On April 4, hundreds of Maine‘s best and brightest descended upon the Augusta Civic Center to compete for a state championship in the first Maine Math Meet since before COVID. Representing 85 public and private high schools from across the state, these students battled through brutally difficult problems that covered statistics, trigonometry, advanced algebra, and more. Under intense time pressure, they had to perform at the highest level.

But readers of the Kennebec Journal learned nothing about this important statewide event. Despite top performances from local math stars from Hall-Dale, Cony, Richmond, and other area schools, there was literally no coverage of it in the local newspaper of record. No articles, no photos, no commentary.

Perhaps these future scientists, engineers, and doctors should have dribbled a basketball or thrown a football to get the media’s attention. The KJ does an impressive job of covering high school sports, giving readers daily game results, large color photos, preseason previews, and features on prominent athletes. Yet when a young person demonstrates intellectual prowess, rather than athletic skills, we learn little about them or their achievements.

Like athletes, math competitors practice, drill, and hone their skills all year long. They learn about teamwork and how to perform under pressure, and they achieve remarkable results. These young people deserve the same kind of attention, respect, and praise from the community that we too often reserve only for our athletes.

 

Chris Myers Asch

Hallowell

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