My friends,
I want to say thank you and goodbye for now. I’m taking a break from adult education for the rest of this year. I’ll be traveling and exploring other interests for a while. Starting in May 2025, my wife Alex and I will be biking from Vancouver, CA to San Diego. I’ll be posting photos and stories from the road at @eappleton on Instagram and birdfruit.wordpress.com.
I’m passing the organizing torch to three wonderful educators who will be coordinating our math teacher circle meetings: Aren Lew (Massachusetts), Amy Vickers (Wisconsin), and Mark Trushkowsky (Minnesota). Reach out with questions and feedback.
If you’re looking for connections with other math teachers in adult education, I highly recommend joining the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN) as a member. I have had to incredible good fortune to make math friends across the country. I hope you will join them at https://adultnumeracynetwork.org/Membership. A mere $30/year will get a newsletter three times yearly, access to online events, and a connection to a national community of people dedicated to improving math education for adults.
I also wanted to share this short documentary about Martin Gardner, a mathematics and science writer who inspired many people to become interested in math through the puzzles, games, and problems he shared with the world through his columns and books. We certainly have been inspired by him, even if it was often second or third-hand.
Best wishes to all!
-Eric
