For the past three years, Math for America has invited Michael Serra to facilitate workshops in New York City.  We invited Michael because many teachers were anxious about finding engaging and accessible ways to introduce geometric concepts, particularly that of geometric proof, to their students.  From my own experience as a classroom teacher, I knew that Discovering Geometry often succeeded in engaging students in thinking about the ideas behind the mathematics where other books failed.

In our workshops, Michael has worked with nearly two-hundred teachers from schools all across New York City.  Whether he is presenting on proof, problem solving, or games that encourage critical thinking, participants are consistently positive about the workshops.  They appreciate the way that Michael engages them in doing problems, the way he is able to frame the activities in the context of a real classroom, and the perspective, humor and sensitivity he brings to the material as a teacher himself.

As one participant stated, “I liked that Michael Serra has been a teacher for many years and understands what it takes to make a classroom run well. I liked the chance to play with the materials and to learn some new ways of looking at math.”

Jon Schweig

Former Director, NY Program

Math for America

Michael Serra was my math teacher at George Washington High School in San Francisco. His imaginative and humorous teaching style gave me the tools to explore creative problem solving techniques. He inspired me to embrace challenges I thought were daunting and impossible. For problems I’d never seen before, I learned to look at them from many points of view, consider all the possibilities, and pursue them in succession until I found the answer. After taking his class, I learned sometimes what looked like the most unlikely approach is the one that worked. As the faculty sponsor for the Backgammon Club, Mr. Serra also taught me to factor in the probabilities of success and ramifications of my choices and to plan for long term strategy.