In an effort to foster inclusiveness and variety, the Troy School District Board of Education is withdrawing honors math programs from middle school pupils.
This is Crazy
However, upset parents have begun a petition to block the proposal, claiming that doing so will harm minority groups by decreasing academic standards.
In an e-mail acquired by the Detroit Free Press (DFP), Kerry Birmingham, a spokesperson for the Troy School District, stated while the idea doesn’t directly eliminate honors classes, it will more effectively prepare kids for advanced mathematics in high school and later in life.
These new classes will encourage students to recognize issues, develop answers, and extend those answers in novel concepts, rather than placing a strong emphasis on computation, according to Birmingham.
Michigan School Board Axes Honors Math To Be More ‘Inclusive’ https://t.co/du1834qFvk
— Timcast News (@TimcastNews) May 26, 2023
If they choose to enroll in Honors Algebra 1 in eighth grade or choose to enroll in a newly created eighth-grade mathematics course, pupils will be more proficient as a result.
She went on to say this only affects 6th and 7th-grade math and argued the change merely extends to making the choice from age ten to age 12.
Finally, she also made the case that this enhances pupils with the types of abilities they require to succeed in sophisticated mathematics throughout high school, especially several AP courses and college-level Calculus.
Michigan School Board Axes Honors Math To Be More ‘Inclusive’ https://t.co/YFFHPXAfWv
— US Burning (@UsBurning) May 26, 2023
Parents, speaking before the school board, stated the proposals will disproportionately harm Asian American pupils, who comprise 39% of the district’s pupils, as well as other immigrant communities.
Similar opinions were shared by additional parents who supported the petition.
Parents Take a Stand
On the petition’s website, a lady going by the name of Lisa Fairbourn said the idea of eliminating AP classes of any sort is absolutely ridiculous.
Please refrain from further demeaning our kids. This is a significant factor in why parents are investigating other options for their kids’ education.
