Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 74

• Why do you roll your eyes?

  By ljd42 on February 20, 2016

  Don’t bother reading this post if you don’t know any teenagers — or if you never were one yourself. A recent column in the New York Times provides a perspective on understanding a common behavior of teenage girls (and boys…and tweens…). I… Read More ›

• Who needs algebra? — A follow-up

  By ljd42 on February 18, 2016

  Lucy Brownstein, a high-school student from Brooklyn, wrote a fine response to Andrew Hacker (see my post of February 7). You noticed that I didn’t say something like “a fine response for a high-schooler.” It’s a fine response, period. But still, it’s especially… Read More ›

• Who needs an accountant?

  By ljd42 on February 15, 2016

  So…why did Barbara and I see our accountant this afternoon, when all we had to do was routine income tax preparation? Several friends and students have asked me why I don’t just do my own tax prep? After all, I’m… Read More ›

• “Stop humiliating teachers!” writes David Denby.

  By ljd42 on February 13, 2016

  This commentary by David Denby in the New Yorker shouldn’t even be necessary. But of course it is. As everyone knows, the general public (especially, but by no means exclusively, Republicans) have a negative view of public-school teachers. So-called reformers want to… Read More ›

• Misconceptions

  By ljd42 on February 11, 2016

  You might have some prejudices about Iowa, and you might even have some prejudices about physics teachers, but please ignore them at this point. The ever-interesting Shawn Cornally has written a fascinating post with the title “These Misconceptions Are Keeping School… Read More ›

• When will the two robots meet?

  By ljd42 on February 9, 2016

  The other day I read an intriguing article in the New York Times about a simulation of two robots moving on model train tracks at the National Museum of Mathematics. Will they ever meet? And why are the robots beavers, when… Read More ›

• Who needs advanced math?

  By ljd42 on February 7, 2016

  I know, I know…you probably think I got the title of this post from Trophy Wives Don’t Need Advanced Physics, the famous book written by my colleague, Boris Korsunsky. But actually I got it from a column by Jane Karr… Read More ›

• The Ruling Class

  By ljd42 on February 5, 2016

  Wow! What a great film! How did I miss The Ruling Class during all these years — it was released in 1972! — that was 44 years ago!!! — but I am so glad that I have finally watched it. This over-the-too… Read More ›

• 17 equations that changed the world

  By ljd42 on February 3, 2016

  I’m sure you’re wondering how there could possibly be 17 equations that changed the world — and what those equations might be. According to Ian Stewart by way of kottke.org, these are the 17: So what do we think of this… Read More ›

• Talking Right

  By ljd42 on January 31, 2016

  A clever title: “Talking Right.” It deliberately misleads you into thinking that it means “talking correctly,” perhaps with a subtle dig at those who use an adjective where an adverb is supposedly the right form. But that’s not what the… Read More ›

• “It’s Time to Change the Way We Teach Math.”

  By ljd42 on January 28, 2016

  That’s what Dan Meyer says in his new podcast. He’s right, of course. (He usually is.) His solution, as appealing as it is, can’t be the only solution. It can’t be all things for all people. Nevertheless, listen to his… Read More ›

• Finding Your Roots

  By ljd42 on January 26, 2016

  My previous post was about routes; this one is about roots. It’s not clear to me why it has taken me until Season 3 to start watching “Finding Your Roots,” a well-known series on PBS hosted by Skip Gates. This… Read More ›

• Boston Globe delivery woes lead to a math activity: “Ruminating on Routes.”

  By ljd42 on January 24, 2016

  If you’re reading this in the Boston area, you probably know about the Boston Globe’s problem with home deliveries this month. As soon as they switched delivery companies just before the beginning of the year, massive problems ensued — principally a complete… Read More ›

• PD

  By ljd42 on January 20, 2016

  Yesterday was a professional development day in Weston. The entire K–12 faculty met together for a long lecture on special ed law, two workshops (I picked Google Classroom and 3-D Printing among a lot of choices), and a film about… Read More ›

• Addicted to distraction?

  By ljd42 on January 18, 2016

  From a recent New York Times opinion piece by Tony Schwartz: Addiction is the relentless pull to a substance or an activity that becomes so compulsive it ultimately interferes with everyday life. By that definition, nearly everyone I know is… Read More ›

• Invisible City

  By ljd42 on January 16, 2016

  Can you say “metaphor”? The title of Julia Dahl’s novel, Invisible City, may mislead you into thinking it’s science fiction, but it’s not. Not in the least. If you have to assign it to a genre, it’s a mystery — though it’s… Read More ›

• Smiles of a Summer’s Night and A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy

  By ljd42 on January 14, 2016

  Literary and musical connections can be rather complicated. First, we have Mozart’s well-known “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” often translated (literally but inaccurately) as “A Little Night Music.” Nachtmusik actually means “serenade,” but the literal translation has become even more well-known as a result… Read More ›

• More Botswana charm from McCall Smith

  By ljd42 on January 6, 2016

  It’s hard to believe, but apparently this is my seventh post about Alexander McCall Smith’s novels. Most recently (Dec. 15) I reviewed The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection. Since that point I’ve read two more in the Botswana series, one in… Read More ›

• Teaching and learning are our priorities…aren’t they?

  By ljd42 on January 4, 2016

  Surely our top priorities in a school must be teaching and learning…right? We know that a lot of things get in the way of those priorities, but still they’re the essence of what school is all about. At some point,… Read More ›

• World Gone By

  By ljd42 on January 2, 2016

  Almost exactly three years ago — on January 12, 2013 — I reviewed The Given Day and Live by Night, the first two novels in Dennis Lehane’s historical trilogy. At the time it wasn’t clear whether this would really be a… Read More ›

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