Category Archives: Schools and Culture

Teaching/Learning Lexicon: “Education” as Cultural Artifact

Posted on October 1, 2011 by schooldog

Today I find myself meditating on the word “education”. In some ways I avoid a more comprehensive set of topics that I will get around to, I suppose. But also a workshop earlier today and an article read this evening … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: Learning as a Conversation

Posted on August 17, 2011 by schooldog

Summary: Learning should involve a conversation between teacher and student. Student questions ideally guide teachers to exactly where the student has lost track in the material under consideration. When I talk with my high school students about their struggles in … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: Math and the Undermotivated Student

Posted on August 8, 2011 by schooldog

Summary: Mathematics learning requires consistent attention to task, which leaves the many indifferent students marooned well behind the pace of the class. The most frequent conversation I have with my students revolves around their failure to thrive in their studies, … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: More on the Masculine Principle

Posted on July 11, 2011 by schooldog

My buddy Bill and I frequent sports contests. Formerly professional colleagues, we have found over the years that one way we keep in touch in our too busy lives is to set up a few games down the road that … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture — The Laying of Blame

Posted on June 13, 2011 by schooldog

As the class I have been tracking over the last three years prepares to enter its senior year, and prepare for graduation a year from now, I begin gearing up for the frankly onerous task of managing the complex process … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: The Decline of the Masculine Principle

Posted on June 6, 2011 by schooldog

The day is overcast, but thankfully the rain has held off, and for now the greatest worry is that the top of Mt. Index will be socked in by the lower reaches of the cloud cover, and rob us of … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: The Politics are Another Story

Posted on May 16, 2011 by schooldog

The frustrations of staff in schools do not all stem (by any means) solely from the stultifying effect of bureaucracy, or even the oft encountered lackadaisical (or frightened) attitude of too many entitled kids. Some of the frustration, I suspect, … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture: Whither Personal Accountability?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by schooldog

Schedule change time at the end of one semester and the beginning of another. I gird myself. If there is one request for change I hear more consistently than others, three to four times a day at this particular juncture, … Continue reading →

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Schools and Culture, Poverty and the Deep Blue Sea

Posted on April 15, 2011 by schooldog

The setting is emblematic of paradise and, yes, I am on vacation. Blue sea of multiple shades from deep blue to turquoise and back, ever changing with the drift of clouds. Palm trees lean from the steadily westerly wind. The … Continue reading →

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School Culture: What Have We Done To Our Kids?

Posted on April 2, 2011 by schooldog

I put on a crazy hat lighted up with a six volt battery, proclaim myself “Quizczar” and head into a team taught class. The subject is post high school planning. Choosing colleges. Career Choice. Financial aid. Necessary stuff, but low … Continue reading →

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