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!) I do not think that teachers should shy away from controversy to simply appease parents, however I can see why some parents would have issues with this lesson. If you are going to use data such as this in the class than you need to place context with lesson. If data is used without proper instruction and discussion than it can be used to justify things that are not intended for the class. A teacher should ask themselves if the lesson can be taught, just as well without controversy. If the conflict takes away from learning in class, is the statement worth the conflict. Sometimes, you have to know what battles to fight, and controversy may not be worth the conflict it creates. Properly explain your side, but ultimately it may not make a difference if the parents or the school board are against such curriculum in the classroom. In the end, you are in charge of the classroom but you are not always in complete control of the curriculum. You need to make sure that the parents, administration and school board are all in agreement that what you are teaching is in the best interests of the students. If this many parents were concerned about the lesson than the teacher may need to ask themselves if the concerns are justified and with merit. If 10 parents were concerned enough about a lesson to take the time to write you than there may be some issues with it that need to be addressed.