A few people asked me to post my acceptance speech... I felt so honored by my nominators from my Noyce Community from Champaign and Larry Geni (www.thegeniproject.org). Without further ado...
ICTM AWARD ACCEPTANCE SPEECH Thank you. For me, to be promising means to be hoping. And my hope for education, specifically mathematics education, is that it empowers all students, particularly our students of color and those who are traditionally marginalized. As mathematics teachers, I think it’s easy for us to think that issues of power, class, race, and history are for the other humanities classes to tackle… But a moment’s reflection would prove otherwise. Consider the mathematicians listed in our textbooks. How many of them are white? How many are mathematicians of color? Consider our schools, who’s sitting in our honors and AP classes? Who’s sitting in our lowest levels? Or perhaps consider in our own classrooms, who is receiving A’s and who are barely passing? These disparities point to a broken system. As mathematics teachers, we know that we are the gate keepers to professions that are often more lucrative. Will we also be gate openers? These are worthwhile questions and worthy of discussion, which is why I hope you will consider joining me in the Nepantla Teachers Community, a small group of us that carves space to ask and answer: how do we start to mend our broken system with empathy, respect, and mathematics? Because the greater the challenge, the greater the need for community. Thank you again to the award selection committee and my nominators for this honor to be here in front of you today.
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I have a particularly challenging class when it comes to respecting others and myself. They came into class ready to do nothing. I put aside the curriculum and asked them to do a "Chalk-Talk." Each student gets a different color marker and answers a question. They can start to make connections to what other students in their group are saying.
Afterward, students get a few mini post-its and do a "gallery walk" and put their post-it on anything they really agreed with. I did my own gallery walk with purple post-its. In retrospect, I'm not sure if I should have distinguished my color. They answered the following question: "When do you feel respected in class? When do you feel disrespected in class?" Problem Solved? Not quite, but it's a step in the right direction. The rest of class went fairly smoothly, if that says anything. As a first year teacher, I had a GRAND vision: collaborative students, engaging problems, meaningful conversations, genuine learning... And by the end of my first year, I taught in a very similar way to the way my teachers taught me... Some progress. hah.
Looking back, I would have told first year Esther not to give up on my ideals. I think ideals are great. They give us something to strive for. But it takes a lot of work, commitment, mentorship, AND community. Lauren, a teacher in Cali, found this great comic: http://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginners/ Sometimes I read it, and it brings me to tears. I think I have great taste. and I can't wait for my classroom become a reality. |
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