Kudos to the teachers and administrators of Decatur County who allow students to learn by whatever means serves them best.

A case in point is William Paul Whaley, the sixth-grader whose film won a Georgia Department of Education contest for taking mathematical concepts and making a film other middle-schoolers can learn from.

He said math was never his favorite subject, but after making a film on integers and absolute value, he said he’s rethinking his relationship with math.

Not all students fit into cookie-cutting molds, so giving them enough leeway to use methods they feel most comfortable with in order to learn worked in this case.

Hutto Middle School math teacher Amy Thomas credits the school’s administration for ensuring there are various tools there to encourage unconventional learning. We should also credit Thomas for realizing a special spark in Whaley and allowing him to take a hobby he has and learn the math concepts by using his passion.

These are some lessons to be learned here.