A Required Reading Program for Mathematics Majors

Brabenec reports that at Wheaton College there is (or was, in 1987) a requirement for math majors to read 16 articles or book chapters selected from a list of options, in order to encourage engagement with the literature beyond the assigned course texts.

This seems like a splendid idea. It is too easy for students, upon graduation, to totally disengage from the discipline, if the only interaction they had was the assigned textbooks. If it is possible to encourage a habit of reading–especially briefer works, which can more easily be fit into any schedule–then students might keep up somewhat after graduation, no matter what they go on to do.