Blog
Google Translate User Error: How to Use Bilingual Dictionaries Wisely
Several years ago in my Spanish 2 course, I gave a writing assignment. The students were to submit a simple recipe using the command forms and the food vocabulary we had been practicing in class. The students turned in how-tos on preparing sándwiches de queso fundido...
Should Mathematics Be Included in Chemistry?
The debate between excluding mathematics in science and including it in science classes is becoming more prevalent as students specialize in high school based on their current interests. There are several curriculums being advertised that “brag” about the exclusion of...
Want to be More Creative & Successful? Take Screen Breaks!
How did a guy like Leonardo DaVinci get so good at so many things? As our kids read classic books and study history and literature, the people they learn about and learn from amaze us. It wasn't unusual for influential people in the past to speak multiple languages...
What is an Executive Order and What Does it Do?
For those of you who follow politics, it seems the term “executive order” has been heard often over the last several years. Whether executive orders are authorized by the Constitution and how many executive orders have been issued by a presidential administration are...
Why Should My Student Take World Literature?
Students often take four years of English classes in high school. An introductory course to literary analysis, American literature, and British literature can be found in most schools across the country. World Literature is often underrepresented, however, and it is...
The Importance of Doing Lab Work in Science Classes
Science is all about asking questions and making observations. Learning science should involve seeing, handling, and manipulating materials. This is what I loved about science as a student, and it is also why I love teaching science now. Labs and hands-on activities...
Why Teen Authors Should Build a Writing Portfolio Before Self-Publishing
The publishing industry is changing, and that is a beautiful thing. Voices are emerging from cultures that have previously been silenced in print. Stories are no longer squelched by industry constraints. Genre-specific niches have a pedestal and are flourishing. With...
Design Thinking: A New Way of Thinking or a Public Resurgence of an Ancient Idea?
You may have heard the idea of Design Thinking batted about on the internet. This is the “new” way businesses are working on being more innovative. The great thing is that graphic designers have been thinking this way for years. Many of the concepts can even be found...
30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall – November 9, 1989 (Pt. 4)
I ended part 3 with a quick mention of the Solidarity Tax. The Solidaritätszuschlag, the Solidarity Tax, that was instated to rebuild East Germany is still being levied, which many people in the western states of Germany are skeptical about. Ingo, my German friend,...
30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall – November 9, 1989 (Pt. 3)
On another visit to Berlin, I stood at the Berlin Wall, along with others, chiseling away and collecting souvenirs of what amounted to chunks of mortar with gravel and splashes of paint. Did we realize the magnitude of what had just happened? Here are some facts on...
30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall Pt. 2 – November 9, 1989
Even though the Berlin Wall was open, the situation in East Berlin was still extremely tense. Shortly after the Berlin Wall was opened, I visited friends in East Berlin for an extended weekend, blissfully unaware of the tension that was still present. The East German...
30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall – November 9, 1989
I was working as an interpreter and translator in Cologne, West Germany, when the Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago. On November 9, 1989, I was waiting at a stoplight, two blocks from my apartment. Suddenly, the music on the radio stopped, and an announcer cut in...
