A YOUNG pupil triumphed in the 2017 International Mathematics Wizards Challenge (IMWIC) held in Xiamen, China, through the Mathematics Trainers Guild (MTG) Philippines.
George Lean C. Tizon, 9, or Jhi-an to his friends, of R.P. Cruz Elementary Cruz in Lower Bicutan, Taguig City, won a gold medal from May 19 to 24, 2017.
Jhi-an said all his hardship paid off after bringing home the gold medal.
In a recent interview, Jhi-an recalled his bittersweet victory as he remembered undergoing the in-house and intensive Math training in preparation for the big competition. At the start of the school year, he went through a 12-Saturday training at MTG Taguig Training Center in Sen. Renato Companero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School.
At the end of the five-month preliminary training, he passed the evaluation process and went on to attend the three-day in-house training held in Grand Opera Hotel, Manila, where he stayed alone and without any companion for the next three days.
“My mother was quite reluctant,” he said, referring to Lea C. Tizon, and stressing that it was his first time spending time away from family.
Part of the MTG Philippines training program is to teach kids how to be independent and learn how to mingle with other kids they met for the first time in order to develop their interpersonal relationship skills.
However, his father Dr. George P. Tizon had to stay in the same hotel just to convince Lea that their son will be taken cared of by MTG trainers, him included.
His father noted they never met during the training, because student trainees are not allowed to see anybody while undergoing training, otherwise, they will incur demerits that would affect their performance in the training.
“The students were only allowed to see their parents when the competition was finished,” his father said.
On April 15, 2017, Jhi-an went on to the next stage of the training, a five-week intensive training. This time it was six days a week so he really needed a lot of adjustments.
During the training, he also recalled he had to leave home as early as 6 a.m. together with his Dad to outrun the heavy traffic from Taguig City to Manila and go home at 4 p.m. from Saint Stephen High School. He usually spent the next two hours of travel sleeping in the car after a very tiring day.
Jhi-an admitted he reached a point when he almost gave up because of the rigorous training and he got a zero in one of the quizzes.
“I got zero in today’s quiz and I was told I would only do the worst for the Philippines when I go to China. I’m not coming back here anymore and I will not go to China,” he told his father then.
But through his mom’s constant encouragement and explanation, Jhi-an was convinced to attend the last three training sessions and finished the training, with his friends and seatmate encouraging him to forget what happened and expecting him in China.