Self-tutoring about style: the tutor recalls Pepsi platform sneakers. Likely, Pepsi platform sneakers were the first fashion product I realized. Sometime in the late 70s, I recall, they arrived. It may have been ’78, springtime. I noticed someone wearing a …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor notes a song sparrow. For almost 40 years I’ve been observing birds. As a kid I lived on the east coast, often in rural areas. There, I was free to follow birds to observe them …
Self-tutoring about point of view: the tutor explores his connection to ketchup. Have I a connection to ketchup? In a way, no: I’d never buy it if I lived alone. My kids and wife like it, though, so we always …
Self-tutoring about geography: the tutor begins about deserts with a couple of definitions. I always believed a desert is place that receives less than 10 inches of rain. A second definition I’ve read, however, is simply that a desert receives …
Self-tutoring about life: the tutor reflects about coolness. Back in the mid-90s, I was in university, so my wife and I were very poor. We didn’t have television. In the late ’90s we finally got TV and cable so we …
Self-tutoring about baking: the tutor mentions a lesson he’s learned. I have two teenage sons who like brownies for breakfast. Last night, whipping up some quickly before bed, I thought the recipe came together a little quickly, but was happy …
Self-tutoring about COVID-19: the tutor checks if it’s possible for the same patient to catch it more than once. I’ve heard about the potential to get COVID-19 more than once, so decided to look into it. It seems that COVID-19 …
Tutoring English, vocabulary is always interesting. The tutor mentions something he noticed. The words acclimate and acclimatize mean the same – that is, to adjust to a new climate or reality. I’ve heard acclimatize often, but acclimate, seldom. Source: Mish, …
Tutoring English, you hear different pronunciations: sometimes a tutor feels the need to check. I’ve always said COMP-o-site. Yet, the other day I heard someone say comp-O-site. Their pronunciation surprised me, so I decided to check its validity. Merriam-Webster surprised …
Tutoring math, you encounter ideas that manifest in real life. The tutor mentions transitivity. Where and when I took grade 10 math, part of the curriculum was geometric proofs. It was completely different from the rest of the course: no …