aThis week's Student of the Week is Chaucer G! (I no longer need to ask for photos thanks to the ones I got leading up to grad! And don't worry grade 12's, if I haven't made you Student of the Week, I'll keep going over the summer. I won't forget you!)

I love students of all types. Quiet, studious ones. Loud, not-so-studious ones. Athletic. Artistic. Serious. Expressive. Iconoclastic. I just really love my students. But if I HAD TO choose a favourite type it could be someone who meets the following criteria:

1. someone who consistently makes me laugh and isn't afraid to cause a little chaos during my lessons
2. someone who works hard in class when it's time to do work.

It's not a common mix. Lots of people are funny and love joking around during lessons... but struggle to switch into a focused mode afterwards.
Even more work super hard in class but don't provide many laughs (which is totally fine, of course!).

But Chaucer meets the above criteria perfectly. Over the past four years there have been SO MANY times when he has had me in hysterics (when I should have been teaching factoring or quadratics or something). Whether it was Pete Weber, the bowler ("who do you think you are, I am!"), his esoteric fashion sense, stories from his other classes, or... uh... this Lady and the Tramp re-creation... 

... Chaucer has a gift for making people laugh. He does not take life - or himself - too seriously. He's positive and good-natured and charismatic.

BUT... he is also an excellent student. When it's time to work, he works. He tries, he asks questions, he stays on-task and up-to-date. 

The perfect combo!

Something else I admire about Chaucer is his willingness to try new things. He is not the sort of person to worry about "what if I fail" or "what might go wrong"? Instead he jumps right in and makes the best of things. As an example,  he recently started his own vintage T-shirt business. And though there has been some hiccups...

... he is off and running (and check out the views!!).

Oh wait! A third quality of the ultimate student: they love and will discuss MUSIC with me!! And Chaucer meets that quality too. It's the rare student (these days) that can comfortably discuss The Smiths, Black Sabbath, Rage Against the Machine, and Father John Misty without blinking an eye. Plus, he actually READS my end-of-the-year best albums list (The Shazzys!!).

Thanks for all the good laughs, Chaucer. You're a can't-miss prospect. You've got the smarts, the work-ethic, the charisma, and the kindness to take you to great heights. May you never lose your slightly twisted, always wonderful way of looking at the world. You are truly a most memorable student. Love ya!

The reason: They had a better memory for numbers related to smoking risk, which led to perceiving a greater risk from smoking and then a greater intention to quit.

"People who had better math skills remembered more of the scary numbers about smoking risks that we gave them, and that made a difference," said Brittany Shoots-Reinhard, lead author of the study and research assistant professor in psychology at The Ohio State University.

This week's Student of the Week is Salma F! I have to be VERY careful which picture goes up here. I can only think of one (maybe two) times that Salma was ever mad at me: I posted a picture of someone else online and - unbeknownst to me - Salma was visible in the background. I thought it was funny. Salma.... not so much.

Anyway, as I said, one (maybe two) times total that she was frosty with me. Besides that, even though I have taught her ALL FIVE years, there was never a MOMENT that Salma was rude or grumpy or aloof with me. Words I would use to describe Salma: joyful, ebullient, lighthearted, good-natured. Honestly, she is the sort of person that always (ALWAYS!) brought a smile to my face, the moment she entered my classroom. Remember how Snow White was such a magnetic personality, so cheerful, so GOOD, that all the animals followed her around all the time. Salma reminds me of that. The sort of lovely personality that people (and animals?) just naturally want to be around. She even looks a little like Snow White.... maybe? (Salma has better hair. The MOST AMAZING hair!)

Whenever Salma was in my class I knew that I would be laughing lots. She used to ask lots of questions in class (and after class too for a while) and I loved this for two reasons:

1. I am always eager to help people who are working hard / trying to authentically understand (and Salma always was)
2. 90% of my 1-on-1 interactions with Salma end with one or both of us laughing. She has such a fabulous sense of humour and she is quick with a laugh (which is pretty much my favourite personality trait)

I saw many of Salma's basketball games over the past five years and, even there on the basketball court, Salma usually had a giant smile on her face. Such an endearing look! And saw rare on a basketball court!

Salma is a good sport. I have spent lots of time teasing her over the past five years and she never complains. I have even had an old modelling picture of her (from when she was about 8 years old) on my wall for the past few years. I guess that might be weird for her but I think it's absolutely adorable and it does (and will!) make me smile every time I look at it.

Salma, I am very, very lucky to have taught you for five years straight. You have brought so much joy to my teaching life. I am so proud of you for how hard you have worked in my class over the past five years and for the sort of person that you have become. I wish you an amazing life; may you never lose your enormous smile! I will miss you and I love you lots!

The human brain is both a marvel and a mystery of evolution: Packed into a volume about one-quarter that of an inflated soccer ball, somewhere around 86 billion neurons form networks that enable us to do everything from mindlessly scrolling through Instagram to safely sending people into space. But a deeper understanding of the structure of those networks is still an open question.
​
Perception remains particularly vexing: How does the human brain turn the deluge of incoming signals — photons, odor molecules, sound waves, sensations on our skin — into an accurate mental simulation? What neural network could represent, say, the smell of chocolate?

​Recent studies suggest that math may help us sort out these questions. To better approximate the complicated networks involved in perception and other cognitive tasks, some researchers turn to hyperbolic geometry. Like other geometries, it’s a set of rules about space, distance and connections. But unlike Euclidean geometry, which is what most people learn (or loathe) in high school, hyperbolic geometry describes the way space fits together — if space curved away from itself, everywhere.

This week's Student of the Week is Noah K (counting on Aya for a photo here)!

First of all, I need to thank Noah for being my #1 benefactor and support over the past few years. I think it was in PreCalculus 11 (but maybe 10) when I told his class the story of my wife FORCING me to put a "donate" button on my YouTube channel (even though I told her it was pointless) and how nobody ever TRULY donated to it before.

Mere days later I was alerted about a $1 payment coming in from one Noah K. And it was an ongoing monthly payment. $1 EVERY month!! 

Of course I rejected the payment (I'm not taking money from my students. And if I AM, it's for significantly more than $1. Hahaha. JOKES!) but we have fallen into a nice pattern in the years following: I receive a $1 payment from Noah every month, I reject the $1 payment from Noah every month. And every month it leaves me with a smile on my face. 

Here's what I appreciate more from Noah than his $1 every month: over the past four (I didn't teach you in grade 8, right Noah?) years Noah has refashioned himself as a truly outstanding math student. If I was to award a grade 12 student a "Most Improved" award he would be on the short-list (if not the outright winner)l.

Noah was never a problem in terms of behaviour in my class. But - at times - he struggled to stay up-to-date, to be organized, aware, focused, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary for a grade 9 or 10 boy but I was definitely hoping for some "growth".

And boy did it happen! Noah now shows real determination and focus. I always knew he was a smart guy and his marks reflect it now. It's so rewarding to see such improvement in a student (I'm not saying I played a part in his improvement, only that it is honestly exciting to witness. I suspect his wonderful girlfriend, Aya, played a much bigger role than any teacher in Noah's transformation).

With his smarts, his newfound work ethic, his charisma, and his friendly nature, Noah has future success written all over him. Plus... the hair! Come on, that's incredible hair!

Thanks for ALWAYS being so good-natured and kind to me, Noah. I admire you so much for your laid-back personality, your sense of humour, and your authenticity. I wish you a wonderful life and I will miss you. Love you, NK!