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*x*                                                                     *x*
*x*            Copyright (C) 1995 University of Pennsylvania            *x*
*x*                                                                     *x*
*x*    The data in this file are part of a preliminary version of the   *x*
*x*    Penn Treebank Corpus and should not be redistributed.  Any       *x*
*x*    research using this corpus or based on it should acknowledge     *x*
*x*    that fact, as well as the preliminary nature of the corpus.      *x*
*x*                                                                     *x*
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FILENAME:        2407_1149_1016
TOPIC#:          353
DATE:            910403
TRANSCRIBER:     AM
UTT_CODER:       MMAB
DIFFICULTY:      1
TOPICALITY:      1
NATURALNESS:     1
ECHO_FROM_B:     2
ECHO_FROM_A:     2
STATIC_ON_A:     1
STATIC_ON_B:     1
BACKGROUND_A:    2
BACKGROUND_B:    1
REMARKS:         None

============================================================================
  

o          B.1 utt1:  Okay.  /
%          B.1 utt2: {D Well, } -/  

sd          A.2 utt1:  <Beep> <TV> <Children> First of all, I want to tell you  I have two little kids,  /
sd          A.2 utt2: {C but } they're not in public school yet.  /
sd          A.2 utt3:  [ [ I, + I ] get, + I get ] that experience starting next fall --   

b          @B.3 utt1:  {F Ah. } /  

+          A.4 utt1:  -- with kindergarten. /  

b          B.5 utt1:  Yeah. /  

b^m          A.6 utt1:  Yeah. /  

bf          B.7 utt1:  {C So } you haven't really, {F uh, } dealt with that in a sense. /  

aa          A.8 utt1:  No.  /
sd          A.8 utt2:  {C But, }  {F uh, } being one of these late  in life mothers, I've listened to everybody else's, {D you know, }   

x          B.9 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

+          A.10 utt1:  # complaints # as to [ wha-, +  what's ] the  matter with either their kids or the school system. /  

b          B.11 utt1:  Yeah. /  

sd          A.12 utt1:  {C So } --   

b          B.13 utt1:  Yeah. /  

+          A.14 utt1:  -- I've been surprised.  /
qy          A.14 utt2:  [ [ Do, + are, ] +  do ] you have  school age kids <noise>? /  

ng          B.15 utt1:  {F Uh, } mine are both out of school. /  

bk          A.16 utt1:  Oh. /  

sd          B.17 utt1:  {C And, }  {F uh, }   

x          A.18 utt1:  <Dishes>.   

+          B.19 utt1:  {D you know, } [ I, + I've, ] in hindsight,  seen some things that I wished that, {D you know, } I had done  something about that was, {D you know, } within my power  or, {F uh, } {D you know, } wish that in some ways we,  as parents, had more control over --   

qy          A.20 utt1:  Such as? /  

+          B.21 utt1:  -- what's happening up there, {D you know, } type thing.  /
sd          B.21 utt2:   {F Uh, } <lipsmack> {D well, } <swallowing> just over the years there were situations  that, {F uh, } {F uh, } came up that I didn't think were fair or handled correctly  /
sd          B.21 utt3: {C or }  the teachers didn't seem to be teaching anything.  /
sv          B.21 utt4: Of course, it's a little hard to tell from the information that you get from your child, # {D you know. } # /  

b          A.22 utt1:  # Uh-huh. # /  

sv          B.23 utt1:  [ They, + they ] bring things  home  /
sd          B.23 utt2: {C and } I was never one to believe everything my kids said,   

x          A.24 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

+          B.25 utt1:  # {D you know, } about something. #  /
sd          B.25 utt2:  {C But, }  {F uh, }  still [ I, + I ] questioned the ability of some of the teachers to, {F uh, } really do a bang-up job,  /
sd          B.25 utt3:  {C and } yet others I know are just wonderful. /  

sd          A.26 utt1:  {D Well, } I heard [ a, + a ] frightening thing.  /
sd          A.26 utt2:   {D Actually, } I didn't hear it.  /
sd          A.26 utt3: It was told to me or suggested to me, {F uh, } that to work as a  teacher in the public school systems in the state of Texas,  /
sd          A.26 utt4: {C and } I think it's   similar [ in, + in ] many other states, if you have a degree in a technical field you do not need a teaching certificate because there is such a shortage --   

b          B.27 utt1:  {F Huh. } /  

+          A.28 utt1:  -- of, {F uh, } people to teach math and sciences.  /
sd(^q)          A.28 utt2:   {C And } somebody said, {D well, } {D you know, }  you could go in [ and, + and ] substitute teach  at seventy-five dollars a day  /
sv          A.28 utt3: {C and } there's always going to be, {D you know, }  somebody having a need for a math or  science teacher.  /
sd(^q)          A.28 utt4:  I thought, {D Christ, }  they're # letting me in, # --   

b          B.29 utt1:  # Yeah. # /  

+          A.30 utt1:  -- to, {D you know, } - /
sv          A.30 utt2:  [ this would be, + this would be ]  frightening.  /
sd          A.30 utt3: I don't know anything about it. /  

sv          B.31 utt1:  That's pretty interesting [ because just, +   

x          A.32 utt1:  <Thumping>.   

+          B.33 utt1:  just because ] you know a subject matter --   

b          A.34 utt1:  # Right </dishes>. # /  

+          B.35 utt1:  -- # doesn't # mean you can teach it. /  

aa          A.36 utt1:  Right.  /
sv          A.36 utt2: {C And } even if I knew how to teach the  subject matter, I don't know if I'd know how to handle that kind of [ a, + a ] group of kids. /  

aa          B.37 utt1:  {F Oh, } yeah.  /
sv          B.37 utt2:  In fact, I think [ that's, + that's ]  one of the big problems today is [ the, + the ] way the kids behave or act [ and, + and ]  the way they are sometimes disinterested in what's going # on in the class and disruptive. # /  

sd          A.38 utt1:  # I tell you what I'm finding frightening #  /
sd          A.38 utt2: {C and }  this comes from, {D you know, } [ the, + the ] aging hippie near forty mother.  /
sd          A.38 utt3:  {C So } I went  through this period of supposedly, {D you know, } cosmic social enlightenment. /  

x          B.39 utt1:  <Laughter>.   

sd          A.40 utt1:  [ I'm on, + I'm in ] <barking> the Plano school  system and living in Richardson,  /
sd          A.40 utt2: {C and } there is a real dichotomy in terms of  educational and economic background of the kids that are going to be attending this school. /  

b          B.41 utt1:  Uh-huh. /  

sd(^q)          A.42 utt1:  {C And } I used to think, {D well, } that's wonderful.  /
^q          A.42 utt2:   {D You know, } they can get a real life experience.  /
sd          A.42 utt3:  What I'm seeing now, {F uh, }  in terms of kindergarten preparedness, just from, [ [ in, + in, ] + in ]  different preschools --   

b          B.43 utt1:  Uh-huh. /  

+          A.44 utt1:  -- it's like day and night.  /
qh          A.44 utt2: {C And } I wonder,  how do they handle a child who is obviously very ready and another child who doesn't  even speak English, let alone know her colors. /  

b          B.45 utt1:  Yeah. /  

sv          A.46 utt1:  {C And } they're in the same classrooms.  /
sv          A.46 utt2:  {C And } I guess  also you're going to see the first of the, {F uh, } crack kids starting  kindergarten.  /
sd          A.46 utt3:  My God, I think it would be next year is what I'd read.  /
sd(^q)          A.46 utt4:  I thought, {D well, }  [ how do you, + how do you ] weed those # out? # /  

aa          B.47 utt1:  # Yes. #  /
sv          B.47 utt2: Some of those certainly have a lot of  [ dis-, + difficulties, ] {D you know, } with, {F uh, } all sorts of things, /  

x          A.48 utt1:  <Rustling>.   

sv          B.49 utt1:  {C and } I would imagine their learning disabilities  are quite large in some cases. /  

sd          A.50 utt1:  When I was listening to N P R, the National  Public Radio, - /
sd          A.50 utt2:  {C and } they've quoted statistics that [ I just about, + ]  my throat just about fell into my toes.  /
sd          A.50 utt3: They said at the bottom of the S A T scores of  graduating college seniors are usually those people that go into education. /  

ba          B.51 utt1:  {F Oh, } wow <laughter>. /  

b          A.52 utt1:  Yes. /  

ba          B.53 utt1:  That's encouraging. /  

aa          A.54 utt1:  Yes.  /
sd(^q)          A.54 utt2: [ {C And } I, + {C and } [ I, + I ] ] got to thinking  back when I was teaching college chemistry, the people that took, {D you know, } the lower level courses, I sometimes wondered, {D you know, } are they really even  educatable or trainable  /
%          A.54 utt3: {C and } it, - /
%          A.54 utt4: my God, {D you know, } i-, - /
qh          A.54 utt5: are the rest of us  who went for the big bucks, {D you know, }  staying out of, {D you know, } where maybe we should be kind of socially obligated to spend some time teaching or something  with <barking> --   

b          B.55 utt1:  # Yeah. # /  

+          A.56 utt1:  -- # these # kids?  /
h          A.56 utt2:  I don't know <noise>. /  

ba          B.57 utt1:  {D Well, } [ that's, + {D you know, } that's ]  an idea.  /
sv          B.57 utt2:  Maybe there need to be some radical changes made.  /
sv          B.57 utt3:  Do some things that are  totally different and unheard of. /  

sv          A.58 utt1:  <Sigh> {D Well, } {D you know, } [ you, + you ] sit  here  /
sv          A.58 utt2: {C and } you think about that.  /
sv(^q)          A.58 utt3:  At the same time you think, {D God, } I hope I don't sound like  a stage mother because,   

x          B.59 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

+          A.60 utt1:  # right now # if you ask my friends t-, put twenty  mothers in a room and ask them how many have gifted children, you're going to have twenty hands,  {D you know, } # up there. # /  

qy^d          B.61 utt1:  # {F Oh, } you're # kidding. /  

nn          A.62 utt1:  {F Oh, } no.  /
sd^e          A.62 utt2: # [ Nobody has, + nobody has ]  a nongifted child. # /  

x          B.63 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

sv          A.64 utt1:  {C And } I keep thinking, {D you know, } <sigh> <barking>  gifted [ is, + is ] Einstein or,  {D you know, } {F uh, } musical prodigies.  /
sv          A.64 utt2:  [ It's, + it's ]  not a kid who's, {D you know, } precocious. /  

b          B.65 utt1:  Yeah. /  

qh          A.66 utt1:  You know, what [ [ has, + {D you know, } has, ] + has ]  the educational system been watered down to that anybody who's above average is now gifted? /  

b          B.67 utt1:  {F Huh. } /  

h          A.68 utt1:  # I don't know. # /  

ba          B.69 utt1:  # That's interesting. #  /
h          B.69 utt2:  I don't know.  /
sd          B.69 utt3: Mine [ didn't, + did not ]  fall into the gifted category <laughter> <throat_clearing>. /  

ad          A.70 utt1:  {F Oh, } don't say that. /  

ar          B.71 utt1:  Nope.  /
sd          B.71 utt2:  {C And } I would never had said so either.  /
sd          B.71 utt3:  {F Uh, } {C but, }  {F uh, } they managed to get through, although not always with flying colors.  /
sd          B.71 utt4:   {F Uh, } in fact, one of the incidents I was thinking of that my son had.  {F Uh, } he was struggling with senior English  /
sd          B.71 utt5: {C and } I had a meeting with the,  {F uh, } vice principal and the English instructor,  /
sd          B.71 utt6: {C and, }  <swallowing> {F uh, }  she showed me a paper that he had just handed in.  /
sd          B.71 utt7: {C And } she told me what she had  requested.   /
sd          B.71 utt8: {C And } I read it  /
sd          B.71 utt9: {C and } while it had, {D you know, } a few little grammatical problems,  it wasn't very long and so forth.  /
sd          B.71 utt10:  I thought it had some nice, well thought out, {F uh, }  parts to it. /  

b          A.72 utt1:  Uh-huh. /  

sd          B.73 utt1:  She gave him an F on that paper.  /
sd(^q)          B.73 utt2:  {C And } I thought,  {D well } now, here you have a student who is trying to pass, who is struggling with your  subject  /
^q          B.73 utt3: {C and } you give them an F on something that doesn't seem that bad  to me.  /
qh          B.73 utt4:  What are you telling that student?   /
sv          B.73 utt5: You're telling them that, {D hey, }  you might as well forget it, # {D you know. } # /  

sv          A.74 utt1:  # {D Well, } {D you # see, } I think [ that, +  that ]  harks right back to the elementary and  junior high years.  /
sd          A.74 utt2:  {C Because } I have a stepson now who's  twenty-five  /
sd          A.74 utt3: {C and, } {F uh, } I was just absolutely shocked, {F uh, } the first time that I saw  his schoolwork.  /
sd          A.74 utt4: {F Uh, } I remember being, {D you know, } taught,  /
sv          A.74 utt5: {C and }  I think, {D you know, } you have to teach how to write an answer and, {D you know, } how to  construct a thought process. /  

b          B.75 utt1:  Uh-huh. /  

sv          A.76 utt1:  {C And, } {D you know, } [ they can get a, + they can ]  grasp the points.  /
qh          A.76 utt2:  Can they convey the data verbally or in writing.  /
sd          A.76 utt3: {C And } that's what's,  {D you know, } really scary to me.  /
%          A.76 utt4: {F Uh, } I would really,  {D you know, } - /
sv          A.76 utt5: there's such [ a, + a ] push among young mothers these days to make sure their child is computer literate.  /
sv          A.76 utt6:   I would really think that they should be stressing more can the kid  write a thought and at an early age.  /
sv          A.76 utt7:  {C And } if they can't, {E I mean } if they have  missed that training, then somebody, {D you know, } before [ you're, + you're ] start  penalizing them with bad grades for not being able to communicate what they're thinking, teach them these basic skills. /  

aa          B.77 utt1:  Yeah.  /
sv          B.77 utt2: It's pretty sad to think, {F uh, } about  those who, even today, are graduating from school  /
sv          B.77 utt3: {C and } they are telling that they  don't know how to read, # {D you know. } # /  

sd          A.78 utt1:  # {D Well, } # my stepson, {D you know, } [ I, + ]   he went into the Navy or Air Force.  /
sd          A.78 utt2:  I just really get my military, - /
sd          A.78 utt3: I married into a military family, /  

x          B.79 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

h          A.80 utt1:  # {C and } I don't know,  /
sd          A.80 utt2: # I [ re-, +  address ] them all as generals #  /
sd          A.80 utt3: {C so } I don't offend anybody. # /  

x          B.81 utt1:  # <Laughter>. #   

sd          A.82 utt1:  {C But, }  {F uh, } {D you know, } fortunately for  him, he wasn't dumb  /
sd          A.82 utt2: {C but } {D boy } he sure had trouble, {D you know, } putting things [ on, + on ] paper. /  

b          B.83 utt1:  Yeah. /  

sd          A.84 utt1:  {C And } one of the things [ that, +  that ] they did  for him. They tested him  /
sd          A.84 utt2: {C and } they said that he's, {D you know, } great in  electronics  /
sd          A.84 utt3: {C but } he, {D you know, } [ he's, + ] really does need the basic skills.  /
sd          A.84 utt4:  {C And } they put him  through six months of composition writing in addition to all his electronic training.  /
sd          A.84 utt5:   {C And } at that point, he has now graduated from warfare electronics school with honors. /  

b          B.85 utt1:  # Oh. # /  

sd          A.86 utt1:  # This # is the kid [ who, + who ]  really, {D you know, } # barely # --   

b          B.87 utt1:  # Yeah. # /  

+          A.88 utt1:  -- made it through high school.  /
sv          A.88 utt2: {C And } I keep  thinking, {D you know, } [ it's not, + it's really not ] too late at any point to do, {D you know, } #  some-, # -/  

sv          B.89 utt1:  # That's # interesting that the military saw  that and did something about it. /  

aa          A.90 utt1:  # Yes. # /  

sv          B.91 utt1:  # You # would have expected them to be the last  ones to <sigh>. /  

aa          A.92 utt1:  Yes.  /
sd          A.92 utt2: {C And } I kind of have always pooh-poohed  military educations.  /
sv          A.92 utt3: {C But } I think that for this kid, it's going to be, {D you know, } his lifesaver.  /
sv          A.92 utt4: Otherwise, he might have been driving trucks or framing  houses, {D you know, } from here to eternity. /  

b          B.93 utt1:  Yeah. /  

h          A.94 utt1:  {C So, } I don't know. /  

x          B.95 utt1:  <Click>.   

sd          A.96 utt1:  {D You know, } it does make me nervous. /  

sd          B.97 utt1:  {D Well, } I can see why if you've got little  ones just coming along.  /
sv          B.97 utt2:  There's [ a, + a ] whole lot of stuff going on out there. /  

aa^m          A.98 utt1:  <Laughter> There is a whole lot of stuff going on out  there  /
sd          A.98 utt2: [ {C and, } +  {C and } ] part of me says I just would like to, {D you know, } shut my eyes  and pretend it doesn't, {D you know, } go on <sigh>.  Or send them to private  schools <sigh>.  /
sd(^q)          A.98 utt3:  {C And then } [ the, + {D you know, } the ]  old social conscience says, {D you know, } I'm not working, I don't need to work.  /
sv          A.98 utt4:  Maybe I should volunteer to,  {D you know, } teach what I know. /  

b          B.99 utt1:  Yeah. /  

sv          A.100 utt1:  Maybe adult literacy.  Maybe, {D you know, }  composition writing.  Maybe, {D you know, } {F uh, }  volunteering, {D you know, } on a tutor line or though [ the, +  even through the ] elementary schools for help with homework  /
sd(^q)          A.100 utt2: {C or, } the other part  of me says, is God, I've had enough kids <laughter>.  /
%          A.100 utt3:  # Do I reall-, </TV> </children>. # -/  

x          B.101 utt1:  # <Laughter>. # / 
