Blue Glasses Math

Honest conversations about the messy, emotional side of learning and teaching math. You will learn how to navigate the complex interactions that show up in math classes, understand the impact of beliefs and emotions on student engagement, and discover strategies to foster a classroom where every student sees themselves as a math person.

Blue Glasses Math is a education podcast hosted by Pamela Brett, with 74 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Pamela Brett hosts Blue Glasses Math, a education show with 74 episodes published.

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  Blue Glasses Math

  078 | What Times What: Rebuilding Math Confidence One Fact at a Time with Chris Roberts | September 30, 2026

  Sep 30, 202643 min

  Short description: A tenth grade algebra classroom, a stack of blank stares, and the free tool one teacher built when he couldn't wait for a fix to arrive. Full description: Chris Roberts spent thirty years in IT before a year teaching remedial algebra changed the direction of his work. When he kept meeting students who had never automated their multiplication facts, he built What Times What, a free browser based math fact fluency game, drawing on his own background in music education and software development. In this conversation, Chris and Pam talk about automaticity, cognitive load, multimodal learning, and what it looks like to build a tool for students instead of waiting for one to arrive. Key takeaways: Automaticity with math facts isn't a nice to have, it's what frees up the mental space for higher order algebraic thinking A gap in fact fluency is a design problem, not a reflection of student ability Multimodal learning, hearing, seeing, and doing, builds understanding that sticks longer than any single mode alone Free, accessible tools can close a gap that a curriculum adoption cycle can't move fast enough to fix Notable quotes: "If I don't need to stop down and do a factor tree for every number, I can get to the higher order thinking." "They just didn't know their multiplication facts, their times tables, the same way I knew them growing up." Guest bio: Chris Roberts is the Founder of the Classical Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building free, competitive math fluency tools for K-12 students. He holds a master's degree in mathematics education, spent years directing award-winning Texas bands, authored How to Make First Chair, and brings more than 30 years of software development experience to the classroom problem he couldn't stop thinking about. Connect with Chris Roberts: insta: https://www.instagram.com/whattimeswhat linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clr550/ website: https://whattimeswhat.com website: https://classicmathgames.com website: https://classical-education.org facebook: https://facebook.com/whattimeswhat tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whattimeswhat youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@classicaleducationfoundation book: https://howtomakefirstchair.com Coming soon to Amazon: Math Education in the Age of AI, What Music Education Solves That Math Education Forgot. Join the waitlist at classical-education.org. Connect with Dr. Pam Brett: insta: https://www.instagram.com/blueglassesmath/ bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pambrett.bsky.social linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-brett-23b56675/ website: https://www.blueglassesmath.org/ Subscribe to Pam's newsletter! https://shorturl.at/OTTwo

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  Blue Glasses Math

  077 | Integrity Over Fidelity: Let’s stop pretending there is only one way to get there with Cheryl Fricchione | September 23, 2026

  Sep 23, 202647 min

  Cheryl Fricchione, past president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey, joins Pam to talk about what actually changes math teaching. Standards as a North Star, listening to what kids really say, and why a correct answer can hide broken reasoning. Full episode description: Cheryl Fricchione is a K-12 math consultant, a former middle school teacher and elementary math coach, past president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey, and the founder of Coaching That Counts. Her math story starts in Jersey City, with a dad who was so good with numbers he hand calculated her high school GPA on a memo pad to check the computer's work, and a game they played on the bus that she always got wrong the same way. It moves through a high school teacher who told her that if her method was mathematically sound and she could justify it, she never had to fit in a box. And it turns at the moment she was teaching middle school, color coding everything, telling clever stories about twins, and quietly realizing none of it was doing the work she thought it was. In this conversation, Cheryl and Pam get into the practical heart of math professional learning. Why standards function as a North Star and what goes sideways when we teach without them. Why Cheryl runs a base five place value activity with adults, because a first grade teacher cannot feel in base ten what a six year old feels. How the choice between Unifix cubes and base ten blocks quietly determines whether a second grader is ready to regroup. Why she calls on the students who did not raise their hands, and how she knows who to call on. They also talk about brave spaces instead of safe ones, the difference between integrity and fidelity in curriculum, the gaps in elementary teacher preparation, and what gives Cheryl hope right now in math education. Key takeaways: Standards work as a North Star. Without them, we spend time on the wrong things or teach strategies that do not belong at that grade level. Integrity over fidelity: know the standard, the learning goal, and the big idea, then make choices based on the students in front of you. A correct answer can sit on top of incorrect reasoning, and we usually only find out later when the answer finally breaks. Every manipulative reveals something and hides something. Unifix cubes support first grade subtraction and work against second grade regrouping. Adults need to feel the confusion to teach through it. Base five breaks the curse of knowledge for teachers who find base ten obvious. Getting teachers physically out of their building changes what they are willing to say and think. Brave space over safe space. Teachers came for growth, not for comfort. Guest bio: Coach Cheryl is a K–12 math consultant, former middle school teacher and elementary math coach, and a past president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey. Through Coaching that Counts, she partners with schools and districts nationwide to bring clarity, confidence, and coherence to math instruction, while remaining deeply committed to strengthening mathematics education in her home state of New Jersey. She is passionate about helping teachers create classrooms where students think, reason, and truly understand mathematics—not simply memorize procedures. Connect with Cheryl Fricchione: insta: @MathCoachCheryl linkedin: @CoachingthatCounts website: www.mathcoachingthatcounts.com Workshops: https://www.mathcoachingthatcounts.com/workshops Cohorts: https://www.mathcoachingthatcounts.com/cohorts Summits: https://www.mathcoachingthatcounts.com/summits Store: https://www.mathcoachingthatcounts.com/category/all-products Connect with Dr. Pam Brett: insta: https://www.instagram.com/blueglassesmath/ bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pambrett.bsky.social linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-brett-23b56675/ website: https://www.blueglassesmath.org/ Subscribe to Pam's newsletter! https://shorturl.at/OTTwo

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  Episode #76

  076 | Boredom Is Where Deep Thinking Starts | Dwight S. Williams | September 16, 2026

  Sep 16, 202636 min

  Dwight S. Williams learned math on license plates because he was bored. He makes the case that boredom is what deep thinking needs, and that our classrooms may have engineered it away. Full description: Dwight S. Williams is a math instructional leadership coach who helps schools move from compliance driven learning to cognition driven learning. His own math story starts in the back seat of his parents' car in Trinidad and Tobago, pulling relationships out of license plate numbers because there was nothing else to do. Pam and Dwight talk about the quiet our students no longer get, the anchor charts and color and texture we fill our rooms with, and whether all of it is sitting in the space where student thinking would have gone. They get into why building understanding is what actually produces speed, what a shared vision for math instruction requires before anything else can happen, and the students who taught Dwight that a correct answer and deep understanding are not the same thing. Dwight also shares the story behind his 3-1-4 Newsletter, named for his Pi Day birthday, and what gives him hope in math education right now. Key takeaways: Boredom lets the mind wander, and a wandering mind is where curiosity and deep thinking begin. Our classroom environments are a design decision. Visual saturation can crowd out the reflective space students need. Understanding produces speed. Number sense and flexibility come first, and automaticity follows. Efficiency is the goal worth naming, more than speed. A shared vision for math instruction starts with the current reality and with defining the student experience: what students should be thinking, saying, producing, and who carries the cognitive load. Correct answers and deep understanding are separate things, in both directions. The PLC is a hidden lever. Fifteen minutes in another teacher's room, in any subject, moves practice. Video works when live observation is not possible. Notable quotes: "Boredom takes us to a place where our minds get curious and wander. So I think boredom is something that is actually needed for deep thinking." "If we build the understanding the speed catches up." "A correct answer doesn't always necessarily mean deep understanding. And on the flip side, a non traditional approach doesn't always mean lack of understanding." About Dwight S. Williams: Dwight S. Williams is a math instructional leadership coach and consultant who helps school and district leaders strengthen math instruction through coaching, curriculum implementation, and leadership systems. His work focuses on moving classrooms from compliance driven learning to cognition driven learning so students build confidence, identity, and achievement in mathematics. Through coaching, professional learning, and systems leadership, he helps educators create classrooms where student thinking does the heavy lifting. Connect with Dwight S. Williams: linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwightswill The 3.1.4 Newsletter: subscribe via the link on Dwight's LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-3-1-4-newsletter/posts/?feedView=all Connect with Dr. Pam Brett: insta: https://www.instagram.com/blueglassesmath/ bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pambrett.bsky.social linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-brett-23b56675/ website: https://www.blueglassesmath.org/ Subscribe to Pam's newsletter! https://shorturl.at/OTTwo

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  Blue Glasses Math

  075 | Get Out of Their Way: Rescuing Less, Leading More with Vince Galea | September 9, 2026

  Sep 9, 202656 min

  Pam sits down with Vince Galea, "The Friendly Principal," a K-8 principal in Ontario, Canada, whose leadership content has grown to over 14,000 followers in under a year. They talk about why rescuing people out of love still robs them of the chance to grow, and what it really takes to lead with both accountability and heart. Full episode description: Vince Galea is a K-8 principal in a large urban district in Ontario, Canada, known online as "The Friendly Principal." What started as a way to share a positive voice in education leadership grew from 5,000 to over 14,000 Instagram followers in less than a year. In this conversation, Vince and Pam dig into his "hills he'll die on" as a school leader: relationships over programs, clarity as kindness, and the idea that culture is built in the hallway, not the staff meeting. Vince shares his own math story, including a moment early in his teaching career when two students told him, mid-lesson, that he'd taught it wrong, and how that moment of trust shaped the leader he became. The conversation turns to a harder truth: that rescuing someone out of love, whether it's a student, a staff member, or your own child, can still rob them of the chance to solve problems on their own. Vince and Pam talk through toxic positivity versus genuine optimism, staying regulated instead of reactive, and what gives Vince hope in education leadership today. Key takeaways: Rescuing someone out of love can still rob them of the chance to learn to problem-solve on their own. The greatest act of leadership love can be standing off to the side and holding space, not jumping in with the answer. Culture is built in the hallway before the bell, not in staff meetings. Toxic positivity means ignoring real problems. Genuine optimism means acknowledging them and choosing to keep going anyway. Being proactive almost always costs less time than being reactive later. Energy is contagious: what a leader brings into the building spreads, for better or worse. Notable quotes: "You don't build culture in staff meetings. You build it in the hallway before the bell, in the small moments that nobody claps for." "When I jump in too quickly to rescue, I am robbing them of the opportunity to be able to learn how to problem solve on their own." "There's no greater love than being there, standing off in the wings and offering the support you need so you can get there yourself." Guest bio: Vince Galea, known online as The Friendly Principal, is an educator and school leader with nearly two decades of experience in education. He has worked as a classroom teacher, special education teacher, consultant, vice-principal, and principal, along with system-level leadership roles. Vince believes leadership starts with relationships. He is passionate about relational and servant leadership, and about creating school communities where students, staff and families feel known, valued and supported. He believes kindness matters in leadership, not as a soft approach, but as a genuine way of working with and caring for people. Much of Vince's work centres on being student-centred, supporting educators, mentoring future leaders and building strong school communities. He is particularly interested in the everyday things leaders can do to create trust, strengthen relationships and help the people around them grow. Through The Friendly Principal, Vince shares practical, honest reflections on school leadership, education, relationships, mentorship and the people who make schools great. Connect with Vince Galea: insta: https://www.instagram.com/thefriendlyprincipal/ tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thefriendlyprincipal Connect with Dr. Pam Brett: insta: https://www.instagram.com/blueglassesmath/ bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pambrett.bsky.social linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-brett-23b56675/ website: https://www.blueglassesmath.org/ Subscribe to Pam's newsletter! https://shorturl.at/OTTwo

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  Blue Glasses Math

  074 | Why We Rescue Students From Struggle (And What It Costs Them) | September 2, 2026

  Sep 2, 202634 min

  Welcome back to Blue Glasses Math for the 2026-2027 school year. Pam kicks off the new season solo, reflecting on the summer's most-discussed social post and the classroom story that inspired it. Early in her career, Pam walked into a new school, a new grade level, and a stack of shrink-wrapped "shiny red textbooks" she was expected to teach from. When her students disengaged and colleagues told her she'd inherited "the worst group ever," Pam started to believe it, until a single question from her grad school professor, "If you don't believe in them, who will?", sent her back to the classroom to shelve the textbooks and start teaching from belief instead of a script. The shift wasn't easy. Pam shares the day twenty of her own students staged an intervention in the front office to try to get her fired, and how her principal's response confirmed she was on the right track. She closes with practical moves any teacher can use this year: the questions that build reasoning instead of answer-dependence, the power of quiet presence, and why community of practice matters as much for teachers as it does for students. Key takeaways: Believing in students isn't a feeling: it's a decision that shows up in what you choose to teach and how. Rescuing a struggling student from discomfort is often about ending our discomfort, not helping them. "How do you know? Can you convince me?" moves students from answer-giving to reasoning. Quiet presence ("the standby") can communicate trust louder than words. Community of practice matters for teachers the same way it matters for students: do the math yourself, with others, before asking students to. Administrative backing doesn't make the struggle easier, but it confirms you're on the right track. Your struggle isn't an emergency. It's the work. Notable quotes: "If you don't believe in them, who will?" "The hardest part of teaching math isn't the math. It's sitting still while a kid struggles and not stepping in." "Sounds like Mrs. Brett is doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing. Go have a nice lunch." Resources mentioned: Alison Mello conference (Massachusetts): https://www.getyourworkshopon.com/ Vanessa Vicaria: https://www.themathguru.ca/vanessa Mike Flynn / Friends of Flynn: https://flynneducation.com/ Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC): https://www.buildingthinkingclassrooms.com/ Standards for Mathematical Practice: https://www.thecorestandards.org/Math/Practice/

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