Seattle Schools Teaching Math Is Racist

[Kubra]

K so let's have a source from a non right-wing source
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019 ... anize.html
Sounds pretty innocent, man.

It’s not innocent. It’s still perpetuating racism just in a politically correct way. Now you’ll just have none white students learning about this ethnic math; learning things like how much do drug laws effect people, or Aztec math, while the white students won’t. Now we have a class of people who can’t understand math at all because they learned about Aztec Math instead the math that the US and the rest of the world uses

Oh uhhhh I wasn't aware the proposal said "for POC students only" could you point where

This is a proposal that is going forward into the approval rating with the school district itself. One school is reportedly attempting to incorporate some of the framework into its mathematics curriculum, but it remains unnamed.

Rather unfortunately..If we look at the site that happens to be from the school itself, it states that “[The class will] identify how math has been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color.” Now, I don’t know who these obvious BIGOTTED RACISTS are that’re using MATH to OPPRESS communities of color, but - But I don’t think they exist...

Third theme, bruv.

[Thermodolia]

The field of mathematics isn’t racist in of itself. If anything it’s a melting pot, we use numbers created by Arabs, we have zeros from India, a lot of the base is from ancient Greece and Rome, and a whole bunch of other cultures and ethnicities are added on top

English has letters originating in the Egyptian script and words from basically every language family. And yet speakers of the language still manage to use it in racist ways.

And that’s on the speakers not the language itself. A language can not be racist in of itself, it is instead molded by its users who might be racists to make racist statements.

[Alpes a Septentrionali Imperium]

Math is racist now. Oh the world we live in!

[Totenborg]

English has letters originating in the Egyptian script and words from basically every language family. And yet speakers of the language still manage to use it in racist ways.

And that’s on the speakers not the language itself. A language can not be racist in of itself, it is instead molded by its users who might be racists to make racist statements.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain that's the point of the class...

[Thermodolia]

It’s not innocent. It’s still perpetuating racism just in a politically correct way. Now you’ll just have none white students learning about this ethnic math; learning things like how much do drug laws effect people, or Aztec math, while the white students won’t. Now we have a class of people who can’t understand math at all because they learned about Aztec Math instead the math that the US and the rest of the world uses

Oh uhhhh I wasn't aware the proposal said "for POC students only" could you point where

Maybe I’m misreading it but it seemed to me to be a class that only none whites would take.

[Cekoviu]

Oh uhhhh I wasn't aware the proposal said "for POC students only" could you point where

Maybe I’m misreading it but it seemed to me to be a class that only none whites would take.

I don't see why. I'd think that they'd consider it important to educate white students as well so they could avoid participating in the prejudice.

[Kubra]

Sounds like right wing clickbait sensationalism to me, as the actual program is pretty benign.

For a history class on math yes but not for a math class. You don’t need to learn about how the Aztecs did math when that won’t help you later in life.

I mean hey whatever gets folks interested in math y'know? Chances are you're gonna learn different numeral systems as part of ones curriculum, and aztec numerals are a mildly more interesting endeavour than the usual way of representing a vigesimal system.

[Thermodolia]

And that’s on the speakers not the language itself. A language can not be racist in of itself, it is instead molded by its users who might be racists to make racist statements.

Yeah, I'm pretty certain that's the point of the class...

Not really. They are claiming that math is racist by itself. Not that racist people have misused math to further their racist goals but that math is inherently racist.

[Kubra]

Oh uhhhh I wasn't aware the proposal said "for POC students only" could you point where

Maybe I’m misreading it but it seemed to me to be a class that only none whites would take.

Nah, this is meant to be a set of suggestions for topics to teach within the school district's math curriculum in general.
An example was raised of having kids figure out how to most effectively gerrymander, I mean it's more political than I'd like but ya gotta say that's a real creative mathematical exercise, that'd be legit fun to do.

[Thermodolia]

For a history class on math yes but not for a math class. You don’t need to learn about how the Aztecs did math when that won’t help you later in life.

I mean hey whatever gets folks interested in math y'know? Chances are you're gonna learn different numeral systems as part of ones curriculum, and aztec numerals are a mildly more interesting endeavour than the usual way of representing a vigesimal system.

If they have regular math class alongside this then it might help but if this class will be the only math class we are sending our children to be doomed to failure

[Thermodolia]

Maybe I’m misreading it but it seemed to me to be a class that only none whites would take.

Nah, this is meant to be a set of suggestions for topics to teach within the school district's math curriculum in general.
An example was raised of having kids figure out how to most effectively gerrymander, I mean it's more political than I'd like but ya gotta say that's a real creative mathematical exercise, that'd be legit fun to do.

Well then the Seattle Times was really bad at explaining then.

[Kubra]

I mean hey whatever gets folks interested in math y'know? Chances are you're gonna learn different numeral systems as part of ones curriculum, and aztec numerals are a mildly more interesting endeavour than the usual way of representing a vigesimal system.

If they have regular math class alongside this then it might help but if this class will be the only math class we are sending our children to be doomed to failure

Math scores already ain't doing so hot in the US, it's not a catastrophe but it's not really something you wanna sit on, y'know? Something needs to be done, but it doesn't need to be done right away and all at once, so there's leeway for experimentation at the district level.

[Thermodolia]

If they have regular math class alongside this then it might help but if this class will be the only math class we are sending our children to be doomed to failure

Math scores already ain't doing so hot in the US, it's not a catastrophe but it's not really something you wanna sit on, y'know? Something needs to be done, but it doesn't need to be done right away and all at once, so there's leeway for experimentation at the district level.

I know that math scores are shit in the US. I’m just not sure that learning about Aztec math is going to help change that.

[The South Falls]

I think OP mischaracterized the substance of this article. It's more that they're integrating ethnic studies into mathematics as an experiment, which has contributed partially to improve attendance and grades.

[Kubra]

In any case the point I'm trying to make is that while I'm actually not that down with the proposed execution, it's the spirit that counts: folks do best in education when they give a shit about the subject matter in more direct ways than grades. For lack of a better metaphor, it's throwing shit on a wall and seeing what sticks. If it turns out kids respond better if taught math in this fashion, then hey all is well. If not, keep throwing shit, y'know?

[Kubra]

Math scores already ain't doing so hot in the US, it's not a catastrophe but it's not really something you wanna sit on, y'know? Something needs to be done, but it doesn't need to be done right away and all at once, so there's leeway for experimentation at the district level.

I know that math scores are shit in the US. I’m just not sure that learning about Aztec math is going to help change that.

If it gets kids not to skip class when base 20 is taught, it might.

[The South Falls]

In any case the point I'm trying to make is that while I'm actually not that down with the proposed execution, it's the spirit that counts: folks do best in education when they give a shit about the subject matter in more direct ways than grades. For lack of a better metaphor, it's throwing shit on a wall and seeing what sticks. If it turns out kids respond better if taught math in this fashion, then hey all is well. If not, keep throwing shit, y'know?

Right. It's not necessarily that Math is at all racist, but an attempt to integrate ethnic studies into math to see if it at all improves attendance and grades. If a different method works, then that method should be used.

[The South Falls]

I know that math scores are shit in the US. I’m just not sure that learning about Aztec math is going to help change that.

If it gets kids not to skip class when base 20 is taught, it might.

Yea, and it's not like we're going to base the entire mathematical system off of it, it's a new method for a change.

[Thermodolia]

In any case the point I'm trying to make is that while I'm actually not that down with the proposed execution, it's the spirit that counts: folks do best in education when they give a shit about the subject matter in more direct ways than grades. For lack of a better metaphor, it's throwing shit on a wall and seeing what sticks. If it turns out kids respond better if taught math in this fashion, then hey all is well. If not, keep throwing shit, y'know?

I’ll agree with this. The execution could be better but if they truly trying to get math numbers up using real world experiences than I don’t see a harm in trying it out. They could probably drop the whole “racism in math” bit to sell it a bit more.

[Totenborg]

Yeah, I'm pretty certain that's the point of the class...

Not really. They are claiming that math is racist by itself. Not that racist people have misused math to further their racist goals but that math is inherently racist.

Not according to the link that wasn't from the Seattle Times.

[Uiiop]

The only one who believe that are the ones who view this program as "Reverse racist" so...nope.


In my experience everyone in my mostly black high school had issues with math so couldn't hurt to try.

[Valentine Z]

So... please do pardon me if I get something wrong, but from what I can see and read so far?

They seem to be talking about the field of Mathematics, not Mathematics itself, right?

If that is the case, of course the history of Math will be marred with racism... if they really want to stretch it that far. But unsurprisingly, the flaw does not lie in Maths... it lies in history/racism itself that carries over the centuries of human history.

If they want Maths to be stop being racist, just start with settling and solving racial issues, instead of bringing maths into this.

-----

... Hopefully I read it right.

[Galloism]

Here's a real source without the sensational garbage: https://www.seattletimes.com/education- ... n-in-math/

Seems pretty benign.

[Cekoviu]

Here's a real source without the sensational garbage: https://www.seattletimes.com/education- ... n-in-math/

Seems pretty benign.

Yeah, it's kind of dumb, but it could honestly be way worse and I don't think it'll cause any harm.

[Kubra]

If it gets kids not to skip class when base 20 is taught, it might.

Yea, and it's not like we're going to base the entire mathematical system off of it, it's a new method for a change.

And as I've said, chances are you're gonna learn base 20. I mean, I was, anyways. Having a little backstory goes a long way. Think of video games, we perform and get good at mostly arbitrary repetitive tasks because we think we're doing something more than we actually are. Imagine an MMORPG in which one controlled an amorphous blob subtracting values from other amorphous blobs with a set of buttons designed to make that subtraction quicker but more complicated. it'd be boring, no? Now Slap on a person-looking skin and some nonsense about saving the multiverse, call those buttons "skills", and all of a sudden the same task is somehow fun and worth doing.