Purpose:

To document and encourage productive involvement of mathematicians in K-12 education. The emphasis is on low (or no) budget involvement in the schools - special math days, working with students, working with teachers, lending expertise to schools and school systems, getting on and working on school boards, etc.

Brought to you by Susan Addington and Judy Roitman.

  Join Discussions

• Math-Teach - devoted to school mathematics
• The NCTM Standards 2000 - read the electronic version of The Principles and Standards first
• Mathedu - college level

Apply to be a mentor in the Making Mathematics project, which provides problems and help for high school students and teachers in a mathematical research experience.

Apply for a grant to celebrate Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Days, which aims to encourage young women to continue their study of mathematics, to assist them with the sometimes difficult transition between high school and college mathematics, to assist the teachers of women mathematics students, and to encourage colleges and universities to develop more extensive cooperation with high schools in their area.

An invitation to Expanding Your Horizons by engaging the mathematical lives of young women, from Betty Levitin.

Summaries from Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, University of Kansas:

• Math Awareness Week 1997 at KU
• Math Activities for Elementary School Students

From George Avrunin, U. Mass. and Jan Demers, Crocker Farm School:

• Exploring Symmetry with First Graders
Information on math circles in the Bay area.

Joshua Zucker has written on the Gunn High School Math Circle.

From John Baldwin, University of Illinois at Chicago:

• A mathematician on a local school council

Alfred Barron's experiences running for the school board (and winning!); as posted to the <math-teach> mailing list:

• 23 January, 1999: Board of Ed Camp #1
• 1 February, 1999: Board of Ed Camp #2
• 11 February, 1999: Board of Ed Camp #3
• 9 March, 1999: Board of Ed #4
• 5 April, 1999: Board of Ed #5
• 19 April, 1999: Board of Ed #6
• 24 April, 1999: Board of Ed #7 (final exam)

Math Awareness Week has become Math Awareness Month and so needs your help all the more. See what others have done during past Math Awareness Weeks.
Organizations set up to make good use of mathematicians' offers for assistance
• Family Math
• The Math Forum

  What are you doing?

We are looking for descriptions (brief is okay) of what has been done that can be useful for other mathematicians contemplating doing similar things. We are interested in practical stuff. What you did is sufficient in itself. What you wish you'd done differently and what issues came up that you didn't expect would be nice additions. And so on -- whatever you think would be helpful to others. Informal is good, length is up to you, references to other material or web sites are not necessary but are always appreciated.

Please send material to Judy Roitman or Susan Addington.

"Who is Dick Askey and why is he so upset about the Standards?" from The Mathematics Teacher 89: 626-628.

The Math Circle


An article by Robert Kaplan, previously published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.

John Baldwin has a number of relevant and interesting articles.