Greetings, class of 2012! You’ve worked hard and you’ve finally arrived at this momentous day, which, just like yesterday was, and the day before yesterday, and just like tomorrow will be and the day after tomorrow will be again, the first day of the rest of your life. But yesterday you weren’t graduating from highContinue reading “The Imaginary Commencement Address”
Category Archives: Culture
No More Carrots, No More Sticks: A Classroom Without Grades
You might think I’m crazy. After all, things (and people) must be measured. And they must be measured against other things and other people. Only this morning in a staff meeting our school’s principal talked about how the only way to improve a thing is to be able to measure said thing. And while myContinue reading “No More Carrots, No More Sticks: A Classroom Without Grades”
Monkeys Typing Shakespeare: Plagiarism’s New Frontier
A teacher friend came into my classroom this morning with a new internet discovery which proves once and for all that it is in fact possible to get a group of monkeys together with some typewriters (read: computers with internet access) who will, given a little time and some encouragement, recreate the works of Shakespeare.Continue reading “Monkeys Typing Shakespeare: Plagiarism’s New Frontier”
The Technology Is Killing Me
I’ll begin by patting myself on the back, railing against the machine–and I’ll conclude with a number of confessions and some serious hand-wringing. I might even gnash my teeth together regarding the various ways in which technology is killing me. I congratulate myself for abstaining from cell phone use for a very long time. IContinue reading “The Technology Is Killing Me”
The Case Against The Super Bowl
I know, another provocative title. I thought it was funny, and that was my first impulse, to see if I might get a snicker out of some of my football fanatic friends and die-hard Super Bowl watcher acquaintances. But I realize now it’s more than just a gag. I really do have a case toContinue reading “The Case Against The Super Bowl”
michael jarmer 