Is there any area of basic education which isn’t sexist or racist? The Daily Caller reports: Vanderbilt Professor Says Math Education Is Sexist Is math sexist? One Vanderbilt University professor believes that it is. Writing in an academic journal last month, the professor complained about the masculinization of math and how it causes the oppression of women. Describing mathematics as a “white and heteronormatively masculinized space,” professor Luis A. Leyva insists that factors including teacher expectations and cultural norms “serve as gendering mechanisms that give rise to sex-based achievement differences,” per Campus Reform. Leyva argues that a “gender gap” exists in mathematical ability due to these social constructs, and that there isn’t any inherent difference in male and female cognitive abilities when it comes to the subject. The differences, he says, give rise to the “myth of male superiority.” Female underachievement in the field is highlighted, he argues, by teachers who point it out and reinforce cultural expectations. n the article titled “Unpacking the Male Superiority Myth and Masculinization of Mathematics at the Intersection,” Leyva says that teachers “contribute to the masculinization of the domain that unfairly holds students to men’s higher levels of achievement and participation as a measure of success.” In other words, being held to a high standard keeps women down. Featured image via YouTube.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2017/08/vanderbilt-u-prof-claims-math-...