Math That Matters
•Is mathematics 'neutral', or is it connected with social/ environmental justice?
Math may be "neutral" from a certain standpoint (there isn't a lot of room for subjectivity when doing computations) but the way math is used in the real world isn't neutral. Math is a useful tool for trying to understand real world issues. Without this tool, it is more difficult to figure out what problems exist as well as how to solve these problems.
•What are your ideas about the author's intentions in writing this textbook?
I think the issue of having your students wonder how math applies to their real lives is a very common problem for math teachers. I really like how the author takes this idea of bringing math into the real world and adds on the element of social justice education. It isn't just about bringing math applications into students' lives, it's about doing so in a way that actually matters. It also serves the dual purpose of teaching students about social justice while simultaneously teaching them math. Since most students don't have a class specifically about social justice, I think it is important for all different kinds of teachers to find some way to include these important lessons.
•Can these ideas from middle school math inspire teaching ideas for your secondary math classes?
I think it would be very easy to adapt these ideas for secondary math classes. It might even be easier/more important to bring these types of examples into a secondary math class as older students may be more prepared/more willing to discuss these types of issues. Because older students have more autonomy and are forced to make more important decisions, learning about these issues may be even more important.
•Are there topics in mathematics that are more or less possible to connect with social justice issues?
There are probably some topic in math in which it is more clear how you could connect them to social justice issues. However, I think it is probably possible to connect pretty much every mathematical topic to social justice issues in some way if you exercise a little creativity.
Good commentary. By the way, I had to highlight this entry to read it! Please check the formatting so that it is more easily legible.
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