Oregon promotes teacher program that seeks to undo 'racism in mathematics'

It seems some extreme liberalism has gone full circle. They now are the ones saying that the scientists (mathematicians) may not properly be interpreting the data by putting too much emphasis on the core mathematical concepts and not enough emphasis on how different people might interpret the science in different ways."

I mean, I suppose it's fine teaching a little multiculturalism with Math (i.e., a little background in early elementary mathematics classes). But at the end of the day, the actual mathematics concepts and principles -- which are universal in the science of Mathematics -- is the important thing that needs to be taught. Not how different cultures use math. Save that for the Anthropology and sociology lessons.

That would be like Anthony Faucci saying "Yeah, I suppose some people want to know the science and hard data behind how COVID is spread, but let's instead concentrate on how the different people in this country feel about how the COVID data is being misinterpreted and misreported, and include their views in on the discussion."

Suddenly it sounds as if the Oregon Board of Education is siding with the redneck yahoos in the U.S. who doubt the science of COVID research because they grew up in a rural fundamentalist culture that taught them to be suspicious of science.

The Oregon Board of Education are now the ones promoting pseudoscience.

Sounds exactly like how they treat covid data now. Are you afraid of it yet? It’s big and red on your screen and we’re allll talking about it look at that counter move! And look how it affects underprivileged cultures and wahmenz more. Black people and Hispanic in rural and urban areas don’t know how to go online to get in line... to quote the president. Plenty of feeling based facts already in use. That’s how the dems have been using stats for ages, to invoke emotional responses from their base to support their causes.

How we feel about things has a greater value than how the reality may be... if you’re not a part of the wrong race and gender. a reply to: Box of Rain

originally posted by: Vroomfondel
a reply to: DAVID64

So basically what they are saying is that if minorities don't get the answers right often enough the questions must be racist.

Why would any minority let people describe them that way? I mean, if its not true... uhhhh... yeah... I'll show myself out.

But I am glad they dumbed down the civil service exam. There were way too many white people working those jobs. I always wondered though: If dumbing down the tests just gave minorities a better chance at passing, why are the white people who are also passing the tests not getting the job offers? Its almost like the whole thing was made up just to give an unfair advantage to minorities, all while they cry about slavery and reparations - which would seem to include dumbing down entrance exams but hey, what do I know?

It's not exactly what they're saying.

I think they're saying that kids from some cultures can't handle it emotionally if you just plain tell them they got the answer wrong, without pointing out that some of their process was correct.

White culture can also be called "Type A personality" culture. You're expected to take criticism in stride and just deal with it, try again, and come back stronger next time.

Some cultures are kind of "warrior cultures" where, if you're gonna tell someone they're wrong, you'd better be holding a sword, so they can fight you to the death (and thereby prove they were right, I guess?) I know someone who was teaching some kids on a native American reservation and ran into that a lot.

Other cultures simply get their feelings hurt and won't try anymore.

Telling everyone else they need to become "type A" personality too, kind of feels.......... Oh I don't know, a little bit self centered.

I don't know if it is possible to learn Math any other way, but I guess it's worth a try?

Communism had a strong sense of objective reality anchored in the belief that humans are capable of discovering universal truths. It forcefully asserted, in fact, the absolute truth of dialectic materialism, as revealed by its founders Marx, Engels and Lenin. Communist ideology held science and mathematics in the highest regard, even though it often distorted the former for doctrinal reasons.
Mathematics was largely immune to ideological pressure, and thus thrived in most communist countries. Being skilled in math was a source of great societal prestige for school children. And it was a great equalizer: those from socioeconomically disadvantaged families had a chance to compete on equal footing with those from privileged ones.

LINK

The privilege of true math and science is no longer available to those who pursue it.

I have to admit a lot of this is probably people who are bad at math wanting to be seen as "smart too".

But I can't blame them. Their liberal arts degrees probably required some hard work to get. They want to be able to say they are "educated", even if they can't put statistics in context, and simply bow down to anyone who quotes them a number that is too high to count.

For example, "200,000 Covid deaths!!!!" Even though whenever data is available, we find that over half of those who died had heart disease. And heart disease killed 600,000 in the year prior to the arrival of Covid. .... leading math literate people to wonder: is Heart disease an "underlying condition" for Covid, or is Covid an "underlying condition" for heart disease?

But if you are math illiterate, you would get mad at someone who tells you that for trying to objectify the question, and dismiss the deaths.

Why? Because math illiterate people can't make sense of statistics. They just regurgitate them, and blindly trust that they must mean what they were told they mean.

Scary world.

But do you see why people need better math education?

And for that education to reach over cultural/ethnic barriers?

Otherwise what we're going to see is block voting by people who simply believe what "the experts" say. (Which will be whoever CNN or another "credible" news outlet chooses to give the title of "expert" to)