SANTA ANA : Math Skills Get Teacher a TV Class

When Phyllis Baker saw an advertisement in a magazine looking for America’s best math teacher, she said to herself, “I’m just the person they’re looking for.”

As it turns out, she was right.

After a nationwide search, the Spurgeon Intermediate School eighth-grade math and science teacher was one of three people hired by the Kentucky Educational Network to teach math to adults on television.

“I thought it was perfect for me because I’ve been an actress in the past and have also done some public television,” said Baker, 48. “They told us they were interested not only in our math knowledge, but in our talent.”

More than 100 teachers nationwide competed for the three television spots, which called for hosting eight segments of “Math Basics.”

“They flew me to Kentucky right after Thanksgiving, and I spent five days in the studio, not only taping the shows but writing the scripts,” Baker said. “I felt really valuable because they valued my opinion. In the past they had used actors, but this time they felt they would be better off using teachers.”

“Math Basics” is designed to bring high school dropouts up to a skill level where they can begin studying for high school equivalency exams, said Tona Barkley, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Network, the largest statewide public television network in the country.

“It’s basically elementary math for adults,” Baker said. “The hard part was to not be condescending, because the material is what you would teach to third-graders. We tried to make it fun by using a very consumer approach. We used cans of soda for counting, and bottles of shampoo.”

The programs will air on public television throughout Kentucky and also be available on videocassette in that state.

For Baker, the television stint is just the latest chapter in a 26-year teaching career that began in segregated high schools in Texas. She also taught in Virginia and Los Angeles, and started in Santa Ana last year.

“Teaching in Santa Ana has been one of my most rewarding experiences and (one of my) most challenging,” Baker said between classes on Thursday.

“The students I have been assigned to teach have some special difficulties. What I’ve tried to do is help them build up confidence in themselves so they can believe that they can succeed,” Baker said, wiping away a tear.

“She gets real sentimental sometimes,” said student Edgar Vargas, 14. “She cares about us a lot. She wants us to have a good education and make it all the way to the top.”

To Vargas and his classmates, Baker is indeed the best math teacher in America.

“She makes learning easier for us,” said Edgar Hernandez, 13. “Other classes are just book work, but she makes it fun.”