While students took the AMC 8 Exam at Bard College on November 19, 2013, parents were invited to attend a panel discussion on Supporting your Child as a High Achiever in Math and Science. Here is some information about the panel members, panel discussion, and additional information sheets below.
PANEL MEMBERS
Halle Kananack, (moderator) math educator and consultant
Halle Kananack is a K-12 math coach. She also leads professional development sessions for teachers, and is a writer for a Common Core-aligned math curriculum. A former middle school and high school math teacher, Halle also taught at SUNY Ulster, through the Bard Prison Initiative, and for a variety of adult-ed and GED-prep programs. Halle is passionate about math education and its potential to mentally empower us. She believes that genuine understanding, creative thinking, and having fun are essential ingredients to the math experience.
Ben Houston, STEM Professional
Ben Houston is the parent of an 8th grader and a 4th grader who both excel at math and science. He is a licensed professional engineer and currently works in digital mapping, having cross trained in cartography, geodesy and surveying. To him, math and science are like art: something found in the beauty of everyday life, and by making such topics simply an extension of everyday life as opposed to isolated academic endeavors, kids can then be free to explore them with fun, freedom and creativity.
Jing Ju, Parent
Jing Ju is a full-time mom of two boys. She was previously a software engineer with advanced degrees in science and engineering. She grew up in China, and everyone in her family loves math.
She has a positive attitude towards math and really believes that Math is beautiful, math is fun, and math is straightforward.
Jing Ju has higher academic standards, and she helps kids practice math skills through games.
She encourages kids to explore their math potential. They are allowed to learn math according to their own pace.
Deborah Mosher, NY State Master Teacher
Debby Mosher is a math teacher at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook New York, where she has taught 7th grade math and 7th grade accerated math for 15 years. Previously, she was a computer programmer at IBM where she worked on mathematical modeling of computer software and hardware. She recently was named a Master Teacher in New York State. One of her mathematical interests is learning about the lives and contributions of famous mathematicians in history, and using that material to create excitement for students in math class.
Japheth Wood, Bard Math Professor
Japheth Wood is a math professor at Bard College. He directs the Bard Math Circle and the New York Math Circle, and works with both pre-service and in-service math teachers in New York City and the Mid-Hudson Valley. He sees math circles as a low-stakes math enrichment activity that has potential to inspire and prepare students and teachers mathematically, and a way to connect mathematical professionals, teachers and parents to support mathematical education in ways that are not possible otherwise.
Questions
For Math, we have heard about AMC, MathCounts, MathOlympiad, CML etc, what are such similar, well defined programs and resources for Science for Middle Schoolers?
What career opportunities can my daughter explore in math and science, and how can I support her when she starts to think about career choices and colleges with a focus in math and science?
Does Bard support math circle students by offering any summer programs for students?
Additional Information
Supporting High Achieving Middle School Math Students
Eli Byers & Deborah Mosher, New York State Master Teachers
Information Sheet from Mrs. Lin
More information to come! If there is information you’d like to include but isn’t here, please email bardmathcircle@gmail.com.