Part2: Origin
Part 3: Development
Part 4: Purpose & Function
Part 5: Effects
This is an absolute pearl among Calvin and Hobbes comics. I don't think I've ever seen its equal. Click on the image to enlarge.
Maybe you suffer from ‘math anxiety.’ Maybe your brain shuts down at the mention of the quadratic equation. Maybe you just don’t like math. If that is the case, or, preferably, if it’s not, don’t let this post scare you away. I’m not going to try and convince you to love algebra – I haven’t been very successful in that area anyway. Instead, my purpose is to show that even math, cut and dried as it may appear, is influenced by worldview.
In response to the claim that worldviews influence everything humans do and think, many thinkers and educators point to mathematics as a subject that can be taught from a neutral philosophical standpoint. Though many agree that English and science are influenced by worldview, they say that mathematical facts are not. This creates the following question: is it possible to divorce mathematics from worldview and teach it in a neutral way?
If we were to examine mathematics from the standpoint of a Christian theist worldview and a secular humanist worldview, we would see a remarkable difference between the two perspectives. Consistent Christian theism views mathematics in a radically different way than secular humanism does. This means that Christian theist teachers ought to teach math differently than secular humanist teachers. This means that homeschooling parents should not present math to their children in the same way the public school system presents it.
1 comments:
I absolutely love that Calvin & Hobbes strip! Bill Watterson will never be replaced. I'm really looking forward to the math series.
Post a Comment