3 ms·

I feel the same. I live in Oakland and we have proposal for this type of curriculum: https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf

I feel the same. I live in Oakland and we have proposal for this type of curriculum: https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11... I feel absolutely livid thinking that these people are out there to inject, indoctrinate and infect innocent minds of children with their disugsting view of the society. Children grow up wonderfully around the world, some 7 billion of us are here. There is no way this type of indoctrination has any proven benefit besides perpetuating their biases.

MattRix 5y ago
I didn’t read that entire document, but the parts I read actually seemed quite good. I think there are some perspectives there where it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction against it, but on closer inspection what they’re saying makes a lot of sense.
khazhoux 5y ago
I immediately recognized this article. I was surprised that parts of this were considered good ideas: SUPPORT STUDENTS TO RECLAIM THEIR MATHEMATICAL ANCESTRY • Intentionally include mathematicians of color. • Expose students to mathematicians of color, particularly women of color and queer mathematicians of color, both through historical examples and by inviting community guest speakers. • Teach students of color about their mathematical legacy and ancestral connection and mastery of math. • Honor and acknowledge the mathematical knowledge of students of color, even if it shows up unconventionally. • Give rightful credit to the discovery of math concepts by mathematicians of color. Reclaim concepts attributed to white mathematicians that should be attributed to mathematicians of color. Maybe I'm behind the times, but in pre-University math, there was zero discussion of actual mathematicians. Trigonometry, algebra, geometry -- these were concepts unattached to individual people or cultures. I strongly object to the notion that math should be personified in an effort to "dismantle white supremacy in math" (as this curriculum aims to do). Would love to hear opinions. If the idea is to encourage non-White kids to go into or connect with math, especially in districts with a large non-White student population, then great. But if the idea is that math curriculums today somehow teach kids that straight white men are superior, that's a bizarre implication.
- KerrAvon 5y ago
  I feel like you're missing the point. The individual mathematicians don't really matter (in this particular exercise). The fact that there _were_ and _are_ mathematicians of color is what's relevant, because it turns out that representation is important. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-representation-in-media-matters https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-represe...
  - khazhoux 5y ago
    Well, I might be missing the point. I'm just saying this: I don't think schools teach (or even imply) that mathematicians are straight white men. And in fact, schools (pre-University) don't talk about mathematicians at all. They deal in concepts which are not associated with individuals (arithmetic, geometry, trig, algebra, calc). There's only a couple of exceptions where individual mathematicians are named in high school (Euler and L'Hôpital come to mind). It's not until university level that you start getting into theorems, and actual mathematicians show up (Cayley's theorem, Lagrange's theorem, Abelian groups, etc).
  - rkk3 5y ago
    It's all kind of bizarre given the historical dominance of Mediterranean mathematicians, who did not look like they were from northern Europe or speak English. Do Pythagorus and Zeno sound white? Maybe need to blame the BBC for the "Queens Latin"

MattRix 5y ago

I didn’t read that entire document, but the parts I read actually seemed quite good. I think there are some perspectives there where it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction against it, but on closer inspection what they’re saying makes a lot of sense.

khazhoux 5y ago

I immediately recognized this article. I was surprised that parts of this were considered good ideas: SUPPORT STUDENTS TO RECLAIM THEIR MATHEMATICAL ANCESTRY • Intentionally include mathematicians of color. • Expose students to mathematicians of color, particularly women of color and queer mathematicians of color, both through historical examples and by inviting community guest speakers. • Teach students of color about their mathematical legacy and ancestral connection and mastery of math. • Honor and acknowledge the mathematical knowledge of students of color, even if it shows up unconventionally. • Give rightful credit to the discovery of math concepts by mathematicians of color. Reclaim concepts attributed to white mathematicians that should be attributed to mathematicians of color. Maybe I'm behind the times, but in pre-University math, there was zero discussion of actual mathematicians. Trigonometry, algebra, geometry -- these were concepts unattached to individual people or cultures. I strongly object to the notion that math should be personified in an effort to "dismantle white supremacy in math" (as this curriculum aims to do). Would love to hear opinions. If the idea is to encourage non-White kids to go into or connect with math, especially in districts with a large non-White student population, then great. But if the idea is that math curriculums today somehow teach kids that straight white men are superior, that's a bizarre implication.

KerrAvon 5y ago
I feel like you're missing the point. The individual mathematicians don't really matter (in this particular exercise). The fact that there _were_ and _are_ mathematicians of color is what's relevant, because it turns out that representation is important. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-representation-in-media-matters https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/why-race-and-represe...
- khazhoux 5y ago
  Well, I might be missing the point. I'm just saying this: I don't think schools teach (or even imply) that mathematicians are straight white men. And in fact, schools (pre-University) don't talk about mathematicians at all. They deal in concepts which are not associated with individuals (arithmetic, geometry, trig, algebra, calc). There's only a couple of exceptions where individual mathematicians are named in high school (Euler and L'Hôpital come to mind). It's not until university level that you start getting into theorems, and actual mathematicians show up (Cayley's theorem, Lagrange's theorem, Abelian groups, etc).
- rkk3 5y ago
  It's all kind of bizarre given the historical dominance of Mediterranean mathematicians, who did not look like they were from northern Europe or speak English. Do Pythagorus and Zeno sound white? Maybe need to blame the BBC for the "Queens Latin"