Ideas for building a better world
I’ve been working on a newsletter about ideas for building a just, joyful, and sustainable world. I hope you’ll subscribe!
Blog
How can I design a class that I would like to take?
I use to think that I needed to teach class according to the models I’d seen as a student. Now I just want to put together classes that I’d want to take. Here are some books I found as I’ve tried to learn to do that.
How to make your impossible project possible
If you’re like me, your projects start out with a beautiful visions that turn out to be impossible. Here’s how I focus my projects to make them better and more do-able.
What makes a place happy, healthy, and sustainable?
Imagine the best place you know. A place that made you feel alive— like all was well. How can the places you live, work, or hang out be like that? Here are some books I’ve found about making wonderful, live-enhancing place
How do kids learn without school?
As a kid, I always felt school got in the way of learning. It never occurred to me that there could be other options. Here is a list of books about other options.
Four ways to use history
Some people are interested in the past for its own sake, but not me. I have trouble following lots of kinds of history. I still spend a lot of time thinking about the past because history is useful. Here are four ways I use history.
How can a class be egalitarian, respectful, liberatory, and relevant?
I want the elements of the class to be consistent with the vision that we explore in the content. Being in the class should give folks a glimpse into what could be possible.
Labor means struggle (except when it doesn’t)
The root word for labor might have meant “to slip and stumble under a heavy burden.” What effect does this association between useful activity and pain have on how things are organized?
The History of Work — A New Class
This semester (Spring 2021) I’m teaching a new class about the history of work. We’re asking: If making, doing, and caring are fundamental human activities that fulfill basic human needs, why are so many jobs miserable? We’ll also be thinking about how thing could be made better.
Cowpaths of Waltham
Here is a short graphic piece I created with comic artist Aya Rothwell for a collection of local history focused comics.