We’ve all heard students—and many adults—say “math is hard” or “I’m not good at math.” We’ve heard parents lament that “I cannot figure out how schools teach math to kids these days. It’s so different from how I learned.”
When Sullivan Middle School’s Math Expert Teacher Lorie Banks hears this type of talk, she responds back: “Well, I haven’t taught you yet. You’re good at math; you just don’t know it yet.” Learning math is about more than knowing your multiplication tables and solving word problems. It’s about teaching students and adults to have confidence.
“Students need to feel empowered and believe that they can do math. They have to believe that they can do hard things. They can persevere.” This mentality is in strong alignment with the district’s REACH Learner Profile attribute to “Reflect and Persist: We think deeply, learn from doing, and develop the confidence and skills to persevere through challenges.”
Ms. Banks is no stranger to learning new things. After graduating from Boston University with a bachelor’s of science in bilingual education, she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Europe and then back home in New York. She wanted to return to her adopted home state of Massachusetts and knew her skills would be a strong match in Holyoke.
In 1994, she started teaching ESL at Peck and earned her master’s degree in math education from Lesley University through a partnership program between the university and the district. Since that time, she has taught math at Peck, Morgan, and now Sullivan.
As an Expert Teacher/Coach in Math, she is a teacher to her students and her colleagues. She introduces herself to students “as the principal of math” and explains that she is “in charge of instruction, testing, data, supporting students and teachers and families with math instruction in the building.”
A teacher colleague described Ms. Banks as “the type of instructional coach I hope to be one day. She is the BEST at building relationships with families, cognizant of teacher needs and supportive of them, trusted by the administration, and loved by the students. She is truly an exemplar in what an educator should be.”
It can take a lot to persuade a student to like math and believe that they can do it. When Ms. Banks coaches teachers, she tells them: “Let’s look at an upcoming lesson. What’s the hook to get students engaged in an activity?”
Ms. Banks likes to use humor in her “math hooks.” A recent one involved showing a video of a man doing the cha cha slide as an introduction to teach translation and rotation, which involves moving shapes on a grid. This is an 8th grade math standard.
Ms. Banks embodies the spirit of “Reflect and Persist” in her personal life. She plays classical guitar on Mondays, drums on Tuesday, and violin on Wednesdays. She acknowledges that learning new things is “hard for humans.” Her tip: “Don’t be afraid to stink at something new. I don’t care if I’m good or not. If I’m not going to be good at it, it won’t stop me from trying.”
Why teach in Holyoke? Ms. Banks responded, “I love the kids and community. I grew up like a lot of our students and the challenges they face.” She also noted that she’s taught the parents of many of her current middle school students, which gives her even more credibility. Parents will tell their children: “Ms. Banks. You really want to listen to her.” Some students now affectionately refer to me as “Grandma.”
A Grandma who is an excellent mathematician, plays music, and always believes in you? That’s the type of person we all want in our family. Ms. Banks—thanks for choosing Holyoke to be your family for almost 30 years!