Teaching and Learning Tips - Quotations

Teaching and Learning Tips - Quotations

Sunrise

Just a couple of recent sunrise pictures from our house.

Computer Invasion

Just had an uninvited guest on the computer called "XP Security 2012."
This is NOT an actual security program - but rather a rogue that invades and hijacks your computer - telling you that you have all kinds of viruses, etc. when, in fact - it IS the virus!
If you see this program popping up on your computer - Do NOT buy it - do NOT delete what it wants you to - and take action right away to get it off your computer.
Apparently it goes by different names as well:  
XP Antispyware 2012
Vista Antispyware 2012
Win 7 Antispyware 2012
XP Antivirus 2012
Vista Antivirus 2012
Win 7 Antivirus 2012
XP Security 2012
Vista Security 2012
Win 7 Security 2012
XP Home Security 2012
Vista Home Security 2012
Win 7 Home Security 2012
XP Internet Security 2012
Vista Internet Security 2012
Win 7 Internet Security 2012

I tried several things to try and eliminate it but finally used Trojan Killer:
http://trojan-killer.net/

I had to run the computer in Safe Mode (hold F8 key while restarting before welcome screen) - and run the trojan killer for both the Admin and under my name.  Of course, it may be different for others.

Also, I had to open the task manager (control-alt-delete) and keep pushing "end task" on avp.exe  (again may be different on other computers)  this stopped the rogue from having all the control - but it kept popping up.

So far, things seem to be working.  My regular anti-virus software, internet, firewall, etc. all seem to be back (they had all been hijacked by this nasty software).

I should note that I was typing reports and, apart from a brief look at my e-mail and facebook (i.e., I didn't open anything or download anything!) I was not doing anything that should have brought on this little creature. 
Of course, it may have been lurking from a previous e-mail or other program - who knows.

If anyone runs into it - maybe this will help. 

Happy New Year !!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year !!  

(whenever and however you celebrate it)
Click below for a video from History.com to learn a little more about New Year celebrations.

http://www.history.com/topics/new-years/videos#history-of-the-holidays-new-years-eve

History of Christmas Trees

 Gay and I have our tree up and decorated.  

This year we got a Fraser Fir tree - looks very nice (but then I might be a little biased). 

I thought it might be a little interesting to look at the history of Christmas trees.  The section below is from the History Channel.  

Our Tree for 2011

Hope you enjoy!! 

  How It All Got Started  

from the History Channel:  http://www.history.com/topics/christmas

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

Why Can't My Child Read ?

Why Can't My Child Read ?

Well, a simple enough question - at a glance.
The response, however, could be complex enough to make that child's head spin again in The Exorcist.

Reading is a far more challenging task than most of us realize.  If you were fortunate enough to have all the components (or at least most of them) glide into place as you matured, reading was likely not a huge burden on your conscious mind.

Reading entails getting to know the sounds (phonemes) and there are many - some with subtle differences that some people simply don't discern.

Then, there are the beginnings of meaning (morphemes) such as "itis," "tion," and "ing."
This leads into word meaning (semantics) where we learn the difference (hopefully) between bird and bride.
But wait!
We aren't really ready to read yet!
We need some understanding of syntax - words put into sentences.  Here grammar becomes important.  To be able to fully and rapidly comprehend we need some concept of word order and the meanings that conveys.
For example, knowing the difference between the following:
              Mark should take the pencil to the teacher. 
              Mark was told to find the black pencil behind the bookshelf and take it to the teacher. 
Beyond this, we benefit from being able to read/think in "chunks" and to process continuously as we read - recalling previous events as we read currently and predicting what may happen!
And these are only a few aspects involved in the ability or inability to read well.
Often when someone is sure that reading is such a simple act that everyone ought to be able to do it rapidly, I ask them to explain - precisely - how to tie his/her shoes - and don't leave anything out.
There are a lot of steps; however, most people do master this task as well.

The point is that the surface of a task can conceal the depth and complexity required to attain that 'simplicity.'
Reading challenges can begin with the initial "sounds" or they can start when morphemes or syntax is involved.  Often, there is a combination of causes or reasons.
The goal, of course, is to help students help themselves.  I have found even very young students are willing to work harder and have fun with each step as long as they believe (and know you believe) that they will make progress.

In fact, once they realize that what they are learning to do is an amazing feat filled with twists and turns - they rise to the challenge!  (It's a lot better than thinking "I can't do even this 'simple' thing.")

www.tutoringcentral.com

Friday Homework Club

We're trying something new with the Friday Homework Club.
     
Website:  www.tutoringcentral.com

This allows you the opportunity to try out some tutoring sessions without a longer term commitment.

Sessions can be 1/2 hour or 1 hour in length, and you can arrange one session or multiple sessions as you require them. 

Something else that's new are a couple of little videos !  (Don't worry, I don't sing at all - maybe in the future I'll croak out a song or two, who knows!!)
At the moment they are just welcome videos for the website. 

To arrange an appointment call:     519 824 0982
                                                     or
                                                  e-mail:  tutoringcentral@inbox.com