Commenter “Matt” wrote a comment that pissed me off, and while it’s probably futile to take on union-bashing again, it does highlight a couple of the things that make this so frustrating. In response to several people observing that teaching is not the cushy 8-to-3, summers-off job that lots of people claim, he writes: Here… Continue reading Teaching Catch-22
Month: January 2008
Important TV Programming Note
Tonight at 8pm (Eastern) is the premier of the NOVA program “Absolute Zero”. This is the first of two one-hour specials talking about the physics and technology of ultra-low temperatures. I haven’t seen nearly enough hype for this on the Internet– actual results aren’t as sexy as wild speculation– but the science here is fascinating,… Continue reading Important TV Programming Note
links for 2008-01-08
Economists Say Movie Violence Might Temper the Real Thing – New York Times “From 6 p.m. to midnight on weekends — when the largest numbers of people are in theaters — violent crimes decreased 1.3 percent for every million people watching a strongly violent movie, the study found. Violent crimes dropped 1.1 percent for every… Continue reading links for 2008-01-08
Dorky Poll: Just One Lecture
I unwisely agreed to cover the first class for one of my colleagues with a late-arriving flight back from break before finding out when the class met, which was 8:00 this morning. As a result, my whole morning blog routine was disrupted. I’m saved from having the site go completely dark, though, by an email… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Just One Lecture
Teacher Compensation
On Friday, Steinn was playing dictator of the universe, and presented a modest proposal to reform US public education. It’s a mix of pretty good idea and cosmetic changes to make things more like Europe, and I agree with a good deal of it. I do want to highlight one thing, though: Teachers could probably… Continue reading Teacher Compensation
links for 2008-01-07
BBC NEWS | Magazine Monitor 100 things the BBC didn’t know until last year. (tags: culture politics review society science education environment humanities history)
Happy or Cranky?
Myers: There are atheists who look on a tragedy and cry, “There is no god,” in despair. But we are atheists who look on beauty and complexity and awesome immensity and shout out, “There is no god!” and we are glad. That’s the distinction we’ve got to get across. We are fulfilled, happy atheists who… Continue reading Happy or Cranky?
Idle Question: Does “Fisking” Ever Work?
The context for this would take too long to explain, so I’ll just throw it out there: Can anyone think of an example of an Internet troll changing their opinions or behavior because of the savage wit of people responding to their comments? I ask this because I spent a good seven years on rec.arts.sf.*… Continue reading Idle Question: Does “Fisking” Ever Work?
The Giants Are Doomed…
… because it’s evidently a bad weekend for teams Jim Henley is rooting for. (Edit: typo fixed.)
links for 2008-01-06
World Hum | Travel Books | The Trouble With ‘Smile When You’re Lying’ Thoughts about what’s wrong with travel writing, and why. (tags: travel writing books review journalism) What if the BCS Ran the NFL – FanHouse – AOL Sports Blog “Cowboys fans are upset that they have been shut out of the Bud Bowl… Continue reading links for 2008-01-06