California is an anti-racist state, which is why it wants to deemphasize calculus because it doesn’t think minorities can understand it.
This bit of backward logic is the primary takeaway from California’s yearlong battle with math. A draft for the state’s new guidelines was opened for public comment in February. These guidelines would deemphasize calculus because white and Asian students are overrepresented in calculus classes. It would also deprive students of chances to enter accelerated courses in middle school and suggested that teachers should use math lessons to explore social justice.
You may recall that the events of the film Stand and Deliver, in which a math teacher creates an AP Calculus powerhouse program at a majority Hispanic high school in Los Angeles, are based on a true story. But public schools, especially in California, are decidedly less ambitious now. If black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in calculus programs, best to have them just give up on those programs entirely.
At a time when the United States is continuing to lag behind global peers in math scores, the most populous state in the country is trying to turn mathematics into just another extension of social justice in the classroom. Sure, the U.S. is underperforming European and East Asian countries in math, but now is the perfect time to begin incorporating “environmental and social justice,” “sociopolitical consciousness,” and “problems that result in social inequalities” into California’s math guidelines.
It should not need to be said that math is not political or that state governments should not try to cap the possibilities for students because other students are not as “gifted.” But California does a lot of ridiculous and counterproductive things in the name of equity and “progress,” so don’t be surprised if the state tries to push forward this plan again when the backlash dies down.
