Tree House
I was glad to be back in Cary's and Theo's tree house last night. I took Continental from PDX to EWR, public bus to Newark's Penn Station, PATH to WTC, subways from Chambers St. to 88th on the west side.
I had dinner with David Lansky and his two boys, Ben in college, Sam in high school, and with Arthur Siegel, an active co-participant on edu-sig.
We discussed, among other things, the role of technology in the curriculum, the relevance (or lack thereof) of math courses. Sam shared his dissatisfaction with math courses that give no real depth, are entirely about doing well on some final test (in his case the IB exam). He once asked his teacher about some concept, and she told him not to worry about it, because this concept wouldn't be on the exam. Ben is seriously into English at Haverford, but assured us that many of his classmates are bona fide math and science geeks.
My goal was to make the 8:20 PM Amtrak to Rhinecliff, but I missed it by a couple minutes, trying to type my name on this touch screen interface at 34th St. Penn Station. So I hopped a subway to Times Square and took the cross-town shuttle (S), to Grand Central (enjoyed the wireless in the waiting area, with a $2 can of Bud). The Metrolink North on track 37, departing 10:02 PM for Poughkeepsie, brought me close enough for poor sleep-deprived Stu Quimby (a Toyman) to come fetch me, and bring me to the tree house. I slept well.
