Posted on November 12 at 10:03 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
In light of both Mr. Little's post below and the email I've received from him, I'd like to rescind my comments besmirching his intentions in this program. Obviously, there was much more to the story than was conveyed in Ms. Vogel's blog entry.
I hereby apologize to Mr. Little for jumping the gun and rushing to judgment. He's a good guy and is doing a good thing for our troops.
Posted on November 11 at 3:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I know of at least one midlist author who recently initiated a book drive for the troops. He collected books from fans and sent them on to the soldiers. He accumulated quite a lot of books and mailed them all on his own dime.
And he didn't ask anyone to buy his books before doing so.
To me, Mr. Little is merely using patriotism to sell copies of his book. He should be ashamed.
On Chinese plan goes before school board Tuesday
Posted on October 13 at 2:59 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Several times now between this and other articles on the same subject, I've seen posters claim that Chinese is the second most spoken language on the planet. I'd like to see stats to back up that claim, particularly showing the prevalence of the Chinese language OUTSIDE China itself. While truly neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things, I'm am curious about this part of the argument.
On President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
Posted on October 13 at 10:50 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I don't understand why Obama won. Was the Beer Summit really THAT big a deal?
;)
On Tiny congregation seeks God in a bar
Posted on October 5 at 3:17 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I guess everyone loves a good round of "My God can beat up your God."
On Parents, board question if Chinese program should be mandatory
Posted on September 30 at 9:26 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I'm not in the Janesville school district so really, I don't have a dog in this fight. But, after reading the article and subsequent comments, I'd like to share my own views.
I should think it is very difficult to teach a child a second language if they don't have a good, basic grasp of their first language. From what I've seen, there are many, many elementary age students who struggle with basic spelling, grammar, and sentence structure in English. In my opinion, ANY foreign language being taught at that level should be predicated upon the student having proven a mastery of the basics of English.
Part of success in learning another language is how often you are exposed to it and how often you use it outside the classroom. I'll venture a guess that there is only one educator in these schools that speaks Chinese fluently. Further, I'm guessing there is a rather small portion of the local population that speaks it as well. The students taking this class have very limited opportunities to practice the skills outside the classroom. If they were instead taking Spanish as a second language, there are considerably more speakers in their immediate area to listen to and converse with so as to practice their skills.
I've seen two conflicting reports here. One that the students take the class just a few times a month and another that they take the class at least ten times a month. In either case, I'd question the effectiveness of the lessons, given what I said above about the lack of opportunity to practice the skills outside the classroom. Chinese is a very difficult language to learn when taught properly, let alone in a piecemeal fashion. What is the point of a mandatory class that, by its very design, won't effectively teach the subject matter?
I don't question the great opportunity for the students to learn about the language and culture of China. That country is indeed a world power, whether you agree with their politics or not. I just think the educational needs of the students would be better served by first having them master the basics of English, then allowing them to take a foreign language only if their grades reflect the study skills necessary to learn it.
On Morning Gazette brings fresher opinion content
Posted on August 18 at 4:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
That's kind of what I figured. We're getting the paper delivered to our porch around 2:45AM every day. Which is fine except for the fact that my dog goes nuts when he hears someone outside our front door. Given that we've had problems in our area in the recent past with vandalism and such, I'm forced to get out of bed every darn morning to make sure it is *just* the paper delivery.
On Cruising the strip remains a popular activity
Posted on August 18 at 4:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I'm about two decades removed from being a teenager. And I'm not now, nor was I ever, real keen on cruising. I went up to Hwy 100 in West Allis a couple times back in the day. I didn't quite understand what was supposed to be so cool about it.
With that said, I do chuckle at some of the alternative activities people here have posted. Going to the library? Going for a walk? Fishing? Um, I hate to break it to you but those aren't exactly "cool" things for teens to do. Sure, I love doing all those things today. I was then and am still today a voracious reader. And, when I was a teen I was known to wet a line every now and again. But, um, do you really think teens want to head off to the library on a Friday or Saturday night?
Adults will rarely ever understand teenagers. It has been that way pretty much forever and will continue to be so until the end of time. Think back to when you were a teen. I'd be willing to bet you wore things your parents thought were atrocious. You listened to music that made your parents grit their teeth. Half the appeal of such behavior was the reaction you received from adults.
While I'm not pleased at how ambivalent our young Ms Nelson is about her driving history, bear in mind the story only indicates she was pulled over three times, not that she was actually cited for anything during those traffic stops. Perhaps she was, I've no way to know for certain. But, the fact that she seems to feel rather proud at having been pulled over ONLY three times in a year is pretty sad, if you ask me. I'm hopeful her parents addressed this issue with her once this article saw print.
On Morning Gazette brings fresher opinion content
Posted on August 18 at 3:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
What time does the morning paper actually go to press?
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On Hedgehogs flourish with love they find at Janesville home
Posted on November 18 at 1:07 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
ihavealife, I'm curious about this city ordinance against hedgehogs you mention. Could you provide a link to it?