Sunday, September 24, 2023

 Sunday, September 24, 2023

 

   Good news! My typing is getting better. I am hitting those As and Ss with more accuracy. While my ring finger and pinky are still numb, the improvement in my typing tells me that I am making progress. On closer examination, I discovered I don’t use my pinky finger. I compensate by using the ring finger to hit the A key, and the S. Katie, my PT, encouraged me to get authorization for OT as well. The OT at Hawaiian Rehab is an expert on the hand.

   When I  posted an update from last year to the blog site, I read that I had some numbness in my pinky last year, too. That was due to a problem in my neck. My current problem may also be due to my neck. It must have been impacted during the three-hour shoulder surgery. It is also true I still have swelling at both surgical sites.

   Where I wrote long accounts of my day for the four years before the surgery, I can’t imagine what I would say now. Judy used to comment on how busy I was. I knew I just looked busy because I detailed all the moments of my day. I’m not doing much less than before; I’m just not writing about it. Years ago, I learned that detailing what I do during the day leaves me feeling like I accomplished something. This afternoon, I folded a dozen blue microclothes. What an accomplishment! Every bit counts!

   There is a change. I started tutoring at the Ula Wini Community Center. God, that was fun! Josephine told me they started at 2 p.m. Well, sort of. I arrived at 2:30 because I was supposed to have Adolescent D at 2. The kids were eating snacks and reading preprimer material. I introduced myself to the guy who was running the program. There were no other tutors there. He said they hadn’t evaluated the kids’ reading yet. I told him not to worry. I would ask who wanted help in reading. After over fifty years in this business, my diagnostic skills are off the chart. I was concerned because the kids looked like they were kindergarteners and first graders. I hoped to work with kids in third and fourth. He asked the kids their grades. Most were in third and fourth. The Marshallese are small people. Most adults are much taller than five feet.

   Two kids raised their hands, saying they wanted help with reading. I managed to work with five kids in a little over an hour. I spent about ten minutes with each one. That was all the kids were good for.

  We worked outdoors under an overhang. I was offered t a place to work indoors. I said no. Indoors, the risk of exposure to whatever germs the kids carry is greater. While I worked, the other children ran about, playing ball in the field before us. The students weren’t disturbed by the activity, and neither was I. If the student looked up, I knew they were cooked. They had taken in as much as they could.

   I started by asking each student their grade and if they were a good or bad reader. I had graded material on my computer in a single file. I could access what I needed quickly. I guessed right on all but one. She said she was in fourth grade and a good reader. I started her on second-grade material. After one or two sentences, I could see she was on a higher level. I moved her up to third-grade material. That was it. With this child and another, I worked on reading fluency at their reading accuracy level. I had just refined my method for teaching this. It was an opportunity to try it out.

   Getting the kids so they can sound like good readers makes a big difference to their self-confidence. Two kids in third grade were still on the pre-primer level. One had only come from the Marshall Islands before entering second grade; he was now in third. He had missed preschool and first grade. He would be fine once I showed him how to teach himself to read.

  I love working this way, timing my sessions for the student’s needs instead of a set time. I also love the variety. The kids come with all sorts of problems. One girl asked me for help in math. The kids may have been reluctant to ask for help when I first asked, but once they observed me teaching, they quickly lined up for help. My greatest compliment was when one student told another coming for his first session with me, “She’s okay. You can trust her.” I have deep respect for a student coming to me for help. There’s a huge difference between someone coming to a teacher for help when they are behind their peer group and instruction in an area they want to learn more about.

   Lutz’s lecture last night was on the downside of an all-vegan diet. He said vegans die earlier than omnivores. I checked; the internet says vegans die less frequently of our leading killers, heart disease and cancer. The statistics on earlier death of old age than omnivores are more ambiguous. Lutz has his favorite theories about everything. However, he did say the blue zone diet is distinguished by a few things: low meat, high fish, and frequent inclusion of beans and other legumes. He planned to include more beans in his diet. He said a can of minestrone soup would do the trick. I used to eat a can of Progressive minestrone soup every day when I came home from high school. Loved it. Our Safeway carries Progressive, but not their minestrone.

I checked online. Amazon carries it, but it’s not on Prime. Shipping to Hawaii costs a fortune; it can double the cost. When I order items not covered by Amazon Prime, I ship them to my sister in NJ, who then ships them by USPS, the cheapest way possible. Amazon did carry some minestrone under other brands covered by Prime Shipping. I ordered some of those. They’re worthwhile tasting.