I found out this morning that one of my former students, Hakeem Witcher, probably shot and killed another boy on Friday. I taught Hakeem and his sister. I knew their little sister. I knew their mother. I called her all the time. I spoke to her when she’d pick them up from school. I remember trying to help her when she asked what to do one night. She was overwhelmed enough to ask for help from some stupid first-year teacher who didn’t even have kids of his own. After I left New Bridge, I saw his mom a few more times. She said Hakeem was up in New Jersey with his dad- that she just couldn’t control him. It didn’t sound good. At some point I saw Hakeem as well. I can’t recall exactly where or when now. He’d started to harden some, a hint of a mustache growing on his face, but that kid who really wanted to please was still there. He wanted to know why I left New Bridge. I probably said something about money. It’s an easy cop out. I really just remember how much I liked Hakeem, how much I hope that there’s still that reachable core of good in him. I know there’s a poor boy who’s dead here and family that’s grieving for […]

Report: Florida man high on flakka has sex with tree and calls himself Thor | Miami Herald Miami Herald “The officer used a Taser, but Crowder, who pulled the electric probes from his body, then punched the officer and tried to stab the cop with his badge, according to the report. “ tags: florida weekly drugs Lost Friends Exhibition – The Historic New Orleans Collection “The “Lost Friends” column, which ran from the paper’s 1877 inception well into the first decade of the twentieth century, featured messages from individuals searching for loved ones lost in slavery.” tags: history slavery lost weekly newspaper The Archer’s Paradox in SLOW MOTION – Smarter Every Day 136 – YouTube I don’t think this is cognitive bias but it’s interesting. tags: bike bicycle weekly Education Outrage: Reading is no way to learn “I said that I had never actually read an instruction manual  and that they haven’t actually been around for very long in human history. When a young boy wanted to learn to hunt lions he didn’t read the instruction manual, nor did he take a class. Throughout human history we have learned by watching someone older than ourselves, trying to copy that person, trying to be part of the team, and then trying things for yourself, and asking for help when we have […]