Recent Posts - page 113

  • Of course we outsource game-playing!

    By on

    According to the New York Times and NPR, wealthy online gamers are outsourcing the playing of games to Chinese workers! At first glance this sounds ridiculous: surely people who play online games enjoy playing them, so it makes no sense… Read More ›

  • When did the meaning of “scavenger hunt” change?

    By on

    Since when did the meaning of the phrase “scavenger hunt” change so that it now refers to what is properly called a “treasure hunt”? When I was a kid, there was a clear distinction: In a scavenger hunt, you were… Read More ›

  • Milton K-12

    By on

    I recommend reading the website of MiltonK–12.org, a new organization committed to preserving Milton Academy as a school that runs from kindergarten through grade 12. “Why is this an issue?” you may well ask. Here’s why: Periodically, rumors surface that… Read More ›

  • OFD or DBC?

    By on

    There’s something faintly annoying about those “OFD: Originally from Dorchester” medallions and bumper stickers. Yes, it’s nice that people are proud of coming from Dorchester, but the word ‘originally’ sticks in the craw. It implies something like, “Yes, I was… Read More ›

  • Wisdom from a fourth-grader

    By on

    A fourth-grader in my Saturday Course class, “Create Your Own Computer Game,” announces to me at the end of the third day that she’s almost done writing her game. “So you are,” I observe. “How did you get it done… Read More ›

  • Which parish?

    By on

    A stranger entered my classroom just before my Algebra II class was about to start. He was wearing a visitor’s pass but didn’t introduce himself. So I went up to him, introduced myself, and of course he responded in kind…. Read More ›

  • Chinese-American writers…and doctors and engineers

    By on

    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

    By on

    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

    By on

    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

    By on

    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?

    By on

    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?

    By on

    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?

    By on

    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

    By on

    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)

    By on

    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?

    By on

    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

    By on

    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

    By on

    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-)

    By on

    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!

    By on

    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 ›