I never got around to reviewing Danica McKellar's first book, Math Doesn't Suck, and now she's got a second one out, Kiss My Math. You gotta love the title at least. I think she's got a whole franchise going here. Maybe by the time she puts out her calculus book I'll get my review of Math Doesn't Suck up on the blog.
Hat tip to Veronica for letting me know about this.
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When I had the opportunity to review Danica McKellar's new book Math Doesn't Suck, I was excited on two levels. First and foremost, it's aimed at getting girls interested in math. I've always been flummoxed as to why the subject is such a male dominated field and curious to find out how Danica…
The Danica McKellar posts (review; interview) have sparked some discussion that I want to address here. It largely centers on the issue of McKellar's approach: is it a good one? Or is it trying to replace one Bad Thing (girls' dislike of math) with another Bad Thing (encouraging them to be, as…
It's not a rosy picture for girls in math. As Barbie infamously framed it, girls should think that "math is hard." While Mattel (rightly) received a lot of flack for that comment, the sad fact is that Barbie was reflecting the attitude many girls tend to take toward mathematics education: it's…
I can't resist the snarky title, but this is a serious topic. Tara Smith has a review of a math book by Danica McKellar, titled Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail. It's aimed at getting middle-school girls to have more positive feelings…
I saw this on sale in the Atlanta airport a couple weeks back. I think it's great. Anyone who can write a successful pop-math book aimed at middle-schoolers has performed a genuine miracle.
Unfortunately her first book contained a bunch of "ou can so fulfill the patriarchal demands of femininity and do math" shit. Let us know about this one.
We had a 12 year old girl review "Math Doesn't Suck" http://www.fairerscience.org/fs-blogs/2007/09/math_doesnt_suck_a_review…
and are planning to do the same with "Kiss My Math"
Pat
From the preview I saw of it on the web, I expect it to be pretty much in the same vein as "Math Doesn't Suck!" I am of mixed feelings about this approach. The format is somewhat based on teen fashion mags, which aren't particularly empowering literary models. It would appeal to a certain segment of girls, and draw them in to math when they might not otherwise be so engaged. But it doesn't do anything to support the girls who are interested in math and who don't buy into the typical obsession with clothes, makeup, boys that girls are expected to cultivate. You could argue that this isn't the book McKellar set out to write, and you just have to take the one she did write and evaluate it as it is. The review that Pat cites above is unabashedly positive and we can't discount that evidence. Perhaps my favorite part of that review is this line:
I have to confess I do like the idea of centering the female perspective in that way, as something "everyone" can relate to. Goodbye to all those male-centered math word problems!
Isn't the whole point of math education, and what makes certain species of feminist criticism of word problems irrelevant, the fact that you are supposed to be able to disregard extraneous information in the question "Tina is buying dresses. If each dress is $150, she buys five dresses and brought $800 dollars with her, will she have enough to but that sweet Armani bag on the bargain rack for $60?" I mean, you don't translate that into "Tina + dress = pretty," you are figuring out how much she needs.
HJ