The Art of Problem Solving

Mathematics in popular culture teems with negative stereotypes. Classic movies such as “Mean Girls” (2004) caricature mathletes as horribly dressed, snaggle-toothed nerds. To join them is “social suicide.” But here at Stuyvesant, math team is considered the school’s trophy magnet. Those who rise in the ranks are praised for their mathematical abilities.

But what exactly is math team, and why is it such a big deal?

Every year, incoming freshmen eager for a spot in math team take a highly selective placement test: of the 400 freshmen applying, only 68 spots are available. Those who are admitted take Problem Solving as an elective, learn topics that aren’t readily taught in typical math classes, and hope for a chance to compete in competitions outside of Stuyvesant.

For many, part of math team’s appeal is finding joy in the process of solving challenging problems. Sophomore Jerry Liang shared, “The amount of deep thinking and joy that you get out of solving a question or making your own discoveries is a journey. I often sit around and pace for hours thinking about one problem.”

“There’s a reason the course is called ‘Problem Solving,’” sophomore Xiaoshen Ma added. “The problems may seem hard, but at the end of the day, as long as you know your stuff, the main challenge is putting together the puzzle.”

But not everyone’s mathematical journey has been smooth. Senior and co-captain Nancy Kuang described her rocky start with competitive math in middle school: “I did poorly on contests and was behind on problem sets. I also didn’t make many friends, and the few people I was friends with said they would probably quit at the end of the year.” Despite the dismal start, Kuang persevered and found inspiration in a great group of role models. “They inspired me to stay on the team and practice more than I had the year before, and if it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.

Even senior and co-captain Akash Das admits that he learns something new every day. “I’ve been a part of math team for many years, and I’ve familiarized myself [with] many different problems and concepts,” he said. “But, I still, to this day, find myself stumbling upon new problems and interesting solutions I’ve never seen before.”

Practice is key, and practice sessions held after school are a great place for students to brush up on their skills.

These after-school practices are usually held on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays place more focus on the American Math Contest (AMC), which is split into the AMC 10 and AMC 12: each is a 25-question, 75-minute multiple-choice examination. The top 2.5 percent of scorers of the AMC 10 and the top 5 percent of scorers of the AMC 12 get the opportunity to take the American Invitational Math Examination (AIME), which eventually leads to the International Mathematics Olympiad. Students are given an hour to work on past problems from the AMC 10, AMC 12, or AIME individually. Later, they put up the answers and go over some of the problems. Juniors and seniors help run these practices. On Fridays, practice is mainly based on qualifying for the New York City Math Team (NYCMT), whose members are chosen through their performance on competitions such as the New York State Mathematics League (NYSML) and American Regions Mathematics League (ARML).

Practice problems are selected from a variety of math competitions from countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the United States. “There are certain contests that I know are the right level for our freshmen and sophomores that I prefer to use, but I like to change it up and do different contests and formats pretty often,” said mathematics teacher Brian Sterr in an e-mail interview.

When organizing these practices, it’s also important to take into account students’ different skill sets. “We average about 90 students and split students up into four rooms,” explained Kuang. While the freshmen and sophomores work on past NYSMLs, upperclassmen and NYCMT members spend these practices prepping for other upcoming competitions such as Princeton University Mathematics Competition, Carnegie Mellon Information Mathematics Competition, and Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament.

“When there are no competitions in the near future, we can use the Friday practices to mix it up and arrange the teams so that people get the chance to work with people they don’t normally work with, which is also a lot of fun,” Das said.

“The main goal, as I see it, is for students to get used to working with each other, get to know each other better, and work with different students each week. As they go on, they may have opportunities to represent NYC on the NYC math team and travel to a few competitions, where such teamwork will be essential, so we're [partly] practicing for that too,” Sterr explained.

Additionally, after-school sessions offer more than extra practice; they also foster friendship and provide a sense of community for those passionate about mathematics.

“It’s very rare to find such a large group of tight-knit freshmen who are really dedicated to math team and [...] continually come to practices to learn from their upperclassmen and improve,” Kuang said.

However, math team’s success wouldn't have grown to such an extent without collaboration between the students and teachers. “The teachers and students all share this bond, this love for mathematics. The coaches, Stan Kats, Jim Cocoros, and Brian Sterr are extremely passionate and truly wish for you to do the best you can and grow in mathematics. The math team captains, Kimi Sun, Akash Das, and Nancy Kuang [epitomize] this—they are incredibly dedicated and always look out for all of us,” Liang said.

Sophomore Joshua Gao agreed: “People attending those Friday meets have the same love and passion for math as you, so it’s a very relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere.”

Despite the stereotypes, Liang wants people to understand that the kids on math team are just as human as everyone else. “Members of math team aren’t calculators or machines. We are people who like to have fun too,” he said. “After school, we often go get milkshakes together, play ping pong, [and] play online card games.”

“Some of the juniors go to room 407 right after 10th period ends to play Mario on the new smartboard,” Kuang added.

“Math team, to me, with the mountain climbing analogy, is the group of people who are always there with you, whether or not they are on the peak and offering you a hand or right next to you, encouraging you to go on. The senior math team captains and teachers are the guides that point you in the right direction and help you grow to conquer these challenges,” Liang said. “But in the end, we are all doing this for enjoyment. There are ups and downs, but it is the community that holds us strong.”