In the event of a fire, walk toward the exit. Know when to run, (but a fire isn’t the right time). And never count cards, and don’t count your winnings at the table. Remember the gambler bummed a cigarette and asked him for a light, and then died. So don’t smoke. And know when to run… Ususally when cutting a rug with a gal named Linda-Lou at a place named Jugs.
I remember dealing with a speech therapist once. I was yanked out of music class (which I liked) and asked a bunch of dumb questions. She kept asking me if I liked a picture of “this one” or “that one.” I’d say I liked the one with whatever, but she kept going back to “this one” or “that one.” It dawned on me eventually that she wanted me to say something with “th” in it—which insulted my intelligence. Also she wanted me to say “cookie” and pointed to a picture that didn’t look like one, then followed that up with the hint of “oatmeal”—and at that age I’d never had or heard of oatmeal cookies.
Avoid them, Selkie. They’re all a bunch of bananas.
I remember learning to read certain words in Kindergarten and being tested on it by the teacher taking us aside, showing us a flashcard, and asking us to read it.
It took me most of the year to get through them because at no point did she explain that they wanted us to read it out loud.
I also got accused of being racist in the first grade because I got angry and said “I have you, I don’t like you, I don’t want to be with you.” When I was taken out of class in the middle of reading time and put in a room alone with a black woman without anyone telling me what the hell was going on and also locking me in the room. It was therapy but nobody freaking *said* it was therapy, and apparently “he must the black people” comes to mind for why he’s angry about being locked in a room with someone for apparently no reason instead of being locked in a room with somebody for no reason.
For the record, she was a very sweet woman and we got along fine once they explained what the hell was going on.
The reason they put me in therapy? Becuase I’d gotten kicked out of my previous school earliar that year becuase I stopped going to art class? Why? Becuase the art teacher forced me to start over on a project becuase someone in one of the other classes chose to draw the same thing and then once I finally get almost done with it for a second time she changes her mind and makes us do something else, eamning Id’ wasted a day of my effort twice. I was protesting but instead of asking me why I was upset they just expelled me.
The lesson? Elementary School doesn’t have your best interests at heart, even when they think you do, and if there’s problems they blame you and not their own stupidity.
Hmmm… I dunno. I had to go to a speech therapist too and I remember it being rather fun. But she always explained to me what she wanted me to do and also why. I suppose it all depends on the therapist.
It’s generally not a good idea to judge an entire group of people by the actions of a single (or small number) of members of said group. While your experience was clearly negative, and there are no doubt some bad speech therapists out there, there’s also going to be a lot of good ones. It’s not exactly a field you get in to for the big bucks, most people who pursue that path want to help others. (same for teachers, nurses, etc)
Teacher here – kind of shocked that it took them this long to get this kid into basic speech therapy.
Maybe it’s because I work in an affluent school district, but a kid with problems as evident as Selkie’s would have been pulled out and tested in Kindergarten.
she has an accent resulting from her native language having different grammar rules than English.
If people can understand her and she doesn’t mind, then putting her in speech therapy is at best forcing her to do unnecessary busywork and at worst is rather cruel.
and if anyone has a problem with her accent, that’s on them and they should be the ones punished if trouble comes from it, not Selkie.
Never try to make the different kid fit in–they’re not gonna fit in and trying to force them is just gonna result in them being hurt.
Rater, you’re right. Selkie doesn’t have a speech problem. But speech therapy isn’t just for verbalizing speech correctly (or accent reduction, which plenty of consenting adults do hire speech-language pathologists for), it’s also for issues that include improper pluralization due to misunderstanding of the mechanics of a language (phonological processing disorders). So she does have an English language problem. I appreciate that you feel Selkie shouldn’t be removed from class when she doesn’t mind the difference, and I agree that anyone making fun of the way she talks should be corrected in that, but we’ve already been shown examples in the comic of how Sarnothi with this ‘s’ issue aren’t always understood, like the “kidneys” thing with Pohl.
Selkie is bilingual, and while it’s true that her issue stems from bilingualism, that doesn’t mean it’s just an accent that shouldn’t be corrected. She’s 8, and that’s still in the age range when languages are being learned. The speech therapy is to help her become fully, functionally bilingual in Sarnoth and English, not to destroy the Sarnothi part of her or just make her fit in. (source: degree in communication sciences and disorders)
Ultimately, I agree with other commenters that Selkie should have had her ‘s’ thing addressed a lot sooner, throughout her schooling, and not have to tackle it now with pull-out or after-school therapy sessions. But what’s done is done. I just hope the therapy is made fun/enjoyable for Selkie. Dave might even have a plan to bring in a good friend for her, with another speech/language disorder!
I went to an affluent school district, but it still took me until 4th grade to be put into speech therapy, even though people thought I had a British accent or whatever since I learned to talk. I think some of it was that difficulty with ‘r’s is something people think kids will grow out of (I have no idea how much people do grow out of it unassisted compared to other speech impediments). There was also the fact that I did well academically. Part of the process for qualifying to receive services is having it impact your life in someway, and I wasn’t struggling with any subjects or socially. (I struggled emotionally, but apparently that wasn’t something anyone was checking for.)
I actually ended up stopping speech therapy in 9th grade because I was doing so well academically, and the speech therapist was like, “So, do they really need these services?” and while I liked the speech therapist I saw 4th-8th grade, I didn’t like this woman at all, so I was like, “Okay, whatever.” My speech impediment is still pretty noticeable.
So, anyway, while Selkie should have received services sooner, I could certainly see it being pushed off be “maybe she’ll grow out of it” combined with “she seems to be doing okay overall.”
I happen to think that joke was hilarious. Teacher needs a chill pill.
Also, a lot of kids and up taking speech therapy growing up. I know I did. And it didn’t even feel like a class. We played games and stuff that helped us.
Speaking as a former teacher…it was funny, but in today’s wonderful environment you simply cannot allow those jokes…in case it turns out they weren’t jokes.
Keep in mind Mina did have to deal with a lot of situations that got rather dangerous. Like students shaking others until they have to get hospitalized, students getting drunk…. I think she has the right to be rather wary of things like that.
I went to speech therapy for a while at about Selkie’s age. I had – not a lisp, exactly, but weak pronunciation of the “s” sound. (Even now as an adult, if I’m very tired, I sometimes drop terminal “s” sounds from the ends of words.) My speech therapist was nice, and I liked her, but I hated it when the other teachers would stop me in the hallway or the middle of recess to pronounce an “s” sound correctly for them…
Aha! The mystery is solved! All those “s” sounds I dropped fell into the lake where the Sarnothi live and stuck to poor Selkie and her compatriots! I’m so sorry, Selkie!
Selkie quite clearly doesn’t want to takespeach classes.
Since everyone involved can understand what she’s saying, there’s no reason to force her
Mina is thus being an ass here, as is Todd for signing her up when she didn’t want the classes.
Selkie previously became offended at the idea that her pluralizations were the result of an impediment. She clearly likes it. Maybe even identifies with it. Making her get rid of it is thus cruel.
Mina and Todd are being adults highly aware of what the overdone plurals will do to Selkie as an adult. How it will influence people’s views of her when she tries to get a job. Remember how badly it went for Pohl before he corrected his plurals? Far crueler to let her continue this way, even if she doesn’t think so in the short term.
Sarnothi are a known thing now: By the time Selkie’s an adult it’ll just *be* a mild accent unless human/sarnothi relations are really bad in which case there are bigger fish to fry.
At the very least they should maybe explain why it might be a problem and let her make the decision herself when she’s ready instead of forcing it on her.
Everyone can understand what she is trying to say – for now. As another comment said, remember Pohl’s problems. Don’t think it will be different in other fields.
I agree, they should settle down with her and explain to her why the pluralses could become a problem. But I’m not a big fan of “a kid should do all their choices on their own”. Kids don’t want to do a lot of things, like going to school, wearing clothes, socialize with others, eat their veggies (okay, not in the case of Selkie, but you know what I mean)… kids don’t have the mental capacity to estimate the impact of their decisions.
This is a comic. While it may depict real life, it is not a story of actual people. Analyzing behaviors of characters (seems to me) says more about the analyzer than the character. I’m not throwing stones here, just making an observation. We all have stories to tell.
Old school country music references, woooo! XD
In the event of a fire, walk toward the exit. Know when to run, (but a fire isn’t the right time). And never count cards, and don’t count your winnings at the table. Remember the gambler bummed a cigarette and asked him for a light, and then died. So don’t smoke. And know when to run… Ususally when cutting a rug with a gal named Linda-Lou at a place named Jugs.
Watch out. You do that you wind up asking some guy to give you three steps.
However, vamoosing IS the right choice of action when Jose is on his way.
I love this so much. <3
Aww… But going ten rounds with him is a recipe for the best night you’ll never remember!
Or are we not talking about Senior Cuervo?
We’re not even talking about Junior Cuervo.
He *is* a friend of mine…
I remember dealing with a speech therapist once. I was yanked out of music class (which I liked) and asked a bunch of dumb questions. She kept asking me if I liked a picture of “this one” or “that one.” I’d say I liked the one with whatever, but she kept going back to “this one” or “that one.” It dawned on me eventually that she wanted me to say something with “th” in it—which insulted my intelligence. Also she wanted me to say “cookie” and pointed to a picture that didn’t look like one, then followed that up with the hint of “oatmeal”—and at that age I’d never had or heard of oatmeal cookies.
Avoid them, Selkie. They’re all a bunch of bananas.
I remember learning to read certain words in Kindergarten and being tested on it by the teacher taking us aside, showing us a flashcard, and asking us to read it.
It took me most of the year to get through them because at no point did she explain that they wanted us to read it out loud.
I also got accused of being racist in the first grade because I got angry and said “I have you, I don’t like you, I don’t want to be with you.” When I was taken out of class in the middle of reading time and put in a room alone with a black woman without anyone telling me what the hell was going on and also locking me in the room. It was therapy but nobody freaking *said* it was therapy, and apparently “he must the black people” comes to mind for why he’s angry about being locked in a room with someone for apparently no reason instead of being locked in a room with somebody for no reason.
For the record, she was a very sweet woman and we got along fine once they explained what the hell was going on.
The reason they put me in therapy? Becuase I’d gotten kicked out of my previous school earliar that year becuase I stopped going to art class? Why? Becuase the art teacher forced me to start over on a project becuase someone in one of the other classes chose to draw the same thing and then once I finally get almost done with it for a second time she changes her mind and makes us do something else, eamning Id’ wasted a day of my effort twice. I was protesting but instead of asking me why I was upset they just expelled me.
The lesson? Elementary School doesn’t have your best interests at heart, even when they think you do, and if there’s problems they blame you and not their own stupidity.
Hmmm… I dunno. I had to go to a speech therapist too and I remember it being rather fun. But she always explained to me what she wanted me to do and also why. I suppose it all depends on the therapist.
It’s generally not a good idea to judge an entire group of people by the actions of a single (or small number) of members of said group. While your experience was clearly negative, and there are no doubt some bad speech therapists out there, there’s also going to be a lot of good ones. It’s not exactly a field you get in to for the big bucks, most people who pursue that path want to help others. (same for teachers, nurses, etc)
hey its worth exploring the possibility… I would have asked the same question…
Teacher here – kind of shocked that it took them this long to get this kid into basic speech therapy.
Maybe it’s because I work in an affluent school district, but a kid with problems as evident as Selkie’s would have been pulled out and tested in Kindergarten.
This school has already demonstrated it is pretty terrible to its students. Especially the orphanage group who has no one to defend them.
Selkie doesn’t have speech problems.
she has an accent resulting from her native language having different grammar rules than English.
If people can understand her and she doesn’t mind, then putting her in speech therapy is at best forcing her to do unnecessary busywork and at worst is rather cruel.
and if anyone has a problem with her accent, that’s on them and they should be the ones punished if trouble comes from it, not Selkie.
Never try to make the different kid fit in–they’re not gonna fit in and trying to force them is just gonna result in them being hurt.
Rater, you’re right. Selkie doesn’t have a speech problem. But speech therapy isn’t just for verbalizing speech correctly (or accent reduction, which plenty of consenting adults do hire speech-language pathologists for), it’s also for issues that include improper pluralization due to misunderstanding of the mechanics of a language (phonological processing disorders). So she does have an English language problem. I appreciate that you feel Selkie shouldn’t be removed from class when she doesn’t mind the difference, and I agree that anyone making fun of the way she talks should be corrected in that, but we’ve already been shown examples in the comic of how Sarnothi with this ‘s’ issue aren’t always understood, like the “kidneys” thing with Pohl.
Selkie is bilingual, and while it’s true that her issue stems from bilingualism, that doesn’t mean it’s just an accent that shouldn’t be corrected. She’s 8, and that’s still in the age range when languages are being learned. The speech therapy is to help her become fully, functionally bilingual in Sarnoth and English, not to destroy the Sarnothi part of her or just make her fit in. (source: degree in communication sciences and disorders)
Ultimately, I agree with other commenters that Selkie should have had her ‘s’ thing addressed a lot sooner, throughout her schooling, and not have to tackle it now with pull-out or after-school therapy sessions. But what’s done is done. I just hope the therapy is made fun/enjoyable for Selkie. Dave might even have a plan to bring in a good friend for her, with another speech/language disorder!
I went to an affluent school district, but it still took me until 4th grade to be put into speech therapy, even though people thought I had a British accent or whatever since I learned to talk. I think some of it was that difficulty with ‘r’s is something people think kids will grow out of (I have no idea how much people do grow out of it unassisted compared to other speech impediments). There was also the fact that I did well academically. Part of the process for qualifying to receive services is having it impact your life in someway, and I wasn’t struggling with any subjects or socially. (I struggled emotionally, but apparently that wasn’t something anyone was checking for.)
I actually ended up stopping speech therapy in 9th grade because I was doing so well academically, and the speech therapist was like, “So, do they really need these services?” and while I liked the speech therapist I saw 4th-8th grade, I didn’t like this woman at all, so I was like, “Okay, whatever.” My speech impediment is still pretty noticeable.
So, anyway, while Selkie should have received services sooner, I could certainly see it being pushed off be “maybe she’ll grow out of it” combined with “she seems to be doing okay overall.”
I happen to think that joke was hilarious. Teacher needs a chill pill.
Also, a lot of kids and up taking speech therapy growing up. I know I did. And it didn’t even feel like a class. We played games and stuff that helped us.
Speaking as a former teacher…it was funny, but in today’s wonderful environment you simply cannot allow those jokes…in case it turns out they weren’t jokes.
Keep in mind Mina did have to deal with a lot of situations that got rather dangerous. Like students shaking others until they have to get hospitalized, students getting drunk…. I think she has the right to be rather wary of things like that.
I went to speech therapy for a while at about Selkie’s age. I had – not a lisp, exactly, but weak pronunciation of the “s” sound. (Even now as an adult, if I’m very tired, I sometimes drop terminal “s” sounds from the ends of words.) My speech therapist was nice, and I liked her, but I hated it when the other teachers would stop me in the hallway or the middle of recess to pronounce an “s” sound correctly for them…
Aha! The mystery is solved! All those “s” sounds I dropped fell into the lake where the Sarnothi live and stuck to poor Selkie and her compatriots! I’m so sorry, Selkie!
Selkie quite clearly doesn’t want to takespeach classes.
Since everyone involved can understand what she’s saying, there’s no reason to force her
Mina is thus being an ass here, as is Todd for signing her up when she didn’t want the classes.
Selkie previously became offended at the idea that her pluralizations were the result of an impediment. She clearly likes it. Maybe even identifies with it. Making her get rid of it is thus cruel.
Mina and Todd are being adults highly aware of what the overdone plurals will do to Selkie as an adult. How it will influence people’s views of her when she tries to get a job. Remember how badly it went for Pohl before he corrected his plurals? Far crueler to let her continue this way, even if she doesn’t think so in the short term.
Sarnothi are a known thing now: By the time Selkie’s an adult it’ll just *be* a mild accent unless human/sarnothi relations are really bad in which case there are bigger fish to fry.
At the very least they should maybe explain why it might be a problem and let her make the decision herself when she’s ready instead of forcing it on her.
She doesn’t want to do it because it’s school stuff, she’s a kid, kids hate school stuff.
How’s it different from “forcing” her to learn math?
Everyone can understand what she is trying to say – for now. As another comment said, remember Pohl’s problems. Don’t think it will be different in other fields.
I agree, they should settle down with her and explain to her why the pluralses could become a problem. But I’m not a big fan of “a kid should do all their choices on their own”. Kids don’t want to do a lot of things, like going to school, wearing clothes, socialize with others, eat their veggies (okay, not in the case of Selkie, but you know what I mean)… kids don’t have the mental capacity to estimate the impact of their decisions.
This is a comic. While it may depict real life, it is not a story of actual people. Analyzing behaviors of characters (seems to me) says more about the analyzer than the character. I’m not throwing stones here, just making an observation. We all have stories to tell.