One of my friends just forwarded to me an article about math classes being used for social indoctrination -- in (contain your surprise) Massachusetts!
The "anti-racist education" program in place at Newton Public Schools in Newton, Mass., a wealthy, liberal niche of the Bay State, has angered some parents who believe the school district is more concerned about political correctness than teaching math skills.According to benchmarks for middle school education, the top objective for the district's math teachers is to teach "respect for human differences." The objective is for students to "live out the system-wide core value of 'respect for human differences' by demonstrating anti-racist/anti-bias behaviors."
Priority No. 2 is where the basics come in, which is "problem solving and representation — students will build new mathematical knowledge as they use a variety of techniques to investigate and represent solutions to problems."
Call me old fashioned, but shouldn't math classes be teaching math? Are math teachers even qualified to opine professionally on racism, much less to be put in charge of teaching kids about it? Further, should any public institution be spending our time and money indoctinating kids with leftist clap-trap?
Some parents say their students not only are in desperate need of math help but that some students also don't know the basics of U.S. history and that antiracist policies are getting in the way of teaching the basics."The 'antiracist' and, actually, 'anti-American' curriculum permeates the school environment," Lillian Benson, whose children, ages 8 and 11, attend the district's schools, told FOXnews.com in an e-mail.
"My children do not know Christopher Columbus, except that he was a racist who caused the death of many innocents or the founders of the nation. They have hardly heard of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln even though we live in the area that began it all. What they do know about is the wonders of Ghana, Mexico and China," she said.
That's no surpise to me -- I went to public schools. Some are better than others, and I actually learned quite a bit... on those days that weren't a part of some special month or another in which we were forced to focus on some useless politically correct niche.
Part of the problem is that many teachers apparently don't want to teach in their subject area, they want to "mold" their students and nonsense like that. They think their job is to "prepare the next generation for the future" or whatever, when really all parents want them to do is teach kids how to add and subtract. Society puts teachers on pedestals, and after a while the teachers begin to think they're as special and important as everyone says. In reality, teaching is easy if you know your subject matter, and teachers need to be brought back down to earth rather than continually glorified. Maybe then they'd stick to what they know, rather than taking it upon themselves to impose their own social framework on our kids.
"How many more years of declining scores will it take for the school committee and state officials to put a stop to this educational malpractice on schoolchildren?" asked Peter Murphy, a New York education consultant. "Values education should be done without gutting the state’s math standards."
Exactly right. Anti-racism won't help a kid get a job, but algebra will. Focusing on the former while neglecting the latter is a grievous mistake that will permanently disadvantage the students on whom it is inflicted. Leave social and political preferences to the parents.
Too bad I didn't see this article yesterday, in time for the Carnival of Education.
Good call. You know though that the problem extends further than the assinine case of Anti-Racist Math, right?
I hit this topic here and I pull quotes from academic texts that will make your head explode, that is unless you're a follower of social constructivism. If you follow the related links at the bottom of the post you'll also find my post on a graduate school class guide for how to teach multicultural math and other related topics. Compare the class requirements in that post to what you find in your graduate program. The class reads like a grade school class.
Anyways, I'm glad to have discovered your blog.
Before passing judgement on the abilities of teachers, you need to educate yourself about the structure of the public education system. District initiatives such as the one you are referencing are decided by administrators (ie. superintendent, school committee), rather than the teachers themselves. If you notice, your quote from an educational consultant references administrators and school committees only. The school committte is made up of people who live in the town, NOT teachers. I'm certain that there were at least two parents on that school committee, and the rest were elected by the parents. Your social and political preferences WERE left up to the parents.
The "decline" of public education, as you call it, is not a result of incompetent teachers, but rather the fault of people who speak of education as you do. I am an ivy league graduate who entered college with the goal of becoming a teacher. I love my job, but reading articles such as yours make me want to leave. Teaching is not given respect as a real profession - it is laughed at, looked down upon, and as a result the pay is, frankly, embarrassing. Why should I continue when my hard work is belittled and I could be making twice the amount I make now in other jobs that are options for me? You want the brightest academics to be teachers? Stop insulting the job.
I don't desire a pedastal or to be thought of as special - what I want and need, is respect as a professional. The public education system will never improve until the social view on the value of teaching improves. Until then, I suppose I should do my best to spit out only factual information to my students, and avoid all of that molding stuff that you speak of. No need to develop students' social skills or provide mentoring and support if they don't get any love or attention at home, are abused, have learning disabilities, or have trouble making friends. Let them be alone.
You're right, this isn't so hard. Teaching IS easy. It becomes much easier when you don't care to build relationships. If only I had no emotions...
hello i will like to join you for the porpose that you will be teaching me maths
although i do agree with your theory that 'anti racist maths' could get in the way of teaching children their maths skills, i do believe that its a great thing that anti racism is being taught in schools- and as for that tool greiving over the fact that her children didnt know who christopher columbus was, and that anti racism is actually 'anti america'- the world does not revolve around america. Its great that her kids know more about mexico and china. america is pretty much responsible for all the shit thats wrong with the world- i mean, its the fucking FATTEST country in the world,causes a whole lot of useless wars and paranoia, causes the most polution. 'thank you very much america, now we have a big fucking hole in the ozone layer, but of course, it wasnt you- it was those filthy terrorists'god bless america.