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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Nobody sends messages by fax anymore… or do they?
I was wrong. I admit it. For years I’ve been saying that it’s ridiculously archaic to be using fax technology. I said that in 2020… and in 2019… and in… well, I’ve been saying it since 2010 at least. It… Read More ›
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School-reopening plans
Harvard staff writer Colleen Walsh asks whether we are “agonizing over school-reopening plans.” We certainly are! In fact, that’s all I seem to be reading about these days. Should schools open in-person, remote, or hybrid? Whether it’s Donald Trump’s screeds… Read More ›
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Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso
Two or three weeks ago I wrote a piece about the complications of Hispanic surnames. Despite the complications, there is definitely something appealing about taking your surname from both parents, not just from the father. The problem, of course, comes… Read More ›
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Model trains are not cat toys!!!
You can skip to 1:20 if you’re impatient:
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High school students! You can learn linguistics online!
Linguistics is the science of language. While most often classified as a social science, it’s really an interdisciplinary field that sits at the intersection of social sciences, humanities, and STEM – language is such a fundamental piece of our collective… Read More ›
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The myth of “learning styles”
It says here that 90% of teachers believe two related claims: There are four different learning styles — visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic. Lessons need to address all four. For several reasons I have long been skeptical of statements like the… Read More ›
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He’er, his’er, him’er: Pronouns in the news, 1912 edition
Pronouns again! There are (at least) two different issues swirling around pronouns: Singular they, which I wrote about in 2018 Calling someone by their preferred pronouns (in terms of gender), which I wrote about earlier this month Both of these issues… Read More ›
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I can’t give secure assessments in a remote teaching-and-learning setting!
Don’t tell anyone: there’s a dirty little secret here! I have some bad news: people cheat. More specifically, students cheat on tests and other assessments. So, how do you give secure assessments in a remote teaching-and-learning setting? It’s all too… Read More ›
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Stuck in the past
You say you didn’t learn cryptography in high school or college? And you didn’t learn it on your own, as some of us did? It isn’t too late! In that case you’ve probably never heard of the Vigenère Cipher, so… Read More ›
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A comfortable pillow?
Vincent is ignoring William, who thinks that he’s resting his head on a comfortable pillow:
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Ashmont Grill has reopened!
The Ashmont Grill has reopened! Barbara and I ate dinner last night on the spacious and beautiful back patio. Barbara had their special New England Lobster Dinner (steamers, lobster, chorizo, corn on the cob, potatoes), with Nanny Sheila’s renowned carrot… Read More ›
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Your last name is always your last name, right?
“Of course my last name comes last,” you reply! “That’s why it’s called my last name!” Well, no. Your surname is not always your “last” name. And I’m not talking about the “Doe, Jane” construction used in bibliographies and official class lists… Read More ›
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The Just City: science fiction and Plato
I am overwhelmed! By unanimous consent, Jo Walton’s The Just City has now been added to my top-ten books list (which already had 12 books on it). There was no doubt about it. In a sense, this book is science fiction…. Read More ›
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English history, fractals, and Donald Trump
The Fractal Geometry of Nature may be Benoit Mandelbrot’s most famous book, but have you ever heard of the fractal geometry of history? I hadn’t either — until I watched the six-minute video “The Abandoned Hill with Two Members of… Read More ›
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“How to Read 50 Books in a Year (Even When You’re Busy)”
As we discussed a few days ago, a Pew poll showed that Americans don’t read very much. More specifically, it’s non-college-educated adults don’t read many books, but also reading in general is way down — reading of almost all types… Read More ›
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What’s up with Hispanic surnames?
Over the years I have taught many students with Spanish-language surnames, and I’m never sure how to alphabetize them, since it seems that there are multiple systems of doing so. It turns out that it not only seems that there are multiple… Read More ›
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Irregardless of what you may think, “irregardless” is a word.
OK, so I slightly modified the headline on an NPR article from last week. Go read this short article to find out what I did, and to learn something. I will wait. … The problem is that the world is… Read More ›
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How many books have you read this year?
According to Pew, the average adult reads — wait! median adult or mean adult?— OK, the median adult reads 12 books per year, whereas the mean is only 4. Ponder that discrepancy for a minute! We all know — though… Read More ›
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Performances? Performances!
A published book is a performance. A translation is a performance. Actually, I never used to think of either of them that way, but John Talbot and James Harbeck have convinced me. In JT’s case it was an oral conversation… Read More ›
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Think of the veterans. And think of the cats… and dogs.
Think of the veterans who are your neighbors. Think of the cats and dogs who are your pets and your neighbors’ pets. They are assailed by endless illegal fireworks every night. Fireworks can trigger PTSD in veterans, and they can… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 