Education
Lessons From Mahjong
Recently, my mother-in-law tried to teach me how to play Mahjong. And she showed amazing patience that Sunday afternoon because it didn’t take an Oxford scholar to realize that I was going to suck at Mahjong. Or, rather, that Mahjong was going to kick my ass….
Lessons From 6th Grade Health Class
The other day Monkey came home wanting to know how old I was when I learned about HIV/AIDS. …
Let Them Eat Pi
Did you know that today is Pi day? Well, it is. Here’s how I found out….
Does Size Matter?
For the first time in my life, I plan to attend a Budget meeting for my local school district, set for March 14, 2011. Why? It is my understanding that in my district no one attends these meetings, and I’d like to understand the process by which these cuts will be made….
Lessons From The Great Gatsby
I just found out The Sands Point, Long Island mansion that is said to be author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s inspiration for his legendary novel The Great Gatsby is about to be demolished. And I am devastated….
Lessons From Jon Stewart
I friggin’ love Jon Stewart. He does snarky right. Instead of ending tax cuts to the top two percent, America – apparently – needs to get money from teachers….
Lessons on Slowing Down
People often ask me, as a person who has spent nearly twenty years in the classroom, what I think about AP classes. Should their child take this AP or that AP? And they are often surprised by my my response that nobody gives a shit about AP classes. Really….
NYS Grads Ain't Reddy For College
This is the kind of news story that makes me sad. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It’s a rough time to be in education….
The Giver: Thirteen Years Later
It’s happening. My son is currently reading the first piece of literature that I ever taught. He is reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the story of a young boy named Jonas living in a highly controlled community some time in the future. The novel fits into a larger genre of cautionary tales called “dystopian literature.” If a utopia is a society in which everything is perfect, a dystopia is the opposite: everything has gone wrong. But my son doesn’t get this. Yet….
A Word On Grades
Back when I was in graduate school, we learned that C meant “Average” — and guess what? Most students are average. (Not your kids, of course. Your kids are gifted and talented.)…