiesburg, Miss., signed on as No. 293 after squeezing into size 3 toe shoes. “I was like, ‘How desperate are you?’” said Orohovsky, who wears a size 6.

Bouder rushed in with a batch of ballet shoes. Marcella Guarino Hymowitz, a former dancer who was the creative chair of the annual gala for Youth America Grand Prix, took a pair, stuffed in tissue as makeshift toe pads and signed on as No. 294.

The other chair of the gala, Lesley Thompson Vecsler, signed on as No. 295. “My toes are not used to this anymore,” said Vecsler, who studied with the Washington School of Ballet and danced as an undergraduate at Duke University.

Finally, it appeared that there was the equivalent of a quorum — enough dancers to beat the record from 2019. “You cannot touch each other,” Shi told the crowd. “You cannot lean on others.”

She counted down: “Three! Two! One!”

The room seemed to ascend as the dancers rose on pointe. A snippet of Tchaikovsky, slightly longer than a minute, played over the public address system.

When the music ended, Shi conferred with volunteer witnesses around the room who had kept watch. Then she made it official: With 353 dancers taking part, a record had been set.

It’s a partly sunny day in the mid-50s. Prepare for a chance of showers at night, with lows in the high 40s.

ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING

In effect until Tuesday (Passover).

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Police arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia

The president of Columbia University called in the Police Department on Thursday to empty an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators and arrest dozens of defiant students.

“I took this extraordinary step because these are extraordinary circumstances,” the president, Nemat Shafik, wrote in a campuswide email a day after she told a Republican-led House committee that Columbia was prepared to punish students for unauthorized protests.

Shafik’s decision sharpened tensions on Columbia’s campus, the scene for months of demonstrations in support of Palestinians — demonstrations that some Jewish people considered antisemitic. My colleagues Sharon Otterman and Alan Blinder wrote that it was not clear whether the harsher tactics would provide a model for officials on other campuses, or would mostly infuriate and inflame.

Shafik sent the email as New York City police officers in riot gear marched on an encampment of about 50 tents that had gone up on Wednesday, just as Shafik was getting ready for her congressional appearance. She testified that she had been frustrated “that Columbia’s policies and structures were sometimes unable to meet the moment.”

The top leaders of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania lost their jobs after appearing before the same committee last year. There has been no indication that Shafik, who took office last July, has lost the confidence of Columbia’s board.

On Thursday, a voice on a loudspeaker repeatedly told those in the encampment that “since you have refused to disperse, you will now be placed under arrest for trespassing.” The protesters responded with their own cry: “Columbia, Columbia, you will see — Palestine will be free!”

Police officers began taking protesters into custody and putting them on buses as other students chanted “Shame!” Officers later took down the tents as demonstrators gathered in front of Butler Library and called for amnesty for those who had been arrested.

Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, was one of several students from Barnard College — whose campus is across Broadway from Columbia’s — who were suspended for participating in the encampment at Columbia. Hirsi, 21, said on social media that she was an organizer with the student coalition that has been pushing the university to cut ties with companies that support Israel. She is also involved with the Columbia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, one of two student groups suspended in November for holding unauthorized protests.

METROPOLITAN diary

Dashboard delight

Dear Diary:

I was driving down Broadway and I stopped at a red light.

A sanitation truck pulled up next to me. The driver leaned out of the truck and pointed at the large hula dancer figurine on my dashboard.

“Hey,” he said. “That’s awesome.”

I yanked it off the dashboard and tossed it to him.

— Kevin O’Keefe

Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here .

Glad we could get together here. See you on Monday. — J.B.

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee . You can find all our puzzles here .

Melissa Guerrero and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.

An earlier version of New York Today misstated the number of ballet dancers who set a record for standing on point for one minute. It was 353, not 333.

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James Barron writes the New York Today newsletter, a morning roundup of what’s happening in the city. More about James Barron

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In “Nail Biter,” a New York City premiere, the exacting choreographer Beth Gill explores her ballet roots  and how to be in her body now.

The choreographer Emma Portner, who has spent her career mixing genres and disciplines , comes to ballet with an eye on its sometimes calcified gender relations.

A childhood encounter with an American soldier in Iraq led Hussein Smko to become a dancer. Now the artist performs on New York stages .

“Deep River” is in many ways an apt title for a dance work by Alonzo King, a choreographer fixated on flow .

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Voyager 1 transmitting data again after Nasa remotely fixes 46-year-old probe

Engineers spent months working to repair link with Earth’s most distant spacecraft, says space agency

Earth’s most distant spacecraft, Voyager 1, has started communicating properly again with Nasa after engineers worked for months to remotely fix the 46-year-old probe.

Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which makes and operates the agency’s robotic spacecraft, said in December that the probe – more than 15bn miles (24bn kilometres) away – was sending gibberish code back to Earth.

In an update released on Monday , JPL announced the mission team had managed “after some inventive sleuthing” to receive usable data about the health and status of Voyager 1’s engineering systems. “The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again,” JPL said. Despite the fault, Voyager 1 had operated normally throughout, it added.

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 was designed with the primary goal of conducting close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn in a five-year mission. However, its journey continued and the spacecraft is now approaching a half-century in operation.

Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in August 2012, making it the first human-made object to venture out of the solar system. It is currently travelling at 37,800mph (60,821km/h).

Hi, it's me. - V1 https://t.co/jgGFBfxIOe — NASA Voyager (@NASAVoyager) April 22, 2024

The recent problem was related to one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers, which are responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it is sent to Earth. Unable to repair a broken chip, the JPL team decided to move the corrupted code elsewhere, a tricky job considering the old technology.

The computers on Voyager 1 and its sister probe, Voyager 2, have less than 70 kilobytes of memory in total – the equivalent of a low-resolution computer image. They use old-fashioned digital tape to record data.

The fix was transmitted from Earth on 18 April but it took two days to assess if it had been successful as a radio signal takes about 22 and a half hours to reach Voyager 1 and another 22 and a half hours for a response to come back to Earth. “When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on 20 April, they saw that the modification worked,” JPL said.

Alongside its announcement, JPL posted a photo of members of the Voyager flight team cheering and clapping in a conference room after receiving usable data again, with laptops, notebooks and doughnuts on the table in front of them.

The Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who flew two space shuttle missions and acted as commander of the International Space Station, compared the JPL mission to long-distance maintenance on a vintage car.

“Imagine a computer chip fails in your 1977 vehicle. Now imagine it’s in interstellar space, 15bn miles away,” Hadfield wrote on X . “Nasa’s Voyager probe just got fixed by this team of brilliant software mechanics.

Voyager 1 and 2 have made numerous scientific discoveries , including taking detailed recordings of Saturn and revealing that Jupiter also has rings, as well as active volcanism on one of its moons, Io. The probes later discovered 23 new moons around the outer planets.

As their trajectory takes them so far from the sun, the Voyager probes are unable to use solar panels, instead converting the heat produced from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity to power the spacecraft’s systems.

Nasa hopes to continue to collect data from the two Voyager spacecraft for several more years but engineers expect the probes will be too far out of range to communicate in about a decade, depending on how much power they can generate. Voyager 2 is slightly behind its twin and is moving slightly slower.

In roughly 40,000 years, the probes will pass relatively close, in astronomical terms, to two stars. Voyager 1 will come within 1.7 light years of a star in the constellation Ursa Minor, while Voyager 2 will come within a similar distance of a star called Ross 248 in the constellation of Andromeda.

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