got a bit of a scare. my temperature started going up but never got to full on fever. most likely was side effects of chemo & massive injection of steroids into my knee, the dreaded double whammy. it was a nervous few days though. & just for giggles, the power in my neighborhood (over 300 homes) went out for over 30 hours. that was fun (not). now i have a freezer full of food that thawed & i have to get rid of. note: keep your cell phoned fully charged! i did finish vol 8 of the Expanse book series though. quite good.
One plus from all this is that I am actually learning some sign language from the daily briefings.
Are you studying to learn sign language?
I want to, but have to decide which way to go. ASL seems to be the best base as far as I can tell. But the Hungarian language is odd in that it's agglutinative. That is to say you can stick stuff on the ends of words to form a new meaning of the word so the Hungarian signing is a bit weird looking at times. The other problem is that learning a language from reading is fairly simple as you can actually test it out on another speaker by saying the words. I need another signer to be able to know if I am saying the right things in this instance. But there are a lot of free online courses since this whole covid thing kicked off where you can sign one on one with people via skype etc which helps
I want to, but have to decide which way to go. ASL seems to be the best base as far as I can tell. But the Hungarian language is odd in that it's agglutinative. That is to say you can stick stuff on the ends of words to form a new meaning of the word so the Hungarian signing is a bit weird looking at times. The other problem is that learning a language from reading is fairly simple as you can actually test it out on another speaker by saying the words. I need another signer to be able to know if I am saying the right things in this instance. But there are a lot of free online courses since this whole covid thing kicked off where you can sign one on one with people via skype etc which helps
This is definitely a good time to pick up a second (or third or fourth) language! You’re bang on though, to acquire a new language it’s definitely easier to learn by conversing with a native speaker of said language. I just cannot imagine how difficult it would be to learn all the signs!
I only know two languages (Both learnt from birth) , and I really cannot imagine how difficult it would be to learn Either one in sign. Chances are I’d be inadvertently be telling people off when I attempted to sign something... 😃
My original plan was to learn it last year, but the covid daily briefings are a perfect excuse to really get stuck in plus I have discovered a friend of mine actually signs too. But she is more a letter signer than words. That's going to be enormously helpful now. What also has been highlighted of late is that deaf & hard of hearing people who can at least lip-read have been feeling quite left out with so many wearing masks. It gives them absolutely no chance to be a part of conversations. This is an interesting concept. Although they do look more ridiculous than regular masks.
My original plan was to learn it last year, but the covid daily briefings are a perfect excuse to really get stuck in plus I have discovered a friend of mine actually signs too. But she is more a letter signer than words. That's going to be enormously helpful now. What also has been highlighted of late is that deaf & hard of hearing people who can at least lip-read have been feeling quite left out with so many wearing masks. It gives them absolutely no chance to be a part of conversations. This is an interesting concept. Although they do look more ridiculous than regular masks.
I read that article yesterday. The Deaf (that's what they like to be referred to as, from what I understand) are already marginalized and left out, as are all those with disabilities / differences. To be even more cut off from communication with others must be frustrating. Anything that helps with this should be pursued.
My original plan was to learn it last year, but the covid daily briefings are a perfect excuse to really get stuck in plus I have discovered a friend of mine actually signs too. But she is more a letter signer than words. That's going to be enormously helpful now. What also has been highlighted of late is that deaf & hard of hearing people who can at least lip-read have been feeling quite left out with so many wearing masks. It gives them absolutely no chance to be a part of conversations. This is an interesting concept. Although they do look more ridiculous than regular masks.
Shamefully, I haven’t given the deaf very much thought during this pandemic. I’m glad you pointed this out
Currently I'm obsessed with the rhetoric here to the effect of, "We don't know if schools will open here in the fall." Well, put on your bureaucratic thinking caps and figure out a way to get it done because the alternatives are not acceptable.
Aside from the fact nobody knows how many students here are actually taking part in distance learning aside from logging in for attendance, virtual school for young people is a poor facsimile for the engagement and give-and-take of a classroom.
All students in NYC receive free lunch and, if they arrive in time, free breakfast at school. There are many, many children who don't get much to eat outside of this. Yes, they have set up food distribution centers at some of the schools, but I'm not certain how many of the families that need this service are actually receiving it, for various reasons.
Sadly but importantly, school staff play an important part in identifying cases of child abuse and neglect. A couple of times in my teaching career I had to make calls to social services identifying students whom I suspected of being abused or neglected. For many children now there is nobody outside their household keeping an eye on their well being, while many of the stressors that contribute to abuse and neglect have increased magnitudes during COVID. I can't even let myself imagine how many children are suffering because of this right now.
Lastly, I have committed to educating our son through the end of this school year, but yesterday I told my husband in no uncertain terms (and not because of any unreasonable expectation on his part, just laying down my boundaries) that I will not be "teaching" in the fall. Guess who most of the home schooling is falling on? Women. There are several reasons for this. People assume we will do it because we care about the well-being of our children. People assume that we'll do it because there is wage inequality here and men are often the primary earners. Guess what? I never signed up for this just because I have lady bits, and I'm not doing it after June 26th. So, in the words of Flo on the show Alice: