You landed an academic job interview. Now what?
You did it! You’ve arrived at an important milestone in your academic life: your first job interview for a tenure-track position. As you prepare, you may be fine tuning your research talk, or prepping your responses to potential questions about teaching large vs small classes. What strategies can make you shine brighter than the rest? How can you differentiate yourself from the…
Mathspeak 101
The language of mathematics People use the word “math” in a variety of ways in popular culture. They say things like: “delegate math,” “the math doesn’t add up”, or my personal favorite: “do the math.” But what do people really know about the subject? It is OK to be honest. There is no shame in not knowing…
Publishing is dead, long live publishing
Disruption! I am an academic, and as you would expect, I love to read. I mainly read papers in academic journals and advanced texts in mathematics. I can’t remember the last time I was in a physical library. Actually, I walk through the library as a short cut across Ryerson University campus. However, I do heavily use the…
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…