From Régine Michelle Jean-Charles:
On a hot day last summer, I roused two reluctant teenagers for what I anticipated would be an important experience, but also one I hoped they wouldn’t resent me for.
My 13- and 14-year-old boys were about to begin participating in a math program that would convene for three weeks on the campus of our public high school in Milton. The Calculus Project, which is offered in seven districts in Massachusetts and one in Florida, builds math skills in BIPOC and low-income students in grades 8-12. Its curriculum celebrates math and science scholars of color, providing inspiration and models of future selves for youths who have long been unable to see themselves reflected in these fields. It is the brainchild of Adrian Mims, whose research on excellence with equity inspired him in 2009 to create a program that would increase the representation and success of low-income students and students of color in high-level high school math courses — a key predictor of college success. His clear-eyed approach emerged out of a mindset of abundance rather than the deficit mindset that so often plagues educational policy. What if, rather than lament the achievement gap, we placed underrepresented students in a cohort of their peers and empowered them to soar? What if we created the conditions to excite students about what they are learning?
When they took the course, my boys — both diligent students but typical middle schoolers — were less than thrilled to have to “do math all summer.” Still, as parents we insisted that they participate based on what we knew about Mims’s vision and the stellar reviews from parents whose children had attended. By the end, my boys were grateful to have had the opportunity to learn in a community of their peers and to think about math in a way that ultimately inspired them. In our predominantly white suburb, our Black sons have had few occasions to be surrounded by people who looked like them in every class.
Today the Calculus Project is being targeted by a conservative group of parents who argue that it is “discriminatory.” On Feb. 14, a national parent organization filed a complaint against Milton Public Schools with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, arguing that the school district is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The group, Parents Defending Education, is using a well-rehearsed script that weaponizes civil rights law to undermine advances in racial equality and justice. The group claims that because the Calculus Project is intended for students of color and low-income students it is unfairly excluding students who do not fit into those categories.
Submitted February 23, 2023 at 09:00AM by GlobeOpinion https://ift.tt/Wvz7Ryj
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