Similar:Getting there.Getting there.PersonalI didn't mark a single paper or set foot in a classroom. Here's why this prof is tired fro…I submitted my final grades a few weeks …AcademiaMy virtual army of grey capsules is just barely smart enough to follow my avatar around. #…My virtual army of grey capsules is just…AestheticsCollege student makes masks…
Similar:In Which I Bow Before the Mistress of Teen SnarkThe Girl: I’m sorry I’m being so… Me:…CultureI came of age playing too many CD-ROM point-and-click adventure games to ignore these stee…I came of age playing too many CD-ROM po…AestheticsBeam me up, Chewie!AwesomeEducated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CultureAdded an…
The disorder is in the system which requires them to attempt curriculum and demonstrate behaviors far beyond what is appropriate for their age. The disorder is in the system which bars teachers from differentiating instruction meaningfully, which threatens disciplinary action if they decide their students need a five minute break from a difficult concept, or…
In literary circles, the practice of poets reciting verse in singsong registers and unnatural cadences is known, derogatorily, as “poet voice.” I propose calling this phenomenon “NPR voice” (which is distinct from the supple baritones we normally associate with radio voices). This plague of pregnant pauses and off-kilter pronunciations must have come from someplace.…
Sure, Marty McFly Day is interesting and all that, but Oct 25, 2015 marks the 600 year anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, the occasion for Henry V’s famous St. Crispin’s Day Speech, which, as Shakespeare rendered it around 1599, ends thus: This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er…
All instructors have to assemble their own pedagogical toolkit from the many resources out there and restock it (and recreate it) as necessary. There is no one single way of being effective. There is no magic spell (previous post on this blog to the contrary) that will make all pedagogical techniques effective all the time.…
In my “News Writing” class, I first warned students about doxing — the troll technique of harassing people by posting personal details (which enables pranks like ordering unwanted pizza deliveries or serious crimes like reporting fake hostage situations in order to send SWAT teams to the addresses of people you want to harass). I warned…
Most arguments for “saving” the humanities focus on the fact that employers prize the critical thinking and communication skills that undergraduate students develop. Although that may be true, such arguments highlight the value of classroom study, not the value of research.But humanities research teaches us about the world beyond the classroom, and beyond a job.…
Deciding against the coonskin cap, Goldenberger put on the vest, hoisted her hair up into intentionally dorky pigtails—she never wore them like that otherwise—brandished the chosen books, and pulled an intentionally hideous face for the camera. Normally, she hardly ever wore her retainer like she was supposed to, but it felt right for the character:…
Similar:Adding a media project to a semester-long paper assignment is like adding a jetpack to a d…AcademiaWriting a Cutline (Caption) for the News: Three examples of an often overlooked journalism…In journalism, the “cutline” is the text…AestheticsStop sharing those unsourced memes about "be woke" and "God doesn't need soldiers" — here…Pope Leo XIV, in his first…
Someone who thought Twitter was da bomb, and who apparently has very little historical awareness of previous forms of social media, now realizes that, human nature being what it is, this is why we can’t have nice things. We once glorified Twitter as a great global town square, a shining agora where everyone could come…
80 Days was my go-to game over the summer, though lately I have switched back to Faster Than Light. I haven’t had the chance to play the updated game, though I have installed it on my iOS devices. This paragraph, from Christian Donian’s review on Eurogamer.net, really impressed me. Great writing, and a great explanation…
Deanna Van Buren writes: I wonder why do we not see more collaboration between experienced architects, landscape architects, and video game developers. From the architect’s side, I know that we like to make stuff in the real world, and perhaps don’t think it will be rewarding. Architects often don’t play games or see how they…
“There’s nothing left to say,” said a science major in my writing class. I had called on her during a classroom discussion of a peer-review activity. “Everyone’s already said everything.” “You can at least provide a new example from your own paper, or express an idea in your own words,” I said. The student looked skeptical.…
It’s a common sight on Japanese mass transit: Children troop through train cars, singly or in small groups, looking for seats. They wear knee socks, polished patent-leather shoes, and plaid jumpers, with wide-brimmed hats fastened under the chin and train passes pinned to their backpacks. The kids are as young as 6 or 7, on…
At PPT’s The Diary of Anne Frank. Similar:The Mystery of Charles Dickens by Joyce Carol OatesDickens is so brilliant a stylist, his v…AestheticsRhythm of the Dance (Irish dance, song, and music touring show)My family thoroughly enjoyed this perfor…AestheticsLetter Grades Deserve an 'F'In a points-based grade book, the studen…AcademiaSound Design and the Wilhelm ScreamAhh-aaggh! https://www.youtube.com/wa…AestheticsChess tournament…
It seemed the labs were using an outdated protocol for calculating the probability of DNA matches in “mixtures”; that is, crime scene samples that contain genetic material from several people. It may have affected thousands of cases going back to 1999. At first, they assumed the update wouldn’t make a big difference — just a…
Similar:Another homeschool year ends successfully. Here are the kids with their external evaluator…PersonalWorld Press Freedom Day. (Don't take the free press for granted. Journalists are not the e…PersonalIs this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?PersonalThey still need work but we have 2 weeks before classes start, so I feel…
I passed along to my geeklings an appreciation for hammy sci-fi overacting. Similar:Little green owl, if your emotions depend this much on how often I practice, that’s defin…Little green owl, if your emotions depe…PersonalThe School of Humanities honors me and my colleagues @mikearnzen and Dan Martino as we com…The School of Humanities honors me…
This whole item applies very well to one of my children. Me: Put your shoes on. Child: Did you know that we don’t actually vote for president, we vote for people who vote for president? Me: I don’t care, put your shoes on. Child: I am. Me: You’re not. Put your shoes on. Child: Why do we have shoes anyway? Me: Just put your…