Tag: Math

Bilingual commentary — Is Teaching Conventional English and Math “White Supremacy”?

A California high school English teacher, Marta Shaffer, has declared that teaching proper English grammar in our classrooms sustains white supremacy in our education system. 

Either Ms. Shaffer has a point, or she is someone who searches tirelessly for supremacist underpinnings where there may be none—or at least not to the extent that she perceives. 

Bilingual commentary — Reigniting the Math Culture Wars

Unbeknownst to most people some 20 years ago, a great war was being waged in our country. Only a small slice of the population, consisting mostly of educators, was actually involved in the battles, but the outcome of that war determined the academic fate of millions of students in our classrooms.

The Great Math Wars of the 1990s pitted the “reform advocates” against the “traditionalists.” It wasn’t until 2008 that a form of “cease-fire” was called, and cooler heads prevailed as compromise between the more extreme positions was hammered out.

Which brings us to today. A recent article on the front page of the Ventura County Star published on November 23, 2021, exposed the “shot across the bow” announcing the stirring of a new conflict. Unfortunately, that clash could merge effortlessly into the broad river we know as the “culture wars” that are shredding the fabric of our society and the very basis of our democracy. 

Bilingual commentary: Reflections on Math Education—Part IV

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes local guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. David Magallanes By David…

Bilingual commentary: Reflections on Math Education—Part I

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes local guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. David Magallanes By David…

Bilingual commentary: The Love of Math

By David Magallanes/ Guest contributor In a recent newspaper article (I still read the paper version daily), an event in our county and elsewhere caught my attention: a “TriMathlon.” I had never seen this clever play on the word “triathlon,” which refers…

Bilingual commentary: When failing math really hurts

Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805. By David Magallanes / Guest contributor It…

Students participate in STEM Conference at UCSB

SANTA BARBARA — Women leaders in science, engineering and education shared their expertise and time with more than 200 girls in grades 6-12, parents, teachers and counselors at the recent 2012 Upper Hand to College STEM Conference, held at UCSB, organizers…