Ten months ago was when I had most recently taught a class. But that was by Zoom, of course. As was my teaching in the previous summer. So it has really been almost three years since I’ve taught a live… Read More ›
Month: June 2022
More and more teachers are leaving the teaching profession.
Yes, I suppose I’m part of the problem, not part of the solution. But I didn’t exactly leave the teaching profession: I just retired from my position at Weston High School. Being “semi-retired,” I’m still teaching every summer at the… Read More ›
All four cats…
companionably eating their dinner together. And should be no fighting over the food bowls, with four bowls for four cats:
Gender issues: a perspective from a Russian Jewish mathematician
“My mom used to tell me that most men do not like brainy women,” writes well-known mathematician Tanya Khovanova. Well-known in certain circles, anyway. Female, Russian-American, Jewish—there are a lot of possible identity issues here. I’ve written about Khovanova twice… Read More ›
What’s an “app crit”? And why should I care?
Perhaps for some odd reason you have never looked at a modern edition of an ancient or medieval text—whether in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Old Norse, Sanskrit, Old High German, or whatever. In that case, it’s not too late to start!… Read More ›
Back when Heinlein was antifa (really!)
When I was growing up and reading a lot of science fiction, the Holy Trinity of sf writers consisted of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. Often they were called “The Big Three.” They had a number of… Read More ›
I finally got to see the world’s finest model railroad, but…
As I drove along Main Street in Peabody yesterday, the first bad omen was the sight of the old-fashioned parking meters in front of the Franklin & South Manchester Railroad. Quarters only! The problem was that I no longer carry… Read More ›
Saoirse and Beanie and…[who else?]…add up to…Lady Bird!
Although I’ve never been to Sacramento, and certainly wasn’t there in 2002, the movie Lady Bird felt very realistic to me. Realistic and convincing. Kudos to director Greta Gerwig! As A.O. Scott in the New York Times put it, “Every… Read More ›
Happy Bloomsday!
As you probably know, today is Bloomsday, the annual Irish holiday commemorating the 24-hour period over which James Joyce’s Ulysses took place. As you also know, I had announced in this space last month that I would be (re)reading that… Read More ›
Signs of the times in Medford and Brookline
First, here’s a sign inside the entrance to the Wegmans in Medford: Yes, I know that it’s purely for commercial purposes, but it still makes me feel welcome. On the other hand, here is a pair of street signs in… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 