Kudos, we guess, to USA Today for actually considering the opposing viewpoint in its story on “inclusive” math instruction that tries to promote equity and access for kids of color. We’ve literally been doing posts on how math is supposedly racist for years now, as well as the “fixes” that have been suggested. A few years back, Seattle’s public schools adopted a math curriculum that looks at things like “power and oppression” and “resistance.” This year, California endeavored to do away with “white supremacy culture” in the mathematics classroom.
And it’s not just the United States; Ontario’s published ninth-grade math curriculum is decolonial, equitable, and emphasizes the need to challenge systems of power and privilege.
In an effort to promote equity and access for kids of color, girls and low-income students, many math teachers are shifting toward inclusive instruction. It’s controversial. 🧵https://t.co/S3WS2LlZg8
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 7, 2021
But traditionalists who shun the new approach say it effectively dumbs down math education. They say pure math inquiry should be neutral of politics. And students gifted in math should be allowed to advance faster than their peers. https://t.co/KblviXsyuR
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 7, 2021
As Twitchy reported this spring, Virginia was moving to end all advanced math classes before 11th grade as part of its “equity-focused plan.” All students would take the same math courses for two years before being allowed to advance.
"Is math education racist?" Wow, what a question. A better question would be, "Are the people asking if math education is racist, idiots, grifters, or racist themselves?"
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) December 8, 2021
Recommended
https://twitter.com/JimmyHoffa40/status/1468441818585088000
I'm a black man and I've never felt discriminated by an integer, prime number, or even a square root. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough for something to get offended by in Calculus 1.
— doubleAAbatteries (@SpamB0T9000) December 8, 2021
Opens Twitter before bed. Sees “Math is racist” headline. Turns phone off. pic.twitter.com/P9MjpuPwOK
— once upon a time (@Kairos_Creative) December 8, 2021
— Beka (@OhEmGoshUGuys) December 8, 2021
For God's sake, this is so f—ed up I have no words.
— Steve Tobak (@SteveTobak) December 8, 2021
The real challenge in math education are progressive educators with low expectations.
— Jean (@queens_parents) December 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/DonLeon64905091/status/1468438471564009477
Knock it off! My little biracial daughter has never scored less than an A in any math class. She is a senior in high school with a 4.65 gpa and is currently taking AICE Trigonometry, which is college level. I’m sickened by these kinds of stories.
— Duck FeSantis (@DuckFeSantis) December 8, 2021
Am I the only one that thinks people are overusing the word racist in a sense to desensitize the term? Why not say there is innovation in sparking interest in struggling communities to increase mathmatical education development. These articles are atrocious.
— Finnsoul (@Finsoul9) December 8, 2021
Are news headlines misleading? Are they racist? Are they designed for outrage clicks? Click here and subscribe to find out if this story is actually interesting!
— Tom Bueno (@TomBueno9) December 8, 2021
Even if there’s a legit point in this article, USA Today knows exactly what they’re doing with this framing.
— p0usr #PurelyAirborne (@p0usr) December 8, 2021
https://twitter.com/AjarnBaa/status/1468458164014125056
Yes, asking students to show their work is white supremacy, as is focusing on getting the “right” answer.
Is math racist? No. It may be hard for some, frustrating, poorly taught in some cases…but it's not racist. Instead of looking at race, look at why the kids that struggle do so, and try to address that help them do better. Instead of dumbing things down, believe in the kids!
— Katherine Brodsky (@mysteriouskat) December 8, 2021
The soft bigotry of low expectations.
— Adam🕊️ (@science759) December 8, 2021
Meanwhile China is building hypersonic missiles.
— John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (@debeehr) December 8, 2021
Math just happens to tick a lot of boxes that make up “whiteness,” as it’s been defined for us.
Related:
Here are more ways that white supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms https://t.co/57qkr4kTjf
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 16, 2021
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