Today is Pi Day. To celebrate this occasion, several of my students wrote out 7,000 digits of the decimal expansion of Pi with sidewalk chalk. The Pi chain twisted throughout the high school campus and took seven straight hours of writing to complete. My neighbor teacher, Kiley, had cherry and rhubarb pie delivered to complete the Pi Day celebration. This is about as nerdy as it gets.
About two hours into the Pi extravaganza, I was standing in the hallway admiring the endless string of numbers, when the computer lab lady threw open the door and said, "I hope this isn't your doing."
"As a matter of fact, it is," I replied.
"Well, I just called security to arrest the taggers."
Taggers? Are gangs now comprised of 4.0 students using washable sidewalk chalk to write out mathematical formulas on the concrete? Sounds like a gang problem we'd be happy to have.
Luckily, the project had been approved by the principal, and so I quickly sent out a school-wide email to the 175 employees on my campus, wishing everyone a Happy Pi Day and requesting that nobody call the cops on the Pi writers. Almost immediately, my email box filled with responses from my colleagues who were excited about the project, including this response:
If pi are squared, then cake are round?
Wow, who calls the cops about people writing in chalk? I guess maybe the same people who freak out about light-up mooninites. Is the comptuter lab lady from Boston? :p
Posted by: Hope | March 14, 2007 at 08:07 PM
Happy Pi Day, last year we'd be on our way to Annapolis. I hope you have pictures of the "tagging". Berkeley was celebrating Pi day as well. Nothing like an entire school of engineering celebrating something as if it were Christmas, Chanukah, Easter, the 4th of July, and New Years all rolled into one.
Posted by: Benji | March 14, 2007 at 08:20 PM
Pi aren't square. Cornbread are square! Pi are round!
Posted by: class-factotum | March 15, 2007 at 06:21 AM
Some teachers are haters!
It still surprises me, the lengths some students will go to when they don't have to. Very impressive. :)
Posted by: Zandria | March 15, 2007 at 06:36 AM
Pi Day is a big deal at JG's school, too. I love the nerdery.
And, "taggers"? Someone is just looking for trouble there.
Posted by: RA | March 15, 2007 at 06:57 AM
LOL. Wow I remember by this time last year we were in Annapolis. I can't wait to see you guys in a couple of weeks! oh and happy Pi Day!
Posted by: Rene Haro | March 15, 2007 at 08:54 AM
Either I already read this one or I read about this in the AV Press.
Am I losing it?
Cool idea, BTW. :D
Posted by: Katrina | May 05, 2007 at 05:59 PM
Happy Pi Day! I am celebrating as we speak with a slice of raspberry-rhubarb pie.
Posted by: A Little Coffee | March 14, 2010 at 11:47 PM
Was that response from Doug?!
Posted by: Jill | March 14, 2011 at 06:18 PM