A teacher's life of the mind
"Which one do you like better? Georgia or Armenia" was the first question our Armenian friends asked after we moved to teach at another international school in Tbilisi. Now, do you really expect me to answer this culturally insensitive question at a face-to-face encounter? Do you think it is a wise question to answer in …
Continue reading From Kartli, with love: impressions of Georgia
Have you ever pulled your hair out talking to a conspiracy theorist? It turns out that new information will never change their mind, because what matters to them is not more information. They love new facts. It's the source of information they are worried about. More information sometimes drives people even further from the point you're …
Michael Church, in The Guardian: "For Armenians, music is memory. And whenever they gather to honour their dead, the songs they sing are by the composer who speaks for the soul of their nation, Komitas Vardapet. He himself was a victim of the 1915 persecution, and though he survived physically, he was driven into madness …
Top 10 Things I'll Miss from Yerevan: 1. Public workouts - Parks here have slides and swings for kids, but you'll find all generations gathered in the public gym section. A large sandbox hosts the moving workout machines - Grandma is doing the stair master in her 80s style skirt, Grandpa is twisting side to …
This weekend we joined a hiking group for one of their day drips - people from all walks of life rent a couple mini-buses and leave town for lots of laughs and wonderful comaraderie. It was a great way to enjoy Armenia's beautiful landscape together. We sang songs, walked up waterfall streams, and sang Armenian …
I've come to the end of my third year teaching, and it's time to reflect on the highs and lows of teaching middle school in Yerevan (February-June). The Good 1. Setting high academic expectations. Middle schoolers are just at the point where you can start teaching against the textbook. I really enjoyed reading and discussing …
A NOTE ON THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM: While these techniques enforce efficiency, conformity, and routine, my current view is that these virtues are necessary in any school system if it want to achieve results. Not only this, but I've been convinced by Angela Duckworth and other psychologists that discipline and grit really matter in life (See …
