Universidade Federal de São Paulo
During my years of working with inclusion and mathematics education, I have learned that concerns present in schools and in society in general do not always coincide with academic concerns, particularly in mathematics education research. This mismatch of priorities led me to reflect on how to redirect my work efforts. Schools, colleges, and all teaching institutions often need to deal with urgent issues, where there is no time for ideas to mature. It is necessary to act. It is not possible to wait for the research timing. Research, on the other hand, needs to go through the academic process to be validated by peers and, later, published. These differences in timing and priorities cause frustration, conflicts, dissatisfaction, and disagreements. How can we reconcile the research timing and priorities with the urgent needs of the schools? Actions to meet these needs of the school's daily life require reflection, fieldwork, and a theoretical basis. Creating teaching materials that supposedly solve all the school's inclusion problems without talking to teachers, lecturers, students, and families can create more obstacles than benefits. Without political, ethical, and theoretical foundations, one can make mistakes, both teachers and researchers. However, not acting – as a researcher or as a teacher – can contribute to worsening situations of exclusion. Thus, I want to discuss how research time can be respected, so that a relationship can be created between research and the practical and urgent demands of schools and universities in such a way they can tune their priorities. But this cannot be done alone, and it is almost impossible to meet both demands at the same time. I, for example, who find myself in the position of teaching and researching, to focus on practical and urgent demands, such as contributing to prepare the university campus and local schools, teachers and lecturers, to include students with disability, need Ole Skovsmose to tell me that Critical Mathematics Education considers the hopes and aspirations of students and teachers. I need Miriam Penteado to tell me that we need to move towards a discomfort zone to achieve changes and to remind me that students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and needs can engage with mathematics meaningfully and successfully. I need Raquel Milani to tell me that dialogue is not just an exchange of phrases between people. I need Rachel Lambert and Paulo Tan to tell me about the humanization of mathematics education for students with disabilities and an inclusive approach that values diverse ways of learning. I need Lulu Healy to tell me how important it is working on multisensory approaches and promoting inclusive pedagogical strategies that enable all students to participate fully in mathematical activities. I need Aldo Parra to tell me that I need strong theoretical foundations and meaningful examples to propose a practice or a concept preventing theories from becoming empty activism without reflection. I need Arindam Bose to tell me that mathematical knowledge is embedded in cultural practices and everyday work. I need Ravi Subramaniam to tell me that to address the diverse learning needs of students I need to recognize the various barriers they face in accessing quality education. I need Terezinha Nunes, Maria do Carmo Domite, Jonei Cerqueira Barbosa, Wagner Rodrigues Valente, David Clarke, Paul Cobb, Jo Boaler and many others, to show me that there is a significant gap between the time required to conduct academic research and the practical urgency of schools. Nevertheless, I also need Sharifah Sekalala, Shajoe Lakepara, Sarah Hodges and Yureshya Perera to tell me about the risk of the rhetoric of urgency, and that privileged countries (analogously, privileged people) live outside of time, while poor countries (analogously, oppressed people) live without time, and that we need to think about time equity. I also need Carl Honoré and Jenny Odel to tell me that there is value in slowness, reflection, and intentionality. I need my master students, to show me that I still have a lot to learn concerning time and work. I need David Bowers to tell me that doing something is sometimes worse than doing nothing. I need Roberto Baldino to teel me that one teaches while listening and learns while speaking. I need the Guarani Mbya, the Terena, the Krenak, the Kaingang, and the Guarani Nhandewa/Tupi Guarani indigenous peoples from Brazil to tell me that once we start something in group we have to finish it, and wait until everybody participates before moving on to another activity, no matter how long it takes. I need all of you, not only those mentioned here, so I can choose to use my time on care and on identifying and removing barriers that cause exclusion in educational contexts, such as schools, universities and institutions that organizes public exams, entrance exams, and educational assessments. Therefore, this conversation will be about possibilities for reconciling research time and research priorities with the urgent needs of schools, colleges, and other spaces alike, accompanied by an autobiographical account over my 20 years of work on the issue of inclusion and mathematics education.
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