essaysbysean.blogspot.com Keeping with my recent nerd theme: Here’s an old post, from my old lengthy blog, abridged by half. I’ve been thinking about my brilliant buddy Blair lately. Before he passed away, he showed how to overcome the pitfalls of being smart. Here in Calgary, Blair Petterson was known as the guy who came down […]
I Was a Nerd Trying to Understand
seanessay.com I was a smart kid in grade school, smart enough to read a Boy Scout Master’s manual which warned him that smarter Scouts might identify with adults, and the Scoutmaster too, instead of their peers. Yes. I preferred Mr. Sulu and Chief Engineer Scott over Ensign Chekov. And Ensign Wesley. In high school, in […]
A Diploma for surviving in Leisure Services
seanessay.com On our last night we had a graduation dinner. Our guest speaker was from a similar program, at a university in the US. He told us that when he explains the monetary opportunities for leisure, such as in tourism, to the parents of his students, then the parents are eager to go into leisure […]
Being An Ornery Old Man
seanessay.com I’m only a senior citizen who doesn’t expect Canadians at the next breakfast table to remember… Sean Crawford, in last week’s post, A Spy Being Too Tired I started being an ornery old man back in childhood. I would take a Pacific Stage Lines bus along the mighty Fraser to the port city of […]
A Spy Being Too Tired
essaysbysean “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.” The ancient Greek poet Aeschylus, quoted from memory by Senator Robert Kennedy. (footnote) … … Somedays I can’t be bothered to be a […]
Phonics and Whole Word, Smashed by Human Nature
seanessay.com There’s anger in New York City over the state of children’s reading ability. Recently a retired New York English professor has been bitter about the school board, under “Calkins,” teaching “whole word.” He blogged that “evidence-based” science would presumably support, instead, teaching by using phonics, as in having children read by sounding out the […]