The Unexpected Advocate: Tackling Inequity One Equation at a Time!

Striking a Challenging Yet Essential Balance! The importance of student voice in mathematics is clear—engaging students in sharing their work and reasoning fosters understanding and builds confidence. However, implementing this effectively is far from simple, especially in classrooms serving high-poverty, Hispanic-majority populations where students often face language barriers and a distorted sense of their STEM identity. The Language Barrier and Academic Literacy Research shows that becoming academically proficient in a second language takes 5–7 years on average, longer if students begin schooling in their heritage language and transition later. Many of my students start high school still developing this proficiency, which significantly shapes how they perceive their abilities in core subjects, including STEM. The Disconnect Between Perception and Performance Through my work with WA-STELLAR at Central Washington University, I’ve seen how this plays out in math. Despite outperforming ...