Oh ...where to begin? I grew up in Hawaii, ranking right down there at the bottom 50 with Mississippi and Louisiana. I had the good fortune to attend Punahou, a world class private school for high school (I was a senior when Barack Obama was an incoming freshman.) That education changed my life. I came to New York to attend Columbia University in 1980, then working in investment banking on Wall Street for the next 30 years. I retired 8 years ago and joined Teach for America. I have taught , Algebra I and II and Pre-Calculus in both DOE and charter schools in New York City and New Orleans every year since 2008. I am still looking for "the model" which works.