Author: Andrew Taggart
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Standardized testing: the iffy, the bad, and the ugly
The biology teacher, writing anonymously, takes a moderate view of standardized testing. On the one hand, he believes that this movement fails to cultivate a student’s desire to learn for its own sake and, because many of the tests are poorly written, fails to measure student or teacher progress. In general, he’s appalled by the…
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Montaigne the philosopher
When Montaigne retired to his tower and started scrawling quotes on the ceiling, his only plan was to surround himself with his friends. Then he got the idea of writing the quotes down, then he began commenting on them, then musing about them and mulling them over, and finally, as if by accident, his scribblings…
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One perfect sentence
My friend R: I’m with Stanley Fish. My goal for what’s left of my life is to write one perfect sentence. Me: It’d be nice, before I die, if I could write one decent sentence. I’m afraid I’ve gotten quite good at writing piles of middling ones.
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On drinks, on driving, on Plato, on life with Robert Rowland Smith
Last night I had cocktails with Robert Rowland Smith, who’s in town promoting his book, Driving with Plato. Back up because I’ve already fudged things a bit: I had cocktails, and he had beer. There we are. Temple Bar. Noho. The darkness, as you walk into Temple Bar, is seductive and complete. The figure greeting…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 