Session III

With a background in deaf education, special education, and child and family studies it was especially exciting to read about mathematics teachers using issues of social injustice as group worthy task.  Prior to reading, it never occurred to use these concepts for math.  I never imagined I would teach mathematics. However, using these concepts I might be inclined to think about it a little more. Not only are these ideas presented and used in the classroom, the students are able to show their knowledge in a different way as well as relate and find significance in the math lessons.  

Logan suggests using routine math work continues to show the same students doing well and the same students doing poorly.  In contrast using correctly structured, defined, and explained group worthy task is a useful and vital tool in the classroom.  One reason I agree with using group worthy task is it allows students with disabilities or delays opportunities to provide contributions to class work and activities that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, while interpreting in general education classrooms for deaf and/or hard of hearing students, I witnessed students who normally excluded themselves from answering questions in a large group become involved in a variety of group experiments.  Often words for certain ideas are difficult to pronounce, spell, or talk about when answering questions.  Group work allows the student to physically show what he or she knows not only to their peers but to the teacher.  Furthermore, in a mainstream setting there is a term used by sign language interpreters, lag time.  A sign language interpreter must listen to the instructor, receive the information, process the information, and translate information to students.  Often by the time the information is passed to the deaf student, another student has responded and the teacher has moved on.  It may appear the deaf student is not understanding information or responding but it relates more to processing time than knowledge.  Thus having group work specifically designed for student diversity can offer a slower pace and time to think, analyze, process, and share ideas and information.  Using these kinds of task allow hearing students to recognizing the talents and abilities of their deaf peers.  Additionally, this concept of group worthy task goes beyond mathematics and begins to build skills required of students after high school such as building relationships with co-workers and learning to use collaboration skills which are necessary to improve social injustices in a real world setting.

Authors Eric Gutstein and Bob Peterson take group worthy task one step further using relevant social injustices for mathematics instruction.  I have read studies of teachers using culturally relevant social injustice issues in reading classes, but this is a first using it in mathematics.  What a tremendous way to introduce the concepts of math to students who otherwise might not be exposed to such pertinent issues.  In fact, I may have been more inclined to search deeper into mathematics had my instructors used social injustices to define the relevance.  As students of this generation deal with different and new struggles about the future, being able to use math to build student awareness of social injustices is tremendous.   Especially students in low socioeconomic environments, the ability to learn math and relate to their reality may instill a desire to increase knowledge which may later provide opportunities to improve their family’s situation and community survival.  

 Two examples of social injustice issues to use with students in mathematics especially with the increase of inclusive settings is special education and poverty.   But, with inclusion how do I make a general education math classroom socially aware of the injustice done to students with disabilities or families living in generational poverty.  I might not be able to change ideology, but I can certainly apply math concepts in groups that showcase social issues in a lighter, grade appropriate way.  I can show a student’s abilities and not their disabilities.  Consider working with students who have sensory loss, physical and cognitive challenges.  It occurred to me, math is used when reading and understanding , setting hearing aids, mapping cochlear implants.   Also, circumference, distance, radius, and diameter could be investigated using the wheels of someone’s wheelchair.  Inclusive settings can be frustrating for all students and teachers, but using a variety of resources not only helps to include students with disabilities it infuses the cohesiveness of a group.

 I should be able create classrooms sensitive to diversity of all kinds, even poverty. For instance, the math lesson provided by Leah McCoy does a superb job of using group task and social issues highlighting and explaining how to use poverty as the topic and a learning tool. I would like to see a lesson created after the teacher strike in Chicago ends using mathematical concepts to instruct and explain the consequences and necessity of strikes.  However, it is pertinent to understand and present a sensitive topic, such as poverty, without singling out students currently living in impoverished areas.  As well as being insensitive to students who have no concept of the term poor.  This requires preplanning and a strong sense of my students family settings. In addition to being sensitive to my students, as a teacher it is vital to see social injustice through the eyes of my students.  I must be able to change my social imagination or at least gain an understanding of diverse social issues in order to adequately instruct, lead, and choose group worthy task.  The lens in which I perceive the world may be sufficiently different than the lens in which my students see the world.   Task need to be relevant to student experiences, not my experiences.  For example, prior to entering education I knew poverty existed.  For me, poverty existed in places like India, Mexico, and Africa and not in my community or neighborhood.  Yet, some of my first experiences in education were with students who lived in abusive, addictive, and impoverished homes.  At first, it was overwhelming and I spent a great deal of time saddened by these situations.  Eventually, I came to realize my part in their lives.  Although, I could not change their immediate situations, my role was to help students complete a high school education and move into post secondary education settings or transition into a work environment which often had the potential to change the students future.   Using group assignments can be very important in helping students become aware of how their own life situations can be related to mathematics, reading, and science as well as providing awareness of ideas which help create a desire to make changes in our world.

Each of the assigned articles unites the importance of group worthy task and social injustice issues within our classrooms.  Students, whether impoverished or with a disability, can find ways of relating their life circumstances or situations to real life applications.  The real life applications and opportunities to collaborate more indepth about social issues and math are wonderful ways to encourage and build a cohesive setting which steps away from boundaries that society seems to continually put into place.  And, instill a love of learning for all students.