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Most of my students don't currently have a designated space for them to take their classes via zoom or a quiet place to work on their assignments. Some of them also have to take care of their younger siblings while taking their classes and also work at the same time. Many of them don't have positive experiences with math and say they are not good in math.

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Not having a designate place to take their classes via Zoom or a quiet place to complete assignments doesn't allow them to focus during class or complete assignments on time. In addition, having to take care of their younger siblings during class doesn't allow them to pay attention to the lesson and learn the content being taught. Since they haven't had many positive experiments in math they have come to believe that they are not good in math and it stops them from trying at times.

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My students' histories, identities, literacies compare deeply to my own identity, history, and literacy because like many of my students, I too come from a similar economic, cultural, and social assets and hardships. Both my parents immigrated to the U.S. for a better life, faced economic hardships, but worked hard to get our family all that we needed to be okay. I was in ESL classes until 4th grade and remember struggling with English, that's why I am now a math teacher. After sharing my story and my history with my students, many to most relate to my experiences and this helps create a classroom culture of respect and family.

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When I was in my teacher credentialing program (UCLA TEP), we read a book called Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students by Kathleen Cushman. In this book, students discussed the importance of teachers getting to know who they were and gave a recommendation of questions to ask students. Since then, I have used the majority of the questions they provide to my students during the building community days in the beginning of the school year. This is the first attempt to get to know my students through their own words and I use their responses to help me make connections on a deeper level with them, like Dr. Muhammad quotes, "when students in classrooms do not receive such curriculum with elements of care, love, and respect at the center, they tend to display resistance to the curriculum and instruction, as well as to teachers and to the schools (Johnston, D'Andrea Montalbano & Kirklan, 2017)" (Muhammad, 2020).

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The development of the team and teaching geniuses are connected almost in every ways. Both can "move forward , move backward or stranded in less developed stage", E. Aguilar, p.226. Its up to the team leader or a teacher to kick off the
team direction and paint a picture of the work to be done.
And everyone needs a clear understanding of their part in the journey and highly motivated to get the same goal.

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The work that I think I can focus on to guide PLC after this reflective experience is "Continuing to encourage and promoting a deeper level of engagement and learning".
I will be working on motivating and providing opportunities for the other members of the team shine .

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My students all come from different backgrounds and every year I try my best to get to know them and also build relationships with them since day 1. My students have all had different experiences in school and in life and I try my best to understand that so that I can do my best as an educator to support them. I know most of them don't have the strongest math skills or the best math experiences because they haven't been provided the tools they need. When I say what I do for a living and where I teach I always get reactions like "Wow, it must be tough specially teaching in the neighborhood you do" what I respond with is teaching is a tough profession but my students are great. I know my students want to be the best they can and they want to make their families proud and set an example for their younger siblings all they need support from the adults at school and to be guided in the right direction so that they can pursue the career of their choice after high school.

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I graduated from Roosevelt High School and was once a student with low math skills and also ESL. I come from a low income family, growing up my parents worked hard to provide for me and my siblings and just like some of my students my parents couldn't afford certain luxuries that others could. My parents immigrated from Mexico and came to this country without knowing the language. I had to navigate my way to college because I didn't have anyone at home who could support me through the process. When I graduated form high school and attended college I was remedial in both English and Math. I decided to become a math teacher because I was able to see how difficult it was for students to learn and understand math. I wanted to go back to my community and support students with math.

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Many of my students' histories, identities, and literacies are similar to mine, even though I was raised in NY and my students are in LA.  I grew up in a single parent household that struggled financially. I was a latchkey kid who was responsible for my younger siblings and cousins, everyday, and still had to complete all of my schoolwork on my own. My story is complex but I know that sharing my truth with my students builds bridges and understanding. When I tell them I understand them, they know I mean it.

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Many of my students' histories, identities, and literacies are similar to mine, even though I was raised in NY and my students are in LA.  I grew up in a single parent household that struggled financially. I was a latchkey kid who was responsible for my younger siblings and cousins, everyday, and still had to complete all of my schoolwork on my own. My story is complex but I know that sharing my truth with my students builds bridges and understanding. When I tell them I understand them, they know I mean it.

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Based on my students demographic, they lack many resources that seemed even greater during this pandemic. Without doubt, the accessibility to reliable internet/wifi is an unbearable burden to the community as whole. 

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Based on my students demographic, they lack many resources that seemed even greater during this pandemic. Without doubt, the accessibility to reliable internet/wifi is an unbearable burden to the community as whole. 

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As mentioned by Daisy, many students' home lack enough space for all members of the family to learn and focused adequately.

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Historically, my students have performed "poorly." I expressed it in this manner since many resources, including well trained teachers have lack in the area. Their have been many contributions by people of colored. I don't think that it is emphasized enough in the education system where it is organically incorporated (not just do it in September and February). 

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Historically, my students have performed "poorly." I expressed it in this manner since many resources, including well trained teachers have lack in the area. Their have been many contributions by people of colored. I don't think that it is emphasized enough in the education system where it is organically incorporated (not just do it in September and February). 

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My students are wonderful, artistic human beings. When I talk to them, they express themselves are any other kid. They love Youtube and TikTok (lol). Like any other kid in the country. They are scientists, mathematicians, beauticians, interior designers, etc. They are dreamers. They have dreams. It makes me upset to see idiot memes of color people in the internet/social media. I hate it when I see a inferences in commercials of them (beauty products, etc).  

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My students are wonderful, artistic human beings. When I talk to them, they express themselves are any other kid. They love Youtube and TikTok (lol). Like any other kid in the country. They are scientists, mathematicians, beauticians, interior designers, etc. They are dreamers. They have dreams. It makes me upset to see idiot memes of color people in the internet/social media. I hate it when I see a inferences in commercials of them (beauty products, etc).  

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My students are strong, survivors, conquerors in their own right. My students are geniuses and budding mathematicians. They are anime fans, Dodger fans, they are TikTok creators, artists, and big-time gamers. They are inquisitive introverts and extroverts. My students are witty and sarcastic, sweet and thoughtful. They love playing "Among Us" together as a class and check up on one another during breaks. They are technology savants and novices, and try hard always. Others have their opinions about EMMS and our students, but I know my students, I know how far EMMS has come in the four years I have been there, and it has ALL been because of the students...because our students want to excel and they understand it starts with them.

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My students are strong, survivors, conquerors in their own right. My students are geniuses and budding mathematicians. They are anime fans, Dodger fans, they are TikTok creators, artists, and big-time gamers. They are inquisitive introverts and extroverts. My students are witty and sarcastic, sweet and thoughtful. They love playing "Among Us" together as a class and check up on one another during breaks. They are technology savants and novices, and try hard always. Others have their opinions about EMMS and our students, but I know my students, I know how far EMMS has come in the four years I have been there, and it has ALL been because of the students...because our students want to excel and they understand it starts with them.

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I do see an improvement in the entertainment industry where I see roles played by people of color. I see the attempt year after year in social media and the music industry to integrate talent of all cultures and races. When I think about when I was a kid, I just remember seeing or watching a lot caucasians shows, showing their values and culture. 

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I do see an improvement in the entertainment industry where I see roles played by people of color. I see the attempt year after year in social media and the music industry to integrate talent of all cultures and races. When I think about when I was a kid, I just remember seeing or watching a lot caucasians shows, showing their values and culture. 

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When I read this, it makes me think about how you truly have to do an in depth reflection of who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Understanding where you stand will allow you to cultivate those skills within yourself and with your team

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When I read this, it makes me think about how you truly have to do an in depth reflection of who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Understanding where you stand will allow you to cultivate those skills within yourself and with your team

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In our PLC, I see us taking a moment to reflect and confirm our understandings in routines and also reviewing what are our strengths and weaknesses  to cultivate among ourselves. For example, we have Ms. Su. She is amazing at creating data protocols in Google Slides. She would be an amazing resource within our team. 

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In our PLC, I see us taking a moment to reflect and confirm our understandings in routines and also reviewing what are our strengths and weaknesses  to cultivate among ourselves. For example, we have Ms. Su. She is amazing at creating data protocols in Google Slides. She would be an amazing resource within our team. 

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Many of the students do not feel confident in their abilities and have developed a form on learned helplessness. During this current climate, many lack a space where they can maintain focus for a duration of time. I know many want to do well in school, but it's still unclear to them in how they do that.

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As educators, we need to constantly strive for self-actualization as bell hooks mentioned in her book Teaching To Transgress. If we remain stagnant and not looking to develop ourselves, then we are unable to be strong models for our students.

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My students are resilient, powerful, beautiful inside and out and are capable of more than they can ever think possible. Even though they have access to the internet and media, their scope of the world and what is possible still seems narrow. Being able to expose them to a broader sense of what is available to them outside of what they know is vital to break down barriers that are set up for them.

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The history of the students in my class are mainly connected to the history of the immigrant experience in this country. The vast majority either come from latin american countries or are sons/daughters of parents who are immigrants. Most of our students will be first generation attending universities.

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My students are each unique and its hard to categorize them. Some freshman come with goals, confidence, and are ready for challenges. Other freshman don't know how to create goals, they lack confidence, and feel that effort isn't worth it. As a teacher and as a school we say that we can make a change in their lives and strive to make our students that haven't learned how to create goals to find a goal and desire while in school. There are several positive examples in the media that students can use as motivation.

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Our students have not had the academic success that we would like to see. The stats do not lie. Historically, our students come from people who have been great architecs, engineers, astronomers an mathematicians. Recall, the concept of zero.

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The history of the students in my classes is that they are underperforming in school assessments. Some do not have enough positive images in their homes that they can use for support. And even with these struggles many are able to overcome and achieve their goals of first generation HS graduates and college students.

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The stories of my students are very similar to my own. English is not my first language. I was on the free meal program throughout my education and I was the first in my family to attend a university.

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The stories of my students are very similar to my own. English is not my first language. I was on the free meal program throughout my education and I was the first in my family to attend a university.

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Unfortunately many of my students do not feel capable of being successful. Most of them do not have role models (or someone they can look up to) to help them think beyond their limitations. They normalize "success" by graduating high school and going straight to the workforce. I constantly have to remind my students that there is more than just Watts and to think beyond complacency. I experience, first hand, the great potential students bring to the table - it's simply a matter of reminding them how resilient they actually are.

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Our student's ancestors have many ties to mathematics - but they simply do not know it. There is value reminding students of how we all have ancestral ties to the development and early discovery of mathematics. Students feel empowered when hearing about the Mayans creating a numerical system or how Africa is the birthplace of the world's basic and advanced mathematics.

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I consider myself very fortunate to be able teach in the same community that I grew up in. I get to share my experiences with students on a case by case scenario.
Low-income
first-generation college student.
AB540 student.

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I want to try the identity slide activity with my department.
Update: I have met with Ricky and we will be implementing the identity slide activity with our department. We plan to allot 5-10 minutes of each department meeting to give the opportunity for at least 2 teachers to present their slides. This was we all get to learn about each others identity.

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The histories of my students in my class are similar to mine. The great majority of my students are of Mexican, Latina/o backgrounds who come from similar economic backgrounds from when I was growing up. Their histories have molded them into great students who persevere, work hard, and navigate through community issues and problems that would affect them negatively if they did not learn how to strive through.

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I highly agree with Javier in that my students' histories are highly connected to math, science, and astronomy, since we are descendants of great Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Mayas, Mexica, Zapotec, and many other peoples. Their histories have contributed greatly to the development of mathematics (as Javier mentioned above) and it is important that we teach our students (and ourselves as well) that history.

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"The Stages of Team Development" are: 1. Forming, 2. Storming, 3. Norming, 4. Performing, and 5. Adjourning or Transforming. The connection that I see between the Cultivating Genius quote and the stages of team development is we need to look within and evaluate ourselves (by ourselves I mean the team) to determine how to make our time, space, and work the most productive possible. If we want to ground ourselves as a team, we need to individually see where we are, before we can determine how to begin to work together as a team. Therefore, the stages of team development will help bring our collective geniuses together and help us determine at what stage we need to begin that process.

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The work that I forsee to guide my PLC after this reflective experience is a little bit of everything. I want to use the stages of team development to calculate where my PLC is in terms of a working group, utilize Dr. Muhammad's Cultivating Genius work to help my PLC look at literacy as a form of empowering students as mathematician, and use my students' histories and identities to help them be more invested in their math learning process.

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Most of my students are language learners and have immigrated to the U.S. Many are low income families with caregivers who must work multiple low wage jobs to make ends meet. Many have parents who did not go to college or even graduate high school and are unable to actualize a collegiate future due to lack of mentors.

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I think about this all the time. How can I get the students to see themselves in the work we do? National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) celebrates the contributions of the more than 17 percent of the U.S. population that is of Hispanic/ Latino heritage. Alberto Pedro Calderón (1920-1998) was an Argentinian mathematician who greatly influenced mathematical analysis and ranged over a wide variety of topics including: PDEs, interpolation theory, Cauchy integrals on Lipschitz curves, ergodic theory, and inverse problems in electrical prospection. Some of the practical applications for Calderón’s include: signal processing, geophysics, and tomography. There are many more!

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Jaime Escalante was a math educator from Bolivia. He immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. In 1974, he accepted a job as a math teacher at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. The student population was predominantly Hispanic and low-income. It was a challenging place to teach, with a history of violence and academic underperformance.

Escalante wanted to see his students succeed and started an advanced mathematics program. Eventually, his program grew. In 1982, his largest class took and passed the AP Calculus test. Because so many of his students had passed, the testing company suspected cheating and invalidated their scores. Escalante protested, and many students retook and passed the test months later. This incident gained a lot of public attention and was the basis for the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.

Jaime Escalante continued teaching until 1998. He received many awards for his work in education, including the Presidential Medal of Excellence, and was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999.

2. Ruth Gonzalez (Present)

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Celebrate National Hispanic Month: Five Hispanic and Latino Mathematicians

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Jaime Escalante was a math educator from Bolivia. He immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. In 1974, he accepted a job as a math teacher at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. The student population was predominantly Hispanic and low-income.

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My students are amazing. They are bright and curious and funny. They love math. Some may not know it yet and say they hate it or they are not good at it but I work hard each day to show them how good they are at recognizing, analyzing, and implementing patterns (math). Fox News would call them illegals. No human should ever be considered illegal. They all want to be successful and happy. They are all deserving of such a future.

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I can't begin to communicate how different my life experience has been in comparison to my students. My Dad is a doctor. College was expected. I was never allowed to receive less than a B, but I once got a C- in geometry (I hated math in high school). I went up to Algebra 2 and didn't take math my senior year.

My Dad picked all of my courses each semester and somehow ended up never taking a physics course, but instead had a lot of biology, and physiology courses. To be honest, I really didn't know what the subject of physics was until I got to college.

I was raised Mormon and had Bible study every morning at 6am.  I played volleyball year round (club) and was named first team all league. I was winter formal princess, sang in the chamber singers and traveled to Sacramento to sing at the state capital. I was in drama with a lead role (Mother Abbess in the Sound of Music), and I was in the Black Student Union.

My high school was diverse, but dominated by White culture. Looking back I recall there was almost a tangible divided line between Hispanics who didn't speak English and everyone else. Their numbers grew, but they kept to their own space. There were some (bilinguals) who could walk in between the lines. When I think about student literacies, histories and identities, I think of that divide and I think of the many ways I need to be strategically fluid in being able to communicate with my students about math.

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Usually around this time of the year, when high school students are applying to colleges, I get reminded of the histories of the students in my class. Several of the 12th grade students that I have in my classes, reach out to me and ask to write letters of recommendations on their behalf. I receive many requests form the CSU - EOP system. Students applying to this program need display a historically disadvantaged background such as low income for several years, first-generation college student, inner-city or migrant family. These are students the histories of the students that I work with.

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I agree with the above post made by my colleagues. I am learning from them. I am not sure what else to add but I did come across this grate activity by the curriculum Skew the Script.
Titled: What does a Mathematician look like?

https://mailchi.mp/skewthescript/activity-what-does-a-statistician-look-like?e=0525989ed3

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Every year the dynamic of students differs.  I have students that enjoy and thrive on group work and I have students that claim to work better alone. They say that they understand a topic but have a hard time explaining it to someone else.
For the most part, the students in my class want to continue their post secondary education, they just need a little guidance and support.

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The histories of my students are that many come from homes where Spanish was their first language, and they possibly struggled to keep up in their classes due to a language barrier or are still struggling to do so. I think about the many classes students sit in where teachers do not speak their language to even possibly help with explaining directions, who do they communicate with? How do they know what to do in class, outside of class, etc? It makes me sad and worrier when I think about it. 

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The histories of my students are that many come from homes where Spanish was their first language, and they possibly struggled to keep up in their classes due to a language barrier or are still struggling to do so. I think about the many classes students sit in where teachers do not speak their language to even possibly help with explaining directions, who do they communicate with? How do they know what to do in class, outside of class, etc? It makes me sad and worrier when I think about it. 

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Their histories connect with mathematics because mathematics is a universal language, most students can probably catch on quickly if possibly given some direction in their language or see some scaffolds or differentiation that can support their learning to break that barrier. 

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Their histories connect with mathematics because mathematics is a universal language, most students can probably catch on quickly if possibly given some direction in their language or see some scaffolds or differentiation that can support their learning to break that barrier. 

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My students are resilient, caring, funny, curious, and amazing! Though it has been challenging this school year, it wasn't impossible to know my students. Getting to know my students has been the best part of this year and they consistently bring a smile to my face whenever they log on and greet me through the chat or as they turn on their mics and let us hear their soft caring voices as they say "Good morning MS!". When they leave and wish me a good rest of my day, or weekend, and I wish them the same, I know that my students are caring and loving human beings. When they talk about anime and music through the chat, I get to know their interests. My students share how they are feeling through a check in question I also get to know that not all days how good ones for them, they share family struggles, loss of family and friends. They are warriors and resilient. 

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My students are resilient, caring, funny, curious, and amazing! Though it has been challenging this school year, it wasn't impossible to know my students. Getting to know my students has been the best part of this year and they consistently bring a smile to my face whenever they log on and greet me through the chat or as they turn on their mics and let us hear their soft caring voices as they say "Good morning MS!". When they leave and wish me a good rest of my day, or weekend, and I wish them the same, I know that my students are caring and loving human beings. When they talk about anime and music through the chat, I get to know their interests. My students share how they are feeling through a check in question I also get to know that not all days how good ones for them, they share family struggles, loss of family and friends. They are warriors and resilient. 

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My students histories are different than my own, but there are some similarities. English was my first language, but I still struggled with it in school. English classes were my enemy throughout middle school and even through college. I always leaned towards math, I knew in 7th grade I wanted to be a math teacher, but I had a very negative math identity because I never believed I was "that smart". I pushed myself to have my dream job and I was resilient. First generation citizen and college graduate. My older siblings didn't really pave the way for me when it came to college, and it's not that my parents didn't value education, they just didn't see the bigger picture through my college years. It wasn't till I finally landed my first teaching job, when my parents finally saw the value in continuing my education. I imagine that being the case with my students. I've helped many of our students apply for college over the last 3 years, and many families want their students to work and focus on making money, but I consistently try to share my story to stick to their dreams, that continuing their education will get them to having that stable income our families want us to have. 

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My students histories are different than my own, but there are some similarities. English was my first language, but I still struggled with it in school. English classes were my enemy throughout middle school and even through college. I always leaned towards math, I knew in 7th grade I wanted to be a math teacher, but I had a very negative math identity because I never believed I was "that smart". I pushed myself to have my dream job and I was resilient. First generation citizen and college graduate. My older siblings didn't really pave the way for me when it came to college, and it's not that my parents didn't value education, they just didn't see the bigger picture through my college years. It wasn't till I finally landed my first teaching job, when my parents finally saw the value in continuing my education. I imagine that being the case with my students. I've helped many of our students apply for college over the last 3 years, and many families want their students to work and focus on making money, but I consistently try to share my story to stick to their dreams, that continuing their education will get them to having that stable income our families want us to have. 

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I think the connection is that in order for The stages of team development to work, we need to cultivate our own genius that lies within us!! I think we need to consistently be reflective of our practices and be open in order to collaborate. 

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I think the connection is that in order for The stages of team development to work, we need to cultivate our own genius that lies within us!! I think we need to consistently be reflective of our practices and be open in order to collaborate. 

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I foresee my PLC just having more community. We've struggled this semester to be a team and work on the common goals. It seemed very up and down each time we met, and I just want to find ways to get them to cultivate their own genius. 

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I foresee my PLC just having more community. We've struggled this semester to be a team and work on the common goals. It seemed very up and down each time we met, and I just want to find ways to get them to cultivate their own genius. 