Some conversations stay with you long after you hit “stop recording.”
My chat with Deborah Peart Crayton is one of those.

This episode of Math Chat is really a conversation about math identity for teachers and the powerful idea that you don’t have to be a mathematician to belong in math. You don’t have to love math, have always been good at math, or even have to feel confident yet.

You just have to be willing to see yourself as a mather.

Meet Deborah Peart Crayton

Deborah is the founder (and queen mather) behind Mathers Gonna Math and the author of Readers Read, Writers Write, Mathers Math, a book that beautifully bridges literacy and mathematics. But what makes Deborah’s work so special isn’t just what she teaches, it’s how she invites people into math without shame, pressure, or pretending.

She believes math belongs to everyone.
And she has the language to prove it.

There Is Nothing “Elementary” About Elementary Math

One of the ideas Deborah names early in our conversation stopped me in my tracks:

There is nothing elementary about elementary education.

Elementary educators are learning architects. We build the foundation. And while that work doesn’t always look flashy, everything else depends on it. Kindergarten counting. First-grade number sense. Understanding what “five” actually means before we rush into equations.

This episode is a reminder that slowing down isn’t lowering expectations… it’s creating access.

What Does It Mean to Be a “Mather”?

This is the heart of the conversation.

Deborah explains why she intentionally uses the word mather instead of mathematician. A mathematician is a specific career. But a mather is simply a person who uses mathematics to make sense of the world.

Just like:

  • Readers read
  • Writers write
  • Mathers math

You can run a waffle truck and be a mather.
Or choreograph dances and be a mather.
You can coach a team, manage a household, negotiate allowance, or plan a road trip and be a mather.

This small language shift changes something big. It gives teachers and students a way to claim math as part of their identity without needing to opt into perfection or passion.

Why Math Identity Matters for Teachers

So many teachers carry quiet stories about math:

  • “I was never good at it.”
  • “I teach everything else well… except math.”
  • “I just open the curriculum and get through it.”

This episode isn’t about fixing teachers.
It’s about reframing belonging.

When teachers begin to see themselves as mathers… not experts, not failures, just participants… it opens the door to curiosity, collaboration, and joy. Deborah talks about how comfort comes before confidence, and how teachers need space to experience math as learners before being asked to teach it differently.

Not more pressure.
Not more pacing.
More humanity.

Bridging What We Love Into Math

One of my favorite parts of this conversation is how naturally Deborah connects math to literacy practices. We already know how to:

  • Build rich experiences around picture books
  • Talk, wonder, and make meaning together
  • Let joy lead learning

The invitation is simple (and powerful):
bring those same beliefs into math.

Put kids on the carpet.
Tell a story.
Talk before calculating.
Play with ideas before formalizing them.

When teachers bring what already lights them up into math, everything shifts.

Why You Should Listen to This Episode

This episode is for you if:

  • You’ve ever felt confident teaching everything except math
  • You believe deeply in student-centered learning but struggle to apply it in math
  • You want language that helps teachers and students see themselves as capable
  • You’re curious about how math identity shapes instruction, not just outcomes

This conversation is not about doing more.
It’s about seeing differently.

🔗 Tune In and Build Your Math Identity

🎧 Listen to my full conversation with Deborah Peart Crayton on the Math Chat Podcast and let yourself sit with this idea:

You don’t have to be a mathematician to be a mather.
And neither do your students.

💬 Subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who’s ready to bring more joy and belonging to math learning.

💬 Connect with Deborah

Website – https://www.mathersgonnamath.com/
📘 Order her Book – Readers Read. Writers Write. Mathers Math!
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