ESL Teachers' Blog of Substance

Beret Adrian McConnell, CDR US Navy (1903-1988)

My grandfather was a base Commander at Point Loma, so I took a drive to San Diego yesterday to visit his grave in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  His plot is yards away from the guard station, on the Pacific Ocean side of the cemetery.  Fort Rosecrans is divided by a road that runs through the center of the cemetery.  I think they ran out of room and decided to extend the park to the other side of the road, which faces San Diego Bay.  Since it was the day before Memorial Day, there were small American flags next to each headstone.  They were placed there earlier in the day by a local chapter of the Boy Scouts.  The Navy was kind enough to extend the park hours due to the holiday.  This allowed visitors to hold sunset services.  A Park Ranger filled me in on the extended hours.  I got to see the sun go down over the ocean and the bay.  It's an amazing view, all 360 degrees.  There weren't many people there, so it was peaceful and quiet.  I hope my daughter will visit the site with me some day.  And, thanks to all the boy scouts who did their civic duty by sticking all the flags in the ground. 

California - Arnold's Blog

California has been in the news a lot lately.  More people are leaving the state than are moving into it.  I heard on Fox News that Arnold is in Washington, D.C. looking for help.  He has a 'flexibility' plan that is supposed to help our economic situation.  I went to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's website, but didn't find a new article about it.  He has a blog and you can follow him on Twitter.  Check out his website to keep up with the latest news.  I'm an ESL teacher, and I feel that 'hobby' type classes should be closed in Adult Education.  City Park and Recreation Programs can offer those type of classes.  Tax payers shouldn't have to pay for them.  Students can pay a small fee and get short six week classes.  This would save money for California without cutting ESL, GED, High School Diploma, and computer or job training classes.

Farrah's Story - Battle with Cancer

I watched Farrah's Story last night.  Farrah Fawcett really wants to live and has been traveling to Germany to get cancer treatments that aren't available here.  I was very impressed with her dad, Ryan, and Alana Stewart.  An emotional moment was when her son Redmond visited her in his jail garb with his feet in chains.  Another emotional moment was when she shaved her head because her famous hair was falling out from treatment.  I recommend that everyone watch the film.  It reminds viewers how good it is to be healthy.  Bless you, Farrah, and thanks for sharing your story.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day is this Sunday in the USA and Canada.  Ann Jarvis started the modern Mother's Day in the early 1900s.  She specified that it should be spelled with the singular possessive (mother's) so that each family would honor their own mother.  If the plural possessive (mothers') had been chosen, it would have been less personal.  I have a Mother's Day lesson posted on this website, and it includes free worksheets and a crossword puzzle.  I created it a few years ago and am going to update it in a few minutes.

Downloadable and Printable Swine Flu Flyers

When I was on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, I found some free downloadable posters and flyers about flu prevention.  The flyers have pictures on them and should work well in ESL classrooms.  They are also available in Spanish.  By the way, I'm creating a photo lesson about the swine flu, but it's not finished yet.  It should be ready by Monday.  It'll have tips to help prevent the spread of the disease.  I was sorry to hear about the first US swine flu death in Texas, especially since it was a child who died.  My condolences to all the people in Mexico who have lost loved ones.  Here are the current US numbers:  Arizona 1, California 14, Indiana 1, Kansas 2, Massachusetts 2, Michigan 2, Nevada 1, New York 51, Ohio 1, Texas 16.