An Interview with Tim O’Brien

Posted on January 1, 1970

Tim O’Brien leads his class without them knowing it. He guides mathematical conversation between his middle-schoolers, but lets his students come to conclusions about math on their own. As someone who is 60% good at math and 70% self aware, the idea of a child-led math class horrifies me.

Mr. O’Brien’s classes, for the most part, are conversation based. On a typical day, two teachers are in one room guiding the class in tandem––which (mathematically) means that the students become twice as smart. One teacher leads the class, and the other supports. Mr. O’Brien presents a problem to the students in the class who then attempt to solve it. Simple as that.

But they want to collaborate. Their minds are constantly searching for ways to become more efficient Mr. O’Brien’s role is to find these ways with them and. Specifically in math, “students are [often] told to follow their teacher blindly” which neglects the importance of understanding. “We want to hear the students’ voices.” Their inquiry drives the class, and his expertise nudges it in the right direction.

In this inquiry based model, students are able to communicate about the problem at hand organically and learn along the way. They share methods of solution with each other, learn there’s more than one way to solve a problem whilet chipping away at the most efficient solution to the problem.

The class may be conversation based, but “this is math. There is a right answer that we as teachers know we have to get to. As organic as we want class to be, we have to figure out a way to show the clear answer and language we want students using in math.” Mr. O’Brien’s class is student-led without the risk of misdirection. He may be letting 12 year-olds steer a car, but he’s got the emergency break.

And he has 18 years of practice. He knows how to teach more than math, though. When Mr. O’Brien told me that he was an English (and math) major, naturally, I was completely shocked. But it makes sense (and adds to his chops as a teacher of a students lead class) because A) He spoke English the entire time (and a little Math), and B) Mr. O’”Brien doesn’t simply teach his students to do algebra. He teaches logical, communicative discovery skills and efficient thinking. Mr. O’Brien’s ability to bridge the stereotypical gap between computational math and emotional understanding makes math tangible to all.