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The Seattle school district is planning to infuse all K-12 math classes with ethnic-studies questions that encourage students to explore how math has been "appropriated" by Western culture and used in systems of power and oppression, a controversial move that puts the district at the forefront of a movement to "rehumanize" math.
The
district's proposed framework outlines strands of discussion that teachers should incorporate into their classes.
One leads students into exploring math's roots "in the ancient histories of people and empires of color." Another asks how math and science have been used to oppress and marginalize people of color, and who holds power in a math classroom.
Another theme focuses on resistance and liberation, encouraging students to recognize the mathematical practices and contributions of their own communities, and looking at how math has been used to free people from oppression.
Seattle's proposals land as schools all over the country are discussing the role ethnic studies should play in their curricula. In most places, if schools offer ethnic studies at all, it's usually in a stand-alone course in high school. But increasingly, schools and districts are starting to sprinkle ethnic studies across the K-12 spectrum.
Seattle is taking a highly unusual approach by weaving the field's multicultural and political questions not just through all grade levels, but into all subjects.
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