About
OurMathRoots
The creation of Our Math Roots has a story starting 3 years ago. Rebecca, Ben and another colleague at work developed a course called Math Seminar where students considered topics about ethnomathematics, sociology and identity in relation to mathematics. Students loved the course and shared anecdotes about the importance of having representation in mathematics. They called for teachers in our school community to integrate the history of origins of mathematics in the core curricula and created a magazine to share their knowledge with teachers. The magazine can be found here. Rebecca then presented about this course at Math for America and educators expressed a passion for developing this curriculum to be integrated more into the core mathematics. Carol then taught the course alongside Rebecca at her school as they collaborated, shared resources and thought deeply about their students’ experiences together. Rebecca, Carol and Ben then decided to write a grant through Knowles Teacher Initiative to develop Our Math Roots as a way to share resources and build community with other like minded teachers.
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
We would like to thank Knowles Teachers’ Initiative for their funding and support in the creation of Our Math Roots. Their vision for teacher development and larger impact has sustained us, inspired us and provided resources to make our vision come to life. Click here to learn more about Knowles Teachers Initiative.
Our Identites
We (Rebecca, Carol, and Ben) identify as white people. This is never far from our minds as we research, plan, and implement lessons with our students from various backgrounds. We know, as white people, we may have less access to and/or more revisionist versions of the history and origins of mathematics we want to explore with students. We also try carefully not to misrepresent the historical contributions of cultures we are not from. It is for exactly these reasons that in each lesson we plan for the addition of student voices before we bring in any of our own research and ask students to make meaning of timelines and information flow from one culture to another. We also pose discussion questions for students so that they can decide what practices and events were just or unjust in their eyes. Giving students the space to research, form their own ideas about the origins of math, and question the notions they have about who does mathematics, gives them the agency to discover their own mathematical identities.
Rebecca Caporale-Guarino
Rebecca Caporale-Guarino is a New York native and has been teaching mathematics in New York City public schools for 9 years. She graduated in 2015 from University of Delaware with degrees in Secondary Mathematics Education and Women and Gender Studies. She then received her masters degree in Sociology and Education from Teachers College at Columbia. Since becoming a teacher Rebecca has primarily taught Geometry, Algebra 1, Statistics & Injustice and Math Seminar.
Rebecca believes strongly that teaching is an act of service. When starting her teaching career she moved back to New York City with the hopes to serve and give back to her community. Rebecca is proudly born and raised in the city and believes her experiences have given her a critical lens for considering students’ high school experiences in New York. Rebecca is passionate about creating an equitable space for students to feel comfortable to learn mathematics in a fun and interactive way. She believes students learn mathematics best when they can identify as doers of mathematics and see themselves in the curriculum.
When not reading, thinking or talking about teaching you can find Rebecca with her nieces and nephews, running in the park with her dog or playing board games with her family.
Carol Kinney
Carol Kinney has been teaching mathematics in New York City public schools for 20 years. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Human Service Studies and after teaching in Japan furthered her education at the University of Michigan with a doctorate in Social Work and Sociology. Her dissertation, based on 16 months of research at two schools in Tokyo, was “Lower Track High Schools in Japan and the Transition to Work,” comparing Japanese and American education to work pathways. After teaching college and having children, Carol became a mathematics teacher through the New York City Teaching Fellows.
Carol is passionate about including all students and making math accessible, yet fully challenging, to all. As a white cis-gender woman mostly teaching students of color and/or immigrant students and wanting to be open to all gender identities, she is continually learning how to reach out to more students effectively. When she started working with Rebecca through a Knowles mentorship opportunity through Math for America, the conversations about connecting to students and pushing students to higher mathematics were profound. When Rebecca began her math seminar on the non-European History of Mathematics, Carol immediately began incorporating the materials into her classroom and followed up by teaching a similar seminar. Now, thanks again to Knowles Foundation, we are all working together to create a website, extensive classroom materials, and even more ways of including all students in mathematics learning.
When not teaching you can find Carol out enjoying nature and visiting family in Ohio and upstate New York.
Ben Rubenstein
Ben Rubenstein has been a mathematics teacher in New York City Public Schools for 17 years and an assistant principal in them for 5 years. He graduated from Bard College with a B. A. and M. A. T. in mathematics. He got his administrative license through the NYC L.E.A.P program. Ben is passionate about helping students see themselves as doers and thinkers of mathematics. He believes that students learn math best when they have ample time to play and experiment. When not working, Ben enjoys dancing, playing chess, learning Czech, and having fun with his partner and two young children.