Teacher Feature: 3/27/13
Name?
Mr. Roe
Mr. Miller
School you teach?
Tahoma
Rainier
What made you want to be a math teacher?
I was always a good math student in high school but a lot of my friends struggled and hated math. I realized that I never really had a good math teacher and that I was doing well because I was self-directed and curious about math and not because of my teachers. I wanted to become a teacher so that I could find ways to help students be more like me where I wanted to learn on my own.
Almost by accident, I took a class about education in college. I had a great education my whole life, but in this class I learned that there were so many people who didn’t. I was shocked! I wasn’t sure how I could help, but I found little ways to get involved (learning more by researching and reading, coaching youth sports, tutoring at a local middle school). Then it hit me: I should be a teacher! It was the best decision. So many people I know work boring desk jobs (or don’t have jobs) - my job is always interesting, fun and challenging.
Why did you come to Summit?
After teaching in New York City for 5 years, I wanted to move to the Bay Area and was looking for a job at a great school that challenged me to try new things and find better ways to teach students. Summit seemed like a great fit for that.
I wanted to do more than teach math to the 100 kids I would see every day. I wanted to be a member of a community. I wanted to build a legacy that would educate kids for years to come. When I heard that Summit was opening a new school, I moved cities just so I could be a part of it.
Have you worked at any other school before Summit?
I worked for 2 years at the Urban Assembly School for Media Studies and 3 years at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy. Both were in New York City.
I worked at a private school in the Washington DC area, then at a public school in San Francisco.
Favorite Student/Class?
I don’t have favorite students or classes. Every student and class has a unique dynamic between strengths and areas for growth and provides a new challenge to teach.
I don’t have favorite students, but everyone knows that mentor time is my favorite 15 minutes of the day! Love my mentor group.
When you were little, what did you want to be?
I knew I wanted to be a math teacher when I was a sophomore in high school. Before that, I didn’t know what I wanted to be.
Everything. Baseball player. Lawyer. School bus driver. Filmmaker. About 5 other things.
Where did you go to college and why?
I chose to go to school at Boston University because it was a big school in a big city and I wanted to have that experience since I grew up in a pretty small town. They also have a great financial aid program so a very expensive college became affordable.
I went to Vassar College because I wanted a school far away from home where I could get a great education in a small-school setting and play college baseball.
What is going to happen to math next year? What is your plan for next year?
The math program will continue to learn from what we are doing and improve to best meet the needs of all of our students.
When the math dept. has an announcement about that, we’ll definitely let you know!
What are the benefits and disadvantages to blended learning?
Blended learning is great for giving students access to resources that will help them learn at their level. If a student needs an extra day or an extra week to learn a topic, that becomes much easier with blended learning. Also, teachers can capture a lot of data about their students when the students are working through online exercises and assessments, this helps to have good conversations with students about their work habits, what they need to learn and how they can succeed. A disadvantage of blended learning in some schools is that students become isolated from their peers and spend too much time alone in front of a computer. We feel like at Summit, we have built a culture around peer tutoring and collaboration to help with this.
I remember my first year of teaching I had so much trouble with pacing. Some students were bored and thought the class moved too slow; others were really confused and felt it moved too fast. As I’ve met more teachers, I realized that it wasn’t just me - this is a really common problem! Blended learning - at its best - has kids working on exactly what they need at all times. To me, that is one of the main benefits! Among the other benefits: instant feedback to every student on every problem (e.g. Khan Academy), technology allows for collaboration (e.g. sharing Google Docs), can help build students understanding (e.g. Desmos). Lastly, with technology taking on some of the teachers’ workload, teachers can be freed up to teach other really important stuff (e.g. cognitive skills).
To me, the biggest drawback is that blended learning is new to many students and takes a little getting used to. Change can be hard!
If students are struggling in math what resources do you recommend?
I think the best resource for a struggling student is to come to Office Hours or DASH to get help from a teacher. That teacher can also lead the student to the right resources to work on individually.
I know there are students that have difficulty with math. I recommend that they talk to their teachers. My office hours are usually lonely for the first half-hour!
Is math your all-time favorite class?
Yes, I always loved math. I really like how logical it was.
What are the advantages to peer tutors?
Peer tutors are great because there are so many of them! It is amazing that so many Summit students are willing to spend time helping their peers. We know that peer tutors learn a lot from helping their peers so it benefits everyone.
What is your absolute favorite equation?
I really like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity because it takes five of the most important numbers in math and puts them together in a very simple equation.
What are some jobs that you need to have a good math background?
There are way too many for me to list here! Google “math jobs” and you’ll find tons.
If you weren’t a math teacher what would you be?
I would probably work with statistics to help solve problems in schools. I care a lot about education and I want to help make schools better so I feel like I would end up working with schools even if I weren’t a teacher.
What is your honest opinion on the Summit’s math program?
Summit’s math program is at the cutting edge of reforming how schools teach students to be prepared for jobs in the 21st century. The way students learn and work in Summit’s math program is very similar to the way that professionals work in various fields from medicine to engineering to education.
Some students dislike the math program, what is your response?
There’s an analogy that might be helpful. When you’re learning to bike, it can be fun to use training wheels. It’s easy, but it’s not real biking. The training wheels have to come off at some point. Once the training wheels are gone, kids fall, they have to go slow, and it’s much less fun. Quite a few want to put the training wheels back on and that’s totally understandable, but it’s not going to help! Learning to ride a bike can only be accomplished by pushing through and overcoming the challenge.
What we’re doing in math is more important than learning to bike; we’re learning to learn. My hunch is that there are students who feel that their learning is going slower than they are used to. The training wheels have come off and it can be frustrating and difficult at times. Like the kids who want to put the training wheels back on, I completely understand why some students want a teacher by their side to explain everything. But that doesn’t help in the long run. Sooner or later, the training wheels must come off - better to go through the process here and now (where there is plenty of support) than elsewhere and later. It’s hard to keep this in mind, but the payoff is unbelievable. I know adults who are confident in their ability to learn anything and I know adults who never actually learned to learn - you can guess who is leading the happier, more successful, more fulfilling lives.
Favorite:
Number:
5
8
Name:
Bertha
my own
Saying/quote:
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift”
Country
USA!
Color
Green and Orange (convenient, no?)
Season
Summer
Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZFA87ZF71U
Mr. Roe
Mr. Miller
School you teach?
Tahoma
Rainier
What made you want to be a math teacher?
I was always a good math student in high school but a lot of my friends struggled and hated math. I realized that I never really had a good math teacher and that I was doing well because I was self-directed and curious about math and not because of my teachers. I wanted to become a teacher so that I could find ways to help students be more like me where I wanted to learn on my own.
Almost by accident, I took a class about education in college. I had a great education my whole life, but in this class I learned that there were so many people who didn’t. I was shocked! I wasn’t sure how I could help, but I found little ways to get involved (learning more by researching and reading, coaching youth sports, tutoring at a local middle school). Then it hit me: I should be a teacher! It was the best decision. So many people I know work boring desk jobs (or don’t have jobs) - my job is always interesting, fun and challenging.
Why did you come to Summit?
After teaching in New York City for 5 years, I wanted to move to the Bay Area and was looking for a job at a great school that challenged me to try new things and find better ways to teach students. Summit seemed like a great fit for that.
I wanted to do more than teach math to the 100 kids I would see every day. I wanted to be a member of a community. I wanted to build a legacy that would educate kids for years to come. When I heard that Summit was opening a new school, I moved cities just so I could be a part of it.
Have you worked at any other school before Summit?
I worked for 2 years at the Urban Assembly School for Media Studies and 3 years at Lower Manhattan Arts Academy. Both were in New York City.
I worked at a private school in the Washington DC area, then at a public school in San Francisco.
Favorite Student/Class?
I don’t have favorite students or classes. Every student and class has a unique dynamic between strengths and areas for growth and provides a new challenge to teach.
I don’t have favorite students, but everyone knows that mentor time is my favorite 15 minutes of the day! Love my mentor group.
When you were little, what did you want to be?
I knew I wanted to be a math teacher when I was a sophomore in high school. Before that, I didn’t know what I wanted to be.
Everything. Baseball player. Lawyer. School bus driver. Filmmaker. About 5 other things.
Where did you go to college and why?
I chose to go to school at Boston University because it was a big school in a big city and I wanted to have that experience since I grew up in a pretty small town. They also have a great financial aid program so a very expensive college became affordable.
I went to Vassar College because I wanted a school far away from home where I could get a great education in a small-school setting and play college baseball.
What is going to happen to math next year? What is your plan for next year?
The math program will continue to learn from what we are doing and improve to best meet the needs of all of our students.
When the math dept. has an announcement about that, we’ll definitely let you know!
What are the benefits and disadvantages to blended learning?
Blended learning is great for giving students access to resources that will help them learn at their level. If a student needs an extra day or an extra week to learn a topic, that becomes much easier with blended learning. Also, teachers can capture a lot of data about their students when the students are working through online exercises and assessments, this helps to have good conversations with students about their work habits, what they need to learn and how they can succeed. A disadvantage of blended learning in some schools is that students become isolated from their peers and spend too much time alone in front of a computer. We feel like at Summit, we have built a culture around peer tutoring and collaboration to help with this.
I remember my first year of teaching I had so much trouble with pacing. Some students were bored and thought the class moved too slow; others were really confused and felt it moved too fast. As I’ve met more teachers, I realized that it wasn’t just me - this is a really common problem! Blended learning - at its best - has kids working on exactly what they need at all times. To me, that is one of the main benefits! Among the other benefits: instant feedback to every student on every problem (e.g. Khan Academy), technology allows for collaboration (e.g. sharing Google Docs), can help build students understanding (e.g. Desmos). Lastly, with technology taking on some of the teachers’ workload, teachers can be freed up to teach other really important stuff (e.g. cognitive skills).
To me, the biggest drawback is that blended learning is new to many students and takes a little getting used to. Change can be hard!
If students are struggling in math what resources do you recommend?
I think the best resource for a struggling student is to come to Office Hours or DASH to get help from a teacher. That teacher can also lead the student to the right resources to work on individually.
I know there are students that have difficulty with math. I recommend that they talk to their teachers. My office hours are usually lonely for the first half-hour!
Is math your all-time favorite class?
Yes, I always loved math. I really like how logical it was.
What are the advantages to peer tutors?
Peer tutors are great because there are so many of them! It is amazing that so many Summit students are willing to spend time helping their peers. We know that peer tutors learn a lot from helping their peers so it benefits everyone.
What is your absolute favorite equation?
I really like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity because it takes five of the most important numbers in math and puts them together in a very simple equation.
What are some jobs that you need to have a good math background?
There are way too many for me to list here! Google “math jobs” and you’ll find tons.
If you weren’t a math teacher what would you be?
I would probably work with statistics to help solve problems in schools. I care a lot about education and I want to help make schools better so I feel like I would end up working with schools even if I weren’t a teacher.
What is your honest opinion on the Summit’s math program?
Summit’s math program is at the cutting edge of reforming how schools teach students to be prepared for jobs in the 21st century. The way students learn and work in Summit’s math program is very similar to the way that professionals work in various fields from medicine to engineering to education.
Some students dislike the math program, what is your response?
There’s an analogy that might be helpful. When you’re learning to bike, it can be fun to use training wheels. It’s easy, but it’s not real biking. The training wheels have to come off at some point. Once the training wheels are gone, kids fall, they have to go slow, and it’s much less fun. Quite a few want to put the training wheels back on and that’s totally understandable, but it’s not going to help! Learning to ride a bike can only be accomplished by pushing through and overcoming the challenge.
What we’re doing in math is more important than learning to bike; we’re learning to learn. My hunch is that there are students who feel that their learning is going slower than they are used to. The training wheels have come off and it can be frustrating and difficult at times. Like the kids who want to put the training wheels back on, I completely understand why some students want a teacher by their side to explain everything. But that doesn’t help in the long run. Sooner or later, the training wheels must come off - better to go through the process here and now (where there is plenty of support) than elsewhere and later. It’s hard to keep this in mind, but the payoff is unbelievable. I know adults who are confident in their ability to learn anything and I know adults who never actually learned to learn - you can guess who is leading the happier, more successful, more fulfilling lives.
Favorite:
Number:
5
8
Name:
Bertha
my own
Saying/quote:
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift”
Country
USA!
Color
Green and Orange (convenient, no?)
Season
Summer
Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZFA87ZF71U