2019: The Summer of Math Recess
I got married in 1997. I know it was hardly romantic, but in 1996, in a friend’s backyard, I kicked my soon-to-be wife under a picnic bench — as she was about to bite into a hamburger — and said “Do you want to get married next summer in Greece?”
After a small choking episode, she gave an expression of shock and happiness.
I chose Greece because I wanted a small wedding, and many of my friends are Greek, and I knew at least a few of them might show up. The intention was to get married in a city hall office in Santorini, Greece. And, then just vacation/honeymoon around that. The whole cost for the 2 week odyssey, back then, was around $5000.
It was still a tight wedding budget. My first full-time high school teaching job would not transpire until 1998(I was a contract community college teacher from 1994 until that time).
So, you might be asking, nice story…umm…but what does this have to do with the book “Math Recess”?
Well, allow me to finish my wedding story…
When we got to Santorini, we enquired with our hotel owner, Thanassis, where the mayor’s office was(we had done all the required paper work back in Canada, and just needed some official signatures). He told us the address of the office in the town of Fira. But, he suggested that we ask the mayor to come to the hotel and marry us at the hotel.
We didn’t plan on having an ceremony. I had a suit and my wife had a wedding dress, but we brought that for a civic ceremony inside a building.
We did not plan on getting married on this veranda…
The mayor checked his schedule. July 27 was open. The very next day after visiting the mayor’s office, the veranda that we would eventually get married on was being completely repainted to prepare for the wedding that we were no longer planning.
It was being painted by the owner, Thanassis. He spent almost four hours in the early morning sun preparing the terrace for us. He bought a cake and provided champagne for all the guests — 7 family members and friends. He and the mayor were the ones that knew what the best time for the wedding ceremony would be for pictures. Around dusk.
We just stood back, eternally grateful for strangers to show their generosity and kindness.
22 summers later, a very similar generosity graced a book that I co-wrote with Chris Brownell from California. A rather large slow chat for the book — over 400 people signed up — was organized by Beth Maniaci and Margie Pearse.
Strangers.
There was also volunteers to help with the moderation — Dee Cresticelli, Deidra Baker, Sue Looney, and Heidi Allum.
Friends.
Heidi Allum was kind enough to create a Google Doc for the entire book, a massive undertaking.
Giving one’s time, freely and unsolicited, to support your work and endeavors, to color your creation with the contribution from others…that is essence of kindness that marks and permanently tattoos the joyful experiences of our lives. And, already overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from the math community for our book, Mary Kemper voluntarily did sketch notes — for every chapter.
Mary also recently put in a proposal for NCSM 2020 about Leadership and Kindness. She not only walks the walk, but that walk is a bloody lifetime marathon of good deeds, sharing, grace, and kindness.
While all the sketch notes left us breathless, the final one had a strong emotional pull of a black and white world map with words from the last chapter pulled and put in the background. I interpreted that complete change in design and the colorless element as a narrative of the future of math education to be colored in by us.
The book has traveled well this summer. People have taken the book to various beaches/waters of the world — from the Virgin Islands to Cozumel to cottages to yes, even, Greece.
Look at the final words. For me, and for Chris, everything in the book is pinned on them. So, it is fitting to share one final image from the hundreds that appeared on Twitter this summer.
Thank you, strangers(but no longer) and friends, for showing so much collective kindness and making me fondly remember when it was given to me a long time ago on my wedding day.
Kindness might be random, but it intentionally gives meaning and purpose to our lives.
