Being a teacher today is obviously a challenge. Modern teachers are competing with mobile phones and a host of Covid created distractions. Part of the challenge that educators have always faced is making learning engaging and fun for their students. Some topics are harder to make fun of than others. Luckily in the Lone Star state, one Texas teacher’s approach to math is “music to his student’s ears!” Here is our interview with a Hip-Hop Math Teacher:
Thanks for allowing us to interview you. Why don’t you give us a quick intro into who you are?
My name is Evan Fee and I write and perform hip-hop songs under the moniker MC Squareroot. All of my songs are about mathematics and came about as a way to engage my students.
How long have you been a teacher for and what do you currently teach?
I began teaching in the fall of 2015, specifically teaching High School math and Special Education. I wear many hats at my job and teach multiple sections: Algebra I, Geometry, Math Models, and Algebra II. As a special education teacher, I work with a wide range of students’ abilities, ranging from remedial math all the way to advanced.
What got you interesting in teaching?
The first college I attended was UNT, and while there, I worked for the Learning Lab as a supplemental math tutor. That job really opened my eyes as to how rewarding it was to help students and “see the lightbulb turn on” when they finally understood a concept I was helping them with. Over the next ten years, I thought about becoming a math teacher, until finally, I did.
Also, I always struggled with math growing up; that frustration I felt as a student motivates me and helps me empathize with my students who struggle with the material.
What is the best part of teaching?
The best part of teaching is making connections with my students and earning their trust. I truly love what I do, and hope I make a difference in their lives.
What is the most challenging?
I relate being a math teacher to being a salesperson trying to sell ketchup popsicles to people in white gloves. Basically, I’m “selling” something that the majority of people don’t want to buy. I get it, most people don’t like math, and would rather be looking at their phones. Trying to maintain my students’ attention in this age is easily the most challenging aspect of my job.
Tell us about your music background:
I’ve been a musician for most of my life. As a kid, I used to make up songs and sing them, acapella, into a tape recorder. When I was 16, I got my first acoustic guitar and quickly taught myself enough so that I could form my own band. I played in numerous rock, punk, and metal throughout my 20’s and formed my current band, Super Hero/ Super Villain in the summer of 2009. That band has released four full-length albums and this year alone we’ve released three singles and music videos.
I began my hip-hop journey when I started teaching high school math in 2015. Originally as a way to engage my students in class, I realized pretty quickly that all sorts of people liked my material. I slowly wrote enough songs for a full-length album and released my first record, “The Uncommon Denominator” with Gitmo Music in March of this year.
When the pandemic hit, I hunkered down and quickly produced my second album “Everybody Counts in Math” this August. I am currently working on releasing a few more music videos/singles with my band as well as in the mixing stage of my next MC Squareroot project, “The Seven Three EP” to be released as a 7″ record next year.
When did you decide to merge your love of music with lessons and math?
I decided to merge these two things during my first semester teaching High School. Ask any teacher, and they will tell you that the first year of teaching is hell. It’s super difficult and stressful.
As such, I was driving up to work one morning that fall semester, and a few lines about the x and y-axis popped into my head. I knew the majority of my students listened to hip-hop primarily because that’s what I always heard blasting from their ear pods. When I got to work that morning, I quickly wrote down my lyrics and made a beat on Garageband. I performed it to my class that day and the kids loved it. I realized right then, that I had something.
What did people first think?
The reaction I first received from my students is the same reaction I continue to get from students when they hear me rap: they bob their heads, smile, and are engaged with the material.
What do people think about now?
Honestly, people still enjoy my raps to this day. Math is a subject that hasn’t really changed over the last couple thousand years, so its a subject that old and young alike can relate to.
How do you approach making a song what is the process?
Song writing for my band and for my hip-hop stuff are completely different processes. Where my rock stuff is generally much more organic, material for MC Squareroot is meticulously written out in what can take days or even weeks to complete.
Basically, when I sit down to write a hip hop song, I’ll have my notepad and my computer opened to multiple tabs: wikipedia, rhymezone, and sometimes google. Also, sometimes I’ll have a math textbook opened up for additional reference material.
What do you hope the future will be with the music math persona MC Squareroot you’ve created?
My goal for MC Squareroot is to tour to schools around the country and perform for students at pep rallies. I would also like to open up for Weird Al.
How can people here your songs where can they go?
My music is available to stream on all music streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Tidal, etc. I also have a YouTube channel under the name MC Squareroot.
Thank you for taking time to meet with us today. We look forward to seeing future projects from you. We also hope you inspire more teachers to explore fun and creative ways to engage young learners.