David Zinn is an Ann Arbor treasure. I’ve written before about the seeming magic of his chalk art, in which fantastical creatures briefly appear in the nooks and crannies of the city, only to disappear with the summer rains or (as currently) winter snows. Now Zinn has shared his techniques with young people in The … Continue reading
Here I am back. Again. It is true that, like everyone else, I’ve had my life rhythms disrupted by COVID. But I am among the fortunate in that my immediate family and friends have been spared major illness thus far, so that isn’t a great reason for my absence. I do have one good one, … Continue reading
What a beginning to a school year! All around me, my teacher friends and parent friends are struggling over what young people need most. How can we protect them from illness while maximizing their learning? How do we balance the social and educational needs of vaccinated adolescents while protecting their unvaccinated siblings? What should we … Continue reading
This is Katherine Johnson. I know it looks like a monarch butterfly egg, and it is, but its name is Katherine Johnson. It is not every butterfly egg that is fortunate enough to be named after an early NASA mathematician, but this one is. Katherine—the butterfly version—was named by my four-year-old friend, who holds Katherine … Continue reading
I have a friend who, together with her quadriplegic husband, raised four wonderful children. Those “children” are now adults with not-so-young children of their own, and I continue to be impressed with their intelligence, integrity, and persistence in the face of obstacles. My friend and I have talked over the years about the things that … Continue reading
I’m having trouble watching the news these days. Truth is, that’s been true for years now. I have to moderate my news consumption to keep from being swamped by the flow of negativity and anger. I know people have always disagreed, but it hasn’t always seemed that our view of those we disagreed with was … Continue reading
When I was a child, I loved the story of archeologist Howard Carter uncovering King Tut’s tomb. I could easily envision his face as he first peered within and glimpsed the treasures inside, exclaiming that he saw “Things, wonderful things!” These words are echoed by fictional archeologist Howard Carson in David Macaulay’s 1979 book, Motel … Continue reading
It is summer, apparently with a vengeance. Here in Michigan, we are in the midst of a week of humidity, storms, and flooded highways, while my brother in usually-balmy Oregon has temperatures over 100 degrees. He took this photo of one of his local squirrels flattening himself against the cool pavement, after having a drink … Continue reading
I finished writing a sonnet today. In French. I make no claim that it was a good sonnet. In fact, when explaining it, I labeled it ”A sonnet that wasn’t a real sonnet,” since the patterns of rhymes and syllables were correct but I changed the rhythm of the accents somewhat. But still—a sonnet. Unless … Continue reading
What makes sound? What makes music? If you’d like to explore these questions, and perhaps set your students on a summer quest, consider Frank Pahl. Frank Pahl is a Michigan musician and composer who works with automatic music, or music created using automatic instruments. Automatic instruments don’t require a human to directly operate them, like … Continue reading
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