Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project
by Robert P. Moses, Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
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The remarkable story of the Algebra Project, a community-based effort to develop math-science literacy in disadvantaged schools--as told by the program's founder ? "Bob Moses was a hero of mine. His quiet confidence helped shape the civil rights movement, and he inspired generations of young people looking to make a difference"-- Barack Obama At a time when popular solutions to the educational plight of poor children of color are imposed from the outside--national standards, high-stakes show more tests, charismatic individual saviors--the acclaimed Algebra Project and its founder, Robert Moses, offer a vision of school reform based in the power of communities. Begun in 1982, the Algebra Project is transforming math education in twenty-five cities. Founded on the belief that math-science literacy is a prerequisite for full citizenship in society, the Project works with entire communities--parents, teachers, and especially students--to create a culture of literacy around algebra, a crucial stepping-stone to college math and opportunity. Telling the story of this remarkable program, Robert Moses draws on lessons from the 1960s Southern voter registration he famously helped organize: "Everyone said sharecroppers didn't want to vote. It wasn't until we got them demanding to vote that we got attention. Today, when kids are falling wholesale through the cracks, people say they don't want to learn. We have to get the kids themselves to demand what everyone says they don't want." We see the Algebra Project organizing community by community. Older kids serve as coaches for younger students and build a self-sustained tradition of leadership. Teachers use innovative techniques. And we see the remarkable success stories of schools like the predominately poor Hart School in Bessemer, Alabama, which outscored the city's middle-class flagship school in just three years. Radical Equations provides a model for anyone looking for a community-based solution to the problems of our disadvantaged schools. show lessTags
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Moses makes a compelling case to parallel the dangerous fight for voter registration in the 1960s South of the US and the its call for political literacy and cultural awareness to the need to improve Math education in very much the same geographic areas. Education is the key to better jobs, and history is rather painfully repeating itself with a system that denies students access to good education. I am looking forward to learning more about the Algebra Project - it strikes me as a necessary movement.
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HS Mathematics class library
79 works; 6 members
Author Information
3+ Works 213 Members
Robert P. Moses is the winner of many awards including a MacArthur "genius" fellowship and a Heinz Award in the Human Condition Charles E. Cobb, Jr., a SNCC field secretary in Mississippi from 1962 to 1967, is senior writer for the online news and information agency allAfrica.com, in Washington, D.C.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project
- Original title
- Radical Equations: Math Literacy and Civil Rights
- Alternate titles
- Radical Equations: Organizing Math Literacy in America's Schools
- Original publication date
- 2001
- First words
- The sit-ins woke me up.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)This last discussion should discourage any thought that the concepts treated in the transition curriculum are not of the utmost importance, requiring detailed and careful attention in some treatment or other if we, the adult community of educators, are to be responsible in our all-consuming movement to see the student community meet our standards in elementary algebra.
- Blurbers
- West, Cornel; Edelman, Marian Wright; Poussaint, Alvin F.; Bond, Julian; Perry, Theresa
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Politics and Government, General Nonfiction, Science & Nature, History, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 512.071 — Natural sciences & mathematics Mathematics Algebra Algebra Education
- LCC
- E184 .A1 .M7 — History of the United States United States Elements in the population Afro-Americans
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 188
- Popularity
- 174,262
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 5
