Book review: The first century of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction

Abstract

The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) celebrated the centennial of its foundation in March 2008. For the occasion, an anniversary symposium, the ICMI Centennial in Rome, was organized. The symposium was held at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome where the foundation event had occurred a hundred years ago. The book reviewed here publishes the texts of the presentations given at the symposium. It takes the form of proceedings that follow the structure of the meeting's program but can also be considered a work dedicated to the activity of the ICMI during its hundred years of existence. The text is organized as a series of chapters by different authors that tackle different facets of this unifying topic. The text begins with a brief introduction to the symposium, provides some information about it, and lists some questions that characterize the symposium's context and goals and the development of the event. It also provides the address of the new ICMI website and gives information about the presence of the symposium on the web http://www.unige.ch/ math/EnsMath/Rome2008/.1 The past, present, and future of the ICMI are three axes that articulate the structure of this book and serve to analyze some of the principal themes connected to the Commission's activity; themes that the editors indicate in their introduction. Following the introduction, the book is organized into three main sections: plenary lectures, short talks, and working groups and panel discussions. Five of the plenary lecture chapters have two parts: presentation and reaction. These chapters alternate historical reflection on the proposal and discussion of the topical problems that the ICMI has worked on along with the considerable tensions created by any lack of balance concerning their