Entrance Slip: Renert on Math and Climate Change

 A quote from Moshe Renert's Mathematics for life: Sustainable mathematics education article that really resonated with me was, "Since school is a social institution situated at the intersection between present society and the promise of what society may become, educators are more likely to succeed in their work with messages of hope and possibility."  Conversations about climate change can quickly lead to feelings of helplessness and despair--feelings in which many students struggling in math may experience.  There were many other parallels that Renert made when speaking on sustainability and mathematics education which I had never considered.  For example, sustainability itself, a term referring to the ability of living systems to endure over time, can relate to chaos theory, which is the mathematics of complex dynamic systems.  Both involve evolving systems--a commonality between mathematics and ecological sustainability that seem so obvious and yet is not immediately assumed.  To elaborate on this point, I want to mention Renert's claims about "humans' inability to feel large numbers".  I still find myself having a difficult time truly comprehending the magnitude of climate change.  Though I try to eat consciously, I might not always read the labels on products that I purchase to see if it contains palm oil (an ingredient in many products that is supplied by penny-pinching food companies that are supporting the mass deforestations in Borneo and Sumatra).  I think many people doubt their impact on the world--myself included.  I think if we, as prospective teachers, can have conversations with our students about mathematics and its relation to sustainability, like quantity sense and its implications on our ecosystem, then great strides can be made in nurturing a future generation of global citizens.