Blog : Facts & Resources


[VIDEO] The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in a bin of fabric scraps on the 8th floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. That fire led to the deaths of 146 workers and focused attention on the labor abuses that many Americans faced, with working-class women
Read More »

Tutor Tips from Dr. Carmine Stewart

Tutor Tips: Body Language

The following Tutor Tip from Dr. Carmine Stewart appeared in the September 2021 issue of Tutor News for Seeds of Literacy volunteers. Tutoring adults often involves detective skills.  A student may be reluctant to say they don’t understand, or to speak up if they are uncomfortable, but a perceptive tutor
Read More »

Tutor Tips from Dr. Carmine Stewart

Tutor Tips: Foundational Knowledge

The following Tutor Tip from Dr. Carmine Stewart appeared in the December 2021 issue of Tutor News for Seeds of Literacy volunteers. ‌If learning came easy to you, you probably take for granted the background knowledge you have acquired along the way. Everything you have ever learned created a solid
Read More »

[VIDEOS] Black History Month 2022

Seeds Celebrates Just a Few of the Many Achievements of African Americans Check back, we’ll add new videos all month! Can’t wait? Binge our 2021 profiles here. HENRIETTA LACKS How are the cells of a woman who died in the 1950s STILL impacting modern medicine today? The legacy of Henrietta
Read More »

Tutor Profile Sharon Vejdovec

Tutor Profile: The Teacher Who Never Really Retired

Most people dream about retirement, especially those who worked 12-plus-hour-days regularly. But when you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. For those people, retirement isn’t just bittersweet, it’s downright daunting. For 42 years, Seeds tutor Sharon Vejdovec worked in elementary schools as a teacher
Read More »

Tutor Spotlight Rob Pyle

Tutor Profile: Michigan’s Math Free Agent

Michigan resident Rob Pyle works as an engineering supervisor at Ford, but in his spare time, he promotes a unique tutoring program in Ohio. He is a member of several GED support groups on Facebook and Reddit, walking students through tricky math problems and often interacting with adults who would
Read More »

Tutor Tips from Dr. Carmine Stewart

Tutor Tips: Vocabulary…for Math

The following Tutor Tip from Dr. Carmine Stewart appeared in the January 2022 issue of Tutor News for Seeds of Literacy volunteers. When most people hear the word “vocabulary” they think about language arts (reading and writing), science, or social studies. But mathematics has a vocabulary all its own. It
Read More »

[VIDEO] What was Prohibition?

Many people use alcohol to help themselves relax.  But for many others, alcohol damages large parts of their lives.  A pleasant distraction for some is a devastating addiction for others.  This split is what led many people to try banning alcohol entirely, a movement known as Prohibition. Indeed, for a
Read More »

[VIDEO] The Wright Brothers

The next time you’re planning a vacation, you might decide to fly to your destination.  These days, most of us take air travel for granted.  But it wasn’t all that long ago that if you needed to get somewhere, your only options were train, horse, or ship. For many people,
Read More »