Revealing Truth is an introductory unit for 9th graders enrolled in Algebra I that will simultaneously cover remedial topics in arithmetic, specifically the four basic operations with integers, while also recognizing the vast array of ways that humans have thought about and interacted with numbers throughout history. “Among those who study and write about the history of mathematics there has been a growing understanding that what is generally referred to as modern mathematics is, itself, built upon contributions from people in many cultures. There is now greater acknowledgement of mathematical developments in China, India, and the Arabic world. We may find that some ideas we have taken to be universal are not while other ideas we believed to be exclusively our own, are, in fact, shared by others.17 Situating mathematical concepts inside their stories of origin will enable students to connect with them on a new, more personal, level. Students will explore the origins of the algorithms they were exposed to in elementary school as well as some algorithms that have been ignored by the Eurocentric version of algorithms and number sense. This ten-lesson unit will include an introduction to the field of Ethnomathematics, which is the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture. “The ideas of non-Westerners belong, as do ours, in the global and ongoing history of mathematics, always keeping in mind that there is no single linear ordering and no necessary route that all must follow. At the very least, ethnomathematics can lead to an appreciation of the intellectual endeavors of others.”18
This unit intends to spark a love of mathematics and lead towards higher levels of student success in Algebra and high school mathematics. “Mathematics and the natural sciences are the only areas of study presented with little or no historical, cultural, or political references. This ahistorical approach is essential for what Alkalimat identifies as a process of "indoctrinating an elite with the metaphysical myth of eternal Eurocentric domination of the world.” This pedagogical approach reinforces the institutionalization of Eurocentrism, class elitism, and sexism. European names such as Pythagoras, Euclid, Cauchy-Rieman, Fourier, and Newton are tossed about sans flesh, bones, and personalities; then they are attached to various levels of abstractions as if they always existed.”19 S.E. Anderson is a mathematics educator who has dedicated their work to helping students of color change a sense of alienation towards mathematics with an attitude that math is “intellectually stimulating.”
Anderson outlines four components of her typical introductory lecture as follows:
- People of color or were the original founders and innovators of mathematics and science.
- Europe was never isolated from Third World mathematical and scientific achievements.
- European capitalism developed because of Europe's incorporation of the mathematical and scientific ideas and techniques of the First World into their capitalist superstructure.
- Europe dominated, enslaved, and colonized Africa, Asia, and the Americas and thereby stopped and / or reversed most, but not all, forms of First World intellectual, mathematical, scientific, and technological activity.
Anderson explains their key points as follows: “Through this brief historical survey, I attempt to put mathematics within a human context. Although I limit term papers to my calculus and "math as a human endeavor" classes, many of my students become very interested in the historical development of mathematics. Often, they wind up doing more reading and writing term papers in the field of mathematics and science history for other classes.'20'
The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger21 will be used as an anchoring point for the mathematical content in each lesson. One chapter will be read allowed by the class each day with the use of a document camera during the unit. These chapters will take approximately 10 minutes to read. At the conclusion of each chapter students will do reflective writing, which they will share in small groups or with the whole class. Each lesson will also contain a warmup problem from Which One Doesn’t Belong collection of images.22 These images are considered “low floor/high ceiling” exercises. Meaning there are multiple entry points into the problem and students can go as in depth as they’d like to.