Add one more thing to the list of things that are racist: algebra. Apparently the system of mathematical equations discriminates against minorities and low-income students, according to the Chancellor of California Community Colleges.
In an interview with National Public Radio’s (NRP) Robert Seigel, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley expressed support for the removal of advanced math courses in his community college system, calling it a “civil rights issue.”
“Algebra is one of the biggest hurdles to getting a high school or college degree — particularly for students of color and first-generation undergrads.”
Oakley added that “this is also something that plagues all Americans — particularly low-income Americans.”
Oakley, who is in charge of of 113 community colleges across the state of California, said that his primary focus was to ensure that students undergo “as rigorous course of study as possible” but that it needed to be more relevant to their course of study and that
“There are other math courses that we could introduce that tell us a lot more about our students.”
Apparently math is now an expressionary subject, with the intent to “tell us about our students.” Last time we checked, it was about problem solving.
Skeptics on the issue believe that the Chancellor is simply trying to boost graduation rates.
Less than half of community college students in California graduate with an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year institution, a fact that Seigel alluded to in the interview.
Oakley pushed back on the idea, however.
“I hear that a lot,” Oakley said “and unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth. Somewhere along the lines, since the 1950s, we decided that the only measure of a student’s ability to reason or to do some sort of quantitative measure is algebra.”
Oakley maintains that black Americans are disproportionately in poverty due to their lack of participation in higher education. He asserts this comes from an inability to pass algebra (a college requirement) due to poor schooling in high school. By nixing the algebra requirement, more blacks would have access to and success in college.
