Teacher's on a mission to draw students to math

The U.S. must do more to educate pupils to compete globally, the teacher says.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Math can be intimidating.
So how does a man who's been picked to travel around the globe by Texas Instruments, SMART Board and Toyota because of his phenomenal math skills put people at ease?
A sense of humor helps.
"I think that's very important," Tom Reardon, chairman of Fitch High School's math department, said last week on the eve of his trip to St. Louis for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference. "If I'm intimidating, then I've lost you."
Toyota picked Reardon as one of only 40 teachers to study the culture, history, education, industry and technology of its home country through its Teacher International Program. He'll leave June 23 for Japan.
When he returns, he will deliver this message to teachers, parents and pupils: Think more globally. It's a lesson the teacher of 32 years has already planned.
"There's all kinds of outsourcing going on because of the Internet." That can be positive, he said, "But right now, it's hurting us, because we aren't reacting properly.
"We have to say [to pupils], 'You are competing with that kid who doesn't have a lot of money but is really smart in India. He's gonna take your job away. You have to be ambitious.' It comes with parents saying it, teachers saying it."
Also going to Paris
Reardon also will travel to Paris on July 22, courtesy of Texas Instruments. He is one of two high-school math teachers the company is sending there this summer to observe an international math conference and to help write educational materials for a graphic calculator designed for use in Europe. The calculator has a computer algebra system that's not used in the U.S.
"Europe is ahead of us," he said.
He and 11 other people from around the world were chosen to write activities for the new calculator. "We'll illustrate how it's used to solve problems," he said.
Texas Instruments already has a working relationship with Reardon, who helped them develop TI-SmartView, graphic-calculator emulator software that puts a calculator right onto a high-tech teaching tool called a SMART Board. A picture of Reardon teaching his third-period class appears on the product box.
Promoting the product
In St. Louis, Reardon was to talk up the SMART Board, an interactive, touch-sensitive whiteboard that connects to a computer and digital projector to show the computer image. He made a deal with the company to talk about its product at the conference if the company paid his way there.
He was instrumental in bringing SMART Boards to math classes at Fitch, which now has 10 of them.
"I went to a national conference in Orlando in 1999," he said. "A guy was giving a talk on these, and I couldn't believe it. I came back and wrote a grant for $4,000 and put it together, then I wrote a grant for other teachers."
Also in Reardon's classroom is the TI Navigator, a device that links his computer to his students' graphic calculators so they can interact. "I might be the only teacher in the area that has this," he said. "It's fairly new." But it's the calculator software and the SMART Board, he said, that prompt his traveling all over the country to give speeches and presentations at conferences and workshops.
Grading AP calculus exams
His trip to Colorado is an exception. At Colorado State University, he'll be a grader for the advanced placement calculus exam. From June 1 to 9, he'll help grade calculus essay tests eight hours a day from "a couple hundred thousand kids across the country."
Fitch began its advanced placement calculus program in 1999. "I was told by teachers who teach it: To really learn it, grade the exam," Reardon said. Applicants wait years for a chance to grade the test. Reardon applied in 2001.
Reardon isn't always traveling, presenting, speaking and helping to develop new technology. Sometimes, he's teaching at Youngstown State University or writing a math textbook.
But outside of math, he likes to read, and says bike riding is a great way for him to relax. You also might find him playing the guitar and singing at a friend's wedding, or on eBay, searching for old Beatles memorabilia. Some of his Beatles posters are on the wall in his classroom.
Twice a week, he meets friends at the high school for basketball -- at 6 a.m., before work.
He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Paula, and three grown children. He and Paula plan stay an extra four days in Paris to enjoy the city.
But he's always been passionate about teaching. "I've always liked math. I like kids."
And he likes teaching at Austintown. "They have high [expectations], but let you pursue how you'll attain those. That lets us become better teachers."