Being Educated by "Educated"

I don't usually read bestsellers. At least, not while they are still on the bestseller list. The main reason is that I don't feel any need to jump on the bandwagon. The other big reason is that I don't think to put myself on the waitlist for soon-to-be-published hot titles, and once I notice the new book, the hold list is way long. So I don't bother.

But I have friends who recommend books. In fact, they're professionals when it comes to suggesting the next great read. How can I help but get excited? So I put myself on the list for Tara Westover's memoir, Educated. Homeschooled girl from strict religious family makes it big in academia, despite not having any formal instruction in history, science, or math. How did she break free to enter university? How did she manage to earn multiple degrees? How did she overcome her extremely isolated childhood?

When I listened, engrossed, I found the audiobook was more of a horror story. Over and over, I perched on the edge of my seat. "Run! Run from the house before the crazed ax murderer catches up with you! Get away from the giant metal-eating behemoth machine before it crushes you! Tell someone about your brother slamming your head into the wall!"

This is a story of abuse. So much abuse, for so many years. The breaking free was not so much about education, although that certainly was her ticket to a completely different world. As is so common for people who experience domestic violence, it seems impossible to sever the ties that bind them to their abusers. That is the horror of this story. And that is the reader's opportunity for education.

Graduation and Photos and Pride!

My son earned his high school diploma last night. It's been quite a process for him, and we are all very proud of him for putting in the time and effort to see this through. Although he earned his GED some time ago, he wanted to prove that he could do more than pass a test. It was fun to celebrate his accomplishment, and heartening to hear stories of other grads who have persevered to pursue their goals. I was inspired by the diversity of ages and life situations of these community college students. Here are a few highlights of the evening:

You can't go wrong, being led by a pipe band!

outstanding in his, er, crowd of grads

the 2013 graduates

my son is the handsome one in center of photo   :-]

a moment of action in a long night of sitting

didn't I tell you he's handsome?

on the big screen!

the moving of the tassels -- we're done!

The Next Time You Make Fish Head Soup...

...count the fish heads before and after serving.

The daughter of some friends is spending a term studying in Ghana, Africa, and writing occasional blog posts about her adventures. Anna has a heart for people, a yearning for justice, and a great sense of adventure. One little story in a longer, serious post tickled my funny bone and showed Anna's terrific ingenuity in exercising gracious discretion during a homestay.

Imagine you're visiting a private home in a far-away country. Although you are a vegetarian, your hosts serve a soup made with... fish heads. What would you do?

You can check out Anna's blog here. Then you'll understand why you might want to count your fish heads.

Polo's Biggest Issue

It's about time I wrote another post. Sorry it's been so long again. Sigh. That's life.

Anyway, I've discovered another major Polo problem. This one may trump his separation anxiety, because it's more serious, more insidious, and definitely more permanent. What is this awful flaw? He's smart. Way smart.

Remember that beautiful fence we installed last summer? Polo loves to be outside, loves to run wildly back and forth, loves to find new ways to get out of the yard and explore the neighborhood. Youngest son made some adjustments so Polo can't squeeze under the north side any more. But he's still getting out somewhere.

Polo can't be trusted to stay alone inside the house yet, either. He chews things, steals things, finds things, hides things. He's a pup.

The funniest thing I've seen him do, though, makes up for the bad stuff. He loves to solve problems. Twice now, I've watched him work and work to get a stray kibble out of his water bowl. He'll chase the floater all around the bowl, drinking and licking and changing position. It's hilarious! Even if he's hungry for his dinner, he'll wait to eat until he nabs that pesky bobbing kibble. So cute!

I've occasionally given him another little puzzle to solve. The Kong toy is designed with a hollow center, in order to hide treats inside. But it's too easy to simply drop a dog biscuit into the Kong. If Polo really needs something to apply himself to, I put bits of biscuit into the Kong and then jam his Nylabone into the hole too. Either he has to pull out the Nylabone, or he has to work the Kong so that the little treats will fall out around the bone. This is good for 20 minutes of peace and quiet for me, but adds more IQ points for the pup. Oops...

Educational Entertainment?

I threatened to put these links up some time ago, but today I'm going to follow through and do it. Have you ever wished you could speak another language? Have you tried to learn a new tongue? Numerous studies have shown that the learning process moves ahead more quickly when set to music. (That's why you've heard your orthopedist humming, "Thigh bone's connected to the hip bone...") Language-learning also benefits from the use of song. Therefore, I offer you a catchy little tune in a variety of languages so you can decide which one you'd like to work on first. Which is your favorite?

German (the original, I presume)
French
Spanish
Brazilian (also known as Portuguese?)
Hungarian
Swedish
Hebrew
And, for translation purposes, English


Are you overwhelmed by the thought of learning a whole new vocabulary? Syntax got you down? This little gem will help you to sound like you speak another language, without the extra bother of memorizing new words. Here are a few samples:

Jamaican Creole
Canton
Nepali
Tagalog
And for my brother, who loves the food, Basque.

There you go, off on another armchair adventure courtesy of The World Wide Web and yours truly. But please be careful -- blue cheese does not go well with Gummi Bears.



The Speech Accent Archives belong to George Mason University. Quite a fascinating study.