Mathematics literacy and civil rights

SUMMARY: The opportunity to learn mathematical knowledge and problem solving abilities is a right that should not be denied to any social groups.

Mathematical literacy is the conceptual understanding and, especially, the operational skills to deal with mathematical situations encountered in all areas of daily life. At a higher level, it is also the ability to use mathematical knowledge and problem-solving ability in more sophisticated uses of mathematics in careers and technical applications. This mathematical knowledge includes having a “number sense” of comparative sizes of numbers, being able to estimate and to do mental arithmetic, and being able to use technology necessary for modern life and jobs. Beyond basic arithmetic, skills identified by professional organizations also include an understanding of basic statistics—at least enough to read and understand graphs, to interpret statistics reported in the media, and to beware of attempts to mislead with statistics. Similarly, algebra teaches the symbolic and logical sense of problem solving necessary to understand the mathematical issues of modern life.

Significance

Some basic mathematical knowledge, such as counting, comparisons of size, and even the fundamentals of arithmetic, may be innate or at least learned easily at an early age from the experience of working with numbers and mathematical concepts. However, beyond the very basic fundamentals, mathematical understanding usually needs to be explicitly taught as the processes become more intricate. All people need to use certain mathematical ideas, such as counting and measuring. In the absence of formal schooling, children learn these skills from experience or from older mentors, perhaps even as apprentices. However, modern society usually considers the teaching of basic mathematics as one of the more important tasks of elementary and middle schools.

More than most school subjects, mathematics is cumulative. Each higher level of mathematics content builds on lower levels studied earlier. Even as school mathematics curriculum may spiral, returning to earlier topics, each cycle returns at a higher, more sophisticated level. Consequently, any review that takes place leads to further growth in understanding the content and newer applications. Mathematics is known to open doors for careers in many areas from nursing to accounting to engineering and science. Since no one can predict the future mathematical needs of individual students in elementary or middle school, it is important that all have every opportunity to be adequately prepared for whatever mathematical direction they may go. If a student misses out at understanding a particular topic or has a gap in the coverage of material, he or she may be hindered in the process of learning the next step. Students in high school or college who develop a late interest in scientific or mathematical careers often require additional preparatory coursework, time, and assistance in learning if their academic backgrounds lack the necessary content of the field. This requirement can be seen in the growth of remedial courses in colleges.

These considerations make it important to be watchful for any loss of opportunity that can occur along the path of mathematics learning. A key transition for students is the move from the basic mathematical literacy of elementary school to the start of more specialized mathematics that usually begins in middle school. Sometimes children themselves opt to move away from mathematics. They may be discouraged by a lack of success, pushed by peer pressure, or not fully engaged by the methods of presentation they experienced in their early classrooms. Even for successful students, mathematics classes may not completely capture their interest, especially if much repetition occurs with the intent of filling in content that was missed earlier. Enrichment material and new challenges that address different styles of learning can help show successful students that mathematics is fun and interesting, and mathematics competitions allow them to be cheered and congratulated. Other students may need extra care to learn the concepts and procedures they had missed before, especially if the presentation can be made in new ways to provide extra clarity and interest.

Perhaps of greater concern are the students who feel pressure that mathematics is not for them. Oftentimes, girls may get the impression that mathematics is only for boys. They may gain this impression from the attitudes of their parents, peers, the media, or society at large. Children of other underrepresented groups may not see people who look like them doing mathematics, and therefore come to believe that they are ruled out of these pursuits. Enrichment in school mathematics needs to go beyond additional challenging content, but should also demonstrate that everyone can do mathematics and that mathematical careers welcome anyone with the interest and motivation to pursue them. Guest speakers from underrepresented groups who have been successful in mathematical careers can provide examples of achievement for children of these groups.

Tracking

In many school districts, children as early as the third, fourth, or fifth grades are evaluated, sometimes from one-time tests that may not reflect their overall performance levels or abilities. The evaluations direct or “track” children into various types of mathematics classes as they move into middle schools. Some go immediately into prealgebra or algebra classes, while others remain in arithmetic classes, often recycling content from earlier grades. Once a student is put into the lower-level track, it becomes increasingly unlikely that they will be able to move into faster streams or have the opportunities to take advanced mathematics in high school—even if they did well in previous courses and demonstrated high abilities.

Mathematics as a Counter to Racial Bias

Throughout human history social groups established and enforced hierarchies on the basis of the supposed superior mental capacity of one group over others. This transcended all facets of human activities. A vivid example occurred in 1987 when the general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Al Campanis, explained the lack of African Americans in Major League Baseball leadership positions. In an interview, Campanis suggested African Americans did not have "the necessities" for executive roles. Campanis was later fired for his comments. Mathematics has historically been one of the "great equalizers," or a social antidote for poisonous assumptions about human capabilities confined to specific racial groups. Scientific and technical advancements depend on mathematical foundations. When a country makes a great advancement in these fields, the implication is that it showcases the brilliance of the entire society. When a member of a marginalized social group is the person who made the contribution, it undermines the message that their entire social group is not mentally up to par. This undermined the rationales for the many discriminatory actions used for their justification. This is what made mathematical achievement a loaded political message to be suppressed. An example was the decades it took for the story of the contribution NASA female African American engineers made to the Apollo Lunar program which first landed human beings on the moon in 1969. This event has been described as the pinnacle of American scientific achievement. In 2016, the movie Hidden Figures detailed the story of these women who made their contributions while having to endure discriminatory practices in the Jim Crow South.

In May 2024, African American astronaut Ed Dwight was launched into space aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft. In the 1950s Dwight was an astronaut candidate for the US lunar space program, but was ultimately not selected. Allegations later arose that Dwight had been denied fair consideration because of his race. His 2024 spaceflight was a tacit acknowledgement and symbolic correction of the racial sentiments of this era. Again, mathematical and scientific achievement made possible this contribution toward towards equality in America.

Conclusion

In today’s increasingly technical world, ordinary citizens need to understand more mathematics than in the past, just to do the ordinary tasks of daily life. At the same time, the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics need to recruit new workers who can pick up and carry on with this growth. In short, people need more mathematics, and mathematics needs more people. The pipeline of children in mathematics in elementary schools becomes narrower and narrower as one moves through the levels of schools to graduate degrees in mathematics. If today’s successes in mathematics are to continue, doors must be opened for all students to study and learn mathematics.

Bibliography

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