A Man Left Albuquerque Heading East reading

 “In reading historic texts that appear profoundly similar to problems in our own school textbooks, it is easy for us to read our own experiences of schooling onto past eras. Though this may have some benefit in providing us with empathy and insight into past times through connections to our own experience, it may also keep us from being able to imagine the ‘otherness’ of previous eras and cultures”. In reading this chapter, I found myself going back to this idea of finding a balance between relating the text to my own experiences and acknowledging and appreciating the differences between then and now. I think in this program in general we are trained to constantly ask how different readings, lessons, and theories relate to us and our experiences. Being explicitly reminded that we there are other ways to interact with material beyond through our own experiences was a change of pace that I feel I needed. In a sense this passage felt like it gave me permission to just read and imagine without needing to constantly compare everything to myself. I believe it’s beneficial to practice engaging in the texts through both lenses, as I think as teachers we can gain something from both sides. I hope I’m able to find a balance as I continue with readings throughout the semester.

With that said, I did find myself comparing some of the ideas within the text to modern day instruction. In particular, the concept of why we use word problems. Is it a tool to train students in the use of methods rather than understanding, or is the aim to understand and extend mathematics? I think word problems could be useful for both situations, but I personally lean towards using word problems to extend learning. As mentioned in page 4 of the reading, actual real-life situations can often be much more complex in nature and thus be harder to convert into math problems. But I believe that as teachers we can carefully select real-life situations that are perhaps more complex than what has been taught in the math classroom, but can still be understood and worked through with the knowledge taught thus far. I also think that it’s okay to distill information from a complicated situation into fewer, more digestible details. I think that is still a tool for understanding and evaluating the real world around us, and being able to both look at the big picture and see the smaller defining details is a useful skill that is developed over time through thinking about real world problems. 

 


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