“All the money you’ve put into Social Security goes down the drain,” a certain Weston teacher explained to me in 1998. We had been talking about our work histories and future plans. You need to know three facts: Massachusetts public-school teachers… Read More ›
For many years I inserted linguistic lagniappes into my honors geometry classes at Weston — typically for 15–20 minutes, twice a month. You may wonder what the connection between linguistics and geometry might be — but if you view honors geometry as… Read More ›
Anyone who has been to Weston High School or a similar suburban school — whether as a student, a teacher, or a parent — will appreciate the new movie Booksmart. If you’ve been to a suburban school in southern California, so… Read More ›
One of my former Weston students has just published “Treating depression takes much more than serotonin,” a fascinating article in Popular Science. The author, Grace Huckins, class of 2012 and erstwhile co-captain of the award-winning Weston High School Math Team, has written this… Read More ›
Five years from now, when she’s nationally known, I’ll be able to say “I knew her when.” Yesterday I had the privilege of attending an outstanding vocal recital by Weston junior Kayla Silverman, one of my former geometry students. For… Read More ›
Continuing with my 50th reunion, check out this map of Pennsylvania’s second Congressional district, which is actually not the most gerrymandered in the country, although it’s in the running. It illustrates what I had expected when I decided to go… Read More ›
My former student Julia Metraux is a staff writer for The Tempest, an online magazine that describes itself like this: The Tempest is the guide for diverse women to share, feel, and claim their voices – and power. We’re the… Read More ›
Congratulations to Weston High School for finishing first in this year’s medium-size schools division of the New England Math Championships! Weston earned 97 points to capture first place. Avon, CT, came out of nowhere to score 93 points, providing a… Read More ›
Something else where Weston is #1: According to Commonwealth Magazine, “The most generous political donors in Massachusetts state and municipal campaigns last year, perhaps unsurprisingly, tend to live in some of the wealthiest communities in the state… Weston was at the very… Read More ›
Congratulations to the Weston High School Math Team for finishing first in the state in the Massachusetts Math League!
I returned to Weston yesterday for its 17th annual Fractal Fair. That’s a lot of fractal fairs! As you might expect for a subject that keeps evolving every year, with an entirely new set of exhibitors every year, the fair… Read More ›
Three of my students — Laura Sullivan, Thea Schwallie, and Mimi Gotbetter — joined a dozen other young people in a beautifully inspiring multilingual and multicultural concert yesterday afternoon by the group Youth pro Musica at the Second Church in Newton…. Read More ›
Excellent lunch with great hospitality yesterday at two sister restaurants sharing space in Cambridge: Dumpling Daughter and Vester. I use the word “sister” quite literally, as the owners are a pair of sisters from Weston, Nadia Liu Spellman ’00 and… Read More ›
This is a follow-up to yesterday’s post in the form of three items that could have been in it, but the post was already long enough without them: First of all, I am bothered by the complainer’s use of an anonymous… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
Weston students, parents, and teachers: Is the later start time working? Let me know!
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Learning Strategies 