Mr Miller - Geometry

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About The Teacher Label:


About The Teacher
I was a DoDDS student in both Frankfurt (1971-1974) and Berlin(1977-1980), my Father served in the US Army for 23 years. Upon graduating from Ft Meade High School (Maryland) in 1982, I joined the US Air Force and served as a firefighter until 1987. I was able to serve in three locations: KI Sawyer AFB-Upper Penninsula of Michigan, Kunsan AFB-Korea, and Malmstrom AFB- Montana. After the Air Force, I remained in Montana. I attended a truck driving training school located in Missoula, Montana. Afterward, I drove truck over- the-road full time for two years. In 1989, I wanted to change careers due to inadequate compensation and a desire to spend more time at home with my wife. To improve my employment opportunities, I decided to pursue a college education at the University of Montana. To help pay for college I joined the Montana Army National Guard and served as a M1 Abrams tank driver/gunner for four years. Between the guard, tutoring, and part-time school bus/motor coach/truck driving, I was able to work my way through college. I graduated with a BA in Secondary Mathematics in 1994. For several years after college, I continued to drive and I worked as a truck driving instructor at the same school I attended in 1987. In addition, I taught college algebra and technical mathematics as an adjunct instructor at the local College of Technology. Occasionally, I was also able to substitute at the local High Schools. I was hired by DoDEA in 2001 and assigned to teach 7-12 grade mathematics at WT Sampson MS/HS in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Then in 2007, I moved to Germany as an algebra coach for the Bavaria school district and in 2008 I joined the staff at Bamberg MS/HS. I have been married for 22 years and I am the proud father of three children (ages 6, 13, and 16). Education background: BA - Mathematics (Secondary Education Emphasis) M.Ed. - Learning and Technology

Mission Label:


Mission
Students should take responsibility for thier learning. They should be able to discern between work done well and work not done well and strive to always do well. Students should take advantage of the opportuntity to redo work in order to improve thier knowledge of and ability in Mathematics. I believe every student in my class can succeed in mathematics, regardless of their background. It is truly up to each student; they have to want to learn and put forth the effort necessary to complete quality work. They must strive to complete assignments on time, invest the time to complete quality work with understanding, come to class with the proper materials, review notes/lessons daily, pay attention in class, and seek help either online or face-to-face when necessary. Most students will not commit to improving their understanding of math on their own, they tend to view math as unnecessary for their future and not worthy of the effort. They really need to be positively encouraged by the adults in their lives to do their best in all subjects. The world has changed dramatically in the last ten years. Global competition requires that our students be prepared to compete with workers from all over the globe. Current technology provides opportunities for countries that have not been able to compete with us in the past to give us a run for our money now. In order to stay competitive our students will need to be able to use technology to troubleshoot problems, gather information,provide analysis for the information, and communicate/articulate their ideas in an effective manner. Todays students will also be our main source of new ideas and innovations for the future. All students will require some form of post high school training in order to be gainfully employed with a livable income. Training could include college, trade school, apprenticeship, or certification program. Whatever it is, not attending some sort of school/training after high school is no longer an option. Each one of these options requires a good background in HS math; students are either going to learn it for free now or pay a good amount of money to learn it later. One way or another students will need to have a good understanding of Algebra and Geometry in order to advance in any career. Mathematics plays a major role in developing the thinking skills necessary to achieve success after high school in the technological world. We can no longer allow ourselves to accept low math skills as normal. Math can be difficult to learn because it makes us feel inadequate or dumb if we do not understand. We tend to avoid anything that makes us feel this way, so we downplay its importance and completely avoid dealing with it. I try to encourage students to work through this feeling, math is about improving your understanding by learning from your mistakes and not giving up. Most teenagers do not give up when they are having difficulty playing a video game or competing in a sport, they play over and over (each time learning from their previous mistakes)until they reach the next level. If they put forth the same effort to their academic endeavors, imagine how much they could achieve.