An Open Letter to the Leadership of NCTM

To the Leadership of NCTM:

This letter is from Seth Leavitt. I teach Mathematics for Minneapolis Public Schools. I have taught Elementary (all subjects) and Middle School Math. I am currently writing and teaching a blended, online Math course for middle school students. I am a longtime member of NCTM as well as a longtime user and participant on The Math Forum.

I am writing to encourage you, in your position of leadership at NCTM, to re-examine the decisions made regarding The Math Forum.

I read the Presidents' statement from Matt Larson and Robert Berry. I participated in the webinar conducted by President Larson - Positioning NCTM for the Second Century. I am also trying to stay informed by reading blog posts. This post by Tracy Zager, along with its comments, expresses much of the sentiment I want to talk about in this letter.

I belong to NCTM because I value having a national organization that represents math teaching and learning. I belong to MCTM (Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics) for the same reason at the state level. This is an important function for these organizations. NCTM and MCTM have a level of clout and visibility that adds considerable weight to our (teachers, students, and families) voices. 

I also value the teaching resources provided by NCTM and MCTM. (I have contributed articles to NCTM publications.) I know that I am a better teacher for having these resources at my fingertips.

The Math Forum, though not as old as NCTM, is truly the Grandparent of the online Math community. (Great-Grandparent might be a more accurate description.) I found this letter to "Ask Dr. Math" from 1996. I'm sure it wasn't my first use of the site. But calling the Math Forum a "site" is really a misnomer.

I have been fortunate to work on projects sponsored by the Math Forum, both remotely and in Philadelphia. (I'm probably bragging a bit here but my first visit to the Math Forum was when they were housed in a small house on the Swarthmore campus.) My personal interactions with the Math Forum staff have made a deep impression on me and on my teaching. My most profound lesson was the lesson I learned about learners. The Math Forum staff  have an unequivocal, unshakeable faith in the learner's ability to learn. While I hear this sentiment voiced quite often, I deeply, deeply felt it when learning with the Math Forum staff. I now feel it deeply myself. Because I feel this way, my students and their families feel this way - they have told me so. This alone has contributed to the joy I feel as a teacher. While the sentiment had already resonated with the teacher that I was, I credit the Math Forum staff for helping me see it so plainly.

The Math Forum contributes to mathematics teaching and learning in many more ways than this but I wanted to share my personal story with you. I hope to show you how much the Math Forum meant to one teacher and his students. Multiply this influence by the thousands (teachers) and then multiply that by the average number of students raised to the average number of years teaching and you get a very big number. 

Please do your best to help NCTM and the Math Forum bridge their divide. I know there are problems. But many problems can be solved by creative thinkers who put in the time and effort necessary to solve them. Please try. Feel free to call upon me or anyone else in the online math community for help.

Sincerely,
Seth Leavitt