Monday, July 01, 2024

How To Fail A Test With Dignity

Sometimes, you just can't win.

In that case, there's no harm or shame in surrender. So why not have a sense of humor about it?

These students tried and failed, but succeeded in turning loss into laughs.



























































































































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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Saturday, June 01, 2024

Best Local Stargazing and Dark Sky Sites

Nothing says applied mathematics like physics, and nothing says physics stars and cosmology.

Following is a list of best places in the SF Bay Area and around California to find dark, clear skies ideal for star gazing.

A good pair of 7x50mm binoculars makes stargazing even more amazing. Click here for a great deal on an excellent set for beginners.

Wednesday, May 01, 2024

Mischievous Engineers

Easter Eggs aren’t just for kids, and they aren’t found only on Easter – but they’re always hard to find and never fail to spark joy. 

Hiding “Easter Eggs” in software began in earnest in the 1970’s and continued through the Atari era into the modern age of computing. Engineers with too much time on their hands would deliberately program all kinds of surprises (little games, silly graphics and animations, text info, etc.) into their software projects.

Although Easter Egg grinches like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates banned the practice within their own companies, comedic Google engineers have managed to continue the tradition.

A Business Insider article gives a partial rundown of hidden tricks and treats to be found within the Google search bar. Give some of these a try! 

Easter Eggs provide a window into the minds of bored code monkeys, and furnish fatigued students and professionals a way to punctuate their day with diverting amusement.

A Wikipedia entry provides historical context and further info.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Monday, April 01, 2024

Trivium and Quadrivium

The reason I've always been captivated by the Trivium and Quadrivium is almost certainly that these ancient western educational models happen to coincide with six main interests of mine: math, music, astronomy/cosmology, logic, writing, and debate. 

Moreover, philosophy, another one of my main interests, was considered such an obvious part of classic liberal arts training that it wasn't included in the list of subjects for either the Quadrivium or Trivium.

From the Wikipedia article on Quadrivium:

"From the time of Plato through the Middle Ages, the quadrivium (plural: quadrivia[1]) was a grouping of four subjects or arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy—that formed a second curricular stage following preparatory work in the trivium, consisting of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Together, the trivium and the quadrivium comprised the seven liberal arts,[2] and formed the basis of a liberal arts education in Western society until gradually displaced as a curricular structure by the studia humanitatis and its later offshoots, beginning with Petrarch in the 14th century. The seven classical arts were considered "thinking skills" and were distinguished from practical arts, such as medicine and architecture."

One has to wonder what our society would look like if schools prioritized these essential subjects in grades K-12.

St. Ann Classic Academy is a school trying to implement such a curriculum.

For an excellent book on the Quadrivium, try Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology. 

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Friday, March 01, 2024

U.S. News State Educational Rankings

U.S. News is famous for its annual college rankings, but it also ranks states on a number of educational benchmark
s. Their recent College Readiness Rankings are a revelation.

Not surprisingly, Northeastern states occupy half of the first 10 spots. 

California? Number 49. Ouch.

When I was schooled as a boomer kid, California public schools were the best in the country – and, therefore, the best in the world. Number 49 is very hard to take.

Annual U.S. News college rankings (and others) are notorious as less-than-stellar indicators of college caliber. But they do, at least, provide a sense of relative quality. Similarly, one should probably take these overall educational rankings of the 50 states with a large grain of salt.

Nevertheless, if you'd like to see them, click here for the complete state rankings.

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.

Thursday, February 01, 2024

Teachers are Quitting

It seems our schools are always in trouble for this reason or that one. 

This was not at all the case when I was a boy in the 1960’s. California public schools, K-College, were unquestionably the best in the world, and all were levels were free or very low cost. So it’s especially hard for boomers like myself to see the kite hit the ground like this.

As a private academic coach for more that 45 years, I’ve tried to figure out what went wrong. I still don’t know, after all these years.

And now, a sobering new trend is emerging. Teachers are leaving K-12 schools in droves.

The reasons are many and various. But what I hear over and over again is that they boil down to several core issues: low salary, poor mental health, toxic work cultures, unsupportive administrations, lack of respect inside and outside school, lack of authority in the classroom, and out of control students and parents.

I have no answer, but I do have suggestions. At a minimum:

Pay teachers like doctors, require the same achievement, give them the same respect inside and outside schools, and weed out poor teachers (the Finnish approach); give teachers back-up they need and deserve within schools hierarchies; return classroom authority to teachers; allow sensible grading and disciplinary procedures, including compassionately but unapologetically holding back students who don’t meet grade level standards; a teacher-aid in every classroom; effective protection against parent-zillas think their little Johnny can do no wrong; make it unnecessary for teachers to buy learning supplies their students need; and provide enough public funding to pay for all this, realizing that doing so is less expensive than not.

For further information, I recommended the following:

I quit teaching for better mental health: former teachers share the jobs they got after teaching

Why Teachers Quit: Lack of respect, abominable working conditions, and more.

After Teaching For 11 Years, I Quit My Job. Here's Why Your Child's Teacher Might Be Next.

I quit my job as a teacher after 6 years to work in tech sales. I make $20,000 more ...and am so much happier now.

Teachers Who Quit Are Sharing The Moment They Realized It Wasn't For Them

Why Teachers Quit + Top Signs Quitting Teaching Is The Right Move

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Copyright © 2006-present: Christopher R. Borland. All rights reserved.


Monday, January 01, 2024

Desmos

The online Desmos graphing calculator is fast taking over from the venerable Ti-84 series of handheld calculators as the default calculator tool in secondary education. Now that Desmos is included as an integral part of the digital SAT, acquiring intermediate-level Desmos skills is fundamental to maximizing math scores on this important assessment.

[Familiarity with the Ti-84 Plus CE handheld graphing calculator is still crucial to optimizing math scores on the ACT.]

I'm not aware of any succinct, comprehensive exposition of Desmos skills required for use on the dSAT (I'm working on it).

At this point, the best one can do is to peruse the various official materials linked in the "Desmos First Steps" and "Desmos Graphing Calculator" sections below. 

Check out each link, read the information provided, and do the sample exercises until you've covered all topics presented (search Google for additional help with particular topics).

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Desmos First Steps

User Guide

Quick Start Guide

Getting Started: Desmos Graphing Calculator

Getting Started: Creating Your First Graph

Getting Started Articles

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Desmos Graphing Calculator

Graphing Calculator

Graphing Calculator: Essential Skills

Graphing

FAQ: Graph

FAQ: Student Graphing

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Desmos Geometry

Geometry

Geometry Tool

Transformations

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Other Desmos Calculators

Scientific Calculator

Matrix Calculator

3-D Calculator