For me, in school I was constantly struggling with understanding mathematics. I think this stemmed from having trouble memorizing all of the rules and properties of math (ex: BEDMAS). With my own struggles in math, I can definitely understand and relate why math may have been oppressive to some of my peers growing up. For starters, the ways of teaching math when I was in school was usually taught in a “traditional” format with the teacher at the front lecturing and then pen and paper assignments, followed by some form of a quiz or test after (product-based teaching). This type of teaching and learning has proven to be ineffective for some learners. It does not support hands on experiences or self-expression for alternate learning styles of students. For example, when I was in school we followed our text book to a T, and were expected after every lesson to do the assignment in the book that connected with what we were just taught. However, the problem with this is that there was not a lot of room to interpret the questions, and all the answers had to look the same and be solved the same, very systematically. In addition to this, many different cultures have different mathematical systems and ways of learning math. To have this expectation for all students to do math the same way, because it appears to be the “right way” limits the learning ability of students. Another problem by teaching math in this fashion, presents significant obstacles because of the amount of instruction related to the use of language. Many students who struggle with reading/or with their understanding of English may struggle significantly. This language base approach, enhances the struggles with deciphering math problems due to the amount of the wording and language used. Math needs to evolve more into a modernized, inclusive teaching approach for our students and this cannot happen unless we change the approach on how math is being taught. 

In the article Teaching mathematics and the Inuit community, it talks about how Inuit ways of teaching math focuses the learning using a hands-on approach, and allows for learning that can be used in everyday life. For example, in the Inuit culture, measurements can be carried out by parts of the body such by using their hands and feet. This is very effective especially in everyday life where rulers are not always around. Another well-established common technique the Inuit people use, is creating their calendar around nature and what is occurring in that month. This is very effective and allows for students to see and understand more about what is happening around them. In addition to this the Inuit people have a great knowledge of space by becoming familiar with the land they are able to use techniques such as reading snow banks, assessing wind and building Inukshuks. Dr. Gale Russell also talked about Indigenous math relationships and the Inuit people’s way of math specifically. She explained the importance relationships, and personal experiences play in math from an Indigenous perspective. For example, Inuit people have a number system in base 20, because they count with their hands and toes giving a total of 20. Inuit people have a wonderful realistic way of doing math and this type of math would be very beneficial to be incorporated into classrooms. It uses common ways of using math in your community/environment, not focusing solely on the tradition pen and paper math. This way of learning moves towards a more hands on approach of math as a learning experience. 

In my upbringing/schooling I was exposed to what I feel like was a mostly white middle class perspective/lens. In school, growing up I feel like we were always getting a Eurocentric perspective and never were really able to see different points of views when it came to topics like history or current events. In addition to this the format we were taught really supported the Eurocentric perspective. There was an expectation and a supportive direction to be able to “properly” read and comprehend the materials that were given to us. The resulting end was to have some form of capability to express our understanding, usually through a type of written expression. Through this type of learning that I received in my early educational experience, it is easy to see how some biases could have formed when you are only looking at one perspective. However, as I got older and entered high school I was able to be exposed to a more diverse perspective/lens, This has been essential to my growth as a human and a future educator. It is important to acknowledge that everyone has some forms of biases, but it is up to us to know how we would like to deal, cope and change them. A lot of the time biases can be reworked, to alter and acknowledge these biases. As I continue to evolve with my personal learning/growth on biases and singular perspectives, there will be opportunities to develop different perspectives and a broader worldview and understanding.

Due to my school revolving around white middle class Eurocentric perspective, most of the “stories” I was exposed to fell under that lens. This was very damaging to me as a young person because it did not expose me to the world around me and the people around me. Everyone has a story and there are many examples in the world that could have been used in my schooling to help us as young learners to gain accurate perspectives of our world. It is also important that everyone is represented and feels that they belong because everyone matters. Everyone’s story, life and their truth are important and should be valued authentically.

In my early schooling I feel like I received a citizenship education by way of food drives, holiday gift donations and playground clean up. This is in line with developing a personally responsible citizen in myself and my classmates. Once I was in high school the direction in my education as a citizen shifted. I was involved in clubs and organizations that aligned opportunities for me in developing an involved participatory citizenship for my growth. I along with my peers and teachers would help plan fundraisers and awareness, an example would be a combination of clubs in December. All the high school organization dedicated leads to head a large committee to organize a grand scale drive. This time the students planned, initiated, organized everything for a massive benefit and supports to communities in need near and far. I feel that in my education I was able to develop citizenship by being exposed to more hands-on learning experiences. In high school specifically, we were able to learn about topics that had an impact on our community and in our world. We also elevated our learning about the topics and looked into what we could do to help alleviate the problems that were occurring. I believe it is important to try to teach citizenship to our students, and to get students invested and participating on tasks that will impact them and their world directly. Once someone is invested, it really can high light passion, desires, and knowledge to better this place we all call home.