We need to return to just teaching everyone the basics, rather than making excuses for certain groups.
Toni Airaksinen writes at Substack:
Math classes cause “intellectual trauma” to minorities: STUDYMathematical Pedagogies” in classrooms, arguing that such an approach is necessary because minorities—especially Black girls—face “violence and trauma” in math education.“When Black female students are repeatedly disciplined for being social, loud, or goofy in the mathematics classroom, they experience mathematical violence,” claim the authors of Designing Mathematics Curricula That Center Students’ Brilliance.The research team—including Lara Jaisen, Michael Lolkus, doctoral student Marlena Eanes Snowden, and Dr. Leslie Dietiker of Wheelock College—contends that while many believe math is politically neutral, it is actually “steeped in whiteness and heteromasculinity.”“Whiteness is a global phenomenon, impacting marginalized students and communities… and mathematics curricula are saturated in whiteness.”The academics assert that “whiteness” is pervasive in math classes and curriculum structures, explicitly stating:“As a culture, whiteness is toxic in society and in education. More specifically, in society, whiteness presents through norms including—but not limited to—perfectionism, a sense of urgency, individualism, and objectivity.”They argue that these cultural values place an “additional burden” on minority students, making them feel unwelcome and alienated in math classrooms.Math as a Source of ‘Intellectual Trauma’The authors repeatedly describe math education as a space of “violence” for minority students:“Making students feel unwelcome and incompetent alienates them in mathematics class and contributes to intellectual trauma and violence in mathematical spaces.”They claim that “Black Feminist Mathematics” can help students “heal” from this trauma by integrating academic and social experiences:“Focusing on academic and social integration supports our investigation of the ways in which mathematics curricula can promote healing from intellectual trauma and violence in mathematical spaces through attention to the minds and bodies of students.”
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