"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring"

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY FOR THE OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NEEDS TO BE:
EVERY 2nd Grader Fluently adds and subtracts to 20 and Knows grade-level phonics and vocabulary

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WE TEACH MATH

Since May 2009, we have been teaching math to elementary, middle and high school students in West Oakland on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.

We believe the lack of math skills is the number one reason why inner city kids drop-out of school and end up on the street. We believe that by providing the math foundation students need, at the appropriate age, we can keep students performing at grade level, thus increasing their ability to learn the new material presented in class each day, and building in them a belief in their ability to succeed.

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A high school sophomore we work with was put into Algebra II after flunking Algebra and Geometry. He could not do fractions. Starting with fractions, we taught him continually higher concepts -- until one day he showed what he learned in school: factoring quadratic equations. Having mastered the preceding material, he could now learn in class.

HOW WE TEACH MATH

We begin by teaching pre-schoolers how to count from 1 to 10.
Then we introduce a picture for each number which simultaneously reinforces the identity of the number with how many it is.
By establishing these pictures, our goal is to eliminate students having to recount over and over again when adding or subtracting.
In contrast, our process instills number sense.
We take numbers apart and put them back together.
This foundation makes for a sure footing for all future mathematics.

There is a girl we work with who was held back in first grade. She was hesitant and insecure in math. We started working with her -- and after a year she has blossomed. Now, not only is she at grade level, she is enthusiastic, independent and eager to learn more every time we see her.

WE TEACH SELF-CONTROL

We coach the kids through a process of developing techniques to get themselves under control and make their lives successful. We encourage them to judge their actions in the context of "winning" in life, and to focus on "what". What did you do, what do you wish you had done, and what specific action will you take to change the outcome.

WHAT'S NEXT

We are raising money to fund working full-time with the four elementary schools in West Oakland. Our objective in the first year is to develop relationships and trust among the teachers and administration by volunteering in the classroom, getting to know the principals and meeting the families of the students.

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