I. Read the article and Mark the sentences t (true), f (false) or ng (not given)

1. The first mathematics textbooks in English were printed in the fifteenth century.

2. Elementary mathematics has been studied by young boys and girls since ancient time.

3. Arithmetic and geometry were the part of classical education that was developed in medieval Europe due to the needs of masons, merchants and money-lenders.

4. In the Renaissance mathematics was treated as a subsidiary subject to study Natural, Metaphysical and Moral Philosophy.

5. In the 17^th century mathematics was normally taught in universities.

6. Mathematics was a central part of the curriculum in the Middle Ages.

7. In the twentieth century mathematics became a part of the core curriculum in all developing countries.

8. In the 20^th century small children were able to deal with number theory and set theory.

9. Only in the 21^st century mathematics was recognized as an independent area of research

10. The International Congress on Mathematical Education has been held every four years since 1969.

DO YOU KNOW THAT…

The following people all taught mathematics at some stage in their lives, although they are better known for other things:

· Lewis Carroll, pen name of British author Charles Dodgson, lectured on mathematics at Christ Church, Oxford

· John Dalton, British chemist and physicist, taught mathematics at schools and colleges in Manchester, Oxford and York

· Tom Lehrer, American songwriter and satirist, taught mathematics at Harvard, MIT and currently at University of California, Santa Cruz

· Brian May, rock guitarist and composer, worked briefly as a mathematics teacher before joining a famous band “ Queen”

· Georg Joachim Rheticus, Austrian cartographer and disciple of Copernicus, taught mathematics at the University of Wittenberg

· Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 13th century, lectured on mathematics at the universities of Oxford and Paris

· Éamon de Valera, a leader of Ireland's struggle for independence in the early 20th century and founder of the Fianna Fáil party, taught mathematics at schools and colleges in Dublin

· Archie Williams, American athlete and Olympic gold medalist, taught mathematics at high schools in California

II. Search some information about one of these mathematics teachers and share it with other students. Make a table of the most important facts of his/her biography

Date | Event

_______________|_______________

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