Hosts Theodore Chao and Shari Kaku chat with Dr. Cindy Jong, Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Kentucky. Cindy, who identifies as both Thai and Guatemalan. Cindy opens up about her experiences growing up biracial and how it shaped her journey in mathematics. She reflects on the challenges and joys of navigating Asian American identity in math spaces, where stereotypes played a large role. Cindy’s stories touch on her love of problem-solving and how food, like the Thai dish Kaumangai (chicken and rice), connects her to her cultural roots.

This episode also dives into Cindy’s recent work, including an article co-authored with Jonathan Thomas and Molly Fisher, titled Being Mindful in the Mathematical Moment. Plus, Cindy shares a new project she's part of, The College Mathematics Beliefs and Belonging Survey, aimed at understanding college students' experiences in math.

This episode is packed with stories about math, identity, and of course, food! Don’t forget to check out the links to Cindy’s latest work in the show notes.

Welcome to Episode 2 of the new season of the TODOS podcast. This episode features high school teacher, Michelle Lo, who is also the head of member services at TODOS. In this episode, hosts Theodore Chao and Shari Kaku talk to Michelle about her journey as a math teacher and her experiences as a second-generation Taiwanese American. Michelle shares about how her early life, identity, and education shaped her passion for teaching math today. And, she reflects on how her childhood experiences, such as learning mathematics with her mother at home and navigating the pressures of academic success as an Asian American, connect with her challenges in navigating the the model minority myth.

Michelle also discusses her teaching philosophy, which focuses on deconstructing stereotypes and oppressive systems in the classroom, fostering student-centered learning, and encouraging students to embrace mistakes as part of the learning process. Throughout the episode, Michelle emphasizes the importance of finding community and solidarity among educators, especially those from marginalized backgrounds.

This conversation highlights Michelle's commitment to resisting traditional pedagogical norms and building cross-racial and cross-socioeconomic solidarity through her teaching. Michelle shares about the impact of several communities to her growth as a mathematics teacher: The TODOS: Mathematics for ALL community, the miseducAsian twitter collective, and other organizing spaces for Asian American educators. The conversation concludes with a call to fellow educators to "be loud" and find their community to support their work toward equity and justice in education.

The TODOS Podcast is back! Join us for a fresh new season with new hosts, Theodore Chao and Shari Kaku, as we dive into issues of equity in mathematics education through the lens of Asian American identity. In Episode 1, we chat with Naehee Kwun about her work as a social justice-oriented mathematics educator and one of the founders of the Teaching for Justice conference. Naehee also shares about her identity as a first-generation Korean American mathematics educator and the way she used Resistance Capital in her own mathematics journey. Learn more about Naehee's work at MathingForEquity.org.

We are so happy to finally have this episode out and in your ears, public! Back at the end of November Maria had a lovely conversation with 3 of the 4 authors of the book Teaching Math to Multilingual Students: Positioning Students for Success by Kathryn Chval, Erin Smith, Lina Trigos-Carillo, and Rachel Pinnow. Kathryn, Erin, and Lina, along with elementary school teacher Rachel Kahn, joined in the conversation, about what "positioning" has to do with teaching mathematics to multilingual students, and a whole lot more! 

This episode we are joined by Jon Oaks, Mathematics Professor at Macomb Community College, TODOS webmaster, and all-around renaissance man. You think I'm kidding, but you should see his website! We talk about the statement that TODOS released earlier this year on the need to make mathematics classrooms, and all classrooms really, safe, supportive, and vibrant spaces for LGBTQIA+ people. Jon was the lead author of the paper. He shares insights and highlights resources for us. 

find the statement on the TODOS website: https://www.todos-math.org/assets/images/TODOS%20LGBTQ%2B%20Statement.pdf 

And learn more about our incredible colleague and friend: https://jonoaks.com/ 

We kick off season 3 with the authors of the recently published Choosing to See: A Framework for Equity in the Math Classroom. Pam and Kyndall share their mathematics stories with us, tell us about the book, highlights aspects of the equity framework, and in general share their accumulated wisdom.

Check out the book on Pam's website: https://www.sedaeducationalconsulting.com/product-page/choosing-to-see-book

And if you are on Facebook, join the Choosing to See Math Equity group for discussions on equity in math classrooms.

Pam and Kyndall will be on TODOS Live! Oct 27 -- register at the TODOS Live! site