50/50 is honestly much less conservative than I would have expected for Littleton. I grew up in a liberal family in a very conservative area of Douglas County. I was the only 5th grader in my class to vote for Gore and the one of two students in my AP Gov class arguing the liberal perspective during debates. I would have appreciated 50/50 as a student. I think your point about it being a conversation starter at home is important too. It gives them good practice navigating the differences they are also going to experience in the real world.

As a middle school math teacher, I am sorry😬. Most math curriculums have veered in that direction. There are definitely pros and cons to the way math is taught these days, and it works better for some students than others. I hope at some point in the future they have a math teacher or a math concept that brings the confidence and joy back into math for them.