Hard Work = Looks Easy

This is a panoramic view of my classroom at noon during Spring Break. Twenty-six kids volunteering their time in the middle of their break to work on AP Calculus! They all want their name on a plaque (or another plaque) on the wall in my classroom. Some of them are shooting for more than that...a perfect score on the AP test. Six students in the world did that last year, and I am lucky enough to have kids who believe they can do that too.

I watched an interview with Geno Auriemma after he won his 10th national title with UConn on Tuesday. The reporter asked about his team's dominance and asked him how he has been able to accomplish so much. His response was absolutely perfect and I immediatly thought of my students. He said "We have to work really, really hard to make this look easy." If you take a close look at the picture above (which no one knew I was taking) you can see that the entire group is focused. There is no one looking at someone else or playing with their phone.

Let me give you some facts on AP tests in general and at Millville High School. We have been administering AP tests since the mid-1980s. From 1989-2010, there were 8 fives and 19 fours on the AP Calculus exam at Millville. In the four years since then, there have been 44 fives and 18 fours. No subject had ever gotten more than 5 fives in a year or 26 fives in the history of the school. In the last 4 years, our AP Calculus students have destroyed every AP record the school had. On top of that, everyone of those years, AP Calculus has had the highest or second highest percentage of ones (lowest possible score) worldwide.

The results of my students over the past 4 years have received a wide range of reactions. The overwhelming majority has been positive. Although there have been a few negative responses ranging from the math department gets more support to the AP Calculus test is easier. The reply to all of those is simple: "These kids work REALLY, REALLY, hard to make this look easy."

To each and every one of my students: "I can't wait to see what you accomplish, because I know it will be great!"

Barber