During my lifetime, I have followed 2 simple rules that have kept me happy. Rule #1: Do what makes you happy and Rule #2: always try your best. These rules apply to the job you choose, relationships you have and for those choosing to compete in mathematics. I have loved mathemati...
Teachers that I meet at workshops and parents that talk to me frequently, ask me how I can remain so motivated about teaching and writing instructional math workbooks. The answer is simple. I am constantly looking for better ways to teach a concept or a faster way to solve a math...
Performing well under pressure is something that all of us want to do. When I was in college I was playing in the semi-finals of a badminton tournament. I had only scored 1 point and was 1 point from elimination. Incredibly, I scored 20 straight points to win and then proceeded t...
There are numerous instances in mathematics where common errors occur. In my opinion, the most frequent in my career occurred when 0 divided a number. Division by 0 occurs in elementary mathematics, coordinate geometry (finding slope) and calculus (finding limits). Explaining why...
I still remember a comment made to me by an English teacher, Mr. Hook, when I was attending Mission High School. Mr. Hook said, “Leo, you have an innate ability to get people to do what you want, but they believe that they made the decision to act.” Incredibly, this occurre...
During my career, I had to prepare my students for number sense, calculator applications and mathematics. Trying to find time for all three was difficult, but I managed to do it because of the way I organized my lesson content. This became evident several months ago, when I was a...
During my teaching and coaching career, I have been told by the students in my classroom and by those I prepare for competitive mathematics that they learn many more concepts from me than from their other teachers or coaches in the same amount of time. Since I self-analyze, I hav...
Every teacher, academic coach and parent needs to be a good listener. Students and children need to know that what they say is important. They can learn to be good listeners themselves by observing the adults around them. Be willing to answer questions, as each question asked is ...
In recent years, I have learned the value of using YouTube to learn mathematics. There have been times when I am trying to review a concept that I knew in the past, but have trouble with in the present. During these times, it is difficult to reach out to a peer for help. At these...
One of my goals as a teacher and mathematics coach was to inspire excellence. I tried to inspire excellence by modeling. I have been doing that for more than 44 years. I always wanted to show students how much I loved what I did. I demonstrated what I felt by the way that I sough...
