I’ve been attempting to learn Italian for a few years now. Note that I said attempting. Frankly, learning a language is not easy. Like any other skill, language learning requires dedication and time, something not always available to full-time workers.
When looking for resources available to learn a language, I came across Duolingo. Duolingo is a free app that sends you daily reminders (should you choose to do so) to learn vocabulary for that language.
Here’s the problem: learning a language and learning vocabulary are not the same thing.
Learning vocabulary is something you would do in your AP class…
Throughout college and well into my teaching career, I’ve spent several hundred dollars sitting in coffee shops, drinking a latte or a Frappuccino while I completed work using their Wi-Fi until closing.
Once I arrived home, I opened YouTube on my phone and played a video at the lowest resolution, 144p. I waited for several minutes as the video buffered. This became a daily occurrence when living in a rural area.
As of 2019, a third of households nationwide do not have a reliable internet connection. …
A few days ago, Governor Abbott of Texas claimed windmills and the Green New Deal caused the statewide blackout during winter storm Uri.
Almost immediately, people debunked him.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) criticized him. She pointed out windmills only accounted for roughly ten percent of the energy loss in Texas. Over 80% of Texas energy comes from fossil fuels.
AOC also pointed out Texas has not implemented the Green New Deal, so Abbott cannot blame a policy that doesn’t exist.
A few days later, reports showed the Texas government knew of possible power grid failure years ago. In 2011, Texas…
In 1914, Henry Ford shocked the country when he announced he would be raising wages for his workers from $2.25 a day ($59.61 after inflation) to $5 a day ($132.48 after inflation).
Although the wage increase came with lots of fine print, his impact on the American economy could be felt nationwide. As workers earned more money, they could afford to spend more, which contributed to overall economic growth.
His competitors scrambled to match or beat his payrate, as many of their workers heard the news of Ford’s better pay.
Ultimately, Ford’s goal was for his employees to afford the…
“Hey Ash, can you email me the answers for chapter seven? — Thanks!” Seamus hung up the phone as Shelby walked over and kissed him on the cheek.
“How’s your studying going?” she asked.
“Great.” He stretched his arms and kissed her back as he reached for her coffee. She smacked his hand.
“Uh, no sir. You said you didn’t want coffee.” She shook her head at him. She sat down at her desk and opened her laptop.
“Well, I didn’t want coffee when you asked, but I want coffee now.” He flashed his teeth at her. …
In the summer of 2019, I sat at my computer and skimmed through the 6,000 words I had written ten years before.
That summer, I decided to spend each night writing 1,000 words a day until I completed the first draft of my novel. After reading through the draft I had written in 2009, I started from scratch and wrote for over a month until I produced 31,443 words.
I looked at the calendar and realized I only had about two weeks to edit it before the fall semester of school started, so I went to the university and printed…
Just over a week ago, Facebook announced their plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. In their lawsuit, Facebook claims Apple is forcing apps to abide by rules Apple themselves won’t follow. The new rule created by Apple says a user must give the app permission to track them, which will go into effect in a new release of iOS14.
Despite popular belief, Facebook’s goal isn’t to provide users with a place to connect with friends and family. Instead, Facebook’s goal is the marketing business, where Facebook sells ad space to companies, and companies advertise their products to users.
…
“Mom! Mom! M — where are you?” Leanna yelled from her room.
“I’m in the kitchen!”
Leanna jumped from her bed, laptop in hand, and ran to the kitchen. She screeched to a halt as Natalie turned around and yelped. Leanna turned her laptop so Natalie could look at the screen.
“Look! They want me to audition for a horror movie!” Leanna jumped up and down as her eyes welled up. Natalie beamed.
“Oh, congratulations! What’s the movie called? Did they say who’s starring? Maybe you’ll get to meet someone famous!” Natalie stared at the e-mail.
“No. The e-mail says…
“I am so excited for tomorrow!” Gabby heaved her luggage onto the bed near the window. She turned to look at Marissa, whose luggage had gotten stuck behind the door as it closed behind her. Marissa turned and pulled the door open as she yanked her luggage into the room.
“What are we doing tomorrow?” Marissa asked. She slid her luggage beside the other bed.
“I don’t know yet.” Gabby shrugged. “It all depends on what Elise has planned.”
“Well, hopefully, she found good parking in the garage.”
Knock knock knock.
“I got it.” …
Teacher. Writer. Future Author. Aspiring Linguist. CS Grad Student. Progressive Voter. E-mail ajkrow.writer@gmail.com. Twitter @ajkrow_writer.