Mark Bernstein has an observation and a question: I no longer trust my email. If you send me mail, I will probably receive it, but I’m far from certain that it won’t be lost in the vast deluge of spam…. Read More ›
Month: January 2008
How about an Obama/Bloomberg ticket?
Now that Obama is starting to catch up with Clinton in the national polls, and now that Edwards has dropped out, some people are starting to talk about the possibility of an Obama-Edwards ticket. While that would have a certain… Read More ›
Courtesy: a double standard?
One of my colleagues has asked us not to cut in line in the cafeteria, correctly pointing out that “adults set the tone and serve as personal examples of respectful behavior.” I agree with the text, but I have some… Read More ›
Surely the Globe can't be wrong! But the oldest house in Boston is actually in Dorchester, not in the North End
It’s simple logic: A sentence begins this way in today’s Boston Globe: The grounds of the Paul Revere House, Boston’s oldest building and a historic Colonial landmark,… The Paul Revere House was built in 1680 (plus or minus a year… Read More ›
The Witch of Agnesi
What math teacher could resist a mystery titled The Witch of Agnesi. Of course if you’re neither a math teacher nor a mathematician, you’re probably scratching your head right now, wondering, “What is he talking about?” Well, the Witch of… Read More ›
Defaults
“Default, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves…” No, that doesn’t seem quite right. I don’t think Shakespeare had Cassius talking about defaults, did he? But it’s what I think of when we just assume that defaults… Read More ›
Collaborating with colleagues
We had an interesting K–12 professional development (PD) day yesterday (as our students were enjoying a four-day weekend and we teachers had to settle for three days off). The theme for the year is differentiated instruction (DI); the specific focus… Read More ›
Firing a teacher, part two
A first-year teacher was fired last week for making a bad judgment call. Depending on the version of the story you believe, he either duct-taped a student’s mouth shut or gave her some masking tape and asked her to tape… Read More ›
I'm delighted to learn that I was wrong
In my review of Transit Maps of the World a couple of days ago, I made the following observation: I have to admit that it will appeal strongly only to readers who are fascinated both by cartography and by railroads,… Read More ›
Adults and math: Who needs a formula?
OK, this is just one example. It’s purely anecdotal evidence, and therefore it doesn’t prove anything. But it’s still indicative of a problem with adult attitudes toward math. A bit of background first: if you don’t have the good fortune… Read More ›
Transit Maps of the World
This gorgeous book — I might even call it stunning — must have a rather limited audience. Although I’m tempted to add it to my list of favorite books (see my profile in this blog), I have to admit that… Read More ›
Mathematicians are Platonists
In this past Sunday’s New York Times Book Review, Jim Holt wrote a mildly interesting review of the new book by John Allen Paulos, Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up. Since I haven’t… Read More ›
Life imitating art: Academy X & Firing a teacher, part one
Continuing my accidental theme of reviewing works of fiction about life at elite high schools, such as Prep, Restless Virgins, and Dangerous Admissions, I have just finished reading Academy X, a satirical novel by Andrew Trees. It’s not clear whether… Read More ›
No comment
A reader of both this blog and Adam Gaffin’s Universal Hub asked why I’ve turned off comments in my blog. Naturally he had to ask the question on Universal Hub. I replied as follows: I have comments turned off because… Read More ›
The fuzzy math of Huckabee's FairTax
There are many things to dislike about Mike Huckabee’s proposal for a 30% national sales tax, the so-called Fair Tax, such as the fact that it’s thoroughly regressive. (It would lower taxes slightly for the poor, lower them tremendously for… Read More ›
Stay off the main drag
“Please if possible stay off Dorchester ave until the community gets more information,” writes a well-known Dorchester community activist with an incendiary temperament. This sentence was part of a mass email sent out in response to a targeted killing on… Read More ›
Can a middle-aged professional become a math teacher?
We had an interesting visit yesterday from a local accountant who is considering making a mid-career switch and becoming a math teacher. He spent most of the day at Weston High School, talking with teachers and kids and observing classes…. Read More ›
What does this have to do with math?
Three different experiences in Algebra II today have caused me to rethink the value of projects. Although I’ve always had a theoretical appreciation of project-based learning, I’ve also always had grave doubts about placing a whole lot of emphasis on… Read More ›
Rubrics
I was giving my Algebra II class more details about the project they had just started working on. It’s an exploration of exponential and linear functions, with a story line for which I cannot take credit but which I’m happy… Read More ›
Hell for the Holidays
I just finished reading Hell for the Holidays, a thriller by Chris Grabenstein, author of Tilt-A-Whirl and other mysteries. Two years ago I recommended Tilt-A-Whirl enthusiastically. Unfortunately I can’t make a similar recommendation for Hell for the Holidays. Although it’s… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 