Can you Spot the Racism?

I just finished a one-hour-and-fifteen-minute session of my Ethnicity class (focusing primarily on Chicano (their word, not mine, so please don't be offended)). One topic that came up was racism in schools (particularly American schools); a type of "institutionalized racism" if you will.A student pointed out that most of the primary subjects taught in school lack the fundamental components that allow for "racist" teaching--his example: math. The professor attempted to argue that racism was present in the math programs taught throughout the U.S., though she gave no specific examples.At the end of the class, I, along with most of the other students (perhaps all) were unable to find where in common highschool math there was any hint of racial preferences being made. And though I do not agree with the students original point (I think there are plenty places in school curicula for racism to "flourish"), I still lack the ability to find any in math.Perhaps someone here on the boards can point it out to me, and whilst they're at it, add to the list of things which are not usually thought of as being "racist." Give us examples and explanations of why they're racist, and we can discuss them.Now, a pre-warning: I realize that to some this may be a very sensitive issue, but we must keep our cool. The truth of the matter is every race feels in someway like it is getting the short end of the stick. I hope you will all respect the opinions of others, while at the same time ripping the heads off those who do not respect yours .J0N

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

Why does mathematics only teach Arabic numbers in the US?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

As CanadianSteve would remind us, it's part of a Wahhabi plot.

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This world can take my money and time/ But it sure can't take my soul. -- Joe Ely

I think the professor is insane, how can math be racist? Maybe if she means that people of different races do not know how to do math because of poverty or something, she's Discriminating... that's not racist, plenty of people ( all kinds) come from poverty... Everyone is capable of learning. Honestly I can't think of why it would be... maybe because the normal is to have black numbers on white paper... Their argument is irrational.

Perhaps it has something to do with a perception that word problems usually involved Joey taking apples from Anna, rather than Taquishia taking cassavas from Mustapha.Edited by subbie, : Add subtitle.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

lol that would cause offense enough on trying to say it correctly

"maria's welfare check is $824/month. at $5.15/hour, how many hours a week must maria work at her job as a hotel cleaning lady in order to equally support her family of 12?""hector's lawn mearures 20x30 ft. how many cars measuring 10x5 ft can he park, leaving a 2 ft margin on either side??"i'm sure we can find LOTS of ways to make math racist...

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I've seen questions like that, but never to that extreme

Yes, I agree. There are THOUSANDS of ways to MAKE something racist, but what we're trying to figure out is whether or not it already is. So, can you find any specific examples of how simple number manipulation can be racist?And I do agree, that the answer will probably come in the form of a word problem.J0N

well, i was being facetious above. i haven't seen any such examples in reality, in school tests and whatnot. maybe i was just more oblivious in high school.but i suspect said professor above was simply on crack.

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The teaching of math in american schools does indeed have some racist undertones. The schools that have higher math programs tend to be the more well funded schools, and more often than not are white predominant schools. And in these schools, the average test scores are usually higher.Poorer, less funded schools tend to have crappy math programs. Coincidently, these schools are also in predominantly black communities.One could argue that this is only due to funding distributions, but one cannot deny the obvious correlation between the test scores of the poorer black schools versus the wealthier white schools.On a different note, asians probably have us both beat

But that has nothing to do with it being math that is being taught. That is a problem with teaching all subjects. Arguably, it is more of a problem in teaching certain topics, science for example, or art, that require constant replenishing of supplies that are consumed in the teaching process.The OP made it sound like the teacher was singling out math as being racist, or at least saying that there is something inherent in math that makes it racist in a way outside of racism generally in education.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

I have a unique perspective living in an official bilingual state and having 3 generations of primary educators in my family (grandmother, mother, and wife).Where all have complained about the problems in education due to ethnicity, or more broadly with regard to cultural differences in genral, is in the arena of standardized testing.For example, my mother was livid one day for having to grade as incorrect a standardized test question for most of her class. The question displayed a picture of a cityscape with industrial plants all spewing out smoke and asked the children to describe in free text what was wrong with the picture. Most of the class wrote that the problem was that the buildings were on fire. It just so happens that the test makers operate out of the east coast and these kids have never seen a factory in their lives.This example is not specifically racially motivated but it was a big issue for many New Mexico schools enough that they complained to the state and pressured the federal programs to authorize different questions that are culturally sensitive. What they got was the exact same questions on standardized tests replacing the word "hamburger" with "taco". I don't usually get to see an entire group full of pissed off teachers but boy is it a sight to see!

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Of course, biblical creationists are committed to belief in God's written Word, the Bible, which forbids bearing false witness; --AIG (lest they forget)

I think the teacher is correct. It is as easy to teach math in a racist manner as it is to teach any subject in a racist manner. I don't even see how the subject itself makes any sort of difference. With whatever is being taught, if the teacher is responding to and helping certain students, and ignoring others on racial grounds, then the topic is being taught in a racist manner.The way math is being described as "without racism" here, I find that all subjects are equally "without racism". Even history, the history can even be about a racist event, as long as the teacher is providing the information equally and trying to help all of the students learn, it is not being taught in a racist manner.