Monday, March 14, 2022

 Monday, March 14, 2022

 

    I slept deliciously until 2 am. Then I dozed on and off until 3 or 3:30. Then the fun began. I was on the verge of tears until I finally got up and started my day. Note: I didn't actually cry. It would be much better if I did, but it doesn't come. It's my German upbringing. I was not sure of the cause of my sorrow. I have so much to choose from. We were in the Ukrainian crisis, wondering where this would end. There are commentators galore speculating. There are significant things in my personal life. The death of my beloved husband, who, most importantly, loved and enjoyed me. I miss that affirmation, particularly since I have people who don't like me, enjoy me. Boy, does that make me miss him beyond words! Where are you when I need you most, Mike?

   On my walk this morning, Julie treated me to a lecture on the care of freshly caught fish. They must be gutted immediately and put on ice, or they get 'burnt.' Buyers know who brings in well-cared-for fish and who doesn't.  

  My hip and leg were good. My left foot, which had me scared, is doing just fine. Now, my right foot is threatening me with a neuroma. That will end my walking days. I had a vision of seeing the orthopedic surgeon for my hip. She looks at me limping and says, "Obviously, you need THR." I take off my right shoe and show her my twisted toe. "Oh!" While I'm ready to judge these doctors, sometimes they surprise me and take an open-minded, intelligent approach to a problem.

    I had my Reading & Writing office hours today. California had its Spring-time-change on Sunday. Now there is a three-hour difference; there was only a two-hour one before. Was I supposed to meet at 10 or is it still at? The Acuity Schedule said, "11 am." Nonetheless, I signed in at 10 am. No one showed up till 11 am my time. I have no idea why it didn't change for me.

   I got stuff done while I waited. I sent a check to the cement guy for the two wedges for the gravestones. I sent out a document I got from the government to Miss Kitty, who does my taxes. I washed the kitchen and hallway floors. I was energized because I had limited time. I even got a walk in. 

    Today, I had three visitors for my office hours; two were interested in reading comprehension, and one in writing. I first addressed the two interested in comprehension, asking if the third could wait. I always start with sentence comprehension. I never assume the students understand how the words in a single sentence relate to each other, no less how the sentences in a paragraph relate to each other. I demonstrated the work starting with a paragraph on the 8th-grade level to impress upon them how complex these relationships are. The process is easy to understand. It only took a few examples. I couldn't easily form the questions for some of the sentences. I was able to demonstrate my confusion. This questioning process is a form of sentence diagramming. One of the participants dropped out when I started addressing the questions on how to teach writing.

    It came out that this tutor's student's problem was with anxiety rather than writing. She was evaluated by a psychiatrist and had an IEP. She was a sixth-grader who wrote narratives just fine. She froze when doing expository writing. I told her she had to address the anxiety first. I recommended EFT and my homunculus release. I also suggested that she do as much of the work as she had to relieve the student. I gave her some suggestions. I believe we always work with the whole person. You can't ignore how a student feels about doing the work. A psychological block can make progress impossible.

    Darby called to say hello. We chatted for a while. She lives on my block; she is a neighbor who became a friend.

    I received this surprise email from one of the Step Up Tutoring tutors.

    

 Hello Ms. David-Ross,

 

I hope this email finds you well. 

 

I realize this is going to sound rather abrupt, but I wonder if there is any possibility that you would consider mentoring me? I'm not sure if you have the time, but if you would be open to having a conversation about it, that would be great.

 

Best regards,

J.F

P.S. My 3rd-grade student Abrielle has been doing well with PDS.

   

  You'd better believe I would love to mentor someone. It is also exciting that people with no teaching experience can learn this method in an hour or less and see a difference quickly. 

   I watched another episode of Brokenwood Mysteries.