The Parrot Your ARC Newsletter by and for ESL, Multicultural, International Students, New Californians, And, Well, Anybody Really
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The Parrot Your ARC newsletter by and for ESL, multicultural, international students, new Californians, and, well, anybody really... Issue #58 Fall 2011 ESL Center's Krista Hess Spells Success! Christmas Holidays Parrot: Hello, Professor Hess. professor. It’s been almost 20 years. Around the World! Prof. Hess: Hi! Parrot: It’s a long time. pg. 4 Parrot: Can I ask you Prof. Hess: Yes, a long some questions? time. Prof. Hess: Sure. Parrot: How did you feel Parrot: How many years when you taught for the first time? have you been in teach- "You can only be ing? Prof. Hess: Oh! It was re- young once. But you Prof. Hess: How many ally exciting! When I was years? I graduated with a little girl, I would pre- can always be my Masters Degree in tend to be a teacher; I’m immature." 1992. I started teaching the oldest, and I would at the University of Cali- teach my brothers and Dave Barry fornia Davis; they have sisters, and my dolls. But I a Special Language knew it was not real. You Program. I started there, know, the first time in a and I have taught here at ARC College real class was a little bit since the spring of 1992 as an adjunct of fun, but it also made me really nervous. Continued on page 23 Sac State Professor Parrott (Seriously) Refuses to American River College Teach If Students Don't Bring Snacks! 4700 College Oak Drive Sacramento, CA 95841 Students in George Parrott's psychology Parrott has been teaching at the uni- (916) 484-8011 courses have an unusual requirement: they versity since 1969. He says he started must bring homemade snacks this requirement a few years each week to the laboratory after he arrived - and that Inside this Issue section, and they need to most students have ap- work out a schedule such Favors 2 preciated the ideas that groups of students Soviet Recycling 3 make sure each ses- behind the rule (which 8 sion is covered, and he says are more Bill of Rights that snacks aren't re- educational than cu- Christmas 10 peated from week to linary). But on Thurs- Songs week. If there are no day, when students Parrot Joke 12 snacks, Parrott walks out in the morning section of his class at California of Foundations of Behav- Visas for Pros 15 State University at Sacra- ioral Research didn't bring muffins (or mento, and the students lose that week's Gingerbread 19 Continued on page 21 instruction. Hidden Falls 20 2 The Parrot Student Chirpings Types of Favors People Do For Each Other “Do not hold back good from those to whom it is owed, do favors for others by telling them what they should when it happens to be in the power of your hands to know about their close relatives: for example, some- do it”, says the Bible. Everybody wants those words to body who is a seller tells you that your child has bought be true when they needs even a tiny favor. Dictionaries cigarettes (which isn’t unusual for children in my coun- define a favor as a kind act like service, help, or some- try). Most people appreciate all these kinds of favors. thing beneficial. If you give of your time to help others, The second type of favors people do simply because it means that you do them a favor; for example, you they have been asked to do them. These types of favor feed the neighbors’ dog while the neighbors are out of you can do for your friends, neighbors, relatives, or on town, or you help an elderly person with shopping. Why your job. Maybe you won’t ever do these kinds of fa- do people do favors for each other? There are many vors without being asked for them and you’ll probably reasons: because of their education, because of remu- never get paid for these. In the neighborhood where I neration, or because of their reputation. Many favors, grew up, people often asked others to do something also, people do just because for them. For example, our they love those whom they do next door neighbor used to them for, and many favors ask us to feed her pets when people do just because they she was out of town. She is are asked. People perform still now getting this favor favors at home, at work, and from my mom because they in the society they live. How- have a good relationship. ever, people with the same Another typical favor for this ability don’t always do the group is buying things for same number of favors sim- people when they go shop- ply because they don’t want ping somewhere. Our rela- to do them. So, motive can tives often asked me to buy be one of the ways to clas- miscellaneous items when I sify favors. Favors can be classified into three types: went shopping. A prevalent favor of this type is to ask favors people do voluntarily without any expectation people to watch your children. I, for example, asked my of reward, favors people do simply because they have mother-in-law to take care of my daughter whenever been asked to do them, and favors people do with an I needed to go somewhere. Even at your job, you per- expectation of reward. form favors of this type when people ask you, “Could The first type of favors people do voluntarily without you do me a favor, please?” any expectation of reward. For this type of favor the The third type of favors people do with an expectation motive is clear: people do favors because of their edu- of reward. These types of favors people do for each cation, or of their values, or because of their kindness. other not because of their education, or because of You can see somebody opening the door for somebody, their good manners, and not because they are thinking or someone returning what another has lost. In a family about you. They do these favors voluntarily because people do favors because they love each other. In my they get reimbursement from acting this way. For ex- native country, Moldova, you can see young people of- ample, waiters in a restaurant try to comply with all fering seats to elderly people in the public transporta- your requests in a nice manner not because they are tion, or people letting somebody ahead of them in line. kind, but because the amount of the tips you’ll give de- It is also a common thing in a village to get water from pends on how they do the favors. The same thing I can a well for somebody who is a senior. Sometimes people say about doormen in a hotel. Sometimes this type of The Parrot 3 favor is what a person who knows you looks types. For me, favors can be classified into three types: for. When my acquaintance bought his car, the favors people do voluntarily without any expectation salesperson helped him to get affordable car of reward, favors people do simply because they have insurance. The salesperson did this favor only because been asked to do them, and favors people do with an he knew he would get a money reward from that. One expectation of reward. A favor like giving money to more example of this type -- my acquaintance offered a parhendler a person does because he feels sorry help to his acquaintances to get discounts at hotels if for the person, but somebody else does it because he they agreed to attend a business party because he wants people or God to have a good opinion of him. would receive a big bonus from that. Often rich people However, I would like to mention that there are people give charity to others because they want to be famous, in our world who do favors of their own free will be- or want to pay fewer taxes. The powerful stimulus for cause it is their way to live. All the friends I have folow these types of favors, however, is all kinds of benefits the words in the Bible: “There is more happiness in giv- you think you can get. ing, than in receiving.” As you can see, motive is one of the important fac- Natalia Rusu tors you should consider when you classify favors into ESL W50 I Believe in Recycling I was born in the Soviet Union, and at that time we didn’t magazines. My grandma liked them very much. She used have many choices. Everything was hard to get. I believe them for 4 years, and all the time she told me that was my that is why people started to recycle. We used all plastic best gift to her. bottles not once, not even twice, but many times. I remem- Now I have a 4-year old daughter and I tell her a lot of sto- ber how my grandma was careful and “gentle” with them. ries from that time. I try to teach her how to make different Sometimes she seemed to be talking to them. I was 6 and things such as vases or pictures from materials which didn’t understand what was going on. I asked her why we can find in the house. We don’t have to buy she did that, even when they would break we could them. Recently we made a file box which buy a new one. She said if we bought a lot of we use every single day for our incoming new bottles then somebody would make many mail.