Emergency!
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
  You make me smile quietly
Today has been a long day.

Scowl-mode was in full strength today during ESL, as interesting as the class was. We talked about critical growth periods today, and how they related to learning language. Specifically, we reviewed the old "Genie" and "Victor" cases- the first being one of a girl who was neglected and abused for thirteen years (never learned speech, was completely isolated socially) and the second being about a boy who was in effect "les enfant de sauvage" or a wild child, who was captured and "civilized" when he was about fourteen years old, after living autonomously in the wilds of France for his childhood (again, no language). It was very interesting, but my prof kept making comments on how these children were no different from chimps. And so on, and so on, despite the incredible learning that both kids did achieve.

More seriously (I say serious, because it jarred me) he talked about hearing and cognition, and said that people do most of their "learning" from the right ear (the right corresponding to the left lobe which shares the majority of the "language center"). I had never heard this before, and talked to him after class to enquire about some further reading I could do on the subject. I have to admit that I was a little alarmed at hearing this, wondering if there was something that was wrong with me that I'd never been told about, and therefore, never made the effort to adapt to, due to the fact that I can't hear anything on my right side. I kept wondering- is this why some concepts need to be repeated to me until I get them? Is this why I'm more visual?

But really, there is no cause for alarm. Prior to talking to Bento (who swiftly allayed my concerns) I had the inkling that since I'd never known any different, that my brain would have adapted to that from birth. But I wasn't sure. Talking to Bento was thusly all the more reassuring. Still I wonder just how different the way I learn is in regards to this, though everyone does learn differently. An MRI-F on me would look insane though, I bet.

I asked Mac (my busdriver) for some sage advice this morning regarding being intimidated by intelligence- and true to form, he delivered it, with his usual gruffness, and I felt absolutely stupid for getting upset about it in the first place. Bento later reinforced it, and now I'm not worried. It's silly really.

On the weekend, Elaugh's light fizzled out, and I had to go get her a new one. I consulted all the different types of 150 watt bulbs in the selection and got her a different model then the first. She's been active like crazy ever since, doing the Tremors thing, climbing the sides of the tank, and just being generally amiable. And I'm finally able to keep the tank the correct temperature. I imagine though that if it cools down again outside, that she'll slow down a little. Apparently the new bulb also simulates sun-light better.

Today we did non-verbal cue practices in my Ed. Psyche. class, which was also interesting. We had to be on our worst behavior (non-verbally) for one session as a counsellor, and our best behavior for the other. My bad behavior was awesome, except it was so hard to do! I felt so bad! And Anna's bad behavior was good, but it was funny because she was also having a hard time not laughing at my story. She finally had to make me agree to talk about something boring. I was flattered- I thought I was boring. And as for Anna, I didn't think rugby could be so cool to hear about. We talked all the way to Edit- which was boring. The girl next to me was a Linux user, and kept grumbling. I've never used Linux, but I sympathize- this course is offal. A lot of the classmembers are starting to pick debates with the prof.

And there is some debate coming up. The debacle that is the Alberta Supernet for instance, and how that relates to the classroom. It seems like an enormous waste of money, just to say, "we're going to do this, because we can", meanwhile the arts (fine and otherwise) get starved of funding. I mean, Art, in any highschool has become a complete joke because of lack of funding, but hey, now we can interact with a math class eighty-five kilometers away? I got some math for you- if one class runs in the direction of another class eighty-five kilometers away, going roughly about 100 km/h, how will the speed or efficiency of learning been altered? Instead of thirty students struggling through math, you now get to watch 30 more on a big screen struggle with you, with only one teacher? My god, so exciting. And so on, and so on. Students were airing concerns of lowered employability rates (in an already low demand market), but really, I don't think it's that much of a concern- people place too much importance on the idea of a personal mentor to put their faith entirely into technology.

A little differently, I had a chat with the Linux user (loud flailing drama majors = always fun) after class, and discussed the idea of autonomous learning a little more. Some kids can (she did) do grade upon grade of learning completely on their own. They don't need interaction with other classes- if anything, they need more independence- something a computer can give them.

I'm bored. But, coffee with Bullshitproof Vest tomorrow = Rad.
 
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