I'm Bad And I Don't Care



I'm bad.  I don't follow directions, especially when I believe the directions are wrong.

I just finished writing this week's algebra exam.  I didn't use multiple choice questions in part I like I am supposed to.  I want to see how the problems are being solved.  If I can understand their thought process, I can help them find the way to the correct solutions.  Just looking at a column of a's b's, c's and d's might make marking easier but it doesn't help the learning process.

I know the regents is largely multiple choice, but regents problems aren't worth 5 points each.  The kids need partial credit and they need to see their mistakes and for that, we need more than an answer.  I've seen too many kids just guess at the right response.  Math should not be a guessing game.

In Trouble Again

I planned on giving my algebra kids a test on Friday but, as I started to hand it out, I realized that most did not have a prayer of passing. I asked them if they preferred to do it as practice and I would give them a real test on Tuesday. Most enthusiastically jumped at the chance and veraciously attacked the exam, asking questions, working non stop. I believe this little activity will improve grades.

So, why will I be in trouble? Mr. AP believes that kids in a four term class should not be getting grades higher than a 70 or a 75 and I might have a few 80's and 90's in the class. Now, I could give a more difficult test to insure the grades will be grades he can approve of or I can give the exam I want and take my lumps. I've just written the exam. Trouble should be my new name.

Algebra Student

She can't add 6 to 3 and come up with 9, even if she is adding on her fingers and I will be accountable for her failure to learn algebra. She is a freshman in high school.

What's wrong with this picture?

Data Stress

The more I look at data, the less I like it. I just noticed an ME 41 T class on my program and this has me quite nervous. If my calculus class is still a 7/8 split, it gives me six classes, which can't possibly be correct. If calculus is a single period, I have to revamp the way I teach. The school tried this once before and the grades plummeted. These kids, while good, are not natural math students and need the extra period.

The T means team teaching, something I only did once and dread doing again. Years ago, I team taught with one of my closest friends and it was a nightmare. He was going through some personal issues and I ended up doing all the work. Team teaching now means having a special education teacher with me. I'm nervous about two adults in one room. I tend to do a lot of talking and can't see how this person will help. And, if I end up with a teacher who does not know the math, I will freak. My job is to teach the kids, not the teacher.

In an e-mail, Mr. AP just confirmed my fears--it is a team teaching class with a special ed teacher. Calculus is still the 7/8 split.

Why, did I have to look? Damn you ARIS!

Push Button Generation

On Monday, the Casio man came to town. He spent a period enthralling us with the wonders of the Casio 9570GA Plus calculator. These things are amazing. They do everything except wipe your rear end. Passing math should be a snap. All you have to do is push a few buttons and abracadabra, the answer appears on the screen.

Well, it is not as easy as all that. We were shown how to solve an equation and all six math teachers in the room ended up with six different answers, none of which were correct.

Now, I am proud to say that I am not against the use of a calculator in the math class. By eliminating some of the tedium of arithmetic, more complex, thinking problems can be tackled. There are problems that cannot be solved by hand and the calculator is a necessary tool. (We came across many such problems in calculus.) The calculator should be used to enhance learning, not replace it.

I have a feeling that this calculator will not be difficult to use once I am used to it. I remember my frustrations when I began on the TI-83 but once I learned to use the menu, I became a pro. I am certain I can do the same on this. What I am not so certain of is that my students will be able to become a pro. There are just too many buttons to press and too many steps to go through before the answer can be found. I know that the kids will eventually get this, but by then we have wasted valuable class time teaching them button pushing skills and their math skills will still be lacking.

I might be old fashioned but I have a problem having kids using a matrix on the calculator to solve systems of equations when they have no idea as to what a matrix is or does. They are pushing buttons with no understanding. I taught the same thing in a college class but it was only after we had done several by hand and understood how they worked and what they could be used for did we use the calculator and the computer. And, finding zeros using Newton's method is absurd. The kids should at least have a little understanding of what is going on before they hit the buttons. True, my calculus classes are better students, but I never go over the root button without first explaining iterations to them.

Many of students are graduating high school and attending the local community college. They place out of remedial math by scoring a 75 or better on the Math A or Integrated Math regents. Lots of them can do this. I'm guilty of teaching a whole class of students how to pass the exam without really knowing anything. I'm guilty of sending these button pushers on to failure in college. I'm guilty of doing what my supervisors wanted me to do without thinking about what was best for my students. (I really tried to teach them the math. Some actually learned a good part of it. They all passed the regents and most got over a 75. Most of them did not learn any more than how to pass an exam.)

My department is complaining about the Casio, complaining because they have to learn to use a new calculator. It's sad. They waste so much energy on nonsense. Instead they should be arguing about how the calculator should be used and what the kids should be taught to do on it.

One more comment on this topic, but you will have to read it here.

The Original Super Hero

When we do derivatives and integrals of "e" to the x, I always call "e" the original super hero because whether you integrate it, or differentiate it, you always come back to the same function. It's corny, but it helps the kids remember.

Last week, we were doing a problem in which involved an "e" and I mentioned the super hero story again, when a girl had trouble picking the part of the integral to use for the "u" in her substitution. Calc Boy then yelled out "Ln is e's Kryptonite." Everyone laughed, but I laughed so hard I had tears running down my face. For those of you who don't know the math and are still bothering to read this post, e to the lnx, is x, thus the e is destroyed.

I couldn't believe this boy made the connection. I can't believe the crazy affect I am having on them. This is a kid I will miss.

Making Math Relevant

It is hard to make some of the stuff we teach relevant to real life. For most topics, it is a real stretch, but I do my best every day. Here are a few examples:

The Value Meal At McDonalds: The whole idea of a value meal is that you are getting lots of food for your dollar. It is the same with a math problem that includes quite a few different topics. I always call those kind of problems my Value Meal Problems and tell the class if it wasn't for math, McDonalds would not have this product to sell.

Matching Outfits: The whole concept of clothes matching is mathematical. We can only combine like terms and do so by matching up the variables. Where would fashion be today without math?

The song--Make New Friends But Keep the Old, One is Silver and the Other Gold: We learn new concepts all the time but use our old concepts with them. There would be no friendships and music without mathematics.

Emerils's --Kick It Up a Notch--comes from making math problems slightly more challenging each step of the way. Where would he be without his trademark and could he have even thought of it without math?

The Lion King's Circle of Life: This one is too obvious. We all know about the circle of mathematics and how everything goes back to the beginning. This great hit could not have come to pass without mathematics.

The movie--My Big Fat Greek Wedding: The father kept saying everything came from Greece. We know that is not true--he was just stealing that line because everything comes from math.


The Red Carpet: We just rolled it out tonight as I introduced imaginary numbers to my night class. Nothing can be better than celebrating a brand new number.

OK, so maybe I am stretching just a little, but there is no way I can find to make a triangle congruence proof or i to the 1001 power relevant to the real life of my students. I'm not that good. I don't know anyone that is.

Little Ms POd On My Shoulder

When Ginny saw me after the Math B regents, she ran over and gave me a big hug. Since Ginny is not a particularly good math student, I was wondering why?

"Ms. POd", she said. "I was failing math but Mr. P said he would pass me if I passed the regents. He didn't think I could possibly pass. I know I passed. He only taught me 1/3 of the work. I learned the other 2/3 from you last year. While doing the exam I felt like I had a Ms. POd sitting on my shoulder yelling out things like CPCTC. I'm bringing you a big bouquet of flowers when I get my grade."

I don't know if Ginny passed or not. It is nice to know that she felt confident about the things she learned in my class. I do know, that the papers I marked from the kids I taught last year, the proofs were right. I'm going to look for Ginny's paper as soon as we finish marking tomorrow. She made my day!

See You Guys In A Week...

The hawk was back so I took out my camera in hopes of getting another picture. I guess it was good that it was not around. The kids always go nuts when they watch this guy devouring a squirrel.

While the camera was out, I asked if I could take a picture of T. If he only put the same effort into math that he puts into coordinating his clothing he would not be stressing over whether he is passing this class or not.
These two had to get into the action and get a picture taken. I managed to use photoshop to crop out the faces. Too bad I can't show them. The boys eyes twinkle. The boy is really trying to pass this class (too bad he started trying so late in the term) and the girl is a pain in the you know where. The kids were working on a practice sheet for our "Last Chance Harvey" exam. (One last test to try to pass the semester--they seem to relate to movies better than they relate to math.) And, surprisingly enough, it worked!

A Good Way To Spend A Saturday Morning

Spending time outside of school tutoring my students is nothing new to me. It is something I have always done since my first days teaching. My colleague friends always did it to and we never thought twice about the number of hours we spent doing it. Our classrooms were always open early in the morning and they were filled with kids looking for extra help. We held review sessions during regents week and the kids piled in also. It never occurred to any of us that this was something we should not be doing. It wasn't even until I started at my present school that I learned teachers could actually get paid for staying extra to do this.

Helping my students is a big part of who I am. Maybe its my insecurity, my belief that if I was better at my job, they would be doing better in class. I don't know. I just know it is what I do. Years ago, before we had to worry about consequences of getting too close to students, I used to hold review sessions in my basement. I would take my kid's big blackboard, we sat around the basement floor and worked for hours. My own kids grew up watching my students learn. It is too dangerous to do this now so all my tutoring is confined to school. Over the years, I've worked with them on soccer fields, in gyms and in lunchrooms.

This semester I have no regents classes but a few weeks ago it occurred to me that no tutoring was being offered for the Math B regents. Thank you Mayor Bloomberg for cutting our budget so no funds are available for this. I started getting nervous. Although these kids are not mine now, about 60 of them were mine last year for the first two-thirds of the term. They weren't the strongest math students and I wondered how they would do without extra help. So, what is a nut like me to do? I held a regents review session this morning. Most of the kids are on the senior trip this weekend (a stupid weekend for this since it is right before regents exams and every senior must take at least one exam) and I did announce this at the last minute, but I had a decent turn out. The kids showed up at 10:00 AM (some were there much earlier) full of questions and topics to be clarified. I went over everything they asked and taught them some "legal cheating" (ways to beat the system using the graphing calculator). All in all, it was a great morning. It got my adrenaline going and I feel ready to come home and conquer the world.

I don't do per session. If money was offered, I would have left the tutoring to others. The paltry amount I would receive could not compensate my weekend of lost time. Doing what I did today is what works for me. The reward I got from these kids as they left the room is better than any paycheck I will ever receive. I intend to do the same thing for the kids in my geometry classes who take the regents in June.

Many years ago, when I first started in my present school, a veteran teacher said, "In this school, we don't tutor students." I answered, "This teacher does." That teacher is long gone. This teacher will be gone soon. I'm hoping the new crop of teachers will be more like this than that.

Different Day, Same Issues

Ednotes posed a question from a math teacher. Another teacher, Saddleshoe, Although I commented there, I had to vent here as well. If we don't do something soon there will be no hope for future generations.

(Pictures from an earlier post)

No matter what I do, half the kids in my geometry class are clueless. I'm not talking about the kids that do nothing, I'm talking about the kids that try.

I decided to take the suggestion of an administrator and talk to the kids about their problems. One of the kids I work with a lot just showed me his PSAT scores. He only scored 34% in the critical reading category. If the child can't read and pick out details, he can't put clues together to solve a geometry proof. Figuring out whether he has consecutive angles or opposite angles in a parallelogram is beyond his scope of understanding. They know that the distance formula is used to show line segments are congruent, they repeat this over and over. They know that a triangle is isosceles if two sides are equal. On exams, they use the slope formula to do proofs involving these concepts. Another kid showed me his math score which was 29%. How can this kid be expected to learn geometry either?

The administrator suggested I talk to other teachers and see if they are having the same problems. I asked Mr. P how his class was doing. He said "Fine". I asked, "Approximately what percent of your class is passing?" He answered, "I have no idea. I don't look at those things." I did hear him and another teacher agonizing as they marked the first part of the midterms about the same mistakes my students make.

One boy told me it would have been better if he had paid attention in the beginning of the term. While that would have made a tremendous difference, it still would not have compensated for his inability to solve word problems. I am at a loss as to how to reteach him all the things he might have learned if he had paid attention.

The DOE is running a big campaign, Keep It Moving NYC Schools, touting the success of our schools under the reign of Klein and Bloomberg. Why aren't there any real reporters out there showing what is really going on in math education today?

They Are Failing Because....

Today, in my geometry class, which is comprised primarily of eleventh graders, I spent ten minutes explaining why 2 times one half was one and not four. They understood the concept of half of $2 being $1 but the actual multiplication was lost on quite a few of them.

No wonder these kids can't pass geometry.

Basic Training

I don't give too many big tests in calculus, mainly because I have trouble keeping quiet for two periods in a row. But, I also don't like to over stress the kids. I feel if they made it to AP calculus, they paid their dues. Now, it is their turn to learn without stressing about grades. So, instead of 100 point major tests, I give quite a few little exams (one period) and take-home exams. Each short answer question is worth 1 point and the long questions are worth 9 points. I try to keep AP standards when I mark and, when I am in doubt, I just mark the question wrong. At the end of the marking period, I add up all the points and figure out some sort of curve. No one who is working gets under an 85 and almost all the grades are between 85 and 95. The kids don't really know how they are doing until they get their report cards. The only thing I tell them when I go over an exam is the class average so they can see how they did compared to everyone else. The AP exam is marked on a big curve. To get a 5, they can score 70 out of 108 points (sometimes more, sometimes less.) These kids are not used to not being able to complete an exam and they are certainly not used to not knowing everything on it, so calculus is a new experience for them.

The most important thing I try to teach my students is how to think. They learn the basic skills but the application of these skills is a killer. No two problems are the same. In the past, they memorized materials taught in class and regurgitated it all on an exam without real understanding. They hate thinking.

Our midterm is coming up. It will be a double period exam. During the first period, they will be given calculator problems and during the second no calculator is permitted. I know the test is hard and long. Most won't finish. But, they have to learn to budget their time and they have to know that skipping a few 1-point questions won't harm their scores.

I've been spending this week reviewing. I even stayed two hours after school helping them yesterday and today. They are upset because I won't tell them exactly what is on the exam. I won't give them review sheets.

My students are smart but, they are kids. They are not as energetic as they ought to be. They won't work too hard if they think they can cram it all at the last minute. I have to toughen them up now, so they can succeed in May. I know my methods work. Last year, I had over 90% of my class pass with grades primarily of 4's and 5's. They walk out of the exam and tell me how much easier it was than anything I gave them to do all semester. I know its not easy. I've just gotten them to do the unthinkable. I've gotten them to think.

I know the grades on the midterm will not be good, but that is okay. It is only January. By May, they will be ready. I have a good group this term. I know they will succeed.

Worksheets Are Not A Substitue For Teaching

Prentice Hall ruined our math students in more ways than one. The poor quality of the text book forced teachers to hand out worksheets every day. The students got in the habit of never opening a book. Prentice Hall encouraged individual work. The students got in the habit of doing sheet after sheet after sheet. They forgot how to listen to the teacher. They forgot how to think.

I'm old fashioned. I really believe kids come to school to be taught. The teachers job is to model the problems and to explain along the way. A good teacher will be able to have the class develop the concepts along with her. Thinking is the most valuable skill these kids need to learn. Worksheets did not teach this. I've watched the wrong answers spread quicker than a forest fire. I've seen kids hand in perfect papers and not have a clue how to arrive at an answer.

A few days ago I gave my geometry class a worksheet, something I rarely do. It was as strange day and many of them were absent. I didn't feel comfortable teaching anything new. The kids loved working on it but I did not teach. I walked around and helped them. I made sure they stayed on target but I did not teach. I did not earn my salary that day.

The Straw That Breaks The Camel's Back

I told class to use colored pencils and I allowed them a "cheat sheet" so they could just apply the laws without memorizing them. This girl was really working. She told me the colors and the sheet helped.


I have a habit of photo copying exams and mailing them home when my students do not do well on them. I make no comments, just present the parents with the papers. Most parents get the papers but even when the kids manage to intercept them, the mailing makes a difference.

One of the girls I taught last year is not doing well this year. Her teacher is not sending the papers home and she is sliding down. I told her I was going to make up an exam, add a failing grade, put her name on it and mail it home. She was not pleased. (She also knew I would never do this.) When her mom knows she is not doing well, her mom puts on the pressure, she attends tutoring, studies and passes.

One Friday I gave a geometry test. All week I heard, "Are you going to mail them home?" I just answered "Study and we will see."

Ari is one of my most difficult students. Somehow I attract all the difficult kids. It has been a battle of wills with him since day one. He knows that I play to win and that I am determined not to lose my battle to a teenager. Mailing Ari's test home might be the one thing that works.

Ari's last test was bad, not bad enough to mail home but, I mailed it anyways. His mom went ballistic on him, yelling and grounding him for the weekend. Friday, as he looked at the test, he yelled out "Mailing this test home would be the same as if I told your husband you were cheating on him. " To which I replied "My husband would be thrilled that someone was interested in cheating with a woman as old and as ugly as I am. I have a feeling he would never believe you. On the other hand, your mom will believe the test when she sees it."

Ari did not pass that test, but his grade and his attitude improved (for the moment). Maybe I found the straw that broke this camel's back.

I Can't Do This

I give up. I thought I could do it, but I can't. I don't have a clue as to how to get most of the geometry across to the kids I am teaching.

I gave the same questions over and over. I drill. I made them flash cards. I hooked them up with individual tutors. I stopped dong proofs. I can't get them to understand.

I asked them to name parallel segments, they gave me angles.

I asked them to fill in _____ lines form right angles. They wrote parallel lines.

They don't bring calculators and subtract incorrectly.

They solve the equation 2x + 4 = 10 by writing 6x = 10.

I have never taught a class where anyone who was working failed the regents. In fact, every regents class I have taught in the last few years has had almost 100% passing. There will be many failures this time.

I should have retired last year. I should have quit while I was ahead.

Playing Cards

I come from a working class family. We didn't have much money so mom and dad entertained my sister and me with games. We played card games for hours. I learned to count and to recognize numbers from a deck of cards. I learned how to order my numbers from playing rummy and I learned addition from casino. My mom introduced casino with subtraction to enforce teach those skills. Maybe that is why I've always loved math.

Kids today don't play cards with their parents. Teaching probability is a problem when we get to the card questions because many have never touched a deck of cards in their lives. They have no idea how many cards are in the deck, the suits or even the colors of black and red. They say that their parents don't like gambling.

How sad that a simple thing like playing cards with your child is considered bad? Is it a cultural thing? Many of my students are foreign born. Or, are parents today just too busy to enjoy this simple pleasure with their children?

Wild Ride

My geometry classes are comprised of weak math students. All the kids have failed math at least once in the past. Too many are still failing. I was happy to see quite a few parents of these kids today. The parents were concerned and wanted to help. Quite a few parents said, "My child does well when he likes the teacher. This term XXX is coming home happy."

It's going slow, but I am making progress with these kids. Today they all worked great. Yesterday, they were even quiet for a while. Sometimes I feel like I am on a wild ride and other times I feel that I can make a difference.

Q & A Session

Mr. New left a note informing the staff that there will be a faculty meeting tomorrow before parent teacher conferences. The note was sweet. It invited us to come and ask him questions. The tone of the note was inviting.

Mr. New asked us to leave questions for him in his mailbox. Not being a shy one, I decided to take him up on his offer and left him the following. I look forward to his answers.

October 23, 2008

Dear Mr. New,

As you are probably aware, Principal Suit made sure that everyone who passed the Integrated Algebra Regents or the Math A regents in June and had gotten a 55 in the class had their grades reversed. All these students are now taking MG 21 (geometry).

Many of these students are failing miserably. They lack the skills needed to succeed and have trouble with basic concepts. As their teacher, it is breaking my heart to see how many are not succeeding. I gave a test on Tuesday and mailed copies of 28 (out of 60) papers home because the grades were so low.

I would like to know how you are going to help us address this problem. Going slow does not seem to be the answer, as I have been doing that.

I also hope that you can address the issue of computer access for teachers. The library only has four computers available for teacher use. Yesterday, the printer was not working. Today, only two computers were working. It is very upsetting to spend the better part of a prep period waiting for a machine or working on one only to find that you cannot print out what you need.


Thank you very much for taking the time to deal with this issue.

Sincerely yours,

Ms. POd
Math Dept

Fed Up

Departmental meetings took place today. Mr. AP was his wonderful, warm self. He went on and on about how we should not give kids 55's if they are failing. Instead we should give them their true averages. I hate this idea. It is bad enough to have a kid fail, but why should we rub salt in their wounds by giving such a low grade? The powers that be in my school believe that since a 55 is only 10 points below passing, anyone who gets a 55 can pass. Suit changed every 55 to a 65 in June to move them all ahead. With this theory, we should just change the 65 passing grade to a 55 passing grade. Then, we can pass everyone with 45's because they would only be 10 points below passing. After we try this for a while, we can change the passing to 45 and keep going until everyone who breathes passes. Oh wait, this is already being done--just look at the raw scores and the equated percentages on the New York State Regents exams.

Now, because everyone has passed, everyone is taking geometry. The kids can't do the work, they just don't have the skills. Their taking geometry would be the equivalent of asking me to take a course in Nuclear Physics. To compensate for this, we are being told to "dummy down" the course. Those words are not being used, but we all know the meaning of what we have been told to do.

Years ago, when I was a newbie teacher and even years earlier, when I was a student, I learned that in geometry, nothing is ASSUMED because when you ASSUME you make an ASS out of U and ME. Mr. AP is telling us to get kids to draw conclusions by looking at pictures of lines and stating which ones are parallel and which ones are perpendicular from the way they look. Ridiculous! I can't draw a straight line to save my life and I spend half my teaching time telling them that if it's not given, its not true. Mr. AP is also telling us to have kids measure paper to find the midpoints (most of these kids can't use a ruler and finding the middle of an 8.5" by 11" paper is going to be impossible.) We also spend quite a bit of time teaching constructions with a compass and a straight edge. We argue that a ruler and a protractor are not good enough to get the measurements correct. Now, he is going backwards.

Mr. AP claims that you can't teach proofs until the kids understand the concepts. This is true. But how far back can we go in one semester? My son is a computer engineer. I look at his computer screen and have no clue what he is doing and even when he tries explaining his work to me, I am lost. I can never pick up in a short time what he has spent years learning. These kids are in the same situation. At this time, I can't understand his computer programming any better than they can understand geometry. I'm not incapable of learning, I just don't have the background and neither do these kids. Maybe I can learn the stuff at some time in the future as they might learn to master math then too.

It is time to teach kids on a level they can understand and master. It is time to stop fudging the courses to make everyone believe they can do it all.