BY BERNIE MIXON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MOUNT HEALTHY
- From her classroom at Mount Healthy High School, Mary Jo "Bunny" Doebling has made mathematics more than problems on a page.
Mrs. Doebling shows her students the practical uses for mathematics with hands-on activities and extra attention for students who need it.
Her work has been singled out by the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which has awarded her the Buck Martin Award for exemplary mathematics teaching. Only one teacher in the state receives the award each year.
Mrs. Doebling "typifies what we would like to see in a good mathematics teacher: a caring teacher, a knowledgeable teacher," said Margaret J. Raub Hunt, executive director of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "This is what we would like everyone to be. She typifies the best."
The organization also named Mrs. Doebling the Outstanding Secondary Mathematics Classroom Teacher for the Southwest District.
"You have to support the kids where they are in math," Mrs. Doebling said. "You have to try and take the kids from where they are, coach them enough to succeed and help them move to the next level."
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IDEAS FOR PARENTS
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Here are ideas parents can use to help students think mathematically from Ohio's Math Teacher of the Year Mary Jo "Bunny" Doebling of Mount Healthy High School:
Amusement park math
Write down the exact (hour and minute) time you left your house. When did you return? How many days, hours and minutes were you away? Which ride or attraction had the longest line? How long was the wait? (You might try to guess and have someone with a watch keep the exact time and see how close you come.)
Kitchen math
Select 10 food items in the cupboard and arrange them on a table or counter according to amount contained (largest to smallest) by looking at the size of the package. Then make a chart listing: name of item, weight of package in customary and metric terms, and the shape of the package.
Find the difference in size between the largest and smallest items.
Ballgame math
List the type of game you attended (softball, baseball, etc.), date and time the game started (or you arrived if it was in progress). Give your answers in hours and minutes.
Name three ways math is used in the game.
Explain the rules of the game in simple terms. Go back and underline every time you used math in your explanation.
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When she looks back at the road that led her to teaching, she credits one of her own teachers.
That teacher introduced her to peer tutoring and from that point Mrs. Doebling knew she wanted to become a teacher.
"Mathematics is the foundation for all logical thinking," Mrs. Doebling said. "Whether you are in the lowest job or the highest job, you need to know the basics in math."
Mrs. Doebling has taught at the high school since 1974 and has been instrumental in developing all mathematics programs with the district.
She developed a math family night that she runs at the elementary schools with the help of high school students.
Mrs. Doebling's classroom is set up for her students to work in groups, which she says reinforces learning.
But she encourages parents to help their children think mathematically. "I have parents at math nights take an oath to not make math scary for their children," Mrs. Doebling said.
She encourages parents to give their children toys that involve logic skills. Examples would be puzzles or building blocks, anything that a child would be required to fill in the pieces.
"She explains everything very well," said ninth-grader Sarah Gerrety, 14. "She will stay after school with us and she teaches us tricks to get to the answer faster and check our work."
Clyde Bishop, 15, also a ninth-grader, said Mrs. Doebling is "not like a normal teacher. She checks our homework to see if we understand the questions."
