by Athena Yeung ’13

Sometimes, you just need the right teacher to get you engaged in class. Dr. Alan Lipp is one of the passionate teachers at Williston who does just that. His thirty-eight year mission to guide students to understanding and loving mathematics at Williston will end this spring when he retires.

Dr. Lipp started teaching math and science at Williston’s middle school in 1975. He was one of the first full-time teachers at the Middle School, back when it only had a total of forty students.

“I knew I wanted to teach from the age of 12. I loved mathematics and loved helping my friends and classmates who weren’t as good at math as I was,” Dr. Lipp says.

He has focused on teaching more advanced Math classes in the Upper School at Williston in the later years of his career.

Most of the students who’ve had Dr. Lipp know that he’s a big believer in understanding mathematics instead of simply memorizing equations. The reason for this belief stems from his personal learning experiences.

He wants his students to learn like he did, “where you really see the big questions the subject is about.” He elaborates, “it means really thinking about the homework problems, really thinking about the papers you write and the tests you take… It means going beyond the surface of the subject and looking more deeply. This is learning in depth, learning with understanding.”

The methods he uses to help students understand mathematics are certainly memorable. Hannah Lewis, who was in Dr. Lipp’s Algebra II Honors class her sophomore year, says she won’t forget how Dr. Lipp was always so animated in class.

“It was easier to remember him acting out some of the topics instead of just watching him write on the board… especially when it’s math,” Lewis, now a senior, says.

Even if you are not converted to a math-lover by the end of Dr. Lipp’s class, you will remember at least some, if not all, of the topics Dr. Lipp taught over the course. For how can you forget him throwing a marker across the room all of a sudden to demonstrate projectile motion, or bringing up the topic of pancakes and ice cream when teaching related rates before a lunch period?

“I am glad he didn’t retire last year,” Cam Zawacki, who is in Dr. Lipp’s Discrete Math and BC Calculus classes this year, says with a smile. “I wouldn’t have been able to have him for my last two [math] classes [at Williston].”

Dr. Lipp specifies that his Discrete Math class this year has given him “one of the most exciting teaching experiences” he’s ever had.

“They are deeply into the applications we study, especially to computer science,” he says. “Almost every day Zack or Den or Cam is asking questions that push me to learn new things about my subject.  I love being pushed, love their involvement, and love how this raises the bar for the entire class.” Dr. Lipp adds that his students, who have always been his “best teachers,” will be what he misses the most after his retirement.

Dr. Lipp is just one of those guys that makes you wonder, “How can someone like math so much?”

When asked about what’s next after his retirement, between grandparenting and gardening, Dr. Lipp says he’ll be writing fiction.

Now you really wonder, “Who likes math this much and wants to pursue a writing career too?”

Dr. Lipp’s various interests make him easy to relate to. He is the type of person that inspires you with not just what he dreams to do, but what he actually goes on to pursue.

He’s all that, but he’s still human.

“I also have a 38 year Williston sleep deficit to catch up on,” he says.