There are many moments in my life that pushed me toward teaching – including endlessly trying to explain the math concepts I was learning at MacEwan to my parents – but volunteering with Math Kangaroo was really the catalyst.

I like to show my high school and adult students some of the Math Kangaroo problems I saw while volunteering. One of my favourite problems is a tricky equation with three unknowns. I still use it in any grade I teach, whether it’s high school or adults doing academic upgrading. 

I remember looking at that question as a Math Kangaroo student volunteer and thinking, “This is my bread and butter.” Then I realized that the problem was much more challenging than it seemed. So I broke it down using algebra and the techniques I learned in university and figured out the answer in about 10 minutes.

When I gave it to the elementary-school-aged students, they figured it out in about a minute. I was baffled! In Math Kangaroo, we work with the top percentile of students and take on really challenging questions, but how were these kids so fast? They didn’t have the skills and tools I’d learned in university. 

Effectively, they got the answer by playing, guessing and using logical reasoning. They weren’t constrained by procedures and rules. 

It made me wonder exactly where that gets lost – somewhere in between their age and mine. When do we lose that playful, creative way of working with numbers and figuring things out? There is so much joy in those little moments when you’re working together to solve a problem and share this connection where the world kind of disappears. 

Math will always be part of my life, but right now I’m taking a break from full-time teaching to take some risks and explore problem-solving in an entirely different way. I’ve been travelling around North America and testing my limits in the rock climbing world. Climbing is about using your mind and body awareness to solve a problem in a physical way – you can’t make it to the top without figuring out where to put your hands and feet. 

When I’m back in Edmonton, any chance I get, I’ll be volunteering with Math Kangaroo. It not only represents a pillar of my teaching – it’s also a way of connecting with the MacEwan professors who showed me how math could make me feel strong and confident in myself. Their belief in me is something I will carry with me forever. 

– Jay Wickins, Bachelor of Science, Mathematics ’16