Annie Lassiter, Math Teacher and Student Nominated Speaker
I am honored to be standing here before the Graland class of 2022! Looking at your graduation date, 6-8-2022, I can’t help but think, “Oh no, that’s too many even digits.” Naturally, I have to break them down to 6-8=20-22. As a math teacher, I can tell you that numbers don’t lie; there will be a lot of even graduations in your future, which equals an even road that lies ahead of you. As young people, you might, however, be envisioning a more exciting path ahead of you, filled with improper fractions, negative numbers, and obtuse triangles. Your parents, on the other hand, will take solace in a more “even” seamless road ahead of you awash in quotients, supplementary angles, and parallelograms. Regardless of what path you take, you will have the courage, the conviction, and quite frankly, the charisma to prevail in whatever endeavor you choose.
This brings me to odd numbers. There are many nice things to say about odd numbers. Number 1, is the first odd, natural number. Each and every one of you is the number “1” in your parents eyes (at least today). That said, if there happen to be two of you in this class (two is the first even natural number) and quite an exceptional number, as it is the only even prime.
Tonight: 6-7-2022. Obviously, a solution absolute value of 6-7 equals 2^0•2/2 or 6•7 = 20+22. I know what you are thinking: who is this crazy lady pontificating on numbers? Well, I am the eighth grade math teacher who has taught many of the graduates as fifth and eighth graders, and I know them pretty well.
Someone once said that to master something you must do it for 10,000 hours. If you were at Graland from kindergarten through eighth grade, you have just completed about 10,000 hours of classes at this school. Perhaps that symbolizes that you’ve got this down and are ready to move on. This will most likely be the only academic institution that you will be at for such a long time. Each of you will start a new school life in the fall. Be adventurous: join a club, try a new sport, reach beyond your friend group, study, play, laugh, think, listen, and sleep. Enjoy the moments. You are in your prime but don't need to be a prima donna. Be rational, even though you should be accepting of irrational numbers and ideas (listen to others). The absolute value of similarities and differences is the same: both will make you make connections with other people. Ask questions, provide feedback, be your best “you”.
I want to thank each and every student for pushing me to teach concepts in alternative ways and to push myself to think of even more ways. I appreciate all of my phenomenal colleagues, especially those who will giggle at and with me as I share some nerdy math concepts or equations. I applaud all of the parents for dusting off their algebraic skills and supporting their children in math this year. Repeatedly, I can be heard saying, “You know, math is everywhere.” I challenge everyone to find the “math” in their own life, whether it is knowing the multiples of seven from repeated football games, or realizing that you can actually win a tennis match but lose more points than your opponent, or creating an equation for the current date. My biggest hope for my students is that they will embrace the mathematician within and at some point realize that math is a part of all of us.
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
