The Grade Level Myth
Leopards break into the temple and drink all the sacrificial vessels dry; it keeps happening; in the end, it can be calculated in advance and is incorporated into the ritual.…
Transformational Art Project
I have, for a while, been trying to integrate more student choice of product in class projects. I've also been inspired by Gholdy Muhammad's Historically Responsive Literacy framework and have…
Bey-ometry
What counts as 'doing mathematics'? The math often and traditionally done in school offers one answer to that question. But, it is an answer that is far too narrow. In…
Geometry, Definitions, Racism, Love
Traditionally, Geometry class has sought to develop not just a student’s ability to work with shape and space but also their understanding of formal, axiomatic mathematics. The significance of axiomatic…
2 = ∞: The Incompleteness of the Standards for Mathematical Practice
The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) are often cited as evidence that the current math content standards suggest a significant shift in mathematics education. This shift is frequently framed as…
Calculating Midpoint: A Bad Lesson in Morality?
Our recent unit in Geometry has focused on Food Apartheid. This week, we began with a very sparse prompt asking students where a new grocery store should be built in…
New Standards for High School Mathematics: Anticipated Questions and Concerns
In previous posts, I have made a brief case for why new standards in high school math are needed. I also proposed some guiding principles to outline a vision for…
Proposed: Guiding Principles for New Standards for High School Mathematics
These guiding principles propose a new set of standards for high school mathematics that, in general, should look nothing like the current ones. Everything from their structure, language, and underlying…
A Short Case for New Standards for High School Mathematics
Standards are political documents. They are the result of legislation, statute, and bureaucracy. Standards also are imbued with authority by professional organizations, corporations, local administrators, and educators themselves. They are…
Preamble: A Call for New Standards for High School Mathematics
I should begin with the disclaimer that I was an initial supporter of and advocate for the current high school mathematics standards, and there are probably still situations in which…