Adding vs. Multiplying
We tend to act as if multiplying is repeated addition. This misses a key, crucial difference between the two operations: WE CANNOT ADD UNLIKE THINGS. We can abs...
Month: September 2019
Raising a Son Who Cries
My ten year old son cried in public the other day. This was noteworthy because it wasn’t. At the time, I didn’t even think much about it. I had had a rough day....
Nightmare
I tend to have two kinds of nightmares. My scariest nightmares are usually things that were just plain silly when I woke up. For instance, years ago, I dreamed ...
Education and the Legacy of Slavery
During the most recent Democrat debate, Former Vice President Joe Biden was asked, “What responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the l...
How Not To Create a Safe Space
We liberals like to talk about safe spaces. We want to build spaces where everyone feels comfortable. We don’t like hostility. I believe many of us live in a sh...
WHY?
As part of the first week icebreaker activities, we did Three Things on Friday. For “Three Things”, students in groups come up with a list of three ...
Photographs and Bias
I live in a mostly black neighborhood. I just saw a white man, a 20-something, standing on the street corner clearly taking a picture of something down the stre...
Year Eight, Week One
My first week of school is now over. During this week more than any, one thing that’s on my mind is where we start with our trust levels with students. Th...
Observing the Whole Person
I love underdog stories. I think most of us do. As a teacher, I’m particularly aligned to admire the tale of someone overcoming a great obstacle in order to suc...
Express Yourself
Watching my child play online with his friends, I notice that one of the primary ways that we learn how to navigate our emotions is by seeing others express the...