(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The California State Board of Education has unveiled a new and contentious math framework, following years of heated debates and concerns from apprehensive parents who fear their children might be subject to indoctrination.
As reported by Education Week, the extensive 1,000-page framework aims to bridge the gap between theoretical math concepts and their real-world applications. Though non-binding, the framework urges teachers to make math more accessible to minority students who have faced historical marginalization in the subject.
Despite the uproar from critics, Linda Darling-Hammond, the chief of the California State Board of Education, championed the new plan. “The United States has not been teaching math effectively or equitably. We are one of the lower-achieving countries … and California is below the national average in its achievement in mathematics,” Hammond stated during a board meeting, as cited by EdWeek. “The same old, same old will not get us to a new place.”
However, opponents of the new framework were swift in voicing their concerns about the proposed changes in math education. Williamson Evers, a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, expressed his reservations, stating, “Saying that we’re going to have trauma infused pedagogy that tells kids they are traumatized by capitalism and therefore they have to become activists, that’s what’s in there.”
The Twitter profile “Wall Street Silver” also chimed in, criticizing the move with a question: “California woke social justice warrior math coming. Numbers not allowed?”
The controversy surrounding the math framework started in 2021 when the school board introduced a new curriculum aimed at addressing perceived racism within math. The proposal faced fierce criticism, with more than a thousand signatures from math professionals collected by the Independent Institute voicing their disapproval of the curriculum.
"Saying that we're going to have trauma infused pedagogy that tells kids they are traumatized by capitalism and therefore they have to become activists, that's what's in there," says Senior Fellow Bill Evers about California's woke math curriculum @FoxNews https://t.co/PQf77bPGHn
— Independent Institute (@IndependentInst) July 24, 2023
The National Review reported that signatories referred to the framework as a plan “to build a mathless Brave New World on a foundation of unsound ideology,” and the initial petition against the framework garnered support from 6,000 individuals.
Fox News covered the issue as well, highlighting that the controversial framework promotes a “‘justice-oriented perspective and focus on historically marginalized people'” for teachers. It also replaces Algebra II with a data science course, featuring no problem-solving components.
Furthermore, it shifts Algebra I from the 8th- to the 9th-grade level, potentially preventing students from taking calculus in their graduating year. Algebra, Fox reported, is often essential for pursuing degrees in fields such as medicine, science, or engineering.
