Recent Posts - page 119

  • Using math in the so-called real world?

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    So what do we say when we hear that all-too-familar question, “When am I ever going to use this in the real world?” [Grammatical footnote: logically speaking, that sentence should have two question marks at the end, one before and… Read More ›

  • Case of Lies

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    Catching up on posts about recent reading: I highly recommend Case of Lies, by Perri O’Shaughnessy, especially if you are interested in math or linguistics. If you’re not, it’s still a solid mystery, well above average for the genre even… Read More ›

  • Tech Model Railroad Club and MIT Museum

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    Barbara and I spent an enjoyable couple of hours yesterday visiting the MIT Museum and the Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC). Go see both of them! MIT’s small museum is currently showing five exhibitions: a fascinating collection of holograms —… Read More ›

  • The Winter's Tale

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    I’ve never read it; I had never seen it before last night. The Weston High Theater Company is currently performing one of Shakespeare’s less well known plays, The Winter’s Tale. It’s very definitely worth seeing, with several outstanding performances and… Read More ›

  • Sig figs

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    Science teachers — and science textbooks — generally insist on careful attention to significant figures. Math teachers — and math textbooks — generally pay no attention to them. Here are two representative examples: Our Algebra II textbook contains a word… Read More ›

  • Upcoming model railroad shows

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    Two upcoming model railroad shows: Tech Model Railroad Club, Saturday, November 18, at the MIT Museum, 265Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, Room N52–118, 2–5 and 7–10. Free! National Model Railroad Association HUB Division, New England Model Train Expo, Saturday-Sunday, December 2–3,… Read More ›

  • Teaching linguistics in high school

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    At Lincoln-Sudbury in the 1970s I taught a rotating sequence of linguistics courses along with my primary assignment of teaching math. As my undergraduate and graduate work were in linguistics, it was a natural fit. In my ten years teaching… Read More ›

  • How do you get the gas company's attention?

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    So we park our car in front of the house, get out, and smell the distinctive odor of natural gas. Sniffing around, we conclude that it’s pretty clearly coming from the middle of the street. We go in and call… Read More ›

  • Numb3rs and the MAA

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    The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has generally been enthusiastically positive about the well-known television show, Numb3rs. So has the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). These reactions are to be expected: both organizations want to promote interest in… Read More ›

  • Should we rename all the Washington Streets?

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    So the Cambridge City Council wants the MBTA to rename Lechmere Station because they have just discovered that mid-18th-Century local resident Richard Lechmere was a slave owner. By that theory, should they petition to have all the Washington Streets renamed?

  • Ah, that explains it

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    Some thoughtful reflections on the election — from Grover Norquist, best known for being head of Americans for Tax Reform, as well as being a distinguished alumnus of Weston High School and a close Republican colleague of Karl Rove: Nobody… Read More ›

  • Yearbooks and gender

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    What is it about yearbooks that makes boys unwilling to serve as editors? Year after year, when I look at the list of Weston High School yearbook editors, what do I see? Pulling out four recent yearbooks at random, I… Read More ›

  • Former students

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    Now that I’ve been teaching in Weston for almost ten years, I seem to be running into a surprising number of former students of mine (from Lincoln-Sudbury, but now through other connections). Weston isn’t exactly far from either Lincoln or… Read More ›

  • Mathematica and Maple

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    At Weston High School we’re considering the use of mathematical symbol-manipulation software such as Mathematica or Maple. Our theory is to pick one of these for a trial run for a year — just one copy per teacher, for use… Read More ›

  • Continuity and retention in math classes

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    I’m sure we’re not alone in finding that there’s distressingly little retention from year to year in our math classes. One of the big differences between honors and non-honors (“college-prep”) classes is that most students in the former can be… Read More ›

  • Where have I been?

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    Oh no! A month and a half have gone by since I have last posted! I am determined to resume posting right away…

  • Vote for John Bonifaz

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    Massachusetts voters: I know that nobody pays much attention to the election for Secretary of State (officially, of course, known as Secretary of the Commonwealth in Massachusetts), but don’t just vote automatically for the incumbent! Cast your vote for John… Read More ›

  • Melinda & Melinda

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    Barbara and I just watched Woody Allen’s 2004 film, Melinda and Melinda. It’s well worth watching — and thinking about. It won’t give anything anyway to say that it opens with a scene that deliberately recalls My Dinner with Andre,… Read More ›

  • "Correction" of "typo" destroys math joke

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    In a shocking development, an innocent math joke was destroyed this morning by a well-meaning “correction” of a “typo.” My department head put the following announcement into today’s Daily Announcements: MATH TEAM: first official practice is Wednesday Sept 13after school… Read More ›

  • They're nerds in a good way

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    As usual, I picked up Barbara after work, and we asked each other, “How was your day?” I relayed three brief anecdotes to her: Just before one of my classes was about to start, I overheard one student say to… Read More ›