Where in the World Isn't Bob Saget?

[JenniferS]

I’m pretty sure she knows as much as I do (which is basically what I picked up watching Beauty and the Beast).

I can still read it quite well. I took French starting in grade school, five years of high school, and one semester of University. I was quite fluent back in the 80’s.

My biggest complaint has always been that we were taught “Parisian French” and our friends in Quebec speak anything but.

 

[Songbird76]

Although, I commented just recently on how we, as English speaking people, were treated, remember that was in 1972 and the climate there was not unlike the climate here right now. But over the 50 years since then that is no longer a problem. One thing you can count on is that the population of Montreal are all bilingual. They have to conduct business with the rest of Canada and the world, so it would not be good for business to stubbornly continue to insist on French. The world doesn't have to bow down to Quebec. That was something that the separatists did not think about during that time. They did gain a lot though and forced a lot of English speaking tyrants (and their money) out of Quebec and they mostly went to Ontario, however, the French speaking folks gained a lot more status and were more free to speak English after the fact. I went to Montreal many, many times (my wife was from Montreal) and in the last three decades, at least, it was never a problem again. My wife was English speaking, but she trained in Nursing in Montreal, there she had to know some basic French to work in the hospitals there. That said, I never heard her speak a word of French the entire 29 years we were married.

I have a friend in Vancouver and she had to learn French in school even though that's an English speaking area. I thought she told me all Canadian children had to learn both English and French and had to do exams in both, but I could be wrong...that was 20 years ago that we talked about it. I was visiting her and she was showing me where she went to elementary school and she said she had a teacher who told her she was a loser who would never make anything of herself and we talked about the classes she had and she mentioned French. That's all I remember of the conversation....her awful teacher and something about having to learn French.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I have a friend in Vancouver and she had to learn French in school even though that's an English speaking area. I thought she told me all Canadian children had to learn both English and French and had to do exams in both, but I could be wrong...that was 20 years ago that we talked about it. I was visiting her and she was showing me where she went to elementary school and she said she had a teacher who told her she was a loser who would never make anything of herself and we talked about the classes she had and she mentioned French. That's all I remember of the conversation....her awful teacher and something about having to learn French.

That could be possible, I haven't followed it that closely for many years. Just because it was taught, however, doesn't necessarily mean it was retained. I passed French in High School, but I can only say yes (oui) and no (no) in French. I did learn some rudimentary words for my trip to Paris a few years ago, but other than that I only know enough about other languages to get my face slapped in about 5 other countries. The most amazing place I ever spent time in was Vietnam. They all could speak Vietnamese, French and English. And we thought we were bringing them culture. We have gotten to the point of feeling so superior that we are probably the least educated in the art of life of any place on the planet.

Well that said it is time for me to go have a couple oeufs for breakfast.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I can still read it quite well. I took French starting in grade school, five years of high school, and one semester of University. I was quite fluent back in the 80’s.

My biggest complaint has always been that we were taught “Parisian French” and our friends in Quebec speak anything but.

True that!

 

[Songbird76]

That could be possible, I haven't followed it that closely for many years. Just because it was taught, however, doesn't necessarily mean it was retained. I passed French in High School, but I can only say yes (oui) and no (no) in French. I did learn some rudimentary words for my trip to Paris a few years ago, but other than that I only know enough about other languages to get my face slapped in about 5 other countries. The most amazing place I ever spent time in was Vietnam. They all could speak Vietnamese, French and English. And we thought we were bringing them culture. We have gotten to the point of feeling so superior that we are probably the least educated in the art of life of any place on the planet.

Well that said it is time for me to go have a couple oeufs for breakfast.

Most European countries seem to learn several languages. My kids both have English, German, and French at school, along with Dutch. E gets to drop one language next year, so she's dropping German. But kids here have SO many more subjects! E has something like 15 subjects this year? And A has around 12, I think...he's in a slightly lower level than E. We had 7 per year, and a couple of those were electives that we got to choose. Neither of my kids get to choose anything. And they do several things at the same time, like...E has Biology, Chemistry, AND Physics this year...we only did one Science a year. And she has History, Geography, International Orientation, and Religion/culture, and Economy. We only did one Social Science per year. The education system here is intense!

 

[trr1]

That could be possible, I haven't followed it that closely for many years. Just because it was taught, however, doesn't necessarily mean it was retained. I passed French in High School, but I can only say yes (oui) and no (no) in French. I did learn some rudimentary words for my trip to Paris a few years ago, but other than that I only know enough about other languages to get my face slapped in about 5 other countries. The most amazing place I ever spent time in was Vietnam. They all could speak Vietnamese, French and English. And we thought we were bringing them culture. We have gotten to the point of feeling so superior that we are probably the least educated in the art of life of any place on the planet.

Well that said it is time for me to go have a couple oeufs for breakfast.

I know pommes frites from Mr Rogers

 

[Goofyernmost]

Most European countries seem to learn several languages. My kids both have English, German, and French at school, along with Dutch. E gets to drop one language next year, so she's dropping German. But kids here have SO many more subjects! E has something like 15 subjects this year? And A has around 12, I think...he's in a slightly lower level than E. We had 7 per year, and a couple of those were electives that we got to choose. Neither of my kids get to choose anything. And they do several things at the same time, like...E has Biology, Chemistry, AND Physics this year...we only did one Science a year. And she has History, Geography, International Orientation, and Religion/culture, and Economy. We only did one Social Science per year. The education system here is intense!

I am a Paul Revere type campaigning for education. We have gone far off the track for many of the "normal" people that education is supposed to, well, educate. The general emphasis on high end Math, should be elective. People that are interested can easily be involved and not brought down by those that will never understand it, slightly grasp theory or count to 20 without having to take their shoes and socks off to gain access to their toes. They need to learn todays life, history is important, but it should be relatable history. I remember in my 2nd year of High School we were forced to study "ancient history". That of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. We spent so much time on history that should have been if your interested only instead of more recent history that kids can relate too. I went though all four years of High School history and we never even reached WWII. That ended in 1945 and I graduated HS in1966. I know it was written about, we just ran out of time. The Arts should be as important as Egg Ball. Cultural differences should be touched upon. And budgeting and real time life expenses and responsibilities covered. Perhaps having knowledge of recent history might have helped us avoid recent events. In this case what you don't know will definitely hurt you.

 

[PUSH]

I am a Paul Revere type campaigning for education. We have gone far off the track for many of the "normal" people that education is supposed to, well, educate. The general emphasis on high end Math, should be elective. People that are interested can easily be involved and not brought down by those that will never understand it, slightly grasp theory or count to 20 without having to take their shoes and socks off to gain access to their toes. They need to learn todays life, history is important, but it should be relatable history. I remember in my 2nd year of High School we were forced to study "ancient history". That of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. We spent so much time on history that should have been if your interested only instead of more recent history that kids can relate too. I went though all four years of High School history and we never even reached WWII. That ended in 1945 and I graduated HS in1966. I know it was written about, we just ran out of time. The Arts should be as important as Egg Ball. Cultural differences should be touched upon. And budgeting and real time life expenses and responsibilities covered. Perhaps having knowledge of recent history might have helped us avoid recent events. In this case what you don't know will definitely hurt you.

I get having high schoolers sample different subjects to see what they enjoy and don't like. But the expectations are too much. Does everybody really need to know the FOIL method in algebra? Or the Pythagorean Theorem? No. Maybe having your freshmen and sophomore years be the "core academics" years to get more exposure to different subjects. Then use your junior and senior years as ways to explore different elective type classes. If that involves calculus for you, that's great. But if it involves woodshop or cooking, that's great, too. But by your junior and senior year you kind of have an idea of what you're into, and especially what you hate. Why forced somebody into calculus if they have no intention of using it? Give them more practical experiences and classes that they will use and be successful at.

I think colleges should get rid of the gen eds. If you still want the money, great. Just give them more classes that they'll actually benefit from. If your profession requires algebra, give them the algebra classes that they would've taken in high school. But wipe out the requirement that all college students need it. In education, have students do an entire year of student teaching, rather than just a semester. Give classes that will actually help. Because guess what, Environmental Conservation did not help me become a 1st grade teacher. Nor did Botany. Nor did my freshman English class. You know what did? Actually working in schools.

 

[PUSH]

Sounds like ice and snow for the drive home tomorrow. Fun.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sounds like ice and snow for the drive home tomorrow. Fun.

Here too. Drive safe. Luckily my commute takes me about 2 minutes. Although I have been walking to work lately instead of driving, I don’t think I will be doing that tomorrow.

 

[Songbird76]

I am a Paul Revere type campaigning for education. We have gone far off the track for many of the "normal" people that education is supposed to, well, educate. The general emphasis on high end Math, should be elective. People that are interested can easily be involved and not brought down by those that will never understand it, slightly grasp theory or count to 20 without having to take their shoes and socks off to gain access to their toes. They need to learn todays life, history is important, but it should be relatable history. I remember in my 2nd year of High School we were forced to study "ancient history". That of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. We spent so much time on history that should have been if your interested only instead of more recent history that kids can relate too. I went though all four years of High School history and we never even reached WWII. That ended in 1945 and I graduated HS in1966. I know it was written about, we just ran out of time. The Arts should be as important as Egg Ball. Cultural differences should be touched upon. And budgeting and real time life expenses and responsibilities covered. Perhaps having knowledge of recent history might have helped us avoid recent events. In this case what you don't know will definitely hurt you.

Huh...we barely touched on the ancient history. I do remember doing a group project about the original olympic games in ancient Greece, but that's about it. We had a different class every year. One year was Geography, one year was World History, one year was American History, and the last year was Government and Economics. For science, we had Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and then the last year you chose between Physics and a general science class that kind of recapped the first three years. Math went Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, then last year was Trigonometry/precalc OR Math Applications which was basic math like calculating percentages and figuring out sales tax. Unless you were in the advanced math program. I took Alegebra in 8th grade, so everything was moved up one year and then senior year I took Calculus. I don't remember a thing from that class.

It's different here. Math is just math. They don't divide it into types of math for the first few years, but this year is the year my daughter has to choose which direction she wants to go. She has to choose a profile and the math and science classes you take correspond with which profile you choose. My daughter wants to do the Math and Science profile, so she has to take the more difficult courses. But kids who choose the more creative profile, or the athletic profile don't need the more difficult math, so they take more general math classes. They all have to do at least one language and they all have to continue with English besides. E has decided to take Biology as her one elective because she likes it and it's not included in the profile she's doing...that's more Chemistry and Physics oriented. But the kids choose a path and take the classes that are more related to their chosen direction. They drop the classes that aren't related and focus on things they'll need....so more like what you described. The first 3 years are the general classes to learn those basics about history, culture, math, etc, and then 4th-6th years are for the more specialized classes. And that's just for the highest level of school. The lower levels have fewer years of high school, so they get 2 years of basics before choosing a profile, and their courses aren't as difficult. I think you would have liked the Dutch system...it's much more tailored to the particular student.

 

[Songbird76]

I get having high schoolers sample different subjects to see what they enjoy and don't like. But the expectations are too much. Does everybody really need to know the FOIL method in algebra? Or the Pythagorean Theorem? No. Maybe having your freshmen and sophomore years be the "core academics" years to get more exposure to different subjects. Then use your junior and senior years as ways to explore different elective type classes. If that involves calculus for you, that's great. But if it involves woodshop or cooking, that's great, too. But by your junior and senior year you kind of have an idea of what you're into, and especially what you hate. Why forced somebody into calculus if they have no intention of using it? Give them more practical experiences and classes that they will use and be successful at.

I think colleges should get rid of the gen eds. If you still want the money, great. Just give them more classes that they'll actually benefit from. If your profession requires algebra, give them the algebra classes that they would've taken in high school. But wipe out the requirement that all college students need it. In education, have students do an entire year of student teaching, rather than just a semester. Give classes that will actually help. Because guess what, Environmental Conservation did not help me become a 1st grade teacher. Nor did Botany. Nor did my freshman English class. You know what did? Actually working in schools.

I would have greatly benefited from a class in Classroom Management!! My husband thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that you have to take classes not related to your major in college. They don't do that here, and even high school phases out the generals so you can focus on career-oriented classes. I think part of the problem with having more classes offered within your major might be staffing. If you want to have more classes within a major, you also need more people to teach those classes. But I agree that it's ridiculous to make a music major take Math classes, or Pre-med take Modern Dance. I learned what I needed for that in high school. I learned what I needed for that in elementary school!

The thing with my school was that they wanted to look good. If they didn't force you to take the higher level math classes, no one would take them, and they couldn't point to all their successful students and say "See what a good job we're doing! 14% of our seniors are taking calculus!". They got really angry my senior year because they wanted to kill the music program. They rigged the schedule by putting all the required math classes at the same time as choir, art, and photography, so no one could take those classes. But, there were only 4 of us who qualified to take Calculus, and one was really into Art, one into Photography, and then I was into Music. None of us needed Calculus for our future careers, so all of us just said fine, we'll take Math applications, which we could all pass in our sleep. The school tried to tell us we wouldn't be allowed....we HAD to take Calc, but there was no such rule in the books, so they couldn't enforce it. The four of us got together and went over the entire course schedule for the school, and within an hour, we had the whole thing fixed, including other grade levels. We asked the two math teachers to switch classes because one had a planning hour in the 6th hour when all of us were free...so he took over the Calc class while the other took a different class over and moved his planning hour to the 4th hour instead of our Calc class, and that opened up a bunch of people to take whatever math class they needed and we could all take our electives. But the principal had wanted to force everyone into the math classes to make himself look good. He wanted people to think we had a bunch of high achievers. And he wanted to get rid of the arts at the same time, so he had purposely set the schedule so that no one could take those classes, because they had to be in Math. He gave in with poor grace, because otherwise he had no one in Calc at all, and that looks bad.

 

[trr1]

JANUARY NATIONAL DAYS​

January 15

• National Bagel Day
• National Booch Day
• National Hat Day
• National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

January 16

• National Fig Newton Day
• National Nothing Day
• National Religious Freedom Day
• National Without a Scalpel Day
• National Use Your Gift Card Day – Third Saturday in January

January 17

• National Bootlegger’s Day
• National Hot Buttered Rum Day

January 18

• National Michigan Day
• National Peking Duck Day
• National Thesaurus Day
• National Winnie The Pooh Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Third Monday in January

January 19

• World Quark Day
• National Popcorn Day

January 20

• National Buttercrunch Day
• National Cheese Lover’s Day
• National Disc Jockey Day.

January 21

• National Granola Bar Day
• National Hugging Day
• Squirrel Appreciation Day
• Get to Know Your Customers Day – Third Thursday of Each Quarter

JANUARY INTERNATIONAL DAYS​

January 15

• Museum Selfie Day

January 16

• International Hot and Spicy Food Day

January 17

• World Religion Day – Third Sunday in January

January 18

January 19

• World Quark Day

January 21

• International Sweatpants Day

 

[PUSH]

Here too. Drive safe. Luckily my commute takes me about 2 minutes. Although I have been walking to work lately instead of driving, I don’t think I will be doing that tomorrow.

It didn't start when it was supposed to, so I was able to get home no problem. We'll see about tomorrow's commute.

 

[Songbird76]

It didn't start when it was supposed to, so I was able to get home no problem. We'll see about tomorrow's commute.

Be safe today!!

 

[MinnieM123]

@JenniferS , I was curious if a Canadian can travel from province to province without restrictions, during this time of covid. Down here, I think pretty much all the states around mine in the Northeast, require either proof of negative tests within 72 hours prior to entering, or else they require a 10 day quarantine. So I was just wondering if Canada is also following similar types of guidelines (at least during high case volumes).

 

[JenniferS]

@JenniferS , I was curious if a Canadian can travel from province to province without restrictions, during this time of covid. Down here, I think pretty much all the states around mine in the Northeast, require either proof of negative tests within 72 hours prior to entering, or else they require a 10 day quarantine. So I was just wondering if Canada is also following similar types of guidelines (at least during high case volumes).

There are some restrictions currently, but I haven’t been following them as we have no travel plans.

Starting yesterday, Ontario entered a 28-day Stay at Home order; not quite as restrictive as Quebec’s 8 pm to 5 am curfew, but as Draconian as things have been since the initial outbreak.

The Canada/US border closure has also been extended another 30 days. One more extension, (which is a foregone conclusion), will take us to a full year of the border crossings being closed.

One can still get on a plane and fly somewhere, but we are being begged not to. Also, there is a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon return - irrespective of a negative test result at the airport. There is a 2-week payment for people who must quarantine due to anything COVID related, but thankfully that loophole has been closed for returning travellers.

 

[JenniferS]

This was kind of fun.

The Most Popular Dog Breed in Every State of the U.S. — Martha Stewart

Across America, these breeds come out on top in the rankings: Golden Retriever, Poodle, French Bulldog, and German Shepherd all included.

apple.news

 

[MinnieM123]

This was kind of fun.

The Most Popular Dog Breed in Every State of the U.S. — Martha Stewart

Across America, these breeds come out on top in the rankings: Golden Retriever, Poodle, French Bulldog, and German Shepherd all included.

apple.news

Fun, but I'm not sure how they gather their data. Supposedly, per the article, my state favors the Labradoodle; but to be honest with you, I have rarely ever seen one. Don't know anyone who owns one either. I do see lots of (traditional) Labradors, golden retrievers, and all kinds of various mutts. I can only go by what I've seen, and most days I'm out walking the nature trails where many people walk their dogs. (And for the record, my dog is a mix of Chow and lab.)

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

This was kind of fun.

The Most Popular Dog Breed in Every State of the U.S. — Martha Stewart

Across America, these breeds come out on top in the rankings: Golden Retriever, Poodle, French Bulldog, and German Shepherd all included.

apple.news

Cool, apparently Wisconsin's is a Bichon Frise. I don't think I've known anyone that had one. But I guess I should move to Georgia, Oklahoma, or Texas because that is where the schnauzer is popular.