RE: Math That Matters

Is mathematics 'neutral', or is it connected with social/ environmental justice?
- Math is neutral but the way math is taught is not neutral. For example, 1+1=2 is not ethically nuanced whatsoever, yet in teaching it to students one either takes conservative or progressive approach. One has to find which aspect of something is not neutral when math is involved. Social/environmental justice is a great example. It can either promote or not promote representations of different factions of people through the word problems in mathematics. It can either promote or not promote justice through teachers bringing different topics of contemporary issues and use math to find out what it is that surrounds our problem today. 

What are your ideas about the author's intentions in writing this textbook?
- I think the author wants readers to know that Math is a great tool to see truth yet it is not sufficiently used in a social/environmental context to promote the fallacies of today's society. 

Can these ideas from middle school math inspire teaching ideas for your secondary math classes?
- Yes they can. The cognitive level of those who are from secondary math class is greater than the cognitive level of those who are from middle school. There are many issues that students may not have understood back in middle school yet have become capable of understanding as they become older. 

Are there topics in mathematics that are more or less possible to connect with social justice issues?

- As long as topics are concerned, math has no limit. It will go to infinity as x goes to infinity. Environmental issues such as population of animals in a certain ecosystem, the mathematical model of road designs to minimize road kill of animals, the ethnicities of homelessness: who are the most vulnerable and the list can go on and on. 

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