A Parent’s Letter To Her Child’s Principal
Written by Roseanne, MD & parent

A letter from a parent to her child’s principal:

Dear Principal,

I am writing this letter to share a wonderful opportunity to attend a free seminar presented by the Making Math Real Institute at the UC Santa Cruz Extension in Cupertino.  I have invested my own time and effort into learning the program, having taken the Overview, 4 Operations and Fractions, and am looking forward to taking Pre-Algebra in the spring.   I cannot give this teaching method enough praise. The beauty of the Making Math Real program is that it is multi-sensory and developmental.  They teach every concept in a concrete way making it accessible to all students.  Then they progress through the semi-concrete, semi-abstract and abstract levels. It is very creative and much more engaging that the typical math curriculum.  What I think is truly unique and invaluable about the program is that they build symbol-imaging, detail analysis and sequential processing into each of the lessons and levels.  These essential skills allow the students to be successful in math but, are applicable to learning across all subjects.  I have recently started using some of the methods when I volunteer in the classroom, both in centers and one-on-one instruction. The students are engaged, successful and genuinely seem to enjoy learning.

I am the parent of a student with Nonverbal Learning Disability.  That is how I came to learn about the Making Math Real program, however, this is not a remedial program.  It is geared to the general education classroom, but works incredibly well for all learning styles and is adaptable to suit children with learning disabilities. The reason I feel so passionately about the program is that after volunteering in my son’s classroom over the years, I have watched students struggle with math.  Even those who are procedurally adept don’t seem to comprehend many of the concepts behind the procedures.  Most are learning by rote.  The texts and methods which are used do not reliably teach in a developmental or incremental way.

Many of the people who took the course with me were educators (classroom, RSP, and educational therapists) and all were really excited and positive about the course.  Some of them, “math-phobic” themselves, experienced their own moments of enlightenment as they fully appreciated some math concepts for the first time.

I would be happy to assist you in any way I can and you are welcome to contact me if you have any questions.  The program director, Tracy Curry, can also assist you and mentioned creative ways for schools to finance the program.  They do on-site training, at a daily rate, that allows an unlimited number of attendees.  Alternatively, the Home and School Club or the District could provide vouchers for teachers who wanted to attend any of the training programs scheduled at the extension.

I have enclosed some flyers and contact information for Making Math Real.  I hope this is of interest to you.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Roseanne T, MD
Parent