back to school
“Back to school” is a melodic phrase, a singsong kind of feeling that the first day evokes for me. It’s new clothes, bright eyes, early morning enthusiasm. It’s hope and promise and beginnings, even in…
Category: learning
eclipsing science
When I was six years old, the path of a total solar eclipse’s shadow ribboned across my home, my hometown, and my elementary school. It’s stored in that dreamlike haze of longterm memory, but I…
on the march
It’s a funny thing, a “march” is. Where are you going, after all, and what do you do when you get there? A march, as we think of it nowadays, is never with the aim…
to learn, faster or slower
I teach a class where we start with a discussion about our definitions of the verb, “to learn.” I like this for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that…
ode to students
It’s 7:30 AM on the Monday of finals week*, deep into the month of December. It isn’t yet light outside, and probably would seem even more dark except for the fact that there’s 8 inches…
end-of-semester teaching and redemption
I suppose this happens every year, but it feels more ridiculous each time. Although it’s not a true disaster, as I face the plunge into the final week of coursework I tell people that my…
democratic discourse
Democratic discourse in 4th graders doing scientific investigation.
on a walk
It’s been a few days since I’ve made it out of the mountains, and I’m still working to make sense of it. It would be strained to suggest that there was some well-defined purpose for…
bee learning
When Grace and I got into the house and took off gear, the protective veil from around her head and the screen-hooded coat from my body, we heard the familiar sound of a single stowaway….