No, not that stimulus package. This one is the recently released CD from Weston High School’s own à cappella group, the Town Criers. Released in September on Apple’s iTunes Store, Stimulus Package is a flawless collection of eleven songs sung… Read More ›
Weston
Encouraging mistakes with paper clips
This year I’ve been trying something new, and I already love the effects. Back in August I had read this wonderful idea from a math teacher whom I don’t know except from her post: I start a chain of paper… Read More ›
Can the right to choose be detrimental?
I always start off each class in September with a seating chart where the students are seated in alphabetical order. This arrangement is the quickest way for me to learn the names of the 75–95 names in all my classes,… Read More ›
Spring Awakening
Go see the musical version of Spring Awakening at the Colonial Theater if you’re a parent or a teacher or a teen, or if you’ve ever been one of those. This disturbing German play from 1891 is not exactly typical… Read More ›
The New England Playoffs
No, not football — too late for that. And not basketball — although it’s the right season for that. I’m talking, of course, about the New England Association of Math Leagues Playoffs, which took place today at Canton High School…. Read More ›
Unnecessarily difficult
A few years ago, one of my former students from Honors Precalculus informed me that my course had been “unnecessarily difficult.” An interesting phrase. “What does that mean?” was my puzzled response. Let’s call her Rachel (not her real name)…. Read More ›
The forest or the trees?
I was just thinking about some of the difficulties that many high-school students have when attempting to learn math. Aside from those who face external obstacles — such as brain damage, severe emotional problems, or extremely inadequate teaching — we… Read More ›
"You must be a Democrat."
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 ›
Shout-out to B Block
Near the end of my B Block precalculus class this morning, a couple of juniors happen to mention this blog and asked me to give a shout-out here to B Block. I said I would do so. But first, of… Read More ›
Fourth in the Commonwealth
Congratulations to the Weston High School math team for their excellent showing in the state playoffs on Friday in Shrewsbury! We finished fourth in the state among medium-sized high schools (the schools with which we compete) and will therefore be… Read More ›
Studs Terkel's Working
This year’s spring musical at Weston High School is the little-known Working, based closely on Studs Terkel’s great book of the same name. Although I say “closely,” the musical can of course include only a tiny fraction of the chapters… Read More ›
The Seventh Annual Fractal Fair
Seven is a lucky number, so no one was surprised that the seventh annual Fractal Fair at Weston High School turned out to be the best one so far. Of course there were many great exhibits in each of the previous fairs, but… Read More ›
Get over It
What do you do on a snow day? Watch a movie, of course. Get over It had been on my shelf for awhile, since I had ordered it from Netflix shortly after seeing Midsummer Night’s Dream at Weston High School… 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 ›
Parental communication
Here is a strange note that I received from a parent of a 16-year-old student [names changed to protect, etc., etc.]: Mr. Davidson — Jimmy had trouble with the math project and would like to email you as soon as… 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 ›
Interactive whiteboards
Yesterday was an “abbreviated Wednesday” at Weston High School, since the afternoon was devoted to a Professional Development Day for teachers. We focused on the subject of interactive whiteboards (IWBs); many of our classrooms have recently been equipped with either… Read More ›
The Strontium-90 Scenario
In all six sections of college-prep Algebra II (taught by three teachers, with two sections apiece), we have just completed a project in which each student has to understand a scenario (written by one of my colleagues), complete some mathematics… Read More ›
I haven't seen any of these movies.
One of my sophomores is appalled at the list of movies that I haven’t seen. Whenever she mentions one or another of her favorite movies, it almost always happens that I haven’t seen it. So she gave me an assignment… Read More ›
What's wrong with a 92?
This story is completely true; only the names have been changed to…, etc., etc. So I’m handing back a test this morning, using my new system where the grade is written on the bottom of the last page rather than… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 