[thechat] Jan 18 peace march

[aardvark]

> From: Martin Burns <martin at easyweb.co.uk>
>
> > there should be no high school graduation parties or ceremonies...
> > graduating should be expected...
>
> Graduation celebrations should be a life-stage celebration, not an
> achievement celebration... a coming of age of sorts, not a passing of
> exams.

isn't that what prom is? and i don't mean in the sanctioned activity
sense, i mean like band camp should also be a coming of age...

> I particularly get pissed off with children who are deemed incapable
> of learning a foreign language. Language learning is innate in humans
> - how badly must you teach it to break that?

not an issue i've heard much on...

> I'm not *that* good at languages[1], but I learned enough Italian in
> less than one side of a learn-Italian cassette to survive and get
> everything I needed in Genoa last weekend without really speaking any
> English. I couldn't discuss philosophy or current affairs, but I could
> ask for a little hot milk for Morgan, whether it was possible to get a
> boat to Portofino and complain about restaurant service. I probably
> doubled my vocabulary or more in 4 days.

dude, it's common knowledge that nobody *speaks* italian... it's all
in the hands...

> I even had one wierd conversation with a taxi driver who spoke as much
> English as I did Italian, a little more French (which I speak very,
> very rustily) and quite a lot of Spanish (which I don't really speak
> at all). In 4 languages - all broken - we had a 10 minute
> conversation.
[...]

ever speak rusty spanish to a native portuguese speaker? makes for a
unique conversation...

--
my latest book project:
  Web Graphics for Non-Designers
  http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1904151159/evoltorg02-20
  ISBN: 1904151159