Category Archives: School

My Other Best Friend

Posted on May 19, 2011 by sputterpub

   Soon after we moved to Marin County in 1965 I met Ellen, the sister I never had, my soul friend. We were not similar – we came from very different families – but we agreed about what was important: … Continue reading →

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Literary Magazine

Posted on May 17, 2011 by sputterpub

   There was a literary magazine at my high school in Larkspur, but it was difficult to have one’s work selected if one wasn’t on the staff, and it was difficult to get on the staff if one was new to … Continue reading →

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Gauss

Posted on April 18, 2011 by sputterpub

  I’m not sure how old I was when I heard the anecdote about Carl Friedrich Gauss, but he was in primary school when the event occurred, and I recall admiring his cleverness and feeling a little humbled, so I … Continue reading →

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Chemistry

Posted on March 29, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 15 I took high school chemistry. That’s what college-bound kids did in the 60s; enrolled in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in that order, the final three years of school. It wasn’t a favorite course but I … Continue reading →

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Calculus

Posted on March 10, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 17 I came to Cal. One of the classes I enrolled in first quarter was calculus. I think it fulfilled a Breadth requirement. I signed up with Nick and his friend Steve, who we called Cap’n … Continue reading →

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Instructions

Posted on January 28, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 11 or 12, I got an effective demonstration of why it’s a good idea to at least check out the instructions before starting a written test. I think it was 7th grade. I’m having trouble recalling the … Continue reading →

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The Record

Posted on January 20, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was 10 and in fifth grade, the teacher showed us something I’d never known. It was an afternoon in early spring. Mr. Borup wanted us to hear a piece of music, which was not unusual. He walked over … Continue reading →

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Comp Lit 1B

Posted on January 7, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 18 my comparative literature professor blew my mind. We all had to take two quarters of English or Comp Lit or Dramatic Arts or Speech (soon to be called Rhetoric), and I would have enrolled in English … Continue reading →

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Tell

Posted on December 28, 2010 by sputterpub

   When I was 4 or 5 years old, I heard the story of the Sleeping Beauty. The first time was charming, but always after that, even when I read the beautiful version in the Shirley Temple Storybook, it frustrated … Continue reading →

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Testing

Posted on December 13, 2010 by sputterpub

 When I was 8 I began to notice tests. Before then I remember some arithmetic drills, but I’m not sure they were administered by a teacher; I seem to recall columns of numbers that Mom gave me to add and … Continue reading →

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