Counted Out

VICKI ABELES
USA, 2024
89 minutes, Color
Official website

In Person: Director Vicki Abeles; film participant Emmanuel Schanzer, founder and co-director of Bootstrap; and Moderator, Deborah Menkart, Executive Director, Teaching for Change

Most of us appreciate that literacy is a door to civic and social engagement, one we expect to be open for all. But...math? Vicki Abeles's spirited film offers a compelling argument for math literacy as the key to understanding contemporary issues, from inequality to political polarization to climate change. In a world where data can determine our healthcare, our dating habits, our political options, and the jobs we get, the person who does the math is the person with power. Yet so many children are shut off from math's potential, and their own. Abeles offers a mosaic of voices, from educators to civil and human rights leaders, all passionate advocates for math literacy as the gateway to democracy. Most inspiring are the young students who, given a nurturing environment, grow before our eyes from kids cowed by numbers into "math people." They have the power to change the equation.—Judy Bloch