Another Day of Not Using Algebra? Not Today!

One thing I cannot stand is slacker culture.  That is, doing the least amount of anything just to get by.  As an educator, seeing it is my least favorite part of the job. We are often told that we don’t do enough to motivate or inspire our slacker students and I...

The Gift of Dyslexia

No one would say that you are lucky to have a learning disability, let alone having any disability.  Few of us would say how incredibly blessed we are to have any kind of disability. This very thing reminds me of something I had heard awhile back, when...

Growing Up in the Land Down Under

Mention “Australia” and certain images are instantly evoked: emus on a car insurance commercial, Crocodile Dundee, Outback Steakhouse, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. This list is long. My story is probably only half as interesting as the previously evoked images. In...

Can’t you see all the Geography in this picture?

As a community college professor and a former community student, I’d like to think that my students have not enrolled in class simply because they think they will earn three easy units. I think back to my own community college experience. Because my overseas education...

You Can’t Do That! Actually I Can and I Did

We expect as educators that our work environment is nurturing and supportive and for the most part, it is. We expect our colleagues to share their great ideas and be receptive to share our good ideas and for the most part, it is so. But occasionally and unexpectedly...

No One Knew What It Was Supposed to Look Like

In the education business we have this concept which applies not only to education, but to many other walks of life as well. It’s a common sense approach to getting things done. We start with what we want the final product to look like, then we move backwards to...
Rick Teaches