Before the end of the school year sneaks up on you and wallops you upside the back of the head, stop right now and think about some of the lessons you’ve learned this year. If you haven’t noted the people you want to thank, the compliments you’ve wanted to give, or the ideas you’ve had…
Continuing Education
Ten Ideas for a Classroom That Fosters Thinking
I like to read people’s ideas. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter what the topic is, except perhaps for such things as Internet marketing analytics and reality shows about people who don’t seem to ever actually work. Ever. Here are ten ideas about teaching from Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), the late British philosopher, mathematician, historian, and social…
Thoughts on Pineapplegate?
I never would have thought that one of my favorite exports from Hawaii and the animal that inspired my favorite cartoon character would play such an interesting role in the discussions surrounding education reform. Yet there they were, the pineapple and the hare, driving students and teachers to distraction. In a bit of absurdity that would…
Light Dawns on Marblehead
In college in the previous millennium, I had the pleasure of becoming good friends with a fellow New Englander out of Concord, Massachusetts. These days he’s a physical education teacher in Pennsylvania, but back then we were simply undergrads who liked robust, raucous, and challenging dialogue. We were once engrossed in a conversation with some…
The Language of Math
Obtuse and acute, am I right? I mean, median and mode. On average, I’d say I only get a fraction of the decimals divided and the remainder carry on. Maybe we should table this discussion before it multiplies out of control. The cardinal rule I am certain of when it comes to math literacy is…
More Math Excitement, Please
Something I noticed while looking at my calendar: There’s always a day or a week or a month devoted to books or literacy or something language-artsy. Sure, on March 14 (3.14) we had Pi Day. That was a tough one to explain to a lot of people, but it was mathematics-related nonetheless. It may be…
You Can’t Get No Satisfaction?
So the big news last week was not that I had somehow convinced myself to volunteer to be assistant coach on one of my sons’ little league teams. As unexpected as that was—and, believe me, it was about as expected as the announcement that The Mailbox has hired an Elvis impersonator to edit the magazine—the…
Where Never Is Heard a Discouraging Word
Not only is the school year already a long one, filled with ups and downs, but this year you got to linger a day longer in February. At times, it can feel like the year is rocketing past you at an alarming rate and it’ll be a challenge to bring all the fun, creative lessons…
Call Me Something
I don’t know about you, but I love reading books aloud. Granted, it’s not received too well around the office when I stand on editor-at-large Diane Badden’s office chair and, in a booming voice inflected with the accent of a seafaring 18th century New Englander, declaim in grand tones heard throughout the halls of The…
The Unknown Future of Hand-Generated Communication, part 2
I thought for sure that there’d be a bit more debate in the wake of my most recent post about the future of cursive writing. You know, that writing “they” have now decided should be called hand-generated communication. Since we last exchanged ideas, I have read some of the information that was presented at Handwriting…