Live and Learn on Purpose.
I entered college directly after high school. Like everyone else, I was told to pick a major. Looking back, I can’t imagine how I handled the pressure of deciding the rest of my life at 18. Traditional I’ve come to resent the term “traditional student.” […]
“Wow, our stuff must be really heavy! This car has never had a problem getting up a hill before.” Something felt off as we drove across town. The car was sluggish. I’d step on the gas, or try going up a hill, and it barely […]
There’s an old saying: The more I look around, the more I realize that very few people reach success in a big, shining moment of good fortune. They don’t win the lottery. They don’t have a flash of genius. They don’t get discovered. There’s no […]
Yes, I know today is August 23. Fall classes start in just 4 days, and I’m prepping for the first day. I plan on asking my students one question: “Why are you here?” Take a second and look at a picture of the Earth. You […]
Listen carefully to most political arguments and you’ll hear two trains of thought intertwined: “what could be” and “what should be.” When we confuse them, these two angles can suck us into a vortex. When we keep them clear – that’s the foundation of intentional […]
This is the fourth in a series of posts about my most recent educational experiment. The quickest way to get the full story is to go read the other three posts, which also have the number ‘44’ in their titles. Application submitted. Interview complete. Offer […]
There is a creature living in your head. It’s called your amygdala, also known as the “Lizard Brain.” This little monster sits at the top of your spine intercepting and filtering all of the messages that your higher mind is trying to send your body. […]
This is the third in a series of posts about my most recent educational experiment. The quickest way to get the full story is to go read the other two posts, which also have the number ‘44’ in their titles. Running a group of 44 […]
My recent teaching experiment sought to shrink a 250-person class to give each student an individual experience (read more in my last post). How did I do this? With a team of 44 undergraduate teaching assistants. Imagine, if you will, having never managed a group […]
For the past year, I’ve been teaching an experimental freshmen course. When I say “experimental,” I mean it in every way: the subject matter, delivery methods, and course structure. One of the big goals was developing a course that is better because it is large, […]
