Dodecahedron

One of my many weaknesses as a teacher is the lack of hands-on projects in my lessons. On the latest issue of the CMC journal, there is a net of a dodecahedron (12-sided figure) calendar.  I printed it on card stocks and had my students try it on Friday. It was a mild success in that the students enjoyed the activity.  However, in the future, I would focus on improving the quality of the final product.

English Only

Last night, some friends and I went to a play at the New LATC in Los Angeles to support my friend Bryan's first major acting gig. The play was called English Only. It explores the theme of a Chinese-American's struggle in Alhambra, California. Scarlett, the protagonist, experiences intra-racial discrimination, inter-racial romance, and the drama that goes along with her high school senior year. The play inspired me to reconsider my role as a teacher in a high school with mostly Spanish-speaking students. Further, as a Chinese-American finding my own cultural niche between the East and the West, I was very connected to the play. Overall, the play was fantastic on many levels.

Geometry - Is it in you?

This is the second straight year that I'm doing an overload (teaching an additional sixth period). I'm enjoying the opportunity tremendously, though I wish for a period break on somedays.  I have wonderful classes and my great students make each day pleasant. This is the first year that I have all six periods of Geometry.  It's become a course that I really prefer to other math courses.  The above logo is one of my proudest designs.  My friend Tan helped me perfect it.

These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

Five Day Forecast

Many excellent teachers use class calendars to help students stay on track and organized.  I haven't developed such a system in my classroom yet.  So while watching the weather report during my time on the treadmill, I thought of the idea for the slide above. For now, it only lists the date, activity, and homework number. It will need to be further developed, I'll work on it...

Look Closely

My students enjoyed this one today. Students from one period found as many as thirteen "horses" in this picture. Can you find more?

Math Tutoring

I have been tutoring since I was about fourteen. It was my main source of income to pay for my c

ollege applications, college expenses, and credential program (along with many poor attempts at grad school standardized entrance exams and rejected grad school applications.) My first full-time job was at UC Irvine as a Tutor Advisor.  Ironically, now that I am a full-time high school teacher, I tutor voluntarily. Our fantastic department chair person has developed a tutoring program, a math club of sorts, that provides our students help after school. It has become very popular; we've moved to the cafetaria and I've once counted over 50 students at the session 

with maybe four teachers (yes, we could use more help). This year, students can pay an optional $5 for the sessions. The money goes to buying students snacks, and any left over funds will go toward a math scholarship. I told my students recently: "As long as I'm a public school teacher, I will always offer free tutoring."

I made the design above a few weeks ago to promote our efforts. It has been enlarged and is used as a sign outside of the cafetaria where we hold our tutorials. I felt that the pencil is a neat substitution for the ubiquitous arrow. Here is another version...

What A Lesson!

After having Thanksgiving dinner, I pulled out my MacBook Pro and asked my cousin Dana for some advice on Adobe Illustrator. She's a graduate from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and a successful working professional of digital arts. In a short time, she showed me a series of commands, tips, and tricks for this application. She convinced me that Illustrator is the tool for the things that I want to do in my classroom. I reflected on what I really learned as I drove home: Dana taught a fantastic lesson! She did so with tremendous enthusiasm, expertise, and patience - which are all essential characteristics of great teachers. It was all done without a lesson plan. Sometimes, the best teachers are not educators. Often times, the best lessons are not in the classrooms.

(P.S. - - Before switching to Creative Suite, previous versions of Adobe Illustrator donned an image of Botticelli's Birth of Venus on its box cover.)

I Am Thankful

As I was walking into an after school staff meeting last week, I overheard a veteran teacher say to another staff: "If you just stay positive, you'll get through it."  I quickly jumped in and asked this former Teacher-of-the-Year how he stays positive.  He reflected for a few seconds and simply said: "We're so blessed."  I agree, we are.  I am thankful for my family and friends. Additionally, I've been blessed with fantastic professional support throughout my young career: 

Dr. Relouzat, Howie Tran and Ian Frazzetta @ LARC of UC Irvine

Mr. Mulfinger, Mr. Sunada, and Mr. Miller @ Marshall

Steve @ SpeedTechRC

Amy Collier and Dave Medrano @ SPA of AUSD

Ms. Kwak, Mr. Perdomo, and Mr. Magnusson @ GHS

Your inspiration to me is beyond measure.  Thank you.

These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

T-Shirt Debuted

Our Honor's Math t-shirt debut was a success.  We received many positive comments.  One of the female students even personalized her shirt by making special cuttings along the side of the tee.  I gave out shirts to some of the staff members who have been very supportive to me.  Students from other periods asked about purchasing the tees.  I hope to design a similar shirt and make it available to everyone.  Students - if you are reading this - forward your design to me.

Again, I extend my gratitude to my friends Justine and Tan for their help with the design's digital files.

Link: Geometry Honor's Shirts

Are We The Same?

Monotony breaks are necessary to keep learners' attention; not many teenagers can listen for more than 10-15 minutes. I've included different features in my class to keep students engaged. Visual illusions are great since my cognitive science background helps me tie concepts from perceptions to mathematics. Does the tower on the right side look as if it tilts more? Here, the two pictures of the famous Pisa Tower are in fact the same. They are parallel and share the same slope. In the classroom, I highlight their slope and reveal their congruence using an animated slide on PowerPoint.

Socializing with Teachers

It's Thanksgiving break, I was invited to a dinner party by some teachers. Though I have simple and friendly relationships with most staff members, I rarely hang out with other teachers outside of school. From my observation, some of the best teachers simply keep it to themselves - they aren't antisocial, but they just seem to have a strong sense of privacy. I didn't want to get myself into a night-long verbal bashing of students, teachers, or administrators. But the hosts were teachers whom I admire, so I accepted the invitation. It turned out to be a very pleasant get-together, much smaller than I had anticipated. Those in attendance were well respected staff members who were also great people. I felt so privileged to be with such an elite group. Our conversation, of course, surrounded education. But the dialogues were positive. It was an honor spending time with real people who face the exact same challenges that I do. I admire their grace, professionalism, and sense of humor as experienced educators. They inspire me to be a better teacher.

These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

College Shout Out

To promote a college-going culture at our school, the counselors have begun an effort to make colleges more visible to our students. A few weeks ago, there was a door decorating contest. Since then, we also have had teachers participate in making "shout-outs" in the announcements, during which we talk briefly about our alma mater. Today was the last day of school before the Thanksgiving break, it was my turn to "shout-out", and here's my script:

"Hello Gladstone. What is up? This is Mr. Yip here with a college shout out on UC Irvine, and a special "Hello" to Mr. Tressell, a fellow Anteater, who's also a UCI graduate. I love UCI. It is a clean and safe campus, just 15 minutes away from Disneyland.
Did you hear, that Kobe Bryant works out at the UCI gym in the mornings?
Did you hear, that Mr. Ciccoianni led the UCI baseball team to two state championships?
Did you hear, that Ms. Curtis led the UCI volleyball team to three national titles?
Did you hear, that Mr. Dolter led the UCI basketball team in scoring and assists?
Now I'm not saying that these things are true, but did you hear about them?
For more facts about UCI, go to www.uci.edu that is uci.edu.
I wish you and your families a pleasant and safe holidays, Happy Thanksgiving."

Commentary on Education

Public education pushes for universal access, a theme which promotes equality to all learners. It's a fair expectation, especially in a democratic society. However, when we try to cater to everyone, are we then really catering to no one in particular? Being fair doesn't imply treating everyone the same.

These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

Jump Poster

To promote the importance of standardized tests, our school began a "Jump the Band" theme prior to the assessment. Say what you will about standardized tests, it's not going away and it can't be ignored in the foreseeable future. I felt that it was important enough to take part in this effort. Inpired by a poster that was given to us, I made my own. My students helped with some details of the design. In the classroom, I actually have an animated version on my computer, with each subject in the poster "jumping".

These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

An Attempt at Creativity

This is one of the first logos/signs that I made for my classroom. The idea, no doubt, came during my long working hours at a local coffee shop. I was dissatisfied with the existing and typical math classroom posters. I wanted something different. Though the logos are not original, the concept of editing popular logos into math logos is fresh. These logos are used to engage my students - I do not profit from these designs.

Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity

I've been tremendously inspired by Sir Ken Robinson's talk at TED. I admire his ability as a speaker and the originality of his thesis. This video is a must-see by all educators. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the current public education system may also find some fresh insights from this talk.

If you enjoyed the first video, please also see this post from PresentationZen.com, which includes an interesting interview with Sir Ken Robinson.

Game Tying Goal!

I play soccer and I play defense. I have always envisioned playing a clean game as the main defender in the sweeper position. With three key players not present for today's recreation game, I played sweeper for the full match. We kept the other team from scoring; though my teammate committed an innocent own goal. Playing down 0-1 for most of the game, I stayed home and guarded our box. With about a minutes to go, I saw an opportunity for me to charge forward to create a play. John had the ball in the box with his back to the goal, he dropped it to Eric on the right side. As I jogged forward, I was seeing the entire play develop in my mind and had little doubt that I would make a difference in this sequence. By the time I was in front of the goal, Eric crossed it into the box (perhaps between the keeper's legs) and with one touch, I tucked it in. It was almost effortless, I wasn't nervous, wasn't tired, and wasn't exceptionally hyped that I scored. I would have been surprised had I not scored. It was just somewhat Zen-like; I expected to score and change the outcome of the game when I decided to make that run. 

If it were only that easy, if only I could make a difference each time I step into my classroom...

Geometry Honor's T-Shirts

It's my fourth year as a teacher, and I'm blessed with my first honor's class. It's a good group of 18 students. I've always liked the idea of having class shirts, but funding and timing never worked out in the past. The honor's class this year provides a good opportunity for me to design, print, and give shirts to this selected group. I developed a few ideas. When I shared them with the students, they provided feedbacks and I would re-work on the design. Though I ultimately designed the shirt, I consider it a process which involved the students. I am proud of the shirt. My students seemed to like them a lot when I gave them out yesterday. When I wore it on the first day, I received several positive remarks. 

Despite a sub-average week in the classroom, I am proud that I am trying to stay positive in the profession by giving to the students. The students said that they'd wear the shirt on Wednesday. My goal for the shirts is to promote a sense of belongingness to academic excellence. The Chinese characters on the back translate to "Honor's Math Student". For now, the shirts are not for sale. They are exclusive to my honor's kids and the staff on campus who have supported my mission. 

A special thanks to my friends Justine and Tan for helping me with the digital files.

CMC - 2008 Math Conference

Each year, a math conference is held in Palm Spings. It is my third time there on a Saturday; I have never been there on a Friday. As a more experienced teacher, I am now more specific as to what I wanted to see. I planned to visit all four sessions. The first one turned out to be the most valuable to me. It was a training session on using MathType, a program for entering math equations. In the second session, the presenter showcased the use of TI-Nspire. I learned about some potential learning resources with regards to technology. During the noon break, I purchased a copy of MathType for my new Mac. The third session was by an elementary teacher who demonstrated an origami lesson. I think I will incorporate this into my routine. We folded papers into beautiful stellated octahedrons. Lastly, I attended a featured talk where the professor discussed how technology should be used to help students understand math. If I am correct, her thesis was that we are not teaching math as effectively as in other high-performing areas such as Japan, Czech, and Hong Kong. Is the "We need to teach differently" theme really anything original? We had some interesting discussions, but I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of original ideas or potential solutions.

It was a long and tiring drive home, but the time alone allowed me to reflect on my need to continue to develop as an educator.

Teacher of the Month

This year, our school started a new event in which students vote for the Teacher of the Month by department. In October, it was the Math Department's turn. Judging from the buzz around campus, I knew I had a good shot since it's purely on student votes (and I have a large number of students). I was delighted and humbled to have won. Truth be told, it may be nothing more than an informal popularity contest. Though I firmly believe that popularity does not equate to quality, I also want to believe that the students can distinguish between the two and pick a teacher with good teaching methods. Now, there may also have been other factors that contributed to the results: perhaps I had the most students overall, perhaps results were fixed, or perhaps there was a counting error. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to be recognized by the students, especially in knowing that there are other fantastic teachers in the department.

I am humbled to work with other experienced teachers in my department and I understand that I have many areas on which to improve. I shall put my head down and keep working.

My New MacBook Pro!

For quite some time, I felt that my modest technology skills is slowly being capped by the hardware with which I was equipped. My Dell laptop is running relatively well, but it has been through over two years of heavy use. Though very expensive, I made the decision to purchase a Mac. Apple just released a new MacBook Pro (on Oct. 15, 2008), and the previous model went on the clearance section at the Apple online store. 

After visiting the store and playing with the newest MacBook Pro, I decided that the previous model is better for me. Unlike the latest model, the previous one is all silver with an anti-glare matte screen. (The latest model has a black keyboard and glossy screen.) Further, I like the touch pad with a separate button on the previous model. (The latest model has a single large pad which is also the button, I find that pressing the large pad down to be a bit more difficult than pressing the separate button.) Lastly, I felt that the latest upgrade on its graphics card was not something that I needed.

What was the top-of-the-line 2.5GHz model at $2,499 a month ago, it is currently on sale for $1,799 USD. As an educator, I saved $200 more and paid $1,599 for the machine. Additionally, a special promotion allowed me to pick up a $99 all-purpose printer for free. (I also purchased iWork '08 and the AppleCare Protection Plan that extends the warranty to 3 years.)

Apple is certainly a marketing genius. It's gotten me excited about such an expensive product (my car is my only more expensive purchase). Nonetheless, I hope this computer will help me continue to develop as an educator by enhance my lessons in the classroom.