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 ›
Month: January 2008
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 