Teaching Math, Teaching Equity: A Conversation With José Vilson

When it comes to walking the talk of equity in education, it's hard to find a better example than José Vilson. He's a math teacher and coach; a speaker, activist, and author; and the executive director of EduColor. Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, sits down with José for a lively discussion about mathematics as a key to social justice; the stories that people need to tell, hear, and read; and what's possible in education when everyone's humanity counts.

"I Am Going To Become Who I Actually Am."

José's multicultural upbringing on Manhattan's Lower East Side, along with his undergraduate work in computer science at Syracuse University, shaped his interest in servant leadership for students who didn't share his advantages. He recalls thinking:

"If I'm going to affect high school dropout rates, then I need to go back and catch them in the middle grades so that they can have a strong foundation in math. Social justice is mathematics for me, and it is education for me, because I knew how important it was for students to get opportunities."

Quote from Jose Vilson: "Social justice is mathematics for me, and it is education for me, because I knew how important it was for students to get opportunities."

Years of teaching math, blogging, and thought leadership about education, and browsing for the book that still hadn't been published led José to write This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class and Education.

"This is written for educators, but it's also written for the general public to get a lens of what educators can and should do with their voice. If I interject a bit of who I am and why I do what I do, then maybe other people can follow that path."

Difficult Conversations Are Often Important Conversations

José believes that building classroom relationships starts with being authentic toward students as people and, as he puts it, "bringing my lived experience into the things that I'm doing." When kids are upset about real-world events, he can see it in their faces:

"There were some days where we literally went half the class just talking about the thing. They weren't trying to intentionally get away from the work. It was more like this was a tension, and no one else was going to name it except for the person they feel like they trusted the most, and that was me."

With so many other educators sharing similar experiences, the logical next step was the EduColor movement, a forum for difficult conversations that no other education communities were having at the time. José describes the framework:

"It's being able to say, 'Let's name the pain, let's name who's affected, let's talk about the messaging, and then how are we going to have conversations with the key stakeholders, especially the folks who are most affected, and then try to build out from there?'"

As more communities begin to explore cultural pain points, EduColor may have been critical to that evolution.

Make The Most Of Everyone's Linguistic Gifts

Growing up in a bilingual family and studying the language of mathematics through the lens of computer science, José is attuned to the challenges and opportunities facing English-language learners in New York City, where he lives and teaches. From this perspective, he gladly offers some advice to EdTech companies:

"EdTech can be helpful in trying to ensure that teachers can actually tap into students' languages because, as we know from the research, if we can actually teach students in their home language the math that they need, then they'll be able to pick it up in English pretty quickly once they get strong at that mathematical component."

Going beyond language, José also sees EdTech as an easy way to address students with disabilities or who are "quasi-abled." He adds:

"That spectrum is worth discussing, because it helps everybody get acclimated to what's happening, and the more tools, the better for everybody."

Here's the full transcript of José’s podcast episode.


Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

All Things EduColor

  • EduColor, José serves as executive director of this nationwide movement, launched in 2014 to mobilize advocates around issues of educational equity, agency, and justice

  • EduColor Summit, an annual event of sharing and learning now open to the public

  • Connect with EduColor: Twitter | Instagram

Organizations

Books and TV

All Things José


Elana Leoni, Host

Elana Leoni has dedicated the majority of her career to improving K-12 education. Prior to founding LCG, she spent eight years leading the marketing and community strategy for the George Lucas Educational Foundation where she grew Edutopia’s social media presence exponentially to reach over 20 million education change-makers every month.

José Vilson, Guest
José Luis Vilson is a veteran educator, writer, speaker, and activist in New York City, NY. He is the author of This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education. He has spoken about education, math, and race for a number of organizations and publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, TED, El Diario/La Prensa, and The Atlantic. José is a National Board Certified Teacher, a Math for America Master Teacher, and the executive director of EduColor, an organization dedicated to race and social justice issues in education. He is currently a doctoral student in sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is now on the board of directors for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and PowerMyLearning.


About All Things Marketing and Education

What if marketing was judged solely by the level of value it brings to its audience? Welcome to All Things Marketing and Education, a podcast that lives at the intersection of marketing and you guessed it, education. Each week, Elana Leoni, CEO of Leoni Consulting Group, highlights innovative social media marketing, community-building, and content marketing strategies that can significantly increase reach, relationships, and revenue.


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