Teach him mathematics
Mark Liberman quotes Yeats (“Letter to Michael’s Schoolmaster“): Teach him mathematics as thoroughly as his capacity permits. I know that Bertrand Russell must, seeing that he is such a featherhead, be...
View ArticleWhy aren’t children taught to touch-type at school?
Gordon Rayner in The Telegraph (strike-out mine): For more than a century, the cornerstones of education have been reading, writing and arithmetic, but surely every British child would benefit if we...
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Teach to the back of the envelope
(I have a draft post on “teaching to the test” rattling around somewhere, hence the title of this one.) The gadget shown here was displayed at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. Cnet reported: The...
View ArticleFive long years (and class-size reduction)
I note, somewhat belatedly, that I’ve been blogging here since January 2005 (or November 2004, if you want to count a first experimental WordPress post). My first substantive post, BBC: Small-class...
View ArticleHow much math do we really need?
G.V. Ramanathan, professor emeritus of mathematics, statistics and computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago: How much math do we really need? … How much math do you really need in...
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Misconceptions about science
Not long ago (29 April) an article titled “AAAS Testing Web Site Probes Students’ Misconceptions About Science” appeared in Science. The website is assessment.aaas.org (free registration required). It...
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Skating on Thin Ice
In 2005, [US Navy submarine] Captain Ralph Styles turned 95 and decided to write a memoir documenting his time at New College from 1963 to 1970 as “director of planning, management of all real estate,...
View ArticleNew College: D Minus Five Months
John W Gustad was appointed academic dean (later provost) of the nascent New College in mid-1963. In the spring of 1964, he participated in a colloquium, sponsored by Florida State University, on...
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Everything old is new again
Yesterday (17 August 2023), New College issued a press release. In part: COLLEGE ANNOUNCES HOTEL PARTNERSHIPS FOR NEW AND RETURNING STUDENTS THIS FALL SARASOTA, Fla. New College of Florida is excited...
View ArticleArtichoke Hearts or Lima Beans?
In late 1967, with New College having serious fiscal problems, a decision was apparently made to recruit lower-achieving students for the next incoming class (1968), with the implicit assumption that...
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