Author Archives
I am entering my 21st year as a math teacher at Weston High School, the sole public high school in Weston, MA. It’s also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In addition to my day job, I taught for 20 years at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA. I also teach at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer; 2017 was our 14th consecutive summer.
Sometimes I work on educational software. I also read, cook, and continue building my model railroad whenever I can. For some reason I'm left with less so-called free time than would be ideal. Nevertheless, I manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our excessive number of cats as well.
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How to approach a probability problem
If you are dealt a hand of five cards, what is the probability that you have three diamonds and two clubs? There are (at least) two different approaches to this kind of problem: The chance the first card is a… Read More ›
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Learning in fourth grade — on Saturdays
For about half of the Saturdays each year, I teach in a wonderful program called The Saturday Course. This is an enrichment program for gifted and talented public-school and parochial-school students in grades four through six. Small classes, dedicated faculty,… Read More ›
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Risks and probabilities
We know that both adults and kids are notoriously bad at estimating probabilities. Bruce Schneier (one of the world’s leading experts on security, cryptography, etc.) has this to say concerning risks and probabilities: One of the things I routinely tell… Read More ›
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Kids can’t concentrate? Don’t believe it!
Most exciting event of the week: I’ve been sitting here proctoring MCAS for the past two and a half hours. Actually, it isn’t exciting (surprise, surprise). But I’ve gotten quite a lot of work done. I don’t think I’m allowed… Read More ›
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Why start now? First thoughts…
For a year now I’ve been thinking of starting a blog. But there was never a reason to start it today. Tomorrow would do. Or the next day. Or the next day. So why start one now? The proximate reason… Read More ›
