Course Reflection

This course is a pretty interesting one, since I wasn't sure how relevant math history would be to everything that we would be teaching. However, even though it may not directly relate to the course content in our textbook, I still think learning about math history is very important. Understanding the history of math helps us derive what we know today, and is also a way to recognize those mathematicians from minority groups in the Western World. I never knew how much math was discovered (or invented) from other parts of the world until all of those dead white dudes showed up, since we have named everything after them, despite them not being the first. It is empowering to students in non-majority populations to learn that math isn't just reserved for the elites, like it is used to. I feel like it's also just a very interesting way to connect with cultures that were forgotten for their mathematical feats. This is also a great way to integration decolonization into our curriculum without being overly intrusive. Over the course of my blogs, it's interesting to look at all the various problems that we have done, since they are all so unique to each "civilization." It is somewhat reassuring to see that people have struggled with math before history was being written, yet everybody is still trying to figure it out like us!

In terms of course feedback, I enjoyed the content a lot! Though it did feel quite rushed near the end, since we covered a huge variety of topics, but didn't go into depth in many of them. I did enjoy solving puzzles using what the ancient civilizations knew, and not what we knew. I think it adds another level of problem solving that would be valuable for the students to practice! :)