Prof: Algebra, geometry perpetuate white privilege

Campus Reform ^ | October 23, 2017 | Toni Airaksinen

[C19fan]

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.

[EliRoom8]

Please add me to your fan club. Your posts are hilarious.

[Unam Sanctam]

The revolt against reason by the left is frightening. And they always accuse conservatives of being the obscurantists...

[ETL]

Fan club? Didn’t know I had one. :)

In any case, thank you.

[Lisbon1940]

>> highest building at U. Illinois

When I was there it was Illini Tower. Now it is 309 Green Street.

[Fiji Hill]

“Professor” was the term used in the 20’s for the guy who played the piano in a whore house, hence: play it again Sam.

This academician made a noteworthy addition to his curriculum vitae::

Mardi Gras in New Orleans--Professor Longhair & His New Orleans Boys (1950)

[BlueLancer]

"“professor” was the term used in the 20’s for the guy who played the piano in a whore house, hence: play it again Sam."

Oh, really?

Outrageous!

[TomGuy]

Another nutty prof publishes a book.

If the prof expects students to be competitive in an environment that requires algebra and geometry, that has nothing to do with white privilege.

Those who chose not to study algebra and geometry can probably get jobs as Walmart shelf stockers or McDonald’s fry cooks.

==

Sounds like the prof is doing a ‘po me’ because those with high level of math skills get more grants and probably have better incomes.

[windsorknot]

White Math Matters

[Enchante]

"Pythagoras was black"

NONSENSE. Where did you get this? Some bizarre politically correct revisionist writer? Pythagoras was from the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean. Although not much is known of him directly, there is nothing to suggest he was "black" as that racial category would be understood today. Certainly ancient populations in the eastern Med. and "Near East" regions could have been somewhat swarthy by today's conception, and not at all what we would call "white".... but the whole modern black/white racial distinction is very badly applied to the ancient Aegean populations.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Algebra is a corruption of an Arabic term. Every society has used geometry. Euclid was largely responsible for the codification of the subject and the concept of mathematical proof. He was a Greek who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. I’ve actually heard him referred to as an “African scholar”. Calling Euclid an African is a little like describing Einstein as a member of the Delaware tribe because he lived in New Jersey.

[Political Junkie Too]

I wonder what Jaime Escalante would have said about this?

-PJ

[HapaxLegamenon]

Professor: “There is no objective truth.”

Student: “Is that true?”

Professor: “Absolutely.”

[InterceptPoint]

Oh, now I remember. This was all thought up by that Pathos guy (or something like that - I’m sure you know who I mean but some Freepers might not). He was a Greek from way back. 😉

[Enchante]

She is a pompous clown in academic garb. I looked over her C.V., and there is zero evidence that she actually knows much about mathematical subjects at all. Here are her degrees:

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
PhD, Education (Curriculum and Instruction), December 1995, cum laude
M.A., Social Sciences, March 1995
Dissertation title— Beyond Tracking: How the Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures of High School Mathematics Departments Influence Student Advancement

STANFORD UNIVERSITY
B.A., Human Biology, 1990

[Enchante]

Her C.V. is actually quite horrifying. Despite zero evidence of “higher” mathematical studies and research beyond high school, she gets various national fellowships and awards for being an ostensible expert in curriculum for mathematics. She has served on various national boards and panels about mathematical education. She regularly evaluates junior professors at many other universities for promotion and tenure.

Her “research” interests are all about race/gender/ethnicity. She is an academic fraud.

Her C.V. is an absolute horror show, lots of pretense and little substance. She is the epitome of the modern “Emperor’s New Clothes” scam in academia. She is not competent to judge anything about mathematical education.

[jimfree]

I will reveal ALL of my algebra secrets to ANYONE.

[Enchante]

FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD

This person is totally unqualified to pronounce upon mathematical subjects.

Rochelle Gutiérrez

Biography

"We act ourselves into new ways of thinking, not the reverse."

Rochelle Gutiérrez



Dr. Gutierrez' scholarship focuses on equity issues in mathematics education, paying particular attention to how race, class, and language affect teaching and learning. Through in-depth analyses of effective teaching/learning communities and longitudinal studies of developing and practicing teachers, her work challenges deficit views of students who are Latin@/x, Black, and/or American Indian and suggests that mathematics teachers need to be prepared with much more than just content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, or knowledge of diverse students if they are going to be successful. Her current research projects focus upon: developing in pre-service teachers the knowledge and disposition to teach powerful mathematics to urban students; the roles of uncertainty, tensions, and "Nepantla" in teaching; and the political knowledge (and forms of creative insubordination) that mathematics teachers need to effectively teach in an era of high-stakes education.

[al_c]

White privilege? Really? Tell that to these ladies ...

[reformedliberal]

the roles of uncertainty, tensions, and “Nepantla” in teaching; and the political knowledge (and forms of creative insubordination) that mathematics teachers need to effectively teach in an era of high-stakes education.”
______________

Nepantla is a concept used often in Chicano and Latino anthropology, social commentary, criticism, literature and art. It represents a concept of “in-between-ness.” Nepantla is a Nahuatl word which means “in the middle of it” or “middle.” Wikipedia

[wbill]

All persons of all races and cultures can use and understand math once they grasp the concepts.

A truer statement could not be made. STEM disciplines are the ultimate level playing field.

This woman’s assertion that all knowledge, even mathematics, is subjective is the road to madness.

Also true. However, this article exposes the weakness of people who either refuse, or are unable to learn even simple STEM principles. Rather than make an effort, it's far easier to say "Math is Racist", and refuse to learn.