A middle school math teacher is going viral on TikTok for using dating advice to make her algebra lessons both relatable and memorable for her students
How do you make middle schoolers understand and remember math principles? As a 30-something, I sure couldn’t tell you—there’s not one lesson from a single algebra class I ever took that I can recall. But one math teacher has found the best way. Her secret? Talking about her exes.
Ms. Diamond, a math teacher known as @captainch4risma on TikTok, has tons of viral videos where she shares incredibly fun and relatable lessons with her class. This one about functions, for example, is inspired by her dating history—which isn’t all that different from students’ own messy love lives, as it turns out.
@captainch4risma Functions…. X & Y values IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND MY ACCENT OR DON’T AGREE WITH MY METHODS, JUST KEEP SCROLLING 😂 This is NOT for everyone to understand or agree with! 🗣️ #fyp #fypp #yourfavoriteteacher #viral #blackteachersontiktok #blackeducator #teacher #teacherlife #middleschool #math #mathematics #edutok #educator #educatorsoftiktok #8thang3
♬ original sound – keaturahwright02
In algebra, functions describe a relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable, represented by X and Y. In Ms. Diamond’s lesson, “Every X has to have a Y,” and to demonstrate, she leads her students through a hilarious call-and-response exercise about her dating past.
“When you think about X, you think of ‘my ex.’ And when you think about Y, you think of ‘why did I date you?'” she says. Then, she uses the dating analogy to help her students understand the limits of functions, asking, “Can X repeat itself?”
The answer is no, because if it does, it’s “not a function,” just like going back to an ex is “not functioning” in your life.” As Ms. Diamond puts it, “You broke up with them one time for a reason, you probably gonna break up with them again for the same reason.”
The function lesson is great, but it’s not her only one. Ms. Diamond also has tons of great videos where she leads her kids through remixes of songs—only in true math teacher style, she’s rewritten the words to be about math.
@captainch4risma ♬ original sound – keaturahwright02
We especially love this one on dividing fractions, where her kids sing a song about how you “flip it and reverse it” (get it? Because when you divide fractions, you flip the second one and then multiply them).
@captainch4risma Hey @Missy Elliott We flipped it and reversed it in math class today 🥳🥰 Tag Missy for us y’all 🥹 #fyp #fypp #yourfavoriteteacher #viral #viral #blackteachersontiktok #blackeducator #teacher #teacherlife #middleschool #math #edutok #mathematics #educator #educatorsoftiktok
♬ original sound – keaturahwright02
Who knew Missy Elliott was talking about arithmetic the whole time?
