Math is universal language

No matter what language you speak, math is universal.
Dongyang Wang, a junior at The Windsor School in Flushing, won the New York State Problem Solving Exam, just a little over a year since he came to New York from China knowing “very little English,” according to Windsor’s Director of Guidance and College Admissions, Philip A. Stewart, Ph.D.
The win qualifies him to compete at the United States National High School Mathematics Championships, a yearly competition sponsored by the American Society for Mathematics held in Oklahoma City, OK, which will take place this year on June 30 and July 1.
Wang, 19, came to America by himself on a student visa from Dalian, China on March 13, 2006 “to study and get into a top school,” namely “MIT.” He lives with the family of a classmate in Flushing, and will visit his hometown again this summer, he said.
Stewart called Wang “an outstanding student,” and explained that Wang was a bit reluctant to participate in the Problem Solving Challenge Exam. “His teachers encouraged him - he was very hesitant [to enter the competition]. When he realized that he made it, he was shocked,” said Stewart.
The Problem Solving Challenge Exam consists of six assignments of two to three problems given throughout the school year. According to math teacher Victor Toporov who administers the competition at The Windsor School, after students solve the problems, he sends the answers back to the Society and the students are assessed on a points scale for every problem they get correct.
The students with the most points are allowed to take a more extensive, 40-question exam in April, to determine if they are eligible to compete at the National Championships.
The questions given are “mostly logic problems,” Toporov said, where the student would “have to know English” to complete.
Wang, however, “never found it too difficult to do math problems,” and did not think that the Problem Solving Challenge was very difficult. “The multiple choice” were his favorite problems.
The Problem Solving Challenge is “an annual event” for the school, according to Head James Seery, Ph.D. The school has “had students participate before, but have never done as well as Dongyang,” said Seery.
“I was happy when I found out that I won,” Wang said, and considers the National Championships as a “new challenge.” Wang will be in Oklahoma City for four to five days, and along with participating in the competition, he will tour the area and participate in mathematics activities and challenges unrelated to the test.
Wang is graduating from The Windsor School in June 2008, and is a “contender for Ivy League” schools, according to Stewart.
The Windsor School is a private, co-ed, Middle States accredited, college preparatory 6-12 grade school in Flushing. Students from over 20 countries have attended the school, which boasts a comprehensive English as a Second Language program for students who know little or no English, small classes, and an “excellent college admission record.”
The Problem Solving Challenge Exam and the U.S. National High School Mathematics Championships are sponsored by the American Society for Mathematics, an organization devoted to helping high school and college mathematics programs nation-wide, and also sponsors college Problem Solving Competition and a nationwide collegiate Mathfest competition.