Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes ofwebsite accessibilitySchool district claims math can be 'oppressive,' insists kids recognize testing inequality

School district claims math can be 'oppressive,' insists kids recognize testing inequality


(Photo: KOMO News)
(Photo: KOMO News)
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The Seattle Public Schools (SPS) system has been using a “Math Ethnic Studies Framework” since 2019 that seeks to end “oppressive mathematical practices” and advance the subject toward a more “collectivist” vision.

The framework encompasses instruction to students in kindergarten through 12th grade and is made up of four primary themes: Origins, Identity, and Agency; Power and Oppression; History of Resistance and Liberation; and Reflection and Action.

A “learning target” underneath the “Power and Oppression” theme wants students to be able to identify and explain how math, science and technology oppress and marginalize people of color. Another “learning target” insists students should be able to “identify the inherent inequities of the standardized testing system used to oppress and marginalize” communities of color.

“Nothing to see here. Just a Seattle public school curriculum suggesting that mathematics is ‘oppressive’ and that we advance a collectivist vision,” tweeted Chalkboard Review Editor-In-Chief Daniel Buck.

Included in Buck’s tweet was a screenshot of one of the “Essential Questions” students should be able to answer and discuss, according to SPS’s framework.

“Can you suggest resolutions to oppressive mathematical practices?” the curriculum’s “essential question” asks.

Underneath that question, the framework suggests asking students how they “can change mathematics from individualistic to collectivist thinking."

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) published a book in 2012 pushing the idea of “Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice (TMSJ).” An excerpt from the book asserted that TMSJ “helps students learn to use mathematics as a tool for social change,” according to Buck.

“It’s all part of the broader ‘critical pedagogy.’ Education is no longer about academic training but social change,” Buck said in another tweet. “Everything — from math classes to SEL — becomes a part of the larger progressive project,” he concluded.

A California-based advocacy group, under its “Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction” initiative reportedly funded by a $1 million grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, created a workbook last year to give teachers steps for “dismantling racism” in math instruction.

Even leaders from NCTM spoke out about the workbook after it was released, according to The 74.

“Are we building bridges or throwing grenades?” David Barnes, NCTM’s associate executive director, asked. “When you get to page two and what’s bolded is ‘dismantling white supremacy,’ there are some people that cannot read past that.”

The National Desk reached out the SPS for comment, but did not hear back. If a response is received, this story will be updated.

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