Yasmin and I had an interesting first year of Math together. If memory serves me correctly, she wrote a test to see if she could move from Math 8 to PreCalculus 10. She did AMAZING on the test so I gave her permission to skip Math 9. Just one problem: PreCalculus 10 did not fit into her schedule. But it seemed ridiculous to have her sit in a class that she already knew all the material.
The solution? Yasmin became a class of 1 person! She would come to my class during my Spare block and work on Math. She learned the material from my videos and I would help her when necessary (about four times in the entire year). It was great fun! There were some grade 11s or 12s who hung out in my class at that time and we all had a nice time chatting together while Yasmin did Math (and I did a little marking or something).
After that nice experience, I got to teach Yasmin three more times. Lucky me! Yasmin is a great Math student. She works hard and gets excellent marks. But what I respect most is her total commitment to truly UNDERSTANDING all of the material. This takes patience and discipline and is a hallmark of the very best students.
One of my favourite memories of Yasmin is when I horrified her with my ignorance. She showed me a question she had been struggling with. There was one part where she did something like the following:
3^2 x 4^2 = 12^2
I looked at it uncertainly for a few moments and then stammered: "wait. can you do that?".
Yasmin was APPALLED! She looked at me pityingly. "Of course you can do that, Mr. Wadge". And, yes, you can do that. But I wasn't sure at that moment. And the only thing Yasmin was sure of at that moment is that her Math teacher was a moron (she's not wrong).
Sorry to disappoint you, Yasmin. Especially since you have NEVER disappointed me. You are, in fact, one of the kindest, most appreciative, warm-hearted people I have ever met. I feel blessed to have taught you the past four years and will truly miss you next year. Good luck next year at the University of Toronto (so proud of you for following your heart!). I KNOW that great things await you and you deserve them all! Love you, YA!