I ❤️ Math Day in the Middle School

Math is a TOOL.

Math is an ART FORM.

Math is JUDGEMENT-FREE.

Math is a GAME.

Math is PRACTICAL.

Math is THEORETICAL.

Math is VISUAL.

Math is COLLABORATIVE.

Math is BEAUTIFUL.

These were just some of the ways we described math in our all-day celebration of Pi Day. As one community of adult (the big kids) and students (less big kids), we solved rich problems, played games like math baseball, celebrated estimation jar winners, worked on Sudoku puzzles, and explored a seemingly impossible problem that sent us home feeling exhausted yet worthy of the challenge.

Talking about pi, we were able to demonstrate the exploratory nature of mathematics. We started by remembering that math is a human-made creation that we use constantly to organize, analyze, and communication information about patterns that exist in the world. And then, we dove into a problem that resulted in collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. It was the definition of Joy + Rigor.

I would like to extend a special thank you to our guest speaker, Brynn Wallner (’04), entrepreneur and founder of Dimepiece. Not only did she get us thinking about time and how we perceive it, but she was enthusiastic about joining in the fun from the start to the end of the day.