To Oak Park High School math teacher Jared Weintraub, math is more than a subject to teach or a small passion of his. To Weintraub, math is the Truth.
“Math is the language of the universe,” Weintraub said. “It describes everything that happens; everything that happens in our world can be described with relationships that mathematics helps us with. In biology, the amount of light that comes into your eyes or the sound waves traveling across this room, math is at the root of all of it.”
For Weintraub, teaching wasn’t always what he planned to do. However, math was something that he always wanted to pursue.
“In high school, I loved math and was just naturally good at it,” Weintraub said. “I was the guy where everyone came to my table and asked me ‘hey, how do you do this?’ As much as I loved helping them, I didn’t really think about teaching.”
As the years went on, the feeling of helping people and doing something that made sense to Weintraub started growing on him. When he got to college, he came to the conclusion that he did, in fact, want to be a teacher.
“Honestly, I couldn’t imagine teaching anything other than math,” Weintraub said. “Math just makes sense and teaching it seemed like a good move. Plus, I wanted a good work-life balance being a teacher.”
When Weintraub started applying for college in his senior year of high school, he wasn’t quite sure how he’d end up getting the teaching and math balance.
“I had clicked a bunch of buttons for every college that I applied to. The internet was pretty new, and we only had one computer in the house, so I had to get it done quickly,” Weintraub said. “I just kind of clicked the buttons and when I reached UCSB, I applied with a major in math with a teaching focus. It just felt like it was meant to be.”
Weintraub attended UCSB and enjoyed his experience there.
“My experience there was great. I recommend going to college and taking as many classes as you can, learn as much as you can,” Weintraub said. “It is a great opportunity, and plus, I was three minutes away from the beach. We’d be able to go to the beach in between classes and it was just really awesome.”
Like a lot of college graduates, Weintraub wasn’t sure what to do after graduation. He still wasn’t quite sure what his next steps would be.
“After graduating, I decided to travel to South America and visit a friend who was studying abroad,” Weintraub said. “I had to move back home because I spent all of my money.”
As he thought about his next options, Weintraub stumbled into an opportunity that he took and ran with.
“I moved back home and one day, in the newspaper, there was an ad for a masters program to get teachers into South LA,” Weintraub said. “It was at Cal State University Dominguez Hills, and they paid for the masters program.”
Weintraub finished his masters program and began his teaching career at the Diego Rivera Learning Complex. He taught there for two years. After that he worked at a high school in South Los Angeles for five before making his way toOPHS.
“Those were great experiences and I love OPHS,” Weintraub said. “My favorite part about this school are those students who are super passionate about math. Those students who can share their appreciation for math as an art and as a beautiful thing.”
Weintraub’s teaching philosophy is strongly tailored to what he would have wanted in high school.
“In high school, I learned how to do a lot of things but I didn’t truly love them until I understood why and how they worked,” Weintraub said. “I think that because of my experience with math, and my confusion at a point, I learned that all you need to do is understand where it comes from.”
And understand, he did. Weintraub has been able to develop such a passion and understanding of math, that he is able to view it in multiple different lenses.
“My favorite math is definitely Calculus, or Algebra 3, Algebra 4; whatever you want to call it,” Weintraub said. “Calculus is the study of how things change. Everything around us has calculus, the world around us is continually changing and so are my kids. I see them grow every day.”
Weintraub also believes that the study of deeper mathematics can help with a lot more than meets the eye.
“In the world of AI, being able to think critically and analyze things has become more important than ever,” Weintraub said. “I think that studying concepts like infinity definitely force you to think outside of the box and think really hard. Infinity is one of those uber-ambiguous concepts that lead you towards a new direction in math. The thought of the number zero and number one, the idea of nothing, these are all concepts that force you to really use your brain.”
Weintraub believes that the skills that math gives someone can be used in a variety of different fields.
“Graduating with a different degree may not prepare you for a job right away, but a math specific degree will help,” Weintraub said. “Fields like engineering or jobs that assess financial risk obviously rely a lot on math.”
Outside of school and math, Weintraub likes to spend his time in nature.
“I love to mountain bike and spend time with my family,” Weintraub said. “There are so many awesome trails around here that I like to go on.”
Weintraub has one message that he’d like to leave students with.
“I’m not sure what the future holds,” Weintraub said. “Yet it is important to always remember that managing your own thoughts is more important than being able to type a question into a computer. The pathway for STEM majors is bright, especially if they can really utilize their tools along with their own heads.”
