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People seemed to enjoy last week’s buffet of assorted questions. Let’s set that up again.
1) I realize this first topic is dangerously close to David Israel’s always enjoyable Weekend Word Wrap. But I think lovers of language will still find time to contribute to both. (And haters of language should eat this up.)
Someone recently asked me if mental_floss had a vlog. Actually, he said, “Are you guys vlogging yet?” I shook my head while plotting an exit strategy. “No?” he scoffed in condescension. “You have to be vlogging if you want to be relevant.”
Like many, many others, I’m not a fan of the word “vlog.” Rather than debate its merits or suggest alternatives, answer me this: what single word do you most hate?
2) If we started mental_floss university* and asked you to teach a class based on your knowledge and experience, what would you call it?
3) Were you homeschooled? Do you know anyone who was? Did those students thrive in this environment? Were they hampered by it? (We’re looking for specific experiences. Anyone who says, “You’re a bad parent if you don’t homeschool your kids” or “All homeschooled kids are social outcasts” will be asked to sit in the corner.)
4) Name a book you haven’t read but want to.
5) Name a place you didn’t want to go but loved.
6) I spent the first half of Wednesday working from the Planet Smoothie Cafe in Roxbury, New Jersey, 25 miles from home. This would seem an odd place to conduct business. But I’m a vocal supporter of Planet Smoothie, having lived beside one in Atlanta, and the wireless was fast and free. So my question is this: What’s the strangest place you go to concentrate?
*We are not starting mental_floss university. We’re not even vlogging.
The one word I hate more than any other is a work word “onboarding.” Drive me nuts. An example, How are we doing with the onboarding? Yuck.
I always joked when I was a stoner that I should teach a class called Bong cleaning 101. I met every persons bong cleaning needs.
I was homeschooled briefly while my parents battled it out with various school districts trying to figure out who would send a yellow school bus to round us up. About a year and a half. This was essentially first grade. The one thing I remember about the whole experience is going to a store to get the homeschooling materials.
I want to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I love his essays.
I don’t have much to say on the other topics
posted by Adam on 11-9-2007 at 9:20 am
1) Moist. What a gross word. On a random and sort of related note, I also cannot STAND the sound Velcro makes.
2) Facebook stalking 101. It’s one of my favorite pastimes.
3) I have only known one home schooled person in my whole life. In seventh grade she joined our class… she had one of those weird last names that started with “den” then a space THEN a real last name. She was pretty socially awkward and couldn’t take good social cues… but then again there were many, many girls in my grade like that who didn’t have homeschooling as an excuse. Her dad taught our class after our teacher had some lung disease caused by a petri dish left out by some kid Alex (who still feels bad), and I don’t remember if she came to school because he was extended-subbing, or if he subbed because she was there. He was a lousy teacher, but a nice guy.
4) The Year of Living Biblically. Waiting for it in paperback :)
5) Sicily. I didn’t think I’d have fun because I didn’t know anyone who was going with me (study abroad). In the end they had to drag me onto the plane going back to the USA.
6) I really don’t have an answer to this one. I go to work, I come home, I veg out. I don’t even have a laptop to get wireless!
posted by Kelly J on 11-9-2007 at 9:24 am
1. least favorite word - irregardless
2. Class I could teach ‘You had a crappy childhood, get over it’
3. I was not homeschooled. No real opinion on that one.
4. Beowulf (not sure how I got through HS without reading it)
5. camping in NH - beautiful!
6. Best place to concentrate? The bathroom!
posted by JaneM on 11-9-2007 at 9:31 am
1) I agree with Kelly whole-heartedly. ‘Moist’ is a disgusting word. There are also about 3-4 alternate words for female anatomy that make me cringe. I’m a lady and you know what they are so I don’t have to spell them out. ;)
2) “Misheard Lyrics 101″
4) My list is a mile long. Have big plans for 2008 (my 30th year) to read at least one book a month. Wish me luck!
6) This is sad, but as the mother of a toddler, the bathroom is often the only place I can have a quiet moment to think. LOL
posted by mrs.djs on 11-9-2007 at 9:47 am
1-douche
2- I know everything,now you can too 101
3- everyone I know that was homeschooled seems very strange and deranged….
4-to many to list
5-west virginia
6-I have had an epiphany or to in the bathroom (oh thats another word that sucks)
posted by chad on 11-9-2007 at 9:54 am
1. I don’t know if this counts as a word, but any implementation of the word “you” using the letter “u” also teh. *cringe* I also cringe when people use excessive amounts of swearing in order to get a point across (GD, and the f-bomb are particularly over-used and annoying). Seriously, learn to express yourselves, people. Don’t use the same four words everyone else is overusing.
2. Learning How Not To Behave In A Relationship: An Observational Methodology. (with an extended lab session involving many of my friends) (learning-through-experience will not be credited for this course)
3. My roomate was homeschooled, although it wasn’t the traditional “mom teaches class” homeschool environment. There was a small co-op of parents that specialized in areas. She’s a genius, working on her masters with a focus on teaching english as a second language and almost finished with it at age 22. I’d like to do the same with my kids if I can find parents that would like to. I can teach business and math classes and the above course listed in question 2.
Had a friend in Highschool that was homeschooled in Elementary school, he was pretty socially adept. He knew better than to date me, for one, and contributed quite a bit to my experiential knowledge related to question 2. He joined the Air Force in college, finished the ROTC program and is now sitting on the panic button in some rediculously cold state.
Another friend of mine was also homeschooled, but this was due to the fact that she had an ear infection when we were in Jr. High and was permanently blinded. She is now working on a masters degree in English.
Two more homeschooled girls I know are some of the biggest ditzes I’ve ever met. Basically they’re enthralled by anyone who is not female and they spend a lot of time gossiping in bathrooms.
Wow. I know a lot of homeschoolers.
On the same topic. You should go google “Rhett and Link” and “Homeschooler” right now.
4. The Big Sleep, also The Code of the Woosters and Persuasion.
5. I don’t know if you could say I loved it, but I hate wrestling and I was dragged along last Sunday to watch it at a local pub with some of the guys. In spite of the Wrestling, I had a great time.
6. Since I don’t do the school thing anymore, I don’t have a whole lot of reasons to concentrate. However, there are a few places I like to go to read the bible and pray (although most frequently, I do this in my room) There’s a small memorial to the Wright Brothers near where I live that I go to in the summer and I spend some time at Panera Bread. There’s also a little coffee shop I like to go to. My friends and I also sometimes build fires behind their house and we all sit around and discuss different deep-thought-required topics.
posted by Ashley on 11-9-2007 at 9:54 am
after Kelly said “moist” is has much more meaning and emphasis now
; )
posted by chad on 11-9-2007 at 9:56 am
1) I used to hate the word “blog,” but then it became so common I just had to get used to it, and it doesn’t bother me anymore. Then came “webinar.” Every time I heard or read that word, I got nauseous. But, I have attended so many webinars now that it doesn’t really phase me. I have a feeling “vlog” is the same way. Certain band names also make me sick, like Pinback. Ugh.
posted by Molly on 11-9-2007 at 10:02 am
1) Brangelina (or any other combined celebrity name)
2) “How to Survive as a Creative in a Corporate Environment Without Cutting Your Head Off”
3) I was not homeschooled, and I’m not a big proponent of it. Personally, I think my daughter is better off getting away from me for a few hours a day.
4) “Water For Elephants” — I know, I’m probably the only one in the world who hasn’t read it yet.
5) I don’t recall ever NOT wanting to go somewhere. Seriously. Unless you count obligatory family functions, in which case, I don’t recall a situation where I ended up loving the experience.
6) I can tune the world out very easily by plugging in my iPod, wherever I am. It drives my husband nuts.
posted by Bre on 11-9-2007 at 10:06 am
1. Any word that is both a “bad word” and a regular word. ie Dick, damn, bitch. I am a grown up now, but I still remember being in 2nd grade and completely embarrassed asking my mother about Hoover dam.
2. Respect. The one thing I find that I talk to my kids about the most is respect. Respect for the environment (why we don’t litter) Respect for others (why we don’t talk religion with certain family members). Respect for things (why we take care of what we buy.
3. I homeschooled my kids for one year. When we were unable to continue I decided that I would continue to supplement their education. I teach them critical thinking skills and the subjects the schools do a weak job on. And, since my youngest is dyslexic - reading and spelling. Socially they do better than most kids - because I take the time to teach them respect. There are awkward kids who are homeschooled and regular schooled.
4. The year of living biblically.
5. Not really a place. But I didn’t want children. I absolutely LOVE being a parent. They are the ABSOLUTE BEST THING to have happened to me.
6. mentalfloss.com. I find that before starting a new task, if I spend a little time at this website, I can then focus on other tasks better.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-9-2007 at 10:14 am
Most hated word–can I please, please list two?
1. Hopefully–everyone uses it incorrectly.
2. Actually–everyone uses it too much.
Class I’d teach: “Learning from your parents’ mistakes–not wallowing in them”.
Homeschooling–who said everything you learn has to be learned in school? Everyone should do some schooling at home!
Books–I’m working on reading ‘em all.
Place I didn’t want to go but loved–Aiken, South Carolina. An amazing small city with a vital main street, top notch restaurants, a microbrewery, a 225 acre woods in it, roads and traffic signals especially designed for horses,and so many more things you need to go check it out yourselves. Oh, yes, a nice do-able day trip drive to Charleston, ditto Savannah and Tybee Island.
Where I concentrate–in my garden. I can work out frustrations as well as enjoy the cycle of life.
posted by Alice on 11-9-2007 at 10:22 am
Bre, I’d like to take your class.
posted by Ashley on 11-9-2007 at 10:27 am
My cousin’s kids are homeschooled for religious reasons. I think homeschool works if the parents are intelligent and they aren’t keeping the kids out because school might threaten their religious beliefs. My cousin (who never went to college) failed at properly educating her daughter, and now she can’t even pass the GED; but she succeeded in making her kids warped with religious teachings so that they have little chance of mainstreaming eventually.
On the other hand, another cousin of mine was homeschooled for awhile, and he turned out to be a high-achiever. I think it helped that both his parents were really smart, and they made education and not religion the priority.
It’s a lot easier for parents to teach the moral wrongs and rights at home and leave the teaching to the teachers than try to teach an entire curriculum.
posted by Lebetho on 11-9-2007 at 10:30 am
1. I hate the word “muffin”. The problem is, I love muffins, but I never want to order them at cafes because I don’t want to say the word. It’s pathological, I can’t explain it. I hate moist, too… the worst possible thing in the world would be a moist muffin… ughhhhh.
2. I suppose I could teach a successful course about the international music business, or music festival planning 101, or something along those lines.
3. I know lots of people who were homeschooled… some more effectively than others. For the most part, the ones I know seem perfectly fine, and that could be because there’s a highly constructed homeschool education network in these here parts. I also know lots of homeschooled people who are classically over-educated and under-socialized.
4. I Am America (and So Can You!)
5. The Tonder Festival, in Southeastern Denmark. I imagined it to be a super-dorky folk festival… which it kind of is, but I ended up having more fun there than I’ve ever had at a music festival (which is saying a lot, because that’s what I do for a living)… they had two full-sized tanker trucks full of Tuborg beer! I now judge all festivals based on the number of tanker trucks full of beer that they have, and most American festivals simply cannot compete.
6. The bathtub. I suppose it’s not that weird, but I spend a LOT of time in there. As soon as they invent waterproof laptops, my life will be complete.
posted by Megan on 11-9-2007 at 10:37 am
1. the word ‘embellashments’ when used in relation to scrapbooking trinkets.
2. Class: “What you think matters that really doesn’t 101″
3. N/A
4. ‘The Road’, McCarthy
5. Parenthood
6. Bathroom — the only quet room in the house.
posted by EV on 11-9-2007 at 10:37 am
even though I like doing it I hate the word blog
Psych. 101
no opinion on homeschooling I’ve known kids that were educated both ways I see no difference
‘Steve and Me’ by Teri Irwin
San Francisco
the bathroom, it’s quieter and yes, I’ve actually done homework sitting in the bathroom. It was the quietiest place in the house at the time.
posted by Melinda on 11-9-2007 at 10:45 am
1. word i cant stand: definitely blog. like most people have been saying im not a fan of combined words, i feel like people are trying too hard to sound cool. vlog, podcast, webisode, all of these sound lame, particularly when spoken.
2. class id teach: Zombies: Their history and apperance in pop culture.
3. i knew a couple kids from neighborhood activities who were homeschooled. smart as hell, but very sheltered.
4. i cant think of any books that i want to read right now, more like books i wish i hadnt read…
5. i never wanted to go to Catholic University but went on a tour as a way to get out of school. ended up loving it and going there.
6. theres a particular street corner on the national mall in DC that i meet my fiance at often. its usually easy to find parking around there and central located to many things to do around there.
posted by Sean on 11-9-2007 at 10:47 am
1) Inflamable - able or likely to burn… makes no sense, its the same as flamable and that is just a waste of two perfectly good letters.
2) Gadgets, Gizmos and Games the Three Gs.
3) I had a college roomate who had been homeschooled. He was 2 years older than me because the state university required him to take a bundle of remedial courses as his parents had not prepared him well for college. Smart guy though, and he eventually got better grades than I did.
4) Empire Falls
5) Pueblo Colorado
6) I don’t go anywhere unusal to concentrate, but to unwind I sometimes go to the food court at the mall, I love watching people.
posted by Scott on 11-9-2007 at 10:56 am
I loathe the word groovy. Luckily it’s not often used.
While many home schooled kids turn out just fine and quite intelligent, I can never forget the trip to NYC with my girl scout troop when I was 13. The leader’s 16 year old daughter was home schooled, and I vividly remember her throwing a tantrum and breaking down on the subway because something didn’t go just right or she didn’t get her way. Even as a little 13 year old, 1500 miles away from my family for the first time, I remember thinking, “Geez, get a grip, you’re behaving like a child.”
And I’ll never figure out how those mothers on TLC with the 15 kids manage to teach them all. Why is it that as the number of kids increases, the desire to keep them all home and teach them yourself also increases? I secretly think it’s because the hassle of getting them all up and dressed and out the door on time is just too much.
posted by cousin on 11-9-2007 at 11:11 am
1. Synergy - Annoys the pi$$ out of me. along iwth all the other office speak.
2. I’d have to go with Adam’s. I used to be able to scrape resin that no human should be able to.
3. Nope, I don’t think I personally know anyone who was. I do know several people who homeschool their children. Here in the Midwest it is almost always because of religious beliefs.
4. Into the Wild. I’ve read everything else by the author.
5. El Paso, Texas. I thought it would suck but I had a great time. The people there are terrific and the food is awesome. Been there 4 times for work.
6. Don’t really have a place. If it’s noisy I will put in my ear plugs. I did used to go to the 4th floor of my college’s library. It was on the corner and you could watch the commons area. Used to practice Schaudenfreud by watching people skim across the ice in the winter.
posted by Dusty on 11-9-2007 at 11:23 am
my cousins were homeschooled by my aunt who has a doctorate in early education. she was smart enough to know that they needed a lot of socialization and that once they were junior high age she wouldn’t be able to give them the proper instruction in science or the higher maths. so she sent them to junior high part time for just orchestra and science, then let them decide. out of the five kids, three ended up going full time and two stayed just part time. they were a little sheltered, but most of them are fine socially. one is an architect, one a dental assistant, one in law school, one undecided in college and one just entered college.
my brother in law, however, has allowed his crazy wife (who has no advanced education herself) to keep their daughter in their house or at church at all times. their education is too religion-centered, and she is so under-socialized it is just sad. her only friends are her parents and her dog. when they make the two hour drive to come see the rest of the family (which is not often), she seems nervous and out of place with the other kids. she doesn’t know how to play. and she doesn’t seem academically any better off than the other kids. she is just missing out on the common childhood experiences that would give her something to help her relate with her cousins and other children. and the social group her mother takes her to is all religion-centric and the kids are all equally sheltered. my husband and i want to steal her away and give her a childhood! her mother has her convinced that every person she meets is a predator and has filled her head with narrow-minded and sometimes bigoted views on the world. so of course she is frightened by new people and social situations. my husband and i think it will be entirely impossible for her to be a normal adult. either she will rebel and get into drugs and get pregnant, or she will be a shut in afraid of everything.
i think it’s a matter of how qualified the parents are and the kid’s personality. some kids do very well, but others really need the school experience. but why can’t you teach your kid outside of school too? if you feel the school isn’t teaching your child enough, teach them yourself or if you have the means, take them to a tutor or private school. but nothing can replace the social experience they get in school. once they are adults they will have to deal with people who are difficult and have very different opinions and values, so you should prepare them for that.
posted by lindsay m on 11-9-2007 at 11:29 am
1. I really dislike the word creamy. It just makes my skin crawl saying it. And though it’s more of an expression than a phrase, I go nuts everytime one of my students says “Ooooooouuuuuh!” in response to an instruction. AH!
2. My class would be “Learn to Take Initiative For Your Own Success Rather Than Blaming Your Failures and Shortcomings On Others”, also called “Growing a Pair 101″
3. I was never homeschooled, however one of my friends in high school was homeschooled until he entered ninth grade. He seemed rather well-adjusted, however that might have just been because he was good looking.
4. Siddhartha. I feel like I should read it to be a complete woman.
5. As for someone I didn’t want to visit but loved… I would have to say my first opera experience. It led to a love of opera, a college scholarship, and a career in music education. ZING!
6. The best place for me to concentrate is anywhere other than home. There are way too many distractions there.
posted by Ellen on 11-9-2007 at 11:43 am
I find it interesting that so many people (predominantly women) hate the word “moist.” I don’t get it. I’m a woman, and it’s just a word. Just strikes me as sort of funny. I’ve come across women who hate that word several times.
I could teach “how to pack up your apartment, move, unpack and start a new job, all in one week!” I’ve done that waaaay too many times.
no insights into home schooling. Didn’t know any, wasn’t homeschooled.
I want to read Wuthering Heights. I need to work my way through more of the classics. I recently finished Pride and Prejudice and loved it.
Austin, Texas. I was very apprehensive about moving there (yet another move!), thinking, “oh gawd, I’m moving to texas.” But Austin is a cool city, and I really liked it there.
I can really concentrate on the bus. I’ve got about a 20 minute bus ride morning and evening, and I can put some music on and totally get into my book.
posted by Jenny on 11-9-2007 at 11:53 am
1. Womb.
2. How to get six kids dressed and out the door in under five minutes.
3. Nearly every homeschooled child I know is well-adjusted and quite intelligent. I would homeschool if I had the patience. People assume I homeschool because we have a large family. I have met many homeschooling families and they are generally close, happy, diverse, and love travelling (which is one reason many do it—so they can go wherever, whenever they want).
4. I want to read The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers.
5. San Antonio, Texas. What a great city. Completely surprised.
6. I have some of my best ideas in the car while waiting for my children to exit the school at the end of the day.
posted by gretchen on 11-9-2007 at 12:01 pm
1. My sister and I both agree that, “crusty” is a disgusting word. First one that came to my mind.
2. Class I would teach? Something along the lines of Beatleology. I have a vast knowledge of Beatles trivia. I could finally put it to use!
3. I wasn’t homeschooled but, I had one friend that I used to know from church who was. She’s incredibly nice. But socially awkward? Most definately.
4. I keep hearing about “The Lovely Bones” or “Angela’s Ashes” and I’ve never read either of those. My boyfriend’s reading “Water for Elephants” right now and, told me I need to read it when he’s finished.
5. I guess the first thing that came to mind was Branson, MO. As a kid, I had a great aunt that lived in the Ozarks for most her life and she would bore me and my siblings with the stories. So, I always had a negative connotation to it. But, I’ve since moved to Tulsa and have been to the Ozarks a few times and…it is really nice there! I’ve been several times!
6. You know, something about the McDonald’s down the street from my work is strangely comforting. I bring my iPod and tune out o my lunch break.
posted by Rosie on 11-9-2007 at 12:04 pm
3. When I was lifeguarding at an indoor pool, we had a class in the middle of the day for homeschool kids. I remember one day we were waiting for the class to start and I was watching the kids play basketball. The did not know that you had to dribble! They were all running around holding onto the ball. It was actually quite hilarious. Also the kids in my swim class had a habit of telling inappropriate stories, like when they got diarhea (sp?) from eating a chocolate bar. Very strange.
6. I usually have epiphanies in the shower.
posted by stephW on 11-9-2007 at 12:11 pm
The word I absolutely hate is “Tat” short for Tattoo. Just sounds like it’s a euphimism for something else. I also hate juggernaut - it is overly used.
I would teach a course dealing with televison and trivia, maybe concentrating on M*A*S*H
Have known several people who were homeschooled. I think it is harder for them to mainstream and get into college, because of questionable credits, but otherwise I think it is a great idea, but doesn’t work for everyone.
I would like to read some of the classics, War & Peace, etc.
The places I didn’t want to go, but liked, are older relatives houses - great grandmother’s, great aunts and uncles, etc. Dreaded going, but was okay after I got there.
I don’t have a place to concentrate, but probably my computer room.
posted by LV on 11-9-2007 at 12:30 pm
1) “Nucular” and just about any swear word used in everyday conversation. There’s a group of guys at my school, and nearly every third word is the f-word. Someone I know suggested that they have made it into a new language. If you say “f—” like this, it means “moose”. If you say it some other way, it means “bench”. And so on and so forth.
3) I lived in a tiny tourist town in Hungary my seventh grade year, and since there was no way I could understand the language, my mom tried to homeschool me. Long story short, I got through three chapters in the science book and taught myself Algebra One from the textbook two months before the next school year started.
5) Balatonalmadi, Hungary. As I mentioned above, I couldn’t go to school, the language was a nightmare, and a lot of the people were not at all helpful, but I like a lot of things there better. No big ugly trucks, good mileage on all the cars, real food all over the place, not just McDonalds and mass-produced Walmart stuff, great public transportation, and many, many different kinds of salami!
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 11-9-2007 at 12:50 pm
1)My roomate refers to the female genitilia as the “Vajayjay” or “Vuh-Jay-Jay”. I think that is the most annoying word i’ve ever heard.
2)WTF Dr.Who? A course that explains this british sci-fi series to me. It’s appeal has been a mystery to me since if first caught a glance of it on PBS when i was 4.
3) I was “home schooled”, better yet “self schooled”. I’m doing better and i am more satisfied than most of my friends. Only problem is i could never tolerate structure. Never finished college, never could work for anyone besides myself. In the end i turned out succesful by my own hand.
4) I always wanted to read War and Peace just because it’s so f*cking long.
5) Belgium. I was 20 and backpacking through Europe. I was convinced Belgium would be a waste of time. Turns out they have great beer in Belgium. Ugly people, bad food but good beer.
6) I go camping.
posted by Jared Probst on 11-9-2007 at 12:51 pm
1. I don’t have a particular word I hate (except “retarded” or “gay” when they come out of the mouths of middle schoolers) but I really hate the phrase, “Think outside the box.”
2. How to Survive Working with Emotionally Handicapped Middle Schoolers. The first unit would be all about the importance of heavy drinking. The second would be about the importance of gathering funny anecdotes.
3. I was not home schooled but I have friends who were. Results seemed to vary. Some kids came out of it just fine (if a little shy) and others came out totally socially backward and had some rather incomplete and Biblically based ideas.
4. James Joyce - Ulysses. I tried…I really did. I just couldn’t hack it.
5. Hmm…Vienna. Initially, I was supposed to study abroad in Germany proper and I was disappointed when I had to resort to my second choice, Vienna. In the end, Vienna was definitely the better choice and I fell madly in love with it. It’s been almost 3 years and I still have dreams about it several times a week.
6. I don’t have a concentration spot anymore. I moved recently and have yet to find a new one. I also haven’t really had a need to concentrate in the recent past, so I haven’t really put much effort into a spot. It’ll probably end up being my study or my rock ‘n’ roll sewing room.
posted by Becky T. on 11-9-2007 at 12:55 pm
1. I hate the word “supposebly”. People insist on saying that instead of pronouncing it “supposedly”.
2. My class would be “Everything you need to know about Human conception, pregnancy, and infancy.” All this due to some unfortunate circumstances in my life.
3. Perhaps some parents that homeschool their kids would like to think that their children are socially adjusted and perform well. If the children have other outlets (such as church or playgroups) for social learning, then I would agree, yes, the students are socially on par with their classmates. It’s the students who DON’T have another outlet, who only have their siblings and parents as friends- it is these who are socially immature and unable to fit in.
4. Book I want to read “Brave New World Revisited” by Aldous Huxley. Also “Odd Thomas” by Dean Koontz.
5. Campeche, Campeche, Mexico was a place I was not thrilled about but turned out to be the highlight of my trip. The town is named Campeche as well as the state.
6. Sitting on the steps of my front porch is where I concentrate best.
posted by Liz hot on 11-9-2007 at 12:56 pm
i haaaate the word ’slice’ ick. gives me chills. on the other hand, i LOVE the word trouser. and buoy.
how to drive in the rain/dark. since apparently most people forget how to do so when it gets dark an hour earlier or a drop of rain hits their windshield
dont think i know any homeschooled people
me talk pretty one day by david sedaris. dont know why i havent read it yet…
i absolutely loved kosice, slovakia. go there if you ever get a chance. its beautiful, historic and superinexpensive
i dont concentrate once i leave the office. i go home and zone out until the next morning
posted by samantha on 11-9-2007 at 1:16 pm
1. Analytics, but “bandwidth” as in a person’s time is a close second.
2) Wizards in Literature
3) Nope, but I review scholarship applications for a major public university. It’s only in the last 5 years that we’ve seen homeschooled students excelling to the point of ocnsideration for top scholarships, but their numbers are increasing quickly. I think their increasing numbers are increasing the quality and variety of products (video lecture series, distance learning, etc) as well as fueling homeschooled groups that come together for socialization and extracurricular activities.
4) “Why I Appointed Bono VP and Resigned” by George W Bush
5) Austin, TX (I’ve never left)
6) Another company’s office - background noise and people but no one who knows me and will interrupt.
posted by Charles on 11-9-2007 at 1:36 pm
1. Synergy. Especially when combined with “leverage”. I’ve heard way too many people who insist on “leveraging our synergies”. Ullghh
2. Suck it up 101: You’re not entitled to ANYTHING.
3. I can easily see where homeschooling can be attractive. The gov’t can rarely do anything right but we assume that they can edumacate our kids?
4. War and Peace
5. Pittsburgh.
6. Chair glider in my backyard
posted by JP on 11-9-2007 at 1:45 pm
To “Liz hot”:
Another variation is “supposuvely.”
ARGH!
posted by mrs.djs on 11-9-2007 at 1:54 pm
3) When I was younger I had friends who were homeschooled and they were pretty all right; a little hyper but not too different than the other kids I knew.
Now, I have younger cousins who are homeschooled and my whole family is pretty sure that that’s what’s wrong with these kids. They are loud, disrespectful, and very close-minded. My brother and my boyfriend both refuse to talk to any of them and I am getting to that point. My mom thinks that all 3 of them will end up living at home forever. The oldest is 14 and has decided that she even wants to do college at home.
I don’t want to down on my aunt and uncle (they’re cool as hell) but they must have missed a step in the process, because I have met plenty of homeschooled kids who can function out in the world and my cousins can barely function outside of their house.
posted by Marta on 11-9-2007 at 1:59 pm
Cool.
Working by not working.
Homeschooling strikes me as odd.
The Idiot.
L.A.
Anywhere that has plenty of background noise.
posted by DW on 11-9-2007 at 2:02 pm
1) I know it isn’t a word, but I really despise when people say the non-word “irregardless.” It’s illogical.
2) I don’t know, but when you start Mental_Floss University, will you please send me an application?
3) I was never homeschooled, nor did I know anyone growing up who was, but I work now in higher education on the admissions side and have become (slightly) more knowledgeable on the subject. The kids I work with who are tend to be very socially integrated — perhaps, in part, because their parents are very conscious of the stereotype that will follow their child through life as a “home schooler.” I’ve also found them to be incredibly involved outside of their education due to the fact that it is through these activities that they are exposed to their peers. Just a thought.
4) Anything by Kurt Vonnegut.
5) Tombstone, Arizona. I mean, it’s still cheesy as all get-out, but in a great way.
posted by Nora on 11-9-2007 at 2:40 pm
Oh, and
6. When I was in college, I’d sometimes grab an unoccupied practice room in the music hall. They’re sound-proof which means a killer location to avoid additional noise, and no one would ever think to find you there.
posted by Nora on 11-9-2007 at 2:42 pm
Being from the South, I get to hear ‘yonder’ far too often. Or, as it’s actually pronounced here - ‘yunder.’ Drives me crazy and I often find myself biting my tongue to keep from asking, “You mean over there?”
I used to hate y’all too, until I got into a customer service gig and found it earned me loads of points with the blue-hairs if I threw in a y’all every few sentences.
posted by Jennifer on 11-9-2007 at 2:50 pm
On the book I’ve always wanted to read, (this is going to be a confession is good for the soul thing) I’ve always wanted to finish Candide. It was assigned in high school and that was its downfall - I could NEVER read any book assigned all the way through. I laughed my ass off at the first few chapters, then put it down and was never able to finish it. Bought it a few years ago to re-read in hopes that the curse of high-school assigned reading would have worn off - it hasn’t, but I did manage to get a chapter or two farther.
posted by Jennifer on 11-9-2007 at 2:53 pm
1. Not sure if this technically qualifies, but I’ve always had an inexplicable problem mixing up “drippings” and “droppings.” And so, as the holidays approach, let me just say that “turkey drippings” are quite tasty in recipes, while “turkey droppings” are most likely decidedly not.
2. Sometimes, Old Ways ARE Better: Technological Hindrances in the Modern Workplace
3. I worked at Barnes & Noble during grad school, and our store was a popular ‘field trip’ destination for the region’s homeschoolers. Overall, I don’t think it’s a topic that lends itself to generalization. (I really like that sentence - that may go into my greatest hits file!). It’s more of a function of the parents’/teachers’ abilities and the kids’ attitudes.
4. In the Beginning.
5. Ogden, Utah.
6. Although we’re fast proving it the _flosser’s room of choice, I did log a lot of concentration time in the bathroom during grad school, specifically in the tub. I found the persistent fear of drowning to be a good motivator for not dozing off in the middle of dense academic prose.
posted by Roger on 11-9-2007 at 3:09 pm
1. Irregardless - it’s not a word, and people from MA sound terrible when they say it.
2. Hand-To-Hand Combat: Gaining the Advantage Through Strategically Placed Elbows… But all the students would call it “Elbowing” for short.
3. Some girl I went to college with was home schooled and she was more normal than I would have imagined.
4. The Power Broker…it’s too big, it needs to come in 3 parts because I feel like I’m working out while I’m reading.
5. Harrisonburg, VA
6. Driving
posted by JE on 11-9-2007 at 3:09 pm
1. always & never- I can not stand for someone to use the word “always” or “never” when they are speaking of things that will of or will not do in the future. They are both just a little too concrete for me.
2. Recovery 101-
Drugs Ate My Brain: Learning to be Productive with what is Left
6. parking decks- preferably the top level
posted by Kimsey on 11-9-2007 at 3:36 pm
1. The F word.
2. Beagle Behavior 101. I’ve had three of the little devils and can share lots of inside info on how to train them (ha!) and how to understand them.
3. I used to work with a group of 5th graders and 6 of the 8 were homeschooled. Five out of those six could not correctly write their addresses, phone numbers or parents’ names on the form that I handed to them at the start of class. To top it off they were the worst behaved kids that I’ve ever worked with. The public school kids were fine and could write at age-level.
4. Too many to mention. Probably all of the Presidential (auto)biographies.
5. Boston
6. Any quiet room.
posted by Cyndi on 11-9-2007 at 4:22 pm
2. Diseases You Will Probably Never Get or See - A course guaranteeing you will know exactly what that dude on House has. Also, you will never travel anywhere without a nose clip or first aid kit after taking this course.
3. In my sister’s senior year, a set of identical twins all of a sudden showed up at our high school. I’m three grades behind her, so i saw these girls a bunch. The general consensus was that they were probably incestuous lesbians. Apparenty one of them was very nice and really good at talking to people, but one was not. At all. And so the nervous one clung to the capable one.
They were also valedictiorian and salutatorian. Smart, but very strange.
5. Australia. Went when i was 7, now i wish i could go back and see my family out there.
6. When i’m wicked upset, i have to get out of my house. I drive, even if i can’t see through tears or panic attacks, to a commuter rail parking lot 30 minutes away. There, i either walk to a nearby lake or just sit in the car until i calm down.
One of the best things about this commuter rail is that it’s one of TWO in this rich jerk town. Some guy didn’t want to go less than a mile to the stop in the center, so he got one built in his back yard.
posted by schmooz on 11-9-2007 at 5:53 pm
1. I hate intentionally mispelled words that are intented to be cute or trendy. For example: thru, pak.
2.How to Sleep Overnight in an Airport and Live to Tell the Tale
3. I was homeschooled from grade 3 to H.S. graduation. I developed a sense of autonomy and personal responsibilty for my decisions. I also had a great time just learning, because it was on my time and in areas I was interested in. I turned out okay (I think?) and received the top scholarship in both my first and second degrees.Oddly enough, I’m now a teacher and often times I think about how far my students could go if they had the personal attention, space, and motivation of homeschooling. Of course, I believe in making the public school system the best it can be, but I think if parents are interested in homeschooling for the right reasons it benefits students to have an individually tailored program.
4. King Lear. I really shouldn’t admit to not having read this - I’m an English teacher!
5. Verona, Italy. I didn’t want to go, because it was an alternative landing for an originally scheduled flight to Venice. However, the wrench in the plans worked out to be better than the plans…
6. Anywhere there’s free wireless, especially the greasy gas station restaurant off the highway.
posted by Carole on 11-9-2007 at 5:57 pm
1. The one word I hate with a passion is ‘indicted’. Hate it because it is not pronounced the way it looks. Just take out the C and I will be happy.
2. I would love to teach a senior year course that would be aptly named….”Life 101 or The stuff you really need to know to survive in life but they don’t teach you in school.” Course would include topics such as…
How to handle the office brown noser: What do you do with the wine cork when it’s handed to you: Proper behavior while being ticketed by the police.
4. All of the major religious tomes that are the basis for that religion.
5. Navy boot camp. It was a must if one wanted to join the Navy. Hated the thought of going, feared for my life and once there realized that it’s not at all like what the movies made it out to be.
6. Do my best concentrating while fishing. Sitting at the end of a dock with the line in the water and no one else around.
posted by Owen on 11-9-2007 at 7:09 pm
1. I really really hate the word moist. Ewww…just gross.
2. I could definitely teach a course on how to kill a spider without getting too close with some aerosol hairspray and a shoe at the end of a broomstick. (Not a big deal, but very practical)
3. I knew a few homeschoolers. My second cousins were absolutely odd. No way to function in society at all. They should become amish. But, my good friend was incredibly in touch with the world, and also a great lab partner for organic chemistry. Thanks for the grades, Boe!
4. Cat’s Cradle…just havent gotten around to it.
5. School.
6. Under the Hennepin bridge downtown Minneapolis. However, I recently found out it’s not safe at night at all and need to find a new place.
posted by Heather on 11-9-2007 at 7:45 pm
1. I can’t stand it when people at high schools or colleges refer to the freshmen as “frosh.”
2. I actually teach a course at a real college . . . but a class based on my personal experience would be Advanced Topics in Procrastination. Maybe with a weekly lab section in reading blogs :)
3. I had a friend in college who was homeschooled. He was the oldest child in a very large family. His parents homeschooled for academic and religious reasons. People who homeschool for religious reasons get a bad rap, but it really depends on the religious beliefs. This was a devout Catholic family, and generally Catholics take a very postive view towards reason, scholarship, curiousity about many diverse subjects, and the inherent goodness of the universe than fundamentalists do. This family took a Great Books/Trivium-Quadrivium, classical education kind of approach to homeschooling. Also when it came to science, they had no problems teaching evolution. No dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark nonsense.
This guy majored in biochem and eventually went to medical school. Overall he was well prepared academically for college. He wasn’t a mind-blowing genius or prodigy - but he was smart, hard-working, and well educated. Socially he was very normal, perhaps a little more mature than his peers. He had a lot less “drama” than others did in the adjustment from being a teenager living at home to being an independent adult at college. He was also very religious - but in a mature, intelligent, and principled way - not some brainwashed zealot.
4. The Brothers Karamazov. Don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.
5. The closest I can think of is Austin TX. I had to go there for a conference, thought it would be a boring state capital that shut down at 5 pm. Quite the opposite - pleasant surprise!
6. I don’t go anywhere strange to concentrate.
posted by just_say_no_to_lutefisk on 11-9-2007 at 10:43 pm
1. I can’t think of any words I hate, but I hate it when someone is singing any word with an r in it and goes straight to the arrrr sound. Ugh. It gives me the jibblies.
2. just_say_no_to_lutefisk, I would ace that class.
3. I have a couple friends who were homeschooled and they’re both very different. One is extremely hyper and excited about everything and everybody, and the other is more laid back and quiet. But both of them are very intelligent and for the most part well-adjusted.
4. Oh, the list is a mile long. One of these days I’ll get to it.
5. I didn’t want to go to Malad, Idaho, but I had a blast there, but that was mostly because of what I was doing and not because Malad is an exciting place to be.
Roger, I’m glad you liked Ogden. It’s my hometown, and I’m pretty partial to it myself. :)
6. I don’t go anywhere strange to concentrate, but I always have good ideas in the shower or while talking to myself while driving.
posted by Janel on 11-10-2007 at 1:55 am
1. I hate the word “canoodling.” I also hate the words “Honky Tonk,” and “Synergy.”
2. I would love to teach a class on the finer art of being a smartass.
3.All the people I know who homeschooled their children did so because they were super religious and wanted to protect their little ones from the worldy ways of all those sinnful public school kids (who everyone knew where all doomed to burn in hell). There. I think that gives you a clear opinion on what I think of the parents. Who knows how the kids turned out?
4.I need to read The Grapes of Wrath. I just got it for my birthday and JS is my favorite author.
5.I wasn’t crazy about living in Mexico (Baja California) when I first moved there and I still don’t like the bigger cities, but the wild deserts were beautiful and I still think of them on cloudy days here in California.
6. I work for the Coast Guard and I have to sit up in a tower for hours at a time as a watch stander. When it’s slow and no one needs help, it’s actually a pretty nice place to think..or fill out a random questionnaire on mentalfloss.com
posted by Kelly P on 11-10-2007 at 9:28 am
1. Yellowish.
2. “Ten Steps to Genius”–a class studying and imitating the geniuses of history. I actually proposed this class to the head of the honors department at my university.
3. I was homeschooled every year until university. I’m a National Merit Scholar, so I think homeschooling has the possibility of producing intelligence. Of course, being homeschooled, I know plenty of other homeschooled students.
My experience has been that there’s almost no middle ground. Either your parents are intelligent and push you to work as hard as you can to achieve great things, or they make excuses for why you can’t accomplish anything.
4. “Be the Change”, a book written by Zach Hunter, a 15 year old abolitionist.
5. My boyfriend persuaded me to visit Calico Town, which is an abondoned gold rush town in the California desert. It was beautiful at sunset.
6. Talking to other people. When I have an excellent conversation (one of those late night talks) I feel so inspirated and get all these ideas to go rock the world.
posted by stephanie on 11-10-2007 at 4:57 pm
1. Unbeknownst.
2. Letting the Laundry Go, or Finding Your Inner Feminist
3. Homeschooled my kid for one year after pulling her out of 7th grade because the school was so bad they had armed security guards and she was getting groped regularly in the stairwells. I semi-taught her, gave her plenty to read, saved my money until we could move to a better neighborhood. She entered high school the next year and tested well enough to enter honors classes in three subjects, but I think that was more her doing than mine.
4. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth.
5. A baseball game, long time ago.
6. On the bullet train to Stockholm. I always sit in first class to escape the ill-behaved children (nine out of ten in Sweden) and there is something about the quiet in the car and the soothing swish of the rails slipping past at 200 kph that really clears my head.
posted by Rosemary on 11-11-2007 at 10:46 am
1. Irregardless - as mentioned previously, this is not a word and it just grates on every one of my nerves when people say it!
2. Learning To Think For Yourself 101 - covering an array of topics ranging from politics and religion to music and fashion.
3. I’ve known homeschooled kids who were very intelligent and well adjusted, but I’ve also known those who did not seem to actually get an education and lacked most basic social skills. I agree with earlier comments that it really depends on the parents and their motivation for doing it.
4. Lolita - it’s one of those classics I feel I really need to read, and I have actually tried to recently, but the subject matter is just so creepy that I had to put it down.
5. I’m having a hard time thinking of a place for this one. I usually am just excited to go anywhere!
6. I seem to concentrate and think best while driving (unless I’m stuck in crazy traffic). This is also what I do when I’m upset, although it’s probably not very safe!
posted by Nicole on 11-11-2007 at 4:20 pm
1) I have several words that I really dislike, but the F word is pretty high up there.
2) How to Have Fun Being Yourself, I think…
3) I was home schooled all the way through grade school and high school, and now attend a public university. I think home schooling helped teach me to teach myself, and how to study on my own. I don’t think it hindered me socially, for the most part, but part of that is because I’m a born “people-person,” so I probably wouldn’t have had an issue with that, anyway. One of the advantages I have seen for home schoolers is that you can learn more at your own pace–faster than normal, if you want to and are able to do so, or slower, if you need to. I had a lot of home schooled friends, and honestly, I think you have just as big a variety of personalities, temperaments, gifts, and difficulties among home schooled students as you do among students who attended more traditional schools.
4) Book 12 of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time! I know, I’m a nerd… :) I haven’t read it yet for the simple fact that it hasn’t been written yet.
5) I really like traveling, so I’m hard-pressed to think of a good answer for this one. Actually… I didn’t really want to go to the university I’m attending now, but my parents talked me into it and I came here mostly to make them happy (and because they offered a better financial deal than anywhere else I was considering)–however, I love it here now! I have had so many wonderful experiences and made some amazing friends here that I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
6) A tree. There’s a really good climbing tree on my university’s campus, and sometimes I take a book and sit in the tree to read it.
posted by Amber on 11-11-2007 at 9:36 pm
I’m with Jenny (comment 23) - I don’t understand what the problem is with the word moist. It just makes me think of delicious cake or perfectly cooked turkey!
posted by Molly on 11-12-2007 at 9:18 am
1) Banal. It’s just so…blah.
2) Turd Ferguson and Sanjaya Malakar Control the Universe-The Study of Pop Culture and America’s Life in Front of the Television
3) Homeschooled kids had the best narcotics.
4) Crime and Punishment
5) Delaware
6) When I was a child and had talked out of turn, Mother would put a bean bag in the bathtub and I had to think about what I had done for exactly 1 hour. A lot of answers came to me in that bathtub.
posted by FISHLEGBOOTS on 11-12-2007 at 9:20 am
1.Word I hate: seen
Why? Because people don’t know how to use it properly!
2. Advanced Procrastination
3. No homeschool experience
4. I’m a librarian.. the list is endless!
5. How about a place I really wanted to go and ended up hating: Mexico, specifically, Nogales.
6. In college it was my bed, with music playing. Silence distracts me!
posted by margaret on 11-12-2007 at 10:33 am
1. Ointment.
Game over
posted by B on 11-12-2007 at 10:54 am
1. Any word people can’t say or use properly, including the ones listed above such as “supposably”. (Being an elementary school teacher makes this difficult)
2. Random Trivia 101: How to fill your brain with seemingly useless facts, quotes, and concepts.
3. I have to agree that the parents/teachers have a lot to do with how a homeschooler turns out. I’ve taught previously homeschooled kids with no social skills or understanding of the right way to deal with others. But I’ve had friends who were homeschooled and were bright and popular. I plan to homeschool my children if the circumstances allow, otherwise I will school them at home in whatever their school fails to teach them.
4. Any of the hundreds of books that are already in my bookcase but unread.
5. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of being sent to Israel in high school, went cause my grandma wanted me to. Ended up being an amazing experience.
6. Bathtub or quiet coffee shop. Something about getting me away from my desk allows me to actually get some work done. The back porch is nice too.
posted by Sara on 11-12-2007 at 7:11 pm
1. “Y’all.” Never use, never will. I grew up in Chicago and moved to Birmingham when I was 14. I took such heat–and still do–for my “Yankee accent.” Dealing with frigid “old southern” customers in the food industry has always been the worst! I cannot tell you how many times older women took offense to my greeting of “How are you guys doing today?” I wasn’t calling them MEN!
Oh, and to JaneM: “irregardless” not actually a word; it contains two negative elements (-ir and -less). It’s redundant.
2. Common Sense Defense
3. I was home schooled for 7th and 8th grade. The school systems in the area I lived at the time were, suffice it to say, not the best (think Dangerous Minds). I went through an accredited school in Baltimore (Calvert), and did most of it on my own; my mom was working two jobs at the time. I was already awkward and shy before I was home schooled, so I doubt much would have changed before I entered high school. I liked being on my own time table and in solitude. Shrug. I don’t regret it.
4. The Story of Philosophy. I know it’s an introductory book, but I find the whole of philosophy both alluring and intimidating.
5. I sure as hell didn’t want to move to Alabama when I was a teenager, but have acclimated to the area over the years. There’s no way I’d be able to survive a Chicago winter now.
6. Typically, I concentrate better if I’m anywhere else than my house. It feels like I’m here all the time… Gets rather monotonous and deadening after a soon.
posted by Amanda on 11-12-2007 at 7:38 pm
1. Heinous (Whenever law and order: svu starts I cringe)
2. Self-destruction for the morally and socially inhibited.
3. I know of only one (whose mother was sexually and physically abused from early childhood to adulthood and too afraid to let her daughter experience the world) Don’t know how it’s going, but I know the world is going to eat her alive one day. (She only just recently ate something with sugar in it, accidentally at that, and she’s 7.)
4. The 9-11 commission report: omissions and distortions by David Griffin.
5. The first time I moved to a new town.
6. Any flat roof of any stading structure. Office buildings, Apt. buildings, etc. or abandoned places. (Anyplace I can be safely be sure no one will just happen across)
posted by captain on 11-18-2007 at 4:39 am