In Mr. Bernstein’s middle school elective, Story of Math, students examine key discoveries of mathematics from the perspective of the humanities. Students explore the intersection of biography, history, philosophy, and math through primary sources, videos, and activities. Two particularly engaging topics have been Euclidean geometry and the Golden Ratio.
Bernstein’s students study the oldest math textbook- written two thousand years ago in Alexandria- Euclid’s Elements. They demonstrate propositions at the whiteboard and discuss the logical steps necessary to reach a conclusion.
“Students are frequently delighted by the discovery of truth waiting for them at the end of their demonstration and feel the thrill of challenging their reasoning abilities.”
Mr. Bernstein
Such demonstrations are interspersed with days devoted to the study of the influence of geometry on Islamic architecture and art, the Fibonacci sequence, and Pascal’s triangle.
