Just Equations Director of Educational Partnerships Shakiyya Bland explores the promise of ethnomathematics, a practice that invites students to connect math to their experiences and communities.
When Bland started adding principles of ethnomathematics to her teaching and curriculum writing, she saw how the practice expanded students’ understanding beyond the artificial boundaries set by textbooks and standardized tests. She recognized the knowledge already present in the classroom.
“If we truly want a more just and inclusive mathematics education, we need to appreciate mathematics for what it truly is: cultural wisdom rooted in the lived experiences of our students and their communities,” Bland writes.
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