Math Monday: The Essential Element For Success

No matter how good the curriculum that's being used, success really depends on the human element that's in front of the class. For example, take a look at Washington State fourth grade teacher Charlene Maib:

COLLEGE PLACE - A simple review of place value turned into a competitive game in Charlene Maib's fourth-grade math class at Meadow Brook Intermediate.

Using an overhead projector, Maib explained how the students would add place values until they reached their target sum.

``Do you see how we're playing this?'' she asked the class. ``The first one to get 10,000 wins.''

Keeping her students interested and engaged is a challenge Maib takes seriously as a teacher. Keeping herself educated on fresh approaches to math is part of what has helped her students succeed.

Maib was recently recognized by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for her work on a committee to evaluate math curriculum.

``It was a huge, huge learning experience,'' she said.

She has served on committees throughout the state for the last four years. Doing so has kept her up to date on advances in math curriculum.It also offers her new ways to approach education with her own students.

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