June Aoki-Trachsel, math

B.S., B.Ed. Cal Poly State University, SLO

Years ago at the annual school open house, June Trachsel introduced herself as the “student body president.” The whole audience bought this line. In fact, when she first came to York, parents were always mistaking her for a student. Since she has been teaching at the York School since 1989, June can no longer pass as a student, but she still has a youthful spirit. She says that the enthusiasm of the York students and her daughter (who currently attends the International School of Monterey) keep her feeling young.

At another school open house, June talked about her plight of being short. Retelling a true story, she described how a nurse measured her height at 4 feet 9 ½ inches. Apparently she had shrunk 2 ½ inches in five years! Then she launched into her dilemma from a mathematical perspective:

“Immediately an algebra problem came to mind: If I continue to shrink ½ inch every year (I’m 5 feet tall) and my daughter grows at a rate of 1 ½ inches per year (she is 3 feet tall) when will we be the same height?”

“What is the probability that the nurse made a huge mistake measuring me? In what confidence interval does this measurement lie?”

“And from a scientific perspective…can this even happen? We know older people shrink due to posture, the ligaments tighten, and there is some compression of the vertebrae. 1/16 of an inch shrinkage for each of the 16 vertebrae can add up to one inch. But 2 ½ inches in 5 years?”

This is just one window inside the mind of June Trachsel, as she continually searches for interesting math problems in real life. She is passionate about cultivating a curiosity about mathematics, whether real or ‘imaginary.’ As she explains, “Mathematics is beautiful in the pure sense and in its applications.” June also believes in a more interactive approach to teaching. When she presents her students with a function, students must show, with their arms, what the function looks like. “I like the way students often work together to show me their answers. I’ve seen many creative versions of negative infinity.”

And her views on technology? “We should definitely take advantage of the the powerful tools of technology available, since they enable our students to solve more complicated, real-life applications problems. But we must learn to use technology intelligently. The most powerful tool of all is still the human mind.”