Hacking Mathematics: 10 Problems That Need Solving by Denis Sheeran

Hacking Mathematics: 10 Problems That Need Solving by Denis Sheeran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: August 11, 2018
Format: Book
Favorite Quote(s):

"Often we put off blogging because the idea we have isn't perfect, or isn't fully worked out, or the lesson isn't finished, or our post is just not as well-written as we'd hoped. Those are the exact reasons TO blog. You need to put out imperfect ideas, because we're all imperfect and learning together. You need to blog about lessons as they happen, unfinished and in progress. Those reflections and perspectives matter."

Review:
This book was 10 easy "hacks" to implement in class to help students enjoy and understand math better. These are not math tricks. There are no shortcuts found here. All of the hacks are classroom procedures or resources to help you and your students get through the year successfully. I particularly liked hacks 1, 3, 5, and 10. Hack 3: Join the MTBoS led to me to finally create a math blog. I've been creeping on #MTBoS for years but have not often participated. This chapter made me realize that I have ideas worth sharing and that the Math Twitter Blog-o-Sphere is not full of untouchable experts, but full of regular teachers, like me, who are trying new things out in their classrooms too. I really appreciated this.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: August 9, 2018
Format: Book
Favorite Quote(s):

"However, just because something isn’t surprising doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with."

"But deep down inside me, I wanted . . . I needed it. I couldn’t help but act on it. The urge was so strong that it was mathematical."

Review:
While I loved that the main character was Himba and that math was the tool her people used to create technology, I struggled with the writing at the beginning. I felt like things happened in the story and then they were explained, which is difficult to read because I had imagined what I thought was happening just to have the pictures changed by the explanation. Later in the story I had a pretty good grasp of what to imagine and didn't feel like this was such an issue anymore. I really liked the role of the otjize in the story, but had difficulty understanding the technology and it's use. Though it was a quick story, I had difficulty with the quick progression of (view spoiler)[genocide to friendship (hide spoiler)] that occurred in such a short time. Overall, I liked the story, but haven't decided if I will read the sequels. It should be noted that I'm not much a sci-fi fan, and that could be part of my difficulty with the story.