National Council of Teachers of Mathematics President Trena Wilkerson, NCTM Past President Robert Q Berry III, and the Board of Directors issued the following statement on the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6:
We are deeply disturbed and saddened by the recent acts of terror at the U.S. Capitol that continue to reverberate across this country. Hate and insurrection have no place in government, communities, schools, or classrooms. We have witnessed a challenge to our democracy-a democracy that has not treated historically excluded people and communities with equity, dignity, and opportunity.
As educators, we embrace the responsibility to create and implement systemic change to support students and provide them with the knowledge and ability to make sense of our world, and to analyze and critique information as active participants in democracy. We believe in and commit ourselves to supporting teachers, schools, and districts to ensure that students flourish and have opportunities to learn.
The recent events are a sobering reminder of what is at stake and the work that lies ahead. As educators, we have an obligation to be catalysts for the needed changes.
As mathematics teachers we teach more than mathematics.