Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Closing the Global Literacy Gap Starts Here

Closing the Global Literacy Gap Starts Here

Good Is
By Good IsDec 07, 2016
Good Is
See Full Bio

An estimated 757 million people are unable to read this sentence because they remain illiterate, and one in 10 adults in the US cannot read. To bridge this opportunity gap, Pearson and the Unreasonable Group have partnered together to launch “Project Literacy Lab,” the world’s first accelerator for entrepreneurs dedicated to closing the global literacy gap by 2030.

Project Literacy Lab brings together 16 high-growth ventures headquartered across five continents to collectively scale their technologies and products to combat illiteracy worldwide. Examples of ventures include Guru-G, the fastest growing app in India helping teachers teach; Edovo, tablet technology for incarcerated adults in the US; and Livox, an AI learning platform that customizes teaching for students with disabilities.

Check out the above slideshow for highlights from the week. And if you’d like an easy way to throw your hat in the ring, sign this petition from Project Literacy, intended to keep illiteracy top of mind for influential global leaders.

communitieseducation

The Latest

old age, old age benefits, youth culture, culture, health
Culture

Seniors share the 15 incredible perks of old age young people can look forward to

home alone, home alone house, Macaulay Culkin, movies, houses
Culture

New owners of the beloved 'Home Alone' house want to restore its nostalgic '90s magic

emergency rooms, nurses, Reddit, patients, redditors, doctors, stories, hospital
Culture

33 questionable things people do that emergency room staff are begging them to stop

insects, bugs, scientific research, bug populations, environmental research
Science

Bugs are vanishing at 'alarming' rates. Researcher shares what's behind the 'bug apocalypse.'

More For You

seasonal depression, seasonal affective disorder, mental health, mental health tips, serotonin

Millions are impacted by seasonal depression.

Photo credit: Canva

Doctor shares 'realistic' 3-step practice to beat seasonal depression

Seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), impacts millions of people during the winter. The dark, cold weather can easily lead to dark, cold moods from the “winter blahs” that leave people feeling lethargic and depressed. The sneaky thing about it is that you could be going through it without knowing it because it’s not as “dramatic” as regular depression while still being a significant emotional burden.

Doctors tend to recommend going outside, exercising, planning activities, etc. to tackle seasonal affective disorder. But if you’re in a mindset that causes getting out of bed or making a phone call to feel like an exhausting struggle, it can feel impossible to hit the gym or arrange an activity with a friend. Luckily, one doctor gets it.

Keep ReadingShow less
hotel story, malicious compliance, receptionist, rude customer, Reddit, viral story, Days Inn, customer service, funny, revenge

A hotel receptionist checks in a guest

Canva

A hotel guest demanded a room on a non-existent 4th floor. The receptionist's comeback was perfect.

Anyone who has worked in customer service knows the customer is always right—except when they are demanding a room on a floor that doesn't exist.

A classic story from the Reddit community r/MaliciousCompliance is making the rounds again, detailing one receptionist's legendary response to an entitled guest. The employee, who was working the night shift at a hotel that was fully booked, faced a woman who marched in with a piece of paper and an attitude.

Keep ReadingShow less
Earth's heartbeat, microseisms, 26-second pulse, seismology, Bight of Bonny, Jack Oliver, geological mystery, Gulf of Guinea, seismic tremors, Earth science

A volcano

Canva

Scientists puzzled by Earth's 'heartbeat' that triggers little tremors every 26 seconds

To the average person standing on the ground, the planet feels solid and still. But to a seismologist watching the data, the Earth is constantly moving, humming with a rhythmic pulse that has baffled scientists for over 60 years.

Every 26 seconds, like clockwork, a faint seismic tremor ripples through the Earth's crust. Known as a "microseism," it isn't strong enough to knock over a vase, but it is distinct enough to be recorded by monitoring stations on multiple continents.

Keep ReadingShow less
happiness, gratitude, mental health, gratitude mindset, therapy

What is the best stage of your life?

Photo credit: Canva

Spanish psychologist says 'best stage' of life begins with a specific mindset shift, not your age

As we grow, it's common for kids to say, "I can't wait until I am older," and then it transforms into, "Youth is wasted on the young." Many of us tend to think nostalgically of the past or hope for a better future, often at the expense of the present. This dissatisfaction is common and normal, but can often get in the way of enjoying life by either waiting for the "best stage" of their life that is still to come or wondering if the best stage has already come and gone. One psychologist believes that the best stage in life can happen in the here and now.

Spanish psychologist and author Rafael Santandreu argues that the "best stage" of a person's life, barring certain circumstances, isn't a specific age range or moment of accomplishment. Instead, it begins when a person shifts their mindset away from complaint.

Keep ReadingShow less
Li Jingwei, kidnapped map, family reunion, Douyin, child trafficking, hand-drawn map, Zhaotong, viral video, China news, emotional reunion

A man looks at a map

Canva

He was kidnapped at 4. A map he drew from memory 33 years later led him back home.

For 33 years, Li Jingwei had no idea where he came from. Kidnapped from his village in 1989 at the age of four, he grew up in a different province with a different family. He eventually forgot his birth name and the names of his parents. But there was one thing he never forgot: the landscape of his home.

Images of a specific bamboo grove, a small pond, and a winding road near a school were etched into his memory. In late 2021, inspired by other high-profile family reunions in China, Li decided to trust those memories.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aaron Arias, Jamal Harris, kidnapping rescue, Dallas teens, Charles Atkins Lewis, 911 call, Good Samaritans, viral rescue story, bystander intervention

Traffic at night with overlaid text reading "I'm witnessing a robbery. not a robbery, a kidnapping!"

Canva

Teens rescue a kidnapped woman after noticing her mouth 'help me' from the backseat

Situational awareness can be the difference between life and death, and for one woman in Texas, the quick thinking of two teenagers made all the difference. In an incredible display of bravery, Aaron Arias and Jamal Harris turned a casual drive into a daring rescue mission.

Aaron Arias, then 19, and Jamal Harris, then 17, were driving through Dallas to pick up a friend when they noticed a young woman in the backseat of another car. From the passenger seat, Harris initially thought the woman was "attractive," but quickly realized she was mouthing something urgent. According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, it became clear she was silently pleading for help.

Keep ReadingShow less
vaccines, father, daughter, chickenpox, virus, dementia, memory, thinking, brain

Daughter holds father's hands.

Photo credit: Canva

Scientists stumble onto ​possible breakthrough dementia vaccine that was hiding in plain sight

As we age, most of us begin to experience some basic decline in memory, thinking, and everyday functioning. In more extreme cases, such as Alzheimer's, the impact can be devastating. Modern science is exploring new treatments to address the complications posed by different forms of dementia.

Some fascinating and positive news emerged from a study aimed at better understanding the effects of the shingles vaccine. Scientists stumbled upon unexpected data suggesting a link between vaccination and a reduction in dementia cases.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joe Eszterhas, Michael Ovitz, CAA, Hollywood history, Basic Instinct, show business feud, leaked letter, foot soldiers, super-agent, 1989

Hollywood sign with text overlay reading: "I am not an asset. I am a human being. You are an agent."

Canva

The epic fax that preceded the downfall of Hollywood's most feared agent

In 1989, Michael Ovitz wasn't just an agent. He was the gravity that held Hollywood together. As the co-founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), he didn't just book jobs; he packaged entire blockbusters, effectively telling the studios what they were making and who would star in it. He was the "King of Hollywood," a man who operated in the shadows, characterized by his zen-like calm, his terrifying efficiency, and the widely held belief that crossing him was professional suicide.

But empires often crumble from the smallest cracks, and Ovitz’s armor didn’t meet its match in a boardroom coup or a stock market crash. It met its match in a fax machine.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025