One of the books that I drew inspiration from during my teacher preparation days was How 2 Gerbils, 20 Goldfish, 200 Games, 2000 Books, and I Taught Them How to Read by Steven Daniels. His first year of teaching in an inner city school was a disaster. But he learned from it and became a successful teacher. (Best teaching tip was that home visits are the most effective way to
Okay, maybe saving the internet is a bit hyperbolic, but better math instruction could reduce some of the arguing that occurs. Internet trolls and pranksters are an internet hazard that most of us would like to see less of. Trolls are a separate issue. but there are certain pranksters that like to take advantage of the poor math instruction that plagues our country. Exhibit A is the math problem 8
The phrase 52 Blue sounds like a card game or the name of a jazz tune by Miles Davis. In fact, the story of 52 Blue is a sad, fascinating phenomenon from the natural world. The popular press resurrects the story every couple of years because of its emotional appeal. For those unfamiliar with 52 Blue, read on, or you can watch Josh Zeman’s movie. It’s an anthropomorphic tale that
A guy in Connecticut was arrested recently after he had a meltdown over a bad haircut. In spite of my current expanding forehead situation, I can totally relate. As a child of the sixties, hair wars comprised much of my life. Exhibit A was my high school. Every day, the dean of boys walked the hallways ready to pounce on any male whose hair dared grow over the mandated collar
On a recent Friday morning, I was brushing my teeth while getting ready for work. Due to gum issues, I use an electric toothbrush. When I finished, I pulled the Sonicare out of my mouth without turning it off. The device then proceeded to splatter bits of saliva and toothpaste all over the bathroom at a gazillion times a second. This has happened to me before. The first time I
I carefully arranged Blackie, my stuffed dog, on the sky blue table top. I made sure he had a good view of the 13 inch Philco TV. Blackie was my constant companion and every night I rubbed his velvet ears against my cheek as I sucked my thumb and went to sleep. I sat down in my special blue chair courtesy of my Pe′pe′ who had built both the table
