My Teaching Philosophy

Let me first say that I am very excited to be starting my 8th year here at the Robert C. Parker School and I look forward to several years of helping your children build the strongest “mathematics house” possible. Some people may be wondering what I am referring to when I say that we will be building a “mathematics house” and some of you have already heard me mention it, but in different terms.

Basically it all comes down to my teaching philosophy of mathematics. I am sure that many of us have seen new homes be built from the ground up. Well, in order for that home to survive all types of weather conditions, it must first have a strong foundation to sit upon. Second, the walls and roof must be very strong to maintain the inside temperature through the different seasons and to support snowfall in the winter months (and sometimes spring and fall). Well, mathematics is quite similar to building a home, except that we don’t have to worry about the climate as we cover new concepts.  I do NOT teach a spiral curriculum, as is the norm in mathematics curricula.  Instead, I focus on four-five units per year in grade 5-7 and cover those units in depth.  Although topics in grade 5 are not re-taught in future years (unless required on an individual basis), the understanding gained from the units is carried forth to the higher grades and applied in different ways.  I have found this mode of teaching to be beneficial to the students and allows them to gain a much deeper understanding of the concepts than the traditional spiral curriculum can offer (in my opinion).

By the time students reach the 5th grade, a lot of the mathematics foundation has been built. In the 5th grade mathematics curriculum we focus on the materials that were used to build the foundation as well as what new materials we need to add. In other words, we will learn new vocabulary and how that vocabulary affects what we already know about numbers. We then look at how we can use that knowledge to begin to appreciate the uniqueness of numbers and begin to classify them in various families, i.e. prime, composite, abundant, deficient, etc. As we develop number patterns and recognition, we will use that knowledge to begin to develop formulas that will be used throughout their mathematical schooling (and hopefully beyond).

As students enter the 6th grade, most of the mathematics foundation has been built.  However, we still need to “check” the foundation for weaknesses. This “check” occurs throughout the year as we add to the strength of the foundation. By the end of the 6th grade, the students will be ready to tackle the job of “building the house."

Seventh grade students begin constructing "the house of algebra."  The foundation of knowledge has been strengthened and students begin learn about algebra - lines, equations, variables, etc.  As the year progresses, we will recall learning from the previous grades and apply it in new and exciting ways.  By the end of the year students are ready to move forward to Algebra I.

Eighth grade is an exciting year for the students.  They have achieved the highest status possible here at Parker and embark on a fun-filled year of Algebra I (a ninth-grade math course).  Students will have the option of taking the New York State Algebra Regents in June, which will give them one credit for mathematics in public high school (students not taking the regents exam will still earn the credit if they move on to a private high school).  The algebra curriculum applies all of the information learned in the three previous years (grades 5-7) as well as introduced new concepts such as quadratics, polynomials, factoring, and radicals.