The reading is supposed to be hard, confusing, annoying, and frustrating - I want the graduate students to work through some of the suggested strategies to break down complex text into digestible items.
Don't worry, I'm handing out hand sanitizer and face masks (although the masks don't necessarily work).
Truth be told, the science of viruses is complex, ever-changing, fascinating, and alarming. I now see why biology teachers used to love their units on viruses and bacteria, and why my classroom was a perfect place to do Q-tip swabbing for their Petri dishes, especially in the refrigerator of room 301 that was left for the kids (there were no words for how disgusting they'd allow it to get).
Yuck. I'm a converted man. No more of that crazy.
Seriously, I am looking forward to participating in my own activities tonight simply because I want to learn more about something I really haven't paid much attention to. Because I have allergies, I always assume I have bird flu and ebola. I don't, and tonight I'll learn why.
Happy for National Geographic and The Atlantic for having articles that were difficult enough to confuse me, but well-written enough to intrigue. Academic texts are simply ridiculous (communicating to no one) and, afterwards, I found a PBS kids article that says every thing for a 4th grader to understand. To be honest...they all say the same thing...some just use esoteric language to sound smarmier than others.
The 4th grade text is the best written and most poignant. Human literacies can be 'doopid' sometimes; it's not about communication, but about esoteric positioning and keeping knowledge away from everyday people.
Just wash your hands.
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