A Conversation That Made My Day

Student #1: Look, Mr. Orlin, we all signed this petition! Me: “We, the undersigned, would like to have Calculus all day, every day.” Hey, I’m glad you guys are enjoying the class. Student #2: Can you change the schedule? Me: Well, logistics aside, you guys only got two signatures on this. Student #1: What are … Continue reading A Conversation That Made My Day

Fistfuls of Sand (or, Why It Pays to Be a Stubborn Teacher)

This is a story about one small compromise that I refused to make, a stubborn act that paid off, though I didn’t expect it to. The setting is a Calculus classroom, but I hope the story will resonate with anyone who spies something dubious in the rigid and widespread assumption that learning can be endlessly itemized, carefully quantized, and instantaneously measured.