H. Martyn Cundy

Reading the obituary of Martyn Cundy [by Geoffrey Howson, 8 March], I was immediately taken back to a lecture at the University of Ghana in 1970, writes Katharine M. Dobson.

Reading the obituary of Martyn Cundy [by Geoffrey Howson, 8 March], I was immediately taken back to a lecture at the University of Ghana in 1970, writes Katharine M. Dobson. Martyn had come from Malawi to help adapt SMP texts for use in West African schools - the Sixth Form West Africa Maths Project ("Swamp" - also locally known as "changing potatoes into yams"). An example that I took from that lecture I used for the rest of my teaching career: Martyn drew part of a parabola on the blackboard, stood at the side and threw his chalk so that it traced the path of the parabola. He advised practice first, but it was surprisingly easy and a very effective way to teach the path of a projectile. He was a classroom teacher through and through.