MEXICO: Mathematics, Equity, Exploration, Idiom, Confidence, Opportunity Fernando Mota Rodriguez Maria Saldivar Fernandez Isaura DeLeon Buena Park High School Buena Park, CA TASEL-M – CSU Fullerton Presented at NCTM Atlanta, GA March 23, 2007http://taselm.fullerton.edu

Foundation of Tenochtitlan BIENVENIDOS

Outline of Presentation Welcome Introductions Who we are Latino homes and parents Latino and US schools Lessons and characteristics Examples of Lessons Recommendations Closing Remarks Questions

Intro: Who We Are Cultural Background Where/What we teach Where we come from

Our families came from

Latino Homes and Parents Kids may be expected to work and contribute economically to the family Kids may be expected to take care of younger siblings Kids may not be expected to attend college And if they attend college, they will be the first generation Kids may not have appropriate conditions to study (either room, materials, light, quiet)

Latinos in US schools Curriculum centralized in other countries Struggle with two languages plus subject areas Behavior and expectations in the classrooms are different Addressing the teacher is different Mr./Mrs./Ms. versus “maestro/maestra” Some algorithms may be different (division/Multiplication) Placement may be based on age not on ability Grading is different. In Mexico, they use a scale 0-10, while in the US, we use a 1-4 scale.

Lessons and Characteristics Bilingual Parents can get involved either by helping or by learning Immediate translation Students feel valued (teachers translation) Target one language students Students polish their Spanish & math skills Parents polish their English & math skills

Lessons and Characteristics Short: Parents need little time at home to study them Convenient: they can be used at several points of a class Provide equity for all Spanish-speaking teachers can benefit from learning correct terminology in Spanish.

Some Examples of Lessons

Find out about the correct way to pronounce students’ names Mark in a map where students come from Learn about their schooling, textbooks Learn about their algorithms Use math graffiti Recommendations

3 riple Triple

Abso ute va ue Valor absoluto

Closing Remarks and Questions