As we all have learned over the past two years, our Dear Leader’s strategy is to blame others for his own shortcomings, to accuse his enemies of those characteristics that are really his own character flaws, to claim to speak… Read More ›
Teaching & Learning
Martin Badoian, RIP
I am saddened to report that Martin Badoian died on Friday at age 90. Marty taught at Canton High School until he was 89! He is best known for coaching the amazingly successful math team at Canton and for founding… Read More ›
“We don’t work with greasy machines!”
“In the Mathematics Department we don’t work with greasy machines,” replied one of my undergraduate math professors with a sneer. “You’re going to have to go to the Applied Math department if that’s what you want to do.” That was… Read More ›
A later start time
Weston students, parents, and teachers: Is the later start time working? Let me know!
Feedback from 46 years ago
Going through some old papers, I came across a summary of student feedback from Relations & Functions, a course I team-taught at Lincoln-Sudbury (L–S). This was more-or-less equivalent to today’s Honors Precalculus, and it’s instructive to consider the similarities and… Read More ›
She Was the Quiet One
Is Odell Academy supposed to be Phillips Exeter Academy? All signs point to that, but there’s no direct evidence. Odell is the site of Michele Campbell’s new novel, She Was the Quiet One, a title that develops new meanings as you continue… Read More ›
Learning in depth: high school SCOTUS blog
If you didn’t listen to the NPR report Why a High High Schooler Started Covering The Supreme Court, on this morning’s Weekend Edition Sunday, you should definitely do so! Do it right now, before you forget. OK, now that you’re… Read More ›
A college that I did not get into
Four days ago, I wrote a post about an episode of This American Life titled “How I Got Into College.” Actually, my post just contained a couple of small quotations, and I pointed out that they had nothing to do with how I got… Read More ›
How to succeed in high-school math by paying attention to stereotypes.
At the high-school level, a student can’t be expected to understand the concepts behind the math; you’re just expected to be able to do the math. So says a commenter from Old Field, NY, objecting to a wonderful article in… Read More ›
This American Life: “How I Got into College”
No, this post is not about how I got into college — it’s the title of last week’s episode of This American Life, which I have just been listening to. I’m not going to write about the bulk of the episode here; I’ll save… Read More ›
This is a democracy. Whoever gets the most votes wins… right?
Here we are, one day after primary elections in Massachusetts, and we see that whoever got the most votes in each race won. Right? Well, it’s not so simple. In the first place, one tenet of democracy is majority rule,… Read More ›
A Penny for Your Thoughts
“A penny for your thoughts.” Does anyone say that anymore? Probably not. Part of being retired is that I get to do more sitting and thinking than usual. (“Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits,” to quote… Read More ›
Wear Red for Ed
Today would be our first day back. Although I am no longer in the classroom, I still Wear Red for Ed to support public education.
Eighth Grade
Show of hands: Who wants to live through eighth grade again? I don’t see very many hands there. By now I’m sure you’ve heard of Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham’s all-too-real coming-of-age movie. Billed as a comedy, it’s mostly uncomfortable and… Read More ›
Thinking (back) about Trig?
Why did somebody recommend to me a blog called A Portrait of a Math Teacher as an Aging Man? Are they trying to tell me something? I’m not sure that I should be thrilled about that 😀. Nevertheless, the recommended blog… Read More ›
Why do Asian-Americans excel at math?
Stereotypes, data, statistics, racism, tiger moms… what is this issue really about? Unless you want to be an ostrich and hide your head in the sand — hoping that the assumption behind this question is untrue — you really need… Read More ›
APs for all?
“Who am I to tell a student you can’t be in honors or AP?” said a guidance counselor at New Mission High School (a charter school in Boston) in a fascinating WGBH report. The gist of the report, titled “The… Read More ›
Adieu, Weston
Cliché Central calling: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Yes, it’s a cliché, but it makes a point. Over the last couple of weeks, people kept asking me how I felt (not my favorite question,… Read More ›
Five languages in five days?
“Five languages in five days” is the name of the four-day course I have just finished teaching. Yes, you heard me: despite the name, it’s a four-day course. So which is it, five days or four? Let’s see what Lewis… Read More ›
Problem solved
While cleaning out my desk, I came across this copy of our high school newsletter from 14 years ago. Notice the headline on the lead article. Fortunately, that problem has been solved. Right?
Learning Strategies 