Category: teaching
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from 2003: Synchronicity, in memoriam Robert Hauter Myslik
[edited 2007 0130 to correct Rob’s middle name, which was Hauter and not Hunter.] This piece dates from around 2003 February 10. I wrote it about three weeks after the death of a legendary colleague and true friend, Rob Myslik. Rob taught at Hun for nine years, including two while I was there, and then…
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Unintentionally ironic; unintentionally chilling
During this morning (Wed Jan 3)’s Morning Edition on NPR, they ran a story on the detention of Jose Padilla. Quite without intending to, the story bespoke the parlous times and the threat to our Republic.
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The Library’s the Thing
OK, I’m admittedly behind the time on this whole “social networking” thing. Back in my day, you used computers to avoid interacting with people, gosh darn it! And you liked it! But today I finally stumbled across one of these sites that might actually entice me into being (Internet) social: LibraryThing, a site where you…
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The Holy Grail in Teaching
The Holy Grail, in teaching, would be the development of an assessment tool that has the following properties: It accurately reflects the actual learning that has occured. It cannot be spoofed by students who don’t learn/prepare/read etc. It is fair. It is easy to grade. It is, in like manner, easy to administer.
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Politics and Teaching
So, Election Day has come and gone. I took time to talk about it in each of my classes today — and yes, I know I teach physics; more on that later — and I thought I’d ruminate some here. Full disclaimer: I am a lifelong Democrat who had been reasonably certain they’d find a…
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Running the Race (My speech given as Distinguished Faculty recipient)
I have had the honor of being named as the Hun School’s first recipient of a new Distinguished Faculty Endowed Chair. One of the prices is that, today, I had to give a speech at the first-ever Convocation. Since some people have asked, and since I have an ego the size of Montana, I decided…
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And the Sky Swept Clear of Angels : 9/11, 5 Years, and Lost Worlds
Though exiled to the swamps of New Jersey, I am a native New Yorker; and so this date arrives every year like a punch in the gut. I no longer think of the attacks every day, but it took 18 months before that ceased. When I do think of them, I am immediately transported back…
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Uncle Pennybags a Socialist?
I’m really not a fan of the me-too blog, which just strings together links to the original thoughts of other. But I saw this on Cosmic Variance and thought it was brilliant, so here we go: “Lessons from Monopoly“. It’s an interesting analysis of the socio-economic implications of the Parker Brothers game. As seems to…