I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between ...
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
The published review
A Little History of the Earth
(Woodward, Old Street, £16.99)
When you visit an unfamiliar city, one thing you can do is book yourself on a bus tour. The guide will point out the most important landmarks and where they are in relation to each other, leaving you better prepared to later explore them at your leisure, should you wish. Well, what bus tours do for cities, this book does for geology, covering as it does a vast breadth of material that takes in not just the Earth but also the Moon, as well as Homo sapiens' ongoing search for extraterrestrial life, science fiction, earthquakes, oxygen and even the siting of canals. For all that, it's a very easy read that contains lots of potentially useful material for a range of subjects beyond just geography, including physics, chemistry, biology and even creative writing.
Reviewed by Terry Freedman
bit.ly/Eclecticism
My original review
A Little History of the Earth
(Woodward, Old Street, £16.99)
When you visit a city with which you are unfamiliar, one thing you could do for a quick win is book a ticket on a bus tour. The guide will point out all the most important landmarks, and where they are in relation to each other. Then, at some time in the future, you can, if you wish, spend more time at one or two of the sights.
What the bus tour does for the city, this book does for geology. It covers a vast breadth of material, taking in not only the earth but the moon, the search for extra-terrestrial life, science fiction, earthquakes, oxygen and even the siting of canals. It is a very easy read and in a school context would provide material for geography, physics, chemistry, biology and even creative writing.
Of course, being "a little history" it lacks depth, but should whet the reader's appetite to explore further themselves.
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
A Word For All Seasons
(Crystal, Bodleian, £20)
Published review
Mr Crystal has produced another richly fascinating book, this time focusing on the language we associate with different seasons. Much more than a mere dictionary of word meanings and idioms, it contains a wealth of information about how the meanings of 'seasonal' words and expressions have changed over time. Lavishly illustrated, with beautiful engravings by Eric Ravilious, it includes a number of explanatory excerpts from novels, reports and poems to help unpack the sometimes surprisingly dense meanings behind such common terms as 'season tickets', 'Easter eggs' and even 'mince pies'. Whether you're searching for coursework inspiration, ideas for a cross- curricular project or just a snippet of info to help enliven a class discussion, A Word for All Seasons won't disappoint.
Reviewed by Terry Freedman
My original review
A Word For All Seasons
(Crystal, Bodleian, £20)
Mr Crystal has done it again: written a fascinating and very rich book, this time of words associated with the seasons. Much more than a dictionary of word meanings or of idioms, it includes information about how the meaning of the word or expression has changed over time. Furthermore, it is lavishly illustrated in two respects. Firstly, through the beautiful engravings by Eric Ravilious, and secondly the inclusion of excerpts from novels, reports and poems. Season tickets, Easter eggs and even mince pies are just a few of the common terms covered.
Whether you’re looking for inspiration for some course work, a cross-curricular project, or simply a snippet of information to enliven a subject, A Word for all Seasons won’t disappoint. In some respects it reminds me of A Date With Language, even though it’s quite different.
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
The published review
The Mending of Broken Bones: A Modern Guide to Classical Algebra
(Paul Lockhart, HUP, £24.95)
The two main things I remember from my school algebra lessons are having to memorise formulae and methodology, and needing to tackle exercises at the end of each chapter in our textbooks - but I never really understood any of it. Having now read Lockhart's explanations of how to solve simple and quadratic equations, however, much of it makes perfect sense. I'd even go so far as to say that the processes appear to be obvious. Lockhart writes very engagingly, with some parts of the book even making me laugh out loud - not a response one would usually expect from a book on maths teaching. Some of the later chapters may be quite difficult for non-specialists to follow at first, yet one suspects that Lockhart's words will be compelling enough to make all readers want to persevere.
Reviewed by Terry Freedman
My original review
The Mending of Broken Bones: A Modern Guide to Classical Algebra
(Lockhart, HUP, £24.95)
The main two things I remember about algebra lessons at school are memorising formulae and methodology, and improbable exercises at the end of each chapter in the textbook. But I never really understood any of it. Once I had read Lockhart's explanations of how to solve simple and quadratic equations, it all made perfect sense. I’d even go so far as to say, it all seemed obvious. Lockhart writes very engagingly – some sentences even made me laugh out loud, which is not a response are usually associates with maths. The text is spiced with interesting snippets of the history of mathematics. Some of the later chapters are quite difficult for the non-specialist, but Lockhart has made them interesting enough to make the reader persevere – or, at least, not to throw the towel in straight away! His excitement about the subject is tangible.
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
The published review
The Worst Exhibition in the World: Degenerate Art, 1937
John-Paul Stonard, Old Street, £12.99)
In 1937, the Nazi Party staged an exhibition of art that the party, and Hitler in particular, disapproved of. It encompassed practically every school of painting at the time, with the exception of 'naturalistic' forms. To them, art was supposed to inculcate a 'correct' set of values. Over 2 million people attended - which is probably 2 million more than would have seen these works otherwise, which seems ironic. Stonard walks us through the exhibition's halls, dropping in snippets of conversation to provide atmosphere and factual information to provide context. Some of the exhibited works were destroyed, others were sold and the fate of several remains unknown. At one point, Stonard cites German poet Heinrich Heine's prescient observation in 1821 that "Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people too." Indeed, the same could be said of artworks. An excellent guide to a relatively minor, yet highly revealing episode of the Nazi era.
Reviewed by Terry Freedman
My original review
The Worst Exhibition in the World: Degenerate Art, 1937
(Stonard, Old Street, £12.99)
In 1937 the Nazis staged an exhibition of art that Hitler in particular disapproved of. This encompassed practically every school of painting apart from "naturalistic" ones. Art was supposed to inculcate the "correct" values. More than two million people attended, probably around two million more than would have seen these works otherwise, which is quite ironic. That was in contrast to a more Germanic exhibition at the same time, which was, apparently, a rather lacklustre affair. Stonard walks us through the exhibition's halls, adding snippets of conversation to provide atmosphere, and factual information to provide context. An excellent spotlight on a relatively minor but very revealing episode of the Nazi era. Some of the works were destroyed, others sold, and the fate of several is still unknown. As Stonard points out, Heinrich Heine observed that when people burn books they soon burn people. The same might be said in relation to art.
As head of computing, you are most likely better at programming and better at using spreadsheets than other teachers in the school. However, if you are RELATIVELY ie COMPARATIVELY better at programming than spreadsheets, it might well be more efficient and efficatious for you to focus on creating resources for teaching programming, and to delegate to a team member the creation of resources for teaching spreadsheets. In other words, the law of comparative advantage is a more sophisticated version of the division of labour.
