[yonaguska]

All of these things take away the very limited classroom time that should be spent on skills rather than non math topics. She would regularly bemoan lost days, because at the end of the year the kids had to take a math test, not a history of math test.

All of this stuff has nothing to do with math, and doesn't actually help them learn math skills. Students of color aren't struggling with math because they don't have role models in the field. It's a universal language. They struggled with math due to lack of literal time spent studying, practicing, and drilling these concepts. They struggle because someone white tells them that they need role models in the field instead of simply letting them be capable and giving them the tools to learn.

And as someone of color, when you constantly push it in my face that I'm underrepresented, that math is primarily for white people, which you ultimately are doing by trying to bring race into everything, it then gives me an excuse for failure. It simply feeds into the victim mentality and kids will give up before they begin. Success is born from work, not hero worship. When you are inspired by someone, if you find inspiration from the color of their skin, and not the actual blood, sweat, and years they put into success, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Looking at the opportunities available to you from the lens of race is like shooting yourself in the foot. If I had done that- I would have assumed that my most likely path to success was going to be with a ball in my hands. And if I don't see a black man in a specific field...then how could I ever be successful in that field myself?