The cartoon below is supposed to be a joke. The original version used New York. That is, of course, absurd. And my guess is it won’t be a joke much longer.
(click for larger image)
There is a new proposed math framework for California’s K-12 schools. One of its intents is to give “women and minorities” better access to STEM fields. Keeping these groups marginalized in the Non-STEM Ghetto(™) will actually reduce their chances of succeeding in any STEM field is a far more likely outcome.
Those are not my words. They are from a group of black University of California faculty members in data science-related fields. Stephanie M. Lee’s July 6, 2023 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education includes this:
A group of Black UC faculty members in data science-related fields sent a letter to the committee in May 2022. “Introduction to Data Science” and courses like it, they wrote, “make claims that they specifically support learning for women and minorities, which are not only baseless, but fail to appreciate that they actually do the opposite and harm students from such groups by steering them away from being prepared for STEM majors.” And the chair of Santa Barbara’s mechanical-engineering department wrote to express “our strongest support for keeping Algebra 2 as a core requirement,” as it “teaches concepts which are absolutely essential for our undergraduate students to succeed in our program.”
Ms. Lee’s article is worth reading in its entirety. But let me include a Twitter thread by Mike Lawler (@mikeandallie) that has a more mathematical focus. According to his Twitter bio, Mike is a “former math professor, current math and ultimate frisbee enthusiast. Love making fun math videos with my kids.” His website includes many instructional videos of him teaching his kids math.
Here’s what Mike says about the math framework.
