April 4, 2016 was Square Root Day, a day in which the month and day are the square root of the last two digits of the year. In honor of the holiday that happens only nine times a century, The Christian Science Monitor Correspondent Lisa Suhay wrote the article, “Square Root Day Takes the (Carrot) Cake,” which explored what makes a great math teacher and highlighted MƒA’s efforts to keep outstanding math and science teachers in the classroom. The Christian Science Monitor reached out to MƒA President John Ewing to learn more about our exceptional educators, including MƒA Master Teacher Molly Shabica:

“[She] took lots of kids who come from homeless shelters, free lunch programs, and other places and she got them interested in studying a certain kind of bacteria,” says John Ewing, MƒA president. “Then she somehow got the money for microscopes and hooked these kids up with university researchers. She ended up getting these kids doing what, basically, is research,” he says. “And you find that kind of story being replicated dozens and dozens of times in both math and science.”

The secret to making math exciting and understandable, Mr. Ewing says, boils down to this formula: “Know and love mathematics. Know and love the craft of teaching. Know your students and love working with them.”

Read from the full piece on The Christian Science Monitor.