18 July 2021 - Mathematics for Human Flourishing

1. Can you describe 2 places in the chapter that made you stop and think?

The first place is definitely the beginning. Especially young teachers nowadays tend to believe in a person's purity that is idealistic. We forget how complex human beings are and that even a criminal can do mathematics.

The other place was when they author mentions how they were told by a professor that they don't have what it takes to be a successful mathematician. Mathematics is rife with elitism and I've encountered this throughout my career. Actually, it's probably safe to say that my colleagues have brushed against this idea at some point during their degree. We rarely teach our students how to deal with adversity and at least to tell them that one person cannot predict your future, unless it's the local witch with her crystal ball.

 2. What does the phrase "Every being silently cries out to be read differently" (p. 2) mean to you in the context of teaching? Does this phrase connect to your own experiences of learning/teaching?

For me it speaks to our current culture's tendency to label and demonize people based on a certain aspect of either their personality, their action, or their past ancestors (which they have no control of). In the context of teaching, the phrase symbolizes that humans are complex and aren't easily put into one "reading" and that it is unwise doing so. This phrase connects to my own experiences as I generally don't believe the idea of putting people into groups is of fruitful outcome. Therefore, critically analyzing a situation and understanding that the truth is not always clear cut and/or how we want it to be, is perhaps the most important thing in understanding our students and even the world around us.