'Do the Math’ returns

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It takes many dedicated math teachers to answer the phones and provide the help students seek when they call in to Do the Math.

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Director John Lenko and technical director Brian Puckett keep everything running smoothly during the live airing of Do the Math.

Do the Math returns for its eighth season beginning Sept. 15, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 4-5 p.m. on Bright House Networks Ch. 15 and streaming at http://www.ketn.tv. Certificated math teachers will be taking calls from students and working problems live over the phone and on TV from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The show’s director, Kern County Superintendent of Schools Instructional Media Coordinator John Lenko, has been at the helm of the ship since it first went on the air. He and executive director Laurie Maclin brought the concept to reality by patterning it after several successful models they saw being used in other counties.

Students desiring a little extra help with their math homework can dial the Do the Math help lines, (661) 636-4357 and toll free (866) 636-6284, from 3:30-5:30 p.m., to have problems solved over the phone. Some callers will have their problems worked live on TV between 4 and 5 p.m. Do the Math originates from the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office in Bakersfield, where it was developed. All instruction and tutoring adheres to California Department of Education curriculum standards.

It works extremely well with the show averaging between 50-80 callers a day. But Lenko and Maclin had one variable in the beginning that they had no way of gauging until the first show aired back on April 3, 2002. How would classroom math teachers, being thrust into the roll of on-air performers, react once the cameras came on and all of sudden it was live? Lenko said he is “amazed” by how well the transformation took place then and continues to this day.

“Do you know how tough it is to do live TV,” Lenko said. “Our teachers operate with only a show outline and are required to work math problems, while listening to a phone caller in one ear and sometimes the director in the other. In circus parlance, these ladies and gentlemen work without a net every show day. I am so impressed with their work.”

Lenko’s entire staff of six KCSOS television employees run cameras, set the lighting, operate audio controls, floor direct, roll videotapes, superimpose screen information and communicate with callers waiting to go on air. A group of math teachers handle a bank of phones, working problems for students who call in seeking homework help off-air, too.

When you go live, lots of things can happen. Occasionally, while one of the TV math tutors is working a problem, live on-air, they may hear the sounds of barking dogs, crying babies or in some cases a young viewer might simply put the phone down while they go to answer the door. And on the rare occasion when a tutor gets distracted by an unplanned outside intrusion, the reliable backbone is teacher/host Michael Cushine. He keeps the show moving with a good blend of clever ad libs and useful information, but he is also the lifeline stepping into help should a tutor need it. That means he keeps track of every problem being worked, while planning transitions for the next segment.

How well the show works can be measured in many ways, according to Lenko.

“It is not unusual to hear a student phone caller say, ‘My mom and I have a question,’” Lenko said. “They are both on different phones listening and watching as the problem is being worked. I think that’s great because it shows me the parent has a real interest in knowing how to do the math, too, so they can help the child now and in the future. Then, there is the thrill of hearing a caller’s reaction, once the light bulb comes on, and they realize they have learned how to work the problem. I wonder to myself, how many other light bulbs come on at the same time in the heads of other students who didn’t call but benefited from seeing the problem worked.

Do the Math is not just about working homework problems live on TV. There are regularly scheduled lesson plans, too. Cushine does a Math in the News segment using current events to offer students a different way of thinking about how math can be applied in the world around them. There is a also the Daily Challenge in which the first viewer to correctly answer the problem wins a prize and the honor of a future visit to the studio to work their problem live with the Do the Math team. Do the Math even takes the show on the road to various classrooms in the county, making local teachers and students a part of the program as they show how to work a problem which appears as a videotaped segment in a future show.

Technology has put Do the Math not only on the viewer’s family TV set and in the after school classroom, but students can also view it live or review archives of past programs on the Internet by clicking on the Do the Math link at http://www.kern.org. Theoretically, that means anyone in the world with Internet connectivity can watch it.

“What are the chances,” Lenko asked. “Well, we actually got a call from an unemployed factory worker from Ohio who stumbled upon a live streaming of the show, while surfing the net. He told us it was helping him, since he had decided to go back to school. In fact, the reason he called was because he missed the show when it did not air one day.”

Major support for Do the Math comes from the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Chevron, Bakersfield City and Panama-Buena Vista Union school districts. Additional support is provided by Golden Empire McDonald’s Owners and Operators, and Russo’s Books.


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