Towards a Philosophy of Critical Mathematics Education (Mathematics Education Library, 15)

In Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell gives a description of different forms of suppression. We learn about the telescreens placed everywhere, through which it is possible for Big-Brother to watch the inhabitants of Oceania. However, it is not only important to control the activities of the inhabitants, it is important as well to control their thoughts, and the Thought Police are on guard. This is a very direct form of monitoring and control, but Orwell also outlines a more imperceptible and calculated line of thought control. In the Appendix to Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell explains some struc­ tures of 'Newspeak', which is going to become the official language of Oceania. Newspeak is being developed by the Ministry of Truth, and this language has to substitute 'Oldspeak' (similar to standard English). Newspeak should fit with the official politics of Oceania ruled by the Ingsoc party: "The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc, but to make all other modes of thought impos­ sible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought - that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc - should be literally unthink­ able, at least as far as thought is dependent on words. What does `critical mathematics education' mean? This is the essential question in Towards a Philosophy of Critical Mathematics Education. The question forms the basis of an approach to the clarification of such notions as: crises, democracy, the Vico-paradox, mathematical formatting, reflective knowing, learning as action, personal fatalism and underground intentions. The subject matter considered is the project-organised mathematics education undertaken in primary and secondary school. It is shown that the concept of critical mathematics education is crucial for every educational theory. As the book explains, if humanity is submerged in technology, and if modern technology is to a great extent constituted by mathematics, then the implicit and explicit functions of mathematics education assume a fundamental importance Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-10 Critique and Education....Pages 11-27 Democracy and Education....Pages 28-41 Mathematics — A Formatting Power?....Pages 42-58 A Thematic Approach in Mathematics Education....Pages 59-78 “Golfparken” and “Constructions”....Pages 79-96 Reflective Knowing....Pages 97-124 “Family Support in a Micro-Society”....Pages 125-140 “Our Community”....Pages 141-154 “Energy”....Pages 155-174 Intentionality....Pages 175-195 Knowing, An Epilogue....Pages 196-209 Back Matter....Pages 210-246