The Oregon Education Department is encouraging middle school teachers to attend a training program to help them “develop an anti-racist math practice.”
Teachers are advised to register for a Feb. 21 course titled “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction,” which was designed to help them utilize “key tools for engagement [and] strategies to improve equitable outcomes for Black, Latinx, and multilingual students,” The Epoch Times reported.
Based on the publication's research, the toolkit points to “visiblizing [sic] the toxic characteristics of white supremacy culture with respect to math,” as one of the ways to achieve fair math practice.
“Treating mistakes as problems by equating them with wrongness,” is one toxic characteristic that was identified.
According to the toolkit, “Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict.”
To address this, teachers may request from their students to “come up with at least two answers” that can possibly provide a solution to the problem.
The participants are also expected to learn how to “distinguish between a mistake and a misunderstanding” because “white supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms when addressing mistakes,” based on the toolkit.
A workbook entitled “Dismantling Racism” is linked to the toolkit for reference.
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