This commentary by David Denby in the New Yorker shouldn’t even be necessary. But of course it is. As everyone knows, the general public (especially, but by no means exclusively, Republicans) have a negative view of public-school teachers. So-called reformers want to… Read More ›
Teaching & Learning
Misconceptions
You might have some prejudices about Iowa, and you might even have some prejudices about physics teachers, but please ignore them at this point. The ever-interesting Shawn Cornally has written a fascinating post with the title “These Misconceptions Are Keeping School… Read More ›
When will the two robots meet?
The other day I read an intriguing article in the New York Times about a simulation of two robots moving on model train tracks at the National Museum of Mathematics. Will they ever meet? And why are the robots beavers, when… Read More ›
Who needs advanced math?
I know, I know…you probably think I got the title of this post from Trophy Wives Don’t Need Advanced Physics, the famous book written by my colleague, Boris Korsunsky. But actually I got it from a column by Jane Karr… Read More ›
“It’s Time to Change the Way We Teach Math.”
That’s what Dan Meyer says in his new podcast. He’s right, of course. (He usually is.) His solution, as appealing as it is, can’t be the only solution. It can’t be all things for all people. Nevertheless, listen to his… Read More ›
Finding Your Roots
My previous post was about routes; this one is about roots. It’s not clear to me why it has taken me until Season 3 to start watching “Finding Your Roots,” a well-known series on PBS hosted by Skip Gates. This… Read More ›
Boston Globe delivery woes lead to a math activity: “Ruminating on Routes.”
If you’re reading this in the Boston area, you probably know about the Boston Globe’s problem with home deliveries this month. As soon as they switched delivery companies just before the beginning of the year, massive problems ensued — principally a complete… Read More ›
PD
Yesterday was a professional development day in Weston. The entire K–12 faculty met together for a long lecture on special ed law, two workshops (I picked Google Classroom and 3-D Printing among a lot of choices), and a film about… Read More ›
Addicted to distraction?
From a recent New York Times opinion piece by Tony Schwartz: Addiction is the relentless pull to a substance or an activity that becomes so compulsive it ultimately interferes with everyday life. By that definition, nearly everyone I know is… Read More ›
Teaching and learning are our priorities…aren’t they?
Surely our top priorities in a school must be teaching and learning…right? We know that a lot of things get in the way of those priorities, but still they’re the essence of what school is all about. At some point,… Read More ›
Languages of the UK
English, Scots, British Sign Language, Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, Cornish, Manx, Angloromani and Shelta What is the common bond here? Obviously they’re all languages that are currently in use in the UK. Well…no…it’s not that obvious. You probably haven’t heard of Angloromani… Read More ›
MOOCs
Two headlines from different publications: No Rich Child Left Behind, and Enriching the Rich: Why MOOCs are not improving education Weston High faculty creates online courses for the world Are these headlines saying the same thing in different words? Not really…. Read More ›
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
As the 13th book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection is one of the stronger contenders for Best in Series. But it might not be your cup of rooibos. Is… Read More ›
Congratulations to the Math Team!
Congratulations to the Weston High School Math Team for their fine performance at this afternoon’s Massachusetts Math League meet! After trekking to the wilds of Acton, the team garnered a total of 111 points. Senior Akiva Gordon was in top place,… Read More ›
BiblioTech
What an exciting book! “Surely you jest,” you say. “An exciting book about libraries? That’s an oxymoron!” Well, OK, maybe not quite exciting. But it’s a fine book that has a lot of important things to say and will stimulate your… Read More ›
Overparenting
Take a minute to listen to Stanford’s Dean of Freshmen, Julie Lythcott-Haims: Incoming students are brilliant and accomplished and virtually flawless, on paper. But with each year, more of them seem incapable of taking care of themselves. At the same time, parents… Read More ›
What shaped your views on inequality? What shaped mine?
Did your school shape your views on inequality? Probably so, according to Carla Shedd. A recent NPR report by Meg Anderson concludes that students at racially diverse schools, particularly black and Hispanic students, are more tuned in to injustice than students going… Read More ›
MoS FT
Today we took 200 high-school freshmen on a full-day combined geometry-and-physics field trip to the Museum of Science. It was fun, educational, and…exhausting. Sometimes it was like herding cats. Fortunately we had a dozen adults, so no one individual was responsible… Read More ›
Is the Quadratic Formula worth it?
There’s something warm and comforting about the old, reliable Quadratic Formula (QF). You can plug the parameters of any quadratic equation into it, do a little calculating, and easily come up with the correct answer(s). Simple, right? No, actually, it’s not… Read More ›
It’s a matter of fact, not a matter of opinion: it’s science!
No, I’m not going to bring up the old misguided debate about putting one or two spaces after a period. That’s because it isn’t a debate. It’s an empirical matter: do you believe the evidence, or do you want to continue… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 