This week's Student of the Week is Kat T.

Although I only taught Kat a couple of times (PreCalculus 12 and Calculus 12), I found so many things to admire about her. She is an incredible Math student. She is also an amazingly INDEPENDENT student. One gets the sense that she could learn most (all?) of the course material on her own... and she often does! This is less common in Math than other subjects and demonstrates impressive reasoning skills.

Kat is always friendly and has a great sense of humour. She frequently comes EARLY to class (another rare trait) and I always look forward to spending  a couple minutes in conversation with her. 

One of the most impressive things I ever witnessed Kat do, was after a test she wrote in PreCalculus 12. She was not happy with her mark (it was not BAD but definitely lower than her usual outrageously-high standard). Kat came to see me and asked to do a re-test. I reminded her that retests in my class are only for students who have completed ALL their homework for the chapter (which she had not done). She was obviously upset and expressed her disappointment... with herself. She did not whine. She did not look for excuses (work, other classes, etc). She accepted that I would not allow her to write a re-test and - though obviously disappointed - took responsibility. 

For the rest of the year, I think Kat must have ended up with 100% (or VERY close to it) and ended up with an outstanding mark overall. But what impressed me most was not her mark but the way she dealt with disappointment. This is something we can all learn from!

It's been awesome teaching you, Kat. Good luck with Engineering (lots of Math! Yay!); I know you will do great. I wish you nothing but the best in the years ahead. You deserve it! Love ya, Kat!

New research suggests that a cognitive reappraisal strategy can help math anxious individuals regulate their negative emotions surrounding math. The study found neural evidence that this reappraisal allows for increased activity in regions of the brain responsible for arithmetic — paving the way for improved math performance. The findings were published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Math anxiety, as the term would suggest, is characterized by feelings of distress or fear that arise when confronted with mathematical tasks. Such anxiety can follow a person throughout their lives, not only affecting math performance in school but interfering with everyday life.

This week's Student of the Week is Rintaro K (hoping for a photo from someone).

I have taught Rintaro at least four years (it might even be five!), and I believe he has sat at the exact same desk every time: back corner, away from the windows. I actually used to have a sign up over there that said "Dolores's Domain" because a (truly wonderful) former student, Dolores C, sat their for three successive years. But Rintaro has outdone her! I guess I will have to re-name it "Rintaro's Residence" or something.

Anyway, so much for the stereotype of the "bad students" sitting in the back. Rintaro is about as good a Math student as I could hope for. He is always eager, motivated, and focused in class. He is polite and friendly and laid-back. Altogether, just a really nice person to have in your class. Never gave me the slightest bit of trouble.

One of my favourite things about Rintaro is when he asks for help with his math. For most students it's like this:

Student: Mr. Wadge. How do I do this one?
Me: Well, you need to start by factoring.... (blah blah blah).
Student: Oh. Right. Thanks

Then there is Rintaro...

Rintaro: Mr. Wadge. How do I do this one?
Me: Well, you need to start by factoring.... (blah blah blah).
Rintaro: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! NOW I SEE IT!!! THANK YOU!!!

He always seems truly delighted to understand something that was confusing him. I love it! 

It's been a great four (five?) years, Rintaro! Thanks for all the positive vibes and friendly energy you brought to my classroom. I know you are on the road to great success (entrepreneurial and otherwise). May you never lose your happy nature and your enthusiastic approach to life. You are amazing and I will miss you!

I love, love, love this song. Turn it up loud and listen to the whole thing. Wonderful!

This week's Student of the Week is Anthony H. That's him above. Hasn't changed a bit since this was taken (hahaha!). Thanks Tony!

I remember my first encounters with Anthony. They all involved him harassing me to be given the opportunity to write a Math 9 equivalency test. I'd already allowed a bunch of his classmates to do so and they had all done incredibly well (we moved them all forward to PreCalculus 10). So when Anthony first approached me, asking for similar treatment, I told him it was too late. But Anthony was persistent. I'd never met this guy before and yet he was confident enough to badger me about it until I finally relented. And, of course, he did great as well. Off to PreCalculus 10 with the rest of the group.

Fast forward to Anthony's FIRST day in PreCalculus 10. We were a couple of weeks into class so he was the "new guy" in class. Plus, he was a year younger than most of the other students. He took the seat closest to the door and I got started.

About ten minutes into class, I am writing on the board, my body angled towards the windows. I'm explaining something about parabolas and suddenly realize that nobody is watching me or the board; they are looking directly BEHIND me. So I turn around and there is Anthony, right next to me, clutching his Math workbook.

Me (surprised): Anthony? Huh? 
Anthony: Hey. I'm working ahead a little bit. Can you show me how to do this question?
Me (even more surprised): Are you serious? I'm teaching the class right now, Anthony! Go sit down.
Anthony: it's a quick question.
Me: SIT DOWN!

Hahahaha. So funny in retrospect. Gotta admire his moxie, if nothing else.

After that inauspicious start, teaching Anthony has been wonderful. He is a determined and responsible student. He is personable and a great conversationalist. Anthony has strong opinions (on many topics) and isn't afraid to share them. This is a good thing (and a rare trait in today's world). I have had many great chats with Anthony. We have had many laughs. We have had a few (good-natured) disagreements. I have learned lots of interesting things from Anthony. I am thankful for the time we have spent together.

Thanks, Anthony, for being such an enjoyable student to teach. I know you have big goals for yourself at university (and beyond) and I am confident that you will reach them all. May you never lose your sense of humour and your self-confidence. I wish you well and I will miss you!