By the Math Values Editorial Board

Math Values exists to explore the diverse perspectives and experiences of members of the mathematics community, broadly defined. The blog is centered on the MAA’s core values - Community, Inclusivity, Communication, and Teaching & Learning - because those values guide the organization and are central to who we are. While Math Values has actively sought to be a place for the community to discuss and work through its disagreements, including sometimes publishing controversial content, the centering of these values and the mission of the blog has never been controversial.

Yet, to quote the RFK who is not currently in the media, we live in interesting times. Suddenly, the values themselves have been plunged into controversy, or perhaps more accurately, into chaos.

Vilifying the Department of Education and proposing to eliminate it entirely broadcasts a clear message about the value, or not, of teaching and learning. While not without its flaws, the DoEd exists to support and promote the vital role of public education in the fulfillment of the American promise. Particularly with respect to mathematics education, which has always struggled to make good on the elusive ideal of meritocracy, the idea that we as a country will somehow be better off without an institution dedicated to the pursuit of educational opportunity would be laughable if it were not so terrifying. 

Restricting the right of the press to cover the government is perhaps even more terrifying, flying as it does in the face of Constitutional imperative. As distant cousins of the press, we stand in solidarity with members of the media who are denied the ability to do their jobs simply because they will not adhere to a particular narrative. We deeply value authentic communication, which is central to any functioning democracy and is impossible when only certain perspectives are permitted.

The mathematics community, like the country itself, has always struggled with inclusivity. For that reason alone, we understand the importance of the ongoing, difficult work of being truly inclusive. We also understand that in its absence we all suffer. We will never know what breakthroughs would have been made, what theorems proven, if more minds had been included in the work of mathematics in the past. We can only strive, however imperfectly, to include them now and in the future, to acknowledge when we fail, and to try again. To turn inclusivity into a forbidden word and its pursuit into a prohibited practice is a wilful rejection not only of a more just society but also of the knowledge such a society could create.

Yes, we live in interesting times. And yet, one value shines as a beacon: community. We can and must continue to be in community together, to be here for each other, to speak up for each other, to protect and support each other. The mathematics community includes many people for whom the consequences of recent political decisions are not abstract. We call on our community to stand by them, and we pledge that we will too.