REFLECTION ETHNOMATHEMATICS Part 1

Ethnomathematics Reflection Part 1

By VENTI INDIANI

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We still talk about what is ethnomathematics and several problem in learning process of mathematics. As we know in previous lesson, what we called ethnomathematics is something innovative. It means that ethnomathematics teach us how to learn mathematics in innovative way, where mathematics linked to ethnic or culture around. But, in Indonesia, innovative method still become curriculum oriented. Whatever  educators do have to appropriate with the curriculum, so educators seem like they are bounded by curriculum. Do you know? There is something interesting when Mr.Marsigit said that innovative is yourself, innovative stay on student’s self. What is mean? It means that innovative is about how you create something new originally. Innovative is about how we as the learner face the condition in learning process, so we don’t need to sue the educators to be innovative one, because as Mr.Marsigit said that innovative is our self. Educators just facilitate the students in order to do an activity in mathematics or ethnomathematics.

Innovative learning also discovered by Theresianun that she called Street Mathematics. Street Mathematics tell us about non formal mathematics that created by pupils in the street. A certain street pupils have unique and different mathematical thinking, but what they think can be proved right.

Except innovative problem, There are some problems in education, especially in mathematics that linked to ethnomathematics. For the first case is what should government use for evaluating the result of learning process if final examination make a lot of student cant pass it. Before that, we should to know how is the result evaluation in learning process. That show us a bad result. Why? Well, there are some reasons, first because of pupils compilation, anomaly, and the human error. Human error occur because the leader have no long term vision. For example we can listen Obama’s speech when he was inaugurated as a President of America. He said to the pupils that in the sky, there are still a lot of unnamed stars exist that wait to be named. What a speech. Have you ever hear some speech like that in Indonesia? it must be rare. Long terms vision is very important thing if we want to be a prosperous nation. It believe, without long term vision, a nation will collapse. In essential, we must create a long term vision clearly, so we can determine how is the mission to reach that vision. While about the final examination, it will so hard to make all students in Indonesia pass the final examination. Why? Because every region have different culture. For example in mathematics, when a question tell about condition in Merapi, students in Papua don’t know, what is the question means because they don know about culture in Merapi, so they will be confuse. That’s why it is better for us as the next educators to learn ethnomathematics, to know how we link mathematics with the culture around.  

The next problem is how can teachers apply innovative learning without bounded by final examination oriented? Well, that problem still become a dilemma. Sometimes, several educators want to be an innovative educator, but unfortunately they fail just because they bounded by final examination oriented. So, one of ways is change the mind set. People have to realize that today, something innovative is very necessary.