Name: Is it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?
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Is it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?

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SubscribeSign inShare this postIs it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?johnmcwhorter.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMar 1, 2021Share this postIs it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?johnmcwhorter.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailThere is a documentThe idea is to show us how our racial reckoning of late ought change how we expose black kids to math. I suppose the counsel is also intended for kids of other types of melanin, but this is in essence a document that could be called “Math For Black Kids.”The latest is that state-level policy makers in Oregon are especially intrigued by this document. There is all reason to suppose that its influence will spread more widely.And this is to be resisted, as this lovely pamphlet is teaching us that it is racist to expect black kids to master the precision of math. To wit – its message, penned by people who consider themselves some of the most morally advanced souls in the history of the human species, is one that Strom Thurmond would have happily taken a swig of whiskey to.Of course the authors have itNow, part of “antiracist math teaching” here is to teach about black mathematicians (the authors have this as kids “reclaiming their mathematical ancestry” – the jargon is, we must admit, beautiful) or to air facts such as that the traditional Yoruba approach to numbers (and wow, numbers in Yoruba, I note as linguist me, are indeed fierce!) use base 20. No one would object to these things, nor to the idea that we “teach students of color about the career and financial opportunities in math and STEM fields.”mathAnd there is nothing white supremacist in that question. The substance of a serious proposal about teaching math will be, well, teaching how to do math itself, not its history and sociology.For example, one idea in this fascicle is that black students learn how math has hurt people (i.e. black ones). But it’s no slam dunk that little kids need to be taught this. Wouldn’t this affect a child’s attitude towards mastering the skills? Or – the burden is upon the authors here to explain just why it would not. Sure, teachers imparting this lesson would show that they know racism exists; they will thus Reckon With Racism as we are told they must. But what might the impact of that lesson be on children who haven’t even reached puberty?More to the point is that this entire document is focusedpraxis1. a focus on getting the “right” answer is “perfectionism” or “either/or thinking;”2. the idea that teachers are teachers and students are learners is wrong;3. to think of it as a problem that the expectations you have of students are not met is racist;4. to teach math in a linear fashion with skills taught in sequence is racist;tryingdo the math6. to require students to “show their work” is racist;paternalismpowerhoardingThis is actually what this document tells us, again and againThe objections to my take here will be predictableSo for example: I am not cherry-picking especially ripe-seeming quotes from an otherwise perfectly normal document. I am referring to its principal tenets, often restated several times within it.Another response will be that I am exaggerating the proposal’s impact – that almost nobody is using it for real and that really it’s “just a proposal.” To which the proper response is “Thank God,” – but we also recall that the people saying this would be dancing jigs if every state in the Union adopted the whole pamphlet wholesale. those who see that this document is a racist screed must resist itDismantling Racism in Mathematics InstructionThere are two things. Racism and religion. Just those.racismSecond, it is not science but scripture. It claims to be about teaching math while founded on shielding students from the requirement to actually do it. This is unempirical. It does so with an implication that only a moral transgressor numb to some larger point would question the contradiction. This is, as such, a religious document, telling you to accept that Jesus walked on water.Humans may grievously sacrifice the 9-year-old, the virgin, or the widow upon the pyre in worship of a God. Too, humans may sacrifice the black kid from the work of mastering the gift of math, in favor of showing that they are enlightened enough to understand that her life may be affected by racism and that therefore she should be shielded from anything that is a genuine challenge.This is not pedagogy; it is preaching.And in this country, religious propositions have no place in the public square.Like this postShare this postIs it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?johnmcwhorter.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmail155 CommentsFor your security, we need to re-authenticate you.Click the link we sent to , or .Expand full commentExpand full commentNo posts© 2022 John McWhorter ∙ ∙ &nbsp;is the home for great writingThis site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please or unblock scripts

SubscribeSign inShare this postIs it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?johnmcwhorter.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMar 1, 2021Share this postIs it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?johnmcwhorter.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailThere is a documentThe idea is to show us how our racial reckoning of late ought change how we expose black kids to math. I suppose the counsel is also intended for kids of other types of melanin, but this is in essence a document that could be called “Math For Black Kids.”The latest is that state-level policy makers in...

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John McWhorter teaches linguistics and music history at Columbia University, hosts Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast, and is Contributing Editor at the Atlantic.

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John McWhorter

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Is it racist to expect black kids to do math for real?

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