A 'Dude' With the Right Equation

DeGraba, who taught math in the school system for 31 years before retiring in June, is not new to TV. For 14 years, he hosted "Homework Hotline Live," another cable show produced by the school system.

He has become somewhat of a local celebrity. In addition to appearing on TV, he occasionally plays his bass guitar at local bars. He has been recognized at restaurants and grocery stores. Once, a parent approached him at FedEx Field in Prince George's County.

"People would say, 'You're that Math Guy on TV,' " DeGraba said.

When school officials asked him to host the podcast, he wanted to call himself the Math Guy. But the Math Guy title was already taken by someone on National Public Radio. So he settled for Math Dude.

Although the show is produced by a team that includes a producer and graphic artist, DeGraba writes all the episodes and chooses the costumes. When he's not in character, he wears one of his many T-shirts. Although it's a frumpy look, he puts a lot of thought into it. "I have it all mapped out so I'm not wearing the same one," he said.

DeGraba, 52, decided to become a math teacher because his own teachers left a strong impression on him. Although he is now retired, he still occasionally works as a substitute teacher.

"I was good at math in high school," he said. "I had a couple of teachers who really made it alive with humor."

The Montgomery County native tried to do the same during his years teaching in the county's schools.

Each October, he would host a Rocktober celebration and let students bring in posters of their favorite bands. "It had nothing to do with math," he said. "But I would turn around and get the lesson in."

When teaching the Pythagorean theorem, he made up a tale about Pythagoras running a deli in Athens.

"Kids remember that," he said.

Now he hopes they will remember his shows.

Each episode has gotten more technically sophisticated. On a recent day, he and his team shot the episode on multiplying polynomials. The scene would feature him as himself, talking to himself dressed as Groucho Marx.

"I said the other day, 'Can you put me and me on camera?'," he said.

It turns out they can.

First, they shot him as himself speaking his lines in front of the green screen. Separately, they would shoot him as Groucho Marx. Later, the technical team would meld the two images on a computer to make one scene. "The green screen is a powerful thing," Cram said.