Recently, “06880” reported on the Staples students who finished 5th — out of nearly 1,000 high school teams — in the Moody’s Mega Math Challenge. All they had to do was figure a way to salvage America’s inter-city rail system. In 14 hours.
Turns out they’re as articulate as they are bright.
On Bloomberg Radio’s “Taking Stock” show the other day, 3 team members talked about the Moody’s competition, the US transportation systemt, and the state of 21st-century education. Unlike most people interviewed on radio — myself included — they rocked it.
Staples Mega Mathletes (from left): Matt Silver, David Haswell, Connie Zhou, Robert Perry, Michael Menz.
They were clear. They were direct. And they were honest. Asked to describe their “failures,” they cited their inability to find the cost of raw materials and prevailing wages in some parts of the country.
Of course, as Robert Perry said, “You can only do so much in 14 hours.”
Interviewer Pimm Fox noted that he and Staples math instructor/Moody’s advisor Trudy Denton “never did this in high school.” Trudy replied that Staples’ focus on real-world, problem-solving math encourages students to leap into areas like this.
Pimm was impressed that Perry plans a business/engineering major at the University of Michigan, and that fellow interviewees David Haswell and Connie Zhou are headed to Harvard.
Team members Matt Silver and Michael Menz were not interviewed. No, they were not slacking off.
They had another appointment: a New England championship math meet.
To hear the entire Bloomberg radio interview, click below: