Sniff the Fresh Math Air

By Sophia Teoh

It was 8:20 in the morning as I entered the sea of bright-minded individuals in Mrs. Sara Kearney’s AP Calculus BC classroom. Waves of chatter greeted me about what my peers were engaged in, today's goals, whether they were nervous about any upcoming assessments, and all kinds of things - with over twenty of us in that single science room, anyone could talk about anything. With my posture straight as a line and my black eyes sparkling with the brightness of a thousand stars as I imagined the activities we would engage in, I looked at the giant TV projector screen which stated something out of the ordinary - function analysis yoga.  

Function analysis yoga? Normally, I don’t think of the juxtaposition of mathematics and exercise. But still, being an enthusiastic math-loving student, I started to talk to the teacher about what “function analysis yoga” could be.  

“Are we gonna bend our bodies to match the shapes of different functions?” I asked.

The teacher gave me a friendly wink and a fist-bump. “That’s exactly right,” she reverted warmly.  

As we were sorted into groups of three or four, I could not help but think this was one of the best school days of Grade 12. An opportunity to be hands-on, spend time with our friends, stretch from our sitting positions, and smell the fresh Dalat air. Each group could feel the gears of their brains twist and turn as they thought about possible functions that matched the detailed criteria on our worksheets.  

In our group which consisted of me, Onyou Kim (12), and Ryan Khaw (12), we modeled piecewise functions that required us to lie on the ground, polynomial functions where we made our hands curve like a roller coaster, and so much more. At the end of all this fun, we compiled our photographs of our function models into a Google Slides presentation. And we had to do this quick - no time to waste. It was due at the end of the block, by hook or by crook. Despite this pressure, I pushed through and helped my team as best as I could. 

This timed assignment gave me a view of college life - a step higher from high school, where collaboration and timeliness were paramount. This is what I love about high school life - you are not alone in this journey, but rather, you have family, friends, and experienced teachers who will guide you in your transition from Dalat to wherever you may go.