Homeschool Math!
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Murray, founder of CTC Math, has heard
in many shapes and forms. Patrick is in a
perfect position to help since he has over
22 years of teaching experience and ten
children of his own. Read on to glean
some insight (and encouragement) on
helping your children with their math.
TOS: Patrick, thank you for taking time
to speak with us. Could you please tell us
a little about yourself?
Patrick: It’s a pleasure to be here talking with you, Heather. I’m married to
Maree, and we live in beautiful Sydney,
Australia. We’ve been blessed with ten
children—five girls and five boys. It’s
both very rewarding and a challenge
having a large family and certainly gives
me an insight into some of the difficulties
parents encounter with raising and educating their kids. I have been teaching
math since I graduated from college in
1988, and have a keen interest in sports
and coaching as well.
TOS: When did you realize that you
loved math enough to make it your profession? What was the defining moment?
Patrick: Throughout high school, I
was fortunate indeed to have a lot of
great teachers. And a number of them
combined their full-time teaching with
successful sports careers as well. This
appealed to me because I really loved
math as a subject, and I figured I would
enjoy teaching it. Then to also have the
flexibility to pursue a professional Rugby
League career as well; I just couldn’t think
of anything I would want to do more.
Just to explain a little bit to your readers,
rugby is a bit like American football: the
running and the big tackles; just we don’t
have any of the protective gear. So you’ve
got be a little bit crazy to play; it’s pretty
rough, but that’s okay.
At 19 years of age, I got married and
chose to turn down the lucrative football
contract I was offered, because I wasn’t
convinced the life of a football pro was
going to be very conducive to married
life. I’ve been married now for nearly
27 years and via my math teaching programs, have helped hundreds of thousands of students in Australia, in the U.S.,
Math and Online
Learning:
An Interview with
Patrick Murray
of CTC Math
by Heather Mader Patrick Murray
“Without a doubt, multi-sensory learning
any subject is more effective.”
