Preface A Note for Students
This textbook is intended to guide you through the mathematics necessary to understand and work to create change in a number of politically charged areas. You may find areas where you disagree with the material presented or find that it challenges things you believe are true.
That's ok. Education, fundamentally, is about challenging what you already know and learning about new things. You may find, through your research and work in this class, that your views don't change. You may find that they do. Our goal, in Math for the People, is to present factual information and to teach you the quantitative tools you need to understand that information. We encourage you to look at other data, work through your own examples, and see how it agrees or disagrees with what is presented in the text. While we do not hesitate to present our own viewpoint, which we believe is supported by the quantitative data, these are complicated problems and there may be other solutions we're not considering.
In working through these topics with your class, we encourage you to follow the following guidelines, plus any additional guidelines that your class agrees on (these guidelines are adapted from [10.1.176]):
Listen to others, rather than just waiting for your chance to speak.
Don't interrupt or talk over your classmates.
Use "I" statements, like "I believe," "I think," "I feel." There's a big difference between a statement like "I believe X is true" and "X is true."
Support your arguments with evidence, especially with quantitative evidence.
Give everyone the chance to speak. If you feel like you are monopolizing the discussion, take a step back and give someone else the chance to talk.
Avoid personal attacks. You can disagree with someone's ideas without attacking that person.
Do not use language which is offensive or denigrates a particular group. Stereotypes and bigotry are inappropriate in the classroom.
If someone does say something offensive unintentionally, give them space to learn from their mistake. You can share your discomfort with the instructor, who will help them understand why what they said was hurtful.
Assume accountability for your words and actions.
Share the lesson, not the story. Students may share personal information in class which should remain confidential. You can talk about what you learned without sharing the personal details your classmate shared.
We encourage every student who uses the textbook to fill out the Student Feedback Form 8 . This information will help us improve the textbook for students who use it in the future.
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