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.
In Gale’s video she talks about the importance of relationships in mathematics and how this isn’t part of the Eurocentric style of learning. The Eurocentric style is very linear and almost a step-by-step process. Gale states, “first you learn addition, then subtraction, then multiplication, then division and so on”. Bear (2000) suggests, “storytelling is a very important part of the educational process” (p. 81) and that this is an important part of learning. Also, Bear (2000) confirms that teaching should occur “through actual experience” (p. 80). Therefore, three ways that were described in these resources that challenge the Eurocentric model is through the importance of relationships, storytelling, and through actual experience.
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?
Adichie (2009) states that the downfall of single stories is that “it robs people of their dignity, it makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult, and it emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar”. During my time in school, I didn’t have a variety of texts or resources that provided a greater understanding of cultures. Any text that we were given was from a single point of view (either Canadian or European). The truths that mattered in school were that we were learning the knowledge from the Canadian point of view and only their view. Unfortunately, some biases that I bring to the classroom is that I have only lived in one place my entire life; thus, I will need to ensure that I’m relaying information from a variety of different ways. I think that as educators we need to have a growth mindset and be willing to learn and adapt to provide our students with as much information as possible. There has been a lot of talk about students having a growth mindset; however, I believe it is important that educators also have this mindset so that they can help provide students with the best learning possible.