Upon retiring from public and private school classrooms after 40 years as a physicist who was “called” to teach physics and higher math to college-bound high school juniors (11th grade) and seniors (12th grade), I had accumulated over time certain sayings, thoughts, mores, musings, beliefs, philosophies, etc. I decided to pen 40 of them, one […]
In the wake of my retirement beginning June, 2016, I’ve experienced personally that the positive I’ve done professionally as a Ph.D. scientist who likes to teach (as opposed to a science and math teacher) stands out more than the positive criticism of our educational system I’ve offered in recent years. The wonderful things my former […]
Or, The Ten Commandments for Academically Successful HS Classes Or, Ten-Point Guideline Toward Improving the Problems of Public and Private High Schools (While both Students and Teachers need to be cognizant of all ten for the ideal classroom student/teacher classroom relationship, the first four listed are directly addressed to teachers and administrators, while the last […]
As I have introduced during the summer of 2014 my self-published book, there seems to be (perhaps understandably) a “knee-jerk” reaction — oh, no! Not another stupid, nostalgic writing of high school memoirs! Its title is long and twisted, but the book is “just right” in length, yet also twisted. I named it Some X-Y Type […]
Returning to the question from the Introduction: Why, then, this prank? It was an impish dream made real by extraordinary, out-of-the-box teenagers — not one, or two, but the improbable grouping of four of us of like mind (4 out of 54). We had the “gall” (or, better, using words from fellow Senior 1964 Joe […]
I am a physicist who loves to teach. I am not a teacher who loves to teach physics and math. This is the first of postings dedicated to focusing on the difference between the previous two sentences. I maintain that difference is crucial, for in that difference are the keys of how to reform education […]
It was the spring of 1963; the east (or, more accurately, the NE) side of the old 3-story Cisco High School building, along with the auditorium, was partitioned off because it was condemned; the town was divided over and squabbling about a bond issue to replace the high school building at a site on the edge […]
Thanks to all for the comments on “What is Wrong With Public Education… and What To Do About It.” (If you have not done so, please read “What To Do…” before you read this.) I apologize if it came across as bitter, or as “sour grapes,” if it came across as rambling or confused, if […]
If our country is one big room, the elephant in that room is the state of public education. Everybody seems to know there are grave problems, but no one wants to talk about it. Well… almost no one… I am near the end of my teaching career, so I have no reservations in talking about […]