Mr. Hatley: RHS’s Calculus Extraordinaire

Mr. Hatley, or Lawrence Hatley, has been a teacher here at Rosemead High School for 23 years, in room 53. A graduate of Grand Canyon University, Mr. Hatley also holds a master’s degree in education and earned his teaching credentials from the University of La Verne. Currently, he teaches three sections of pre-calculus and AP Calculus AB (Advanced Placement Calculus 1 Algebra-Based), and has done so for a majority of his career. Known to be a very strong math instructor because of his firm grading of AP Calc exams, he also takes pride in strictly preparing his students for the AP Calculus Exam. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, fishing, playing Fortnite, and coaching sports, more specifically girls Varsity softball here at RHS. In order for readers to get to know Mr. Hatley better, I asked him some questions that should add context to this mathematical wizard.

Q. For some of our younger underclassmen who have not taken your class, please formally introduce yourself!

A:  Well, my name is Larry Hatley and I have been teaching for the past 31 years, the last 23 here at RHS.  I graduated with my Master’s Degree in Education from Grand Canyon University and my Teaching Credential from the University of La Verne. I attended UCLA on a football scholarship my freshman and sophomore years before transferring and ending up at the University of La Verne. I am married with two children, one 28 and one turning 12 in December.  I have been a football coach, softball coach, baseball coach, and wrestling coach for the past 34 years at both the high school and youth levels. I love the outdoors, sports, and (as anyone who walks in my room can attest) horror movies.

Q. Have you ever taught at any other schools besides Rosemead High School?

A: I began my teaching career at Bonita High School, in La Verne, CA, and came to RHS in 2001.

Q. Is it a lot of work for you to be the department chair and teach Pre-calculus and AP Calculus AB at the same time? How do you feel having these roles?

A:  I am not the department chair this year. However, teaching pre-cal and AP Calculus has its challenges, but I firmly believe that you get out of something what you put into it. I enjoy the challenge of trying to get each of my students to get a 5 on the AP test or prepare them for the AP test as pre-cal students.  I also like the challenge of tackling a test that many consider to be the hardest of the AP exams and seeing my students do well on it when the scores are released.

Q. How do you prepare your students to do well on the AP Calc AB exam? Please share your methods on how you do so? 

A: I do as much as I can to help my students perform on the AP Exam. I have been fortunate to be a grader for many years on the AP exam, so I have intimate knowledge of what is expected, what works and what doesn’t, what mistakes are made, and what needs to be done to pass the exam. Because of this, I am able to stress important concepts and dismiss others that are not as important. On top of this, I offer Saturday AP reviews starting in February/March that will run through May to give my students (and any others that want to attend) as much review time as possible using actual AP problems.  

Q. 75 percent of your Synergy gradebook is all composed of Tests, which sounds harsh to most students. Can you give us tips on how to do well on them?

A: The biggest tip I can give students is to pay attention while we are doing notes as I tend to throw out hints that something will be on the test, or, as I say, “you will probably see this again in the near future.”  Besides that, just putting the time in to review and practice, practice, practice.  If they get stuck on something, they can always reach me on the Remind App where I can answer their questions outside of school.  Finally, I have tons of worksheets on the topics being covered, so, if a student needs more help, all they have to do is ask.

Q. What is your primary method of lecturing on math lessons during a 56 minute long class period?

A: I believe in providing as many examples as possible so that my students have something to look at when they get home and work on their homework. It drives me crazy when students have problems that they have never seen before and teachers expect them to know how to do it.  How in the world can you do something that you have never seen before? Don’t get me wrong, there are challenging problems on the homework [I assign], but if students use their prior knowledge, the examples provided, and their “gut feelings,” they should be able to tackle the vast majority of problems assigned.

Q. You are an expert on the AP exam. I noticed you tell you AP Calc AB students to do the free responses correctly. Can you give us a brief overview of the AP Calculus exam? This will be helpful to everybody, especially those who don’t have you, so that when they take the AP Calc AB exam they won't be afraid of you or the test material.

A: The AP exam is given in two parts - a multiple choice section and a free response section.  Each of these sections is broken down into two smaller sections - calculator problems and non-calculator problems. The biggest issue with the AP Exam is the time constraints on it.  The test is designed for students to not finish. They are only given two minutes per question for the non-calculator problems, and three minutes per question for the calculator problems. The FRQ (Free Response Questions) are allocated 15 minutes per problem. This is not a lot of time, so one of the biggest strategies students have to learn is to deal with the time. My best suggestion would be to take a few minutes to look at the entire test and mark each problem as easy, medium, or hard as well as write down everything that pops into your head like special right triangles or the quadratic formula so you don’t forget it while working on the test. Once this is done, do the easy problems first since these are the ones you will probably get correct to begin with; then, move on to the medium problems and finish with the hard problems.  By doing this, students won’t miss out on easy points and, possibly, a passing score on the exam because they took too much time at the start of the test to do a problem that was difficult to begin with.

Q. Did you always want to teach calculus or teach in general?

A:  I didn’t get into teaching calculus but, now that I have done it for the past 15 years or so, I don’t want to do anything else.  I enjoy the complexity of the subject and being able to work with students that like to push themselves and learn new things and are not afraid of mathematics because, and it is so true, that math is life!

Q. Do you have any other responsibilities at RHS, clubs or sports?

A: Currently, I am not coaching any sports here at RHS though I am coaching football at Chino Hills HS, youth football for my son’s team, and a travel baseball team in Chino Hills.  I have coached football and softball here at RHS and would like to do it again in the future, so we shall see.

Q: Do you coach varsity, JV, or frosh?

A: Currently, I’m coaching freshman football at Chino Hills HS.

Q: How is the team doing?

A:  We are 5-2 right now.

Q. You have all these [school] responsibilities along with a family at home. How do you balance that?

A:  Lack of sleep! I believe that being organized helps! It also helps that I have a great family at home that supports each other and all that we do. Without their help, nothing would get done.

Q. Do you have free time? 

A: NOPE! If I do get a spare moment, you will find me on a lake fishing, cleaning my garage (which, if you have seen it, you know I don’t have any free time), or playing Fortnite, Madden, or The Show.

Q. Do you have any hobbies or interests? 

A: I love the outdoors, especially fishing. Sports are a huge part of my life, so I love to play and watch. I also love horror movies!

Q. With all of this, how do you manage to have all this energy and be so enthusiastic?  

A:  Your guess is as good as mine!  I truly enjoy what I do and have told everyone that will listen that being around my students every day is the greatest job in the world! Seeing them grow and become young men and women is fun to watch.

Q. I noticed you have substitutes sometimes for games. How are you able to balance teaching, facilitating, and coaching?

A: I sometimes have to leave early for doctors’ appointments. Fortunately, my games are mostly on weekends or at night so I am able to do it.  

Q. As we near the end of this interview, do you have anything else you would like to share with our readers? 

A: Just remember, high school is not the best time of your life! It is a stressful and crazy time, so don’t let it get you down! You will get through it and you will be successful!  

Q. Do you have an inspiring quote for us, especially students?

A: "Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game." –Babe Ruth

     "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." —Albert Einstein

Overall, Mr. Hatley is as busy with his math as you would think with coaching and teaching AP. He’s gotten the energy from his students doing great in his classroom, from his hobbies, along with a family that supports each other.