My name is Linda Shardlow. I have been teaching mathematics at secondary levels in Victorian schools for nearly 30 years.

This blog will hopefully provide a forum for not only my own thoughts and ideas on mathematics education in a Y7 to 12 Australian context (the ‘first person’ of the title) but also a smorgasbord of ideas from others involved in mathematics education (’secondhand’) and another place in which issues specifically pertaining to mathematics education can be explored in some depth (yes…the ‘third dimension’)

‘We build our technologies as a way of addressing all our anxieties and desires. They are our passions congealed into these prosthetic extensions of ourselves. And they do it in a way that reflects what we dream ourselves capable of doing’ (Richard Powers; as quoted by John Freeman in his article in The Weekend Australian, Powers that Be, of December 24 and 25, 2006)

Quoting from Richard Reeve’s article on the philosopher John Stuart Mill in The Weekend Australian Financial Times 1/1/07:

“…progress depends on truth…[and] truth is most likely to emerge from a constant collision of opinions”

So, I hope that this blog, at best, reflects what we as educators dream ourselves capable of doing in our classrooms and engenders a dialogue (if only with myself) about education in order to always strive towards improving mathematics teaching and learning. 

The posts and opinions contained therein on this blog are mine alone and do not represent those of any other body.