Author Archives
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
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Casual Fridays
David Allen rants about Casual Fridays. Many of his readers’ comments concern seeing clients in business settings on Mondays through Thursdays. But what about school settings? At Weston High School we’ve had Casual Fridays for many years (though there have… Read More ›
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Intellectual growth
I’m examining an Algebra II book that looks really good so far (Discovering Advanced Algebra: An Investigative Approach, by Murdock, Kamischke, and Kamischke — if you’re interested). But a statement in the Note to Teachers got me thinking: Students will… Read More ›
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Listlessly
It has been so hot and muggy that the cats are just lounging around listlessly. Which means…well, the word seems to suggest that they don’t have any lists. I’ll admit that cats aren’t big list-makers (though they are otherwise fine… Read More ›
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Phys Ed online?
OK, we’ve heard of online math courses and writing courses, but phys ed???? Even as I type this, I’m listening to a report on NPR about the online phys ed option for students in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Hmmm….
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Comfort levels, parties, & structure
Ordinarily I don’t feel very comfortable at parties if most of people are unknown to me. When most of the attendees are friends of mine, I’ll enjoy the party, but my comfort level goes down as the number of strangers… Read More ›
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Helpful volunteers
Three of my sophomore students have volunteered to set up a website for use by our Math Team. They’re designing a database to contain Math Team problems and answers collected from the last n years, typing many hundreds of problems… Read More ›
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Notes on a textbook
This note, written by a junior, was attached to the precalculus book she was returning: Dear Mr. Davidson, Here is my book. I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I read it when I was feeling down, and it raised my spirits…. Read More ›
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Distribution of U.S. incomes
Check out this interesting visual representation of U.S. income distribution. Try zooming out and out and out…
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Life after exams
It’s tough to keep kids focused and engaged after they’ve finished their final exams. As I blogged earlier, our math exams were on the 14th… but school continues until the 23rd! Everyone knows that tests and grades are all that… Read More ›
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Fermat's Last Theorem limericks
Weston High School held a math haiku contest, but maybe we should have had a math limerick contest instead. Here are some math limericks about the proof of Fermat’s last theorem (from a contest held at the University of Illinois… Read More ›
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Cantor's proofs
A lot of my precalculus students today didn’t like and/or didn’t believe Cantor’s proofs of the denumerability of the rationals and the non-denumerability of the reals. A few articulated their disbelief; most were quiet and attentive, but how many of… Read More ›
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Stunning graphs of equations
You have got to go look at the Visual Dictionary of Famous Plane Curves and study some of the stunning images that Xah Lee has collected. I particularly recommend his collection of sinusoids and his gallery of graphics based on… Read More ›
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Beware the Algebrator
Yes, there really is a product called The Algebrator. Their slogan is, “You Type in Your Homework Problem. Algebrator does the Rest!” Here is an excerpt from one of their ads. What’s wrong with this picture?
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Too hot to think
It wasn’t a great day for taking math exams. I opened up the windows and doors in my classroom at 7 AM to get some cross-ventilation, but when the exam started at 7:35 it was already 83 degrees in my… Read More ›
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Amusing calculus book?
The pseudonymous Rudbeckia Hirta writes about “the most amusing book ever written about calculus”: The Historical Development of the Calculus, by C.H. Edwards. I know, you don’t think the competition for most amusing calculus book is very stiff, but I’m… Read More ›
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The TeachScheme conference
The TeachScheme conference (see my post of 5/22) went very well. Because of some changes in the program, we actually were granted 15 minutes for our talk! I came away with quite a number of interesting ideas, both for the… Read More ›
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Representations
Dennis and I were talking about multiple representations. Multiple representations are one of the Big Ideas that wend their way through all our math courses. A table and a graph and a function machine and a mapping diagram are all… Read More ›
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Awards
Is Weston High School the only school that gives out too many awards? Probably not. I counted 14 awards for one of our seniors, and 14 for another as well! And, of course, there were hundreds of others for seniors…. Read More ›
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Numb3rs
Please read Graham Cormode’s review of the TV show, “Numb3rs” (which he claims is pronounced “Numbthreers” rather than “Numbers”). Brief excerpt: Given low initial expectations, it was probably one of the better attempts to show mathematical topics within the context… Read More ›
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Literature & math: imaginary gardens with real toads
This week’s New York Times Book Review contains a fascinating Literary Map of Manhattan, preceded by an explanatory article written by Ethicist Randy Cohen. Quoting Meg Wolitzer, Cohen defines his (their?) “cartographic motto”: a strong sense of specificity, even though… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 