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Waking up at the start of Day 2 of CMC – South 2021 and my mind is abuzz with so many great ideas I learned yesterday. I need to write some things down. I was first so excited/overwhelmed just to finally be in person with wonderful math teacher people again. It was emotional for me. […]

Waking up at the start of Day 2 of CMC - South 2021 and my mind is abuzz with so many great ideas I learned yesterday. I need to write some things down. I was first so excited/overwhelmed just to finally be in person with wonderful math teacher people again. It was emotional for me. I loved it! Some sessions that stick out right now:

1) Mike Flynn's session on being a teacher and advocate really stands out the most. I think a lot about the current political climate we are in and all the school board meetings in the news right now with lots of aggressive and angry speakers. How can we, as teachers, be effective advocates for our students, our curriculum, etc?

Mike talked about the roles in advocacy (Agitator, Innovator, Orchestrator) and how each one is important. He stressed how we need to have a team (an advocacy team) that works together. The superhero mentality (one person making all the difference) does not lead to change. He also talked about the mix of advocacy and inquiry. There need to be times that advocates listen, observe, ask questions. We need to hear what people are thinking and build relationship (just like in our classrooms!).

2) Dr. Cathery Yeh gave a talk titled "Mathematics as a Human Right," which immediately drew me in. Early on, she had a slide that said "All students should have access to rigorous mathematical learning that respects and honors their identities and ways of knowing." Boom.

On top of that, one big take away was that Dr. Yeh asks students:

• What are your access needs?
• What supports your learning?

Then she asked us to take time and write or discuss with a neighbor about our access needs (us adults!). I really struggled with this, as my table talked about, because I don't think anyone had ever asked me this. In the American culture of "power through" and "figure it out" for yourself, I've never been asked or took the time to think about what my access needs are for various things. It lead to a great discussion with the teachers I was chatting with!