Social Justice, Numeracy, and Teaching Statistics at a Community College

Abstract

The author of this article reflects on the issues of justice, democracy, and numeracy. As one who has taught statistics in a community college for over 12 years, spent 28 years as a Marketing Consultant, and holds a PhD in political science, the author’s thesis is that while an advanced, democratic society can only be just with a numerate citizenry, fostering numeracy is not easy. In this article the author describes the daunting tasks of trying to define what justice is and reviews activities from his statistics class that help students develop their numeracy.