DAN'S PAPERS, April 18, 2008 Page 53 www.danshamptons.com
Incommunicado The Learning Channel. Now there’s a misnomer. The last time I tuned in, there was a story about a man in Indonesia who had a rare skin disorder that made his arms and hands turn into what looked like tree branches. When an American dermatologist arrived with a possible remedy, the afflicted party was not available – his new career as a street performer was becoming lucrative. I learned two things from the channel that day: hit the remote sooner, and stop procrastinating. Besides, I had already spent an hour watching a riveting show about feral children – children raised by animals. Just like Tarzan. There was a boy in Eastern Europe raised by a pack of dogs, a wolf girl and a particularly interesting segment about a social scientist in the early 1900s who raised a young chimpanzee with his own toddler. The scientist observed how much the child’s behavior would influence the chimp’s. It turned out to be the other way around – the chimp stayed true to its nature and the child mimicked it. Eventually the father brought the experiment to a halt when he realized the child’s language development was suffering. This turned out to be a serious issue. Apparently, there’s a window of opportunity, during the toddler years, for language development – the wolf girl had missed it, and although she was ultimately able to parrot words and even put together sentences, she never gained a real grasp of communicating through language. As a writer, I found this horrifying. If anything, I was at the opposite end of the spectrum in my theory
Day by
and practice of exposing our son to language. Parenting books “suggested” speaking to babies and little ones in short sentences – just three or four words. I poo-pooed that, instead speaking to him in complex sentences with plenty of conjunctions, qualifying statements, independent and subordinate clauses, parenthetic phrases and even a few asides. My sister, a librarian specializing in children’s literature, warned me about using “big” words when I wrote a children’s musical a few years ago. Balderdash. Big words simply open the door to communication between child and parent – when the child asks what a word means, or when a parent asks “Do you understand that word?” And with all the research showing how early exposure to a second language expands a child’s linguistic abilities, everyone is now on the bi-lingual bandwagon. Several years ago, working at an agency in New York, I was editorial director of two content-heavy websites geared to ‘tween and teen girls. The client
provided us with lists of words that were appropriate to each demographic. In addition, there was the issue of writing for the web – which meant shorter sentences and shorter, easily scanned articles. If I’d followed those directives, it would’ve sounded like ‘Indian chief’ speak in old westerns – “you go school.” Thanks to endless usability testing by girls who were given $50 and all the pizza they could eat, we arrived at a more conversational, albeit basic, style. I love words. And I want my son to love them too. I’m tickled every time he asks what a word means, corrects me, makes up a new word – when I see in him the desire to learn shades of meaning. But I can’t help thinking about someone I knew in Bavaria years ago. He spoke little English. I was shy with my German. I saw him at a tavern in Gunzenhausen where our gang gathered. He wasn’t drinking. I asked why. “Last night, I drink much beers. Wake up with big head.” I knew exactly what he meant.
COOKING CLASS – 4/22 – 6-9 p.m. “Passover Dinner” Admission $69. Located at Loaves and Fishes Cooking School at the Bridgehampton Inn, 2266 Main Street, Bridgehampton. To register visit or call 631-537-3586. THE NAKED STAGE FREE PLAY READING – 4/22 – 7:30 p.m. Fit to Be Tied. Free. At Guild Hall, 158 Main St., East Hampton. 631-324-0806. EARTH DAY – 4/22 – 4 p.m. A documentary film
Genesis . At The Hampton Library, 2478 Main St., Bridgehampton. 631-537-0015. BOOK READING – 4/22 – 7-8:30 p.m. Tom Philbin, author of Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby. At the Hampton Bays Public Library, 52 Ponquogue Ave., Hampton Bays. 631-728-6241.
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2 p.m. Antiques and mid-20th century furniture and accents. At American Legion Post 419, Rte. 27 at Abraham’s Path, Amagansett.
MONDAY, 21 OPEN STUDIO FIGURE DRAWING – 4/21 – 6-9 p.m. – Open studio Mondays. $15 per person. Located at Applied Arts, 11 Indian Wells Highway, Amagansett. 631267-2787. PHILOSOPHY CLASS – 4/21 – 3 p.m. With instructor Susan Pashman. Registration is required. At The Hampton Library, 2478 Main St., Bridgehampton. 631537-0015. ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLASS – 4/21 – 5-6:30 p.m. For ESL students who have a basic comprehension of English vocabulary and grammar. At The Hampton Library, 2478 Main St., Bridgehampton. 631-537-0015. HATHA YOGA – 4/21 – 12 p.m. At the Hampton Bays Public Library, 52 Ponquogue Ave., Hampton Bays. 631728-6241. GREAT SCOTT AND ZELDA – 4/21 – 7 p.m. A comedy-drama about the Fitzgeralds. At Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Rd., Southampton. 631-2830774. WRITING WORKSHOP – 4/21 – 7-9 p.m. With Tom Clavin. $100 for an eight-week session, held Mondays and Wednesdays through June. At Applied Arts, on Indian Wells Highway, Amagansett. 631-668-5226.
TUESDAY, 22 LIVE MUSIC AT PIERRE’S– 4/22 – 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jody Carlson and her band will perform Tuesdays. Located at Pierre’s, 2468 Main Street, Bridgehampton. 631-5375110. DRAWING WORKSHOPS – 4/22 – 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Uninstructed life drawing workshops sponsored by Southampton Artists Association. Located at 2 Pond Lane at the Veterans Hall, Southampton. 631-725-5851. TUESDAY MORNING YOGA – 4/22 – 10:15 a.m. $5 per class. At the Quogue Library, 90 Quogue St., Quogue. 631-653-4224.
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