This is the 3rd installment of learning identities provocations (completed: Inquiry into being a Writer, Reader).
Inquiring into what it means to be a mathematician is near and dear to my heart because I certainly never identified as such during my school years. So many of us are/were of this mindset: convinced that mathematicians are those people, with little to do with us.
But the truth is we can all start telling ourselves a much more inclusive story. Being bad at recalling math facts does not exclude one from being a mathematician; nor does being a pro at reciting math facts automatically create a mathematician. Rather, we must all reframe our thinking, identifying our own very real, practicable, and even creative mathematical applications, that do, in fact, make us mathematicians.
Resource #1: Beauty of Mathematics by Parachutes
Resource #2: Tweet by Aviva Dunsinger
This high school @HWDSBCampPower volunteer told me that he was “bad at math.” Look at this spatial awareness. He told me that he was “great at puzzles” as a kid. Really problem solved to maximize the area. Wow! We need to help kids understand all of the intricacies of math. pic.twitter.com/ArwQ3GdbxG
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) August 17, 2018
Resource #3: Which One Doesn’t Belong? collaborative website by Mary Bourassa
Resource #4: Infinity & Me by Kate Hosford & Gabi Swiatkowska & A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman & Isabel Greenberg
Provocation Questions:
- What does it mean to be a mathematician?
- How does doing math compare to being a mathematician?
- What is the connection between creativity and being a mathematician?
- How can we build our sense of ourselves as mathematicians?
- What is our responsibility to be a mathematician?
- What impact does mathematics have on our lives? On our communities?
featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto