As I explained in My Daughter Asked, my oldest and I are volunteers at the MLB Fanfest in New York this week. We had chosen to work in the section designated for the “youngest fans,” called the Rookie League.
There are various activities here. Batting, pitching, racing and math.
For those who read fast, I want to make sure you do not pass this over: "and math."
As noted in the earlier piece, I am not that crazy about baseball. Still, I am less inclined toward mathematics. Yet we went to help out at the Math Challenge. The company in charge has a line of Major League flash cards, a variation of the same tool that schoolchildren and their parents have been using for generations, with the exception of team logos in the corners.
The cards are not being sold at the booth. The cards are not being displayed at the booth. There is no sports figure in the booth.
With that understanding, for the five hours we worked there, the line was always filled with young kids voluntarily waiting to take a math test in the middle of summer break!
Each child in turn stands on home plate and answers as many math questions as he or she can in sixty seconds. Everyone wins two small giveaways. And every kid was thrilled for the experience and every parent proud to see their child try.
Across from us, I watched kids trying to hit balls off of batting tees, frustrated when they missed, and parents explaining what they were doing wrong and how to correct their swing. At the Math Challenge, there was neither a tear nor a tantrum. Nothing but smiles.
Tucked away among all of these ahletics was this little corner of mental exercise. And when each new kid stepped up to the plate, the crowd tensed with the anticipation of seeing a new rookie hero.
We go back in three hours. Though I am thrilled not to have to take the Math Challenge, I can’t wait to see the action in that small classroom right behind home plate.
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