How do you hold a dream in your hand?  Drive down to Jones County Junior College and view one road to success.  It is called the Math Bowl.  The entire math department, led by one dedicated algebra teacher and supported by the Academic Dean, hosts a competition of math teams that comes from High Schools in 8 counties in Southeast Mississippi.  Public and Private schools appear on a Wednesday, pair off in a double elimination tournament to see whose team is the best that day.  In the end, one team can claim the honor. Sadly,  few know about the competition.   Let’s find a way to change that.  Let’s find a way to use this event as a spring board to create a league of math teams who compete all fall, just like the football teams do. In the end, there will be a winner.

If there are rewards, more students will seek to be a member of the elite team. More will practice after school to learn the skill they will need to make the team.  All the sports are like this, why not math? In math, however, practice means that when the students are tested, as all are, their scores will improve.  ACT scores will improve.  The ranking of the school improves, and so does the student’s ranking.  You know where that leads.  Scholarships for sure.

Last month, the Math Bowl was held.  There was a winner, there were 20 losers.  All the students were bright, otherwise they would not have come.  There were all kinds of students from all backgrounds.  Their IQ’s most likely were all in the higher ranges.  Some were poor, some rich.  Some were outgoing, yet some where shy.  There were lots of girls, unlike football.  The truth is that all the teams were the same, but some were better than others.  How can they be so alike, yet some much better?

Here’s why?  Their teachers are different. 

Let’s go find more teachers like these who worked harder and brought winning teams.  If we do that, by any means necessary, our education problems will be solved.  Surely that will lead to many more solutions.  The days of being last will be gone.  No more jokes about Mississippi.

Wonder if some parent will one day say?  “Our math team lost again.  What is wrong?  My child is as smart as those others.  It’s the Coach! Get us one who will win.  My child deserves that?”  

This happens somewhere every year in football.  Why not Math?

More next week!