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The wonder of math
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Danica McKellar's bestselling Kiss My Math.
In elementary school, I was lucky enough to be put on the so-called “honors track,” which meant that in junior high, I would be placed into advanced classes, including what our school called “contract math.” Inexplicably, someone thought an entire class of prepubescent kids learning math on their own was a good idea. Maybe it was for some, but not for someone like me, who found the monotone sterility of numbers less appealing to the color and magic of words. Too bad I didn’t have Danica McKellar, actress and author of Kiss My Math, Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, on my side to show me just how cool math can be.
Best known for her role as Fred Savage’s crush Winnie Cooper on the hit show “The Wonder Years,” Danica McKellar has grown up to become a veritable math genius. Graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in mathematics from UCLA, the 34-year-old is now a recognized mathematician whose credits include co-authoring a proof known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. McKellar followed that up with two books designed to demystify math for girls and make it fun – Math Doesn’t Suck and its sequel Kiss My Math, Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss, which was just released in paperback.
Both books target girls who are at that crucial age when hormones kick in and peer pressure from school (read: boys) starts to rear its ugly head, junior high and high school. At this stage in the game, McKellar has argued, girls turn away from math, the effects of which can last a lifetime, robbing girls from high-paying jobs in science and technology.
Since graduating, McKellar has become something of a one-woman champion of female mathematicians. McKellar has noted being one of a handful of women in math classes in college. In 2000, McKellar testified before Congress about the need to support girls in math and the sciences and continues to speak around the country on the importance of supporting girls in the numbers trade.
Thankfully, progress is being made. A 2008 joint study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin, Madison show girls performing equally with boys on mathematics assessment tests. The researchers attributed this progress to girls taking more math classes and higher level courses in elementary and high school. This past June, Congress announced $2.5 million in grants to help 13 schools and programs to help support high school girls gain higher proficiency in math and science.
Still, those same researchers found that despite virtually no difference between girls and boys to solve complex math problems, cultural stereotypes persist. McKellar is hoping to change that. Recently, as a guest blogger on Penguin USA’s blog (her publisher), she announced that she is working on a third book focusing on algebra and is seeking suggestions.
Maybe one day, McKellar will write a book for us adults who missed out on all that is cool about math.
Danica McKellar will be at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Huntington Beach, Calif. on July 15 to sign copies of the paperback edition of her New York Times bestselling book Kiss My Math.
Kiss My Math, Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss photo Penguin Group USA.
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