Meet Bridges Author Raven Deerwater!

The following message from Raven Deerwater, one of the co-authors of  Bridges grade 4 and 5, is excerpted from his original application letter. At the time, his own daughter was in 4th grade.

Dear Bridges teachers,

I first started to write reformed Standards-Based curriculum in 1985 when I began as an author and editor for the University of Chicago School Mathematic Project (UCSMP). By the time I received my Ph.D. at The University of Chicago, I was a listed author on the Algebra and Geometry textbooks (under the name Daniel B. Hirschhorn).

I continued working for UCSMP during the time I was a professor at Illinois State University. It was at ISU where I began working more directly with elementary curricula and teachers, mostly by teaching mathematics content and teaching classes to preservice K-8 teachers. Later, I supervised student teachers and did inservice presentations and workshops for current elementary teachers.

After moving to California, I set up my own tax business as it utilized my strength of explaining technical material to an anxious audience. As a supplement to the tax business, I have done freelance work in school mathematics writing.

My educational philosophy is based on a rather simple tenet: The core of learning at the schools is in the interaction between student and teacher in the classroom. The best educational results occur when a professional, knowledgeable, motivated, and enthusiastic teacher interacts with students who are engaged in classroom tasks and ready to learn. Well-designed curricular materials will foster this interaction by providing the teacher with exciting activities to share and sparking the students into engagement with them.

My philosophy on school mathematics is that it needs to provide students with a sense of the power, wonder, and energy of mathematics. Mathematics itself is so interesting and intriguing and mysterious and useful. When students find some piece of mathematics that they can hook into and make use of, they are given not only a sense of power but a gift of communication with others and those who have come before them. Well-designed curricular materials in mathematics give students a vision of the context of mathematics in our world, not just inside the classroom walls.

Sincerely,
Raven

These days, Raven says...

I am still doing both math and taxes (much better than death and taxes) in Mendocino. My oldest daughter Lilly is completing her sophomore year at Vassar and my youngest, Raina, her junior year at the Mendocino Community High School. For fun, I play trumpet with the Mendocino Coast Brass Ensemble, and I act with the Mendocino Theatre Company. For torture and exhilaration, I am a fan of the San Francisco Giants (pictured with World Series trophy).