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It was 25 years ago when Professor Wayne Roberts
added competitions to math education. The result = the Minnesota
State High School Math League.
by Jan Shaw-Flamm '76
Last summer several high school students, including my daughter,
used the break from an essay-writing workshop to troll Olin-Rice
in search of a landmark. The sacred space was locked, but they peered
reverently through the window<em dash>at the office of Wayne
Roberts, founder and director of the Minnesota State High School
Math League and an icon to young math enthusiasts.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Minnesota's Math League,
and while Roberts has entered phased retirement, he is teaching
part time and he remains at the helm of the program that brought
Minnesota math students out of the doldrums.
"In 1973 I became state coordinator for a national high school
math exam," says Roberts. "I was disheartened to see that
the top Minnesota students ranked well below top students from other
regions. While Minnesota was doing a good job in education overall,
we weren't doing enough for kids who did well."
Roberts set out to change that. While on a sabbatical at MIT, he
visited high schools that scored exceptionally well on the national
exam to find out why. The answer: extracurricular math competitions.
Returning to Minnesota, Roberts set up a meeting at the Lexington
Restaurant with the late Jack Nichols '49 of Sperry (now Unisys),
a company that had long recognized the importance of educating fine
mathematicians. Hearing Roberts' proposal, Nichols took pen to checkbook
and slid a $5,000 check across the table<em dash>the seed
money for the Minnesota State High School Math League.
Today the league involves 163 high schools and more than 2,000
students in a cooperative effort of public and private schools,
businesses, foundations and Macalester. Five meets are held during
the season, which runs from early November through the state tournament,
fittingly scheduled for "Pi Day," March 14 (3.14), 2005.
At the state tournament, teams and individuals compete for trophies
to cheers rivaling any football game. Top students then compete
nationally in June.
| 'No one ever wrote to thank me for writing
a calculus book, but many students and parents have called and
written to thank me for starting Minnesota's Math League.' |
"We have always tried to structure our activities in a way
that strengthens mathematics education for all students," Roberts
says. High school teachers appreciate that the Math League keeps
their best students in the classroom, where they help to inspire
and recruit others. While Roberts was drumming up support for the
Math League, legislators often told him that talented kids do fine
on their own, so state funds should focus on kids who do poorly.
"If that's the case," Roberts responded, "why do
we spend so much on bantam hockey programs? Why not concentrate
on kids who can't skate?"
At St. Paul's Highland High School, an urban school by any standard,
some 40 students regularly come out for math team. A summer Coaches
Conference at Macalester helps teachers develop strategies for more
effective coaching and teaching. The support of Unisys and other
benefactors keeps the cost of each school's participation to only
$500 per season.
Michael Erlewine, University of Chicago '07, found math team to
be excellent preparation for college. "The Minnesota Math League
uses competition as a motivational tool, while also preparing 'mathletes'
for the collaborative nature of higher mathematics," he says.
"Math League was definitely the most memorable part of my
high school experience," says Daniel Herriges, Stanford University
'07. "It's a lot of fun whether you're really competitive or
relaxed about it. You learn problem-solving skills that you won't
get in normal high school math classes." Erlewine, Herriges
and Matthias Hunt (St. Olaf '07), the triumvirate of Highland's
2001-2002 state championship math team, were so inspired that they
wrote and published a 200-page math text for their teammates.
The independent non-profit Math League is housed at Macalester,
where Roberts continues to develop problems for the competitions
and Cris Scarlett, assistant league director, manages its day-to-day
business.
Professor Roberts has many claims to academic fame. He edited
the Mathematical Association of America's five-volume Resources
for Calculus and received the North Central MAA's Distinguished
Service Award in 1995. He is author of five books including Introductory
Calculus, Faces of Mathematics and Calculus: The Dynamics
of Change.
"No one ever wrote to thank me for writing a calculus book,"
notes Roberts with a smile, "but many students and parents
have called and written to thank me for starting Minnesota's Math
League." If you talk with the next generation of mathematicians,
the name Wayne Roberts is spoken with awe.
Jan Shaw-Flamm '76 is a frequent contributor to Macalester
Today and wrote "In Good Faith" for the Summer 2004
issue.
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