Kendra Asher TE 801 p1p2a

A spot light on students at John Smith Elementary

September 2014
This Months Theme is
MATH!!
Why These Students?
These two students were
selected because they are
different than my gender,
race, language, family
structure
and
socioeconomic status. I identify
myself as female and
through discussing math
with Oscar, I gained insight
into how males view and
experience
math.
His
experiences with math are
going to be different than
mine as a result of our
gender differences. Both
Oscar and Maria are
Hispanic although their
ancestry is from two
different countries. I am
white and have European
ancestry. Joyce E. King
asserted that new teachers
exhibit
a
dysconcious
racism in which they do not
challenge the social order
white dominance (1991).
King also claims that the
only why to help change
our culture of inequality is
to think about race in our
classrooms (1991). I choose

Abilities, Competencies, Skills

Oscar
Shares his opinion, asks questions to
clarify his understanding, competent in
making estimates, proficient at basic
multiplication facts, can interpret and
apply table data
Maria
Stays on task, able to add and subtract
numbers to the ten thousands place,
competent in cursive writing, engaged
in learning, correctly utilizes greater
than and less than signs
New Insights
Oscar and Maria have lived in other countries
Maria is Catholic but does not have communion
Oscar is stylish
Locations for Math: Lugnuts Stadium, ZapZone
Family and Community Based Knowledge
Oscar and Maria have visited many places in the community.
Maria frequents a park and Hawk Island. She liked to climb the
rocks there. She goes to the store with her mom and to
restaurants such as World Buffet. Oscar goes to the mall and
likes to shop at Dunhams
these students because I and Champs. These athletic
want to work towards stores directly relate to the
soccer fields he visits often.
acknowledging race so Maria and Oscar mentioned
selecting these two helped visiting the Lug Nuts
me work towards this goal. Stadium and Zap Zone.
Oscar and Maria both These locations provide
speak Spanish but I am not personal and meaningful
for math tasks
sure of their fluency. I do opportunities
(Civil & Khan, 2011).

know some Spanish but it

is minimal at best.

Maria Green
Gender: Female
Race: Hispanic
Age: 10
Hometown: Lansing Michigan
Places Lived: Mexico

Family
Grandma

Sister

Mom

Nephew

Dad

My Views- Places I See or

Use Math

Education: 5th grade

STEAM Magnet
School
Languages: I can
speak Spanish and
English
Occupation: My mom
is the sole provider
as my dad works in
Mexico

Interests:
Playing on Tablet, trampoline, ride bike,
feed the gopher, watch TV, Minecraft,
Places:
Hawk Island, Lugnuts Stadium, World
Buffet, Zap Zone, Alma, Kroger

When grocery shopping for

change, measuring to make cakes, when Mom bought a car, taxes, when out
to eat when Mom and Sister split bill

Oscar Lopez
Gender: Male
Race: Cuban
Age: 10
Hometown: Lansing Michigan
Places Lived: Cuba

Family
Dad

Mom

Sister

Brother

Dogs

My Views- Places I See or

Use Math

Education: 5th grade

STEAM Magnet
School
Languages: I can
speak Spanish and
English
Occupation:

Interests:
FIFA and Call of Duty on Xbox, Soccer,
Day Dream, Trampoline, Football
Places:
ZapZone, Lugnuts Stadium, Practice
Field, Mall, Skate Park

When playing soccer to

calculate curve of kick and keep track of points, buying things at the mall,
and Presidents and the government use it to help people and make buildings

Bibliography
Civil, M., & Khan, L. H. (2001). Mathematics Instruction Developed from a Garden Theme. Teaching
Children Mathematics , 400-5.
King, J. E. (1991). Dysconscious Racism: Ideology, Identity, and the Miseducation of Teachers. The
Journal of Negro Education, , 60, 133-46.