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Middle School students learn to file their taxes

Filing a federal return is one of the projects…

Times of Ti
October 2, 2004

Article and photos by Fred Herbs

Ticonderoga – The next time you’re in need of tax advice, just ask a Ticonderoga Middle School student.

Filing a federal income tax return is one of the projects completed by the school’s math club, which includes 16 sixth graders.

The club is directed by Brian Sann, a retired actuary living in Silver Bay, and Bob Porter, a sixth grade math teacher. Its goal is to provide enrichment opportunities for math students.

“He really stretches their minds and thinking,” Porter said of Sann. “He takes the math they learn and applies it to real-life situations.”

Sann helped start the math club three years ago, securing a $1,500 grant from The Actuarial Foundation. It was the first grant the group ever presented to a rural school.

Sann made a career of math. Actuaries are professionals who use math in the design, pricing and funding of insurance and employee benefit plans. He loves numbers.

“The message I try to bring is that there’s no reason to be afraid of this stuff,” Sann said. “Math can be intimidating to a lot of students, but they’re smarter than they think.”

We take problems and work through them one step at a time,” he continued. Eventually they realize the math they’re using is something they learned in fourth grade; it’s not so hard. They just have to figure out how math works in the real world.”

Besides income taxes, the math club has figured out how to bid a construction project and has other projects waiting. It meets once a week. Sometimes guest speakers, such as college professors, talk to students.

Outside the classroom the math club will take several field trips. In the past the group has visited Middlebury College’s astronomy and neuro-science departments as well as the Adirondack Community College math and geology departments. Students usually have dinner on campus and take a tour.

“We want them to get a little taste of college,” Sann explained. “We want to encourage them to think about higher education.”

Members of the math club hope to use their knowledge in their futures.

“I want to work with NASA,” said Chris Bennett. “I love to watch rockets take off. I know there’s a lot of math involved.”

Cody Duval wants to keep his feet on ground, but realizes math is important to his future as well. “I want to be a carpenter,” he said. “I know I need to learn a lot of math I wouldn’t want to cut a board 10 inches too short.”

Nellie Webb thinks it would be great to become as math teacher – and cosmetologist.

“Those are fun jobs,” she said.

For many of the math club members it’s not about the math. It’s just fun.

“I just like being here,” Michael Barber said. “We have a lot of fun.”

Porter said the math club allows students to shine.

“There are some sharp kids in here,” he said. They like math and are genuinely interested.”

Porter also expressed appreciation for Sann, who volunteers his time.

“Sometimes, because of all we have to teach, there’s not time for the extra things,” he said. “It’s nice to have a volunteer come in and do something like this.”