Go Figure: New Trier student leads Kids Inspire Kids, a math circle for local middle-schoolers 

Algebra, probability, number theory, geometry, logic — you name it and New Trier High School sophomore Aren Emrikian is likely teaching it to students in his math circle, Kids Inspire Kids. 

Emrikian, who is passionate about math and currently enrolled in multivariable calculus at New Trier, has been running the math circle for local middle-schoolers bi-weekly on Saturdays since June from the Winnetka Public Library. Though it can fluctuate based on students’ availability, over the course of the summer, the math circle has grown to have up to 10-12 participants per session.

For each session, Emrikian prepares approximately 10 math problems, which he told The Record North Shore range from fairly easy warmups to challenging problems that require more time to complete. Students are given a few minutes to discuss and think through the problems themselves before he goes through the process and writes out the solution on a whiteboard. He encourages questions to foster participation.

“I think [the students] have been enjoying it,” Emrikian said. “After class, I always ask the students what they thought — if they want me to make it easier, harder, any feedback. … I get good responses from the students. They seem to be very engaged. I think this is just something that, if people give it a chance, they’ll realize they enjoy it more than they thought they would.”

Emrikian describes the goal of Kids Inspire Kids as three-fold: it prepares students for math competitions such as American Mathematics Competitions and Mathcounts, encourages students to try new experiences and perhaps discover a new interest in math in the process, and, thirdly, helps develop problem-solving skills applicable to many facets of life.

Josh Barnes, a student at Highcrest Middle School, has attended the math circle four or five times. Though he’s not interested in math competitions, he enjoys that the problems Emrikian curates are more challenging that those Barnes does in school, and they have a strong focus on problem-solving and logic rather than straight-forward computation. 

His mom, Vicky Barnes, learned of Kids Inspire Kids when Emrikian’s mom, Ani, posted about it in the Parents of Hightcrest Kids Facebook group.

Vicky Barnes told The Record that the math circle is a “wonderful opportunity” and “great way for like-minded kids to get together and have fun with challenging and engaging math problems.”

She also expressed her gratitude to Aren and Ani Emrikian as math circles such as Kids Inspire Kids can be difficult to come by — something Aren Emrikian said he experienced when he was younger and had to travel all the way to the University of Chicago for a math circle. 

Currently, Kids Inspire Kids is looking for a more permanent home. The Winnetka Public Library has adopted a new meeting room policy that restricts reservations to cardholders (who must be Winnetka, Northfield or Kenilworth residents). 

The public library in Wilmette, where Emrikian is a resident, allows room reservations only once a month and charges a nominal fee, which is not ideal as Kids Inspire Kids is free of charge and Emrikian would like to continue on the biweekly schedule. 

Regardless of where the program will be, Emrikian plans to continue hosting the math circle during the school year.

“For any prospective students who are considering attending, I would just say, honestly give it a shot,” Emrikian said. “I realize, math, it can seem daunting and not very fun, but it’s not necessarily the same as what we do in school, and if you give it a chance, I promise it’ll be more fun than you think.”

Those who are interested in attending can visit the Kids Inspire Kids website and are encouraged to reach out via the website’s “Contact Us” form. 

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