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 understand the point you are trying to make, but my question is, what is your end game? At the end of the day, what are you trying to teach the students. If this is 5th grade math, and you are teaching how to construct and read graphs, but not social inequalities, then I am not sure the lesson fits. If you make time in your class to discuss the issue (which can be highly nuanced, since we are dealing with statistics) and come up with solutions, then it sounds like a great idea. But if you are simply going to introduce the topic, not take it any deeper, and not allow for the development of solutions, then I do not see the need for the lesson. I also question the ability of 5th graders to understand the concept you are trying to introduce. Maybe some statistics on child poverty in your state or child homelessness (which an article just came out) might be something the students could have an easier time understanding. Either way, all of these issues are highly complex and have many moving parts and require a great deal of thought and consideration before implementation.