COSTA MESA : OCC Math Teacher’s Students Take Note

Besides long lines, anxiety over getting the right classes and the sticker shock that comes with buying textbooks, students returning Tuesday for a new semester at Orange Coast College were greeted by something new: the sound of music.

The soft voices of instructor Rachel Winston and her teaching assistant came not from the music department, but from a cold and intimidating math lecture hall.

Their renditions of classics like “Lean on Me” and “America” were designed to calm the racing hearts of students for whom the basic math class is the dreaded final requirement that they have put off until their last semester of school.

“This is math, isn’t it?” asked one confused latecomer, mirroring the surprise many students felt about their singing teacher.

But Orange Coast College faculty members have come to expect the unexpected from Winston, a math instructor who holds seven master’s and bachelor’s degrees and until this year flew to Boston every week to work on a doctorate at Harvard University.

“I wanted to do something interesting the first day. The students are nervous. For a lot of them, this is their last class and they don’t want to fail,” said Winston, 34, who has lived in Costa Mesa for seven years.

“I want to offer them something uplifting . . . to give them the feeling that I understand their needs.”

When Winston and her assistant began singing “The Sound of Music” just before class began, they were met with quiet snickers and condescending looks. Two jocks even laughed heartily.

But as they continued their act, more and more students stopped socializing and began listening. By the time “America” was sung, many students had joined in. And their last song, “Lean on Me,” was accompanied by thundering applause from nearly everyone in the room--even the jocks.

For student Christina Ames, 22, of Huntington Beach, the songs helped break the ice.

“It’s definitely refreshing. It’s better than being bored,” said Ames, who saved the math class for her final semester. “I think it’s a nice way to start.”

Ames can expect more unusual teaching techniques from Winston as the semester progresses. In the past, the instructor has used bear-shaped candies to illustrate bar graphs and a miniature pool table in a lesson on angles.

“It makes them feel more comfortable with the material,” Winston said. “They don’t dread coming to class.”