Find Out More About What’s Coming Up Next Week on Focus
Next week on Focus, we’ll talk about the magic of summer camp, the growing need for translators and why some are pushing for comics in schools.
Monday May 13 – The Case for Summer Camp
What’s your favorite memory from summer camp as a kid? Do those memories influence how you feel about sending your kids there? We want to hear from you this hour on Focus!
When you go away to camp, you’re automatically part of a new community. You sleep in an unfamiliar bed with unfamiliar bunk mates; you’ll eat food you aren’t used to or go hungry. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about these things and how that “camp experience” can be good for kids. Michael Thompson is author of the book “Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow.” He joins host Jim Meadows to talk about the things camp can teach children, lessons he argues parents can’t.
Tuesday, May 14 – Now Hiring: Translators and Interpreters Wanted
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the need for translators and interpreters will increase by 20 percent in the next 7 years. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk about the challenges that come with training translators and meeting that need. We’ll talk with Terena Bell, who has worked as a translator and now owns “In Every Language,” a company based in Louisville, Kentucky that provides translation and localization services. Professor Elizabeth Lowe also joins us. She’s director of the Center for Translations Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign which recently announced it will offer a new master’s program next fall.
Wednesday, May 15 – Reading with Pictures
Do you love comics? Have you ever learned anything from them? Maybe you oppose the idea of teaching comic books… We want to hear your story this hour on Focus!
University of Illinois Assistant Professor Carol Tilley has always felt strongly about the fact that kids need comics. And she’s not the only one. This hour on Focus, we’ll talk with Tilley about how comics played a huge role in her childhood and why she thinks it’s so upsetting that they are less widely available and more expensive than they once were. Award-winning graphic novelist and nationally syndicated cartoonist Josh Elder also joins us. He’s creating a new series of graphic textbooks for elementary and middle school teachers. We’ll talk with him and Tilley about what sets comics apart and why they’re useful in the classroom.
More about Reading with Pictures:
*Reading with Pictures has already raised the necessary funding for their project through Kickstarter.
Thursday, May 16 - TBA
Friday, May 17 – Personal Finance
Friday on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with Kevin Waspi, a certified financial advisor and lecturer at the UIUC College of Business. We welcome your calls and questions this hour!