I was riding the bus home when I heard students talking about math. Their voices were full of frustration as they complained about their teacher. “He was terrible at teaching,” they said. Their words and phrases greatly affect the rate of my heart. I felt the need to talk to them and explain the beauty of patterns in prime numbers and the elegance of perfect proof. But I did not. I stayed quiet, the bus moving forward. My mind echoed: If only I could teach them. Maybe I could help them see math differently. Maybe I could do it better.
Renz Chester R. Gumaru is a mathematics instructor from the Philippines. He loves both mathematics and writing. He published research papers and poems in journals.