Math teacher Keisha Piehl said she wanted to find a way to make her students more engaged in the math they were learning, so she looked toward clubs and activities for inspiration.

“I noticed that a variety of clubs and athletics were starting up Instagram accounts and I thought it would be really fun to showcase what’s happening in the math hallway,” Piehl said.

When asked about their thoughts on the math instagram account, sophomore Sahaan Mohamed had mixed thoughts about the account.

“I understand that teachers are trying to help students out, but I think teenagers need an idea more interesting than following a math account on Instagram.”

According to Piehl, she hopes the new Instagram account can be used as a tactic for students to get excited about math.

“I like to think that the math hallway is a pretty fun place to be. We have a good vibe and we have fun teachers who try to make math engaging and real for students,” Piehl said. “I think being able to see some of that online, on social media, might peak kids interests and get them excited about what they’re learning about”.

According to Piehl, the Instagram account is not a way for students to get help with their assignments by sending their teacher a direct message.

“I don’t think a student necessarily should use the instagram direct message feature to get help on math problems. I think they have other resources like their peers, their teachers, math lab, etc.,” Piehl said. 

According to sophomore Samira Moalim, she agrees with the idea of making the account to encourage students about math.

“At first I was unmotivated for math because I thought it was hard and confusing, but then I saw the Instagram account and got inspired to ask for help when needed. I also looked at the page for advice whenever I was feeling stuck,” Moalim said.

According to Piehl, the Instagram page does not go live or post on their story daily, but they do post pictures showing math teachers interacting with students, and also post strategies students can refer to.

“We like to post pictures of students doing work and little descriptions of what teachers do outside of teaching” Piehl said. “we’re also going to post some general math strategies and helpful ideas for how to have a math mindset.”