Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
There are 3 types of knowledge namely Community, Critical and Classical Knowledge that need to be synthesized into Mathematics education. The term "Community knowledge" means several different but related components of knowledge and culture. It involves how people understand their lives, their communities, power relationships, and their society. Community knowledge can also mean the cultural knowledge people have, including their languages and the ways in which they make sense of their experiences. This can be referred to as “indigenous knowledge,” “traditional knowledge,” “popular knowledge,” or “informal knowledge.” Critical knowledge is knowledge about the sociopolitical conditions of one’s immediate and broader existence. It includes knowledge about why things are the way they are and about the historical, economical, political, and cultural roots of various social phenomena. The last form of knowledge, Classical knowledge refers to formal, in-school, abstract knowledge. Classical knowledge requires that the students have the competencies they need to pass all the gate-keeping tests they will face and to have full opportunities for life, education, and career choices. Classical mathematical knowledge clearly has high status in society and a strong Eurocentric bias.
The designers of the Ontario Math curriculum for Grades 1- 8 have revised the standard curriculum to be implemented in the entire province in 2005. However, this curriculum was created on a provincial level, applicable to students within the entire province. It wasn't created in order to develop students' critical knowledge within their Math classes and how that relates to the communities that they live in. The curriculum definitely covers all points pertaining to Classical Mathematical knowledge however the question arises as to applicability of this Classical Mathematical knowledge within any student's day to day life that encompasses his/ her "Community knowledge" and "Critical knowledge." Only when curriculum designers or even the teachers implementing the curriculum within the classroom study community knowledge in order to develop school- wide interdisciplinary curriculum, they can try to create or implement curriculum based on those themes that will support both the development of Critical and Classical forms of knowledge within their classrooms. Creating and implementing such a math program would be challenging, time consuming and difficult since it needs to be tailored to individual communities.
The designers of the Ontario Math curriculum for Grades 1- 8 have revised the standard curriculum to be implemented in the entire province in 2005. However, this curriculum was created on a provincial level, applicable to students within the entire province. It wasn't created in order to develop students' critical knowledge within their Math classes and how that relates to the communities that they live in. The curriculum definitely covers all points pertaining to Classical Mathematical knowledge however the question arises as to applicability of this Classical Mathematical knowledge within any student's day to day life that encompasses his/ her "Community knowledge" and "Critical knowledge." Only when curriculum designers or even the teachers implementing the curriculum within the classroom study community knowledge in order to develop school- wide interdisciplinary curriculum, they can try to create or implement curriculum based on those themes that will support both the development of Critical and Classical forms of knowledge within their classrooms. Creating and implementing such a math program would be challenging, time consuming and difficult since it needs to be tailored to individual communities.