Inequality here in New Zealand is alive and active as well.

This arrived in my inbox this morning, from YouCubed (Jo Boaler)  I felt that I had to post as we have similar disparity in New Zealand, in Education, in Society.  We all need to look into our hearts and see how we can change to create equality in our own small worlds.

Hello youcubians,

We at youcubed extend our support for educators fighting the structural racism in the US daily. We have all witnessed the horrific murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We also have all watched video of how Amy Cooper weaponized the police against a black man. Our hearts grieve for their families and the Black community. We acknowledge that for people of color in our nation, this violence is not new, but ongoing.

At this time, we are strengthening our commitment to fight for a more just society. To us, good teaching that is inclusive of all students, with high expectations for all, is central to an equity-focused teaching approach. Moving forward we commit to our community that we will:

• Seek out districts and schools with predominant population of black students and other oppressed groups, and faculty to participate in research
• Highlight the work of black mathematicians and educators throughout the world
• Develop a webpage for the site that shares activities and teaching practices built on culturally sustaining pedagogies
• Continue to fight for education legislation that disrupts the systemic oppression of black, brown, and low-income people

All educators have the power to make a tremendous impact in the pursuit of equity, and mathematics educators probably have more than most, as mathematics is such an inequitable subject. Here are some actions moving forward:

• An important initiative is de-tracking and offering high level content to all students to help end the racial disparities we currently see. 
• A more specific action that is important for tackling racism in the classroom is teaching students to value each other’s ideas, and to respect each other.

We mention these ideas to remind us all that we can make a difference through our teaching and leading practices. We also want you to know that whatever route you want to take, we are here to help; equity is our first and most important mission.

Viva La Revolution!
The youcubed team