Questions are the raw stuff of education. It behooves us to understand them and how they work. The general assumption is that a question is subordinate to its answer. A question by nature seeks an answer, after all: that’s its point. But the relation is not so simple. The value of a question is not… Continue reading Answers and questions
Author: Bruce McMenomy
Lifelong Learning
“Lifelong learning” has become something of a buzz-phrase lately, and I find myself a wary adherent. Certainly I am in favor of learning throughout life — my own, especially, since it’s the only one I have any control over. My unease with the phrase is partly born of the fact that it is so ill-defined… Continue reading Lifelong Learning
The Rewards of Risk
‘I will take the Ring,’ he said, ‘though I do not know the way.’ — J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, “The Council of Elrond” Frodo setting off on a nearly hopeless trip to Mordor or the knight taking up the quest for the Holy Grail are, intentionally or not, setting out… Continue reading The Rewards of Risk
Education as Adventure
“This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained—well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.” — J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Education is an adventure. As a metaphorical truism, the image… Continue reading Education as Adventure
Words and Things
Humanity can be characterized as a tool-using and tool-creating species. The tools we create or borrow can obviously give us enormous power, for good or ill: they will, however, always do so at a cost. We sometimes mark that cost ahead of time and choose to pay it; at other times, we don’t fully appreciate… Continue reading Words and Things
A Rhetorical Superhero
I’ve learned many useful things from my students through the years. Last fall, Peter Jackson from my Senior English class drew my attention to the the term “Steel Man”. I’d understood the concept it represented, but not encountered the term; as often, however, having a name for something makes it easier to handle and promote.… Continue reading A Rhetorical Superhero
Unprecedented?
I have to date remained silent here about the COVID-19 pandemic, because for the most part I haven’t had anything constructive to add to the discussion, and because I thought that our parents and students would probably prefer to read about something else. I also try, when possible, to discuss things that will still be… Continue reading Unprecedented?
Mr. Spock, Pseudo-scientist
I’m one of those aging folks who still remember the original run of Star Trek (no colon, no The Original Series or any other kind of elaboration — just Star Trek). It was a groundbreaking show, and whether you like it or not (there are plenty of reasons to do both), it held out a… Continue reading Mr. Spock, Pseudo-scientist
The Sherlock Holmes Law
I rather like Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. I should also admit that I’m not a hard-core devotee of mysteries in general. If I were, I probably would find the frequent plot holes in the Holmes corpus more annoying than I do. I enjoy them mostly for the period atmosphere, the prickly character of… Continue reading The Sherlock Holmes Law
Reflections on Trisecting the Angle
I’m not a mathematician by training, but the language and (for want of a better term) the sport of geometry has always had a special appeal for me. I wasn’t a whiz at algebra in high school, but I aced geometry. As a homeschooling parent, I had a wonderful time teaching geometry to our three… Continue reading Reflections on Trisecting the Angle