It’s a new year, and I decided to let only a few days pass before I (sort of) contradict myself. I love eBooks, and you should too. Sure, I love paper. I can’t live without it. And, as I said Tuesday, despite owning a high-profile eReader, I still purchase mostly traditional paper books. However, when…
STEM
Sell Me on Teaching
“You should be a teacher.” I heard that quite a bit from people in the ten years before I switched careers and became a teacher. Most of those people were rational, arguably sane individuals. However, none of those people were teachers, so their advice and enthusiasm should have been suspect. When the time came, I…
To Code or Not to Code
The first computer “terminal” I sat behind was literally that—something I could sit behind. It was itself a desk. It had a built-in keyboard made of keys you had to exert real effort on. I believe they were designed to survive a nuclear catastrophe (which was a real possibility in those days, kids). The monitor,…
Bedrock, Biomes, Creepers, and Teachers?
My youngest son is in second grade. There are a lot of things we could talk about, but the subject most often on his mind is the game Minecraft—what he’s building, what he has explored, and how he’s gone about doing it. His older brothers are into Minecraft as well and have been at it…
Gooey Gray Mud
If you had told me that walking knee-deep through the gooey gray mud of a tidal basin during a cold New England April would be one of the highlights of my high school years, I might have laughed. Right in your face, in fact. That’s if I had been paying attention. (I was not…
Hi, Bob
Poor Dr. Robert Hartley. All he wanted to do was share information about his job with the third graders at the Tracy Grammar School. Dr. Robinson, the dentist, brought an oversize model tooth. Mr. Borden, the airline navigator, brought a model jet. The assistant fire chief brought a fire ax. The psychologist didn’t even have…
A School Year in Review
Let’s review, shall we? During the last school year, I touched on a wide range of subjects, both serious and not-so-much. On a few of them, I received many comments. On many of them, I received none. Good or bad, I think some of them are worth revisiting. And the passage of time may mean…
End-of-June Randomness
It’s tough to write a blog for teachers in the final days of June. Some of you have been done with your 2012-2013 school year for almost a month. Some of you are looking at your last few days. Retailers are blatantly guilty of starting their back-to-school promotions. And we will not give you even…
To Code or Not to Code
One of the most beautiful things in the world is the IBM Selectric typewriter. It looks like a work of Mondrian, sounds like a tango, smells like the future, and responds like a thoroughbred beneath one’s fingertips. (That covers four out of five senses. I’ve never tasted a Selectric.) When I was quite young, I…
How to Celebrate in Style?
How would you like to see a photo of all The Mailbox editors wearing aluminum foil hats? I’ll make it happen before the end of the school year. But you have to do me a favor. I need lots of ideas for how a teaching staff can wrap up its school year in style. In…