Good Evening, Mr. and Mrs. America

If there’s anything that can be a slog, it’s that wonderful day when teachers and parents enjoy meeting each other one-on-one. I’m talking about parent-teacher conferences, of course, that special time when you get to see fully grown adults balance themselves on your students’ tiny chairs But while the parents struggle to maintain their balance…

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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…

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Girls and Boys and Math and Science

Stepping into Mrs. G.’s classroom was like stepping into another dimension for me. By merely walking through our adjoining closet, I could appear at the front of her room and quickly get questions answered or share important news. Mrs. G. taught math. I taught language arts. Our classrooms connected. Our subject matter? Not so much….

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