Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, from a Math-y Point of View

Hispanic Mathematicians?? YES! They DO exist!!

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month - There is a rich presence of Hispanics in Mathematics.

Much like Black History Month in February, the time period between September 15th and October 15th is a month dedicated to celebrating Hispanic heritage from all over the globe. The National Hispanic Heritage Month website describes it as a period of "celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America."

From visual art to poetry and other forms of literature, from sports and music to theater and film, from even law and government to health and medicine, a child of Hispanic descent can easily find public and social evidence that they, Hispanics as a people, are relevant, important, and necessary to the world at large. That child can easily see where they might fit in to create a positive impact or somehow be an agent of change in the global arena.

But what about in STEM? What about in the area of Mathematics?

"There are Hispanic children looking into society and wondering...Is it even possible for a Hispanic child to succeed in math? To excel in math? To maybe even ENJOY math? Is it possible for ME???"

While there are children from all backgrounds and walks of life that struggle in math, research tends to show that "minority" children have the largest academic gaps. There are Hispanic children looking into society and wondering, "Where are the Hispanics in Math? Is it even possible for a Hispanic child to succeed in math? To excel in math? To maybe even ENJOY math? Is it possible for ME???"

Now, don't get me wrong - EVERY child should be explicitly told and consistently reminded that they ARE capable of learning and doing math, regardless of who they do or don't see in society! Their success is NOT dependent on who has or hasn't gone before them. In fact, it's THEIR destiny to pave the way for someone who IS going to come behind them and will only ever see THEM as the front-runner.

However, it can help and it WILL help SOME child, somewhere to see someone, even if just one, that looks like them participate, and dominate, in a field that has seemed so cut off from and fantastical for them.

Hispanics in Math DO exist, and they DOMINATE!!

So, to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month, I thought it important to highlight for my Hispanic students across the globe that we do exist in Mathematics. And I say we because I, myself, am of Hispanic descent, Cuban to be exact, and also a math teacher/tutor. But, I am, of course, not the only one!

Students of Hispanic descent need to be encouraged and supported in the fact that not only CAN they learn AND do math, but they can positively influence the field as well.

Carlos A. LópezLeiva, from Guatemala, is a professor at the University of New Mexico, and an amazing Hispanic mathematician. Read more about his story here.

Or Nora G. Ramirez, a math educator who does and has done SO much in the realm of math and education, you HAVE to read her story here to really get an idea!

But, there's more, WAY more!

In fact, there's a whole website dedicated to showcasing a Hispanic in math every single day, one for each day!

The website is Lathisms.org, Latinxs and Hispanics in Mathematical Sciences.

All a kid, all anybody, has to do is visit the website and scroll through to see the hundreds of amazing Hispanic mathematicians that exist, and then they'll know without a shadow of a doubt that there are Hispanics in Mathematics, and they are participating AND dominating!

So, if you know a Hispanic student, whether or not they struggle with math, encourage them! Let them know that they ARE extremely capable. And then, just to drive the point home, show them the mathematicians on Lathisms to give them a glimpse of who's already out there, and that there's a spot waiting for them to fill. "Sí, se puede!"

Do you know any Hispanics in math, or even STEM as a whole? Join the discussion and share who they are and what they do below!

I hope you found this article useful. If you did, please share - as the Care Bears always said, “Sharing is caring!”

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My name is Christina and I am an online math tutor with over a decade of experience mentoring, teaching and tutoring young people. My goal is to empower students all over the world to succeed by helping them overcome their struggles and anxiety in one of their toughest academic areas, math! If you are interested in 1-1 assistance for yourself or your child, feel free to contact me: www.cmamathtutoring.com/contact-me.

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