Department of Education Takes Stance Against Numbers
New York State Declares War On Math: Announces Basic Arithmetic Now “Politically Problematic”
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat report on New York’s boldest assault on education yet.
New York State Department of Education announced this week that basic arithmetic is now considered “politically problematic” and will no longer be taught in public schools, because numbers have “inherent political bias.”
The Educational Decision That Makes No Sense
“Mathematics is primarily used by people with power to maintain power,” explained Education Commissioner David Steiner. “By eliminating math education, we eliminate the tools of mathematical oppression. It’s progressive.”
When asked whether eliminating math education would harm students’ ability to function in society, Steiner replied: “Functionality is less important than avoiding potential political implications. Plus, if nobody understands math, nobody can audit government spending. It’s win-win.”
It is not win-win. It is educational sabotage dressed in progressive language.
How This Reflects Broader Trends
This mirrors institutional approaches documented elsewhere, as analyzed in studies of how organizations solve perception problems by eliminating the tools that reveal truth. New York isn’t making education more equitable. It’s making it worse while claiming to be progressive.
“We’ve learned from successful institutional change that you can justify anything if you use enough progressive language,” explained education officials. “Eliminating math. That sounds bad. But if we frame it as ‘protecting students from numerical hegemony,’ it sounds enlightened.”
It does not sound enlightened. It sounds like education sabotage.
The Practical Implications
New York media outlets have begun questioning what students will do without basic math skills, to which education officials respond: “They’ll develop alternative ways of understanding the world that don’t depend on mathematical imposition.”
This is education philosophy that sounds profound but is actually just bad governance.
Parents have begun panicking about their children’s future employability, noting that jobs generally require at least basic arithmetic. The Department of Education has acknowledged this and suggested: “Jobs are a tool of capitalist exploitation anyway. By eliminating math skills, we’re preparing students for a post-employment future.”
This future does not exist.
At this point, New York’s education system has officially abandoned actual education and replaced it with ideological positioning, which is simultaneously completely absurd and somehow consistent with how American education frequently operates.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/