My first reaction after reading the topic “Linking Math and Social Justice” was “I love it”. I felt I finally found something I’ve been wanting to read about. It definitely is a unique and rare combination. The first thing people usually think about Math is numbers or calculations, or that it’s irrelevant to practical life.
Moreover, one of the excerpts from David Stocker reads: “The main aim of education should be to produce competent, caring, loving, and lovable people”. It is probably the first time I’m seeing the words ‘caring, loving, and lovable people’ in the context of Math. It fascinates me to see there are Mathematicians that see connections between human emotions and Math.
Furthermore, his work is admirable, especially the connections he withdraws between Math and practical life. I feel he’s using his expertise, i.e. Mathematics to make a difference via one of the strongest tools - writing. Such writing pieces are rare to found.
Additionally, there definitely are topics in Math that are related to the issues of social justice, we need the lense to integrate them together. For instance, Stocker relates the algebraic equation and violence as follows: “Antonino can figure out his daily paper route salary using an algebraic equation but he can’t use a pattern to show how violence on television and aggression in the world are related.”
Lastly, mathematical thinking is what I call a way to go about life in general. It is the devotion, commitment, and not giving up that allow us to reach a solution while solving a Mathematical problem. The same applies to life holistically.
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