I updated the Wadgemath playlist (sticking with Apple Music for now... even though I prefer Spotify). Here's the link to follow it / me:
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The Student of the Week is Maya M (photo needed!)
I remember the first time I met Maya. She was in grade 10 and not actually attending King George. She was spending the year doing the TREK program (outdoor education) at Prince of Wales. One day she had a Pro-D when we didn't so she came to KG for the day. She walked into my classroom and took a seat near the back. Usually, when "visitors" come to my class they are there for only social reasons... there is no attention spent at all on what I am teaching. But Maya was not like this. You could tell she was actually keeping track of what I was teaching. A couple of times she even offered answers to my questions to the class. And - though I don't remember the exact details - I do recall that she answered something in a way that I had never considered before (but was totally correct). All this to say, she made a VERY good first impression on me. I was thinking to myself: "wow, I met this kid 20 minutes ago and I can already tell that she is a superb math student... skilled, focused, and confident". Turns out I was totally correct (first impressions are often accurate, right?). I have now had the pleasure of teaching Maya the past two years. And she has been nothing but an exemplary student. Great work habits and awesome achievement! What was probably most impressive was Maya's PreCalculus 11 year. She and (the great) Amanda G came to me after a month of classes and asked if they could continue the course "on their own" by using my videos. There was some other course that they wanted to take that was in the same Block as mine. So the idea was to have TWO classes scheduled at the same time (I think) and to watch the videos to learn the material and to find times to come write quizzes / tests / projects / etc. I was pretty reluctant to do approve of this. Math by Distance Ed (as this basically was) is pretty hard for anybody. You have to be disciplined enough to stay up to date with the material. You have to struggle through lots of difficult problems on your own. And you have to find times to write those darn tests! Not only did Maya do all of this, she also earned an exceptionally high mark in the class. It is a testament to Maya's organization skills, determination, and "smarts". I was (and still am) very, very impressed! Maya was one of the awesome group of travellers who went to France with Ms. E and myself last year. It was great fun to spend time with Maya outside of a school setting. I saw what a great sense of humour she has and that she is a very easy person to talk to. But here is what I will remember most of Maya from that trip: I guess that Maya suffers from motion sickness pretty bad. So - though I did not know this for about the first three days of the trip - it turns out that every time we rode the Paris Métro (even if it was just for a couple stops) Maya would quickly feel really unwell. Poor Maya. But the thing that amazed me was that she never complained! No whining. No sulking. She KNEW she would feel like crap but she'd crowd onto the subway with the rest of us. Perhaps she's get a little quiet (who wouldn't!). Perhaps she'd remove herself from the group a couple steps (fair enough!). But not a negative word passed her lips. This is so commendable! And, for comparisons sake, consider the following: on the first night in Paris I was having some... uh... stomach issues and I probably whined about it to everyone in our group (and anyone outside of it who listen to). I think I need to model myself after Maya's example in the future. So glad you returned to King George for grades 11 and 12, Maya. And really happy that I got to teach (and travel with!!) you during that time. You have so many great qualities going for you. I know that you will continue to thrive at university (and outside of it) and be a great success. I wish you nothing but happiness (and a settled stomach). Take care! On November 16, 2013, Molly Huddle ran 37:49 for 12 kilometers, a world record for that distance. People applauded this performance, but some pointed out that Mary Keitany’s world record of 65:50 for the half marathon, which is 21.1 kilometers, is actually faster than Huddle’s record: Keitany averaged 3:07 per kilometer, while Huddle averaged 3:09 per kilometer. Therefore, Keitany must have run some 12 km subset of the race faster than Huddle—right?
A Nigerian professor has claimed to have solved a maths conundrum that had stumped scholars for more than 150 years.
Dr Opeyemi Enoch, from the Federal University in the ancient city of Oye Ekiti, believes he has solved one of the seven millennium problems in mathematics. The professor says he was able to find a solution to the Riemann Hypothesis first proposed by German mathematician Bernhard Riemann in 1859, which could earn him a $1m prize, in an interview with the BBC. However is solution to the problem has not yet been revealed. Someone watch me and tell me if it is good or not... Thursday, Oct 22nd - Marcela P. (Futushiki)
Thursday, Oct 29th - Monday, Nov 2nd - Thursday, Nov 5th - - Amy & Louise (Strimko) Tuesday, Nov 10th - Sophia R. (Quote Drop) Wednesday, Nov 25th - Nella L. (Hanjie) Thursday, Dec 3rd - Natasha T. (Numberlinks) Wednesday, Dec 9th - Martha S. (Skyscrapers) Wednesday, Jan 6th - Braque H. Thursday, Jan 14th - Lucas s. Wednesday, Jan 20th - Marla H. Monday, Jan 25th - Thursday, Jan 28th - Ali E. - Wednesday, Feb 3rd - Thursday, Feb 11th - Wednesday, Feb 17th - Monday, Feb 22nd - Thursday, Feb 25th - - Wednesday, Mar 2nd - Thursday, Mar 10th - Petar L. This week's Student of the Week is Jessica M!
Oftentimes Jessica is a quiet person. She regularly chooses to sit by herself and work independently. Sometimes we will go a class or two without talking much to each other. Nothing wrong with that! But the really cool thing about Jessica is that, on other days, she is totally engaging, and connected, and talkative. She's kind of unpredictable like that but it's really intriguing. I like it! To be clear, there is nothing fake about Jessica. On the days when she is more talkative it is not forced or artificial. She says what she believes. She speaks her mind. She talks when and if she has something to say. Because of this, I find that when I speak to Jessica it is always a rich conversation. There is no "talking to fill the space" thing going on. It is a "real" conversation and it is refreshing. Jessica is a warm and caring person. Here is an example that may be a complete "misread" on my part, but I am going to relate it anyway: a couple of week's ago a student came by to give out awards to some students in my (and Jessica's) PreCalculus 12 class. I can't actually remember what the awards were for... Honour Roll? Perfect Attendance? Anyway, I was acting like a goofball (surprise, surprise) and making a big deal out of the awards. Hand shakes, cheering, posing for photos, etc. Jessica was one of the award winners. So I called her to the front with great fanfare. She walks to the front with this big smile on her face (Jessica has an AMAZING smile. Surely you have noticed this before!?!) and we do the handshake and fake pose for the camera (I don't think anyone was ACTUALLY taking pictures, by the way). So we are standing side-by-side with one arm around the other's torso and Jessica is really hugging my side. It's a confident, affectionate, gentle hug. It only lasts about two seconds but I'm left with the thought: "that was so sweet". It seemed so genuine and REAL. Not like "I guess I better get this over with because my Math teacher is a weirdo" but more like "Mr Wadge is such a goof but I like him anyway". (Again, I might be misreading it. Maybe the whole time Jessica was mortified. But it didn't seem that way... and knowing the sort of person Jessica is I think I may be right). Jessica, I am so proud of how hard you have worked in my class. I have a lot of admiration for the sort of person you are. You have always been so honest with me. Always very grateful for any assistance I have provided. And you have always seemed very confident in yourself and who you are (I think you have very good reason to be this way, by the way; you are an intriguing and special person). I know that you will go on to do great things. Best of luck to you! |
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