When I taught my first class as a graduate assistant at UCLA, one of the students asked whether my Western Civilization section was a “Mickey Mouse” course. What he meant was, “Is this a course with a guaranteed A if I show up and do the minimal work assigned, or will I run the risk… Continue reading Failure is not an option
Category: Science
Making Sense and Finding Meaning
My intermediate and advanced Greek and Latin classes are largely translation-based. There’s a lot of discussion among Latin teachers about whether that’s a good approach, but much of the dispute is, I think, mired in terminological ambiguity, and at least some of the objections to translation classes don’t entirely apply to what we’re doing. What… Continue reading Making Sense and Finding Meaning
The Right Answer
I start Natural Science I each year with the question “What is science?” The result is generally a lively debate in which students start by giving me one-sentence answers. “Science is the study of nature”, Joe says. “What do you mean by ‘nature’?” I ask. There is consternation, silence, and eventually another attempt. “Nature… Continue reading The Right Answer