By Kathleen Szczepanik
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Have you ever heard the saying “Don’t Mind Silly Boys”? Maybe from your mom regarding a classmate in elementary school or from a beloved math teacher who wanted you to remember the steps of long division—Divide, Multiply, Subtract, and Bring down.

Seabrook resident Eugene Lovette, a former math teacher in Hicksville, Long Island, is back in the classroom sharing his love of numbers with a variety of employees who want to sharpen their basic math skills and then graduate to an advanced level of study.

Making sense of math
“Math is the greatest cause of grief for many students to drop out of high school and college,” Lovette says. “Basic math functions are essential in all health care occupations, and employees need to be familiar with whole numbers, fractions, and calculators to get them through the day. If I can contribute just a little bit of my time to help them understand the science of numbers so they can achieve their professional pursuits, then I am a happy man.”

Lovette tutors wait staff employees, utility workers, administrative staff, rehab technicians, service coaches, and housekeeping members who get together once a week for a two-hour class in conjunction with the “Building a Career Ladderin Health Care” module administered by Seabrook Human Resource Manager Suzanne McBean. “We are always trying to bridge the gap between staff and residents, and Gene’s math mentoring program enables us to do just that,” McBean says. “When we are able to share our gifts on a daily basis, it just validates our mission statement,” which is “building communities that celebrate life.”

Daily use
Two modules of the self-study “School at Work” program combine DVD and online activities that focus on math. Lovette is on hand to interpret and clarify the instructor who presents the material in a friendly manner.