Around 200 people took part in the public event “What if children liked Math?”, promoted by O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil, on June 9th, in Porto Alegre-RS. Teachers, students, education institution representatives and those interested in Math were present at the Everest Porto Alegre hotel to learn more about the project’s approach. The event took place during a training workshop for 50 O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil educators from five regions of the country, held from June 6th to 10th.
Instituto TIM representative, Sergio Brasilis, and Porto Alegre municipal secretary of Education, Cleci Jurach, welcomed the group of participants. Teachers Bob and Ellen Kaplan, creators of The Math Circle approach, were unable to participate due to health reasons, but insisted in taking part via video conference and sent a message to participants, which was later read by economist Flávio Comim. The Math Circle was presented by the editor of the American Math Association and professor of Carleton College (United States), Stephen Kennedy. Through an interactive and entertaining approach, Stephen conducted the workshop and invited the public to do a few exercises in order to experience Círculo classes.
To close the event, three teachers were awarded for their performance and team leadership in 2014 as part of O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil. Secretary Cleci Jurach and Sergio Brasilis once again took to the stage to hand over the awards, accompanied by Mauricio Rosa, director of the Brazilian Math Education Society – RS Regional Office. The winners of the 2nd edition of the Instituto TIM – O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil Award were Janaína Rodrigues de Almeida, from São Paulo-SP, Manoel Araújo Junior, from Belém-PA, and Samanta Stein da Silva, from Porto Alegre, who will now travel to the United States to represent O Círculo da Matemática do Brasil at the 8th edition of the Math Circle Summer Teacher Training Institute. The event will run from July 5th to 11th at the University of Notre Dame and will feature demonstrations, practical sessions and discussions about the approach.
