Citizenship and the Mathematics Classroom

This was a very interesting article about mathematics and the attempt to include citizenship in mathematics education.  I found it intriguing to note that the author follows a similar train of thought that we have been learning throughout the course.  That is, that we should not just teach optimal ways of finding ‘right’ answers to problems, but that we should provide them with a deeper understanding.  This deeper understanding will help student’s function better in society.  I had not ever thought of the fact that homework and having right and wrong answers may not be good for citizenship education.  I thought the author brought up an interesting point, that by doing this, we are judging a students’ thought process and not giving them the right to be freely creative in their thought process.  After reading this article I can only hope that I can take aspects of these points and use them in my own classroom.  From as far as I can remember, I have never really been given the opportunity to be entirely free and creative when doing math.  There has always been the underlying right and wrong answer that has affected the way I think about math.  I also liked the suggestion to “build community in the classroom” (Simmt, 5) by making sure students contribute in the classroom.  I feel this is a very important point because student participation will encourage other students to become active participants in mathematics.  I really appreciate how this article has tried to incorporate citizenship in the mathematics classroom, and provides the reader with ways to do this.  It is definitely an aspect I have never really thought much about before, but I will certainly consider from now on.