Life – Page 12 – Embrace the Absurd

Fidem Scit

My unshakable faith in the value of a Boston Latin School education The school that I love has come under attack. As has been the case periodically over the past forty years, the primary issue is admissions testing, specifically concerns about unequal representation and inequities resulting from admissions testing. Added to the mix this timeContinue reading “Fidem Scit”

Morbid Math

“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty—a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure, and capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show.” – Bertrand RussellContinue reading “Morbid Math”

The One Constant Through All the Years

Opening Day! Is there a two-word phrase that fills the mind and soul with a greater sense of excitement and hope for what lies ahead – Free Samples, Half Off, I Do, I’m Pregnant, Leave Meeting? No, nothing comes close to the start of baseball season. Coming out of hibernation to reconnect with an oldContinue reading “The One Constant Through All the Years”

Is It Still The Same Boat?

You pick up a lot as you journey through life; and you never know what will be valuable and what will be worthless. Never in a million years would I have guessed when I signed up for an introductory philosophy course my final semester in college that I would encounter a thought experiment that wouldContinue reading “Is It Still The Same Boat?”

What’s Happened, Happened

Spoiler and content warning: This post includes details from the film Tenet and a discussion of the future of large-scale testing which may upset the reader or spoil the movie if you have not seen it. The Armageddon and the Apocalypse are not for the faint of heart. I am not a movie guy byContinue reading “What’s Happened, Happened”

Emma and Allie

A story of Learning, Loss, and Middle School Life This is the story of two girls, Emma and Allie. They met on the softball team in the spring of third grade. They became fast friends. Even though they just met, it was like they had known each other their entire lives. Over the next fewContinue reading “Emma and Allie”

Where Angels Fear to Tread

Even as local educators, parents, and students continue to work through schooling in the midst of a pandemic, attention turns toward recovery. As I mentioned in my first post this month, the first inclination of many will be to jump right in. Stories are already popping up about extending the current school year through theContinue reading “Where Angels Fear to Tread”

On The Road Again

K-12 education and the road to recovery K-12 education is about to head out on the road again. This time it’s the road to recovery from the pandemic. As I think about K-12 education starting this journey, I can’t help but make the connection to a journey of my own that took place 50 yearsContinue reading “On The Road Again”

Be Afraid of Being Very Afraid

We are being conditioned to distrust one another. The message of fear that has been building steadily over five years has now reached new and dangerous levels, breaking through natural barriers of resistance in the weeks since the horrific and tragic events of January 6th. From the basket of deplorables to the compulsion to furtherContinue reading “Be Afraid of Being Very Afraid”

How the Grinch Stole Testing

Everyone in the state house likes State Tests a lot, But to the west at the uni, the Grinch he did not! The Grinch hated State Tests! The whole testing season! Now, please don’t ask why. To ask would be treason. It could be, perhaps, he was wound up too tight. It could be hisContinue reading “How the Grinch Stole Testing”