Think back on your experiences of the teaching and learning of mathematics — were there aspects of it that were oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?
-I remember enjoying mathematics during my elementary school experience and slowly having a decrease in my enjoyment with each grade. I think this has to do with how the class were structured as they began to become more of a lecture setting with notes off the board and doing questions out the textbook. Throughout my mathematics journey I remember there being many word questions but never with an aboriginal perspective. That being said I do not remember having any aboriginal content present in any of my mathematics classes.
After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenge Eurocentric ideas about the purposes mathematics and the way we learn it.
-The one way that I noticed was how the Inuit calendar challenges Eurocentric ideas and ways of knowing as they base there calendar of natural events. For example a “month” may be based off what animal is born that month.
-Rather then using the normal Eurocentric way of measuring like a ruler or tape measure. Inuit people would use there hands, fingers and feet to measure.
-Lastly, Inuit people express there mathematics in a way that challenges Eurocentric ways of knowing as they express mathematics more orally rather then in a written form.