Entrance Slip - Indigeneity & Language, Oct. 2nd

I really enjoyed this reading. There were a lot things I found interesting, especially how the words in Potawatomi were 70% verbs. 

If to make connection between this reading and teaching math, I think a natural question to ask is, do we want to believe that numbers, shapes, functions and other mathematical "objects" are animate? The reading highlighted that in the Potawatomi perspective, not only living being are animate but also the other "beings" like rocks. However, mathematical concepts are abstract, and do not exist in the world in the same way as rocks. 

Thinking about this question reminded me of some things, one of them is something I think we mentioned in class for once, is the personification of numbers. I had that experience when I was a kid. By the way I liked 2 the most. In the last few years, there was one time that I talked about this experience with a student who also do the same thing. I remember she told me that she think "1" is like a baby. 

Another episode I recalled, was from high school, when I just started to speak Japanese (I had good listening but I wasn't used to speak Japanese at that time). I was trying to use Japanese to explain math to a Japanese classmate, and I used pronouns of  "こいつ" (this guy) and "あいつ" (that guy) to refers to the numbers and symbols in the equations. And that classmate, in a bantering tone, told me that I should use "これ" (this) and "あれ" (that) instead. (By the way I felt very delighted for that banter because he was a very shy and introverted person, and I kind of wanted to be friend with him. )

Based on these experiences, I recognise that the belief of 'mathematical concepts are animate' could be something natural to human. However, at this moment, I am not motivated to introduce animacy into my language when I teach, because I think that will kind of kill the quality I liked about math class as a student. I appreciate the rigorousness of language we use in math. That have always made me feel easy. But if we brought a more animated perspective into the language, the language would become more subjective and flexible (e.g. I might perceive circle as feminine, but others might think it's masculine or non-binary). And suddenly we are introducing a new social dynamic based on the language each of us use into the math class. And if I was the student, I think this subtle dynamic will be a burden, a negative experience to me. I would be happy, if the teacher recognise and encourage us to perceive math concepts as animate at a personal level. However, I would probably be bothered, if in class we all communicate math in a subjective way, especially if the teacher do it that way.