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I noticed you didn't answer my question, so I'll pose it again. Suppose a teacher decides everyone must learn the counting-intersections method in order to lea

I noticed you didn't answer my question, so I'll pose it again. Suppose a teacher decides everyone must learn the counting-intersections method in order to learn to multiply. One of the students already knows long-multiplication and can even multiply two-digit numbers in her head. And she thinks that drawing all those lines and counting intersection is a boring, tedious, useless way to multiply. She gets all of the answers right, and is the first to finish. But she gets a zero, because she didn't do what the teacher taught. Is that good pedagogy? Is it teaching mathematics? Is it encouraging the child to learn more math? Or is it (as the text argues), more likely teaching conformity to the power structure, and possibly demotivating the student? The argument is that not everyone is like you; not everyone can fit into the power structures at school which unnecessarily and even subconsciously reflect the dominant culture. The argument is that teachers who are aware of these issues may be more likely to educate a wider range of students.

WalterBright 5y ago
I did answer the question, in my own way, because I do not accept your framing of the issue. Your frame it in provocative and loaded terms like "privilege", "dominant", "pedagogy", "power structure", etc. I don't view mathematics through your lens at all.
- eesmith 5y ago
  As a reminder, this isn't directly about "mathematics" but "mathematics education". I don't see how you can talk about education without using concepts associated with pedagogy, which is "the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners." (Quoting WP) Can you reframe my scenario with a framing you like? Teacher A wants students to learn principle X. Teacher uses method M to do so. Student B already knows principle X, via method N. Teacher says student's method N is wrong, because it isn't method M, and gives student B a poor grade. Student B becomes demotivated, and doesn't care so much about learning principles Y or Z. Teacher A wants students to learn principles Y and Z. What framing would you use to describe this situation? Do you think teacher A should change their teaching style? In the document I referred to, method M is the standard way taught in the US, method N is the standard way taught in another country, and student B is an immigrant child who learned method M from B's parents before teacher A taught it in class. In my scenario, method M is a very visual technique for multiplication used for early learners, and method N is the standard way taught to more advanced learners in the US.

WalterBright 5y ago

I did answer the question, in my own way, because I do not accept your framing of the issue. Your frame it in provocative and loaded terms like "privilege", "dominant", "pedagogy", "power structure", etc. I don't view mathematics through your lens at all.

eesmith 5y ago
As a reminder, this isn't directly about "mathematics" but "mathematics education". I don't see how you can talk about education without using concepts associated with pedagogy, which is "the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners." (Quoting WP) Can you reframe my scenario with a framing you like? Teacher A wants students to learn principle X. Teacher uses method M to do so. Student B already knows principle X, via method N. Teacher says student's method N is wrong, because it isn't method M, and gives student B a poor grade. Student B becomes demotivated, and doesn't care so much about learning principles Y or Z. Teacher A wants students to learn principles Y and Z. What framing would you use to describe this situation? Do you think teacher A should change their teaching style? In the document I referred to, method M is the standard way taught in the US, method N is the standard way taught in another country, and student B is an immigrant child who learned method M from B's parents before teacher A taught it in class. In my scenario, method M is a very visual technique for multiplication used for early learners, and method N is the standard way taught to more advanced learners in the US.