Val is ill and cannot work for a week...

Wed Jan 17 15:46:39 UTC 2007

SignWriting List
January 17, 2007

I am ill in bed with a fever, everyone. And I cannot work...I am so  
sorry ....I am going to a group of doctors today, and I do not plan  
to work for at least a week...

In that message I was trying to explain that I couldn't continue at  
the work pace I had set for myself...Kim seemed to understand  
it...but I guess I didn't explain myself well for others. Nor did I  
understand that I was really that ill...So there have been a lot of  
misunderstandings as to what I was trying to tell you...I do not have  
the next lesson even developed...I had hoped to develop it while I  
was giving the students feedback....then I became ill and things got  
overwhelming for me...so as soon as the fever goes down and I can  
work again I will try to work on that...No promises as to when.

I am glad no one paid me to teach this course, or I would have to  
return your money...and just the administration of that would have  
been overwhelming too!

I will write to Juliette privately about schools using  
SignWriting...I hope someone else will write Juliette too?  
july.tigre at free.fr

After that, I am turning off my computer...Have a wonderful week  
everyone!

And I hope you continue to write to each other here on the  
List...thanks to Stefan, you will have a PDF document with photos and  
contact information...plus please use the SignWriting List as an  
excellent forum to write handwriting to each other! The List is here  
for you to use with or without me...

And best of luck with teaching SignWriting, Cherie, to your  
students...I look forward to hearing more about that later!

Val ;-)

On Jan 17, 2007, at 3:30 AM, Cherie Wren wrote:

> I agree 100%! detailed diagnostic feedback to each student would be  
> over and above what is required.  Perhaps at most a general "grade"  
> and a short "focus on how you draw the handshapes" type feedback.   
> But detailed feedback without any more lessons teaches a lot less,  
> I feel, than the other way around.  Just my feeling...
>
> cherie
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Stefan Wöhrmann <stefanwoehrmann at GEBAERDENSCHRIFT.DE>
> To: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 11:42:47 AM
> Subject: AW: [sw-l] Handwriting Course New Schedule ;-)
>
> Hello Valerie and Handwriting course participants -
>
> I apology in advance if anybody feels uncomfortable with my message  
> - just
> my idea about how to handle and what to expect ...
>
> Valerie - you know that I am a teacher of a group of 9 - 10 deaf  
> students. I
> had to smile when I saw coming more and more students to your  
> classroom - it
> happened at our class all the time - that during the brakes between  
> two
> lessons - deaf students from other classes of the school drop in to  
> ask this
> and that, to look at our materials, to have a small talk --
>
> There is no way to give a detailed feedback on the homework of  
> every student
> - no the chance at all. What I do is - I try to understand a general
> problem, kind of typical misunderstanding, ... or mistake that  
> happens again
> and again -
>
> Now I try to teach this aspect. First of all it seem to me more  
> important to
> give them a chance to see the solutions as it is thought by the  
> teacher. So
> writing the sentence at the blackboard or with computer and shown  
> with the
> beamer would be a good method to allow anybody to reflect his own  
> outcome
> with what I would expect.
>
> Only very few students miss the point to see the difference between  
> what
> they have performed and what they should do differently.
>
> Looking all the different pages you got I would feel overwhelmed and
> confused if I should comment on every homework, if I should propose a
> different variation ... no that would tear me apart - and time goes  
> by - and
> students are waiting for me to teach the second lesson ....
>
> So what do you think about my suggestion - just to accept that many  
> people
> show interest - in this case too many in order to run the course in  
> a way at
> it has peen set up in before - (Next time it would make sense to  
> set a limit
> - like you do in any class or workshop depending on the need of  
> personal
> feedback)
>
>
> 2) What if the participants accept that they will learn during coming
> lessons - just as you point out with this wondeful chart of 4 columns
> (printing, handwriting printing .... ) and that there first  
> homework is just
> kind of contribution - and if there signs involved which are  
> difficult to
> read - well lateron this will / should be no problem. Compared with  
> so many
> misspellings in the SignPuddle dictionaries ist should be no  
> problem to
> accept these first writing attemps as what they are : first  
> attempts - smile
>
>
>
> 3) If you happen to find a typical or critical "misunderstanding"  
> you may
> want to focus on this during a following teaching sequence but  
> there is no
> need to change your "curriculum".
>
>
> 4) What if you could just give a short statement about the  
> different sign-
> names. You know - names are important to people and if they develop  
> a habit
> - a routine how to spell and how to "design" their namesign it will  
> become
> pretty much difficult to change that after some time.
>
> But since all of us are interesting in Handwriting it would be a  
> good start
> for any student to know that the way he/she is writing his/her  
> namesign is
> well accepted from the teachers point of view - smile
>
> This should be enough for lesson one and should allow anybody to  
> leave the
> classroom with a feeling of hope and acceptance in order to begin  
> with the
> homework for lesson two - writing columns of his sign name or  
> writing a list
> of the sign names of all participants or .... well you are the  
> teacher -
> smile.
>
> I am looking forward to see more of your own Handwriting! (especially
> Handwriting Priting SW)  To compare your way of writing the arrows,  
> the
> circles, the handshapes,..with my own exercises so far is most  
> interesting
> to me.
>
> So please think about this and if possible think about your coming  
> procedure
> a second time.
>
> Feedback to this posting is most welcome!
>
> Stefan ;-)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> [mailto:owner-sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu] Im Auftrag von Valerie  
> Sutton
> Gesendet: Dienstag, 16. Januar 2007 10:39
> An: sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
> Betreff: [sw-l] Handwriting Course New Schedule ;-)
>
> SignWriting List
> January 16, 2007
>
> Dear Handwriting Course Participants!
>
> We now have 18 people who have submitted their homework, with several
> more promising to send theirs. Just creating the web pages for each
> student is a job for me, besides so many private messages being sent
> to me daily...It is quite overwhelming for me to handle so much, plus
> my other duties required of me. We have our Annual Board meeting on
> January 27, and I am still doing the Treasurer's Report and Year-End
> Report for that meeting.
>
> It is wonderful to think that so many people are interested in the
> Handwriting course. I didn't realize there would be so many!
>
> Since this is a free course, the teacher has the right to cut the
> schedule in half...and I do not have much choice, since I too have
> been ill in bed with a sinus infection the past few days...
>
> So no matter what, I will create a web page for each student, and
> give you all feedback on what you have written so far...
>
> There will, most likely, not be another assignment after I give you
> feedback on this one...
>
> What does feedback mean? it means I am going to read each sign and
> discuss how to read it, with all 18 to 20 students...on the SW List,
> so you all can learn as I go...
>
> and I then hope that you all will continue to work together to write
> together -
>
> So that is the ew plan!
>
> So feedback will start with Student number 1 in the next day or so....
>
> Val ;-)
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com