ECS 203

Numeracy

Part 1: At the beginning of the reading, Leroy Little Bear (2000) states that colonialism “tries to maintain a singular social order by means of force and law, suppressing the diversity of human worldviews. … Typically, this proposition creates oppression and discrimination” (p. 77). Think back on your experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics — were there aspects of it that were oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?

During my school experience, I was the type of student that did not particularly like math, but I did not struggle with it.  When a teacher taught us how to do math in a certain way, I understood it and did not need to learn a different approach.  Because of my positive experiences, it is difficult to pinpoint oppressive and/or discriminating practices, but I do think that they were present.  In Bear’s article, he discusses the differences between Aboriginal and European philosophies.  He describes Aboriginal philosophy as “all things are animate, imbued with spirit, and in constant motion” (Bear, 2000, p. 77).  This is contrasted with the European philosophy Bear (2000) describes as being “linear and singular, static, and objective (p. 82).  My schooling consisted almost entirely of this European philosophy—especially in the areas of math and science.  In math particularly, there was only ever a right or wrong, and the way some teachers taught, there was only one way to get that right answer.  For me, this was fine because as I previously mentioned, I never struggled with math, and I only ever needed to see one method to be able to do it.  But I do know that many kids do struggle with math, and I think it can be largely attributed to this European philosophy that is dominant when math is being taught.  People think and work things out differently and there needs to be more than one way taught to approach a problem. 

Part 2: After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes of mathematics and the way we learn it.

The Inuit communities of northern Canada have adapted to live in an environment that is much different than the environment we live in.  As a result of this, the Inuit community has come up with different approaches to aid them in their daily lives, with mathematics and numeracy being one of them.  Poirier (2007) highlights the ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas throughout her article.  One of the ways it differs is the calendar.  As Poirier (2007) mentions, their calendar is not divided into set days like ours, it is neither lunar nor solar; their calendar is based on natural, independently recurring yearly events (p. 61).  Another difference is in their sense of space.  Because of the environment in which the Inuit live, they need to have an immaculate sense of space.  The Inuit people have learned to ‘“read’ snow banks and assess the wind direction of winds” (Poirier, 2007, p. 59).  Another way in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas and the way it is taught is through their language.  The Inuit have developed a system for expressing numbers orally (Poirier, 2007, p. 57).  As a result of them being mostly oral, traditional teaching methods, such as pen and paper is not the norm as “traditional Inuit teaching is based on observing an elder or listening to enigmas” (Poirier, 2007, p. 55). 

Sources:

Bear, L. L. (2000). Jagged worldviews colliding. In M. Batiste (Ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (pp. 77-85). UBC Press.

Poirier, L. (2007). Teaching mathematics and the Inuit community, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 7(1), p. 53-67.

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