Math x millions = fun

MANATEE — Students were having way too much fun.

Math misery? It was nowhere to be seen on World Math Day in the county’s elementary schools.

Local students were among millions worldwide who logged on to computers for a math competition that was as much game as it was learning experience.

Students from more than 200 countries competed against each other as they tried to set a new world record for answering the most math questions.

All they needed to do was correctly solve more than 452,681,681 — nearly half a billion — problems.

“The kids just love it,” said fourth grade teacher Sue Curry at Braden River Elementary.

Sixteen of Curry’s 18 students were able to stay after school Wednesday to compete in World Math Day.

Fourth grader Ian MacTavish said he had competed with students from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, and that most of the problems concerned addition, subtraction and number sequencing.

Pat Pedota, who runs the computer lab at Stewart Elementary School, said there was such an overload of students playing the game worldwide that the game system crashed.

Organizers of World Math Day decided to extend the competition a day because of the difficulty some students had logging on, Pedota said.

Students at Stewart Elementary were “very excited to play and will be doing it again next year,” Pedota said. “In a couple of weeks, we will know how we did with our points.”

Kim Hoy, fourth grade teacher at Witt Elementary School, said that in addition to working on their math skills, students got quite a world geography lesson, learning about time zones and little known parts of the globe.

“It was one of the most motivating math activities we’ve seen,” Hoy said.

Ashlyn Chiusano, a Braden River student, said the game gets students to relax and enjoy math.

“It asks you the questions in a fun way, and you’re competing with kids all over the world,” Ashlyn said.

In fact, Braden River teacher Donna Nixon called the competition addictive.

There were a few surprises, too. Enrique Navarrete told his Braden River teacher, Terry Upton, “Oh my gosh, I’m playing a school with my name.”

For more information on the competition, visit http://www.worldmathsday.com.

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee Editor, can be contacted at 745-7021,