I was saddened to learn the news of Tony’s passing. 

I’ve been reading as much of his work and watching as many of his presentations online as I could get my hands on over the past few years. His words could frame a way of thinking about matters that were clear, concise and insightful. For instance, his insistence on teaching using ‘forwards facing’ methods. He illuminated my thinking in talking about how primary school was about learning arithmetic and mastering base 10, whereas secondary was moving to the abstract and working in base x.

When I was working with Mark McCourt at La Salle, my first ‘job’ was to read the Excellent ‘Teaching Mathematics at Secondary Level’.  I remember taking 3 long train journeys in 3 days. Glasgow to Leeds, then Middlesbrough, then back to Glasgow. Over that time I read the book cover to cover and took many notes. He was a mathematician who was deeply interested in education. That shone through in his rigorous and analytical approach. His instance on a mathematically pure, axiomatic approach is imprinted in my mind. The additive inverse is now common language in our first year classes.

His books such as alpha, beta, gamma and the excellent mathematical challenges have been staples on my shelves for years, and I’ve used them regularly, even before I was aware who he was.

He didn’t belong to a ‘camp’. He was unique and stood alone in the maths education community. I had the pleasure of interviewing him when writing my book a few years ago. In fact, it felt more like I was the one being interrogated at the beginning. He told me writing a book on tasks was a waste of time and that I should have been focusing on curriculum. He then spoke for almost 2 hours. Much of what he said was so controversial it was unprintable. I included a long quote form him, which explained, within my book, why the book was pointless. As Mark told me, Tony would have hated my book. I talked for 300 pages about tasks, but didn’t properly elaborate on how they are the bedrock of curriculum. 20 pages on the idea, didn’t cut it. While I think there is merit in the book, I’ve come to the conclusion over the past few years that Tony, as he frequently was, was right. It’s curriculum that’s key. And like Tony, I feel like almost everyone has got it wrong. We certainly do in Scotland.

We need more voices who aren’t afraid to stand alone.

Rest in peace Tony.