I have been having a little problem with my Math Olympiad team this year: they yell at each other...a lot. It's not like they call each other names and are mean for no reason, they just get really excited about math. For example, one of them will understand a problem and the others will not. Instead of explaining quietly and rationally, the one who understands will just yell at the other three until all of them are good and frustrated. It is loud and few problems are answered correctly. It's basically a double negative which in this case does not make a positive (get it? Math joke...). Needless to say, the last few practices we have been working on teamwork and inside voices. Today my work has paid off!
I gave my team a long problem practice sheet (one long problem that has numerous steps and requires a write-up in the end) which they normally struggle on. Instead of the usual shouting and anger, they got to work and had amazing teamwork in solving today. After seeing their work today, I can say confidently that they have learned something from me and it is not any sort of mathematics- they already know more than me.
If they keep this up, I think we have a real chance at getting better than 3rd this year. Keep your fingers crossed that they keep this mellow attitude!
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