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In 2018 I semi-retired by retiring from Weston High School after my 21st year teaching mathematics there. This was also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In 2023 I retired fully, adding in my 18 years at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer. For 21 years I had taught at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA, and I used to serve on the board of the Dorchester Historical Society.

I read, cook, and spend a lot of time building my model railroad. For some reason I’m left with less free time than would be ideal, considering that I’m supposed to be retired, but somehow I also manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our varying number of cats (once up to six, but now sadly down to one).

Larry Davidson
ljd@larrydavidson.com

  • Class blogs

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    Check out the blogs for all of my classes! We rotate each day that a class meets, so that students take turns posting class notes. So far this has led to a number of positive effects: Students who miss class… Read More ›

  • Bullet voting: why it may be a good idea

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    I was recently asked whether a Boston voter should always vote for the full allotment of four at-large City Council candidates, or whether bullet voting made sense. I unhelpfully replied, “It depends.” It occurred to me that I had already… Read More ›

  • Paper clips: current count

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    Currently up to 18 paper clips…

  • Little Brother

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    Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, is billed as a “Young Adult” Novel. And so it is. But, like several other “Young Adult” adults, it is worth reading by not-so-young adults. This is an homage to 1984 — hence the title… Read More ›

  • Stimulus Package

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    No, not that stimulus package. This one is the recently released CD from Weston High School’s own à cappella group, the Town Criers. Released in September on Apple’s iTunes Store, Stimulus Package is a flawless collection of eleven songs sung… Read More ›

  • Me? Joining a gym???

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    Never in my life did I think that I would join a gym. And I especially never thought that I would enjoy being a member of a gym. But all that changed in July when I joined Dedham Health &… Read More ›

  • Mrs. Jones

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    After several enthusiastic recommendations from friends, Barbara and I decided to try the take-out from Mrs. Jones, a small restaurant at 2255 Dorchester Avenue in Lower Mills, Dorchester. We are pleased to report an enthusiastic thumbs-up. For an exceptionally reasonable… Read More ›

  • Encouraging mistakes with paper clips

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    This year I’ve been trying something new, and I already love the effects. Back in August I had read this wonderful idea from a math teacher whom I don’t know except from her post: I start a chain of paper… Read More ›

  • Math Explorers Club

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    I don’t know why I never knew about the Cornell Math Explorers Club before now. Its website is a terrific enrichment resource for high-school math students and their teachers, with a wonderful assortment of slightly offbeat topics that are right… Read More ›

  • Can the right to choose be detrimental?

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    I always start off each class in September with a seating chart where the students are seated in alphabetical order. This arrangement is the quickest way for me to learn the names of the 75–95 names in all my classes,… Read More ›

  • Pasha

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    I’ve had lunch twice so far at Pasha, a new Turkish restaurant in Arlington Center. Although I don’t know anything yet about their dinners, I can highly recommend it on the basis of the two lunches. If you’ve never had… Read More ›

  • The Internet isn't melting our brains.

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    Vincent Rossmeier has written a refreshing article in Salon entitled “Is the Internet melting our brains?” Essentially an interview with linguist Dennis Baron about his new book, A Better Pencil, the article counters much of the typical hand-wringing in the… Read More ›

  • Numb3rs, Season Six — and the Unexpected Quiz

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    On the other hand, the season opener of Numb3rs — Season Six, which is hard to believe! — was pretty good, even it was skimpy on the math and a bit long on tensions between Charlie and Amita. But this… Read More ›

  • Glee

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    I gave it a fair shot. As a teacher in a suburban high school, I felt duty-bound to watch the first three episodes of Glee, and I really tried to like it. But I’ve given up. The actors can’t act… Read More ›

  • Stone House Farm

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    Barbara and I highly recommend a small Bed & Breakfast in Amherst, the Stone House Farm. Right on the northern edge of town, a mile or so beyond the end of the U.Mass. campus, it’s convenient to get to but… Read More ›

  • Spring Awakening

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    Go see the musical version of Spring Awakening at the Colonial Theater if you’re a parent or a teacher or a teen, or if you’ve ever been one of those. This disturbing German play from 1891 is not exactly typical… Read More ›

  • Dorchester's best-kept secret

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    First of all, if you’re one of my students, you should not read this post, since you’re under 21 and know nothing about wine. Yesterday afternoon we were introduced to “Dorchester’s best-kept secret,” the Boston Winery, at a fundraiser for… Read More ›

  • Sullivan, Möller, Krauthammer, and Noonan

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    I can’t keep up with Andrew Sullivan, since he posts about 42 entries a day. (I’m not exaggerating!) But I just read the following email from one of his readers and I have to pass it on: First they tortured… Read More ›

  • The New England Playoffs

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    No, not football — too late for that. And not basketball — although it’s the right season for that. I’m talking, of course, about the New England Association of Math Leagues Playoffs, which took place today at Canton High School…. Read More ›

  • A Taste of Dorchester

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    This evening’s Taste of Dorchester event was a great success. When I moved to Dorchester in 1985, I never would have guessed that there would soon be a couple of dozen good restaurants in this part of Boston — and… Read More ›