Lafayette joins with Easton community in examining math education

By Bryan Hay

Faculty, staff, and students joined with administrators and teachers from Easton Area School District and community members March 12 to view and discuss a landmark documentary about the role of mathematics in civil rights and democracy, and its vital role in navigating a world inundated with big data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence.

Filling Landis Cinema in Buck Hall, the diverse audience attentively absorbed the messages in Counted Out, released in 2024 and featuring personal stories and interviews with mathematics educators who convey a central theme that “math is power.” They share how curriculum changes are needed to empower everyone, especially those who might otherwise be left behind as non-math people, to help attain all the promises and opportunities in a modern democracy.

Vicki Abeles, director of the documentary, joined the audience via Zoom after the screening to answer questions and support the message that everyone has the ability to use math productively and overcome the shame and anxiety that is too often applied to those deemed to be non math people, and ultimately gain access to good careers and economic opportunity.

In introducing the documentary, host Rob Root, professor of mathematics, who teaches FYS 141: Mathematics of Social Justice, described Counted Out as a “beautiful work of art that makes this point more potently than I’ve been able to do in nearly 20 years of teaching this class.”

Rob Root, professor of mathematics, introduced the film. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

After the program, Root took time to discuss how Lafayette is helping advance literacy in mathematics.

“We’re continually revising our curriculum and trying to create a major that is more welcoming,” he said, noting the recent addition of tracks in applied math and modeling and statistics.

“We’re making a broader path into mathematics,” he said. “Our new data science minor has only been around for a few years, and it’s already very popular. We get 40 students a year coming through the pipeline.

“We have a good reputation across the Lafayette student body because we truly care about how mathematics intersects with so many disciplines across campus,” he added. 

Audience members engaged with Vicki Abeles, director of the documentary, via Zoom after the screening. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

Student reactions

Levi Lowers ’28, a government and law major, valued the film because it brings attention to mathematical literacy in present-day America, where lives are overwhelmed by algorithms and computational calculations. Yet, despite the U.S. position as a leader in technology, its adult population is near the bottom in terms of mathematical literacy across the globe.

He also appreciated how the film goes into depth about how the average U.S. citizen falsely perceives mathematics as this subject you either have the innate ability to understand or not, when in reality, everyone has the mathematical ability to understand algebra.

“I’ve always done well in math classes, but because I went to a small public school, I didn’t get the opportunity to build a strong foundation with math that other people have,” Lowers said, adding the documentary explains that mathematical illiteracy is rooted in how it’s taught, socioeconomic inequalities, and societal norms.

A mathematics major, with interests in women and gender studies and psychology, Gina Root ’25 said she was raised with a sense that math was “doable and also nonthreatening,” noting her dad, Rob Root, and her school math teachers all played a major role in her mathematics upbringing.

“I see math as being deeply socially entrenched,” she said. “When people are labeled as either math people or non-math people, that’s not a beneficial thing. It’s hard to approach and learn a subject that’s so laden with shame and with a sense of ineptitude.

“It’s important to break it down and make that distinction to see math for the fullness of what it is,” Root said. “This documentary did a really good job of getting to the bottom of it. Math is everywhere in our lives, shaping the ways we move through the world, the opportunities we have and don’t have, and the kinds of choices available to us.”

A math tutor on campus, Root serves as a goodwill ambassador for math and tries earnestly to remove any stigmas from students who may feel uncomfortable with the subject.

“I very explicitly tell them that their right or wrong answer is not a reflection of their self-worth or their self-esteem,” she said. “In my tutoring, I try to empower my fellow students by helping them get comfortable with math and connect math and its relevance to our personal lives, and this film really brought that home for me.”

Lafayette faculty, staff, and students joined with administrators and teachers from Easton Area School District and community members on March 12 to view and discuss Counted Out, a landmark documentary about the role of mathematics in civil rights and democracy. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

Isabala Baez ’28, a government and law major, shared similar takeaways from the film, noting that math skills are needed in today’s society.

Although she considers herself a non-math person, Baez said, “I want to engage in math more often and not be so scared to try new things that involve math. The film really brought a new perspective to my eyes. I loved how it inspired me to really want to try math and give it a second chance.”

Purely Lafayette

Root said she felt pride in her Lafayette home when she observed how a community came together to listen and absorb the themes in Counted Out.

“One of the things I enjoyed about Counted Out is the message that we’re in a moment for opportunity, cooperation, and collaboration, nothing hierarchical,” she said. “This happens at Lafayette. It means a lot to me to see the level of community engagement here.

“And I am part of the Lafayette community, which means I get to also break out of the college bubble. I get to see what’s going on. I’m not isolated in my classroom,” Root said. “The ivory tower phenomena gets cracked here.”