Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - In a speech that I gave this month on Scotland’s educational success, I chose to speak about a teacher that had such an impact on my own education – he still makes it into my political speeches 55 years on!
When I was in school, our deputy head teacher was Doc Inglis – a Lancastrian and a mathematician. He saw it as his duty to inspire – and the first thing he did with each class was to send it round the school on a quest for infinity. We looked in the dustbins, we took the blackboards down, and we even went out to the sports field to contemplate where this could be found. This is still imprinted in my memory. In the sixth year, Mr Inglis brought his tax return into the class and went over it with us - either to tell us how little he got paid for imparting his mathematical knowledge, or to demonstrate the value of keeping an eye on your tax bill.
Doc Inglis is my example of an inspirational teacher. On the anniversary of our headteacher’s appointment, he would always come in wearing a black tie. He had gone for the job and been unsuccessful, and this was his way of marking the occasion. This quirk serves to instil Mr Inglis in my memory, but the quality of his teaching, teamed with his interesting character, also made me want to learn.
Maths can be a subject that creates more fear than inspiration in both young and old - but this does not need to be the case. History can also be a good teacher.
The Indiana pi bill – or more specifically – the Indiana House Bill 246 of 1897 sought to define in law a value for pi. It wanted to fix that value at 3.2 rather than 3.1416 et cetera, that most will remember from their school days as a transcendental number which cannot be defined in the real number system. That bill was passed on 6 February 1897. Fortunately, the Indiana Senate had another look at it after it went to the temperance committee, and the matter never went any further.
Back in the present day, the Scottish Government has launched the Making Maths Count programme to ensure that pupils can see the stories behind the numbers, and the many uses that Maths has in everyday life – with the aim of improving attainment in primary and secondary schools in Scotland.
If we can make mathematics relevant to real life, we can make it a matter of enthusiasm for our kids.
Also with the emphasis in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence on cross curricular learning – Maths features, and adds to, many other subjects.
In literature for example, Dante’s ‘Inferno’ refers to one of the keepers of the gates of Hell as Belphegor. This character has his own special prime number which is named after him, is symmetrical, and is 31 digits in total.
Mathematics also takes a place within religion. In one example, Hindus are guided by the Vedic texts, which discuss what Hindus believe are the five types of infinity - the infinity of point, of line, of area, of volume and of time, and the concepts of 1 and 0 are introduced.
There are many areas in our culture and in our lives where mathematics is relevant and where it matters. To deter our young people in any way from discovering this world of knowledge would be detrimental to them and to society as a whole. Let us inspire the mathematicians, shop owners, librarians and religious leaders of the future and give them an education that truly adds up.
