This evening’s Taste of Dorchester event was a great success. When I moved to Dorchester in 1985, I never would have guessed that there would soon be a couple of dozen good restaurants in this part of Boston — and… Read More ›
Month: April 2009
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Diaz’s bi-cultural novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, is itself a wondrous and wonderful book in so many ways. While it’s not for everyone — some reviewers were irritated by matters that could indeed be irritating to… Read More ›
The Body in the Ivy
The Body in the Ivy, by Katherine Hall Page, is a well-above-average mystery with some familiar themes. I can’t give too many details without indulging in spoilers, but I recommend it to those who like updated Agatha-Christie-style stories where the… Read More ›
povo.com
How nice to see a website that actually recognizes Dorchester as a neighborhood of Boston! Povo not only lists it prominently, but its description is an accurate portrayal of Dorchester’s many virtues: Dorchester is the largest geographic and most populated… Read More ›
This is Your Brain on Music
I don’t usually read books just on the basis of advertising, so I first checked with my colleague the music teacher before I decided to read the new book with such intriguing ads: Daniel J. Levitin’s This is Your Brain… Read More ›
Unnecessarily difficult
A few years ago, one of my former students from Honors Precalculus informed me that my course had been “unnecessarily difficult.” An interesting phrase. “What does that mean?” was my puzzled response. Let’s call her Rachel (not her real name)…. Read More ›
The Crimes of Jordan Wise
Bill Pronzini’s neo-noir novel, The Crimes of Jordan Wise, is a pleasant diversion but certainly not one of his better works. The idea that a geeky guy who excelled in math in high school might become a successful accountant is,… Read More ›
Overzealous adults
Kathryn Cramer writes about the new book, Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedon We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry, by Leonore Skenazy. I’ve reserved a copy through the Minuteman Library Network; maybe I’ll write a review in this… Read More ›
The forest or the trees?
I was just thinking about some of the difficulties that many high-school students have when attempting to learn math. Aside from those who face external obstacles — such as brain damage, severe emotional problems, or extremely inadequate teaching — we… Read More ›
Linguistics, mathematics, and the general public
Just about everyone can speak, so we all have an opinion about language. Just about everyone can count, so we all have an opinion about math. Everyone’s an expert. After reading uninformed opinions about both, I decided to compare and… Read More ›
"You must be a Democrat."
The thorny question of grading took a new twist yesterday afternoon. I’ve discussed grading before — in my posts of 11/30/2005 and 12/20/2007 — and I’m not going to rehash those arguments. Sometimes I’m wrong, but on these issues I’m… Read More ›
Shout-out to B Block
Near the end of my B Block precalculus class this morning, a couple of juniors happen to mention this blog and asked me to give a shout-out here to B Block. I said I would do so. But first, of… Read More ›
Polite patrons and diversity in Dorchester
What do you do if you’re at a restaurant and there’s a celebrity at the next table? I’m told that Europeans ignore celebrities and let them enjoy their privacy, but Americans all too often have to say hello, get an… Read More ›
Fourth in the Commonwealth
Congratulations to the Weston High School math team for their excellent showing in the state playoffs on Friday in Shrewsbury! We finished fourth in the state among medium-sized high schools (the schools with which we compete) and will therefore be… Read More ›
Studs Terkel's Working
This year’s spring musical at Weston High School is the little-known Working, based closely on Studs Terkel’s great book of the same name. Although I say “closely,” the musical can of course include only a tiny fraction of the chapters… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 