> You cannot tell me that black children cannot be proficient in math. I have worked with black children, and know better. <
I’m a veteran urban school teacher, and I agree with you 100% there.
> Math is not being taught in these schools in a manner which leads to proficiency. <
That’s part of the problem. The so-called New Math is a confusing mess. But a larger problem is classroom discipline. I’ll wager my last dollar that in each of those schools disruptive students are allowed to roam hallways and classrooms freely. Principals get rated - and promoted - based on things like reducing suspensions. So no one gets suspended.
It is next to impossible to teach math - or anything else - when two or three or five kids in your class are yelling at each other, or running around the room.
I quit after 13 years because the kids were so out of control. Those were mainly white kids in a small conservative rural district. One can only imagine little thugs’ behaviors in inner city schools.