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daijobu

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  1. daijobu
    Speaking of Magic Lens, we're still making our way through the verb exercises. Here's another one: If not, why then this parting was well made. (The bold is in the book, and indicates the verb being described.) Regarding whether "was made" in transitive or intransitive, the solution manual reads: "n/a." Looking back in the text, it says that "Linking verbs are neither transitive or intransitive; this does not apply to them." No other type of verb is mentioned for which transitive/intransitive is not applicable. Yet "was made" is labeled as an action verb, not linking. If "was made" is not a linking verb, then why is it (the transitive/intransitive distinction) not applicable? It's really hard to sort this out from the solution manual alone, as it offers no explanation, just the answer. ETA: I meant "action verb" not "active verb."
  2. daijobu
    Thank you. For newbies like me, this is what makes MCT a little, um, challenging.
  3. daijobu
    As long as I have your attention, we came across this sentence in ML1: Cassius, go you into the street. Is the word "go" in this sentence in third person or second person? (The book says it's third.)
  4. daijobu
    Checked with dd, not all classes require a semicolon before beginning latex. Enclose the latex code in dollar signs. That's all I know.
  5. daijobu
    In class I believe you need to begin your latex response with a semicolon. (Can someone confirm?) I'm not sure why this isn't mentioned in the forums.
  6. daijobu
    I've been reading Magic Lens with my 7th grade dd, and we just hit the verb chapter. Whoa. The difficulty and complexity of this grammar instruction is beyond my understanding. I feel like how I suspect non-mathy folks feel about AOPS. I've never personally had this level of grammar instruction, particularly all those perfect forms, and I'm getting nervous about teaching it. Can a non-grammar parent survive the 3 remaining MCT levels of grammar? I need some hand-holding and reassurance. Has anyone else learned as they went through upper levels of MCT grammar? Or are all you Magic Lens teachers grammar experts and grammar lovers? Did anyone abandon Magic Lens and just continue with the vocab and academic writing?
  7. daijobu
    WTM really came through for me! Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughtful responses. It really does help.
  8. daijobu
    Dd knows a fair amount of Python, but is no expert. How big of a leap is it to learn objective C with the "objective" (ha, ha) of developing an iphone app? (We don't own any Apple computers at home, so we want to scope out this project before investing in a new computer that we really don't need...except for producing iphone apps.)
  9. daijobu
    Thank you for the advice! I'm trying to sort out using flares. I have always thought if you are stopped on a freeway, you should stay put: inside your car, seatbelt buckled. If I keep flares in my trunk, I need to get out of the car. Then where do I toss the flares? Same lane, just a bit upstream? As far as I can hurl them? How many flares? I guess I just want to know how and when to use flares. Thanks so much!
  10. daijobu
    If you are in or near the SF Bay Area, you should join BAGHS. They have had several online discussions about young students entering local CC's. Sorry I don't have much info myself, as we aren't using CC.
  11. daijobu
    It's a rare business book that generates love. What are they?
  12. daijobu
    Dislike. (Not you, the schools that restrict students from taking the AMC.)
  13. daijobu
    One more thing for future test-takers. Issuing a complaint will seriously delay your score reports. It's been about a month since everyone else received their scores, and we haven't received our report yet. They did tell us the scores over the phone, but we really would like the paper report for our records and to send to some programs. I called today asking, and she said she didn't know if they were on their way, but couldn't order a score report for me because they might be on their way. Sheesh.
  14. daijobu
    It's been a long while, but we used this: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/foil2.html
  15. daijobu
    I read aloud while the kids eat lunch. I pick articles from the Sunday New York Times that I think would interest them. Then I read aloud from their science magazines.
  16. daijobu
    My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor. What a great American story.
  17. daijobu
    Thank you for these great suggestions. You have given me a lot of resources to investigate.
  18. daijobu
    Thank you for this excellent explanation. It really helps to have real-world examples of circuits in action. And, yes, I did forget that the car actually turns off when you turn the switch to off, not when you remove the key, LOL!
  19. daijobu
    That's what I was thinking, especially for a non-speaking role. Now, I don't want to minimize the value of small roles. (I, for one, value them because they require less rehearsal time!) My daughter just loves being part of the group and contributing, and she especially loves the social aspect backstage. But with twice as many rehearsals, that often go late into the night, there's little opportunity to catch up on sleep if you are doing a double-shift, with only one role without lines. Weirdly, it appears that the entire leadership of the theater company changes from season to season. I.e., there is a new producer, choreographer, and director for the winter production than for last fall's production. So there appears to be no institutional memory of the actors from season to season. (I could be wrong about this. We're only in our 2nd season of participation.) There is a $50 deposit required to audition, but in this area, $50 doesn't appear to be a significant amount of money. Fortunately, my dd's double in the other cast does not appear likely to drop, so we're good. Theater has been such a great experience for my kids; I wish I had participated when I was a student!
  20. daijobu
    I'm learning electronics along with my dd's using Charles Platt's excellent primer on the subject. We are currently studying switches and relays. Please help me to see if I understand correctly how these are used in a car's ignition. When I turn the key in my ignition, I am effectively closing a momentarily ON switch (normally off, NO), sending a small amount of current to the relay. Because the relay handles sending a greater electric current to the engine, it no longer needs a constant supply of electricity from the closed circuit of my key. This is why (something I've been wondering about for years), when I release the key, it springs back to the OFF position, but the car continues to run. If this is true, then I have another question: What is it about pulling the key out of the ignition that causes the car to turn off? I welcome all discussion about car ignitions, switches, relays, and even other electrical components (capacitors, resistors, etc.)
  21. daijobu
    Hi: I never participated in theater (much to my regret) as a child, so this is all new to me. My dd participates in a local popular musical theater program for kids (generally ages 8 through high school). Everyone who auditions (and pays a sizable fee) gets a role. Around 100+ students participate in 2 casts, performing 10 times, 5 performances per cast. My daughter auditioned for the first time with this group last fall and earned a smallish role, which she was happy to perform. She loved the experience. However, she was concerned about the number of kids who drop out right after auditions. These students--presumably--were unhappy with their roles and quit either before or early in rehearsals. There was some shuffling of roles, but unfortunately, students who did NOT quit in the other casts were often asked to participate in BOTH casts. That means attending nearly twice as many rehearsals and performing in all 10 performances. While part of me feels that if you love theater, you should welcome the opportunity to participate more, it also seems as though the more responsible actors are being punished with excessive time at rehearsals and on stage. Fortunately this didn't happen to my own dd, but some of her friends had to pick up this slack. Is the usual way these things are handled?
  22. daijobu
    A recent standardized test revealed a weakness in my dd's reading comprehension. Read a passage, answer a few questions. I've been loving Sadlier's Grammar and Writing for Standardized Tests, and I'm hoping there is something out there like that but for reading comprehension.
  23. daijobu
    My daughter wishes to apply to private school, and I need help answering this question: Please compare this applicant's academic achievement with his/her ability. She is not an under-achiever. And I'm not quite sure how you can achieve beyond your ability. But "about the same" doesn't fill up the 1 inch of white space allotted to this. Is there some standard education-ese that fits?
  24. daijobu
    As promised here is the conclusion to this episode of the too cold SAT testing facility. We received a form letter in the mail indicating they made a "thorough investigation" and have determined that "no irregularity occurred that would affect the validity of your scores." We were given the option to cancel the scores and register for a future test date at no additional cost. We weren't really arguing the validity of our scores. We just thought it would be nice if they provided heat to the classrooms when the exam was offered, out of consideration for the students. My lesson learned is to investigate testing centers more thoroughly in advance. And it's good to know that a test can be retaken if you feel your scores were affected.
  25. daijobu
    We just finished the biological sciences thread and are about to return to the chemistry thread, acids/bases. I think so far it's been generally good. I like the reproduction part...from meiosis to ecosystem populations. Maybe I didn't execute correctly, but I felt a great deal of time was spent on viruses, but not a comparable amount of time on bacteria. Since vaccines were grouped with viruses, I felt like I had to sneak in the fact that there are these things called "bacteria" and some vaccines help with bacterial diseases, too. I also feel the lack of a textbook for the student is a greater problem at this level. I'm still able to find lots of supplementary texts, but it's more difficult now for some topics, like most recently, ecosystem populations. I wish he would write one for the student, illustrated in color. Still, I'm loving his "relentlessly big picture" approach to science. He won't let us see those trees until we understand we're in a forest, too! I'm eager to hear what others have to say.
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