Doing more than math

dothemath062.jpg: Do the Math
Do The Math Host Michael Cushine joins the “helpline” phone tutors to solve student problems prior to the start of the TV show.
If you can imagine a juggler spinning dishes on sticks in front of a live TV audience, Do the Math Director John Lenko says you can probably imagine what he does on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. "I've got to switch live between three anchors, three camera operators, callers waiting on line, multiple video and audio sources and get us on and off the air on time. If those dishes start to slow down and wobble, I have to keep them spinning." Lenko laughed.

Do the Math returned to the airways on Oct. 3, after a summer hiatus, to help tutor Kern County students with their math homework. Lenko works for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, and the show originates from the superintendent's TV studios. In fact, another employee of the superintendent, Laurie Maclin, is the executive producer, and she came up with the idea for the show.

Do the Math features full-time, public school math teachers who have been transformed into TV personalities. Claudia Pagano teaches math at Frontier High School. This is her second year co-hosting the show.

"Two years ago, I just dropped by the studio to answer phones and help work some math problems called in by students," Pagano remembered. "When they told me I was going to be on the air, I was shocked. But you know, it's awesome being on TV knowing you are helping students succeed. That's what keeps bringing me back. They are my family away from school."

As the show goes on, Cheryl Rodriguez, a math teacher at Actis Junior High, is at the erase board working a problem live for a student, who has called in while at home watching her solve it on TV.

"Are the lines going parallel or up and down," Rodriguez asks the caller. "Look at the angles on top..."

Within a couple of minutes, Rodriguez has it solved. She takes her place back behind the anchor desk, and Pagano heads over to the board with marking pen in hand ready to handle the next caller's dilemma.

"Oh, this is quite a bit more distracting than the classroom," Rodriguez said. "You have to stay focused on the problem while looking into a camera and blocking out the sounds of phone tutors who are out of camera view answering other calls at the same time. I imagine I am looking at the student caller. As you work the problem, and they talk to you, it's almost like you can see them. I try to provide as much detail on the erase board as I would if I were working in the classroom."

Live TV is just the tip of the Do the Math iceberg. The phone "helpline" opens for callers at 3:30 p.m., a half hour before the show begins on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and stays open a half hour after the show ends, until 5:30 p.m. Not all callers have their problems worked on TV. Many receive assistance from the patient and knowledgeable bank of math teachers who work behind the scenes answering the helpline. More than 90 callers will have their problems solved during a typical day.

After each TV problem is solved, show host Michael Cushine reminds viewers, "The helpline is open at 636-4357 or toll free (866) 636-6284"... and then frequently segues into another call. Cushine is a former radio personality and current fifth-grade math teacher at Van Horn School whose professional voice, sense of humor, timing and broadcasting savvy keeps the show rolling. This day, Cushine opens the show with a segment called "Math in the News."

"This flu season 20-25 percent of the population will come down with the flu," Cushine informs his audience, as the segment continues. He may toss in a "Challenge Problem," which he sets up on the screen for viewers to see. They then have a week to solve it to win a prize. There is also a Math-X" contest, inviting fifth and sixth-grade students to correctly solve five problems to win a monthly prize. Contest questions for the Challenge Problem and Math-X can be found on the Do the Math Web site, http://kcsos.kern.org/dothemath.

Lenko is the behind-the-scenes juggler. But if the phone banks, an anchor's microphone or a videotape fails, or if Pagano or Rodriguez get stumped by a problem, Cushine becomes the visible juggler. That doesn't happen very often, but when it does Cushine is great at ad libbing.

"It is tough working a problem, listening to a caller and keeping focused on the cameras," Cushine said. "My role is to keep up with what they are doing and step in if I see they need help.

Most of the time that happens when a caller leaves out an important detail in the question they ask."

So, it's back to the board with Pagano, and time to learn something new.

"Okay, to work this problem you have to remember the phrase 'Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,' " Pagano tells her viewers.

To find out what that means and some other very helpful lessons in solving math problems based on California curriculum standards, tune in to Do the Math, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 4-5 p.m. on Bright House Networks Ch. 15, Suddenlink Communications Ch. 20, Charter Cable Channels 19 and 46 and Mediacom Cable Ch. 8. Archives of past programs can be found at the Do the Math Web site.


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