Vern S. Williams

Vern Williams is a mathematics teacher at BASIS Independent McLean in McLean, Virginia. In 2007, Williams was one of 17 experts appointed by the George W. Bush administration to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, and was the only member of the panel that was a practicing K-12 teacher. He decries the use of "fuzzy math" and believes that math textbooks have been "dumbed down" for students who dislike math.[1] [2]

For the bluegrass musician, see Vern Williams.
Vern Williams
Vern Williams at Longfellow Middle School in 2014
Born (1949-06-09) June 9, 1949
Washington, D.C.
OccupationMath teacher

History

Williams was born on June 9, 1949, in Washington, D.C. He attended Paul Junior High School, Coolidge High School, and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1972 with a BS in math education.[3][4] Williams first taught at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, Virginia. He then taught for 7 years at Glasgow Middle School. Williams later transferred to Longfellow Middle School, and then to BASIS Independent McLean in 2016, where he teaches currently.[4]

Views on math

Williams is a strong believer in the eradication of "fuzzy math" and is a self-proclaimed teacher of "real math."[4] He is strongly against math fads, which he believes "have taken the math out of mathematics and replaced it with calculators, watered down content and picture books."[5] Williams also believes that teachers need free rein to create curriculums in order to teach successfully, and that "politicians, researchers, special interest groups, school system bureaucracies, [and] unions" shouldn't attempt to control what a teacher is allowed to teach.[6] However, Williams receives some criticism for his more traditional views, and has been called an "anti-progressive" and a "radical" by some opponents.[7]

Achievements/Recognition
  • Williams was one of 17 experts in the country appointed to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel by the Bush administration.[3]
  • He has been called by the Washington Post "one of the best math teachers in the country."[1]
  • Williams has received 2 national awards from the Mathematics Association of America for distinguished teaching.[3]
  • Williams coached the Longfellow MathCounts team for 14 years. Under his lead, the team earned awards at regional, state, and national levels of competition.[5]

References
  1. Jay Mathews, Washington Post. "Is America's best high school soft on math?" <https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/27/AR2011022704827.html>
  2. "Teaching Faculty – Vern Williams". mclean.basisindependent.com. BASIS Independent McLean. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  3. National Mathematics Advisory Panel. "Biography of Mr. Vern Williams" <"Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)>
  4. Noah Davis, Pacific Standard. "What Makes You So Smart, Middle School Math Teacher?"<https://psmag.com/social-justice/makes-smart-middle-school-math-teacher-92896>
  5. Vern Williams, Math Reasoning. <http://www.mathreasoning.com>
  6. Vern Williams, New York Times. "Let Us Teach!" <https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/27/how-to-raise-the-status-of-teachers/let-us-teach>
  7. Michael Paul Goldenberg, Rational Math Education (blog). "See How They Run, Like Pigs From A Gun...: Vern Williams and the NMP Report" <http://rationalmathed.blogspot.com/2009/05/see-how-they-run-like-pigs-from-gun.html>
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