Strength in Numbers

Tipping is intimidating to some people. Maybe that's you. This episode is for you. Take a listen and learn. This is a continuation of the prior episode so please listen to Ep. 35 first. Our goal is to help you BUILD your strength in numbers so you can USE your strength in numbers IRL. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

I reached out to some friends about what they would like to hear on this podcast. The best tip I received was to do an episode about tipping. Before we begin I have a tip for you - listen to the episode two times, and you'll start to see the scales tip in your favor as you understand more and more. I think I've covered all the tipping puns so if you're feeling tipsy by now I totally get it. Without further ado, let the games begin! We are ready for tipoff. Need help with math? Contact us www.sint.org

There's few situations quite like learning - or teaching - how to drive a stick shift, or manual transmission. Maybe how to operate a parachute after jumping from the plane is close. But my Mom did it. She taught me how to do this hard thing, but it's not so much the mechanics of the driving that I remember most. It's how she taught me that I treasure the most, and it's those same principles I have used in tutoring for 25+ years. So jump in with us in our 1993 Honda Accord stick shift, and buckle up... because I'm driving. Hold on! Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

This episode is the first in a series called The Story of Strength in Numbers. You will see “The Story of Strength in Numbers” in the episode name along with the specific topic of the episode.  Each episode tells a story of a dear person who has contributed a foundational principle to Strength in Numbers.  This story begins in the most unlikely of places. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Last episode was so happy and blissful. This one? Sad, because of this thing called payroll deductions. And the IRS crashes your paycheck party. But the silver lining? All this somehow relates to the distributive property, which is a pretty big deal in math. Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Break free from your - or My - Dear Aunt Sally, and see what there is to learn about the distributive property. You probably already have used the idea before somewhere in life but didn't know it had a fancy name in math. Let's see how it works with a few examples. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

There is nothing about Taylor Swift here, sorry to disappoint. But we do have room for groupies! OK, OK yes it is about grouping... numbers... in math problems. But it's still gonna be fun. Bring a piece of paper, a pen and your hiking boots. Don't ask, just listen. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Since you already listened to the last episode, you know that repeated multiplication is represented by an exponent, and you already knew repeated addition was multiplication. But what is repeated division? I just know you were wondering about that. You are in the right place, my friend. Listen, learn and be amazed.

Back in ep. 4 we talked about repeated addition, and in ep. 5 we talked about repeated subtraction.  It only stands to reason that repeated multiplication should have its own episode. And here it is.

Family vacation homes foster lasting memories, but they're not free. How do you tackle hard financial decisions and even legal matters? The answer is with Strength in Numbers. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

A math teacher, a vending machine and a video game controller walked into a room... that joke setup pretty much sums up this episode. What more can you say? Take a listen. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Losing money stinks. You could say it's a negative, and that's exactly what I'm saying here to help you learn how to multiply a negative number by a positive number. Having a real-life scenario that helps make sense of a math problem like this is really important to your sanity. Otherwise, math is just a series of rules and you have no idea why they are the way they are. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Do you remember the multiplication table you had to fill out in 3rd grade? It probably went from 1 to 12 or 0 to 12. What if we extended that to include NEGATIVE numbers? Turns out doing just that creates a very nice visualization of multiplying positive and negative numbers together. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Have you ever heard the saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right”? You mom or grandma or whoever you heard that from – they were right. But in math class two wrongs - like subtracting a negative number - surprisingly does make a POSITIVE answer. I won't lie this episode is not for the faint of heart. But take courage and learn something new. Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Imagine you go out to a Taylor Swift concert and you go buy a drink. It’s $18 for a soda. I know right. Unfortunately, you have just a $10 bill and a um Blank Space in the rest of your pockets. What do you do? Well, because Karma is a good friend who is generous, and right there with you, says, What do you need? You need to listen to this episode is what you need. Let's go! Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

If you are a sports fan and enjoy watching basketball, or football or hockey for that matter, then this episode is for you. Soccer, or the real football, doesn't count because they never score enough. This episode will teach you a new way to think about adding and subtracting integers, which is a big thing in middle school math and high school math. So if you love sports, or you're forced to watch it and need something to do, listen to this episode and learn! Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

For all you Gen Z-ers out there a thermometer is a device that shows you the temperature. We all rely on our phones now for the weather so you never know, maybe you've never seen one. Anyway, they are a really good way to help visualize adding and subtracting integers, which is a really very important topic in math. And we all need to know math better. So, pull on your parka - ok Google that, too - and take a listen to this episode ... and try to stay warm. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

If there were a Top Ten List of least favorite topics in math, it would undoubtedly include negative numbers. Like, When am I ever going to sue this? I know, right? But lo and behold, negative numbers really do pop up in life. And they certainly do in middle and high school math classes, so take a listen and learn. Strap on your helmet and let's get started. Hike! Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

You probably learned how to add by carrying a one to the ten's column. I'm going to show you a MUCH easier way to do addition. I'm so confident, that if you adopt this way on paper for a little while, you'll even start to THINK this new way. And you'll love it. Brash, I know. Let's just say this episode will undoubtedly add to your growing strength in numbers. Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

In this last goal setting episode I’ll wrap up the lessons with a bow. And the thread in that bow is – you guessed it – numbers. That's right, numbers make goals better. So why not listen to learn how developing this strength in numbers can help you. Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

It's not too late to make a New Year's Resolution. You can still set a goal for 2024 and what better way than to learn how to harness strength in numbers to make your progress a little easier. I’ll tell you two reasons WHY you should count your achievements. I’ll mix in a brief explanation of two types of growth as you make progress. Then we’ll look at HOW you should count your achievements. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

In this New Year’s Day episode we continue the exploration of using – you could say manipulating numbers – to help you in your goal setting. Warning: a number might have the power to offend you. Let me explain.

With the end of the year upon us and the New Year imminent, we will explore the oldest mythology and the highest altitudes so you come away with an excellent strategy in goal setting using strength in numbers. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

This episode is a sort of tangent if you will, a slight detour from our typical pattern of math content and math mindset episodes. We are going to look at New Year’s Resolutions and goal setting – and the part where we’re supposed to make them measurable. Alas, numbers are involved! Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Here we return to your mindset about math, your very motivation to do math in the first place. When you struggle with a really hard or boring word problem, haven't you questioned why you're even required to do it in the first place? You’ve asked The Question. What is The Question, you ask? You know The Question.  When am I ever going to use this? Here, I once and for all answer the unanswerable question. Need extra help? Contact us at www.sint.org

This episode continues, um, peeling back the layers of word problems involving bananas (haha) as we write the equations that correspond to what we talked about in the last episode. There are actual equations ahead so proceed with a pencil and paper ready to go. If you like LEGOs or ever even heard of them, they serve as a nice analogy for our approach to solving word problems.   I know .... This is bananas! Contact us at www.sint.org if you want to find out more about solving word problems. Our research has found that only 99.7% of students report struggling with word problems.

This episode will explore the rich and fruity world of word problems. Did I hear you groan? Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think – I’m going to take it nice and easy on you today. No equations, just apples and bananas. I know what you’re thinking… how did I get here, listening to a podcast about math and apples?!? This is bananas! I promise this episode will be appealing.

Maybe you've heard of the book, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten". This isn't the same message, but we do have a Kindergartner who's gonna teach us a good lesson about finding a way over or even around the wall we face in many a math problem. Need a little extra help? Visit us at www.sint.org and schedule a tutoring session.

Have you ever said, "I can't do math"? Of course you have. We all have. I have. But is that true? Is that kind of language helping us or hurting us? Jump in and see how Ms. Shilawski's soup cans will help YOU build strength in numbers. For tutoring and more, go to www.sint.org.

Jimmy Buffett said it best - sang it actually. It's no Cheeseburger in Paradise, to be sure. No, Math Suks. And I agree with him. Why would a guy who has been a teacher and tutor for 20+ years, and even produces a podcast about math, say that Math Suks? And why do you keep spelling it that way? Ask Mr. Buffett. https://youtu.be/toPWpDHr_6s?t=7

Ahh, yes The Question. It's a rite of passage that all teenagers ask The Question in math class. We've all asked it. I did. When are we ever going to use this? The Question reveals something about our attitude toward math, and our belief about its value. My answer, ahem, The Answer will help you change your attitude about math and help you go higher than you ever thought you could in math. If you found anything helpful in this episode, or heck, if you haven't even listened to it but know someone who should, share it far and wide on IG, Snap, TikTok, Facebook, WuWu, wherever. OK, I that last one's not real but you get the idea. Need help in math? Contact us at www.sint.org

I'm terrible about giving away the takeaway, but suffice it to say you should give your undivided attention to this episode. Oh, and by the way, this is a story about Skittles. It is dedicated to my thesis advisor and mathematics professor, the late Dr. Lee V. Stiff. Don't let the name fool you - he was a man of passion, animated and stimulating as a teacher on subjects just like this one. I hope this would've made him proud. The story I recount here is a retelling of one very similar to it that he shared with my classmates and me in a graduate level teaching course on elementary math. The class met once a week for 3 hours. Can you imagine talking about math that long? Let me tell you in no uncertain terms, it was the opposite of what you're thinking. Those were some of the most fun and fascinating hours I spent in all of college, truly. I credit him for any passion I bring to my students, and if mine is half as his was, I will be doing well. To read more about Dr. Stiff, please read this remembrance.

This episode will, um, ADD to your knowledge of numbers and let's just say it will MULTIPLY your strength in numbers, too. Wink, wink - foreshadowing!

The lesson you learned last week was so good (humble brag!) I figured we should do more of it. This is another kinda famous example plus some further practice at multiplying larger numbers either in your head or on paper - but not the old way of carrying. That's outdated. Once you get the hang of this new way, you will surprise yourself and improve your strength in numbers. Need help with math? Contact us at www.sint.org

Multiplication is a crucially important skill. Since you can only reasonably memorize a small amount of "multiplication facts" you could use a way to do multiplication quickly - even in your head. Here you go! This episode is for you.

This first episode could launch into any number of math topics, but I’ll start where many of you are right now. If you feel confused, frustrated, anxious, or apathetic about math – this is the podcast for you. And you might've felt those things because of those darn letters in math... so let's start there.