Speaker: Cristina Méndez
Learn about Maya Mam language, culture, and migration to improve teaching and learning.
Bay Area cities are home to a large Maya Mam-speaking community. This presentation, which is designed for administrators and teachers across disciplines, will provide background knowledge and resources to help educators better support Mam-speaking students and their families. Specifically, educators will learn about the standardized alphabet of the Mam language, its phonemes, its relationship to other languages, and the sociocultural context of literacy and education in the Mam language in Guatemala. Teachers will also be introduced to culturally salient practices and the history of migration of the Mam community to the United States.
If you are interested in a version of this presentation for students, please feel free to submit a request and the speaker may be able to accommodate your needs.
About the Speaker
Cristina S. Méndez (she/ella) is a Chicana educator, scholar, and poet born and raised in the East Bay, California. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley School of Education and a member of the interdisciplinary designated emphasis program in Indigenous Language Revitalization. Formerly, Cristina was an elementary school teacher and worked as an aide in preschools in California’s Central Valley and Bay Area regions. She received her B.A. in Rhetoric with honors and a minor in Education from UC Berkeley. She received her M.A. in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University.
Suggested Audiences
Age: k-12 and community college faculty and administrators; 8th - 12th grade and community college students upon special request
Preparation: Speaker may request that faculty complete a survey ahead of the presentation in order to appropriately tailor information from the presentation.
Courses: faculty and administrator professional learning