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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Aliya the staffing agency branch manager

With unemployment rates at record levels, temporary agencies are busier than ever.  I had the pleasure of speaking with Aliya Purtee who is the branch manager at Patrick Staffing, a temporary staffing agency.  She not only helps people get placed in jobs but also plays a big part in making sure people are paid.

Can you explain what you do for a living?

I am a branch manager and a payroll specialist at a staffing agency.  As branch manager, I oversee three employees.  An aspect of my role is to listen to the needs of the staff,  and then I ensure that my staff fulfills their needs.  A big part of my job is processing  payroll for about 100 employees each week. This includes checking time cards to make sure there are no additional errors. Also, I engage with approximately 50 customers per week and then our branch takes applications five days a week.

When do you use basic math in your job?

I consistently use basic math skills in my job.  My job consists of calculating hours for payroll, pay and bill rates. Also, I use math to generate company’s markups and to determine a burden rate for worker’s compensation. I use the company’s markup to calculate pay rates and bill rates. Some companies pay a shift premium which also requires calculation.

Do you use any technology (like calculators or computers) to help with this math?

I use a calculator sometimes, but most of the time I do the figures in my head. I enter the figures into the computer. Also, I issue debit cards for the employees that do not have  direct deposit set up. After the time is entered, I print a report that allows me to audit my entries so that I can double check for mistakes.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

If I did not have basic math skills, I could not fulfill my duties at work.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I am very confident with my math skills.  In my current position I cannot make errors.  If I do, they can have large consequences.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

In high school, I took algebra.  I did not like math in high school, and I refused to challenge myself with advanced classes. I really did not realize how much math is used in our everyday lives. [Tweet this]

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

I did not have to learn new math skills at my job.

The people who manage payroll could easily go unnoticed — until we didn’t get our paychecks! If you have questions for Aliya, post them in the comments section, and I’ll ask her.

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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Rick Scherer the Certified Medical Dosimetrist

In today’s world, we’ve all unfortunately been touched by cancer in one way or another.  We may have stood beside a loved one as they battled the disease, or we may have experienced it first-hand.  Rick at First Dayton Cyberknife encounters cancer patients on a daily basis as he assists in their treatment.  I’m thankful for folks like him who use their math skills effectively to help others.

Can you explain what you do for a living?

I am a certified medical dosimetrist at First Dayton Cyberknife. I work in radiation therapy which is used to treat people who have cancer. I make sure the radiation kills the cancer cells without harming the patient.

The medical dosimetrist is responsible for designing a treatment plan and carrying out calculations with mathematical accuracy for the delivery of radiation treatment based on the oncologist’s prescribed course of therapy. This treatment plan takes into consideration tumor pathology, tumor volume, and inherent dose-limiting structures surrounding the tumor. The treatment plan and radiation field-placement techniques are constructed utilizing sophisticated computer equipment and technology. The medical dosimetrist, along with the radiation oncologist and medical physicist, will work to construct a treatment plan that will meet the prescription written by the oncologist, ensuring that the patient will not lose important healthy organ function and that the radiation delivered will not affect healthy surrounding tissue. These treatment plans not only include the use of radiation but also, in many cases, involve the use of radioactive elements during interstitial brachytherapy procedures. Once the treatment plan is complete, the medical dosimetrist will work closely with the radiation therapists in the implementation of the prescribed plan.

When do you use basic math in your job?

My whole job is math related. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without math skills. Most of my job pertains to the physical properties of radiation and its interactions with matter. There are calculations depending on energy, energy type (photon, electron, gamma ray), size of the treatment field etc. Most of these calculations are done using a treatment planning system (TPS). We use Eclipse, which is from a company called Varian. We also use a Cyberknife, which uses a software called MultiPlan.

Do you use any technology to help with this math?

Most of the time I use specialized software for treatment planning but not always. Some plans have to be hand calculated.  

Sometimes I use a hand calculation to basically determine how long the machine needs to stay on to deliver a certain dose to a certain depth. For example, the radiation oncologist will prescribe 2400 cGy (centigray is a unit of absorbed dose) in 10 treatments (240 cGy per treatment) to a depth of 80% or sometimes he will say 2 centimeterss. I will use a simple formula that we call a hand calc, 240 

80% • 1.002 =299cGy
(where 1.002 is the output factor of field and energy)

1 cGy=1 monitor unit on the machine so the machine would be set to 299 mu’s per treatment for ten treatments for 100% coverage of radiation at the 80% isodose line. This is confusing as heck so I won’t get any deeper with this because I will just go on and on and on….

This is a very simple calculation. Most of the time we aren’t this lucky. Actually most of the time everything is calculated with the Treatment Planning System.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

Math is physics and physics is math, so you can’t have one without the other.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I feel very comfortable with some math, but with other math I still feel very uncomfortable.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

The highest I took was Algebra II. I barely passed!

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

I have had to learn new calculations for new procedures depending on the type of treatment. Some treatments use a real source of radiation which has different factors. In college, medical physics and radiation physics were totally new to me. I can’t really compare it to normal math class. Lots of formulas, laws and other “math stuff.”

One law that is common is radiation is called the inverse square law: In physics, an inverse-square law is any physical law stating that a specified physical quantity or intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source of that physical quantity. That is one of the first things you learn.

Want to know more about using math in the fight against cancer?  Let me know, and I’ll be sure to ask Rick your questions.

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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Tim Lane the Real Estate Appraiser

Real estate appraisers: whether you love them or hate them, they’re a necessity.  Sometimes we may disagree with their figures, but as Tim Lane shows us, the facts are the facts.  And how does Tim get to those facts? Math of course.  This math has a purpose, backed by meaning, and it’s hands-on.  Tim shows us some of the inside scoop in the field of real estate appraisal.

Can you explain what you do for a living?

The job of a real estate appraiser is to determine what the property is that is being appraised: is the property a single family home, a duplex, an apartment building or something else? As well, what is the home in terms of age, size, construction quality, bedroom/bath count, and other features? Once this has been determined, the appraiser’s job then shifts to the task of analyzing the market area. This includes an analysis of the area on a large scale (city wide) relating to economics and the economic base, then a second analysis of the specific neighborhood within the city to determine what is happening in that neighborhood with real estate price trends, supply and demand, and what features or amenities are most important at this time. Finally, all the data comes together into a 30-40 page report in which all the data is given to the client. Contrary to what most people think, appraisers do not set the value of a property, we simply report what is going on in the area, and what a property is likely to sell for based on other recent sales in the area that are as similar as possible to property being appraised.

When do you use basic math in your job?

From start to finish. Initially, we have to use math to determine simple things such as how much time it takes to get from one property to another, what is the distance between them, and how many hours of daylight we have to work with to get everywhere we want or need to be in a day’s time. Math continues when looking at economic statistics to determine market trends ranging from basic issues such as determining if the area has an oversupply of available real state as compared to what the market has demonstrated can be sold in a given time frame, determining how much of a decline a market may see based on different rates of oversupply, using statistics such as regression analysis to determine a market’s reaction in terms of real dollars to different features or lack of a feature in a home. Math is used to determine the living space of a home, the size of the lot, to determine fractional increments of return on the dollar for investments made in a property.  If the property is income producing, we use math to determine an investment rate of return for dollars investments, sinking fund factors, future value of a dollar, and to help determine what type of funds need to be set aside each month for repairs of items such as roofs, HVAC systems, water heaters and other components of a home. Finally, appraisers use math to determine the cost to build a home.

Do you use any technology to help with this math?

We do use calculators and computers heavily. Calculators such as an HP-12C has been the industry standard for the real estate and finance industry for 25+ years. Software providers in the industry do all they can to calculate as many equations as possible so that we can cut down the time it takes to produce a report. Software such as Excel make complex equations much easier. However, if anyone wants to be an appraiser they are still required to be able to do all the math–much of which is very complex–with a simple pencil and paper, in order to be certified by a state and the federal government.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

Math certainly helps appraisers do our jobs better. Most appraisers are very adept at being able to simply see a property, and know what it is likely to sell for. However our clients such as banks, accountants, lawyers, and tax courts simply will not accept a quick email with a value. Everything the appraiser says has to be backed up with provable facts; this is always rooted in math. Whether it is the size of a room, the size of a home, the size of a lot, the value of an additional bath, or the value of an additional quarter acre of land, it all has to be proven to our clients beyond any shadow of a doubt. Math is the only way to accomplish this level of proof.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

Initially, as I began to get into appraising, I wasn’t comfortable at all. Algebra and geometry play heavily into real estate appraisal, and I was never a standout in math class. Just sitting around doing math problems over and over, with no real purpose to the questions was extremely monotonous. However, once I began to actually see a purpose and a reason to do math, and had a real reason to apply the knowledge to something concrete, it became much easier. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever believed I would use any math beyond basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but I do every day now.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

I avoided math like the plague. I was forced to take Introduction to Algebra, which was the worst year of my life at the time. I later took Algebra I, which turned out to be even worse! Then geometry, which I loved! But still, math was math and that was all I was required to take, so that is all I took.

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

Yes, I did have to learn some new skills to do my job; and in some cases I had to simply relearn what I had assumed I would have no reason to remember. Real estate appraisal obviously has roots in real estate, and just as much in finance, investments and banking as well. No basic public schooling teaches this type of math. Some math skills transfer well such as word problems, or some geometry, but much of what is needed is more complex financial based math that relates to business math, statistics, projections, finance, and investments.

Questions for Tim?  Let me know, and I’ll see if he can squeeze in an answer between calculations.

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In Math for Grownups

Spreadsheets Are Powerful. Here’s How.

This post is the first in a writer-centric series, called Spreadsheets 101. In later posts, I look at how to use formulas in spreadsheets, troubleshoot problems and create graphs. 

Want to tell a geek from a non-geek? Ask a simple question: How do you feel about spreadsheets? Geeks will wax poetic about the grace and sensibility of spreadsheets, while non-geeks will either shrug or recoil in horror.

At least that’s my experience.

As a proud geek, I embrace my love of spreadsheets. As a teacher and writer, I know that not everyone is as excited about these technological marvels. Still, while I might fire up Excel for the most mundane tasks — grocery lists or wedding invitation RSVPs, for example — I do think the humble spreadsheet can be quite useful in a variety of more robust and complex settings. This is especially true for freelance writers and other entrepreneurs. We solo artists may not have access to the latest bookkeeping software or even a bookkeeper. We can’t turn to the IT team to help us project revenues for the next year or track the time spent on certain types of projects. (Most of us are the IT team.) That’s where spreadsheets can come in handy.

What Is a Spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet is more powerful than a table, with fewer bells and whistles than a database. The data is arranged in columns and rows. The columns are labeled with capital letters, and the rows are numbered. So each cell can be identified by its unique letter (column) and number (row). For example, A25 or FF102.

All of the data in each row is related somehow. The same goes for the data in each column. That’s how a spreadsheet is like a table. Here’s a picture:

In this example from Math for Writers, a writer is costing out the price of self-publishing. Notice how the columns and rows are related. In every spreadsheet, each cell (one of the little boxes) is related to the headings of the row and column that define that cell. So, $9.35 is the NET per book (column) of print, author’s copies (row) in the spreadsheet above.

But this spreadsheet isn’t just a table. Because of the way it was built, if I change the value in cell B16, the value in D16 will also change. It’s also not a database. That’s because the data cannot be output elsewhere. For example, if I wanted to output this data onto my website — in a simple list, for example — I’d need to use a database. (Examples of databases include the contacts on your smartphone and the movie listings on Netflix. The data — names and phone numbers of contacts or names and ratings of movies — is stored in a database and output on your phone, computer or television set.) Unlike with databases, the data in spreadsheets pretty much stays put.

When Should You Use a Spreadsheet?

Notice that some cells contain text and some cells contain numbers. Spreadsheets are most powerful when the data is numerical. That’s because with a few carefully placed formulas, you can manipulate those numbers — quickly and easily.

For example: in the spreadsheet above, the value $9.35 was not typed into that cell. Surprise! Instead, this values is the result of a formula. Take a look:

When I highlight the $9.35 cell, it changes to show the formula: =(C16-B16). At the same time, cells C16 and B16 are highlighted. This formula is a really simple subtraction problem, but it’s pretty potent. That’s because if I change the value in C16 or B16, the value of D16 changes, too.

This means you don’t have to keep up with a ton of changes. If your formulas are set up correctly, you can simply change the data in other cells as needed, and the formulas keep up with the calculations. For this reason, spreadsheets are really useful in projecting. For example, if the price of the book is changed in the above spreadsheet, you can see how the net and gross values will automatically change. In other words, you can play with the pricing and watch how the total income goes up or down as a result.

Want to make fancy-schmancy graphs? That’s another reason to use a spreadsheet. Once your data is safe and snug inside multiple rows and columns, it can be displayed graphically with the click of a couple keys. Really. It’s that easy. (I’ll show you how in a later post.)

And there you have it. The what and whys of spreadsheets. Stick around. In a day or two, I’ll teach you how to create the all-powerful formula. (It’s not all that magical, and it’s not all that hard either.)

Next up: Learn how to use formulas in spreadsheets and troubleshoot problems.

When have you found spreadsheets most useful? What frustrations have you had with spreadsheets? Share your experiences in the comments section. Also be on the lookout for my next book Math for Writers, which will be available in late January. Yes, writers do use math! I’m so excited to show you how!

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In Basic Math Review

Five Cool Math Tricks You Didn’t Know

When it comes to basic calculations, kids can benefit from knowing math facts cold. When the arithmetic is simple, we can focus on more complex concepts.

That’s one reason your children are encouraged to memorize their multiplication tables. But over the years, educators have discovered that straight memorization is not always the best. In fact, when kids spend a great deal of time really unpacking what these math concepts mean, they’re far more likely to expand their understanding of many other concepts.

So are math “tricks” a good thing or a bad thing?

“Kids should have a way of figuring out the math fact that uses reasoning,” says Dr. Felice Shore, assistant professor and co-assistant chairperson of Towson University’s math department in Maryland. As an expert in mathematics education, Shore knows that when children’s natural curiosity is stimulated, they can make important mathematical connections that will deepen their understanding.

“But once kids can reason their way to the answer and understand various ways to do so, these ‘tricks’ can help them get answers quickly,” she continues.

The key is to introduce these tricks at the right age.

“I don’t think the third or even fourth-graders should learn tricks,” Shore says. “The important mathematics at those grades is still about building an understanding of relationships between numbers—the very reasons behind math facts. Once you show them the trick, it’ll most likely just shut down their thinking.”

But math tricks can be useful. If your fifth grader is still struggling with her multiplication tables, these can be a godsend. Even better is when they reveal something about the math that makes them work.

If you’re going to show your child a quick way to multiply, make sure that you help her understand why the trick works. Here are five cool examples—and the math behind them.

Multiplying by 4

This trick is so simple and logical, that it could hardly be called a trick. But it could come in handy for your budding Sir Isaac Newton. To multiply any number by 4, simply multiply it by 2 and then double the answer.

35 x 4
35 x 2 = 70
70 x 2 = 140
35 x 4 = 140

Why does it work?

This trick is based on a very simple fact:

2 x 2 = 4

That means that:

35 x 4 = 35 x (2 x 2)

And

35 x 2 x 2
70 x 2
140

The underlying lesson of this “trick” is that you can solve a multiplication problem by multiplying by its factors.

Multiplying by 9

Hold up both hands, with your fingers spread. To multiply 4 x 9, bend your fourth finger from the left. Count the number of fingers to the left of your bent finger—you should get 3. Then count the number of fingers (and thumbs) to the right of your bent finger—you should get 6. The answer is 36. This works when multiplying any number 1-10 by 9.

Why does it work?

Simple algebra can show that what you’re doing with your fingers boils down to this: When you multiply by 9, you’re really multiplying by 10 and then subtracting that number. But you don’t need to do the algebra. Some kids figure out that reasoning without the mysterious finger trick.

You can help your child extend her understanding of the number 9 by pointing out an important piece of this trick: in the 9s multiplication tables, the digits add up to 9!

4 x 9 = 36   —>   3 + 6 = 9

9 x 9 = 81   —>  8 + 1 = 9

Then you can prompt your child to notice other patterns. For example, 4 -1 = 3 and 3 + 6 = 9 and 4 x 9 = 36. The patterns in the 9s multiplication tables are endless and can lead to many other discoveries about numbers.

Multiplying by 11

Sure, multiplying a one-digit number by 11 is a cinch.

4 x 11 = 44
7 x 11 = 77

But did you know there’s a trick to multiplying any number by 11?  Here’s how using an example: 52 x 11.

The first digit of the answer will be 5 and the last digit of the answer will be 2. To get the digit between, just add 5 and 2.

5 (5+2) 2
572

You may have noticed that when you add the two digits together, you get a one-digit number. If you get a two-digit number, things are a little trickier.

87 x 11
8 (8+7) 7
8 (15) 7
(8+1) 57
957

Why does it work?

If you think of doing long-hand multiplication by stacking the two numbers, you’ll see right away:

But the more precise reasoning has to do with place value. What you’re really doing is multiplying 87 by 1, then multiply 87 by 10, and finally adding the two products together:

87 x 1 = 87
87 x 10 = 870
870 + 87 = 957

The trick itself is just a shortcut to the answer.

Multiplying by 12

Just like the previous track, you can multiply any number by 12 very quickly and easily. Let’s try it with 7 x 12.

First multiply 7 by 10. Then multiply 7 by 2. Finally, add them together.

7 x 12
7 x 10 = 70
7 x 2 = 14
70 + 14 = 84

Easy peasy. When this gets really impressive is with larger numbers.

25 x 12
25 x 10 = 250
25 x 2 = 50
250 x 50 = 300

Why does it work?

This trick works for the same reason that the 11s trick works. But there’s another way to describe it. Think of 12 as the sum of 10 and 2.

25 x 12
25 x (10 + 2)
(25 x 10) + (25 x 2)
250 + 50
300

Is a number divisible by 3? (Or in math terms: Is a number a multiple of 3?)

When a number is evenly divisible by another number it is said to be a multiple of that number. In other words: since 27 is evenly divisible by 3, 27 is a multiple of 3.

Turns out, there’s a nice little trick for this as well. Add up the values of the digits. Is that sum a multiple of 3? If so, the number itself is also evenly divisible by 3. Check it out:

Is 543 divisible by 3?
5 + 4 + 3 = 12
12 is divisible by 3
So 543 is divisible by 3

Why does this work?

Place value is key here, but there’s an easy way to show your child what’s happening before you even introduce the trick. Do this with something tangible, like M&Ms or pieces of cereal.

  1. Start with 45 candies.
  2. Have your child divide the candies into two piles based on the place value—one pile of 40 candies and one pile of 5 candies.
  3. Now ask your child to divide the 40 candies into groups of 10 candies. (She should notice that there are four groups of 10 candies.)
  4. Now ask her this question, “How can you change each of these groups often, so that the number is divisible by 3?” She should suggest that you take away one candy from each pile. (If not, coax her to that answer.)
  5. Have her take one candy from each group of ten and move them into another group.
  6. Point out that she has six piles of candies: four piles of 9 candies, one pile of 4 candies and one pile of 5 candies.
  7. Ask her what happens if she combines the pile of 4 candies and the pile of 5 candies. She should notice that she’ll get 9, which is divisible by 3.
  8. By now, she will probably notice that the 4 and 5 come from number 45. See if she can come up with the trick, after doing this with a few examples using the candies.

So what do you think? Are math tricks a good idea or not? Do you have any other tricks to share? And can you explain why they work? If you need help with your math, I have written these great books to help you learn the easy way.

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In Math Education

Lowering Homework Stress: 5 Easy Steps for Parents

Last week, I shared some unpopular opinions about homework. Mostly, here and on Facebook, people disagreed with me that three hours of meaningful homework was not too much. And looking back at that statement — which wasn’t exactly what I said — I see their point. Do I want my kid to be focused on academics for a full 10 hours a day? (Assuming that for those seven hours of school, she’s being taught.) When it’s put in those black-and-white terms, no, I don’t think that’s reasonable. Nor do I think the debate is all that black and white.

Regardless, parents all over the interwebs are pissed off about the amount of homework our kids are assigned. Their complaints range from the truly anguished (“I tried for two hours to help my son with his math homework, but with his learning differences, I just can’t get him to understand!”) to the kind of petty (“Having to sign a reading log is busy work — for me!”). It got me wondering, what do we do to lower this stress, for parents and students?

So I came up with some ideas. Try them out at home, and let me know how it works for you. And if you have your own ideas, please share them!

1. Reset the Priorities

What is the point of homework? Is it meant to help kids practice what they’ve learned? Extend lessons from class? Finish up something that didn’t get done in school? Complete a long-term project from start to finish? Torture you and your kid?

If you know what you want your kid to get out of homework, you can better set the parameters. See, this is your kid, not the school’s. What you want your kid to get out of his or her education matters. A lot. Once you know your homework philosophy, find out what the school and teachers think. (They might feel differently from one another.)

Then you’ve got to decide what hill to die on. If getting the right answer is a big deal for your kid’s math teacher but a conceptual understanding is what you value, someone’s going to have to compromise. For example, I’ve told my kid that I don’t believe timed math drills are useful tools. (And that’s backed up by research, y’all.) We agreed that if her grade was negatively affected by them, I would go in and talk to the teacher. Stress was instantly lowered. If signing a reading log is arduous for you, give your child that responsibility. Or decide that you’re not going to figure everything down to the minute and shoot for an estimate instead.

When the stress gets high, go back to those priorities. Talk to teachers about assignments that don’t meet your homework priorities. And if necessary, allow your kid to blow off things that are not meaningful. (Yes, I just said that.)

2. Set a Flexible Homework Routine

Whatever this schedule is, it needs to work with your family. Kids who go to aftercare may finish up their assignments before they get home. (At my daughter’s school, that’s a requirement for most assignments and students.) Other kids may come straight home, have a snack and shoot some hoops before hitting the books. Still others may not start homework until after dinner or even get up super early in the morning to finish an assignment.

Most kids really do count on structure, and it’s important that they know what to expect. At the same time, the schedule should be flexible enough to make room for everyday life — like a good cry after a fight with a friend or a quick trip to the ice cream shop for an after-school treat. When they know they can “break the rules” from time to time, they’re less likely to test their parents all of the time.

It’s also important to pay attention to how the schedule is working out — especially from year to year. My daughter used start her homework as soon as she walked in the door. But when she got a little older, it was apparent that she needed 30 minutes or so to unwind, to do something that had nothing to do with school. Of course, as kids enter middle and high school, this schedule should be their own.

3. STOP Reteaching

I can’t emphasize this enough. Stop it. Right. Now.

You are not the teacher. When you reteach, not only do you risk making your kid furious and even more frustrated with the work, you risk confusing your kid. Big time.

There is a reason that long division is going the way of the dodo bird. There is a reason that teachers introduce algebra in earlier grades. There is a reason that kids learn how to find the least common multiple before they learn to add fractions. And you might not know what those reasons are.

I would never attempt to perform brain surgery on my kid. I wouldn’t try to fix the hybrid system on my car. That’s because I’m not trained to do these things. And while many parents do an amazing job homeschooling their kids, mostly, they’re achieving this with the whole picture — and a lot of professionally developed resources.

This is probably the hardest step. It also holds the most promise for lowering stress. I promise.

4. Ask Questions, Don’t Give Answers

Want to know how to accomplish the last step? It’s pretty simple, actually. When your kid says, “I don’t know how to do this!” respond with a question.

“What does the assignment say?”
“Can you explain to me what the teacher asked for?”
“What is confusing you?”
“How can I help you figure it out?”

This puts the responsibility back onto your kid — where it belongs — without taking on any of her stress. Keep asking questions, even if she can’t answer them. Don’t solve the problems for her, but look for her to find her own solutions.

5. Let Your Kid Fail

Kids learn from making mistakes. We don’t do them any favors by preventing them from failure.

I’d rather my kid fail a homework assignment than a test and a test than a grade. And I’d rather my kid fail at something when she’s 10 years old than when she’s 40 years old. Failure at a young age won’t keep her from experiencing later failures. But she will learn from those little failures.

For that reason, you should quit checking your kids’ homework for accuracy. Heck, when they get to be in middle school, you should probably stop checking to see if their homework is done. Give them the right structure for success — space and time to complete homework assignments, little reminders, etc. — but let them chart their own way. (My friend and colleague, Denise Schipani calls this African-Violet Parenting. I call it parenting by benign neglect.)

So there you have it, five steps for lowering the homework stress in your house. I can’t promise that you’ll never have another fight with your kid, but I can say that following these steps will help you keep your cool.

Do you have other suggestions? Share them in the comments section. 

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In Math Education

The Homework Wars: What matters? What doesn’t?

Last week, I heard from many friends and colleagues about Karl Taro Greenwood’s Atlantic.com piece, “My Daughter’s Homework Is Killing Me.”

“Amen!”

“I could have written this!”

“When are teachers going to learn that they’re piling on way too much???”

It was clear to me that the emotion of this piece resonated. But really what I think is this: Mr. Greenwood is probably a very nice man, but he comes off like a whiney, know-it-all parent. And he’s worried about the wrong damned things.

If you read Greenwood’s story, you know he’s worried that his daughter is getting too much homework. At the tender age of 13 years, she wasn’t able to fall asleep until after midnight, because of her homework load. He admitted that bias up front, and decided to see for himself. He took on his daughter’s assignments for a full week.

But really, what he should be paying attention to is the kind of homework his kids are doing.

At the same time, I can compeltely identify with his frustration about his kid’s bedtime. My kid often goes to sleep after midnight. She spends way too much time on homework, but I can say without hesitation that the fault lies with her, because her routine looks something like this: text friends, try to find her worksheet, text, check out when the new episodes of New Girl are coming on Netflix, text, do three math problems, text, find a new Pandora station on her phone, read her library book, finish her math, start science… well, you get the picture. By 10:00 p.m., she’s an anxious mess sometimes.

Her homework load is not too much. It’s generally between one and three hours each night, depending on how much she’s procrastinated on her weekly projects/assignments. (That is, if she actually gets to work, instead of goofing off.)

Greenwood’s daughter averages about three hours. Yes, that’s a lot. But if she’s staying up so late, it’s because she’s not getting started until 8:00 p.m.. (He never says why.) That’s a full five hours after my kid gets out of school, and even with her three-times-a-week soccer practice, it’s way, way later than she usually gets started.

But the thing that bothers me the most is what Greenwood writes here:

The Spanish, however, presents a completely different challenge. Here, Esmee shows me that we have to memorize the conjugations of the future tense of regular and irregular verbs, and she slides me a sheet with tener, tendré,tendrás, tendrá, tendremos, etc., multiplied by dozens of verbs. My daughter has done a commendable job memorizing the conjugations. But when I ask her what the verb tener means (“to have,” if I recall), she repeats, “Memorization, not rationalization.”

She doesn’t know what the words mean.

Shocking. Certainly, each subject requires a little bit of “fake it ’til you make it,” but not to know what the verb means is pretty amazing. And the fact that his daughter has so completely internalized the message “memorization, not rationalization” is truly tragic. That message goes against any educational philosophy I was taught at university.

At the same time, the author is incredibly proud of his (and his daughter’s) ability to pick up on the patterns presented by combining like terms in algebraic expressions. He whizzes right through those problems (none of the math homework is excessive, in my opinion), but has he merely memorized or is he really understanding what the process means? I could be wrong, but my guess is that he might have trouble explaining why the process works.

In other words, critical thinking is important in Spanish, science and literature, but really thinking through the whys of math? Nah, it’s way better to finish those problems as quickly as possible.

Easy homework = good homework?

The homework wars will never end. And that’s because when we all get home from work and school, no one wants the fight that ensues. We want to play board games or curl up on the couch and watch stupid television or read books that weren’t assigned to us.

But if teachers assigned homework that really mattered, would parents still be upset? If teachers asked kids to answer the hard questions, like “How did you get your answer?” or “Ask a family relative about his or her experience with immigration,” would we revolt, because that’s hard too? When schools are serious about rigor, do parents retaliate?

Homework shouldn’t be busy work. But I still believe that there’s real value to asking students to practice what they’ve learned or make some connections on their own. When we parents approach this in a positive way, we have an opportunity to teach our children than learning doesn’t stop at 2:50 p.m. or when we graduate from college.

What would happen if we sent our kids a positive message about their homework? (While working against excessive or stupid assignments, of course.)

This afternoon, my kid walked home from soccer practice, grabbed a snack and ran up to her room shouting, “I’m going to work on my science essay!” I don’t think this thing is due  until the beginning of next month. I didn’t have anything to do with her being excited to get to work. I also didn’t get in her way. She likes this assignment — probably because it’s challenging — and she’s happy to do it.

I’d say that one step in that direction is a little less whining, and a little more listening to kids and teachers.

P.S. Greenwood had lots of reasons to be ticked off about his kid’s school, starting with the lousy parent-teacher conferences. I don’t mean to suggest that he was off-base with everything.

P.P.S. Atlantic also had a great piece from a teacher, who is reassessing her practice of giving homework. I thought her reasons and concerns were compelling. Parents should read that piece as well: Should I Stop Assigning Homework? by Jessica Lahey.

What do you think about the homework your kid is getting? Homeschooling parents, what’s your take on the homework wars?

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In Math for Grownups

How This Book Editor Learned to Like Math

Behind every author is a great editor. And I was dang lucky to have Jennifer Lawler as my editor for Math for Grownups. What I didn’t know was that I’d helped her out, too. Who says English majors can’t do math? Here’s her story:

A few years ago, I was working as a book development editor for Adams Media, the company that published Laura’s Math for Grownups, and I was assigned to edit the book. While I was looking forward to working with Laura, I was also a little nervous. Although I’m pretty good with basic math operations, I’m not that confident and tend to second-guess myself a lot. I just hoped that when I asked Laura questions that she wouldn’t give the dramatic sigh that my seventh-grade algebra teacher used to do when I expressed confusion.

Fortunately, she didn’t. Laura, like her book, is a kind and supportive person. It was fun to see that aspect of her personality show up on the page. And it was a project that helped me learn more about math than I did in junior high and high school combined. I don’t mean I memorized a bunch of formulas. I mean I learned a new way to think about math.

One of the first things Laura discussed in her book was the various ways people use to arrive at an answer to a problem. For years, I’d felt like I was doing math wrong, even though I was getting the correct answer, because I had a bunch of little shortcuts and methods I used that I had never been taught by a teacher in school. Laura showed how that is just fine—and she also emphasized the point that often in life we don’t need to be exact, we just need to be reasonably close. We can estimate, another habit I have that I always thought was somehow wrong of me to be using.

Because Math for Grownups was meant to be a review of  mathematical concepts for people just like me, I figured that any question I asked Laura was a question that a reader like me might have. So for the first time in my life, or at least since seventh grade, I didn’t feel embarrassed about asking math questions. “I’m doing it for the reader!” I told myself, and then Laura would either explain what I had missed or add a note or a sidebar to address the question. As the process continued, I felt more and more confident about my abilities. And I stopped beating myself up for making a mistake. Do I agonize over a typo in an email I dash off to a friend? No, because I know I’m a good writer and so I don’t feel defensive about it. But I used to beat myself up for simple math mistakes that anyone can make. That just made me feel even worse about math.

Laura pointed out that even mathematicians make mistakes in simple computations. For some reason, I hadn’t made that connection before. If I, a professional writer, can make a spelling error in an email, then of course even a mathematician can sometimes multiply 9 x 9 and come up with 72.

One of the things that working with Laura taught me was to ask myself questions about my results in order to catch those simple mistakes—questions along the lines of, “Does this answer seem reasonable?” So, if I’m doubling a recipe, and my calculation for the double batch shows an amount smaller than for the single batch, I know I’ve done something wrong. This is the math equivalent of proofreading, and once I understood how it worked, I was a lot more confident about my answers.

By the same token, I learned that I could look it up, just the way I do for a word I can’t remember how to spell. There’s nothing shameful about not remembering the formula for calculating volume. And I’ve dog-eared many pages in Laura’s book where I can find formulas I use a lot but can never seem to remember. I can never remember how to spell “occasionally” (have to look it up every.single.time) but I don’t think that somehow makes me a bad writer. Working with Laura taught me how to apply this same type of thinking to my math skills.

My greatest reward? Now I deal with math like a grownup, instead of like that frustrated seventh-grader I once was.

Jennifer Lawler is the author or coauthor of more than thirty nonfiction books as well as sixteen romances under various pen names. Her publishing experience includes stints as a a literary agent and as an acquisitions editor. She just released the second edition of Dojo Wisdom for Writers, the second book in her popular Dojo Wisdom series. She also offers classes in writing book proposals, planning a nonfiction book for self-publishing authors, and writing queries and synopses for novelists at www.BeYourOwnBookDoctor.com (under the “classes” tab).

And have you heard? I’m working on a new ebook, Math for Writers. Stay tuned for details!

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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Chappy the fitness coach

Raise your hand if you’re trying to get in shape for swimsuit season or a wedding? (I’m raising my hand!) May is prime time for folks to either get more serious about fitness or fall off the wagon. But fitness coaches like Chappy Callanta can help us stay focused to the very end — and then keep toned and slender. His gym in the Phillippines, 360 Fitness Club, not only offers expertise but equipment and classes, too. And — you guessed it — Chappy uses math. Here’s how.

Can you explain what you do for a living?

I develop strength and conditioning as well as general fitness programs for my gym. It involves a lot of research, a lot of experimentation and of course a lot of exercise. I also train teams and personal clients. I help them lose weight, get stronger, achieve a specific goal like running a marathon or even manage special conditions. I also write for Yahoo Philippines as their resident fitness blogger, and I maintain my own blog. My passion is fitness and wellness, and my mission is to spread the good word of being healthy to as many people as I can.

When do you use basic math in your job?

All the time actually. I use math when we compute for ideal weights of clients, find the right training load, or determine the number of calories one needs to consume to achieve a weight loss goal. I use math whenever I design programs for my clients. One specific situation when I use simple math would be when dealing with a weight loss client. One pound of fat is 3,500 calories. If you want to lose weight at a rate of 1 pound of week (which is doable and not too hard), you will have to create a deficit of 3,500 calories per week. I present this to a client and break down how she will be able to do it. We divide it by 7 because there’s 7 days in a week. Then we divide it by 2 because you want to lose weight through exercise and diet. That leaves you with 250 calories that you have to lose via exercise, and 250 calories through your diet. We’re just subtracting 250 calories per day from her regular diet and adding 250 calories worth of exercise per day. We compute for this using the MET system (metabolic equivalent of tasks) which takes into account the weight of a person and multiply it to the corresponding MET value of a specific activity.

Calories Burned ÷ hour = Weight in KG • MET value

For example, I weigh 80kg. The MET value for jumping rope is 10Mets. So if I skip rope for 1 hour I will lose 800 calories. That means if I want to lose 250 calories, the equation is:

Time = 250 cal ÷ (800 cal ÷ 60) = 18.75 minutes

Do you use any technology (like calculators or computers) to help with this math?

I usually don’t since I’m so used to it already. I write it down though on paper while I’m computing it so my clients see how the math works.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

It helps me to explain how the body works and how easy it is to lose or gain weight by using basic math and applying it to food and exercise. I believe that every trainer should practice mental math, so it’s easier to compute for the right training volume and intensity, as well as using the right load for each exercise.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I’m relatively comfortable with basic math. There really isn’t much calculus involved in my line of work. Most of it is basic arithmetic and operations. Geometry is also important when analyzing sports and the optimal angles of the joints for a specific activity.  Research shows how the ankles, knees, and hips should be angled for example when diving off the high dive. It’s useful information and it’s pretty cool also.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

I took Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus. I enjoyed it until we got to calculus. My grades showed that I was good at it but I enjoyed Geometry the most.

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

It was something that I already knew but I felt that I needed to practice it more. I practiced the equations and mental math with my clients so that today, I’m confident that I can do basic operations off the top of my head.

Do you have questions for Chappy? Feel free to ask in the comments section, and I’ll let him know. Also, take a look at his blog, which features great, inspirational tips. 

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In Holidays

Math at Work Monday: Santa Claus

There’s a lot of magic involved in Santa Claus’s annual journey around the world. Delivering presents to that many households can’t be done without it. But there’s also quite a bit of math. And I’m thrilled that Santa agreed to do this interview with us, revealing a few secrets of how math helps him in his work.

Can you explain what you do for a living?

Well, throughout the year, my main job is to oversee a large toy production facility at the North Pole. This includes supervising thousands of elves, who are responsible for toy manufacturing, as well as management of the reindeer stables, grounds work, sleigh maintenance and other smaller details.

But my main responsibility is only on one night of the year. On Christmas Eve, I pilot a large, flying sleigh, driven by eight reindeer and Rudolf, throughout the world to deliver presents to all good boys and girls. It’s a big night, and I usually take off the entire month of January to recover!

When do you use basic math in your job?

There’s a surprising amount of math involved in my work. These days, the naughty-and-nice list is in a database. A sophisticated set of formulas help me map out my once-a-year trip, which determines how the sleigh is packed. If Los Angeles gifts are on the top of the pack when I land in New York City — well, that’s a big problem.

I also need to manage my time, since I have so little of it that night. The different time zones help me stay a little ahead of the clock in most cases, but I sometimes have to do some on-the-spot figuring when weather becomes a problem.

But the real math is in the sleigh. Much like an airplane pilot, I must maintain a steady speed and take into account things like wind and visibility. The elves have helped equip the sleigh with state-of-the-art equipment, like gauges for altitude and speed. However, there have been some times when I’ve need to apply distance/speed/time ratios on the fly.

Do you use any technology to help with this math?

Absolutely. As I mentioned, we depend heavily on databases on the North Pole. These are housed in a large server, allowing us to manage our manufacturing quickly and easily. If a formula needs to be changed — for example, we need to greater ratio of purple bicycles to red bicycles — that alteration can be made in the database and applied throughout the facility. It streamlines the process considerably.

And I couldn’t fly to as many houses as I do today without my computerized dashboard in the sleigh. Each year, it’s calibrated to the specific weather conditions that are expected and even the current weight of the reindeer. Being able to customize these variables means making the most of those 20 hours that I’m in the sky.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

I’m sure many people have said this: I couldn’t do my job without math. From the elves’ payroll to the naughty and nice list, every point of this whole operation hinges on how well we’ve done the math.

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I’d much rather talk to a child about what he or she wants for Christmas than sit down and solve a bunch of algebraic equations. But I’ve learned that in order to accomplish all that I do, I need to do some computing, too. I feel pretty comfortable with math, but it’s not my favorite thing in the world.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

School was a lot different way back then. You have to remember, I’ve been around for a long, long time! Heck, calculus wasn’t even invented yet, and forget about the calculator! But I did fine with the little bit of math I did take in school.

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

When you’ve been in a job like mine for this long, you definitely have to pick up some new skills. The biggest changes have been technological. And once computers came on the scene, all of my operations had to be redesigned. I’ve even brought on some elves who are experienced with math modeling, so that we can stay ahead of any climate changes that will certainly affect our work. They’re developing up several models now with regards to the North Pole itself.

Thanks so much to Santa for taking time out of his incredibly busy schedule to answer a few questions. Happy holidays to everyone! In honor of the season, I’m going to take the rest of the week off. I’ll see you back on Monday, December 30, when we’ll kick off a really cool month designed to help you meet a special New Year’s resolution: brushing up on your basic math skills.

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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Sole the fashion designer

I’ve been dying to have a fashion designer in this spot for a very long time. So when designer Sole Salvo‘s message arrived in my inbox on Friday morning, I was thrilled! As an avid sewer — who doesn’t like using patterns — I am fascinated with the process of fashion design. I know there is a lot of math involved. Some of it has to be a gut instinct — how will this angle work on a human body? And some of it is very calculated — what do I need to add in order to get a 5/8″ seam allowance?

Sole has been working as a designer for nine years, currently working for a large clothing company in New York. Here’s how she uses math in her job.

Can you explain what you do for a living? 

I design women’s clothing. I sketch new styles then give the specs (measurements of the garment, like length, waist measurement, neck drop etc) to the tech designer or pattern maker to make a sample. I pick out fabrics, colors and trims, like buttons and thread, to complete the look of each garment. Once my seasonal collection is complete, I review it with my merchant team who decided what to buy for the store.

When do you use basic math in your job?

Math is important for design. We have to measure our sample garments to know where we need to add or subtract fabric to make the garment fit well. Additionally a strong understanding of geometry is important for understanding how the flat pattern shape will make up into a 3D garment as well as what part of the flat pattern to change to fix the fit.

Do you use any technology (like calculators or computers) to help with this math?

I usually don’t use technology for this myself because the calculations I have to do are usually simple, like adding 1/4″ here and 1/8″ there, but my cross functional partners on the tech team do use a computer program to digitally manipulate the flat garment pattern. I use Illustrator to draw my flat sketches — these are the detailed sketches that the factory pairs with the measurement specs to make up the sample. These drawings have to be very accurate and clear so the factory can see each detail of stitching and seaming, as well as the overall proportion and look of the garment.

How do you think math helps you do your job better?

Without math it would be impossible to keep sizes consistent, and it would be impossible to draft a garment pattern. In addition it would be impossible to create trim pages — the list of trims required to make a garment. We use numbers on those as well to tell the factory how many buttons to use on each shirt. The factory must multiply the number of buttons by the number of shirts they are making to order enough buttons. It becomes very important when ordering because if you make a little mistake on a style that has 100,000 pieces on order, all of a sudden you could wind up with 100,000 too many buttons!

How comfortable with math do you feel?

I feel very comfortable with math in what I do. I deal with whole numbers and simple fractions for the most part.  I also have a strong sense of geometry. I can visualize what a pattern piece would look like if it is draped on the body, and this helps me design and also helps me make comments in my fittings.

What kind of math did you take in high school?

I took algebra, geometry and calculus.  Algebra was manageable, geometry I could do with my eyes closed. I can essentially reander 3D models in my head, so anything that involves shapes and how to manipulate them comes naturally to me. Calculus was more of a challenge. When it came to doing more complicated problems, I struggled. I did ok in the end, but I had to really study in calculus.

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job?

Knowing how to add fractions comes in handy every day.  Also area is important. If you are working on a garment, sometimes the size might be right, but the fabric is just distributed in the wrong place. To fix it, you might have to keep your total area the same, but just shift it around to make it lay flat or to drape just the right way.

Thanks so much, Sole! If you have questions for her, ask them in the comments section. 

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In Math at Work Monday

Math at Work Monday: Cecilia the grant writer

While we’re on the subject of museums, I thought I’d introduce you to Cecilia Meisner, who is the Director of Grants and Government Relations at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). In short, she’s a fundraiser, specializing in writing grants (rather than asking folks like you and me for donations). These grants may come from foundations or government agencies or corporate funding divisions. 

And with a newly renovated contemporary art wing, the BMA can use all of the funds it can get. Naturally, Cecilia uses quite a bit of math in her job. Here’s how.

Can you explain what you do for a living?  I oversee fundraising from foundation, corporate, and government sources to support The Baltimore Museum of Art.  A lot of my work is writing (grant proposals, reports, letters of inquiry or acknowledgement), but I also do a lot of work with creating grant budgets, tracking grant-funded expenses, and reporting back to the funders.

When do you use basic math in your job?  It can be as simple as applying a percentage to a salary to show the value of staff benefits in a grant proposals, and as complicated as tracking hours worked on a project for dozens of employees over the course of two years.

Do you use any technology to help with this math?  I NEVER do math in my head: I always use an old-fashioned adding machine with a paper tape for quick calculations, and I loooove spreadsheet programs for creating budgets and tracking expenses.  The first one I ever used was Lotus 1-2-3 but now I use Excel.  I have been working in this job long enough that I used to use huge binders full of ledger paper to track expenses with pen on paper – hence the need to run a paper tape on everything: they didn’t add up automatically, unlike computerized spreadsheets!

How do you think math helps you do your job better?  Funders don’t want to give money unless they feel secure that it is enough to get the job done, and that the recipient will manage the money carefully.  And since we are audited every year by an outside auditing firm, it is a lot easier to make sure everything is done right the first time, rather than having to go back and make a lot of end-of-year journal entries in the organization’s books.

How comfortable with math do you feel?  I am very comfortable with the math I use in my work: basic functions plus percentages (which a surprising number of people do wrong, I find as I review draft grant budgets).  That being said, I am utterly incapable of helping my 10th grader with his Algebra II/Pre-Calc, Trig, Probability & Statistics, or Physics homework.

What kind of math did you take in high school?  I didn’t take any math after 9th grade “pre-Geometry.”  I was very intimidated by math, and I took enough science courses (Chemistry, Physics, Geology) to fulfill my high school’s joint math/science requirement. Because I got a high enough grade on the ACT test math portion, I was able to exempt out of Freshman Mathematics in college. I didn’t need any additional math as a requirement for my major. I escaped math in high school and college, but it caught up with me in the work world, and it turns out that it isn’t so bad after all! I wish I had Math for Grownups when I was in high school and college – I might not have been so intimidated!

Did you have to learn new skills in order to do the math you use in your job? I was totally set with the basic addition-mulitplication-subtraction-division-percentages skills, but I did need to learn how to use spreadsheet and double-entry accounting, and how to use the specific spreadsheet software programs.

Do you have questions about grant writing and administration? If so, ask in the comments section, and I’ll let Cecilia know!

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