To see my thoughts on this topic from the beginning of the semester, you can read my blog posts here, here, and here. Originally, I began by answering the question "what is mathematics?" I maintain that it is difficult to give a succinct definition. Mathematics is complex. Mathematics is a way to explain the phenomena and patterns of the world. Mathematics is counting and relating objects. Mathematics is a language. All in all, mathematics is something that we all need in order to grapple with the world around us in a truly productive way. It is possible to navigate the world without it, but having mathematics in your back pocket unlocks so much more potential for discovery, innovation, and fun! The first time around, I talked about Gutiérrez's 2018 piece about rehumanizing mathematics and Rubel's 2016 about gender in mathematics. Now, I am also thinking about the idea of "not being a math person." I read this Twitter thread and discussion a few days ago, and it made me feel so defeated. Students are consistently bombarded with messaging that they don't need math in their lives or math does not belong in their lives (or perhaps, they do not belong in math's life). Sure, some students will buy into mathematics from the get-go because they're interested or they have believed those who have told them it is valuable and will get them far, but for the most part, students need a reason to want to learn math. So a key to teaching mathematics is to teach why mathematics. Students need to see themselves in math, see themselves using math. Gutiérrez describes this as a mirror, as opposed to a window where students only see others doing mathematics. In developing my Bitmoji classroom for Practicum, I found a bunch of posters of women and POC in mathematics who have had major accomplishments, and I mentioned wanting to hang them in my room. The ultimate goal is to cycle them every once in a while so that students can see a wide variety of people like them, and even one day incorporate a project where students research a mathematician that they see themselves in. Many of these mathematicians that I would consider are present in Williams' Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics (2020), which I will reference more in later posts! My Bitmoji classroom, complete with mathematician posters and other things for students to see themselves in, such as college resources and a pride flag, can be found here. In the virtual space, the posters are linked directly to the Wikipedia page for each mathematician, so students do not have to go to any trouble to find out just what they were all about. Beyond making sure mathematicians of all backgrounds are represented in a professional context, I need to show students that they are in the math in everyday contexts. Rubel (2016) specifically tackles the gender/sexuality bias in traditional math questions, though it of course goes beyond gender in traditional questioning. We need a new age of mathematics questions, where binaries are not represented by a (gender) binary that we are all destroying every day, many of us by simply existing. The more we eliminate these biases in our problem sets and class materials, the more equitable we become, and all without much effort! Plus, it opens up a great opportunity to bring our students' interests and names directly into our lines of questioning. Bringing these identities into the classroom and my teaching is addressed more in my response to essential question 5, which you can read here.
Thinking specifically about equity and justice, instructional decisions like tracking and allowing dominant voices in the classroom work against those goals. Tracks in schools allow for disparities to flourish. Students understand that they are thought of as lesser, and teachers often find themselves in a deficit mindset when teaching these lower tracks. All of these factors combine into students being separated for being lower and then continuing to struggle because they are only being treated as such. It turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy and further disparities, which disproportionately affect students of color. These ideas about tracking are discussed in more depth in NCTM's Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics: Initiating Critical Conversations (2018), but my general takeaway is that fighting against tracking actually serves students better in the long run. When tracking cannot yet be defeated, it's important that I strive to equalize the tracking system by pushing for quality teaching of lower tracks, where the least experienced and most deficit-minded teachers are often placed.
Anti-racist, justice-oriented math can also look like the wonderful teachings of Mr. C in Aguirre, Mayfield-Ingram, and Martin (2013). In that piece, I saw inspiration in Mr. C's lesson, where he was able to take specific experiences in his students' lives that were unjust and discriminatory, teach them how to use mathematics to combat it, and turn that into his lessons. Justice-oriented math is exactly that: using math to seek justice. Putting this in the hands of students can absolutely change the world, and it is a wonderful way to address citizenship across content areas by working it into the math classroom and the social studies classroom. Not only is this math justice-oriented, but it also brings in student identity and helps students see themselves in mathematics and what they can do with mathematics, which is explored further, once again, in essential question 5, found here.
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