Recent Posts - page 113

  • Chinese-American writers…and doctors and engineers

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    Maybe you don’t expect a Chinese-American writer to have a name like Tess Gerritsen. On the other hand, as an ABC (American-born Chinese), it’s unsurprising that she has an American first name, and if she then marries a man named… Read More ›

  • Math Tests: U.K. vs. China

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    In the U.S. we’re accustomed to the bashing that the American system of teaching math receives from critics at home and abroad. Despite reservations about whether we’re comparing the wide spectrum of American population with the elite populations to whom… Read More ›

  • The Oxford Murders

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    If you like math and mysteries, do read The Oxford Murders, an academic mystery by an Argentinian author, Guillermo Martinez, as translated by Sonia Soto. If you don’t like math, your interest in mysteries probably won’t sustain you throughout this… Read More ›

  • Preliminary thoughts on benefits of CSA

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    As reported here at various points, a frequent topic of discussion at Weston High School is the achievement gap — as seen in Weston and elsewhere. In its starkest form, standardized tests show that white and Asian kids from upper-middle-class… Read More ›

  • Geolinguistics?

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    One Saturday last month, when I walked into the Saturday Course wearing my map jacket, the director brought up the idea that I should consider teaching a geography course. I was lukewarm to that idea, primarily because I couldn’t imagine… Read More ›

  • What (if anything) do Harvard students learn?

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    How do you know whether students at Harvard are actually learning anything? Some people would think that’s a ridiculous question: of course they’re learning something, or they wouldn’t be at Harvard! But that doesn’t follow; perhaps their presence at Harvard… Read More ›

  • What does an A mean?

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    We had a very interesting discussion in a 6–12 Math Department meeting. (That’s 6–12 as in 6th-grade through 12th, not as in a six-hour meeting.) The big question was what an A means. For example, if you get an A… Read More ›

  • Crime = Dorchester, not Beacon Hill

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    So let’s suppose that the Boston Globe (4/24) is reporting on a crime story, based on a press release from the office of Suffolk County DA Dan Conley. And let’s suppose that the crime took place in the Beacon Hill… Read More ›

  • My Favorite Year (II)

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    As I reported in my post of April 19, Weston High School’s spring musical this year is My Favorite Year. Yesterday’s opening-night performance was thoroughly enjoyable, with some surprising casting and some unusually strong performances. Joav Birjiniuk, Laura Caso, Todd… Read More ›

  • Mao: what are the rules?

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    When classes ended at 2:50 this afternoon, one of my students asked me if I would like to learn how to play Mao. I said that I didn’t know anything about it, but I was indeed available after school. “What’s… Read More ›

  • Cinco de Mayor

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    As part of the aforementioned fundraising for the Mayor of Dorchester campaign and Dorchester Day activities, the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association and the St. Mark’s Area Main Streeet volunteres will be sponsoring a Cinco de Mayo celebration on (of course)… Read More ›

  • Body Double

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    I just finished reading Body Double, by Tess Gerritsen. I have mixed reactions. On the whole, I suppose, I would say that I recommend it with reservations. It definitely kept my attention, and I didn’t want to quit in the… Read More ›

  • Dot chili cookoff (post-)

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    I wrote earlier about the Dorchester Chili Cookoff, a fundraiser for the Mayor of Dorchester/Dorchester Day Parade. It turned out to be a good experience, but with some flaws. Ten or eleven neighborhoods contributed entries, and IMHO the winner was… Read More ›

  • But we're only a mile from Dorchester!

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    At the Saturday Course in Milton — frequently mentioned in this blog — we teach students from many different cities and towns, including Milton itself and Boston. So we were wondering why we don’t have a more diverse student body,… Read More ›

  • My Favorite Year (I)

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    I finally watched My Favorite Year, in anticipation of Weston High School’s production of the musical version of this classic 1982 film. A slightly disguised roman à clef about Mel Brooks, Sid Caesar, and Errol Flynn, this movie manages to… Read More ›

  • Dot chili cookoff (pre-)

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    “What does this mean?” a local realtor asked Barbara, pointing to a “Craig Galvin for Mayor of Dorchester” sign. “Dorchester is part of the city of Boston; it doesn’t have its own mayor!” So Barbara patiently explained that although there… Read More ›

  • How Doctors Think

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    After a few weeks in the Minuteman Library Network queue, Jerome Groopman’s recently published book, How Doctors Think, finally became available, so I promptly checked it out and checked it out. It lives up to its publicity, though the brief… Read More ›

  • Her students don't know how to work with percents!

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    Rudbeckia Hirta reports that her college students don’t know how to work with percents. I would like to say I’m surprised. I would like to say that all Weston High School students know how to work with percents. I would… Read More ›

  • An Inconvenient Truth

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    As I reported yesterday, part of Weston High School’s Earth Day observances was a screening of An Inconvenient Truth. This event was attended by everyone — students and teachers alike. (Almost everyone, actually. A few kids skipped out, and some… Read More ›

  • Earth Day in Weston

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    We observed Earth Day today at Weston High School (since the real Earth Day will come right after April vacation). Classes were shortened to 55 minutes to allow time for a screening of An Inconvenient Truth, and we had guest… Read More ›