Michael Emard walked his third period class through the accomplishments of Dr. Daniel G. Martinez:
A son of Mexican immigrants, Martinez was the first in his family to go to college, earned a Ph. D in Mathematics and broke new ground in the field of complex analysis. He not only helped create the course needed to earn a master’s degree in statistics at Cal State University at Long Beach, he also worked with elementary school teachers to implement statistics in their curriculum.
“This is pretty cool, as a teacher myself because, guess what you’re going to be learning this year in math class?” Emard rhetorically asked the class. “Thank you very much, Dr. Martinez, you’re going to tell me what to teach this year, and what you all will learn.”
Far from just a lesson in the history of statistics, though, the presentation on Martinez was the latest in a series Emard created for his sixth-grade math students. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15-Oct. 15, Emard starts each class with a brief presentation celebrating a mathematician of Hispanic descent.
“The hope is for our students to see themselves represented in the field of mathematics through these individuals and their accomplishments,” Emard said.
It’s one of many ways teachers and faculty around the Poughkeepsie City School District are recognizing the month, and many this week are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Week.
Among the highlights, the high school Multicultural Club is spurring activities such as encouraging students to represent their country’s flag on Monday and wear festive colors Thursday, and a Hispanic Heritage Celebration Assembly is scheduled for Friday. The Early Learning Center on Thursday is hosting an event called “Exploring Cultures,” in which members of the school’s community are invited to take part in an evening of Hispanic foods prepared by their families. Krieger Elementary is encouraging students to wear traditional dress from their country on Friday.
Jorge Canales, one of Emard’s third period students, moved to Poughkeepsie from Honduras in 2018.
He said it “inspires him” to hear about individuals who endured hardships in their home countries but persevered.
Canales said he didn’t realize there were so many accomplished mathematicians of Hispanic heritage.
“It’s very fun learning about them,” he said. “I like hearing their stories.
Emard, as he discussed Martinez connected dots from previous presentations over the past four weeks.
“We’re seeing this theme,” he told the students, “of not just knowing the stuff and getting good at it, but becoming a teacher to help others.”
Emard hopes the project may inspire students to enter a STEM field, if it is of interest to them, and perhaps the “students model themselves after these Hispanic heroes.”
