NHS Class of '71 50th Reunion Survey Results

62 classmates responded to the online survey.

Below is a specific breakdown of the responses:

* Would you like to have a separate Class of '71 50th Reunion in 2021 or maintain a joint one along with the Class of '70 in 2020?

joint - 9
separate - 33
no strong opinion - 20


* Would you prefer the main Sat. reunion event to be:

informal picnic - 39
formal evening - 18
either - 4
other - 1


* If you have other main event suggestions, please enter here:

local alumni houses
dinner cruise on boat e.g. Lake Ticonderoga on Lake George
include a softball game
get some interesting venue


* If feasible, should we strive to have a live band perform at the Sat. main event -- e.g. band featuring NHS classmates?

yes - 46
no - 16

* Should a Friday night informal gathering at a local "watering-hole" be organized as we have previously?

yes - 46
not necessary - 16


* Would you like a tour of the high school to be offered sometime over the weekend?

yes - 31
not necessary - 31


* Should we organize an event for Sunday afternoon?

yes - 15
not necessary - 47
* If so, suggested Sunday planned activities

service project
brunch
river walk or stockade walk


* Other suggested activities for the weekend?

pot luck at NHS
organize a reunion hotel for out-of-towners


* What would be your max ticket price per person for the Sat. main event (assume cash bar) -- above which it would deter your attending?

$35 - 4
$40 - 12
$75 - 20
$100 - 12
$125 - 2
$ 150 - 12


* Are you interested to help organize and plan the event? (Out-of-towners welcome, but again, we really need some local folks!)

yes - local 10
yes - out-of-town 8


* We currently have about $450 in our class treasury. If we need to request some advance monies for deposits, etc., (e.g. $25 - $50), would you be willing to do that? (Assume it would be deducted from your eventual ticket payment)

yes - 56
no - 6


* This may seem like a rather odd question after filling out the above ones, but getting a preliminary sense of commitment re: attendance down in "black & white," even this far out, can be helpful for planning. Of course, we realize that future personal realities might alter expectations, but at this time, are you inclined to attend a 50th reunion -- regardless of how/when we decide to celebrate?

yes w/o guest - 22
yes + guest - 30
not sure - 9
no - 1


* Feel free to add any other suggestions or comments here:

if there is a band, make sure there is an area where others can still talk
invite faculty/admin that are still around
if a sit-down event, rotate seating during meal
have a joint reunion with '70-ers but in 2021
consider joint reunion with Class of '72


Feel free to contact me, David Ryan, at dcryan7@gmail.com

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #004

I recently received a marketing email from a highly respected Maryland-based video production firm. 

It had a feature about a project that had gone very well for them. The article contained the following phrase:

". . . we took a different approach to casting. We used non-union talent, but cast in NYC, Philly and Atlanta to increase the quality of the actors available to us here to shoot in Baltimore. . . ."

Hmmm, while I imagine a case could be made that NYC actors are generally "better" [i.e. "if you can make it in NY, you can make it anywhere"],  I doubt the same could be said for Philly or Atlanta actors. 

But I don't believe the author meant to "dis" the quality of Baltimore actors at all. Rather, I think he meant to say instead that the production team wanted "to expand the pool of quality actors for us to audition." 

The phrasing that was distributed in the eNewsletter needlessly offends, again, something I am sure this producer did not want to do. 

The latter phrasing that I suggest above would be perfectly acceptable to all readers, no?

So yeah, words, and how you organize them, really do matter. As in this case, not paying close attention to that can inadvertently cause one to sound obnoxious.

Suggestion: Whenever possible, take a break after writing the final draft of a communication and before hitting "send." An overnight respite is ideal if possible, especially if it is a communication of importance and/or wide distribution. The return and re-reading of what one wrote with fresh eyes often allows one to catch those subtle, cringe-worthy faux-pas.

Does accuracy of historical details really matter?

So I was at a school sub-teaching the other day, and I ran across the below recent issue of the magazine for students, Scholastic Scope.

Now, Scholastic has an excellent reputation for doing good work in supplementing education curricula. I remember enjoying reading it back when I was in school (the Dark Ages 😉).

Yet, I was puzzled by a graphic inside this issue accompanying an article about the 1776 American Revolution battle of Brooklyn.

Hmmm. Their illustrative map (see below) makes it seem that the Continental forces were facing west, almost as if they were attacking New York City.

How misleading.

Actually, American forces were facing mainly eastward against the British who eventually drove the Americans back against the East River.

OK, you may ask, "David, does it really matter?"

Well, it does if you want to get across to the students the significance of "the miracle" that Gen. Washington pulled off (aided with a lot of luck -- or Providence) by keeping a disaster from becoming a complete disaster.

Washington orchestrated the evacuation of his trapped army, undetected by the British, across the river back into the safety of Manhattan, during the night, under the cover of a most fortuitous fog. 

The operation involved a flotilla of local boats -- yeah, our American version of Dunkirk (a la the recent movie) that took place early in WWII.

If Washington hadn't succeeded, the American Revolution would likely be just a footnote in history. Yeah, the evacuation was that critical and significant -- and only one of many such brushes with "total annihilation" for the Americans in that war.

Students have enough challenges learning valuable "take-aways" from history. Graphics, such as maps, can be effective tools in making those points easier to understand. That's why it's important to get the details right.

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #003

Another post in my series of writing faux pas

Oh, the power of a misplaced or misused comma to confuse . . .

Imagine our surprise when turning on CNN the other night as my wife and I sat down to dinner. Quickly reading the above on-screen Breaking News textbox, we immediately wondered: "Whoa, had the Mueller investigation halted?" or "Was the comma perhaps a mistake and the investigation has stopped questioning wealthy Russians?"

Turns out neither.

We eventually realized that the correct story was that the Mueller team was detaining targeted, wealthy Russians at airports to question them about possible illegal donations. Oh, ok, when you know that, the text starts to makes sense. But that's backwards as to the purpose of the textboxes. On CNN, those boxes are meant to quickly provide the viewer an idea of what's being presently discussed. 

All that had been needed was to put an "and" or an "&" in place of the comma in the Breaking News textbox, and all would have been clear from the git-go.

Yep, proper use and placement of commas IS important.

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #002

Another post in my series of writing faux pas

As many of my friends and associates know, in between sales & marketing full-time gigs over the past few years, I've been doing a good amount of substitute teaching within the Howard County Public School System.

I tend to concentrate my teaching within high school Spanish and Social Studies courses, and I've been enjoying it a great deal. It's been a way to give something back, earn some  extra money, stay young, and get a ground level layman's view of the state of today's education. The latter has certainly been eye-opening (both good and bad), but that's for another post. 

Howard County is known to have the best overall student performance stats within Maryland, and the state of Maryland ranks near the top within the nation.

But alas, there is certainly room for improvement. I saw the following on an social studies instructional chart that gets handed out to students within a required high school course.


Example 1:

"Some people in China (known as Boxers) are tired of being argued about and want to be free of all foreigners."

Huh? Awkward choice of words and phrasing. Yuk!


Example 2:

"The US wants to trade with China. Other countries (Britain, Russia, Japan) only want China to trade with them."

Huh? I think they are trying to say, ". . . want China to trade only with them."

We can do better.


If you run across something you think would be good to post in this series, please email me at dcryan7@gmail.com (I'll be sure to credit you!)

English Writing "Huh?"-ism #001

This was in the Washington Post today (10/15/17), p. H13:

Fragonard's Fantasy Figures

An exhibition that presents scientific research into the mysterious series of thumbnail-sized sketches of brightly colored portraits of lavishly costumed individuals relating to more than a dozen of Fragonard's known paintings. At National Gallery of Art.

Huh?

In the Post's defense, this may be just a copy & paste from the press release they received from the National Gallery of Art, but still . . .

Fyi, this is the first of what I expect will turn out to be many fun (or sad) posts. I am not trying to be a smarty-pants snob with this. Rather, I am aware firsthand (I used to be a very poor writer myself) just how critical good writing is for success in almost any endeavor in life. This is just my small way of furthering that message. Stay tuned! 😉

P.S. If you run across something you think would be good to post in this series, please email me at dcryan7@gmail.com (I'll be sure to credit you!)

Free and fun ways to improve your Spanish

I've been making a big push over the past 6-months toward reaching my lifetime goal of becoming totally fluent in Spanish. Not quite there yet, but getting close.

Some folks have been asking me what I use to study. Below are some FREE and FUN tactics that have proven to be successful for me. (Preface: any apps I recommend below are usually avail for both computer and smartphones.) 1) First, download the SpanishD!ct app.

It's not just a great online English-Spanish / Spanish-English dictionary. There are also easy-to-access verb conjugation lists, flashcards, and a cool "word of the day" function that posts a new vocab word daily on your smartphone or whatever.

2) Get the DuoLingo app.

It has a quick-paced interactive interface. Here are some screen shots:

3) The DuoLingo folks also have a cool digital flashcard app called, TinyCards  It can be a productive way to pass time on the smartphone.

4) Some public libraries, like ours here in Howard County, MD, allow for free remote online access to Rosetta Stone.

Rosetta Stone incorporates photos of situations. The emphasis is on travel, but vocabulary and grammar concepts can be learned just the same.

Now, I personally prefer DuoLingo because I seem to be able to go faster through it. Whatever. You certainly can't go wrong with Rosetta Stone.

5) Listen to a Spanish-speaking news/radio talk station using the free app, TuneIn. You can search for Spanish-speaking stations from around the world. I personally like Radio Mitre out of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BTW, I find that the Argentines are some of the best Spanish-speakers for Spanish students to understand. Colombians also have that same reputation. They tend to enunciate very well, and their accent is "plain." It's analogous to those learning English finding native Mid-westerners here in the States easier to understand. I always suggest that one listen to such a station in the background, like when doing yard work or chores around the house. And remember to relax, take the pressure off yourself in trying to understand everything. Start out treating this akin to drinking water from a firehose. At first, try to pickup just one or two words from your vocabulary studies. Then make it phrases. Before you know it, you will soon actually know what they are talking about. I have to credit Ms. Robinson, my first Spanish teacher in 7th grade (that's back in the Dark Ages), in first suggesting this tactic. Back then though, there were no apps of course, so I used a old shortwave radio of my dad's. I would go to sleep with the radio playing stations from Mexico, etc. 6) A variation of the above is to also listen to local Spanish-speaking radio stations while driving in your car. Even if it's mainly a Spanish music-formatted station, you can pickup a lot from the commercials. Here is a link to, El Zol, one such station in our DC/Balt area. (Zol is a play on the word Sol, which means sun).

7) Watch Spanish-speaking television news (e.g. Univision, Telemundo). You've probably already read or heard the day's news in English, so the cross-referencing to the Spanish-version of the same news, along with the graphics and video, will enhance comprehension.

8) And yeah, while on those tv channels, you have my permission to go ahead and watch those "racy" telenovelas with all the those sexy Latino stars and starlets. Below is a still from Telmundo's Tierra de Reyes (Land of Kings).

Sure, you will pick up new vocabulary -- and you can always tell your significant other that you are just working on improving your Spanish. 😉
Note: When listening to Spanish radio or television, you can also develop the technique of "breathing in" the language. Sound crazy? What I mean by that is instead of attempting to translate word-for-word, you will eventually want to transition to the point where you let the phrases just flow into your brain. It analogous to the technique of speed-reading, where one reads phrases rather than individual words. Turning that "word-by-word" switch in your head into "phrase-by-phrase" mode will greatly enhance your Spanish skills.
My advertisement: I do a lot of substitute teaching of Spanish, including long-term stints, with Howard County Public Schools in Maryland. I also offer tutoring. Sure, there are advantages to having a native-speaker for a tutor, but just like great NBA players don't always make for the best coaches, there is also an advantage to having a tutor who knows first-hand the "struggle-points." If you wish to discuss my working with you or your student, please reach out to me at dcryan7@gmail.com