Chemteacher

swim, chem, baseball, I talk with my hands

Category Archives: Philosophy

Rebooted

I could never have imagined the transformation of the past 15 months, which sounds hyperbolic (I know). My last post from mid-2021 presaged a career-altering pivot that has led me … Continue reading

2022-10-31 · Leave a comment

Why SF? Why?

I realize more each day that what I know is merely the result of aggregating information. While such a simple statement, it is powerful to recognize that I am nothing … Continue reading

2019-01-27

April 15th = 42

I wrote this post five years ago on the occasion of the release of the movie “42,” depicting the life of Jackie Robinson. Every April 15th I think about the … Continue reading

2018-04-15

Just Poetry

Sometimes I write bad poetry – here are samples from the past few years Sub Duties Subbed a class today where I bribed the students with a vat of bacon … Continue reading

2018-04-12

BTSN – 2017

Welcome to Back-to-School Night 2017 I am always honored to meet the parents of the students I am lucky to have in my classes. This presentation is a brief overview … Continue reading

2017-09-14

Opening Day 2017

April 2, 2017 The start of the baseball season is more important to me than most holidays. I try to get fired up for Valentine’s Day but it always feels … Continue reading

2017-04-02

Welcome to the School Year!

You can’t imagine how excited get every year to start the school year. One of the unique joys of being a teacher is that I get to experience renewal every … Continue reading

2016-08-24

G5HW

I am introducing a new policy as it relates to grading homework in all of my classes. While I am loathe to make changes midstream, I think it is important enough to … Continue reading

2016-01-22 · 1 Comment

LNB 2.0

Please refer to the LNB guidelines posted on the site: LINK

2016-01-19

The Tyranny of “Nice”

“Wait, how do you know Marta? She was never in your class?” This might be one of the most common questions I get when in conversation about my profession. I’d have … Continue reading

2015-08-17

Digital LNB

Introduction I am ready to implement yet another way of using a digital lab notebook in my classes. My attempts in the past have all possessed critical flaws that make … Continue reading

2015-05-12

RPN Club – The New Woobie!

Woobie What type of relationship do you have with your calculator? Do you use it to do your bidding? Or is it smarter than you? Do you use it for … Continue reading

2015-02-06

Data Analysis – The Power of Excel

Assignment Objectives Learn how to use a spreadsheet to record data. Use Google Sheets to collaborate with others on data collection Move spreadsheets between Google Sheets and MS Excel Perform … Continue reading

2014-11-16

Happy 5th Birthday!

Five years ago I started my Pandora station [LINK] Seed Songs – There are 51 “seed” songs 1st song =  “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus NOTE – only seed … Continue reading

2014-11-02

The Elements Song

From Wikipedia: “The Elements” is a song by musical humorist and lecturer Tom Lehrer, which recites the names of all the chemical elements known at the time of writing, up … Continue reading

2014-09-15

Chemistry Lab Carol

Silent Night Silent lab, difficult lab We’re not calm, we’re not bright Round the lab table confused and alone Please, dear teacher, please throw us a bone We confess mistakes … Continue reading

2013-12-10

Real Student-Teacher Conversations

Sometimes I try to imagine my job, my profession, as a series of conversations. Of course, this is actually true in a literal sense, as my entire professional worth (most … Continue reading

2013-12-08

My Music

My students know that I play music in my classroom – it’s probably one of my defining characteristics as a high-school teacher. (I am a bit sad writing this…) I … Continue reading

2013-11-10

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