U-46 offers math help

Algebra was an uphill battle for me in high school. Frustration over a word problem actually led to a hole being kicked in my parents' upstairs hallway, a costly mistake I'll likely never forget.

For parents seeing their children struggle in the subject today, a free "webinar" will take place next Tuesday at noon at educationweek.org. This live talk will bring together a number of experts who have examined students' experiences with algebra to explore why so many students find algebra so difficult. It will also detail efforts by districts to help students. Harvard education professor Jon Star, Chicago Public Schools' Elementary Mathematics Manager Mary Jo Tavormina and Chicago Public Schools math specialist Jesch Reyes will be featured guests.

To register, edweek.org/go/algebra. It may just save you some remodeling fees.

Larkin college fair gets wheels turning early: It might seem a little early for high school juniors to be attending a college fair, but at Larkin High School, that's exactly the aim.

Counselor Valerie Pierce says with the Prairie State Achievement Exam approaching in April, "We decided we'd like to nudge our students into thinking about continuing their education after high school early... We want to them to start focusing their thoughts on where they would like their (ACT) scores sent."

The morning of Feb. 11, 18 schools, including Judson University, Aurora University, DePaul, Benedictine, Western, Northern, Southern and Eastern Illinois universities, Purdue and the University of Iowa will participate in a college fair.

College reps will stick around until 4 p.m. after school for parents to stop by and answer admissions and financial aid questions.

Alternative spring break: With the economy the way it is, spring break money is tight for many area student. But instead of saving their cash to get wild at an all-inclusive resort, Judson University students are looking to head to several alternative spring breaks.

Next Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., students are holding a public silent auction at the Lindner Campus Commons to raise funds for the mission trips they'll be taking at the end of February. Student groups of 20 to 30 students with will head to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and rural Mississippi to combat racial injustice, build playgrounds, and educate orphans

Items for bidding include homemade jewelry, scarves, hats, and other items from Kenya and India, afghans, and cards and gift certificates for local restaurants. If you've got something to donate, items should be dropped off at the campus' student development office by the end of the afternoon.

Garnish woes: Wil Kocol, the 27-year-old chef from Cary was voted off the sixth season of Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" last week after a few blunders at a garnish station.

We were impressed with Kocol's ability to shrug off Ramsay's foul-mouthed lashings with a simple "yes chef." We hope to see him turn up in a fancy kitchen around here soon.