I found this reflection I wrote 30 years ago in 1995. At that point I was a fairly young high school math teacher and I was reflecting back on my honors precalculus experience from the mid-1980s. As I reflect today on Martin Luther King Jr’s life and legacy, I ran across this quote attributed to him, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” I think it’s important to realize that we can not be all things to all people, but we can find the things that bring us both challenge and joy and then build a lifetime helping others unlock their potentials in these areas.

The Test (written in the mid-1980s)

He always handed the tests back in order from best to worst. He never said the number grade out loud, in fact he never told us he was doing it, but we all figured it out and everyone knew who the smartest and the dumbest people in the class were. Looking back I realize that in my honors precalculus class it was never a question of smarties and dummies, but rather a question of those who worked and those who didn’t. I was a worker. I was too scared not to. On a cold winter morning about half-way through the school year Mr. Shaffer began to hand back another set of tests. As he stood there with the dreaded pile in his hands, he told us he had an announcement. This was unusual; rarely did he say anything before the event. “Someone in this class got a 100% on yesterday’s test and her perfect grade tells me the test was too easy.” The fact that there were only a few girls in the class narrowed the possibilities, and there was really no suspense, of course, because the perfect test was right on top. When he handed it to me, I at once felt a sense of pride in my accomplishment and shame in being singled out. I felt frightened that I would have to maintain this standard for the rest of the year. Fear of failure and humility made me learn how to work and love math in Mr. Shaffer’s class. Two years later in college I tutored many young women who were frightened, like me, but their experiences weakened them instead of strengthened them. I realized then that my reaction to the competitive environment was the positive turning point in my math career. What made me different? I continually search for the answer so I can pass along the secret.

NOTE: At the time of the turning point I had no idea what I would do with the challenge and joy that math would bring me. But now we know, the rest of the story.

Here is another experience I can attribute to Mr. Shaffer’s honors precalculus class.