On Twitter, Ontario professor Heather Theijsmeijer recently argued that math is racist. The latter goes even further and denounces systemic racism in the teaching of this subject.
But how can math be racist?
A comment by Rachel Crowell in Scientific American magazine entitled Modern Mathematics Confronts Their White and Patriarchal Past addresses this question.
First of all, the author notes that few racialized people teach mathematics or earn a diploma in this discipline. In this context, the New York Times reported in an article published in 2019 that less than 1% of all students who received a doctorate in mathematics from an American university that year were black.
Then there would be problems in math class. For example:
- The models and theorems to be learned have names that are too white and too European, which obscures the true non-white origins of some of them.
- Mathematics teaching would not be adapted to the different social realities of all students, who do not all arrive from the same background.
In an effort to promote equity and access for black children, girls, and low-income students, many math teachers are shifting to inclusive teaching. It’s controversial. 🧵https://t.co/S3WS2LlZg8
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 7, 2021
A statement that calls for action
For Rachel Crowell, it is important to rethink ways to get young people of all backgrounds and walks of life more interested in mathematics.
In Canada, Ontario has attempted to follow this path through the “decolonization of mathematics”.
In ninth grade (the equivalent of third secondary school in Quebec), the math curriculum acknowledged that “math was used to normalize racism and the marginalization of non-Eurocentric mathematical knowledge”.
At the heart of Ontario’s destreamed 9th grade math course is equity, inclusion, anti-racism and anti-oppression. The most successful math courses will be those that teach and learn through these lenses.
Need proof? Here are some quotes from the introductory sections of the syllabus:
—Jason to |杜澤信 (@Jason_To) June 10, 2021
However, this reference to racism was withdrawn at the request of Doug Ford’s government.
Other elements startled some observers, including the Toronto Sun tabloid:
- “Math can be subjective.”
- It is necessary to outsource “the Eurocentric questions” in mathematics teaching to include the questions “anti-racism, social justice, social and environmental criticism”.
- Teachers are encouraged to “create anti-racist and anti-oppressive teaching and learning opportunities to engage students.”
The Sun has bemoaned what it calls far-left intrusion into science education.
Avoiding confrontations in Quebec
Quebec researchers, including essayist David Santarossa, have published a study in recent weeks that outlines possible solutions to reducing racial and social inequalities in mathematics education.
In particular, in the study, conducted with Frédéric Morneau Guérin and Christian Boyer, Reducing racism in mathematics education and the cobra effect, David Santarossa proposes adapting the material covered in the classroom – and the time allotted to the different elements – to allow each student to do their best give.
“Learning is not about knowing whether mathematics is not adapted to this or that origin. The question is how learning time is managed in the classroom,” he says.
JEAN-FRANCOIS DESGAGNES/JOURNAL
Finally, the researcher stresses the importance for a teacher to choose the words he uses in the lesson in a way that is as inclusive as possible and avoids language that could be perceived as discriminatory.
The solution, however, is not to accuse the world of math of white supremacy or racism, he argues, but to work to make it more diverse and representative.