ASK THE TEACHER FOR HELP
I call Ms. Sabin over and explain my problem.
“A lot of people struggle with screen fatigue, Dominic. Let me show you a few tricks.”
She hands me some headphones and shows me how to make the computer read the webpage aloud.
“If you narrow the webpage, like this….” With the mouse, she drags a corner of the browser window so it was half as wide as the screen. “It’s easier for your eye to track the text. Also, when you encounter a new word, just right-click on it. The web browser can take you to the definition and synonyms. You can also use video sources as long as they’re reliable. If all else fails, paste a few paragraphs into a word processing file. The librarian will let you print up to three pages. If you need anything else, just ask.” She smiles before leaving to help another student.
I’m surprised that she’s being so nice to me, but I guess she’s just doing her job.
Using the audio assist, I get through four websites before the bell rings. Before I leave, I open a cloud doc and paste several paragraphs from each source so I can use them for my paper. Also, I find out that microtears have nothing to do with crying. They’re tiny rips in the muscle. Tears rhymes with airs, not fears. Why does the English language have to be so hard?
When I get home, the thought of hunting for another six “reliable” sources and formatting the citations is overwhelming.
It’s not fair. I mean, Marisol and Deja have an easy time with research and writing. Why should I have to do the same amount of work that they do when it’s so much harder for me? I pull out my phone and look at Marisol’s list of sources.
