Category Archives: INMJTEY

How people think about scientific concepts

Posted on 20 March 2017 by zolltan

A couple of times a year, I taught a class in introductory physics for non-science majors. Once for this class, I was discussing a problem in Newtonian mechanics with some students. I think maybe we were looking at a moving … Continue reading →

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Grades

Posted on 14 March 2017 by zolltan

Grades are a bad system. Before I began teaching, and even for a while after, I considered being against grades to be the philosophical realm of kumbaya-singing hippies (by the way, why is that song such a strong cliché associated … Continue reading →

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Teacher Evaluation

Posted on 6 March 2017 by zolltan

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, controversy in education in the US is about standardized testing. And specifically, using standardized testing to evaluate K-12 teachers. Intelligent people, whether supporters or detractors, generally agree that good teaching can be … Continue reading →

Posted in INMJTEY, shit we have no idea about | 1 Comment

Grade Inflation

Posted on 4 March 2017 by zolltan

Before I began to teach, I thought most concerns about grade inflation were silly. I still think that, but now I also think grade inflation is a big deal. Because after starting to teach at a technical college, I realized … Continue reading →

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The Flipped Classroom

Posted on 3 March 2017 by zolltan

This is a thought I’ve just recently started having, as I’ve started teaching in a “flipped” classroom, and I’m not sure if it’s at all true. I wanted to share it in case someone who is more knowledgeable about the … Continue reading →

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Cost Disease in Education

Posted on 1 March 2017 by zolltan

At Slate Star Codex, Scott Alexander writes a post on a pretty important question: why do things cost so much more these days, without there being any particular benefit to the average person? Like he mentions, there are many people … Continue reading →

Posted in INMJTEY, politics, shit we have no idea about | Leave a comment

The importance of math for the trades

Posted on 25 February 2017 by zolltan

There’s a cynical joke that goes “School never taught me how to go about buying a car or a house or paying taxes. But boy am I glad I know … the pythagorean theorem!” I always disliked the joke, but … Continue reading →

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Teaching Thoughts: Teaching is a service

Posted on 24 February 2017 by zolltan

Gonna start talking about what I learned from teaching with the biggest thing about teaching that I think people don’t always consider: it’s a service. I was actually just planning to link to Freddie de Boer’s essay on the topic, but … Continue reading →

Posted in INMJTEY, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Simone Weil v. Jarvis Cocker

Posted on 21 February 2017 by zolltan

Attention conservation notice: I take 1000 words to give you the “amazing revelation” that experience can teach you things. Then I bizarrely suggest that you should go be a dilettante hipster farmer. I finish off with a career announcement and … Continue reading →

Posted in INMJTEY, personal | 1 Comment