Open in app

Sign In

Write

Sign In

Ben Wheeler
Ben Wheeler

832 Followers

Home

About

Jan 19, 2022

Books I rebuilt myself with in 2021

My highest recommendations, in a nutshell: Wild Seed by Octavia Butler Starting from Scratch: One Classroom Builds its Own Curriculum by Steven Levy Learning in Public by Courtney Martin Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Book 1 by Hayao Miyazaki Sections: Fiction Nonfiction Comics Children’s books Other years: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 I…

Books

55 min read

Books I rebuilt myself with in 2021
Books I rebuilt myself with in 2021
Books

55 min read


Published in Robot Owl

·Nov 9, 2021

We need to change how we teach kids to program

This is the essay I wrote for my application to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. I am applying to HGSE’s Learning Design, Innovation and Technology program because as a student, educator, and programmer, I have experienced the power of a creative technology education at its best. With the right mix…

Programming

7 min read

We need to change how we teach kids to program
We need to change how we teach kids to program
Programming

7 min read


Published in Robot Owl

·Oct 13, 2021

Books for elementary school readers

I’ve been one, I’ve taught them, and I have two of my own. Here are the books that have stood out. — 3rd/4th grade reading level The BFG, The Witches, George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl. Brilliant, gently scary, surprising, delightful. Mix of genders of main characters. Wayside School series by Louis Sachar: Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down, and Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar — basically Jorge…

Books

6 min read

Books

6 min read


Sep 16, 2021

What Yom Kippur could mean to you — even if you aren’t Jewish

A letter of welcome to my classmates at Harvard’s School of Education Hi classmates, I wanted to take a moment to recognize that today is an important day to Jewish students (like me), and to try to tell you about it, if you’re interested. I’m especially aware that many of…

Yom Kippur

5 min read

What Yom Kippur could mean to you — even if you aren’t Jewish
What Yom Kippur could mean to you — even if you aren’t Jewish
Yom Kippur

5 min read


Sep 10, 2021

Reforms that aren’t reformist

I learned this concept from a fellow student at Harvard Grad School of Education yesterday: “Reforms that aren’t reformist”. Apparently, this concept comes from the prison abolition movement (and, I’m guessing, many radical movements before them). …

Activism

2 min read

Reforms that aren’t reformist
Reforms that aren’t reformist
Activism

2 min read


Aug 18, 2021

31 Products that Need Reinventing

@ProductHunt recently asked, “What’s a product that needs reinventing?” Here are my answers: Klout. Remember this short-lived startup, that promised to track your reputation across the whole internet? I should be able to filter any site, any phone call, etc. for the credibility and track record of other users…

Startup

7 min read

Startup

7 min read


Jun 18, 2021

School funding equity is not as clear cut as you think

In my grad schoolwork, I came across the following uncredited passage: The local history of racism and inequity in Memphis has tangible implications for students today. Schools in Memphis remain highly segregated more than 65 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court decision that…

Education

8 min read

Education

8 min read


Feb 22, 2021

Laws the Democrats could pass right now

There are many laws I wish the Democrats would pass, which have heavy lobbying against them, and would be opposed by many conservative voters. I wish these bills would pass, but they probably wouldn’t. And if they did pass, Dems would have to spend political capital to get them through. …

Politics

4 min read

Politics

4 min read


Jan 20, 2021

How to name your windows in Chrome

A productivity hack that’s finally made its way into the base code — Chrome version 88 came out on January 19, 2021, and it quietly introduced a feature that users have been asking for for years. I’ve been using this feature in Chrome’s “Canary” beta version for several months, and it’s become crucial to how I work. It’s called “Window Naming”. Window Naming…

Productivity

6 min read

How to name your windows in Chrome
How to name your windows in Chrome
Productivity

6 min read


Jan 3, 2021

The books that cowered in fear with me in 2020

My highest recommendations, in a nutshell: Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino Exhalation by Ted Chiang Dawn by Octavia E. Butler Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Chodos-Irvine Anastasia series by Lois Lowry Inkheart by Cornelia Funke Guts by Raina Telgemeier Sections: Fiction Comics Children’s books Plays Nonfiction Other years 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015…

Books

37 min read

The books that cowered in fear with me in 2020
The books that cowered in fear with me in 2020
Books

37 min read

Ben Wheeler

Ben Wheeler

832 Followers

Independent programmer, chatterbox. http://techno-social.com

Following
  • Clive Thompson

    Clive Thompson

  • Cory Doctorow

    Cory Doctorow

  • Nick Wignall

    Nick Wignall

  • Nir Eyal

    Nir Eyal

  • Scott Stevenson

    Scott Stevenson

Help

Status

Writers

Blog

Careers

Privacy

Terms

About

Text to speech