Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: "Math 201: Mathematics, Education, and Access to Power" is a seminar course with a significant community-based learning component taught every semester in the Mathematics Department of Occidental College. Students include, but are not limited to, prospective teachers. The course was created jointly by mathematics faculty at Occidental and at nearby Franklin High School, in Highland Park -- an economically-disadvantaged predominantly Latino community in Northeast Los Angeles with a high percentage of English-language learners and a low rate of mathematical achievement. In addition to describing this course, we highlight the application of community-organizing principles in creating, teaching, and further developing this course. It also places the course and its effects within the context of a broader effort to change the culture of education in Northeast Los Angeles through a community-organizing approach that emphasizes long-term relationships and reciprocity.