I’m a lens for your eye; I’m a resource you know;
I’m a second-hand high; I’m that 3-2-1 show;
I’m a Carl Sagan movie; Reach out, say hello;
I’m a sport that gets rough; and I access the flow.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
I’m for dogs to raise paws while they’re siting uprightly;
Panhandle for money you’re living on nightly;
Ask pardon, or licence to differ, politely;
And pleading for favors which might get unsightly.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
I’m the crust of a pie before more goes inside;
I’m a pasta for sauce; where electrons can ride;
I’m a cartridge for shotguns; where peanuts reside;
And the quickest safe place for a tortoise to hide.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Alex. See comments for answer.
I can roam on the range; I’m a nickname for Bill;
I’m the city upstate where the Falls rage and spill;
To intimidate someone when fear you instill;
And those hot chicken wings you can deep-fry or grill.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
I’m a traffic-filled hour; a thrill that takes hold;
A fraternity’s quest for new students enrolled;
I’m a radio blowhard; a race for the gold;
And I’m keeping the quarterback tightly controlled.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Alex. See comments for answer.
I’m adjusting your strings so the pitch stays the same;
I’m an actor named Tommy of Broadway show fame;
Turn the radio knob ‘till you find the big game;
And with so many notes, I’ll be easy to name!
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Alex. See comments for answer.
In honor of Grant Wiggins.
From Troilus and Cressida:
And this neglection of degree it is
That by a pace goes backward, with a purpose
It hath to climb.
Shift around the letters, and it becomes:
Grant Wiggins: if his white book be prescribed, compose authentically, teach, adapt to the data.
The first edition was white.
How do you measure a life?
One of the most important figures in the field of education died on Tuesday, and there isn’t even a Wikipedia page to update. You can read an excellent obituary for Grant Wiggins on the Education Week website, and I’d like to add a few notes about how his work has affected my own practice, and indeed the way I think about teaching and learning.
I first read Understanding by Design
Wiggins also wrote of the importance of transfer, the idea that students haven’t really learned the skills if they cannot apply them in unfamiliar situations. His writings on authenticity, teaching concepts using real-world scenarios, were extremely influential in the development of guidelines for the performance tasks that have been so critical to citywide assessment. In retrospect, the ideas that students could only truly demonstrate their learning by through contexts that are both real-world and unfamiliar should have been common sense, but they weren’t widespread before Grant Wiggins.
I met Wiggins in 2008. He was giving a seminar on feedback, another concept that has greatly informed my practice through his teaching. He presented how research shows that feedback — actionable information about the gap between a student’s work and the desired outcome — was a critical factor in learning growth. He discussed what good feedback looks like, and what feedback was most likely to lead to student improvement.
We took a break and I went to the side room to get a cup of coffee. When I returned, I found Grant Wiggins adoringly caressing my brand-new Macbook Air. As I have to carry my computer with me all day, I had bought the super-thin laptop the day it came out, and this was the first time Wiggins had seen one. We had a very pleasant chat about technology, schools, and culture.
Since then, Wiggins has been a voice that I have followed closely on issues of education. His excellent blog provided regular commentary on the field. He usually came down on the same side of controversies as I did, and those rare instances when he didn’t were welcome invitations for me to reexamine my own thinking. I took comfort that his recent call for the state to release the standardized tests was completely in line with my own opinions on the subject. His frequent defense of the Common Core was always based in teaching and learning, rather than politics, which is a refreshing perspective. His voice will be greatly missed.
I once attended a lecture by his Understanding by Design co-author Jay McTighe. He said that none of the teachers in Grant’s kids’ school wanted the Wiggins children in their classes. Can you imagine Grant Wiggins coming in to examine your work on parent-teacher night? But that’s who he was for all of us, the unreserved truth-teller who wasn’t afraid to give us the honest feedback that would lead to our growth. And it did. In a world where academics often use flowery language to impress their colleagues while actually accomplishing very little, Grant Wiggins had the power to shift the thinking of an entire field using concepts that could be expressed, if one so desired, in monosyllabic words. His eloquent expression of those concepts made them even more powerful. It’s almost as though he started with the impact he wanted his writing to have, and then chose words that would be most effective in having that impact.
Rest in peace, Grant Wiggins. By all available measurements, you did what you set out to do.
I’m a fence made of bushes arranged in a row;
I’m a fund for investors that’s likely to grow;
To equivocate whether you’re con or you’re pro;
And to balance your betting so risk remains low.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.
I’m a path to make art, or for blowing off steam;
Where a lake’s overflowing, a river or stream;
I’m a wholesaler’s store that’s a smart shopper’s dream;
And a place to plug in when your phone’s lost its gleam.
Who am I?
UPDATE: Riddle solved by Asher. See comments for answer.