Graph theory on the Atlantic
ECCC and GRASCan I am travelling once again this week so my post is on the short side. I am a plenary speaker at the East Coast Combinatorics Conference (or ECCC) at Mount Saint Vincent University. After that, I am co-chairing and speaking at the Graph Searching in Canada (or GRASCan) workshop at Dalhousie University. Where my…
“Let’s not do math today”
Kids learn by example A classroom of kids cheer with joy. Later that day a boy runs in the front door of his house and says: “Mom, teacher said we didn’t have to do math today!” Sound like fiction? It’s not. A mathematician colleague of mine told me that her son experienced this in his elementary school. Some kids…
Math anxiety and gender
Math anxiety We have all experienced anxiety studying mathematics. Some go so far to call it math phobia. I experience anxiety when first grappling with a mathematical research problem. My anxiety, however, turns to excitement as I work on the problem and make progress towards its solution. I have an advantage that comes from years of experience: I can see the light…
Why teach algebra in high school?
The Math Myth Andrew Hacker, a political scientist and professor emeritus, says in his book The Math Myth that we shouldn’t teach algebra in the high school mathematics courses. One reason for this is that high school drop outs cite their difficulty with mathematics as a major reason for their decision to leave. Hacker says mathematics is a ten foot…