I hesitate to comment on a book I haven’t read, but this one has really thrown me for a loop. Danica McKellar, of the Wonder Years, has written a math book for teen-age girls. While the book’s jacket cover certainly exaggerates when it calls her a mathematician, McKellar does hold a undergraduate degree in math from UCLA. And judging by the enthusiastic reviews on Amazon — over 90% of the 104 posted reviews are 4 stars or above — people seem to enjoy her book.
I recognize that people are concerned about young girls’ supposed lack of interest in math, but this approach worries me. The idea of teaching math as though it were Teen Cosmo honestly strikes me as sexist. Are young girls really so warped by popular culture that all they can relate to is a fashion magazine?
But at the same time, what if it works? From what I’ve been able to glean, McKellar tries to promote positive values, for example encouraging young girls to be proud of their intellect, not to “act dumb” to impress boys. Maybe the book is a kind of Trojan Horse: you might need to stoop to the level of a fashion magazine to reach some girls, but these are the ones most in need of guidance.
For my own part, the book that got me to stop hating math, was Fermat’s Enigma by Simon Singh. I’m still taking math classes to this day.