Welcome Students and Parents/Guardians,

I am excited to be here at Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter School and feel privileged to have an opportunity to pass on that excitement to our youth.  I graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor Degree in Physical Science: Chemistry.  Although I had a diverse course load, the intensive focus of my study relied heavily in the math and science departments.  Previously I taught Algebra and Geometry at West Torrance High School, thus I am familiar with what is necessary to succeed at the next level and beyond.

I have a love for learning and I am passionate about helping others while educating the young minds of our future.  My goals are to motivate, inspire, and excite all my students about the practicality and usefulness of math.  Math is something we use subconsciously on daily basis – at the grocery store, paying bills, creating schedules and pacing plans, mentally calculating sales tax, etc.

When the perception of math is deemed abstract, eccentric, and foreign; it immediately becomes less interesting for many individuals.  However, if the perception of math is tangible, practical, and applicable; then it excites and stimulates the curiosity of the mind and actually becomes meaningful.

The reality is, in order to be successful in anything in life; one must practice.  If practice is neither fun nor interesting, it is very unlikely that the individual will take practice seriously; and hence, practice will be a complete waste of time.  However, if practice is fun and interesting, students will work hard to perfect their practice.  There is a saying, “Practice makes perfect.”  Although, I prefer the saying, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”

My strategy is to change the negative connotations, which are associated with the term “work”.  Work is synonymous with toil, grind, and labor.   From this point forward, we will replace the word “work” with the word “game”.  So for example, there is no “Homework” in our class; instead, we have “Homegames”.  Although this may seem silly, one cannot help but smile from time to time.  My goal is to make learning math fun and enjoyable; I am willing to do whatever it takes for my students to succeed.

I look forward to partnering with you in the nurturing development of our youth and the future of our society.

Thank You,

Paul Nitake

6th Grade Math Teacher

MathCounts Coach

Basketball Assistant Coach

pnitake@wildersprepk-8.com