Host Ana Torres is joined by Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., dean and distinguished professor of education at USC Rossier School of Education, one of the national's leading scholars on inequality and public policy in education. Together, they explore how to create a student-centered classroom in which every learner is encouraged to bring their full selves. Pedro then breaks down how to build authentic relationships with students, co-create classroom norms, and foster a culture in which mistakes are part of learning. He also shares powerful advice for supporting multilingual/English learners. Classroom Insider Eric Cross then joins Ana to reinforce why building relationships with students is every educator's professional responsibility.

Show notes:

• Learn more about Pedro Noguera, Ph.D.
• Connect with Pedro Noguera.
• Take your learning further with these episodes:
  • The science behind a joyful classroom, starring Tracey Severns, Ed.D.
  • Learning alongside your multilingual learners, starring Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, Ed.D.
• Give your multilingual/English learners the strongest writing instruction with these free ebooks.
• Follow us on Instagram.
• Subscribe to Beyond My Years.
• Connect with Ana Torres.
• Connect with Eric Cross.

Quotes:

"It's less about control; it's more about relationships. And if you build a good, positive relationship, then kids will listen." —Pedro Noguera

"The hardest thing to teach a teacher is how to build relationships with kids." —Pedro Noguera

"The real teaching is not in grading; it's in feedback." —Pedro Noguera

"As educators, we're more than just the content that we teach." —Ana Torres

"The most important teaching often happens after the first attempt." —Eric Cross

"When we give feedback early and often, it improves learning." —Eric Cross

Beyond My Years host Ana Torres and Classroom Insider Eric Cross give you the first look at Season 3, launching July 22, 2026. This trailer highlights what's coming this season, including roundtable conversations with educators from across the country and candid conversations with Amplify's own experts in literacy and math. Season 3 focuses on the art and science of great teaching, drawing the knowledge of researchers and educators, including Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., Miguel Cardona, Ed.D., and Dan Meyer, Ph.D. We'll dig into topics from building relationships with students and teaching strategies for reaching every learner to student engagement in the math classroom, and more!

In the second part of our special Beyond My Years two-part math series, Ana is joined by Ian Brown, second-grade teacher at Mukilteo School District in Washington and author of the comic book I Hate Math, for a conversation focused on reducing math anxiety and creating positive math experiences. Ian shares his approach to helping students who genuinely dislike math, describing how he helps them get to a place where math success feels manageable and achievable. Together, Ian and Ana explore the power of honoring students' real feelings; creating classroom environments where mistakes don't carry shame; and using storytelling, humor, and metaphors to make abstract concepts concrete. Finally, Ana is joined by Classroom Insider Eric Cross to discuss making math feel safe, ways to give students both story and stage, and how the foundational work of differentiation and meeting students where they are is critical to the work of educators.

Show notes:

• Read I Hate Math by Ian Brown.
• Subscribe to Advice for the Math Classroom on Amplify’s YouTube channel: amplify.com/mathclassroomadvice .
• Subscribe to Advice for the Literacy Classroom on Amplify’s YouTube channel: amplify.com/literacyclassroomadvice.
• Follow us on Instagram.
• Subscribe to Beyond My Years.
• Connect with Ana Torres.
• Connect with Eric Cross.

Quotes:

"You can't force someone to love something or to like something. But you can kind of talk them into not hating something." —Ian Brown

"I hate shaming children. I hate shaming anyone. I think shame is the most insidious thing in the world." —Ian Brown

"Math is just a description of the world around us. We live in the world, we can do it." —Ian Brown

"I don't attach any value to success or failure. I only attach value to hard work and kindness." —Ian Brown

"It's gonna be a grind. We're gonna be here for 180 some days. Well, let's have fun doing it." —Ian Brown

"You have to feel your feelings so you can think your thoughts." —Eric Cross

"The boring work is the real work." —Eric Cross

"You need both culture and rigor. If you have culture without rigor, then learning is hollow. If you have rigor without culture, that's what made students hate the subject." —Eric Cross