Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Math and Social Justice! No No! Recently, I read a report in a national magazine on income levels of different groups of people in the US. The report especially featured income differences between males, females and different ethnic groups. Some of the statistics were very disturbing. For example, women holding the same job as men with same number of years in the job made considerably less money in most of the states. Differences between ethnic groups were even more disturbing. I decided to use these data in my math class with my 5th graders in a lesson on graphing. The purpose was for the students to be able to interpret graphs and create graphs using the information provided. Students enjoyed the lesson and learned some social justice lessons. Apparently a lot of my students talked to their parents about what they had learned in class when they went home. I received notes from about 10 parents the next day simply indicating that what I taught in my math class would lead to hatred among my students and that I should not be wasting their children's valuable time. Rather, they suggested, I should teach math with no controversial materials. I completely disagree with them and I plan to use similar materials in my other courses as well. However, my principals asked me to send an explanation to those parents. I know my explanation will not stop the complaints. How should I go about this potentially long battle? Or should I take the short cut simply remove such content from my lessons? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) It is your job as an educator to make lessons meaningful for students in real-world situations. Students need to understand the real-world and what is statistically occurring that they will face later in life. If you did not have data and statistics to backup your assignment that would be another story, but you do. Therefore, I would send a formal letter to the parents who complained explaining in detail what multicultural education and multicultural open-mindedness is and how it is incorporated in lessons as a real-world application. You would also need to explain the global concerns about gender equity and how this lesson will also motivate girls to aim for higher education as well. It is important for parents to understand the why, how, and what of the topic of the lesson and as a result you are helping and not hurting. Students in the long run will have more empathy and tolerance for individual differences and gender consciousness helps to change the future hierarchical and competitive work place for women. Once parents understand your motives and explanation for the assignment, I believe they will react more positively for future instructional activities as well.