My Students and the Super’s Data
Julius Cervantes & Hugo Sanchez
From the Superintendent to a Super Internship
Every year, the superintendent at my former school district would give a "State of the District" address. The speech featured a powerpoint with data about how the district was making progress towards its goals.
After learning about misleading graphs in their first semester of AP Stats, my students Julius Cervantes and Hugo Sanchez noticed that some of the visuals in the powerpoint might be misleading. They spent a weekend writing a report on the graphs, arguing that they distorted the district’s success. They then sent this report to several district leaders.
Gulp. My students sometimes make me very nervous...
Thankfully, to their immense credit (really - it was very big of them to respond in this way), district leaders took the report in stride. Instead of taking offense, they arranged a time to sit and meet with Julius and Hugo. The meeting went well, as they graciously discussed norms for data graphics in their reports.
Even better: That summer, Julius and Hugo became the district's first-ever data science summer interns. It was an amazing opportunity, and Harvard's Strategic Data Project even wrote up a blog post about their experience.
Now, Hugo is studying mathematics at Trinity University. Julius is studying finance and data science at UT San Antonio - and he's the first in his family to attend college.
The power of genuinely relevant math is that it situates the concepts we teach in authentic, real-world settings. This not only boosts engagement, but it also positions students to immediately apply their learning in the world. As a result, students leave math class with a more critical eye and a more empowered voice. Then, they teach us much more than we ever taught them. I've already learned so much from these two incredible young men. I can't wait to see - and learn from - what's to come.
Let’s skew it!