ESCONDIDO: Rapping math maven one of five named Teacher of the Year

By GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:02 PM PST ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- The Rappin' Mathematician of Mission Middle School has a new title today: state Teacher of the Year.

"It was just so exciting, really," said Alex Kajitani about being named one of five California Teachers of the Year on Thursday.

Kajitani, an eighth-grade teacher who has been at Mission Middle School for six years, is known as the "Rappin' Mathematician" because of the original songs he has written to help teach his students. He has released two CDs of his songs.

Since debuting his first song in class four years ago, teachers around the country have bought his music through the Web site www.MathRaps.com to use them in their classrooms. His innovation and enthusiasm caught the attention of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who announced the five Teachers of the Year on Thursday.

"Alex Kajitani is an original thinker who teaches to a different beat, and it is due to his rather unorthodox approach that his math students seldom miss a beat either,” O’Connell wrote in a news release. “Alex, who is known as the 'Rappin' Mathematician,' uses the strong beat of rap music to make math, as well as the world, more relevant to his students. He helps them learn in a way that is positive, engaging, and lasting.”

Kajitani, a 35-year-old resident of Carlsbad, said he turned to music in desperation after not being able to reach his students. Looking back, he credits the times he struggled as a teacher with helping him hone his skills.

"You just want to be the best teacher you can be," he said. "When something goes wrong or a lesson plan doesn't go right in the classroom, you sometimes think it's the student, but really I've learned to start by looking at myself. Was there a better way I could have taught that? It comes down to honest self-reflection and using that to make things better next time. What I've really found is a lot of times, my best days of teaching have come right after my worst days of teaching."

O'Connell next week will announce which of the five state Teachers of the Year will represent California in the National Teacher of the Year Program competition. The winner will be selected in the spring of 2009 by a panel convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers, and all candidates will be honored at a White House ceremony.

Mission Middle School Principal Leticia Aroyo called Kajitani a great choice.

"As a middle-school math teacher, Alex has an incredible impact on his students," she said. "And certainly no one is surprised by his selection to represent 300,000 California teachers. He's phenomenal as a teacher, and someone students will remember (for) their lifetime."

Kajitani said he hopes the exposure will help him promote issues important to him.

"One is to really help students understand math in ways that are relevant to their lives," he said.

Next, Kajitani said he hopes he can help encourage more people to go into teaching as a profession.

"This is a way of reaching a new work force," he said. "I know that, generally, they really want to make a difference and to have a job with a work/life balance. I think teaching really fulfills that. It is the job where you can make the most impact on lives."

Finally, Kajitani said he hopes the recognition will help him with his personal cause of bringing attention to the dangers of food allergies at schools. His daughter has a severe allergy to some foods, he said.

The five state Teachers of the Year and eight semifinalists will be recognized Feb. 9 in Sacramento.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.