April/May 2010 - Department of Mathematics - University of ...

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�ust as in sports, good coaches are important in mathematics.
Talented and dedicated mathematics teachers
build a school’s consistently high placement in mathematics
competitions. Although winning sports coaches are
remembered and celebrated, in mathematics competitions
the awards and recognition tend to go to the students
and not to the teachers. One such teacher was Edyth May
Sli� e, who taught at Emery High School in Emeryville,
California. Following her graduation from the University
of Oregon with a major in music, she moved to California
and enrolled in several mathematics courses at the
University of California at Berkeley, then went to Emery,
where she taught for 36 years until her retirement in 1962.
In 1978 Edyth Sli� e contacted Kenneth Rebman, then-
Governor of the Northern California Section of the MAA.
Miss Sli� e wanted to make a bequest to the MAA to present
awards to high school mathematics teachers whose
teams score high on the American High School Mathematics
Examination (AHSME), now called the AMC 12.
While her students had always done well on that examination
and received various honors, she had never received
any recognition. She believed that teachers should also
receive an award for their consistent accomplishments.
Rebman contacted Henry Alder, then MAA President. After
meeting with Alder, Edyth Sli� e arranged for the MAA
to administer a trust used annually to recognize 20 mathematics
teachers behind the success of the highest scoring school teams on
the AHSME.
Following Sli� e’s death in 1988, MAA President Leonard Gillman
appointed the Edyth May Sli� e Awards Committee to advise the
MAA on how to administer the trust and make the awards. � e
annual “Edyth May Sli� e Awards for Distinguished High School
Mathematics Teaching” now recognizes the excellence of teachers
responsible for the success of the highest scoring teams. Beginning
with the 1989 AHSME, approximately 20 teachers have received
this honor each year, selected from the top 60 United States and
Canadian schools on the basis of nominations received from students
at these schools. Consistent with the philosophy of recognizing
distinguished teaching, in 1995 the Sli� e Award committee recommended
the MAA extend the award to middle school teachers.
� e criteria for the selection of the award winners are based on the
school’s scores on the AMC 8 (called the AJHSME before 2000).
� e MAA maintains all the information related to the Sli� e Award
at ������������������
, under the link “Sli� e Award.” One can � nd
the history of the award, a complete listing of past award winners,
photos of the award winners and the ceremonies that honor them,
and the current nomination and award rules and guidelines.
In January 2010, the MAA announced the newest middle school
recipients of the Sli� e Award, based on the results of the 2009
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AMC 8 contest held in November 2009. In summer 2009, the
MAA announced the high school Sli� e Award winners based
on results from the 2009 AMC 12 contests held in February
2009.
� e most recent group of 2009 middle-school Sli� e winners
were asked about their teaching techniques. While this is not
a scienti� c survey, it does give a glimpse into the classrooms
of teachers whose students excel at solving challenging math
problems. MAA might even � nd that these techniques have
implications for the college classroom:
Lydie Labaudinière of � e Sage School in Foxboro, MA
practices intensely with her students: “� roughout the year,
I supplement the classroom curriculum with competition
problems. However, it is in November, a� er two months of
school, when things become more serious. We usually take
a four-day break from the curriculum and start practicing
for the AMC 8. Students do one or two practices over the
weekend, which we correct on Monday, and take another two
or three as homework with unlimited time. It is important to
be exposed to a large variety of problems because they are all
worth solving… many students struggle, but they rise to the
challenge and admit that it is interesting and fun. � ey are
eager to check their answers, discuss strategies with the class,
and track their scores…”
Chris Collins of St. Paul Academy and Summit School in St.
Paul MN says “I like to use these problems to start a topic