The Herald and News – Staff Writer 
Why do we study math? Harouni didn’t always spend his days studying antique math curricula and century-old textbooks. He used to be an elementary school teacher in Cambridge Public Schools. It was there that his math students started asking that all-too-familiar question: Why? Instead of offering the easy answer — Because math is good for you! — Harouni promised them a real answer. And that required that he do some homework of his own. A lot of it. His research led him to Harvard, where he now lectures at the Graduate School of Education, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where he is writing a book on math education.(more)