Hafa Adai! First of all, I’d like to say Si Yu’os Ma’ase (thank you) to Don, Neil, Joe, and Sandy (Father of the project) for paving the way for us to start the Project MACIMISE Journey! Without all of them, we wouldn’t be here!
I am married with three beautiful young children, one girl and two boys, ages 16, 15, and 5 respectively. My children are the source of my inspiration to continue to make a difference in whatever capacity I can as a mother, teacher/professor, and servant of the community. I am an ESL Teacher/Coordinator at LBJ Elementary School, where I have taught for nearly 13 years. I am also an Adjunct Professor for the Language and Literacy, TESOL, and Instructional Technology Programs & Department of English and Applied Linguistics at the University of Guam.
My experience with mathematics includes alignment of mathematics curriculum with NCTM standards, SAT-9 standards, and Guam Department of Education content standards, as part of the Language Arts, Reading, Math (LARM) Curriculum Alignment Project for grades
Shifting to my interest with Project MACIMISE, I find the project to be a valuable one that will make an impact on our island, as we explore indigenous mathematics, and eventually increase our students’ mathematics scores. Being a native of Guam, I am excited to further research mathematics our elders and even ancestors used in their everyday living. I have already began interviewing my parents, who are of Chamorro descent. In particular, my father shared his experience in using mathematics with reference to farming, with the number of cows, chickens, feeding, etc. morning and night, before and after school, day in and day out. It was a way of life for him. My mother shared about the use of mathematics in her cooking with my grandma. She mentioned that you had to put just the right amount of ingredients, but the funny thing is that she had no measuring cups, spoons, etc. The way to tell if the cooking was done right was to taste the soup every now and then. It’s quite interesting of how both my mother and grandma had the right amount of ingredients without the use of measuring tools to make the most delicious Chamorro meals!
My long-term professional objectives and participation in Project MACIMISE will prove to be instrumental. I have committed myself to train teachers to understand and become familiar with instructional practices in the area of local mathematical practices and to create relevant mathematics curriculum to be introduced to local schools on Guam.
The following information I’d like to share with you is relative to my expertise with local languages and knowledge of local cultural practices. Among the cultural activities I have participated in are the following: Advocate for preserving Guam’s culture through literature, as I am the Authorizing Official and Project Director for a cultural anthology I co-authored with Lois Taitano Gumataotao titled, Our Native Daughters’ Reflection of Guam and Its People, funded by a Guam Humanities Council and National Endowment for the Humanities grant, as part of the Korasón Organization (GHC 01-20R). I also contributed poems to the cultural photo-documentary entitled, “Legacy of Guam, i Kustrembren Chamoru” by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Manny Crisostomo, 1991.
I am the founder and webmaster of the Guam Poets Club and Micronesian Poets Club. I have provided editorial contributions for the Chamorro Heritage series, Pacific Daily News. I have conducted numerous ESL Awareness workshops. I am also a member and webmaster for the Pacific Islands Bilingual Bicultural Association (PIBBA), as well as an ESL Cadre member and a member of the University of Guam’s Tri-College Team, coordinated by the Micronesian Language Institute and Guam ESL Certification Plus Project.
I served as a steering committee member/instructor for the 26th Annual Pacific Educational Conference (PEC) and 22nd Annual Regional Language Arts Conference (LAC) held in Guam. I also serve as the webmaster for the websites, A World of Languages, Family Literacy in the Pacific, Hafa Adai, and Hello to all around the globe.
I have also reviewed and critiqued PREL status reports, namely Pacific English Language Proficiency Assessment and Ensuring Effective Student Learning in Kindergarten, both funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Pacific Program. I have served as a volunteer for the Storytelling in the Pacific Festival and published an online book review on the Chamorro Word Book.
I have published various cultural poems in the Pacific Daily News blog, and have served as a cadre member for the Guam English Language Proficiency Standards developed to meet the needs of English Language Learners. I have also received numerous awards for my advocacy of language, literacy and education, including the following: Governor’s Art Awards Special Projects Literary Trophy, 1991; Governor’s Art Awards nominee certificates; Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency Certificate of Recognition as an author and poet; Pacific Islands Bilingual Bicultural Association appreciation/presentation certificates; LBJ Elementary School Chamorro Settefikon Agradesimento (Certificate of Appreciation), SETTEFIKON PǺTTEPASION (Certificate of Participation) for the Chamorro Culture Conference, and the following legislative resolutions: 30th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 132-30, 29th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 43, 28th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 106, 26th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 38, 26th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 39, 24th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 2, 21st Guam Legislative Resolution No. 39; 21st Guam Legislative Resolution No. 224; and 20th Guam Legislative Resolution No. 147.
Among the culturally-relevant courses I have taught are the following: ED600: Issues and Philosophies in Culturally Diverse Schools (Distance Education: Saipan Program), Fall 2008; ED640: Language and Literacy Development: Fall 2003, Fall 2006; ED647: Special Topics in Language and Literacy; ED661: Second Language Theory and Development: Fall 2007, Summer 2008; ED668: Teaching Content to Second Language Students, Spring 2006; ED894: Multicultural Approaches in Language Arts Education, Fall 2009;ED894: Preparing the Pacific Child for Life, Summer 2009; ED894: Scaffolding Academic Literacy Skills for Asian-Pacific Islanders at the Post-Secondary Level, Co-Instructor with Dr. Catherine Stoicovy; and ED894: Invigorating Languages and Cultures of the Pacific; Summer 2009.
I think I better stop here, as my Project MACIMISE journey description is beginning to sound more like a resume. In any event, it is always important to employ “best practices” during instruction, in order to impact student learning. I feel that all students deserve quality instruction and must be provided with the support they need in order to excel in mathematics and other academic areas. By ensuring this is provided, we will ultimately provide our students with the “best practices” of instructional strategies that can truly make a difference!
As I mentioned in my statement of objectives, it is my hope that the panel will consider my experience in education, expertise with local languages, knowledge of local cultural practices, ability to collaborate professionally with local people, my long-term professional objectives, goals, relating to Project MACIMISE, and my sincere desire to strengthen the GDOE mathematics curriculum, and grant me the opportunity to become a Ph.D. student as part of the Project MACIMISE. I have no doubt that the team of Project MACIMISE will be rewarded with work well done. Un Dangkulo Na Si Yu’os Ma’ase’ (Thank you very much)!
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