A University of Illinois math professor believes that algebra and geometry perpetuate “white privilege” because Greek terms give Caucasians unearned credit for the subject.
But that isn’t the professor’s only complaint. She also believes that evaluations for math proficiency perpetuates discrimination against minority students, if they do worse than their white counterparts.
Rochelle Gutierrez argues in a newly published math education book for teachers that they must be aware of the identity politics surrounding the subject of mathematics.
“On many levels, mathematics itself operates as Whiteness,” she argues with complete sincerity, according to Campus Reform. “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 argues that subjects like algebra and geometry, which relate to arithmetic, also perpetuate racism and white privilege. She worries that “curricula emphasizing terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi perpetuate a perception that mathematics was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans.”
Gutierrez claims that the importance of math skills in the real world also places what she calls an “unearned privilege” for those who are good at it. Because most math teachers in the United States are white, white people stand to benefit from their grasp of the subject disproportionate to members of other races.
“Are we really that smart just because we do mathematics?” she asks, raising the question as to why math professors get more grants than “social studies or English” professors.
“If one is not viewed as mathematical, there will always be a sense of inferiority that can be summoned,” she says, claiming that minorities “have experienced microaggressions from participating in math classrooms… [where people are] judged by whether they can reason abstractly.”
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What a fraud and idiot! I’ll bet she isn’t even considering giving up her knowledge of Math, etc., in order to prove her theory. These idiots just want to turn everyone into absolute ignorant morons that the global elites can rule without any trouble. I think she’s also just getting her 1 minute of fame.
Gee, I thought the Latino class that Jaime Escalante taught calculus to in L.A. proved that if taught well, anyone could learn a complicated subject like calculus.
Well, it doesn’t surprise me at all. We’ve allowed the government to control every aspect of education. And then we express surprise when it goes off the rails. We corrupted education when the idea that it is society’s responsibility to teach, not the student’s responsibility to learn. That single idea proves that society does not understand cause and effect. Teaching is a skill, just like laying brick. Learning is the responsibility of the child, the student, not society’s. But because we fell for that fallacy we not only gave away our property rights, we gave away the minds of our… Read more »
Luddite!