Teacher Nonpartisan Review Committee

In recent weeks, a lot has been said about schools "indoctrinating" students, especially in the math classroom. This got us thinking: If we wanted to "indoctrinate" our students, what would we do?

First, we'd refrain from teaching them about correlation/causation, truncated y-axes, biased sampling methods, misleading denominators, or a host of other quantitative phenomena, especially in relevant contexts. After all, we'd want them to be easily swayed by misleading information from powerful people. These critical skills would only get in the way. Then, we'd talk to them about real-world issues only outside of the classroom - where we can speak without the rigor of mathematics and without the academic need to balance multiple perspectives.

Here's the reality: If we ban relevant topics from math classrooms, we make students more vulnerable to indoctrination - not less. Students are already having conversations about real issues. By engaging with those same issues in math class, we can ground those conversations in the scrupulous and common language of math. Then, students can debate, disagree, or find common ground in a free academic environment, where they learn to think critically, evaluate contrasting claims, and identify bias through mathematical reasoning.

Of course, we must always be aware of the dangers of bias. That's why Skew The Script is committed to providing nonpartisan curriculum. In our first AP Stats lesson, students analyze misleading graphs from both Republican and Democratic politicians. In our projects, you'll find data from left-leaning economists and from conservative think tanks. We do our best to make sure the materials are rigorous and multi-sided.

That said, no curriculum is perfect, and we are always looking to improve. That's why, every year, we have an independent committee of math teachers of various political persuasions (left, right, and center) review our materials. The 2022 committee just finished making its recommendations, and we're already incorporating them into our lesson edits for the summer. To recognize the committee members' work, we've included their pictures and some quotes they shared below. To the committee: Thank you all for helping improve and balance the curriculum. You are amazing educators, and your insights this year have been invaluable. We appreciate everything you do!

The 2022 Teacher Committee

Danny Hill: "My first year as an AP Stat teacher I stumbled upon Skew The Script purely by chance. It was such a helpful tool as I taught and engaged the students in the curriculum, so I relished the opportunity to give back to STS by being on the teacher committee. It has been helpful and exciting to discuss the curriculum with other teachers and hearing different perspectives. I hope these materials are as helpful to you as they are for me!"

Azucena Overman: "I think it's incredibly important to teach our students how statistics can be used to look at current issues in an objective and analytical way. Skew The Script is one of my favorite resources to bring the world into the statistics classroom."

Calon Mask-Oats: "I really appreciated the opportunity to work with STS. I got the chance to learn, spar, and compare with some truly great teachers. We challenged each other’s perspective and ability to see the stats for what they are. I definitely look forward to working with STS more next year."

Paul Buckley: "I joined the teacher committee because I am very impressed with the lessons found in STS, and I wanted to help contribute in a way that would expand its outreach so that more teachers could take advantage of it and show the importance and the cultural significance a foundation in statistical reasoning provides students today."