Category Archives: Teaching Stories

Community vs. Clubhouse

José Luis Vilson writes a blog on education, specifically middle school math education. He emphasizes how much of education is supporting past and present injustice. A recent post, Where We Belong, captures a key aspect of current society and education … Continue reading

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Russians

Old joke: God came to a Russian man and offered him one wish, whatever he wanted.  Before the man could speak, God cautioned him, “Whatever you ask for, I’ll give twice as much to your neighbor.  The man thought carefully … Continue reading

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How Then Shall We Live?

The Bible tells the stories of Jesus’ miracle healings. We all love miracles. My cancer treatment was a miracle of sorts. It is now a year after the end of chemo. Not all cancer patients survive this long. The woman … Continue reading

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Warren Buffet on Goals

Usually I’d post a story about Warren Buffet on my financial blog, but Warren Buffett On Goals: If It’s Not The Most Important Thing, Avoid It At All Costs is not about money. It’s about living your life, not someone else’s or society’s. … Continue reading

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Sam and Betty

At the University, there is a ledge really no more than a misplaced form when the concrete was poured. Birds have perched and deposited. Leaf litter has fallen, off the roof, and now there is a tree growing in this … Continue reading

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Teaching Challenges II

Sometimes challenges lurk in unexpected places. I had a martial arts student who was 5\’10\” and 225+ pounds, a bit overweight and very strong. If his execution of a technique was even halfway decent, none of us could stop him. … Continue reading

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More on Learning Styles, Part II

For a while, my wife was a substitute science teacher. One of her assignments was to teach biology to a class of \”slow\” students. Having been warned that conventional approaches were ineffective, she tried a different tack. For their first … Continue reading

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More on Learning Styles

Learning to program in C is relatively easy, up to a point. But most self-taught learners bog down at pointers, one of the more difficult programming concepts. When I taught C pointers, I first described how they worked in C … Continue reading

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Ganging Up on Ignorance

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius Research has found three major learning styles: visual (seeing), aural (hearing), and kinesthetic (moving). Most people have a preferred or dominant style, though most … Continue reading

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Teaching Challenges I

Part of my job as a teacher is to challenge students to help them develop. To do that, the challenge needs to be both reachable and a stretch. The usual way to do that is to put obstacles in their … Continue reading

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