You know, it’s nice getting though Christmas and New Year with out any major flap. It’s a gift in itself. Our daily Christmas constitution would turn into a pilgrimage to the car wash. We’d try to get to the crib at our local church, but the lure of industrial design is far too much for my youngest. I often wonder what goes through my son’s head as he cast’s his eye over the lines and shapes of this modern convienience. His absorption in the seemingly mundane, informs how I see things. That is how it should be.

This course was by far the most interesting and helpful. Taking this alongside the first research course was very helpful. Dr. Nagy was enlightening, helpful, and helped me to learn a lot. Just when you think you know everything! I had learned quite a bit about literacy in my undergraduate courses, curriculum, professional development, coaching cycles, interest reading, and experience, but never from a research perspective. I feel that I have a better understanding of where certain teaching styles and perspectives come from and what they have built upon to give us our “best practices” today. I found a deeper understanding of my schools literacy program “Success for All” and also, the district’s position of “balanced literacy.” I could see the crossover between the two positions, but also the similarities. Unfortunately, we are no longer using Success for All, but I feel this was due more to an economic problem than a “best practices” in literacy problem. We were using outdated materials and so it appeared that there were gaps in comparison to balanced literacy, however, after this course, I feel current Success for All materials would not have those gaps as they are grounded in research.

The four short papers attached to this blog reflect some of my learnings from this course.

SAIL paper , Motivation paper , Read aloud paper , Phonemic awareness paper

Well, let’s start like this. `is not a member of itself’ is a proper predicate of a set-theoretical language. Now, this predicate is true of some objects and false of others. Indeed, by classical logic*, for any given object, the predicate is either true of it or false.

Furthermore, by naïve comprehension, there is a set of everything of which this predicate is true. In other words, there is a set of all sets which do not fall into themselves. Let it be called `r’.

By the reasoning from above, classical logic requires that r either falls into itself or not.

So let’s assume that it does. However, r comprises only those sets which fall into itself. Therefore, if r falls into itself it does not fall into itself. Thus, it has been derived from naïve set theory that r cannot fall into itself.

But r comprises all sets which do not fall into themselves. In other words, if it does not fall into itself then it falls into itself. Therefore it falls into itself. Consequently, naïve set theory proves both that r does not fall into itself and that it does. Thus, naïve set theory proves a contradiction. It is inconsistent.

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*. Because, for any sentence A, `A v ¬A’ is a classical tautology. Hence, especially for any predicate P and any term t, `Pt v ¬Pt’ is true. In other words for any given object, the predicate is either true of it or false.

Unconditional Love
Exists
Only in the realm of fantasy.
You must have some conditions
it allows the other
To keep repeating
the same offense
Over and over again-
It is not kind
it is not just
it does not allow
for reformation.
Mel’s diner drive through
Walk through
this is what i was thinking
A new place
Out of another Era
Cousin to the Polo Lounge
Which is a Wax museum
on Sunset
A toy for A Brunei hustler
Who thinks he is the Sultan
Whatever happened
to DIRE STRAIGHT?
A no mans land
A place you go in
And never come out of
That follows you around
Like a noose
In search of a neck
In a jungle
Of stone
And graffiti
That I can not comprehend
An artless display
Of the American dream
Gone sour
Left on counters in Denny’s
With testosterone that
Is dwindling.
My throat is scratchy
my nose is running
I can not afford
to get anything.
What do I take?
Ginger
Can you buy it out here
Does Galpin have a Ginger dealership?
What am I doing with my life?
I am living every moment
In this one
And it is not a pretty site.
I can not even find the Freeway
Or my way back to Brentwood
It is like France or Italy …
It is foreign …
A Million years ago
Where did I leave my Life?
Why is Life only a second long
Why is it moving so rapidly?
Can I step outside of time?
Wake up in Palm Springs
The only one in the shade
Around Marilyn and Daniel’s pool
Left on counters in Denny’s
With testosterone that
Is dwindling.
My throat is scratchy
my nose is running
I can not afford
to get anything.
Whatever happened
The solemente
Without a bathing suit.
How barbaric
Swimming
I am swimming anyway
And I do not need a pool.
Life is an ocean
Constantly trying to drown me
I can not seem to float
or stop the momentum
That is pulling me under
I am weaving in
And out of consciousness
Like Lava from a Volcano
I am an abortion
A regurgitated Fetus
Waiting to be born.
God do not clone me.
Two fried eggs
on the sidewalk
Smoggy side up
at 4 A.M. in Mel’s Diner.

Stephen Kalinich

All Rights Reserved

© 2009

According to several media accounts, these past two days could have been a nighmare after Christmas. First there was what has already been confirmed as a terrorist attempt against a Delta Northwestern flight that was bound to Detroit from Amsterdam (read news here, here and here) . Then, today there was another incident on another aircraft which was doing the same route (read the accounts here, here and here). This time it was only a scare, it seems like the Nigerian man – another coincidence – didn’t have any explosive devices on him.

Anyway, these events bring up the discussions about security measures taken by airport authorities to prevent such dangerous devices from boarding aircraft. Do you think these measures have been efficient lately? Could something else be done to strengthten them? Let me know what you think at carolina.davila.english@gmail.com.

As a pilot, you should be able to discuss these topics with relative ease. Would you be able to do that? Try reading one of the accounts of the events and telling the same story again, but in your own words. We could be doing this in class and broadening your vocabulary range!

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O Pesadelo Depois do Natal

De acordo com diversas reportagens vistas na mídia, os últimos dois dias poderiam ter sido um pesadelo depois do Natal. Primeiro, houve o que já foi confirmado como uma tentativa de ataque terrorista contra um voo da companhia aérea Delta Northwestern para Detroit, vindo de Amsterdã (links para notícias acima). Depois, hoje ocorreu um novo incidente em outra aeronave que fazia a mesma rota (links para notícias acima). Desta vez foi apenas um susto, parece que o nigeriano – outra  coincidência – não tinha nenhum artefato explosivo consigo.

Veja se consegue responder – em inglês – às questões levantadas por esses eventos, e se quiser, envie-me suas respostas em carolina.davila.english@gmail.com.

Como piloto, você precisa ser capaz de discutir esses temas com relativa facilidade. Você conseguiria fazer isso? Experimente ler um dos artigos que fala sobre o tema e contar a mesma informação de novo, porém com as suas palavras. Poderíamos estar fazendo isso em sala de aula, e ampliando seu vocabulário!

“Keara, Ethan, wake up! Quick!” the urgent sound of their grandfather’s voice cause both Keara and Ethan to sit bolt upright.

“Why Grandpa Jim? Why did you wake us up? Is it morning?” Keara always full of questions peppered her grandfather with this series of questions.

Grandpa Jim was moving quickly around the room gathering clothes and shoes for each of them so they could dress quickly. Since Grandpa Jim usually moved at a slower pace, both children knew something important was happening.

“A fisherman from the village was just here, he found a whale tangled in a fishing net. If we cannot help the whale, it could die.” (Excerpt from “Set Me Free,” Said the Whale, a cell phone novel by: KJL)

If the Classics don’t seem to get your students excited about reading and writing, why not try a cell phone novel?

Recently while reading, “I ♥ Novels:Young women develop a genre for the cellular age”—a New Yorker article that discusses the rising popularity of the cell phone novel genre throughout Japan—I thought it would be fun to look for kid/teen-friendly English language cell phone novels…

My search quickly brought me to the kids section of the website textnovel—“a social network for authors and readers of serial fiction and the first English language cell phone novel website, allowing members to write and read fiction with their cell phones or computers, using text messaging, email and online tools”. What I like about the site is that it not only welcomes users to contribute stories, but that it encourages them to rate stories, become fans and leave comments—digital literacy skills that are increasingly important for students (and teachers) to cultivate in a hypermedia and social media age.

With a new year (and new decade) around the corner, how about teaching a cell phone novel in January?

If you’re looking for ideas on how to incorporate this new genre into your unit of studies, take a look at the m4Lit Project—a cell phone novel project and research study based out of South Africa that aims to support student leisure reading and writing in both English and isiXhosa and to understand whether cell phones can be used as effective tools for developing literacy and a love of reading amongst teens. While browsing through the project site, make sure to visit the cell phone story Kontax—“about the adventures of 4 cool teenagers”.

Happy texting!

Anna (@bon_education)

P.S. For more ideas on how to incorporate cell phones into your classroom, take a look at the post Using cell phones as teaching and learning tools.

Stephen Krashen

From the outset it was decided that there would be no entries in the A-Z that would be dedicated to specific individuals, such as Chomsky or Halliday. Instead, the relevant content associated with the great and good of ELT would be gathered under thematic entries such as universal grammar (in the case of Chomsky) or register (Halliday), and individual names would be relegated to an index at the back. The knowledge base of ELT practitioners, after all, comprises a network of ideas, not names.

Nevertheless, one in-house reviewer criticised what he or she considered an inordinate number of references in the text to the work of Stephen Krashen. It’s true – a quick count shows that Krashen is referenced in at least nine entries (such as affect, comprehension, input etc) compared to, say, Chomsky (7) and Halliday (3). Is this an accurate reflection (the reviewer asked) of Krashen’s status, relative to other influential theoreticians in the field?

This criticism led me to wonder if – like many teachers of my generation – I hadn’t been unduly influenced by the radicalism of a scholar whose major theoretical constructs – e.g. the monitor model, the input hypothesis, the affective filter etc – have subsequently been substantially revised or even discredited.

As a teacher formed in the twilight phase of audiolingualism (see D is for Drilling), I found Krashen’s outright dismissal of the value of productive practice or of error correction, and his case for bathing the learners in a sea of comprehensible input, immediately attractive – all the more so because of the feisty way in which these ideas were argued. (A much-copied Horizon video on language acquisition, which included extracts from a lecture of Krashen’s, was a staple on teacher training courses in the 80s and 90s.)

Doubts started to surface when I found that – as a second language learner who had recently moved to Spain – the silent period I was enjoying seemed indefinitely prolonged, and although my comprehension of Spanish had developed apace, this never translated into fluent production.  (Krashen, of course, would have argued that my affective filter was set too high). Hence, Merrill Swain’s case for the value of forced output prompted a reappraisal, on my part, of Krashen’s input hypothesis, although too late to kick-start my fossilised B2 Spanish.

More recently, however, the pendulum might seem to be swinging back. The advent of the so-called usage-based theories of language acquisition, argued by the likes of Michael Tomasello and Nick Ellis among others, which foreground the effect on the neural ‘stuff’ of massive exposure to patterned input, would seem to vindicate at least some aspects of Krashen’s input hypothesis – i.e. that exposure triggers acquisition.

Krashen himself seems to have distanced himself from SLA theorising (although not conceding in the least to the barrage of criticisms his views have attracted). His main preoccupation now is the development of first language literacy, where he is a vociferous advocate of whole language approaches, entirely consistent with his scepticism about the value of learning as opposed to acquisition.

The question remains, though: is the influence of Krashen overrated? Or, more specifically, have I overrated it in the A-Z?

Bad weather is a hazard for aviation, there’s no question about it. And it seems like this year things have gotten as bad as they can get, based on the news we see on the media. Today has been a critical day for transportation in general especially in Europe and in the Northeast of the U.S, as you can see here, here, here and here. 

Have you ever had any problems due to bad weather? Was it as severe as the problems faced by pilots in the Northern hemisphere? Do you think the weather has been deteriorating in the past few years? How so?

Remember that if we were in class, this exercise would be oral, and you would be practicing all you need to get your English up to ICAO’s level 4 (or higher!).

Do you know these vocabulary items about the weather? Blizzard, breeze, drizzle, drought, flood, flurries, fog, frost, hail, hurricane, lightning, puddle, rain, shower, snow, thunderstorm, tornado. Do they affect aircraft operations? If so, how?

Practice with an exercise about the weather forecast and check the pronunciation of some vocabulary items about the wather here.

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O Mau Tempo e suas Consequencias (prática de listening e vocabulário)

O mau tempo representa um risco para a aviação, sem dúvida. E parece que esse ano as coisas estão realmente muito ruins, com base no que vemos na mídia. Hoje foi um dia particularmente ruim para os transportes em geral principalmente na Europa e nos Estados Unidos (veja links das matérias acima).  

Responda às questões acima para ativar todo o seu vocabulário a respeito das condições meterológicas em inglês.

Lembre-se de que, em sala de aula, esse exercício seria oral, e você estaria praticando as habilidades necessárias para atingir o nível 4 da ICAO (ou até mais!)

Há links para outros exercícios acima. Confira!

The Little Match Girl Audio Book MP3

This book is compiled in A4 format and UK English. Extensive Comprehension Activities and Teaching Ideas and Lesson Plans are located toward the end of this book.

This Beautifully presented Educational Activity Pack consists of not one, but FIVE of Hans Christian Anderson’s Well-Loved Tales.

Included within the pack:

• MP3 Audio File for the Little Match Girl
• Lesson Plans for all 5 of the stories
• Mini-booklets for each story
• Lesson Plans and Resources for Each Story
• 7 Self-extracting The Little Match Girl Jigsaw Puzzles
• A Comprehensive 142 Pg Curriculum-Based eBook including Teaching Plans, Resources, Activities
• Reading Comprehension Worksheets reproducible for Each of the 5 Stories
• Hans Christian Anderson Biography and Lesson Plan
• Christmas Themed Colouring In and Activity Book for Very Little People.
• Complete 12 Days of Christmas Themed Activity Book, including song lyrics, notepages, handwriting and copywork.
  

View the Entire Package at Currclick. This is an exceptional Gift for any child or educator since it includes reading comprehension and evaluation, grammar exercises, vocabulary, critical thinking skills, handwriting exercises, creative writing, phonics and more…. Can be adapted for very young to the much older learner.

For younger learners I have included a 162 pg colouring and activity book to keep them occupied during the periods between lessons.  A complete 12 Days of Christmas Themed Activity Book is included which incoporates copywork, critical thinking skills, colouring, games and more.

The initial Download will be the 142 Page Activity Book.  There will be a separate link for the download of the Bonus Boxed Gift Pack which includes additional activity books, puzzles, and the audio book.

Within this particular book also are the entire stories together with Suggested Activities for the Following Stories by HC Anderson, together with resources, links and lesson plans, including a lesson plan and information on Anderson himself:
1. The Ugly Duckling
2. The Little Mermaid
3. The Emperor’s New Clothes
4. The Darning Needle
6. Summation and Review

With Blessings on Your Educational Journey

Seasons Greetings to All

Donnette E Davis

St Aidens Homeschool

OUR TITLES:

For hundreds more Thematic & Fun Unit Studies please visit our Publisher Pages, Currclick www.currclick.com/index.php?filters=0_0_0_0&manufacturers_id=224

Ronald A. DePeter points out many useful ways to use fractured narratives in my writing. Before he jumps into these techniques, he briefly mentions that in order to truly understand a text, one must be completely involved “in its performance” (Bishop, 23). The moment I read this, I whispered quietly to myself, “Yes, but why does writing about literature seem so painful, particularly in the academic arena?” I know it helps readers comprehend literacy, yet sometimes I feel bombarded with a load of unwanted writing. Sometimes when I read a book, I just want to read it for the simple pleasure of reading it. No marks in my book. No stress about having to understand the material. In fact, I tend to understand literature better when I’m not constantly taking about writing a miraculous essay on it or worse, taking an exam on it.

I appreciated DePeter’s writing ideas on fractured narratives, though, especially when he starts talking about the “god revised” fragmented style. When his example essay of this style starts out with a treacherous Catholic Church with its congregation wearing bathing suits and flip-flops and the head Priest getting drunk, I couldn’t help but laugh at the very next sentence: “Peace be with you. And also with you.” Seeing how the writer combined ambiguous statements together made my pupils dilate. I noticed that in most of the essays I have written, no humor exists. Change needs to happen within my writing style. Humor is one human element that enhances a person’s writing like no other method. I’ve especially noticed this throughout my other English courses. In my multicultural writing class, my professor asked her students to chose our favorite book out of the eight books we read throughout the semester. Know what? I chose the funniest book, Rez Road Follies by Jim Northrup. Now I should follow the fragmented techniques used by DePeter so the humorous side of myself will show up in my writing, so I can show the Jim Northrup who grew into apart of myself.

And I do have a humorous side. Believe me. Ask my friends. Hypothetically, the more I have learned about writing from teachers, professors, and other “writing” advisors (such as my grandmother), the more afraid I am of speaking. Of telling the truth. Deep. Cruel. Secretive. But truth sells. As expected, Alys Culhane talks about “thirteen ways of looking at an egg” (Bishop, 42). An interesting way I can apply her technique of describing an egg in different ways would be to take an egg and explain exactly what it is and what it is not. Illustratively, I could describe the eggs features—its bumps, whiteness, texture, fragileness, everything to do with its appearance. These descriptors could get my writing tank flowing for a fresh story. Even though each of these descriptors denote a different meaning, they are all part of the egg. If I think deeply enough, I can alternatively discuss what the egg is not—black, simulated mucous pouring out of a fruit. Unless of course, it rotted. Then it might look like a rotten fruit. Regardless of how I try to describe objects in my future stories, essays, and poems, I want to retell the truth. I want to hold my egg up high without fear of it dropping on the floor and breaking. If it does, I will simply get a new egg.

Works Cited

Bishop, Wendy. Elements of Alternative Style. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1997.

Before you watch this video, think about the questions below marked with a *. After watching it, think about the ones marked with a +. Remember that if this was being done in class, we would discuss these questions orally, and you would be practicing all the ICAO criteria – Pronunciation, Structure, Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension and Interactions. Send me your answers if you like! carolina.davila.english@gmail.com

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Decolagem lenta: Prática de Listening

Antes de assistir a este vídeo, pense nas questçoes marcadas com *. Após assistir ao vídeo, pense nas questões marcadas com +. Lembre-se de que se estivéssemos fazendo esse exercício em sala de aula, essa discussão seria oral, e você estaria praticando todos os quesitos de avaliação da ICAO – Pronúncia, Estrutura, Vocabulário, Fluência, Compreensão e Interações. Se quiser, envie-me as respostas! carolina.davila.english@gmail.com

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*1) What are some problems that can happen during the takeoff run?
*2) What could cause an aircraft to use all the runway length to take off?
*3) What would you do if you were unable to rotate the aircraft?

Video from YouTube (by captainmaevius)

+1) Why do you think the pilot took so long to lift up the aircraft?
+2) What did the controllers say about it?
+3) Was it easy or difficult to understand what the controllers were saying? If it was difficult, was it because of the vocabulary or the accent?
+4) If you were the captain of this aircraft, would you have proceeded with the takeoff or would you have aborted it? Why?

I have been meaning to post for a few days, but after getting a cold, that task was put on hold.  With a short delay, my project has started today.  I am learning to be a better quicker reader.  Of all test formats, the MCATs is mainly formed in reading comprehension, which is my greatest weakness.  I have trouble concentrating and my eyes go all over the page when I search for details to remember.  On the MCATs, all sections of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology have 3-5 passages each with 7-10 questions following.

In any case, my first mini project is to improve my reading comprehension skills.  I found this book called “Read Better, Remember More” by Elizabeth Chesla that was recommended by a few websites that help medical students prepare for the MCATs.  The book says that I should follow a routine everyday, to improve my reading by writing out a reading plan.  So here goes; this is my plan.

1. Read one chapter (at least) every day.
2. Reading time: 9:00 AM-9:30 AM, after breakfast & coffee or 7:30 PM-8:00 PM, after dinner.
3. Reading place: the dining room table.
4. Music: none.  Find a quiet spot to read.
5. Other: Check email and GoogleReaders as a reward; do yoga before breakfast and reading.

So there.  I hope I can keep my schedule, but we’ll see.  This week might be a slightly irregular since I have a job training on Thursday and Friday, so I may move around things on those days.  I have read the first chapter of the book, so that means there are 19 chapters to go.  Wish me luck!

How a person understand and interpret speech is an extremely complex process involving the synaptic responses to the physics of sound, neural activity in the nervous system and brain, and ultimately the processing of those neural impulses in various regions of our brain.

Scientists have started mapping those regions of our brains by watching what happens inside the brain through MRI, PET or other means of scanning technology. Also, people who have had damage to their brains have helped us gaining more understanding about which parts of our brains does what.

Speech and language, meaning the vocal transfer of meanings, feelings, ideas, ideologies, experiences and everything else human beings exchange and communicate, are processed through various parts of our brain.

Some of the components of speech and language processing in our brains are about (I’m sure there are many, many more, each specializing in it’s own incredible way!)
1. acoustic processing
2. visual processing for lip reading
3. phonology
4. semantic processing (vocabulary)
5. short- and long term memory (previous context, experience, reference)
6. visuoauditory, meaning that the brain both processes and somehow merges each individual sensory input (bisensory – vision and hearing); keep in mind, we don’t fully understand everything about our brains functions yet.
7. contextual processing
8. “alternative contextual qualified guessing” (you might also call it fantasy   ) when all other understanding strategies fails, it’s the last attempt of understanding, and results in either a question, embarrassment or success

OK, that was the crash course in what we know about how our brains processes speech in a oversimplified manner.

Taking that info into account, think about what happens if the signals changes radically? What happens when a hearing-aid user, de facto deaf (unable to comprehend speech without the sensory aid of hearing aids, or contextual aid of sign language, lip reading or written text), is fitted with a CI or two?

In my case: what happens when I have suffered from “recruitment” while using my hearing aids for many years, and then suddenly both the recruitment is gone, AND the perceived frequencies have shifted totally out of it’s previously normal neural pathways starting with the hair cells in my cochlea.

My implant feeds electronic impulses to the part of my cochlea array of left-for-dead, broken hair-cells, while the previously still somewhat functional part now is left abandoned, not receiving any kind of stimuli anymore. (it’s like playing a piano on the octaves situated on the far left side for your whole life, and suddenly someone moves the entire piano so that you now sit on the far right!)

Well, obviously my brain has some work to do! The rewiring of the neural pathways are one thing, and the brains processing are another. I believe we can agree that the neural rewiring both in our nervous system, and in our brains (which I agree, is in fact part of our nervous system) is about new synaptic paths forming, adjusting our nervous system to the new sensory reality.

But what about the brains’ processing of these sensory inputs? The part of my brain that performs acoustic processing adjusts to the change in frequencies, the new auditory virtual reality slowly becomes THE reality, due to the lack of, and loss of the old auditory reality.

The phonology of all words have changed, how does my brain cope with that? Rewiring, relearning.

The short-term memory function now has to deal with input data that are totally new in appearance. It doesn’t sound like before. A streetcar doesn’t sound like a streetcar. A woman in high heels sound like a carpenter hammering down a nail. A kid laughing sounds like an animal dying. A kid crying sadly sounds like a anger fit.

Do you see where I’m getting at? The change in the quality of the sound perceived, also changes the contextual package, ie. what my brain interpret that specific sound to be, also decides my initial contextual and sometimes emotional processing. So now my contextual database also has to be reprogrammed.

The long term memory databank contains data that are now invalid. My mothers voice doesn’t match her voiceprint in my brain. All the people I have learned to identify by their speech patterns (how they pause, how they etc) now needs to be reprogrammed. It’s like having to change your entire music collection of vinyl to low quality compressed digital music (like computerized music in the MP3 format).

I will forget the old information, and fill it up with the new. All as the “Borgs” in Star Trek says: “You will be assimilated.”

If the part of my brain that does the acoustic processing changes it’s algorithms, I assume it’s fair to expect a change in the output from that process, consequently leading to the fact that the part of my brain that is the recipient of of the processed audio, now being “re-digitalized”, also have to change THEIR algorithms!

In that way, my entire language system is presently under a complete and heavy and thorough modification.

I have noticed this in the following ways:

I can “hear” better, but I have problems remembering the first part of the sentence that I hear, OR I only perceive the first part, my brain skips the last part of a sentence. I deduct from this “brain rewiring hypothesis”, that my short-term memory is having trouble storing the strange sounding words in it’s flash memory. The input data kind of doesn’t fit properly.

The other parts of my language system also sometimes suffer from overload or fault, causing a crash. Like when ambient noise occurs, and the voice I listen to drowns in that noise, my contextual and visual processing brain part needs to take over, but since I have been so focused on the auditory processing (due to the new and strange sounding quality), the take-over comes just a little bit too slow to be able to follow the person talking…

Think of this last paragraph like trying to follow an intricate discussion about a complex issue while having two or three kids climbing all over you, demanding attention. Sometimes they DO get your attention, and what happens then with the discussion you were following?

That’s when my “alternative contextual qualified guessing” kicks into gear

And this time I won’t even get into the emotional and psychological aspect of this brain-rewiring process that I’m currently undergoing…   I think each and every one of you who reads this can imagine the psychological and emotional implications for yourself.

Some things are best left unsaid?

Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic.  Der Spiegel.  Gabor Steingart’s title easily summarizes his report.

Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as his Tuesday address announcing America’s new strategy for Afghanistan. It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric — and left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.

One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama’s speech would be well-received.

Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower Hall, the gathered cadets were asked to respond “enthusiastically” to the speech. But it didn’t help: The soldiers’ reception was cool.

One didn’t have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon hearing Obama’s speech. It was the least truthful address that he has ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to say what it was for exactly.

Obama’s Half-Hearted Surge by Gregor Peter Schmitz. 

Sounds about right. 

Interesting that German journalists from an international perspective can easily interpret and comprehend the substance of the speech, whereas American mainstream media repeatedly fails.

See:

• http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,664753,00.html
• http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,664682,00.html

We were the only family in town with a library in the house. When the carpenter put up all the shelves in the combination dining room/library/office for my Dad, he asked, “You opening up a grocery story or what?” When we told him it was for the books, he grunted and said, “Past the Bible and the Sears catalog, don’t have much use for them myself.”

The room was soon filled with books, top to bottom. I learned to read early, and after I mastered the comics in the newspaper, and the Betsey McCall section of my mother’s McCall’s magazine, I began to read National Geographic.

One day, I considered all the books in our library and asked my father if I could read one. (It wold not have occurred to me to simply take a book without asking. Different times,  different upbringing.) My father told me, kindly, that I wouldn’t understand them.

“Why not?” I asked. “I can read English.”
My father smiled and handed me a physics book. “Read this, then,” he said.
I worked through the introduction, getting the words right, but with no idea about the ideas in the book. At 5 years, physics isn’t a familiar concept.

I remember the mix of awe, anger and concern that I could not grasp the material. It was English. I knew how to read English. Why couldn’t I understand this English?

Slowly I came to understand the difference between reading and comprehension; between seeing and knowing. The complex relationship between seeing words and understanding concepts came slowly to me, but I began to read more, eager for the ability to link words to concepts.

There are still many books I don’t understand, and many I don’t try to understand, but the joy and mystery of reading can fill me with a joy that few other things can reach. I hope the love of reading doesn’t fade away, replaced by electronic pastimes. Reading was my comfort, excitement and cure for loneliness. It still is.

–Quinn McDonald is a writer who teaches others to write through training programs. See her work at QuinnCreative.com Image: Mouse, charcoal on paper. Quinn McDonald. (c) 2008-9 All rights reserved.

Pelosi’s Health Care Bill Would Regulate Snack Machines at Estimated Cost of $56 Million the First Year.  CNS News.

Common sense is obviously lacking in Washington, D.C., for now bureaucrats in their never satiating goal of saddling business with ever increasing taxes to fund their various pet projects, have come up with a novel way of “helping” the consumer.  H.R. 3296 Health Care Reform Bill in your pocket.  Again.

As if the average item in a vending machine needs further characterization to define the usually calorie-laden nature.  The machines are also commonly known as snack machines.  The contents thus are typically snacks.  Small fare for the moment, not a meal.  Contents typically high in sugar or fat.  No doubt, part of the catchy appeal.  Common sense dictates the items are designed to provide a transitory indulgence. 

But the government wants to help you.  By forcing the vending machine companies to re-outfit the devices so that you can be presented with nutritional facts on each item BEFORE purchase.  Forget about them already having the government-mandated labeling already on the package.  Forget about your common sense already capable of discerning the nutritional and gustatory gratification from each item with out need thereof.  Although machines with nature’s fresh fruit, milk, water, and the like promote healthier items, the posted nutritional contents will be required of those items as well.

One thing is certain.  If it costs the companies to redesign the machines, America can bet those costs will passed on to the consumer, you.  The cost of the item will likewise rise.  Someone has to pay for the machines.  Someone has to pay for everyone’s health care too.  Even if you already pay for your own. 

“Vending machine.”
Image courtesy of http://www.niu.edu/OneCard/huskie_bucks/vendors/VendingMachines_Snacks.shtml.

See:

• http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/56572
• http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf

Comprehension, as ICAO sees it, is a person’s ability to understand spoken speech, both face to face and through radiotelephony. There are slight differences among levels 3, 4 and 5, as follows:

level 3: “(…) comprehension is often accurate (…) may fail to understand (…)”
level 4: “(…) comprehension is mostly accurate (…) comprehension may be slower (…)”
level 5: “(…) comprehension is accurate (…) able to comprehend a range of speech varieties (…)”

The only way to improve listening comprehension is by listening!

“Pilot’s Tip of the Week”, offered by Pilot Workshops, is a great material for you to practice. They always bring audio of an interesting interview with an aviation professional – a pilot, a controller, a mechanic, etc – and you can also read the transcript. There’s usually a question in the beginning and then the professional goes on to give his opinion or a suggestion about the topic.

Try using it this way: 1) Read the title and think for a moment about what you’re about to hear. Try to remember all you know about the subject. (you should do this to bring the relevant vocabulary to mind)  2) Listen to the question and pause the recording: what would you say if you were the one being interviewed? 3) Listen to the interviewee’s response: is it what you expected? Do you agree with it? Why? (or why not?)

After that, you can read the transcript and check how much you’ve really understood. Listen again for extra practice, and take notes of new words and/or expressions.

Here’s one for you to start working on your listening skills.

==================================================================================================

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

1. What does the author mean on the line ”In visions of the dark night”?

2. What do you think the poem is all about?

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of the easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

1.  What do you think the poem is all about?

2. What is the meaning behind the line “the darkest evening of the year”?

3.  What does the line “he gives his harness bells a shake” mean?

4. What do you think do the lines “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep”  mean?

Note the following letter was written by a physician.  Doctors have a vested interest in being a patient’s best advocate.  They will wager a battle on a patient’s behalf, not their own.  The Hippocratic Oath they take at graduation from medical school means a life long advocacy for their patients.  The initial part of that oath, “First, do no harm,” lays the foundation for which a physician acts on any patient’s behalf forever.  It means they take a stand when they believe there is something at stake that could harm their patients or their care.    Interference by anyone into the doctor patient relationship means potential harm and questionable motives of gain directly or indirectly by person(s) outside of that relationship, where a patient’s life and care is at the center.  That patient can be your spouse, mother, father, daughters, sons, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, significant other, and other close relatives and friends.  Careful attention to the points raised shows the Pandora’s box that will be opened with health care reform.  The doctor has minimal to lose if at all, whereas patient’s everywhere in America have everything to lose despite the facade that portrays otherwise. 

Not satisfied with the comprehension his local Congressional representatives were using while they were debating passage of the H.R. 3200, Dr. Stephen E. Fraser, anesthesiologist in Indianapolis wrote to his Senator, Evan Bayh of Indiana.  Despite the problems, H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act 2009 House Bill passed.

The following is the real letter.  Some versions with alterations and additions have passed through the email, but the following original letter was provided by Dr. Fraser to Medicareproblems.   Hat tip to Dakota Voice. 

The points raised are salient.  The Senate, in its desire to ram a health care bill to crow about later, would be wise to pay heed.  A physician’s work is based upon being a patient’s best advocate, after all.  The letter raises some very serious concerns about just how well legislators comprehend the bills up for passage.  Reading is nothing without comprehension.  Dr. Fraser highlights the some of the problems. 

Unfortunately, the House passed that bill anyway, flaws and all.  Will the Senate pass their flawed version as well?  H.R. 3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2009 Senate Bill pending.  PDF.  

————————————————

Dear Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician, I have major concerns with the health care bill (HR 3200) before Congress. I spent the last week reading this bill, which at over 1000 pages is quite difficult to get through. Have you read it? I’m shocked by the brazenness of the government’s intrusion into the patient-physician relationship. I’m especially concerned about the creation of a central committee to decide medical coverage decisions.

Every physician and nurse I work with agrees that we need to fix our health care system. Our President’s statement last week in his health care press conference that physicians are likely to make a patient care decision based on reimbursement rather than a patient’s best interest is not helpful in moving this discussion forward.

As an anesthesiologist I’m responsible for life and death decisions on a daily basis. I always have my patient’s best interests at heart and I’m sure my physician colleagues around the country do as well.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling sections I’ve read in the bill.  How can the following be in the best interests of the country and our fellow citizens? Capitalized words within quoted text are my emphasis.

SECTION 123 HEALTH CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

“A committee composed of 18 President-appointed individuals and 8 Federal employees (26 non-elected citizens) to consist of providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant governmental agencies and AT LEAST ONE practicing physician OR other health professional and an expert on children’s health.”

• This group will set coverage for the country…and other than the surgeon general, a physician is not even guaranteed to be on the committee. Is our country ready to let 25 or more non-elected, non-physicians make these decisions? This is a direct intrusion into patient care and I for one do not want a community organizer to have input on what type of care my patients can receive.

SECTION 141 HEALTH CARE COMMISSIONER

The health care advisory committee will report to the Health Care Commissioner, another non-elected Presidential appointee who will make the final decisions for the nation’s healthcare benefits.

SECTION 246 SUBSIDIES FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS

“Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.” 

• This states that taxpayer subsidies will not be given to illegal aliens to obtain coverage but says nothing about preventing them from obtaining healthcare in the US. Under current law NO patient, illegal or otherwise can be turned away from an ER if urgent care is needed. Section 152 states that “all health care and related services including insurance coverage and public health activities covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics.” Will the current law be changed thereby  withholding care from a vulnerable group of individuals?

SECTION 204

Language translation and linguistic appropriate services is mandated. 

• This seems to apply to undocumented individuals as well.

SECTION 205

The government will use community organizations to sign up eligible citizens for health plans.

• Do you support using an indicted organization like ACORN to do this?

SECTION 225 PROVIDER PARTICIPATION

This section states that Physician salaries will be dictated on an annual basis.

• How can you support taking over the livelihood of all physicians and dictating the terms? This is pure socialism and to call it anything else is disingenuous.

SECTION 131 REQUIRING FAIR MARKETING PRACTICES BY HEALTH INSURERS

This section gives the government veto power over advertising by private companies.

• Again this is an example f socialism where the government decides what the public is allowed to be told. How can you support this?

SECTION 312. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS EMPLOYEE AND DEPENDENT COVERAGE.

This Bill mandates employer-paid coverage for part-time employees and families which will be a huge burden for small businesses.

• Overall, the compliance regulations and associated costs for physicians, employers and insurance providers is enormous. Also, random audits are authorized with the full cost of the audit to be paid by the person or entity being audited. Do you support random, costly intrusions into physician’s offices?

SECTION 431 DISCLOSURES TO CARRY OUT SUBSIDIES

The Health care commissioner and others in government will have full access to your tax returns. On Pages 58 and 195 Government will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued. Officers & employees of HC Administration will have access to ALL Americans finances /personal returns. 

• Quite an intrusion of privacy.

SECTION 1128H

Under Medicare, every prescribed drug, device or medical supply has to be disclosed to the government or a penalty of $10,000 to $100,000 applies.

• Just think of the cost of complying with this rule.

SECTION 1501

The health commissioner will approve expansion of physician residency training positions with preference being given to primary care and disadvantaged applicants.

• Do you want the best and brightest to be our future doctors or those selected by the government? This section also suggests that specialty positions will not be expanded. This will lead to a diminishing specialist base and a loss in quality care. The obvious intention is to limit specialist care and I think the country needs to be aware of this.

SECTION 155 SEVERABILITY.

“If any provision of this Act, or any application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and the application of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.” 

• Why put this in? Do you think the bill is so radical that you are trying to block the Supreme Court from striking it down?

SECTION 1233 ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION (pages 424-431)

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: Government provides approved list of end of life resources. Government MANDATES program for orders for end of life every 5 years. The Government decides it should be involved in end of life care.

Page 428 Lines 17-25: Additional advanced care planning consultations will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Page 429 Lines 1-3: “advanced care consultation” may include an ORDER for end of life plans.

Page 429 Lines 13-25: The Government will specify which Doctors or other individuals can write an end of life order.

Page 431-2 The Government mandates that “quality measures on end of life care” be measured and reported.

• While advanced planning is always a good thing, this decision is best made with the physician, patient and family. The majority of health care dollars are spent in the last year of a citizen’s life. Mandating government intrusion and reporting of end of life care brings up the question of rationing. This section is quite vague on listing protections for seniors. Can you reassure me Senator that rationing is not the goal of this section of the bill?

Other troubling sections I discovered:

Pages 65-66 Section 164: Describes a subsidized plan for retirees and their families in unions & community organizations. Why the special treatment?

Page 84 Section 203 HC bill: Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private care plans in the Exchange.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Government will ration your Healthcare!

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members – Will your Health care be rationed?

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Page 121 lines 11-17: Doctor or provider payment will be at medicare rates under the public option. Medicare pays well under market rates and many physicians currently subsidize or cost-shift from private patients to provide care to seniors. If medicare rates are mandated, access to care will suffer. Do you support paying physicians at medicare rates under the public option Senator?

Page 124 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue the government on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monopoly.

Page 203 Line 13-15 HC: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Why the deception?

Page 265 Section 1131: Government mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Page 268 Section 1141: Government regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 Section 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS

Cancer treatments are expensive and represent the latest in research, technology and understandably cost a lot of money.

• This section, like others is vague in details. Senator, how will rationing of the latest advances be avoided?

Page 280 Section 1151: The Government will penalize hospitals for whatever Government deems preventable re-admissions.

• A good medical outcome is never guaranteed! This is a crazy rule and may actually increase costs as hospitals and doctors will be hesitant to release sick patients!

Page 316-317: PROHIBITION on doctor ownership/investment. Failure to disclose ownership is a 10,000 dollar fine for each occurrence. 

• Government again dictating to Doctors what/how much they can own!

Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion Government is mandating hospitals or surgery centers cannot expand.

• Hospitals have an opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. Will ACORN have a say in this?

Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: Government mandates establishment of outcome based measures.

• This is another way to justify rationing care. Every physician learns early in their training that each patient is unique and that a mandate for care will work for some but not for others. Learning to accept uncertainty is part of what makes our profession special and different. Rigid care mandates will result in decreased quality of care. This type of mandate also implies that physicians don’t have the best interests of their patients in mind which is nonsense. In other single-payer systems outcome based measures are ROUTINELY used to ration care. In the UK, a patient with macular degeneration must become blind in one eye before treatment is offered to the other eye!

Page 354-355 Sec 1177: Government may RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people to certain times and will review special needs plans and make recommendations “as the secretary of HHS deems appropriate.”

• Something the public needs to know.

Page 379 Sec 1191: Govt creates more bureaucracy -

• Tele-health Advisory Committee.

Page 469: Community Based Home Medical Services = Non profit organizations.

• Should we expect ACORN nursing homes in the future?

Page 472 Lines 14-17: PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORIGINATION.

• One monthly payment to a community-based organization. Like ACORN?

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Government will cover Marriage & Family therapy.

• Why should this be a mandate that all taxpayers pay for?

Page 494-498: Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services. 

• As for the dangers, costs, and failure of electronic communication upon which this bill is dependent on, the following article must be studied: The computerization of Britain’s National Health Service has been an expensive fiasco. Why does Obama want to emulate it?(link:www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/744qvzuo.asp)

It is also apparent that the Congress will not require themselves to use the public plan as required for most Americans. Why the double standard?

Will abortion services be covered with taxpayer money?

Why is there no mention in HR3200 of malpractice reform? Many studies show that defensive medicine is a major contributor to the cost of medical care in our country.

Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of this legislation. Our country was not founded on the socialist principles that make up this bill. There are many other ideas and policies that could be adopted that will not destroy the good aspects of our current health system and cover those who currently are without coverage.

I implore you to use a nonpartisan mind to consider these other options. If you vote for a bill that destroys private medicine and the doctor-patient relationship, I will do everything in my power to make sure you and other supporters of this flawed bill lose your job in the next election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E Fraser MD

See:

• http://www.scribd.com/doc/22293578/Affordable-Health-Care-for-America-Act-HR-3962-Passed-Nov-7-2009-House-of-Representatives-111th-Congress-1st-Session
• http://www.localbizblogs.com/medicareproblems/2009/08/18/dr-fraser-s-letter-to-senator-bayh
• http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/09/s-o-s-speaking-of-seniors/
• http://www.localbizblogs.com/46319/medicareproblems
• http://democrats.senate.gov/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act.pdf