Volume
15
Issue
1-2
Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to develop a reflection on mathematics education (ME) from a socio-political perspective, through the exploration of a parody of ME using episodes from a Mexican sitcom. Different vignettes from the sitcom, consisting of absurd, nonsensical dialogues and situations of a fictional mathematics classroom, will be described, analyzed and used as illustrations of socio-political issues previously explored in ME research (MER). These illustrations allow for a reflection on the public perception of ME as a social practice. Elements from Deleuze’s The Logic of Sense will be used to analyze the scenes. One of the conclusions is that this farcical depiction of the mathematics classroom constitutes both a critique and an acceptance of established ME practices, pointing towards an ambivalence in the way the general public perceives this school subject/social practice. Throughout the text, the value that this depiction of ME could have for suggesting new questions and insights for future research will be explored.
First Page
345
Last Page
368
Recommended Citation
Bruno, Gustavo
(2018)
"“Statistics? Forget those old ladies!!” Exploring the nonsense of Mathematics Education,"
The Mathematics Enthusiast: Vol. 15
:
No.
1
, Article 18.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54870/1551-3440.1430
Available at:
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/tme/vol15/iss1/18
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.54870/1551-3440.1430
