Awakened Scientists Assail Woke Assault On Math

Balanced thinkers have always thought teaching “The 3 Rs” to kids essential, and now even progressive scientists worry about the misguided woke assault on the equation’s “math” component as seen in WSJ’s “Squaring Up to Defend Mathematics.” What’s that about well-intentioned people often do the most harm?

The editors note how 471 of “America’s top scientists [now in a public statement] warn about the political erosion of education standards,” especially when it’s starting to hit them in their home field: “The last few years have seen a proliferation of ‘open letters’ by academics in politics & the humanities in favor of progressive causes. [But] the hard sciences are different, and when mathematicians, physicists and engineers speak up to defend the integrity of their fields, Americans should pay attention.” So might the Pentagon and its allies in Ike’s “Military Industrial Complex” who depend on math genius to protect the nation’s national security (as well as make a buck).

Particularly worrying the “top quantitative scientists,” many of whom surely fall into the liberal sphere, is “our alarm over recent trends in K-12 mathematics education” & the wave of social-justice efforts to eliminate standardized testing & to lower traditional standards to make it look like everyone’s an achiever, notwithstanding the obvious achievement gaps that stare us in the face. The California Dept of Ed’s proposed new “justice-oriented perspective” in teaching math is one example called out among many. Such elevation of “trendy but shallow courses over foundational skills” like algebra & calculus are centuries old & arguably more critical for “today’s grand challenges than in the Sputnik era.” No, Californian “educators” with open-toed sandals, the scientists remind, 1 plus 1 does not equal 1 in the real world.

Davd Soul