Science teacher : nclb

Zip codes and cortisol

doyle — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:18:00 GMT

Suppose you had a child who had sustained a moderate head injury in a car accident, how would you assess her her first few months back? Her memory may be wobbly, she may be prone to bouts of inattention. You'd be kind, no? You'd work with her to help...(read more)

The Dayton Street shuffle

doyle — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:41:00 GMT

The superintendent of the Newark Public Schools system announced that the city state will close down seven schools; the fate of the students and staff has not yet been publicly announced. Ms. Anderson's attempt to go into specifics ended with her walking...(read more)

National Canine Latin Barking assessments

doyle — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:00:00 GMT

While immersed in the Krebs cycle in mid-January, pushing biochemical pathways on sophomores who have yet to learn chemistry, I marvel at their persistence, trying to grasp what I know they cannot, but I ask them to do it anyway. (There is something unethical...(read more)

A shore thing

doyle — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:24:00 GMT

Late December, the back bay, still autumn-warm, gets blown up the beach by the stiff breeze, and washes my feet. "I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." TSE A shell on the beach, once alive, now falls apart...(read more)

Clam up, Arne

doyle — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:04:00 GMT

Tomorrow I am going on an adventure! Despite predictions of a 30 knot breeze with rain tossed in, I plan to grab my rake and wander out to a mudflat to grab a handful of clams for tomorrow's dinner, and when I'm done, I'll be glad I did. I have yet to...(read more)

What is the highest result of education?

doyle — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:00:00 GMT

With all the dashing about, pretending that we can make leaders of us all, make scientists of us all, pretending that the whole point of education is test score and "college and career readiness," well, it's no small joy to be working under a Principal...(read more)

Mr. President, we "learn to live"

doyle — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:42:00 GMT

The 2nd repost today, again more for me than anything else. "Through this plan we are setting an ambitious goal: All students should graduate from high school prepared for college and a career – no matter who you are or where you come from." President...(read more)

Tossing the bathwater, keeping the baby

doyle — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:45:00 GMT

Robert Marzano may become the Jean-Baptiste Lamarck of education. Lamarck was the guy before Darwin who thought giraffe babies had longer necks than their parents because their parents strived to reach leaves. This "inner need" drove evolution. Lamarck...(read more)

Arne the Disincentivizer

doyle — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:05:00 GMT

The No Child Left Behind law requires that 100% of children in public education are proficient in math and reading (jn English) by 2014. The law is absurd, something recognized even by those with minimal contact with reality in the fantasy bubble of D.C....(read more)

Slow seeing

doyle — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:07:00 GMT

If you want to kill a child's interest in astronomy,buy her the biggest piece of glass you can afford the first hour she expresses any interest in the stars. Make sure it's got a computer-guided star finder, and that it "talks" to her as she explores...(read more)

Solstice graduation

doyle — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:13:00 GMT

"The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was." Bottom, Midsummer Nights Dream Except in June. Just about every day this week I grabbed...(read more)

A modest proposal

doyle — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:30:00 GMT

The Science Goddess recently wrote a powerful post pointing out that we're not going to get far with the wolves running the show unless we put on some wolf's clothing. I save that kind of entertainment for Bleeker Street late October . I got snowpeas...(read more)

Obvious, but not intuitive

doyle — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:43:00 GMT

Frank Noschese and Rhett Allain have a good on-going discussion on the Khan Academy's work with physics. Some excerpts: Science is obvious, but it's not intuitive. Obvious in the sense that we can observe what we observe, even as our brains refuse to...(read more)

The Toryfication of America

doyle — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 01:50:00 GMT

I teach for two reasons: One, I have a ridiculously passionate attachment to watching the world, the one that exists whether (or not) humans exist. It's ultimately unknowable,despite its teasing patterns, and we're all part of it, all of us, no matter...(read more)

Go West, old man....

doyle — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:28:00 GMT

"There is a price to pay for speaking the truth. There is a bigger price for living a lie." Dr. Cornel West The price is social, paid by the pangs of hunger of a child at midnight, a child in my neighborhood. I practiced pediatrics a long time in places...(read more)