Originally published at: HS Principal schools Florida Republican over math textbook ban | Boing Boing
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I love to see someone use their own (GQP) pretzel logic words against these regressive anti education GQP’ers.
Made my day, yep 
!
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The Republicans just want to go back to the kind of math that the Founding Fathers would have approved of.
For example: “1 = 3/5” (depending on the color of the 1)
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I think right now they are really upset that 306 > 232.
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Once espousing “alternative facts” is ‘allowed’, once inconvenient realities are not only avoidable but stating them is anti-gospel, then making a best attempt to present reality, “uncomfortable” or not, will be regarded as cause for dismissal. We’re on beyond the Catholic church’s treatment of Galileo here. (“But you gotta suck up to the MAGA voter or you won’t hold onto the critical electoral college states!” ) …“And yet it moves” -sigh-
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Sorry, folks. You can’t put horse blinders on students and expect them to grow up with a decent, well-rounded education.
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I am somewhat curious what the actual math problem is, but the primary argument against the graph in question is that it makes mention of the existence of racial prejudice. I can only see one reason to want to avoid even mentioning racial prejudice, and it’s not a good one.
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And I laugh, because a century ago the conservatives were re-writing text books - including math text books - to promote racist ideology. But oh no… now ANTI-racism is a terrible thing to teach our children! Sure, millions of little black kids had to sit in schools and feel uncomfortable for the better part of a century, but heaven fucking FORBID the little white kids are taught to recognize those biases where and when they crop up - even in a fucking math problem - and learn how to overcome them.
It’s a perfect lesson in systemic racism. Both the book, the response to it, the attempt to show how racism permeates even the simplest math problems, and how conservatives will not be satisfied until we stop pointing it out. But good on them picking one of the few black representatives to lead the charge in Florida so they can all say “see, this is NOT racism.” Because we know damn well that’s why he’s the one questioning everyone.
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I think a lot of them would prefer we go even further back and start teaching in cubits.
But, seriously, the racial bias bar graph is a heck of a lot more relevant than those word problems about trains that I got in school.
ETA: I don’t recall seeing this on the bbs yet, but a good overview of what a scam the reasons for rejecting these textbooks is:
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I can remember being told about someone on the radio complaining that adopting the metric system was going against God, who as shown by the bible meant for people to use units based on body parts.
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Never sell a horse to a large-handed man! He will underpay every time.
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Indeed! Sell it to D. J. Trump who will pay at least twice as much as anyone else.
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Republican Math
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Teachers need to start laughing and answering more bluntly: “No, this is not CRT.” And when asked why, tell them you’d explain it to them, but only if they vow not to interrupt and give you plenty of time, because you’ll need to speak to them like you do your students. If they conceded (they won’t) give them the dissertation on what CRT is, and why this math problem is not that.
Because just like @ClutchLinkey said, this problem is going to be much more memorable than another “what’s the ratio of green jellybeans to red jellybeans” problems. This one will stick in their head. And bonus!.. maybe they’ll also be thinking of their own implicit biases.
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im not exactly sure that ever stopped
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The shortest measurement in the Bible is the “Republican Penis”.
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Someone should ask one of these goobers on the record if they think we should teach Roman Numerals or Arabic Numerals… when they choose the former, then have them solve a simple math problem on a chalk board.
Kinda surprised the Onion hasn’t come out with a rant about ‘Teaching Terrorism Numbers to Grade Schoolers’.
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I think we are approaching Hypatia levels of danger
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