Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part One: Viewing Math Broadly

1. Teaching Math Across the Curriculum — 9
   by Bob Peterson
   
   Teaching Suggestions: Disparities in Wealth Cartoon — 13
   Activity Box: No-TV Week Math — 14
   Driving While Black or Brown: A Math Project About Racial Profiling — 16

2. Reading the World with Math — 19
   by Marilyn Frankenstein
   
   Teaching Suggestions:
   The War in Iraq Boondocks Cartoon — 20
   Activity Box: Using Math to Take a Critical Look at How the Unemployment Rate Is Determined — 23
   The War in Iraq: How Much Does It Cost? — 29

3. Race, Retrenchment, and the
   Reform of School Mathematics — 31
   by William F. Tate
   
   Environmental Hazards:
   Is Environmental Racism Real? — 41

4. Historical, Cultural, and Social Implications of Mathematics
   by S. E. Anderson — 43

Part Two: Infusing Social Justice into Math Classes

5. "Home Buying While Brown or Black" — 47
   by Eric Gutstein
   
   Teaching Suggestions:
   Corporate Control of U.S. Media Line Graph — 49
   
   Teaching Suggestions:
   "And How Do You Spend Your Wages?" Cartoon — 51

6. Sweatshop Accounting — 53
   by Larry Steele
   
   Activity Box:
   How Do You Live on 31 Cents an Hour? — 57
   
   Teaching Suggestions:
   The Global Capitalist Economy Cartoon — 59
   
   Globalization, Labor, and the Environment:
   A Linear Programming Unit — 62
   
   Poverty and World Wealth:
   Recognizing Inequality — 64
   
   Unequal Distribution of U.S. Wealth:
   Recognizing Inequality, Part Two — 68

7. Chicanos Have Math in Their Blood — 70
   by Luis Ortiz-Franco
   
   Activity Box:
   The Hidden Grain in Meat — 74

8. Understanding Large Numbers — 76
   by Bob Peterson
   
   Activity Box:
   How Many Sears Towers Tall Is $135 Billion? — 80

9. "With Math, It's Like You Have More Defense" — 81
   by Erin E. Turner and Beatriz T. Font Strawhun
   
   Designing a Wheelchair Ramp:
   Putting the Pythagorean Theorem to Use — 88

10. Radical Equations:
    A Review of the Book by
    Bob Moses and Charles E. Cobb Jr. — 90
    by David Levine

11. The Geometry of Inequality — 97
    by Andrew Brantlinger
    
    South Central Los Angeles:
    Ratios and Density in Urban Areas — 101

12. Integrals and Equity — 103
    by Megan Staples
    
    HIV/AIDS Status:
    Using Statistics to Understand Ratios — 107
    
    Teaching Suggestions:
    HIV Status Bus Stop Photo — 108
    
    Justice for Janitors:
    Rich Lessons in the Power of Math — 109

13. Math, Maps, and Misrepresentation — 111
    by Eric Gutstein
    
    Teaching Suggestions:
    Map of Territory That Mexico Lost to the United States — 113
    
    Real-World Projects:
    Seeing Math All Around Us — 117
    
    Teaching Suggestions:
    Do You Support Invading Iraq? Cartoon — 121
    
    Deconstructing Barbie:
    Math and Popular Culture — 122

14. Multicultural Math — 124
    by Claudia Zaslavsky
    
    Tracking PA Announcements:
    Collecting Data in the Classroom — 130

Part Three: Infusing Social Justice Math into Other Curricular Areas

15. Ten Chairs of Inequality — 135
    by Polly Kellogg
    
    Fast Foods, Junk Foods, and Advertising:
    Analyzing the Barrage of
    Advertising Aimed at Children — 138

16. Write the Truth: Presidents and Slaves — 140
    by Bob Peterson
    
    Teaching Suggestions:
    "Eight Companies Earn More"
    One-Dollar Bill Graphic — 142
    
    Libraries, Books, and Bias:
    Using Math to Raise Issues of Representation — 149
    
    The Mathematics of Lotteries:
    Going Beyond Probability — 150

17. The Transnational Capital Auction — 152
    by Bill Bigelow
    
    Sweatshop Math:
    Taking a Closer Look at Where
    Kids' "Stuff" Comes From — 160
    
    Teaching Suggestions:
    "Work Faster!" Cartoon — 162

Part Four: Resources for Rethinking Mathematics

18. Websites, Math Curriculum and Pedagogy,
    Books with Theoretical/Academic Perspectives, Curriculum
    Guides/Resources, Children's Books, Sources for Maps, and More — 165

About the Editors

Contributors

Index

April 2005