There’s a lot of buzz surrounding a new program called Dismantling Racism in Mathematics. This program has stirred up controversy among educators in the United States. Its goal is to empower teachers by showing them that racial bias is woven into every aspect of American life, including math instruction. The program offers a workbook for teachers, which is called A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction. The workbook aims to break down the power structures built into American society.
There are several practices used by teachers that are harmful to minorities as the program claims. These practices are seen as more harmful than helpful. Some of these practices include grading, asking students to show their work, required participation, and pushing students to work toward getting the right answer.
The Education Trust-West, an advocacy group based in Oakland, California, created the Dismantling Racism in Mathematics program. The program was funded with a one million dollar grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The program has gained popularity in several states, including Georgia, Ohio, California, and Oregon.
The workbook begins with an introduction that reads, “We live in a toxic culture that affects us all; one dynamic of the culture is that we are discouraged from seeing it. One of our tasks is to learn to see our culture and how it teaches us to make normal that which is not and should never be normal.”
According to CRT, bias exists everywhere, even in seemingly objective things like mathematics and the way it is taught in American schools. As the program supports the greater push for critical race theory, which asserts that racism is built into the fabric of American life. Critics of critical race theory fear that it will only work to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate racism in America.
Erec Smith, a professor at York College of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Free Black Thought, told The 74 Million, “The workbook’s ultimate message is clear: Black kids are bad at math, so why don’t we just excuse them from really learning it.”
While the math program workbook is controversial in some parts of the country, Oregon felt it was important to include it. The Oregon Department of Education promoted the workbook during an antiracism seminar in February.
The workbook challenges the idea that mathematics is purely objective. “Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuates ‘objectivity,’” the manual states. Instead, the program encourages teachers to find more than a single correct math answer. It also encourages teachers to use examples when teaching math that would be applicable to minority students and to use examples with political revolutionaries.
“The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false,” said Rachel Ruffalo, the director of educator engagement at The Education Trust-West. The program challenges the notion that math is somehow above the influence of cultural and political issues.
The Dismantling Racism in Mathematics program is stirring up controversy and changing the way that math is taught in American schools. Some believe that it will help break down racial biases in the education system, while others fear that it will only reinforce negative stereotypes. Only time will tell how successful the program will be in achieving its goals.
Sources: AWM, Themilitant, Sabes.org
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