Saturday, February 13, 2021

Ethnomath - Dismantling Racism in Maths Instruction

 



Is all well with US public school mathematics? Hardly, our kids crossed the finish line in 38th place among developed countries in 2018. Not good at all, but help's on the way, at least in Oregon where the Department of Education's addressing the heart of the problem, racism.

That's right, racism, which is why the Beaver State's teachers are being encouraged to take a course entitled, "A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction." Yes indeed, no wonder our kids' test scores are almost on a par with Zimbabwe's, it's all because of "white supremacy." But don't take my word for it, here's the course description:

"White supremacy culture infiltrates math classrooms in everyday teacher actions. Coupled with the beliefs that underlie these actions, they perpetuate educational harm on Black, Latinx, and multilingual students, denying them full access to the world of mathematics."



Leaving aside "Latinx," which no one south of the border actually uses, the defenders of "ethnomath" continue. Thanks to "white supremacy" educators fallaciously impose objective standards of right and wrong on their oppressed charges:

"This reinforces the idea that there is only one right way to do math. The history of mathematics, its colonization, and what is deemed as 'acceptable' knowledge is rich and complex, therefore, the way that mathematics is taught in the United States needs to be interrogated because it currently centers Western, Eurocentric ways of processing and knowing information."




Only one right way to do math? Thanks a lot, Cecil "Rhodes." No, there is no such thing as objective truth in mathematics, such racism:

"The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it is even much less so... Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict."

Objectivity's unequivocally false, says the subjectivist making an incoherent universal truth claim. No matter, we make the rules now and you'd better buckle under or taste the stainless steel blade of liberal Fascism, or would that be Bolshevik tyranny? Regardless, as our man on the ground in Georgia comments, "Hopefully they'll use ethnomathematics for bridge building and such."




You'll note that Satan is the Father of Lies and a murderer from the beginning. Not least of our children's education.

This post is dedicated to ZZ, a fearless teacher in the face of tumbleweave adversity.

Your Constant Pal,

LSP

19 comments:

RHT447 said...

So, Hidden Figures be damned?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures

drjim said...

I'm speechless......

The Egyptian said...

I've been trying this new "nonracist" math with my checkbook and those damn number nazis at the bank keep putting me down. I demand my own facts

NITZAKHON said...

My kids go to a special, and very rigorous, once-a-week math school. They hate it. :)

BUT... they're learning math at a level much more advanced than at the public schools, never mind all the indoctrination BS.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Insane! 2+2=4 is racist?

Kid said...

Everything that indicates intelligence is white supremacy don't ya know. Language is my pet peeve. I could care less if some pimp knows how to count or not.

LSP said...

RHT, a typical case of colonial exploitation. And misogyny. And racism.

LSP said...

I can imagine you applying ethnomath to your comms tech. On second thoughts, maybe I can't.

LSP said...

Egyptian, I'm about to march right up to the counter of 1st Inconvenience Bank and demand reparations.

LSP said...

Well done, N! Albeit racist.

LSP said...

Very much so, WSF. Eurocentric imperialism at its wicked bottom line.

LSP said...

Kid, let's see those $DOGE numbers consolidate in .06 and then... BREAKOUT! To the Moon, obvs. But dammit, isn't a well cared for dog a sign of racism? I read that somewhere.

Kid said...

I won't say Black Labs Matter. Oh hell, I just did.

But seriously, it's getting a Lot Simpler. ALL things are racist !

Anonymous said...

I`ve forgotten who said "There is none so blind as those who will not see", but how utterly appropriate!

LSP said...

Kid, EVERYTHING is racist, it's systemic.

You see, the sooner we're freed from the colonialist, eurocentric notion of objective truth, the freer we'll be. Yes, free to do nothing but carry out the commands of our Billionaire Socialist Overlords.

LSP said...

Ain't it just, Anon. Do you remember the bit in the Bible where it says "they have eyes but they do not see"?

With that, my mind goes to "Pharoh's (Fay-Row) heart was hardened" and the mystery of election. My dad, no mean theologian, always used to say, "Just think of it as Providence." That helps, I think. Still, magnum mysterium.

Undergroundpewster said...

They lost me with the latest "New Math". I won the math award in HS after running away with differential calculus, but when I tried to help my daughter with math, she rebelled claiming I was doing it all wrong. Needless to say, now she can't find the square root of a sweet potato.
These idiots forget that (from Wikipedia) "Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 35-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".

SgtBob said...

So, if schools teach a non-Western, non-Eurocentric way of processing and knowing information, non-White students will learn … What? 1+1=2 in racist, White, colonialist math, but what is the answer in non-Western math? Or, perhaps 1, 2 and 3 exist only in Western minds.

Adrienne said...

Speaking of racist ----- I met a nice young Chinese man at our local town hall yesterday. He lives in Spokane and can't wait to escape to the relative sanity of Post Fall/Cd'A in a few months. So he told me he was a convo with someone and he referred to the Wuflu as the "Chinese virus" and the person told him he was being racist. WTHell? HE'S CHINESE and he can't call it the Chinese flu? The world has gone insane.