Parents Love Math Too!

Conversations with Parents: Math


It's never too early to start learning about your child's education! Come to the last in our series of Conversations with Parents for the 2011-12 school year on March 1 at 7pm to hear about the Math program at Mustard Seed School. Mr. Lawrence will moderate the evening.

We will focus on some of the overarching priorities in the math program at the school. During the evening:

--Parents will have a chance to try some challenging problems.
--Students will discuss the problems, and present their solutions
--We will have two visiting speakers: Mr. Thomas Johnson and Mr. Hoyun Cho (see their bio information below)
--There will be a question and answer time
--We'll have cookies afterward, so the conversation can continue.

We are greatly honored to have these guests speak:

Thomas Johnson graduated from Mustard Seed School in 1998 and received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Scranton in 2006. He spent a year working in London as a Learning Support Assistant in a secondary school before pursuing a Masters in Teaching degree from Seattle University, which he received in 2008. Since then, he has taught middle and high school mathematics in the Philadelphia public schools. We are asking Mr. Johnson to comment on math education in the United States, and comment on the skills students need to develop in their elementary and middle school years to enter high school successfully. Thomas is the son of Janet Johnson, Mustard Seed School's Kindergarten teacher from the late 1980's until 2008.

Mr. Johnson was an "I Love Math" panelist in February 2009



Hoyun Cho is a Ph.D. candidate in Mathematics Education at Columbia Teachers College. His thesis topic is the use of cartoons as a teaching tool in middle school mathematics. As part of his research, he has been working with Mr. Lawrence and Mustard Seed's Seventh and Eighth Grade math students. He has observed classes, helped students with their Algebra and Pre-Algebra lessons, and designed cartoon-based lessons that can help introduce new topics, review important concepts and clear up misunderstandings. The goal: that students be engaged with Algebraic concepts in new and interesting ways, that their motivation and enjoyment increase, and that anxiety decrease.

Mr. Cho was an "I Love Math" panelist in February 2011. He did his undergraduate work at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, and his MA in Math Education at Western Michigan University. Mr. Cho taught middle school and high school mathematics in Korea, before coming to America for further education. He has been published in several journals, and he has manuscripts in preparation and/or review for several more. His daughter, Ohanna, is a Kindergarten student at Mustard Seed School.

Mark your calendar and come!