___ Students Have to Suffer

Posted on by Evan Chen (陳誼廷)

This will be old news to most of the readership of this blog, but I realize I’ve never written it down, so time to fix that.

Fill in the blank

Let’s begin by playing a game of “fill in the blank”. Suppose that today, the director of secondary education at your high school says:

“___ students just have to suffer.”

This is not a pleasant sentence. Fill in that blank with a gender, and you’d be fired tomorrow morning. Fill in that blank with an ethnic group, and you’d be fired in an hour. Fill in that blank with “special needs”, and you’d be be sued. Heck, forget “___ students”, replace that with “You”. Can you see someone’s career flashing before their eyes? How could you possibly get away with saying that about any group of students?

Those 500 hours

“Smart students just have to suffer.”
Director of Secondary Education at Fremont Unified School District

This happened to me. I haven’t told this story enough, so I will tell it some more.

When I was a senior in high school, I was enrolled in two classes and would thereafter run off to take graduate math at UC Berkeley. (Notes here.) This was fantastic and worked for a few weeks, so I got to learn real analysis and algebraic combinatorics from some nice professors.

Then the school district found out, and called me in for a meeting. The big guy shows up, and gives me this golden quote. I was then required to enroll in five classes a day, the minimum number of classes required for me to count towards the average daily attendance funding for my school district.

And that is why, for three periods a day, five days a week, I was forced to sit in the front office, saying “Hi, how may I help you?”.

(I didn’t even get paid! Could’ve asked for a cut of that ADA funding. It didn’t all go to waste though; I spent the time writing a book.)

Everywhere Else

Since I’ve had fun picking on my school district, I will now pick on the Department of Education.

“While challenging and improving the mathematical problem-solving skills of high-performing students are surely every-day objectives of those who teach such students, it is not a problem, relatively speaking, of major import in American education.”
Department of Education Reviewer

Oh boy.

The point is that the problem of neglecting gifted students isn’t at the level of individual teachers. It’s not a problem at the level of individual schools, or individual cities. This is a problem with national culture. The problem is that as a culture we think it’s okay to say a sentence like that.

Replace “high-performing” with any adjective you want. Any gender, any social class, any ethnic group, whatever, and you will get a backlash. But we’ve decided that it’s okay to mistreat the gifted students, because no one complains at that.

Maybe it’s too much to ask that schools do something special for top students. Can you at least not get in their way? Like not forcing students to be an office assistant for 500 hours to obtain ADA funding? Or more generally, how about just not forcing students to take classes which are clearly a waste of time for them?

Next Actions

So what can you do to change the national culture? As far as I can tell, this is mostly a lost clause. I wouldn’t bother trying.

The reason I wrote this post because I went through most of high school not really being aware of just how badly I was being mistreated. I’m really writing this for myself four years ago to point out that, man, us nerds really got the ugly end of the deal.

What you can do (and should) is make small local changes. You can persuade individual schools to make exceptions for a kid, and frequently individual teachers will do what they can to help a gifted student as well. Each individual student has good chance of finding a way around the big bureaucrats that rule the wastelands.

Ask a lot of people: if one administrator says no, ignore them and ask another one. Be prepared to hear “no” a lot, but keep waiting for the one or two crucial “yes” moments. If push comes to shove, switch schools, apply to college early, etc. Take the effort to get this one right. (See 56:30-60:00 of this for more on that.)

Dear past self, yell a little harder at the big guy when he comes, maybe you can save yourself 500 hours as an office aid.

Addendum: A Happy Story

In the comments, someone wrote the following:

Did your mistreatment as a gifted student hinder you in any significant way? … Where would you be today had the system not failed you?

I think it’s impossible to know. But here’s another story.

  • When I was in 7th grade, my school tried to force me to take pre-algebra. My mom begged the school teachers until they finally relented and let me take Algebra I. At the time, my 12-year-old self couldn’t have cared less: both classes were too easy for me, and I spent most of Algebra I playing Tetris on my TI-89.
  • Two years later this happened again: the school wanted to force me to take Algebra II. This time, my mom begged the teachers to let me take precalculus instead, which they eventually did. My 14-year-old self also couldn’t care less; both classes were too easy anyways, and I spent most of precalculus playing osu on my iPhone.
  • Two years later I was in Calculus BC, again bored to tears and in the last HS math class offered. That’s when my parents were able to persuade the school to let me take classes at UC Berkeley instead, since I had exhausted the HS math curriculum. I did very well in my first undergraduate classes, which then allowed me to take graduate classes for the rest of high school.

These professors were the ones that wrote my reference letters for college applications, which got me into all the top schools in the country (Berkeley, UCLA, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard). Without these reference letters I would certainly not have had as many options; winning the USAMO and making the IMO didn’t happen for me until the end of senior year.

But it wasn’t until I met the guy quoted above that I found out that I had unwittingly “broken district rules”, and technically shouldn’t have happened. (Belated thanks to those individuals who stuck out their necks for me!)

So here’s a surprisingly clear example of a near miss. Suppose that my mom had been more polite, or my school had been a little more firm, and any of the three events above didn’t occur. Not only would I have lost some college choices (potentially including MIT), I wouldn’t even know that this was the key event I could have changed.

[Bonus question: I estimate about 2% of USA high school students take the AMC. How would my life have changed if I had been in the other 98%?]

By analogy, if you ask me now what ways I’ve been affected, how am I to tell you? Without an Earth simulator I can’t point to which of the other 100 times I was mistreated hurt me the most. All I can do is point out that I (and many others) are being mistreated, which really should not be okay in the first place.

Or maybe a better argument: if you halve the amount of time I have to learn by making me go to high school for six hours a day, and then I get a gold medal at the IMO, I do not think the conclusion should be “it had no effect”, but something more like “I could have gotten two gold medals at the IMO”. Not that gold medals scale linearly with time but you get the point.

Published by Evan Chen (陳誼廷)

I am a math olympiad coach and a PhD student at MIT.

31 thoughts on “___ Students Have to Suffer”

  1. Thanks for writing this (and sorry that you had to go through the experience you described). Hopefully it will be helpful to some people still in high school going through the same thing.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. “This is a problem with national culture. ”

    This post comes as a surprise to me, because I thought things like that could never happen in a country that has legalized homeschooling.

    Is there a place in the world where the bureaucracy does less harm to the students (or people in general) ahead of the curve than the USA?

    Is there a reason why one of the most liberal states in the land of the free has such strong regulations about the schooling system? Are things better in the other parts in the US?

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    1. I imagine there’s a large variance between even individual schools; often it just comes down to one or two key people who can either say yes or no. From the administrative perspective, helping or not helping a few top students is completely inconsequential to them (and the incentive structure seems to do this by design); it’s usually not that they feel strongly one way or another, they just don’t care.

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  3. Oops, how do you edit typos? I didn’t mean “the people” in the first paragraph. That just sounds arrogant.

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  4. I’ve edited it for you. Do agree with the bit about high-achieving students becoming complacent. I lucked out and found math contests, so this never happened to me, but I can definitely see this happening to many others.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I also think there’s a part of North American culture (and many other cultures) that tries too hard to avoid things that could be mistaken as elitist, even if they aren’t. How many people see gifted education as accommodation for special needs? Very few, as far as I know. How many people see gifted education as a reward for being smart? Probably the majority of the population.

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  5. Did your mistreatment as a gifted student hinder you in any significant way? Your resume reads like a student who has excelled. Is MIT not your first choice? Was Math not your passion? Where did the failure of our education system slow down your growth? Where would you be today had the system not failed you?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think it’s impossible to know. But here’s another story.

      * When I was in 7th grade, my school tried to force me to take pre-algebra. My mom begged the school teachers until they finally relented and let me take Algebra I. At the time, my 12-year-old self couldn’t have cared less: both classes were too easy for me, and I spent most of Algebra I playing Tetris on my TI-89.
      * Two years later this happened again: the school wanted to force me to take Algebra II. This time, my mom begged the teachers to let me take precalculus instead, which they eventually did. My 14-year-old self also couldn’t care less; both classes were too easy anyways, and I spent most of precalculus playing osu on my iPhone.
      * Two years later I was in Calculus BC, again bored to tears and in the last HS math class offered. That’s when my parents were able to persuade the school to let me take classes at UC Berkeley instead, since I had exhausted the HS math curriculum. I did very well in my first undergraduate classes, which then allowed me to take graduate classes for the rest of high school.

      These professors were the ones that wrote my reference letters for college applications, which got me into all the top schools in the country (Berkeley, UCLA, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard). Without these reference letters I would certainly not have had as many options; winning the USAMO and making the IMO didn’t happen for me until the end of senior year.

      But it wasn’t until I met with Dr. Maxwell in senior year (the guy quoted above) that I then found out that I had unwittingly “broken district rules”, and technically shouldn’t have happened. (Belated thanks to those individuals who stuck out their necks for me!)

      So here’s a surprisingly clear example of a *near miss*. Suppose that my mom had been more polite, or my school had been a little more firm, and any of the three events above didn’t occur. Not only would I have lost some college choices (potentially including MIT), I wouldn’t even know that this was the key event I could have changed.

      [Bonus question: I estimate about 2% of USA high school students take the AMC. How would my life have changed if I had been in the other 98%?]

      By analogy, if you ask me *now* what ways I’ve been affected, how am I to tell you? Without an Earth simulator I can’t point to which of the other 100 times I was mistreated hurt me the most. All I can do is point out that I (and many others) are being mistreated, which really should not be okay in the first place.

      Like

    2. With this kind of precision guided questioning, one may think as if someone is ready to launch a full fledged FBI investigation into author’s personal experiences; putting to alternate use the depth of experiences the gained from angel investing.

      Nowhere did the author even remotely hint to pretend to suggest “failure of the educational system” or apparently display any trace of rancor of someone’s having been “failed by the system”. Then why this line of questioning?

      There may indeed exist pockets of similar localized challenges that folks may have come across. I would simply read this blog as an honest, emotive expression of a somewhat imperfect experience being recounted by a talented mathematician dedicated to giving back to the subject outlining the rigor and perhaps extra support needed for potential excellence in Math or any subject for that matter.

      On the other hand, I could relate to some of author’s experiences based on similar fun and joy what my close friend’s son is going through in his middle school right now. My friend will probably take to home schooling starting high school next year to help the child get immersed in math in the proverbial Einsteinian flow. I can understand it would be another manifestation of a personal choice, available to all, drastic to many. However, I am sure even they would not feel that the the “system failed them” if they made this decision. Similarly, on the converse side too.

      Lastly, my thanks to the author for the article.

      Like

  6. This article was articulated very well. That quote from the Freemont School District sounds eerily familiar to me…
    I could never understand why so many administrators are opposed to accelerating kids.
    Maybe its just been my personal experience, but I think that usually you are better off going to public school than a private, as far as taking math is concerned. Most private schools, or at least those in the bay area, tend to be very resistance to a student taking math outside of school. Furthermore, once one admin says no, there is nobody else to ask since the school is small. However, at a public school you can fly under the radar, getting first period off and cutting a deal with your second period teacher…

    The strategy has paid off for me the past two years, but I still have another year left so fingers crossed. I just hope I won’t have to serve time in the Berkeley High front office.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. As a parent, I can relate to this. We had to take my son out of school for homeschooling in 9th grade. He was way too advanced to take basic courses in math and science, and school would not let him take courses appropriate for his level. We tried to go back for 10th grade and showed his accomplishments. School still did not budge at all. But homeschooling leads to isolation, and he will go back. But we consider that just a wasted time and wasted opportunity. He needs friends so he needs school. What a pity living in this most advanced country on Earth and land of freedom where students can’t even pick courses appropriate for their level.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. As a parent, I can relate to this as well. My son goes to a highly-rated public Middle School. He is showing a lot interest in Math and he spends a lot of time on AoPS. As any kid that spends time working out on AoPS will tell you, school math, which is typically watered-down, becomes mind-numbingly boring. I had a parent-teacher conference with this Middle School Math Teacher. She tells me, “He is spending too much time on Math. He is doing really well. But, he needs to have a balance, and also get A’s in Core. He needs a 4.0. The colleges won’t like it if he has an A in Math/Science and B+’s elsewhere Also, he talks higher level Math in class, and the other kids and myself don’t understand and can become a social issue”. I am completely shocked by this attitude: Getting kids to study Math is non-trivial; how he could you possibly be doing “too much” Math is beyond me. If I were to generalize, the mindset seems to be, don’t get too advanced in Math; otherwise, we don’t like it. With this kind of attitude, trying to advance through school Math seems darn near impossible.

      Kudos to your Mom for what she was able to get done!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Hello there! This blog post couldn’t be written any better!

    Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He constantly kept preaching about this. I will forward this article to him.
    Fairly certain he’ll have a great read. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Interestingly, there is evidence society can flourish without such strict bureaucracy in education. I live in the UK, and my schools have been very flexible about my education. When I was younger, they allowed me to join maths classes with people a few years older than myself. These days, teachers just let me get on with what I have want in maths lessons. I know that I am not the only person who benefits from such freedoms.

    But perhaps I am one of a lucky few? Are there any other “smart students” who have not really suffered?

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  10. I am a public school student who can totally relate. The school doesn’t have to do much except for not get in my way and I’ll be happy. Like make me not take the state assessment at the end of the year which wastes my time. Or make me take geometry class when I know all the material. Or let me skip multiple years of school subjects not one year every year.

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  11. The other beneficial about acceleration is that it opens many doors and allows you to know what you’re good at. This is inspired by this blog post: http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=40 . Even if someone isn’t 100% mastered in whatever material, they may be more talented in some specific field, and emphasis on the fundamentals sometimes doesn’t let that person see so.

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  12. Hi Evan,

    I’m going to be a junior in the upcoming school year with a free sixth period and I really want to take math classes at a good university (like UCLA or CSULB or something). I was wondering how logistics for concurrent enrollment goes — how one convinces the university/school administration to let you take the course(s), whether or not you have to have a competitive application, how expensive it is, etc. and how to acclimate to the college environment.

    Thanks
    Ayush

    Liked by 1 person

    1. In my experience the univ was always the easy part. Assuming there’s a concurrent enrollment program, you ask the professor nicely and explain your qualifications. Assuming you are prepared, professors are usually be happy to let you join — it costs them nothing and it helps you a lot, so everyone wins. The hard part is convincing the high school, and this is pretty hit-or-miss.

      It is pretty expensive, because you are paying even more per class than the college students are.

      I think you needn’t worry about academic “college environment”. Classes are classes, and if anything the college classroom is better because math professors are on average more reasonable than HS teachers. (In my opinion most of the “college transition” happens when you actually live at the school you attend; it is largely residential / social, not academic.)

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Speaking as someone who saw the acronyms “AMC”, “USAMO”, and “IMO” for the first time at age 17, I can tell you that it kinda sucks to not get those opportunities. Granted, I’m not exactly 4+ standard deviations above the norm in terms of mathematical competence, and I didn’t actually realize how much I loved math until I was around 13 or 14 anyway, but I can’t help but feel that I’m further behind than I can and should be right now. Looking retrospectively at the contest math community isn’t as fun or motivating as being in a position where the problems actually matter and I can’t compete anymore. (Speaking of which, thanks for organizing the OMO: it’s been a serious motivator for me to continue learning about these problems and how to solve them.)

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    1. Competition math doesn’t end at the high school level. There is still the Putnam math contest as well as collegiate competitions that involve math (ACM ICPC, Google code jam). Don’t let a late start stop you from having fun!

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      1. I have done the ACM coding competition in the past (and intend to do it in the future too). But I’ve spent more time learning college math than olympiad math these past few years (mainly because I don’t really know where to look for an exhaustive list of things I need to know for olympiad math in the first place), so the Putnam is way out of my league.

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  15. Hi Evan; I’m a Sophomore at Brooklyn Tech, and I was wondering if there are any programs like the UC Berkely courses you stated above, that could allow me to take College Math courses outside of my school time?

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    1. I don’t know specifics about Brooklyn Tech. The main hard part is just getting your high school to let you out early though. Professors at most places don’t usually have issues with qualified high school students auditing their classes (possibly excluding certain top universities just because they get too many requests to accommodate).

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  16. Wow, the birth of EGMO (your book) is as interesting as the book itself.
    And also a lot of thanks to your mom. Had she not been stubborn, we may not have found such a friendly math guy like you.

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  18. I think that there is a group of people who is all too aware of how things could have been: those who barely failed for major competitions. For every successful contestant, there are many failed ones… At least, this is how I feel, when I failed to qualify for IOI.

    Also, I’d say that compared to many other education systems, the US system is relatively good at catering to smart students (not that there is not much room for improvement; it’s just less bad). There are several reasons; I’m just going to list them – holistic admission, greater freedom allowing you to take basic courses in subjects you don’t favour and just get an easy A, and the freedom of taking college courses that doesn’t exist at all in most of the world (of course, as you demonstrated, this can definitely be limited at times).

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  20. Great article. You really highlighted how the education system can seriously slow down the intellectual growth of brilliant students. I also took algebra l in 7th grade and got a 98% on the midterm and 99% on the final.

    I remember taking Honors Geometry the following year and asking myself, “why are we spending an entire year learning very basic geometry?” All we learned was literally how to prove triangles were similar, SOHCAHTOA, what angles were in degrees and radians, etc. And that was an entire year. I really feel like I could have learned all that in 2 months, and gotten into far, far more difficult geometry in the next 6 months – which I think I could have handled with the right instructor.

    But no, an entire year was wasted learning very basic geometry. I didn’t know math competitions were a thing until senior year.

    … I always look at homeschooled students as sort of lucky because they can actually learn at their own pace. They don’t have these artificial boundaries that the public school system imposes.

    Even though I’m in college now, I still feel bad for many students and think some changes in the school system might be appropriate. I remember my friends and I being horribly sleep deprived and consequently grumpy and suffering while in high shool. Considering how much time is wasted in school simply socializing or learning from bad teachers – and therefore learning very, very little – I think it’d be best if high school was limited to 5 hours per day maximum.

    I would also want high school to start at 10:00 AM the earliest. Enough with dragging those poor, miserable, sleep deprived zombies out of bed.

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