Euclid

[shorthair]

Went Well Today, 1-7 were moderate while 8 9 10 posed quite the challenge for me.

Looking at about 50 Points

[Martin]

Awesome. Are you grade 12?

[zylum]

8 was amazingly easy! 10 a) a lot of people just wrote it out...

[AsianSensation]

yeah, i just wrote it too today too. All the questions were pretty easy, except that last one, which I didn't have time to do, which also looks extremely similar to a past AIME question. Which reminds to me pay attention next time in class when we do contest stuff.

I think there are going to be alot of high 80s and low 90s for this year.

I'm looking around 88, but I'll most likely go down (damn waterloo people, always making my mark lower )

Also, Mr.White is being cocky again. He was like:"Massey will get first place in Euclid this year." But Yufei will get like 100, and we'll all be like: I'm not worthy!

[MyPistolsIn3D]

I didnt even try that contest. After i wrote the Gr.11 math contest and could only do like 2 questions, I stopped witht he contests. Props to you guys though for being able to do them. Must be hellavu smart.

[Martin]

Yeah, that's the thing with Massey. You get a 90 and you *might* get in the top 5 if you're lucky.

I don't remember what my score was, pretty good I think (I want to say 68...), although it definately could have been a lot better. Ahh well, live and learn.

[MyPistolsIn3D]

Why are all the massey kids so smart?

[Martin]

The school has the enriched program and some really awesome teachers. One of the major causes I believe is that the system stresses and encourages academic achievement. It's easy to work harder when you're in a class with 30 people who are just as smart as you are.

[[Gandalf]]

*looks up*
It's also easier to get depressed and failure oriented

I didn't do this contest since I know there are many other people much smarter than me and I wouldn't really be competition... My friend did pretty good though, forget his exact score.

[MyPistolsIn3D]

Is it a private school?

[Martin]

Nope. Public school in Windsor.

[Hikaru79]

A lot of us from compsci.ca are Massey students, mainly because the comp sci teacher there is a regular poster and encourages us to use it.

I think the relatively high level at Massey has less to do with the teachers and more to do with the general attitudes of the students -- at most other high schools in Windsor, getting a high Euclid mark or a 95 average or a Comp Sci award isn't something to desire -- in fact, it'll probably be detrimental to your "social standing" in the school. In Massey, particularly the enriched program, getting first in the Euclid is considered far more admirable than getting a hot girlfriend. I think its this atmosphere that allows us to not be afraid to work, and to actually expect some level of respect for good achievments. If that sort of atmosphere existed at other schools, I've no doubt the many intelligent kids at those schools wouldn't feel as if their interest in school was something to be ashamed of.

Just my 0.02$

[AsianSensation]

Hikaru79 wrote:

In Massey, particularly the enriched program, getting first in the Euclid is considered far more admirable than getting a hot girlfriend.

Well, at least we are not at the level in which if you get first in Euclid, you'll automatically have an hot girlfriend.

[thegoose]

Hikaru79 wrote:

A lot of us from compsci.ca are Massey students, mainly because the comp sci teacher there is a regular poster and encourages us to use it.

I think the relatively high level at Massey has less to do with the teachers and more to do with the general attitudes of the students -- at most other high schools in Windsor, getting a high Euclid mark or a 95 average or a Comp Sci award isn't something to desire -- in fact, it'll probably be detrimental to your "social standing" in the school. In Massey, particularly the enriched program, getting first in the Euclid is considered far more admirable than getting a hot girlfriend. I think its this atmosphere that allows us to not be afraid to work, and to actually expect some level of respect for good achievments. If that sort of atmosphere existed at other schools, I've no doubt the many intelligent kids at those schools wouldn't feel as if their interest in school was something to be ashamed of.

Just my 0.02$

I sometimes wish that I was in one of those schools like Massey. Meh...too late to switch anyways.
I've actually been through a similar program before back in China (2 people from my class end up being NOI division winners and we owned pretty much every math contest back there). However, what ended up happening most of the time is that the social pressure rather than the interest became the driving motivation. Messay is less extreme but along similar lines. I still have debates with others and myself whether this type of system is good. It's often interesting to see how people from such programs compare with people who work purely by self interest.
Speaking of interest, you could just don't goto school at all if you really got the motivation:D. Many high scorers on these contests are homeshooled (Reid Barton, Alex Schwender...)

[Martin]

It's a social thing too though. Sure you could be a great mathematician if you stayed in your room and studied math 12 hours a day, but you only live once.

It's always nice to be able to talk to other people about a math problem and work through it together. Massey promotes a culture where it's cool to be smart (which you later realize in university anyway when you get your coffee in the morning from the school's star quarterback).