Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice, Grades K-12

Book excerpt: Your journey to becoming a social justice mathematics educator begins here. Every journey has a beginning—a starting point—where you take a moment to set your sights on your next destination carefully. Teaching mathematics for social justice (TMSJ) means reimagining your mathematics classroom in a way that serves more children better–as a place that lifts mathematics up as a tool for students to analyze and understand the worlds around them, celebrate their unique identities and their communities, and become agents of change. For any K-12 educator who values these goals Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice, Grades: A Guide for Moving from Mindset to Action can be the start of a transformational journey. Guiding you in planning, implementing, assessing, and showcasing social justice mathematics lessons and helping children apply their learning beyond the classroom, this book: Encourages self-reflection on the "why" of your teaching and examines your own mindset about mathematics Provides a step-by-step action plan for creating equitable and socially just mathematics classrooms that focus on rich and collaborative mathematics learning Incorporates interactive reflection prompts, self-assessments, and activities throughout the journey Describes culturally responsive teaching practices to better respond to the instructional needs of the diverse individuals in your classroom Offers activities to identify what current events and social issues are important to children and their families Inspires you to remain steadfast in their journey of growth toward becoming a social justice mathematics educator Complete with sample lessons, online resources, and practical tools, this guide will empower you to better understand the children in your classroom, leverage their strengths, and make mathematics learning relevant and useful as they use mathematics to address the issues they care about. Start your journey towards becoming a social justice mathematics educator today.