Comments on: In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue on the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria and the Cauliflower http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/ Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:04:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Pamela Reece http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24530 Pamela Reece Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:32:13 +0000 http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24530 Great post! As a mother of 4 children, it was some great insight to how children can respond. It also made me smile! Great post! As a mother of 4 children, it was some great insight to how children can respond. It also made me smile!

]]> By: carol http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24517 carol Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:25:26 +0000 http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24517 I've often thought I have the same disability or quirk. A word I KNOW is right on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite think of it. <blockquote>Mine’s like my computer hard drives: any given subject all starts out well-organized but soon develops so many links and fragments that only increased processing power can resurrect the original data, and it’s never untainted by a myriad of associations kinda picked up along the way</blockquote> You are SO right! Thanks for stopping by, David. Your comment is appreciated and enjoyed. I’ve often thought I have the same disability or quirk. A word I KNOW is right on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite think of it.

Mine’s like my computer hard drives: any given subject all starts out well-organized but soon develops so many links and fragments that only increased processing power can resurrect the original data, and it’s never untainted by a myriad of associations kinda picked up along the way

You are SO right! Thanks for stopping by, David. Your comment is appreciated and enjoyed.

]]> By: David http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24493 David Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:14:09 +0000 http://themediansib.com/2006/12/03/in-1492-columbus-sailed-the-ocean-blue-on-the-nina-the-pinta-the-santa-maria-and-the-cauliflower/#comment-24493 "...For the learning disabled child, though, the information is there, but the person must sort through all the disarrayed papers to get the piece of information needed at any given time. For Cheryl, the word “flower” was the key element, but she picked up the “names of vegetables” file instead of the ”names of Explorer’s ships” file." Yeh, I do the latter all the time, usually pretty quickly and with more than fair results. When that results in a positive outcome, folks generally think of it as "creative". When the results are sub-optimal, they're thought of as weird, dumb or simply evidence I'm not tracking. Few people's minds are as well-organized as they think they are. :-) Mine's like my computer hard drives: any given subject all starts out well-organized but soon develops so many links and fragments that only increased processing power can resurrect the original data, and it's never untainted by a myriad of associations kinda picked up along the way. I simply look at it as a blessing. I consider all the results to be creative, whether they're workable, sensible results or not. Discard the unworkable and explore the weirdly-connected workable or even merely plausible... or remotely possible. Sure, there are some learning disabilities that are genuine handicaps (a word that needs to be seriously re-examined and brought back into the public arena, IMO), but other "disabilities" (ADHD, et al) are <i>often</i> (though not in all cases) simply differences from what's considered, rightly or wrongly, a "normal" learning style. Maybe Cheryl has a hidden comedic (or other) gift that can be fed by such a wiring quirk. Who knows? As long as her wiring is viewed strictly as a learning <i>disability</i> she and the folks around her are unlikely to ever know. Part of the problem is an educational outlook underpinned by a manufacturing economy of scale outlook. It's nothing that is inherent in students or teachers, but is underlying the entire structure of public schools. Frankly, I'd like to see some serious study of the effects of reducing (virtually eliminating) the enormous economic burden of top-heavy administrations and bureaucracies and redirecting those monies into smaller <i>schools</i>, not just smaller classroom size, schools that have the additional burden of remote management by educrats experimenting with students removed and <i>directed</i> by close ties with the actual patrons of the school: the students and their parents. I believe we'd not only see less teacher burnout, but also greater accomplishment by students who are "other enabled" (which is what I saw in many "learning disabled" students when I was working in public schools). Looooong, sweeping hard left turn from your post, eh? Well, that's my disability. :-) “…For the learning disabled child, though, the information is there, but the person must sort through all the disarrayed papers to get the piece of information needed at any given time. For Cheryl, the word “flower” was the key element, but she picked up the “names of vegetables” file instead of the ”names of Explorer’s ships” file.”

Yeh, I do the latter all the time, usually pretty quickly and with more than fair results. When that results in a positive outcome, folks generally think of it as “creative”. When the results are sub-optimal, they’re thought of as weird, dumb or simply evidence I’m not tracking.

Few people’s minds are as well-organized as they think they are. -) Mine’s like my computer hard drives: any given subject all starts out well-organized but soon develops so many links and fragments that only increased processing power can resurrect the original data, and it’s never untainted by a myriad of associations kinda picked up along the way.

I simply look at it as a blessing. I consider all the results to be creative, whether they’re workable, sensible results or not. Discard the unworkable and explore the weirdly-connected workable or even merely plausible… or remotely possible.

Sure, there are some learning disabilities that are genuine handicaps (a word that needs to be seriously re-examined and brought back into the public arena, IMO), but other “disabilities” (ADHD, et al) are often (though not in all cases) simply differences from what’s considered, rightly or wrongly, a “normal” learning style.

Maybe Cheryl has a hidden comedic (or other) gift that can be fed by such a wiring quirk. Who knows? As long as her wiring is viewed strictly as a learning disability she and the folks around her are unlikely to ever know.

Part of the problem is an educational outlook underpinned by a manufacturing economy of scale outlook. It’s nothing that is inherent in students or teachers, but is underlying the entire structure of public schools. Frankly, I’d like to see some serious study of the effects of reducing (virtually eliminating) the enormous economic burden of top-heavy administrations and bureaucracies and redirecting those monies into smaller schools, not just smaller classroom size, schools that have the additional burden of remote management by educrats experimenting with students removed and directed by close ties with the actual patrons of the school: the students and their parents. I believe we’d not only see less teacher burnout, but also greater accomplishment by students who are “other enabled” (which is what I saw in many “learning disabled” students when I was working in public schools).

Looooong, sweeping hard left turn from your post, eh?

Well, that’s my disability. -)

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