Education Consulting Firm Seeks to Promote K-12 'Queer Mathematics'

A leftist organization called “The Queer Mathematics Teacher” is seeking to embed gender theory in K-12 math classes.

Brandie Waid, the director of The Queer Mathematics Teacher, laid out a plan for incorporating gender theory into math classes in a blog post on the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) website. CASEL is sponsored by the Allstate Foundation.

The Queer Mathematics Teacher is an educational consulting firm that seeks to promote “queer mathematics” in American K-12 classrooms. The firm sells a book titled “Talking about LGBTQ+ Identity,” which includes chapters titled “The Gender Unicorn,” “How Do I Talk About LGBTQ+ Identity With My Students,” and “What if I Receive Pushback?”

The firm also offers coaching services to teachers, which include curriculum design, district-wide audits, and professional development workshops. The site claims, “The ability to consider sexuality irrelevant in the mathematics context is a heteronormatively privileged position” and notes that some areas of expertise include “queer pedagogy,” “teaching mathematics for social justice,” “Fostering Students’ Growth Mindset (While Advocating for Systemic Change),” and “humanizing Mathematics Education for LGBTQ+ Students.”

Waid confesses in her article that math used to be a source of anxiety for her, which she links with her sexuality. She writes, “I associated mathematics with profound anxiety, intricately tied to my fears of confronting my queer identity.”

Waid also argues, “Something about mathematics is failing to instill a sense of belonging that draws 2SLGBTQIA+ students to and keeps them in the field,” adding, “How can we cultivate mathematical spaces where 2SLGBTQIA+ students feel affirmed in their queer identity and thrive personally and mathematically?”

Waid, who refers to herself as a “queer Latinx independent math coach and activist scholar,” also criticizes legislatures that have responded to parents’ calls to combat the presence of progressive ideology, writing, “With recent legislative attacks on CRT, social and emotional learning, and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, centering thriving and humanness in our everyday practice is urgent.”

The left-wing activist even goes so far as to suggest that activist educators should teach critical race theory and gender theory, even if it means breaking the law. Waid writes, “I implore my colleagues to ask: How can we work within (or outside) the confines of these laws to center Transformative SEL and student thriving in our teaching?”

Waid also provides educator-activists with a number of activities that can be used to implement gender theory in math classes. One such activity focuses on the thoroughly debunked wage-gap myth and is called “An Intersectional Look at the Gender Pay Gap.”

The lesson, which is intended for math classes, asks students questions like “What genders are represented?,” “What other genders are there?,” and even “What would considering other gender identities add to our understanding?” The notes for teachers portion of the activity reminds educator-activists that “students may need additional support in LGBTQ+ terminology.”

One lesson, called “Progress Pride Flag,” is intended for elementary school children. It showcases a pride flag featuring a triangle with black, brown, and other colors that represent the transgender movement and suggests that educator-activists ask students questions like “What does this symbol represent?”

Another lesson plan, intended for middle school students and titled “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation by Generation,” asks children to speculate as to why there has been an increase in LGBT self-identification among younger generations.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.