Patrick Farrell is an Instructor in Mathematics and an expert at bodysurfing. Farrell coaches jumps for the Track and Field Team, and previously coached Andover’s first Math Team that attended the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) competition. Farrell previously served as Dean of Faculty from 2014 to 2020.
I came to Andover through the (MS)2 program, the math and science [summer program] for minority students… At the same time, I was actually taking my daughter to interview [at Andover]… I was explaining [to her] why young people shouldn’t go to a school like this because I had an impression that this was like previous private schools that I taught at that were not diverse and [served a very] narrow segment of our society… When I came to the interview and taught math and science to minority students, I realized that Andover’s philosophy [is] very different from other private schools.
2. Why did you decide to teach math?
I graduated from college with a philosophy degree. I applied for some jobs in philosophy and English, but I did not get any of [those jobs]. At my first interview for a math job, I got hired [despite only] having done calculus in college.
3. Do you have a favorite topic to teach?
The fundamental theorem of calculus is a lot of fun to teach.
4. As a former Dean of Faculty, the Math Team Coach, and a sports coach, how do you balance all your roles on campus?
I never did all of those at once. I think that the biggest challenge of teaching at Andover is trying to do a good job [in the] many different roles that you have. I think it’s important to know your limitations and try to do the best that you can in each area, and [realize] that you can’t lessen your expectations or the output in any of the areas [you are involved in]. I think it’s about seeking balance and seeing what you have to do in your own eyes.
5. What influenced you to take part in Andover’s “Access to Success” program? What did you hope students and faculty would get out of the changes that you made?
The term “Access to Success” refers to the fact that there’s a big difference between opening doorways to success by admitting a more diverse student body…[and whether] you’re actually helping them to take full advantage of everything that’s available at the school. When you look at our Math and Science Departments, at that point in time, you would see students coming in and starting at the same level, but then as we worked through the filters, especially when people entered calculus, you found out that there was a lot less diversity in terms of high-level Computer Science, Math, and Science Courses. The “Access to Success” committee was designed to make sure that we started looking at how we taught, looking at the composition of our faculty, [and] looking at many areas that we could improve as we go… We still have a long way to go but I believe that we’ve made significant progress.
6. What do you think teachers can do to further improve their techniques?
I think it’s really important to continue to look at how we teach. I just read an interesting article that was shared with the Math Department that took a large study of 3,000 students. There were 1,500 students taking calculus divided into two areas. Half of the students taking calculus were taught using straight lectures, and half used techniques that we use in our classrooms: group work inside and or outside the classroom…where the teacher stepped back a little bit and allowed students to self-teach but also fully engage in problem-solving… The success in mathematics went from highest for those who worked together outside to lowest [for those who didn’t]. We’ve known this as mathematicians and scientists, but teachers have had trouble teaching in a way different from the way they were taught.
7. What do you like to do outside of Andover?
I like to do crosswords and a lot of the other “New York Times” games. I wake up in the morning and that’s the first thing I do at the start of the day. I love any sort of physical activity: swimming and body surfing, which is something that’s not very common. I find this connection with nature when bodysurfing [is] hard to have in any other way. There are many people [who] can surf but not many that can bodysurf well. [I’ve gone] swimming in the ocean at least once a month for the past 58 months. I love walking with my dog, especially when my wife and I both go on [the] walks.
8. Is there anything at Andover you would like to raise awareness to or change?
I want to put schools like Andover out of business. The reason schools like Andover exist in part is because there are lots of schools that, due to lack of funding or other struggles, are not able to offer the same kind of education that a school like Andover can give… If a school like Andover can actually graduate socially conscious students [who] want to make this a better world, the best way to do that is by supplying close to the equivalent of an Andover education to everyone. That’s why I started this with a challenging statement. That’s the kind of statement that gets people to have this discussion that people have been trying to have for years. As a human community, we should’ve been able to make more progress. I hate to dump that on your generation. You have enough problems already.
9. You brought the first Andover Math Team to the ARML math competition. Do you have a favorite memory from that experience?
It’s kind of a sad memory. So, we walked to [the competition] thinking that we’d be first place in the B Division and drove down to the competition with the Exeter team. I knew the coach from the [Phillips] Exeter [Academy] team… He and I were talking and sitting on the seats, [and] at the same time one of his students came up and said, “Gosh, I know we did better on that power question than the points that we got.” The power question is where you actually have to write proofs, so it’s not like they could look back and say, “We got this question, this question, and this question right.” because you get all your papers returned, but they looked at the official answer and [they] were pretty sure they got points. A student of our team came up [and said,] “Mr. Farrell, I think we got a generous score on the power problem.” So we got the phone and called up the organizers and asked them to take a peek. They had switched Andover and Exeter’s [points]. After that, Exeter changed their team name…so that wouldn’t happen again… But it was really nice that both students came up and just wanted the right thing to be done. It wasn’t about winning or losing, and the coaches felt the same way. For me, I didn’t worry that we were then going to be second place, I wanted to make sure that it was fair.
10. What advice would you would like to give to Andover students?
Keep hope alive. I’ve been on the planet for a little bit more than 63 years, and I think this is probably one of the most challenging times if you look at the globe and the problems facing humanity. But I do believe that we have no choice as human beings: look back and realize, historically, we have suffered many difficult cycles.
