What's Math Got to Do With It?

Yesterday I profiled a book that sought to taught adults math, and relate it to "the real world." It stopped just short of algebra. The author, actress and mathematician (and by that I mean she is really a mathamatician, working in the profession, not just someone who likes math) has two other books, Kiss My Math and Hot X, Algebra Exposed.


This book, What's Math Got to Do With It? by Jo Boaler does not teach math, but rather tries to help parents realize how important math is for their girls, and that it is a stereotype that girls are no good at math.

I'd say that 99% of girls, when they reach "middle school" will start to be subjected to teasing, either about their appearance, or about their math skills, or about their lack of skills, anything. Just as girls can't win in the looks department (there's always a guy who will complain about something, sending a perfectly attractive girl into agonies of despair), they can't win in the knowledge department either.

Well, enough of that rant, back to the book:

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Understanding the urgency
1. What is math any why do we all need it?
2. What's going wrong in classrooms? Identifying the problems.
3. A vision for a better future: Effective classroom approaches
4. Taming the Monster: New forms of testing that encourage learning
5. Stuck in the Slow Lane: How American grouping systems perpetuate low achievement
6. Paying the price for sugar and spice: How girls and women are kept out of math and science
7. Key strategies and ways of working
8. Giving Children the best mathematical start: Activities and advice
9. Making a difference through work with schools