Math in MUSE

Math in MUSE

Throughout the six-week summer enrichment program, both the coaches and the students were met with challenges, and triumphs. As the MUSE math instructor, it was my responsibility to decipher a common ground for the multiple students who came from various math backgrounds. In short, I found a creative way to mix both algebra and geometry, in a fun and challenging way. It was my goal to expose the MUSE students to typical math concepts students in the Detroit Public School (DPS) district struggle with as well as help them develop logical and critical thinking skills; furthermore, I often pushed them to “think outside the box.” In turn, I was usually the one facing the greatest challenge of forcing them to understand how higher level thinking would be beneficial in the long run. Were they always up for the challenge? Of course not! Did they pass the challenge? At the end of the day, yes!

It’s always great to know that I’m making a difference in the lives of young people, especially from the city of Detroit where positive role models from minority backgrounds are few and far between. Though I often went home stressed, I know the impact that I made on my student’s has been significant. The DPS district, which is predominantly African American, is faced with low graduation rates (24.9%), and the 75% of students who do not graduate usually face poverty, or worse, jail time. Surprisingly, MUSE 2011 was comprised of majority males, which was totally unexpected. However, it was beneficial for my personal and professional growth to work with young men, who often presented a challenge and some even admitted to venturing down the wrong path because they tested my patience and my ability to connect to their lifestyles. I found that it’s important to relate to students if you want them to gain respect for not only a teacher, but learning as well. Even if I can’t be Superman, and save the world, I know that I did my best to present myself as a positive, educated, African American male, role model to eight young men. I will walk away from MUSE with eight more brothers because they leapt into my heart.

From George Hardy (UPenn ’12), Math Instrcutor for MUSE

MUSE Student Field Trips

This year, we were able to take the MUSE children on the following three field trips: the Horizons-Upward Bound College Fair at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, the University of Michigan, and the Holocaust Museum. Each trip was educational in its own way, and the children were able to garner a wealth of information about different topics.

 One of the nation’s largest Upward Bound programs (Horizons-Upward Bound outside of Detroit, MI), invited the MUSE students to attend its annual college fair, which hosts a plethora of colleges from Michigan and other Midwestern states, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and a small number of liberal arts colleges on the East Coast. Although my students range from grades 8-10, all of the teaching staff thought that it was never too early to start preparing them for college. At the college fair, students wereable to engage in meaningful conversation with several recruiters, and as a result, were able to gain insight as to which aspects of college life (e.g. small class sizes, a top ten sports team, a specific major or concentration of study, etc.) were most important to them. After the college fair, students were given a tour of the historic Cranbrook Kingswood campus. Many of the students were happy to venture outside of their urban dwellings in Detroit to explore both the architecture as well as the natural beauty of the ponds, lakes, gardens, and forestry that comprised the boarding school’s campus. Upon returning back to our school, one of our students proclaimed that the trip had been the “best day of [his] life”.

Our second trip was to the University of Michigan’s campus. While on campus, students were given a tour of the libraries, science center, student union, and more by a rising senior at the university. They were able to engage in dialogue with her about traditions on campus, admissions expectations, and the pros and cons of attending school in-state. None of the students had ever visited the college campus before, and unanimously agreed that the trip was as informative as it was fun. 

Last Thursday, we took our students to their last field trip, which was to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, MI. The museum is well known throughout Michigan as the first freestanding museum dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, and houses an array of exhibits to shed light on horrors that the Nazis and their allies brought upon Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Again, because the majority of our students attend school in the Detroit Public School district, they have not yet had an opportunity to learn in depth about the Holocaust, and we thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to learn about the history of a group other than their own. At the museum, the students were able to listen to the narrative of a Holocaust survivor, and ask him questions about his life in concentration camps and how he reconnect with a few of his family members. The students were visibly touched by his very remarkable story of survival. The students were given a tour of the museum by a docent, and saw pictures, videos, and exhibits that gave them a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.

All of our field trips turned out to be rewarding experiences for both MUSE Coaches and students alike. Next year, we plan to increase the number of field trips we take so that we can expose the students to more than what is within their immediate living vicinity.