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Planting the Seeds of Education
It’s an equation that adds up.
Teach children the basic concepts of advanced mathematics when they’re in elementary school and they’ll understand the subject better when they reach high school.
That’s the philosophy behind Project SEED.
The non-profit organization has been teaching elementary schoolchildren higher-level math since the group was founded in Berkeley in 1963. In March, the program started in Emeryville, bringing its system of learning to 4th and 5th graders at Anna Yates Elementary School.
“I think it’s great,” says Brooke Menard, whose 4th grade class is getting four lessons a week. “I’ve introduced the strategies into other subjects now.”
Project SEED directors say younger minds are more receptive to algebra and other math concepts. When students are teen-agers, their brains don’t accept new topics quite as readily.
“What we try to do,” says Helen Smiler, Project SEED’s national projects coordinator, “is get the students thinking in depth and algebraically. We reinforce and embed the concepts. You can’t keep drilling on the same stuff over and over again. Students need new ways of looking at things.”
Educators say they view math much like teaching younger students Spanish or French.
“We like to think of the language of advanced math as a foreign language,” says Joanne Blum, Project SEED’s director of development.
The classes are made possible by a grant from Wachovia Bank. The institution donated $50,000 for classes in Emeryville, San Francisco, West Contra Costa and Oakland. Emeryville’s share of the grant is about $13,000.
The 45-minute SEED classes are taught Tuesday through Friday mornings in Anna Yates’ 4th and 5th grade classes.
A typical session was observed on a Tuesday morning in mid-May in Menard’s classroom. Instructor Ian Chapman was enthusiastically tossing math problems to 30 fourth-graders on this day. They went from discussing numerators and denominators to the ratio of feet to yards to the concept of variables.
Chapman uses the techniques honed over the years by Project SEED. He constantly calls on students for their input. He asks for explanations on why answers are correct. At one point, he showed them how 1 ½ feet, 1.5 feet and 1 foot 6 inches were all acceptable answers to one problem.
“I try to get them to explore pattern and design concepts,” says Chapman.
During the fast-moving session, the students use a set of hand signals to show they agree, disagree or aren’t sure. That system allows the pupils to participate without an overabundance of noise.
“It’s an active way for them to respond and for me to get feedback,” Chapman says.
Menard says the children also learn how to explain answers and how to listen to each other.
The current session ends when school lets out in mid-June. Project SEED is looking for funding, so the math classes can return to Anna Yates next semester.
Simple math would seem to indicate the funding would be money well-spent.
David Mills is a writer for The Emeryville
Connection. If you have a question or comment, please contact him at ecocnews@gmail.com
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