Colonialism and Literary Production in Guinea-Bissau

The relative dearth of literature in Guinea-Bissau can be linked directly to colonial policies which, for a variety of reasons, never encouraged mass immigration from Europe nor the establishment of Portuguese educational institutions during the five centuries the region was maintained as a colony of Portugal. Furthermore, colonial indigenous policies, the lack of adequate secondary instruction, and a religious factor prevented Africans from acquiring an effective Western education, thus precluding the development of an appreciation of modern written literature. At independence the government of Guinea-Bissau intensified its literacy program and accelerated the appreciation of literature among the masses through radio broadcasts of literary programs. The encouragement of literary endeavors has borne fruit in the form of two anthologies of poetry published in the late 1970's and the creation of a union of writers in 1982.

A Summer Course with the TI 57 Programmable Calculator

Let me wish that the calculating machine, in view of its great importance, may become known in wider circles than is now the case. Above all. every teacher of mathematics should become familiar with it. and it ought to be possible to have it demonstrated in secondary instruction.

Applications of Indeterminate Equations to Geometry

One of the important problems in secondary instruction in mathematics is to find concrete material for vitalizing the work in elementary algebra and geometry. Frequently the work as given is too abstract for the student, and does not connect closely with his experience. Since the road to the abstract is over the concrete, it is hoped that the illustrative material here offered will make the student's approach to generalized mathematics easier by using much arithmetical work.

The Future of Secondary Instruction in Geometry

If the future of secondary instruction in geometry is to be judged in the light of the past, two thousand years may elapse without any material change. Horace boasted of a monument more enduring than bronze. Euclid’s Elements has stood like a granite monolith against the intellectual erosion of centuries. This book has seen the decline of great civilizations, the rise and fall of empires, and the birth of great religions. It has passed unscathed through countless successions of languages and dialects. Such is its perfection of detail that all attempts at improvement during its two milleniums of existence have led only to a return to its original form and substance.

The Teaching of Mathematics in the Elementary and the Secondary School

During recent years there has developed in this country a very real interest in the teaching of mathematics, as evidenced by the formation of numerous associations of teachers of mathematics. This interest may be traced to two principal sources. The great mathematical revival finding its expression in the rapid and healthy growth of the American Mathematical Society has had naturally a reactionary effect upon collegiate and then upon secondary instruction. This effect is seen in the effort to put upon a scientific basis the elementary parts of mathematics in their relation to the subject as a whole. At the same time, modern pedagogy holds as its principal thesis that both subject matter and manner of presentation must be arranged with reference to a psychological study of the pupil. Hence a further rearrangement of mathematical material is required with the express object of obtaining and retaining the student’s interest. These two courses of the demand for improvement in mathematical instruction call for two lines of preparation on the part of the teacher, mathematical and peciagogical. A man may have studied a wide range of mathematical topics and yet have so poor a notion of how to present his ideas that it takes several years’ experience to learn to teach; and in the meantime many of his pupils may discover, or believe that they have discovered, that they are so mentally deficient as to be unable to grasp mathematics. On the other hand, a man may learn something of the technique of teaching and be so ignorant of the principles of the science that his students do not obtain any idea of the spirit of mathematical studies. Such ignorance may be partially pardoned in the man who is forced to teach many different subjects; but it is, even at present, no novelty to find a teacher of mathematics only, who thinks that he requires his students to give a complete reason for every step in a geometrical demonstration. It is generally conceded that the normal schools have been unable to afford proper mathematical training for the high school teacher, and it is gratifying that the colleges are beginning to offer courses in mathematics arranged especially for those intending to enter the field of secondary instruction. Such courses should touch on many topics having an immediate bearing on elementary algebra and geometry and not ordinarily included in the courses usually offered to undergraduates, as well as some discussion of pedagogical principle. The proper person to conduct them has been aptly described by a well-known mathematician as “a mathematician sufficiently interested in his subject to publish occasional investigations, and who has the pedagogic instinct.”