A Shared Summer #1

For the fourth year in a row I made plans for an absolutely free summer--a time to take care of whatever I wanted to take care of and to do whatever I wanted to do (except for my summer job, of course). Sigh. As the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Not going to have all that free time to develop postings for the blog, or for anything too much else for that matter. My mother is having surgery next week and that will take a lot of my time, as it should.

So, I came up with one way to keep the blog regular--shared information. Once a week on Tuesdays I'll be putting up a topic and asking my readers to share resources relating to that topic. They can be online, print or "real world" resources. Please don't just pick a random Internet site to post--make it sites or sources that you personally have found useful or informative. Just to get you started thinking ahead, what sites/places--whether informational or actual sales sites--have you found that make shopping easier/safer/cheaper and that have reliable information?

Just to get this started, I'm posting links to some prior posting on good reading matter for kids (and for adults too in some cases). Feel free to add any works/sites you've read/used that you think others would also enjoy.
http://conversationsinklal.blogspot.com/2008/07/online-reading-treasure-trove-for-young.html

http://conversationsinklal.blogspot.com/2008/07/some-recommended-books-for-reading-part_15.html

http://conversationsinklal.blogspot.com/2008/07/another-great-find-for-childrens.html

http://conversationsinklal.blogspot.com/2008/09/and-yet-another-site-for-childrens.html

Less is More

Imagine that your favorite author wrote a book that was 1900 pages plus. Would you begin reading it? Maybe yes and maybe no. And even if you began reading it, would you read with the same careful attention that you would a work that was far shorter? Would you be tempted to skim parts instead of concentrating on every word? Would you wonder if you were ever going to see the end and just give up without finishing the work? Would you skip whole parts just hoping to see the end at last?

Fiction writers don't write single tomes running to 1900+ pages. They understand the limitations of their readers. They also generally believe that any particular subject deserves its own work, not bundled together with other subjects broadly in the same topic area. There are plenty of authors who write series, centered around the same character or set of characters or around the same geographic area or general topic. The key is they write series--one book at a time. This allows the reader to absorb and digest one bite before being fed another bite.

Oh that our lawmakers would emulate these best selling authors. I am still trying to slog my way through the gazillions of pages in the Health Care package that Congress passed. And now the news is out that a fiscal reorganization plan that some congressional leaders are pushing to get passed is already at 1900 pages and not finished yet.

Is there anyone out there who seriously believes that our lawmakers, even one lawmaker, are going to go through a document of that size word by word, idea by idea and understand by page 1900 the import of things discussed on page 107? Is there going to be any lawmaker, even one, who will know everything that such legislation contains? Just what is it the lawmakers will be voting for when they have no idea about everything stated in a bill?

One word comes to mind when I hear about documents of this length: obfuscation. Somewhere, some place in those pages is something that someone, perhaps a lot of different someones, doesn't want people to know are a part of the package. Some lawmakers are counting on the fact that no one will thoroughly read a document of this length to sneak in some items that would not be so palatable if they were considered on their own. Instead, those items are going to be hidden in plain sight.

Amazingly the foundation documents of our country, the Declaration of Independence (one to two pages plus the signature pages), the Bill of Rights (one page) and the Constitution (four handwritten pages in the original, 17 pages including the amendments) don't come anywhere near the length of some of today's proposed legislation. You have to wonder why.

Note to Readers: It's not just me beating this particular drum. To see a view about our tax code, go to http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/tax-system-too-complex-to-be-constitutional-1295026434475/ By comparison, the health care package is a breeze to navigate through.

On Leaves

It's kind of ironic really that I'm going over the O. Henry story "The Last Leaf" with some of my classes right at the time that the shrubs and trees in my yard are valiantly trying to hold on to their last leaves.

There's one small bush that has lost all but one of its leaves and it's holding on to that leaf as if the world depended on its keeping it in place. It's a bright beacon of glowing red on an otherwise brown and bare tangle of branches.

Definitely a lesson to be learned, both from the story and from my bush, a lesson about determination and not giving in. A lesson about keeping the faith even when the odds seem to be against you. A lesson about how even something as small as one little leaf can have far reaching consequences.

For a view of some of those "last leaves," may I suggest a look out your window. For the story, please go to http://www.online-literature.com/donne/1303/

The Best Present

With Chanukah coming out early this year a lot of people are already busy shopping for presents. Toy stores are overflowing with wares. Shopping carts are being piled sky high. But I'd like to recommend a different type of gift, one that is great for both the giver and the receiver--books. Why? Let me repeat a posting from a few years ago for the answer to that.



On True Wealth for Children


You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be—

I had a mother who read to me.



—Strickland Gillilan

Not the Same People

It's that time in the term when my students have to do a research project--a type of academic trivial pursuit game. A comment made on another blog leads me to mention this now. Absolute care must be taken when presenting material as true that that material is actually true--solid research is key.

Let's see how you do with the piece of information I'm referring to. Francis Scott Key and Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald--are these the names of two separate people or two names for the same person? Go ahead, take a moment.....


Okay, the answer is that the names refer to two different people. Francis Scott Key was the composer of the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner." Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was otherwise known as F. Scott Fitzgerald and is perhaps best remembered as the author of The Great Gatsby. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896, the namesake and second cousin three times removed of the author of the National Anthem.

So what's the problem? F. Scott Fitzgerald was known as a drunkard--the first Francis Scott Key was quite the opposite: a man of solid character, highly religious and not an inbiber of alcohol.

A highly respected Rav apparently made a comment a few decades ago that is remembered by some today. Unclear from the comment on the blog was whether or not the Rav was referring to The Star Spangled Banner or to Hatikvah when he said that it is kefira because its author was a drunkard. If this was said in reference to The Star Spangled Banner I'd like to believe that that Rav, were he living today and were it pointed out to him that he was mixing up two different people, would have retracted his statement. Unfortunately the Rav is not living, but it seems that his words live on after him. If the statement was made referring to The Star Spangled Banner it's time for a correction.

So, lesson of the day: check your sources, and then double check them, or triple check them if need be.

A Side Note on Reading

Speaking of reading...........

One of my friends has children who seem to represent many of the major distributions of the frum world. A married daughter considers herself as yeshivish and to the right. This friend has had to adjust her thinking when trying to buy gifts for her grandchildren because what she considers as fun and/or useful does not always meet with the hashkafic guidelines this daughter has.

My friend was quite pleased, however, to find that her daughter was reading secular material with her younger children. The book she noticed was an anthology of fairy tales and folk tales. She overheard her daughter reading "Little Red Riding Hood" to her daughters. And then she overheard how her daughter was "taitching" the moral of this story. Was it that you should never speak to strangers? No. Was it that you should always obey your mother or grandmother, even when they are not right there with you? No.

The lesson to be learned was that even "goyish" writers knew that if a woman wears red clothing she is going to attract wolves, she is going to attract trouble. Red is the color of pritzus and black is the color of tsnius. Frum girls keep away from red clothing.

My friend didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she told me this story. Frankly, I can't decide which to do either. What's next? "Hansel and Gretel" as the ultimate example of why mixed activities between boys and girls, even brothers and sisters, is forbidden, because such activities always lead the participants to lose their way and go off the path?

Not Convinced that Reading Skills are Necessary?

In case you think I'm being alarmist about the poor reading/writing/comprehension/vocabulary skills of our students today, let me give you a few examples taken from last years GED exams. Yes, I checked with Snopes--no one is challenging that these did not come from the exam.

Q. Name the four seasons.
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Q. What is a terminal illness?
A. When you are sick at the airport

Q. What is a turbine?
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist upon?
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed.

Reading? Rest in Peace

This past decade has given us many new devices to make communication between people faster and easier. Walk into any electronics store or browse online and there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of these time savers for sale. Where once computerized communication devices were the purview of adults, mostly those in the work world, these devices are now seen in use everywhere by everyone. Yes, even three-year-olds know how to turn on a computer or fool around with a cell phone or PDA. And virtually everywhere you will hear people applauding the success of these devices, you will hear them lauding all the benefits of the devices.

Well, let me be one to take the opposite stand: these devices have caused us, as a nation and as a world, to lose something very precious. We are no longer readers. But wait you say, you have to read to use these devices. Well, you have to scan letters, I'll grant you that, but reading? Nope.

Educators from nursery to post-college are all bemoaning the fact that students' reading skills have dropped, and with that drop in reading skills, their writing skills have also deteriorated. Many an employer has pointed a finger at the poor job that schools are doing in educating their students, evidenced by the poor reading, writing and speaking skills of those who apply for jobs and/or who are in the work place. Employers are pointing a finger at the wrong place in attempting to place all the blame on the schools. The blame can be squarely placed on the general society that is involved in a hot and heavy love affair with technology, with communication devices.

How do people develop solid or stellar communication skills? One way is by observing others, listening to how they speak and copying their inflections, vocabulary and speaking style. Yet another way is to be taught the basics of English grammar and syntax, to be taught vocabulary, to be given practice in writing across many different subject areas. But perhaps the best way to become an excellent writer is to be a reader.

Why is reading books an excellent developmental tool for the skill of writing? In reading well-written material from a variety of print sources a person is exposed to the patterns, cadences and usages of standard English. They are exposed to a diverse vocabulary and how that vocabulary is used. There is a patterning that takes place when someone reads, a patterning that can be used when that person writes.

The English that appears in the writings on most of the electronic devices we use for communication is a truncated form of English, more patois or jargon than standard English. The purpose of this jargon is a simple one: give information using the fewest number of words (or letters) possible, reducing the amount of time spent in communicating. Everything connected with these devices is about short and quick.

But not everything that people might have to write in the academic and business worlds is going to be about shortness or quickness. There are still a multitude of situations where in- depth analysis and critical thinking skills are necessary. There are still a multitude of situations where being able to write flowing English, with all its complexities, is required. And to write that more complex English, reading is a key tool.

There is no reason to be a Luddite and decry that all those electronic devices be banished so we can return to a "better" way of doing things. What we do need to do, however, is recognize that those devices are only a few of the ways that we need to communicate with each other, and that the approaches that are useful when using those devices are not correct or useful in other writing situations. And yes, we need to once again stress the reading of books as a necessary tool for an educated person.

Let's be honest here--when an occasion arises to give a gift to a young person (and yes, to an adult as well) is your first thought to head to a bookstore, or is it to head to an electronics store or toy store? As a society we have come to value those electronics more than the printed word as found in books, and therein lies a ticking time bomb. Those who still read, and who reap the benefit of that reading as seen in their writing, are going to be the cream that rises to the top. The rest are going to be literal skim milk.

Like the ubiquitous fast-food meals so many rely on, those "fast-reading" devices aren't going to deliver any "nutritional" benefits to the readers who use them. Keep them in their place, as one type of tool that is available today. But bring back the reading of books for the much more "nutritious" benefits that they can give us, as readers, as writers and as educated communicators.

If you want to know why...

I have yet to hear anyone ask a teacher of math to justify teaching their subject matter. Even those who teach history are not asked to do so. But teach English and the question is asked by many: "What good will any of this ever do me?" Teachers of English, particularly those who teach literature, are the unloved step children in the yeshiva educational system--barely tolerated but certainly not valued. And yet, we continue on, being bolstered on rare occasion by the exceptional student who not only gets us but gets our subject matter. We continue doing what we do because we know something our students don't--that yes, some day something we have taught them just might prove to be of use after all.

That's why the latest posting by The Rebbetzin's Husband resonates with me--clearly a student who "got it" and who found out what good it would do him many years after class was over. If you're still looking for the answer to that question, pop on over and see how the Rabbi answered it.
http://rechovot.blogspot.com/

A Read on the Holocaust

An interesting read even if I don't agree 100% with all the statements.

"The Holocaust is now on Facebook."
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/greenberg110209.php3

DHMO

Thanks to Dave for bringing up a subject that happens to be one I use in my Advanced Expository Writing class--DHMO--dihydrogen monoxide.

We like to think that we are sophisticated thinkers, people who can read, observe and synthesize the massive amounts of information we are presented with on a daily basis, particularly in the scientific arena. We place faith in science and scientists and the facts and figures they give us. We tend to believe that a lie would not be published and be believed because of all the access we have to media information. We tend to believe in our own infallability and our ability to tell the real from the fake, the truth from a hoax. Oh that that were 100% true.

Well, Professor Tom Way, building on the prior work of others, decided to put our abilities to the test. He began an organization and put up a website for that organization, a website that meets the highest standards for what a website should be and do. It's masterfully created and organized.

Please go to the website at http://www.dhmo.org/ And after you've gone there, please do come back and tell me all about how infallible we are as information gatherers and synthesizers.

The Real, The Imagined, The Censored

The fact that many yeshivas stringently censor the reading material allowed in their classes is well known. The yeshivas are worried that much of what is available in secular reading material is not supportive of frum ideals and ideology. In many cases whole genres of reading material are censored. I recall mentioning on this blog that a RW yeshiva I taught in ossured a math workbook in which a father was washing dishes--this was not the image the school wanted their students to have of what a father does.

But it's not just the yeshivas that are fooling around with what is read in the classroom. And some of what is going on in the outside world is a bit scary. The link that follows is to a 5-part video series of a Fox News report on textbooks in the classroom. I'm not 100% in agreement with everything in the report, but there is sufficient there to make me wonder about just what constitutes an education in at least some parts of the US today.

Why post this on the anniversary of 9/11? Revisionist history is nothing new. Even in the few years since the events of 9/11 there are already some people who have been changing around the facts of what happened to fit a different agenda. What will people learn about 9/11 fifty years from now? Will our textbooks then tell it like it was, or will they rearrange, change, and eliminate the "facts" to present things as they want them to be?

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0909/textbooks.php3

On a Scientific Note...

Okay, one more place to send you before the men in white coats come to lead me to safer pastures. If you have kids who are interested in science or if you are interested yourself, here's a blog you might like to visit. The subjects are varied and some of the photos and videos are both fascinating and beautiful. The name of the blog is Growing With Science--"Putting the fun back into scientific exploration." http://blog.growingwithscience.com/

Lincoln and the Jews

For still yet some more interesting reading, here's a link to an article about President Lincoln and the Jews. Appropriate given that it is President's Day here.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jewish/history11.php3

There is reading matter and then there is READING MATTER

I devour the printed word and it's sometimes hard to keep myself in reading matter. Because of this I have been known to read some rather strange works, at least in retrospect. Others have sometimes lent me reading matter that was also a bit unusual. But I'm giving the prize for Strangest Publication to Make It Into Print and Remain There For More Than One Issue to the one highlighted in The Rebbetzin's Husband's latest offering. I've just spent a few odd moments trying to come up with a profile for a dedicated reader for that publication, and I'll admit I'm stumped. Take a look at Backyard Poultry at http://rechovot.blogspot.com/

Okay Class, this is a Book

There is an old Yiddish saying: "Az muh leibt derleibt min"--If you live long enough you live through everything/see everything. Last night in school I had one of those "living through" moments.

I teach a unit on Research/Internet research to my classes. Yes, most of them can do a rudimentary search of the Internet, but not all of them. In concert with the whole world out there, if you tell them to research something they tend to head directly to Google or Yahoo, read the first page or maybe even the second page and that constitutes their search. I hopefully expose them to other venues and approaches. As part of the unit I give the students questions they have to research and I take them down to our library and computer labs to supervise their search and serve as a trouble shooter when needed.

Last night was our in-library research period. Unfortunately, twelve minutes before class was due to start our school Internet connection went going, going, gone. I'm fairly sure that my students were overjoyed; after all, without the Internet how were they going to do any research. Clearly class would have to be cancelled. I began by pointing out that we were in a library--you know, a place with books in it. And for many of the questions the sources for the answers were sitting right there on the shelves. You should have seen their faces. "You want us to look in a book?!" was frequently heard.

For the two librarians and I the hour that followed was one filled with more than a trace of irony, not to mention more than a little hilarity. Faced with books some of my students were suddenly "overwhelmed" with how they were to find all the answers they needed. One student came to me with one of his questions and asked what type of book he could find the answer in. I answered "an encyclopedia" and pointed him to the reference section of the library. Less than a minute later he called out to me "How do you use this thing?" So in November of 2008 I found myself explaining what an index and alphabetical order was. I found myself pointing out to more than one student where in a book they could find the publication and copyright material. I found myself explaining what an atlas was and how you could find information in it. And yes, I even had to explain a print dictionary to one student. I had more than a few students grousing that doing research this way was so old fashioned. That's when I found myself pointing out that much of the material on the Internet is there because there is actual printed material that came first.

One student came to me rather excitedly after only about 1/2 hour of class had elapsed. He had already answered 9 out of the 10 questions he was researching, and all out of one source: an encyclopedia. He was so excited.

For those of us of a certain age it is sometimes easy to forget that our younger generations are growing up in a world that is different substantially from the one we grew up in. Which of us did not have a printed dictionary in our possession growing up? I'd say that less than half of my students own such a dictionary. I mentioned to one of the librarians that today gives new meaning to cuddling up with an apple and a book; for some of my students that is cuddling up with an Apple and an e-book.

But I did notice one thing last night; when introduced to the wonders of the printed page most of them caught right on and figured out how to use the books. Nonetheless, it was a strange night as new and old came together. Fairness makes me add that a few of the students were right at home in the library and had no trouble using this "old" technology. And at least one student shared my mirth at some of the comments and queries that were forthcoming.

Yup, if you live long enough you see everything.

Note: I'm also posting a piece by Heathorn dealing with just this subject that some of you might enjoy reading.

Learn with BOOK

LEARN WITH BOOK
- R. J. Heathorn
First printed in "Punch Magazine" May 9, 1962.

A new aid to rapid - almost magical - learning has made its appearance.
Indications are that if it catches on all the electronic gadgets will be
so much junk.

The new device is known as Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge. The
makers generally call it by its initials, BOOK.

Many advantages are claimed over the old-style learning and teaching
aids on which most people are brought up nowadays. It has no wires, no
electric circuit to break down, No connection is needed to an
electricity power point. It is made entirely without mechanical parts to
go wrong or need replacement.

Anyone can use BOOK, even children, and it fits comfortably into the
hands. It can be conveniently used sitting in an armchair by the fire.
How does this revolutionary, unbelievably easy invention work? Basically
BOOK consists only of a large number of paper sheets. These may run to
hundreds where BOOK covers a lengthy programme of information. Each
sheet bears a number in sequence so that the sheets cannot be used in
the wrong order.

To make it even easier for the user to keep the sheets in the proper
order they are held firmly in place by a special locking device called a
'binding'.

Each sheet of paper presents the user with an information sequence in
the form of symbols, which he absorbs optically for automatic
registration on the brain. When one sheet has been assimilated a flick
of the finger turns it over and further information is found on the
other side.

By using both sides of each sheet in this way a great economy is
effected, thus reducing both the size and cost of BOOK. No buttons need
to be pressed to move from one sheet to another, to open or close BOOK,
or to start it working.

BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it.
Instantly it it ready for use. Nothing has to be connected or switched
on. The user may turn at will to any sheet, going backwards or forwards
as he pleases. A sheet is provided near the beginning as a location
finder for any required information sequence.

A small accessory, available at trifling extra cost, is the BOOKmark.
This enables the user to pick up his programme where he left off on the
previous learning session. BOOKmark is versatile and may be used in any
BOOK.

The initial cost varies with the size and subject matter. Already a vast
range of BOOKs is available, covering every conceivable subject and
adjusted to different levels of aptitude. One BOOK, small enough to be
held in the hands, may contain an entire learning schedule.

Once purchased, BOOK requires no further upkeep cost; no batteries or
wires are needed, since the motive power, thanks to an ingenious device
patented by the makers, is supplied by the brain of the user.

BOOKs may be stored on handy shelves and for ease of reference the
programme schedule is normally indicated on the back of the binding.
Altogether the Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge seems to have great
advantages with no drawbacks. We predict a big future for it.

When is Enough Enough?

It's not just adults who are enthralled with consumerism; it's children as well. They are marketed to aggressively and what they see and hear about they want. And parents give them what they want because those same parents are also ensnared in the "buy me, buy me" trap. But how much is enough? Is there ever a time when those pursuing happiness through owning things ever actually become happy?

A good story to base a discussion on with your children about when is enough enough is the old Grimm's standby "The Fisherman and his Wife."

http://www.classicreader.com/book/2191/41/
The moral of the story is quite obvious. If you never become satisfied with what you have you will reach the point of collapse and find yourself back with nothing at all. That collapse is, in practical terms, when you have the credit and borrowing bubble burst. Or it's when you discover that indulging yourself in more for more's sake leads to budgetary woes that don't allow you to pay for what you absolutely must have, like food and basic shelter.

One parent who used the story for a discussion with her kids found that one of them didn't get the point and still wanted a very expensive electronic gadget. So the mother tried a different tack. She said he could have the gadget but he would have to give up other things so it could be paid for. The next morning she put a glass of water and one slice of toast on the table for this child's breakfast. When he complained that this wasn't what breakfast was supposed to be she told him that expensive cereals and the milk to go with them and orange juice were no longer going to be available because otherwise there would be no money for his gadget that he wanted. He had to make a choice: either the gadget or the foods he liked but not both. He argued for a while but by lunch time he finally came to see that physical hunger was a lot worse than hungering for possessions.

It's up to parents to open the discussion about how much is enough, and this tale makes a nice starting point. It also lends itself to discussion on the topic of ayzeh who ashir? sameach b'chelko.

The Whole Truth

I'm eclectic in my reading matter and enjoy many of the authors whose works are termed best sellers. One of these authors is David Baldacci. His most recent work is "The Whole Truth," and boy did it give me lots to think about. Key to the book is the idea of perception management: manipulating how we think and what we think about. He is one of the first authors I've read who gives full credit to the blogs for being a prime source for spreading information around the world. Clearly what he writes about is fiction, but the ideas raised in the book really do raise some questions about what goes on in the real world and how we know what we know. As a plus he writes well. This is one book I have no trouble in recommending.

And yet Another Site for Children's Literature

The site below, compiled by a reviewer at The Horn Book Magazine, offers an excellent selection of books and stories for children, from the youngest reader to the mature teen. What distinguishes it from other lists I have posted is that each book is reviewed with a brief synopsis of the work. Each selection is also marked as to the age/type of reader it is suitable for. Now that school is once more upon us, can book reports be far behind? You just might find something on this list.



Children's Classics: A Booklist for Parents

http://www.hbook.com/pdf/childrensclassics.pdf