Parents and teachers alike are understandably worried about learning loss during the pandemic. How real is the worry? Is there something else that should worry us more? And what exactly does “learning loss” mean anyway? John Spencer helps you and… Read More ›
Life
Are we embarrassed to be Bostonians? Should we be?
Patrick Maguire’s blog, Server Not Servant, is always worth reading. Those of us who treat restaurant servers well—those of us who consider respect toward essential workers to be an important American value—have been sorely tested by some of our fellow… Read More ›
William is so handsome…
On his blue comforter, even if for some reason it has a lot of cat fur on it:
Christine Lavin, Tina Ross, and Barbara Barrie
Great short Zoom concert/interview last night by Christine Lavin, hosted by Tina Ross! Not sure whether it’s still available after the fact. In any case, you can check out her other concerts and recordings here. But I do need to… Read More ›
A Jewish Christmas, in two parts (Part Two: Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas)
After we got home from our requisite Chinese meal on Christmas Day, Barbara and I watched the requisite movie: in this case the Canadian documentary Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas. If you’ve never heard of it, go find it and… Read More ›
Rudolph in Old English
In recognition of Christmas 2021, here is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the original Old English, a.k.a. Anglo Saxon, from exactly one thousand years ago, courtesy of All Things Linguistic: Hwæt, Hrodulf readnosa hrandeor – Næfde þæt nieten unsciende næsðyrlas! Glitenode and… Read More ›
People love dead Jews.
Yes, I too cringe at the title of this best-selling book of interrelated essays. But unfortunately it’s altogether appropriate. Mark Oppenheimer of the Unorthodox podcast calls it “the best collection of essays that I have read in a long, long… Read More ›
Never—no, always—take the shortcut!
“Abjure the hypotenuse!” That’s what our busy high school dean (also assistant headmaster and sole college counselor) George Grenville Benedict—called G2 by the students (behind his back)—was famous for saying. As my classmate Alba Briggs publicly observed on screen in… Read More ›
West Side Chanukah Story…and Goodbye to Stephen Sondheim
Chanukah story? Or the greatest musical of all time, West Side Story? This magnificent five-minute a cappella performance by the Manhattan Jewish Experience is both. Shoutout to David Schwartz for the link! As with all take-offs and parodies, it helps… Read More ›
Whining about Daylight Saving Time
If I were a pedant (which of course I’m not), I would feel compelled to articulate four pet peeves related to Daylight Saving Time: Some people—I’m thinking of you, Ethel—call it Daylight Savings Time! (Apparently it has something to do… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 