Should we be sad about the news, or should we be happy about the wonderful people we met and wonderful meals we ate at the Ashmont Grill over the past 18 years? The answer is on their website: Don’t cry… Read More ›
Month: January 2023
In which I read a graphic novel… and give it a surprising A+!
Graphic novels aren’t my thing. I never read them. Well, actually, that’s not quite true. On average I read one graphic novel every three… three what? three months? No. How about three years? No again. More like once every three… Read More ›
The town of Lincoln first participated in—and later rejected—this “radical experiment in integration.”
“Why do you want to mix our children with city blacks? We moved here to get away from that element.” So said a resident of Lincoln, Massachusetts. A white resident, needless to say. Shocking perhaps, but not surprising, even if… Read More ›
Chynah Tyler on igniting the passion of a new generation of voters.
Chynah Tyler, member of the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, more commonly known by its informal name, the Massachusetts State Legislature, has published a fine article in Commonwealth Magazine. You should read it—not just because Chynah… Read More ›
Farewell, Ashmont Grill 🥲
This is very sad: Our favorite local restaurant, the Ashmont Grill, is closing its doors permanently in three weeks. I’ve written about the Grill many times. For a few examples, check out these posts: I could go on at great… Read More ›
A pair of Horowitzes? (Is that the plural? How about Horowitzim?)
Actually, there’s only one Horowitz that we’re talking about here: Anthony. I’m using the plural metonymically, if that’s the right word, with the author standing in for his books. Thirteen months ago I reviewed A Line to Kill. Two months… Read More ›
Q: Is AI forcing us to switch to project-based learning? A: Not really, but…
The newest moral panic, as I’m sure you’ve heard, has teachers and professors clutching their pearls about AI, specifically ChatGPT. A couple of weeks ago I proposed three solutions to this problem, but now I want to address three more… Read More ›
Making math relevant?
Good rhetorical question from SMBC: “Do kids ever look up from Minecraft or Pokemon cards or a Harry Potter book and say ‘This is boring because it’s not relevant to real life’?” And yet that’s exactly what too many kids… Read More ›
Deadmistress
Yes, you’re right: the title is a portmanteau. It’s not a concatenation of “dead mistress” but a portmanteau of “dead” plus “headmistress.” Get it? This 2011 mystery by Carole Shmurak wasn’t so easy to find. CommCat couldn’t locate it for… Read More ›
Is anyone still teaching cursive? Does anyone care?
“Niche scholarship and the blue-moon occasion do not justify a universal policy of childhood education,” observes John McWhorter. As you see, I’ve taken that observation out of context. Without context it’s hard to know what McWhorter means, so let’s unpack… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 