Music plays an important role in virtually all societies. Nevertheless, in times of economic hardship, funds for music education are often amongst the first to be cut…. This is particularly worrying given both anecdotal and limited research evidence suggesting that music… Read More ›
Month: September 2013
Franklin Park Zoo
The Franklin Park Zoo is only two miles from my home, and I’m a member, but I don’t get there often enough. But I had a great time there yesterday — and how often does one get to visit a… Read More ›
Peanut allergies
What can possibly be so controversial about peanut allergies? Plenty, apparently. According to an article in yesterday’s Jamaica Plain Patch, “peanut products are still served in many school cafeterias” and “almost half of children who have food allergies have been bullied.” This… Read More ›
For life?
Overheard in the hallway: Two freshman girls are talking very seriously. “You know, freshman year is the most important,” says one. “If you mess it up, it will hurt you for the next three years.” “Yes,” says the other, “and… Read More ›
Technology uses in education
The esteemed Diane Ravitch, who is always worth reading even when her focus can seem obsessed, wrote an article recently for Scientific American, reprinted today in Salon, entitled “Three Dubious Uses of Tech in Schools.” So what was I expecting? From my perspective, the… Read More ›
Anathem
You don’t mind spending an hour or two on a Neal Stephenson novel, do you? OK, so Anathem is slightly over a thousand pages long…but it’s not much over a thousand. I mean, it’s not as long as Cryptonomicon, which clocks in at 1168 pages. Anathem is… Read More ›
Real Talk for Real Teachers
The full title of Rafe Esquith’s latest inspiring book is Real Talk for Real Teachers: Advice for Teachers from Rookies to Veterans: “No Retreat, No Surrender!” There’s rarely any need for a three-tiered title, but in this case I think it’s… Read More ›
Kill the apostrophe!
Youve got to read James Harbecks essay, “Kill the Apostrophe!,” appearing in The Week this week. (“The Week this week”? That certainly sounds odd. Oh, well.) After reading it, youll be convinced, as I was, that apostrophes should just go away. Many of… Read More ›
Tricks? Not here!
My colleague Donna Gonzalez and I have discovered that we often have similar points of view. One pet peeve we have in common is that we sometimes hear students (or even teachers!) talk about “tricks” for solving math problems. Making… Read More ›
Is memorization necessary, evil, both, or neither?
Ben Orlin has written a fine article for the Atlantic called “When Memorization Gets in the Way of Learning: A teacher’s quest to discourage his students from mindlessly reciting information,” along with an accompanying blog post called “Is memorization necessary, evil,… Read More ›
The Autistic Brain
An absorbing and fascinating book, The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum should be read by anyone in education. The latest work of the famous Temple Grandin, a well-known autistic biology professor, explores not only autism as a disorder of the mind but… Read More ›
Linguistics, math, and second chances
What a terrific speech! It was delivered in 2008 by the distinguished Stanford linguist Ivan Sag, who died too young just five days ago. It manages to take the reader all the way from youthful indiscretions to problems with college… Read More ›
Computer programming in English class?
How is it possible to persuade English teachers to teach computer programming (or “coding,” as people say today)? Maybe it can happen only in a private school? Why would anyone even want to insist that English teachers should teach programming? These are… Read More ›
27 new trig functions…and no more factoring
My juniors will be excited to hear that there are now 27 new trig functions for them to learn, and that factoring will no longer be taught. It must be true, since I read it on the Internet. And it’s surely… Read More ›
The real advantage of wealthier schools
This title is stolen directly from an excellent piece by John Spencer, whose blog is always worth reading. It’s clear from context that Spencer lives in a middle-class district and teaches in a low-income one. This combination is of course… Read More ›
On Looking
“How do you like my new hairstyle?” “Um…what new hairstyle?” OK, I’m not the most observant person in the world, to put it mildly. But I’d like to get better. And I’m really interested in cities, and in psychology, and… Read More ›
Cryptography and the NSA
Everyone knows the big splash of news about the NSA revealed by Edward Snowden: “the NSA Is Breaking Most Encryption on the Internet,” in the words of foremost security/cryptography expert Bruce Schneier. This was a matter of great interest here… Read More ›
The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg is another fine novel by Donna Leon. This thoughtful novel rewards slow, careful reading — don’t expect a fast-paced thriller here. As is usual in Leon’s books, the city of Venice (where Leon lives) is one of the… Read More ›
The Big Ideas of Algebra, Part Three
Four or five years ago, I wrote a couple of posts on the Big Ideas of algebra: Part One was published on November 30, 2008; Part Two on January 7, 2009. It’s time for Part Three, isn’t it? Fortunately, the… Read More ›
What does an IT department do?
Speaking of the Math Curmudgeon, I’m glad I don’t teach where he teaches. At least we don’t have these problems. (Just don’t get me started on Infinite Campus…)
Learning Strategies 