One of the many things that math teachers and linguists have in common is that we are usually misunderstood by the general public. The great David Crystal has written an excellent piece on this subject in the context of being interviewed for an… Read More ›
Month: October 2015
Linguistics blogs
So here’s the dilemma, and it’s not an unusual one in the Internet of the current decade. Suppose you’re interested in linguistics, but you can’t devote your whole life to it. Your dilemma is that either you can pick two or… Read More ›
Extreme photojournalism
Famed New York Times/freelance photojournalist Lynsey Addario gave an intense presentation to students and faculty of Weston High School yesterday afternoon. “Intense” is definitely the word. Never before have I heard eight hundred high-school students sit so quietly and attentively for… Read More ›
How do you organize a binder?
Let’s suppose you have to keep a physical notebook (or binder) for a course you’re taking (or teaching, for that matter). Most people seem to prefer using tabs to give themselves the illusion of organization (oops — that shows my… Read More ›
“I can’t do math!”
In its essence this is a familiar story, but it bears reexamination. We’ll end with the Indian girl who gave up on math at age 15, but we start with the observation that American and Indian kids alike classify themselves… Read More ›
Yay! (maybe)
Good news and bad news here. The good news is that the Obama Administration seems to have softened its stand on mandatory standardized testing, which has resulted in vastly excessive time spent in many schools and totally inappropriate teacher evaluation… Read More ›
JEB @PA
They tell us that students should get to know their teachers. So, every year I show my classes excerpts from Kevin Rafferty’s movie, Regular Guys. This is partly so that my students can get a better picture of my own high-school experience and partly… Read More ›
Marauder’s Map
Harry would be jealous. Look at this: it’s a real-life Marauder’s Map! But instead of showing where people are, it shows where MBTA subway trains are — right now, in real time. How cool is that?
Rails across Canada?
For the second time, Barbara and I are planning to take the train from Boston to Chicago this April to visit the in-laws…and to enjoy the journey, of course. But that’s less than half the distance across the continent. At… Read More ›
The so-called Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
What an annoying book! How did it become a New York Times best-seller??? In the words of H.L. Mencken, “no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people,” so maybe that’s the explanation. In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 