text:
The news from the three battleground, swing-state NBC-Marist polls out this morning is not that President Obama and Mitt Romney are in a "dead heat" in the three states.
It's that they are in a "dead heat" suddenly in areas that, until now, were leaning heavily toward Obama.
The new NBC-Marist polls give Obama a one-point lead in Colorado and a two-point lead in Nevada. In Iowa, the two candidates are tied, while a full 10 percent of the electorate is undecided at this point.
For Obama, the Nevada numbers are the biggest disaster. For all of its talk as a swing state, it has been trending toward Obama comfortably all year. In the last four polls there, Obama was up six, six, eight and eight points. The last two, in April, provided the eight-point leads. Meanwhile, only 46 percent approve of the job he is doing as president.
Then there's Iowa. Small sampling overall, but in the only other reliable polling there recently, Public Policy Polling found Obama building a huge lead to 10 points. And that poll actually surveyed 1 percent more Republicans than Democrats. Here, we have the same 1 percent lean toward Republicans, but very different results.
Now, there's an even 41-41 split between Obama and Romney. Only 46 percent approve of the job Obama is doing now, compared with 49 percent in the PPP poll. Meanwhile, an astounding 34 percent said they would be more likely to vote for Romney because he opposes gay marriage. Only 22 percent said the same for Obama because of his recent endorsement.
Finally, there's Colorado, which had been more of an expected swing state. Obama has fallen drastically there since April, when PPP found a 13-point lead for him. In April, he hit the magic 50-percent approval rating threshold. Now, it's down to 45 percent, while 49 percent disapprove. This Colorado poll, however, did sample 4 percent more Republicans than Democrats.


text:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tips and Tricks: Reading Questions Card
Some of my students are great at making comments and connections about and to what they are reading, and some students just don't get it at all. The reading question card is a great solution. I have about 8 of these available to kids all the time. That seems to be enough for a class of 24 students. (At the beginning more people want to use them, but after the first week, this is enough!)
On this simple 2 sided laminated card there are lots of the standard reading questions. On one side there are before, during, and after reading questions. On the other side there are questions to link text to self, text to text, and text to the world. (They're the types of question you can find lots of other places online!) I generally believe that this is way more valuable for a life long reader than say, "List the main idea and two supporting details," as our textbook is inclined to do. That is the kind of questions that kids have to be able to answer for high stakes testing, but it's not the kind that's going to make them say, "I felt just like that when my mom moved out." or "This book reminds me of that other book we just read."
My favorite teacher reason for using the Reading Question Card is it eliminates all excuses for why students didn't write something on their school reading log each day. If you can't think of something to write, grab a reading question card!
What tips and tricks do you have for getting reluctant readers and writers moving?
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 6:58 AM No comments:
Labels: reading, tips and tricks
Monday, January 30, 2012
Make It A Pirate Party
So I just hosted my 3 year old's pirate birthday party. Here we are at Make It Monday, and I thought I'd share my tips for how to make a fun party without spending much moolah! As you know you can spend a gazillion dollars on a kid party--whether it's for family, friends, or students. In fact there is even a lot of marketing that says this is what "good" grownups are supposed to do. If it's what you want to do, that's one thing, but if it is a have to, forget it.
Here are some of my best cheap bits.
The menu:
We were going to buy subs and add sails to them, but instead we just made them. It was way less expensive than buying an oversized sub sandwich to serve the same number of people. We added sails from a ship to make it look more thematic!
Goldfish crackers! The birthday boy loved a variety of goldfish crackers, and who wouldn't?
There was also "Shells and Seaweed" pasta salad with spinach noodles and shell pasta.
Daddy made peanut butter cupcakes with a rolo in the middle. I made the little decorations with cheap stickers, frill picks, and index cards. I estimate that we made a decorated 30 cupcakes for less than the price of a half dozen from a cupcake bakery.
The decorations:
The centerpiece was an old chest filled with gold coins and a toy pirate ship covered with pirate finger puppets. We hung jolly roger penants all around the house. ($6 from oriental trading co. for all of it)
Also, because I'm a nerdy teacher, we set pirate picture books all around the house--from the library for free.
Here are some of my/our favorites:
- The Day I Became A Pirate
- Pirates Don't Do Diapers
- Louise, The Adventures Of A Chicken
- Gingerbread Pirates
- Archie And The Pirates
We also had pirate bandanas and eye patches for everyone. (Oriental Trading Co., too)
It wasn't fancy, but it was so fun. May you find fun in the party you host.
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Labels: pirate party, sam
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Pirate Party Palooza!
Yep, we had Sam's 3rd birthday party yesterday. (Monday is his actual birthday.) It was by far the most low key party we've done in a long time, but it was still really fun. There were lots of things I really wanted to do to add to the event, and I always think I need to make more food, but it was super fun!
Tomorrow I'm going to offer some of my tips on how to make a fun pirate party on the super cheap!
Try our slideshow maker at Animoto.
Tomorrow I'm going to offer some of my tips on how to make a fun pirate party on the super cheap!
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 9:37 AM 1 comment:
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I'm A Brave Teacher and We're Moving Classrooms!
Everyday I'm a brave teacher. There are some days and weeks that require so much more courage! This is one of those weeks that is amazing on many fronts, but the amount of "stuff" requires huge courage.
On Monday I found out my classroom was being moved. I was not blindsided. I volunteered, but I found out on Monday that we were moving within the week. We've already started the move to a bigger airier classroom, and it's lots of work. Friday is the official move desks, switch lockers, drag boxes, etc. I'm also continuing to teach and grade. And, oh, yeah, I'm having more dental work done tomorrow. Did I mention I'm doing a 3 year old pirate birthday party on Saturday?
It's nuts! I'm surprisingly calm and completely exhausted and it's only Wednesday night!
What are the lessons for me?
- 4th graders can get enthusiastic and ask about a million questions about anything!
- This experience, just like all the others, is not going to be perfect and smooth, it's OK.
- I'm not going to handle the experience or any other perfectly, and I'm still OK.
- I always have a choice to be positive or negative.
- The kindness and generosity of others is always amazing.
- I can let go of stuff to make room for more life.
- There is an end in sight to this very long week.
- I can always practice yoga off the mat--just breath!
I'm sure there are lots more, too, but I'm too brain dead to focus!
I am so a brave teacher with amazing students, and we're moving to Room 14!
What's up in your brave little corner of the universe?
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 6:44 PM 1 comment:
Labels: brave teacher
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Everyday Math Game Organization
For 5 years now I've tried to figure out how to store my Everyday Math games. I took lots of other people's ideas because they sounded smart and organized, but in the end none of them worked for me. This year I finally has a system that works fairly well for me and my students.
I got lots of the magazine boxes at IKEA. They're plain white. I just write the name of the game, and then I put the game sheets in that box. For some games I have laminated copies of the game sheets or boards. I also place the plain old copied papers in there. Next to the magazine boxes I have lots of little boxes with a pair of dice, a deck of math game cards, and beans for counters.
How do I know the system is working? Kids rarely interrupt me in my small teaching group to ask for directions!
What organizational tips do you have?
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 5:59 AM 1 comment:
Labels: everyday math, tips and tricks
Monday, January 23, 2012
Make It Monday: Altoid Tin Upcycling
Welcome to Make It Monday!
When I have a little project that I've made or want to make, I will share them here on Mondays in the future.
Today I'm sharing an ongoing project in this ongoing series. I'm going to share different ways I'm using Altoid tins. I love these things! I shared my first project HERE last summer. I still really like my little box of affirmations.
I've been thinking what else I could do. If you like the box in the photos above, here's how to make your own:
You need: empty Altoid tin, your choice of tissue paper (torn into pieces the size of postage stamps), Mod Podge, a foam brush
1. Apply a layer of Mod Podge on the outside of tin
2. Begin applying layers of tissue paper. (I applied about 4-5 layers)
3. You're done with this part when you like the way it looks!
4. Use scraps of scrapbooking paper or colorful index cards
5. Write journaling prompts for yourself (or your students) on the cards.
Here were some of my prompts:
~What enchanted me today?
~What did I do today that could be enchanting?
~What could I do to feel more enchanted and magical?
~What did I do today that required courage?
~How would I like to enchant others today (or tomorrow)?
~Did I resist being enchanting or enchanted today?
~What do I observe right now in this moment?
I'm sure you can think of lots more that serve you!
I think this would also make a fun little gift--a blank book/journal, a pen (or set of pens) and a tin full of writing prompts! I know I would like to receive such a gift!
Another site with "manly" projects with Altoid tins is HERE. (Love these!)
What are you making these days?
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Labels: altoid tin, make it monday
Saturday, January 21, 2012
It's All About Perspective
The universe is conspiring in my favor.
(It's conspiring in your favor, too--even if it doesn't seem like it right now!)
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 10:06 PM No comments:
Labels: brave, brave. thoughts
Friday, January 20, 2012
Enchantment: Week 3
Happy Friday, Brave People Everywhere!
This week I think the two things I've been most enchanted by are;
Quotes from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
here and here and here is what I wrote last year
and some amazing blogs. (I'm not sure why I'm being so drawn to design blogs these days--hmmm)
kyla roma and life is a canvas (I love her new art journal prompts!) and curly girl and lesley myrick
oh, and I must not forget pirate party goodness. Here are some crazy pirate cakes--I don't know if I'm inspired or frightened. (Yep, we're having a pirate themed party for the soon to be 3 year old, Samuel)
I was also inspired by the brave teachers who came to the Play Day at my house!
What's enchanting you?
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Handson Crayon Rock Cycle
Kids really like this science activity, and it's another low/no cost science lesson.
I first saw this activity here.
Here's what we did:
1. Invite kids to bring in old crayons.
2. Every kid selects 2 or 3 crayons, a plastic sandwich bag, and a pair of scissors.
3. Kids shave crayons with scissors. It takes a llllloooooooong time, but not thousands or millions of years! (The first day I demonstrate the process and kids shave crayons, and that's it for the 40 min. class)
4. To create sedimentary rock, students apply pressure with the heel of their shoe onto the shavings in the baggie.
5. To create metamorphic rock students heat hands with friction and press with hands against baggie.
6. To create igneous rock, shavings can be placed in foil and floated in hot water (this is what I do when I demonstrate) or to melt many crayons in a short amount of time, we use a hair dryer.
There are many different ways that students can record their experience and findings. We do this in our science notebooks. It's a winner. Enjoy!
What activities do your young scientists enjoy?
What science is working for you?
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Labels: science, tips and tricks
Friday, January 13, 2012
Enchantment: Week 2
It's been another enchanting week!
It was also the last week of the semester for my students, so I'm knee deep in wrapping up work and cleaning up stuff. And it was my birthday week, too!
Here are some enchantments:
~Having my birthday breakfast at The Enchanted Cafe. I was especially enchanted because they made Sam a kitty cat pancake, complete with chocolate whiskers.
~Fantastic free printables over at Kind Over Matter. I'm so often enchanted by KOM, but this was a must see on my birthday.
~Starting Body Renovation is equal parts enchanting and frightening--I know I'm going to see the good, bad and ugly and be more amazing for it!
~Here's a fun one--let yourself be enchanted: Unicorn name generator: Mine is Tulip Pretty Mane--I'm a little bossy and pretty as a picture!
~I was super enchanted by my families generosity for me birthday--a SUPER EXTRAORDINARY Chocolate Cheesecake made by my brother Tim and Adobe goodness from my Dad and Jon.
I'm so blessed! It is good to be me!
What's enchanting you this week?
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 6:48 PM 1 comment:
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Super Excited For A New Class
For the past couple years my birthday present to myself is an online class. {Yep, my birthday is this week!--January 12} I can't imagine anything better for me. It really connects me to the kind of community that feeds my spirit. Each year it has been a real game changer for me.
Two years ago I did Mondo Beyondo with Jen and Andrea.
Last year I did Soul Restoration with Melody Ross.
These were both so powerful and fun! I'm still feeling the impact and reaping the rewards in my life!
This year, today, I'm starting Body Restoration with Melody Ross. I know this is going to be powerful and rich and difficult. I can't wait to dash home from school today and get started!
I know I'm so blessed to even be able to afford the time and the money to gift myself this way. Have you taken any of these classes?
Anyone out there taking Body Restoration?
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Labels: brave girls club, mondo beyondo
Friday, January 6, 2012
Enchantment: Week 1
I'm going to blog about what is enchanting me each week this year. Some of it will be online and some of it will be real world. So here we go!
~I am completely enchanted by Sam's pretend play. Tonight he had a silly putty egg with a marble in it, and he said, "This is Henry. He is a talking egg. He's my favorite." He then put him (it?) on the bannister and said, "He's going on a roller coaster."
~I'm enchanted by Body Restoration, a Brave Girls Club online course that begins next week. It's going to be sooo good.
~I'm always enchanted by people who use small spaces, but this is amazing!
~Edible Columbus--I received a copy of this when I was on my little retreat last week. This is a stunning magazine and more devoted to local food.
~My house is feeling a little stale, and I'm enchanted by the thought of creating a more {restorative} environment in my home--an oasis for my little family and others.
What's enchanting you today?
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 5:35 AM No comments:
Monday, January 2, 2012
How I Spent My Winter Vacation
I'm joining a Linky Party about how I spent my winter vacation. I'm just making a list of highlights--some of these have links to spots where you can see pictures or read more.
I've had a great winter vacation. I've been busy, but not too busy.
December 22 - 23 Making gingerbread snowman cookies for Santa with a 2 year old was the highlight along with cooking, wrapping gifts, cleaning and holiday preparations
December 24 We hosted a Birthday Party for Jesus with 8 preschoolers in the morning. We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. I was too tired to stay up to go to church. I was in bed asleep before I could even hear reindeer paws on the roof. I'm not sure which part of that was the highlight!
December 25 We walk up to realize that Santa had visited our house. We opened gifts, ate baked pumpkin french toast, and then we left our house on our secret mission. We also went to church and then celebrated with my husbands part of the family. I think the secret mission was my highlight.
December 26 We caught our breath at home, played with new toys, and I started reading The Right Brained Business Plan.
December 27 - 28 Sam spent the first ever night away from both parents. The grown ups had a retreat at True Nature. It was our Christmas gift to ourselves and each other. It was perhaps the highlight of the whole break!
December 29 - 30 I did some reading, made some art, worked on some improvements and expansions of the Brave Teachers website, and discovered a new tv series, Leverage. I felt both productive and relaxed! I felt so good I put a great deal up on Brave Teachers for just a week.
December 31 Cleaned up the house for our New Year's Feast, and went to First Night Akron. The highlight of First Night was a Beatles tribute band called Hard Days Night.
January 1 Hosted a New Year Day feast with some family and friends. I announced my word for 2012, too.
January 2 Today is the last day of break, and I don't want to sound greedy, but there is possible lake effect snow, and I can't help but smile at the thought of an extended break!!!
What were the highlights of your Winter Vacation? Read other people's highlights HERE.
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 8:47 AM No comments:
Labels: linky party
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Enchantment is the Word of 2012
You might be wondering how I ended up with the word {enchantment} as my word for this new year. Here is a bit of the journey--
It actually started months ago--maybe August, when my friend Lori told me I was an enchanting person. She then asked me if I had read the book Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki. I was truly enchanted by the book. It impacted the way I approached my new school year, my interpersonal connections, and my business dreams for Brave Teachers. I'm rereading it these days.
When I started to think about a word for the new year (around Thanksgiving) nothing jumped out at me. I started to feel some pressure. I'm telling everyone else to do this word for the year thing, while I'm having a block! Every direction I was going was toward calm and peace and serenity, but I couldn't really settle anywhere. Enchantment did flutter by, but it never stuck.
And then this past week it flew in, it stuck, it let off some fireworks in my heart. Voila! I had my word for the year. The same day I was watching a video about Italy {sigh} and there was this quote:
"Enchantment is both the capacity of the world to charm us and the spell that comes upon us when we open ourselves up to the magic in everyday experiences." (Thomas Moore)
Perfect, I thought!
This year I want to be both enchanting to the people who pass through my life, but I also want to be enchanted by people and places and experiences I live. Some of my favorite synonyms for enchantment are: amazed, awed, captivated, delighted, ecstatic, enraptured, magical, wonder-struck, and wonder-working.
I'm not sure what all that means for me, but I believe it's going to be and enchanting year!
If you still haven't picked a word for the year, grab this free mini-workbook.
HERE is an amazing post (and cautionary tale) from Andrea Scher about the impact of a word of the year.
Best wishes to you wherever your new year takes you!
Posted by Brave Teacher Mim at 2:33 PM No comments:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Young-Kyung Min
University of Colorado - Boulder
ESL writing is complex because it involves both a language acquisition process and a composing process. Although the development of good language skills is essential for ESL writers, the importance of guiding them in their language acquisition process is not clearly reflected in writing center pedagogy and tutor training (Leki; Myers; Nowacki; Powers; Williams & Severino). Writing center pedagogy tends to prioritize higher order concerns over lower order concerns by separating writing issues from language issues. This separation is problematic for ESL writers because ESL writing can never be broken down neatly into writing issues and language issues (Blau and Hall; Cogie et al.; Myers; Powers).
In order to develop more culturally responsive tutoring practices for ESL writers, I argue that we must reflect on the good intentions behind the "No-Editing" policy at many writing centers. The idea of "editing" tends to be criticized at writing centers; it projects an image of the tutor holding the red pen and correcting all the grammatical mistakes for the writer while the writer simply observes. This practice is against the philosophy of the writing center, which is to produce better writers, not better writing (North 438). The "No-Editing" policy should be re-examined when it comes to ESL tutoring sessions because ESL writers are "not engaged merely in "editing" but in learning a new language," and their errors are persistent evidence of normal second language learning and processing, not some failure on the part of students (Myers, "Reassessing" 52). It is crucial to guide ESL students in their language acquisition process because it is "indeed the linguistic component (vocabulary and syntax) as much or more than what is considered the writing (rhetorical) component that ESL students need most" (ibid).
In order to provide more effective guidance in ESL students' language acquisition process, I argue that we should combine instruction in grammar with vocabulary. As much as it is problematic to separate writing issues from language issues, the separation of grammar from vocabulary is also problematic. In most writing centers, tutors are trained to guide students to recognize how the grammatical aspects of their writing change depending on the audience, purpose, genre, and topic of the assignment. The so-called "rhetorical grammar approach" (Kolln and Gray) may not work effectively for ESL writers simply because, in order to discuss writing at the rhetorical level, the writer must have the language to be able to do so. I argue that it is a lexical grammar approach that combines instruction in grammar with vocabulary—rather than a strict rhetorical grammar approach—that can more effectively assist ESL writers in their language acquisition process.
This paper discusses practical strategies that tutors can use to facilitate ESL writers' language acquisition process at writing centers by employing a lexical grammar approach that combines instruction in grammar with vocabulary. It illustrates how to move a sentence-level tutoring process from an editor-dynamic to an educator-dynamic, which can ultimately enhance ESL students' self-editing skills. The target audience that this approach aims to assist includes both international and Generation 1.5 students. The term "1.5" is a designator that points out the in-between identities of immigrant students even if they are fourth or fifth generation in terms of the immigrant histories of their families. They are the so-called "ear learners" (Reid), having grown up speaking and listening to English. Although they are familiar with some aspects of American culture and language, they often struggle with sentence structure since they have not been trained in the formal rules of the English language. Thus, the lexical grammar approach explained in this paper can be useful for Generation 1.5 students as well.
Lexical Grammar: Beyond a Grammar and Vocabulary Dichotomy
Research has continuously shown that some aspects of language that have been dealt with under grammar in the area of second language (L2) acquisition are actually lexical in nature (Myers; Nakamaru; Nation). Language is a grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar (Lewis). It is thus inappropriate to divide a language into grammar and vocabulary (Folse; McCarthy and O'Dell). Lexis plays a much more prominent role in the student's second language learning because "lexical learning drives grammatical learning" (Tschirner 120). Developing students' vocabulary skills ultimately facilitates richer listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities (Hennings; Hinkel; Laufer and Yano).
The significance of enhancing ESL students' awareness of the fundamental interdependence between grammar and lexis is widely recognized in the field of TESOL (Carter; Folse; McCarthy and O'Dell; Nation). However, very little research looks into how writing center tutors can facilitate ESL students' language acquisition process by guiding them to become more aware of the fundamental connection between lexis and grammar. Although tutors actually work on lexical issues in their sessions with ESL writers, they often characterize their feedback on L2 writers' papers as "grammar" and "content" (Nakamaru). Tutors do not need to spend a lot of time to develop strategies to increase students' awareness of their errors because "most student errors are actually lexical, and if they don't have the appropriate word or lexical phrase, no editing will provide it. A great many tangles in 'syntax' are a result of circumlocutions—vocabulary problems, not grammar problems" (Myers, "Reassessing" 58).
Thus, it is important to help ESL students become more aware of the interconnection between lexis and grammar. By combining instruction in grammar with vocabulary, tutors can more effectively guide students to learn how semantically similar words have different syntactic and pragmatic usages. In this regard, it is essential to help students learn the collocational partnerships of words. As the word parts "co" and "location" suggest, a collocation is a word or phrase that is frequently used near the target word. The three conditions for learners to be able to say they know a word are: which words it is usually associated with (lexical collocation); what grammatical characteristics it has (grammatical collocation); and how it is pronounced and spelled (McCarthy). The most important aspect of knowing a word is its collocational partnerships (Carter; Folse; McCarthy and O'Dell; Myers; Nation). Learning chunks and groups of words that go together is a very effective way to expand a student's vocabulary power (ibid.). In essence, a student's communicative competence goes hand in hand with vocabulary competence, and vocabulary competence goes hand in hand with collocational competence.
Dictionary Potential and Dictionary Training
One of the most essential resources to help students enhance their knowledge of the collocational partnerships of words is the monolingual English dictionary. Numerous studies indicate that increasing recognition of the importance of explicit vocabulary training in second language (L2) learning should be accompanied by a greater awareness of the dictionary's potential (Cogie et al.; Linville). Monolingual dictionaries can help learners develop a more solid awareness of the collocational partnerships of words since meaning and other information are provided in the same language as the target word (Knight; Luppescu & Day). Bilingual dictionaries do help learners quickly grasp the meanings of words, especially for words that are difficult to translate into English. The immediate semantic association between the L2 word and the L1 word can help learners reinforce the meanings of words and retain them in long-term memory. However, the constant use of a bilingual dictionary holds learners back from developing both a feel or intuition for words and the skill of paraphrasing to make up for words they do not know. Using bilingual dictionaries as the only reference source may hinder students from developing a sufficient writing vocabulary because, as noted earlier, bilingual dictionaries focus on the translations of words rather than usages. Let me explain this point further through the following common ESL writing errors:
- The management team consists with John, Mary, and Benjamin.
- The United Nations is made up with more than 200 individual nations.
- The human body comprises of billions of tiny cells.
- The house is comprised two bedrooms, one kitchen, one bathroom, and one living room.
ESL students tend to make these errors in writing because they directly translate from their native languages to English using bilingual dictionaries. The syntactic and pragmatic differences between words that have similar meanings are not clearly explained in most bilingual dictionaries. In other words, the collocational partnerships of "consist," "comprise," "constitute," and "make up" are not readily available. When students see that "consist" has the same meaning as "comprise," "constitute," and "make up" in their bilingual dictionaries, they use these words interchangeably. Thus, it is crucial for ESL students to learn the collocational partnerships of words by using monolingual English dictionaries.
Encoding/Production Dictionary
Based on my experience of learning English as a foreign language and teaching ESL writing courses for over 18 years, a very useful resource that can help L2 writers effectively learn the collocational partnerships of words is an "encoding" dictionary, also known as a "production" dictionary. It is a monolingual dictionary, but it is not a typical dictionary. As the name "encoding" suggests, in the encoding dictionary words are organized (systematically grouped together) by meaning not by alphabetical order. It shows how semantically similar words have different syntactic and pragmatic usages. The dictionary can promote a deeper level of processing words and can more effectively help learners increase their knowledge of collocational partnerships by comparing differences in word usages based on specific examples. The most common encoding/production dictionary available on the market is the Longman Language Activator: Helps You Write and Speak Natural English. The following is an example from the dictionary for the entry "consist of/be made of":
Consist of: Bolognaise sauce consists of minced beef, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and seasoning. / Lorna's whole wardrobe consisted of jeans, tee shirts and sweaters. / The senior management team consists of John, Betty, and Ken. / He mixed a special drink, consisting of gin, vodka, and cherry brandy.
Be made of: The candlesticks are made of brass. / She mixed a batter made of flour, eggs and water. / What's this carpet made of?
Be made up of: The US government is made up of two legislative assemblies – Congress and the Senate. / The United Nations is made up of more than 200 individual nations. / The jury was mostly made up of women.
Be composed of: The earth's atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. / The human body is composed of billions of tiny cells.
Comprise: The house comprises 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. / The city's population comprises mainly Asians and Europeans.
As illustrated in the examples, the encoding/production dictionary can promote a deeper level of processing words by presenting how semantically similar words have different syntactic and pragmatic usages, a feature missing from dictionaries designed for native speakers. By comparing differences in word usages with specific examples, students can more effectively increase their knowledge of collocational partnerships. Students can learn the fundamental connection between grammar and vocabulary. They can also learn that they do not need to depend solely on grammar books; they can enhance their grammatical knowledge through the dictionary. As the name Longman Language Activator: Helps You Write and Speak Natural English suggests, the dictionary can expand learners' reading (receptive) vocabulary to a more accurate writing (productive) vocabulary. It is crucial that vocabulary is learned not only receptively but also productively for the learner's academic literacy development (Folse; Nation).
This kind of encoding/production dictionary can also be a useful resource for ESL tutoring sessions at writing centers. It is not easy for ESL students to understand why the expression "is consisted of" is not grammatically correct when "is comprised of" and "is made up of" are (e.g. "The human body is comprised of billions of tiny cells" and "The human body is made up of billions of tiny cells"). Thus, instead of simply crossing out "is" when tutors see the sentence "The human body is consisted of billions of tiny cells" in an ESL student's paper, they should guide the student to learn the grammatical collocations of the word "consist" by comparing its syntactic and pragmatic differences with words that that have similar meaning such as "comprise," "compose," and "make up." Tutors should provide further guidance when ESL writers still have difficulty understanding the syntactic and pragmatic differences between the words by presenting specific examples such as the following:
- Water consists of Hydrogen and Oxygen.
- Water is made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen.
- Water is comprised of Hydrogen and Oxygen.
- Water comprises Hydrogen and Oxygen.
This way, students can see more clearly the syntactic and pragmatic differences of the expressions "consist of," "be made up of," "be comprised of," and "comprise." The process of helping ESL students learn how semantically similar words have different syntactic and pragmatic usages can ultimately help them develop self-editing strategies. As tutors lead students to develop their self-editing strategies by utilizing this type of dictionary, they become "educators" rather than just "editors." As the very word suggests, "editing" is a short-term fix, but "educating" is a long term process. Guiding students to develop self-editing skills is essential for fulfilling the mission of a writing center: to help students become better writers. Thus, in order to turn an "editing" moment into an "educating" moment, it is crucial that tutors be equipped with a good knowledge of how the English language works and to recognize the depth of the sentence level problems involved in the second language acquisition process.
Editing vs. Educating
The strategy of organizing words in a systematic manner and reviewing them at regular intervals is very important for both word retention and facilitation of the student's later production (Folse; Matsuda; McCarthy). Thus, as students learn collocational partnerships of words, tutors should foster their systematic reflection on their language acquisition process by guiding them to recognize the patterns of errors in their papers, to correct them, and to document them. Many ESL students may feel quite embarrassed about errors in their writing and want to clean up all the errors that their instructors or writing center tutors point out. They correct simple errors, such as awkward sentence construction or word choices, and then they put away their paper. However, students may make the same mistakes over and over again if they just put away their paper after inserting other people's feedback. Often, students do not even realize that they make the same mistake over and over. If they are not aware of the problem, they won't be able to fix it.
Thus, in order to help them become better writers, tutors should cultivate students' ability to learn from the revision process and to more fully incorporate their reflective thinking into their writing process. As students reflect on their most frequent errors with guidance from tutors, they become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses as writers. And if the feedback they receive guides them to identify and document their errors under the guidance of a tutor, they can also develop self-editing skills. Research has shown that ESL students can become proficient self-editors if they are provided with the necessary guidance and training (Cogie et al.; Ferris; Linville). Students can also realize that visiting the writing center is not just a one-time event. As noted earlier, "editing" is a short-term fix, but "educating" is a long term process. Thus, it is important for tutors to foster students' systematic reflection on their language acquisition process.
A pedagogical strategy that tutors can use to effectively cultivate students' systematic reflection on their language acquisition process is to guide them to keep a vocabulary journal. Numerous studies indicate that reviewing vocabulary at regular intervals is a very effective technique for learners to develop a feel for their learned vocabulary and to enhance their learning of English (Carter; Roberts). Learners acquire new lexical items by meeting them at least seven times (Huizenga & Huizenga), and a minimum of 12 exposures to a word is needed for them to develop solid vocabulary knowledge of it (Meara). And overall, it takes at least seven years to acquire an academic vocabulary (Collier).
A vocabulary journal is more than just an error log or a feedback log. A vocabulary journal is a space where students can practice words and expand their meaning while they are acquiring new vocabulary. In their journals, students identify the patterns of errors in their papers, correct them, and document them by including personal examples (anecdotes, memories, or feelings) that can help them develop a feel for the target word and retrieve the word later. In order to increase their ability to use and retain the word, students should include a synonym or antonym of the word in their vocabulary journals (Nation). They should also document various pieces of information about the target word such as lexical and grammatical patterns, register, pronunciation, part of speech (e.g. noun, verb, adjective), etc. Keeping a vocabulary journal ultimately helps them develop receptive (reading) vocabulary into productive (writing) vocabulary. It can prevent students from being preoccupied with grammatical rules: they become more aware of the interdependence between lexis and grammar. Keeping a vocabulary journal can also help facilitate students' metalinguistic awareness, which is crucial for their second language development.
Writing Center Tutors as Language Informants
The main difference between the native and non-native student conferences at writing centers is the increased emphasis on the tutor's role as "an informant in the second language conference" (Powers 45). The concept of "informant"—rather than "facilitator" or "collaborator"—indicates the importance of providing clear, effective guidance for ESL writers. It points out that a more direct approach (rather than a dialectic approach) and a hands-on approach (rather than a hands-off approach) is needed when it comes to assisting ESL writers in their language acquisition process. The writing center tutor in an ESL session should not simply be "a living human body who is willing to sit patiently and help the student spend time with her paper" (Brooks 2). It is well known that the so-called minimalist approach is not effective when it comes to ESL tutoring sessions (Bruce and Rafoth; Cooper). In order to become an effective informant for ESL writers, tutors should take a more active approach—an approach that can have a long-term influence on their language acquisition and composing processes.
In reality, good grammar is often included as part of the intended outcomes for many writing courses. The Writing Program Administration Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition clearly states the control of grammar and syntax as part of the intended outcomes. However, the teaching of grammar as a primary focus of writing instruction is often perceived as "diminishing the importance of other levels of discourse" (Myers, "ReMembering" 610). Grammar teaching has a "negligible" and "harmful effect on writing" because it takes time away from other important rhetorical aspects of writing (Braddock, Lloyd-Jones, and Schoer 37-38), and the knowledge of grammar is too complex for teachers and students to teach and learn (Hartwell). Indeed, many writing center tutors find that they are not "familiar enough with linguistic concepts to be able to answer ESL students' questions" (Rafoth 213). Tutors do not make earnest efforts to improve their understanding of how the English language works because "English is made up of random rules and no real explanation is possible or that grammar is logical" (ibid). Tracing a decline in the Conference on College Composition and Communication sessions on "language" Susan MacDonald states in her article "the Erasure of Language" that "our difficulties in consistently naming and categorizing our relation to language study are signs of a professional weakness" (619). She argues:
We have spent too much time on fruitless, reductive arguments and straw men and not enough time either on basic understanding of the English language or on sorting out, evaluating, and revisiting the arguments that have ended in the current impasse and the neglect of language. (618)
Encouraging tutors to improve their understanding of how the English language works will benefit not only our ESL writers but also the professional discussions we have in writing centers, English departments, and on campus. With the number of international and immigrant students on university campuses rapidly growing, it is crucial for writing center tutors to have a good understanding of pedagogic grammar—grammar as "a set of teachable and learnable rules that are informed by usage-based descriptive grammars" (Matsuda 151). Various types of pedagogic grammar books are available on the market, but the pedagogic grammar books that I recommend for tutors are Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (2005), Azar and Hagen's Understanding and Using English Grammar (2009), Scott Thornbuy's How to Teach Grammar (2000), and Celce-Murcia, Freeman, and Williams's The Grammar Book: AnESL/EFL Teacher's Course (1999).
The demographics of US institutions of higher education have greatly changed over the last four decades with an increasing enrollment of international and immigrant students in writing courses and their subsequent usage of writing centers across the nation. Given the rapidly growing number of L2 students on university campuses, it is increasingly important for writing centers to develop effective tutoring strategies for ESL students' second language acquisition process. In order to develop more culturally responsive tutoring practices for ESL writers at writing centers, I argue that we must reflect on the good intentions behind the "No-Editing" policy and recognize the unrealistic expectations for language learning and academic literacy development embedded in it.
The writing center is a meeting point between languages, literacies, cultures, and learning styles. Institutionally, the writing center is a meeting point between the English Department and the Linguistics Department on campus. It is indeed the "contact zone" (Pratt) on campus. When writing center pedagogy prioritizes higher order concerns over lower order concerns by separating language issues from writing issues (as if a "Language Skills Center" should be established to address only "lower order concerns"), the writing center is no longer the contact zone. The "No-Editing" policy reinforces the division of labor between ESL writing teachers and composition teachers, and the institutional boundary that separates the English Department from the Linguistics Department.
These days, the new term "multiliteracy center" is used to re-define the work of the writing center as a multimodal activity in the oral, written, visual, and auditory dimensions (Trimbur 29). In order for a writing center to become a multiliteracy center in a true sense, it is crucial to embrace the actual needs of ESL writers by providing assistance in the oral, written, visual, and auditory dimensions. A writing center cannot become a true multiliteracy center, if it evades the responsibility to guide students in their language acquisition process by separating language issues from writing issues; ESL writers' language acquisition process is an integral part of their composing process.
In this paper, I have discussed practical strategies that tutors can use to move a sentence-level tutoring process from an editor-dynamic to an educator-dynamic. In order to facilitate ESL writers' language acquisition process at writing centers, tutors should employ a lexical grammar approach that combines instruction in grammar with vocabulary. Thus, writing center administrators should provide the needed training in lexical grammar for their tutors to enhance tutors' basic understanding of how the English language works. As illustrated in the paper, in order to turn an "editing" moment into an "educating" moment in ESL sessions, it is essential for tutors to have a good knowledge of the pedagogical grammar of English as a second/foreign language.
I am grateful to Steve Lamos and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper.
Works Cited
Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed. White Plains: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.
Blau, Susan R., and John Hall. "Guilt Free Tutoring: Rethinking How we Tutor Non-Native- English–Speaking Students." The Writing Center Journal 23.1 (2002): 23-44. Print.
Braddock Richard, Richard Lloyd-Jones and Lowell Schoer. Research in Written Composition. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1963. Print.
Brooks, Jeff. "Minimalist Tutoring: Making the Student Do All the Work." Writing Lab Newsletter 15.6 (1991): 1-4. Print.
Bruce, Shanti, and Ben Rafoth, eds. ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Boynton/Cook, 2009. Print.
Carter, Ronald. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspectives. London: Routledge, 1998. Print.
Celce-Murcia, Marianne, Diane Larsen-Freeman, and Howard Alan Williams. The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course. 2nd ed. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1999. Print.
Connors, Robert. "The Erasure of the Sentence." College Composition and Communication 52 (2000): 96-128. Print.
Cogie, Jane, Kimberly Strain, and Sharon Lorinskas. "Avoiding the Proofreading Trap: The Value of Error Correction Strategies." The Writing Center Journal 19.2 (1999): 19-39. Print.
Collier, Virginia. "Age and Rate of Acquisition of Second Language for Academic Purposes." TESOL Quarterly 21.4 (1987): 617-41. Print.
Cooper, Marylin. "Really Useful Knowledge: A Cultural Studies Agenda for Writing Centers." The Writing Center Journal 14.2 (1994): 97-111. Print.
Ferris, Dana. "Can Advanced ESL Students Become Effective Self-Editors?" CATESOL Journal 8.1 (1995): 41–62. Print.
—————. Response to Student Writing: Implications for Second Language Students. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003. Print.
Folse, Keith. Vocabulary Myths: Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2004. Print.
Hartwell, Patrick. "Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar." College English 47.2 (1985): 105-127. Print.
Hennings, Dorothy. "Contextually Relevant Word Study: Adolescent Vocabulary Development across the Curriculum." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 44.3 (2000): 268-279. Print.
Hinkel, Eli. Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. Print.
Huizenga, Jan, and Linda Huizenga. Can You Believe It? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.
Knight, Susan. "Dictionary Use While Reading: The Effects on Comprehension and Vocabulary Acquisition for Students of Different Verbal Abilities." Modern Language Journal 78.3 (1994): 285-299. Print.
Kolln, Martha. and Gray, Loretta. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. Print
Laufer, Batia, and Yasukata Yano. "Understanding Unfamiliar Words in a Text: Do L2 Learners Understand How Much They Don't Understand?" Reading in a Foreign Language 13.2 (2001): 539-566. Print.
Leki, Ilona. "Before the Conversation: A Sketch of Some Possible Backgrounds, Experiences, and Attitudes Among ESL Students Visiting the Writing Center." ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors, 2nd edition. Eds. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2009. 1-17. Print.
Lewis, Michael. The Lexical Approach. Hove, UK: Language Teaching Publications, 1993. Print.
Linville, Cynthia. "Editing Line by Line." ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors, 2nd edition. Eds. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth. NH: Heinemann, 2009. 116-131. Print.
Longman Language Activator: Helps You Write and Speak Natural English. Longman UK, 2002. Print.
Luppescu, Stuart, and Day, Richard. "Reading, Dictionaries, and Vocabulary Learning." Language Learning 43.2 (1993): 263-287. Print.
MacDonald, Susan Peck. "The Erasure of Language." College Composition and Communication 58.4 (2007): 585-625. Print.
Matsuda, Paul. "Let's Face It: Language Issues and the Writing Program Administrator." WPA: Writing Program Administration 36.1 (2012): 141-163. Print.
McCarthy, Michael. Vocabulary. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996. Print.
McCarthy, Michael, and O'Dell, Felicity. English Collocations in Use. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.
Meara, Paul. Vocabulary in a Second Language. London: Center for Information on Language Teaching & Research, 1987. Print.
—————. "ReMembering the Sentence" College Composition and Computers 54.4 (2003a): 610-628. Print.
Myers, Sharon. "Reassessing the 'Proofreading Trap': ESL Tutoring and Writing Instruction." The Writing Center Journal 24.1 (2003b): 51-70. Print.
Nakamaru, Sarah. "Lexical Issues in Writing Center Tutorials with International and US- Educated Multilingual Writers." Journal of Second Language Writing 19.2 (2010): 95-113. Print.
Nation, Paul. Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.
North, Stephen. "The Idea of a Writing Center." College English 46 (1984): 433-46. Print.
Nowacki, Jessica. "An Ongoing ESL Training Program in the Writing Center." Praxis: A Writing Center Journal 9.2 (2012): 1-4. Print.
Powers, Judith K. "Rethinking Writing Center Conferencing Strategies for the ESL Writer." The Writing Center Journal 13.2 (1993): 39-47. Print.
Rafoth, B. "English for Those Who (Think They) Already Know It." ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. 2nd ed. Eds. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth. NH: Heinemann, 2009. 208-216. Print.
Reid, Joy. "'Eye' Learners and 'Ear' Learners: Identifying the Language Needs of International Students and U.S. Resident Writers." Grammar and the Composition Classroom: Essays on Teaching ESL for College-Bound Students. Eds. Patricia Byrd and Joy Reid. New York: Heinle and Heinle, 1998. 3-17. Print.
Pratt, Mary. "Arts of the Contact Zone." Profession 91 (1991): 33-40. Print.
Roberts, Elaine. "Critical Teacher Thinking and Imaginations: Uncovering Two Vocabulary Strategies to Increase Comprehension." Reading Horizons 4.1 (1999): 65-77. Print.
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
Thornbury, Scott. How to Teach Grammar. Harlow: Pearson ESL, 2000. Print.
Trimbur, John. "Multiliteracies, Social Futures, and Writing Centers." The Writing Center Journal 20.2 (2000): 29-32. Print.
Tschirner, Erwin. "From Grammar to Lexicon." The Coming Age of the Profession. Ed. Jane Harper, Madeleine Lively, and Mary Williams. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle (1998): 113-28. Print.
Williams, Jessica, and Severino, Carol. "The Writing Center & Second Language Writers." Journal of Second Language Writing 13 (2004): 165-172. Print.


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BAUW is a Proud Sponsor of the Barrington Police Benevolent Association Shop with a Cop.
On Sunday, December 17th, children and their families, gathered at the Barrington Public Safety building to enjoy breakfast, open presents and meet Santa. Partnering with Barrington Area United Way, the families enjoyed a shopping trip to Target where they bonded with the officers and United Way volunteers and shopped for clothing, shoes and other necessities. BAUW is proud to be making an impact in our community.


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Once there lived a girl afraid to call herself a woman. She grew older, not quite old yet but not as young as she once was. She struggled to find herself, to find a career, to find a purpose.
She found herself working at a shop and felt ashamed. To be a cashier, to take money for goods and answer asinine questions and to have no greater purpose than this, at the place where she spent a lot of her time. To be a background figure in the days of others. To spend time not helping, not healing, not hearing, not seeing.
She feared that this would be her life. That she would grow into being a woman, to grow older in truth, and remain working in a shop with no greater purpose. To lose what little creativity she had left, to have the lacking within her grow to untold proportions, to sleep and work and exist and do nothing more.
The story goes one of two ways: she does. She works as a cashier, and then maybe as something else, and drifts from job to job without finding her purpose. She spends the majority of her time existing rather than living. She forgets how to write except rarely, the creativity and dreams and lies and loves fade, and it is what it is: a life, not lived.
Or she doesn't. She struggles to find her way out of this hole that she's in, finds a purpose, finds her stride, and breaks out of the monotony and mundane nature of her life at present, and learns how to rejoice. It may take time. Time is hard. But time is all we have until we don't.


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WASHINGTON, September 12, 2016 — Renewable energy products driven by wind, solar and water powered energy sources offer great, environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional power sources. These technologies are being created, studied and tested, with the aim of offering alternative energy sources to numerous industries worldwide.
Ranging from ambitious, large scale projects like renewable energy, to smaller scale technologies for individual homes, solar energy products in particular are being deployed in a variety of ways. Such versatile products are proving extremely versatile, whether powering homes with innovative products like solar shingles, or miniaturizing solar technologies for small-scale products like solar-powered watches.
Other current examples of solar power use include the following:
Solar Backpacks
Solar backpacks offered by brands like BirkSun have built-in solar panels able to to charge the owners electronic devices. The backpacks absorb abundant solar energy from its solar panel that you can use to charge your phone, laptop device, or whatever else you're carrying that needs portable power. The backpack's battery pack can also be charged via a conventional a wall charger if you're experiencing a cloudy day. The BirkSun's solar backpack is a genius way to improve this everyday item especially in areas like the American Southwest where daily sunlight is virtually a constant. With so many different options, there's a solar powered backpack to suit nearly every lifestyle.
Solar powered lighting is becoming the norm in many different situations. Street lights, porch lights, and other types of outdoor lighting at sporting events, bus stops and walking paths are great examples of devices that benefit from solar powered lighting. Using the same solar technology that powers many other products, strategically placed solar panels absorb solar energy to supply power for outdoor lighting fixtures large and small. Not only are these lighting fixtures effectively operating off the grid. They are also proving cost effective, environmentally friendly, and safe to use. While we often see this kind of lighting employed on a larger scale, many solar powered lights and lighting system are available for home use.
Solar chargers come in all shapes and sizes and are extremely affordable. Despite not charging devices quite like a traditional wall charger, solar powered chargers available are great on-the-go accessories that only cost around $20. Many are designed to hang on your keychain or on a backpack from a carabiner, where they soak up the sun to be ready and waiting for use. There are many other solar chargers that cost more and work better, but they tend to be larger and not as easy to carry around. Solar chargers are not just available for phones and laptops on a consumer level. These devices are used for many other things like solar fencing chargers and solar generators with a wide variety of uses.
Bike Lock
The Skylock bike lock is a smart bike lock that does a whole lot more than just running on solar power. It provides the user with keyless entry, theft detection, crash alerts and more. Its keyless entry function connects to your phone so you never have to remember a code or keep a key. If you don't have your phone with you, it also offers a touch interface. Another key feature alerts people in a trusted network if you've been in a serious accident, lets you know if your lock is being tampered with, and share access to it with anyone in a network of your choosing. This technology wouldn't be possible if it weren't for Skylock's built-in solar panel that recharges its battery. Just 12 hours of sunlight will power it for 6 months.
Other Products
Solar products range from little dancing flowers to fully solar powered structures, like London's Blackfriars Bridge. The amount of solar powered gadgets continues to grow, and each one of the following combines a number of different properties.
ELF is an interesting mix between an electric car and a bicycle. Its solar roof panel supplies enough power to drive the device at speeds of up to about 20 mph. It can go about 15 miles on a charge, but can be peddled like a normal bicycle if the power is drained.
Solar Powered Cars
There aren't any solar powered cars commercially available. The Stanford Solar Car Project and the Ford C-Max Solar Energi concept are creating prototype cars with roof-top solar panels, but they're only concept cars for now.
Sonic Bloom
The Pacific Science Center in Seattle is home to an exhibit featuring five 33-foot flowers that absorb solar energy during the day and light up at night. They also hum when people come near them and are intended to raise awareness about renewable resources.
Two companies, Kaleidoscope and Orange, have teamed up to create a solar powered tent that soaks up solar energy during the day and illuminates itself at night, while also powering a camper's electronic devices.
We've already discussed a few different types of solar powered lighting. Moser Lamps are another example. They are simply plastic bottles filled with water and bleach. When installed in the roof of a house, sunlight refracts through the bottles to make them glow like lamps potentially providing cheap and renewable light for families all over the world.
Logitech's solar wireless keyboard charges using either the sun or artificial lighting as its source. It will keep a charge for up to three months, even in total darkness.
Renewable resources like solar energy are great for the environment. Because of this and also due to their efficiency and even portability, solar powered technologies are continuing to make their way into our lives. By taking advantage of the sun–an endlessly renewable resource–we are helping both ourselves and the environment. As additional renewable energy technologies are released in the future, customers will gain valuable knowledge regarding these alternative energy options. From solar tents to solar backpacks, the versatility of solar energy is becoming more relevant and more affordable.


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AI Will Tell If You Are Suicidal Or Depressed
Artificial intelligence has gone a long way in helping mankind with various tasks from something mundane as opening and closing a door to extraordinary ones such as determining a person's likes and dislikes and using that data to make his or her life easier. This time, researchers have found a way to use the technology in helping humans deal with mental illness such as depression and suicidal tendencies.
As NBC News reported, suicide ranks tenth in the list of causes of death in the United States. Around 45,000 people kill themselves each year. That's 120 people a day. Those figures may be lessened with the help of artificial intelligence.
Jessica Ribeiro, a psychologist from Florida State University has been relying on technology, particularly artificial intelligence to know more about depression and suicide. Ribeiro fed the health records of 3,200 people who had attempted suicide to an algorithm which then learned the patterns leading to a suicide attempt. Her research, which is funded by the Department of Defense, has been successful so far. The researchers' methods had a 92 percent accuracy of predicting a suicide attempt within the next week and 80 percent accuracy within the next couple of years.
Another group of researchers is looking at smartphones to help in tackling depression and suicide. Cogito Corporation has come up with an app called Companion which gathers and analyzes the patterns of communication and movement from the subject's smartphone. The app doesn't listen in on the actual conversations but takes note of the calls and miscalls which are then used to develop a risk score for the individual. The clinician handling the case will know if the patient needs additional attention once the score changes.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, USC, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center went about to find a solution to this problem and hopefully prevent people from committing suicide. What they did was to study three groups of people -- those who were depressed, suicidal and a control group. The researchers took notice of all the individuals' facial expressions and gestures during interviews. The information gathered were later fed to a machine-learning algorithm which then analyzed the connection among the various expressions and gestures with regards to the three different groups.
The study came to the conclusion that smiling is the most telling gesture of a depressed and suicidal person. In the study, people who exhibited the Duchenne smile were less likely to commit suicide than those who showed the non-Duchenne smile. The Duchenne smile is highlighted by the contraction of muscles around the eyes when smiling. In other words, people whose eye muscles do not contract when smiling or when the lip corners are pulled are more likely to contemplate suicide.
Facebook has also been doing its share in addressing the issue especially after a surge of suicides and violent crimes were broadcasted on Facebook Live. the social network is utilizing different suicide prevention tools including the use of artificial intelligence to recognize patterns and determine users who are possibly depressed and suicidal.
ExtremeTech stressed that while some people claims to be good at reading another person's moods and facial expressions, they can never really tell if that person is depressed or suicidal. The signs of those emotional states are much more subtle as pointed out by ExtremeTech. This means it's quite difficult to say if someone is suffering from depression or is already contemplating suicide. Take the case of the late funnyman Robin Williams and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. Their deaths took everyone by surprise simply because few or maybe even no one realized they were secretly suffering from depression. With the advancement in artificial intelligence, losses such as these would be prevented.
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flickr: that'sdebscakes
My mom got married last year and around this time I was painstakingly trying to create a cake for her shower using fondant. I LOVE baking..but in the past I never had any luck making my own fondant for my cakes. The fondant would be either too dry and flake all over when trying to roll out..or it would be too moist and just break apart in gooey pieces! Then I cam across a recipe for marshmallow fondant…and fell in love! 😀 Needless to say, with a little practice my mom's shower cake turned out beautifully..despite being a newbie fondant user!
If you (or a friend or relative!) are making your own wedding cake and want the clean, smooth look of fondant..this is the recipe for you! Marshmallow fondant (sometimes referred to as MM fondant) is extremely easy and affordable to make..rolls out nicely…and tastes really yummy too! After all..its main ingredient is little marshmallows!
Here are the instructions for whipping up a batch of your own…(And a youtube video I found as well!)
You will need…
- 16 oz. bag mini marshmallows (the better quality you buy the better it will turn out!)
- 2-5 tablespoons of water (Usually I use about 2-3!)
- 2 pounds of powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- Optional: Food coloring (I find the gel colors work best for me!)
Let's get started! 🙂
- Put marshmallows and 2 tbsp water in a microwavable bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat heating at 30 second intervals with stirring until the marshmallows have completely melted. (It will look like a liquidy fluff!)
- With a rubber spatula slowly begin to stir in the powdered sugar, adding the sugar in small batches and stirring until the fondant gets thick enough to be removed from the bowl.
- Once the fondant is thick enough, cover your hands and work area with a thin layer of shortening to prevent sticking and knead in the remaining sugar like you would knead bread. (It will be messy at first! This is why you grease your hands and remove all jewelry before starting this process. It will still stick to your hands a bit at first and almost look like silly putty until you finish adding the sugar. It will become more like bread dough as you knead!) If you are coloring your fondant you can add some of the coloring to the fondant during the kneading process. Knead until the color is uniform. It usually takes me about 8-10 minutes to knead to the point the fondant is no longer sticky and is more elastic in nature. If you have any doubts keep kneading..it will turn into a firm elastic ball if you keep at it!
- Once the ball has formed coat with a thin layer of shortening to prevent cracking.
- It is recommended you cover in plastic wrap and put in an air tight container to store overnight and then when ready to use remove the fondant from the wrapping and microwave 10 seconds so it is once again flexible. (If you are in a rush you can probably skip this step! The few times I made this fondant I made it right before draping my cake with it and it still worked out just fine. Remember – practice makes perfect! So try making the fondant and draping it on a cake a few times to get a feel for it before draping your wedding cake!)
Tips & Tricks:
- It is best if the marshmallow and water mixture is slightly watery before adding your sugar for the best consistency. This allows for enough flexibility when you are rolling out and working with it! Be careful not to make it too moist though – you don't want it so gooey it droops off the cake!
- After kneading if the fondant still seems too sticky you can add a little powdered sugar. If it is cracking it is dry and you can either add a little more water or try greasing the ball a little more.
- When not using the fondant cover it with plastic wrap or drape a damp towel over the bowl so it does not dry out.
- If not using the fondant immediately you can refrigerate it for weeks. Just make sure you coat it with a thin layer of shortening and store it in an airtight container.
- Make sure you put a thin layer(1/4″) of butter cream icing on your cake before draping it with the fondant. This will act as a sort of glue to hold the fondant in place and give the fondant the smooth look you are after!
That's it! Now it is ready to be rolled out and draped onto your yummy cake! 🙂 Here's a video from youtube showing the steps visually:
As always please send in your photos if you use this recipe…We would love to see!
flickr: annasophiaconfections2009
flickr: jchow11


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Lindsey Janies Photography
Lake Charles
- 726 Ryan St Suite D
- Lake Charles, LA 70601
- (337) 439-5367
- Website
Lindsey Janies is a wedding, commercial, & children's boutique photographer and artist in Southwest Louisiana located in Lake Charles, La. In order to truly experience her style & work, browse through the official website for her portfolio, information regarding her weddings, seniors, children, commercial, family, & maternity sessions. You can also find our fan page on facebook to view her most recent weddings, sessions, & events, as well as important news and updates for Lindsey Janies Photography.
Gallery & Satellite office is now located in the beautifully restored historic Charleston Hotel located in the heart of downtown Lake Charles (across from Pujo Street Cafe').
*Consultations, ordering sessions, & meetings are by appointment only.*


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Operation Wrath of God (Hebrew: מבצע זעם האל, Mivtza Za'am Ha'el), also called Operation Bayonet, was a covert operation directed by Israel and its security agency, Mossad, to assassinate individuals alleged to have been directly or indirectly involved in the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Their targets included members of the Palestinian militant group Black September, who were responsible for the Munich attack, and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accused of involvement. Authorized to begin by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, the operation may have continued for more than 20 years.
During this time, covert Israeli assassination units killed dozens of Palestinians and Arabs across Europe, including the mistaken murder of an innocent waiter in Lillehammer, Norway. An additional military assault was launched by Israeli commandos deep inside Lebanon to kill several high-profile Palestinian targets. This string of assassinations spurred retaliatory attacks by Black September against a variety of Israeli government targets around the world. It has also prompted criticism of Israel for its choice of targets, tactic of assassination, and overall effectiveness. Because of the secretive nature of the operation, some details are unverifiable beyond a single source.
The operation was depicted in the television film Sword of Gideon (1986), and later in Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005). Spielberg's film attempted to depict the moral ambiguity and complexity of the Israeli position.
For many, the Munich massacre, Israel's retaliation, and Palestinian counter-retaliation epitomized the seemingly never-ending cycle of violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict that continues in different forms today.
Background and planning
The massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September moved Israel to consider measures to deter future similar actions. Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Golda Meir created Committee X, a small group of government officials tasked with formulating an Israeli response, with herself and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan at the head. She also appointed General Aharon Yariv as her Adviser on Counterterrorism; he, along with Mossad Director Zvi Zamir, took the principal role in directing the ensuing operation.
The committee came to the conclusion that to deter future terrorist incidents against Israel they needed to assassinate those who had supported or carried out the Munich massacre, and in dramatic fashion. Pressured by Israeli public opinion and top intelligence officials, Meir reluctantly authorized the beginning of the broad assassination campaign. Yet when the three surviving perpetrators of the massacre were released just months later by West Germany in compliance with the demands of the hijackers of a Lufthansa aircraft, any remaining ambivalence she felt was removed.
The suddenness of West Germany's capitulation to the demands has since aroused suspicion as to whether the entire hijacking was simply a show to allow the nation to rid itself of the possibility of future retaliation.
The committee's first task for Israeli intelligence was to draw up an assassination list of all those involved in Munich. This was accomplished with the aid of PLO operatives working for the Mossad, and with information provided by friendly European intelligence agencies. While the contents of the entire list are unknown, reports put the final number of targets at 20–35, a mix of Black September and PLO elements.
Reeve states that intelligence sources put the number at 20, while Ostrovsky puts it at 35 Once this was complete, the Mossad was charged with locating the individuals and assassinating them.
Critical in the planning was the idea of plausible deniability–that it should be impossible to prove a direct connection between the assassinations and Israel. In addition, the operations were intended to strike a more general fear into Palestinian militants. According to David Kimche, former deputy head of Mossad, "The aim was not so much revenge but mainly to make them [the militant Palestinians] frightened. We wanted to make them look over their shoulders and feel that we are upon them. And therefore we tried not to do things by just shooting a guy in the street – that's easy … fairly."
Several descriptions have emerged about the groups formed by Mossad who carried out the assassination campaign. It is possible that different groups were formed for different objectives, and existed at different or overlapping periods of time, which may account for the variety of reports. Certainty exists solely about the assassinations that actually took place, while further information is based on limited sources as would be typical in such covert operations.
It is also known that Mossad agent Michael Harari led the creation and direction of the teams, although some may not have always been under government responsibility. Author Simon Reeve explains that the Mossad team consisted of:
…fifteen people divided into five squads: 'Aleph," two trained killers; "Bet," two guards who would shadow the Alephs; "Heth," two agents who would establish cover for the rest of the team by renting hotel rooms, apartments, cars, and so on; "Ayin," comprising between six and eight agents who formed the backbone of the operation, shadowing targets and establishing an escape route for the Aleph and Bet squads; and "Qoph," two agents specializing in communications. [squad names are letters of the Hebrew alphabet]
This is similar to former Mossad katsa Victor Ostrovsky's description of the Mossad's own assassination teams, the Kidon. In fact, Ostrovsky says in his book that it was Kidon units that performed the assassinations.
Another report by author Aaron Klein says that these teams were actually part of a unit called "Caesarea," which would be renamed and reorganized into "Kidon" in the mid-1970s. Harari eventually commanded three Caesarea teams of around 12 members each. They were each further divided into logistics, surveillance, and assassination squads.
One of the covert teams was revealed in the aftermath of the Lillehammer affair (see Ali Hassan Salameh section below), when six members of the Mossad assassination team were arrested by Norwegian authorities. Harari escaped to Israel, and it is possible that others were able to evade capture with him. An article in TIME magazine immediately after the killing put the total number of Mossad personnel at 15, which would be in keeping with other accounts
A much different account comes from Yuval Aviv in the book Vengeance, where he states that the Mossad set up a five-man unit of trained intelligence personnel which he led in Europe. Aviv also says that the team operated outside of direct government control, and that its only communications were with Harari.
The first kill occurred on October 16 1972, when Palestinian Abdel Wael Zwaiter was shot 12 times in his apartment building in Rome. Two Israeli agents had been waiting for him to return from dinner, and after the shooting they were spirited away to a safe house. At the time Zwaiter was the PLO representative in Italy, and while Israel privately claimed he was a member of Black September and was involved in a failed plot against an El Al airliner, members of the PLO have argued that he was in no way connected. Abu Iyad, deputy-chief of the PLO, has stated that Zwaiter was "energetically" against terrorism.
The second target of the Mossad was Dr. Mahmoud Hamshari, who was the PLO representative in France. Using an agent posing as a journalist, the Mossad lured him from his apartment in Paris to allow a team to enter and install a bomb underneath a desk telephone. On December 8, 1972, the "journalist" called Hamshari, who received the telephone call to his apartment, and once it was confirmed that he had picked up the phone a signal was sent through the telephone to detonate the bomb. Hamshari was not immediately killed by the blast, but died within a month from the injuries. Israel chose him as a target because it was believed that he was the leader of Black September in France.
On the night of January 24 1973, Hussein Al Bashir (Jordanian) (Hussein Abad Al Chir), the Fatah representative in Cyprus, turned off the lights in his Olympic Hotel room in Nicosia. Moments later, a bomb planted under his bed by the Mossad was remotely detonated, killing him and destroying the room. Israel believed him to be the head of Black September in Cyprus, though another reason for his assassination may have been for his close ties with the KGB.
The assassins returned to Paris on April 6, 1973, when Dr. Basil al-Kubaissi, a law professor at the American University of Beirut suspected by Israel of providing arms logistics for Black September as well as involvement in other Palestinian plots, was gunned down while returning home from dinner. Like previous assassinations, he was shot around 12 times by two Israeli agents.
Several of the targets on the Mossad's list lived in heavily guarded houses in Lebanon that were beyond the reach of previous assassination methods. In order to assassinate them, Operation Spring of Youth was launched as a sub-operation of the larger Wrath of God campaign. During the night of April 9, 1973, Sayeret Matkal commandos and other Israeli support teams, including future Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, launched multiple raids into Beirut and Sidon.
There, they succeeded in assassinating a number of high-level PLO officials, including Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar (Abu Youssef), Kamal Adwan, a Fatah veteran, and Kamal Nasser, PLO spokesman. Rami Adwan, who is the son of Kamal Adwan, was in the apartment when his father was killed, and has said that his father was not at all involved in Munich, but did organize resistance against the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank.
"So the Munich attack," Rami says, "was a godsend opportunity for the Israelis to actually kill people."
Three assassinations quickly followed the Lebanon operation. Zaiad Muchasi, the replacement for Hussein Al Bashir in Cyprus, was blown up in his Athens hotel room on April 11. Two minor Black September members, Abdel Hamid Shibi and Abdel Hadi Nakaa, were injured in their car in Rome.
Israel also began to follow Mohammad Boudia, an Algerian-born director of operations for Black September in France known for his disguises and womanizing. On June 28, 1973, Boudia was assassinated in Paris by a "pressure activated 'land mine', packed with heavy nuts and bolts," and placed under his car seat by the Mossad.
Ali Hassan Salameh
The Mossad continued to search for Ali Hassan Salameh, nicknamed the "Red Prince," who was the head of Force 17 and the Black September operative believed by Israel to be the mastermind behind the Munich massacre. This belief has since been challenged by accounts of senior Black September officials, who say that while he was involved in many attacks in Europe, Salameh was not at all connected with the events in Munich.
Almost a full year after Munich, the Mossad believed they had finally located Salameh in the small Norwegian town Lillehammer. On July 21, 1973, in what would become known as the Lillehammer affair, a team of Mossad agents killed Ahmed Bouchiki, a Moroccan waiter unrelated to the Munich attack and Black September, after an informant mistakenly identified Bouchiki as Salameh. Six Mossad agents, including two women, were captured by the Norwegian authorities, while others, including the leader Mike Harari, managed to escape back to Israel.
Five of the captured were convicted of the killing and imprisoned, but were released and returned to Israel in 1975. Victor Ostrovsky claims that Salameh was instrumental in leading the Mossad off course by giving the Mossad false information about his whereabouts. In the aftermath of the affair, international outrage over the mistaken murder forced Golda Meir to order the suspension of Operation Wrath of God.
The ensuing Norwegian investigation and revelations by the captured agents compromised Mossad assets across Europe, including safe houses, agents, and operational methods. Yet five years later it was decided to recommence the operation under new Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and find those on the list still at large.
The Mossad began surveillance of Salameh's movements after tracking him to Beirut during late fall of 1978. In late 1978 or early 1979 a Mossad agent identifying herself as Erika Mary Chambers entered Lebanon with a British passport issued in 1975, and rented an apartment on the Rue Verdun, a street frequently used by Salameh. Several other agents arrived, including two using the pseudonyms Peter Scriver and Roland Kolberg, traveling with British and Canadian passports respectively.
Some time after their arrival a Volkswagen packed with plastic explosives was parked along Rue Verdun within view of the rented apartment. At 3:35 p.m. on January 22, 1979, as Salameh and four bodyguards drove down the street in a Chevrolet station wagon, the explosives in the Volkswagen were detonated from the apartment with a radio device, killing everyone in the vehicle. After five unsuccessful attempts the Mossad had assassinated Salameh.
However, the blast also killed four innocent bystanders, including an English student and a German nun, and injured 18 other people in the vicinity. Immediately following the operation the three Mossad officers fled without trace, as well as up to 14 other agents believed to have been involved in the operation.
Munich hostage-takers
Three of the eight militants that carried out the Munich massacre survived the German rescue attempt at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase on the final night of the hostage crisis and were taken into German custody: Jamal Al-Gashey, Adnan Al-Gashey, and Mohammed Safady. They were released several weeks later after hijackers of a Lufthansa airliner demanded their release from the German government.
It had been thought that Adnan Al-Gashey and Mohammed Safady were both assassinated several years after the massacre; Al-Gashey was found after making contact with a cousin in a Gulf State, and Safady was found by remaining in touch with family in Lebanon. This account was challenged by a recent book by Aaron Klein, who claims that Adnan died of heart failure in the 1970s and that Safady was either killed by Christian Phalangists in Lebanon in the early 1980s or, according to a PLO operative friendly with Safady, is still living today. Jamal Al-Gashey went into hiding in North Africa; he granted an interview in 1999 to director Kevin MacDonald for the documentary One Day in September, and is believed to still be alive.
Source credit: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Operation_Wrath_of_God


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Bishop O'Dowd Closes Out Prospect
The Georgiana Hays invitational, hosted by Prospect High School, began with 31 teams in its varsity division and 13 teams in novice, which were then collapsed into a single division. The field featured several of the top teams in the state, including both of the 2014 prospect finalists - Notre Dame DH and Los Altos DH.
After five preliminary rounds, Prospect ended in a close-out, when the only two remaining undefeated teams - Danielle Viviani & Shawn Cunningham and Camille Porter-McAvoy & Claudia Hester - both hailed from Bishop O-Dowd.
The tournament also recognized Spencer Dembner (Los Altos) as the Top Speaker and Ashwinee Panda (Evergreen Valley) as the runner-up.
In the novice break-out finals, Anirudh Mani and John Dang from Evergreen Valley defeated Irvington's Ahir Datta and Alexander Montgomery on a 3-0 decision.
Full results follow:
Round 1: Education
1. USFG should mandate the removal of all zero-tolerance drug policies in US public schools.
2. US public schools should implement the South Korean education model.
3. USFG should significantly increase funding for public high school non-elective STEM classes.
Round 2: Military policy
1. USFG should prefer the use of private military contractors over U.S. soldiers in front line combat operations.
2. When in conflict, the USFG should prefer policies of isolationism to policies that increase hegemony.
3. Henry Kissinger did more harm to U.S. soft power than good.
Round 3: Technology
1. USFG should significantly invest in fusion reactor technology.
2. USFG should implement New York's "BitLicense" regulation nationwide.
3. USFG should significantly invest in terraforming technology.
Round 4: Economy
1. USFG should amend the internal revenue code to eliminate tax exemptions for religious institutions.
2. USFG should significantly raise the capital gains tax.
3. USFG should adopt Belgium's parental leave policy.
Round 5: Foreign Policy
1. USFG should end its use of drone strikes as a method of assassination.
2. Kurdistan Workers' Party should declare Kurdish independence from Turkey.
3. Russia should extradite Edward Snowden to the United States of America.
(FINAL) Round 6: Potpourri
1. California should pass SB-277 to end all personal belief exemptions to immunization requirements.
2. The UN should prosecute high-ranking Bush administration officials for war crimes in Iraq.
3. USFG should end its military aid to Israel.


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Exhibition Spaces
Gallery 1989: The Market Photo Workshop was founded by David Goldblatt in1989. In this time South Africa was governed under a state of emergency. The cracks that would eventually lift the Apartheid regime from power into transition was already clearly visible: resistance, social unrest. These changes were echoed in the rest of the world. In China, student-led non-violent protests led to the Tiananmen Square massacre, marked by the Tank Manpic that became another iconic image of freedom. The announcement of the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 changed the world order. Photography's role in the recording of history and tool towards democracy is celebrated with the founding of the Market Photo Workshop.


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In tests performed by the geographic information company Esri, integrated iPhone GPS chips are accurate to 3 meters approximately 90 percent of the time in open sky conditions. In the same test, a standalone receiver connected to an iPhone is accurate to 3 meters approximately 99 percent of the time.
Professional-grade GPS locators perform better than both the iPhone and consumer-grade units in the same test. A commercial-grade product connected to an iPhone is accurate to 1 meter in 92 percent of Esri's tests. As of 2015, the consumer-grade unit is accurate to 1 meter only 70 percent of the time, and the integrated iPhone unit is not capable of accuracy to 1 meter.


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Change - The Glow Of Love
this is actually my all time favorite song, and although Luther Vandross is beautifully singing it, all the music is done by Italians from Bologna
Alan Sorrenti - Figli Delle Stelle
Another strong, and long time favorite, that is also very dear to the Italian crowd. Flawless production, and the closest "Philly" sounding Italo Disco record I've ever heard.
Pino Daniele - Yes I Know My Way
Pino sadly left us a few months ago. He was one of Italy's most soulful heroes and I will miss him. This song has always been a staple of my sets for 3 decades
Harry Thuman - Underwater
A cult record, that managed to grab the attention of Chicago, Detroit and New York DJs, feeding it back to the European Nu-Disco scene. Always puts the crowd on fire
Nasty Boys - I Was Made For Loving You
A little underdog this one, and some kind of secret weapon for me. I never liked the Kiss original, but for me, this version brings the right balance of dancefloor excitement and full on cheekyness.
Dimitri From Paris will Dj on saturday 6th june on San Servolo Island
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