Daily Prompts: Learning Style

What’s your learning style? Do you prefer learning in a group and in an interactive setting? Or one-on-one? Do you retain information best through lectures or visuals, or simply by reading books?

I prefer learning by an  interactive setting, one- on- one not so much. About one-on -one, I have reservations.

I think I was in third standard, I had a bit of problem with some science questions. My test was next day, I asked my eldest brother if he could help me, well he was more than pleased to offer me help. I do not recall exactly what it was, I only remember it was something about Physics. My brother explained it, but he repeated it so many times I thought he must think I’m stupid, I excused myself and said, “Dada(Bengali word for eldest brother), I understand please don’t repeat anymore.”

Then he asked, “what’s the next question?”

To avoid another round of repetition I lied and said there’s no more I understand the rest.

Next day after school my brother was waiting for me, he asked, “How did you do in the test?”

“I got five out of five in the question you helped me with, but two out of five in the second one which I read by myself,” I said.

“See,” he said, you did not let me explain it.”

“I know,” I said, “but you repeat it so many times.”

I learn through lectures if the Prof. is not reading straight from the book, his voice drags, and he has no intonation to keep me interested.

Visuals are a very good way of learning which I’m doing now when I learn the three languages i.e, Farsi, Spanish and French.I have some background in Spanish and French, but none in Farsi.

I also learn well when I read books.

………………………………….. 🙂

 

DP Daily Prompt: Morton’s Fork

If you had to choose between able, to write a blog( but not read others’) and being able to read others’ blogs( but not write your own), which would you pick? Why?

Honestly speaking,I will choose neither.

The style of writing of every one is different, their choice of words, their likes and dislikes, how they feel about something or anything gives me the kind of motivation I can never get just by writing.

Which brings up the following,Why do we read a variety of books?Do we read for pleasure only or do we learn from it? If I were to answer this question, I’d say we get pleasure and knowledge by reading books. The knowledge can be as simple as increasing my vocabulary, it can be to improve my writing.

If I just write and do not read, whether it’s fiction non-fiction or even a blog, I’m withholding my chances to be a better writer.

Reading others’ work opens up a lot of possibilities, of learning, increasing my vocabulary, the art of writing and there are so many things!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/dp-daily-prompt-mortons-fork/

Five sentence fiction: Hunger

My friend Nasreen is a voracious reader, any book I give her she reads without reading the title.

To test her I gave her a cookbook, it had recipes of a variety of foods, she grabbed it and began reading from the first page, I thought this is an odd behavior, no one I know reads a cook book unless he/she is looking for a particular recipe.

Morning turned to noon, it was lunch time Nasreen never put her head up,she was totally immersed, I called her a few times she just made a peculiar noise.

I was so annoyed I snatched the book from her, this surprised her, she said: Did you not want me to read this book, I was enjoying it, I tried to see if reading about food will arouse my hunger, my mom tries everything to make me eat, but I always refuse.

I apologized repeatedly, I didn’t know she had an eating disorder!

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/five-minute-fiction-hunger/

 

DP Daily Prompts: Flash Talk

You’re about to enter a room full of strangers, where you will have exactly four minutes to tell a story that would convey who you really are . What’s your story?

My husband is a physician, he goes to his place of work at 8.30 a.m., I go at the same time to a different building,there are boys and girls in the building. I have my own room, there are thirty boys and girls in my room.

I leave my house at 8.30 a.m and am free at 4 p.m., the boys and girls come to my room to do their reading, writing and Arithmetic.

This is my story.

365 Writing Prompts: On the edge

We all have things we need to do to keep on an even keel–blogging,exercising, reading, cooking.What’s yours?

This is something not so easy to do, to be able to balance so many tasks I need to do needs discipline. I sometimes falter, then I let loose some of the things thinking, I won’t go on that bike today, I’ll exercise tomorrow, but I must do other things properly, since I’ve taken away the time for exercise for reading.

When I start reading I get so involved I’m unable to stop and turn my attention to cooking, I know it needs to be done or what will my daughter and I eat, getting takeouts is not an option, it’s not healthy.

I have  a set time for blogging I write two prompts daily, I do not have time to do more, I also read posts of bloggers and write my comments, some posts are longer which requires more time to read and comment.

I must admit I sometimes neglect some of the things that need my attention.

Reading, writing,cooking, blogging takes time, I am not capable of doing all of them regularly, I procrastinate, eventually lot of important things are left undone.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/365-writing-pr…ts-on-the-edge/

DP Daily Prompt: Can’t Stand Me

What do you find more unbearable, watching a video of yourself, or listening to a recording of your voice? Why?

Before I decide which one is undesirable my voice, or a video of myself? I will pick   my voice not the video, how did I figure it out,here is how?

When I was a student in London’s Institute Of Education, each one of us were given a piece of writing to read and record. We were instructed to go to the room where there was a recorder and a piece of writing , we were to go one at a time and read and record what was on that piece of paper, none of us saw it before, when my turn came I walked over to the room closed the door behind me and read the piece.

When we all had our turn, our Prof. Mr. Baird brought the recorder and played it for all of us to listen to our voice. When mine was finished, he said, “A fine piece of reading”, this made me think my voice is worth listening to.

As regards the video, my husband once took out his video camera and told us to walk while he took the video, there were a large number of us all family members, we had no idea how we should  walk, it ended up to be a disaster, none of us looked good, so video of myself was not what anyone will call nice.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/dp-daily-prompt-5/

Writing Prompt: Impossible

I’ve read and heard in the past that nothing is impossible. Since this is before breakfast, the first meal after a long fasting of the whole night. It can be impossible to perform tasks that involve my brain.

Having admitted this I must congratulate me because I finished my morning prayer which takes twenty-six minutes before breakfast. For this one excuses are not going to cut it,my clock reminds me it’s prayer time, I must complete it before sunrise or I don’t get any credit. Why must I look for credit only because during the day I may have been actively gossiping about someone who is probably not even on this planet to defend himself or/herself or some old classmate or colleague who gave me a hard time while I was studying or working with them.

Then there is the odd shop owner who sold me a defective product and refused to take it back, or the gatekeeper at the mosque who snatched my water bottle,thinking everyone who visits that place is some kind of a terrorist. Imagine taking the trouble to go for pilgrimage and harassed by some doorman trying to show off his fluency in Arabic. Do I care I don’t even understand the language, does he think  he told me off ,no I’m sad to let him no, his screaming words were a bunch of rubbish which I didn’t comprehend.

Then there is the postal fellows who don’t know the difference between forward and send back to the owner.You come across so many inefficient and good for nothing people you can’t help but talk about it until the cows come home.

If you count you’ll see there are many humans spoiling my days and nights,if I talk about them it’s gossip and it is a sin my Mom told me. So I have to spend twenty-six minutes to pray before breakfast, otherwise my chances of being forgiven is a Big Zero.

What is impossible to complete before breakfast you ask?

1. writing the daily prompt.

2.writing a story.

3. doing my exercise.

4. reading my book which is saying “read me you have me for months.”

5. writing a question for the on-line course.

6.All of the above.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/365-days-march18-impossible/

DP Daily Prompt: The New School

KINDERGARTEN CLASS, MT WASHINGTON, 1947 (Photo credit: roberthuffstutter)

I like the idea of  redesigning  a school.  I was fortunate enough to teach in various schools.  I noticed the flaws in the education system. I was hired to teach. No one asked for my opinion. The curriculum was presented to me, I did what was expected of me,these are your students this is the curriculum devised by a handful of experts. I am paid to follow the guidelines and that was it.

In my mind there is a lot of things we ignore about children, i.e .,  these are the five year olds, who start  school in a completely new environment. They are terrified to see a stranger he/she , who is called a teacher. They need to listen and learn and stay quiet and behave.

My problem with this dictatorial method is the poor child is terrified already. He/she is put in a classroom, where these rules and regulations are placed. Whether they like it or not they have to abide by it.

My new school from kindergarten upwards will have a new system. I am calling it ‘getting to know everyone’. I will devote the first two weeks  knowing the children. Since it is the kindergarten we should not assume what they are supposed to know. We’d have to shelve that thought and actually get the children out of their seats. They’d sit in a circle . We’d pick volunteers who’d like to ask questions. The teacher would be present but will let the pupils speak. there’ll be a question and answer period.

There’ll be a fifteen minute break. During this time the teacher will observe. He/she would take notes, about each pupil. The number of pupil will not exceed twenty.It is a good number to handle.

Reading, Writing,and Arithmetic would be taught in an atmosphere where the child feels comfortable. Learning will go on in a friendly way.

To know how to read, one has to be familiar with the alphabets.  There is a song about the alphabets,it can be a very good source. Interesting pictures can encourage the child to observe and then draw his/her own.

Similar method can help with arithmetic.

The whole experience of the first day in school can make a child love or hate school. There will be homework , they will be allowed to draw pictures of things they learned in school at home and encouraged to show their work to their classmates.

I have only written about the first year of a child’s life in school.

If we succeed in keeping the children interested in their schoolwork in a friendly manner. Everything else will be easy.

Daily Post, postaday

DP Daily Prompt: Learning Style Ranu’s post

“To be successful at reading comprehension, students need to …” (Photo credit: Ken Whytock)

Perhaps I may have a learning style different from others. I  experienced all the styles of learning mentioned in the post. Do I prefer learning in a group in an interactive setting or one on one? Do I remember information best through lectures ,visuals or by reading books?

Learning in a group in an interactive setting is helpful for those who can talk incessantly.I am unable to get much out of it,I am too shy to interact, therefore I do not  learn. I do not prefer one-on -one. In that kind of setting I find myself in a claustrophobic situation,which does not help me learn anything,rather my concentration centers on when  will it end , so I am  free to move around.  Lectures are always boring. In my mind I think of the strange pronunciation of the Prof. I end up making fun of him/her,this results in my failure to learn.I remember my first year in college,our Civics Prof. always  started with ,’Civics from the western point of view’ every day this was his opening statement. His lecture did not help me. I had to read my book to prepare for exams.

I learn well by reading books I have no distraction.I do not feel trapped in my seat for a long period of time. I am not worried about interaction where I am the only one not participating. I pick  reference books I like ,I make notes . I study at home and in the library.Both these places are quiet. I get a lot out of it.

DP Daily Prompt: On The Edge Post by Ranu

“To be successful at reading comprehension, students need to …” (Photo credit: Ken Whytock)

I have neglected to finish reading my books. To keep me from thinking about it every moment of the day,I have picked up,”Paulo Coelho’s Eleven minutes again”. This time I intend to fulfill my obligation. I hope my habit of procrastination will not block my intention.

Waiting in line to get my reading on an even keel are: Tagore,Coelho,Michael Ondaatje. I was almost tempted to add one more new author on the list,when a voice told me to get the ones I have, completed before I increase the number of authors. I will have to stay away from the book stores,  how long I do not know myself.

For now I’ll read the ones I possess. I am afraid they’ll show up in my dreams as monsters ready to imprison me for this heinous crime. Did I mention I started reading one already?