Hundreds of America’s top scientists and mathematicians have released an open letter in which they express “alarm” at the likely disastrous consequences of woke K-12 math curricula such as the “Equitable Math’ framework proposed in California.
To date, nearly 600 of the nation’s top quantitative scientists have signed onto the open letter that specifically voices “deep concern” about California’s “equitable math” framework, one that promotes the concept that working to figure out a correct answer is an example of racism and white supremacy invading the classroom.
We write to express our alarm over recent trends in K-12 mathematics education in the United States. All of us have first-hand experience of the role that clear mathematical thinking has played in advancing information technology and American economic competitiveness. We all also share the urgent concern that the benefits of a robust mathematical education, and the career opportunities it opens up, should be shared more widely between students of all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, and economic status. We fully agree that mathematics education “should not be a gatekeeper but a launchpad.”
However, we are deeply concerned about the unintended consequences of recent well-intentioned approaches to reform mathematics education, particularly the California Mathematics Framework (CMF). Such frameworks aim to reduce achievement gaps by limiting the availability of advanced mathematical courses to middle schoolers and beginning high schoolers. While such reforms superficially seem “successful” at reducing disparities at the high school level, they are merely “kicking the can” to college. While it is possible to succeed in STEM at college without taking advanced courses in high school, it is more challenging. College students who need to spend their early years taking introductory math courses may require more time to graduate. They may need to give up other opportunities and are more likely to struggle academically. Such a reform would disadvantage K-12 public school students in the United States compared with their international and private-school peers. It may lead to a de facto privatization of advanced mathematics K-12 education and disproportionately harm students with fewer resources.
Another deeply worrisome trend is devaluing essential mathematical tools such as calculus and algebra in favor of seemingly more modern “data science.” As STEM professionals and educators we should be sympathetic to this approach, and yet, we reject it wholeheartedly. The ability to gather and analyze massive amounts of data is indeed transforming our society. But “data science” - computer science, statistics, and artificial intelligence- is built on the foundations of algebra, calculus, and logical thinking. While these mathematical fields are centuries old and sometimes more, they are arguably even more critical for today’s grand challenges than in the Sputnik era.
We call on national, state, and local governments to involve college-level STEM educators and STEM professionals in the design of K-12 mathematics and science education curriculum, set the following as explicit goals, and allocate resources to help school districts meet these goals:
1. All students, regardless of background, have access to a math curriculum with precision and rigor, and that would enable them to pursue STEM degrees and careers if they so choose.
2. Far from being deliberately held back, all students should have the opportunity to be nurtured and challenged to fulfill their potential. This is not only for their own benefit but also for society and the nation’s economic competitiveness.
3. There cannot be a “one size fits all” approach to K-12 mathematical education. Students should be offered multiple pathways and timelines to explore mathematics. But one of these pathways should be the option to obtain the fundamental preparation for college-level STEM, including algebra, calculus, and logical reasoning. Students should have the opportunity to take those classes at varying grade levels of middle and high school when they are ready, so that they acquire the tools to explore other STEM options and can build their proficiency in a balanced pacing, avoiding irresponsible compression late in high school.
Mathematical education is a challenging enterprise, and we have the utmost respect for our K-12 colleagues who are doing this hard work. In appreciation of the difficulty, we believe that changes to educational standards should be approached with care, using incremental experimentation building on lessons learned from both the US and abroad and using credible measures of success. In contrast, initiatives like the CMF propose drastic changes based on scant and inconclusive evidence. Subjecting the children of our largest state to such an experiment is the height of irresponsibility.
Finally, K-12 math curriculum development cannot be disconnected from one of its most important end goals: Preparing students for success in college-level STEM education and a STEM career. As educators in public and private institutions, and working professionals in the technology industry, we have a first-hand understanding of the skills needed for this goal. While the US K-12 system has much to improve, the current trends will instead take us further back. Reducing access to advanced mathematics and elevating trendy but shallow courses over foundational skills would cause lasting damage to STEM education in the country and exacerbate inequality by diminishing access to the skills needed for social mobility.
It's not just mathematics, it's infecting more and more of our institutions and it's going to permanently damage the kids being taught this crap. My opinion, please prove me wrong.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
Here is the answer ,in it's totality..........the entire educational system (public) has been broken, for a very long time(decades)....STEM is the future and we,as a nation, have allowed other countries to surpass us,because
of politics,lack of forward thinking and NOT being proactive. PAY TEACHERS A MORE THAN ADEQUATE SALARY and watch that changes. Money draws talented, innovative individuals...jmo
I don't know how a dangerous ideology could be changed by more money, especially since it literally requires a teacher to commit a crime before a firing can happen. Is woke math really a product of low pay or is it just an evolution of progressive ideology? I know this isn't being taught everywhere but woke/crt teaching is a real thing and it is spreading like a cancer. Thankfully covid closures made it possible for parents to see what was being taught and they are rightfully fighting back against it.
Math should be absolute with only one correct answer, but that is somehow seen as racist. You have to understand the motives. The goal appears to be the dumbing down of children so that everybody can get a passing grade. In other subjects woke teaching seems to be more about division by categorizing children by victims and oppressors, which is sick and wrong.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
This might encourage more parents to leave California. Not having advanced math courses available could limit their chances to get into good schools. Woke installs a ceiling for talented math students.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Athletes and coaches are muzzled by the fear of being transphobic (nothing phobic about it btw). It's going to require a lot of old school women's rights warriors to stop this madness, but so far I'm not seeing it in any significant movement.
Moment trans UPenn swimmer, 22, absolutely destroys her rivals in women's freestyle event - winning by 38 seconds: Sparks fury by smashing two women's records one year after competing as a male
In swimming, 38 seconds is a very long time.
It's the first season Thomas, who was formerly named Will, has competed in the swimming meets as a transgender woman. As Will, Thomas competed on the men's team for two full seasons.
Her success, though, has drawn criticism from some claiming she has an unfair advantage, as those who were born male tend to have longer limbs, larger hands and feet, along with greater upper-body strength.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
So now that the message is agreeable, it's good to listen to the scientists?
FWIW, I agree with the scientists' letter. And with
the position in science
on transgender athletes.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
ScienceChic wrote: So now that the message is agreeable, it's good to listen to the scientists?
FWIW, I agree with the scientists' letter. And with
the position in science
on transgender athletes.
You don't have to be a scientist to understand how stupid and harmful this kind of teaching is. This article just jumped out at me as a way to finally convince some people who have been denying or ignoring this crap as being a problem. I've listened to some really inept and dishonest scientists/doctors over the last 18 months so I didn't need these scientists to confirm what I already knew.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
The University of Pennsylvania has nominated Thomas for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. It goes to prove that anything a woman can do a man can do better.
On another note, a 27 y.o transgender prison inmate has been moved to a youth facility after impregnating two fellow inmates. Maybe he thought that he would be the one getting pregnant.
Yup, a woman is just as good at everything as a man, just as long as the "woman" was a man before he became a she.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
