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| 15 Sep 2026 | |
| Written by Fatma Pehlivan | |
| Community News |
Can mathematics help us understand the world around us?"
This is a question I often ask my students at Aydın Ticaret Borsası Science and Art Center in Türkiye.
For me, mathematics has never been just about numbers, formulas or finding the right answer. I want my students to see that mathematics is everywhere — in the food we eat, the water we use, the climate we live in, and the choices we make every day.
One of our most meaningful journeys started with a simple question about turpotu, a traditional local plant that was slowly disappearing from our community's tables.
Instead of handing my students an answer, I asked them to go and find out for themselves.
They talked to local growers and market sellers, gathered and studied data, looked into biodiversity and climate change, and used mathematics, Python and digital tools to understand how our daily choices connect to the environment.
One moment has stayed with me. A 13-year-old student working on the coding side of the project sat down with a 72-year-old market vendor. They came from completely different generations, yet there they were — sharing knowledge, asking questions, learning from each other.
That was the moment I remembered all over again why I became a teacher.
Sometimes the most powerful learning happens when a child realises that their question matters.
Our work, Green Tables, has since reached far beyond our classroom. It was presented at the Yeşil Adımlar Aegean Regional Climate Summit, which brought together more than 500 participants from eight Aegean provinces. The project also received international recognition through HundrED and was chosen as one of the Top 5 finalists worldwide for the Leonardo 4 Teachers Award 2026 in the Climate, Equality & Peace category.
But the recognition is not what I value most.
What matters to me is watching a student look at an ordinary problem and say:
"Maybe we can do something about this."
That is when mathematics leaves the classroom.
And that is when learning begins to change the world.
