Friendswood Independent School District issued the following announcement.
Though students often question why they need to know math, it is important that they do because it is used every day in some way. Friendswood High School Algebra I teachers Karla Mendoza, Jennifer Millner and Ashley Phelan are showing students exactly how to use math in real life situations.
One of their lessons this nine-weeks centered around exploring the rate at which homelessness is changing in the United States from a math perspective. This math lesson quickly turned into a life lesson.
“We want our students to see math beyond the classroom. Our goal has always been to get them to see beyond the equation or number and see that that it is used every day in logic and problem-solving outside of our four walls,” Mendoza said. “One of the big things from this lesson was to breakdown stereotypes about people who are homeless. A lot of times, people believe it is a choice [to be homeless], and this lesson went a lot into the cost of living and how it is going up and how it eventually becomes something people cannot afford.”
Millner agreed.
“When our students think of someone who is homeless, they might just think about the person they see on the side of the road, but not necessarily someone who is living with someone else because they were priced out of their homes, someone living in temporary housing,” Millner said. “It put into perspective that it can be all types of people.”
It was an eye-opening experience for the students, according to Phelan.
“The majority of my kids were oblivious to how real these issues are,” Phelan said. “I explained that there are kids out there who don’t have a pair of shoes to wear while they have 20 pairs. They were surprised and wanted to give back.”
The team of three decided to extend their lesson to include a community service project. They partnered with The Birthday Joy Program, a non-profit organization to throws birthday parties for kids who are homeless, many who have never had a birthday party or even a birthday cake prior to Birthday Joy.
“Because we’re in the holiday season, we thought it would be great to have an extension of the lesson where we give back to the community,” Mendoza said. “Birthday parties can feel like second-nature for so many people because they don’t have to think about not having a party, so to be able to help them see that it is not that way for some kids was really important.”
After learning about the program, the students immediately began to get excited about how they could help.
“Some of my students said they want to actually throw a birthday party for a child,” Millner said. “They want to make connections which makes us excited to see where this could go just from the drive from our students to help.”
Even though this is just the first year the trio has taken on The Birthday Joy Program project, Phelan said she hopes that they are able to continue working with the organization and teaching the homelessness lesson.
“I would love to see it grow from here,” Phelan said. “I want it to become an annual thing that the kids look forward to each year.”
FISD is proud of these incredible teachers and students in their efforts to make a difference in our community. If you would like to get involved, they are collecting toys for all ages, cake mix and icing, themed party supplies (plates, napkins, cups, etc.), plastic table cloths, balloons, candles, birthday wrapping paper, treat bags with candy and small toys, coloring books, crayons and colored pencils, and pillows. Items will be accepted through Friday, Dec. 18. If you would like to donate, please leave the donations at the front desk of Friendswood High School.
Original source can be found here.
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