Sunday, December 31, 2023

  Sunday, December 31, 2023

 

   It was a beach day for Mama K's crew. Twin E still has to be pushed to use the memorization procedure I've been teaching. She prefers just looking over the words and assuming that will work. She doesn't study with her mom or one of her siblings. She does it all on her own. Since she can't remember the words, she has nothing to practice.

   I teach students to make the individual sounds in the word and then blend the sounds into the whole word. They are to repeat that activity three to five times. Then, they 'see' the word in their mind and 'hear' it in their head. They should repeat that exercise three to five times, too. This exercise forces recall. Their mind has to produce the information.

   Many students confuse recognition with recall. They think just looking at the words will have a magical effect. This is not all their fault. Teachers tell students to study and accuse students of not studying but never teach them what it means to study. All teachers have had a college education. Each has figured out how to study if they weren't taught how to do it by their parents. Poor students didn't have parents who taught them how to study, and they didn't figure it out for themselves.

    I spent New Year's Eve alone. It was okay. Mike and I weren't New Year's Eve revelers. We went to bed as we usually did. It was just Elsa and me. While she jumps into my arms when she hears a nail gun or a firecracker in the distance,  she is calm when they go off nonstop. Been there, done that.

   In past years, I woke up at midnight when people were shooting illegal fireworks. I would watch the show from my bed. Folks up the block figured a great show every year. Not this year. People were amazed that I slept through it. It was particularly raucous.

   But I didn't miss the show altogether. Shannon called while out on a walk around 7:30. Did I want to join her and get in more steps? We were on the street when the aforementioned neighbor shot off one of those package deals usually reserved for the finale of a firecracker show. I got to see a good one and get a good night's sleep.