Changes to Mr. P's Math Page

I have made numerous changes to the math page.
1. I have added a navigation line to most of my pages with more links to various parts of my site. (see above)
    It should make it easier to navigate.
    You no longer have to go back to the home page in order to go to another section.
2. I have put a link at the bottom of most pages so that it will be more convenient to contact me if
    you spot an error or have a question. (see below)
3. I have removed comic strips and some other material that was copyrighted.


When I taught, I tried to use humor in my classroom.   I used comic strips on each test and I used math jokes in my lessons.   That is the reason that I included some comics on lesson plans on my web page.   I have contacted many people over the past 14 years, asking permission to use their material.   Many of them gave permission but several did not.   One of the gentlemen who did not give me permission was Mr. Mark Mathis from Universal Press (a comic strip syndicate).   Although he denied my request to post some of their comics, he did say that teachers may use them in their classroom.   I have included his letter below.

If you miss the comics or some of the other material that was posted, it appears that it is OK for you to use that material in your classroom, but I cannot put it up on my math page.   Therefore, I will make available to you a DVD for $25.00 containing my entire former math page plus several extra items that I didn't post.   One of the extras is my complete collection of 1,678 math-related comics (202 algebra comics, 129 arithmetic comics, 152 calculus comics, 371 computer comics, 153 geometry comics, 65 statistics comics, 42 trig comics, and 564 miscellaneous math comics).   They are organized by subjects and then by topics.   So, if you are teaching factoring, you would go to ALGEBRA COMICS and then go to FACTORING (this will be found under the Math Humor section of the old math page on the DVD).

One of the reasons that you might enjoy having the DVD of my math page is that you can copy it to your hard drive and then access it without needing to be connected to the internet.   It will be quicker and you never have to worry about the internet connection.

Write to David Pleacher at mathpage@gmail.com for details about ordering the DVD.




Mr. Mark Mathis from Universal Press (one of the comic strip syndicates) wrote to me in 2002.   Here is his letter:
Subject: RE: Cease-and-Desist... Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 14:40:15 -0500 From: MMathis@uclick.com To: dpleache@pen.k12.va.us Hi David, I am sorry about the confusion in replying to you as I did not see either of your replies until today. I appreciate you asking for permission to post the comics but I am afraid I have to ask you to remove the images that I previously named. Universal Press's stance is not to say that teachers cannot use comics in their classrooms, we do encourage it and I wish my math teachers growing up used comics in the classroom. I understand the nature of your web site, its intended use, and the fact that you do not financially benefit from the use of the comics, but if you could instead direct your teachers to www.amureprints.com where they can do a keyword search for comics on any topic, this would be in the best interest of everybody. Teachers would only need to fill out a simple form on the website and our permissions department would grant them permission to use the comics. Thank you for your prompt response and again I apologize for the confusion on my end in replying to you. Best regards, Mark Mathis -----Original Message----- From: David Pleacher [mailto:dpleache@pen.k12.va.us] Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2002 3:43 PM To: MMathis@uclick.com Subject: Re: Cease-and-Desist... Dear Mr. Mathis, I received your letter about the comic strips displayed on my website. I have been teaching for 35 years and I have always tried to adhere to copyright laws. My site is a school webpage and I display only comic strips which are related to my field of mathematics. I had researched the Fair Use Test at the Stanford University Law Site on Fair Use, and I thought that I was complying with the four main factors -- (1) Purpose, (2) Nature of Copyrighted Work, (3) Relative Amount, and (4) Effect on the market. My webpage is part of our school system's website and is non-profit with no advertisements. I don't think that my display of the math comics has any effect on the market. In fact, I hope that some of the visitors to my site will enjoy some of the comics and then go purchase collections of them. When I received your letter, I contacted my school board office and they said that I was in violation of the copyright law unless I received permission from you to post the comics. Would you please grant me permission to continue to display your comic strips at my website? I could post a disclaimer above each comic stating that they were for the enjoyment of my students and should not be copied or used in any other manner (or whatever you would have me post). If not, I will remove the comic strips immediately. My aim was not to defraud you, but only to offer my students a humorous look at mathematics. Thank you for considering my request. Sincerely, David Pleacher