Para traducir partes de este blog a su idioma nativo, visite Google Translate<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As colleagues in the SABES Math and Numeracy Center, we (Mercedez Casciato and Sarah Lonberg-Lew) worked together to compile resources for Women\u2019s History Month. In the course of our conversations, we reflected on our own experiences as women in mathematics. We want to share some ideas that came up in these conversations because they broadened our own perspectives about the diversity of the experiences of women and how we can support students and teachers of all genders in growing their mathematical identities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Como colegas en SABES Math and Numeracy Center, nosotras (Mercedez Casciato y Sarah Lonberg-Lew) trabajamos juntas para recopilar recursos para el Mes de la Historia de la Mujer. Durante nuestras conversaciones, reflexionamos sobre nuestras experiencias como mujeres en el campo de matem\u00e1ticas. Queremos compartir algunas de las ideas que surgieron porque ampliaron nuestras propias perspectivas sobre la diversidad de experiencias de las mujeres y c\u00f3mo podemos apoyar en el crecimiento de sus identidades matem\u00e1ticas a estudiantes y profesores de todos los g\u00e9neros.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Mercedez dice:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cuando llegu\u00e9 a Estados Unidos ten\u00eda 17 a\u00f1os de edad y acababa de terminar la secundaria. Vine a vivir donde mi prima y su familia con el prop\u00f3sito de sacar una carrera universitaria. Siempre me interesaron mucho las matem\u00e1ticas pero mi pasi\u00f3n era la ense\u00f1anza. Cuando empec\u00e9 la universidad, decid\u00ed estudiar matem\u00e1ticas porque quer\u00eda asegurarme de entender de forma profunda la asignatura que iba a ense\u00f1ar. Siendo una estudiante ejemplar en Rep\u00fablica Dominicana, asum\u00ed que aqu\u00ed ser\u00eda igual. No obstante, las barreras de lenguaje y las adversidades que se presentan al vivir en un pa\u00eds extranjero jugaron un rol en mi desempe\u00f1o en las clases. Mis calificaciones empezaron a bajar mientras m\u00e1s avanzadas eran las clases de matem\u00e1ticas y no entend\u00eda el porqu\u00e9 si me estaba esforzando much\u00edsimo. Incluso, me gradu\u00e9 de la universidad pero no me dieron mi diploma hasta un a\u00f1o despu\u00e9s que pude pasar Algebra Lineal despu\u00e9s de tomarla 4 veces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n En ese momento tuve una realizaci\u00f3n. La forma en la que aprend\u00ed matem\u00e1ticas desde peque\u00f1a no necesariamente me beneficiaba a la hora de entenderlas. Pod\u00eda f\u00e1cilmente resolver ejercicios pero no aplicarlos a problemas de la vida cotidiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n En retrospectiva, me hubiera gustado sentirme m\u00e1s c\u00f3moda en el aula de matem\u00e1ticas para darle cabida a este tipo de problemas pero usualmente o casi siempre era la \u00fanica mujer hispana en mis clases y esto, de un modo u otro, afect\u00f3 mi confianza en mis conocimientos y mi autoestima al querer hacer preguntas. Siempre pensaba que todos sab\u00edan m\u00e1s que yo porque de un 100% de la clase, quiz\u00e1s un 90% eran hombres y del 10% no hab\u00eda nadie que se ve\u00eda como yo. Mientras ellos participaban activamente, hac\u00edan preguntas al profesor y creaban grupos entre ellos, nosotras est\u00e1bamos en completo aislamiento de manera involuntaria. Tampoco, sent\u00eda que los profesores ofrec\u00edan el apoyo necesario para que nosotras tuvi\u00e9ramos el mismo nivel que los hombres de autoestima y seguridad que, claramente, nos faltaba en el sal\u00f3n de clases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah says:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was in high school I didn\u2019t plan to attend a women\u2019s college or to major in math. I ended up at a women\u2019s college because it happened to be the place that felt like the best fit for me. I took my first math class there because I regretted slacking off in math at the end of my senior year of high school. (I got an F in the fourth quarter!) That first math class was a special and transformative experience. It wasn\u2019t until I was in a space that was free of men\u2019s voices dominating the conversation that I realized that those were the kinds of spaces most of my math learning had been in before. Suddenly, I was in a classroom where every student\u2019s voice was a woman\u2019s voice and I didn\u2019t question my place in the conversation or have to fight for my chance to be heard. There was an expectation that I would share my ideas\u2014a feeling that my ideas were important and valuable. I took that class out of a sense of obligation, but I left having fallen in love with math as a space where I could pursue my ideas and interests; a space where I had something to contribute. I took more math classes after that and ended up declaring math as my major by the end of my second semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on what else was different in that first math class, a strong image comes back to me of tables arranged in a U-shape so that we students could see each other and of our professor facilitating discussion, encouraging us to talk to each other and not just interact with him. The class was small, maybe 15 students, and our professor was passionate\u2014about the math content and about our<\/u> ideas. I could tell that he cared about our understanding because he got excited about our questions and our insights. It is possible for men, even men in positions of authority, to be part of spaces where women are empowered. Some of my college professors were men and some were women, but in all of them I saw powerful and smart people who believed women were capable of learning math at high levels, a belief made even more evident by their choice to bring their mathematical and teaching expertise to a women\u2019s college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, in my experience, the voices of men have been louder and more numerous, especially in traditionally male-dominated fields such as math and science. And that has a chilling effect on women\u2019s voices. Men are conditioned to take up space in conversations and to believe that their ideas are important. As women, society teaches us the opposite\u2014to make space for men\u2019s ideas and keep our thoughts to ourselves. (Folks who live outside the gender binary are usually subject to these same societal forces based on how they are perceived or how they are identified at birth, regardless of their true identities.) Being able to study math in a space that was free of that dynamic helped me to find my own mathematical identity in a way that I doubt I would have otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercedez dice:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Llevo 5 a\u00f1os siendo profesora de educaci\u00f3n adulta en espa\u00f1ol y m\u00e1s de dos a\u00f1os ayudando a otros profesores a que sus voces sean escuchadas. El hecho de que tuve que pasar por muchas situaciones en las que no me sent\u00ed que pertenec\u00eda o, tal vez, que mis necesidades como profesora no fueron escuchadas, a pesar de que exig\u00ed lo que necesitaba, me conllev\u00f3 a hacer preguntas y buscar respuestas hasta encontrarlas. \u00bfEste es un problema individual o hay m\u00e1s profesores pasando por la misma situaci\u00f3n? Si hay profesores pasando por la misma situaci\u00f3n, \u00bfc\u00f3mo puedo ayudarlos?\u00bfd\u00f3nde se encuentran estos profesores?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gracias a mi arduo trabajo, estoy en una posici\u00f3n que me permite hacer las cosas que siempre quise hacer. Sin embargo, siento que mi arduo trabajo y todos los esfuerzos durante a\u00f1os no hubieran sido suficientes si no hubiera contado con la ayuda de personas con m\u00e1s poder o privilegios que me abrieron las puertas porque vieron mi potencial. Lo curioso es que nunca vi mi potencial como ellos lo ve\u00edan, pero segu\u00ed adelante.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Algo de lo que estoy orgullosa es que pude crear una comunidad de profesores de educaci\u00f3n adulta en espa\u00f1ol. Esto es algo que so\u00f1\u00e9 hacer por mucho tiempo pero no me sent\u00ed capaz ni sab\u00eda c\u00f3mo iba a hacerlo porque no ten\u00eda las herramientas necesarias. Contact\u00e9 a alguien que conoc\u00ed en un taller que \u00e9l propici\u00f3 pero pens\u00e9 que \u00e9l no me iba a contestar. No obstante, me llev\u00e9 una sorpresa porque no solo me contest\u00f3 sino que us\u00f3 sus privilegios para ayudarme, una mujer hispana que antes no ten\u00eda voz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cabe destacar que, antes y durante el proceso de crear la comunidad, no me sent\u00eda capaz de llevar a cabo este proyecto porque era la \u00fanica mujer en mi programa, era la m\u00e1s joven y ten\u00eda menos tiempo ense\u00f1ando como profesora de educaci\u00f3n adulta en comparaci\u00f3n a mis colegas. El hecho de que alguien crey\u00f3 en mis capacidades y potencial m\u00e1s que yo misma, me dio la confianza para seguir con el proyecto. He conocido a colegas maravillosos y descubr\u00ed que no era la \u00fanica que se sent\u00eda ignorada o no escuchada. El unir nuestras voces y trabajar juntos ha sido una experiencia motivadora y enriquecedora. Juntos, creamos una comunidad s\u00f3lida y un espacio seguro para compartir ideas, experiencias y recursos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahora como educadora me aseguro que mis estudiantes, sin importar su g\u00e9nero, se sientan c\u00f3modos, apoyados y libres a la hora de aprender en el aula. Mis experiencias me ense\u00f1aron que el rol de educador influye en c\u00f3mo el estudiante se siente con respecto a la asignatura y c\u00f3mo su aprendizaje se ve afectado si no hay una red de apoyo o comunidad en sus clases. Adicionalmente, trabajo como consultora de matem\u00e1ticas en una organizaci\u00f3n en la que cuento con un equipo incre\u00edble, donde la mayor\u00eda somos mujeres. Aunque soy la \u00fanica hispana, me siento escuchada y apoyada y siempre se me anima a expresarme y dar mi opini\u00f3n, algo que nunca hab\u00eda experimentado antes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah says:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out in the real world, mathematical spaces not dominated by men are fewer and harder to find. In spite of my experience in college, I sometimes find myself feeling shut down or unable to advocate for myself when in a room where men\u2019s voices are dominating. This can happen in spaces where men are in the minority, and even in spaces where women are in leadership positions. I experience stereotype threat<\/a>\u2014 knowing that men who speak up are often perceived as assertive and strong whereas women who do the same can be perceived as demanding, pushy, or worse. It is still challenging to claim my space in the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one thing that helps is knowing what it feels like to be in spaces that don\u2019t feel oppressive. This knowledge helps me seek out those spaces, recognize them when I find them, and be inspired to be part of creating them for anyone who has ever been marginalized\u2014because I know it is possible. As a white woman, I am at an intersection of having privilege because of my race and not having privilege because of my gender. (On other matters of identity, I also fall sometimes on the more privileged side and sometimes on the less privileged side.) Seeing privilege from both sides like that equips me (I hope) to be an advocate for all learners, whatever the intersection of their identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although we have different lived experiences, both of us belong to minority groups, therefore, many times our voices have been ignored or have not been heard. Other people have seen it as a weakness to be a woman and at times, we have even seen it that way ourselves. We have internalized what society has taught us about what our role is as women and must work consciously and constantly to push back against that message, a cognitive burden that men do not bear. But we also know that we do have a place in the conversation. People of all genders, of all races and classes and abilities belong in mathematical conversations, so it is important for all of us to be mindful of how we make space and take up space. When we find ourselves on the side of privilege, we can make sure our voices are not dominating and elevate the voices of those less privileged. When we find ourselves in the margins, we can step up and claim our place. None of these things are easy, but they are necessary if we are going to make math teaching and learning truly inclusive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Aunque hemos vivido diferentes experiencias, ambas pertenecemos a grupos minoritarios, por lo tanto, muchas veces, nuestras voces fueron ignoradas o no fueron escuchadas. Al apoderarnos de lo que otras personas en alg\u00fan momento consideraron como una debilidad el ser una mujer, puede que incluso nosotras mismas en ciertas ocasiones. Hemos interiorizado lo que la sociedad nos ha inculcado acerca de cu\u00e1l es nuestro rol como mujeres y constantemente debemos trabajar de forma consciente para rechazar este mensaje. Esta es una carga cognitiva que los hombres no tienen que soportar. No obstante, tambi\u00e9n, reconocemos que somos parte de la conversaci\u00f3n. Las personas de todos los g\u00e9neros, de todas clases y habilidades pertenecen a las conversaciones matem\u00e1ticas, as\u00ed que es importante que seamos conscientes de c\u00f3mo creamos y c\u00f3mo tomamos espacio. Cuando nos encontramos en posiciones de privilegio, podemos asegurarnos de que nuestras voces no dominen y exaltar las voces de las personas que no tienen tanto privilegio como nosotros. Cuando nos encontramos al margen, podemos dar la cara y reclamar nuestro asiento en la mesa. Nada de esto es f\u00e1cil pero es necesario si queremos lograr que la ense\u00f1anza y el aprendizaje de matem\u00e1ticas sean verdaderamente inclusivos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Sarah<\/em> Lonberg-Lew has been teaching and tutoring math in one form or another since college. She has worked with students ranging in age from 7 to 70, but currently focuses on adult basic education and high school equivalency. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah\u2019s work with the\u00a0SABES Mathematics and Adult\u00a0Numeracy Curriculum & Instruction PD Center<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0AV°ÍÊ¿<\/a>\u00a0includes developing and facilitating trainings and assisting programs with curriculum development.\u00a0She is the treasurer for the\u00a0Adult Numeracy Network<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Mercedez is a bilingual adult education teacher who has taught a wide range of different age groups and students from different nationalities in the Dominican Republic, the US, and Spain. Most recently, she has focused on the adult education of immigrants in NYC. She co-created a community for adult ed teachers that offer their classes in Spanish. This community includes a list of over 100 educators across the US (including Puerto Rico). Along with other colleagues, she has also led and organized workshops called \u201cCompartir entre Colegas\u201d for those teachers who feel excluded from developing their knowledge in their native language.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Mercedez Casciato & Sarah Lonberg-Lew<\/p>\n To translate parts of this blog into your native language, visit Google Translate<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Para traducir partes de este blog a su idioma nativo, visite Google Translate<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n As colleagues in the SABES Math and Numeracy Center, we (Mercedez Casciato and Sarah Lonberg-Lew) worked together to compile resources for Women\u2019s History Month. In the course of our conversations, we reflected on our own experiences as women in mathematics. » Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"on","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"2559,2121,213,2934,1130,420","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Relevanssi index exclude","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,16,123,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversity-equity-and-inclusion","category-numeracy","category-questioning","category-teaching-conceptually"],"acf":[],"cp_meta_data":{"custom_page_title":[""],"_custom_page_title":["field_5db45d9c2601b"],"external_link":[""],"_external_link":["field_5d6033845a92c"],"hide_share_buttons":["0"],"_hide_share_buttons":["field_5e5c1be61306c"],"meta_description":[""],"_meta_description":["field_60dd0445aa562"],"_thumbnail_id":["2317"],"_oembed_91d36bee0a79ccbdc4403a797de7b223":["Reflexi\u00f3n sobre nuestras experiencias con el aprendizaje de matem\u00e1ticas en la escuela \/ Reflecting on our experiences learning math in school<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
D\u00f3nde nos encontramos hoy \/ Where we are today<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.terc.edu\/adultnumeracycenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2017\/01\/sarahlonberg-lew.jpg?w=117\")
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