Subtracting longtime math club adviser adds up to more work for parents and students

Photo by Skyler Mao

Blue group coach Victoria Hu lectures students at Redwood’s library during TJMC’s weekly meetings.

Groups of Redwood Middle students gather on Redwood’s campus for a weekly meeting at Toga Junior Math Club (TJMC) Tuesdays at 7 p.m. 

TJMC is the RMS math club taught by high school volunteers. It is split into four groups separated by difficulty: black, blue, green and yellow (listed in decreasing difficulty). Each group covers math-contest related topics throughout the year. 

With Saratoga High students serving as coaches for the club, TJMC has been an integral part of the Saratoga math community — many current TJMC coaches have even previously attended the club while in middle school.

Math teacher PJ Yim has volunteered as the TJMC adviser for the past 12 years. Having moved to California in 2001, Yim became the adviser for several schools’ math clubs across the region, such as Leland High and Bret Harte Middle. In 2008, he began teaching at SHS. After hearing about TJMC, Yim stepped up as the adviser in 2010, leading a previous solely parent-run club.

“When I was in high school, I knew a teacher, Mr. Stengle, and he did more than was expected of anybody for the school’s math club,” Yim said. “I was trying to pay it forward by being really involved with the math club here.”

However, Yim has stepped down from his position after the 2021-2022 school year, citing a lack of time.

“I was spending time that I could or should have been spending with my children,” Yim said. “I decided that some 20 odd years helping out with math clubs is enough.”

With an open position for TJMC adviser, Steve Hamm, RMS’s principal, became the club’s fill-in adviser since no one else has stepped up for the position. This switch has led to several changes.

First, TJMC’s location has moved from the SHS math quad to the RMS campus — specifically the library and rooms 7 and 23. 

According to senior and TJMC Liaison Nilay Mishra, due to having been in the same location at the high school many years, this new switch has been a little bit disorienting for veteran members, as they needed to familiarize themselves with the new classrooms and environment.

In addition, many of the club’s responsibilities, previously handled by Yim, have shifted to the high school volunteers. Mishra said that he and the other coaches now take care of much of the club’s logistics, including writing placement tests, creating notes, printing the notes and grading tests. 

Parent volunteers also contribute to the club by posting announcements, coordinating competitions and helping with logistics.

“There’s more work and responsibilities to take care of,” Mishra said. “And the challenge is trying to ensure that everything goes smoothly like a normal year, and the transition is what we’re trying to work on right now.”

So far this year, coaches and parents have led the club through its two placement tests and first two weekly lessons. Yim hopes that TJMC continues to be a place where students are motivated to learn about math and a place where students are not afraid to express their passion.

“I don’t want people to see the club as a means to ‘get ahead,’” Yim said. “The club is there to be something for people who love math. As for the club’s future, I want it to continue to be a safe place for people to do math.”