Part 1 (Numeracy): Using Gale’s lecture, Poirier’s article, and Bear’s article, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purpose of mathematics and the way we learn it:

Inuit mathematic are very diverse from the mathematics we have learnt in our Western lens. Firstly they use a base-20 numeral system and they divide mathematics into two separate universes of “the world of day-to-day life and the ‘southern’ mathematical world”. This challenges the Eurocentric view of mathematics that math only has one correct “answer” or way of viewing. Within Inuit mathematics they also have different views on numbers according to context which unlike in mathematics in the Eurocentric view, the number one simply has one meaning no matter the context it is placed in. Another way Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric views is through their act of measuring. Inuit women don’t use measuring units and rely on certain parts of their body to measure lengths. For example shown in the text, they use their palm for measurement when making parkas and use the base of the neck to help make a correctly fitted parka. Overall Inuit mathematics is very subjective and based on context around them where Western Europeans see math as “linear, singular, static and objective”. This is also shown through their version of the calendar. Their length of one month depends on “how long it takes a natural event to take place” and they associate months with everyday activities that they repeat each year unlike a set-in-stone lunar or solar calendar.

Part 2 (Literacy): Which “single stories” were present in your own schooling? Whose truth mattered? What biases and lenses do you bring to the classroom? How might we unlearn / work against these biases?:

Some “single stories” that were present in my schooling were all about European settlers or Shakespearean stories. From looking back on what I read, it seemed that the truth that mattered was the white Europeans (mainly men) as we had little to none POC or Indigenous people representations within our literature. With the white European storylines we also had no representation of LGBTQ+ people or different religions besides Christianity. This is greatly unsettling to now think back on as I couldn’t see anything wrong with it before because I did not understand the impact a single story can have on others. Biases or lenses I bring to the classroom as white privileged middle-class female is the lens of my privilege and that I as a white person will never fully understand or be directly affected by injustices due to my race or status and also may not be able to fully see them right away as I am not directly affected by them. To  unlearn/work against these biases I will continue to educate myself on the injustices around me and challenge oppression by not being silent about them and sharing the information I learn. I hope to have many diverse stories within my classroom and have these stories coming from direct sources other than reading stories only written by deceased white men. Having stories shared that are written by all different people will help my students see themselves in these stories and make real connections. I will also strive to give them options on what they want to read about so they can pick a story that they can truly connect to and not have to try and connect to a viewpoint that has nothing to do with them.