I dunno. In this book, Make Just One Change, authors Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana try passionately to make a compelling case for their view that education can be transformed by making “just one change”: teaching students “to ask their own… Read More ›
Weston
Math Forum
We had an interesting Math Forum last night, sponsored by the PTO (which I understand is called the PTA in some states). This was an opportunity to discuss Weston’s secondary math program in an open forum. Maybe 55-60 parents attended,… Read More ›
A double dose of algebra
An interesting article by Kalena Cortes, Joshua Goodman and Takako Nomi appeared recently in EducationNext, a right-wing magazine that comes out of Stanford’s Hoover Institute. They claim to be fair and balanced. Sound familiar? Those aren’t their words, actually, but that’s definitely their gist:… Read More ›
Is ed reform hurting kids?
OK, so I’m fortunate to be teaching in Weston, not in Chicago. The populations are very different, the school systems are very different, and the school administrations are very different. Nevertheless, I highly appreciated the essay “Make No Mistake, Corporate… Read More ›
The Math Team right before vacation
What do geeks do to blow off a little steam after the last math team practice before vacation? Here’s what they wrote on the board: You might want to notice what’s written in Chinese and Hindi (what a surprise), the… Read More ›
Privilege
I suppose I’m biased. But bias or no, Privilege is must reading for anyone interested in the intersection of education, schools, and the American class structure. The full title of Shamus Rahman Khan’s sociological study is Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent… Read More ›
Persistence
NPR aired a fascinating report this morning in its Your Health segment of Morning Edition: “A Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern And Western Cultures Tackle Learning,” reported by Alix Spiegel. Everyone knows the stereotype of the successful Asian student, and there’s… Read More ›
How many other good teachers are going to quit for similar reasons?
A North Carolina teacher named Kris Nielsen recently posted a letter that has been finding its way around the Internet. As a teacher in Massachusetts, I am fortunate not to have the problems that she reports, but they ring all… Read More ›
Sandy
Power just went out…then it came on…then it went out…then it came on…then it went out for a longer time…now it’s back on (obviously)…. So I’m sitting here grading geometry quizzes, while Douglas naps on my left side (when he… Read More ›
BYOT
It seems that we will soon be following in the footsteps of other schools that have adopted a “bring your own technology” plan. Many of our students already bring MacBooks, PC laptops, or iPads to school, so the idea is… Read More ›
AP classes are a scam (says John Tierney).
In a recent article in The Atlantic, John Tierney claims that “Advanced Placement courses [are] one of the great frauds currently perpetrated on American high-school students… The AP classroom is where intellectual curiosity goes to die.” Like most other provocative essays, Tierney’s piece… Read More ›
Which is better? One point of view or two?
For many years we have taught an introduction to logic as one of the first two units in Honors Geometry. Typically we present a single set of symbols and a single set of rules of inference, keeping everything consistent so… Read More ›
Honors Geometry opens with a challenging start.
It’s always hard to decide just how challenging the first month of Honors Geometry should be. Last year it was too easy. There were too many students who apparently said to themselves, “This course isn’t so hard.” As a result,… Read More ›
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
What a delicious novel! As a teacher in Lake Wobegon, I knew I was hooked from the first half page, which is a report card from a Seattle school that declares “Galer Street School is a place where compassion, academics,… Read More ›
Independent study
Every year there are quite a few students who want to learn more than the regular courses can offer them, so they find a faculty advisor and create an independent study. Sometimes it’s truly created by the student, with the… Read More ›
AP pressure and other topics in today's Boston Globe Magazine education issue
Normally I pay very little attention to the magazine section in the Boston Sunday Globe. It alway has a few interesting features — such as Dinner with Cupid (where I once detected a former student of mine as a participant!), Miss… Read More ›
First math meet of the year
Yesterday was the first meet of the year in the Massachusetts Math League. Although we had lost our two stars from the past four years (they unaccountably graduated and left us), we really did very well. I was also pleased… Read More ›
Back-to-School Night…and what about reference materials?
Last night was another Back-to-School Night. As usual, I found it stimulating and enjoyable. By a strange quirk of the schedule, I was free the first two and the last two blocks, which left me with four “classes” in a… Read More ›
Walking through the brick wall
Because of the expansion and renovation of our physics classrooms, the doors were all relocated over the summer. The old entrance to Room 12 was bricked over, but the old sign remains. As it’s hard to walk through the brick wall, someone altered the… Read More ›
When will I ever use this in real life?
I suspect that it’s not only math teachers who are faced with the question, “When will I ever use this in real life?” But I can only answer it from the math teacher’s point of view. One of my freshmen… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 