My Story

Hello! My name is Jean Carlos Moreno (he/him) and I am a Mathematics Secondary Urban Education Major at TCNJ 😊!! Growing up, we were all asked before, "What's your favorite subject?" and I would always respond with Mathematics, internally preparing myself for the onslaught of confusion and judgement from my peers for breaking the common pattern of extracurriculars like art, gym--or even lunch. I would constantly find myself examining the lack of motivation surrounding my most favorable subject, and always wondered why that is. Interestingly enough, once I would "translate" the mathematic language to my peers, they seemed to understand it and find a smidge of interest in the topic. As I progressed through my school career, I made it my goal to understand the flaws with the mathematic curriculum that is set for urban communities and getting a deeper understanding as to why the curriculum is formatted in a way that very few seem to understand. Once I graduated high school, I realized that there is a lot that interrupts the true success of these students in urban environments. Ranging from lack of teacher-student connection to the long lasting effects of redlining causing a damper on students' ability in topics like Mathematics. Follow me on my journey as I breakdown the effects the current standard of mathematics has on students in urban communities and how we can incorporate a method that is better suited for their success.

"The math serves the conversation, the conversation doesn't serve the math"

Dan Meyer - TEDTalk

Dan Meyer is a high school math teacher that gave a Ted Talk surrounding the fundamentals of the mathematic curriculum and how it works against the students. Mr. Meyer understands the importance of math for children, but realizes how the world is formulated for people to live in a reality where once presented with a problem, there must be a simple solution.

Before truly understanding the lack of student engagement in math classes in urban areas, one must first understand why math is flawed to begin with and I believe Mr. Meyer truly illustrates the flaws of the mathematic curriculum. He tackles the obstacles of these "pre-installed viruses", as he claims, by reformatting how the question is presented for students and rather than just explaining the concept for students, he formulates it so that he engages hands on with his students. By doing so, the students who were afraid to speak in class began to gain confidence in their ability to challenge themselves, despite the risk of being wrong, he opened the gate of comfortability for them. As a future math educator, these are the foundations in keeping a student engaged in a rigorous course like mathematics, instead of increasing the dislike for the course as time goes on.

Dan Meyer re-introduces the "viruses" and implements methods that seem to be working in keeping students engaged, all while enjoying the course.

Personally, as a math teacher, I am looking to incorporate a safe space for my students so that they can feel like it is okay to get the wrong answer in my classroom. I want them to personally challenge themselves using methods they believe would help them suceed best in my class. Rather than me implementing my methods that work for me, I would use methods that work for them.

Interview: Heather Renaud

Empowering Science and Mathematics Education in Urban Schools

In the book Empowering Science and Mathematics Education in Urban Schools written by Edna Tan, Angela C. Barton, Erin Turner & Maura Y. Gutiérrez, it focuses on the injustices surrounding the seriousness of Math and Science classes. It states, "

Mathematics Achievement Gaps Between Suburban Students and Their Rural and Urban Peers Increase Over Time

This research paper written by Suzanne E. Graham and Lauren E. Provost, dives deep into the differences between urban/rural students with suburban students and their mathematical achievement. In the research paper, it was seen that rural and urban students had a much less "mathematical achievement" than the suburban students. While reading this paper, I understood "mathematical achievement" to be the students ability in mathematics which highlighted how students in urban and rural communities perform less than their suburban peers because of lack of resources, encouragement, and motivation. Using this research paper, I was able to discover how I can incorporate this into my teaching methods in the future by acknowledging that I will be teaching in an urban community that performs less in mathematics than other surrounding areas.

Knowing that, I would put more effort in my students and build their hope for a life outside of their community. Many students in these communities are aware of their performance (especially in a math class) and how unfortunate they are with the limited resources they have. All this has an affect on an urban student's mental health since many believe there is no hope for them outside of their community. By personally being that student before and applying this research paper, I believe I can provide a safe space for students in a math class without the fear of an "authority" demanding things from them.

White Teachers in Urban Classrooms: Embracing Non-White Students’ Cultural Capital For Better Teaching and Learning

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