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 ›
Dorchester/Boston
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 ›
Birthday/Sel de la Terre
Over the past few weeks, a number of my sophomores have been trying to figure out my birthday. All they knew was that it was somewhere in February. Even though I had told them that one of my students (now… Read More ›
Playing suburban patty cake
Catching up on a blog written by fellow Dorchester resident Candelaria Silva, I came across a post from a year and a half ago, “All White People, All the Time,” which caught my eye for several reasons: first of all,… Read More ›
The two Chows
No, not two dogs. No, not two students whose last name is Chow. I’m referring to two Chinese restaurants: Chau Chow in Dorchester (discussed previously in this blog on 7/23/2008, 9/1/2006, and 5/9/2006) and Great Chow in the Wollaston section… Read More ›
This isn't school!
The time is 8:30 this morning. The scene is the front of Greenleaf Hall at Milton Academy, as the day begins at The Saturday Course. A mom drops off her fourth-grader. We listen in on their remarks: Mom: Have a… Read More ›
Take it easy, but take it.
It’s a cliché to say so, but this was certainly a day that I’ll remember for the rest of my life! Unlike most such days (the JFK assassination, 9/11, etc.) it was historic as a joyous occasion, not a tragedy…. Read More ›
In praise of Micci
A completely unsolicited testimonial: Barbara and I noticed that our 28-year-old gas furnace was behaving erratically, sometimes turning off and on in rapid intervals, and sometimes turning off altogether. We called Micci Fuel Co. to come look at it and… Read More ›
Dorchester Community Gardens
We tend to think of Dorchester as “inner city” — which indeed it is…or not, depending on one’s definition (see below). But most of us don’t think of urban gardens in connection with Dorchester. A useful antidote is Dorchester Community… Read More ›
More about the Ashmont Grill and Tavolo
I’ve written a couple of previous posts about the Ashmont Grill — two years ago and five months ago. Since the latter post, Barbara and I have visited several times, mostly for the Monday Night wine club, which I highly… Read More ›
Donovan's in Savin Hill over the Bridge (well…almost over the bridge)
The Savin Hill neighborhood in Dorchester is conventionally divided into two parts, at least by real estate agents. The “better” half, according to some, is “Savin Hill over the Bridge,” namely the portion to the east of the bridge that… Read More ›
Spanish foods?
Following up on yesterday’s footnote, I need to mention another linguistic annoyance: the misuse of the word “Spanish.” Yes, it correctly describes the language that is spoken not only in Spain but also in much of Central and South America,… Read More ›
Dim Sum at Chau Chow
Two years ago I promised a review of the dim sum at the then-new branch of Chau Chow in Dorchester, but I don’t think I ever wrote one. So here, at long last, is that review. Barbara and I ate… Read More ›
Zakiyyah's Concert
Instead of being out in the thunderstorm this afternoon, I attended a beautiful concert performance by my fellow Dorchesterite and former student, coloratura soprano Zakiyyah Sutton. (Yes, I had to look it up too. I used to know what coloratura… Read More ›
Ashmont Grill revisited
It was too hot to cook today, so Barbara and I went to the Ashmont Grill, along with our friend Cheri. This was our third dinner visit there in the past six months or so (in addition to a couple… Read More ›
What kids call their parents…and their parents' friends
Just getting around to blogging this, but there was a fascinating article a few weeks ago in the Boston Globe, made all the more relevant to me because it mentioned several of my Weston students and was written by the… Read More ›
Supreme Musical Artists of the Past Fifty Years
As I mentioned in my post of four days ago, my sophomores at Crimson Summer Academy (CSA) are currently studying models of voting. While I’m trying to move them away from cuteness as a criterion and toward serious consideration of… Read More ›
MBTA fares steady in real dollars for 100 years
Take a close look at the yellow bars in this bar chart:Much to my surprise, it turns out that subway fares in Boston have remained nearly unchanged for 110 years when adjusted for inflation, especially when you ignore the short-lived… Read More ›
No surprise: they support Obama.
As I mentioned in my post of two days ago, the sophomore component of the summer course I teach at Crimson Summer Academy focuses on models of voting. Although the emphasis is primarily on applied mathematics, the 2008 course was… Read More ›
Cuteness counts
My regular readers know that I teach Quantitative Reasoning (QR) at the Crimson Summer Academy (CSA) over the summer. (If you don’t how what CSA is, read my blog posts from May 7, 2007, and April 30, 2008.) The theme… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 