It turns out the example of a math worksheet mixed with Maya Angelou questions is real.

[pnwmom]

93. You're wrong that "nobody is saying that kids shouldn't practice math that way."

You should read about the proposed California Math Framework CMF, which will impact the whole country if it passes (since textbook publishers design textbooks to meet the requirements of the biggest states). It was designed by a Stanford math education professor named Jo Boaler who thinks that if "boring" tasks like memorizing the times tables are eliminated, then racial disparities in math performance will disappear (which is kind of insulting, when you think about it.)

From her position as a Great White Savior, she was also was pushing to eliminate Algebra from middle schools and drastically lower the number taking calculus in high school, but that idea seems to have been shot down. Now her CMF merely encourages districts not to offer Algebra in middle school; and suggests students could prepare for Calculus in high school by taking two full year math classes at once: for instance, to take Algebra and Geometry in the same year.

The irony is that her plan was supposed to increase the number of Black and Latino students ready to major in STEM in college; but reducing the numbers of students with Calculus would reduce the number ready for a STEM major. And parents of means will find a way to make sure their children get a strong math education in high school, even if they have to pay for private school, online classes, summer classes, etc. So her plan, by reducing the numbers of high school students who could receive a free public education in Calculus, would put poorer kids at an even greater disadvantage than they are now.

Professor Boaler's opinions about how to improve the performance of Black children in math aren't shared by Professor Jelani Nelson, an engineering professor at Berkeley, who points out that none of the people on Boaler's team for developing the CMF are Black themselves -- and that Boaler's team sought no input from college math and engineering faculty when developing its plan. Recently, the professors were involved in a Twitter skirmish. Professor Nelson tweeted that she had emailed him that she had reported him -- a Black man -- to the police, because she'd felt threatened by a tweet he had reposted -- a tweet linking to a contract she had with a poorer school district to the tune of $5000 an hour. The contract itself contained her home address, so she'd reported the tweets to the police.

https://www.dailycal.org/2022/04/12/uc-berkeley-stanford-professors-face-controversy-debate-state-math-curriculum/

Opponents of the proposed framework say that limiting the availability of advanced math courses in middle school and early high school will make it harder for children to be ready for college-level STEM courses and might also extend their time in college if they have to take more introductory math courses.

“This pathway leaves students unprepared for quantitative four-year college degrees via a newly proposed pathway for teaching mathematics that lacks essential content,” Nelson said in an email. “Instead of reducing the gap, the CMF proposal will worsen disparities as students from affluent families will access private instruction and tutors while under-resourced students will be left behind.”

In December 2021, Nelson co-authored an open letter citing the objections to the proposed framework. The letter is currently signed by over 1,700 STEM academics and professionals.

The letter also states that favoring emerging subjects like data science without prioritizing foundational math subjects like calculus and algebra is “deeply worrisome.” In a tweet, Nelson also noted that while the framework aims to aid Black students in math learning, there are no Black authors.