Math is racist: Seattle schools' math curriculum looks at things like 'Power and Oppression' and 'Resistance'

Brett T. | 6:13 PM on October 01, 2019

RealClearInvestigations’ Mark Hemingway brought our attention to this document headed, “SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: K-12 Math Ethnic Studies Framework,” and it’s more frightening than Common Core ever dreamed of being. Apparently “Math Ethnic Studies” for kindergartners through high schoolers looks at things like “What does it mean to do math?” and, more importantly, “How is math manipulated to allow inequality and oppression to persist?”

This document is really something. If you want to end opression, maybe spend classroom time teaching kids actual math, instead of all the ways it allegedly harms them?

"SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
K-12 Math Ethnic Studies Framework (20.08.2019)" https://t.co/R9umTkIiCC

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) October 1, 2019

We don’t know if this is actually in practice in Seattle public schools, but the document is hosted on the official site of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, “the primary agency charged with overseeing public K–12 education in Washington state.”

Anyway, some of the themes of the curriculum are “Power and Oppression” and “History of Resistance and Liberation,” and some of the essential questions to be addressed include “Where does power and oppression show up in our math experiences?” and “How is math manipulated to allow inequality and oppression to persist?”

Here’s the description of “Power and Oppression”:

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.