The Education of Atawe. Indigenous Mathematics Project. Working Paper 16.

This is the story of how one man, Atawe, born in the remote village of Wiyava in the Eastern Highlands of (Papua) New Guinea in the mid-1950's has increasingly immersed himself in a lifestyle which, even just a few years before he was born, was completely unknown to his people. His story is traced as he progressed from a village where the language did not have names for numbers to the position of tutor in mathematics at a university. The culture of the Baruya peoples is first described. Atawe's preschool years are sketched, followed by his education at mission primary, boarding, and high schools: he was one of three children who were the first from the Baruya people ever to begin secondary education. He entered a teacher's college, then transferred to the university. He was appointed a tutor at the University of Technology, which enabled him to continue with higher mathematical studies. The report closes with some reflections on education in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. Instruction in an unfamiliar language, mathematical concepts without relevance in traditional life, and sophisticated syllabuses are discussed. (MNS)