Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 28

• Just Thai

  By ljd42 on March 25, 2022

  Delicious delivery from Just Thai Kitchen in Fields Corner last night: tom yum soup with extra shrimp; JTK wings; spring rolls; and stir-fried crispy pork-belly with Chinese broccoli in chili-garlic oyster sauce with white rice, more commonly known as Khao… Read More ›

• Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Ringo Starr. What do they all have in common?

  By ljd42 on March 24, 2022

  No, it’s not what you think. Yes, all of them are (or were) very successful and popular musical artists. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to the fact that all of them are (or were) model railroad… Read More ›

• Can you multiply 2573 by 389?

  By ljd42 on March 22, 2022

  Pencil and paper only: can you multiply 2573 by 389? No calculators. And you have to get the right answer, of course. This is not a trick. “Of course I can,” you reply. “That’s a skill one never forgets!” Well,… Read More ›

• More chaos! More CatNet!

  By ljd42 on March 21, 2022

  The second novel in a series is always worse than the first. Of course that’s not true—unless you replace “always” with “often” or perhaps even “usually.” Or perhaps the wishy-washy “sometimes.” All generalizations are false, as they say. Including this… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #3

  By ljd42 on March 19, 2022

  We have, as they say, good news and bad news. The good news is that my Ukrainian lessons are progressing well in their third week. The bad news—speaking as a teacher—is that pedagogically speaking the lessons are not designed nearly… Read More ›

• Happy St. Gertrude’s Day!

  By ljd42 on March 17, 2022

• Why teach gerrymandering? And why teach it in a math course in particular?

  By ljd42 on March 16, 2022

  Gerrymandering is a hot topic in certain circles. Right now I am in the midst of writing and modifying some gerrymandering activities for my summer course at Crimson Summer Academy (CSA). Although we have taught various voting methods since the… Read More ›

• The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything* (*abridged)

  By ljd42 on March 14, 2022

  Everyone needs to read this engaging, delightful, and informative book! Read it even if you’re not a math-and-science geek. Or maybe I should say especially if you’re not a math-and-science geek. Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry are well… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #2

  By ljd42 on March 11, 2022

  It’s now one week since my first progress report. Apparently I’ve learned 95 new words in the past seven days. Duolingo previously said that I had learned 105 words in the first three days. Eek, am I slowing down? Aside… Read More ›

• Are you smarter than a 7th grader?

  By ljd42 on March 10, 2022

  Tip of the hat to Tanya Khovanova for sharing this problem: Is it possible to place seven points on a plane so that among any three of them, two will be at distance 1 from each other?  This comes from… Read More ›

• In praise of Omniglot

  By ljd42 on March 9, 2022

  What, you may ask, is Omniglot? Well, the name gives it away (or hints at it, at least). Latin omni- ‘all, every’ followed by Greek glot- ‘tongue, language’ tells you that it has something to do with every language. And… Read More ›

• More deliciosity from AG

  By ljd42 on March 7, 2022

  Last night deserved another dinner at the Ashmont Grill—first time without masks in a couple of years! Barbara started with an “appetizer-sized” portion of three delicious barbecued pork belly sliders with mango BBQ glaze, shaved romaine, and pickled onions. Clearly… Read More ›

• This is one movie that is better than the book, right? Wrong.

  By ljd42 on March 6, 2022

  Nope, not this one. The Bone Collector is a good book by Jeffrey Deaver—not his best by a long shot, but pretty good—and it’s a disappointing movie even though it stars Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, and Queen Latifah. I read… Read More ›

• Learning Ukrainian: progress report #1

  By ljd42 on March 4, 2022

  Today is Exelauno Day, so named because “Exelauno” means “march forth” in ancient Greek. My Greek 2 teacher used to celebrate it because he had gone to Roxbury Latin School, where it is (or at least was) an official holiday…. Read More ›

• CatNet

  By ljd42 on March 3, 2022

  Yes, I occasionally read YA novels. Maybe one or two a year. Perhaps it’s because I’m a teacher of young adults; there are certain Young Adult novels that give the reader insight into these fascinating creatures, just as there are… Read More ›

• Cats on ottoman

  By ljd42 on March 1, 2022

  Apparently there’s plenty of room for both boy cats on the ottoman:

• 224

  By ljd42 on February 28, 2022

  Too few menus include lamb (except for Greek restaurants). Even fewer include duck (except for some Chinese restaurants). Fewer still include both lamb and duck, which are my two favorite meats. First-world problem, I know. But fortunately 224 Boston Street… Read More ›

• German is hereby completed!

  By ljd42 on February 26, 2022

  Well, OK, not exactly. I don’t even know what it would mean for German to be completed. It’s just that I have completed everything that Duolingo can offer me in German. And that is far from “everything.” Basically, I have… Read More ›

• What would you do if you could predict the future?

  By ljd42 on February 24, 2022

  First, you would read this book! You can’t predict the future, but you’ve got to read the book. Maybe once every two or three years I read a novel that I can’t put down—except that in those cases I usually… Read More ›

• What is a city?

  By ljd42 on February 22, 2022

  Massachusetts has 50 cities and 301 towns—collectively known as “municipalities.” Does it matter which ones are cities and which ones are towns? And should you care about the definition of “city”? Perhaps; perhaps not. If you’re studying civics anywhere in… Read More ›

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