As I make my daily walk, enveloped by beautiful fall foliage, taking a break from the news, listening to folklore, and hearing Taylor Swift sing, “Back when I was living for the hope of it all,” my mind drifts back to August 2007. Drawn in by Barack Obama’s message of hope and change, for theContinue reading “For the Hope of It All”
Category Archives: Life
Thinking Outside of the Ballot Box
If there is one thing that we can agree on in this divided country it is that 2020 has sucked. If the cascading crises were not bad enough, we have also lost almost all of the distractions and diversions we normally rely on to escape and reduce stress: attending sporting events, live concerts, and musicalContinue reading “Thinking Outside of the Ballot Box”
The Old “New Normal”
Charlie DePascale As I look out the window and see my wife working in her vegetable garden, I cannot help but reflect on COVID-19, social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, and the “new normal” that we are moving toward by fits and starts. No, she is not wearing a mask in our backyard, but …Continue reading “The Old “New Normal””
I Can ‘C’ Clearly Now
Charlie DePascale The pandemic, concerns related to social justice and fairness, and a host of pre-2020 pre-existing conditions have pushed private and public institutions of higher education to either temporarily suspend or more permanently drop the use of tests such as the ACT and SAT as part of the college admissions process. At the K-12Continue reading “I Can ‘C’ Clearly Now”
Why I Belong to the WBCA
A Father’s Day Reflection on Basketball and My Family Charlie DePascale Since 2006, I have been a member of the WBCA – the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. That may seem odd given that I have never coached a women’s basketball team or any basketball team for that matter. The WBCA does now have aContinue reading “Why I Belong to the WBCA”
Hamilton & The Future of Assessment
Your Obedient Servant, C. DePascale roughly to the beat of Alexander Hamilton – (with sincere apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda and the entire rap community) How could three simple, questions, multiple-choice And some False-True, dropped in the middle of the Hamilton app On my iPhone, by all accounts just trivia Invalid, reveal to me the futureContinue reading “Hamilton & The Future of Assessment”
I’m With The Band
Harvard University Band Charlie DePascale ’81 This weekend the Harvard University Band celebrates its 100th anniversary. Along with meeting my wife, my time in the band remains one of the two happiest memories of my four years at Harvard. Actually, my memories of the band begin with the end of my juniorContinue reading “I’m With The Band”
My Miss Brooks
Charlie DePascale Our Miss Brooks was a highly successful comedy series on radio and early television that followed the life and career of a fictional high school English teacher, Connie Brooks. My Miss Brooks, Ann Brooks, was a highly successful teacher of the fifth and sixth grade Advanced Work Class at the Mather School inContinue reading “My Miss Brooks”
Ten Years of Taylor
Charlie DePascale Ten years ago, August 22, 2008, my daughter and I attended our first Taylor Swift concert in Hartford, Connecticut. The original plan was to attend the concert a few weeks later in Massachusetts – a bit closer to our home in Maine. About to start high school, however, she was a bit worriedContinue reading “Ten Years of Taylor”
Give Me A Lever
Charlie DePascale I realized very early in my career that the law of the lever, as explained by Archimedes in some variation of the quote above, was critical to my success. In short, there was little that I could do on my own as an assessment specialist, or psychometrician, to improve education; but working inContinue reading “Give Me A Lever”
