Children shall know what lies at the heart of genuine mathematical science: the Lectures on the logic of arithmetic (1903) by Mary Everest Boole

In her Lectures on the logic of arithmetic (1903), Mary Ever- est Boole (1832-1916) claimed the need for a higher point of view on primary conceptions of arithmetic. She overcame the idea of a mere practical training with numbers, con- sisting of the acquisition of proce- dures, and aimed instead at devel- oping mathematical imagination as a cornerstone of the preparation of the child for science. She drew in- spiration from the current research on the origin of mankind to de- velop fictional stories to disclose the human roots of arithmetic. She proposed to introduce children to key underlying conceptions such as decomposition and negation. A fascinating universe is disclosed to children in the sample lessons pre- sented in the book, in an environ- ment of joy, play, and humor, and of eager mathematical talk between the teacher and the child/the class. Her contribution shows the poten- tial impact of the transformation of mathematics in the second half of the 19th century, and in particular British algebra and logic, on teaching arithmetic and on the mathematical education for the multitude.