Sujindren Selvanayagam
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Siri Hedreen / The Outlook Eighth-grade math teacher Sujindren Selvanayagam writes a practice problem on the board.

Sujindren Selvanayagam, or Mr. S. as his eighth-grade pre-algebra students know him, has failed more than one math class in his life. "No doubt about it" it's made him a better teacher, he says.

"I wasn't always good at math," said Selvanayagam, who grew up in Malaysia until about 10th grade. "I tell my students this all the time and I show my report cards that I had from Malaysia."

Sujindren Selvanayagam
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Siri Hedreen / The Outlook Mr. S. rewards students with paper money bearing his face, which they can spend on things like pencils or a movie day.