Is Mathematics Racist? My first few years as an asst prof I taught college algebra out of a textbook by Vance, I think. It incorporated the "New Math", an idea that had mostly expired by then. I tried to maintain a level of enthusiasm, but it was heavy going as I dealt with simple rules like a+0=a. The thrust of this pedagogical experiment was to introduce abstract underpinnings for the rote procedures previously championed. I suspect the NM did more to separate the superior math talented from those having average math intellects than anything since - the latter group losing what little interest in the subject they had to begin with. Perhaps the opposite of what is described in the article except for discovery notions.
The NM was an idea broadly supported by math professionals in universities, whereas the reform ideas advanced by advocates of approaches described in the article have little support amongst the professorial class. Hmmm.
Wiki:
Topics introduced in the New Math include set theory, modular arithmetic, algebraic inequalities, bases other than 10, matrices, symbolic logic, Boolean algebra, and abstract algebra.[2] All of the New Math projects emphasized some form of discovery learning.[3] Students worked in groups to invent theories about problems posed in the textbooks. Materials for teachers described the classroom as "noisy." Part of the job of the teacher was to move from table to table assessing the theory that each group of students had developed and "torpedoing" wrong theories by providing counterexamples.
No, math is not racist. But the following from a Seattle Public School document seems to ignore the fact that "Western" mathematics is the only kind that really works in the modern world. Historical contributions certainly came from many cultural sources, but we are beyond cuneiform impressions on clay tablets. I taught math history on occasion and relished the discussion of Omar Khayyam, one of the ancestors of the subject I explored.
Power and oppression, as defined by
ethnic studies, are the ways in which
individuals and groups define
mathematical knowledge so as to see
“Western” mathematics as the only
legitimate expression of mathematical
identity and intelligence. This definition
of legitimacy is then used to
disenfranchise people and
communities of color. This erases the
historical contributions of people and
communities of color.