At Jepson Middle School, a ‘lifelong learner’ excels at teaching – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Willis Jepson Middle School math teacher Keri Tafuro understands that not all her seventh- and eighth-graders immediately grasp pre-algebra and algebra and geometry concepts such as the number system, variables, equations, the meaning of slope, the Pythagorean Theorem, polygons, linear functions and more.

So she uses a whimsical but still down-to-earth method to teach the building blocks that will contribute to their understanding and success in math when they reach high school.

“I try to tell a story, make it into a story, even if it’s a silly story,” Tafuro, a longtime educator who’s in her fourth year at the Elder Street campus, said during a Thursday interview. “Right now we’re talking about square roots, likening it to leaving the mythical square root forest. And you have a twin to leave. And so, when you’re through a magical gate, one of them disappears. I just hope they remember that. We try to have fun with it.”

Source: At Jepson Middle School, a ‘lifelong learner’ excels at teaching – The Reporter

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