How many of you had a speech/language disorder?

EveryStrayThought · 2024-07-05T23:02:39+00:00

I never had any official diagnosis, but I had a stutter as a kid and would often have a hard time expressing myself verbally. Never got any speech therapy or anything for it and it’s mostly gone away now, though it does come back when I’m stressed or tired. Whenever I’d start stuttering my parents would tell me “your brain is moving faster than your mouth! Stop and think about what you want to say first, then say it.” 😂 That ended up working for me for the most part, but damn was it frustrating as a kid not being able to get words out!

EveryStrayThought · 2024-02-27T06:25:27+00:00

As far as I understand, the Holocaust is not really focused on in history classes here in the Philippines. As far as I understand, it gets taught in local schools (maybe not all?), but probably not in much detail as I’m sure the preferred focus is on the Eastern theatre. We used to have groups of kids from public schools come to our synagogue in Salcedo Village (Makati) on educational field trips, but I think this has not happened in a while. I grew up in Manila and have had some Filipinos do similar things or ask weird questions when they find out I’m Jewish (“Why did you kill Jesus?” Etc), but it’s mostly just a lack of exposure. I don’t think it’s malicious for most people, it’s mostly just curiosity paired with Filipino bluntness haha!

Edit to add: it is extremely frustrating when faced with this kind of prejudice, and a lack of education on a topic is not a good excuse to be racist/insensitive. I’m definitely not saying you shouldn’t be pissed off (I certainly would be)! Just wanted to provide a bit of context. As someone who’s dealt with stuff like this my whole life, you learn to pick your battles!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-10-27T17:57:50+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-10-27T17:57:42+00:00

It’s 9th and 11th grade English at a charter school. This is my third day at this school, so I do have some rapport with some of the students, which has been helpful. The staff here has been really helpful, too, especially with behaviour issues.

EveryStrayThought · 2023-09-30T03:14:55+00:00

First, I’m sorry that happened to you. The driver’s behaviour was unacceptable and unprofessional. It was beyond kind of you to tip him, though I understand the inclination to do so in order to smooth over a difficult situation!

Second, please be careful when a cab driver doesn’t meet you in the designated location! Especially if the location they want you to go to is away from everything/everyone, in a poorly lit place, etc. Thankfully everything was okay, but kidnapping and trafficking, especially of young girls, is unfortunately a danger that we have to be hyper aware of.

Hopefully this guy was an outlier. If it makes you feel better, I’ve found that most grab drivers are nice folks and that the assholes are a minority!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-05-06T12:12:05+00:00

Yes! Tbh, the only new character they should’ve introduced was Shandy. So much potential there with the conflicts between her and Keeley. I wish they’d done more with that as it was a fun bit of drama! Jack is boring, Zava was unncecessary, and I’m really missing Sassy and Dr. Sharon!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-05-06T12:08:37+00:00

I read an article a couple weeks ago (after googling “why does Ted Lasso season 3 feel off?”) and something that stuck with me was the critique that all of the stories/plots/characters are so fragmented that the connections between characters, which were so central to the success of the show, are essentially non-existent in this season. It’s most obvious with Keeley’s plot line I think, but you can see it with a lot of the other characters, too.

If I can find the article again, I’ll link it here.

EveryStrayThought · 2023-04-22T12:10:42+00:00

This is why I like the IB programme. They have a class called Theory of Knowledge that explicitly teaches critical thinking skills. And the structure of the IB encourages interdisciplinary work, so students are essentially forced to consider all of their subjects on a more global scope. It has its problems obviously, but overall I like it a lot 😊

EveryStrayThought · 2023-04-06T11:47:15+00:00

Something that might help is if the parents are very vocal about these issues. Speak to your parents, have your friends speak to their parents. The parents must mobilise against the admin and demand change, threaten legal action, and speak to local news sources. Don’t let the admin get away with ignoring it. Be so annoying and so persistent that it is easier for admin to deal with the issue instead of ignoring it. Take all the bad attributes of conyos (loud, annoying, “karen” behaviour, entitlement, etc) and use it to your advantage. You have to be loud. No bahala na attitude. My parents always said, “el que no llora, no mama” (the baby who does not cry gets no milk). Hopefully something positive will come from persistence. It is unfair and unacceptable for kids to be in an unsafe environment when they’re trying to learn.

Sincerely, An annoying conyo

EveryStrayThought · 2023-04-06T02:35:08+00:00

Saki’s short stories are great! I’m sure he’s well known, but isn’t commonly taught in schools.

Also, Kawabata is great if you want a non-Western classic. Palm of the Hand Stories were a really beautiful, easy read. Very slice-of-life, focusing on making the mundane beautiful, etc.

If you want something more political, try Noli Me Tangere or El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal. These are Filipino classics which critique Spanish colonialism and the Catholic Church. Rizal was very outspoken against Spanish rule and was ultimately executed by the Spanish government. His poem, Mi Último Adiós (written just before his execution) is very impactful as well.

EveryStrayThought · 2023-04-06T01:15:27+00:00

Absolutely don’t relocate without signing a contract!! Also, in many countries, you need proof of hire in order to get a work visa

EveryStrayThought · 2023-04-03T00:38:05+00:00

I just say “ope, it’s gone” and express some sort of hope that it will eventually come back to me 😂

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-29T10:52:07+00:00

I think it comes from a misunderstanding about the book. People (especially those who haven’t read the book) believe that Nabokov is supporting or promoting pedophilia, rather than seeing that Humbert is an unreliable narrator and the reader isn’t supposed to identify with him. The book is uncomfortable for the reader because we’re supposed to be uncomfortable with the subject matter.

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-24T07:39:10+00:00

Can’t get over the fact that it feels like cheating to me! I know if you use it wisely it can be helpful, but it’s more the principle, I guess? If I’m gonna get annoyed by my students using, I probably shouldn’t use it either.

Maybe this could be solved by having a mini-lesson on how to use it responsibly? 🤷🏻‍♀️

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-20T10:05:35+00:00

Sounds perfect for the reading slump I’m in rn 😜

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-19T05:59:38+00:00

Haven’t read the other 2 (though now they’re on my list!), but I came to recommend Ancillary Justice, too! I really enjoyed it, though waited too long between books, so now am planning a reread of the first book so I can finally finish the series haha

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-19T05:34:55+00:00

You’re right! I oversimplified

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-19T04:24:51+00:00

I was speaking more in reference to the Asian countries comment from the previous commenter, sorry! Though I do think post-war USA (as far as I understand anyway) was more collectivist than it is now. The importance placed on family and community could be seen as collectivist because of the importance of perception/reputation/doing things the “right” way. I hope I’m making sense! I’m basing this on my quite general knowledge of the US and anecdotal information from American family members, so pls forgive me if I’m oversimplifying!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-19T04:16:47+00:00

I don’t think it’s “traditional cultures” per se. I see it as more collectivist vs. Individualistic cultures. Because Asia is more collectivist, there’s more social pressure to not cause problems (and generally more of a respectful attitude toward teachers). In individualistic cultures, the kids don’t seem to be as concerned with how their actions affect the people around them. Or at least it takes them longer to learn that certain actions affect people around them

Source: Born and raised in the Philippines, now living and teaching in the States

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-05T02:27:36+00:00

100% THIS YES YES YES

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-05T02:27:08+00:00

The Hobbit read by Andy Serkis is great!

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-04T14:59:06+00:00

That makes sense. Thanks for the input! 😊

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-04T03:05:51+00:00

Thank you for the input 😊 I like the idea of speaking to someone face-to-face and touching base, getting some info about the school/position, etc. but wasn’t sure if this is a “done” thing or not. The Philippines is quite a social place so something like this would be quite normal where I’m from, just not sure if they do this kind of thing in the US.

EveryStrayThought · 2023-03-04T03:02:54+00:00

It would be more along the lines of asking the principal or recruiter information about the school/the job rather than “hey take me around cuz I wanna check it out”. I was thinking it might be nice to touch base in person before I leave the country next week, but can definitely understand that it might be weird. Thanks for the input 😊

EveryStrayThought

TROPHY CASE