Show f V w" 'Z ' V E""11'—1 — " '' ' "' t n I'flqn If— — Logan Utah Monday June 161980' The Herald Journal Believes this generation is not lost but most able Carletta story by Edith Morgan photos by Mike Lift works af an electronic computer a machine that she believes will free students to do more creative work “Discipline is the key word not only in education but in life” Carletta Elich said as she discussed her philosophy and her teaching experiences "learning to discipline oneself to do what is best for Joe who is a professor of mathematics at Utah State University at professional meetings After she had completed her master’s degree at the University of Oregon she taught at Texas I and was working on a PhD in curriculum development After their marriage she abandoned her PhD work to devote her time to writing mathematics books with her husband A & you" Elich is one of the 12 "living treasures" chosen by the Friends of the Library to be honored this year She was introduced at the recognition meeting as a person who is willing to spend time outside of class with her students in math at Logan High School “This is not a lost generation" she went on "I am amazed at how able these kids Mrs are “If you can tune into the wavelength of a class so that you can challenge them that is the best of teaching There is a Living Treasures husband controversy on whether teaching is a science or an art My teaching works1 better with some students than others I am not a success with all students I have a hard time if the students show no interest or curiosity If they have some curiosity I can usually find something that will interest them” Elich has taught math at Logan High School for five years She grew up in Corpus Christi Texas in the country outside the city “We could see one of the bays of the Gulf of Mexico from the house" she recalls She has four sisters and three brothers and her mother still lives there She attended Texas Arts k Industries College and majored in home economics “I didn’t know then that girls could major in math" She married and had two daughters Her husband a naval aviator was killed when the youngest was eight months old He was from Panguitch and Carletta was close to so she went to the University her of Utah and finished her bachelor’s degree in math “I knew I needed to go back to school so that I could get a job" she said After graduation she taught at Skyline High School for three years She met her “ in-la- I They have one published text "Trigonometry Using Calculators” and are now working on two more books Mathematics" and “College Algebra" both of which are calculator oriented Their books are the first of their kind to be published “Many teachers won’t let students use calculators in math classes yet they use power lawn mowers themselves Elich said “Students have a hard time understanding why they can’t use the machines that are available Using them opens up a whole new world for them “A lot of times students have an idea of where they are going but the computations get in the way” she said “I was against the machines at first and then I decided I had to have a good reason for not letting them use them so I spent a summer learning to use electronic calculators and micro processors and decided there was every reason for the students to use them “I wrote a proposal and received a grant to use calculators in the classroom and to develop material for them “It is so exciting to watch the kids They pick up the use of the machines so much more rapidly than we did Kids are so much more ready to devour this Some of "Pre-Calcul- us them are doing really significant mathematics “When they master making the machine do what they want it to do they become interested in seeing if they can make tt do the problems with less steps — more 'elegantly' — get the answer in a nicer' way In mathematics “There is a lot of comraderle a lot of give and take I have probably enjoyed this past year more than any of my teaching “We sometimes think we are taking the easy way out letting kids use calculators but we aren’t They nave to work to get the machine to do what they want it to do “Ninety percent of teaching is not using a calculator It is interesting kids in learning I am so convinced that learning comes from within It isnot what a student is taught but what he learns “I prefer teaching students to discipline themselves to motivating them although it often becomes the job of a teacher to motivate students I am not good at the song and dance act If they will let me I can teach them math “I think a lot of the problems with teaching and learning math stems from fear an the part of the student and a lot of that comes from the feeling that everything has to be dime a certain way “There are almost as many ways to do things in math as there are people doing them They may not think the way I think I believe our training tries to teach us the best way and we try to pass this on to the students but it is not always the best way “Math is not fixed One person may observe something that someone else won'L “Students are capable of doing a great deal I tell my students they are smarter than I am I am the teacher because I have been around longer and I know more Knowing more has nothing to do with smartness” Carletta and Joe planned their attractive home and yard and did the landscaping themselves Besides enjoying math together they like to garden go fishing and to spend time at their cabin in southern Utah Carletta’s daughters are Diane 23 and Janet 2L Diane is attending the School of Architecture at the University of Utah and Janet is in computer science at Washington state University at Pullman |