By Diane Kinch, posted January 17, 2017 —

Regardless of our individual political views, we cannot let our differences overshadow our humanity toward one another. We recognize that the current political climate may affect how we move forward as a people that values democracy and justice for all. In response to recent events, TODOS: Mathematics for ALL’s Stand for Humanity committed to finding the strength and resolve to reach out to people who are hurting, scared, or uncertain of their futures and to find ways to support educators to hold space for listening, emotions, and deeper understanding.

As mathematics teachers of elementary school students, what should this look like? NCSM/TODOS’ position statement on Social Justice in Mathematics Education examines what this entails, identifying four components to this effort:

1. Eliminating deficit views of mathematics learning
   
2. Eradicating mathematics as gatekeeper
   
3. Engaging the sociopolitical turn of mathematics education
   
4. Elevating the professional learning of mathematics teachers and leaders with a dual focus on mathematics and social justice

Of these four, the one that elementary school teachers can immediately work on is “Eliminating deficit views of mathematics learning.”

Deficit views of mathematics learning have two aspects. The first is the way in which we label students. The second is our restricted definition of mathematics.

We label students—often without conscious realization—by terms we use when speaking about them. Such terms as slow kids, low kids, high kids, and bubble kids are used in our decisions about what mathematics a student is “ready” to learn and the way in which they “can” learn it. Whether or not the terms are said out loud, students know in which group the teacher has placed them. All students are capable of learning mathematics at a higher cognitive level than we often give them credit for. One of our roles should be to “cultivate and sustain a positive mathematics identity and affect in students as doers of mathematics” (Aguirre, Mayfield Ingram, and Martin 2013).

Effective teachers “understand that rather than trying to know what to do to students, we must work with students to interpret and deepen their existing knowledge and enthusiasm for learning” (Wlodkowski and Ginsberg 1995). Including the world of the student in classroom curriculum and instruction encourages students to bring knowledge and experiences from their homes and communities to be used as resources for learning in the classroom (Civil 2007).

This establishment of inclusion delivers the message that they are respected and connected to the doing of mathematics. Which brings us to the second aspect of deficit thinking in mathematics. Our view of mathematics was established by the dominant group—upper-middle-class, educated, for the most part, white people. The experiences and knowledge that is reflected in the textbook view of mathematics limits our thinking. Culturally relevant views of mathematics take into account the knowledge and experiences of our students in each individual school or classroom when designing mathematics learning tasks.

What does this look like? Below are examples of a few ways that teachers can build cultural inclusion into their classrooms:

•   Include tasks centered on local civic issues that can be analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.
  
•   Determine the cost of building a new police station or other civic building.
  
•   Incorporate the hours the local library is open into word problems.
  
•   Integrate the cultural makeup of the community into classroom activities.
  
•   Examine the languages that the community brings to the conversation.
  
•   Discuss how algorithms differ across cultures.
  
•   Compare costs of the same products at local stores.
  
•   Maximize classroom academic discourse and student contributions while minimizing status issues in the classroom.
  
•   Create and use Mathematical Idea Waves
  
•   Include mathematical modeling tasks involving real-world issues that have an impact on students’ lives.
  
•   Collect individual student statistics to use when studying data and measurement standards.

Individually and as a group, elementary school teachers can influence the deficit thinking paradigm to one in which mathematics is viewed as a product of our cultures and in which all students are valued for what they bring to the classroom conversation around mathematics.

References

Aguirre, Julia M., Karen Mayfield-Ingram, and Danny Martin. 2013. The Impact of Identity in K–8 Mathematics Learning and Teaching: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

NCSM/NCTM. 2016. “Mathematics Education Through the Lens of Social Justice: Acknowledgment, Actions, and Accountability.” A joint position statement from the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and TODOS: Mathematics for ALL.

Civil, Marta. 2006. “Building on Community Knowledge: An Avenue to Equity in Mathematics Education.” In Improving Access to Mathematics: Diversity and Equity in the Classroom, edited by Na’ilah Nasir and Paul Cobb, pp. 105–17. New York: Teachers College Press.

Wlodkowski, Raymond J., and Margery B. Ginsberg. 1995. “Strengthening Student Engagement: A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching.” Educational Leadership 53 (September): 17–21.

Diane Kinch is the 2016–2018 president of TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, a mathematics equity organization that advocates for equity and high-quality mathematics educatio