Signal Mountain High School Algebra II teacher Jim Porter will have kids using “math” and “fun” in the same sentence after they complete the Mountain Education Foundation’s new math camps he will be leading at SMHS all summer long.
Intended for rising fifth- through eighth-graders, the camp is $185. One-week sessions will be held Monday-Friday, June 2-6, 9-13, 16-20 and 23-27 and July 7-11 and 14-18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“I’ll be emphasizing hands-on activities and doing as much as possible outdoors,” Porter said.
A few of the activities planned include the indirect measurement of shadows and finding symmetry in nature. The use of math in sports such as baseball, football and soccer will also be explored. Porter said he plans to introduce the use of graphing calculators to the younger students.
A math major at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be helping with the camp and coming up with more fun ideas, and SMHS students will be helping out as well, Porter said.
“I hope they gain a love for math,” he said of camp participants. “I’m pumped about showing kids how fun math is and how much it’s used in everyday life. I love math and want to instill that in the younger generation.”
Porter has been teaching math for more than 30 years. He recently began teaching at SMHS, and this is the first time he has offered a math camp.
“It keeps kids from having their math skills get rusty,” he said in regards to the benefits of the camp. “The emphasis will not be on rote hand computation they might be used to doing in class.”
To sign up for the camp, visit meftoday.org or call 517-0772.