School reflections: Larry
Self-tutoring about a smart man I met when we were both children. I met Larry when I became his project. I was new at the school, grade four, just at the start of spring. “We need to get you set …
Year: 2019
Lifestyle: “Only one month until Christmas….”
Self-tutoring about anticipation: the tutor reflects…. When I was a kid, looking forward to Christmas brought endless pleasure from about this time of year. The holiday lights, the store displays, colouring Christmas scenes, the specials on TV…it was wonderful. Married …
Spelling: “forgivable” misses
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions an interesting notion. In English, consonants are easy, but vowels can be a challenge. Perhaps that’s why we might forgive wrong consonants but can’t forgive wrong vowels. For instance, consider the word “meant”: spelling …
Psychology: why people wear hairbands with ears
Self-tutoring about psychology: the tutor reflects about a modern custom. As a kid, I never saw hairbands with animal-like ears. Perhaps they came into being sometime in the 90s, though I can’t confirm I saw any before 2000, except perhaps …
English: platitude
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions the word platitude. platitude: a meaningless remark made automatically. A platitude might be “You’re soaked” when someone comes in from the rain. The common “I’m so sorry” when someone encounters misfortune is another example. …
Culture: what wa/is new wave, part 0
Self-tutoring about the early 80s: the tutor begins about new wave. If you remember the mid-70s to the early 80s, you recall music – especially hit music – changed. Not every song was different, but “rock and roll” was largely …
English: trite
Tutoring English, vocabulary, especially uncommon, short words, is always interesting. trite: overused; automatically said, so apparently insincere. Examples in italics: I fell down the stairs. -You should be more careful. I caught the flu. -I’m so sorry to hear it. …
English: devolution
Self-tutoring about English and Social Studies: the tutor looks up devolution. devolution: the voluntary transfer of rights or powers from a higher government to a more local one. Source: Mish, Frederick C. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 2004. thoughtco.com
Social studies: what is a unitary state?
Self-tutoring about social studies: the tutor mentions the idea of unitary state. In a unitary state, all political power is owned by the central government. Power can be transferred from it to a local authority, but can then be rescinded. …
School supplies: Tekwriter mechanical pencils
Self-tutoring about mechanical pencils: the tutor mentions a kind he’s discovered. Shopping for school supplies, my wife and I noticed big clear plastic boxes of many brightly colored mechanical pencils. We bought a couple of boxes, out of curiosity as …