Yes, Font is Important

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HELLO WORLD

Subtitle: WHY NO COMIC SANS?????

"Sad Mumby" by Angela N. Source

     My name is Alan Schwalb and I love Comic Sans, and have for a long time. That's probably not the first thing you'd want to know about me, but roughly ten years ago, a colleague of mine who taught ESOL shared that research shows that using a more obscure font can improve reading comprehension, at least theoretically because it forces the brain to focus more. That's what he said anyway. Since, then, I have done much of my work in Comic Sans, despite the stigma. And yet, as I sit down to compose my very first blog post, I note that my choices are limited. I cannot choose Comic Sans. Is this a conspiracy? Is someone out to get me?

Disclaimer: This is not, technically speaking, a chipmunk.

     I have appointed a blue ribbon committee to study the issue, and will update this post when they report back with their findings. Until then, onward.

Me, Professionally


  • This is my 17th year teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools. 
  • The first three were spent at Mark Twain Middle School, and the rest have been at Mount Vernon High School. 
  • I teach special education, and have taught most every content, but at MVHS I have focused on Science. 
  • Most of my career has been spent teaching Active Physics, but recently I have found myself teaching Geosystems (what everyone else in Virginia calls Earth Science). 


Me, Personally

  • I have lived in the Northern Virginia area all my life
  • I went to Lake Braddock High School
  • I miss the ability to use Comic Sans
  • I attended George Mason University
  • I am married, and while we have no children, we have two dogs.
  • All of our dogs have been rescues
  • We love to travel, and go to Europe once or twice a year. This schedule may or may not be affected by the BOLS program, as they do have wifi in Barcelona
  • I accidentally fell in love with Barcelona Football Club (perhaps a story for another post), so my natural tendency to procrastinate and put off work for these courses until Sunday may well conflict with matches.



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