Recent Posts - page 126

  • Diversity in Weston

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    The other day I turned on the radio to hear someone say, “Sure, there’s diversity in Weston. They have doctors and lawyers.” But now we have a more convincing sign of diversity: a black principal! The Superintendent of Schools just… Read More ›

  • North, East, South, and West

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    The day before yesterday, it was getting to be too late to cook dinner after I picked up Barbara in Watertown…and we would have had to defrost something anyway, or go grocery shopping on the way home…which would have made… Read More ›

  • More APs! More APs!

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    High-school students want to take more and more Advanced Placement courses these days. And we’re encouraging them. At Weston we have altogether too many students who want to skip the second half of precalculus and take AP Statistics instead —… Read More ›

  • Sudoku challenges and championships

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    On February 15, Weston High School will be holding a Sudoku challenge in the Library for the first 30 students to sign up. On March 10-11, the first World Sudoku Championship will be held in Lucca, Italy.

  • The Year of the Dog

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    You may have heard that dogs have masters but cats have staff. It’s true. Even though Barbara and I are privileged to share our house with five cats — well, actually six at the moment, since we have temporary custody… Read More ›

  • Quantitative literacy in college students

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    According to the National Survey of America’s College Students (NSACS) — a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts — American college students know even less math than we had thought: Approximately… Read More ›

  • Can exams reduce stress and be otherwise helpful?

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    There’s a possibility that Weston may return to a traditional exam schedule after a decade or so of not having one. There have been many justifications for not having a final exam week: An emphasis on exams increases stress. Students… Read More ›

  • Educator-in-chief

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    President Bush (on CBS today): My job is not only Commander-In-Chief but educator-in-chief. And I needed to say to the people, you bet it’s tough. George W. Bush as educator-in-chief? Hmmm…

  • The Sudoku/Systems connection

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    Epiphany: A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization (definition 3b in the American Heritage Dictionary) So I guess I was visited by an epiphany this weekend: I realized that Sudoku has a surprising connection… Read More ›

  • Security through obscurity

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    So how do you hide a password in plain sight when it doesn’t need to be particularly secret? For instance, imagine that you are using a hard-copy textbook for which the publisher also provides an online version. And the online… Read More ›

  • Static or dynamic systems

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    How do we think about systems of equations (or inequalities)? I know, most of us don’t think about them at all. But teachers and students of algebra certainly do. Whether we call them systems of equations or simultaneous equations, we… Read More ›

  • Back from the show

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    Just got back from the Amherst Railway Society’s annual model railroad show, which is held in…no, not Amherst…Springfield, MA. Barbara wasn’t interested in going, so Meredith accompanied me. Although she isn’t a model railroader, her interests in crafts and technology… Read More ›

  • Law and order and suicide

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    Catching up on last week’s television shows with the wonders of the VCR — soon to be replaced by the greater wonders of TiVo — I just watched the excellent January 18 episode of Law & Order, Heart of Darkness…. Read More ›

  • What's in a name?

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    Does the name of a course matter? At Weston High School we recently renamed our two-year college-prep precalculus sequence. The first course, taken primarily by juniors but always including a few seniors, used to be called Math 4. What does… Read More ›

  • Playing with Trains

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    Currently I’m halfway through reading Playing with Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale, a memoir by Sam Posey. There’s a certain irony to the title. The word “passion” is accurate, for this book is truly about Posey’s deep enthusiasm and passion… Read More ›

  • MyLifeBits, Borges, and big ideas

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    On yesterday’s episode of NPR’s Living on Earth, Steven Cherry interviewed Gordon Bell about his project at Microsoft, called MyLifeBits. Bell is in the process of recording everything in his life in digital form: Gordon Bell has captured a lifetime’s… Read More ›

  • Science, math, & engineering

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    A fellow Dorchesterite, calling himself Trxckster — yes, the third letter is indeed an x, not an i — quotes visionary Alan Kay in his blog: Today, science (a concern with what is real) is mixed with mathematics (a concern… Read More ›

  • The hub of the Hub?

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    Dot! Dorchester is becoming the city’s hip new destination after dark says the headline above Johnny Diaz’s big story splashed over the front page of the Living section of today’s Boston Globe. Not Landsdowne Street, not the South End, says… Read More ›

  • Calculus limericks?

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    I can’t resist quoting from Rudbeckia Hirta’s post in her blog today: I have been dared by one of my colleagues to write one of the questions on my calculus exam in the form of a limerick. This is especially… Read More ›

  • Getting things done

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    For several months now, I’ve been determined to implement some version of David Allen’s compelling Getting Thing Done. His book by that title was one of those rare self-help books that immediately grabbed my attention and thoroughly convinced me that… Read More ›