Mayan numbers taught in Somis school to help students learn math

• By Cheri Carlson

• Ventura County Star

• Posted January 24, 2010 at 10:47 p.m

Math has moved beyond numbers and formulas at Mesa School in Somis.

A group of sixth- and seventh-graders still crack open their textbooks and practice regular math skills most days. But once a week, they turn their math attention to history, culture and places far from Somis.

Teacher Jill Brody’s class started learning about Mayan math in September, part of the school’s efforts to incorporate “ethno-mathematics” into some of its classes.

Ethno-mathematics links math with culture. Some educators say it can help kids feel more connected to the subject and better understand the why and how behind the skills they learn in school.

“Math is not usually treated as a subject with a cultural context,” said Faviana Hirsch-Dubin, a former elementary school teacher and lecturer at UC Santa Barbara who is working with Mesa on the special math lessons. “Being able to feel some cultural connection to math or other subjects can enable students to feel more ownership of the subject matter.”

Ethno-mathematics is not the norm in public schools, said Hank Kepner, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, but it can be a powerful tool for getting kids motivated and engaged in math.

“It can help kids feel that they’re part of the mathematics world,” Kepner said. They learn where various math skills came from historically and the many different ways people have looked at math. “It’s sort of a motivation for kids to make sense of mathematics.”

In many schools, there’s too much emphasis on testing, Kepner said. Getting the right answer is important, but that’s too narrow. “Math isn’t just rote answers without understanding,” he said.

Hirsch-Dubin started working with the Mesa Union School District last spring after meeting Superintendent John Puglisi. She has worked with various grade levels at the campus, exploring different cultures and how they relate to math.

“Most students don’t think about why they’re doing certain things in math,” Hirsch-Dubin said. “They just learn to do them.”

The school isn’t replacing regular math classes, just adding the ethno-mathematics lessons, she said.

“The biggest thing: It gives math a meaning and purpose,” said Brody, who didn’t even know what ethno-mathematics was before she signed up to teach summer school last year. Brody and Hirsch-Dubin worked with a group of migrant students in an ethno-mathematics program over the summer.

When Brody saw it in action, she asked Hirsch-Dubin to work with her students during the regular school year. Brody, a resource specialist, has a small group of sixth- and seventh-graders with some learning differences, she said. Ethno-mathematics was different and would grab their attention, she said.

In class recently, students practiced adding and subtracting using the Mayan number system and symbols, reinforcing skills they have learned using the regular math system, Brody said.

Whether the lessons will make a huge difference in student test scores, Brody wasn’t sure. “But it’s keeping them engaged in math,” she said. Students are making connections between different number systems and getting an opportunity to do higher-level thinking.

“It helps me in math, regular math,” said Ricardo Letona, 11. “It helps you learn a different way to do math, and it teaches about the Mayan culture.”

What a teacher should bring to school.

At the start of this term we read "What did you bring with you to school?" by Vasilia Kazoullis. In this article Vasilia shares her experience in her kindergarten classroom with her teacher. She found the homemade cookies she gave to her teacher in the trashcan. In life there are times that we all experience situations similar to what Vasilia felt in her kindergarten classroom. When you share an important part of your life with others and they do not value it the way you do. It is unfortunate however that children have to experience this an the environment where they are supposed to feel safe and supported. The teacher may not have realized how devastating her actions were and what affect they had on her students attitude toward her and toward education.

In the TPA we did this module it was required that we consider what we want to know about our students and how we will get that information. That experience helped me realize how important it will be for me to get to know my students right from the very beginning. Since it will be my responsibility to teach them how to learn and understand math I will need to know where they came from and what motivates them.

Students with disabilities

In researching the No CHild Left Behind Act I found an article written by the superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District, Trudy Arriaga. The article was written in response to political statements that were made about the districts standing. The article stated that the district only met 37 out of the 38 requirements they were supposed to meet. The one requirement they did not fulfill was that they were supposed to have 95% participation in the state testing of students with disabilities. The district had 99% participation however some students were not counted because they were allowed modifications during the test. "Students with disabilities used modifications, i.e., questions were read or signed (sign language for deaf students) to the students during the exam, as stipulated in their Individualized Education Plan, their participation in the exam was not counted."-Ventura County Star October 8, 2009

It seems very contradictory to allow a student to have an IEP with modifications and not be allowed those same modifications during the star testing. If we are supposed to be giving students equal opportunity for success shouldn't these modifications be allowed for special needs students.

Nova

At the school I teach we have many students who are English language learners. It is school policy not to allow them to use their native language during the academic day. It seems counter to what I have learned in this program to restrict this use of student language. We have been told that not allowing students to use their home language is sending the message that their culture is inferior to American culture. I understand that it is our schools goal to provide these students with opportunities to learn English however it is important that students feel their culture and language is also valuable.

Assistance

When I was researching for the threaded discussion 2 I found that two school who were not meeting their benchmarks had a low percentage of students who were receiving the free tutoring. It made me wonder why not. I think that from the wording of the act schools do not have to offer the tutoring to parents instead parents can request it. If this is in fact the case then parents who don't speak English might never know what is available to them. Also what if these families are illegal immigrants and they don't think they can get it or are afraid to ask for it if they do know what it is. It seems like there is still some inequity in what families are receiving from the schools.

Scriptures

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Many times in our history as a people we have deemed things as acceptable when the word of the bible says otherwise. In education not too long ago women and minorities were not permitted to get an education. Now this idea seems absurd but there is still inequity in the way both groups are being educated. Minorities are taught a curriculum that caters to the larger group and does not value individual background and experiences.

John 17:15 prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

In education teachers have a huge responsibility to our students to teach them equality and love for each other even when they do not experience that view and reasoning at home. We are given the world around us and we all have to make sense of it and do our best to keep the children in our classrooms safe and healthy

Romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.

It is not the responsibility or right of an individual to judge one another

Galatians 3.28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I like this scripture because it speaks directly to equality. In the eyes of the lord we are all one people. There is no black, brown, white or red and there is no rich or poor. In the end we will all be judged on the same scale and will have to answer to the lord for our sins. In the classroom we have to approach our students with this same sentiment. They are all equal in our eyes and no one is more important than another and they should all know this.

1 John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him^[a] to make him stumble. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

Sometimes it can take admitting that you don’t have all the answers and that you are not on the right path t get you going in the right direction. As educators we are supposed to hold the knowledge that students need to be successful but if we do not try and live outside ourselves and appreciate the differences in our students and not see their culture as inferior or strange or scary or weird then we can truly be in the position of better understanding.

Proverbs 12:11 He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.

For a teacher the land is the classroom and to work the land you must have a deep understanding of what is need to grow your class. Knowing the background and dynamics of each students will help build a stronger classroom and give more meaningful direction for lesson planning

Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.

If students are respected by the teacher they are going to enjoy the classroom environment more easily.

Ephesians 3:18-19 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.