Why is Authentic Learning Mired in DEI

Real-world based Instruction banned

Gentrification, a phenomenon that is not unique to the United States, is a common occurrence throughout the country. Now it’s banned in many states. Why? After teaching about first and second language development, diversity, and critical thinking for 25 years, I discovered that math can be woke. Yes… The DEIish type of lesson that leaves Republicans seething. How dare educators suggest that some groups of people in the United States are treated more unfairly than others?

Woke math, yes—Math that unpacks the understanding of the world around us.

In April 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that calls on the Education Secretary to develop guidance for schools instructing them not to consider race at all when addressing student behavior.

Goodbye, authentic learning, the type of instruction that relates to real-life circumstances.

Unpacking this order for better understanding is challenging because of the vagueness of the order and the differences among federal, state, and local governments. So far, in states like California, the federal order’s most significant impact is on student research. Many federal government websites that provide information about social justice issues have been removed from the Internet.

However, lessons about social justice are plentiful on the Internet. These websites are not federally produced. The online impact of the purge of federal 'woke' and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) websites has affected student research, as these dependable resources are now inaccessible.

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Woke Math?

Comber (2015) details a discussion about a lesson integrating math and social justice entitled “Whose Community Is This? Mathematics of Neighborhood Displacement.” It provides an account from a high school teacher who designed a curriculum about how neighborhoods change.

The social justice understanding of bank loans and the changing value of dwellings can remain in the curriculum in some states for the time being. Such a DEI curriculum brings high-level academic understandings together with students’ lived experiences and provides them.

Developing students’ understanding of mathematics and justice through learning about the process of gentrification would enhance high school students' comprehension of the complex changes that occur in many American communities. This topic would challenge students to research the root causes of homelessness, which often results from people being displaced from their everyday neighborhoods due to rising housing costs. Yet, the topic is likely to attract the US Department of Education’s red flag. One thing is obvious in states like California: state law supersedes federal law, stipulating that DEI can and should be taught.