Mathematics. It’s a subject that is either enjoyed or detested by students. The meticulous work that goes into solving a problem can be overtly tedious, but for a small minority, the process is therapeutic. For this article, we will be putting ourselves into the shoes of the real “Math Masters” of Arcadia High School (AHS). I’m not just talking one or two years ahead, but three or four math courses ahead! Yes, these junior problem-solvers included freshmen in Precalculus, sophomores in AP Calculus, and Juniors who have completed the entire math pathway (mind-blowing!). Bear in mind, being good at math does not automatically make one a “better” person–it’s just a cool bonus.

Junior Cindy Lu took the unique route to AP Statistics, which she is currently taking, with the help of Rancho Lab School. The district’s alternative middle school allowed her to take high school courses before her freshman year. In seventh grade, she completed Algebra 1 and Geometry, Algebra 2 Honors in eighth grade, Precalculus Honors (PCH) in ninth, and AP Calculus BC in tenth. 

Lu “never planned on being accelerated, but [she] was pretty eager when the opportunity arose” to take Algebra 2 Honors with Mr. Dave Silah at the high school. 

“One of my math teachers at Rancho Lab School had approached me and another student about this option, which we both decided was a good learning opportunity,” said Lu.

She says that the workload is manageable most of the time, though she can’t definitively say for PCH or AP Calc, since she took those courses when classes were online. 

“It does get overwhelming at times when I have to balance it with other classes or activities, but overall it’s not too bad,” she resolved.

Similarly, Shayndel Yu is a sophomore who discovered her love for math in middle school. Her pathway to AP Calculus AB, which she is currently enrolled in, was possible in part due to summer courses. Her road to advanced math started off with regular-level math until seventh grade when a teacher at Foothills Middle School sparked a passion for math.

“In seventh grade, I really enjoyed math, especially because of my teacher, Ms. Kim,” said Yu. “I decided to take Math 8 in the summer because she recommended me.”

Yu has fit her yearlong mathematics courses into every summer since, allowing her to be in higher-level classes before most of her peers. She took Algebra 1 in eighth grade, Geometry in ninth-grade summer, Algebra 2 Honors in ninth, PCH in tenth-grade summer, and is now in AP Calculus AB.

For Yu, the increased difficulty in arithmetics has been more of a brain challenge rather than an annoyance.

“Whenever I have tests, it was, you know, enjoyable, and I didn’t see it as an obstacle but more like something I enjoy doing,” she said. “I just always saw math problems as really fun to solve.”

Ms. Jean Hong teaches PCH and Algebra 1 at AHS. Over the years, she has seen several math-loving students that are both younger than their peers and share the same passion for problem-solving as she does.

“It’s wonderful,” Ms. Hong said about accelerated math students. “I mean, they don’t even [need to] take my class. They could just excel on their own.”

Her opinion of her advanced students comes from her own views of mathematics in daily life, which Ms. Hong thinks is a basic necessity. 

“It’s a training of discipline. I mean, you’re given a problem. Can you solve it?” she said.

One of Ms. Hong’s so-called advanced students is eighth-grader Stanley Shi, who attends PCH at AHS. He comes to school every day during fourth period (by high school time), making it just in time for the math lessons.

Shi’s route to highly accelerated math started in sixth grade when he realized that “even Math 7/8 was too easy for [him].” He asked his math teacher at the time for a mock finals exam, which was on systems of equations and higher level algebraic solving, and ended up passing with flying colors. Since then, his path has included passing the Algebra 1 final in sixth grade, completing Geometry by the end of sixth grade, Algebra 2 Honors in seventh, and PCH in the eighth. 

Though he learns most of the concepts through self-studying and general love for math, Shi admits that the difficult courses can get overwhelming at times.

“The work was never too overwhelming until seventh grade, in which both online learning and my first introduction to a high school class hit simultaneously,” said Shi. “This combination resulted in me starting to fall behind on work and lower grades.”

To be clear, however, his idea of a low grade is still an A-, which Shi concluded was “just [enough] to barely scrape a 93.2%.”

Math geniuses aside, the unconventional pathway has its benefits and drawbacks. Cindy Lu offered up some upperclassman advice, stating that the pathway is helpful, “even if you don’t plan to major in math later on, because the material is pretty interesting, and it’s helpful to learn math as an underclassman when things aren’t too busy.”

Shi, however, was more conservative in response. He thinks that students shouldn’t put more work into themselves unless they are absolutely prepared for the dedication needed.

“I do not recommend it for children who have a hard time focusing on one thing, or for kids who just have a lot of homework,” he said. People must be “willing to put in the effort to study hard in their free time.”

Photo Courtesy of PIXABAY