Dubbed "The Human Calculator," American Math Challenge Ambassador Scott Flansburg is on a mission to change the way kids around the world think about math. Able to perform math functions with accuracy at dizzying speed, bestselling author and Guinness World Record Holder Flansburg has spent more than 20 years debunking the myth that some people are not "math people."
"Most kids get off on the wrong foot when it comes to math," Flansburg noted. "We're reaching out to all students to inspire them to build 'number sense' and to be more comfortable with math. The American Math Challenge helps all kids and parents overcome their math anxieties while having fun learning through the online competition."
The American Math Challenge, jointly sponsored by the education nonprofit MATHCOUNTS Foundation and Voyager , an intervention company exclusively focused on math, reading, and professional development, invites U.S. private and public schools, homeschoolers and individual school-aged students to sign up on October 4 at www.americanmathchallenge.com. Registration for the American Math Challenge 2010 will close on October 22 after an October 18 "practice competition week" open to all registrants.
Winners of the American Math Challenge 2010 will receive a variety of prizes and recognition. The Top 5 students will be selected to represent the USA Team in World Math Day, taking place next in March 2011. The highest-scoring student will be declared "American Math Champion" and will earn an iPad and a Gold Medal. The second- and third-place students will win a medal and an iPod Nano. Additionally, the Top 25 students will receive a printed certificate and an iPod Shuffle.
As the Ambassador for the American Math Challenge 2010, Flansburg will visit and present to the Top 3 scoring registered schools and will see that the Top 3 classes receive a specially engraved trophy.
"In 2009, the American Math Challenge garnered more than 70,000 participants with an overall average improvement of 24 percent," said Flansburg. "This year, before registration officially opened, the Challenge already has 50,000 pre-registrants. We aim to set records for 2010, to convert all U.S. school-aged students into feeling like 'math people.'"
