EL CAMINO COLLEGE
Union T h e
Class 136 Fire Academy graduation...Page 3
eccunion.com
November 7, 2013
Torrance, California
Stress 2 + √anxiety = math workshop Students nervous about math can overcome their fears at a Math Anxiety Workshop tomorrow Evelyn Avila Staff Writer
NEWS LINE
Many students get sweaty and shaky before a math test. Ways to handle this can be learned at the Math Anxiety Workshop presented by Nancilyn Burruss in Humanities 206 at 3 p.m. tomorrow. “I am doing this workshop for future teachers as part of the CTETP (Career and Technical Education Teacher Pipeline),” Burruss said. “However, because there is such a great demand for understanding why students, and even some teachers, have a fear of math we thought it would be best to open it up to the campus.” Burruss has presented this workshop on campus a couple of times before, but this is the first time it’s open to the entire campus. There also used to be an Academic Strategies 40 course, which was called Math Anxiety Workshop. It was an eight-week, two unit class but it was cut a few years ago with the first round of budget cuts. “It was a great class to teach. I had students come into class in tears and at the end of eight weeks leaving empowered to tackle the challenges of math,” Burruss said. “ I even had one student who, within a year, was accepted to UCLA. The only thing holding her back was math and when she realized she could be successful in this subject, she was able to move forward with her goals.” Burruss and John Weitzel, Career and Technical Education Teacher Pipeline coordinator, are certain the workshop may help students overcome their trepidations. “There are a lot of students who can succeed in math and science if they just overcome their irrational fear of it,” Weitzel said. “We are conditioned to be afraid of things we do not understand right away.” One EC student says this workshop will help her reduce the anxiety that math classes give her. “Math gives me anxiety because there’s a lot of little mistakes you can make and it’s hard to double check,” Micah Castrillo, 18, film major, said. “And there’s just a lot of pressure.” Students struggling in math are encouraged to attend the Math Anxiety Workshop to help them overcome their fear of math, but students should come in willing to learn. “I believe that the information given in these workshops helps students learn what they can do to overcome their fear of math and gives them a boost of confidence to move forward and face that fear,” Burruss said. The workshop scheduled for Friday is a one-time event this semseter, with room for about 30-35 participants in the classroom and students can reserve a spot with Weitzel at 310-660-3593, ext. 3609.
By Sam Tedla
John Ruiz/ Union
Team Brobot, from St. Francis High School, celebrates as they defeat Team Titan Robotics, from Nipomo High School, at the VEX Robotics Regional Competition in the Student Activities Center Nov. 2.
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Lorenzo Gutierrez Staff Writer
John Ruiz/ Union
A member of Team Brobot scores with his robot against Team Titan Robotics during the VEX Robotics Regional Competition Nov. 2.
riginal design, enjoyment, and teamwork were the factors that led to success at the VEX Robotics Regional Competition in the Student Activities Center Nov. 2. The competition is for “publicity, publicity for our club, making a little bit of money for fundraising. It’s also to get our footprint into the VEX Robotics Competition; this is our second year doing it, so we might do this in the future again if the club stays healthy,” Harold (Ed) Hofmann, robotics club adviser, said. “Right now, it takes a lot of manpower to put these things on and, if the club is in good size, we can do this every year. But it takes a lot of hours.” Middle and high school students participated in the VEX Robotics Competition, Hofmann said. The main purpose of the event was for middle and high school teams to qualify to advance to the state championship in Santa Clara in March. From there, they would have the chance to go on to the world championship in Anaheim in April, where the EC robotics club can attend too, Brandon Marshall, 29, president of the robotics club and music major, said. The event was sponsored by EC clubs including Women in Technology, the Robotics Club, the Industry and Technology Division, Society of
Women Engineers, and Society of Manufactory Engineers. “We sponsor the robotics event to entice more students to register in our program here at El Camino,” Lorena Montes, member of WIT and volunteer coordinator of the VEX Competition, said. “I’m having a great time. I just love to see all of these young students. I know they are going to be our future students.” Stephanie Rodriguez, dean of industry and technology, participated as a judge. They judged the designs of the robots and they have different awards including the design award, the excellence award, and the judges award, she said. The teams from across souther California spent most of the day battling to qualify to the next round. The team Rolling Robots from Rolling Hills Estates won the design award and the judges award. The excellence award went to NerdherdB from California Academy of Mathematics & Science from Carson, according to robotevents.com. Brent Dixon, 24, computer science major, said the biggest benefit of the event is that the middle and high school students can grow and develop in a situation where they have to fix their robot or tend to other problems. “I think it’s amazing. We have, I believe, 48 high schools and we have some middle schools that are working with the high schools to build these robots,” Rodriguez said. “It’s amazing to see so many young people being creative and really energized.”
CSU Application Workshop
Assertive Skills Workshop
UCLA TAP Tour
‘Six Characters in Search UC Application Workshop of an Author’
The CSU Application Workshop shows applicants how to fill out fee waivers, EOP applications, and what college courses to take. The workshop is today in MBA 103 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. For more information, call 310-660-3593, ext. 3408.
Jan Schaeffer will host a workshop discussing being aggresive, bold, and confident in an effort to improve personal and social skills. The workshop will be today from 1:05 to 2 p.m. in the Decathlon Room, located above the Bookstore. For more information, call 310-660-3295.
UCLA’s TAP (Transfer Alliance Program) Tour gives students counseling about transferring as well as different ways to became a competitive applicant. The tour will be tomorrow at UCLA. For more information, call 310-6603593, ext. 3408.
“Six Characters in Search of an Author” is a play about six characters who want an author to help develop their roles. The play will be performed tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Campus Theatre. For more information, call 310-3295345.
Filling out personal statements, getting fee waivers for applications, receiving residency, and taking college courses will be discussed at the UC Application Workshop Tuesday in MBA 103 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. For more information, call 310-660-3593, ext. 3408.