I'm a part of the Social Justice Math group, so if you see some overlap between our documents, there's good reason: We're using google docs to brainstorm ideas relating to social justice math, to pinpoint a main topic question, to isolate queries for students and teachers, and to unpack the whole kit and kaboodle.
As of 1:27 pm this Monday, March 30, here is a brief sketch of things and where they stand:
TOPIC QUESTION:
Can social justice math (sjm) be an effective teaching method in urban school districts?
SUBTOPICS:
1. Using actual data or statistics, what can educators infer from sjm's implementation in the classroom?
2. Is sjm an effective form of teaching?
3. To gauge its effectiveness:
Does it raise student motivation and achievement?
What data illustrates/refutes this claim?
Which school districts employ sjm in the classroom?
4. Why do some districts choose not to employ sjm?
5. How do teachers feel toward using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can it help students deal with standardized testing?
QUALITATIVE DATA
1. Interview questions:
Tentative candidates for interview: Eliza Leszczynski, Brian Miller, Rick McNamee
Also possible: Math teachers or administrators from these high schools in NYC:
Harvey Milk HS (East Village)
New York City Algebra Project (Brooklyn)
Acorn High School for Social Justice (Brooklyn)
Bushwick School for Social Justice (Brooklyn)
Possible interview questions include:
1. How would you summarize the basic purpose behind social justice math (sjm)? What aspects of sjm are most important? Why? What to you are essential criteria for effective instruction using sjm?
2. What is your assessment of sjm? How do your peers in teaching view sjm? How do administrators (super-intendants, principals) in your experience view sjm?
3. Do you currently use sjm in your classes? If not presently, have you ever used sjm in your classes? If never, is it a methodology that you would like to use in math class? Why or why not?
4. Please describe your personal experiences using sjm in the classroom. What noticeable effects, if any, were apparent due to its implementation? What do you feel are the cause of these effects? What immediate effects, if any, has sjm had on your students? What long term effects, do you suppose, sjm has had on your students?
5. What do you feel are the positive outcomes of using sjm in a classroom? What do you feel are the negative aspects to using sjm in a classroom? Are these unique to teaching with sjm? With increased development, are they avoidable, or are they necessary aspects of teaching with sjm?
2. Survey questions:
For students through Brian Miller, Rick McNamee
For teachers at Harvey Milk HS, New York City Algebra Project, Acorn High School for Social Justice, Bushwick School for Social Justice, and other math teachers who agree to take our survey.
QUESTIONS (for students):
1. What does the term "social justice" mean to you? What could the term "social justice math" mean?
2. Do you feel that math should incorporate social, political and economic issues into its instruction, such as with a social justice math curriculum? Why/why not?
3. Is it important for students to have an understanding of social, political and economic issues locally and around the world?
4. Should developing a "social consciousness" be an important part of your educational experiences?
5. Have you ever heard of the "empowerment of students"? What do you think that could mean? Can math empower students to analyze and potentially change the world? How?
6. Are you familiar with the idea of higher-level thinking? Do you think higher-level thinking about larger mathematical ideas is important? Why/why not?
7. Could incorporating social justice math motivate more students to learn math?
8. Do you think math would be more engaging if it was "real world" rather than "theoretical"?
9. If you were given the opportunity, would you choose to participate in actual community problem-solving projects?
QUESTIONS (for teachers) [Note: there is some overlap between these question and the interview questions, though I have been conscious to limit the interview questions so that they are fewer and more open-ended in scope]:
1. What do you know about social justice math? How would you summarize its basic purpose?
2. Do you currently use social justice math in your classes?
3. What do you feel are the positive outcomes of using sjm in a classroom?
4. What do you feel are the negative aspects to using sjm in a classroom?
5. Please describe your personal experiences using sjm in the classroom. What noticeable effects, if any, were apparent due to its implementation? What do you feel are the cause of these effects?
6. Please provide examples of lessons you have brought to the classroom
incorporating sjm. Which were most effective? Why?
7. Rate the following on a scale of 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely):
- Social justice math can help me differentiate the curriculum more easily.
- Social justice math can help me create interdisciplinary and thematic units.
- Social justice math can help me learn about my students' families and their communities.
- Social justice math can help me assess learning within a meaningful context.
3. Qualitative Research includes:
Christiansen. (2007). Some tensions in mathematics education for democracy.
a qualitative study of four mathematics classrooms and some of the tensions and benefits of teaching sjm.
Garii & Rule (2009). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: an analysis of student teacher lessons
a qualitative analysis of how student teachers incorporate social justice into math and science classes
Gutstein, Lipman, Hernandez, & de los Reyes. (1997). Culturally relevant mathematics teaching in a Mexican American context.
a qualitative study of teaching elementary/middle school in a Mexican American community. The purpose of the project is to help teachers use what they know about their students' culture to improve students' learning of mathematics, and of other subjects as well, and to help students develop critical approaches to knowledge and the tools they will need to be agents of social change
Gutstein. (2003). Teaching and Learning Mathematics for Social Justice in an Urban, Latino School.
a qualitative study of 7th and 8th grade Latino/a students in a midwestern public school who learned mathematics using the curricular program Mathematics in Context (MiC) as well as special projects on sjm
Gutstein. (2006). The real World as We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices on Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
a qualitative study of Latino/a parents who supported social justice math in their children's 7th grade classroom in the Chicago public schools
Gutstein. (2007). And That's Just How It Starts: Teaching Mathematics and Developing Student Agency.
a two-year qualitative, practitioner-research study of teaching and learning for social justice.... research suggests that students learned mathematics and began to develop sociopolitical awareness and see themselves as possible actors in society through using mathematics to understand social injustices.
Skovsmose. (1994). Towards a Critical Mathematics Education.
This article uses a class project that uses sjm to explain math literacy (or mathemacy) and the importance of a critical mathematics education. It implements several units that could be used in a sjm setting.
Telese. (1999, May). Mexican American high school students' perceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching.
a survey of Mexican American high school students and their perceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching in traditional and reform classrooms.
Treisman. (1992). Studying Students Studying Calculus: A Look at the Lives of Minority Mathematics Students in College.
a lecture given as one of the Mary P. Dolciani lectures at Hunter College. Embeded within is a qualitative study of college freshman, in particular minorities (African americans and Asians), their motivation towards studying and understanding mathematics (calculus), and how the college system failed them
radicalmath.org
a chart of possible topics for sjm classroom use; how to implement sjm into the classroom; advantages and disadvantages to using sjm in the classroom
4. Quantitative Research includes:
West and Davis (2005). Research Related to the Algebra Project’s Intervention to Improve Student Learning in Mathematics.
A quantitative study of the Algebra Project as provided by Lesley College for the State of Virginia's Department of Education. It demonstrates that the Algebra Project served to bolster test scores for traditionally under-achieving students.
Winter (2007) Infusing Mathematics with Culture: Teaching Technical Subjects for Social Justice
A quantitative study that provides statistical data demonstrating that social and cultural learning can be infused into technical courses without negatively affecting content area learning
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Themes for Chapters 3, 4, and 5
Upon reading Chapters 3, 4, and 5 from Lareau’s Unequal Childhoods, two main themes occurred to me: child/child interaction and adult/child interaction. Below is a list of notes and reflections I have compiled on each.
Child/child interaction:
Amongst children in the three classes represented in this study (middle, working, and poor), I was surprised to discover that as parents made less money, the bond between siblings, cousins, and neighborhood children grew stronger. Growing up in a foreign country, several thousands of miles from any of my cousins, I was never afforded the luxury of playing often with them. I did, however, relish the time we spent together during our often 6-week family vacations in the summer.
For the remainder of the year, I had my brother, and as children we and our friends played often. However — and this may be because the beginning of my childhood began in the 80s and ended in the 90s — unlike the children reflected in this study, I would argue that my childhood was definitely middle class (with certain privileges that in this country would be synonymous with upper class), and while I did engage in certain activities after school, these were never as extreme as the cases presented, nor did they trump the way in which we valued the sleepovers and day-time activities organized by my friends, my brother and me. Perhaps ironically, reading the case study on the working-class family seemed greatly familiar to me, and the model I would implement for raising children, though borrowing some of the adult-support themes from the middle-class study.
Universally, I also noticed that regardless of class (and this could actually be more a result of class than anything) that in their culturally cultivated activities, children tended to play in homogenous settings; at the same time, natural growth activities also found children playing in homogenous settings.
Adult/child interactions:
I noticed that as families had more money, siblings also tended to become highly competitive with one another; in these cases, it seemed as though children had learned that parental favorites — and thus sibling hierarchy — were dictated by ability. Those with more ability became the center of family life, while the remaining children had to eschew their own lives for the most able of siblings.
Reading of this culture greatly shocked and upset me. To me, children should be treated equally, not favored, nor broken-up in to a caste system based on ability (or birth order). While I agree that their abilities should be nurtured, they ought to be chosen by the child, not dictated by the whims of the adults. It deeply upset me, for example, that Mr. Tallinger did not wish to nurture Spencer’s love of science because he knew nothing of science. To me, that’s one responsibility of a parent: to learn the interests of his children, and to enable them to explore those interests. It’s also, however, the responsibility of the parent to provide balance in a child’s life, so that children have time to be children: to play, to have fun, and to connect with others their own age. The time to be adults need not be rushed into. This balance also seemed to be missing from the lives of the Tallinger’s, even though they had the money to do right what the Taylors and Brindles could not.
Another theme I noticed in the relationship between the adults and their children is the role adults play in children’s lives. I call this either anchor or coach. In the Tallinger study, Mr. Tallinger seems to be more of a coach than a father: he seems to approach his role in their lives as part employer (see when he reasoned with his sons to finish homework or join the swim team) and part cheerleader (when he comes to Garrett’s games and sits with the parents to cheer-on his son; though even here, the cheering is more employer criticism than cheering).
In the Brindle and Taylor studies, however, I found that Ms. Brindle and Taylor were (or attempted to be) anchors in their children’s’ lives. In the case of Ms. Taylor, she went to Teroc’s games to be supportive and because she felt that she should be there to nurture his abilities and interests. At the same time, Ms. Brindle wanted to fly to be with her HIV-positive daughter to be supportive of her (even if it was a tremendous burden to her own life).
This theme continues through parental justice. Mr. Tallinger reasons and argues with his children to accomplish discipline. He is the epitome of a coach in their lives. On the other hand, Ms. Brindle and Taylor have no qualms in beating their children when they misbehave. While beating seems barbaric to me, this action remains true with their role as an anchor — even here, beating allows them to discipline their children.
Child/child interaction:
Amongst children in the three classes represented in this study (middle, working, and poor), I was surprised to discover that as parents made less money, the bond between siblings, cousins, and neighborhood children grew stronger. Growing up in a foreign country, several thousands of miles from any of my cousins, I was never afforded the luxury of playing often with them. I did, however, relish the time we spent together during our often 6-week family vacations in the summer.
For the remainder of the year, I had my brother, and as children we and our friends played often. However — and this may be because the beginning of my childhood began in the 80s and ended in the 90s — unlike the children reflected in this study, I would argue that my childhood was definitely middle class (with certain privileges that in this country would be synonymous with upper class), and while I did engage in certain activities after school, these were never as extreme as the cases presented, nor did they trump the way in which we valued the sleepovers and day-time activities organized by my friends, my brother and me. Perhaps ironically, reading the case study on the working-class family seemed greatly familiar to me, and the model I would implement for raising children, though borrowing some of the adult-support themes from the middle-class study.
Universally, I also noticed that regardless of class (and this could actually be more a result of class than anything) that in their culturally cultivated activities, children tended to play in homogenous settings; at the same time, natural growth activities also found children playing in homogenous settings.
Adult/child interactions:
I noticed that as families had more money, siblings also tended to become highly competitive with one another; in these cases, it seemed as though children had learned that parental favorites — and thus sibling hierarchy — were dictated by ability. Those with more ability became the center of family life, while the remaining children had to eschew their own lives for the most able of siblings.
Reading of this culture greatly shocked and upset me. To me, children should be treated equally, not favored, nor broken-up in to a caste system based on ability (or birth order). While I agree that their abilities should be nurtured, they ought to be chosen by the child, not dictated by the whims of the adults. It deeply upset me, for example, that Mr. Tallinger did not wish to nurture Spencer’s love of science because he knew nothing of science. To me, that’s one responsibility of a parent: to learn the interests of his children, and to enable them to explore those interests. It’s also, however, the responsibility of the parent to provide balance in a child’s life, so that children have time to be children: to play, to have fun, and to connect with others their own age. The time to be adults need not be rushed into. This balance also seemed to be missing from the lives of the Tallinger’s, even though they had the money to do right what the Taylors and Brindles could not.
Another theme I noticed in the relationship between the adults and their children is the role adults play in children’s lives. I call this either anchor or coach. In the Tallinger study, Mr. Tallinger seems to be more of a coach than a father: he seems to approach his role in their lives as part employer (see when he reasoned with his sons to finish homework or join the swim team) and part cheerleader (when he comes to Garrett’s games and sits with the parents to cheer-on his son; though even here, the cheering is more employer criticism than cheering).
In the Brindle and Taylor studies, however, I found that Ms. Brindle and Taylor were (or attempted to be) anchors in their children’s’ lives. In the case of Ms. Taylor, she went to Teroc’s games to be supportive and because she felt that she should be there to nurture his abilities and interests. At the same time, Ms. Brindle wanted to fly to be with her HIV-positive daughter to be supportive of her (even if it was a tremendous burden to her own life).
This theme continues through parental justice. Mr. Tallinger reasons and argues with his children to accomplish discipline. He is the epitome of a coach in their lives. On the other hand, Ms. Brindle and Taylor have no qualms in beating their children when they misbehave. While beating seems barbaric to me, this action remains true with their role as an anchor — even here, beating allows them to discipline their children.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Annotations
Bartell, T., & Meyer, M. (2008, April). Addressing the Equity Principle in the Mathematics Classroom. Mathematics Teacher, 101(8), 604-608.
Similar in lack of scope to the other Mathematics Teacher article (see below), this piece argues strongly for the inclusion and necessity of social justice and equity issues in the mathematics classroom, but fails to provide a methodology for implementing equity-based and social-justice-based mathematics. Using a teacher-education course as the impetus for this article, the authors explore the four major conceptions of equity — its relation to: (1) instruction, (2) environment, (3) equal opportunity, and (4) appropriate curriculum. The authors further argue that equity in a math classroom is the shared responsibility of the teacher, her students, their families and community, policymakers, and even university teacher academics. Generally, however, the authors feel that the first step towards providing better support of students lies with teachers and their journey in exploring equity, “their role and responsibilities in closing the achievement gap, and their knowledge of individual students.”
Assessment: In terms of an article on equity, this article provides a neat summary. In terms of an article that bridges equity and mathematics education, this article fails in illustrating the need of integrating equity (and social justice) in the mathematics classroom. The authors argue its necessity as a means to provide better support of students and in closing the achievement gap, however, as math education plays such a minor part in this article, one wonders if this article is specific to math, as its title and abstract suggest.
Christiansen, I. M. (2007). Some tensions in mathematics education for democracy. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 49-62.
In this long (and perhaps poorly translated) article, Christiansen discusses the implications and tensions that are revealed by implementing social justice to teach mathematics. In his first narrative, Christiansen provides a math lesson which relates to the inequity of land distribution amongst blacks and whites in South Africa using circle graphs, percents, tables, inequalities, and nonstandard units of measure. In this lesson, social justice math was appreciated amongst Danish students who are well removed from the situation presented. In his second narrative, however, Christiansen witnessed the reverse: Presenting his lesson to Zulus and Indians in a South African school, students refused to participate, citing that they did not like being reminded of their own situation. Using this situation as a spring board, Christiansen asserts that social justice math must do more than merely presenting students with a study of situations. Developing a critical mentality is not enough; mathematics must be equated with power, while lessons should also explore how “the less privileged [can] improve their lives” (p. 54). In his third and fourth narratives, Christiansen argues that empowering students need not be accomplished merely through social justice math, but by cultivating “mathematical awareness” in students. To this end, teachers must be instruments of change and agents of personal authority in the classroom and in the world.
Assessment: While the lesson presented is perhaps one of the best I have read, the article fails to deliver clear solutions to tensions created by the integration of social justice in the mathematics classroom. Instead, it offers alternatives to teaching social justice math, but for teachers who wish to implement the pedagogy it offers no advice on how to prepare students for social justice in the class, or how to broach this subject with students who find offense with the lesson.
Frankenstein, M. (1983). Critical Mathematics Education: An Application of Paulo Freire's Epistemology. Journal of Education, 165(4), 315-339.
In this article, Frankenstein provides an introduction to Freire’s epistemology, while neglecting some of his more controversial political theories and their ties to education. In her literature review, Frankenstein examines how knowledge is not static, nor neutral, but is instead continually redefined and a part of the human consciousness. From here, she introduces Freire’s conscientiaçao, or development of critical consciousness, asserting that by nurturing this aspect of conscience, students might overcome “massification.” She concludes with a section on content and methods for education and critical thinking which argue for constructivist, problem-posing teaching which develops students into critical thinkers who co-investigate ideas with their teachers.
The rest of the paper explores the application of social justice in Frankenstein’s mathematics classroom. In this section, she explores the nature of statistics in terms of the methods that politicians and CEOs may use to prevaricate on the truth. She further explores the notion that math anxiety can lead to an avoidance of mathematics and thus disempowerment. This is also explored in terms of gender and the self-fulfilling prophesy under which society subjects females — they are told that as a gender, they cannot “do” math, and as a result they cannot. To counteract this massification and other related ideological hegemonies, Frankenstein urges for the implementation of critical mathematics education “by using statistics to reveal the contradictions (and lies) underneath the surface of these ideologies by providing learning experiences where students and teachers are ‘co-investigators’ and where math ‘anxious’ students overcome their fears” (p. 329).
As co-investigators, Frankenstein suggests using math journals as a way to probe students’ social interests for developing critical math exercises. Such journals also act as a way to empower students by causing them to realize that they are already more capable mathematically than a month previously. Frankenstein also suggests introducing students to different statistics-based organizations — such as the Coalition for Basic Human Needs, the International Association of Machinists, or Counter-Information Services (CIS) — and allowing students to work with these groups to further “challenge” students to reconsider their previously ‘take-for-granted’ beliefs,” (p. 331). Taken together, Frankenstein asserts that these Freirean-based concepts can provide for more capable classrooms of students who can overcome math anxiety, learn math, and understand that they can make a difference in the world.
Gutstein, E. (2003, January). Teaching and Learning Mathematics for Social Justice in an Urban, Latino School. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 34(1), 37-73
In this study, Gutstein shows that by implementing a social justice curriculum for a math classroom, that teachers can empower students to read the world (understand complex issues involving justice and equity) using math, write the world (have an impact upon these issues) and develop a sense of mathematical power. Using the Mathematics in Context (MiC) curriculum as a basis, Gutstein illustrates how he was able to introduce several “real-world projects [that incorporated] issues of economics and racial discrimination and inequality, immigrant status, gentrification, and other examples of injustice facing [students] and their families on a daily basis” (p. 47). In his study, Gutstein further illustrates that his program succeeded in developing both students’ critical mathematics literacy and mathematical power without sacrificing either skill.
Assessment: In terms of all the articles, this piece was the most successful in terms of its intersection between mathematics education and social justice — content discussed herein was neither math-lite nor overly social-justice-heavy. Instead, this article provided theoretical knowledge and practical applications of social justice math, as well as the positive implications of its use. Most importantly, Gutstein’s students’ math abilities increased, and came to see the power of math and its importance for understanding the world.
McCoy, L. (2008, February). POVERTY: Teaching Mathematics and Social Justice. Mathematics Teacher, 101(6), 456-461.
This article examines poverty, the poor, and the relation between poverty and school achievement using statistics as the lens by which to understand the each instance. Aimed at teachers who wish to implement social justice into their mathematics classrooms, two activity-ideas are provided. One activity requires students to create a budget of essentials and nonessentials and to compare the prices of each to the average, monthly income for n-person families; students are then to reflect upon how their life compares to a family living below or near the poverty line. A second activity provides a table that illustrates percents of the population that live below the poverty level by demographic (gender, age, race, and education). Using these figures, students construct bar graphs to compare data and discuss conclusions. A third activity requires that students collect data on the poverty level of students by school district in the country. Using spreadsheet software (or graphing calculators), students then create a scatter plot, calculate a correlation coefficient, and then a regression equation to relate the data. Students then discuss both the mathematical and societal implications of their findings.
Assessment: While this article provides very interesting and necessary ideas within the realm of social justice math, only the third activity truly merits use in a mathematics class (and at the level suggested: Algebra I, II, and Statistics). Should teachers consider bringing these activities to their classroom, further development of said activities are necessary.
Similar in lack of scope to the other Mathematics Teacher article (see below), this piece argues strongly for the inclusion and necessity of social justice and equity issues in the mathematics classroom, but fails to provide a methodology for implementing equity-based and social-justice-based mathematics. Using a teacher-education course as the impetus for this article, the authors explore the four major conceptions of equity — its relation to: (1) instruction, (2) environment, (3) equal opportunity, and (4) appropriate curriculum. The authors further argue that equity in a math classroom is the shared responsibility of the teacher, her students, their families and community, policymakers, and even university teacher academics. Generally, however, the authors feel that the first step towards providing better support of students lies with teachers and their journey in exploring equity, “their role and responsibilities in closing the achievement gap, and their knowledge of individual students.”
Assessment: In terms of an article on equity, this article provides a neat summary. In terms of an article that bridges equity and mathematics education, this article fails in illustrating the need of integrating equity (and social justice) in the mathematics classroom. The authors argue its necessity as a means to provide better support of students and in closing the achievement gap, however, as math education plays such a minor part in this article, one wonders if this article is specific to math, as its title and abstract suggest.
Christiansen, I. M. (2007). Some tensions in mathematics education for democracy. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 49-62.
In this long (and perhaps poorly translated) article, Christiansen discusses the implications and tensions that are revealed by implementing social justice to teach mathematics. In his first narrative, Christiansen provides a math lesson which relates to the inequity of land distribution amongst blacks and whites in South Africa using circle graphs, percents, tables, inequalities, and nonstandard units of measure. In this lesson, social justice math was appreciated amongst Danish students who are well removed from the situation presented. In his second narrative, however, Christiansen witnessed the reverse: Presenting his lesson to Zulus and Indians in a South African school, students refused to participate, citing that they did not like being reminded of their own situation. Using this situation as a spring board, Christiansen asserts that social justice math must do more than merely presenting students with a study of situations. Developing a critical mentality is not enough; mathematics must be equated with power, while lessons should also explore how “the less privileged [can] improve their lives” (p. 54). In his third and fourth narratives, Christiansen argues that empowering students need not be accomplished merely through social justice math, but by cultivating “mathematical awareness” in students. To this end, teachers must be instruments of change and agents of personal authority in the classroom and in the world.
Assessment: While the lesson presented is perhaps one of the best I have read, the article fails to deliver clear solutions to tensions created by the integration of social justice in the mathematics classroom. Instead, it offers alternatives to teaching social justice math, but for teachers who wish to implement the pedagogy it offers no advice on how to prepare students for social justice in the class, or how to broach this subject with students who find offense with the lesson.
Frankenstein, M. (1983). Critical Mathematics Education: An Application of Paulo Freire's Epistemology. Journal of Education, 165(4), 315-339.
In this article, Frankenstein provides an introduction to Freire’s epistemology, while neglecting some of his more controversial political theories and their ties to education. In her literature review, Frankenstein examines how knowledge is not static, nor neutral, but is instead continually redefined and a part of the human consciousness. From here, she introduces Freire’s conscientiaçao, or development of critical consciousness, asserting that by nurturing this aspect of conscience, students might overcome “massification.” She concludes with a section on content and methods for education and critical thinking which argue for constructivist, problem-posing teaching which develops students into critical thinkers who co-investigate ideas with their teachers.
The rest of the paper explores the application of social justice in Frankenstein’s mathematics classroom. In this section, she explores the nature of statistics in terms of the methods that politicians and CEOs may use to prevaricate on the truth. She further explores the notion that math anxiety can lead to an avoidance of mathematics and thus disempowerment. This is also explored in terms of gender and the self-fulfilling prophesy under which society subjects females — they are told that as a gender, they cannot “do” math, and as a result they cannot. To counteract this massification and other related ideological hegemonies, Frankenstein urges for the implementation of critical mathematics education “by using statistics to reveal the contradictions (and lies) underneath the surface of these ideologies by providing learning experiences where students and teachers are ‘co-investigators’ and where math ‘anxious’ students overcome their fears” (p. 329).
As co-investigators, Frankenstein suggests using math journals as a way to probe students’ social interests for developing critical math exercises. Such journals also act as a way to empower students by causing them to realize that they are already more capable mathematically than a month previously. Frankenstein also suggests introducing students to different statistics-based organizations — such as the Coalition for Basic Human Needs, the International Association of Machinists, or Counter-Information Services (CIS) — and allowing students to work with these groups to further “challenge” students to reconsider their previously ‘take-for-granted’ beliefs,” (p. 331). Taken together, Frankenstein asserts that these Freirean-based concepts can provide for more capable classrooms of students who can overcome math anxiety, learn math, and understand that they can make a difference in the world.
Gutstein, E. (2003, January). Teaching and Learning Mathematics for Social Justice in an Urban, Latino School. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 34(1), 37-73
In this study, Gutstein shows that by implementing a social justice curriculum for a math classroom, that teachers can empower students to read the world (understand complex issues involving justice and equity) using math, write the world (have an impact upon these issues) and develop a sense of mathematical power. Using the Mathematics in Context (MiC) curriculum as a basis, Gutstein illustrates how he was able to introduce several “real-world projects [that incorporated] issues of economics and racial discrimination and inequality, immigrant status, gentrification, and other examples of injustice facing [students] and their families on a daily basis” (p. 47). In his study, Gutstein further illustrates that his program succeeded in developing both students’ critical mathematics literacy and mathematical power without sacrificing either skill.
Assessment: In terms of all the articles, this piece was the most successful in terms of its intersection between mathematics education and social justice — content discussed herein was neither math-lite nor overly social-justice-heavy. Instead, this article provided theoretical knowledge and practical applications of social justice math, as well as the positive implications of its use. Most importantly, Gutstein’s students’ math abilities increased, and came to see the power of math and its importance for understanding the world.
McCoy, L. (2008, February). POVERTY: Teaching Mathematics and Social Justice. Mathematics Teacher, 101(6), 456-461.
This article examines poverty, the poor, and the relation between poverty and school achievement using statistics as the lens by which to understand the each instance. Aimed at teachers who wish to implement social justice into their mathematics classrooms, two activity-ideas are provided. One activity requires students to create a budget of essentials and nonessentials and to compare the prices of each to the average, monthly income for n-person families; students are then to reflect upon how their life compares to a family living below or near the poverty line. A second activity provides a table that illustrates percents of the population that live below the poverty level by demographic (gender, age, race, and education). Using these figures, students construct bar graphs to compare data and discuss conclusions. A third activity requires that students collect data on the poverty level of students by school district in the country. Using spreadsheet software (or graphing calculators), students then create a scatter plot, calculate a correlation coefficient, and then a regression equation to relate the data. Students then discuss both the mathematical and societal implications of their findings.
Assessment: While this article provides very interesting and necessary ideas within the realm of social justice math, only the third activity truly merits use in a mathematics class (and at the level suggested: Algebra I, II, and Statistics). Should teachers consider bringing these activities to their classroom, further development of said activities are necessary.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Questions for Exploration
A few posts ago, I mentioned that I wanted the focus of my Community Inquiry Project to be Social Justice Math. In particular, I wanted to create tools that would help me implement Social Justice Math or elements of it as necessary in my professional career as a teacher of math. Admittedly, I know little of Social Justice Math. The little that I do know has been gleaned from two math adjuncts at Montclair State —Eliza Leszczynski and Brian Miller. I also know a little of critical pedagogy and the work of Paolo Freire by performing research for Dr. Fernando Naiditch, the professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching for whom I GA.
From what I can tell, Social Justice Math seems to be the application of critical pedagogy to mathematics education. Having researched extensively on other applications of critical pedagogy, I am rather interested in following whatever leads I can on social justice math and how it can be applied to the classroom.
In particular, I am hoping to answer the following queries: What is Social Justice Math? Is it, as some critics indicate, an attempt by the far-left to indoctrinate our youth to socialism, or is in fact a valid educational tool that will aid in the establishment of a more democratic society? What materials exist to help teachers formulate lessons that follow the social justice math ideology? Also, is there research to show that social justice math helps to create its goal — that of a more democratic society, or is it merely academic posturing? Further, by providing students with a context by which to explore math, does this form motivate students to learn and value math as a social tool or is this exploration of math mostly lost on students?
Over the course of this investigation into social justice math, I would also like to interview teaching professionals —both teachers and teacher educators— to get a more immediate understanding of social justice math, how it has been effective/ineffective in the classroom, and what has/hasn’t worked. I am also curious to know if social justice math as a topic works well with all students, or merely with students of certain backgrounds/classes. Are students from low-income families more willing to dig deeper than students from more affluent communities? Or is it something that students from all backgrounds embrace? Also, is social justice math more applicable to certain levels of math, or is it something that can be addressed in lessons for a range of grades?
By answering these and more questions, it is my hope and goal to garner a clearer and better understanding of social justice math. Should my research prove useful, and a boon to others in the teaching community, I would also like to develop those discoveries into tools that I can share with others that would enable us to effectively incorporate elements of social justice math into our practice and become better teachers of math.
From what I can tell, Social Justice Math seems to be the application of critical pedagogy to mathematics education. Having researched extensively on other applications of critical pedagogy, I am rather interested in following whatever leads I can on social justice math and how it can be applied to the classroom.
In particular, I am hoping to answer the following queries: What is Social Justice Math? Is it, as some critics indicate, an attempt by the far-left to indoctrinate our youth to socialism, or is in fact a valid educational tool that will aid in the establishment of a more democratic society? What materials exist to help teachers formulate lessons that follow the social justice math ideology? Also, is there research to show that social justice math helps to create its goal — that of a more democratic society, or is it merely academic posturing? Further, by providing students with a context by which to explore math, does this form motivate students to learn and value math as a social tool or is this exploration of math mostly lost on students?
Over the course of this investigation into social justice math, I would also like to interview teaching professionals —both teachers and teacher educators— to get a more immediate understanding of social justice math, how it has been effective/ineffective in the classroom, and what has/hasn’t worked. I am also curious to know if social justice math as a topic works well with all students, or merely with students of certain backgrounds/classes. Are students from low-income families more willing to dig deeper than students from more affluent communities? Or is it something that students from all backgrounds embrace? Also, is social justice math more applicable to certain levels of math, or is it something that can be addressed in lessons for a range of grades?
By answering these and more questions, it is my hope and goal to garner a clearer and better understanding of social justice math. Should my research prove useful, and a boon to others in the teaching community, I would also like to develop those discoveries into tools that I can share with others that would enable us to effectively incorporate elements of social justice math into our practice and become better teachers of math.
Culture of Self
As a child, I remember tuning the television to tv-tiga (channel 3) and catching the beginning, middle, or end of the call to prayer. I remember stills of the interiors of a mosque with a blue dome and minaret to match; and in the background the deep baritone timbre of a muezzin sang the adhan. This would continue for fifteen minutes and then television would reconvene as though nothing unusual had occurred. And in fact, nothing had. As a child, I was exposed to scores of instances and peculiarities of the many cultures with which I lived. From the call to prayer in Malaysia, to the juxtaposition of class in the Philippines, to the paradoxical divisiveness of cultural groups in America that form in spite of those visionaries calling for its abolition —and the cornucopia of ethnicities abounding each country— culture has played a strong hand in shaping me, my view of culture, and the attitudes that I bring to the classroom — both as a learner and a teacher.
When I think of the part that religion has played in shaping me and my view of culture, I think of the religious acceptance in Malaysia — a fact that might shock Americans whose frame of Islam remains shrouded by the media’s myopic portrayals of fundamentalists and terrorists in the Middle East. (Which is ironic, as Malaysia is as far from the Middle East as New York is from Hawaii.) To this day, Kuala Lumper (or KL) —the capital and city in which I lived — is composed of three main ethnicities: Malays, Chinese, and Indians, each of which practice their own faiths: Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism (or Jainism), respectively. Christianity exists, too, though sparsely, and mostly for expats and Filipina amahs. Out of this crucible of acceptance and my parents’ own equal fascination and appreciation of other cultures, I became well-acquainted with religious diversity, and enjoy the continued impact it has had upon my life. In some cultures, religion isolates and divides; having lived in a culture that embraced religious diversity, I too am accepting of other religions and customs.
I realize that like religion, language also frames the world in which we live; it reflects our place in the socioeconomic structure, our education, and our privileges. By growing up in business centers where English is seen as the lingua franca —with Malay, Cantonese, and Tagalog designated as a local or even street language— I see how language has placed me in a place of privilege and power. This continues even in my present life, where multilingualism is seen by those foisting assimilation as a negative, but by those with a higher socio-economic status as a necessity in the business world. Here, the tragedy is that one class deprives those without power of language, while reserving the facility of several languages for those with power. Having experienced both worlds, and recognizing the struggle endemic to those who lack language, I find myself eager to empower those without so that we can stand together in a democratic society and not apart.
Tied strongly with language and its effect on me is class, though it is not something upon which I tend to dwell. When I think of class and its effect upon culture, I immediately think of the Philippines. Society there is bilaterally defined by class: on one side are the fifth-generation Spanish (the aristocrats), defined not only by their wealth, but boastfully by their link to Spain’s conquest and the subsequent colonialization of the Philippine Islands; on the other are the rest — locals with no claim to old money or power, of which some have made it in the business, educational, clergical, or governmental sectors, but of which most live in a kind of garish squalor far below living standards in America. As teen, I was appalled by this inequity in lifestyles and the limits it placed on the have-nots; I was equally appalled to recognize it again when I worked one summer between semesters during undergrad. That summer I worked for Follett as an assistant book buyer. In that role, I assisted in the purchasing, boxing, and loading of hundred of textbooks from schools in and around Chicago. While on the job, I witnessed great wealth, and equally great poverty. What struck me most, though, was how much like a developing country elements of the poorer neighborhoods and suburbs were. It enabled me to better realize the privileges that I have had in my life, but also of the great divide of wealth in my own country.
Ethnicity, too, has had a tremendous effect upon my life and how I view culture. First, I choose the term ethnicity instead of race, because to me race is too limiting. Having lived among Malays, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Japanese, Thais, Indonesians, even Filipinos —each with their own distinct culture — and how can I do any less? Having attended an international school as a child where intercultural education and multiculturalism were a part of the curriculum since day one, to me ethnicity is merely another frame by which I can appreciate the world; it is not the barrier that I occasionally have witnessed mounted in my peers, but a challenge to view to the whole world as it is.
Finally, there is gender and sexuality — two aspects of culture whose effects upon me coalesced slowly during undergrad. As a male, I recognize that I am more privileged than females. Females are usually paid less than men; they are often treated as secondary citizens because of their gender; and at night, they have more to fear. As a heterosexual, I am also aware that my sexuality privileges me. My culture and other cultures will not label me as perverted, religions will not shun me on high moral ground, and society will not label me as an invisible member of the community. However, I also recognize that neither — gender nor sexuality — is my choice. My brother is gay and I am marrying a beautiful woman in the spring. Should that mean that because of my privileges that I should treat them any worse? Or that I should treat others worse? I think not.
As I see it, culture has shaped me into the person I am today, as well as the professional I hope to be in the classroom. As a learner, it has broadened me, allowing me to accept others as they are, to refrain from defining others by the limiting construct of stereotyping, and to reach out and give chances to others that may be limited by the frames that define their culture. At the same time, I also respect their culture as surely their culture defines them as much as mine defines me.
As a teacher, it is my hope to bring my love of culture to the classroom, not only to better illustrate the inter-connectedness of math and culture, but to further illustrate that we bring culture everywhere, even to school. As a teacher, I am also aware that the environment in which I teach will rarely approximate the intercultural environment in which I learned. It is my belief, however, that culture continues to evolve based upon the interaction of differing cultures, views, opinions, and attitudes, and the assessment that the participants of those interactions make. Therefore, while my culture and my views may differ from those of my peers and my students, it is my responsibility to challenge those sociocultural opinions in order to impact the culture and ideas of those around me, and hopefully develop this society into one that better approximates democracy.
When I think of the part that religion has played in shaping me and my view of culture, I think of the religious acceptance in Malaysia — a fact that might shock Americans whose frame of Islam remains shrouded by the media’s myopic portrayals of fundamentalists and terrorists in the Middle East. (Which is ironic, as Malaysia is as far from the Middle East as New York is from Hawaii.) To this day, Kuala Lumper (or KL) —the capital and city in which I lived — is composed of three main ethnicities: Malays, Chinese, and Indians, each of which practice their own faiths: Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism (or Jainism), respectively. Christianity exists, too, though sparsely, and mostly for expats and Filipina amahs. Out of this crucible of acceptance and my parents’ own equal fascination and appreciation of other cultures, I became well-acquainted with religious diversity, and enjoy the continued impact it has had upon my life. In some cultures, religion isolates and divides; having lived in a culture that embraced religious diversity, I too am accepting of other religions and customs.
I realize that like religion, language also frames the world in which we live; it reflects our place in the socioeconomic structure, our education, and our privileges. By growing up in business centers where English is seen as the lingua franca —with Malay, Cantonese, and Tagalog designated as a local or even street language— I see how language has placed me in a place of privilege and power. This continues even in my present life, where multilingualism is seen by those foisting assimilation as a negative, but by those with a higher socio-economic status as a necessity in the business world. Here, the tragedy is that one class deprives those without power of language, while reserving the facility of several languages for those with power. Having experienced both worlds, and recognizing the struggle endemic to those who lack language, I find myself eager to empower those without so that we can stand together in a democratic society and not apart.
Tied strongly with language and its effect on me is class, though it is not something upon which I tend to dwell. When I think of class and its effect upon culture, I immediately think of the Philippines. Society there is bilaterally defined by class: on one side are the fifth-generation Spanish (the aristocrats), defined not only by their wealth, but boastfully by their link to Spain’s conquest and the subsequent colonialization of the Philippine Islands; on the other are the rest — locals with no claim to old money or power, of which some have made it in the business, educational, clergical, or governmental sectors, but of which most live in a kind of garish squalor far below living standards in America. As teen, I was appalled by this inequity in lifestyles and the limits it placed on the have-nots; I was equally appalled to recognize it again when I worked one summer between semesters during undergrad. That summer I worked for Follett as an assistant book buyer. In that role, I assisted in the purchasing, boxing, and loading of hundred of textbooks from schools in and around Chicago. While on the job, I witnessed great wealth, and equally great poverty. What struck me most, though, was how much like a developing country elements of the poorer neighborhoods and suburbs were. It enabled me to better realize the privileges that I have had in my life, but also of the great divide of wealth in my own country.
Ethnicity, too, has had a tremendous effect upon my life and how I view culture. First, I choose the term ethnicity instead of race, because to me race is too limiting. Having lived among Malays, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Japanese, Thais, Indonesians, even Filipinos —each with their own distinct culture — and how can I do any less? Having attended an international school as a child where intercultural education and multiculturalism were a part of the curriculum since day one, to me ethnicity is merely another frame by which I can appreciate the world; it is not the barrier that I occasionally have witnessed mounted in my peers, but a challenge to view to the whole world as it is.
Finally, there is gender and sexuality — two aspects of culture whose effects upon me coalesced slowly during undergrad. As a male, I recognize that I am more privileged than females. Females are usually paid less than men; they are often treated as secondary citizens because of their gender; and at night, they have more to fear. As a heterosexual, I am also aware that my sexuality privileges me. My culture and other cultures will not label me as perverted, religions will not shun me on high moral ground, and society will not label me as an invisible member of the community. However, I also recognize that neither — gender nor sexuality — is my choice. My brother is gay and I am marrying a beautiful woman in the spring. Should that mean that because of my privileges that I should treat them any worse? Or that I should treat others worse? I think not.
As I see it, culture has shaped me into the person I am today, as well as the professional I hope to be in the classroom. As a learner, it has broadened me, allowing me to accept others as they are, to refrain from defining others by the limiting construct of stereotyping, and to reach out and give chances to others that may be limited by the frames that define their culture. At the same time, I also respect their culture as surely their culture defines them as much as mine defines me.
As a teacher, it is my hope to bring my love of culture to the classroom, not only to better illustrate the inter-connectedness of math and culture, but to further illustrate that we bring culture everywhere, even to school. As a teacher, I am also aware that the environment in which I teach will rarely approximate the intercultural environment in which I learned. It is my belief, however, that culture continues to evolve based upon the interaction of differing cultures, views, opinions, and attitudes, and the assessment that the participants of those interactions make. Therefore, while my culture and my views may differ from those of my peers and my students, it is my responsibility to challenge those sociocultural opinions in order to impact the culture and ideas of those around me, and hopefully develop this society into one that better approximates democracy.
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