Does anyone know why Claude Moutray left BTW and/or the Tulsa area? I had him for Algebra in 1974 at Thoreau Jr. High before he ever made it to BTW. Imagine my surprise to find that my stepdaughter has him for her calculus teacher in Vacaville, CA 24 years later. He was one of the cockiest teachers I ever had and he made a practice of publicly humiliating his students by making up his seating chart based on the student's GPA in his class. Those with the highest GPA were placed in the front row and the the kids who were struggling the most were placed in the back row. I started out on the first row during the first quarter, but as the year went on and the work became more difficult, I found myself being placed further and further back until I was vying for last place with a couple of other kids. To say I was traumatized by my year with him would not be an overstatement. Anyway, when I realized yesterday that my stepdaughter has him as a teacher and that she too is struggling and unable to get him to work problems with her (saying instead, "It's in the book."), I can't help but ask the obvious. Why does a man who becomes a teacher at one of the most pre-eminent public high schools in the nation give up his tenure to come work at a mediocre high school in California? Indeed, why did he leave his employment at Tulsa Public schools in the first place and start picking up odd classes at Cascia Hall, TJC and TU? Is there something I should know? He wouldn't have been RIFfed (Reduction In Force lay-off), he had too much seniority. Moreover, I'm very aware of what happens when teachers move to a new district-- they take a big cut in pay since new districts aren't required to pay for years of service out of district. (As you might have guessed, I'm a teacher now myself.) Please, I'm beside myself trying to decide what my next course of action should be. If there's something in this man's past where he was encouraged to "retire early", we should know about it out here in California. No kid who's honestly doing their best to understand the material should feel demeaned or humiliated by their teacher. Thanks for any information you can share with me. Amy Brown, BTW class of 1977

Well, I can't substantiate any of your claims and have good memories of him, if not the subject he taught!

His daughter, Becky ('88), moved to CA and he and his wife followed her, from what I understand.

Wow. I guess that wasn't something that just happened to me:

I had a class with him. Algebra, I think. In 82 or 83.

I was bored and slacking one day, reading a Popular Science that I'd hidden under my text book.

Mr. Moutray caught me doing it and humiliated me in front of the whole class.

He shouted at me. Something like, "Strike One, Mr. Neal! Get 2 more and you're out of here!"

And then he told me something about how, if I was smart enough that I didn't need to pay attention, maybe I could finish the semester studying in the library with my text book.

I could have crawled under a rock. I'm sorry that I was slacking, but I don't think that any student needs public humiliation like that.

I'm sorry to hear you went through something like that too.

I wish your step-daughter well with her studies. Let her know that this sort of thing doesn't have to stop her.

My father moved to California because my sister and I moved out to San Francisco. He wasn't asked to leave or RIFed, he decided that family meant more to him then his job so he left everything he worked for to be closer to us and his future grandchildren. My father can be hard to understand. I myself took his class for eight years (high school and college). He was tough and he expected a lot from his students. I regret that you felt humiliated, knowing him very well I think I can speak on his behalf when I say he only meant to push you to excel. I never experienced the GPA seating, maybe he did away with that by the time I got there ('92).
As for your question, "Is there something I should know?" No. There really isn't. His life and career are none of your concern. It's a shame that you had a hard time and it's stuck with you for so many years. Get over it. My father is not super human, he is a man who loves math and wanted to instill an appreciation for it in his students. Good luck in your teaching.

I don't remember him that way at all. I had him for Math Analysis/Trig and again for Calculus, and I always thought that he was a very good teacher. I don't remember him ever humiliating anyone in the class, although he was funny and a bit of a jokester. My friends (those who were in that class) and I thought he was a great guy and a great teacher -- and we definitely were not the "front row" types. Of course, I had him in '88-90, so maybe he was a lot more relaxed by then.

I enjoyed his classes as well and still talk about how much I learned in my Calc class with him. He gave me a great foundation for the math courses I took in college. His classes were fun and I don't remember him humiliating anyone. I was in class with Shannon and agree, maybe he was more relaxed by the time we had him.

http://www.moutray.org/

he's not too shabby