The Prelude.I attended an Ethnomathemtics workshop about two years ago. I have always been fascinated by cultures, my own and others. The chance to tie mathematics into such an interesting topic was an opportunity I couldn't resist. One the presenters was Dr. Jim Barta from Bemidji State University. There were two things that he brought to the workshop that inspired me: the cultural interview and story cards. I saw both of these activities as tangible things that math teachers can do in our classrooms to get students to see mathematics in their cultures and to use their cultures in our mathematics classroom. (There is a lot more to this back story, but that will have to wait for another post). I have since experimented with both of these things, but now I want to get serious. I am doing my research and planning my lessons. I want to build a unit that other teachers can use in their classrooms. I want to build something that helps us build a sense of belonging for our students in our classrooms. I figure I have two types of students to consider here: 1) The students whose cultures are still beautifully immersed in their heritage. They can see many of their family's traditions as passed down from previous generations. I think of my good friend May who is Hmong and can tell me about so many customs that have been passed down through the generations. 2) The students who are a product of the melting pot that is the United States. Their family's traditions change with each generation as parents from different cultures create new traditions, or combine traditions, to work for their new family. I think of myself. My mother is German and my father is a combination of various Scandinavian ancestries. Neither share stories about why we do certain traditions during the holidays and other times. The closest comes to our Christian beliefs and traditions, but the actual tie to family culture and historical connection feels lost. (Of course, there will be students at various places between these two) Through this unit, we are going to focus at two levels:
The Outline of the Unit (so far).
My Final Thoughts
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AuthorI teach mathematics for grades 7-12. Teaching mathematics is my passion. Archives
August 2022
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