Getting dressed for the first day of school is as easy as 2,2,3 according to one local educator.
Dr. Valerie Camille Jones, a middle school math teacher at Atlanta's Ron Clark Academy, is the star of her own music video. Her original song, A Fashion Computation, describes all the different ways you can create an outfit with two shirts, three skirts and two pairs of shoes by using simple math.
Jones, known by educators around the world for her innovative approaches to teaching the subject of math, is part of a new campaign with Old Navy. The campaign features eight videos of teachers across the country who wrote and performed original songs. The teachers got an assist from i am OTHER, the cultural movement created by artist Pharrell Williams that is dedicated to innovators, thinkers and outcasts.
The video series marks the launch of ONward!, Old Navy's cause platform which partners with non-profits to help the next generation acquire real-world skills, training and jobs.
As a teacher at Ron Clark Academy, Jones' desire is to help her students battle math anxiety by building math esteem.
Her methods, which include the use of art and video game simulations in the classroom to help students make connections to real-world applications of math, have been observed by teachers from all over the world.
In Fashion Computation, Jones describes how students can use simple math to turn two shirts, three skirts and two pairs of shoes into a week's worth of outfits as students rock out to the chorus and create new dance moves to "hit the combo" and "mix it up."