Task: Choose a subject and grade-level. Research the curriculum frameworks for MA or the state you plan to teach in. As you review the curriculum, try to answer the following questions:
Mathematics, Grade 9
1. Are there opportunities for you to modify the curriculum to prepare liberated, skilled, critical thinkers? If so, where? How?
Yes. Although not many, feel that the curriculum can be modified in terms of the examples used to demonstrate math problems. For example, when dealing with statistics and ways to represent them graphically, as a teacher I can choose what statistics I want to work with. It can be as simple as about of candy in a candy jar, or I can go deep and promote critical thinking by having them look up and find the statistics for the crime rate in their community. Ideas can range from drop out rate, teen pregnancy rate, how many homes contain single parents, incarceration numbers, and much more to incite awareness. Another place where the curriculum can be modified is through word problems. Instead of setting up generic stories, I can use stories that relate to the students’ neighborhoods, countries, and lives. Allowing them to create their own word problem, using something they heard about on the new and another way to open their eyes to what’s going on in their community while teaching them math.
2. Provide any critiques you have of the curriculum and components you think are missing.
One issue I have is with the mathematical textbooks. I sometimes feel that they use words/phrases and speak about situations that not all urban youths have experienced. This also is true of some of the standardized testing that they give. I remember a few years ago; one test had the word “porpoise” on it and because a number of students did not know what that was, they skipped the question. If maybe “dolphin” or even “fish” had been used instead, they would have increased the amount of students who understood the word, hence understanding the question.
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