One of our former Adult Literacy Program students is now featured on the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy’s website. Watch the video above or click here to visit the NYCCAL website to read it and watch it!
Idiom of the Week: Smell a Rat
In honor of the Year of the Rat…
Meaning: To be suspicious of someone or something.
Examples:
The students were very, very quiet when their teacher entered the room, and so the teacher smelled a rat.
“I smell a rat,” said the police detective after talking to the criminal.
After seeing that the email came from a strange address, I smelled a rat and didn’t open it.
Pop Quiz:
You might smell a rat if…
A. your boss pays you on time.
B. a stranger calls you asking for your address and social security number.
C. a cashier gives you the correct change.
Click on “Read More” to see the correct answer:
Show Some Love to Chinatown!
From New City Council Member Margaret Chin:
Since the coronavirus made the news, we have been seeing a rise in xenophobia and discrimination against Asian New Yorkers and businesses. There’s never an excuse to discriminate, yet sadly during Lunar New Year, what should be the busiest time of the year, Chinatown shop and restaurant owners have been hit especially hard.
But we’re committed to turn crisis into opportunity.
Last weekend, crowds of New Yorkers celebrated a new year and new beginnings at the Lunar New Year parade. This week, I stood with Chinatown Partnership, Council Member Rivera, and small business owners to ask you to show some love to Chinatown. Watch the event here.
You can share your solidarity by visiting a local business to enter for a raffle sponsored by the Chinatown Partnership, taking a pic at the new Valentine’s Day themed backdrop at the Baxter Street kiosk, or using #DineinChinatown and tagging us.
Thank you to all the elected officials who have shown their support!
Albany!
Here are more photos from Albany. Our students went to the state capital last week with other members of the New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL) to advocate for $25 million in funding for Adult Literacy Education in New York State. We held a rally on the Million Dollar staircase, where in addition to Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly Members Ron Kim and Pat Fahy, our very own Adult Literacy Program students Lifen and Jose spoke about how important programs like ours are. After the rally we visited state assembly members’ and senators’ offices and to tell them why adult literacy programs need more funding in New York.
To learn more about NYCCAL and what we’re advocating for, click here.
We Count!
Attention all University Settlement and residents of the Lower East Side and Chinatown! On Tuesday there’s a very important event meant just for you! More info below…
U.S. in the News!
Rat Vs. Mouse
Since 2020 is the Year of the Rat, some people have been asking about what the difference is between a rat and a mouse. Here’s some useful info for you courtesy of Diffen.com:
|
Mouse Versus Rat Comparison Chart |
||
| Mouse | Rat | |
| Identification Method | Small feces | Larger feces |
| Head | Small, triangular, small relative to body | Short, stubby, broad, large relative to body |
| Ears | Ears are large relative to the head. | Ears are small relative to the head. |
| Eyes | Slightly bigger in relation to the head | Smaller in relation to head |
| Muzzle | Narrow with sharp muzzle | Large and blunt with wide muzzle |
| Tail | A mouse is small and has a skinny tail. | A rat is bigger and has a thicker tail. |
| Digging burrows | Mice do not dig deep and even if they do so, they may dig only to about a foot. | Rats dig deep and long burrows. |
| Life Span | 1.5 – 2.5 years | 2-3 years |
| Genetic Differences | Mice have 20 chromosome pairs & 2.6 million base pairs | Rats have 21 chromosome pairs & 2.75 million base pairs |
| Best known species | Common House Mouse (Mus Musculus) | Black Rat (Rattus Rattus); Brown Rat (Rattus Norvegicus) |
| Romans call it | Mus Minimus | Mus Maximus |
| Spaniards call it | Raton | Rata |
