Fairfax County

โ€˜The math of football': How a Virginia teacher uses sports in the classroom

At Mantua Elementary School in Fairfax County, teacher Paul Malc said he likes to bring reality to his lessons

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A public school teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, ties his math lessons to football, aiming for his students to better understand and engage with class content.ย 

โ€œIf you look like me, you can still have a career in football or in any other sport,โ€ Mantua Elementary School teacher Paul Malc said.

He said he uses "the math of football" to teach topics including statistics.

Malc is a fan of the Green Bay Packers and has a Super Bowl ring with his name on it. 

The teacher once volunteered for the Green Bay Packers as a radio headset technician. When they found out he was a math teacher, he became a defensive line statistician for the team, Malc said.

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โ€œ[Football players] need math as much as they need [the] ability to play the game,โ€ he said. 

The teacher says he prefers to bring reality to his lessons, rather than teaching straight from a textbook.ย 

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