TODOS Podcast · TODOS Mathematics for ALL

S4E7: (Dis)Ability Justice in Mathematics with Paulo Tan

·1 hr 3 min·3 clips

Paolo Tan argues that special education would not be needed if math education actually served all students.

Theodore Chow opens the episode with a warm introduction to the show and to co-host Sherry Kaku. Sherry meets the energy, and the conversation stays easy and direct from there. They bring in Paolo Tan as a guest whose work they trust deeply. Theodore names Paolo as a professor of mathematics education and special education at UC Santa Cruz. He also mentions Paolo’s book, Humanizing Disability in Math Education, written with Alexis Padilla, Erica Mason, and James Sheldon. The episode also notes a recent NSF grant Paolo received with Jessica Hunt and Joni Wilson. From the start, the hosts tie Paolo’s work to the realities of teaching and the need for change in mathematics education. Theodore says Paolo’s path and teaching background feel familiar to him in important ways. That recognition gives the episode a grounded opening. The conversation then turns to the larger question of how systems shape students. Paolo is presented as someone who does not simply fit into existing structures but helps rethink them. Sherry presses on that idea and asks what led from assimilating to agitating the system. Paolo answers by going back to his doctoral studies. He says he entered graduate school because he was dissatisfied with his own math teaching. He talks about teaching middle and high school and feeling like he was putting in a lot of effort without seeing students learn the way he wanted. That dissatisfaction becomes the push for further study. He names the University of Georgia as the place where he began doctoral work. He also reflects on the University of Kansas as part of his academic story and mentions Susan Gay’s influence there. The episode uses those memories to show how teaching frustration can turn into intellectual inquiry. Paolo’s story is not framed as a neat pivot. It feels cumulative, built from practice, questions, and long reflection. The hosts keep echoing what they hear before moving on, which gives the conversation space to settle. That rhythm lets the emotional and professional stakes build naturally. The discussion keeps returning to students on the margin. It suggests that when those students are truly centered, the whole classroom shifts. The closing turns that into a broader claim about math for all. The show even jokes lightly about changing the mission language to make it more inclusive. The ending stays affectionate while still pointing toward a more just vision of mathematics education.

As heard by us

A warm, grounded discussion of disability in math education that keeps faith with teaching and lived experience.

Paolo Tan's conversation with Theodore Chow and Sherry Kaku treats disability in math education as something lived, not abstract. It moves from shared history and real admiration into a larger question: what changes when students at the margins are treated as central to the…

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If you want math education to feel human, start here.

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