Tag Archives: history

“Black people are not dark-skinned white people” – Tom Burrell

Growing up in a world of hyper-specific targeted advertising, it seemed wild to me that Tom Burrell would make his career pointing out the obvious, “black people are not dark-skinned white people.” But back in the 1960s ad agencies were stodgy and boring I guess. Although I haven’t watched Mad Men. Maybe if I hadContinue reading ““Black people are not dark-skinned white people” – Tom Burrell”

Play and Direct Learning

As an early childhood educator, my mom collects all sorts of books devoted to childhood development. When I told her she was going to be a grandmother, she dug through her library to pass on a few choice titles. One book was Play With a Purpose by Dr. Dorothy Einon. It must have been aContinue reading “Play and Direct Learning”

Chapter 5: Facts and Opinions

Why is it increasingly important for today’s students to be able to differentiate fact from opinion and exam data for underlying meaning and bias? This is a pre-COVID question. The example of “myth-information” presented by Crockett et al. stressed the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide (2011). In 2022, this example feels quaint and charmingly harmless. WeContinue reading “Chapter 5: Facts and Opinions”

A Brief History of Monopoly

Nearly any comment about Monopoly in a Board Game Geek forum thread will eventually lead to three predictable replies. First, somebody will badmouth Monopoly as a crappy game that nobody should play. Next, another poster will reply how it’s not such an awful game if played by the official rules; all the house rules makeContinue reading “A Brief History of Monopoly”

Croeso i Gymru – Bred of Heaven

I’ve developed a serious crush on Wales. It all began when I started reading Bred of Heaven by Jasper Rees. Before that, I rarely thought of Wales. I have no history with Wales. I’ve never been and I doubt I’ll ever visit. But somehow Rees has tugged my heart enough for me to start learningContinue reading “Croeso i Gymru – Bred of Heaven”

Planet Money Summer School

Planet Money is of my all-time favorite podcasts. I have listened to every episode in their back catalog and for years I have donated to NPR just because of them. For me it his the perfect balance of fun (just look at that pig Latin on the diploma I earned) and informative, history and currentContinue reading “Planet Money Summer School”

What Makes us Human? Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham

A friend recently recommended Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham. In it, he lays out a convincing thesis that cooking and food processing were instrumental to human evolution. The message boils down to humans have big brains because we have small intestines. We can have small intestines because cooked food is more efficiently digested so weContinue reading “What Makes us Human? Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham”

Free Audiobooks! Not a Scam!

On Apple podcasts, I recently found various organizations doing audiobook readings of public domain works. Since all the readings are done by volunteers, the quality can be up and down. But free is free and some of the readers are excellent. To date, two of the best that I have found are Rick Kistner (?)Continue reading “Free Audiobooks! Not a Scam!”

The Man From Earth – What is History? What is Myth?

I was enthralled by The Man from Earth. I usually enjoy the wife’s wisecracks while watching a movie, but this time it took a lot of self control to not tell her to shove it. I was hanging on every word and line of dialogue and did not want to miss a moment. The TenContinue reading “The Man From Earth – What is History? What is Myth?”