After school on Thursdays in room 3610, you might find a group of students, ranging from seniors to freshmen, conversing over a decorated whiteboard. Though it looks quite different from the stereotypical math setting, this is the CRLS Math Club. “It’s very social,” said Ms. Watson, the advisor for the club. “We do take some competitive math tests, but one way that Math Club is very different from the classroom experience is that students are really encouraged to talk to one another. Class is often a little too structured to allow for that kind of collaboration.”

Elizabeth Lucas-Foley, a member of the Math Club, agrees that the club is much different than the math classes one would take during school, “[It’s] more collaborative. [It’s] an open environment where you don’t have to be stressed about a test, and it’s just fun.”

While the problems are especially challenging and much longer than those on a typical math test, the level of math knowledge, skill, and experience required is minimal. As Ms. Watson says, all you need is “a love of math and an interest in working with other people.”

For many CRLS students, doing another two hours of math a week seems like a burden. Ms. Watson, however, says that many students who feel this way learn that the class isn’t just about getting the right answer: “You can make progress on a problem and not solve it, and it’s OK.”

This piece also appears in our April 2019 print edition.