Two girls giggle at their desk in the middle of the room. I look up. They are staring at me. “Mr. Hasan,” one of them says as the other laughs. “Look at this.” She holds up her phone with a picture of a hand holding a spoon to a boy who’s about to put it in […]
Category Archives: Default
Super Surreal
Sat, 17 Apr 2021, 09:37 AM (-06:00)
Four students walked into the classroom. I recognized three of them. “Mr. Hasan, meet Andrew.” Andrew stepped from behind the others. He smiled and waved. “Andrew!” I said. “He’s just here today for the test,” one of the other boys explained. (That day the sophomores were all taking their English II standardized test.) Andrew looked […]
Midnight Math Mode
Thu, 15 Apr 2021, 08:25 PM (-06:00)
“Mr. Hasan?” “Yesss?” “Mr. Hasan, I need to do math at midnight.” “I see.” “Midnight. That’s when I’m in math mode.” “Math mode? At midnight!?” another student said. “At midnight I’m like…” He tilted his head, rolled his eyes back, and hung his tongue out of his mouth. No kidding.
I Feel Love #1
Sun, 11 Apr 2021, 10:09 AM (-06:00)
It was a warm spring day. The sky was very blue. The temperatures were very warm. I was riding along the Violet Crown Trail, going around a turn when I came upon a hiking mother and child. They heard my wheels, looked back, and stood aside. I winked at the boy and rode past. Donna […]
Collaborators
Sun, 11 Apr 2021, 06:31 AM (-06:00)
1. “Is there anything you want to tell me, Simon?” I asked in an email message. “I would like to talk to you about your quiz, but before I do that I’d like to give you a chance to tell me anything you think I ought to know.” You see Simon, who is normally an […]
Birds Before Sunrise
Sun, 11 Apr 2021, 06:04 AM (-06:00)
It is dark outside. No dawn yet in the east. But a Cardinal in the distance thinks otherwise and begins to sing. And then a nearer one. And now a Titmouse. I look out the back patio door. The black night is gone, and there is gray light in the eastern sky. And now a Mockingbird […]
An Imaginary Rabbit Hole
Sat, 6 Mar 2021, 08:42 PM (-06:00)
Here is a rabbit hole for Saturday. In the morning, I click on a few links that lead me to an article in Quanta magazine discussing how imaginary numbers might after all be essential elements of reality rather than mere mathematical conveniences. This is a big deal for me. It has consumed hours of my […]
Brown Fuzzy Jacket
Sat, 6 Mar 2021, 08:10 PM (-06:00)
1. Late Thursday Thursday after the seventh period bell had rung and the students had left the room and the hallways were empty, I walked through the room picking up the few pieces of paper and dropped pencils that sometimes decorate the place after a hard day of algebra. I realigned the tables and wiped […]
On the Other Side of the Storm
Sun, 21 Feb 2021, 11:45 AM (-06:00)
1. Burying Compost The compost pile was no longer covered by a four inch crystalline cap. I was digging in the leaves burying the week’s compost. I confess that even though I had shoveled a little snow, scraped ice off the windshields, tried (and failed) to make a snowman, and picked up slushy ice with […]
Morning Melt
Fri, 19 Feb 2021, 07:44 PM (-06:00)
The sky was clear. The ice-clad trees cracked in the morning breeze. Sunlight sparkled in the treetops. The shining sun began to melt the ice on the branches and the snow on the ground, where the green of just a week ago revealed itself.