Ariana Grande → Day ⏰ 03:16 🦶7 (Ariana_Grande → 40th_People%27s_Choice_Awards → Eastern_Time_Zone → Time_in_the_United_States → Daylight_saving_time_in_the_United_States → Daylight_saving_time → Solar_time → Day)
This was a fun one. I had no strategy at first, but I thought following “time” would get me there.
Prejudice → The Simpsons ⏰ 03:43 🦶8 (Prejudice → Cancel_culture → Moral_panic → Media_panic → Violence_and_video_games → Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System → List_of_Super_Nintendo_Entertainment_System_games → The_Simpsons:_Bart%27s_Nightmare → The_Simpsons)
I feel that I should have done this much quicker. I mean, come on, the moral panic around The Simpsons is one of my earlier memories (I was unfamiliar with the term media panic). When it first came on TV, I was absolutely not allowed to watch the show. Bart was a little shit, and Homer was horrible to him. A few years later, I became a huge fan of The Simpsons and started building a small collection of VHS books, comics, toys, and games. One of my favorite games was the arcade, of course, but also the games I had on my Game Gear. Sega was on the list for violence and video games, but I felt that SNES was a safer bet.
How a Podcast Toppled the Reading Instruction Canon:
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have passed laws pertaining to teaching children how to read according to the science of reading since 2019—and about 15, according to Hanford’s count, are directly in response to her reporting. In 2022, Lucy Calkins, creator of the Units of Study reading curriculum investigated in “Sold a Story” and used by nearly a quarter of all U.S. elementary schools, revised her curricula to include more phonics. Meanwhile, sales at Heinemann, one of the biggest publishers of reading curricula, including Fountas & Pinnell, declined 75 percent in 2023, according to APM Reports, as schools have opted to invest in more evidence-aligned approaches.
I am only on episode 4 right now, but I have already talked to several co-workers who are familiar with the podcast. I had no idea that this has already had the impact that it has. So happy to see Heinemann losing money.
Rubber Duck → Brooklyn Bridge ⏰ 01:58 🦶7 (Rubber_duck → Rubber_duck_race → River_Thames → Tower_Bridge → Moveable_bridge → Marine_Parkway%E2%80%93Gil_Hodges_Memorial_Bridge → Brooklyn → Brooklyn_Bridge)
This was a fairly straight shot. I immediately thought of how they do the Chicago Ducky Derby to fundraise for Special Olympics and more.
Oof. Do you ever encounter something so beautiful it felt like you got punched in the stomach? That is what my first listen through of the new Sam Wilkes album “iiyo iiyo iiyo”.
Pour yourself some tea. Light some incense. Enjoy.
When reflecting on the Hawaiian Language Revitalization Movement, and the mass of speakers needed to not only make ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi impactful but thrive, we have a long way to go. I am not just referring to those who gained the ability to speak, but to those who truly feel joyful and free to use ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in different contexts beyond a classroom setting—free from critique, free from feeling like every sentence is being judged for grammatical accuracy. As a Kumu, I am constantly reflecting and thinking about how I can do better for my students. How do I ensure that my instruction is resulting in not just fluency but a true enjoyment of learning the language, beyond the metacognitive and metalinguistics?
I was able to hear from Dr. Kalani Makekau-Whittaker today about his discovery of Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and how it changed his life by changing his teaching. I studied Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa, but have not heard much of what I learned applied to ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi until today. Being in a room with Hawaiian language teachers uncovering these truths of acquisition vs. learning was a beautiful moment.
For those unfamiliar with Krashen’s theories, they boil down to language acquisition occurring when learners are exposed to “comprehensible input” - messages they can mostly understand, with a level of challenge just beyond their current competence (i+1). Krashen argues that language is acquired subconsciously through meaningful interaction rather than through direct instruction or repetition of grammar rules. The input hypothesis suggests that providing learners with comprehensible input, rather than forcing them to speak before they are ready, is the key to successful language acquisition.
Language learning, as opposed to language acquisition, is learning about the language and is a very tortuous process. With a revitalized language, it is very rare not to have linguists influence education, and this has resulted in a culture of criticism. I understand how and why the pendulum has swung so far from the 70s revitalization movement, where folks were welcome to begin learning the language to know where there is a real fear of being wrong and deemed incorrect by the gatekeepers. High standards are excellent in many fields of practice, academic and culturally based, but in language, it must be realistic.
One of the final aspects of Krashen’s hypothesis is about the affective filter. The learning environment needs to be almost, if not entirely, stress-free. We need a space with no anxiety present, just like those where second language learners are invited to make mistakes and where the content is more important than the formation.
I am so grateful for this experience and to see that these ideas are spreading to spaces that are needed even decades after it was initially posited.
What I see now for me as a learner and an advocate is the need for much, much, much, much more comprehensible input and that is where my Wikipedia project comes in.
Political Spectrum → Tractor ⏰ 02:33 🦶7 (Political_spectrum → Conservatism → Conservatism_in_North_America → Republican_Party_(United_States) → Southern_United_States → Maize → Combine_harvester → Tractor)
I was looking for rural and farmland and found it pretty quickly this time. Not much of a challenge, but I did get a nice peek at the Maize article that mentions the Three Sisters planting method that I just read about in Braiding Sweetgrass.
Random Variable → Hopscotch ⏰ 05:20 🦶16
(Random_variable → Statistical_graphics → Chart → Diagram → Cave_painting → List_of_Stone_Age_art → History_of_painting → Zinc_oxide → Paint → Chalk_paint → Public_works → Park → Public_open_space → Public_park → Playground → Playground_game → Hopscotch)
Ok, so I tried this one three times and got interrupted each time so this is not a fair representation of the difficulty here. I was initially trying another path that would get me to Hopscotch, the children’s programming language, thinking it would lead me to my destination, but that definitely didn’t work.
Sea of Azov → Balloon ⏰ 03:19 🦶6
(Sea_of_Azov → Grey_seal → Canada → Platinum_group → Periodic_table → Helium → Balloon)
Not bad in terms of footprint, but I spent a lot of time in the first three articles. I thought if I could get to Canada, then I could get to Wisconsin, which is home to Delavan, which is home to the International Clown Hall of Fame. No such luck, and that wouldn’t have helped me anyway after I went poking around there once the game was done.
The outfits in “Sushi Glory Hole” are the peak of men’s fashion.
