In the next 5-10 years, we will write a series of new math textbooks, "Free Asian Math," for students in grades 6-9 in America. The books are not for competition math or "Asian American nerds"; they are just for typical students who aspire to learn math but are hopelessly trapped in America's watered-down school math.

While not without their fair shares of problems, math education systems in many Asian countries have been highly successful. And they share some common traits: (1) concise textbooks with carefully balanced rigor; (2) sufficient exercises of varying degrees of difficulty; (3) well-trained and well-compensated math education workforces; and (4) very positive and supportive societal attitudes toward math education. America has none. How can America, then, compete in the future in a knowledge-based economy?

We are Asian Americans who were trained in our homelands but have spent our most productive years in this beloved new country. We have a chip on our shoulders when witnessing American students—our own kids included—go through a dysfunctional system. We have decided to offer Asian math education to American students as a free alternative.

Our books will be downloadable and printable, and we will teach Free Asian Math to any student in the nation on YouTube Live Streaming (with full recordings), all for free.

Despite the folklore that American kids are bad at math, and unlike nearly all math textbooks used in this country, our books will pursue high standards; after all, math is about rigor. With Chinese textbooks before 2000 (they have since incorporated many "advanced American initiatives," ironically and sadly) as a proven model carrying an undeniable Russian heritage, we will stick to the following guidelines:

- "Kiselev himself formulated the following three key virtues of good (math) textbooks: precision, simplicity, conciseness." - Prof. Alex Givental, Math Dept., UC Berkeley

- "Five fundamental principles of mathematics:

(1) Precise definitions are essential.

(2) Every statement must be supported by mathematical reasoning.

(3) Mathematical statements are precise.

(4) Mathematics is coherent.

(5) Mathematics is purposeful." - Prof. Hung-Hsi (Hongxi) Wu, Math Dept., UC Berkeley

To pursue cohesion as a sacred goal, classic Euclidean geometry will restore its traditional attention because of its intense interaction with algebra and profound impact on mathematics as a whole. Kiselev's Geometry, a Russian classic and faithful follower of Elements, is wonderful and historically influenced generations of Chinese textbooks. We will adopt and adapt many topics in Kiselev and its progenies, and make geometry's interaction with algebra more explicit.

For algebra, we will cover quadratic equations, logarithm, and functions. Yes, even for algebra, we will teach how to write proofs, and of course that will be the core in studying geometry. We envision that our dual introduction of real numbers via both algebra and geometry will be a first in math education. We will calibrate the timings of the two so that mathematical cohesion speaks for itself and students can appreciate math as one beautiful and unified subject.

Doing all exercise problems is the single most important thing in studying Free Asian Math. For students, taking lectures and reading textbooks only constitute 20-30% of their work, and the rest lies in doing well-chosen problems that not only train them on basic skills, but also stimulate them for deep mathematical thinking.

A cancer in American math education is that few schools, if any at all, have resources to grade students' homework. That renders doing math homework pretty much meaningless. We cannot cure this disease, but nevertheless want to contain it. As such, we will generate YouTube video solutions for all exercise problems in Free Asian Math, and hope they can serve as the next best alternative to human grading. We hope students will at least have something to resort to when wanting to check their own work.

To level the ground and ensure that beginning sixth graders can study Free Asian Math, which is admittedly harder than their school math, we need a "catch-up year" to prepare many students who otherwise would not be ready. From September, 2022 to May, 2023, we offer a free 30-week program (two free lectures per week) to any 5th grader in the nation to cover the following:

(1) A formal introduction of the real axis. Based on the real axis, we will revisit, review, and re-interpret whole numbers and their arithmetic operations, all with reasonable rigor.

(2) Studying some rudimentary number theory: divisibility, GCD, and LCM.

(3) Studying fractions (and decimal fractions as a special case), following the path outlined in Prof. Hung-Hsi Wu's “Understanding Numbers in Elementary School Mathematics”.

(4) Studying many word problems with only arithmetic methods (with a plan to revisit them with algebraic methods in the 6th grade).

The "catch-up year" schedule for 2022-2023 5th-graders is here.

Any interested parents can join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/freeasianmath, which will be the primary channel of communication for anything related to the Free Asian Math project.