David Webb

Suffield Academy faculty member David Webb was born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised outside Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating from Harrison High School as valedictorian and STAR student, David earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Berry College. This was followed by an M.S. in Mathematics from University of Alabama at Birmingham and Ph.D. in Mathematics from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. David’s dissertation was in the field of Partial Differential Equations. He studied an envelope of solutions to the nonlinear Schrodinger equation as solutions to a nonlinear Dirac equation. David has taught at the college level as well as at independent schools in Savannah, Georgia and Detroit, Michigan.

David, his wife Marilyn, and their two dogs (Hercules and Meg) are happy to be a part of the community at Suffield and live on campus. In addition to his teaching and role as a dorm parent, David enjoys coaching football and helping with basketball.

If someone was traveling to where you are from for 24 hours, what would you recommend?  
I am from Atlanta, so there is so much I would recommend. Keeping the list short for a 24 hour visit…I would say: The Georgia Aquarium (do some of the behind the scenes activities, they are amazing), lunch at the CNN Center across Centennial Olympic Park followed by a studio tour, then up I-75 to catch a Braves game that night. 

What is the first thing you do every morning when you get to work?  
I have to start my day by pulling out my laptop to do the day’s Wordle, followed immediately by Quordle, Worldle, and Globle. 

Which of your roles at Suffield Academy do you relish the most?  
Other than teaching the best subject there is, MATH, I love being a football coach. It is a privilege to see the players work so hard as a team and accomplish so much more than they could individually. It is very rewarding to get to take part in that process and help them improve at something they are passionate about. 

What is something your Suffield Academy family might not know about you? 
While I wouldn’t say I’m amazing at either, I am actually a pretty decent singer and acoustic guitar player.  

What is your favorite hobby?  
I am an avid gamer. Particularly I love video games, but I also love playing board games and card games. 

What advice would you give a new teacher at Suffield Academy? 
Make sure to go to lots of games, matches, performances, plays, etc. especially during your season off from coaching. It’s always worth the time to see a student do things they are passionate about, and sometimes you get surprised by who is really talented at that sport/instrument/etc. 

What is the most important life lesson for someone to learn?  
Be willing to say “I don’t know.” When asked something that you really don’t know the answer to, don’t just spout some nonsense that you hope sounds intelligent because you want to look good. It’s a much better habit to be honest, admit you don’t know, and try to learn from the exchange.