"Mathematics helps people flourish.
Mathematics is for human flourishing."
Francis Su, in Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2020)
Coalition for Mathematics for Human Flourishing
Our Mission
The Coalition for Mathematics for Human Flourishing is a non-profit organization that shares people's stories of their lived experiences of mathematics in order to promote human rights and human flourishing -- the well-lived life -- in school mathematics and beyond. CMHF is for educators, students, and all others who are passionate about our mission and beliefs.
Why this mission?
Many people feel unwelcome in mathematics. That fact alone provides a rationale for this work! Individuals of all ages have been marginalized and dehumanized while participating in mathematics as a discipline, both through practice and policy at the level of the individual and/or system. We have made people feel less than capable and have perpetuated structures that do all of the above. This is even more true for people who are already in marginalized communities. When people feel unwelcome or incapable, they are less likely to learn and grow.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), in the book Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics, cites much evidence of the lack of quantitative literacy and problem solving skills among American students and asserts, “When the potential of so many students is squandered, the loss is not only to individual students but also to society at large” (2018, p. 3).
The CMHF exists to help rehumanize mathematics in the minds of people and in schools, by:
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Collecting and sharing stories of lived experiences of mathematics (of all types), and
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(soon) Working with educators, schools, and systems to help to transform mathematics experiences for all.
How have you experienced mathematics in your life -- in or out of school? What would you like educators, community members, and policymakers to know? Do you know someone else with a story to share?
CMHF
Share stories of people engaged in all forms of mathematics. Change learning and lives for the better. Shape the future for all.
Land Acknowledgment
The region in which our office is located is part of the ancestral homelands of the Erie, Seneca, and multiple other Indigenous tribal nations, present and past, who were forcibly removed to and from the area. We recognize these historical and contemporary ties in our efforts toward decolonizing history and thank the Indigenous individuals and communities who have been living and working on this land for thousands of years. Find more information here.
The CMHF is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Executive Director
Kim Yoak, Ph.D. (she/her)
Stow, Ohio
Email: kim.yoak@cm4hf.org
Kim is an independent mathematics specialist. Since 2014, she has worked with schools, educators, and students in K-12 across northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania, spending most of her time in classrooms and also facilitating professional learning with educators. Her goal in this work is to empower every learner every day through mathematics to create a just and peaceful world where all people flourish. Kim served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) from 2016-2023. She is a Past President of OCTM and a Past President of the Greater Akron Mathematics Educators' Society. She has served on two mathematics standards advisory committees with the Ohio Department of Education. She is actively involved in the Ohio Mathematics and Science Coalition, Northeast Ohio Mathematics Specialists, TODOS: Math For All, and the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.