Message From A Student

It's that time of year again, when seniors look forward to tomorrow's graduation and we all get teary-eyed about it. Personally, I'm happy to see them go--they're definitely prepared, or at least as prepared as one can be at age 17 or 18. They're ready for the next phase. Move on, make it happen. There's a whole world waiting for them.

Our school publishes an annual "senior wills", which is a listing from seniors of what they bequeath to those of us remaining behind. Oftentimes it's something like "I bequeath to Ms. X my fond memories of English class, and hope you never forget the red donkey", leaving the rest of us to wonder what the inside joke is. They're quite enjoyable to read, and the thoughts are obviously sincere.

One student almost wrote the following to me: "I 2+2sinX Mr. M", or something very close to that. It took me a moment, then I realized what was being said. You see, r=2+2sinX is the polar equation of a cardioid, a curve we'd studied in trig class. Don't know what a cardioid looks like? Read the first sentence.

It was a very generous sentiment, but the student opted for a less "tease-able" comment instead. I'd be pleased with either one.