Questioning Neutrality in Education

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Three-dimensional printing machines to support the manufacture of products by students were exhibited in the STEM Exposure activity at the Technopark Building of SMK Negeri 2 Salatiga, Salatiga City, Central Java, on  Wednesday (13/11/2019)

In its long history of 175 years, only in 2020 has Scientific American indicated a partiality towards the United States presidential election. The oldest science and technology magazine in the US operating has openly shown its support for Democratic candidate Joe Biden and encouraged its readers to vote for him.

This calls to mind how the political rivalry of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election and the 2019 general election spilled over into the educational arena. Several teachers touted their political choices, with some even unabashedly influencing their students.

Surprised by the situation, certain circles expressed their hope that teachers would avoid engaging in politics in the classroom. However, it may be impossible to guarantee that such subjects as social sciences can be taught in a neutral manner, free of their teachers’ political beliefs. What could differ from one teacher to another is perhaps only their explicitness or reluctance.

Also read: Commercialization of Education

Smart and experienced teachers may be able to voice their preferences in an elegant and implicit manner. But is it true that the subjects of mathematics and physics, especially mathematics, may lack neutrality in classroom delivery? Still, 2 + 2 = 4 applies to all human beings, regardless of their political beliefs, skin color, nationalitu or religion.

Not neutral

In 2017, Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote in a research paper on how mathematics was taught to minorities and other marginalized groups, that mathematics education in US classrooms was not neutral.

In her paper, Dr Gutierrez held the view that mathematics education tended to glorify Greek culture and in general, European culture. As examples, she cited “pi” and the Pythagorean theorem were taught as originating in white culture. This constituted emphasizing white privilege, or the advantage of the Caucasian race.

Kompas

Kampung Matematika, which is located in Laladon Village, Ciomas, Bogor Regency, was inaugurated by the Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan, Saturday (11/4/2015) morning.

As normally found in online behavior during this time of the “liberal vs. conservative” polarity, a number of websites with right-wing affiliation promptly and collectively “seized” the controversial viewpoint and published it as news coverage, concocting clickbait headings.

Some websites reported the view under the heading “Racist Mathematics! – If You’re Left”. Following these publications, in keeping with the online behavior of today, comments for and against the article flooded in from various circles, including personal attacks against Dr. Gutierrez.

The phenomenon of slipping political messages into textbooks to propagate certain ideologies and nullify the importance of opposing ideologies is common in many countries.

Certain disciplines of social science, like history and civics, are notorious for being highly prone to politicization. Partisan and sectarian messages easily slip or creep into classroom subjects. Those who feel they possess the authority cannot help tweaking classroom materials. The phenomenon of slipping political messages into textbooks to propagate certain ideologies and nullify the importance of opposing ideologies is common in many countries.

Also read: Indonesia’s Higher Education in Transitional Period

While it might be commonplace, ignoring biased textbooks or treating them as a norm has a major impact, because the embedded partiality will spread far and wide instead of remaining on the pages of the classroom material. Apart implanting such ideas in the students’ minds, these kinds of textbooks can be used further as propaganda. Films and other media can also refer to these one-sided textbooks.

Digits and numerals are indeed neutral, but once they have been arranged and gathered as data, they lose their neutrality. This was pointed out by Dr. Catherine D’Ignazio, an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who coauthored Data Feminism. It was therefore “important to recognize discrimination in algorithms, understanding it at a technical level – and introducing measures to stamp it out”, she said.

Although algorithms use mathematics and so give the impression of neutrality, in reality algorithms are neither neutral nor can be made to be neutral. To illustrate, algorithms can be designed to estimate the educational level of an individual based on the number of derogatory terms they use in social media posts. Algorithms can then distinguish the responses based on the “different levels of intellectuality”. So algorithms behave like a roadside magazine vendor who offers different periodicals to male and female motorists.

Quite a number of academics, even in mathematics, have called Gutierrez’s views as an exaggeration, but the idea that mathematics education is not neutral may have some truth to it. Mathematics textbooks, including official texts from the Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry, in fact contain very little or nothing about the development of classical mathematics in South, Southeast, Central or East Asia.

It even seems that mathematics textbooks are yet to present evidence (as discovered so far) that the oldest number system, the base-10 system using the numerical symbol zero, were found in Southeast Asia in the Kedukan Bukit inscriptions (in Palembang, Sriwijaya era) and the Sambor inscriptions in the 7th century CE (of pre-Angkorian Cambodia).

Observing that various numerical symbols of the past used in Kalimantan, Java, Sumatra, Bali and other regions will certainly increase the sense of connection and continuity with their forbears among students currently at school in developing their knowledge. Today it is still the reverse, with textbooks on mathematics and other subjects inadvertently suggesting that prior to colonialism, these regions were absent of science, never mind mathematics and physics.

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Class IX SMP Kanisius students play the National Examination ladder snake in Kanisius Junior High School Hall, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Wednesday (27/3/2013).

Mathematics and physics may not be social sciences, but the processes of teaching and learning mathematics involves social and political interaction. Research on mathematics education clearly reveals that teaching mathematics can be highly political (Tian An, 2020). The discomfort a student feels while studying mathematics problems on shopping or buying imported fruits for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of rupiah is a sign of social sensitivity. It is more significant if teachers are able change the problem so that it refers to ikat production or selling farmed vegetables. Teachers should always realize the cultural influences inherent within their teaching material.

Multiple perspectives

It is difficult to control, let alone guarantee, that a teacher will remain neutral in the classroom. However, presenting a wide variety of perspectives during classroom discussions is something that can be hoped for and needs further pursuing. Presenting multiple perspectives on each topic within the subject being taught is sufficient to help keep education and scholarship neutral. Further, teachers should continue to expand their horizons and enhance critical thinking so that they are able to guide open discussions and discourse to provide the broadest opportunity for students to learn in an optimal manner.

The other element required of teachers to keep education neutral, while it may be hard, is to maintain disinterest. This attitude implies that they are uninterested in the contextual materials that are taught and studied. They must be bold in adhering to the principle that they feel no personal bias or offense if the contents of the materials they teach refer to A or B. Even if the materials present information that oppose their own views, they should remain disinterested. This is tougher for the social sciences that refer to ideologies and belief systems, but they should constantly strive to maintain this approach.

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Iwan Pranoto

This article that calls for educational neutrality is, of course, far from being neutral in itself. Yet, as Dr. D’Ignazio has shown, augmenting diversity is an important part of the solution.

Iwan Pranoto, Lecturer of Mathematics, Bandung Institute of Technology