AP Calculus BC, taught by James Kirpes, is one of the most rigorous math courses offered at West High. Each afternoon, students head home with packets of homework and review for quizzes and tests, which Kirpes calls ‘shindigs’ and ‘parties’. On Fridays, he starts the period with an enthusiastic “Happy Friday!” It’s a phrase that brings smiles to the classes full of academically inclined students from every grade. All of these little quirks help to create a positive learning environment for the students who agree that Mr. Kirpes is a dedicated teacher and certified math lover.
However, Friday, Oct. 10 was different: Kirpes wasn’t in class. Instead, Skylar Ajax ’27, Yasha Durnev ’27, Eddie El-Fadil ’27 and Aydan Thomas ’27 were up in the front, ready to start lectures about “The Rates of Change in the Natural and Social Sciences.” For the two days of Kirpes’s absence, these four guided the class through notes on derivatives of logarithms and applying math to physics. When the familiar “Happy Friday!” came from student presenter El-Fadil’s mouth, it instantly brightened the classroom mood.
When asked about how he got the opportunity to be a student presenter, El-Fadil said, “Honestly, Mr. Kirpes just asked if anyone was willing to fill in for him while he was gone, and half-joking, I accepted the opportunity.”
At first, fellow classmate Raya Gupta ’27 was skeptical of the idea of student presenters. “When I saw that group of guys volunteer to present for Mr. Kirpes the day before he left, I thought, ‘Oh, we’re cooked,'” Gupta said, “[truthfully,] they put in so much hard work for the next day, and I could tell they really cared. Smart kids, and a truly inspiring story.”
“It was really fun, and I tried to fill the shoes of Mr. Kirpes as best I could by trying to teach well and keep everyone entertained. 10/10 I’d do it again!” El-Fadil said.
He and his three companions each took turns going over example problems from the calculus textbook with the class, encouraging their fellow students to ask questions. They worked through the lecture notes just as they usually would in Kirpes’s presence. It was a slightly different atmosphere with friends teaching you math instead of your friendly teacher, but the four seemed to carry on with the same enthusiasm that Kirpes has each day.
Kirpes shared that he was in a similar situation as the presenters when he was in high school. “My inspiration was my own high school AP Calculus class,” he said. “There were a couple of times our calculus teacher was absent, and our calculus teacher asked the class if there were a couple of students who were willing to present. My best friend and I, to this day, who were in math club and loved math, would volunteer alongside other students, and we enjoyed it. So, I thought I would try the same thing for my own inspiration.”
However, the challenge came with unexpected benefits, as Durnev explained; the experience not only reinforced the presenters’ own understanding but also gave classmates a fresh perspective on tricky concepts. “You understand the material better because you relate to the students more. It can always be helpful to teach it to others and, on the other hand, have someone teach it to you the way you understand it,” Durnev said.
