{"id":116459,"date":"2026-04-27T17:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=116459"},"modified":"2026-04-27T20:18:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T01:18:48","slug":"116459","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=116459","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

There are things that are too stupid to be said by anyone but a professor of education<\/em>. – Charlie Martin<\/p>\n

\n

It’s called ‘algebra’ because the Arab<\/a> who figured it out called it “al Jabr”<\/p>\n

\n

Prof: Algebra, geometry perpetuate \u201cwhiteness\u201d, \u201cunearned privilege\u201d in society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A math education professor at the University of Illinois has argued in a recently published academic book that algebraic and geometry skills perpetuate \u201cunearned privilege\u201d among white people.<\/p>\n

Rochelle Gutierrez<\/a>, a professor at the University of Illinois, made the claim in a\u00a0anthology for math teachers<\/a>, arguing that teachers must be aware of the \u201cpolitics that mathematics brings\u201d in society.<\/p>\n

In the book chapter, the professor explains that she sees her role as a math educator not just in the way of an educator, but that of an activist against whiteness, which she claims facilitates \u201cmicroagresssions\u201d and \u201cprivilege\u201d between those who excel in math and those who do not.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn many levels, mathematics itself operates as Whiteness. Who gets credit for doing and developing mathematics, who is capable in mathematics, and who is seen as part of the mathematical community is generally viewed as White,\u201d Gutierrez argued.<\/p>\n

Gutierrez also worries that algebra and geometry perpetuate privilege, fretting that \u201ccurricula emphasizing terms like Pythagorean theorem and pi perpetuate a perception that mathematics was largely developed by Greeks and other Europeans.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps more importantly, mathematics operates with unearned privilege in society, just like Whiteness. Mathematics is viewed as so pure it has become the discipline by which we measure other disciplines,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

According to the professor, math also helps actively perpetuate white privilege too, since the way our economy places a premium on math skills gives math a form of \u201cunearned privilege\u201d for math professors, who are disproportionately white.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre we really that smart just because we do mathematics?\u201d she asks, further wondering why math professors get more research grants than \u201csocial studies or English\u201d professors.<\/p>\n

Further, she also worries that evaluations of math skills can perpetuate discrimination against minorities, especially if they do worse than their white counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one is not viewed as mathematical, there will always be a sense of inferiority that can be summoned,\u201d she says, adding that there are so many minorities who \u201chave experienced microaggressions from participating in math classrooms\u2026 [where people are] judged by whether they can reason abstractly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not just that teaching is political; mathematics is also political. Therefore, whether we recognize it or not, mathematics teaching is a highly political activity,\u201d Gutierrez writes.<\/p>\n

To fight this, Gutierrez encourages aspiring math teachers to develop a sense of \u201cpolitical conocimiento,\u201d a Spanish phrase for \u201cpolitical knowledge for teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it just mathematics teaching that is political, or is there actually something about mathematics as a discipline that is political? A number of researchers across the globe have begun to highlight the ways in which knowledge, power, and identity are interwoven with mathematics, something called the “sociopolitical turn<\/p>\n

Gutierrez stresses that all knowledge is \u201crelational,\u201d asserting that \u201cThings cannot be known objectively; they must be known subjectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn essence, political conocimiento is the kind of knowledge that allows you to see how politics permeates everything we do, in education in general and mathematics in particular, and affects how we are connected to each other today and how we might envision a different, more humane connection for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is a current professor at the University of Illinois, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction teaching to aspiring teachers \u2014 the same teachers she hopes to inspire and educate with her writings.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe also builds upon Indigenous principles and has argued for a new form of mathematics where humans are no long centered. This form of mathematics is referred to as living mathematx,\u201d according to her\u00a0biography\u00a0<\/a>page.<\/p>\n

She teaches a few dozen math teachers a year \u2014 math teachers that will go on to eventually teach hundreds of students if not thousands over the course of their career \u2014 and recently was elected to the National Academy of Education, according to an institutional press release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are delighted to see Guti\u00e9rrez and her innovative, meaningful scholarship being recognized at the highest level with her election to the National Academy of Education,\u201d said\u00a0Chrystalla Mouza<\/a>, the dean of the\u00a0College of Education<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Gutgsell Professor of Curriculum and Instruction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer body of work in mathematics education is truly trailblazing, and her commitment to interrogating the status quo \u2014 for the good of society \u2014 is both inspiring and essential.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are things that are too stupid to be said by anyone but a professor of education. – Charlie Martin It’s called ‘algebra’ because the Arab who figured it out called it “al Jabr” Prof: Algebra, geometry perpetuate \u201cwhiteness\u201d, \u201cunearned privilege\u201d in society. A math education professor at the University of Illinois has argued in … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-schools","category-scratch-a-lib-find-a-moron"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116460,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116459\/revisions\/116460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}