Math with Mr. Mac.

03/10/2023

Last year's Pi Day collage of entries. 4 days until this year's Pi Day contest is open! Don't miss out!

Post a selfie on Pi Day that features you and a reference to Pi and you could be a pizza-pi winner. Don't forget to tag or Math with Mr. Mac. or Andy Macpherson so I know you're entered.

02/17/2023

03/16/2022

The entries are in. This year's Pi Day winner is Ozzie Z. Congratulations to everyone who entered Pi Day with a great sense of fun. Happy March Break!

06/22/2021

400+ sessions with Math with Mr. Mac. I didn't think tutoring would be such a large part of my year but so pleased to have been of service. I met some wonderful students and their families during a time when it was difficult to connect for everyone. It was a privilege to watch their growth through challenging times at school. I learned how to manage technology for make learning engaging and interesting ( at least that's my perspective at the end of the year). After a welcomed summer break from the screen, I will look forward to September when face-to-face may be an option. See you soon. Contact me anytime if you're looking for math help, enrichment, or just to enjoy talking math (but give me a week or two to respond.) Cheers!

04/08/2021

Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled.

04/08/2021

Here's my take away on a new physics finding that seems to point to errors and mistakes in our understanding of particle physics: the scientists are using words like excited, cautiously ecstatic, curious, baffled and thrilled after discovering that there is a problem with their understanding. We can all learn from that.

Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled.

03/24/2021

How common is your birthdate? Interesting that we can avoid holidays.

(details: https://bit.ly/3f5G7pk graphic: Matt Stiles)

03/20/2021

Congratulations to Pi Day Pizza winners Ilsa and Nell and their friend Fiona who were randomly chosen from the selfie submissions on Pi Day, 2021. Thanks to Dominos Pizza for the pizza prize. It looked like everyone was having a good time on Pi Day!

03/17/2021

Here's an article about intensive daily tutoring that has good results (American studies) in getting students up to grade level, especially in light of students falling behind with online learning and our present educational situation. The article suggests tutoring daily, during school hours, at school, with enthusiastic volunteers. This is an interesting idea worth considering. In the mean time, Schoolhouse.world could possibly fill this need for some families on a daily basis. While I am not very active in Schoolhouse.world (too busy here in Waterloo Region), I am a certified tutor there and heartliy support it's use. It is a Khan Academy spinoff with real people helping others. If you'd like more info, I'd be happy to discuss or direct you with this.

One approach to help students make up for the pandemic year uses recent college graduates for intensive high school tutoring.

03/17/2021

A wonderful quote from Kyne Santos () from Pi Day's Brunch, hosted by this past weekend, that totally resonates with me.