testimonials

Taymone K., one of my sixth grade students participating in Math Circles. He has been an enthusiastic math student since I taught him in third grade, and his participation in Math Circles has boosted his confidence in his own mathematical abilities. During the regular school day when asking me to look at his work, he has shifted from asking me if his work is right to telling me he doesn't want to know if he is right or wrong, but he just wants to know if I can follow his thinking. On Monday, he brought me a puzzle inspired by our Toothpicks sessions, which to his delight I could not solve! Taymone said: "I like coming to Math Circles because I get to learn interesting new things. Math Circles teaches you ways to help yourself with your math. If you think about it, there are always many ways to solve a problem."

Kymberli D. is one of our superstars at Lara Academy. She has a soft voice, stands at 5’2’’ tall, and mostly communicates in Spanish; her soft voice having much to say. Her family emigrated from Mexico in January 2022, and she joined our community in the middle of 7th grade. She was in a whole new world, and it took her some time to get adjusted to a new language, a new culture, and a different way of doing school.

Kymberli was quickly recruited to join MC2 in the Spring, but she initially felt uncomfortable because she was afraid of the potential language barrier between her and her English-dominant classmates, especially in a social, extracurricular setting. Motivated by her bilingual math and Diverse Learner teachers, she decided to give the Math Circles Summer Camp a try -- and she thrived! Her strong mathematical foundation in her native language proved to be the necessary bridge to help her participate in Math Circles.

“Con este programa me siento más cómoda, y ahora siento que puedo compartir mis decisiones y pensamientos con mis compañeros, gracias a ustedes,” Kymberli says. [With this program I feel more comfortable, and I now feel I can share my thoughts and decisions with my classmates, thanks to all of you.] She credits MC2 for helping her both academically and socially, thanks to MC2’s welcoming approach to discussing math.

The language of math together with her classmates' and teachers' use of English, Spanish, and Spanglish, helped Kymberli find a voice.

I wish I could say that Ethan started MC2 and fell head over heels in love with math. I wish I could say after a few sessions, his grades improved and we never worried about math, math grades, or math test scores again. While that's not what happened, what I can say is that since starting at MC2, Ethan

• has demonstrated significantly diminished anxiety towards math
• has begun asking for help and questions in math class at school
• no longer requires me to sit over him in order for him to complete - or even start - his math homework
• is much less defiant in math class at school
• and I no longer scream, fight and cry over his math work

But the most important thing about MC2 is that he wants to go. Every week he asks me if he can go. Every. Single. Week. When I am discussing with him the things we need to do in a weekend, he always wants to make sure nothing overlaps with MC2. There are fun, non-academically enriching things he doesn't even want to go to (Paintballing, Great America, etc.) but he just loves MC2. Since starting MC2, and being on the UChicago campus, he has begun thinking about college - something I never thought to really talk to him about because he's struggling so hard in elementary school.

Ethan likes MC2 because it takes the pressure out of math. It's not 'Learn this concept this way or you'll get a bad grade.' it's 'Here's a math concept. What do you think about that? What does this other person your age think about that? Let's play around with this concept.' No grades. No teachers. No test prep/scores. No 'sit down at this desk and do this'. No 'you got this wrong - do it over until you get it right'. No pressure. Without the pressure of teachers and classmates and grades and tests, his ODD and ADHD have nothing to rebel against and he can just relax and learn for learning's sake - which has a very powerful and long-lasting effect academically.

I am a single mother. My job is the only income in our house. I own my house and my car and I do not receive support from Ethan's father. It is a constant concern of mine that my lack of means might be negatively impacting Ethan's education and opportunities. MC2 being a free program is vitally important. After 2 seasons with MC2 he is now comfortable with math. Another season or two, he could like math. After that he could be good at math. Honestly, I couldn't afford it if there were a cost. That means, bottom line, I couldn't afford for my son to reap these essential benefits.