We receive and publish the report of the Mate Festival… from A(da) to Z(appa), edited by Giovanna Cravanzola.
Council room packed for the “3rd Mate Festival… from A(da) to Z(appa). Remembering Ada Ferrero Baldini and Gigi Zappa” of 4 May 2024 in S. Damiano, organized by Polo Citt. Ast. Alb. – ICSDamiano – with the patronage of the Municipality of S. Damiano – Cisterna Museum, Gazzetta d’Asti, CRAsti, Banca d’Alba, Fra spa, Lib. “Il Pellicano” and Aimc of Asti. Mayor Migliasso opened the meeting with a greeting which was followed by the speech of Professor Laura Franco, director of the IC of S. Damiano, who hoped for an alliance between mathematics and literature to combat banal thinking. “This conference always knows how to renew itself. Today he emphasizes that mathematics is for young people. For this reason the school has a great responsibility.” Thus Gemma Gallino introduced the two mathematicians who also brought greetings from Dr. Volpatto who was not present.
“Mathematical self-defense course” the title of the speech by Simone Ramello and Alessandro Zecchino. At the beginning they underlined the desire to give back the training received by proposing mathematics at the service of active citizenship, of conscious choices but also language to communicate the world. Statistics and probability, for example, help find the hidden truth. Often, in fact, the cognitive distortions (bias) that determine prejudices and mental shortcuts can cause errors to be made by ignoring essential information. Mathematics, precisely because of these characteristics, is often involved in the research of other disciplines. It’s not an instant answer but try. However, it is dangerous to attribute to it the status of absolute truth because it is only one of many tools of knowledge.
Unfortunately, as has been highlighted, it is often proposed as a bad, static subject that demoralizes and alienates the most vulnerable students. This is why it is necessary to find alternative teaching approaches. Mathematical reasoning cannot be an option for a few but a discipline that concerns everyone where the path of failure can be an important way to get there. Through examples, games and moments of reflection, the speakers captured the audience who gave them a long round of applause. At the end, after the award ceremony for the participating classes, the exhibition created with the research paths of the pupils from the nursery and primary schools of S. Damiano, Gorzano, S. Giulio and Cisterna was inaugurated. A great party to remember, understand and share the desire to discover at all ages.
Giovanna Cravanzola
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