[Blindmath] intro

[Jason White]

Susan Mooney <slemooney at msn.com> wrote:
> I think "le" hit the nail on the head with math anxiety and I think a lot of
> math anxiety is caused by the teachers themselves not having a firm grasp of
> the subject and/or not knowing how to teach period.  

This is probably true, and it's one reason why David Santos' notes on
elementary algebra, for example, are so good: they were written by a
mathematician. I'm sure they were accompanied by excellent classroom
exposition, examples and discussion.

I know my secondary school mathematics experience would have been better if
the teachers had actually stated the definitions, stated the theorems and
given proofs - or at least explanations where the proofs would have required
background that I didn't have.

For example, the proof that the square root of 2 is an irrational number isn't
particularly complicated, yet it's exactly the kind of result that would
awaken interest in a curious secondary school student.