The remarkable story of the Algebra Project, a community-based effort
to develop math-science literacy in disadvantaged schools--as told by
the program's founder
"Bob Moses was a hero of mine. His quiet confidence helped shape the
civil rights movement, and he inspired generations of young people
looking to make a difference"--Barack Obama
At a time when popular solutions to the educational plight of poor
children of color are imposed from the outside--national standards,
high-stakes tests, charismatic individual saviors--the acclaimed Algebra
Project and its founder, Robert Moses, offer a vision of school reform
based in the power of communities. Begun in 1982, the Algebra Project is
transforming math education in twenty-five cities. Founded on the belief
that math-science literacy is a prerequisite for full citizenship in
society, the Project works with entire communities--parents, teachers,
and especially students--to create a culture of literacy around algebra,
a crucial stepping-stone to college math and opportunity.
Telling the story of this remarkable program, Robert Moses draws on
lessons from the 1960s Southern voter registration he famously helped
organize: "Everyone said sharecroppers didn't want to vote. It wasn't
until we got them demanding to vote that we got attention. Today, when
kids are falling wholesale through the cracks, people say they don't
want to learn. We have to get the kids themselves to demand what
everyone says they don't want."
We see the Algebra Project organizing community by community. Older kids
serve as coaches for younger students and build a self-sustained
tradition of leadership. Teachers use innovative techniques. And we see
the remarkable success stories of schools like the predominately poor
Hart School in Bessemer, Alabama, which outscored the city's
middle-class flagship school in just three years.
Radical Equations provides a model for anyone looking for a
community-based solution to the problems of our disadvantaged schools.
