When thinking back on my experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics, I can note how there were aspects that were oppressive and discriminating for other students. The photos in the majority of my mathematic textbooks contained images of white children, clearly lacking diversity. In all honesty, my mathematic education seemed impartial to social matters. Of course there were a multitude of names in my textbook representing a variety of cultural backgrounds, with names such as Susan, Francois, and Gurpreet. Yet, when it came to class exams and quizzes, the names of the people in the questions were predominantly Euro-centric names. Names such as Bob, Bill, and James were very common and highly repeated. This could feel discriminating towards students of non-europeans descendent, as they were not seeing themselves represented in the classroom material, specifically the class material that was created by the teacher themselves.

There are three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes of mathematics and the way we learn it. One of the first was mentioned in the Poirier article, Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, is that students learn mathematics through their mother tongue rather than in English during their first few years of education (p. 54). This education occurs through kindergarten until grade two, “the first three years of their schooling” (p. 54). This point was then followed up by the fact that children use “a base-20 numeral system” (p. 54), rather than the traditional numeral system that is featured in the majority of math classrooms across Canada. Lastly, students “do not perceive mathematics as something that can help them solve everyday problems” (p. 55), rather, they focus on “spatial relations” (p.55). It’s truly fascinating to observe and read about the ways in which educators in Nunavut, specifically in Inuit communities, are approaching Mathematics. it’s so empowering for youth to be educated in these ways, especially because of how it focuses on the inclusivity of culture.