Step Up With Ann

Yes, Monday nights are wacky!

agham@aol.com (Ann Hamblin) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:58:36 GMT

According to Dictionary.com , "wacky" may have originated as British slang in the late 1800s, possibly resulting from a whack or blow on the head, one too many times. From that initial blow to the head, other meanings have been applied to "wacky," meanings such as preposterous, crazy, loony, absurd, or odd .

While attending school in North Carolina one summer, I took a study break to visit the locals. When I saw the above sign at a local ice cream parlor, I thought how enjoyable a banana-nut ice cream cone would be. And who could beat the price? So I pulled into a parking place, entered the ice cream parlor, ordered my cone, and gave her a quarter. As I stood awaiting my change, she looked at me as if I were the wacky one.

Finally, I said, "Do you owe me some change? I gave you a quarter, and your sign states that on Monday nights, ice cream is three cents." To correct my ignorance, she took me to the window to show me the price. When I called her attention to the decimal in the 0.25₵, she became so confused by my basic math explanation that her ice cream was actually being advertised for about three cents on Mondays, she finally told me I could just have the cone "free."

Of course, I couldn't do that, and so I handed her the quarter and told her to keep the change. I started to tell her that I had given her a generous tip on a three-cent cone. In fact, I had actually given her a 10,000% tip! But at this point, she was tired of wacky Monday; in her mind, she knew who the real wacko was! In a commanding voice, she interrupted me with, "Next."

Back to my basic premise, higher levels of learning can not be mastered unless our basic foundation is solid. Understanding fractions, decimals, and percentages is an essential component needed in real life.

Not knowing the value of our money is the true definition of wacky, whether as a merchant or a consumer.

Check out how to build that strong foundation needed for higher levels of learning at www.stepupwithann. com/subjects .

How Do You Like Your Vegetarians?

agham@aol.com (Ann Hamblin) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 19:22:38 GMT

Every time I begin teaching a grammar lesson, my students tell me that they will never use “this stuff.” In response to their immediate judgment on learning grammar, I attempt to show them that grammar is essential to “real life” communication. Without grammar, confusion would rule.

Case in point:

Earlier this year while driving across the Texas Panhandle, my husband and I decided to stop at a small town for dinner. Hoping to find some good home-style cooking, we chose a “mom and pop” restaurant that we soon discovered advertised interesting dishes. Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately greeted with the “Today’s Special.”

The board proudly displayed one of the menu choices, and I must say, being an English teacher, I suddenly lost my appetite. However, my husband (not even thinking about grammar but more on his hunger) pointed to the whiteboard’s special and said, “I’ll have those---stir fried!” I grinned, not knowing I had married a cannibal.

Once again, a “real-life” example of how important grammar is in our everyday communication. Never did I dream of pronoun reference influencing what I would order in a restaurant.

Grammar is only valuable when usable. And what better way to learn how to use it than to understand “what” to look for.

Check out www.stepupwithann.co m/subjects to learn how grammar proofreading can be learned in four steps!

. . . “Vegetarians” will appreciate it!

Decimals: A Hot Potato

agham@aol.com (Ann Hamblin) — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Our last post looked at our grammar skills by using an 1895 eighth-grade graduation exam that was taken from an original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas. This post is focusing on the arithmetic portion of that same test. Do you think our current eighth graders would fare better on this one?

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An 1895 Eighth Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas

Arithmetic Test: (Student has one hour to complete the following questions.)

1. Define the fundamental rules of arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 ft. long, and 3 ft., wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 feet long at $0.20 per inch?

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My thirteen-year old grandson and I were recently eating at a “mom and pop” restaurant when we saw the following sign:

I looked at my grandson and asked him if he liked baked potatoes. When he answered, “Yes,” I asked him how many did he want? He looked at me questioningly as if I’d lost my mind. I told him we should order about 100 “to go” and invite friends over to enjoy them with us, and whatever was left, we could feed the homeless.

Of course, he thought I was crazy, but once I had piqued his curiosity, I suggested he look at the “deal” we were being offered on potatoes. Once he determined the price of baked potatoes, he agreed---as a matter of fact, he suggested we buy enough for everyone in the restaurant.

So, back to my initial question, “Do you think our current eighth graders would see the problem with charging 0.99¢ for a potato?” How much would 100 potatoes cost us at that price?

Back to my original premise: Foundational skills must be understood before higher levels of learning (and thinking) can occur.

And . . . if you have a dime, you can buy 100 baked potatoes (unless you have to pay tax---and then we are into percentages. Ugh!).

Lernin' 4 Who's Saek?

agham@aol.com (Ann Hamblin) — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT

At what point in one’s educational experience does the responsibility for learning shift from the teacher to the learner? Or does it? You may have seen the following eighth-grade graduation exam taken from an original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas, and reprinted by the Salina Journal. Some individuals question whether eighth graders today could pass this test. What do you think?

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An 1895 Eighth Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas

Grammar Test: (Student has one hour to complete)

Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
Define verse, stanza, and paragraph.
What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of do, lie, lay,

and run.
Define case. Illustrate each case.
What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use the rules of grammar.

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FIRST of all. . . .Allow me to introduce myself. I am not an expert; I am a “generalist,” and I might add, proud of it! Let me explain what I mean. I have advanced degrees and certifications and many, many, many years of experience as an educator (In real life, that’s just another way of saying, “I’m old!”). While many might assume that those qualities should make me an expert in some field, I can assure you I am not. Even with many years of education, I can tell you that I did not truly learn until I actually walked into a seventh grade classroom and had to “figure out” how to teach grammar---the material I had supposedly been “trained” to teach.

Fortunately, I found my gift. I take basic academic skills with which students tend to struggle, and I break those difficult skills into usable pieces that are understandable---or put another way, I make learning make sense. Since I have to understand the why’s, I assume others do as well. As a matter of fact, I’m a “master” at making up definitions and terms just to make a concept understandable. After all, who cares that a prepositional phrase is a group of words that expresses a relationship to another word or element in the clause. I’ve taught over thirty years and that definition still makes little sense to me an English teacher. However, if someone had told me that a prepositional phrase is a “detail”--- words added to a sentence to make it more interesting, now I understand why prepositional phrases are important. That makes sense!

Yes, I am a generalist; I have general knowledge that I can apply; I have an uncanny sense of helping others build strong foundations in math, grammar, writing, and reading because I focus on the whys.

My premise is simple. Foundational skills must be understood before higher levels of learning (and thinking) can occur. I hope you will join me as we explore learning together!

And . . . by the way, it’s nice to meet you!