First Math Olympiad Practice of the Year

There is a pretty strong stereotype of Asian students that most people believe to be true. If you read any of my blog posts from last year about my 7th graders or had a chance to talk to me this summer, you know now that is not always true. However, there are days as a teacher in Taiwan when they do live up to the expectations of the masses.

Today was our first math olympiad practice. Our competition will be on October 29th so we only have about a month and a half of twice a week practices to prepare. Last year we took third, this year we are all aiming for gold. I have the exact same four kids as I did last year and even after one practice with them again, I am reminded at how amazingly smart they all are.

What was more impressive than their logical thinking skills however, was the fact that they diligently worked on a practice sheet the moment I put it in front of their noses for the full 50 minutes of activity this evening. Moreover, they already sat through 8 hours of school before doing that (after only a 20 minute break also). As eighth graders full of energy, it s astonishing to me when they completely flip a switch and become focused because they have such a drive to answer all of the math questions correctly. I love my students sometimes!