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The experiences we have at school tend to stay with us throughout our lives. It’s an impactful time where small acts of kindness, encouragement, and inspiration go a long way.

Schools, classrooms, and teachers that are welcoming and inclusive support students’ development and help set them up for a positive and engaging path in life.

Here are three of our favorite everyday actions that are spreading kindness on campus in a big way:

Image courtesy of Mark Storhaug

1. Pickleball to Get Fifth Graders Moving

Mark Storhaug is a 5th grade teacher at Kingsley Elementary in Los Angeles, who wants to use pickleball to get his students “moving on the playground again after 15 months of being Zombies learning at home.”

Pickleball is a paddle ball sport that mixes elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis, where two or four players use solid paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a net. It’s as simple as that.

Kingsley Elementary is in a low-income neighborhood where outdoor spaces where kids can move around are minimal. Mark’s goal is to get two or three pickleball courts set up in the schoolyard and have kids join in on what’s quickly becoming a national craze. Mark hopes that pickleball will promote movement and teamwork for all his students. He aims to take advantage of the 20-minute physical education time allotted each day to introduce the game to his students.

Help Mark get his students outside, exercising, learning to cooperate, and having fun by donating to his GoFundMe.

Image courtesy of Kaiya Bates

2. Staying C.A.L.M: Regulation Kits for Kids

According to the WHO around 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression. In the US, 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness and 1 in 20 experience severe mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Kaiya Bates, who was recently crowned Miss Tri-Cities Outstanding Teen for 2022, is one of those people, and has endured severe anxiety, depression, and selective mutism for most of her life.

Through her GoFundMe, Kaiya aims to use her “knowledge to inspire and help others through their mental health journey and to spread positive and factual awareness.”

She’s put together regulation kits (that she’s used herself) for teachers to use with students who are experiencing stress and anxiety. Each “CALM-ing” kit includes a two-minute timer, fidget toolboxes, storage crates, breathing spheres, art supplies and more.

Kaiya’s GoFundMe goal is to send a kit to every teacher in every school in the Pasco School District in Washington where she lives.

To help Kaiya achieve her goal, visit Staying C.A.L.M: Regulation Kits for Kids.

Image courtesy of Julie Tarman

3. Library for a high school heritage Spanish class

Julie Tarman is a high school Spanish teacher in Sacramento, California, who hopes to raise enough money to create a Spanish language class library.

The school is in a low-income area, and although her students come from Spanish-speaking homes, they need help building their fluency, confidence, and vocabulary through reading Spanish language books that will actually interest them.

Julie believes that creating a library that affirms her students’ cultural heritage will allow them to discover the joy of reading, learn new things about the world, and be supported in their academic futures.

To support Julie’s GoFundMe, visit Library for a high school heritage Spanish class.

Do YOU have an idea for a fundraiser that could make a difference? Upworthy and GoFundMe are celebrating ideas that make the world a better, kinder place. Visit upworthy.com/kindness to join the largest collaboration for human kindness in history and start your own GoFundMe.

It’s a good thing for Donald Trump Jr. that his dad is always coming up with new ways to scam the MAGAites of the world. Otherwise, he might have to find a real job. In the meantime, he’s happy to serve as Daddy’s #1 fan, and dutifully did so on Wednesday night when he chatted with Sean Hannity on Fox News. The topic of the conversation? Pops’ shady new social media network, TRUTH Social, and the Trump Media & Technology Group. When asked what he could tell the world about his dad’s latest endeavor—which already has some people suggesting it’s just a new way for the former president to further fleece his supporters—Jr. had lots to say.

“Well, Sean, it’s a big deal! For so long, Big Tech has suppressed conservative voices. If you’re pro-Second Amendment, if you’re pro-life, if you’re religious, if you’re just a conservative, you have been in Facebook Jail. You have been de-platformed. You had been demonetized. What we’re trying to do is create a big tent—an open and free network for people to be able to communicate, to exercise your First Amendment rights.

And so tonight, my father signed a definitive merger agreement to form what will ultimately be the Trump Media & Technology Group and TRUTH Social, a platform for everyone to express their feelings. Big Tech and all of those on the left, for so long, Sean, have been saying: ‘Well, if you don’t like the rules that we really enforce only one way on our platforms, go create your own.’ And so we did just that.”

It should be noted that tens of millions of other people around the world regularly express their feelings—yes, even gun owners and pro-lifers—and have never ended up in “Facebook Jail.” And that Trump the Elder has, quite pathetically, tried to sneak his way back on to Twitter in recent months, and failed miserably. He also regularly has his spokeswoman share his kooky statements on Twitter, while Don Jr. himself is still on Twitter, and regularly posting several times a day. So they can’t think too poorly of the platform.

Still, Don Jr. says TRUTH Social aims to “give a voice back to the American people… We’re going to cancel ‘cancel culture,’ we’re going to stand up and push back against the tyranny of Big Tech. I think America has been waiting for this… It’s gonna be awesome.”

America did not respond to our request for comment. Meanwhile, hackers have already taken down Trump’s new site.

(Via Benny Johnson)

Montrezl Harrell’s first game as a member of the Washington Wizards ended with a 98-83 win over the Toronto Raptors and one technical foul in his back pocket. That tech ended up getting a whole lot of attention, because it looked like it came because the Wizards’ big man was jawing with noted Raptors fan Drake during the game.

The video makes it look like Harrell, who has never been shy about wearing his heart on his sleeve during games, was getting wound up while having a conversation with Drake, who appeared to find whatever was going on pretty funny.

That was not exactly what happened, though. After the game, Harrell made clear that the technical foul did not come because of anything he was doing with Drake. Instead, he got T’d up for a conversation with a Raptors coach, while he and Drake went back-and-forth in a far more cordial manner.

“I need my money back first, NBA,” Harrell said. “I definitely need my money back, because that definitely shouldn’t have been no tech. If so, you’ve got to give to me and the coach. Me and Drake was laughing. There was no problems there, me and Drake cool, we even talked after the game. It was a cool conversation, but it turned left when the coach started chiming in behind the bench, thinking that barking is something that’s gonna shake me.

“I don’t need all of Toronto on my bumper now,” Harrell continued. “I don’t need Toronto on my bumper now. Don’t start DMing me on Instagram now. Me and Drake cool.”

Let it go in the record books: Montrezl Harrell did not get a technical foul for getting into an argument with Drake. This, of course, does not mean an NBA player somewhere down the line won’t get one for chirping at Drake during a Raptors game.

Billie Eilish is no stranger to filmed performances of her music. After giving renditions of her songs at countless awards shows, festivals, and even a Disney+ exclusive movie concert, Eilish now brings her recent album Happier Than Ever to a glamorous ballroom to deliver her woozy track “Lost Cause” for Vevo.

Shot on 35mm film in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in LA, the shimmering performance matches the opulence of the set location. It opens with Finneas on bass and a drummer offering some smooth percussive elements before panning out to show Eilish on a second-story overlook. Bending and contorting her voice to match the slow-burning beat, Eilish moves around the room with a sense of urgency.

In a statement about the performance, JP Evangelista — Vevo’s SVP of Content, Programming & Marketing — praised Eilish’s work ethic. “All of us at Vevo have been huge fans of Billie for years and love working with her. We collaborated closely with her on each of these Official Live Performances, and worked hard to create a cohesive series to match her aesthetic and sound,” Evangelista said. “Billie is always so involved in the vision of her music videos, and her detailed input is a huge part of what makes these performances special. It’s been such a pleasure watching her blossom into the superstar that she is today, from her first music videos, to very intimate fan shows, Billie is truly one of a kind. We look forward to more successful future collaborations.”

Watch Eilish perform “Lost Cause” for Vevo above.

Happier Than Ever is out now via Interscope. Get it here.

As Squid Game continues to be a record-breaking international phenomenon, the Netflix series‘ anti-capitalist messaging is spurring real-world action thanks to a recent protest in South Korea. According to reports, over 27,000 people took to the streets in Seoul, where members of the South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions donned Squid Game costumes as they rallied for improved working conditions. The union members were reportedly inspired by the characters on the Netflix series who compete in childhood games with a deadly twist to better their lives.

“They too are struggling to make a living,” tweeted Lim Yun Suk from Channel News Asia, who shared video from the protest below:

During the protest, workers revealed that Squid Game was very difficult to watch because the experiences mirrored their own. Via Insider:

“In ‘Squid Game,’ you see characters scrambling to survive after being laid off at work, struggling to operate fried chicken diners or working as ‘daeri’ drivers,” a rental service where drivers take drunk people home in their own cars, Lee added. “That reminded me of my co-workers who died.”

Created by South Korean filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk, who struggled for a decade to sell the series because network execs found the scenarios “too implausible,” Squid Game became an international hit after Netflix took a gamble, which paid off huge. It also didn’t hurt that Donald Trump became president, which sadly, made the show’s dark conditions more realistic.

“It’s almost like he’s running a game show, not a country, like giving people horror,” Dong-hyuk told IndieWire. “After all these issues happened, I thought it was about time that this show goes out into the world.”

(Via Lim Yun Suk on Twitter, Insider)

Rep. Jim Jordan appears to have eaten his Wheaties this week because the man just won’t stop. On Wednesday, he and Matt Gaetz spent an inordinate amount of time acting like nuisances during House committee hearings that addressed Steve Bannon deciding to ignore a subpoena on the Jan. 6 MAGA coup. It’s to the point where people started recalling that memes have compared Jordan and Gaetz to Beavis and Butt-Head, but they’re not harmless doofuses who sit on couches and watch music videos. Instead, they’re armed with far-right information and stonewalling any progress whatsoever when they take the mic.

Well, Jordan’s back in the saddle again on Thursday, when he decided to ding-dong out and act like a clown because he couldn’t play a video for the House Judiciary Committee. Attorney General Merrick Garland (who was on hand to discuss Justice Department oversight) appeared to discuss possibilities for dealing with Bannon’s defiance, and Garland declared, “The Department of Justice will do what it always does in such circumstances, we’ll apply the facts and the law and make a decision, consistent with the principles of prosecution.”

Meanwhile, Jordan was ranting about an “accelerated march to Communism.”

Then he began to freak out about wanting to play his darn video.

And here’s the video that Jordan wanted to play, as blasted out on Twitter by the House Judiciary GOP account. It’s a montage of right-ring parents freaking out over COVID protocols at town hall meetings, sprinkled with Fox News clips.

Via Mediaite, Jordan wasn’t allowed to play this video because he apparently didn’t adhere to the committee’s protocol for attempting to secure video approval 48 hours in advance. Jordan, of course, pushed back at the rule’s existence while also stating that he did, in fact, follow the rule. Hmm.

(Via Aaron Rupar & Mediaite)

A pandemic, a disparate wealth gap, and widening political divides are stressing everyone out right now, which might be why murder rates are up in Polk County, Florida. The good news? The sheriff there has an easy fix: eat more Moonpies.

Sheriff Grady Judd gave a press conference on Tuesday to address the rising number of homicides in his county. Despite the overall crime rate staying low, the area has had a record number of murders for the first half of 2021 with the local news reporting that 34 people have been killed from homicidal deaths, first and second-degree murders, and officer-involved shootings so far. Obviously, that’s very disturbing news for residents, so Juddy offered some sage advice for the people doing most of the murdering these days: chill the f*ck out.

“What’s that all about? Just calm down. Quit murdering your friends and your family,” Judd said in a statement. “I know that’s a novel idea for some people.”

And look, Judd understands that resisting those homicidal impulses can be tough, so once again, the sheriff is coming in clutch with some tricks for not killing people.

“Just chill out, drink a 7up, eat a MoonPie, quit murdering people,” he said.

No, the drink choice is questionable because honestly, we can’t remember the last time we walked into a gas station and saw 7up just chilling on the shelves, but few can argue with the snack option. Moonpies are, in fact, delicious and apparently, they have the power to curb bloodlust. We wonder why the company doesn’t put that in their marketing materials?

In all seriousness though, this 10-second clip is funnier than anything Dave Chappelle has put out in the last decade. Watch the full video below:

It’s been less than a year since Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single “Drivers License,” and she’s already taken the world by storm. She’s performed at a number of awards shows, walked the Met Gala’s red carpet, and her debut album Sour smashed several charting records. Now offering fans even more Sour content, Rodrigo debuts a video to her somber heartbreak track “Traitor.”

The visual sees Rodrigo meeting up with her friends to try to heal the heartbreak laid out in the song’s lyrics. As she sings of her ex moving on a little too quickly, Rodrigo tries to distract herself by hitting up an arcade. But she eventually decides that won’t do the trick and instead breaks into a high school’s pool. She then jumps into the water fully clothed and causes a ruckus with her friends, which definitely helps mend her heartbreak.

Ahead of the release of her “Traitor” visual, Rodrigo explained in an interview with Alanis Morissette for Rolling Stone‘s “Musicians On Musicians” series that she was grateful her breakout moment came during quarantine. “I think had I not just been doing the same thing that I had always been doing and writing songs in my bedroom, maybe I would have gotten a little more in my head about it than I did,” she said.”

Watch Rodrigo’s “Traitor” video above.

Sour is out now via Geffen/Interscope. Get it here.

Conservative media in the United States has painted Australia as a state on the brink of authoritarianism due to strict COVID-19 protections in some parts of the country. These news outlets appear to be using the country as an example of what can happen in America if liberal politicians go unchecked.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson ran a story on Australia earlier this month claiming the country “looks a lot like China did at the beginning of the pandemic.” He ended it by saying that “what’s happening in Australia might be instructive to us in the United States” and that things can “change very quickly” and become “dystopian and autocratic.”

Carlson provides zero reasons why Americans should be fearful of becoming an autocratic country due to COVID-19, beyond the idea that “things can change very quickly” so his appeals sound a lot more like fear-mongering than genuine concern.

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Florida governor Ron De Santis–whose state’s COVID-19 death rate is some 50 times Australia’s–suggested that the U.S. should reconsider its diplomatic relations with Australia, asking whether it was freer than China.

While conservative media in the U.S. bemoans the state of Australia, people living Down Under don’t care much for their concerns. Polls show that the vast majority of Australians support vaccine mandates, presumably because they don’t want their fellow countrymen to die.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz got in on the Australia bashing last week when he posted a tweet featuring a video of Australia’s Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner announcing the country’s latest vaccine mandates.

Gunner had announced that anyone who serves the public in hospitality, gyms, retail or any other customer-facing industries must get their first coronavirus vaccine within a month or face a $3,750 (5000 Australian dollars) fine.

“I love the Aussies. Their history of rugged independence is legendary; I’ve always said Australia is the Texas of the Pacific,” Cruz wrote before adding, “The Covid tyranny of their current government is disgraceful and sad. Individual liberty matters. I stand with the people of Australia.”

Gunner responded to Cruz on Twitter, educating him on the effectiveness of vaccines and how compared to Australia, Texas is a complete disaster when it comes to protecting people from the virus.

G’day from Down Under @tedcruz. Thanks for your interest in the Territory. I’m the Chief Minister. Below are a few… https://t.co/kOI3wRqTtb

— Michael Gunner (@fanniebay)
1634528825.0

“Hey Ted Cruz, g’day from the Northern Territory in Australia. Here are some facts. Nearly 70,000 Texans have tragically died from COVID. There have been zero deaths in the Territory. Did you know that?” he wrote before adding, “Vaccination is so important here because we have vulnerable communities and the oldest continuous living culture on the planet to protect. Did you know that?”

He then added, “We don’t need your lectures, thanks mate. You know nothing about us. And if you stand against a life-saving vaccine, then you sure as hell don’t stand with Australia. I love Texas (go Longhorns), but when it comes to COVID, I’m glad we are nothing like you.”

The difference between Texas and Australia is staggering when it comes to the number of people who’ve died due to COVID-19. Australia has a population of 25.7 million and has had 147,275 total cases and 1,558 total deaths due to COVID-19.

Texas, on the other hand, has a similar population of 29 million but has 3,474,092 cases and 68,043 fatalities. That’s more than 45 times the death rate.

Cruz can bash Australia all he wants, but if he actually loved the people of Texas, he’d care a bit more about their health. Few people have much use for liberty when they’re dead or stuck on a ventilator.

The way in which one frames Mike Conley Jr.’s 2020-21 season depends on the viewpoint. By and large, it was successful individually. He bounced back from a downtrodden, injury plagued 2019-20 to nab his first All-Star berth, shot a career-high 41.2 percent from deep and helped guide the Utah Jazz to the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. From a regular season perspective, it was one of the best years of his career.

But amid all those triumphs were more injuries that cost him 14 of Utah’s final 22 games, including much of the playoffs. He missed the first five games of the second round against the Los Angeles Clippers. By the time he returned for a do-or-die Game 6, he was not his All-Star self, scored eight points on 1-of-8 shooting and was limited to 26 minutes. This is not to say Utah would’ve won with a healthy Conley — and L.A. was likewise missing Kawhi Leonard over the final two games — but him being at his best seems paramount for the Jazz if they are to finally look like a title contender in the postseason.

When available, Conley’s pick-and-roll chemistry with Rudy Gobert and pull-up shooting bolster the offense significantly. He’s not much of a creator without a pick present, but he’s a dazzling ball-screen guard and decision-maker. In a movement-heavy offense like Utah’s, his off-ball exploits also pair well. Alongside the necessary, explosive scoring tendencies of Donovan Mitchell that aren’t always flanked by consistent decision-making, Conley’s methodical, savvy approach helps balance possessions.

Defensively, he flows around screens and can pester opposing guards, though bigger, brawnier assignments pose trouble. For all the hand-wringing about Gobert’s defensive trials against Los Angeles, it was merely a byproduct of the more prevalent issue: Utah’s dearth of effective perimeter defenders, which Conley’s absence and restraints exacerbated. At the very least, he would’ve helped in some regard.

It’s easy to say a healthy Conley solves many of the Jazz’s faults. A healthy Conley, though, has become increasingly difficult to expect in recent seasons. He’s struggled with injuries in both years with Utah and missed most of 2017-18 surgery due to season-ending surgery on his left heel. That’s three times in four years where a 34-year-old, 6-foot-1 guard’s season is notably impacted by injuries.

The Jazz rightfully kept Conley in town with a three-year, $72.5 million this summer. He is very good. They need him. He fits properly with their other All-Stars. But they need him healthy to challenge the contenders in the West. Any chance of breaking through the second round, something the franchise has failed to do since 2006-07, in part relies on him being ready for the stretch run, primed to splash triples, toss lobs and fluster assignments on the perimeter defensively.