Utah has passed a “free-range parenting” bill that frees parents from hovering over their children. Some people thinks this is terrible and irresponsible.
See https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/controversial-free-range-parenting-now-legal-utah-heres-means-203114763.html.
Thanks goodness I was a free-range kid from the time I was six (1944). I walked to school by myself. I walked to playgrounds myself. I went to the movies with my younger brother. And when I had a bicycle I rode many places far from home.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2018
Thursday, December 08, 2016
Left-handed-ness
Jim Heffernan, a former Duluth News Tribune editor, posted in his blog about being left-handed.
See http://www.jimheffernan.org/2009/02/left-handed-commentary.html
I sent the the following email to him.
I’m belated catching up on your blog. The left-handed entry really caught my interest: I too am an overhanded left-handed writer.
But writing is almost the only thing I do exclusively with my left hand, except scratch my right arm:) I use tools with my right hand. If fact I can hardly pound a nail straight or saw a straight line with me left hand.
I have a hypothesis on why left-handers write over-hand.
It's how we imitate others. If we learn something side-by-side, we will imitate our teacher’s handed-ness. If we learn something face-to-face we might mirror our teacher’s handed-ness. If we watch somebody write across from us, we will place the pen in the mirror hand. But then it breaks down because we place the paper in the same direction. It is very awkward to write left-hand and underhand with the paper slanted “counter-clock-wise”.
I have noticed that fewer people say “Oh, you’re left-handed!” My inclinations is to say “But when people say that I punch them in the nose with my right hand!”
See http://www.jimheffernan.org/2009/02/left-handed-commentary.html
I sent the the following email to him.
I’m belated catching up on your blog. The left-handed entry really caught my interest: I too am an overhanded left-handed writer.
But writing is almost the only thing I do exclusively with my left hand, except scratch my right arm:) I use tools with my right hand. If fact I can hardly pound a nail straight or saw a straight line with me left hand.
I have a hypothesis on why left-handers write over-hand.
It's how we imitate others. If we learn something side-by-side, we will imitate our teacher’s handed-ness. If we learn something face-to-face we might mirror our teacher’s handed-ness. If we watch somebody write across from us, we will place the pen in the mirror hand. But then it breaks down because we place the paper in the same direction. It is very awkward to write left-hand and underhand with the paper slanted “counter-clock-wise”.
I have noticed that fewer people say “Oh, you’re left-handed!” My inclinations is to say “But when people say that I punch them in the nose with my right hand!”
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Sprechen vous svenska?
Let me guess. You may be one of those who claim to never have been good at foreign languages, but I bet you know the meaning of each of the words in the title of this article. Not only that, you probably know which language each is from.
Maybe the reason you are “not good” at foreign languages is that you didn’t care for the way you were taught a particular language. Maybe you rebelled at the way it was taught and didn’t let it soak in and use it.
I myself have had mixed feelings about each of my language experiences. For example, I forgot almost everything I learned in high school Latin, but I retained enough of my two years of college French to read books, magazines, and newspapers and to have simple conversations.
The first time it was really important was when I transferred to Europe as a Univac employee. Supposedly I was to move to Italy. I got an Italian grammar book and started studying from it. “Oh, wait, before you go to Italy you will spend several weeks in Basel, Switzerland.” So, I got a German grammar book and started studying German.
I had all my travel arrangements made for me. The last leg was a train from Zurich to Basel. When I got to Basel, there was nobody to meet me. Where do I go from here on a Saturday? I knew we were to work at Sandoz, the big pharmaceutical company, and so I looked up Sandoz at a public phone. When I reached Sandoz the guard spoke only German and French. As best I could I explained my situation in French. He said he would look up the Univac people in the computer room. Within an hour or so one of the hardware guys came and got me. It was only once I was in the hotel that I met the software guys I was to work with.
I have many anecdotes about learning German (Hochdeutsch) and Schweizer Deutsch, two different languages. Ja jo! Wie goht’s!
One, I learned enough German to read some of the newspapers and to read the directions on starting the computer - drucken… (push…)
Two, I didn’t learn enough German to get in and out of East Berlin on my own. The end story is that I had ten East German marks I was not supposed to leave with. My Swiss companions were in a discussion with the guard behind the counter. I kept swiveling my head towards whoever was speaking. Finally, the guard looked at me and said, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” I replied, “Nein!” That cracked everyone up. After I put my ten marks in the Red Cross jar, we were on our way out through Checkpoint Charlie.
When I finally arrived in Italy, I slowly learned more Italian. It didn’t help that our work language was English. I did start reading Italian newspapers and books and speaking Italian where I could. I spoke it to my barber and I think I bought my car using Italian. One difficulty was at some office where I wasn’t getting across to the clerks. One exclaimed, “Questi stranieri!” (“These foreigners”). I understood her, but I don’t remember if I made any reply.
After two years in Italy, I requested and got a transfer to Sweden. Again I bought a grammar book or two and started reading newspapers. Newspapers are wonderful for learning foreign languages because of the names and events in the news and the large number of similar words. By my second year in Sweden, I disappointed a small group I was to supervise by stating that we would speak Swedish. My rationale was they had many chances to speak English, I had few for Swedish. After a year, many of my colleagues said I spoke “flyttande Svenska” (fluent Swedish), even those who didn’t report to me. On the other hand, there were many who disagreed.
When I came back to the States, I decided to take German at a community college. I added a couple more semesters when I returned to Minnesota. Darned if I can remember much of what I learned in class.
This same phenomenon happened when I took Russian long before I left for Europe. I still had notions of getting a PhD, and one of the requirements was to have some familiarity with two foreign languages. I took a year of Russian in summer school. I did B or better work, but I didn’t enjoy it. The basis for each lesson was a short conversation we were supposed to memorize and recite with a classmate. I’ll never forget the first sentence of the first conversation: “Привет Нина! Куда ви идёте?” “Hi, Nina! Where are you going?” I didn’t go back for a second year. For awhile my Russian handwriting was better than my English handwriting. I still do recognize many Russian characters, but I have made no real effort to study Russian anymore other than look at the headlines on some online Russian newspapers.
Over the years I’ve put a little bit of effort into learning some bits and pieces of Finnish, Ukrainian, Greek, Dutch, Icelandic, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Japanese. I’ll finish this with my Japanese joke: “Watashi-wa nihongo-ga wakarimasen.” I say it well enough that Japanese relatives laugh at the contradiction: “I don’t understand Japanese.”
If you’re over 50 and enjoy languages as much as Mel does, join him for “Jolly Polyglots” in the winter quarter of University for Seniors at UMD.
This was also published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-08-28 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/08/28/3970_sprechen_vous_svenska
Maybe the reason you are “not good” at foreign languages is that you didn’t care for the way you were taught a particular language. Maybe you rebelled at the way it was taught and didn’t let it soak in and use it.
I myself have had mixed feelings about each of my language experiences. For example, I forgot almost everything I learned in high school Latin, but I retained enough of my two years of college French to read books, magazines, and newspapers and to have simple conversations.
The first time it was really important was when I transferred to Europe as a Univac employee. Supposedly I was to move to Italy. I got an Italian grammar book and started studying from it. “Oh, wait, before you go to Italy you will spend several weeks in Basel, Switzerland.” So, I got a German grammar book and started studying German.
I had all my travel arrangements made for me. The last leg was a train from Zurich to Basel. When I got to Basel, there was nobody to meet me. Where do I go from here on a Saturday? I knew we were to work at Sandoz, the big pharmaceutical company, and so I looked up Sandoz at a public phone. When I reached Sandoz the guard spoke only German and French. As best I could I explained my situation in French. He said he would look up the Univac people in the computer room. Within an hour or so one of the hardware guys came and got me. It was only once I was in the hotel that I met the software guys I was to work with.
I have many anecdotes about learning German (Hochdeutsch) and Schweizer Deutsch, two different languages. Ja jo! Wie goht’s!
One, I learned enough German to read some of the newspapers and to read the directions on starting the computer - drucken… (push…)
Two, I didn’t learn enough German to get in and out of East Berlin on my own. The end story is that I had ten East German marks I was not supposed to leave with. My Swiss companions were in a discussion with the guard behind the counter. I kept swiveling my head towards whoever was speaking. Finally, the guard looked at me and said, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” I replied, “Nein!” That cracked everyone up. After I put my ten marks in the Red Cross jar, we were on our way out through Checkpoint Charlie.
When I finally arrived in Italy, I slowly learned more Italian. It didn’t help that our work language was English. I did start reading Italian newspapers and books and speaking Italian where I could. I spoke it to my barber and I think I bought my car using Italian. One difficulty was at some office where I wasn’t getting across to the clerks. One exclaimed, “Questi stranieri!” (“These foreigners”). I understood her, but I don’t remember if I made any reply.
After two years in Italy, I requested and got a transfer to Sweden. Again I bought a grammar book or two and started reading newspapers. Newspapers are wonderful for learning foreign languages because of the names and events in the news and the large number of similar words. By my second year in Sweden, I disappointed a small group I was to supervise by stating that we would speak Swedish. My rationale was they had many chances to speak English, I had few for Swedish. After a year, many of my colleagues said I spoke “flyttande Svenska” (fluent Swedish), even those who didn’t report to me. On the other hand, there were many who disagreed.
When I came back to the States, I decided to take German at a community college. I added a couple more semesters when I returned to Minnesota. Darned if I can remember much of what I learned in class.
This same phenomenon happened when I took Russian long before I left for Europe. I still had notions of getting a PhD, and one of the requirements was to have some familiarity with two foreign languages. I took a year of Russian in summer school. I did B or better work, but I didn’t enjoy it. The basis for each lesson was a short conversation we were supposed to memorize and recite with a classmate. I’ll never forget the first sentence of the first conversation: “Привет Нина! Куда ви идёте?” “Hi, Nina! Where are you going?” I didn’t go back for a second year. For awhile my Russian handwriting was better than my English handwriting. I still do recognize many Russian characters, but I have made no real effort to study Russian anymore other than look at the headlines on some online Russian newspapers.
Over the years I’ve put a little bit of effort into learning some bits and pieces of Finnish, Ukrainian, Greek, Dutch, Icelandic, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Japanese. I’ll finish this with my Japanese joke: “Watashi-wa nihongo-ga wakarimasen.” I say it well enough that Japanese relatives laugh at the contradiction: “I don’t understand Japanese.”
If you’re over 50 and enjoy languages as much as Mel does, join him for “Jolly Polyglots” in the winter quarter of University for Seniors at UMD.
This was also published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-08-28 at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/08/28/3970_sprechen_vous_svenska
Friday, May 03, 2013
Quote of the day: Our Education System
"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
- Albert Einstein
Posted by a relative on Facebook from "Everyday Humor"
On the other hand, sometimes we are our own worst enemies for learning. How many people do you know who say, "I was never good at…" Consider most Americans image of their foreign language ability. If you ask them what a Mexican calls a hat or an afternoon nap, most can correctly answer (fill in the blank). Or how the French say "goodbye" or what a Swedish buffet is called, or … I guess that most Americans know at least ten words in each of at least ten languages. Da?
See "You can speak foreign languages".
- Albert Einstein
Posted by a relative on Facebook from "Everyday Humor"
On the other hand, sometimes we are our own worst enemies for learning. How many people do you know who say, "I was never good at…" Consider most Americans image of their foreign language ability. If you ask them what a Mexican calls a hat or an afternoon nap, most can correctly answer (fill in the blank). Or how the French say "goodbye" or what a Swedish buffet is called, or … I guess that most Americans know at least ten words in each of at least ten languages. Da?
See "You can speak foreign languages".
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Quote of the day – Learning
"Learning isn't a set of things that we know but a world that we enter."
– Adam Gopnik, "Broken Kingdom, Fifty Years of 'The Phantom Tollbooth'", The New Yorker, 2011-10-17
"The Phantom Tollbooth" is a children's book written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. It has sold over four million copies.
The article itself was a world that I entered by serendipity. I was cleaning my desk and The New Yorker was open to an article about Fukushima. As I closed the magazine, I saw the above article. Now I have to read the next article, "History: The Customer Reviews" by Patricia Pearson.
– Adam Gopnik, "Broken Kingdom, Fifty Years of 'The Phantom Tollbooth'", The New Yorker, 2011-10-17
"The Phantom Tollbooth" is a children's book written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. It has sold over four million copies.
The article itself was a world that I entered by serendipity. I was cleaning my desk and The New Yorker was open to an article about Fukushima. As I closed the magazine, I saw the above article. Now I have to read the next article, "History: The Customer Reviews" by Patricia Pearson.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Often you really can't go home II
Last August I wrote a blog about how many of the dwellings that I had lived in as a kid didn't exist anymore.
Well, I struck out again. I used Google Maps to look up a duplex in East Cleveland that I lived in shortly after I started school until I was nine. Like the house that we moved to, it no longer exists. In its place is a vacant lot.
Interestingly, I can see the "cottage" that we lived in before that. It was a small brick house behind another around the corner.
The neighborhood is in a mixed state. As I went around the corner, most of the lawns were uncut, paint was peeling, and boards were rotting. But as I went down the block, lawns were mowed, some houses were freshly painted, and they were in good repair.
The house that I had looked for conjures up a pleasant memory. I had had a few friends over for my birthday in March and we were sitting on the porch. I can still see the fresh green leaves in my mind. Now in Duluth MN, I turn my head in late April and see bare branches everywhere.
The school that I went to then is there and it is not there. The old building is gone and it has been replaced by a sprawling structure. The playground where I was a budding hydro-engineer at recess is now a parking lot.
Well, I struck out again. I used Google Maps to look up a duplex in East Cleveland that I lived in shortly after I started school until I was nine. Like the house that we moved to, it no longer exists. In its place is a vacant lot.
Interestingly, I can see the "cottage" that we lived in before that. It was a small brick house behind another around the corner.
The neighborhood is in a mixed state. As I went around the corner, most of the lawns were uncut, paint was peeling, and boards were rotting. But as I went down the block, lawns were mowed, some houses were freshly painted, and they were in good repair.
The house that I had looked for conjures up a pleasant memory. I had had a few friends over for my birthday in March and we were sitting on the porch. I can still see the fresh green leaves in my mind. Now in Duluth MN, I turn my head in late April and see bare branches everywhere.
The school that I went to then is there and it is not there. The old building is gone and it has been replaced by a sprawling structure. The playground where I was a budding hydro-engineer at recess is now a parking lot.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Paying another generation's way goes both ways
"Making the young pay for health care", Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 2009-11-03, claims that the young are footing the bill for the health care of the old.
I would not call this a conservative argument against health care, but a simplistic view of transactions. It reduces all transactions to a willing buyer and a willing seller with no side effects (externalities). Very few transactions fit this description.
Most transactions have ripple effects that move through a community and even through an entire society. If I trade a vehicle in for a newer vehicle, an unknown seller now has a buyer for an unwanted car and an unknown buyer has a vehicle that he or she can afford. If I buy a new vehicle, I have indirectly created jobs for those who build vehicles.
Michael Gerson implies that the young are getting a raw deal because they are paying for the health care of older people who get sick more often. But he ignores many major benefits the young get from older people. Who paid for the roads, the bridges, the public buildings, the schools, and on and on that the young enjoy today? It would be impossible for the young to pay for these because they didn't have the money to do so or weren't even born yet.
How often have you heard a senior grouse about paying taxes for schools because he or she doesn't have children in school? But if seniors and other adults don't pay for schools, how are young people going to get an education to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and on and on to provide services for older people?
So many transactions are of the "pass it on" variety. Many people don't expect tit for tat for small courtesies. Rather than accepting payment for helping a stranger, they request that the helped person pass it on by helping somebody else another time.
This is the actual situation of inter-generational payments. The old pay for the education of the young; the young pay for the health care of the old.
Besides, taking care of the elderly sets an example for future generations when the young become the elderly. Child to parent: I'm going to treat you just like you treated Grandma.
I would not call this a conservative argument against health care, but a simplistic view of transactions. It reduces all transactions to a willing buyer and a willing seller with no side effects (externalities). Very few transactions fit this description.
Most transactions have ripple effects that move through a community and even through an entire society. If I trade a vehicle in for a newer vehicle, an unknown seller now has a buyer for an unwanted car and an unknown buyer has a vehicle that he or she can afford. If I buy a new vehicle, I have indirectly created jobs for those who build vehicles.
Michael Gerson implies that the young are getting a raw deal because they are paying for the health care of older people who get sick more often. But he ignores many major benefits the young get from older people. Who paid for the roads, the bridges, the public buildings, the schools, and on and on that the young enjoy today? It would be impossible for the young to pay for these because they didn't have the money to do so or weren't even born yet.
How often have you heard a senior grouse about paying taxes for schools because he or she doesn't have children in school? But if seniors and other adults don't pay for schools, how are young people going to get an education to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and on and on to provide services for older people?
So many transactions are of the "pass it on" variety. Many people don't expect tit for tat for small courtesies. Rather than accepting payment for helping a stranger, they request that the helped person pass it on by helping somebody else another time.
This is the actual situation of inter-generational payments. The old pay for the education of the young; the young pay for the health care of the old.
Besides, taking care of the elderly sets an example for future generations when the young become the elderly. Child to parent: I'm going to treat you just like you treated Grandma.
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