Recently, while reading an excellent novel — In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman — I noticed that a character mentioned one of my all-time favorite books, A Mathematician’s Apology by G. H. Hardy. Hardy was a British mathematician in the first half of the 20th century; he specialized in number theory and mathematical analysis and, through his work in collaborations with John Littlewood and Srinivasa Ramanujan, became one of the preeminent mathematicians of his day. His Apology gives the reader extraordinary insight into the mind of a theoretical mathematician. We understand how he feels about mathematics when he says, “The best mathematics is serious as well as beautiful — ‘important’ if you like, but the word is very ambiguous, and ‘serious’ expresses what I mean much better.” 1
As a high school mathematics teacher for many years, I always made it a point to make my students aware of stimulating, thought-provoking non-textbook math books, like the Apology. Others on my list were D. E. Knuth’s Surreal Numbers; Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach; and Euclidians, a wonderful book of poems based on geometric figures (probably long out of print). Some years I kept these books on a shelf in my classroom or office; other years I posted a bibliography on our school’s intranet. I took every opportunity to mention these books in class in order to enrich our discussions. I also urged my students to read one or more of these books (or pick another of their choice) and write a book report and present it to the class. One of the highlights of each school year was my reading aloud to each class Norton Juster’s funny and smart book, The Dot and the Line, holding it up as I read so that my students could see the beautiful illustrations. It isn’t clear who enjoyed those readings more, me or my students!
As a math teacher, I know that textbooks are indispensable; students need clear, accurate explanations of methods and formulas if they are to learn mathematics satisfactorily. As a reader, I also know that the writing in math and science texts is often sterile and unaffecting. Readers rarely get to know an author by reading a science or math textbook and are thus denied much of the potential impact of the writing. By acquainting students with my favorite math books, I hoped to make mathematics — a forbidding and abstract subject to many — more real and more personal for them. The wonderful books mentioned above, and others, stand out because the authors’ interest and enthusiasm shine through in prose, capturing the imagination of my students.
Here is my suggestion to every teacher, regardless of subject: at the beginning of the school year, hand out or post a bibliography of books and articles that you love and that are applicable to your subject in every class. Then, find as many ways as possible to integrate some of that material into your class. The books and articles will greatly enrich your students’ experience and the material you are teaching. If you’re lucky, a few students may even bring in books they found to add to the bibliography.
This issue of Independent Teacher, as is our goal, includes essays over a wide range of topics and age levels. With one writer’s “Ideal High School”; another’s challenge for his students to take on the great novel Infinite Jest; middle schoolers coping with end-of-the-school-year anxieties; and a call to bring more reflection into the classroom, plus much, much more, Independent Teacher strives to present many different school voices. Consider adding your voice by submitting an essay of your own or emailing a comment or response to one of our articles at [email protected].
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Note
1. G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1940).