90 Miles From Tyranny : Algebra and Geometry perpetuate white privilege, math professor says

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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Algebra and Geometry perpetuate white privilege, math professor says

A math education professor at the University of Illinois argued in a newly published book that algebraic and geometry skills perpetuate “unearned privilege” among whites.

Rochelle Gutierrez, a professor at the University of Illinois, made the claim in a new anthology for math teachers, arguing that teachers must be aware of the “politics that mathematics brings” in society.

“On many levels, mathematics itself operates as Whiteness. Who gets credit for doing and developing mathematics, who is capable in mathematics, and who is seen as part of the mathematical community is generally viewed as White,” Gutierrez argued.

Gutierrez also worries that algebra and geometry perpetuate privilege, fretting that “curricula emphasizing terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi perpetuate a perception that mathematics was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans.”

Math also helps actively perpetuate white privilege too, since the way our economy places a premium on math skills gives math a form of “unearned privilege” for math professors, who are disproportionately white.

“Are we really that smart just because we do mathematics?” she asks, further wondering why math professors get more research grants than “social studies or English” professors.

Further, she also worries that evaluations of math skills can perpetuate discrimination against minorities, especially if they do worse than their white counterparts.

“If one is not viewed as mathematical, there will always be a sense of...Read More HERE

4 comments:

William said...

Again...Rome fell from within. Looking at this type of tripe it appears that the American Experiment has failed. "...a Republic, if you can keep it..."we are failing.

edutcher said...

No, what it means is too many Lefties are worried their message of class, race, sex, and location division isn't working.

The woman all but comes out and claims all those darker races are too stupid and too lazy to learn mathematics.

Anonymous said...

His equation doesn't add up to this 75 year old white privileged male.

Unknown said...

So we should dumb down society because it seemly favors math?