The math department is replacing some old textbooks with new ones. The teachers are planning to buy three new books, one for Algebra 2/Trigonometry H (previously known as Algebra 2/Precalculus) and Trigonometry/ Analysis, one for Introduction to Analysis and Calculus (IAC) and Analysis H and a second one for Analysis.

The textbooks that the school uses right now are 10 years old and the increase in the number of students requires a larger number of textbooks, which cannot be attained if the school is still using the old textbooks. Most of the old ones are now out of print and are very difficult to find, according to math teacher and Instructional Supervisor Jeanne Beck.

A committee of five teachers, four parents and two seniors is responsible for looking over the textbooks and finding the best ones. “We are looking to change some textbooks, but not the basic math curriculum,” committee member and parent Vijay Gupta said. “However, changing a textbook might mean that some math topics, say, vectors or matrices, get a somewhat broader or deeper coverage than before.”

The school board has already approved the proposal to replace the existing textbooks. “The school gets money for core classes and I have estimated a dollar amount and have gotten it approved by the principal,” Beck said.

To get an idea of the types of books that would be appropriate for these classes, Beck first talked to various representatives from schools around the nation like Lynbrook and Monta Vista about the types of books that their math departments are using. Then she ordered samples from publishers and narrowed the selection down to a few to be evaluated by the committee members.

While part of the plan is to enrich mathematical knowledge, Beck hopes to make sure that the sophomore and junior classes help students understand and remember the concepts required for calculus, which most students take as seniors. “State law says that we must have a textbook for each student that has gone through a selection process, and the pamphlets used in Analysis had not gone through that process,” she said. Beck is looking for a supplemental textbook that can cover topics like matrices, proofs and sequences.

However, a few are not convinced that adopting a new textbook will make for a better course. “The goal should be to find a textbook which will improve the experience for our students,” Analysis teacher Peter Herreshoff said. “The last time we organized a textbook committee for Analysis we could not find a textbook which did what we wanted. Instead, we assembled a variety of texts from different sources which we could, and did, produce as pamphlets.”

Herreshoff feels that a few of the subjects that students study in Analysis are unique to this class and should remain so. “The curriculum here doesn’t fit in with textbooks because the 11th grade curriculum is typically taught in 10th here,” Herreshoff said. “So we are looking for some other experiences that students could have that would allow them to mature mathematically—a few which feed directly into next year’s calculus and a few which don’t.”

However, committee members are excited at this opportunity and hope that the new system will make students’ lives easier. “I’m not kidding when I say this but I’m really into math,” senior Ian Barnett said. “I consider myself a very strong math student, and I think that the pace I’m going is right for me and I’m getting a good understanding. I want other students at Gunn to have the same experience that I have had, so when I got asked to help, I was like, ‘This is perfect.’”

Right now, the choice of textbooks has been narrowed down to six for Algebra 2/ Trigonometry and Trigonometry/Analysis and seven for IAC and Analysis. There are three supplemental Analysis books to choose from. The committee will use a criteria sheet that has been compiled by all of the math teachers to decide which textbook is best. Beck hopes to decide on the three textbooks by the end of March so that they can be presented at the April school board meeting. She added that with the number of textbooks that the school will be ordering, it would be nice to have them ordered by the end of the school year so that they can be delivered by the start of next year.