Alwyn Poole
Alwyn Poole founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. MH Academy is now an in person private school for Year 11-13. There is now a nationwide online provision called Mt Hobson Academy Connected for Years 1-13.
I enjoyed math as a student up until 13yo. At that point all of my teachers assumed that my abilities were intuitive and myself and others in my stream were taught very little of method and there was no emphasis on being rigorous. By year 13 I had quit the subject so chose what I hoped would be a descriptive degree major – economics – to avoid math. My despair and desperation at the level of statistics, differential calculus and algebra in my major drove me to go right back to the beginning of mathematics learning and to building a new foundation brick by brick. I therefore ensured an “aha” type understanding and ability to apply concepts up to the needed level.
Subsequently I have taught math as a subject and high quality applications of it in economics and science. This is what I tell all students about the subject.
- Mathematics is ‘do-able’ (not necessarily always easy but you CAN do it).
- There are only four functions to master (+,-,/,x) similar to tennis only having five shots.
- There are rules to follow like sport has rules, eg BEDMAS, as order of operations.
- Attack the language! Mathematics is like any language and the words/symbols can appear daunting but all are understandable and have purpose.
- Do significant purposeful practice and ALWAYS get HELP when stuck. Don’t stop practicing until the fog clears and you go “AHA!”. Don’t worry about the person ahead of you – he/she has done more practice – play the long game with confidence.
- Always get 100 per cent. This might not be in the moment but review, get help and correct all problems and tests. Making mistakes is no big deal – not fixing them with understanding is.
For all subjects/arts/sports – the two key things are – understanding and locking concepts/information/actions into long-term memory. How to do that is below.
- Be well organized for every school day. Turn off devices an hour before bed. Sleep well. Eat breakfast. Have all books and equipment you need for school. Dress well. Start the day with a great attitude. Hug your parents on the way out the door.
- Look forward to classes. Be positive towards all subjects and all teachers – even when others are complaining. When others are negative – that is a great opportunity. Be the counter-culture. Love the teacher that everyone else thinks is horrible and useless.
- Pay MASSIVE attention in every class. Make good notes. When you don’t understand – ask questions. This could be during or after class. Understanding in class is so important. FOCUS is everything!
- Take all of your subject books home each night and;
– with pencil in hand – review the lesson for the day in each subject. For math – practice the hardest problems until the lights go on and you go – “aha!”
– each night – for one of your subjects – write summary notes for the past week.
– then do your set homework.
- If you do this process every day, then what you are learning will be in your long-term memory and when you get towards exams/assessments you will know things very well already. You will be able to do practice exams/assessments and perfect things. You may not think you are a genius but genius is about effort! You can do it. When exams come up create a great study time-table and stick to it. DO NOT waste study leave.
- Always aim for excellence/100 per cent! If you aim for the stars and land on the moon it is a great achievement. There is no career that you cannot work towards. Aim to master every concept in every subject – from Math and English to all of your options.
Follow your heart and not trends, but work to be the very best that you can be in your chosen field – and be a good human being with a faith and deep compassion for fellow humans.
This is the best time ever to grow up. Make the most of it. I am going to do my piano lesson now – I am aiming to be an adult prodigy.
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