Martha Clizbe

List of 8 frequently asked questions.

• How many years have you been at Millbrook? What classes do you teach?

  My husband and I came the fall of '98. I teach Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB, Statistics, and Psychology.

• What college(s) did you attend?

  I graduated with an AB (not BA) from Bowdoin College with a major in psychology in 1989. In 1995 I earned a masters of arts in liberal studies from Wesleyan University with a concentration in math.

• How did you find your way to Millbrook?

  Mark (also a teacher at Millbrook) and I met at Chesire Academy. We were married in 1995 while we were living in Brooklyn. He was teaching at Packer, and I was teaching middle school at St. Luke's School in the village. We began looking for jobs outside the city in 1998. We fell in love with Millbrook School and Dutchess County the moment we set foot on the campus for our interview.

• What is your favorite lesson that you teach?

  One of my favorite lessons is for my precalculus students. Once a week during long period, my precalculus students do explorations where they examine the relationships between two variables. My favorite of these is called "the Guitar Exploration," where they examine the relationship between the frets on the guitar and the distance of the fret to the bridge. I think they find it cool that the function is a perfect exponential decay function.

• What makes Millbrook, Millbrook for you?

  The day we arrived for our interview, several members of the faculty kept greeting us and mentioning stuff from our resumes. I felt like a movie star. People were so friendly to us. Now that I think about it, I immediately felt known. It didn't take me long to feel needed. So that whole "needed and known" motto is pretty much true!

• What is your favorite quotation, and why?

  I have two - well, I have several. One is from the Jungle Book: "Don't spend your time looking around for something you want that can't be found. When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinking about it, I'll tell you something true -  the bare necessities of life will come to you." Another one that is kind of spiritual for me is by the Rolling Stones: "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."
  
  They both help me keep perspective. Although, I do spend more time giving my children this advice rather than taking it myself.

• What would your students be most surprised to find out about you?

  I was president of my fraternity in college. No, I don't mean sorority. Alpha Kappa Sigma. But if you ask me about it, I will denounce the concept of fraternities altogether!

• What do her students have to say about her?

  "I have had Mrs. Clizbe as a teacher for three of my four math courses here at Millbrook, so I know how amazing she is. She is always enthusiastic and creates a focused, fun, and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, making math - usually one of my least favorite subjects - much more enjoyable!" -D. Mauri
  
  "To most people, pre-calc and calculus are very intimidating. After the first day of class, I relaxed because I knew Mrs. Clizbe would teach me well. She makes everything understandable, and even the hardest of material does not seem as daunting." -G. Parent