American democracy is at risk. Fueled by partisan news and emotion-stoking social media, Americans are becoming less and less able to think rationally about the challenges facing the country. For self-governance to succeed, citizens must analyze issues objectively, engage with one another respectfully, and ground their disagreements in reason and facts. At this precarious moment in our history, we need a renaissance in critical thinking.

It can start in the math classroom.

Composed as a letter to fellow educators, Dear Citizen Math offers an inspiring new vision for math class: As a forum for discussing the most important and interesting issues in society, from healthcare reform to global pandemics, fake discounts to the acceleration of technology. For generations students have viewed mathematics as a set of random skills to memorize and concepts with a little connection to reality. In fact, math is a powerful prism for exploring and making sense of the world, and math teachers can be the most influential people in American democracy. They have the potential to kindle a newfound commitment to reason and cultivate a more thoughtful citizenry.

About the author:

Karim Ani is the founder of Citizen Math, where he develops instructional resources that help students use mathematics to think critically about the world around them. Before that, he was a middle school math teacher and instructional coach. Karim writes and speaks internationally about the role of math education in the 21st century, and was named by Education Week as one of the top young leaders transforming education in America.

Karim has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University and a master’s degree in secondary math education from the University of Virginia. He is a volunteer EMT and avid photographer. When not traveling, Karim can be found under the hood of a late-1970s Toyota Land Cruiser. He tweets from @karimkai.