All the Stuff that Wasn’t in the Christmas Letter
Posted on | December 22, 2015 | Comments Off on All the Stuff that Wasn’t in the Christmas Letter
In my Christmas letter, volume 54 of the Kerchner Chronicle, I promised readers an extension of the narrative here on the Mindworkers blog. That was probably a mistake.
Christmas letters are a difficult genre. They veer from cute to seriously boring, and it’s hard to say anything substantive about family issues—no, no, too much information—religion, politics, economics, anxiety, sickness, or death. Which is why there are lots of vacation pictures.
There are a few memorable variations. A friend of my parents used to draw clever cartoons and produce them on blueprint paper. One particularly foolhardy relative devotes most of his letter saying snarky things about his wife, which he doesn’t believe, or says he doesn’t. But for the most part there are straightforward narratives about the past year, and particularly about family gatherings and travels.
I thought I might say more. Forget talking about anxiety. We’re not Kerchners, not the Kardashians. Living in full public view holds little appeal. And we’re not going much into family revelations, not that there are many. I write about politics every day in ‘On California.’
So, like other folks, I’m back to exploring the year; reliving some of the best parts of it and sharing some pictures with you.
For a little fun, read the Red Sock Caper below.
Comments
'On California' at EdWeek.org
I have concluded my opinion blog on the Golden State's politics and education policies at EdWeek.org. An archive of the 281 posts can be reached by clicking HERE
Learning 2.0
Learning 2.0 is the next full scale version of public education, one that builds on the capacity of the Internet age.
The five elements of Learning 2.0 are explained by clicking HERE:
- Mixing acquisition of knowledge and practice, head and hands.
- An individual education plan for everyone.
- Understanding that students are the real workers in the education system.
- Unbundle teaching, testing, and mentoring.
- Add collaboration and solving tough, ambiguous problems to the list of basic skills.
Recent Posts
- Give Us 25 Minutes; You’ll Get Better 24 Hours
- New Stories on How California Flipped 7 U.S. House Seats from Red to Blue
- Old at the Beach
- A 4th of July Salute to a Courageous Judge: Remembering Paul Egly
- It’s More Than Resistance to Trump
- ‘Dreamers’ Find Allies Among Their Teachers
- How To Make the Next LAUSD Superintendent Successful
- Go, Visit the Whitney Plantation
- Nomadland: Exploring America’s Mobile Army of Older Workers
- Here’s The Peace Dividend In Los Angeles Charter School Wars
Recent Projects
About
Charles Taylor Kerchner is an Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Fellow at Claremont Graduate University. My daily musings appear in the blog. The archives of my EdWeek blog are available via link under the 'On California' head. Some of my photography can be seen by clicking on 'Gallery.' And numerous links to academic work and other research and commentary can be found by clicking on 'Projects.'
Search
Subscribe to my Blog
Archives
- August 2020
- July 2019
- August 2018
- July 2018
- April 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- December 2015
- September 2015
- September 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- November 2012
- October 2012
- July 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- May 2009
- August 2008
- June 2008
- September 2007
- August 2007
- December 2005
- June 2005
- January 1999
Blogs I Read
- Arts & Letters Daily
- California Watch, reporting from the Center for Investigative Journalism
- Conditions of Education from PACE
- District Dossier
- Ed Source Today
- Joanne Jacobs–Linking and Thinking
- L.A. School Report
- Politics K-12: Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein
- Rough & Tumble: Today's California Politics News
- Teacher Beat: Stephen Sawchuk
- The Hechinger Report
- The Quick and the Ed–Education Sector
- This Week in Education: Alexandar Russo