Not Far from the Tree

Talk Like a Teacher

September 2009

Issue # 16

Last year, the school district where my children attend introduced the wonderful horrors of Everyday Math.

For someone who was raised with memorized addition and multiplication tables, speed drills, and concrete math concepts, this math curriculum is confusing to say the least. The kids get introduced to concepts, but don't actually master those concepts before moving on to something else. Effectively, that means that even though my 5th grade son has been introduced to ten different ways to complete division problems, he can't actually do any.

In case you can't tell, I hate Everyday Math. So much so, that I won't help my kids with their math homework anymore. My wife has now taken on that chore because she has more patience with the gobbledygook. She also is smart enough not to say things like, "this is stupid" while the kids are doing their required homework. I just want to say, "memorize your multiplication tables and it won't be hard. Forget that stupid lattice." (Don't worry. I didn't know what it was either.)

My eight-year-old daughter Charis has responded about as well as I have to Everyday Math. Charis loves rules. She loves following rules, coming up with rules in games with her siblings, enforcing rules, and generally ruling the roost.

She does not like Everyday Math. She complains, she avoids, and, at her worst, she bawls when faced with the absurdity of her math homework. That made her statement last week all the more extraordinary.

"In the past, math has not been my teachers' best subject. But Mrs. C. is really good at teaching math. So I'm getting a kick at math now."

Charis's statement got me thinking. What is terrible about Everyday Math is great when it comes to eNewsletters. Here is what I mean.

Everyday Math gives the kids many different methods--one might say many different voices--to explain the concepts behind the math. While that doesn't work very well in a math context, it is exactly what people are looking for when they try to find answers to questions they have.

When people look for information, for help with a problem, they are looking for more than an answer. They are looking for an answer they understand. People search the wide world of services looking for someone who has a voice they can follow, and then they listen to that voice. To put it another way, your audience starts getting a kick at what you are telling them because you have the best voice (you're the best teacher) to communicate the material to them.

The flip side of that reality is that you have to realize that you won't connect with every person. Charis didn't have bad math teachers in the past; she just couldn't understand the voice those teachers used. She didn't relate. But Mrs. C.'s voice appeals to Charis and, as a result, she is enjoying math for the first time.

So what do you need to do to make your voice distinct enough to connect with an audience?

  1. Be yourself. Mrs. C. loves math and communicates that to the kids. It's infectious. Represent yourself in your newsletter and you will connect with like-minded folks who will become your best customers.

  2. Have a point of view. Mrs. C. still teaches multiplication tables and has math drills in spite of Everyday Math. Charis responds to that. Take a stance, make a point, be an expert. That's what draws in an audience.

  3. Make it fun. There is no topic--from accounting to rafting, from real estate to fishing--that doesn't benefit from a little humor and personality. Mrs. C. tells stories that engage Charis and help her feel comfortable in her environment. As a result, Charis listens to what Mrs. C. has to say, even when it comes to math.

In the end, you need to use a voice that some (but not all) people can hear clearly. Cultivate a voice that resonates with a segment of all the possible ears out there. It's not hard. Just duplicate what you already do with your best customer. Use that voice in your newsletter and you'll connect with people who think you are really good at "teaching math." Once you find the people that hear answers from you better than from anyone else, you'll never lack for customers.