The Power in the Room: Math Literacy, Peer-to-Peer Knowledge and Youth Power
Speaker: Jay Gillen, facilitator of the Baltimore Algebra Project
Thursday, Nov. 07
The Faculty Club, The Ohio State University, 181 South Oval Dr., Columbus, Ohio 43210
Time: 4:30 p.m. Reception
5 – 7 p.m. Talk followed by Discussion & Book Signing
The Algebra Project revolutionized equity in STEM by declaring Mathematics as a Civil Right, organizing against a system that removed Black and Brown children from a civic engagement by denying them access to algebra. While the fight over algebra has been won, new mechanisms that use mathematics and quantitative literacy still depower students of color. In this talk, Baltimore mathematics teacher and community organizer Jay Gillen describes the power of youth-centered enterprises to develop community-based art, science, and mathematics experiences that increase financial literacy, civic engagement, and youth political power.
Drawing on more than 20 years of experience working with youth in the Baltimore Algebra Project, Gillen, in his new book, argues for a much-needed shift in the education system by arguing that young people should be paid to teach their peers what they know. When young people earn money from teaching each other, they challenge racist and caste-based educational systems. They also find their economic, educational, and political power. Gillen offers insight into how to making these initiatives work, through urban policies that redirecting funds used for youth policing and incarceration to peer-to-peer youth enterprises, upending our current “educational scam” that devalues the real knowledge that youth hold in their communities.
This event is sponsored by College of Education and Human Ecology’s Department of Teaching and Learning Diversity & Equity Committee; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education program; Office of the Dean; and Office of Equity, Diversity and Global Engagement.
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