I will be starting a series of Math Memoirs from people who have submitted them to me via Social Media, email, and students, former and current, who have given me permission. I have students write their math memoir in my classes to start school so I can get a feel for a student's math identity. Write about your math experience. Start with your first memory learning math (my mom used to play card games like Crazy 8's, Memory, and Rummy with my brother and I) and continue up through today. How did your experiences with math mold how you feel about math and your math abilities to this day?  Here is my math memoir. Stay tuned for others from around the world!

Even if you are not a teacher you probably know that the fundamentals for a good classroom are to develop relationships and to build a safe environment for students to take risks. In the math classroom, students are coming in with loads of math baggage that are both traumas and successes. Getting a student to trust you to take care of them as they try hard and new things and to support them through mistakes is a daunting task. Here are some of the things that I do that help students see themselves as mathematicians in my room (and hopefully out in the real world) as well as trust me to take care of them as they grow as mathematicians. Set your intentions in your introduction and classroom décor. Student Created Einstein Bio Student Created Mary Jackson Poster I want the students to see mathematicians on the walls that are both famous but also diverse so that they can make connections with the people who created the math they will be learning. Often Math is presented as this magical thi...