Tool Kit Text 7

The Multicultural Math Classroom: Bringing in the World, by Claudia Zaslavsky.

This not just another book on how to teach mathematics more effectively, but how to do it through a multicultural, socially responsible perspective. Zaskavsky explores how people around the world and throughout history have used mathematics to solve every-day problems by counting, measuring, and building, as well as for recreation, such as games and art. By highlighting the similarities in mathematical concepts, despite the differences in culture, students will see that math can be applied to their life situations, even if they see themselves as “different.” By showing students that math is relevant to their lives; the real-world connection will be made, with the real-world being their world. The reoccurring question of “when am I ever going to use this?” will, hopefully, answer itself.