Yesterday was Pi Day, one of the most celebrated holidays… by math teachers. The date is 3/14/17 and Pi is 3.14. That’s why it is Pi day. That is also why math teachers love it so much.  It’s like May the Fourth Be with you.  Except more nerdy.  

Mr. Curt Miller, a math teacher at Greeley West, was one such math teacher excited to celebrate Pi Day.  Miller said, “Pi Day is my favorite holiday. It is also my daughter’s birthday so that makes it even better. Usually in my classes I am in a unit that incorporates Pi on this day so I can crack jokes and have fun in class.”

In his class on Tuesday, Miller played Pi songs and gave out cookies. His classes were already doing Pi oriented activities so it worked in well for him.

Although that’s what Miller does, most teachers don’t actually change what they are doing in class to celebrate Pi day.  In other words, it’s math as usual – no fun games or activities.  Some continue on in their regular lessons, but some teachers wear Pi type clothing. Ms. Jane Burke wore a special T-Shirt to commemorate the event, helping to draw attention to the math cause.

Regardless of your opinion on math, Pi Day is a way to celebrate the curriculum that students find such difficulty with on a regular basis.  

“I sit down and I think about just how cool this non-repeating never-ending decimal is and how you can’t write Pi in exact form as a ratio,” math teacher Mr. Brandon Torrez said.  

Yep.  Quite a holiday!