Here are more ways that white supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms

As Twitchy reported earlier Monday, some schools in Oregon are being informed that asking students in math class to “show their work” is “white supremacy.” Why? Because it requires students to worship the written word as well as exhibit paternalism, both of which are building blocks of white supremacy culture.

Over the weekend, James Lindsay posted a thread showing more examples from that training being distributed in Oregon. You might be surprised just how much white supremacy can be found in math classrooms.

Notice how they didn't say in the Oregon ethnomathematics toolkit that "the concept of mathematics being objectively true is *objectively* false." Lol at "unequivocally." pic.twitter.com/WmQbTbMRdK

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

White supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms when the focus is on getting the “right” answer.

Let's see what else is in this shitshow 82-page document that either derives from or shares a source with the Seattle/Washington ethnomathematics program instantiated in 2019. Some real doozies here already. pic.twitter.com/FYE4KZH7ZX

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Antiracist math educators “prepare students of color to close the gap in access to STEM fields”? Really? How many scientists do we want out there who believe there is no “right” answer to a math question?

"Praxis" is Marx's term for applying Theory. "Critical" means "Critical Theory." pic.twitter.com/frUhHLBwts

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

"This thinking creates meritocracy in the classroom," as a bad thing.

Lmao. pic.twitter.com/Fu5AHuNx1Z

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

The "banking model" of education is a crap idea from Paulo Freire, the Brazilian grandfather of critical pedagogy (Critical Theory as education). It's plain these activists know virtually nothing about education. pic.twitter.com/W8Nylz6wMT

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Remember, the italicized words, "quantity over quality," "sense of urgency," "objectivity," and "right to comfort" are said to be features of "white supremacy culture" according to the Woke, and they are therefore to be deconstructed (in math class). pic.twitter.com/JaDWkrbto2

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Here they cite math education activist Rochelle Gutierrez, who has no degrees in math at any level and who has recommended a complete revolution in math and math ed because equity isn't enough, teaching "a living mathematx," and learning math from plants. pic.twitter.com/BPTwShTqHn

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Here's a recent thread about how MIT is also citing the completely unqualified radical nut Gutierrez for utter nonsense about math and math ed, with receipts.https://t.co/ygJ8pE3w97

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

In the usual Critical Theory style, here, thinking this is all a horrible idea is framed as "defensiveness," another trait of "white supremacy culture." This allows them to treat all pushback as proof that they're right and to manipulate their marks into suppressing reservations. pic.twitter.com/MqMaBFlRUZ

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

More Gutierrez, an obvious nutjob who doesn't know what she's talking about and deliberately misunderstands her own subject to say fun but idiotic revolutionary things. pic.twitter.com/XZHu09GomD

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Teachers “enculturated” in the USA teach mathematics the way they learned it.

Getting a bit difficult to even. It's very obvious that this is about turning everything into social sciences with an activist agenda, even math. This is a road to incompetence paved by incompetents. pic.twitter.com/SUIdg6pNQB

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Here's the obligatory "grades are white supremacist" part. pic.twitter.com/rsnigDJQQd

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Showing your work is "white supremacist culture." pic.twitter.com/Ddj5s2Km2n

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Actually suggested as antiracist alternatives to showing your work include having students “create TikTok videos, silent films, or cartoons about mathematical concepts or procedures.”

I laughed at this wording about the real world. The other part is "how do we make this more collectivist and/or communist and use it to push those ideologies—in math class?" pic.twitter.com/SVCid5llQI

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist (these are Neo-Marxist rhetoric), and expressly against independent thought. pic.twitter.com/KusWHOMYMT

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

“White supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms when independent practice is valued over teamwork or collaboration.” You see, working alone “reinforces individualism” and does not give value to collectivism, and fosters conditions for competition.

Uh oh. LOL. Right answers: white supremacist. Explicit call to care less about precision and accuracy, which is the opposite of what Chinese students are learning about missiles and artillery, et cetera. pic.twitter.com/ccC6sqSQ2a

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

LOL pic.twitter.com/snsBuaGdxA

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

If kids like me were running the world… McWorld!! HEY, IT COULD HAPPEN!
(https://t.co/2hcKzbnEQV) pic.twitter.com/1Sd4cKpl6O

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Siri, how did we get into this mess in the first place? pic.twitter.com/tSfhDRTH24

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

I have to stop even though I'm near the bottom. I ran out of evens and can no longer even at all with this.

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Went to the website off a hot tip. Scrolled down to the bottom.

How about that. pic.twitter.com/vh3mZ1zIRQ

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

Link: https://t.co/rgJymXV8tp

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) February 14, 2021

“Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate *objectivity*”

Go design a bridge with that attitude.

— Trilogy (@Trilogy7777) February 14, 2021

Looking forward to the airplane designed by someone who thinks 2 doesn't actually mean 2, and instead could mean sex or baking

— Matt Brown?? (@M_Wiggin) February 14, 2021

Looks like the US will be importing increasing numbers of STEM people in the future….

— James Murphy (@jpk_murphy) February 14, 2021

Curiously, this video from China Daily happened to slide through our timeline while writing this post:

It's cheers and jubilation in class when a boy gets full marks for a test! So great to be around friends who are equally happy for your achievements as well! #ChinaStory pic.twitter.com/RWOGIFJ6VD

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) February 15, 2021

Related:

Umm … WUT?! Oregon schools’ rationale for what constitutes white supremacy in ‘math’ classrooms is STUPID on steroids https://t.co/DKArDVCsEH

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 15, 2021