Posted on 10/24/2017 9:14:39 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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.”
To resolve the intelligence gap, Gutierrez calls on math professors to develop a sense of “political conocimiento,” a Spanish term for “political knowledge for teaching.”
She concludes her argument with the claim that all knowledge is “relational,” or is, in other words, relative. “Things cannot be known objectively; they must be known subjectively.”
I would like to see her fly on an airplane that was designed by women and minorities who cannot pass Algebra and Geometry.
I quite agree, based upon my own personal experiences. The Professor is a flaming nitwit.
Picket
“Things cannot be known objectively; they must be known subjectively”
In other words, I “feel” like 1+1 should equal 3. How moronic. Mathematics is the epitome of objectivity.
.....so blacks can just continue saying that math and science is only for white crackahs, and they will continue as a group to languish behind whites and Asians in the high paying STEM careers.
It’s the choice of blacks, nobody is making them choose bull sh*t degrees like “social justice,” “black womens’ studies” and “community activism.”
All I can say is “wow”.
Well, then she should be officed only in buildings on campus that were built by architects, engineers, and workers who did not have any algebra, geometry, or physics.
Funniest thing I’ve ever seen......Math in the Hood
So what the “professor” is trying to say is that minorities are TOO STUPID to be able to learn these subjects? That’s “rasis”.
When you dig down into the history...it leads back to the Babylonians. It is true that the Egyptians were the ones who got into linear equations (lot of this seen in the Pyramids). So the term algebra is Arabic in nature.
If you were talking about geometric algebra...then yeah, it’d be the Greeks who developed this.
I don’t think this professor knows much about the historical side. It doesn’t matter who developed it....just that it works. She sounds like some loser who is continually looking for something to get all angry about. She might as well suggest that tampons are ‘white privilege’ because white guys from France developed them.
My son is a Chemical Engineer. He had to be proficient at a lot of math I don’t understand to get his degree. But I do understand this:
At a petrochemical plant, the fluid in the pipe has to be set at the correct temperature, pressure and flow rate based on some fairly complex mathematical calculations. The fluid in that pipe does not care about the person making those calculations; not about race, national origin, age, sex or sexual orientation. If the parameters are not set correctly, the plant blows up and people die. The fluid is truly and completely color blind; it does what it does.
I may not understand the calculations that set those parameters, but I know how they work. Clearly, this stupid teacher does not.
I believe she is a “math education” type, not real math.
Rest assured that when “education” is associated with a degree, one can safely assume a recipient living well to the left of the SAT Bell Curve.
My apolgies to all the excellent math teachers (not educators) out there. Wish there were more of you.
Mathematics is universal.
So is hot. So is cold. So is dark. So is light. So is wet. So is dry.
These concepts don’t change no matter where you come from.
Who knew?
And the importance of being 6'8", athletically inclined, and able to dribble, dunk, and shoot a basketball also creates unearned real world privilege. My pudgy 54 year old grandma self demands I be entitled to the same salary as NBA players, just to remove their privilege.
Even worse- it’s sexist!
Geometry
Algebra
Math and
Science
What’s that spell?
GAMS! That’s sexist!!
Good one
Unfortunately, in many schools, when black kids do well, their peers put them down for being too white.
Think back to Jamie Escalante teaching Mexican kids calculus at Garfield High in inner city Los Angeles (made into the movie, Stand and Deliver). According to wikipedia, " In 1987, 27% of all Mexican Americans who scored 3 or higher on the calculus AP exam were students at Garfield High." Why doesn't this professor implement programs for (a) seeing that education is valued in the home, (b) changing the perspective of those black kids who think doing well in school is a bad thing, and (c) setting expectations higher, not lower. This crazy professor is setting up kids to fail.
I’m fine with the belief that math is associated with white achievement and the resulting civilized, advanced cultures.
FWIW, began about a year ago. http://lathisms.org/
self ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.