After four decades of trying not to be overrun in the Trenches of Academe, I learned a few things about teaching. And foremost among them is that while there are many qualities of excellent teachers, three are absolutely essential. First, they need an encyclopedic knowledge of their ...

“Do you remember my strong, old, rooted belief that I shall die by drowning? I don’t want that to come true though it is an easy death; but it occurs to me oddly, with these long chances in front. I cannot say why I like the sea; no man is more cynically and constantly alive to its perils; ...

Live long enough and the sorrows keep piling up. Friends and family pass away, suddenly and slowly, predictably and shockingly. Former Watertown Daily Times reporter Norah Machia details those losses — the accidents, illnesses, and suicides of 14 people. But her focus, as the title ...

I’ve always been curious about the term “Jaywalking.” It seems unrelated to the person I almost hit while he squeezed between two cars, a construction vehicle, and a few safety cones. I also feel the name doesn’t sum up my frustration with the hand gestures I received that did not ...

School has begun this year with in-class learning after a year of hybrid learning. Thus, school speed limits are in effect on school days. Some of our school speed zones are controlled by flashing beacons that mandate the school speed limit “WHEN FLASHING” rather than specific times. ...

It’s September, and farmers’ markets are brimming with fresh veggies. There, next to the humble squash, is the cucumber. Cukes belong to the same vegetable family as pumpkins, zucchini, watermelon and other squashes. But while squashes are native to the western hemisphere, cucumbers ...