Parenting in the Time of Covid
He was on his way out the door, to walk around with a new friend outside. Me: Rapid test, masks, or walking 6′ apart? Which are you doing? Him: It…
Marie Snyder
On "Fixing" ASD
I watched a course-load of videos by Dr. Alok Kanojia (@HealthyGamerGG) this past summer. He’s a therapist specializing in addiction in his day job and focused on gaming addictions online,…
Chomsky’s Lessons from 2021
Yanis Varoufakis spoke to Noam Chomsky, at DiEM25, about what 2021 has taught us. In a nutshell: the wealthy puts profits over people to their own detriment (e.g. patent rights…
On Trying to Find Peace with Prem Rawat
Since falling into a pandemic funk, I’ve tried a variety of books and videos to try to get a little inner stillness in order to continue to function. Omicron and…
Still Going On about Masks!!
I’ve never been much of a rule-follower. I’m that teacher that lets kids sneak out early and shows movies with some questionable content (with kids forewarned and allowed to leave…
Srinivasan’s "The Right to Sex"
“It is absurd to contend that vice, ecstasy, and passion would become impossible if man and woman were concretely peers” (xiii). ~ Simone de Beauvoir Amia Srinivasan’s book rivals Kate…
On Burnout
Dr. Alok Kanojia is a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction treatment. His videos are fantastic for some everyday issues as well, like this one on burnout. The most impactful line…
Monbiot on our Current Challenge
George Monbiot wrote an article that he’s calling his best bit of writing. It’s largely more of the same argument that people can’t seem to hear or respond to. We’re…
On Moral Injury
I just re-read a post full of sound and fury that I wrote last year at this time, detailing my initial shock at our unsafe and unprecedentedly intense working conditions…
Nobody’s Rules
We’re becoming subject to unrest in our schools and hospitals, with anti-vax picketers yelling at cancer patients and school children alike: “Stop being sheep! Take off your mask!” It’s not…
The View from Here: Preventing School Spread of Covid-19
Stuck in another gruelling semester of school, it’s striking how a minor schedule change can completely disrupt time and energy. I’m falling asleep as soon as I get home! But…
On Work and Connection
I just read this lovely essay by Esau McCaulley. In it he discusses how our new nearness to death has affected our lives: “This pandemic has left conversations and lives…
Self-Diagnosis with Checklist Criteria: the Big Five and ASD
When I was a kid, my folks said I was a little slow to warm up to people and sometimes needed a nudge to interact. Then, in grade 11, we…
Next Steps: Violence? Policy? Adaptation? Acceptance?
Ezra Klein wrote a compelling piece about Andreas Malm’s book How to Blow Up a Pipeline. We’re not doing enough to stop the trainwreck we’re driving, but is violence the…
Wolff on Generating Allies
Whenever I read or listen to Noam Chomsky or Chris Hedges talk about citizens changing the world like they did in the 30s, I get equally riled to action and…
MacKinnon’s Call to Stop Shopping
J.B. MacKinnon co-wrote the 100-Mile Diet years ago, which was a good read. It didn’t have much effect on my eating because it was a bit too extreme for even…
Timothy Snyder on the War on History
In “The War on History was a War on Democracy,” Snyder compares Russian memory laws, which we’re quick to recognize as propaganda, to American under Trump: By March 1932, hundreds…
The Future of the Left with Natalie and Noam
I stumbled across a video of Natalie Wynn in conversation with flippin’ Noam Chomsky. They are two of my favourite thinkers, but I never, in my wildest imagination, would have…
Paranoid or Prescient? Does it matter?
It’s interesting to me when people make fun of anyone taking what they perceive as undue precautions. There are two general reasons for precautions that seem unreasonable: #1 a lack…
Unpopular Opinions: On Failing Credits, Teaching Hybrid, and Grading Student Work!
Riding on my high that a post-covid education system could be different, I joined a committee. It quickly killed by buzz with a reminder that bureaucracy will only allow choices…