Damien Damien, bro, you make a good start here but your essay lacks sufficient analysis of Pericles’ claims about Athens. I was super stoked on your opening paragraph about the context of the speech, and you absolutely crushed your explanation of his rhetorical choices, given Athens’ need to continue the war. But you crashed … Continue reading Watching Red Bull Rampage while Grading Student Essays on Pericles’ Funeral Oration
Tech Hype: The Thing I Miss Least About Teaching
I’ve been out of the classroom for just over two months and I still teach online as an adjunct. I’m certainly not anti-technology; in fact, technological connectivity is what has allowed me to move to a rural area and pursue my dual passions of outdoor recreation and teaching. But as I’m occupied with the minutiae … Continue reading Tech Hype: The Thing I Miss Least About Teaching
The Essential Joy of Playing Outside
The day after I called the suicide hotline for the first time, I went skiing for thirteen hours. I’m ok, now. Really. That call was more a request for resources than a life-threatening crossroads.* But it was definitely worrisome. I’d already been to the emergency room twice in the past six months for undiagnosed chest … Continue reading The Essential Joy of Playing Outside
Trip Report: Bad Skiing, Weak Satire
Saturday, 1/13/2018 Trip Report: My Couch (southern segment) Weather: 70 degrees, low humidity, 100% chance of ungraded essays. Preparation: I planned for today’s trip by checking the weather forecast carefully throughout yesterday evening and then not setting my alarm for this morning. Awakening at 7am, I quickly loaded my gear onto the coffee table and … Continue reading Trip Report: Bad Skiing, Weak Satire
On Being and Seeming
(Following is the text of a little chapel talk I was asked to give to an upper school community). First, a translation: Esse quam videri means “to be, rather than to seem.” We might also say, “To be rather than to appear to be,” or “value the authentic over the superficial”. It’s a great motto … Continue reading On Being and Seeming
Empathy and Time Management
Compelled to watch a time-management TED talk at a meeting recently, I had the opportunity to reflect on the overlap between the speaker’s perspective and some issues I’ve been struggling with in the classroom this autumn, in particular our culture's seemingly diminishing capacity to engage in empathetic understanding and how best to encourage that understanding … Continue reading Empathy and Time Management
Some Thoughts on Charlottesville and the History Teacher
This is just a quick reflection as I prepare for the new school year by thinking about lessons, students, and the rage that would drive a man barely out of his teens to step on a gas pedal with enough deliberate force to kill and wound other humans. It’s difficult to overstate how important it … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Charlottesville and the History Teacher
