Dear WinkWorld Readers,

Recently, we have focused on linguistics and language acquisition from Ruthie Wienk, and now we will jump right into the Buffalo Roundup 2016.  Diversity is the name of our game.  More information on this Round Up is posted at the end of this WinkWorld.  I saved the best for the last.

This year I did not ride.  I have been to “the top of the mountain,” and just decided to leave well enough alone.  Thank you to Sherry Bunting for sharing these photos; her information is also at the bottom of this WinkWorld.

In the photo below, Wink is carrying the South Dakota flag.  Pretty cool to have the Speaker ride and carry the State flag.

Each year 1200 to 1500 buffalo are brought into the pens for branding and their shots, and older sick animals are removed from the herd.  In the photo below, you can see a few of the mounds of prairie dogs; it is very easy for a horse to step in a hole and break its leg. During my whole life, I have been taught to never run your horse in a prairie dog town.  However, during the Roundup, that rule apparently does not apply.

The young woman is the SD Rodeo Queen.

It is thrilling to ride in the Roundup, and it is also thrilling to observe the entire panorama of action.

I was thrilled that we were able to stay at Windbreak House, the home of famed SD author, Linda Hasselstrom.  Windbreak House is now a very busy writing retreat.  You will find it on Facebook and click here for more.

Here is the Buffalo Roundup 2015 from WinkWorld.

Here is Buffalo Roundup 2015 from Sherry Bunting.

Agmoos.com is Sherry Bunting’s blog which focuses on rural people and places.

The official website of the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup.

I saved the best for last: a YouTube from the 2015 Roundup.  At about 10 seconds, you will see a fleeting  FAST rider shooting across behind the buffalo and in front of all of the riders.  That was me: I had just seen Wink, after I couldn’t keep up with him during the Roundup.  I was in a hurry to get over to him so we could finish together. Some of my finest work….

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

You may remember that in a previous edition of WinkWorld, Ruthie Wienk shared her introduction to a linguistics class, which she is teaching.  We will continue with selected videos, which Ruthie is creating for class.

In the video posted here, Ruthie continues with a presentation on 3 perspectives on language acquisition.  I particularly like her explanation of Dynamic Systems Theory (DST). I appreciate the work of Tom Rainforth of the University of Cambridge, who created a computer-produced simulation of a mathematical system.  Similar simulations can be seen at the DailyMail.com, September 21, 2016, which were made available October 16, 2013.

To see Ruthie’s first video on her introduction to linguistics, see WinkWorld, September 16, 2016; click here.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

Some of you may remember that I recently posted Translanguaging: What In The World Is That?  After that was posted, I heard from a friend and colleague, who had more resources to share with us.

Translingualism Resources from David Schwarzer

David Schwarzer, Ph. D., Professor, Montclair State University

schwarzerd@mail.montclair.edu

David continues to work on translanguaging and translingualism.

Thanks, David, for sharing with us.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

This post is really for a group of friends/colleagues on Facebook, but this is just the easiest way for me to get this information to them. Stay with me; you will understand.

First, I posted this on my FB page.

“Paper or pixel? That is the question. I just was contacted by a teacher, who works for a district which will be going all digital for all kids; she teaches in primary. Yes, they have a lot of kids who come from families where languages other than English are spoken, and yes, they have high levels of poverty. The teacher understands that all kids will have to read digitally, but she wants books also–particularly for the younger children. I have provided her with information, as the district says they will listen IF she can provide support for her views. I opined that perhaps they should provide support for their views…..

Both the teacher and I would love to hear your thoughts and knowledge of specific citations. Thanks in advance. Let the dialogue begin.”

Next, the dialogue took off, and it was wonderful. The colleagues shared a lot of information.  I took the information and made a little bibliography, which I wanted to share back with this FB group.  However, I seem to be able to post videos and photos to FB, but not a Word doc or a pdf.  I read all of the Google/YouTube/Apple instructions, and the easiest/fastest option was simply to post the bibliography here and then share the URL with the group on FB.

Help yourself if you want it, too otherwise I am sorry to bother you.

Here you go, FB friends, who generated these citations.

paper-or-pixel-citations-9-20-16

For those of you following Ruthie Wienk and her discussion of Linguistics, the 2nd installment will soon be coming.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

In the last WinkWorld, I mentioned to you that we would begin a short series of selected videos from Ruthie Wienk who is teaching a linguistics class.  The videos were all created for this class.  To learn more about Ruthie and this class, just click here.

Enjoy Linguistics and Ruthie!  Thank you for sharing, Ruthie.

Hello, WinkWorld Readers,

A few of you are as excited about translanguaging, as I.  In this post, I am including some resources which have come to me.

First, my friend and  colleague, Ruthie Wienk, of South Dakota State University will be sharing selected videos, which she has created for  a linguistics class, which she teaches for Black Hills Special Services (BHSS)/Technology in Education (TIE).  Thank you to Dr. Joe Hauge for permission to share these videos, and a special thanks to Ruthie.  I will begin posting Ruthie’s videos in a few days. And, no, she is not related to me.  In this class, she uses the following text:

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2014). Essential linguistics: What teachers need to know to teach reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, and grammar 2^nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Second:

What Is Translanguaging? by Francois Grosjean and Ofelia García.

Third:

Translanguaging: Practice Brief for Educators, from Joanna Yip & Ofelia García, Ph.D. of The Graduate Center, City University of New York.   In addition, a quick search on Google will lead to many other resources.

Fourth:

I believe I found this photo on Dr. Chris Faltis’s Facebook page.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

Forgive my absence. Let’s just call it my summer vacation.  But, I’m back.

In this WinkWorld, I want to share a bit of magic, which I experienced yesterday when the University of Arizona and the Grambling State University marching bands were practicing on the UofA campus.  They will be doing ONE formation together tonight at the game.

Here is The Pride of Arizona Wildcats Marching Band.

Here is the Grambling State University Tigers Marching Band.

Here are members of both bands: red t-shirts are AZ students and white t-shirts are Grambling students–hundreds of students listening carefully and following the directions of the UofA band director.

At one point, the young UofA band director asked all students to hit the e major cord, and the older (okay, about my age) Grambling band director whispered in his ear, “Tell them the final cord in “What Goin’ On” by Marvin Gaye.

When the practice session was nearly over, both directors spoke from their hearts to the students about the power of music to bring love and unity.

When practice ended, the Grambling band director said that his students had a song to sing and play to honor the UofA students.  The Grambling students started to sing and then play “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers.

I walked away in the hot Tucson sun, with tears in my eyes.  About an hour later, I returned and all of the kids from both universities were huddled in groups talking, laughing, singing, and dancing.

Keepin’ the faith.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

On my morning walk today, I realized that the cathedral was on my right, and…

and, the Mediterranean Sea was on my left.

Next, I walked by some of my favorite windmills, which take me immediately to the famed novel, “Don Quijote de la Mancha.”  I love the old windmills with the busy road running directly below them. Note the bus in the foreground.

We even have an old castle right up above the hotel where we stay.

The students are all teachers, who are working in countries around the world. Most are working on their masters degree or an advanced certification.

Yes, I am lucky: A great gig, indeed.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

The series of chapter summaries on my book-in-progress has now been interrupted by my teaching international educators in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

This peak into my class is specifically for the teachers in my classroom today.  The YouTube was created previously by a group of students who had never, ever created a video.  When they played it on the last day of class, I was moved to tears at their collaborative and creative summary of their learning.  You will also see that they were not afraid to dig around somewhere on the web and find an old photo of me.

Tove, Alma Flor, Jim, Steve: Heads up–you will find your influence.

Thank you, Eduardo and colleagues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3qzR8gUmWQ

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

The peak into my book-in-process continues. Briefly,  I have given you a glimpse into Chapter 1 (literacy), Chapter 2 (stories), and Chapter 3 (literacy stories).  In Chapter 4, I take on standards with stories about the dreadful effects of such mandated and controlled teaching and learning. We live in an age when the policy-makers want to standardized students.  As some of you know, I started teaching 50 years ago, and I have yet to meet a “standard” student.  Look at your own children–I am guessing that they, too, are unique individuals.

Not only do we have policy-makers h*ll-bent on standardization, but we also have corporate ‘reformists,’ claiming to be experts, whose goal it is to corporatize public education and make money on it.  Always follow the money. Thomas Jefferson and his beliefs in free public education must surely be rolling over in his grave.

Please note that the policy-makers and the corporate education folks have one thing in common: They are far away from the classroom, both in miles and in years.  The closer you are to actual kids in classrooms, the better  you understand teaching, learning, and students.  The farther you are from a classroom, the less  you understand about teaching, learning. and students.

I will open this chapter with a story about the big ideas of teaching and learning which ebb and flow through the decades.

100 Years in a 1000 Words

After this, I will bring in a few of the grass-roots warriors, who continue to speak truth to power: Thank you, Diane Ravitch, Ken Goodman, Steve Krashen–I really should not even begin this list, as there are so many scholars and teachers today who are daily contributing to the struggle to save public education.

Following this, I will have a couple of stories, which hopefully capture how kids and teachers suffer under these mandated outside influences.

Please note the Katie Knox illustration which will be in this chapter.